Showing posts with label apple. Show all posts
Showing posts with label apple. Show all posts
Apple's Mac App Store sparks another software gold rush
(CNN) -- With the launch of an App Store for the Mac last week, Apple has proved that its all-in-one digital marketplace model -- so successful for the iPhone, iPod and iPad -- can flourish on old-fashioned laptop and desktop computers as well.
Developers with software ready for the store's January 6 opening were met with throngs of click-happy customers.
Mac users have appeared eager to spend money on apps, even for software that was previously available on the Web and in brick-and-mortar stores. Downloads on the first day exceeded 1 million -- out of a pool of about 1,000 apps, Apple said.
Distributed evenly, that works out to 1,000 downloads for each app, although name recognition and how Apple allocates promotion tend to skew results. But some development houses did gangbuster business.
Scott Forstall, Apple's vice president for iPhone software, said last year that the company's iPad would spark "a whole new gold rush for app developers," a prediction that must now apply to the Mac store as well.
App Store winners
One big winner from the Mac App Store launch has been Evernote. The free note-taking app catalogs text and multimedia files; synchronizes them over the internet to be accessed from phones, a website or desktop software; and lets you search through them.
Evernote was downloaded 90,000 times on the App Store's opening day. That's about a 10th of all apps purchased that day. It's been consistently listed in the section of most popular apps.
"Having a well-formed app store is the most important part in getting attention," Evernote CEO Phil Libin said. "We were on the iPhone App Store since that launched as well. We've kind of been through this once before, so we had pretty high expectations of what being in an app store means for getting attention."
The Mac App Store launch, Libin said, "exceeded our expectations."
Being in the Mac App Store helped expose Evernote to 40,000 people who had never used it, he said.
Evernote has also benefited from Apple's promotional efforts in the store. It sometimes gets top billing in a rotating list of featured apps, similar to the top section of the iTunes Store. Apple spokeswoman Jacqueline Roy also listed Evernote among the top five "must-have" apps, which is determined by consistent top performers in downloads and ratings.
Another Mac App Store hit is SketchBook Express, No. 7 on the must-have list. Autodesk, the maker of that free drawing program, says the store "effectively doubled" the number of people using the professional version of SketchBook on opening day. The company declined to provide exact figures.
SketchBook Pro costs $30 on the Mac App Store, versus almost $70 on Amazon.com. It's now among Apple's highest-grossing apps.
A lucrative business model
Apple takes a 30% cut of app sales, which makes its app stores a lucrative business for the company as well as developers. Because of this success, the stores are facing increased competition from Google's popular Android Market, a forthcoming Amazon.com app store and other rivals. This week, Microsoft contested Apple's trademark request for the term "app store."
Free applications benefit from the app store exposure too, even though they don't help Apple's business as directly. For example, Twitter is also on the Apple must-have list. The social networking company launched on the store with its first official desktop client, based on work by the engineer who made the iPhone app.
A Twitter spokeswoman said the company is "pleased" with the results but declined to say how many times the free app had been downloaded.
The App Store program is included as part of a software update for Mac computers running the newest version of the operating system, called Snow Leopard. Further enhancements to the app model will come as part of OS X Lion, which is scheduled to go on sale this summer.
Previously, Mac software could be found on vendors' websites or in stores (in cardboard boxes, no less; how quaint).
For developers, submitting an application to Apple for sale in the Mac App Store can be easier than getting their software on a retailer's shelf, which can require complex business deals. It is also easier to sell through an established app store than through a developer's own website, which can require building payment mechanisms and systems for licensing customers' copies.
Mac owners like the store because it makes software easier to find, manages what's been downloaded, makes it easy to move apps between computers and provides alerts when a new version is available.
Some software makers complain that Apple's rules about what it will accept are too stringent and that the company takes too big a cut of revenue. But Apple doesn't bar developers from distributing their wares in other locations on the Web.
Pros and cons
But are these early success stories sustainable?
Caffeine, a simple utility that helps prevent the computer from automatically going into sleep mode (get it?), did exceedingly well early on. The app has been downloaded more than 135,000 times. About one-third of those sales came on launch day; as for other apps, they have tapered somewhat since.
While daily downloads are decreasing steadily for Caffeine at a pace of about 30% per day, the app continues to attract new customers at a rate several times greater than anytime since it came out four years ago.
"The App Store opens up the opportunity to sell 99-cent apps, which was previously not really feasible, and I think that could bring a lot of new smaller apps," Caffeine developer Tomas Franzen said. "It's a lot easier when they handle hosting and payment for you.
"I'd say I'm a believer" in the app-store model, he wrote. "The App Store makes downloaded software easy for regular people, and it turns out there are a lot of regular people out there!"
However, not every company has the Midas touch for launching app stores. Google, which produced a hit with its Android Market, has drummed up minimal interest in its Chrome Web Store.
Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales isn't sold on the app-store concept. At an event in England, Wales spoke out against the idea of app stores, calling them "a threat to a diverse and open ecosystem," according to blog reports.
A magic formula?
But many developers seem convinced that Apple has hit on the right formula.
Scott Gilbert had been planning to build a weather-report app for the iPad or iPhone. The product manager for Swackett immediately changed course when he heard Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveil plans for the Mac App Store in October.
"There's so much competition in the regular App Store," Gilbert said of Apple's mobile software store and its 300,000 apps. "I thought if we could be there on day one in the Mac App Store, we could rise above the noise."
And they did. Swackett was on track to get 100,000 downloads in its first week. The developers are making money from ads, which had been shown 2 million times in six days.
"We would not have come out with a Mac app first if not for the (Mac) App Store," Gilbert said.
And for the 61-person team at Evernote, the App Store is something of a blessing.
"We don't have experts here that think about logistics or channels or distribution or advertising," said Libin, the Evernote CEO.
Evernote had the distribution method in place on its site, but that was created out of necessity, said Libin, who was happy to let Apple take the reins on managing server infrastructure and promotion.
"Before, you used to make a great product, but no one would ever get it or use it or be able to buy it," he said. "The app stores have made the software business more of a meritocracy than it's ever been, which really favors geeks like us."
2:23 AM 0
Apple Service Rep: Swollen MacBook Battery “Normal”
MacBook Pro owner Tommy reports that his 1.5-year-old replacement battery is swelling and that an Apple service rep told him that this is “normal.”
First, nobody seemed to know what to do with me or who I should talk to. Second, while they Apple Customer Representative could look up the age of my computer by the serial number, they had no way of tracking (and “proving the age”) of my battery by its unique serial number. Third, while nearly everybody I talked to seemed to show much concern over this safety issue, the “Senior Customer Representative” who finally spoke to me was quite apathetic about my battery problem. According to him, this issue is normal and the result of wear-and-tear on the battery and, more importantly, this was Apple’s official position.Since the battery is too old to be covered by Apple’s one-year warranty, the rep refused to replace it. That is, unless it might cause bodily injury or fire.
He did reassure me that, had the battery caused any damage to my computer or personal injury, he’d be willing to discuss that. So, basically, I would have been better off leaving the defective battery in my computer instead of being smart and removing it.This sounds like a good reason to head to an Apple store with the laptop in tow in the hopes that someone might agree to replace it…
2:06 AM 0
Report: Scosche’s iClops for iPad Accessory Axed By Apple’s Legal Department
First tipped in November 2011, Scosche’s iClops accessory for iPad was a tiny, swivel-able camera that would connect to the top of your iPad and allow you to take 2.1 megapixel stills or VGA-quality video on Apple’s tablet slated for release in March of this year.
Sounds like a pretty good accessory for iPad owners happy enough with their current tablet that they don’t want to upgrade to the iPad 2 in April, but wouldn’t mind spending a few bucks on an accessory to bring some of the latter tablet’s video and photo functionality to them. It also did the same for camera-less iPod Touches.
Unfortunately, it now looks like the iClops has been axed by Scosche, and according to one source, it was axed because of “legal issues” with Apple that prevented Scosche from releasing the iClops in time for its forecast March release.
If there were such an issue, it would presumably be due to the way the iClops interacted with the iPod Dock Connector port. Either way, it’s a disappointing development: for now, at least, it seems that current iPad or iPod Touch owners who want to take photos or videos on their camera-less devices will have no choice but to upgrade.
4:55 AM 0
Apple, Verizon Took Years to Clear IPhone Differences
Verizon Communications Inc. President Lowell McAdam works a few miles from the New York auditorium where he announced yesterday’s deal to offer Apple Inc.’s iPhone. It took him four years to get there.
The press conference at Lincoln Center marked the end of haggling over branding and revenue sharing between the two companies, as well as efforts to ensure reliability. McAdam and Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook came to terms last year, setting the stage for Verizon to offer the iPhone on Feb. 10.
The companies’ detente underscores Verizon’s desire to offer one of the best-selling smartphones, even if it means ceding more control than usual. Apple, meanwhile, gains access to the largest U.S. wireless carrier. That may help maintain its ballooning sales growth and stave off competition from Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co., which use Google Inc.’s Android operating system.
“We said over the last three or four years that the business interests would come together -- and they did,” McAdam, who is in line to be Verizon’s chief executive officer, said in an interview.
Since reaching their agreement last year, the companies have been testing a version of the handset that will work with Verizon’s code division multiple access, or CDMA, technology, McAdam said. AT&T Inc., the iPhone’s exclusive U.S. carrier since the device debuted in 2007, uses a different system.
Cell Towers
The companies erected Verizon cellular towers at Apple’s Cupertino, California, headquarters to check the phone’s signal and avoid the reliability troubles of the iPhone at AT&T. The two sides also had to agree to swap inside information about future products.
“We had to share with them where we were going with our network and they had to share with us what they were planning for devices,” said McAdam, 56. “That’s when we said, ‘Yes, this should work.’”
One of Verizon Wireless’s top engineers -- David McCarley, its executive director of technology -- worked on Apple’s campus for more than a year. He helped Apple understand its CDMA technology, McAdam said. Apple was given “their own laboratory to play with,” he said.
McAdam, who has worked at Verizon since it was formed in 2000, also personally used the iPhone ahead of yesterday’s announcement.
Technical Concerns
McAdam and Cook inked the final deal after negotiations that also involved Apple CEO Steve Jobs and Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg, McAdam said.
“We probably worked six or nine months on the technical side of this and saw we could make this work,” he said. “Then we did the commercial side. The commercial deal took us a day.”
The agreement bridges a gulf between Apple and Verizon that predates the iPhone’s deal with AT&T.
When Apple first began working on its smartphone in 2005, it decided to base it on a format called the global system for mobile communications, or GSM, rather than Verizon’s CDMA standard. While CDMA is more popular in the U.S., the AT&T-favored GSM technology predominates globally.
Confident that the device would be a megahit that would upend industry commercial norms, Apple also decided it wanted a stake in any carriers’ monthly service fees. That ran counter to Verizon’s approach to manufacturers.
Instead, Apple struck a deal with AT&T, which agreed to share wireless-service revenue and let Apple manage its iTunes software on the phone. The companies later dropped the revenue- sharing deal in favor of having AT&T buy phones outright from Apple and resell them at subsidized rates. AT&T has paid Apple an estimated $600 for each handset, according to John Hodulik, an analyst at UBS AG in New York.
Top Seller
The partnership transformed the wireless industry, helping inspire a new stable of smartphones from Motorola, Samsung and HTC Corp., which all formed partnerships with Google. At Apple, the iPhone fueled sales and profit, with the device becoming the company’s biggest-selling product. It accounted for 39 percent of Apple’s $65.2 billion in revenue last year.
At AT&T, the iPhone has been plagued by network congestion and complaints about dropped calls, especially in big cities. AT&T was ranked the worst U.S. carrier in a Consumer Reports survey published last month. The design of Apple’s latest model, the iPhone 4, drew complaints as well, because it could lose signal strength when held a certain way. Verizon’s network was ranked second-best by Consumer Reports, behind U.S. Cellular.
Even so, AT&T’s network offers faster speeds and broader global coverage for the iPhone, said Mark Siegel, a spokesman for that company.
Branding Issue
To reach a deal, Apple and Verizon had to reconcile different approaches to branding. Verizon puts its stamp on other manufacturers’ devices, including phones from Research In Motion Ltd. and Motorola. By contrast, only Apple’s name appears on the iPhone.
“They don’t put a lot of logos on their phones,” McAdam said in the interview. “So that wasn’t a major issue for us.”
Watching the success of the AT&T-Apple partnership may have led Verizon to accept a similar deal, said Jean-Louis Gassee, a former Apple executive who is now a venture capitalist at Allegis Capital in Palo Alto, California.
“As my grandmother used to say, ‘If you can’t get what you like, you have to like what you can get,’” he said.
Share Price
Apple shares have more than tripled in value since the iPhone was introduced in January 2007. They climbed $2.78 to $344.42 at 4 p.m. New York time on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The company is now the world’s second-most-valuable, behind Exxon Mobil Corp.
Verizon Communications, which co-owns its wireless business with Vodafone Group Plc, gained 11 cents to $35.47 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. AT&T rose 13 cents to $28.04.
Apple can help Verizon increase the number of customers using smartphones, which typically require separate data plans, said Carl Howe, an analyst at Boston-based Yankee Group. IPhone customers have bills of about $120 a month, versus $40 to $80 for users of regular phones, he said.
An iPhone on the Verizon network will cost the same as on AT&T. With a two-year contract, the handset costs $199.99 for a 16-gigabyte model and $299.99 for a 32-gigabyte version.
The move will take a toll on Verizon in increased subsidies. The carrier may sell 13 million iPhones this year with an estimated subsidy of $400 each, UBS’s Hodulik said. That would add up to $5.2 billion.
He estimates that 2.1 million net new customers will join Verizon in 2011. That compares with 650,000 for AT&T, which ranks second to Verizon in total U.S. customers. Apple also will get access to 93.2 million existing Verizon customers.
“It expands the overall footprint that the iPhone can serve and the number of consumers who can use it,” said Matt Murphy, a partner at venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in Menlo Park, California. He oversees a fund dedicated to smartphone applications. “We’re going to see extreme growth.”
--
With assistance from Peter Elstrom, Greg Bensinger, Amy Thomson in New York. Editors: Nick Turner, Tom Giles
To contact the reporters on this story: Adam Satariano in San Francisco at asatariano1@bloomberg.net; Peter Burrows in San Francisco at pburrows@bloomberg.net
2:38 AM 0
Verizon iPhone: The big questions
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- After years of speculation and rumor, the big day is here: The anxiously awaited unveiling of a Verizon iPhone is expected to take place Tuesday morning -- at 11 a.m. on 1/11/11, to be exact.
On Apple's (AAPL, Fortune 500) end, the iPhone has been a huge success. The company has sold more than 70 million iPhones since the device's launch in 2007. In its its fiscal fourth quarter it sold more than 14.1 million, up 91% from a year earlier.
But for AT&T (T, Fortune 500) -- currently the iPhone's sole U.S. carrier -- the exclusive contract has come at a price. Customers have complained in droves about awful service on their iPhones, culminating in scathing Consumer Reports piece in December that labeled AT&T the worst phone carrier out there.
That brings us to our first question ahead of Tuesday's event.
Will Verizon's network succeed for the iPhone where AT&T's has failed?
It's an open question, and after years of suffering on its own through iPhone users' data demands, AT&T would love to see another network stagger.
"Verizon's network hasn't been battle-tested yet, so you don't know if they can handle the data load or not," AT&T spokesman Larry Solomon told Fortune recently.
But all the wireless phone carriers -- including both Verizon and AT&T -- have been spending billions to build our their capacity. Verizon has had lots of time to warm up for this challenge.
Will the iPhone support Verizon's LTE 4G network, or its CDMA 3G network?
Verizon's new 4G network is just starting its rollout. If the iPhone has to rely on the older CDMA network, that carries some significant drawbacks. Most glaringly: customers wouldn't be able to chat on the phone and surf the Web simultaneously, as they can on AT&T's iPhone.
Data hounds are waiting eagerly for the details.
Will Verizon let iPhone customers sign up for the unlimited data plan?
Back in June, AT&T announced new 3G pricing plans that made iPhone and iPad bills less expensive for most customers, but also ended the carrier's unlimited data option. New buyers can pay either $15 for 200 MB a month or $25 for 2 GB, replacing the carrier's previous $30 all-you-can-download plan.
Verizon currently offers its smartphone customers unlimited data for $30 a month. Will it extend that plan to the iPhone? Stay tuned.
When will the Verizon iPhone be available to customers?
By the end of January, if a Monday Wall Street Journal article and a June piece from Bloomberg are correct.
How much will the Verizon iPhone cost? And will the company offer any incentives to AT&T iPhone customers?
With a two-year AT&T contract, the iPhone 4 costs $199 for a 16 GB device and $299 for the 32 GB version. Verizon's pricing is expected to be the same.
With such a high-demand product, Verizon probably won't feel the need to offer any incentives for AT&T customers looking to switch over. Those who make the jump will have to pay a $325 penalty for termination-of-contract, and they could be subject to other fees.
Will a Verizon iPhone kill AT&T?
Most of the conventional wisdom out there says yes, but many industry analysts say no. The company has locked in millions of customers who upgraded over the past few months.
Furthermore, while lots of customers complain about AT&T, relatively few are likely to follow through with the hassle of switching. Yankee Group estimates that 2.5 million AT&T iPhone customers will defect to Verizon in 2011 -- which represents just 3% of AT&T's base of 93 million customers.
Will Steve Jobs be at the Verizon unveiling? Will he have a white iPhone in his hand!?!
The bright-red invitation CNNMoney received for Tuesday's event lists only Verizon president and COO Lowell McAdam as a presenter. But it's unlikely that Apple CEO Steve Jobs would miss an iPhone event. AllThingsD's sources say a Jobs appearance "isn't 100 percent assured," but it's "likely."
The white iPhone -- the tech industry's Godot -- has reportedly been thwarted by manufacturing issues. A few news outlets have reported on pale iPhones spotted in the wild, but Apple has said not to expect the fabled white device until spring 2011.
4:33 AM 0
Apple's Mac App Store Now Open For Business
Today, as planned, Apple opened the doors to its new Mac App Store, which gives Mac OS users access to over 1,000 free and paid apps.
Available now via the Mac OS X Snow Leopard update (v10.6.6), the Mac App store offers Apple desktop users a software catalogue reminiscent of the iOS store that has become wildly popular with mobile users.
According to a press release from Apple, visitors to the Mac App Store will be able to browse, buy, download and update apps across a range of categories, including education, games, graphics and design, lifestyle, productivity and utilities.
What's currently available? iPhoto, iMovie and GarageBand can be downloaded individually for $14.99 each. Pages, Keynote and Numbers apps are available for $19.99 each. Photo editing software like Aperture 3 can be purchased for $79.99. Visit the Mac App Store and see what other apps are available.
The Mac App store was originally announced in October at Apple's Back To The Mac Event and will be available in the future as part of the upcoming Mac OSX Lion software release.
11:14 AM 0
[Exclusive] Apple Is Granted Its First Liquidmetal Patent
Apple has been granted its first patent related to Liquidmetal, a space-age metal alloy. But the patent isn’t for a new iPad enclosure or iPhone antenna, as experts have predicted. Instead Apple’s Liquidmetal patent is for an internal component of a fuel cell.
Apple’s new patent describes “amorphous alloy” collector plates for fuel cells, an electrochemical battery that uses hydrogen to generate electricity. Although the patent doesn’t reference the Liquidmetal trademark, the material is an amorphous alloy or “ metallic glass.”
Last year, Apple signed an exclusive agreement to use the Liquidmetal Technologies’ IP in consumer electronic products. But of course, the ever-secretive company hasn’t hinted at its plans for the material. The possibilites are endless. Liquidmetal is a super lightweight, high-strength, scratch-proof metal that NASA says is “poised to redefine materials science as we know it in the 21st century.”
Scientists who helped develop Liquidmetal have previously predicted that Apple will use it to build the next iPhone. So why is Apple interested in fuel cells?
Miniature fuel cells could power mobile phones for more than 30 days without recharging and notebooks for 20 hours or more.
Bloom Energy has developed larger fuel cells capable of powering homes and offices. The company, profiled by 60 Minutes, has raised $400 million and sold power units to Google, eBay and Walmart.
The problem is manufacturing fuel cells that are a safe, hard-working and reliable over many years.
Lots of companies are working on developing the right materials. Because Liquidmetal can be made to be super hard, corrosion proof, and durable, it may prove to be the ideal material for fuel cells.
The collector plate described in Apple’s patent acts as a catalyst for a chemical reaction that separates electrons from hydrogen to produce electricity. Its only byproducts are water and heat. As long as the cell is topped-up with fuel, it will continue to generate power. The process is clean, quiet and highly efficient — up to three times more efficient than burning fuel.
Apple fuel cell rumors go back to 2003, when the company was rumored to be pursuing fuel cells for PowerBooks.
1:41 AM 0
Apple Planning To Ship Over 5 Million Verizon Compatible iPhones In Q1 2011: REPORT
Citing "sources with Taiwan-based component suppliers," Digitimes writes, "[t]he first-quarter shipment goal for WCDMA iPhones has been adjusted from 13 million units to 14-15 million units, the sources said. The shipment goal for CDMA iPhones, which will be launched in North America and Asia Pacific in the first quarter, is set at 5-6 million units, the sources added."
There have been a slew of rumors that the iPhone will be coming to Verizon. The CDMA version of the iPhone referenced by Digitimes would be compatible with Verizon's network.
An analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group said in September that Apple suppliers had plans to build Verizon-compatible iPhones. Apple Insider wrote at the time, "Analyst Jeffrey Fidacaro [...] said in a note to investors on Wednesday that checks with overseas suppliers indicated Apple is prepared to build 3 million CDMA iPhones in December, keeping the device on track for an early 2011 launch. That would put total GSM and CDMA iPhone production for the quarter at between 21 million and 22 million."
Fortune reported in October that it had "confirmed that a Verizon iPhone will be released in early 2011."
3:41 PM 0
Apple Sued Over App Privacy Violations
The first suit was filed by Jonathan Lalo on December 23 in federal court in San Jose, California. He is seeking class-action, or group status for his complaint. The lawsuit claims that the transmission of personal information is a violation of federal computer fraud and privacy laws.
iPhones and iPads are equipped with Unique Device Identifiers (UDID), 40-digit-long strings of letters and numbers which distinguish one device from another, and cannot be blocked or removed by users. The suit claims that these UDIDs are used to let advertisers track what apps users download, how long the programs are used, and how often.
Bloomberg reports the suit also claims that "some apps are also selling additional information to ad networks, including users' location, age, gender, income, ethnicity, sexual orientation and political views."
Lalo names applications like Pandora, Paper Toss, the Weather Channel and Dictionary.com, as defendants alongside Apple.
A separate class action suit accusing Apple of the same privacy violation, also centered around the UDID, was filed on the same day by Dustin Freeman, and three others. The suit called Apple's actions an "intrusive tracking scheme," and pointed out that Apple regularly rejects 20 percent of apps who try to enter their store. The complaint classifies Apple's failure to keep these apps from the store, and their failure to realize that these apps were breaching user's privacy, as "aiding and abetting" the guilty apps.
These lawsuits come soon after a Wall Street Journal report on concerns over app privacy.
That article, like the lawsuits, characterizes UDIDs as the major source for privacy concerns. The UDID was the most widely shared detail among the apps they tested, leading one expert to call it a "supercookie."
In October, Apple released a series of review guidelines for their app store which included the following: "Apps cannot transmit data about a user without obtaining the user's prior permission and providing the user with access to information about how and where the data will be used."
If UDID data sharing is happening, it would seem to violate this principle. But Apple isn't the only company that should be worried.
"We are also looking at Google's Android platform and a lawsuit against them has not been ruled out," one of Freeman's lawyers told Reuters.
3:26 PM 0
Apple To Release 3 Versions Of iPad 2: Digitimes
Digitimes, a Taiwanese newspaper, has just chimed in with a new report that Apple will release 3 versions of the next generation iPad, with a focus on providing users with a range of connectivity options.
Digitimes writes,
Apple is expected to release three versions of iPad 2, supporting either or a combination of Wi-Fi, UMTS and CDMA, for 2011 with mass production to start as early as the later half of January. Apple will ship about 500,000-530,000 units to channels in January with shipment ratio of Wi-Fi, UMTS and CDMA models at 3:4:3, according to industry sources, citing upstream component makers. The sources pointed out that about 60-65% of current iPad shipments are 3G models, indicating that consumers prefer models that are able to connect to the Internet all the time, therefore Apple is aiming to work even more closely with telecom carriers by offering more wireless solutions for iPad 2 to satisfy market demand.Research conducted earlier this year by Strategy Analytics found that Apple commanded 95 percent of the tablet market. Digitimes' unnamed sources--"upstream component makers"--reportedly estimated that Apple could ship 40 million iPads in the new year and may soon claim "65-75% of the global tablet PC market."
CrunchGear notes that releasing 3 models of the iPad 2 "slightly goes against Apple's Keep It Simple, Stupid sales strategy," but adds, "with the Verizon iPhone nearly a sure thing, the iPad is just following suit. It's all about consumer choice, which is a clever way of saying more revenue."
See our ultimate guide to iPad 2 rumors here.
3:18 PM 0
Obama: Steve Jobs Deserves His Wealth
At least, Barack Obama thinks so. The president cited the Apple CEO as an example of one American whose innovative work entitles him to his enormous wealth.
"We celebrate somebody like a Steve Jobs, who has created two or three different revolutionary products. We expect that person to be rich, and that's a good thing," Obama said.
Obama's comment came during a news conference, when someone asked him if there was a divide between middle-class and wealthy Americans. He noted that the top 1 percent of Americans have a larger share of wealth than any time period since the 1920s. But he also credited those individuals with making it possible for the country's middle class to flourish.
Obama said,
And something that's always been the greatest strength of America is a thriving, booming middle class, where everybody has got a shot at the American Dream. And that should be our goal. That should be what we're focused on. How are we creating opportunity for everybody? So that we celebrate wealth. We celebrate somebody like a Steve Jobs, who has created two or three different revolutionary products. We expect that person to be rich, and that's a good thing. We want that incentive. That's part of the free market.The president met with Jobs earlier this fall to discuss "the economy, innovation in technology, education."
Obama's praise coincided with Jobs's nomination as the Person of the Year by the Financial Times. The paper's reason for the nod? The iPad, which they called "the culmination of an approach that he has seemingly been perfecting for his entire career. They credited Jobs with understanding "the art of the possible," while remaining dedicated to pushing Apple "relentlessly forward."
6:56 AM 0
Apple Teams Up To Use iPhone To Save Cherokee Language
He could dismiss the obvious reasons a kid might want an iPhone, except for this – he's a proud Cherokee and buying his daughter the phone just might help keep the tribe's language alive.
Nearly two centuries after a blacksmith named Sequoyah converted Cherokee into its own unique written form, the tribe has worked with Apple to develop Cherokee language software for the iPhone, iPod and – soon – the iPad. Computers used by students – including Lauren – at the tribe's language immersion school already allow them to type using Cherokee characters.
The goal, Cherokee Chief Chad Smith said, is to spread the use of the language among tech-savvy children in the digital age. Smith has been known to text students at the school using Cherokee, and teachers do the same, allowing students to continue using the language after school hours.
Lauren isn't the only Cherokee child pleading for an iPhone, "and that doesn't help my cause," Jamie Hummingbird joked, knowing he'll probably give in.
Tribal officials first contacted Apple about getting Cherokee on the iPhone three years ago. It seemed like a long shot, as the devices support only 50 of the thousands of languages worldwide, and none were American Indian tongues. But Apple's reputation for innovation gave the tribe hope.
After many discussions and a visit from Smith, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company surprised the tribe by coming through this fall.
"There are countries vying to get on these devices for languages, so we are pretty excited we were included," said Joseph Erb, who works in the Cherokee Nation's language technology division.
The Cherokee take particular pride in their past, including the alphabet, or syllabary, Sequoyah developed in 1821. In 1828, the tribe obtained a printing press and began publishing the Cherokee Phoenix, which the Cherokee claim was the nation's first bilingual newspaper. Copies circulated as far away as Europe, tribal officials say.
The Cherokee language thrived back then, but like other tribal tongues, it has become far less prevalent over the decades. Today only about 8,000 Cherokee speakers remain – a fraction of the tribe's 290,000 members – and most of those are 50 or older, Smith said.
Tribal leaders realized something must done to encourage younger generations to learn the language.
"What makes you a Cherokee if you don't have Cherokee thoughts?" asked Rita Bunch, superintendent of the tribe's Sequoyah Schools.
Tribal officials thus decided to develop the language immersion school, in which students would be taught multiple subjects in a Cherokee-only environment.
The Oklahoma school began in 2001 and now has 105 students in kindergarten through fifth grade. They work on Apple laptops already loaded with the Cherokee language – the Macintosh operating system has supported Cherokee since 2003 – and featuring a unique keypad overlay with Cherokee's 85 characters, each of which represent a different syllable.
But Erb and co-workers Jeff Edwards and Roy Boney knew there had to be more ways to tap into the younger generation's love of cell phones, iPods and the like.
"If you don't figure out a way to keep technology exciting and innovative for the language, kids have a choice when they get on a cell phone," Erb said.
"If it doesn't have Cherokee on it, they all speak English," he said. "They'll just give up their Cherokee ... because the cool technology is in English. So we had to figure out a way to make the cool technology in Cherokee."
Initially, the thought was to simply create an application so texting could be done in Cherokee. But that idea quickly grew.
Apple officials and their tribal counterparts spoke often during the give-and-take that followed. When prospects seemed bleak, Edwards said tribal officials "used our immersion school students to pull on heartstrings." And Smith, the chief, made the trip to northern California to speak with Apple's decision-makers.
Apple has a history of secrecy when it comes to its product releases, so tribal leaders didn't know for sure the company was going forward with the idea until just before the September release of Mac iOS 4.1.
Erb said the Apple devices that support Cherokee are most popular with students, but the technology is slowly gaining traction with older tribal members, especially those who might not like using computers but routinely use cell phones.
Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller declined to answer questions about the company's work with the Cherokee, the costs involved, or whether Apple plans to collaborate with other tribes.
Tribal officials say Cherokee is so far the only American Indian language supported by Apple devices.
However, they're not the only indigenous people using technology to save their language. One of the languages supported in the Mac operating system is Hawaiian. And in 2003, the Hawaiian Language Digital Library project went online, making available more than 100,000 pages of searchable newspaper archives, books and other material in the language native to Hawaii.
Back in Tahlequah, Lauren Hummingbird just knows she wants an iPhone. Using the device to practice Cherokee at home would be easier "than getting this out of the bag," she said, pointing to her laptop. "You can just text."
That enthusiasm for using Cherokee-themed technology is what will help keep the tribe's language, and thus its culture, alive in generations to come, Smith said.
He compared the use of Cherokee on Apple devices to Sequoyah's creation of the syllabary and the tribe's purchase of the printing press.
He sees a day when tribal members routinely will read books and perform plays and operas in their native language.
"You always hear the cliche, 'History repeats itself.' This is one of those historic moments that people just don't comprehend what is happening," the chief said. "What this does is give us some hope that the language will be revitalized."
3:42 PM 0
Apple TV Sales Expected To Top 1 Million This Week
Apple expects to sell its millionth unit of the $99 digital media receiver. In addition, Apple announced in a press release, Apple TV users are renting or buying 400,000 TV episodes and 150,000 movies each day via iTunes.
While these figures don't quite compare to the iPad, which sold 1 million units in its first 28 days on the market, they seemingly promise a stronger run than the first-generation Apple TV, which Steve Jobs admits wasn't a "huge hit."
Roku set-top devices have been available for more than two years and have sold nearly as many units as the second-generation Apple TV has in a couple months, Business Insider notes.
Apple's news comes just a day after reports that Google is delaying the roll out of Google TV devices in order to tweak the software, which was not met by rave reviews.
To see critics' hands-on impressions of Apple TV, check out our review roundup.
2:17 AM 0
Apple TV Sales to Reach 1 Million This Week
The latest version of Apple TV offers support for Netflix,
YouTube, Flickr and MobileMe, as well as content streaming and affordable rental pricing for TV shows, at a price of $99.99. It seems that Apple’s new strategy worked, as 1 million units sold in three and a half months. Apple also claims that iTunes users are now renting and purchasing more than 400,000 TV episodes and more than 150,000 movies per day.
It’s also another slap in the face for Google, whose Google TV, which was once perceived as a chief rival to Apple TV, is not doing nearly as well.
Several major broadcast network have banned it from accessing their content, and a recent report from The New York Times revealed that numerous manufacturers will hold off from displaying their Google TV devices at CES as Google needs more time to tweak the software.
7:08 AM 0
Word Lens Magically Translates Words Before Your Eyes (VIDEO)
If you own an iPhone, you can just start up "Word Lens," a hot new app which translates words in front of you instantly. The app processes the words in image format and nearly immediately puts them in the language of your choice (the first version is just English-Spanish and Spanish-English, but there are more language offerings to come).
Word Lens is already getting rave reviews. TechCrunch quips, "This is what the future, literally, looks like." Reviewers in the Apple Store are widely praising it and YouTube commenters - sometimes a tough crowd - are noting how amazing it is. One YouTuber says, "Used to be science fiction!"
You have to see it to believe it.
11:20 PM 0
Couple Says 'I Do' To iPhone 4 Wedding (VIDEO)
Flor and wedding photographer Brian Adams teamed up to shoot the entire wedding--both photo and video--using only Apple's iPhone 4 smartphone.
The creators explained the process on their site, iPhoneShooters: "Adams used two iPhone 4s to shoot pictures. Flor's associate videographer also used an iPhone 4. Housings were used for the phones that allowed them to change lenses, as well as provided handles and mounts for a light, microphone and tripod. An assistant helped with lighting."
Although an unconventional choice, the iPhone 4 had some advantages.
"The phones are so small, it made it easy for us to be unobtrusive," Adams said in a press release. "People were very comfortable around the small cameras. We were not an intrusion into their wedding."
Flor noted that he saw little difference in the quality of photos produced by an SLR and iPhone 4.
See the photos and video from the wedding in the YouTube clip below.
Watch
1:08 AM 0
Nexus S, Android 'Gingerbread' OS Unveiled By Google (PICTURES)
Co-developed by Samsung, the Nexus S is the first the device to run the latest Android operating system, version 2.3 (aka Gingerbread), billed as "the fastest version of Android yet."
Gingerbread features a refined user interface, improved keyboard layout and keyboard functions, support for front and rear-facing cameras, VOIP/SIP support and near-field communications (NFC) support. And for improved gaming, Gingerbread provides support for gyroscope and other sensors.
The Nexus S smartphone sports a 4-inch AMOLED contoured touchscreen and a curvy, ergonomic form factor. Build around a 1GHz Hummingbird processor, the Nexus S boasts a whopping 16GB of storage space and also features a 0.3-megapixel (VGA) front-facing camera and a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera.
TechCrunch's early review of the Nexus S praises the device and rates it among the cream of the Android crop. "Best of all, of course, is the fact that the Nexus S is a clean install of Android, and a pure Google experience," Tech Crunch writes. "There is no messy third-party software to muck things up."
VentureBeat predicts that Gingerbread's NFC technology, found on the Nexus S, will be a trend for other smartphones to follow. Says VentureBeat:
[N]ear-field communication (NFC) technology, which allows [the Nexus S] to wirelessly retrieve information from NFC tags on items like posters and stickers, as well as make in-person purchases without the need for a credit card. The inclusion of the technology is a big sign that NFC will find its way into many more Android phones in 2011.
Story continues below
Just in time for the holidays, the phone will hit Best Buy stores in the U.S. on Dec. 16. The Nexus S, which will be the first to feature the Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system, will cost $529 unlocked without a service contract. Packaged with a two-year T-Mobile agreement, it'll run $199.Take a look at our photos (below) of the upcoming Nexus S, and visit Google's official Nexus S page to explore this new device and the Gingerbread operating system.
8:43 AM 0
Apple's Mac App Store To Open January 6
The Mac App Store will open its doors to online customers in 90 countries worldwide on January 6, according to a press release from Apple. The service will include both paid and free apps for Mac OSX, and app categories will include Education, Games, Graphics & Design, Lifestyle, Productivity and Utilities. Apple will keep one third of the profits from paid apps.
According to PCWorld, the Mac App Store will be available as part of the forthcoming Mac OSX Lion software release. Mac OSX Snow Leopard users will have access the new store through a free software update, Apple said in an official press release.
In addition, Gizmodo reports that Cydia, the go-to app store for jailbroken iPhone users, will also launch an app store for Mac.
8:16 AM 0
Apple: Mac App Store Will Be Open For Business In 90 Countries On January 6
In a short statement, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said:
“The App Store revolutionized mobile apps. We hope to do the same for PC apps with the Mac App Store by making finding and buying PC apps easy and fun. We can’t wait to get started on Jan 6.”Our previous coverage:
Tread Lightly When Embracing The Mac App Store
Might The Mac App Store Lead To A New Class Of Micro-Apps?
8:06 AM 0
Ahead Of A Wide Launch Next Year, Apple Previews iAds For iPad With Tron Legacy
Apple and Disney have teamed up to show off what iAds for the iPad will look like with a Tron Legacy unit that begin to appear today in some iPad apps, we’re told. “Disney and Apple are excited to debut the ‘Tron Legacy’ iAd today as a special preview of iAd for iPad, which launches next year. iAd brings ‘Tron’s’ pulsing energy and vivid graphic style to iPad’s stunning display, creating a truly immersive ad experience,” the joint statement between the two companies reads.
Much like iAds for the iPhone, iAds for the iPad will be heavily based around a rich media experience that makes it seem almost as if you’re in an app within an app. You click on the Tron Legacy banner ad and you’re taken into an ad that takes up the entire large screen of the iPad and shows you options to view Tron videos, see photo galleries, look at character bios, and get music previews (from the popular Daft Punk-scored soundtrack).
Of course, like iAds for the iPhone, the real key will be getting attractive advertisers to sign up for the platform as well. While Apple had some big names to share when they unveiled iAds, since they launched, the reviews from developers and advertisers have been mixed. Developers seem to complain about not enough inventory, while advertisers complain that Apple is too strict on how they should make their ads.
Disney is an obvious test case for Apple as the two have had tight partnerships in recent years. Undoubtedly, this is helped by the fact that Apple CEO Steve Jobs is Disney’s largest shareholder and sits on their Board of Directors.
As mobile advertising begins to ramp up, advertising on devices like the iPad will be interesting to watch. Will advertisers choose to create new kinds of ads specifically for tablets? Apple’s bet is clearly “yes”. And it’s hard to blame Apple for getting Tron fever, we have it too!
AdAge has a couple glimpses at what the Tron iAds look like.
Update: And we snagged a high resolution glimpse of the ad as well.
2:28 AM 0
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