Headlines: 29 Apr 10
Filed under: 3GS, 4th Generation iPhone, Apps, advertising, iTunes
WSJ: Apple to Charge a Premium to Put Ads in Mobile Apps
“Setting a high bar for its debut in the advertising business, Apple Inc. aims to charge close to $1 million for ads on its mobile devices this year and perhaps even more to be among the first, ad executives say.
Apple is hitting the road to showcase its new mobile-device advertising capability, dubbed iAd, and has indicated it could charge as much as $10 million to be part of a handful of marketers at the launch, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Ad executives say they are used to paying between $100,000 and $200,000 for similar mobile deals.”
TechCrunch: Apple To Shut Down Lala On May 31, iTunes.com Launch Impending?
“In a brief message that was just posted on the Lala.com website, Apple has announced that the service will be shut down on May 31st, 2010. Apple will not be accepting new users, and existing users will be able to log in only until the end of next month.
Does this mean we can start raising our hopes for iTunes in the cloud?”
Review: Congress (and the White House) in Your Pocket — The iPhone at Its Best
The Cohen Research Group has created an excellent series of apps that connect voters with their elected officials.
They’re the sort of apps that were made for the iPhone and, for the most part, they’re a joy to use.
Like all the apps in the series, the two apps reviewed here — Congress in Your Pocket and the White House in Your Pocket — are old fashioned paper directories on steroids. A growing list of related Cohen apps provide government information for individual states.
All versions of Congress In Your Pocket — there are three — include information such as the member of Congress’s first and last name, photo, title or leadership position, state, senior or junior designation in the Senate and District number in the house, political party affiliation, district map, and biographical information.
The apps also include office address, official website link, member contact form, and telephone number. The member’s Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook links are provided where available.
If that isn’t enough, all three versions provide incumbent campaign website and percent of the vote won, name of the top 2008 opponent and website, campaign news, tracking polls where available, and donor information.
Need more? All Congress In Your Pocket Plus and Pro versions include names and email address links to top staff including: chief of staff, legislative director, press secretary or communications director, and the scheduler. Staff salary information is also included for the congressional apps.
Plus and Pro versions also include full committee and subcommittee assignments with applicable chair and ranking member designations, sponsored and cosponsored legislation, earmarks, and overseas trips. There’s also news from Politico and President Obama’s cabinet (from the NY Times). Plus and Pro users get bookmarks and Pro users get specific tabs for committees and subcommittees.
The Pro version is updated year-round and provides more supplementary information than the Plus version.
The Presidential app in this family is similarly equipped as the Congressional apps with an abundance of information.
There’s data on over one hundred of President Obama’s top administration officials and their key deputies. The app lets you learn all about who leads and manages the most important executive branch departments, agencies, counsels, and offices.
You can also search for the bills you want to track and see how much the president raised for his 2008 campaign.
The application includes bookmarks you assign, a link to the THOMAS congressional bill information system, a special tab for new members of the administration, a direct link to the president’s OpenSecrets page, an iPhone-friendly news link to Politico, and more.
I found two shortcomings with the software. The Congressional Pro version provides you with updates on members of Congress throughout the year — but, crucially, it doesn’t tell you what information has been updated, just that the member’s record has been updated. Knowing specifically what the additions are would not only be useful, it’s what you’re paying for and should get.
Another problem, which seems confined to the White House app, is that it isn’t always clear what some links lead to — more information, a website, or a phone number? Several times I found myself calling the White House when I thought I was just getting additional information through the app. This could be solved simply by changing, for example, “Eric Lesser, Chief of Staff” (which dials the number for David Axelrod’s top man) to something like, “Eric Lesser, Chief of Staff (phone).”
These issues are far from deal-breakers. Apart from their usefulness as directories, these two apps contain so much interesting background information about the people and their roles in government, it’s like having a civics lesson in your pocket.
Congress in Your Pocket Basic
$0.99
Version 4.6
App Store link
Publisher’s website
Congress in Your Pocket Plus
$4.99
Version 4.6
App Store link
Publisher’s website
Congress in Your Pocket Pro
$29.99 Annually
Version 4.6
App Store link
Publisher’s website
White House in Your Pocket
Version 1.1
App Store link
Publisher’s website
Headlines: 19 Apr 10
Filed under: 3G, 3GS, 4th Generation iPhone, AT&T, App Store, Apps, Smartphone Market, Steve Jobs, iPad
Gizmodo: This Is Apple’s Next iPhone
“You are looking at Apple’s next iPhone. It was found lost in a bar in Redwood City, camouflaged to look like an iPhone 3GS. We got it. We disassembled it. It’s the real thing, and here are all the details.”
The New Yorker: Publish or Perish: Can the iPad Topple the Kindle, and Save the Book Business?
“On the morning of January 27th—an aeon ago, in tech time—Steve Jobs was to appear at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, in downtown San Francisco, to unveil Apple’s new device, the iPad. Although speculation about the device had been intense, few in the audience knew yet what it was called or exactly what it would do, and there was a feeling of expectation in the room worthy of the line outside the grotto at Lourdes. Hundreds of journalists and invited guests, including Al Gore, Yo-Yo Ma, and Robert Iger, the C.E.O. of Disney, milled around the theatre, waiting for Jobs to appear. The sound system had been playing a medley of Bob Dylan songs; it went quiet as the lights came up onstage and Jobs walked out, to the crowd’s applause.”
Gizmodo: How Apple Lost the Next iPhone
“The Gourmet Haus Staudt. A nice place to enjoy good German lagers. And if you are an Apple Software Engineer named Gray Powell, it’s also a nice place to make the honest mistake of losing the next-generation iPhone.”
Headlines: 15 Apr 10
Filed under: 3G, 3GS, 4G Network, 4th Generation iPhone, App Store, Apps, OS 4.x, Steve Jobs, iPad
TechCrunch: Opera Mini iPhone App Downloaded 1 Million Times On First Day In App Store
“On its first day of availability on the App Store since it was – surprisingly, to many – approved by Apple, Opera Mini for iPhone (iTunes link) was downloaded one million times.”
“This week cartoonist Mark Fiore made Internet and journalism history as the first online-only journalist to win a Pulitzer Prize. Fiore took home the editorial cartooning prize for animations he created for SFGate, the website for the San Francisco Chronicle.”
Headlines: 12 Apr 10
Filed under: 3G, 3GS, 4G Network, 4th Generation iPhone, App Store, Apps, Steve Jobs, iPad, iTunes
Opera: Opera Minin App Approved for the App Store
‘Opera today announced its popular mobile browser, Opera Mini has been approved for iPhone and iPod touch on the App Store. Opera Mini will be available as a free download within 24 hours, depending on market.”
NYT: After iPad, Rivals Offer Variations on a Theme
“Just as Apple’s iPhone shook up a complacent cellphone industry, the company’s iPad is provoking PC makers — and non-PC makers — to fight back with new devices.”
Monday Note: The Adobe-Apple Flame War
“Who, in his right mind, expects Steve Jobs to let Adobe (and other) cross-platform application development tools control his (I mean the iPhone OS) future? Cross-platform tools dangle the old “write once, run everywhere” promise. But, by being cross-platform, they don’t use, they erase “uncommon” features. To Apple, this is anathema as it wants apps developers to use, to promote its differentiation. It’s that simple. Losing differentiation is death by low margins. It’s that simple. It’s business. Apple is right to keep control of its platform’s future.”
Headlines: 8 Apr 10
Filed under: 3G, 3GS, 4th Generation iPhone, App Store, Apps, Steve Jobs, iPad, iPod Touch, iTunes
“Back in December, here’s how I concluded my piece on what I expected from Apple’s then-still-unannounced tablet:
If you’re thinking The Tablet is just a big iPhone, or just Apple’s take on the e-reader, or just a media player, or just anything, I say you’re thinking too small — the equivalent of thinking that the iPhone was going to be just a click wheel iPod that made phone calls. I think The Tablet is nothing short of Apple’s reconception of personal computing.
After the iPad was announced, I got two types of emails from readers. The first group saying they were disappointed, because they had been hoping I was right that The Tablet would be Apple’s reconception of personal computing.
The second group wrote to tell me how excited they were because I was right that The Tablet would be Apple’s reconception of personal computing.
Count me in with the second group. Apple hasn’t thought of everything with iPad, but what they’ve thought about, they’ve thought about very deeply. I got mine Saturday morning, and I’ve been using it since — or at least as often as I could get it away from my son. Here are my thoughts.”
DigiTimes: Apple Reportedly Planning a Smaller-size iPad for 1Q11, says Digitimes Research
“Apple is reportedly scheduling a smaller 5- to 7-inch version of the iPad that is expected to launch as soon as the first quarter of 2011, according to Digitimes Research senior analyst Mingchi Kuo.”
Apple: Get a Sneak Peek Into the Future of iPhone OS
“On April 8, Apple unveiled plans for the biggest and most exciting iPhone software update yet. iPhone OS 4 will include over 100 new user features for iPhone and iPod touch owners to enjoy. And for developers, a new software development kit (SDK) offers over 1500 new APIs to create apps that are even more powerful, innovative, and amazing.
iPhone OS 4 will ship this summer for iPhone and iPod touch, and for iPad in the fall. A developer beta is available now.”
Headlines: 7 Apr 10
Filed under: 3G, 3GS, 4th Generation iPhone, App Store, Apps, iPad, iPod Touch, iTunes
BusinessWeek: Apple iPad Components Cost At Least $259
“Apple’s (AAPL) iPad tablet computer costs as little as $259.60 to build, according to analysis by the research firm iSuppli.”
Gizmodo: How to Turn an iPhone Into a Wireless iPad Camera
“The iPad doesn’t have a built-in camera, but you can give it something better. By putting an app onto each an iPad and an iPhone, you can connect the two via bluetooth and have a wireless camera for your iPad.
All you need to do is download the Camera A and Camera B apps onto your iPad and iPhone respectively—note that Camera A will set you back a buck while Camera B is free. Once you’ve got the apps on your devices, make sure bluetooth is switched on, and open the apps. Ta da! You’ll see everything your iPhone’s lens sees on your iPad.”
AppleInsider: Apple iPad, iPhone OS 4 Appears Set to Gain Direct Printing Support
“Apple has hinted at the prospect for direct printing from the iPad in its support documents for iWork apps, suggesting the feature may appear as part of iPhone OS 4.0.
Support pages for iPad’s Pages, Keynote, and Numbers apps each note that “printing directly from iPad is not currently available,” rather than simply stating that the apps do not print.”
Slate: The iPad is Steve Jobs’ Final Victory Over the Company’s Co-Founder Steve Wozniak.
“In 2006, professor Jonathan Zittrain of Harvard Law School predicted that over the next decade there would be a determined effort to replace the personal computer with a new generation of “information appliances.” He was, it turned out, exactly right. But the one thing he couldn’t forecast was who would be leading the charge. How, indeed, could anyone have guessed that Apple Inc., the creator of the personal computer, would lead the effort to exterminate it?”
Headlines: 5 Apr 10
Filed under: 3G, 3GS, 4th Generation iPhone, AT&T, Apps, Steve Jobs, iPad, iPod Touch, iTunes
“You can’t deny, it’s pretty metaphysically silly to be playing a board game your parents bought at a yard sale for $2 on a $500+ iPad, in conjunction with two or more $200+ iPhones. Mix in service plans, accessories, the price of the app ($10), and the bribes you’ll have to pay your friends to join in on something so embarrassing, and you’re really pushing the limits of common sense with Scrabble for the iPad. But we will say this: it is pretty cool. We just paired up a couple iPhones (running the free Tile Rack app) and joined in with the iPad over Bluetooth or WiFi (the app makes it unclear as to which particular wireless tech is doing the honors at the moment, but both work) and in moments we were swiping tiles up to the iPad with the best of them.”
TechCrunch: Trouble In Paradise: iPad Users Complain Of Wifi Issues
“Just one day after launch and there are already scores of complaints on the Apple support site over faulty wifi on the iPad. A typical complaint is that the iPad shows no wifi signal, or a very weak signal, where other devices pick it up just fine.”
Fortune: Piper Jaffray Survey of iPad buyers: 74% Owned Macs; 66% Had iPhones
“Most of the people who lined up in New York and Minneapolis to purchase the iPad on Saturday were already committed Apple (AAPL) users, according to the results of a survey of 448 iPad buyers issued early Monday by Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster.”
BGR: Apple’s iPhone 4.0 OS To Be Revealed Thursday
“Uh oh… Apple just sent out invitations for press to get a sneak peak at their next generation iPhone OS, 4.0. We can’t wait for April 8th.”
Fortune: The iPad and the Failings of the Computer Industry
“Measured by its contribution to Apple’s (AAPL) bottom line, the launch of the iPad last weekend — with its attendant media frenzy and lines of customers snaking around city blocks and suburban malls — was not a particularly big deal.”
Forbes: The iPad Flies Through Airport Security
“The iPad, as Steve Jobs told us from his comfy leather chair at Macworld, represents a new computing form factor that falls squarely between the laptop and the smartphone. Which raises a curious problem for the Transportation Security Administration: Is the iPad a “laptop” that must be taken out of a bag and put through a scanner separately? Or does it fall into some other, less bomb-like category of gadget that can slip through security hidden in your briefcase?”
Mashable: iPad Peek: See How Your Website Looks on the iPad
“The iPad is finally available, and it’s already residing in the hands of some 300,000 people who purchased it on launch day. In a couple of months, the iPad user base will become big enough for web developers to start paying attention to how their websites look on the iPad.”
Headlines: 4 Apr 10
Filed under: 3G, 4th Generation iPhone, AT&T, App Store, Apps, Steve Jobs, iPad, iPod Touch, iTunes
Macworld: The iPad’s Charging Challenge Explained
“Anyone taking possession of a shiny new iPad this weekend may have noticed an odd message when connecting their gadget to some computers or USB chargers: the words Not charging in the iPad’s menu bar. We experienced the same issue during our initial testing, leading us to wonder if there was something wrong with our test unit.”
iPadInsider: Apple iPad Dropped and Tortured
“Here’s the Story: Apparently, YouTube user THISisCaSpEr bought all three models of the WiFi iPad at a Best Buy at Pittsburgh today. And he decided that smashing the $500 iPad with a baseball bat was “fun”.
Though pointless, the video reveals that the aluminum backing is fairly thin, which made it easier to dent and bent with a considerable amount of force. And also, as shown in the video, the downside to a bigger glass screen (Or whatever that was) is that it will be more prone to screen cracking. The iPad was dropped screen first on the concrete pavement and the result …”
MacNN: iPad Jailbroken In a Single Day
“iPhone Dev-Team member MuscleNerd revealed this afternoon that he has already managed to jailbreak the iPad after just a day of sales. The crack is a variation on the same “Spirit” jailbreak recently used to de-restrict iPhone 3.1.3 and, like the earlier technique, is believed to use a browser-based exploit as part of a trick to get root access and let unsigned apps run on the tablet. It’s not yet evident how easily this could be made into an automated process for regular users.”
iPhone Dev-Team member MuscleNerd revealed this afternoon that he has already managed to jailbreak the iPad after just a day of sales. The crack is a variation on the same “Spirit” jailbreak recently used to de-restrict iPhone 3.1.3 and, like the earlier technique, is believed to use a browser-based exploit as part of a trick to get root access and let unsigned apps run on the tablet. It’s not yet evident how easily this could be made into an automated process for regular users.
Headlines: 3 Apr 10
Filed under: 3G, 3GS, 4th Generation iPhone, AT&T, App Store, Apps, Steve Jobs, iPad, iPod Touch, iTunes
TUAW: Neflix Blog All But Promises iPhone Version of App
“OK, it’s not all that surprising that the streaming movie & DVD shipper would plan an iPhone app to go along with the now-only-hours-away iPad version… but tonight’s blog post on the Official Netflix Blog is downright cheeky.”
Gizmodo: Buying an iPad Day Zero: The Survival Guide
“Are there gonna iPads for people who didn’t preorder?
Yes. In fact, the Apple Store is very probably your best bet, because they’re overwhelmingly getting the most stock. In Manhattan, we’ve heard each Apple Store will have thousands of iPads, with the Fifth Ave. Store getting the most. Most of those are indeed for pre-orders, but for every 10 iPads slated for preorder customer, there’s at least one for a walk in. If you do the math, there are at least a couple hundred per store, at least in NYC.”
FakeSteve: An Open Letter to the People of the World
“Dear human race,
First of all, you’re welcome. In the last few days I’ve been overwhelmed by your letters and calls expressing your gratitude to Apple, and mostly to me personally, for inventing yet another life-changing, mind-altering product. All I can tell you is that with iPad, as with all of our products, all we did was create something that we want to use. We’re just so glad that you want to use it too. It’s humbling, actually. When you devote your entire life to the endless, selfless quest to improve the lives of others; when you live a monk-like existence, and focus all of your power and genius on the singular goal of creating objects that nourish souls and transform people’s lives with magic and wonder; and when people tell you that this is, indeed, what you’ve done — well, it’s gratifying. Namaste, entire population of Spaceship Earth. I honor the place where your desire to consume becomes one with my desire to create.”
BGR: References to New iPhones, New iPod Touch and New iPad Found!
“While today marks the first day the Apple iPad went on sale, it also gives us a glimpse into the upcoming stuff from Cupertino. One of our connects has been digging around the iPad filesystem and found references to the following:
- iPhone3,2
- iPhone3,3
- iPod4,1
- iProd2,1
The first two, iPhones, the second is an iPod touch, and the last? A major revision to the Apple iPad. As if things couldn’t get more exciting…”
MercuryNews: An Estimated 300,000 iPads Bought On Day One, Plus a Steve Jobs Sighting in Palo Alto
“The iPad arrived in Silicon Valley on Saturday with the usual Apple flourish: stores perfectly prepped for fired-up fans, some of whom waited in lines throughout the night to get their hands on the highly coveted tablet.
A number of Apple apostles did experience more than the thrill of holding a new shiny object: They got a serendipitous jolt of tech royalty. In San Jose, overnighters and early-risers got to hobnob with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, who joined the pre-iPad vigil at 6 p.m. Friday at Valley Fair mall. In Palo Alto, Apple CEO Steve Jobs sauntered unannounced into the University Avenue store shortly before noon to drink in the scene.”
