Headlines: 18 Feb 10
Filed under: Apple Corporate, Apps, Google, Security, Steve Jobs, iPad
New York Times: Apple’s Prices for E-Books May Be Lower Than Expected
“Maybe e-book prices won’t be rising so much after all.
Since Apple announced plans to sell digital books on its forthcoming iPad, it has been cast as something of a savior of the publishing industry for allowing e-book prices to go above the $9.99 that Amazon charges for e-books on its Kindle device, a price that publishers say is too low to sustain their business.
But as more details come to light of the actual negotiations between Apple and publishers, it appears that Apple left room to sell some of the most popular books at a discount.”
TechCrunch: Pollice Verso: Google Buys Awesome iPhone Email App; Kills It
“As you might have heard earlier today, Google made another acquisition — the email search startup reMail. While its topical description may make it seem like an obvious buy, there’s another layer that makes this really interesting. reMail isn’t just any email search startup, it’s a startup working to perfect email search on the iPhone. Or rather, it was.
Here’s the key part of reMail founder Gabor Cselle’s post about the acquisition today: “Google and reMail have decided to discontinue reMail’s iPhone application, and we have removed it from the App Store.” Yep, it looks like this may be another battle in the Apple-Google mobile war.”
As you might have heard earlier today, Google made another acquisition — the email search startup reMail. While its topical description may make it seem like an obvious buy, there’s another layer that makes this really interesting. reMail isn’t just any email search startup, it’s a startup working to perfect email search on the iPhone. Or rather, it was.
Here’s the key part of reMail founder Gabor Cselle’s post about the acquisition today: “Google and reMail have decided to discontinue reMail’s iPhone application, and we have removed it from the App Store.” Yep, it looks like this may be another battle in the Apple-Google mobile war.”
Gawker: What Steve Jobs Said During His Wall Street Journal iPad Demo
“We know that Apple’s CEO is no fan of Flash, the Web animation software. But it sounds like Steve Jobs really unleashed on the Adobe system to try and convince the Wall Street Journal to ditch it for the iPad.
… he suggested the newspaper use the H.264 video compression system (“codec” in geek), which is compatible with both the iPad and the Flash Player installed on most Web browsers.”
Headlines: 11 Feb 10
New iPad Puts Focus On Apple’s Flash Feud
“Apple Inc. and Adobe Systems Inc. used to be cozy partners, but they have become increasingly estranged since the computer maker unveiled its iPad tablet late last month.
While Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs announced that the iPad will revolutionize Web surfing, the device won’t support Adobe’s ubiquitous Flash video technology. In the wake of that disclosure, Adobe’s share price has declined 3%.
The Flash announcement signaled a break from the mainstream since the Adobe video software is among the most widely used on the Web. The Flash player is installed on about 98% of Internet-connected computers, according to Adobe.”
Microsoft Hints at Office for iPad
“Microsoft has revealed to T3 that it may be ready to unleash a version of Office for Mac for the Apple iPad.
The Seattle-based company let slip the possibility of a suite for the new tablet during a demonstration of the brand new Office for Mac 2011, which is scheduled for release in late 2010.”
Google Paying Apple More Than $100 Million Annually For iPhone Search Deal
“The rumor that Apple is building its own search engine ‘isn’t credible,’ according to a source familiar with Apple’s operations.
Our source tells us ‘there’s too many options’ for search on the market, so there’s no reason for Apple to build its own search engine.
Another reason Apple might not want to build its own search engine: It’s getting over $100 million a year from Google in its revenue share deal, according to our source.”
Headlines 2 Feb 10
Filed under: OS 3.x, Steve Jobs, iPad, iPod Touch
Jobs Calls Flash Buggy, Adobe Fires Back
“Adobe last week said no Flash support means Apple’s hot new tablet is incompatible with millions of Web sites.
‘There’s something important missing from Apple’s approach to connecting consumers to content,’ wrote Flash marketing manager Adrian Ludwig, in a blog post. ‘It looks like Apple is continuing to impose restrictions on their devices that limit both content publishers and customers,’ said Ludwig.
‘If I want to connect to Disney, Hulu, Miniclip, Farmville, ESPN, Kongregate, or JibJab—not to mention millions of other sites on the Web, I’ll be out of luck,’ he added.”
iPad Camera Rumor Becoming a Reality? We Think So.
“Upon opening them up and getting our hands on some of these rare items, we immediately noticed what appears to be a ’spot’ for a camera within the iPad frame.”
iPhone Software Fixes Bugs, Adds Improvements
Apple today released iPhone OS 3.1.3 for all iPhone and iPod Touch models. This update for the iPhone and iPod touch contains bug fixes and improvements, including the following:
- Improves accuracy of reported battery level on iPhone 3GS
- Resolves issue where third-party apps would not launch in some instances
- Fixes bug that may cause an app to crash when using the Japanese Kana keyboard
Full details about the security updates included in iPhone OS 3.1.3 are available in the associated support document.
Adobe Announces Support for Creating Stand-Alone Flash iPhone Apps — But Flash for Mobile Safari Still a Work in Progress
Filed under: App Store, Apps, Developer, iPod Touch, iTunes
At its developer’s conference today Adobe announced that the next version of Adobe Flash (Flash Professional CS5) will include support for creating stand-alone applications for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch.
In discussing the announcement on his blog, Mike Chambers, Principal Product Manager for developer relations for Flash at Adobe said, “One thing I want to stress is that this is for standalone applications, and is not the Flash Player for mobile Safari (which is something we continue to work on).”
Apple will only allow Flash on mobile Safari if Adobe can improve the security of the ubiquitous player.
Chambers said the CS5 product will allow developers to create Flash-based apps which will then be converted to Apple’s native iPhone app format.
The Adobe manager said there were several apps already in the iTunes App Store that were built with Flash. He mentioned the following as examples: Roach Game; Just Letters; Chroma Circuit; Fickleblox; Red Hood; and Trading Stuff.
