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Report: iPhone App Market is Already Worth $2.4B?

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UPDATE: See Developers Call BS On $2.4B iPhone App Store Number

The iPhone App market could be worth $2.4 billion a year, reporter Om Malik of GigaOm estimates based on new numbers from the mobile advertising firm AdMob.

This is a very big number for such a new marketplace; no wonder Microsoft, Google, Palm and everyone else is trying to replicate it.

AdMob is a mobile advertising firm that serves up ads inside apps running on the iPhone, iPod touch and Google’s Android phones. In a survey of more than 1,000 users in July, Ad Mob found:

* Apple’s App Store sells $200 million worth of applications every month, a run rate of about $2.4 billion a year, according to Malik.

* Android apps are bringing in about $5 million a month, or $60 million a year.

* iPhone users download about 10 apps per month, and one in four apps is paid for.

* iPod touch users download 18 apps a month, but only two of those are paid for.

* 50% of iPhone users download at least one paid app a month.

* 40% of iPod touch users download at least one paid app a month.

* Users who download paid apps spend about $10 per month; and the average app price is under $2.00.

The upshot: Users are happy to spend money on apps, especially if they geta chance to ry them frst with a free or lite version.

MacBook Disguised As Newspaper

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(Photo courtesy Gadget Lab)
(Photo courtesy Gadget Lab)

Have you ever left your MacBook on the train or in a cafe, only to return and find it gone? Maybe the best bet is to hide that sleek know-it-anywhere Apple design behind something more mundane, like a newspaper. That’s the concept behind a zippered laptop case that appears to a passerby as just a discarded newspaper. The advantages of the faux newspapers may be limited to the myopic thief, as Gadget Lab’s Charlie Sorrel notes:

“Spanish readers will note that the name of the paper is spelled wrong (it should be La Vanguardia, with an extra “i” before the final letter).” For English readers, the company also offers “Herold Tribune.” The obvious misspellings are likely due to copyright issues, but it could affect the coverup’s effectiveness. Maybe a licensing deal could be worked out to offer real newspaper front pages?

An alternative is the DIY route, using a common container to hold your valuable Mac. Sorrel puts his MacBook in a Jiffy Bag protected by a Fed Ex envelope. Could these new coverups be the backlash to a plethora of bling iPod/iPhone and MacBook coverings?

[Via Gadget Lab and BBG]

Report: iPod Classic To Also Get Camera?

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The iPod Classic is also about to get a camera, according to a new report in Taiwan’s DigiTimes newspaper.

The iPod Nano and Touch are about to get cameras – likely on September 9 when Apple is widely expected to unveil its holiday offerings, including a new version of iTunes.

But until now, the iPod Classic hasn’t been mentioned. The Classic is the last iPod based on a spinning hard drive, and is likely to be phased out as the capacities of flash memory increases and prices drop.

According to DigiTimes, the Classic will feature a 3.2 megapixel cameras supplied by Taiwan’s, OmniVision.

OmniVision will supply “3.2-megapixel CIS products for the new iPod nano, iPod classic and iPod touch models which will be launched in September,”  the paper claims.

This strikes us as unlikely. The selling point of the Classic is its storage capacity, not add-ons like cameras.

Daily Deals: AT&T Selling Refurbed iPhone 3G 8GB, 16GB for $49, $99

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Today’s daily deals are headed by AT&T’s offer on refurbished iPhone 3Gs. The carrier is selling 8GB models for $49 and $16 GB units for $99. Meanwhile, Apple is offering factory-refurbed Intel Mac minis, starting at $499 for the 2GHz Core 2 version. And if that’s not enough to rope you into the hardware tent, Apple is again promoting their back to school sale.

In other gadget deal goodness, we have an arm band face-off, plus ask the immortal question: what’s better? USB on your wrist or a mouse on your finger? For details on these and many other deals, as always check out our CoM Daily Deals page.

Altec Lansing Launches Badass iPod Ghetto Blaster

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Now this is what I call an iPod sound system. Most iPod speakers are pretty weedy. Not the Mix Boombox IMT800, a digital ghetto blaster released on Thursday by Altec Lansing. Available now for $300, the Mix Boombox promises to be loud and heavy.

Altec Lansing also announced a stylish — and loud — 200-watt computer speaker set: the Expressionist Ultra MX6021.

More images and details after the jump.

MX6021 PERSPECTIVE

$30 Snow Leopard Disc Can Upgrade Tiger

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With Uncle Walt’s confirmation, the cat’s officially out of the bag: That $30 Snow Leopard disc Apple’s making available starting Friday? It works with more than just full Leopard installs — it can upgrade any Intel Mac, including those running Tiger. In other words, unless you want to pick up iLife and iWork in the process, the only reason to buy the $169 Mac Box is if you want to live by the spirit of Apple’s marketing.

What do you think, Tiger users? Will you abide by formal ethics or just buy the cheapest upgrade path ever? And will your Leopard-buying friends hate you for it?

All Things D via Gizmodo

Vonage Shares Jump 36% After Submitting iPhone App

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Stock in the internet phone company Vonage jumped a whopping 36 percent on news it will likely soon have an iPhone app.

Vonage’s stock saw its biggest three-day rally since the ailing company went public in 2006, Bloomberg reports. The rally is tied to news that Vonage has submitted an app to Apple. The app will likely be approved after a minor technical glitch is fixed.

What the app does, no one is saying, but it’ll likely rival Skype, offering low-cost VOIP calls over Wi-Fi. Vonage also offers visual voicemail.

The company is in deep trouble and is danger of being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. It has lost about 100,000 customers in the last year as customers opt for cheap digital-phone service by cable companies.

Adobe CS3 ‘Not Tested’ on Snow Leopard; Many Industry Pros Could Halt Snow Leopard Upgrades

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Adobe CS3 + Snow Leopard = many sad Mac users
Adobe CS3 + Snow Leopard = many sad Mac users

UPDATE: Nack provides further insight, backtracks, stating “It turns out that the Photoshop team has tested Photoshop CS3 on Snow Leopard, and to the best of our knowledge, PS CS3 works fine on Snow Leopard.” Hmm. This flatly contradicts what I’ve heard from jobbing designers who’ve worked with CS3 on very late Snow Leopard builds. I guess we’ll discover the real truth over the coming week or so.

Adobe’s rolling out its Snow Leopard FAQ, and John Nack’s post offers a doozy:

Apple and Adobe have worked closely together (as always with new OS releases) to test compatibility. As for CS4, everything is good with the exception of auto-updates to Flash panels (which I guarantee you’re not using*) and Adobe Drive/Version Cue (which doesn’t work at the moment on 10.6). CS3 & earlier haven’t been tested. Please see the FAQ for additional info.

(My emphasis.)

Back in the day, I used to love Adobe software. Hell, I still want to love Adobe software and I use Photoshop almost every day, but the company’s making it real hard. It seems that CS has become more about sticking to turnaround schedules than innovation, and there’s a horrible tendency to use the next release to fix major problems, rather than fix them here and now.

From what I’ve heard, both on forums and directly from professionals running 10.6 betas, there are some major problems with CS3 and Snow Leopard, such that Apple’s update simply isn’t safe in Adobe-reliant mission-critical environments. This means a whole lot of industry professionals won’t be flinging 30 bucks in Apple’s direction and won’t be upgrading their Macs to the new OS. But surely this is only temporary? Presumably, Adobe won’t leave everyone high and dry?

Nack again:

No one said anything about CS3 being “not supported” on Snow Leopard. The plan, however, is not to take resources away from other efforts (e.g. porting Photoshop to Cocoa) in order to modify 2.5-year-old software in response to changes Apple makes in the OS foundation.

Nice. A 2.5-year-old piece of shareware being mothballed to concentrate on the current version, fine. But a hugely expensive suite that people use in a pro capacity, that cost hundreds (or thousands, depending on the option you picked) of bucks in the first place?

And you’ve got to love the dangled carrot—CS3 probably won’t be fixed, due to Photoshop being ported to Cocoa. (Out of curiosity, Adobe, are you going to get rid of your broken and proprietary windowing system, or will that stay in place?) I know the world’s finances are screwed, but surely looking after your existing customers is important? I guess it doesn’t matter if you have a near-monopoly on creative apps.

Gah.

Like I said, I used to love Adobe, and I really want that feeling of excitement and passion regarding its apps to return, but this kind of thing just pisses me right off. Nack’s comments come across like people are asking for something insanely stupid—support for antiquated wares. But it’s not like people are getting all angry because some ancient piece of software has been killed—they’re annoyed because a massively expensive suite that was still on sale recently and replaced well under a year ago is going to have major problems on Apple’s new system.

Is this entirely Adobe’s fault? No. (In fact, if Nack’s “in response to changes Apple makes in the OS foundation” comment is indicative of Adobe’s attitude in general, ‘not at all’ is presumably the company’s thinking.) But could Adobe be doing more to help this situation, other than telling us to stop whining, open our wallets once again, cause our credit cards to cry out in pain, and eat baked beans for the coming months? You tell me.

Knockoff MacBook Air Includes a Windows Key

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The Shanzai.com blog has posted pictures of a butt-ugly MacBook Air knockoff. It promises to be dirt cheap but misses the point by being fatter and uglier.

The knockoff also has a smaller screen — 11″ instead of 13″ — runs a shit processor and has no RAM (1.6GHz Intel Atom and 1GB DDR2).

Amusingly, the blog claims the Air’s design has been “improved” by the addition of some missing features, namely: a removable battery, two USB ports instead of one, and an internal slot for a 3G card (the Air has no 3G support built-in).

No word on pricing, availability or whether it can be hacked to run OS X. It does have a Windows key on the keyboard though.

More pictures and the full specs after the jump.

Via Engadget.

Apple Gets Serious About Security With Fisher Price AntiVirus In Snow Leopard

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It looks like Apple is finally getting serious about security — not!

Apple has added a very rudimentary antivirus system to Snow Leopard, which is due out in stores Friday. The system is so basic, it kinda defies belief. It’s the Fisher Price of anti-virus blockers; a system so simple and limited, it appears basically worthless. It pops up a warning if you try to install an internet nasty, and advises you to move the file to the Trash. Here’s all you need to know in three easy steps:

* It includes information about just two Trojan Horses: OSX.RSPlug.A and OSX.Iservice. Both of these Trojans are in the wild but are fairly rudimentary. OSX.Iservice has been found in pirated copies of iWork on the file sharing networks; and OSX.RSPlug is typically found on porno websites masquerading as video codecs that need to be installed by the user, who types in their system password.

* It intercepts files downloaded only using Safari, Firefox, Mail, Entourage, Thunderbird and iChat and several other applications, according to The Register. It does not check files downloaded by hundreds of other applications or files on CDs, DVDs or USB thumbdrives.

* The system was quietlycadded to the latest builds of Snow Leopard. It’s present in build 10A432, the most recent version that is widely assumed to be Gold Master. It can be found in the system files: /System/Library/CoreServices/CoreTypes.bundle/Contents/Resources/XProtect.plist

Of course, Apple may update the system in the future with more malware definitions and applications. Ironically, Apple is running a new ad touting the Mac’s invulnerability to viruses and headaches.

Gadgets: Twelve South Offers Stylish Storage for MacBook/iMac Owners

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Are you looking for options to keep your desk sleek and uncluttered but don’t want to give up the iMac, iPod, Mac mini and associated gadgets you must have nearby? Maybe you need a makeover. Twelve South, a new All-Mac company, offers two choices: the Book Arc and Book Pack.

The Book Arc is a creative way to vertically store your MacBook. The Book Arc accommodates a closed MacBook (up to 17-inches) or MacBook Air in a 10-by-4-inch slip with silicone cushions specifically designed for these laptops.. The product creates a desktop or workstation from your laptop and display. Running your MacBook closed stops your video display from splitting its resources, causing a noticeable operating speed increase in such intensive applications as Photoshop, the maker claims.

The Book Arc costs $49.95 for individuals or $249.99 for six people. Free shipping for a limited time.

UPDATE: The MacBook stand can actually give your MacBook 13″ a speed boost, claims Wired.com’s Charlie Sorrel. Using lower-end MacBooks (those without dedicated GPUs, like the new 13-incher) with the lid closed frees up the CPU from refreshing the screen, boosting the speed of whatever you’re working on.

iPods and Transistor Radios Separated at Birth?

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@Michael Jack. An iPod with the Regency TR-1 in red (1954-55) and TR-4 (black).

Recording engineer and music producer Michael Jack has amassed an amazing collection of 1,100 transistor radios.

@Michael Jack. Look familiar? An iPod with a Zenith RE-10
@Michael Jack. Look familiar? An iPod with a Zenith RE-10

These models from the 1950s look like predecessors of the iPod, he notes on his flickr stream:

“When I fist saw the Zenith RE-10 I figured I had come upon the most obvious inspiration for the iPod… Although all these radios appear to have similar design elements to the iPod I would ALMOST bet that the RE-10 was studied (or at least observed) by the Mac design team.”

@Michael Black. Note: the size of the iPod's click wheel about the same as radio's tuning dial.
@Michael Black. Note: the size of the iPod's click wheel about the same as radio's tuning dial.

I love the still-modern look of these half-century old radios, whether Jonathan Ive used them for inspiration or not.

What do you think?

iPod Scammer Slapped with Prison Sentence

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Image used with a CC license, thanks to re-ality on Flickr.
Image used with a CC license, thanks to re-ality on Flickr.

A 23-year-old was sentenced to 13 months in prison for an iPod scam that earned him over half a million dollars before getting caught.

Through trial and error, Nicholas Woodhams of Portage, Michigan guessed serial numbers of the iPods still under warranty that were sent to him as an iPod repairman.  He then fraudulently obtained iPods from Apple and sold them online.

“Between March 2006 and October 2007, Woodhams caused Apple to ship more than 9,000 replacement units to a post office box through this deception,”  said a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “Woodhams then advertised and sold the units through a website for $49 apiece, a fraction of their retail value. In addition to this mail fraud scheme, Woodhams violated federal money laundering laws by wiring $200,000 of his criminally-derived proceeds from a financial institution in Michigan to a brokerage account in Missouri.”

In addition to the year-plus stint in jail, Woodhams will give over the fruits of his deceit including a home in Portage, Michigan, an Audi S4 sedan, an Ariel “Atom 2″ racing car, a Honda motorcycle, six computers and more than $570,000 in U.S. currency.

Woodhams pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering charges back in April and faced a maximum 30 year jail sentence.

Via Mlive

Image used with a CC license, thanks to re-ality

Gallery: How Apple’s Tablet Will Be a Paradigm Shift

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Here’s how Apple’s tablet will work and why it’ll be a paradigm shift. Using your fingers as an input device is extremely intuitive, and it’ll make the mouse and keyboard seem as antiquated as punch cards.

On the following pages is a gallery of concept designs created by Jon Doe, an anonymous grad student from Georgia who has done a LOT of thinking about how Apple’s tablet will work.

Doe has done a remarkable job of figuring it out. Over the course of a year, Doe has imagined how the device might work, what gestures it might support, and how Apple could adapt its popular iLife software to work in a multitouch environment. He’s created a blog to showcase his ideas and a series of YouTube videos. There’s so much to see, I’m publishing several posts over the next few days.

“The problem is that the current PC interface (PC as in Macs, Windows, and Linux boxes) is outdated,” says Doe. “We’re reaching the limit of what we can do with a mouse and keyboard.”

Check out the video and gallery after the jump to see why Apple’s tablet will be such an exciting device.

For $35, Hacker Will Swap MacBook Optical Drive For Blazing SSD Drive

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For just $35, a professional hardware called Reid will swap out your MacBook Pro’s optical drive for a super-speedy SSD drive.

Why would you want to do this? Because the SSD drive is an unbelievable 7x faster than a traditional hard drive, even a fast one. Use it as your boot disk, and the OS will fly. Store your movies and pron on the regular hard drive, which remains intact.

Reid already has this two-drive setup running on his new MacBook Pro. Reid took out the optical drive, which opened up a spare SATA interface. Apple doesn’t use standard SATA connectors, so Reid had to make his own by chaining together a couple of adapters from Fry’s and Amazon. It’s not pretty, but it works.

Reid is using the SSD as his boot disk and discovered that it runs an incredible 7x faster than his already fast 7200 rpm hard drive (which he’d upgraded also).

It cost about $300. “So, FOR LESS THAN APPLE CHARGES for the single 128GB SSD upgrade (which really is a POS, if you ask me), I got 280GB of reliable hard disk space. FmyWarranty!” he writes on his blog.

He’s now offering to sell the adapter for $30 apiece (plus free shipping). Or he will perform the upgrade himself for $35 (he’s a pr0). The customer supplies the parts. An 80GB SSD runs about $200.

“Just send me a heads up, a check, a second sata drive*, and your MacBook Pro (with a tracking #, PLEASE) and I’ll return the computer to you a day after it arrives (UPS $14.00).”

Email Reid at: [email protected]

Via Gadget Lab.

Another French iPhone Fries Owner As EU Investigation Heats Up

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The security guard's popped iPhone

A week after EU regulators launched an investigation into safety issues of overheating iPods and iPhones, another French user found himself with an iPhone flambé in hand.

This time it happened to Yassine Bouhadi (above), a 26-year-old supermarket security guard in Villevieille, near Nîmes. He was texting his girlfriend (giving new meaning to the term “sexting?) when the device overheated and the screen shattered.

“The phone made a noise like ‘schplok’. A little bit of screen hit me in the eye and I had to remove it with a tweezer,” said Bouhadi.

The incident — similar to the teen in Aix-en-Provence whose iPhone screen shattered sending splinters into his eyes — made the front page of local paper Midi Libre.

Whether this is a copycat incident or evidence of an uptick in defective devices remains to be seen.

The EU commission is examining reports of problems with iPhones in France and an iPod in Britain.
Apple maintains these overheating issues are isolated incidents and not evidence of a general problem but is cooperating with EU investigations.

Via Charles Bremner

Parallels Desktop for Mac Targets “Switchers” with Special Edition

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Parallels, regarded by many as the premier virtual Windows solution for the Mac, announced Tuesday a special Switch to Mac Edition, extending a welcome lifeline to computer users who are choosing to embrace the elegance, power and simplicity of Apple’s Mac OS in increasing numbers every day.

Cult of Mac received an extensive tour of the new “Switch to Mac” features recently and it’s a good bet Parallels will deliver on its promise to have former Windows users working comfortably in the Mac UI within hours instead of the more usual learning curve that can often take weeks.

“For years I have worked with switchers coming into Apple stores with questions about how to use their new Mac,” says Saied Ghaffari, Switch to Mac Advocate, who gave us the tutorial demo.

“Parallels Desktop Switch to Mac Edition thoroughly addresses the concerns switchers have,” Ghaffari said, adding, “the product is designed to make moving to Mac as fast and simple as possible, regardless of the level of technical knowledge of the switcher.

Featuring a set of easy-to-use tools and interactive tutorials such as Click to Learn, Watch Saied, and You Try incorporated with Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac, the Switch to Mac edition promises to help “Switchers” understand how to operate Mac OS X, transfer all PC data and applications, and seamlessly run their Windows applications on their new Macs.

“It’s like a friend teaching you the Mac at your own pace,” according to Ghaffari.

Parallels Desktop 4.0 Switch to Mac Edition is available from today at Apple stores, at Apple.com and through other preferred retail partners in English, German and French. The suggested retail price (SRP) of the product is $99.99.

Hit the jump for more information and detailed explanation of the Switch to Mac edition’s features.

Mimo Introduces USB Touchscreen 720-S Monitor

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If you want the feel of a touchscreen monitor for your MacBook but don’t want to wait until Apple unveils its rumored tablet, Mimo Monitors may have an alternative: a 7-inch display with resistive touchscreen for USB 2.0 Intel Macs.

The Mimo 720-S has all of the features of the Mimo 710-S plus a touchscreen. The screen provides 800×400 resolution and is on a 90-degree pivot. The device weighs less than 1 pound.

The monitor also offers an integrated stand and cover. The Mimo 720-S is $229.99 and requires USB 2.0. Mac users must download Mac OS X drivers.

[Via Mimo]

10 Reasons Why Snow Leopard is an Essential Upgrade

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It’s easy to take for granted how rapidly Apple upgrades Mac OS X with meaningful new features. After all, with Friday’s Snow Leopard release, the world’s best desktop OS will have seen its fifth major leap forward in the same time it’s taken Microsoft to add only Vista and the promise of Windows 7 (I know it’s coming soon, I’m just impressed Apple’s beaten Microsoft again).

Three days from the next great version of the best great thing, here are 10 reasons why you should upgrade to Snow Leopard.

10. It’s Leopard Done Right
The release of Mac OS X Leopard was fraught with peril. It was late, it ran a bit slow, and it offered amazing new features — some of which weren’t fully ready for prime time. Snow Leopard is all about performance, optimizing features to deliver a great experience. It takes what you know today and makes it perfect.

Seinfeld’s “Puddy” Stars Latest Apple Ad, But Fails To Make it Funny

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Apple has tapped the comic genius of actor Patrick Warburton for its latest “Get A Mac” TV ad. But despite a very promising start — you smile just seeing him – the ad is a dud.

Warburton is best known for playing Elaine’s boyfriend, David Puddy, on Seinfeld. The man is just funny, period. Unfortunately, Apple’s new “Top of the Line” ad is not. (Watch it below).

Warburton plays a top-of-the-line PC — a fast, smooth machine with a big screen.

The computer shopper — a young woman — is initially impressed, but is turned off when he admits he’s not immune to viruses and other headaches. The silly fool forsakes Warburton’s charms for the unbearable Justin Long, who plays the Mac.

The ad isn’t funny, just like the rest of the ailing series. This joke has definitely run its course. Like Sieinfield itself, it’s time for Apple to pull the plug.

Via iClarified.

Report: Steve Jobs Focusing Full Attention on Apple Tablet

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Now that he's back at work full time, Steve Jobs is focusing 100% on the upcoming tablet. He's also up to his old trick of parking in handicapped spaces. This picture was snapped a couple of weeks ago, on August 11, 2009, by Nicholas Brown, who has removed the original from his Flickr stream. There's a copy here though: http://www.flickr.com/photos/12905355@N05/3814193390/in/photostream/

Now that he’s back at work full-time, Steve Jobs is focusing his full attention on the Apple tablet, the Wall Street Journal reports. And he’s kickin ass!

“Mr. Jobs’s focus on the tablet has been jarring for some Apple employees, who had grown accustomed to a level of freedom over strategy and products while the CEO was on leave, said a person familiar with the matter. “People have had to readjust” to Mr. Jobs being back, this person said.”

This is excellent news. Nothing is better for Apple products than Jobs throwing a fit over them. It’s such an important part of the cooking process.

Also important is the ritual killing of the project during the development process. Almost every major project at Apple has been killed before it was started over, from the iMac to Apple’s retail stores. Killing a project and starting over is Jobs’s MO. The Journal says Jobs has already killed the tablet twice. The first time because the battery life was too short, and the second time because “there was insufficient memory,” the Journal says. (This last one’s a puzzler. Presumably it refers to solid-state memory (SSD hard drives), which until recently have been pricey. Perhaps earlier prototypes used SSD drives that were too small and crippled the device?)

Though the Journal report uncovers few new details, it does say that Jobs is currently working on the tablet’s advertising and marketing — which suggests the tablet’s launch is imminent. The Journal has no time line though: “The people familiar with the matter declined to give details on the tablet or disclose when the device would come out.

Also, it’s stating the obvious, but the Journal notes that Jobs’s focus on the tablet is a clear sign of its importance. Although Apple has released several important pieces of hardware recently, the last product to get Jobs’s full attention was the prototype iPhone back in 2006/2007.

The report doesn’t detail what OS the device will run, which is perhaps the key unanswered question. Nor does it name the price: It’s somewhere between $399 and $999, the Journal helpfully reports.

Jobs is also recovering well from his liver transplant, the Journal says. “People close to Apple said Mr. Jobs is still thin as he recovers from the liver transplant, but his health has improved significantly.”

Good news all round.

Get Snow Leopard for Just $10 (If You’re Lucky)

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We now know that Snow Leopard will be released on Friday for just $29. Even better, that already  low price can drop to $10 if you’ve bought a new Mac since June 9 through the Mac OS X Up-to-Date program. Not sure if you qualify? Head here to find out.