SAN FRANCISCO, MobileFocus, CTIA — The CTIA conference is one of North America’s biggest mobile phone shows and it was dominated by Apple — even though Apple wasn’t there.
Attendees were either talking about Apple, showing off Apple-challenging products, or selling Apple-compatible accessories and add-ons.
Just check out some of new iPhone and iPad accessories below that were shown off at the MobileFocus press-and-analyst-only sneak peek on Wednesday night.
Hello readers. Look at this remote. Now at your hands. Now back to the remote. Now back to your hands.
Maybe it’s a joke. Maybe it’s a clever ruse. Maybe it’s a prototype. Maybe it’s clever CGI like they used for Gollum. I have no idea. But the picture here (sourced from Engadget) is supposedly the remote control shipping with Sony’s TVs that have Google TV integrated inside. It is, in a word, a monstrosity (my friend MG said it best, “My God, it’s full of buttons!”).
Here are all the things wrong with it, in a nutshell:
SAN FRANCISCO: Google is not to be underestimated, but sitting here watching a demo of the first Google TV, I’m not sure it has mainstream appeal.
Built by Logitech and running Google’s Android software, the Logitech Revue Google TV has definite geek appeal. It does everything: the $299 box connects to satellite and cable TV, compatible DVRs and Web video, as well as other online multimedia. You can search for content using your voice and control it with a smartphone. It has apps, HD videoconferencing, and functions as a universal Harmony remote, controlling all your home theater devices. (For a detailed breakdown of how it compares to Apple TV, see here)
But there’s no way my mother will go for it.
Apple’s never really been very strong when it comes to designing usable mice, but they have certainly always been innovative: from the Mighty Mouse to the Magic Mouse to the Magic Trackpad.
Apple’s latest discovered patent describes a mouse that could have been: the Ambidextrous Mouse.
Back in the flower of my youth, I took a job at the local mall working as a minimum-wage cashier at a discount clothing outlet permeated with the distinct smell of moth balls. It was awful. My boss had a greasy pencil moustache and a lazy eye and was overly complimentary about the softness of my hands; my only customers were antique, gum-sucking grannies buying pre-soiled brassieres and underpants by the carriage full.
Meanwhile, across the way, my friend Josh had landed himself a job in a posh clothing boutique aimed largely at girls in their late teens and early twenties. It being summer, there seemed always to be a bikini sale going on, and I can’t even count the hours I spent watching him through the greasy yellow plate glass of my work store window, encouraging the buxom and spritely clientele — freshly emerged from the changing rooms in some impossibly flosslike two-piece to show off to their friends — to take a bounce on the complimentary trampolines that had been installed around the show floor. It was enough to make an undersexed teenage boy spill a vein in sheer impotent jealousy.
This memory came flooding back to me when I first saw the picture above of the Mall of America’s new Microsoft Store, which is currently under construction directly across from the Apple Store.
The iPad is set to become the fastest selling consumer electronics product in history, with initial sales running at three times that of the current record holder: the DVD player.
“The iPad did not seem destined to be a runaway product success straight out of the box,” retail analyst Colin McGranahan of Bernstein Research wrote in an investors’ note. “By any account, the iPad is a runaway success of unprecedented proportion.”
Hot on the heels of the new Apple TV , Google is launching its own set-top box next week.
Made by Logitech, the Android-based will be unveiled next Wednesday October 6 at press events in San Francisco and New York (see the invite below).
Like Apple’s device, the Google TV is black, although it’s quite a bit larger than Apple’s diminutive box (see David’s photos comparing it to the old Apple TV). The Google TV will run on a 1.2-GHz Atom processor with 4 GB memory, 802.11n Wi-Fi, two HDMI-out ports, Dolby 5.1 surround sound and a pair of USB ports. It will also offer video-chat at 720p if you connect a webcam.
It promises an innovative search-based interface. Search for what you want, and it displays content from the Web, cable, satellite and compatible DVRs. Here’s a trailer showing how it works:
John Gruber of Daring Fireball spoke at the Web 2.0 Expo 2010 on the subject of “Apple and the Open Web.”
Here’s the full talk:
He makes an interesting argument: based solely on what you see of its website, you’d never think that Apple was a web company. But its dependence on the web itself, and of the HTTP protocol, for things like the App Store and Mobile Me, makes it more of a web company than many would think. Apple’s innovations around the web, and its contributions (such as WebKit, the basis for Safari and many other competing browsers), make it “a great web company.”
“I think mobile is the best thing that’s ever happened to the web. I say the iPhone is the best thing that’s ever happened to mobile.”
What do you think?
Apple’s tiny new Apple TV packs one heck of a punch in a very small package — Netflix! Youtube! $0.99 TV shows! It’s dead easy to set up, absolutely tiny in size, and a pleasure to use. And it’s ridiculously priced at only $99.
On the other hand, iTunes’ movie selection still sucks; and the Apple TV won’t play nice with popular internet video formats like DivX or Avi.
Still, this pint-sized box is now based on iOS, and Apple may yet try to turn its “hobby” into a real business by adding apps that feature new content channels, communication tools and maybe even games. If so, this Apple TV may have a very good future. The hardware is certainly ready and it is based on the same technology as the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.
If Apple opens up Apple TV to apps like it did eventually on the iPhone it could be unstoppable. Jailbreaking might just do that before Apple is ready to offer this feature.
Read the full review below so you can decide if this Apple TV is for you.
About two weeks ago, Steve Jobs told a college journalism student to “leave Apple alone.” That e-mail exchange left a bad taste in people’s mouths; it was pretty rude. But that hasn’t been my experience at all.
I also wrote to Jobs about the same time complaining about the problems I’ve had with my iPhone 4. But instead of being told to leave Apple alone, Steve got his people right on it.
I received a phone call from Steve’s Corporate Executive Relations (his A-Team of executive ninjas who get shit done), and a week later, I’ve got a new iPhone 4 after receiving extra special customer service.
I’ve had continual problems with the iPhone 4’s proximity sensor ever since I got my first iPhone 4 on launch day back in June. Cut a long story short, I’ve spent weeks dealing with Applecare and Genius Bar Geniuses, and three replacement handsets. It’s been a frustrating and irritating experience. Finally fed up, I sent the following email to Steve himself.
Apple’s hard-charging COO TIm Cook has denied rumors he’s leaving Apple to be the CEO of HP.
Cook denied the rumors this morning while speaking to analyst Brian Marshall of Gleacher & Co., Barrons reports:
Tim Cook will not be going to HP, he loves Apple, Marshall tells me Cook told him.
Apple’s stock took a pounding this morning on the rumor. Cook is credited with turning Apple into a paragon of operational efficiency and is pegged to be Steve Jobs’s successor.
Apple leads all technology companies by a wide margin when mainstream tech writers try to figure out which stories to file, according to a new study released by the Pew Reasearch Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism. In the year between June 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010, Apple was the the subject of 15.1% of all stories in the mainstream technology press, with the bulk of the coverage being positive, according to the study. Google came in 2nd, with 11.4%, with Twitter, Facebook and Microsoft rounding out the Top 5.
While over 40% of the stories filed about Apple suggested the company’s products are innovative and superior in quality, just 17% suggested the products are overhyped, and less than half that, 7%, portrayed Apple as too controlling with its products. Stories about Google, on the other hand, portrayed its products as innovative and superior in just 20% of cases, slightly ahead of the 19% in which the thread was the idea that the company has too much information and too much power.
Clearly Apple PR does a great job and on the whole, the company turns out some pretty nifty products. But there may come a day soon when Apple, too, has faded from the headlines: “After being arguably the most important technology company, even as recently as five years ago, run by the richest man in the world and the world’s most powerful monopoly, Microsoft has…fallen off the mainstream media’s radar. It received just one-fifth the coverage of Apple, less than a third the coverage of Google and less than half the attention of Twitter.” Other technology giants such as Amazon, Best Buy, Yahoo and RIM all garnered less than 1% of the mainstream media’s attention.
After a disappointing Wi-Fi-less iPhone debut last year, more than 1000 people lined up to be among the first to buy an iPhone 4 at the Xidan Joy City Apple Store in Beijing on Saturday.
A number of Apple fans camped out for the release, according to a report covering the launch, with the coveted first place in line going to Yu Zhong Hui, who lined up in the early morning hours Thursday. “Physically, it’s been painful. But mentally, I’m very happy,” Yu said.
“It’s like waiting in line to see a movie star,” said 26-year-old systems engineer Sun Jian Kuan. “No phone can best the iPhone.”
China Unicom, the mobile carrier for the device, has reported 50,000 users signed up for an iPhone 4 on the first day of pre-orders. China’s pricing for iPhone 4 without a contract is 4,999 yuan ($744) for the 16GB model and 5,999 yuan ($893) for the 32GB model.
Look at this incredible picture from London’s Mail on Sunday showing the massive crowds that line up every morning to buy unlocked iPhone 4s.
The Mail claims the unlocked iPhones are being shipped to Asia and the Middle East, where the iPhone 4 has yet to go on sale. Unlocked handsets can be sold for double their purchase price. At first I thought the picture was from the grand opening of Apple’s new Covent Garden store, which opened recently, but the Mail says the lines are forming every morning:
At 6.50am in Covent Garden security guards stopped people from joining the queue. About 230 were cordoned off behind airport-style barriers waiting for the shop to open.
At 7.30am a manager came out and stood on a chair and said: ‘We have iPhones for you. We will open the store in half an hour. Just be nice. Be orderly.’A cheer broke out as the shop doors opened just before 8am.
The New York Times says the same thing is happening in NYC, but may slack off when the iPhone 4 goes on sale in China on Saturday: Buyers Send iPhones on a Long Relay to China.
Thanks Kato.
CNET has a great article up that details the secrets of Apple’s customer service. Erica Ogg highlights the recent findings of the University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index, a sort of Michelin guide for customer service and appreciation. Apple not only earned its highest score to date in this survey, it established a monster lead over other PC makers.
The real story is how much further ahead of its peers Apple is in this [survey]. The Mac maker’s nine-point lead is now the largest lead any company has over its competition in any of the 45 categories that the ACSI study surveys–including home appliances, gas stations, autos, e-commerce, airlines, and more.
The real secret to Apple’s success is that there are no secrets.
The blog AutoSpies.com captured pictures at the Paris Motor Show of BMW’s new replacement for the old-and-busted rear-seat DVD screens: Apple iPad cradles that rotate, and support both portrait and landscape orientations. No, this isn’t just some concept. It’s the new hotness.
The cradle debuted on the new BMW X3, but will be available for all other model series starting in the Spring.
Apple’s new social network for music fans, Ping, has had a rough start. People didn’t expect it to be a Facebook for music right away but they did expect more from Apple. After years of social media hype many people thought Apple would have learned from the mistakes others have made. While Ping might not be the best idea Apple has ever had, I think when will look back years from now we will wonder what took them so long! For those of you who have turned on Ping, here are some things Ping should have and a few tips to make your Ping experience a little better. Read more after the break.
Ever since Apple CEO Steve Jobs casually mentioned the idea that Apple’s new iPod nano could be used as a wristwatch, well, I’ve wanted one. And so have a lot of people. A nano wristwatch aftermarket has quickly emerged to satisfy demand. But what about Apple?
Cnet’s Gordon Haff wrote a blog post this morning called “Why Apple will do a real iWatch” in which he predicts that Apple will get into the wristwatch business.
I say they won’t, and I’ll tell you why. But first let’s look at Haff’s reasoning.
Here’s a taster of what iOS 4 will be like on the iPad, courtesy of AppAdvice.com.
See also: iOS 4.2 Beta 1 For iPad, iPhone & iPod Touch Now Available To Developers
Having problems with your Mac or iPod? Apple has just rolled out a new Express Lane for its existing online customer support system that aims to make getting to the root of your troubleshooting woes faster than before.
Express Lane basically streamlines online tech support from Apple. You can easily search through the database to find tech support solutions to existing Apple products, lookup cases that you’ve submitted previously, or register your Apple products by their serial numbers to track their warranty status and be directed to the proper support channels when things do go wrong.
Apple has moved quickly to debunk this morning’s story that Steve Jobs tried to smuggle ninja stars aboard a private plane.
“Steve did visit Japan this summer for a vacation in Kyoto, but the incidents described at the airport are pure fiction,” Apple told All Things Digital. “Steve had a great time and hopes to visit Japan again soon.”
Ever been singing along to a new song and wondered just what the heck the lyrics really are? Searching for the lyrics on the internet isn’t the fastest of solutions to avoid lyric confusion. Here we’re going to show you how to utilize scripts and a widget to search out the lyrics for all of the songs in your iTunes library and automatically save them to song’s meta data, so that next time you can correct your friend when they sing “where’s my Asian friend,” when the lyrics really are, “what’s my age again.”
Apple is once again friends with Google, at least as far as mobile ads go.
Google says its wholeheartedly approves of Apple’s relaxation of its mobile advertising policy. The old policy effectively locked out Google’s AdMob platform from in-app advertising on the iPhone and iPad.
Apple’s new terms will open up in-app advertising to competitors and enable advertising systems that work across a range of platforms (IE. iPhone and Android), Google says.
“This is great news for everyone in the mobile community, as we believe that a competitive environment is the best way to drive innovation and growth in mobile advertising. Mobile advertising has already helped to fund tens of thousands of mobile apps across many different platforms and devices, and it will help do the same for many more in the years ahead.”
Most of the restrictions in Apple’s new App Store guidelines make perfect sense. Who wants apps that drain the battery? There are commonsense bans on hate speech, objectionable material and gambling.
But there are two restrictions that might cause problems: rejecting apps in categories that are already crowded (fart apps), and pornography.
What do you think? Should Apple approve fart apps and porn and let us make our own choices?
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