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Motorola's Quench Marks Company's Eighth Android Phone

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Furgos) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 07:02:00 +0000

Mikael Ricknäs, IDG News Service

Feb 15, 2010 2:20 pm

Motorola released its eighth Android smartphone on Monday called the Quench or Cliq XT, which comes with a touchscreen and a virtual keyboard.

The phone is based on version 1.5 of Android and features Motorola's own Motoblur, which, for example, syncs e-mails, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter messages. On the software side there is support for Adobe Flash Lite, according to Motorola.

The Quench will be available in the first quarter of 2010, according to Motorola. In the U.S. the phone will be called Cliq XT and be available next month exclusively through T-Mobile USA. Motorola didn't provide details on other parts of the world where the Quench will become available. Pricing was not immediately available.

The Quench also features a music player that connects to the Web and social media networks, including TuneWiki and SoundHound, Motorola said.

The touchscreen on the Quench measures 3.1 inches and has a 320 x 480 pixels resolution. Other features include a 5-megapixel camera with auto-focus and a LED (Light-Emitting Diode) flash, A-GPS (Assisted-GPS), with turn-by-turn direction and voice-activated search.

It surfs the web using Wi-Fi or HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) at 7.2M bps.

Source: pcworld.com

Microsoft shows a new generation of Windows phones

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Furgos) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 07:00:00 +0000

Microsoft has reinvented its mobile phone operating system, showing a new version Monday at Mobile World Congress designed to make the software company a more viable competitor with Apple and Google.

The Windows Phone 7 series will integrate message, gaming, music, video and productivity software in a way that brings together Microsoft's businesses with Outlook, Xbox, Zune, Office and Bing.

"This is a phone built for people in motion," said Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer in a news conference in Barcelona, Spain. He also acknowledged the company's lack of progress over the past three years. "There's no question in my mind we go back a couple of years that we wanted to think ouf of the box clearly differentiated from our past and clearly different from other things going on in the market," he said.

The phones will not be available for sale until the holiday season this year. Microsoft says it plans to release more details about how developers can build applications for Windows Mobile at its Mix conference in March.

Here is a hail of bullets on the new features of Windows Mobile 7:

The phone will have capacitive touch screens, meaning screens with pinch and pull technology, and three buttons for Windows, search and back. The demo phone had a touchscreen keyboard, but Microsoft said device makers can design phones with physical keyboards as well.

The start screen will feature customizable "live tiles," icons that link to contacts, music, messaging, games and photos. The tiles will pull updates from the Web, such as Facebook status changes and new uploaded photos. They can also be edited -- a source of criticism of the Apple iPhone -- and users can create a tile for individual contacts, Web sites and photos.

Zune and Xbox Live are integrated on each phone. The phone displays your Xbox avatar as a Live Tile. The design of the phone overall mimics the Zune with its large clean type, square tiles and black background.

The calendar displays Outlook Exchange work items and Web hosted calendar items.

The search refines results, rather than just returning a list of relevant links as you would see in a Web browser. It automatically returns local results and, for instance, displays phone number, directions and nearby businesses for a specific restaurant.

The e-mail mirrors many features from Outlook, such as the ability to sort messages based on read and unread, flagged, urgent categories. It also allows multiple deletion of messages.

Social networks are well integrated, so pulling up a contact also pulls up that person's updates on social networks.

The Office integration, which is the big differentiator Microsoft has over its competitors, is also redesigned, with a note-taking area, documents screen and Sharepoint integration.

In general, the software appears to have been designed with the phone, rather than the PC, in mind.

Devices makers that have signed on to make Windows Phones include HTC, LG, Samsung, Garmin, Asus, HP, Dell and Sony Ericsson.

Wireless carriers have signed on, including AT&T, T-Mobile USA, Verizon Wireless and Sprint in the U.S. International carriers include Telefonica, Orange and Vodafone.

Ballmer reiterated Microsoft's business model to license the operating system, rather than go the free route as Google has. He also remains committed to working with device makers and multiple carriers, rather than doing a soup-to-nuts phone like Apple.

The themes hammered on in the news conference: "A phone is not a PC," "integrated experiences," "smart design," "delight the user."

Source: seattletimes.nwsource.com

Flash contends with exclusion from iPhone, iPad, Touch

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Furgos) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:59:00 +0000

Adobe went to Spain this week to try to get some love for its Flash software, the dominant platform for viewing Web videos and playing games online.

Flash took a hit in January when Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad tablet, billed as the ultimate multimedia device. Like the iPhone and iPod Touch, the iPad when it is released in March won't support Flash. So iPad owners won't be able to watch videos at popular sites such as Hulu, JibJab or Nickelodeon.

On Monday at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, Adobe unveiled a beta version of a new mobile Flash Player for software developers and touted support from most of the wireless industry, including Google's Android operating system, Palm, Samsung and Research In Motion's Blackberry.

The Flash Player is on 98% of all computers, including Apple's desktops and laptops. But Adobe can't seem to get Apple support for mobile devices.

Apple declined to comment. Adobe says the conflict has to do with one thing: economics.

Even though the Flash Player is free, "Apple wants to move rich content off the Web and into the App Store, where they can monetize it," says David Wadhwani, vice president of Adobe's platform business unit, which includes Flash.

The App Store is where Apple sells (and gives away) software for the iPhone, iPod Touch and, soon, the iPad. Adobe profits from Flash by selling the software to create programs — and offers a free Flash Player for viewing Flash projects.

The absence of Flash on such high-profile devices doesn't help Adobe, which counts on new software sales and active developer support to keep what Piper Jaffray estimates to be a $600 million Flash business thriving.

Apple is urging developers to get video onto its mobile devices by encoding them in an up-and-coming competitor called HTML5 instead of Flash.

Adobe Flash is "yesterday's technology," says Richard Doherty, an analyst at The Envisioneering Group. He believes Flash is susceptible to hackers and says it hasn't had a major refresh in years.

The future for Flash

But switching is not easy for millions of websites that are created and presented in Flash.

"For a rich-media site like ours, Flash is the only option," says Gregg Spiridellis, a partner at JibJab Media, which makes online greeting cards. "We could support a second platform just to serve the Apple user base, but there are so many more opportunities to grow on the Web, it makes more sense to put our efforts there."

Google's YouTube video site and Vimeo, a competitor, recently opened up HTML5 support with test pages. "We did it as an experiment to see what the response would be," says Andrew Pile, vice president of products for Vimeo.

The pages load more quickly than Flash, but videos can be seen only in Google's Chrome browser and Apple Safari — not Internet Explorer, because it doesn't support HTML5.

"Right now, Internet video is about Flash. That's all there is to it," Pile says. "If you want to see video online, it's in Flash. It works on every kind of computer and browser. Bringing everyone around to HTML5 is going to be a huge leap. I don't see Flash going away any time soon."

In Barcelona, Adobe is showing its new Flash Player 10.1, which the company says is its most advanced yet.

But what took so long? Flash has been around for 13 years, why isn't it seen on many phones?

Wadhwani says computers have stronger processors and memory capacity and getting Flash to run effectively on mobile devices "has taken quite a bit of effort."

The current mobile version, Flash Lite, "could have worked on an iPhone," he says. "It plays most Web content but not all Web content."

Apple has survived consumer angst over the lack of Flash on the iPhone, but Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster isn't so sure it will have a clear ride with the iPad.

"For the first six months, it won't matter, because people will buy the iPad anyway," he says. "Then we'll see what happens."

Ross MacMillan, an analyst at Jeffries & Co., says the scuffle with Apple won't hurt Adobe in the long run, because the player is free. "Adobe will still sell its software to creative professionals to create for the Web," he says.

"Every person in the world would have to buy an iPad for Flash to go away," Munster says. "And we don't see that happening."

Source: usatoday.com

iPad Study: The More You Know, The Less You Want One

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Furgos) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:03:00 +0000

David Coursey David Coursey – Sat Feb 6, 4:48 pm ET

The more people know about the iPad, the less they want to buy one, according to a study released Friday. But, are we expecting too much?

The study seems to confirm the iPad as Apple's least exciting announcement in years. And the company is feeling the backlash that comes from not delivering on the hype.

Retrevo, an online marketplace for consumer electronics, surveyed 1,000 of its customers and found that the iPad's Jan. 27 announcement did more to snuff out customer interest than to spark it.

That's not surprising when all Apple introduced was just a supersized (and superexpensive at the high end) iPod touch. My friend and fellow pundit Larry Magid described as the iPad as "underwhelming."

I agree, the iPad is underwhelming, especially as a business device. And the more people heard about the iPad, the less they wanted one, according to Retrevo.

"The word definitely got out as the number of respondents saying they had heard about the tablet rose from 37% shortly before the announcement to over 80% after the media frenzy on January 27th," Retrevo said Friday in a blog post.

"Unfortunately for Apple, the number if respondents saying they had heard about the tablet but were not interested in buying one, doubled from 25% before the announcement to over 50% following the announcement."

Of course, that 50 percent who are interested is plenty to make the product a success, provided many of them actually become buyers. (Learn more about the study in this story by Greg Keizer).

I think we may be being a bit hard on the iPad. I still don't think it will become a big enterprise computing tool, even if it does "run" Windows 7 (as a virtualized desktop). I also don't think traditional mobile line-of-business applications--think your UPS driver--will start carrying iPads.

But, entertainment, gaming, and e-reading, especially in education, could still make the iPad quite a winner.

Apple already has the ecosystem in place--developers, content, shopping--to make the platform immediately useful when it arrives.

The iPad appears to be an excellent e-reader, though I said that about the Nook before it shipped, too. In this case, however, enough pre-production iPads have been around that I feel pretty confident.

I still don't feel the need for an iPad, but I do expect to invest in an e-reader soon and am glad I didn't get a Nook for Christmas.

Now, I want to wait a bit and see how the devices, content pricing, and content availability shake-out. At some future moment, the combination of e-reader features/content and interesting apps (not available on my iPhone) could convince me.

So, while I don't see an iPad in my immediate future, I am closer to buying one--or perhaps a competitor--than I was before the announcement. I still wouldn't say I want an iPad. But, I see how I might be convinced in the future.

David Coursey has been writing about technology products and companies for more than 25 years. He tweets as @techinciter and may be contacted via his Web site.

Source: news.yahoo.com

iPad NEWS Re-Posted By Mobile Application Development Company

Student-generated iPhone application faces legal trouble

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Furgos) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 10:56:00 +0000

By Audrey White

Daily Texan Staff
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Published: Saturday, February 6, 2010

Updated: Saturday, February 6, 2010

Two conflicting iPhone applications designed to serve UT students and alumni spurred a legal dispute that may lead to the removal of one of the “apps” from the Apple Store.

Computer science junior Michael Miller developed the iTexas app over the course of 2009 and sold it to Mutual Mobile, an Austin company founded by two UT alumni. Mutual Mobile released iTexas on Jan. 5 — the same day UT launched the official University of Texas at Austin app. Wendy Larson, an attorney at Pirkey Barber LLP, filed a complaint with Apple on behalf of the University on Feb. 1 requesting Miller rename iTexas. Larson refused to comment to The Daily Texan.

The inclusion of “Texas” in iTexas violates University trademark rights, which guarantee UT ownership of the brand “Texas” when used in reference to the University.

Craig Westemeier, UT assistant athletics director for trademarks and licensing, said that the name could cause confusion among consumers who think the University produced the iTexas application.

“The app could communicate incorrect information or provide recommendations that do not fall within what the University would [offer],” Westemeier said.

Tarun Nimmagadda, Mutual Mobile’s co-founder, said around 2,000 people have downloaded the iTexas app. About 50,000 people have downloaded the official UT app, said John McCall, the associate vice president of the University Development Office. The applications have very distinct features.

The official UT application is focused on alumni and guest needs, providing resources such as sports news, a guide to campus landmarks and access to President William Powers Jr.’s blog, Tower Talk. Nimmagadda said the iTexas app is more focused on day-to-day student needs such as campus maps, schedules, grade access and meals that the dining halls are serving. Both provide access to the UT directory.

“The iTexas app was built by students for students, and it allows students to access features relevant to their UT activities,” Nimmagadda said.

The University first began looking at applications as a source of trademark violations two months ago and has since investigated five to 10 applications, Westemeier said. He said that the production of such applications has the same function as selling non-licensed T-shirts with the UT brand: decreasing the value of University trademarks.

Another application Miller developed, UT Directory, was removed from the application store at the end of November after a trademark debate regarding the application’s burnt-orange color scheme. Miller said he hopes the legal questions surrounding the iTexas application can be resolved without removing it from the store.

“I started this project because, as a student, I wanted an app that could do things like show my grades,” Miller said. “I think it’s an excellent app, and taking it down would make a worse experience for students.”

Miller’s iTexas app will most likely be temporarily removed from the Apple Store on Saturday, Nimmagadda said. He said nobody from the UT legal department contacted Mutual Mobile directly and that the company does not have the resources to fight a legal battle if the University chooses to prosecute.

“If they had told us to change the name, we would have been open to that,” he said. “They did not contact us. They just got in touch with Apple directly. But they know who we are. We are all UT people, and they have talked to us at different times throughout these processes.”

Westemeier said that it is standard procedure to file complaints directly with Apple because they have an efficient process for responding to and working with both parties, which has worked well in the past. He also said no members of Mutual Mobile had contacted the University’s legal or trademarking departments about the complaint.

Nimagadda said that as they investigate the application further, other issues may arise that force the trademarking and legal departments to fight the application’s return to the store.

“We’ve got to look at the bigger picture as far as what they’re doing, the information they’re using and confusion of the brand,” Westemeier said.

Jack Koenig, a Plan II and electrical engineering freshman, has downloaded both applications for free from the Apple Store. He said he finds them both extremely useful and hopes students will continue to have access to the services both applications offer.

“The University has a valid complaint, but the iTexas app has really cool stuff that the UT app doesn’t,” Koenig said.

Source: dailytexanonline.com

iPhone Application NEWS Re-Posted By iPhone application development company

Apple's iPad: New Device, Old Restrictions

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Furgos) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 06:01:00 +0000

Warning: I am about to say some critical things about a device that, according to its creator, is both magical and revolutionary. If you're the kind of person who thinks that Apple can do no wrong and that anyone who says otherwise is loco, proceed with caution.

Still with me? Good. Like most tech enthusiasts, I've been devoting a decent amount of thought to Apple's newly announced iPad over the past 24 hours. Maybe you've heard of it; from what I've read, it's already changed the world and broken the Internets -- no small feat for a product that's not even on sale yet.

The Web's fairly divided when it comes to opinions on the long-fabled Apple iPad. Analyses aside, I think it's pretty safe to say there'll be no shortage of folks lining up to buy the thing the night before its debut; I certainly wouldn't question its potential for appeal among the legions of Apple fanatics. For people not firmly in the Apple camp, however, I would question the value of the iPad over upcoming alternatives, given what we know so far.

Apple's iPad: A Question of Culture

Here's the thing: People who love Apple tend to be OK with certain things. They tend to be OK with the fact that their mobile devices don't allow for multitasking or Flash support; they tend to be OK with the fact that they can install only applications approved by Apple. The lack of a removable battery isn't necessarily seen as a significant issue. And that's fine -- hey, to each his own.

As an Android user, though, I value the freedom to use my device as I wish. I like knowing that I can install something like Google Voice or an NES emulator without my manufacturer's blessing; I like knowing that, if I so choose, I can install some random app a friend is developing without having to jailbreak my phone and void my warranty. I like being able to fully customize my phone -- and yes, I like being able to run programs like Pandora and Fring in the background while I use other features of the device.

In my eyes, the drawbacks of Apple's iPad are the drawbacks of Apple's overall philosophies. The company is all about closed-platformed, tightly controlled user experiences. Those principles can be very restricting on a smartphone. On a tablet PC, I suspect they would be even more blatantly confining for people not wholeheartedly committed to the Apple culture.

Apple's iPad and Tablet Competition

A slew of new tablets is on the way in 2010, including several running the Android operating system. (Does the design of this 10-inch MSI tablet shown at CES look familiar?) Compared to the iPad, these systems will allow you to run multiple applications at the same time, interact with Flash-driven Web sites, and install any program you want. Even if your primary goal with the tablet is to surf the Web and watch videos, don't you want to be able to use the apps of your choice to perform those tasks?

(Yes, Apple's App Store has many wonderful offerings -- but we all know there are also many things it doesn't and probably won't ever allow.)

Apple has a powerful brand, a brilliant knack for marketing, and a wildly devoted base of fans. And all of those factors will undoubtedly help maximize the iPad's reach. But I have to wonder -- outside of the hard-core Apple disciples -- if most casual consumers would be better served with a device that gives them the power to make their own choices.

To me, the shame of it is that Apple could probably build a near-flawless piece of technology; we all know the bright minds at Cupertino have more than enough inspiration and ability. But the company insists on maintaining such a tight grip on its users' experiences that people are forced to make significant sacrifices in order to reap the benefits the products provide.

JR Raphael is a PCWorld contributing editor and the co-founder of eSarcasm. He has his own theories as to how the iPad will change the world.

Source: pcworld.com

HTC admits customers have Nexus One 3G trouble, not yet blaming the phone

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Furgos) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 09:46:00 +0000

If samples from customer support threads are an accurate indicator, hundreds and perhaps thousands of early adopters of Google's Nexus One phone aren't looking for humanity from some pinstripe or tapered edges, so much as from customer support.

A spokesperson for HTC, the manufacturer of the Nexus One phone sold by Google and deployed thus far on T-Mobile's GSM network, told Betanews late Monday evening that it is aware of the magnitude of 3G connectivity problems reported by customers nationwide since last week. As of Monday evening, several hundred messages were posted to Google's support Web site, many reporting essentially the same problem: For the most part, their 3G connections are spotty and variable; and for some, 3G is non-existent.

Contrary to reports, however, HTC is not acknowledging a problem with the phone. As of now, the T-Mobile network remains equally suspect, especially amid the complete lack of much news whatsoever, including to its customers, from Google.

"While the majority of Nexus One owners have been thrilled with their experience, HTC is aware that some owners have reported having some technical issues with their Nexus One devices," the spokesperson told Betanews. HTC, Google, and T-Mobile take all such reports very seriously, and are working closely together to determine what issues may be behind these reports."

Late Monday morning, T-Mobile's customer support site did include a thread started by support personnel, who appeared to be actively interested in collecting information on the problem. "Let's see what we can learn about this," the thread began. "Maybe we can uncover some commonalities among those experiencing issues."

But although blogs today reported that this thread was an admission of problems with T-Mobile's network, actually, T-Mobile made no such admission. It merely acknowledged the issue and its personnel (unlike Google's) are interacting with customers in search of a resolution.

Customers who did manage to get through to HTC support personnel report having been told that a software patch of some sort is in the works; some who received that message last week were told they would receive a patch as soon as today. It does not appear certain that such a patch, if it exists, specifically addresses this problem.

All that Google will say on the subject is as follows: "We are investigating this issue and hope to have more information for you soon. We understand your concern and appreciate your patience."

Nexus One is far from the first smartphone with 3G problems in the early going. The first US-based Apple iPhone 3G models were plagued with network trouble initially, as was the BlackBerry Bold 9000 -- both on the AT&T network. Early troubles with the BlackBerry Storm on the Verizon Wireless network were traced back to the phone.

Some information from Nexus One early adopters tends to point toward the network, not the phone, as the possible culprit. One fellow reports having swapped SIM cards with a friend with an iPhone, and immediately receiving faster 2G EDGE service from AT&T on Nexus One than 3G service from T-Mobile. Another customer who also owns a T-Mobile G1 noted similar 3G connectivity problems on both the G1 and the Nexus One, since last Tuesday when Nexus One was launched.

One story indicative not only of customers' problems but of their bewilderment over the lack of an obvious solution, comes from user scotty1024, who works in Redmond, Washington, just blocks from the Microsoft campus. "This morning I went into a conference room and no one else had shown up yet so I killed time in the Amazon MP3 store. The phone kept telling me it lost connection and to press here to retry. You'd retry and it would flip to Edge and I was able to pull up lists of titles. But about 2 minutes later it would flip back into non-working 3G and kill the connection. Spin, wash, repeat."

One would think, scotty1024 goes on, that the phone would be smart enough to route calls via Wi-Fi using Google Voice when 3G service goes dead.

Source: http://www.betanews.com/article/HTC-admits-customers-have-Nexus-One-3G-trouble-not-yet-blaming-the-phone/1263265252

Nokia Files ITC Patent Complaint Against Apple

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Furgos) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:08:00 +0000

Nokia fired the latest salvo in its ongoing patent dispute with Apple, saying Tuesday that it has filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission charging that Apple infringes its patents “in virtually all of its mobile phones, portable music players and computers.”

The complaint involves seven patents that Nokia says Apple is using to “create key features” in products related to the user interface and camera, antenna and power management technologies. Nokia wants the ITC to investigate its claims.

Nokia and Apple are already locked in a legal struggle that started in October when Nokia filed suit against Apple in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. Nokia, the world’s largest mobile handset maker, alleged in that lawsuit that Apple infringed 10 of its patents related to wireless technologies used in the iPhone. Apple countersued earlier this month, charging that Nokia has infringed on 13 Apple patents.

“This action is about protecting the results of … pioneering development” of “key technologies in small electronic devices,” said Nokia’s Paul Mellin, the general manager of patent licensing in a statement about the ITC complaint. “While our litigation in Delaware is about Apple’s attempt to free-ride on the back of Nokia investment in wireless standards, the ITC case filed today is about Apple’s practice of building its business on Nokia’s propriety innovation.”

An Apple spokesman could not be reached for comment Tuesday morning, but when it filed the countersuit Apple general counsel Bruce Sewell said: “Other companies must compete with us by inventing their own technologies, not just by stealing ours.”

Source: http://www.itnews.com/patent/12378/nokia-files-itc-patent-complaint-against-apple

2009 in Review: The Year in iPhone

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Furgos) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:07:00 +0000

In 2008, the iPhone grew up, evolving from its status as the "it device" of the moment into a burgeoning ecosphere. In 2009, that "it" device went thermonuclear. The iPhone software turned 3.0, the barrier of entry dropped to $99, and the App Store hit 100,000 applications and an astounding two billion downloads. With all of that, it's hard to believe that Apple's iconic cell phone is still weeks shy of the third anniversary of its unveiling. As 2009 comes to a close, we wrap up the year in iPhone by the numbers.

3.0

If the iPhone OS 2.0 update turned an amazing device into a world-beating platform by allowing third-party apps, then iPhone 3.0 was all about sanding off the software's rough edges and turning it into a full-featured experience.

Apple made no secret about iPhone 3.0, holding an event in March, months prior to its eventual launch, to show off the catalog of new features and developer APIs that would define the next-generation of iPhone software. With Steve Jobs on medical leave, the presentation fell to the capable team of Greg Joswiak and Scott Forstall, who ran through iPhone 3.0's high points, as well as yet another series of interminable developer demos.

While end users got some nice additional features in 3.0, such as the much anticipated cut, copy and paste, the long-run impact of the update has been more about what lies under the hood--it was the iPhone's equivalent of Snow Leopard. Developers got the ability to communicate with hardware through the dock-connector port or Bluetooth, peer-to-peer networking, in-app purchase, and the long-awaited push notifications. The testament to iPhone 3.0's importance is the number of programs on the App Store that require it.

Not all was rosy with this latest software update: while two of the features most demanded by consumers--support for Multimedia Messaging (MMS) and tethering--were promised by Apple for 3.0, MMS didn't arrive until September, three months after 3.0's release, and tethering remains imprisoned in an oubliette of AT&T's devising to this day.

3GS

With the iPhone 3G only a year old, it might seem surprising that Apple would roll out a brand new model, but that's just what it did at June's Worldwide Developers Conference. This time it was Phil Schiller stepping in as maestro for the proceedings, which included unveiling the iPhone 3GS. If the name, with its 'S' for speed, was a bit of a head-scratcher, its performance was anything but. Though outwardly it looked the same as the iPhone 3G, it was unquestionably a horse of a different color on the inside.

Source: http://www.itnews.com/smartphones/12381/2009-review-year-iphone

Apple censors Dalai Lama iPhone apps in China

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Furgos) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:05:00 +0000

Apple appears to have blocked iPhone applications related to the Dalai Lama in its China App Store, making it the latest U.S. technology company to censor its services in China.

Those apps, which appear in most countries' versions of the App Store, do not currently appear in the Chinese version. Another app related to Rebiya Kadeer, who like the Dalai Lama is an exiled minority leader reviled by China's authorities, is unavailable in the China App Store as well. The apparent censorship comes after carrier China Unicom launched iPhone sales two months ago, making regulatory approval of the phone's contents in the country necessary for the first time.

"We continue to comply with local laws," Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller said in an e-mail when asked about the missing apps. "Not all apps are available in every country"

At least five iPhone apps related to the Dalai Lama are unavailable in the China store. Some of those apps -- named Dalai Quotes, Dalai Lama Quotes and Dalai Lama Prayerwheel -- display inspirational quotes from the Tibetan spiritual leader. Another, Paging Dalai Lama, tells users where he is currently teaching. A fifth app, Nobel Laureates, contains information about Nobel Prize winners including the Dalai Lama.

Test searches done on four out of five iPhones displayed at the Apple Store in Beijing this month returned no results for the term "Dalai." The apps also did not appear for searches done with a computer on iTunes after switching the country selection in the program to China. One of the iPhones at the Apple Store did display the Dalai Lama apps, though it was unclear why.

Chinese officials condemn the Dalai Lama as a dangerous "splittist" seeking to separate Tibet from China, and have called him a "devil with a human face." The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 after Chinese troops crushed an uprising in the capital city of Lhasa, solidifying Chinese control there. The religious figure remains widely revered by Tibetans.

Kadeer, an exiled leader of China's Uighur minority group, gets similar treatment by Chinese officials and state media. An iPhone app named 10 Conditions, based on a documentary about her life, also did not appear in test searches of the App Store in China.

Apple lets developers choose in which countries' versions of the App Store to sell their products, but it is unlikely that the Kadeer and Dalai Lama apps are unavailable in China by the choice of their makers. The app about Kadeer was submitted to the App Stores in all countries, James Boldiston, the app's developer, said in an e-mail. Other developers said they could not recall if they had excluded China, but most had other apps for sale in the China store, showing that in other cases they had included the country.

"Given that Apple has cooperated with China before (by not distributing games), it’s of course very likely that it’s Apple, not the developers, that are preventing certain apps from appearing,” said one China-based app developer, who asked not to be named, in an e-mail. Games were not sold in the China App Store before recent months.

Boldiston and other developers of the missing items said Apple had not told them their apps were unavailable in China.

Source: http://www.itnews.com/internet-based-applications-and-services/12394/apple-censors-dalai-lama-iphone-apps-china

Apple Briefly Cuts Student Price of MacBook to $728

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Furgos) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:04:00 +0000

Apple on Tuesday reduced the price of its least expensive notebook to $728 for students, teachers and educational staff.

The company's educational online store yesterday listed the MacBook for $728 , a 19% reduction from the new $899 standard price for students and teachers -- earlier, the educational price was $949 -- and 27% less than the $999 price tag for other customers.

It was the lowest price Apple had slapped on the MacBook since the machine first appeared in May 2006 for $1,099.

The MacBook sports a 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of memory, a 250GB hard drive and integrated Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics.

Apple's entry-level laptop was revamped Oct. 20 , when Apple started shipping the 13.3-in. notebook with a sleeker "unibody" enclosure, similar in look to the more expensive MacBook Pro line. Apple's MacBook remains the only Apple portable that uses a polycarbonate case; all others feature a more stylish and sturdy aluminum enclosure.

Computerworld's Michael DeAgonia called the MacBook "a solid deal" in his first take review last month, but noted that at its full price, it was only $200 less than the $1,199 low-end MacBook Pro, which features the aluminum case, a FireWire 800 port, an SD card slot, and backlit keyboard. The educational price for the entry-level MacBook Pro is $1,099.

Apple did spell out how long the MacBook's $728 educational price would last and by late Tuesday, the price was listed at $899.

College students, as well as teachers, administrators and staff at both college and K-12 levels, are eligible to purchase Apple products at the company's educational discounts.

Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld . Follow Gregg on Twitter @gkeizer , send e-mail at gkeizer@ix.netcom.com or subscribe to Gregg's RSS feed .

Source: http://www.itnews.com/mac/12401/apple-briefly-cuts-student-price-macbook-728

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Furgos) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 10:56:00 +0000

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Apple blocking Dalai Lama, Kadeer, iPhone apps: report

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Furgos) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 09:34:00 +0000

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Bowing to Chinese law, Apple is reportedly blocking iPhone users in China from downloading applications about two figures Beijing considers "separatists": the Dalai Lama and exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer.

IDG News Service said at least five iPhone software programs related to the Tibetan spiritual leader are unavailable in Apple's China App Store along with one related to Kadeer.

IDG, publisher of Macworld, Computerworld, PC World and other magazines, said the move would make Apple the latest US technology giant to censor its services in China.

Asked for comment on Thursday by AFP, Trudy Muller, an Apple spokeswoman, repeated a statement she made to IDG. "We continue to comply with local laws," Muller said. "Not all apps are available in every country."

China regularly blocks access to websites deemed sensitive and a number of US companies, including Microsoft, Cisco, Google and Yahoo!, have been hauled before the US Congress in recent years and accused of complicity in building what has been called the "Great Firewall of China."

US technology firms contend they must comply with China's laws in order to operate there.

China accuses the Dalai Lama of seeking to establish an independent Tibet and photos of the exiled leader have been banned in Tibet for years.

The US-based Kadeer has been branded a "criminal" by Chinese authorities who have blamed her for bloody riots in the Xinjiang capital Urumqi pitting mainly Muslim minority Uighurs against members of China's dominant Han group.

IDG said the paid and free iPhone applications which are unavailable in China provide inspirational quotes from the Dalai Lama or information about Nobel peace prize winners. The Dalai Lama is the 1989 Nobel peace laureate.

IDG said tests performed on four out of five iPhones at the Apple Store in Beijing did not return any results for the term "Dalai." It said one did display the Dalai Lama applications but it was unclear why.

Test searches for a Kadeer application called "10 Conditions" did not return any results, it said.

IDG said Apple lets software developers choose the countries where their products appear but it was unlikely the Kadeer and Dalai Lama program developers had decided to make their products unavailable in China.

"It's of course very likely that it's Apple, not the developers, that are preventing certain apps from appearing," an unidentified China-based app developer told IDG.

James Sugrue, designer of the Dalai Quotes app, told IDG he "wasn't informed" by Apple that his program was unavailable in China.

"Apple reserve the right to do this sort of thing, and while from a censorship point of view I disagree with this, I can understand why they did," Sugrue said.

In August last year, access to iTunes was temporarily blocked for users in China after a pro-Tibet album became a hit on Apple's online music store.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Thursday said it had asked Apple about the reported blocking of Dalai Lama iPhone applications.

"In the spirit of transparency, the company should release a complete list of the censored applications -- if indeed censorship is going on -- and the criteria used to make the selections," RSF said in a statement.

"If Apple has agreed to remove products from the App Store under pressure from the authorities, the American company would join the club of those complicit in censorship of information in China," the France-based group said.

"This would be a big disappointment on the part of a company known for its creative spirit," the media rights group added.

Chinese telecom carrier China Unicom began selling the iPhone in China two months ago.

Source: Yahoo NEWS

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Furgos) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 09:58:00 +0000

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Top 10 Mobile Phones of 2009 Revealed

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Furgos) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 08:49:00 +0000

The device, which has 3.2in touch-screen, a five-megapixel camera and runs Google 's Android operating system, won plaudits for its easy of use, elegant interface and clever design.

The Hero – which has been crowned gadget of the year by both Stuff and T3 – was praised by Omio for its useful features and slick social-networking tools. "The Hero is easily the next best thing to the iPhone," said Ernest Doku, an analyst with the phone comparison site.

The company compiled a list of the 10 most popular handsets of 2009, based on sales, praise and online buzz generated by gadget fans and industry experts. Apple's iPhone 3GS was beaten in to third place by another device made by Taiwanese manufacturer HTC – the HD2, which runs the latest version of Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system.

"The HTC HD2 is equally at home being a business device as a multimedia powerhouse," said Doku.

Touch-screen handsets dominated the list, with phones from Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Nokia and Research in Motion, makers of the BlackBerry, featuring in the top 10. Devices that provided access to an "app store", which allows users to easily download extra software, programs and games on to their phone, were also popular.

"Apps have been one of the big stories of 2009, so it's not surprising that many of the most popular phones have had their own app stores," said Doku. "It's a trend that looks set to continue well in to 2010."

The 10 most popular phones of the year

1. HTC Hero

The strong design, slick social networking skills and beautiful implementation of the Android operating system with the ‘Sense’ user interface, has seen the HTC Hero grab an armful of ‘Best Phone’ awards this year, and rightly so. With its five-megapixel autofocus camera, 3.2in capacitive touch-screen and GPS in a unique, angular form factor, the Hero is possibly the best phone to demonstrate what Google’s new operating system is really capable of.

2. HTC HD2

The ‘wow’ factor of the HTC HD2 is definitely marrying Microsoft’s mobile operating system to that mammoth 4.3in touch-screen display, and is the first device running Windows Mobile 6.5 to support a multi-touch interface. With a five-megapixel camera and dual-LED flash, GPS and support for apps through Marketplace for Mobile, the HD2 is the perfect poster boy for the next generation of Windows phones.

3. Apple iPhone 3GS

Getting the design so very right first time has given Apple the ability to improve rather than revolutionise, and the iPhone 3GS is the second update to the groundbreaking formula. It improves on the iconic device with a three-megapixel camera, video recording, voice controls and up to 32GB of storage. The Apple iPhone 3GS is able to do it all, faster.

4. Samsung Genio Touch

The Samsung Genio Touch continues the popular range with a cheap and cheerful handset that brings touch-screen joy without the price tag. The 2.8in display offers the same TouchWiz user interface found on higher end devices, and with customisable covers as well as a two-megapixel camera, the Genio Touch punches above its weight in terms of both looks and specification. Little wonder customers are snapping this little beauty up in their droves.

5. Sony Ericsson Satio

A 12. megapixel wielding device that combines the strongest features of the Cybershot range, the Sony Ericsson Satio offers a powerful combination of features: there's the 12.1-megapixel camera, which has some of the best aspects of Sony's Cybershot camera range; and it boasts a fantastic Walkman-esque music player, married together with a slick, full touch Symbian-powered user interface. The 3.5in display is clear, crisp and responsive to the touch, and the built-in 3G connectivity and GPS set it on a par with the strongest smartphone contenders.

6. Palm Pre

Already a million-seller in the United States, the Palm Pre is a great device, boasting a 3.1in touch-screen and 3.1-megapixel camera. This socially-savvy handset pulls contact information automatically from networking sites, including Facebook, in to a single menu. The combination of cute pebble-shaped design, slide-out Qwerty keyboard and the debut of Palm's smooth new ‘Web OS’ operating system makes the Pre a worthy alternative to Apple’s iPhone.

7. Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is the epitome of cool. With a plectrum for a stylus, endorsement from today’s fashionable young things and a full touch interface, the 5800 was bound to be a hit. A music phone at heart, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic ticks all the boxes, with 3G connectivity, Wi-Fi support, a 3.2-megapixel camera and a sharp 3.2in high resolution touch-screen display. Music is stored on an 8GB memory card, and the 3.5mm audio jack means that your favourite headphones can be plugged in with little trouble. It was outselling the iPod at one point as the UK’s biggest music player. The Nokia 5800 is one seriously hot handset.

8. Nokia N900

Taking cues from Nokia’s range of internet tablets, the N900 delivers a close-to-desktop browsing experience, as well as offering cutting edge smartphone functionality. The N900’s gorgeous 3.5in touch-screen, slide-out Qwerty keyboard and five-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens all impress, but it is the brand new experience that Nokia’s Linux-based Maemo platform offers that has early adopters in a frenzy.

9. LG Chocolate BL40

The latest in LG’s exclusive Black Label series, the BL40 boasts a 4in LED touch screen, a five-megapixel autofocus camera and an exciting new user interface. Watch movies in full-screen mode, and browse web pages in all their glory thanks to the screen’s unique 21:9 widescreen ratio. The quirky shape and multimedia credentials have definitely given shoppers a sweet tooth in recent months, with the Chocolate selling strongly since its September release.

10. BlackBerry Curve 8520

Courting the casual user and breaking taboos seem to be the primary aims of the Curve 8520, which gets rid of the famous BlackBerry "trackball" in favour of an optical pad, and adding dedicated media buttons. The Curve 8520 is still very much a messaging device, sporting the familiar Qwerty keyboard and push-email functionality that the BlackBerry brand has become famous for. With access to BlackBerry App World and a standard headphone jack so you can use it with your own earphones, the Curve 8520 strikes the perfect balance between fashion accessory and connected device.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mobile-phones/6872920/Top-10-mobile-phones-of-2009-revealed.html

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Furgos) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 09:48:00 +0000

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Nokia Hits Apple With Latest Patent Complaint

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Furgos) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 06:34:00 +0000

The legal back-and-forth between Nokia and Apple over patents, and who might be abusing them, continued Tuesday as Nokia lodged a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission.

In its complaint to the USITC, the Finnish company alleges that Apple infringes seven Nokia patents "in virtually all of its mobile phones, portable music players, and computers."

The alleged patent infringement is connected to key features in Apple products including user interface, camera, antenna, and power management technologies. Their value to Nokia, the company says, comes in allowing better user experience, lower manufacturing costs, smaller size, and longer battery life for Nokia products.

In October, Nokia filed a lawsuit against Apple in U.S. District Court in Delaware regarding 10 patents related to wireless handsets, which Nokia says Apple has refused to license. Every iPhone model since the original, introduced in 2007, infringes on those patents, Nokia has charged.

Apple filed a countersuit earlier this month, charging Nokia with infringing 13 Apple patents related to the iPhone.

"While our litigation in Delaware is about Apple's attempt to free-ride on the back of Nokia investment in wireless standards, the ITC case filed today is about Apple's practice of building its business on Nokia's proprietary innovation," Paul Melin, general manager of patent licensing at Nokia, said in a statement.

"Nokia has been the leading developer of many key technologies in small electronic devices," Melin said. "This action [Tuesday's complaint to the USITC] is about protecting the results of such pioneering development."

Apple was not immediately available to comment on Nokia's filing with the U.S. International Trade Commission. The USITC is an independent federal agency that looks at issues including unfair trade practices involving patent, trademark, and copyright infringement.

Nokia says that over the past two decades it has spent some 40 billion euros ($57.5 billion) on R&D and has amassed "one of the wireless industry's strongest and broadest IPR portfolios, with over 11,000 patent families."

In November, research firm Strategy Analytics reported that Apple had surpassed Nokia in quarterly mobile phone profits, bringing in $1.6 billion from the iPhone, compared with Nokia's $1.1 billion in cell phone profits.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10422670-37.html

Ford Tag-teams HD Radio, iTunes Tagging

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Furgos) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 06:29:00 +0000

Ford Motor just can't seem to get enough lately of high-tech flourishes for the dashboard.

Earlier this month, the automaker unveiled plans to integrate Wi-Fi into its Sync entertainment systems so that drivers can turn their cars into wireless Internet hot spots. On Tuesday, Ford said that starting in 2010, car buyers will be able to get a factory-installed HD Radio receiver with iTunes Tagging capabilities:

"Through the Sync system," Ford said in its press release, "iTunes Tagging will provide Ford customers with the ability to capture a song they hear on the HD Radio receiver for later purchase. With a simple push of the 'TAG' button on the radio display, the song information will be stored in the radio's memory.

"Up to 100 tags can be stored on Sync until the iPod is connected to receive the download of metadata. When the iPod is then synced to iTunes, a playlist of 'tagged' songs will appear. Customers then can preview and, if desired, purchase and download tagged songs from the iTunes Store."

Ford is proclaiming itself the first automaker to offer HD Radio with iTunes tagging as a factory-installed feature, but its announcement comes nearly a year after consumer electronics company JVC began touting its KD-HDR50, an in-car stereo system that comes with a built-in HD Radio tuner that incorporates iTunes Tagging.

For more on HD Radio and the gadgets that get it, see:

Radio options compared

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10422549-1.html?

iPhone once again available on AT&T Website for New Yorkers

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Furgos) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 07:02:00 +0000

When we talked to AT&T earlier Monday about the unavailability of iPhones for New York shoppers using the AT&T Website, a company spokesman told us that the wireless carrier “periodically modifies [its] promotions and distribution channels.” The company did some more modifying Monday, as the iPhone is once again available to New Yorkers shopping via the AT&T Website.

It’s still unclear as to why the iPhone was unavailable over the weekend via A&T’s online store. A follow-up report on Consumerist as well as comments in Macworld’s user forums indicated that as of Monday morning, AT&T was telling customers that the iPhone was unavailable for purchase online in certain zip codes due to “increased fraudulent activity.” In the original Consumerist post, AT&T service reps were telling customers that the iPhone wasn’t available in New York City because the nation’s most populous city didn’t have “enough towers to handle the phone.”

Source: http://www.itnews.com/smartphones/12368/iphone-once-again-available-att-website-new-yorkers

Hackers Show it's Easy to Snoop on a GSM call

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Furgos) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Computer security researchers say that the GSM phones used by the majority of the world's mobile-phone users can be listened in on with just a few thousand dollars worth of hardware and some free open-source tools.

In a presentation given Sunday at the Chaos Communication Conference in Berlin, researcher Karsten Nohl said that he had compiled 2 terabytes worth of data -- cracking tables that can be used as a kind of reverse phone-book to determine the encryption key used to secure a GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) telephone conversation or text message.

While Nohl stopped short of releasing a GSM-cracking device -- that would be illegal in many countries, including the U.S. -- he said he divulged information that has been common knowledge in academic circles and made it "practically useable."

Intercepting mobile phone calls is illegal in many countries, including the U.S., but GSM-cracking tools are already available to law enforcement. Knoll believes that criminals are probably using them too. "We have just basically copied what you can already buy in a commercial product," he said.

The flaw lies in the 20-year-old encryption algorithm used by most carriers. It's a 64-bit cipher called A5/1 and it is simply too weak, according to Nohl. Using his tables, antennas, specialized software, and $30,000 worth of computing hardware to break the cipher, someone can crack the GSM encryption in real time and listen in on calls, he said. If the attacker was willing to wait a few minutes to record and crack the call, the total cost would be just a few thousand dollars, he said.

There are about 3.5 billion GSM phones worldwide, making up about 80 percent of the mobile market, according to data from the GSM Alliance, a communications industry association representing operators and phone-makers.

Because even discussing wiretapping tools can be illegal in the U.S., researchers have steered clear of this type of work. But after consulting lawyers with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Nohl and his collaborators set upon a way of conclusively disclosing the flaws in the GSM system without --they believe -- breaking the law.

Last August they kicked off an open-source project to create the cracking tables -- something that would take a decent gaming computer about 10 years to compute -- and they have shown which open-source tools could be used to intercept messages, but they have stopped short of designing a device to intercept the messages. This is, however, something that a technically sophisticated hacker could figure out, Nohl said.

"I don't think anything we did was illegal," Knoll said. However, "using what we produced in certain circumstances would be illegal," he added.

Two years ago, hackers David Hulton and Steve Miller embarked on a very similar project, but they did not complete their work, Nohl said.

Source: http://www.itnews.com/phones/12370/hackers-show-its-easy-snoop-gsm-call

Microsoft shadowed by Apple, Google

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Furgos) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 06:56:00 +0000

Bangalore: Don Dodge, a Google employee and former executive of Microsoft says that Microsoft is no longer fast or innovative and is now what IBM was in 1985. He further says that Microsoft is now passed by other companies like Apple, Facebook and Google. But he still feels that Microsoft has an advantage in some areas, particularly development and software, but it now has major competitors in most areas and in some cases has been eclipsed, according to Electronista.

"Very few companies can dominate an industry for more than 20 years," Dodge explains to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "It is just the natural competitive cycle." He adds that having the company founders active and in charge is important to the company dynamic and that Microsoft has lost this with Paul Allen and more recently Bill Gates having left their daily roles. Google is helped by Larry Page and Sergey Brin still working at the company, while Steve Jobs continues to helm Apple.

Dodge says that Microsoft has had its own share of failures in the form of Windows Mobile and Windows Vista. Windows Mobile has not been able to be a tough competition for Apple's iPhone and Google's Android.

Dodge predicts that Microsoft will face trouble in other areas and in 2010 is likely to lose many traditional Office customers to web-based Google technologies like Gmail and Google Apps as they decide to use the cheaper, more frequently updated web tools in place of costly offline software.

Source From: siliconindia.com

More Information About Mobile Technology

Publishers Must Ride the App Marketing Ecosystem

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Furgos) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 05:28:00 +0000

As multiple publishers and consortiums gear up for an incoming wave of e-readers and other connected devices this year, publishers should be looking more seriously at the emerging app ecosystem for new revenue opportunities. The small branded and media applications that run on social networks like Facebook and mobile platforms will be a primary area of development among advertisers and ad agencies in the coming year.

According to a new study by Quattro Wireless, only 46% of publishers, ad clients and agencies surveyed have already developed some form of application for their brands. (Quattro Wireless, a mobile developer and ad network, performed its research among several hundred advertisers, agencies and publishers.) Of the 54% that have not entered this arena, 65% say they will in 2010. The amount of spending projected for online social media apps will remain relatively flat in the coming year, but tremendous developer energy now is focusing on mobile platforms, specifically the iPhone and BlackBerry. Among those who will be developing apps in 2010, 95% say they will publish on the iPhone, 44% on BlackBerry, 31% on Android and 15% on the Palm Pre.

While mobile is the hot category in application development, the Web social networks and the handheld platforms seem to go well together. Of those surveyed, only 11% are developing solely for mobile and only 20% developed only for social networks. Sixty-nine percent of respondents are deploying apps on both mobile and social platforms.

Increasingly, we are seeing branded apps and publisher apps migrate between Facebook and mobile app environments. The modular application environment is evolving into a device-agnostic platform where publishers and advertisers can maintain a seamless presence across Web, mobile and perhaps the upcoming e-readers. For instance, according to recent reports, Apple has put out a call to select iPhone developers for versions of current applications that will work well in higher resolution environments. Many analysts see this as a sign that Apple is about to announce its long-rumored tablet device, which many expect will run iPhone/iPod Touch applications in larger 7-inch and 10-inch touch-screen format. The next generation of e-readers will likely run on Android or iPhone-like operating systems that can accommodate downloadable programs that look, feel and behave like the add-ons in the Facebook, iPhone and Android stores.

For publishers, there are multiple ways to leverage the emerging app ecosystem. Foremost is promotion. Most agencies and brands already know that the application environments in Facebook and iTunes are hopelessly cluttered, and few of them rely on the organic distribution and merchandising systems now in place. Publishers that already attract application audiences to their content can be important promotional vehicles for branded apps. According to the Quattro survey, advertisers and agencies that have used mobile apps, for instance, prefer to use online advertising, mobile advertising (via a network buy) and direct buy mobile advertising to promote their new apps. In other words, media companies should be able to leverage both their online and mobile positions to help clients get into the app market.

The hottest product categories in the app environment now are the consumer packaged goods (CPGs) and retail, where 27.5% of advertisers/agencies say they are deploying programs. Automotive (25%), entertainment (20%) and financial (20%) are the next most popular categories in the ecosystem.

Another area for growth and opportunity for publishers is app development. Just as content providers ultimately became custom online publishers by building microsites and consulting on branded destinations, publishers could perform similar tasks in the app world. For now, the app development economy is dominated by entrepreneurs. The Quattro survey shows that 83.1% of app development is being done by independent shops that consider app development the core of their business. Another 9.6% of development is going on in agencies that also work for multiple clients. Only 2.2% works directly for a specific brand only. But 5.1% in the app field are “publisher developers” who also work for a destination site.

As media companies look to extend their own content brands onto tablets, e-readers and even Internet-connected TVs and set-top boxes, they will need to bring more of app development in-house. These new skill sets could also be leveraged with marketing clients. Earlier this year, for instance, Meredith took a strategic investment in one of the leading mobile marketing companies, The Hyperfactory. The new app ecosystem is already cluttered with small shops that could easily become acquisition targets for ad networks, ad agencies and publishers in the coming year. As publishers contemplate a new world of apps for their own content brands, they need to consider the many ways in which they can turn it into something more than just another ad opportunity for clients. Apps should become a new area for marketing services as well.

Tomorrow at minonline we will drill deeper into the study’s findings regarding publishers' own branded applications.

NEWS Credit to minonline.com

Apple's stock hits new high as gadget buzz builds

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Furgos) — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 10:26:00 +0000

NEW YORK – Apple Inc. shares hit an all-time high Thursday after a published report suggested the intensely scrutinized yet secretive company may be getting ready for a major product announcement.

Citing unnamed people familiar with the preparations, the Financial Times reported on its Web site Wednesday that Apple has rented space for several days in late January at an arts center in San Francisco.

The company is famed for its highly staged launches. CEO Steve Jobs has used past events to introduce groundbreaking — and lucrative — gadgets such as the iPod and the iPhone.

Although Apple has not acknowledged working on a tablet computer — the company is notorious for keeping upcoming product plans closely guarded — analysts expect the company's next blockbuster to be something of a cross between a laptop and an iPod Touch, which is essentially an iPhone without the calling features.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request Thursday for comment on the FT report.

In a note to investors this month, Oppenheimer's Yair Reiner said Apple could have a tablet out by late March or April based on checks with contacts in the U.S.

Brian Marshall, an analyst with Broadpoint AmTech, expects the device to launch late in the first quarter, but he said the rise in Apple shares Thursday had more to do with investor behavior at the end of the year.

He said that after cashing in from the rise in Apple shares over the past few months, "people are coming back to the well," betting the stock will head even higher in 2010.

Apple shares hit an all-time high of $209.35 at one point on Thursday, topping the previous record of $208.71, set Oct. 21. The stock was up $6.94, or 3.4 percent, to $209.04 in afternoon trading.

Apple shares have recovered from a 52-week low of $78.20 in January, helped by consistently growing profits.

Even during the worst of the recession, people continued to buy iPods, iPhones and Mac computers. In its most recent quarter, the Cupertino, Calif., company reported a 47 percent jump in net income to $1.7 billion, on revenue of $36.5 billion.

With a market capitalization of more than $182 billion, Apple is now bigger than rival computer makers Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. combined. Dell has a market cap of about $28 billion, while HP is at $124 billion.

Source: yahoo.com

Report: Mobile Web To Far Outpace Desktop Internet

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Furgos) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 06:16:00 +0000

Santa himself couldn’t have thought up a nicer gift to give mobile marketers for Christmas. Morgan Stanley just released a bulky report predicting that the mobile Web will eventually be “at least 2x size of Desktop Internet.“

Driven by 3G adoption and the increasing popularity of smartphones, the financial services provider predicts that smartphones “will out-ship the global notebook + netbook market in 2010E and out-ship the global PC market (notebook + netbook + desktop) by 2012E.”

In particular, Morgan says that Apple’s iPhone/iTouch/iTunes ecosystem “may prove to be the fastest ramping and most disruptive technology product / service launch the world has ever seen,” while “a handful of incumbents (like Apple, Google, Amazon.com and Skype) appear especially well positioned for mobile changes.”

As ReadWriteWeb notes, “The firm has always been bullish on mobile Internet, as Mary Meeker’s Web 2.0 conference presentations over the years show.”

Even more ominously, Fortune’s Apple 2.0 blog says that this latest report, “was intended to be a follow-up to Mary Meeker’s 1995 ‘The Internet Report,’ which became known as ‘the bible’ of the dot-com boom.” (For those of you who were stranded on a dessert island, that boom was followed by an equally remarkable bust.)

“My first thought was these reports really haven’t changed over the years… there’s the same defining the landscape and recalling of history section, coining of terms, the all important ‘themes’ summary, and money shot powerpoint graphics that anyone pitching a mobile app or data startup will immediately have a geekgasm over,” writes the Venture Chronicles blog , adding, “History doesn’t mean shit and the great companies always emerge from completely orthogonal plays on what all the smart people predict will happen.”

Under the headline, “Morgan Stanley drinks the Apple Kool-Aid,” the Apple 2.0 blog further notes that Apple is in the “pole position” in the race to dominate mobile Internet computing, its iPhone is not like previous mobile devices, and its owners are not like ordinary cell phone users. For example, while iPhone and iPod touch owners represent only 17% of the global smartphone installed base, they account for 65% of the world’s mobile Web browsing and 50% of its mobile app usage.

Source: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=119252