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News, Reviews, & Opinion
Steve Jobs: 'Open Systems Don't Always Win'
Macworld's Jason Snell reports:
"Steve Jobs had a lot to say Monday during his conference call with
analysts following Apple's announcement of record earnings and sales.
Here's the Apple CEO in his own words.
"Jobs holds forth on RIM ('I don't see them catching up with us in
the foreseeable future'); Google ('Google loves to characterize Android
as open, and iOS and iPhone as closed. We find this a bit disingenuous,
and clouding the real difference between our two approaches
. . . You know, even if Google were right, and the real issue
is closed versus open, it is worthwhile to remember that open systems
don't always win'); tablet competition ('it appears to be just a
handful of credible entrants, not exactly an avalanche'), 7" display
tablets ('One naturally thinks that a 7" screen would offer 70% of the
benefits of a 10" screen. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth.
The screen measurements are diagonal, so that a 7" screen is only 45%
as large as iPad's 10" screen. You heard me right: just 45% as large
. . . This size isn't sufficient to create great tablet apps,
in our opinion'); pricing ('our potential competitors are having a
tough time coming close to iPad's pricing, even with their far smaller,
far less expensive screens. The iPad incorporates everything we've
learned about building high-value products, from iPhones, iPods and
Macs'); iPad and cannibalization ('The iPad is clearly gonna affect
notebook computers. And I think the iPad proves it's not a question of
if, it's a question of when . . . I am convinced that we've
got a tiger by the tail here, and this is a new model of computing
. . . that lends itself to lots of different aspects of life,
both personal, educational, and business')."
Link: Jobs
Speaks! The Complete Transcript
RIM Co-CEOs Call Steve Jobs' Slam 'Misleading' and
'Unacceptable'
Research In Motion founders and co-CEO's Mike Lazaridis and Jim
Balsillie, evidently unamused by Steve Jobs' comments at RIM's expense
during the Apple Inc. Q4 financials conference call on Monday (above), have issued a terse joint rebuttal on a company
blogsite
"Apple's attempt to draw RIM into Apple's self-made debacle is
unacceptable. Apple's claims about RIM products appear to be deliberate
attempts to distort the public's understanding of an antenna design
issue and to deflect attention from Apple's difficult situation. RIM is
a global leader in antenna design and has been successfully designing
industry-leading wireless data products with efficient and effective
radio performance for over 20 years. During that time, RIM has avoided
designs like the one Apple used in the iPhone 4 and instead has used
innovative designs which reduce the risk for dropped calls, especially
in areas of lower coverage.
"One thing is for certain, RIM's customers don't need to use a case
for their BlackBerry smartphone to maintain proper connectivity. Apple
clearly made certain design decisions and it should take responsibility
for these decisions rather than trying to draw RIM and others into a
situation that relates specifically to Apple."
Link: Joint Statement
from RIM Co-CEOs in Response to Misleading Comments by Apple
Jim Balsillie expands:
"For those of us who live outside of Apple's distortion field, we
know that 7" tablets will actually be a big portion of the market and
we know that Adobe Flash support actually matters to customers who want
a real web experience. We also know that while Apple's attempt to
control the ecosystem and maintain a closed platform may be good for
Apple, developers want more options and customers want to fully access
the overwhelming majority of web sites that use Flash. We think many
customers are getting tired of being told what to think by Apple. And
by the way, RIM has achieved record shipments for five consecutive
quarters and recently shared guidance of 13.8 - 14.4 million BlackBerry
smartphones for the current quarter. Apple's preference to compare its
September-ending quarter with RIM's August-ending quarter doesn't tell
the whole story because it doesn't take into account that industry
demand in September is typically stronger than summer months, nor does
it explain why Apple only shipped 8.4 million devices in its prior
quarter and whether Apple's Q4 results were padded by unfulfilled Q3
customer demand and channel orders. As usual, whether the subject is
antennas, Flash or shipments, there is more to the story and sooner or
later, even people inside the distortion field will begin to resent
being told half a story."
Editor's note: Apple introduced the iPhone 4 in June, continuing a
tradition that goes back to the original iPhone introduction in June
2007. iPhone buyers anticipate a new model every June, which means less
purchases are made in the April-June quarter than in the July-Sept.
quarter when the new model is available. Balsillie is telling "half a
story" when he pooh-poohs Apple's quarterly comparison - which
corresponds to Apple's fiscal quarter and the calendar quarter - to
RIM's sales figures. dk
Link: Breaking: RIM
Co-CEO Jim Balsillie Responds to Steve Jobs Comments Made During Apple
Earnings Call!
'Steve Jobs Is Right About the 7" Tablet'
The Telegraph's Milo Yiannopoulos says Apple has spoiled us with its
10"n tablet and made us reluctant to accept a smaller one.
Yiannopoulos notes that BlackBerry maker RIM's chief executives have
lashed out at Steve Jobs' assessment of the tablet computer market with
a blog post attacking the "distortion field" that supposedly surrounds
Apple (above), but notes that the RIM blog post
doesn't answer any of the big questions about tablet computers,
preferring instead to make cheap shots about Apple's quality controlled
ecosystem and centralised design philosophy.
"The thing is, 7in just doesn't make sense for any kind of
application," Yiannopoulos contends, proceeding to deconstruct the
arguments advanced by Research In Motion founders and co-CEO's Mike
Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie in their blog.
Link: Steve Jobs Is
Right About the 7-Inch Tablet
Why Is the Competition Avoiding 10" iPad
Competitors?
Inc's Renee Oricchio asks rhetorically, "what's the optimal size
screen for a tablet? Short answer: who the h-e-double hockey sticks
knows. The tablet is so new, it's too new for things like screen size
to be ubiquitous."
However, Ms. Oricchio continues: "Having sold more than four million
units since coming out last spring, Apple is the closest thing to an
industry standard at 10 inches (9.7 to be exact). Interestingly enough
however, the rest of the industry seems to be ignoring that rule of
thumb. The tablets now coming out (or soon to be coming out) are
typically seven inches (Samsung's Galaxy Tab, Research in Motion's
Blackberry Playbook, to name a couple).
"With the iPad experiencing such success with a 10 inch screen, I
have to wonder why the other guys are putting their chips on seven inch
screens."
Link: 7 Inch vs. 10
Inch Tablets
Apple's iPad Coming to AT&T Stores on October
28
PR: AT&T and Apple have announced that all three iPad
Wi-Fi + 3G models will be available at more than 2,200 AT&T Stores
starting Thursday, October 28. AT&T will offer customers 3G prepaid
data plans for iPad, complete with Apple's easy on-device activation
and management. All iPad data plans are available without a term
contract and include unlimited access to AT&T's 23,000+ domestic
WiFi Hot Spots.
"With our breakthrough iPad data plans starting at just $14.99 and
access to AT&T WiFi Hot Spots around the country at no extra cost,
our customers will have the best of both worlds. We can't wait to
showcase the amazing features of iPad Wi-Fi + 3G in our stores across
the country1 just in time for the holidays, said Glenn
Lurie, AT&T President of Emerging Devices, Resale and Partnerships,
AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. "With our breakthrough iPad
data plans starting at just $14.99 and access to AT&T WiFi Hot
Spots around the country at no extra cost, our customers will have the
best of both worlds."
"We look forward to expanding the reach of iPad, allowing even more
customers to experience the magic of iPad for themselves," said Tim
Cook, Apple's COO. "As we approach the holiday season, we are very
happy that customers will now be able to buy iPad Wi-Fi + 3G at
AT&T Stores."
iPad allows users to connect with their apps and content in a more
intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before. Users can browse the
web, read and send email, enjoy and share photos, watch HD videos,
listen to music, play games, read ebooks and much more, all using
iPad's revolutionary Multi-Touch user interface. iPad Wi-Fi + 3G models
are just 0.5" thick and weigh just 1.6 pounds thinner and lighter than
any laptop or netbook and deliver up to 10 hours of battery
life2 for surfing the Web on WiFi, watching videos or
listening to music, and up to nine hours of surfing the web using a 3G
data network.
Apple's App Store offers iPad users access to the world's largest
catalog of apps with over 280,000 apps, and more than 30,000 iPad
specific apps in 20 categories including games, business, news, sports,
health, reference and travel. With Apple's iBookstore! , the best way
to browse, buy and read books on a mobile device, iPad users have
access to more than 100,000 books from major and independent
publishers.
All iPad Wi-Fi + 3G models will be available beginning Thursday,
October 28 in AT&T Stores across the US for a suggested retail
price of $629 for 16 GB, $729 for 32 GB and $829 for 64 GB. Domestic
data plans for iPad are priced at $14.99 per month for 250 MB and $25
per month for 2 GB with no term contract. Both plans include
unlimited access to AT&T's 23,000+ domestic WiFi Hot Spots.
Link:
AT&T Wireless
Verizon Wireless to Sell iPad at Its Stores
Beginning October 28
Mobile service provider Verizon Wireless and Apple announced
Thursday in a joint media release that that Apple's iPad tablet will be
available at over 2,000 Verizon Wireless Stores nationwide beginning
October 28. Verizon will offer three iPad bundles with an iPad Wi-Fi
model and a Verizon MiFi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot, for $629.99
with an iPad Wi-Fi 16 GB + MiFi, $729.99 with an iPad Wi-Fi 32 GB +
MiFi and $829.99 for a package with a iPad Wi-Fi 64 GB + MiFi. Verizon
Wireless is offering a monthly access plan to iPad customers of up to
1 GB of data for $20 monthly, and will also sell the three iPad
Wi-Fi models on a stand-alone basis, presumably at the standard Apple
price points of of $499, $599, and $699 for the 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB
data storage capacities respectively.
Verizon Wireless operates America's largest a 3G data network, and
its credit card - size device MiFi 2200 is small enough to fit in a
shirt pocket and facilitates creation of a personal WiFi cloud capable
of sharing the high-speed Internet connectivity of the Verizon Wireless
3G Mobile Broadband network with up to five WiFi-enabled devices. The
MiFi 2200's rechargeable battery is claimed to provide up to four hours
of active use and 40 hours of standby time on a single charge.
"We're thrilled to be working with Verizon Wireless to get iPad into
the hands of even more customers this holiday season," said Tim Cook,
Apple's COO. "iPad allows users to connect with their apps and content
in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before, and
together with Verizon Wireless we're offering an easy way to stay
connected wherever you go.
Link: Unleash the iPad on Verizon
Wireless
Verizon to Sell 7" Samsung Galaxy Tab Starting
November 11
AppleInsider's Katie Marsal reports:
"The Samsung Galaxy Tab and
Apple iPad will go head-to-head in
Verizon stores in the US starting Nov. 11, when Samsung's 7-inch tablet
goes on sale for $600 . . . The two touchscreen tablets will
compete on the same carrier and in the same stores."
Link: Verizon to Sell
7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab Nov. 11 for $600
Canada and US Pay Most for Cellphone Plans
TGDaily's Emma Woollacott reports:
"The US is amongst the most expensive countries on the world for
cellphone service, a study from a non-profit public policy institute
has found.
Mobile phone rates per minute of voice service around the world in US
dollars.
"The New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative (OTI)
researched cell phone voice, text and data services for prepaid,
regular postpaid, and unlimited postpaid plans provided by prominent
cell phone carriers in 11 countries.
Minimum mobile phone package rates around the world in US dollars.
"It found that Canada was the most expensive country for a complete
package of voice text and data, costing $67.50 per month. But the US
was not far behind at $59.99 per month. For the UK, the figure was
$32.40.
"But at the bottom end of the chart, the costs are vastly
lower...."
Link: Canada and US
Pay Most for Cellphone Plans
Full Report: An International Comparison
of Cell Phone Plans and Prices
European Trademark Office Confirms New Dual-Dock
iPad
Patently Apple reports:
"This week the European Trademarks and Designs Registration Office
confirmed that one of Apple's new iPad designs is displaying an extra
left side 30 pin connector to allow it to dock in landscape mode under
application 001222905-0001. The first sighting of this design was noted
on September 25, 2010. This time around, we see that Steve Jobs and
Jonathan Ives have signed off on the design. That's always a good sign
for things to come, wouldn't you agree?"
Link: Europe's Trademark
Office Confirms iPad's New Dual-Dock Landscape Design
Apps & Services
The New York Times Delivers News iPad App with
More than 25 Sections of Content
PR: The New York Times has released the NYTimes App for
iPad, which builds on the elegant design of the Editors Choice App. It
has more than 25 sections of Times content, including more videos and
photos; breaking news alerts; and enhanced section and article
navigation.
The NYTimes App is free and available through the App Store. When
The Times launches its pay model next year, the iPad app will require a
paid subscription.
Four sections of the app - Top News, Most E-Mailed, Business and
Video - are immediately available at download. To access all other
sections, users log in with an existing NYTimes.com account or complete
a quick, free registration within the app. When the app transitions to
a paid subscription model in 2011, users will be required to pay for
full access; pricing information will be announced at a later date.
"More
and more, our readers are connecting with The Times across a variety of
platforms, and we are developing products that allow them to engage
with our content in a meaningful way, said Yasmin Namini, senior vice
president, marketing and circulation, The New York Times Media Group,
and general manager, reader applications. "With the NYTimes App, our
readers can immerse themselves in our award-winning journalism and rich
multimedia, all tailored for a premier experience on the iPad.
Features of the NYTimes App include:
- Expanded content - access to more than 25 sections of content from
The New York Times, enhanced with relevant posts from The Times's more
than 50 blogs.
- Streamlined navigation - a popover section listing allows for
smooth navigation between sections. On article pages, a navigation bar
beneath the article allows users to swipe through and select other
articles within the section.
- Enhanced multimedia - beautifully designed photo and video sections
display the latest from The Times' world-class multimedia collection.
Articles feature embedded photos and videos, with the ability to play
videos within the article or expand to fullscreen view.
- Breaking news - breaking news notifications allow users to stay on
top of breaking news even when the app is closed.
- Share options - share articles, videos and multimedia with a full
set of tools, including Facebook, Twitter and e-mail.
- Slide shows - full-page slide shows display large-scale images
tailored for the iPad screen.
"As technology evolves, we are committed to setting new
standards for online advertising, and the iPad is a prime example of
our innovation," said Denise Warren, senior vice president and chief
advertising officer, The New York Times Media Group and general
manager, NYTimes.com. "We will continue to deliver unparalleled
marketing value to our clients, creating ads that make the most of the
iPad's rich media capabilities to create a compelling experience for
the intelligent, thoughtful readers who choose to engage with The Times
by downloading and launching the app."
Fox Searchlight, Mercedes-Benz, and MicroStrategy are advertisers on
the iPad app at launch.
The NYTimes App for iPad is available for free from the App
Store.
The NYTimes App for iPad is an update to the Editors Choice App,
which has been downloaded more than 650,000 times since it launched in
April 2010.
Link:
NYTimes App for iPad (NYTimes
also has an iPhone/iPod touch app)
The Economist Intelligent Life App Free
Download for iPad
PR: Intelligent Life Magazine from The Economist is available
exclusively on the iPad in North America. Intelligent Life is the
quarterly magazine from The Economist, covering life, culture, style
and places. It shares The Economist's fondness for crisp prose, dry wit
and free thinking. But it gets way from politics and economics to cover
anything else as long as it's interesting, from tailoring to museums,
hotels to philanthropy, going green to choosing wine.
Intelligent Life mixes features by Economist staff with
contributions from leading authors such as Julian Barnes and A.S.
Byatt, and interviews with everyone from Philip Pullman to Zaha Hadid.
Unusually for an upmarket magazine, it has photography and illustration
to match the elegance of the writing. On the screen, the design is as
stylishly intuitive as the iPad itself, with every page specially
adapted for both landscape and portrait formats.
The print magazine requires a $60-a-year subscription, but the
current issue is free to download with access sponsored by Credit
Suisse for the autumn issue. It includes the latest issue of the
magazine along with an introductory sampler of content from previous
issues.
In the autumn issue:
- OMG! The rise and rise of the acronym, by Lane Greene from The
Economist's New York office
- Hilary Mantel, whose novel Wolf Hall is now the most popular book
in Man Booker prize history, on life as a winner
- Bringing up four children in four continents: Emma Williams, a
British doctor turned writer, on what she has learned about family life
in New York, Jerusalem, Senegal and Belgrade
- The Visual CV: the best of Philip Seymour Hoffman, an actor without
fear
- The Photo Essay: boxing in the slums of Nairobi, by the American
war photographer Jehad Nga
Also included in your download, the Intelligent Life sampler,
containing
- My friendship with Hockney: a vivid portrait of the artist by Karen
Wright, former editor of Modern Painters
- Extreme dogs: a Photo Essay by Tim Flach, best known for his
beautiful images of horses
- The Line of Beauty: the ice blonde through the ages, from Lucrezia
Borgia to Grace Kelly
- Authors on Museums: the novelist Margaret Drabble on the art of
pietra dura, or painting in stone, as seen in a gem of a museum in
Florence
- Places: a river runs through him - Mark Twain and the
Mississippi
Requirements:Compatible with iPad. Requires iOS 3.2 or later
Link: Intelligent Life (download
link)
Printer Pro Adds Printing to iPad Right Here,
Right Now
PR: Readdle announces Printer Pro, new iOS application that
adds highly anticipated printing capability to the iPad. Printer Pro
lets iPad owners print email attachments, documents, web pages, photos
and other types of content from their devices. It can print directly to
many WiFi printers and to any printer attached to the Mac or PC via
helper application that runs on the computer.
Once installed, Printer Pro appears in the "Open In..." list on the
iPad. This allows people to print documents from Mail, Safari, Dropbox,
ReaddleDocs and many other applications on the iPad that support this
function.
At the same time, "Open In..." approach makes it possible to print
files from many popular online storages: Dropbox, MobileMe iDisk,
GoogleDocs. It takes only several taps to download the file via free
Dropbox, iDisk or Google Docs application and send it to printer.
"Printer Pro lets you print right now, month before the release of
iOS 4.2 update. It supports a wide range of document formats,
integrates with other applications and core iPad services like
clipboard, address book and photo library," says Igor Zhadanov, Readdle
CEO. "The most important, Printer Pro is designed to work alongside Air
Print unleashing full power of this wonderful technology."
Printer Pro Desktop is a free complementary application that runs on
users computers. It shares computer's default printer with Printer Pro
thus extending list of the supporting printers to virtually any device
available on the market.
Device Requirements:
- Compatible with iPad
- Requires iOS 3.2 or later
- 9.0 MB
Printer Pro 1.0 is available on the Apple App Store at $6.99.
Printer Pro Desktop is a free download from Readdle web site.
Link: Printer
Pro (download
link)
Motor News Media Introduces Automotive Excitement
On the Go with New iPhone App
PR:
The Motor News Media Corporation has brought visual excitement to
iPhones, iPods, and iPads with the debut of its first smartphone
application.
As the first in a series of new mobile applications, the company's
free "MotorNewsMedia" app is designed to surprise and delight
automotive fans with the availability of approximately 1,800 color
images of concept, custom and prototype vehicles from the world's
leading automotive manufacturers.
Designed to
serve as device wallpaper or to exist in a photo gallery, there is
something for everybody.
"This new app represents a comprehensive selection of automotive
expressions from the world's most progressive vehicle companies," says
Kenneth Chester, Jr. - President & CEO. "This first app is merely
the tip of the iceberg of the content that we are planning to make
available directly to the motoring public."
Users pay
99¢ per image that they choose to download. The app will email two
copies of the image - one optimized for iPhone wallpaper and one
optimized to be saved in a photo gallery on the user's computer.
Plans call for the company to initially roll out this app on Apple's
iOS4 smartphone platform. The app is scheduled to also be released to
Android (Google), Symbian (Nokia) and Blackberry smartphone/tablet
platforms in the next year.
The company reports that it also has two exciting all-new
automotive-related image applications in its near-term development
pipeline.
Motor News Media is based in Des Moines, Iowa and is a leader in
providing automotive content to newspapers throughout the United
States.
Additionally, its Vintage Automotive Media & Materials
subsidiary is a leading on-line store of automotive print materials
including factory brochures, press kits, magazines, shop manuals and
owners guides.
System requirements: Compatible with iPhone and iPod touch. Requires
iOS 4.0 or later
Link:
MotorNewsMedia (download
link)
Formula 1 2010 Timing App - Championship Pass
PR: This is the only official Formula One Live Timing and
Track Positioning application for the iPhone and iPod touch.
This application gives access to live timing and track positioning
for all sessions - Practice 1, Practice 2, Practice 3, Qualifying, and
Race for the 2010 Championship.
This is the only official F1 application with unique data and
features.
- Live Positions - displayed on our dynamic 3D map. See gaps as never
before!
- Pick your favourite driver and follow their progress. Watch as they
battle for position!
- Unique replay feature Replay any session at any time you choose.
Perfect for tape delayed broadcast!
- Zoom in on the action or pull back to see the whole field
- Live Timing Data Screen - Watch the session like the F1
engineers.
- Full timing screen including sectors and gaps.
- Live Commentary - Lap by lap live commentary.
- Standings - Results and news for the 2010 Season.
- Detailed Information Information and history on all drivers, teams,
and race tracks.
- Complete Season Access.
Experience all sessions via the live timing feed from the track to
the palm of your hand using iPhone or iPod touch.
This application is unlike any other, and a must-have for the F1
fan!
The Grand Prix will never be the same.
New in version 2.12
- New Korea Map.
- Local notifications are now disabled as default. Please go to the
Setup screen to re-enable them.
- Minor bug fixes.
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Requires
iOS 3.1.3 or later. This app is designed for both iPhone and iPad
Price $16.99
Link:
F1™ 2010 Timing App - Championship Pass
