Posts Tagged ‘iPhone’

David Braue, reporting for the SMH on big businesses adoption of iPhone apps;

Nearly every company Sydney marketing consultancy Marketing Mechanics works with is exploring its iPhone options these days, according to managing director Diane Costa.

Kevin C. Tofel asks ‘Why should you care about smartphone market share as a consumer’?

There are a number of factors, but I think the main one is software…Developers are following the sales figures because the better selling platforms offer a wider audience interested in the apps being developed and sold.

He uses the latest Gartner market share data to illustrate that there are only three fast growing mobile platforms; BlackBerry, iPhone and Android.

We’re pleased to announce that our latest app, Shop Ethical! is now available in the app store.

Shop Ethical is a collaboration between Ethical Consumer Group and Outware Mobile, and it’s designed to give Australian consumers the low-down on the environmental and social record of companies behind common brands found in the supermarket.

The app uses data from the Ethical Shopping Guide 2010 edition and is based on assessments gathered from over 25 sources including Greenpeace, Choose Cruelty Free and Friends of the Earth.

Download it now, and let us know what you think.

Lia Timson, reporting for The Age that businesses are making the switch from BlackBerry to iPhones.

We’ve certainly seen a massive uptake of the iPhone by the enterprise. Executives just want it and are telling the IT people to just make it work. There are cases where all executives have iPhones and the rest of the staff have Blackberries. Slowly it filters down.

And it looks great. For all you iPhone and iPod Touch owners the iPad will run your existing apps. For developers like us the SDK has been updated so we can create custom UIs suited for the iPads higher resolution display. The price is also pretty unbelievable and starts at US$499.

Lots of reactions. Here are the best ones:

Gizmodo, in a hands on with the iPad writes: “It’s substantial but surprisingly light. Easy to grip. Beautiful. Rigid. Starkly designed. The glass is a little rubbery but it could be my sweaty hands. And it’s fasssstttt.” Gizmodo seems overly impressed with the speed of the device, but also point out that while surfing the web without Flash, those “big, empty video boxes in the middle of a page is pretty disappointing”.

Crunchgear gives the iPad a glowing review writing: “All the naysayers can feel free to eat their hats. Today Apple finally revealed the device we’ve all been whispering about for a good year or more. The Sasquatch of gadgets is real.” Although they are a little concerned with the lack of camera for video chats and the lack of SD card storage.

The New York Times David Pogue likes the iPad and warns the “bashers” to hold off before judging the device. Pogue writes: “Overall, the iPad seems like a dream screen for reading and watching—at some loss of convenience in creating. True, there’s an on-screen keyboard, big enough to type on with both hands in the usual way.”

Gdgt also live blogged the event and Ryan Block wraps up their coverage with this note: “Will people buy it in droves? Is there actually room for a device between smartphones and laptops? That I don’t know — I’ve always been skeptical there’s room for a third category in there. But if there is a contender for this space, the iPad is it.”

Engadget writers shares their thoughts too. They describe the device screen as “stunning” and at 1024×768 it feels like a large iPhone in your hands. They all discussed the speed of the device saying the iPad is “blazingly fast”. But, as others have written, the device has some major limitations, and as Engadget writes: “No camera. None, nada. Zip. No video conferencing here folks.” There are also major setbacks with the lack of multitasking and as Engadget points out that, “there’s no multitasking at all. It’s a real disappointment.”

GottaBeMobile writes that the device is consumption device, not a creation device, specifically when you look at the lack of camera for video creation. There’s also mention of the stark reality that this device is meant for reading too, writing: “Apple is going after the Kindle no question, along with anyone else who is jumping on eBooks.”

Doubt that the iPhone is big? Well guess who just launched an App?

Today, we’re excited to announce the new White House App available for Apple iPhone and iPod Touch.  The White House App delivers dynamic content from WhiteHouse.gov to the palm of your hand.

If you’re interested in the rumoured Apple tablet, forget reading articles from the Mass Media. Instead, check out these three pieces by Apple gurus in the know.

The first, from John Gruber is, as always my favourite. John argues that the Tablet will be

defined by three or four of its built-in primary apps. But long-term, big-picture? It will be to the MacBook what the Macintosh was to the Apple II.

The second piece from John Siracusa called Antacid Tablet makes some concrete, bold preditictions:

The Apple tablet will have a color, video-capable touchscreen, about 10 inches diagonal. It will have flash storage, WiFi networking, and few ports and hardware buttons. There will be a software keyboard. It’s operating system will be based on the same core as Mac OS X and iPhone OS, and its GUI API will be an evolution of Cocoa Touch. The platform will (eventually) be open to third-party developers. You will be able to buy media and applications right on the device using your existing iTunes account. Some of that media will be new territory for Apple: print media like magazines, newspapers, and books.

Lastly, Marco Arment, inventor of the ever popular Instapaper chimes in with his thoughts:

I see two possible outcomes: either Apple has come up with a radical new input method for this form-factor that will overcome the fundamental problems that made every other similar device suck, or the Tablet isn’t this form-factor.

According to Nielson, iPhone 3G takes number one spot with 4% of ‘embedded base of all subscribers’, with RIM chomping on its heals.

Interesting, and best analysis I’ve seen on why the iPhone seems to be a sleeper in China.

I’m not sure I actually believe the numbers that have been thrown around; only Apple and China Unicom know for sure, but if media reports are to be believed the iPhone isn’t off to a good start.

Shaun Rein, reporting for Forbes says:

The phone is being sold packaged with monthly subscription plans, just as in the U.S., but the vast majority of Chinese prefer to buy pay-as-you-go charge cards. Top-up cards can be bought and recharged cheaply at street vendors everywhere in less than 30 seconds, with no identification required. Subscribing by the month is a pain.

Apple has shown they are willing to change the way they sell the iPhone depending on different market preferences. If it really is the case that the iPhone isn’t selling well in its current form I’d expect them to change the model quickly.

In Australia, iPhone’s are available on Prepaid so there’s no reason the same couldn’t apply in China too.

Commentary from Melinda Varley in Business Spectator on the market for mobile marketing:

In the UK – the most sophisticated and saturated mobile market in Europe – marketers spent almost £29 million on mobile advertising in 2008, according to the Internet Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers. The Mobile Marketing Association now expects total spend to reach £1 billion by the end of 2009.

In the US, ad spend on mobile is expected to reach $US6.5 billion by 2012. And although in Australia the medium remains in its infancy, growth is poised to almost treble with communications specialist Telsyte forecasting that spend will grow to $20 million by the end of 2009 from just $7 million in 2008.