Author: Jeff Morgan (Page 92 of 168)

      Apple to open 40-50 stores next year

      November 12, 2009 /

      Apple store.On the heels of an insane earnings report and just prior to another store opening, Apple announced today that it would open 40-50 retail locations in 2010. The announcement was part of a speech in which senior VP of retail, Ron Johnson, said the company expects a solid holiday season.

      I’d imagine so. The $1.6 billion mobile profits report blew everyone away (especially Nokia). The retail stores continue to grow with the mobile business, up 7 percent from last year and sporting $1.87 billion in profits last quarter alone. That’s a big pile of cash for a company whose yearly profits were closer to $5 billion just over a decade ago.

      The new retail stores are mostly headed outside the US. Plans have already been made for new stores in London, Paris, and two in Shanghai. The newest stateside store will open on Saturday on the upper west side of Manhattan.

      Apple, iPhone

      Joe Hewitt quits iPhone development because of Apple

      November 12, 2009 /

      Joe Hewitt.Joe Hewitt’s been unhappy with and outspoken about Apple’s app approval process since about the time he started working on the Facebook app. Well he’s finally had enough. According to a recent, tweet he’s done working on the app and ready to move on.

      Time for me to try something new. I’ve handed the Facebook iPhone app off to another engineer, and I’m onto a new project.

      Hewitt also said in very clear language that he left iPhone development because of Apple. Speaking to TechCrunch he said, “My decision to stop iPhone development has had everything to do with Apple’s policies. I respect their right to manage their platform however they want, however I am philosophically opposed to the existence of their review process.” As are a lot of people, but to this point no one with Hewitt’s resume has made the same decision (Arrington left the iPhone for a different reason and he’s not a developer).

      Hewitt’s in a better position to “quit” then some developers, though. He’s got a swanky gig at Facebook, where he’ll still be developing after his announcement. A house like Tapulous, on the other hand, is making enough money off the App Store that it’s unlikely it will leave, and we probably wouldn’t hear about one of its developers quitting because of a philosophical opposition like Hewitt’s.

      Instead we’ll probably continue to see the trickle of policy changes Apple has made over the last several months. The most recent allows developers to see real time status updates about the app, so when it’s sitting in “waiting for review” you can start throwing around some lawsuits.

      Apple, Apps, iPhone, News

      Apple surpasses Nokia handset profits

      November 11, 2009 /

      Apple vs. Nokia.Apple has been slowly stealing Nokia’s market share since the release of the iPhone, but this past quarter it finally passed the Finnish handset manufacturer. By a mile. Well, half a billion dollars actually, but that’s not how the saying goes.

      At first glance it might not seem like terrible news for Nokia. According to research firm Strategy Analytics the company still leads in overall handset share, shipping over 108 million handsets in the third quarter (compared to 7.4 million iPhones). But that actually makes the news worse. Nokia is selling more phones – nearly 15 times as many – but losing in profits by 50% of what the company earned? That’s insane, and it’s a trend that will likely continue. Apple has put the iPhone on multiple carriers overseas to great success, something we’ll likely see stateside in the near future.

      The Strategy Analytics report points to several factors for Apple’s success, high subsidies and low manufacturing costs among them. There’s no reason those things should change for Apple anytime soon. Enough people want the iPhone that carriers would be crazy to boycott the phone based on the price. It’s a problem that points back to branding. If you asked a hundred people what an iPhone is I’d guess 85 or more could tell you, most in great detail. Ask about an N97 and you might get 10. 15 tops. How long before the same can be said for Nokia itself?

      Apple, Mobile, News

      Samsung announces yet another mobile OS

      November 10, 2009 /

      samsung-badaToday Samsung announced that it was entering the open mobile operating system business with a service called “bada.” It’s still unclear as to the plan for the system, but we at least know that it’s not for smartphones. Yes, Samsung has designed a feature phone OS with its own SDK to lure in developers. And by “lure” I mean attract so few developers that the plan is scrapped for a stripped-down version of Android in the next year or two.

      There are precious few details about the operating system. The press release tells us that the word bada means “ocean” in Korean, which “was chosen to convey the limitless variety of potential applications which can be created using the new platform.” Awww, your optimism is so adorable, Samsung. Really, that’s about all we know. The rest is coming in December, which is when Samsung will release the SDK. Wait – an SDK release just a month after the OS is announced? Are you watching this, Palm? Hmm?

      Mobile, News

      Photoshop app for Android now available

      November 10, 2009 /

      android-photoshop-appRemember that free Photoshop app for the iPhone? Adobe’s finally released a version for Android, roughly a month after the iPhone version became available.

      It’s basically the same app, though with a few differences for both better and worse. For starters, the Android version displays the phone’s entire photo library within the application. With the iPhone version you have to go through an extra step to select your photo. Not a huge difference, but it’s nice.

      On the flipside, the Android version doesn’t have the pinch or twist functionality for straightening out your pictures. The feature is still there, just as a menu item instead of the multitouch. Again, not a big deal, and frankly the Photoshop app probably won’t be the pivotal factor if you’re deciding between the two platforms. For either OS, it’s a nice app.

      Apps, Mobile

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