Category: Apple (Page 47 of 65)

      Apple Dominates the Premium PC Market

      July 24, 2009 /

      Apple performs well in the expensive computer market.For all the talk of Apple’s sliding market share, it seems the California computer manufacturer is doing something right. Very right. 91% Right. I’m not talking about iPods. I’m not talking about iPhones. I’m actually talking about computers. Yes, Apple dominates one specific portion of the PC market, a portion that they sell to almost exclusively.

      According to the NPD Group numbers for June of 2009, Apple sold 91% of computers to consumers spending over $1,000. Yes, you read that correctly. Nine out of every ten dollars spent on computers that cost over $1,000 went directly to Apple. While the company may not be performing as well as Windows-based PCs under $1,000, they’re absolutely gobbling up the market above that mark.

      Seems like there’s actually something behind Tim Cook’s constant “we don’t sell the most computers, we sell the best” message. Windows may still own 90% of the total market, but Apple is blowing them away in the high-end market.

      I would be interested to see whether or not this includes home-built machines. My guess would be no, and that might not be a large percentage, but it should at least be a significant percentage. When I think of spending more than a grand for a computer, it’s either to build a massive gaming rig, or to do serious media editing (the latter is a case where I would definitely buy a Mac, the former a PC).

      At any rate, it’s clear that Apple has something right. They’re performing like Microsoft in the premium computing market, which is nothing to scoff at. Stay tuned for the ensuing “Macs are still really f***ing expensive” ads.

      Apple, Computers, News

      SI: Swimsuit Slinks Onto the iPhone

      July 22, 2009 /

      SI:Swimsuit on the iPhone.The iPhone is loaded with apps featuring images of hot girls (even though several have slipped up and been yanked recently), but none host the quality hotties you’ll find in Sports Illustrated Group’s SI:Swimsuit for the iPhone. The app debuted today, featuring fine looking ladies and, oh yeah, I guess there’s a calendar too.

      Actually, the calendar seems pretty cool. I’ve never been the type to need a boobie fix so badly I’d download an app just to see girls in bikinis. Now, if my calendar happened to show me those same girls daily, I might not mind as much. That’s just what the SI:Swimsuit app aims to do. The calendar in question is actually a sports calendar that allows you to monitor up to six professional or college teams in full – schedules, scores, etc. You also get to pick which models show up in your calendar, so you can display your Danica Patrick love to all your friends.

      The app also features picture and video coverage for all the models in the 2009 edition, including the body painting series. I’m actually shocked Apple let that one slide, but hey, they’re not exactly consistent. The app will cost you $2.99.

      Apple, Apps, iPhone

      Apple Floats Through a Tough Quarter

      July 21, 2009 /

      Apple is shining bright.Apple’s giving the recession the finger as they coast through their fiscal Q3 with massive earnings. Everyone expected them to post big earnings from new iPhone sales, but most folks put Mac in a slump. In fact, a lot of analysts expected the company as a whole to be down on last year’s earnings. Instead, Apple blew past last year’s figures to post some relatively impressive numbers.

      One the whole, they’re up 13% over fiscal Q3 of last year. How’d they get there? Well, they sold 5.2 million iPhones this quarter, a solid 7 times what they sold in the same period last year. Overall you’re talking about a $1.23 billion net profit, compared to a meager $1.07 billion from last year.

      Even the Mac line, where analysts predicted Apple would be slowest (and ineed they were) is up 4% in sales numbers over last year. Revenues from Mac are down 8 percent though, as the company lowered prices in this quarter to shore up sales in the face of competitive advertising and falling educational sales.

      The company’s most impressive figure was their new iPhone/iPod touch installed base, which is sitting somewhere around 45 million. That’s a massive base for a wildly popular device, particularly in such a short period of time. And we can only expect that number to grow. Apple plans to have an iPhone in China within a year.

      The letdown of this story? No appearance from Jobs, who has yet to show up publicly since his return. Granted, this was a conference call earnings report, but still, it would be nice to…hear him?

      Source: Reuters

      Apple, Computers, iPhone, Music, News

      Is Nokia Dying?

      July 16, 2009 /

      Is Nokia dying?We’ve already heard predictions that Nokia bound for doom in 2013 but today there’s even worse news for the Finnish phone manufacturer, and the news comes from the top. Today Nokia has announced that its second-quarter earnings fell a whopping 66% in the face of the recession.

      Despite a poorly planned N97 and the continued explosion of the iPhone user base, the loss report is still a shock. A 66% earnings loss is more than just recession-grade economics, though the global economy certainly amplified things. Nokia also reported a sales decline of some 25% and a shipment decline of 15%. The company also recanted their goal to gain market share this year.

      Nokia’s CEO, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, said his company “put in a solid performance in what was another tough quarter.” I’m not sure how tumbling earnings look “solid,” even in a bad market. And how long can they continue to make that same, solid performance? As mentioned above, some analysts are saying Apple, of all companies, will catch Nokia as early as 2011 with a 33% market share. By 2013 these same market research types believe Nokia’s share will have dropped to half their current, from 40% to a meager 20%.

      I doubt things are quite that bad, but they’re getting close. Make no mistake, Nokia is bleeding – slowly for now – and if they don’t revise their product strategy and start delivering decent phones for every market (yes that includes the US) it’s just a matter of time. Meanwhile, nothing can sate Apple’s hunger, and when the iPhone finally breaks from AT&T exclusivity, the stateside smartphone market is going to be a mess.

      What could help Nokia win back some much-needed market share? Do they need a touchscreen, or just a smarter-than-iPhone smartphone with a decent app catalog? Sound off in the comments.

      Apple, iPhone, Mobile

      Google ChromeOS – Should everyone be scared?

      July 16, 2009 /

      So I ran across this cartoon about how Microsoft Windows and Apple OS X should be scared of Google ChromeOS and it made me wonder. How true may this cartoon be?

      Could Google’s ChromeOS dominate cloud computing? Could ChromeOS become the operating system for all our gadgets including cell phones, desktops, laptops, tablets, netbooks, etc.? Could Google store all our apps on centralized servers thereby eliminating the need to sync up all your devices all the time? And considering all of this, could Google and ChromeOS remain free?

      Scary as it may sound, I think the short answer is yes.

      Even though I’m a self proclaimed techno-geek/gadget guy, I find it hard to predict where all of “this” is going. Considering it feels like just a few years ago when I was rocking out to my brand spanking new Guns-N-Roses Appetite for Destruction tape during breaks from nonstop marathons on NES Super Mario Brothers, I really have a hard time predicting the future. My first PC game was text-based and was played on a monochrome monitor. My college PC had a 270 Megabyte hard drive that I regularly compressed. Did I have a clue that just a few years later that my phone would fit in my pocket and could play my entire library of music as well as stream online video content and surf the web? Uh, no. So what’s my point? I try to think about the future of gadgets and no matter how hard I try, I cannot predict where all of this is going.

      That’s why this cartoon is so intriguing. Though intended to be humorous, it may have a point. In this new world of technology, don’t you think it’s silly that we are still paying for operating systems? Of course some of us don’t (you know who you are Linux users) but the majority of us still pay a premium to run our computers. It also seems silly that we have to sync up all our gadgets with cables and cords. I imagine in just a few short years we’ll laugh at how many cables we used to have to carry around and keep track of. I also think it’s silly that we don’t have all of our applications available to us no matter what device we use. Programs like Xmarks and MobileMe are just the start of things. I mean come on, it’s 2009, shouldn’t I have all my internet bookmarks available to me no matter what computer or device I’m using (thank you Xmarks for taking care of that). But bookmarks are just the start of it, next will be applications. Then what comes after that?

      If you’re like me, this sounds great, but a bit scary as well. The final part of the cartoon about “a corporation that people still trust” is part of the reason I’m scared. Don’t get me wrong, I do like Google. But for some reason, I feel like I should be wary. I don’t know why, I just do. Does anyone else feel that way? That’s probably the reason I’ve never installed Google Desktop. It just feels weird that an internet-based company will be handling the indexing of all my personal files. Now that same company wants to provide the operating system for all my devices and house all my applications? A bit scary for sure.

      So what do you think? Is there truth to the comic? Where is all “this” going? Should we be scared? Or should we just read the comic and laugh like it’s 1999?

      Apple, Apps, Computers, Digital Media, iPhone, microsoft, Mobile, Websites

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