Category: Apple (Page 6 of 65)

Steve Jobs backs down on subscription pricing

June 11, 2011 / Jeff Morgan

A couple months back, Apple CEO Steve Jobs made a number of enemies by implementing restrictions around App Store subscription pricing that included a 30 percent finder’s fee for Apple. Apparently some of that change is being rolled back, though Apple won’t be making it easy for subscribers to get content outside the App Store.

The new rules don’t go into effect until the end of the month, at which point we’ll be able to see just how well the app development world is handling the restrictions. Several publishers have pledged to comply with the new rules, but others have pledged to abandon the App Store altogether. I’ll be particularly curious to see what happens to the developers who continue on like nothing has changed. Will we see mass bans from the App Store?

To me, this change seems like a PR move. Apple knows that there are quite a few customers who are also App Store developers, and those guys were not happy when the changes rolled out. Hell, I wasn’t happy and I have no stake in the situation whatsoever.

Apple, Apps, News

Apple’s iCloud: How magical is it?

June 9, 2011 / Jeff Morgan

Apple’s really nailed down its presentation strategy. The company doesn’t leak features before they’re absolutely ready for mass consumption (not counting the old AppleTV of course), and then it announces the product, shows just how awesome it is, and puts a release date just close enough that the world will stay excited until its release. iCloud is no different. Apple’s unveiling made Google Music look like a high-school project by comparison.

I’m really impressed by what Apple put together. There are a few recent Apple policies that have really made me question whether the company is worth supporting in any capacity. But iCloud is free, and iTunes Match, maybe the single greatest part of the iCloud rollout, is just $25 a year. None of this is to say that I think Apple has pioneered anything amazing. In fact, pretty much everything about the iCloud service has been available through Google for quite some time. It is clean, pretty, and looks incredibly easy to use, which is exactly what Apple is good at. It also further ties consumers into the iOS ecosystem, making it harder to consider leaving.

For the non-Apple users of the world, there is some good news here. Google is looking at iCloud and thinking of ways to do it better (and they can’t be happy about Apple taking the notification bar pretty much directly from Android). The next version of Android will almost certainly try to best iCloud in some serious ways. Google knows that Apple is going for brand loyalty with iCloud. Whatever the company releases to compete will have to be good enough to pull people away from iOS.

Apple, iPhone, Mobile, News

Weather Doodle now available for the iPad

May 14, 2011 / Jason Zingale

The Apple iPad may already come pre-loaded with a pretty handy, no-frills weather app, but for those that want their weather forecasts delivered with a bit of style, Tiny Mammal’s Weather Doodle is just the app for you. Although it’s been available for the iPhone since late 2010, the app has finally made its way onto the iPad, and it’s currently on sale for only $0.99 (normally $1.99) through May 23rd.

Weather enthusiasts won’t find too much to get excited about — using individual weather stations within cities across the world, you can access basic info like current conditions, the 5-day forecast, and wind speeds and humidity — but it’s in the presentation where the app really shines. Instead of just seeing a static image of the weather conditions, Weather Doodle depicts it using animated art, whether it’s the moon glowing, snow falling, or lightning striking from storm clouds. There are three different art themes to choose from (with more on the way), but only one of them comes installed with the app. The other two can be purchased for an additional $0.99 each, which is perhaps its biggest shortcoming. Fortunately, the one theme that is included (titled Paperscape, which looks like a grade-school art project using construction paper) is undoubtedly the best of the bunch.

Still, for as appealing as the simple yet beautiful presentation may be (it certainly makes checking the weather more interesting than usual), the lack of any really cool features prevents Weather Doodle from being a must-have app. It’s a great deal at its current sale price, but at its usual $1.99 price point, there’s just not enough there to make it worthwhile.

Apple, Apps, iPad, News, Reviews

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The ultimate baseball app – Bill James Baseball IQ

May 10, 2011 / Staff

If you’re a baseball junkie, this app will blow your mind. Bill James is the king of baseball stats, and now you can get an app for your iPad or iPhone called Baseball IQ that gives you an unbelievable about of information. Check out the video above and you’ll get a feel for all the possibilities with this app, but it just scratches the surface.

One of the best uses will be for fantasy baseball. Right now, you have access to tons of stats if you play fantasy baseball, so it’s hard to gain a real advantage over the other teams. But with this baseball app from Bill James, you get a level of information on stuff like match-ups that goes way beyond what you can find on the web.

So check it out and get that edge!

Apps, iPad, iPhone

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Instapaper sales show slow Verizon iPhone adoption from new customers

February 25, 2011 / Jeff Morgan

There was such a clamor leading up to the Verizon iPhone launch that you’d think it would be the only thing the world is talking about. Instead, it’s been pretty quiet since the launch, which has everyone wondering, how good was the launch?

If you see things how Marco Arment, founder of the popular Instapaper app for multiple mobile platforms, the Verizon iPhone is selling mostly to existing iPhone customers. Arment used the sales of his own application, which are historically fairly steady, to analyze the current level of Verizon iPhone sales.

Here are the basics from his blog:

Since my ranks rarely change significantly, the resulting sales volumes seem to track the entire App Store’s volume. In other words, since my rank is held mostly constant, but my sales vary, it’s reasonable to extrapolate that trends in my sales indicate approximate trends in the entire App Store market.
The results are fairly obvious: I see huge spikes whenever there’s a new iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad released, whenever they become available in a major new country, or whenever there’s a major reason for people to buy a lot of them (like the holidays).

Arment hasn’t seen any spikes surrounding the Verizon iPhone release, though. In fact, things have been surprisingly moderate. Arment’s own theory about slow adaptation among Verizon customers seems spot on to me. He thinks most of early adapters are the hardcore smartphone nerds. These are the people that wait in lines and stay up until 3AM to pre-order. These are people who put up with AT&T just so they could have the iPhone.

The next wave of iPhone owners are the casuals – people who have seen the phone and liked it but aren’t in any real hurry to buy one. Casual users always take longer to adapt new tech and the Verizon iPhone won’t likely be an exception.