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Apple’s education event has huge ramifications for the Windows 8 tablet

January 19, 2012 | By rush24

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I hate to admit it, but I was very impressed by the Apple’s education event today. Following along the event via the Verge.com live blog, it was clear that the guys from Cupertino have created a compelling set of products with iBooks 2, iBooks Author and a revamped iTunes U app that will indeed change the education landscape. Its not that these ideas are new, Apple has just found a way to offer them to the masses in a more user friendly format that millions of users will flock too. Apple, in one fell stroke has just outmaneuvered their rivals by creating a new lucrative and integrated ecosystem in the learning field that neither Microsoft or Google posses a completive alternative. What’s more as is customary with Apple, the products are available now rather than a few months down the road giving them an enormous first mover advantage.

So how does this affect the Windows 8 tablet? Even with the success of the iPad and iPhone, Microsoft still dominates the education field whereby a majority of the PCs being Windows based in conjunction with Microsoft office products.This announcement turns the whole paradigm on its head. If more schools decide to adopt the new Apple system, why would any student need a PC when all their textbooks and school assignments are accessible via iPads? Furthermore, with a version Microsoft Office for the iPad in the works, its evident that the long running PC advantage finds itself on shaky ground. Imagine also a student getting their project done and presenting it to whole class wirelessly via airplay (via a compatible projector or simply an Apple TV connected to a regular projector. The possibilities are endless!

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ITC bans importation of HTC’s Android devices in US

December 19, 2011 | By Surur

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The ITC has solidly come down on the side of Apple, banning importation of HTC’s Android devices which violate two claims of patent #5,946,647, which is a system level patent issued in 1999 on analysing and linking data structures.

The patents implicate all of Android, and not just HTC’s implementation, which would make it difficult for HTC to remediate in the 4 months before it goes into effect on the effect on April 19, 2012 .

This of course leaves HTC with their library of Windows Phone 7 handsets in USA, which may explain the rumours of a HTC LTE Windows Phone on AT&T a mere 2 months after the HTC Titan has been released.

HTC has however said “… we are well prepared for this decision, and our designers have created alternate solutions for the ‘647 patent” but the decision may still prompt HTC to spend a bit more time on Windows Phone 7.

Microsoft signs up but Apple and Google hold out on Mobile ESRB game age rating

November 29, 2011 | By Surur

esrb The Wireless Association and the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) have announced a newly-developed rating system, the CTIA Mobile Application Rating System with ESRB which will utilize the well-known and trusted age rating icons that ESRB assigns to computer and video games to provide parents and consumers reliable information about the age-appropriateness of applications.

AT&T, Microsoft, Sprint, T-Mobile USA, U.S. Cellular and Verizon Wireless are all members of the rating system, but significant hold-outs are Apple and Google, who both use their own rating systems.

The ESRB system is developer and industry financed and widely supported on consoles and on the PC, but with different systems on each mobile platform it will mean that the same game may have different age ratings on different platforms.

The announcement is an extension of CTIA’s 2010 Guidelines for Application Content Classification and Rating.

Via CNET.com

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Apple applies for patent for in-app purchasing

October 9, 2011 | By Surur

Apple has applied for a patent for in-app purchasing. The technique and method for purchasing content while inside an application is summarized as such:

The present technology provides a purchasing interface within an application that allows users to purchase a product from another source without leaving the application. The application offers a product for purchase, and a user, desiring to purchase the product can provide an input effective to cause a purchasing interface to be displayed. While the purchasing interface, or information presented therein, comes from the product source, which is different than the application source, it is presented in such a fashion that gives the impression to the user that they are purchasing the product directly from the application.

The patent would place it at odds with Lodsys, who already has a patent for in-app purchasing which Apple licenses.

In-app purchasing is becoming an increasingly important source of revenue for developers trying to monetise their free applications, and does not yet have a real presence on Windows Phone 7. Microsoft has recently released a game, Beards and Beaks, which does use Xbox Live credits, and may be a work-around for the Lodsys patents, but this has not been rolled out to regular developers yet.

According to Berg Insight In-App purchasing generated 300 million euros last year, will grow to €750 million this year, and hit €3.5 billion in 2015, so it is certainly an area which Microsoft also needs to address urgently.

Via Electronista.com

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Steve Jobs has died

October 6, 2011 | By Surur

CUPERTINO, Calif., Oct 05, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today.

Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve.

His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts.

SOURCE: Apple, Marketwatch.com

Bill Gates has issued a statement:

I’m truly saddened to learn of Steve Jobs’ death. Melinda and I extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends, and to everyone Steve has touched through his work.

Steve and I first met nearly 30 years ago, and have been colleagues, competitors and friends over the course of more than half our lives.

The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come.

For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it’s been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely.

A statement by Steve Ballmer:

“I want to express my deepest condolences at the passing of Steve Jobs, one of the founders of our industry and a true visionary. My heart goes out to his family, everyone at Apple and everyone who has been touched by his work.”

There is no doubt Steve Jobs and Apple has changed the trajectory of Windows Mobile and Windows Phone 7, and even Microsoft itself, and simply for that reason his influence on the news we cover has been deep.

There is also no doubt the world has changed tonight, for almost everyone with a connection to technology. Even if we did not like Steve Jobs’s showman-like style, his achievements speak for themselves.

Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones.

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Apple says its OK for the ITC to ban HTC’s Android handsets, as they could always sell more Windows Phones

September 2, 2011 | By Surur

Fosspatents has posted about the latest machinations of Apple’s case against HTC, in which HTC has already been found to infringe 2 of Apple’s patents.

With the ITC considering a ban, HTC made arguments about this being against the public interest.

Apple however countered, saying "[t]he present investigation does not present an instance where a compelling public interest might supersede the entry of a statutory exclusion order".

They continued:

Apple, however, argues that "[c]onsumers do not face any potential shortage of like or directly competitive products in the United States". Since Apple and HTC agreed at an early stage of the investigation that Apple’s infringement assertions were related only to Android-based products, Apple points out that, "therefore, even HTC itself could potentially replace the volume of articles subject to a remedial order in this investigation within a commercially reasonable time" by selling more Windows-based HTC phones instead of Android-based ones.

While the case is still on-going, and it will likely result in HTC and/or Google releasing a work-around to the infringement, it would be pretty satisfying to see HTC being forced to seriously promote Windows Phone 7 in USA, just to stay in the market there.

Read (a lot) more at Fosspatents here.

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Art imitating life

August 29, 2011 | By rush24

Reading thenextweb’s article on the new organizational hierarchy at Apple, I remembered these two articles (this and this) which highlighted the differences in structure between Apple, Microsoft and Google. That difference between the aforementioned companies is profound. Check out the images after the break to see what I mean!

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Steve Jobs resigns as Apple’s CEO

August 25, 2011 | By rush24

Well if this wasn’t a crazy week already, now comes the news of Steve Jobs resignation as Apple’s CEO. It is a sad turn of events because more than likely, the decision was due more to his illness as it can be extrapolated from his resignation letter than him willingly resigning to go pursue other ventures. He has led Apple with a singular vision of what he thinks technology should be like and at 56 years of age, he still had a lot of more years ahead to push that dream forward under normal circumstances. As much as I don’t care for Apple products as a matter of preference, there is no denying that the firm under his leadership has forced other tech companies to up their game and those that did not have been left on the wayside.

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Steve Jobs resigns–will Apple now become soulless?

August 25, 2011 | By Surur

Steve Jobs has announced his resignation as CEO of Apple, but will stay on as chairman of the board.

His tersely worded resignation letter states:

To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community: I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.

Steve

The bolded part suggests he is resigning due to health concerns, suggesting limited further engagement in Apple, despite being chairman of the board.

Steve Jobs was the driving force behind Apple’s ascendency, and its shares have already seen a slump and been halted due to his departure. Without his famously hands-on day to day presence it would be foolish to think things will go forward exactly as it has been before.

While we wish Steve Jobs well, we cant help but feel the company has become much more vulnerable this afternoon.

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Microsoft the ‘Vital New Underdog’

August 24, 2011 | By Surur

A mobile duopoly looms, and Microsoft is the only one who can save us.

Xconomy’s Wade Roush have published an interesting editorial on the mobile market, and notes that with HP dropping out of the phone business, and RIM rapidly crashing out of the market, he is rooting for Microsoft as the new mobile underdog.

He notes the ecosystem needs a “strong third option” to he healthy and stable, according to the “Rule of Threes”.

There’s a concept in economics called the Rule of Three. It’s the tendency observed across many types of markets for customers to clump around three generalists—that is, companies competing to sell a full line of products. Think of United, America, and Delta; Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian; or, in the old days, ABC, NBC, and CBS, or Ford, Chrysler, and GM. Such markets tend to function best when no single player controls more than 40 percent or less than 10 percent of the market—at least, that’s what marketing professors Rajendra Sisodia of Bentley College and Jaqdish Sheth of Emory University found in a study of more than 200 industries.

Together, the three leaders usually control 70 to 90 percent of a market. But if one competitor gains more than a 40 percent share, Sisodia and Sheth found, it often becomes too expensive to operate and attracts anti-monopoly scrutiny. If it falls below 10 percent, it risks becoming a niche player, forced to spend its energy fending off other small specialists.

Wade notes Microsoft may not be Apple’s equal when it comes to user-centric design, but is “way ahead of Google, where engineers clearly rule and designers have had a notoriously hard time being heard.”

He conclude:

Microsoft is now the only force that can save us from an Apple-Google duopoly in mobile computing—which increasingly means all consumer computing. … I never thought I would hear myself saying this—but a stronger Microsoft means more innovation for everyone.

So there we have it, a perfectly rational reason for rooting for Microsoft in the mobile wars.

Read the full editorial at Xconony here.

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Google complains of anti-competitive conspiracy, ignores the cost of giving other’s IP away for free

August 3, 2011 | By Surur

Google is complaining Microsoft and Apple are not playing fair.

David Drummond, Google’s Chief Legal Officer, is whining about Microsoft and Apple working together keep key patents out of Google’s hands.

Complaining that Microsoft and Apple have been inflating the cost of patents way above its real worth in an effort to kill Android, he of course ignores the injury the company has inflicted on other licensable operating systems like Windows Mobile and Windows Phone by giving its OS away for free while also making it attractive to buyers by stealing the IP of others.

Calling the 250,000 patents involved in making a smartphone largely questionable and “bogus” he exhibited Google’s usual attitude to to intellectual property. It is of note that Google is attempting to acquire patents after they made the OS, typical of Google habit if first doing whatever they want and then asking forgiveness afterwards.

Ultimately Google is hoping the Justice Department will save the day, but short of invalidating the whole US patent system OEMs using the OS will have to pay the piper eventually, something Google is clearly attempting not to acknowledge.

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Now iPhone developers are stealing Windows Phone 7 apps

August 2, 2011 | By Surur

Taking their cue from Steve Jobs, who called 2011 the year of the copier and promptly stole all the best ideas from Android and Windows Phone 7, this iPhone developer basically stole the design from the Diving calculator and log book wholesale from German developer Sven Knoch.

Sven’s app, Diving Log, which retails for $2.99, was released in December 2010, while Massimiliano Gargani’s Divers Book, which is free, was released only a few weeks ago.

Sven is still to have words with the copyist, but would appreciate if buyers who want a clean metro designed dive log turn to his app, in Marketplace here, rather than a bad knock-off in the app store.

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A lesson worth learning

July 26, 2011 | By rush24

If Windows Phone 7 is so good, how come no one is hearing about it? (And why are so few people buying it?) Because for whatever reason, the important people in the mobile industry aren’t really talking about it much.

That is a quote from Dan Frommer in his article analyzing the Changwave survey on Windows Phone 7 customer satisfaction results. It dovetails with the sentiments of my recent post and a majority of our readers as well.

The point is (not to beat over a dead horse) that Windows Phone has great potential just waiting to be unleashed. The following headline illustrates a huge contrast between the two tech giants, Microsoft’s and Apple’s marketing strategies. From Boy Genius Report

Apple recruiting additional staff for fall iPhone 5 launch

It goes on to say

Apple is recruiting additional staff at U.S. Apple Store locations ahead of the launch of its highly anticipated fifth-generation iPhone. MacRumors reports that Apple is contacting former employees and asking them to come back as part time workers from August 15th through September 15th. In emails reportedly sent from Apple to the former retail staff, Apple says it is looking for part time employees to assist with the “holidays, new product launches and back to school time.”

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