April 2009: Monthly Archive

Also covered on today’s Apple Q2 2009 financial results call were Chief Operating Officer, Tim Cook’s description of netbooks, as currently on the market, having:

cramped keyboards, terrible software, junky hardware, very small screens, and just not a consumer experience… that we would put the Mac brand on, quite frankly.

So where does that put all the rumors about an Apple netbook being all but imminent? Either once again shoved on the back burner like the iPhone nano, or — really imminent. (Apple has a history of trash talking product spaces and denying interest right up until they launch their own offering, like video on iPods, or, you know, smartphones).

Does this mean we’ll more likely see an Apple tablet? Mac OS X or iPhone OS X based? Opinions vary but Cook gave nothing away. Instead, to costumers who might want mobile web and email, he offered this advice:

They might want to look at an iPhone or iPod touch instead.

Okay, so I’ll admit that I leave my laptop at home now and just use an iPhone far more often than I ever would have guessed I would, but as a full on mobile replacement? Is it really there yet?

And what do you see, if anything, as Apple’s now near-mythical entry into the pseudo-netbook space? One of the above, or something else entirely?

Currencies is a simple yet gorgeous currency converter that lets you quickly and easily find out how much that sandwich at Heathrow airport will really cost you in good old US greenbacks. (Hint: not cheap!)

Developer Luc Vandal shared his favorite feature with us, and we have to admit it’s ours as well:

there are no useless buttons. Just tap on a field, select currency or enter amount and everything gets updated on the fly. No Done button, no OK button, etc. Want to make sure you have the latest rates? Just shake to refresh and amounts are updated almost instantly.

He’s right; it works as good as it looks. Which brings us to the UI design, done by Cocoai’s Sebastiaan de With. His growing reputation is well deserved. Small but delightful little touches like the exposed electronics when rearranging the currency fields is especially artistic and appreciated (see above).

Who would have thought conversion apps would be leading the quality charge on the App Store?

Currencies is available via iTunes for $0.99

If you’ve tried it, let us know what you think. More screenshots after the break…

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As covered in the Apple Q2 2009 conference call, Apple Chief Financial Officer, Peter Oppenheimer, repeated the company line that they “looked forward to [Steve Jobs'] return at the end of June”.

Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) — where in 2008 Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone 3G to the world — takes place this year June 8-12, which is decidedly before the end of June, and thus the end of Jobs’ leave of absence.

Does that make it impossible for Steve Jobs to pull out a surprise appearance, iPhone the Third Generation in pocket? No… but it makes it unlikely.

That leaves Apple marketing honcho Phil Schiller, who handled Macworld 2009, or iPhone marketing head Greg “Joz” Joswiak, who handled part of the iPhone 3.0 Sneak Peek as the likely suspects, doesn’t it? (Perhaps with Scott Forstall again on the 3.0 software?)

Not content with having only sold 37 million iPhone OS-based devices (which includes the iPod touch), Apple has set about stalking and capturing a whole new class of prey: our moms.

Fiendishly clever, Apple. Who’s mom wouldn’t want all those pictures of the kids (and maybe grandkids), home movies, email and chat access, and multitouch gaming hardcore enough to put the curl back in her beehive.

Only one problem, Apple. Our moms may jailbreak!

(Joking, we still have to help them start “the internet” with that little compass or curled fox icon… Sigh…)

UPDATING ON LIVE CONFERENCE CALL:

• Waiting for call to start, any minute now. Will post updates only when major iPhone-ish news is announced (or inner fanboy takes over).
• Covering Macs
• iPod touch growth, customers embrace superior features and apps.
• US market share for MP3 players 70%, gaining share in most international markets
• UK, France, Germany, Japan, Australia, China, growing.
• iTunes store had good quarter.
• DRM free now all 4 major labels and indies.
• App Store unparalleled succes.
• 35,000 apps, +20,000 since last call
• Almost at 1 billion downloads

More after the break!

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The iGrip Custom Fit Sturdy Swivel Mount for iPhone 3G is available in the TiPb Store for $19.95. This mount is an excellent alternative to having your iPhone float freely within the cabin of your car. In a day when more focus is being placed on distracted drivers, this mount allows you to affix your iPhone 3G and view the display while keeping both hands on the wheel. How does it measure up? Read on for the full review!

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While we wait on Apple’s quarterly results call scheduled for later today, it’s worth noting that the iPhone’s only US carrier just posted their own financials and things are still looking good for our favorite little pocket universe denter:

AT&T said 1.6 million Apple iPhone customers had activated services on the AT&T network during the quarter, more than 40 percent of which were new to the telephone operator.

Some analysts worried that the subsidies AT&T was paying for the iPhone were too costly, others that AT&T was too reliant on the iPhone:

They estimated about three-quarters of [AT&T's] net new monthly bill-paying customers were iPhone users.

[via Jeffdc5 on Twitter]

Our good friend, Dieter, over at PreCentral.net has just got his hands on a leaked internal AT&T document that puts our beloved iPhone 3G into the ring up against the yet to be released Palm Pre. We are beginning to wonder what will happen first, Palm going out of business or the Pre actually being released… (Yes, we kid because we love…)

While some of the things that made the list are cold hard facts that every Palm fan will have to swallow, AT&T seems to be reaching on a few as well. Here are a some of the better ones:

• The iPhone has a “thinner, lighter, bigger screen; metal and glass design” compared to the Pre’s “plastic casing”.
• The iPhones App Store has over “25,000 Apps” while the Pre has an “Unproven App Catalog app store”.
• The iPhone sports “Global GPS; aGPS for maximum speed, accuracy and reliability even in built-up areas” while the lonely Pre “Can’t receive map updates or location assist information in most of the world due to lack of GSM capability”.

What also caught our eye was:

• The Palm Pre “Touchscreen control gestures not intuitive” whereas the iPhone features “Patented Multi-Touch screen” and “Fast and responsive navigation.”

If the Palm Pre cloned some of the iPhone’s UI interactions, didn’t AT&T just dash our chances for some lawsuit action?

What do you think? AT&T simply stating the facts or could they possibly view the Palm Pre as a legitimate threat? Now head on over to Precentral.net to check out the full leaked AT&T memo!

Read Write Web has posted the findings of mobile analytics firm Flurry. They break it down as follows:

• Apps (see charts above) put the iPhone staggeringly ahead in terms of active developers, applications developed, and consumer usage. (note: lack of analytics use by BlackBerry devs likely skews those numbers).
• Smartphones are being used more than ever
• iPhone apps, if they’re marketed effectively, are making strong development houses millions of dollars.
• iPhone apps are becoming “hit-driven” like the music industry.
• Free versions help sell paid apps
• Only 10% of users update their apps (we’re not sure if that’s skewed by other platforms, Apple makes it simple to update).

It’s important to remember that with this type of analytics, results are hyper-dependent on what’s included (and what’s missing) from the data set. If nothing else, however, iPhone developers are getting more attention from, and making greater use of, market analytics at the moment.

That said, anyone surprised by these numbers?

The forums continue to grow here at TiPb and that is without a doubt a great thing. We are rapidly approaching a crazy time with WWDC coming up this June so the rumors and new iPhone talk is a buzz. All of the following threads have to do with, you guessed it, iPhone OS 3.0 software and new hardware.

If you are reading this site, chances are you are a big fan of Apple and it’s ever popular iPhone. But with that said, most of us know that it’s not a perfect device. So new forum member, lindawittsell, wants to know what are the 3 biggest drawbacks of the iPhone?

The next thread we have for you today is one for anyone thinking about purchasing an iPhone now or in the near future. The big question being, should I wait for new hardware to be released or bite the bullet now? We here at TiPb think it would be in your best interest to wait but if you see a deal that simply can not be passed up, go for it. One thing is for sure, technology never slows down so no matter when you pick a device up, around the corner a newer better version will become available.

This thread was started by PirateNinja and he may have gotten some false information from a AT&T sales rep. This rep claimed that there absolutely will be no new iPhone hardware this summer. In the end, they are salesmen who want to sell you anything they can. While we are 99% sure there will be new hardware, what types of stories have you heard from other AT&T reps? The best advice we can give you here is don’t believe everything you hear or read. As for me personally, I’ve learned that you get the more accurate information from places like TiPb and it’s forums than you will from any type of sales rep from any cellular company.

Lastly, we would like to point out that if you are a developer or a current user of the iPhone OS 3.0 software be sure to check out TiPb’s iPhone Developer Forum. Feel free to discuss the new features, bugs, unannounced features, etc… Just don’t ask anyone for the software or developer codes or you risk being banned from the forums.

See you on the forums!