While the iPhone SDK 3.2 Beta has been out since the official announcement of Apple’s iPad, developers haven’t been able to actually submit their applications anywhere. Apple has given them plenty of time to make the best applications they can, for the specific reason that they don’t want buggy software marring the release of their legendary tablet device. This is a sound strategy, but now the floodgates are open, and developers can officially submit their applications to the App Store.
The kicker is, is that if you want to have your application ready to go for the April 3rd launch, you need to have your application submitted to the App Store by March 27th. That’s not a big difference from the official launch, so Apple must be cracking down on the application approval process, as well as vetting which applications are actually worth launching. We’re hoping that we see a healthy number of iPad applications ready to go for launch, because as much as we love to play with those 150,000 other applications, we want to see what the iPad is really capable of. (Even if that will take some time to actually see.)
If you’re a developer, then you got the email telling you the good news. Hopefully you’ve got the next best app, as we all know that making it to that coveted number one spot in the App Store is one of those lofty goals that all developers make for themselves. May we suggest a groundbreaking game that takes full advantage of the hardware specifications of the iPad? While we’re perfectly excited about that first iPad game shown off, we are very excited to see the potential shown off by the developers out there.
Microsoft has caught some grief this past week over the latest stage of the copy & paste debacle, a meme that began when Apple omitted the functionality from the iPhone (and took two years to add it in) and was resurrected upon the admission that Windows Phone 7 series wouldn’t ship with the ability to snip text from one app and paste it into another. In fact, copy & paste is just one example of Microsoft locking down their new smartphone experience, slicing a great deal of OEM and user customisation out in the process. They’re not the only firm to do so, however; merely the latest to seemingly decide that users want delineated – perhaps even prescriptive – experiences rather than flexibility.
Poster-child, in fact, for this sort of tightly reined UX is the iPhone, and we can only imagine that there’s some snickering going on at Cupertino over their rival’s change of approach. Windows Mobile used to be the go-to guy for flexibility in smartphones: yes, it didn’t look that hot in its native state, but if you wanted to whip up an app that accessed – or merely wanted to play with – the core elements of the device then Microsoft made little attempt to stand in your way. It’s become a hotbed of ROM tinkering and modification, everything from changing LED blink patterns to completely reworked builds that streamline just about every element of the phone; the sort of things Android modders are doing now, their Windows Mobile counterparts were doing for years before.
Another good example is the iPad. As we’ve commented before, listening to the media reception of Apple’s imminent tablet, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was the first such device in the world, not the latest touchscreen device in a segment that goes back years. What seems to have commentators – and, judging by pre-sale estimates, would-be owners – excited is the though of what Apple can do to turn “another computer to maintain” into a headache-free appliance. If you already have a main computer – whether desktop or notebook – and maybe a netbook as well, the last thing you want is to add in another machine to look after, take care of with software updates and anti-spyware scans, coddle as anything more than, yes, an oversized iPod touch.
On the other side of the apparent divide are devices like Nokia’s N900, a handset that – out of the box – can border on the frustrating. The N900 lacks the instant-reward of other recent handsets, which bend over backward to offer the extent of their functionality within a finger’s reach. Instead, the Nokia is making a name for itself among those who want to experiment with their mobile devices, loading up non-standard platforms, hooking up unusual hardware and generally carrying across some of that desktop tinkering paradigm to the mobile space.
Of course, you can’t blame manufacturers for wanting to control their user experience. For all the good work HTC and others have done with modifying the Windows Mobile 6.x UI, Microsoft still catch grief from reviewers and owners alike for encouraging UX fragmentation. With Apple storming ahead in the smartphone segment it’s hard to criticise Microsoft for not following their example and locking down some of the areas which have previously turned round and bit them. Meanwhile the so-called flexible – challenging? – devices like the N900 are never expected to be a dramatic sales success.
There’s a common misconception that the tech-aware – the sort of people who read this site and who keep up with cutting-edge developments; the early-adopters, perhaps – are the audience for complex devices, simultaneously blinkered to the demands of the mainstream. It’s a false distinction: everyone is “guilty” of wanting a device that “just works”. Yes, some users might also want an extra degree of flexibility – to modify, tweak or generally step outside of the manufacturer’s expectations of what the device might be useful for – but there’s an assumption nonetheless that the core functionality will be rock solid.
Has that expectation forced devices to dumb-down? Perhaps – it’s certainly one way of ensuring the basics are addressed – but to be fair that seems to be the way many consumers prefer it. An application store packed with titles is all well and good, until one of them goes wrong and wipes out your address book. Developers are having to become cleverer at dealing with more rigid third-party software guidelines; sometimes that’s for good reasons, like sandboxing apps to prevent one crash bringing down the whole system, and sometimes for not so great reasons, like blanket limitations on background processes. There’s dumbed-down and there’s just plain dumb; it remains to be seen whether asking for a stable user experience has in fact left us with less choice overall.
Locked in a blacked-out room, chained to the ground and nobody knows you’re there… it might sound like the latest torture-porn movie to hit theaters, but it’s actually the miserable life of a pre-release iPad. Apple are well known for giving key developers early access to their hardware in the interest of drumming up some launch-day App Store action, and details of the 10-page agreement those coders must sign have been leaked to BusinessWeek.
According to the sources, in order for Apple to consider sending you an iPad for early access you have to send them photographic proof that you’ve created a “safe” room for it to hide in. That includes blacked-out windows and keeping the tablet “tethered to a fixed object” so that it can’t be removed.
Unsurprisingly Apple aren’t commenting on the leaks, and similarly unsurprisingly developers are lining up to agree to the Cupertino clauses. While firms confirmed to be working with pre-launch hardware aren’t named, some of those who fell short of Apple’s exacting standards have been listed: Evernote, Flixster and Digital Chocolate were all rejected. That’s left Evernote trying to second-guess how users will interact with the tablet; like many eager pre-order customers, they’ve even fabricated their own iPad mock-up so they can gauge usability factors such as where owners naturally rest their hands.
Waiting for a new gadget to launch that you know is coming that you really want is as bad as waiting for Santa as a kid. Things get worse when the product is delayed and you have to wait longer. Such was the case with the iPad. The thing was originally expected in late March, but unspecificed production problems delayed that launch until April.
The same delays happened with iPad accessories too. The keyboard dock was originally set for late April and has since been pushed further back to May. Lots of us were wondering exactly what the reason for the iPad delay was. Chinese publication Liberty Times is pointing the finger at Wintek for the iPad delay.
According to a report, Wintek is having delays with its touch panel manufacturing process. The delays resulted in fewer panels available for Apple. Wintek filed a statement with the Taiwan Stock Exchange claiming that its production is in line with plans and offered no comment on orders specifically for Apple.
Pros using Mac products will have a couple new choices starting in June reports AppleInsider. According to sources cited by the publication, Apple is working on its second LED backlit Cinema display and new updates for the Mac Pro desktop.
The new Cinema display is a 27-inch LED backlit unit that is basically a larger version of the 24-inch display the firm already offers. Sources familiar with the new screen says it has been in the Apple labs for a while and is often called the K59. Resolution is said to be 2560 x 1440, very close to the typical 30-inch resolution of 2560 x 1600.
Apple is also reportedly set to launch a 6-core update for the Mac Pro by way of adding the new Intel Xeon 5600 series CPUs to the mix. The updated Mac Pro is also pegged for a June launch and will offer 6-core chips in 2.66, 2.8, 2.93, and 3.33GHz flavors.
Apple patent applications are usually pretty dry, but it looks like a new one turned up by Patently Apple has a bit more user-focused meat to it -- it describes a location-based social networking app called "iGroups," which lets groups of people share data amongst themselves using a service like MobileMe. Once group members are identified and linked up, they can securely share information and users carrying devices without GPS-abilities will be able to triangulate their position using the positions of other GPS-enabled devices in the group. Of course, the actual patent itself is focused on the cryptographic key system that protects all the data, and we're pretty sure the "iGroups" name is just a placeholder for now -- we'd guess the developer of the iGroups app currently in the App Store hopes so too -- so how this winds up in a shipping product is totally up in the air, but our interest in what iPhone OS 4.0 may hold has certainly been piqued once again.
Today marks the departure of Jerome B. York, a member of Apple’s Board of Directors. York is the Chairman, President, and CEO of Harwinton Capital, and was the former CFO of IBM and Chrysler. He is still considered one of the driving forces behind both company’s turnarounds. He joined the board of directors for Apple when many were considering the fate of the company to be dire, and as Jobs puts it: “He has been a pillar of financial and business expertise and insight on our Board for over a dozen years.” York will be missed by many.
CUPERTINO, California—March 18, 2010—Apple® is sad to announce the death of Apple Board member Jerome B. (Jerry) York. York, the chairman, president and CEO of Harwinton Capital, joined Apple’s Board of Directors in 1997. He was the former CFO of IBM and Chrysler, and former vice chairman of Tracinda. He is widely acknowledged for his contributions at Chrysler and IBM during their turnarounds.
“Jerry joined Apple’s Board in 1997 when most doubted the company’s future. He has been a pillar of financial and business expertise and insight on our Board for over a dozen years,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “It’s been a privilege to know and work with Jerry, and I’m going to miss him a lot.”
Jerry York was born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1938. He graduated from the United States Military Academy, and received an MS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from the University of Michigan. Trained as an engineer, York worked his way up through Chrysler to become CFO.
We don't like to stir up the nearly constant barrage of "so-and-so is getting the iPhone" rumors unless we've got a great reason to do so -- and we'd argue that a Financial Times report involving statements from Deutsche Telekom's CEO qualifies. The British rag was chatting up DT's boss over the prospects of its American unit -- T-Mobile USA -- and stressed the company's long-term commitment to turning around T-Mobile's fortunes in the face of recent spinoff rumors, saying that it's all about rapidly building out a speedy 3G network as part of an effort this year "to lay the foundation for future growth."
Here's where it gets juicy: referring to the iPhone, the report goes on to say that "T-Mobile USA is hoping to start selling the popular smartphone later this year or next year" while focusing on Android in the meantime, as if Android is merely a stopgap measure to make it through to the singular device that can save America's number four carrier from going down the tubes. It's not clear whether FT got the chief exec making a statement to that effect on the record or it's merely gleaning this knowledge from other rumors, but the only way this would be able to happen is if the next iPhone were to come in an AWS-compatible version -- and that seems unlikely considering that AWS coverage represents a trivially small fraction of 3G subscribers around the world. Of course, wireless CEOs of all walks of life regularly make statements saying they'd be more than happy to carry the iPhone if the opportunity presented itself, so this could be little more than off-the-cuff blather anyway.
No need to spot clean your spectacles, and no need to brush the cobwebs out of your dome -- you really are seeing yet another IR dongle for Apple's dear iLineup. Hot on the heels of New Potato's FLPR, ThinkFlood's RedEye mini and Power A's solution comes this: an all-too-similar way to convert your iPod touch, iPhone or forthcoming iPad into a universal remote. Functionality wise, there's really nothing here that the other guys don't provide, though the beefed-up database of over 40,000 IR codes should make setting up your system a breeze. Users simply plug this into their dock connector, download the free application from the App Store and then dial up whatever components they have; once loaded, the IR beamer should do the rest, nixing the need to keep those 40 remotes around. It's expected to start shipping any day now for $69.95.
We already have push-to-talk and audio MMS messages, but leave it to Apple to try and reinvent – and re-patent – their own system. According to a new patent application made in November 2009, Apple envisage a setup whereby audio notes are transmitted via the voice channel rather than a carrier’s data backend server, thus removing one potential point of overload. The outgoing message could be recorded audio or it could be text automatically converted into audio for transmission through the voice channel.
“For example, once received [by an iPhone], the vocalized phone number can be passed to an audio output device that (in the case of a speaker) generates an audible rendition of the vocalized phone number. In another case, the vocalized phone number is forwarded to a voice mail server where the receiver records the vocalized phone number as a voice mail message for subsequent playback.” Apple patent application
At the other end, the recipient’s device could then handle the audio message in various ways, depending on how it has been configured. Most straightforward would be playback via the speaker, as with push-to-talk, but Apple also describe a system whereby the audio messages could be recorded in a visual-voicemail-style app for ad-hoc playback.
Alternatively, they could be transcribed back into text for reading on-screen. Apple reckon the setup could be a boon for avoiding situations where people want to check their messages but looking at the display isn’t necessarily safe, such as while driving.
