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Rotten Apple? Google Voice App Blocked from App Store

Paul, this "choice" is also why there is so much incompatibility on PCs.

But I was most annoyed by your proposal that "many" Mac users install Windows to be "compatible with the world". With that word choice, "world", you are exaggerating the scope and need for Mac users to run Windows.

There isn't a whole "world" out there that we're missing. Macs natively do email, HTML, Word/Excel/PowerPoint, Photoshop, Flash, PDF, etc. etc. etc. just as well, if not better, than PCs.

So what "world" are you referring to? Gaming?

Oh well, for some, that will be worth infecting a Mac with Windows. For most, however, it does not...


On Jul 29 01:50 AM Paul H. M. wrote:

> This is an example of how Windows became big in the first place:
> it has always been much less restrictive than the Mac OS.
>
> Apple makes you do everything their way, while Windows makes it easy
> to choose from so many hardware and software companies that develop for Windows.
>
> Many Mac users are forced to install Windows, just to be compatible with the world!

State of the iPhone: Strong. Very Strong.

Frank, have you even used an iPhone? "Run little apps"? Have you run Oracle clients on it? How about Salesforce? Or maybe the medical imaging app? What about the full VNC client and other emulators that let you connect to text- and GUI-based servers?

Everyone thinks it's just fart apps and download version is simple web games, but you'd be wrong. It's that and a whole lot more. Will be even more when the app-to-peripheral features are release this summer. The blood glucose monitor demonstration earlier this year was amazing.

Okay, so you think the email is subpar? Blackberry and Win Mobile do not offer the same organizing and viewing options as iPhone Mail. I get all of my accounts integrated, and I can also use server folders just like on my desktop. I get full HTML messages with images and photos included - and I can use the pinch-zoom to see anything larger as I need. Sorry, the other guys can't.

It hardly "fails" as a smartphone because some of these "click-throughs" have not been implemented (as 100 end-user features are coming in the next release this summer, including the much maligned lack of copy-paste, I'm expecting all of these will be addressed). And as for contacts, I'm not sure what is so hard about tapping the search field and tapping letters, which then feeds an incremental search over the whole "book" or just a contact group.

Mmmm, nobody needs 35,000 apps. And a lot of them do similar things. Yes, Apple needs to improve how people can find the apps that have value for them. But just because you haven't found any you like, doesn't mean others haven't.

See, that's the real difference. With Apple's platform it is easy for developers to cater to every niche. With other platforms, making and distributing apps is hard, so developers only do it if they think they will make a lot of money (notice how most other smartphone apps are much, much more expensive that iPhone apps?).

For most iPhone apps, it can me an impulse buy, and that is great for developers. Good for consumers, too.

As for your doom-and-gloom about the economy, I don't get the sentiment. Those conditions existed for all of the previous two quarters - why hasn't Apple suffered thus far, while others have?

You know what they said about the boy who cried wolf...


On Apr 23 09:16 PM Frank Castle wrote:

> Man the Apple fanbois are all stirred up and crowing away again.
>
>
> Apple iPhone is well at what it does. Run little apps and feed the
> Apple EcoSystem. As a phone it's subpar. As a email device its adequate
> for the average user. As a PIM .. well it's got contacts but it's
> not that easy to search through a few hundred. Still no notes sync
> support. No support for click to call, click to email etc. So while
> its capable it fails as a smartphone.
>
> People seem to be glossed over by this fact and sure for consumers
> iPhone is a HUGE step up from the cellphones they were used to. But
> for anyone who has used this technology since Palm Professional -
> iPhone is a whole new device type and as I said amazing at what it
> does.
>
> I have both devices and I use Blackberry for day to day and frankly
> have not found 26 apps worth keeping. All studies have shown people
> download / try / delete / repeat so yeah you need a constant stream
> of Apps to feed that. At the end of the day I have to make a living
> and the time to waste of AppStore is maybe twice a week to check
> out what is new.
>
> I would wager Blackberry users don't want or expect 35,000 apps.
> They tend to be people who just want to be connected.
>
> And BTW the Storm no matter how bad you trash it - still selling.
> Actually equaled the same amount of iPhones sold in US and come Storm
> 2, the other models COMBINED with BES 5.0 Blackberry will do just
> fine and usher in a new level of enterprise intergration iPhone can
> only dream about.
>
> Great week for Apple but I don't think any company is ready to boast
> how great they are doing as last I checked the economy is just getting
> worse, more jobs are lost weekly and my pay sure as heck isn't going
> up this year.

State of the iPhone: Strong. Very Strong.

I agree, great article, and a thorough and thought-provoking comment from iJah.

You know, it is the business model that Apple has created that is astounding. The nay-sayers pooh-pooh’d the first iPhone as a “toy” because they were so limited in vision. Back then, developers could only do Webkit apps, and their only revenue options were direct subscriptions/payments from users or advertising. This was no more compelling for developers than existing mobile web apps - they still needed commerce engines, servers, hosting, networks, etc - all this system engineering "infrastructure" - sheesh! If you weren't already in the business, you weren't likely to try to ante up those "table stakes".

Cut to the summer of 2008 and now any developer can try their hand at striking “gold” because Apple has taken care of all the e-commerce infrastructure. Really, it’s like what they did for personal desktop publishing, then personal media management, and now, personal application development.

The special thing about Apple is that they truly have a company culture where they want to put out creative tools for the masses, not just the gearheads and folks with deep pockets and development organizations (yeah, I’m talking about you, Microsoft and Oracle). I mean you hear about these AppStore success stories and a lot of them are “just a guy” with an idea and a lot of determination and passion – it makes you recall how Apple started: two Steves in a CA garage.

It has come full circle – but like that also implies, it is cyclical – Apple keeps repeating this “creativity for the rest of us” loop over and over in more and more areas. It really is amazing, and beautiful…

Apple's Walmart Deal Will Effectively Kill Google's Android

I don't think so. Apple already sells iPods through Walmart, so I don't think they will lose any cachet by adding the iPhone to the mix.

Remember, they are the ones who made famous "the computer for the rest of us". The idea that Apple products are somehow elitist is just a Wintel fanboy fantasy.

They have often cost more than competitors (but not always), but that was because you were paying for greater quality and industrial design.

"Average folk" are willing to pay for quality (true quality, not just celebrity status) just as much as the "upper crust".


On Dec 10 07:38 PM Greg Skidmore wrote:

> I find this idea of selling in wmt curious. I think it risks alienating
> Apples cult like following. I remember reading Malcolm Gladwell's
> book Tipping Point and he discusses when Airwalk started selling
> their shoes in main stream dept. stores. Killed the brand immediately.
> What made Airwalks cool is you had to buy them in skate or bmx shops.
> Is apple going to make itself uncool by selling in wmt?
>

Apple's Walmart Deal Will Effectively Kill Google's Android

The thing that Apple has going for it over RIM and Google is the distribution infrastructure. And I don't mean just the retail distribution (is there anyplace that you can see the Blackberry showcased and demonstrated as the iPhone is in an Apple Store?).

Instead, I'm talking primarily about the content distribution system. Because Apple has an end-to-end solution, the iTunes / App Stores blow away anything that RIM or Google have or will have in the near future.

This is the kind of system that locks in loyalty - and locks in future revenue. Not to mention future innovation. I mean, I don't even have an iPhone (I have an iPod Touch), but I have had 12 (!) system updates in just one year (the iPhone had gone through 3 additional ones before the iPod Touch was released), and only the major upgrades had a nominal charge - the other 10 updates: free (all updates have been free for iPhone users). Not to mention all of the apps I've downloaded - and the developer has updated - over the course of just the past few months since the App Store launched.

And don't even mention Windows Mobile! How long did it take to finally release their 6.0 version? And the next release, 6.1, wasn't until another year later. And now 7.0 has been pushed out to 2010 (although I guess a minor 6.5 upgrade is due ... about now ...)

And all of this staying current for me took no more effort than getting email - it is right there in iTunes, waiting for me. The system tells me when there is a system update or a new version of a 3rd party application - all I have to do is click the "download" button.

That's the thing about Apple's approach - it is ease-of-use-centric and strongly encourages customer loyalty. I mean, the iPod Touch is like a "gateway drug" for the iPhone - I'm sure many iPod Touch purchases are people who'd like an iPhone but are still under their current mobile provider's contract. The number of upgrades from iPod to iPhone would be an interesting metric...

Apple's Walmart Deal Will Effectively Kill Google's Android

Ummm, Joe Six-Pack already knows how to use a cellular phone, and he knows how to use a touch-screen ATM.

That's all you really need to know to use an iPhone.

It isn't really that hard - easier in fact than navigating the infernal software systems on most of today's handset makers.


On Dec 10 07:59 AM Philly Jim wrote:

> Um, Joe six-pack doesn't know how to use the i-Phone. They are simply
> getting ahead of the curve. Consumers are shunning more expensive
> outlets for a bargain. Something more interesting to keep an eye
> is in the drop in new subscribers of internet access plans for these
> smartphones. The prices will eventually have to come down for these
> services to be viable in this market.

Was the iPhone Deal Worth It for AT&T?

Ugh, poor analysis, and it shows a lack of understanding in the general wireless telecom market. We have *huge* customer cost of acquisitions in general, and it is even higher in the smartphone category. Like the other poster said - it is the handset subsidies, which is why you only get them when you agree to sign a long-term contract (notice the words "long" and "term") - because the carrier knows that over the course of the contract the subsidy will be recouped either in monthly charges or an early termination fee.

So, when you get more customers than your current operating budget and conditions support, it does look bad in the short-term. Even my company, which is not AT&T, got a lift in smartphone sales due to the iPhone (I guess a rising tide does lift all boats...), and it affected our short-term budget plans. It's a good "problem" to have.

But make no mistake, getting new customers is never a bad thing, especially those who are some of the most coveted and the current and future drivers of ARPU - data users! To the poster who said that AT&T is losing money on data usage, you're just plain wrong. This is where the money's at.

This is just a continuing symptom of what got us into this leveraged mess of an economy - too much focus on short-term gain!

Only 35% of iPhone Buyers Will Get it For $199

It's not that most people don't understand the new iPhone pricing - it's that most people don't understand all MOBILE PHONE pricing! Carrier subsidies for handset prices is a generally standard practice. It was a-typical that Apple and AT&T introduced the iPhone without subsidies last year. And that was why the iPhone *appeared* so much more expensive than other smartphones over the last 12 months.

This just brings the iPhone into parity with its competition (well, at least on pricing! ;-), and the new contract subsidies will incent a lot of new activations for AT&T. That's why they do it.

Sure, existing iPhone users will not be able to buy a new one (just a year after their last one, for crying-out-loud!) for $199. But that is the nature of carrier subsidies for a 2-year contract. It is what it is! But it is not news, 'cause that's the way it has just about always been with cellular handsets.