They say a picture is worth a thousand words. A chart can say so much more. Earlier today, Apple announced 2 billion downloads from its mobile App Store and 85,000 applications available. Silicon Alley Insider put that apps into a shocking chart.
Tag: Apple
Headline of the Day: ‘AT&T to Welcome iPhone Users to 2003 Tomorrow’
All Things Digital—and it’s an understatement. “At some point late tomorrow morning, the carrier will release an update enabling MMS,” he writes. About a minute later, AT&T’s network will go all to hell—it’s the end of the world as we know it—as iPhoners break out in one giant unison MMS.
Ah, the iPhone. A few weeks ago, I pronounced that my Nokia N97 is gone, it’s back again. I dumped the iPhone 3GS, and I’m surprised how little I miss the smartypants phone. Perhaps it was a psychological sense of missing out on something that caused the “disconnected” feeling using the N97 that I blogged about . No more.
My Run In With Fake Steve Jobs
It’s not the first encounter. But this time, I fought back. Last week, someone tweeted that I had been Fake Steved. Last week, at Betanews I blogged: “Why I chose Windows 7 Over Snow Leopard (and you should, too).”
For Fake Steve (aka, journalist Dan Lyons) that translated into post title: “Borg lapdog says you should choose Windows 7 over Snow Leopard.”
Nokia and the iPhone Hype Problem
Nokia World convenes for two days in Stuttgart, Germany (local time there, 9 a.m.). It’s an event that many US analysts, bloggers or journalists will look at with disdain. If hype were the only measure of success, Apple would be the world’s largest handset manufacturer. But for all the iPhone bark—much of it coming from the United States—Nokia has got way more bite. Not that most Americans will hear about it.
My Nokia N97 is Gone
I am mad at Apple and Nokia. Apple has the best mobile software and services platform anywhere. Nokia offers the best hardware platform—granted, HTC closes in. This difference has forced me to choose one company’s smartphone over the other, leaving behind dissatisfaction with the compromise.
Your Next PC is a Smartphone
Last Friday’s Silicon Alley Insider Chart of the Day should scare Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer so badly that he accidentally buys a Japanese car. Sorry, Steve, you missed the Cash for Clunkers program. That’s OK, maybe someday the Obama Administration will offer a clunkers program for Windows PCs.
No Thanks: Full-Screen iPhone Ads
Look what popped up on my iPhone 3GS while reading a New York Times story. A full-screen advertisement. I would rather skip the ads and pay the Times, say, five bucks a month for content. […]
Look to ‘The Loop’ for Good Branding Ideas
IDG laid off my buddy Jim Dalrymple about the time I got the boot from eWEEK. Jim wasted no time starting a new enterprise, and at the right place: The brand. Jim brilliantly rebranded himself, and what he did should be lesson to any person or company looking to launch a new product or service.
It’s easy to dismiss Jim, because of “the beard.” You wouldn’t think he’s all that bright, because of the shag, which gets more in your face than his. Jim is so small town he doesn’t live in Halifax, Nova Scotia, but just outside the city. Most Americans would respond “Where?” if asked about Halifax. Hehe, that could be a “Jeopardy” answer. But greater Halifax, the largest city north of Boston and east of Montreal, is home to about 360,000 people.
Apple, Could You do for Movies and TV Shows What You did for Music?
I would like to suggest that Apple make something like “Complete My Album” and “Upgrade to iTunes Plus” available for movies, TV shows and music videos. Such iTunes features could revolutionize how people electronically rent or buy video content.
There are occasional iTunes sales and promotions that do some of what I want to suggest (and hopefully I haven’t missed any important perpetual promotions or features). I’m convinced that iTunes Store could use the upsell “complete my this or that” strategy to further leap ahead of competing digital download services. Of course, content copyright holders and distributors would have to be willing parties to the changes.
Mac Office Changes are About Business Branding
Today, Microsoft announced changes to Office for Macintosh. There is much less here than might appear. A new version will come for holiday 2010, replacing Entourage with a new version of Outlook. Next month, Microsoft will begin selling a new Mac Office edition, branded for businesses.
Microsoft, Don’t Hang Up Windows Mobile
August is the month of punditry. With many workers on vacation—this year, many are unemployed or on unpaid furlough, too—tech companies tend to hold back big announcements. So news and blog sites have to fill the space with something, seeing as how there is less news. Five minutes before Midnight EDT, yesterday, Business Week posted analyst Jack Gold’s Windows Mobile-ending prediction. It’s Microsoft punditry at its scariest.
Two Tales of Windows 7 Abandon
In the interests of transparency and fair disclosure, I must make two of three confessions. Several people have asked, via comment, e-mail or tweet, whether or not my wife and daughter stuck with Windows 7. There’s appropriateness to responding the day Microsoft released the operating system to MSDN and TechNet subscribers.