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TheAppleBlog
TheAppleBlog, published by and for the day-to-day Apple user, is a prominent source for news, reviews, walkthroughs, and real life application of all Apple products.
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Opening Weekend: iPhone vs. Pre vs. Droid

After heavy promotion, including a little negative advertising, Verizon launched the Droid over the weekend, and two days later the first sales estimates are in: 100,000.

Speaking with Bloomberg, Analyst Mark McKechnie of Broadpoint AmTech thinks that’s pretty good. Noting that Verizon had 200,000 Droids on the shelves for launch, he said most stores sold at least half their inventory.

"I see the first few days as encouraging," McKechnie said. "There seems to be pretty good demand — they've taken the right steps and picked a good partner with Google on the Android side."

While that may be true, comparing the Droid to the iPhone and the Palm Pre during their launch weekends paints a different picture…or chart.

According to Apple, both the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS sold more than a million units during their first weekend. Some might argue that’s an unfair comparison, in that both iPhones were available in multiple countries. Both also benefited from the App Store, though that was far more of an advantage for the 3GS. When the iPhone 3G went on sale, there were only 500 apps available, compared to more than 10,000 for the Droid now.

Still, a more fair comparison might be found with the original iPhone, as it too was sold in the U.S. on a single network. However, it should also be pointed out that Verizon has more customers than AT&T, and that the original iPhone was not a 3G device, and that the 8GB model cost $599.

Nonetheless, Verizon’s 100,000 Droids looks pretty good next to Apple’s 270,000 iPhones, except for one thing. That number does not include Sunday sales, which fell on July 1 and were part of a new quarter. It’s very possible Apple sold as many as 400,000 iPhones during that first weekend of lines around the block.

Of course, lines aren’t everything. As Verizon spokesperson David Samberg said to CNET regarding Friday’s Droid launch, “long lines forming outside are flashy,” but the goal is a “a steady stream of people” over days and weeks. Perhaps the Droid would be better compared to Palm’s smartphone, which is estimated to have sold around 50,000 units during its launch weekend.

It’s looks like Verizon may have a “Pre killer” in the Droid.

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VESA Issues Mini DisplayPort Standard

Earlier this year (right at the beginning, in fact), we brought news that the Video Electronics Standard Association (VESA) might potentially make the Mini DisplayPort standard, meaning that manufacturers outside of Apple can now use it in their products without Apple’s approval, including rival computer makers, among others.

The Mini DisplayPort (mDP) standard is described as a smaller form factor of the DisplayPort connector itself. The smaller connector is aimed at devices like thin portable computes and add-in cards that need to support multiple display interfaces. Hopefully, display and display accessory makers will adopt the standard, reducing the need to purchase expensive Apple-branded adapters.

The new mDP is for Version 1, Revision 1a of the standard, though DisplayPort 1.2 including mDP is in the works, which will double the available bandwidth of the cable tech to 21.6 Gb/second. That would mean that multi-monitor support via a single cable would be feasible, as well as higher resolutions and improved color depth and refresh rates. 3-D displays necessary for demanding graphical applications could also be supported with the new version of the standard.

As a result of this new standard creation by VESA, we could see a flood of mDP-toting computing devices, or we could see very little change at all. As with FireWire, many computer makers might opt to skip mDP or DP in favor of more established technologies like DVI and VGA, since they are more widely available and don’t necessitate a change to manufacturing processes. The one thing mDP has going for it is its size, and makers of MacBook Air competitors will probably be the first to bite, if anyone does.

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Orange Launch Day iPhone Sales Set a Record

Today is the day the iPhone stopped being an exclusive in the UK. Officially, as of 7 a.m., the device went on sale at Orange retailers across the UK, and the carrier is already claiming that the iPhone has gone over exceedingly well with consumers, despite already having been available to O2 customers since its initial launch.

By the end of business today, the newest UK iPhone carrier on the block will have sold well more than 30,000 iPhones, according to gadget web site T3. Not bad for what’s technically a relaunch of an already available device. Compare that with Motorola’s claim of 100,000 Droid units moved in three days in the U.S. Properly framed and in context, the iPhone figures Orange is claiming are much more impressive, and show that hype aside, any competitor still has a long way to go to contend with Apple.

Orange also claims that the impressive sales numbers represent a new record for first day handset device sales in the UK, at least regarding published results. The launch sales of the device have also helped Orange’s own Wednesdays app climb to the top of the Entertainment category charts, and achieve the No. 2 ranking overall in the free section of the App Store.

Vodafone, which has yet to launch the iPhone, but intends to in early 2010, didn’t want to just sit back and let Orange have its day in the sun uncontested. The UK cell service provider is hoping to convince some would-be iPhone buyers to step back and wait until its own launch, by reporting that in tests (which I’m sure were completely unbiased), the Vodafone network is the fastest using the iPhone:

“We’ve been out and about testing our network across the UK. Whilst our guys were watching the latest YouTube clips on the iPhone they found that Vodafone delivered the fastest download time for a 10-minute video.”

Vodafone provided not a single scrap of statistical evidence to back up its claim, which is only fair since Orange didn’t provide any to support its claim regarding sales numbers, either.

Orange recently came under scrutiny for its reported 750MB cap on data usage under its “Unlimited” plan, and for imposing bizarre restrictions on how network data may be used, restrictions that seemed, if taken at face value, to basically prohibit 90 percent of iPhone usage. Obviously, the company isn’t actually preventing its iPhone customers from doing things like using IM applications, and since no one’s had a chance to hit that 750MB limit as of yet, things appear to be going more than smoothly for the big launch.

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MacBook vs. MacBook Pro: Which Should You Buy?

AppleGazette’s Kevin Whipps addresses the quandary over how to choose between a MacBook and a MacBook Pro, noting that it used to be that if you wanted a 13-inch Mac laptop (excluding the MacBook Air), the only option was the original MacBook. Now with a 13-inch aluminum MacBook Pro on the market, the decision has become more complex.

Kevin allows that the 13″ MacBook Pro doesn’t give you a lot more value for your dollar, comparatively. I beg to differ, but there’s a large element of subjectivity in any such judgment, with many variables such as how much you value FireWire support (some of us a lot), how important a SD Card slot is to your needs, and whether the premium look, fit, finish, and durability of the Pro’s aluminum unibody construction justifies the 20 percent higher price.

20 Percent Higher Price — 20 Percent More Value?

Personally, I think these factors do add up to 20 percent more real value and then some, although Kevin has a point about the two machines being pretty much clones when it comes to core computing power. For example, it now appears that even Apple’s nominal 4GB maximum RAM upgrade spec for the MacBook is completely arbitrary. OWC is offering 8GB memory upgrade kits for the plastic unibody MacBook.

The MacBook comes with a 250GB hard drive, which is more than respectable for standard equipment, especially since the 13″ MacBook Pro’s base $1,199 model comes with a more modest 160GB drive. With the MacBook, 320GB and 500GB drives are BTO options, but that bumps the price to MacBook Pro levels.

The Case for the 15″ MacBook Pro

Kevin actually includes the 15″ MacBook Pro in his comparison, noting that at 5.5 pounds, the unibody 15-incher is not a whole lot heavier than the 13″ MacBook and MacBook Pro units at 4.7lb. and 4.5lb. respectively, and offers much more expansive screen real estate at its 1440 x 900 resolution. Being a former 17″ PowerBook user who recently switched from the big, old ‘Book’s 1440 x 900 display to an aluminum unibody MacBook’s more cramped 1280 x 800 13.3″ screen, I have to agree, and the latest $1,699 entry-level 15″ Pro is especially price-enticing.

However, note well that if you need the heavy-duty graphics support provided by the discrete NVIDIA 9600M GT GPU with 256MB of dedicated VRAM, you’re still going to have to pony up $1,999 for the middle-model 2.66GHz 15″ Pro. The $1,699 unit is essentially identical in power to the high-end $1,499 13″ MacBook Pro, and has only the integrated NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics chipset (which should be more than adequate if you’re not into high-end graphics or video, or serious gaming) that annexes up to 256MB of your system RAM for video support.

A No-Brainer

Personally, while I find the new polycarbonate unibody MacBook very attractive — a quantum improvement over the old, iBook-esque MacBook form factor — my recommendation remains if you can somehow scratch up the extra $200, the base 2.26GB MacBook Pro 13″ represents the zenith of value and power for the money that Apple has ever offered in a portable computer, and if you’re willing to go with an Apple Certified Refurbished unit, the Apple Store currently has them available for the same $999 price as the new plastic MacBook, with the same warranty and AppleCare eligibility.

For me, it’s a no-brainer.

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