Fresh Apple: TheAppleBlog (4 сообщения)

rss2email.ru

MakDesigns - Модный графический дизайн

SEO жизнь - зашибись!

Глум над рекламой и брендами

Благотворительный фонд Чулпан Хаматовой

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.
http://theappleblog.com
рекомендовать друзьям >>

China Unicom Sells Just Five iPhones Through Major Chinese Online Retailer

It’s only been open for two weeks, but according to recently released sales figures from a store on a major digital retailer in China, the iPhone isn’t doing that great — at least, not through official channels. China Unicom has sold only five iPhones through large retail site Taobao.com so far, according to PC World.

China Unicom also sells the device through its own site, so the numbers are far from final, but they do probably at least hint at how the iPhone is faring in official outlets. Taobao.com’s iPhone sales also started later than the network operator’s, a couple of weeks after the iPhone’s official launch at the end of October.

The five iPhones sold include two 8GB models, and three 16GB devices. Taobao.com is the most frequented online retail site in China, and a go-to destination especially for electronics like cell phones and computers, so that’s a little like similar numbers being posted for iPhone sales at Amazon.com, were it offered there.

The problem is that China is already flooded with iPhones, despite how long it took Apple to come to an agreement with an official service provider for the device. Not only that, but unofficially unlocked devices brought in from other countries also boast Wi-Fi, something which Apple had to agree to remove from its production run for China at the behest of China Unicom in order to engineer a distribution deal.

There’s also the matter of price, which is no small concern. A 16GB iPhone 3GS costs around 5700 yuan (about $834) and the 32GB model will run you 6,999 yuan. It’s much cheaper in most cases to pick up an imported, unlocked international version. Pricing issues and the lack of Wi-Fi could account for why China Unicom itself reported only 5,000 sales in the first few days, a dismal number when compared with international launch figures.

It may seem like a loss for both China Unicom and Apple, but really, it sends a clear message to Apple’s other business partners going forward: If you let us do things our way, and don’t make any extraordinary demands that drag out the negotiation process and impede our ability to offer consumers exactly what we already know they want, everyone wins. If not, customers will seek other solutions.

As Apple looks to expand the availability of the iPhone, opening up the device to more and more carriers worldwide, it’s an important message to send, and best of all, the consumer wins thanks to reduced control residing in the hands of telcos, and more with hardware and software makers that actually care about user experience quality control.

Переслать
App Store World Domination in 2010: 300,000 Apps Strong

IDC is making some bold predictions for 2010, one of the boldest being a tripling of the number of applications at Apple’s App Store. In reality, that might actually be a conservative guess.

According to IDC, the App Store will have 300,000 applications by the end of next year. Looking at the history, that looks pretty good in a chart, except IDC is predicting even faster growth for Google’s Android Market.

In its first year, the Android Market amassed about 10,000 applications, tepid growth compared to the App Store’s first year. The reason was pretty simple, not a lot of Android devices to choose from, not a lot of mobile providers carrying them. Going forward, the Android Market currently has about 15,000 applications, but the number of devices, from mobile phones to tablets to netbooks will be greatly increase in 2010. There may be as many as 50 devices, including mobile phones on networks all over the world.

In contrast, Apple will still have only the iPhone and iPod touch, and maybe a tablet. Considering the propagation and availability of Android devices, it’s not unreasonable to see the Android Market at 75,000 applications by the end of 2010. That wold be a fivefold increase, two more folds than the App Store is projected to have, but there’s a problem with that projection. The number of devices available does not necessarily equate to more devices being sold.

In June at WWDC, Apple announced that more than 40 million iPhone OS devices had been sold. Since then, the company has probably sold another 10 million iPhones. The iPod touch appears to be selling around half as many iPhones now, so that’s another five million iPhone OS devices. By the end of this year, there will easily have been more than 60 million iPhone OS devices sold.

It’s widely expected that a Mac tablet capable of running applications from the App Store will be released early next year, as well as rumors of a Verizon iPhone in 2010. However, even without either of those devices, Apple will easily have sold 100 million iPhone OS devices before introducing new models of the iPhone and iPod touch around the middle of the year. What’s the best case estimate for Android device sales by that time? Five million, maybe ten?

In the New York Times, IDC analyst Frank Gens made an interesting comment. “The market follows the applications,” Mr. Gens said. “That's a message for the software industry, particularly for the PC industry.” I wonder if IDC has considered the reverse of that, that the applications follow the market, in this case the iPhone OS device market.

300,000 apps in the App Store by 2010? Try half a million, minimum.

Переслать
Big Gains Predicted for Apple Market Share in 2010

Investors should be seriously looking at putting more money into Apple stock, says one industry analyst. Robert Cihra of Caris & Company is predicting that Mac market share will grow by 26 percent in 2010, compared to only a 16 percent expansion in the general computing industry.

Cihra predicts in a new research report (PDF download, requires registration) that Apple will have a 4 percent overall market share in the year 2010, which is actually around what it has now, according to numbers released in September. Apple’s pricing and profit model, however, give it a 10 percent share of worldwide revenue. Despite not seeing growth in terms of overall market share, Cihra still thinks Apple is the best stock available in the personal computing market.

The report, as described by AppleInsider, sees Mac unit sales growing because of things like pricing and product line control:

Cihra goes into great detail on his analysis in a note issued to investors Thursday morning. Due to Apple controlling its own product cycles, as well as pricing, he believes Mac units will grow at a rate of 1.6 times faster than the entire PC market. On average, the Mac has outpaced the PC market as a whole by 1.8 times over the last 12 quarters.

In the report, Cihra also explains why Apple remains the best stock choice for investors interested in the computing sector:

As the most (in fact only) innovative, highest-value (hardware+software) and profitable PC vendor, we estimate Apple having earned a Mac [average selling price] of $1,289 in CY09, down 10% [year over year] but still representing a premium of 1.8x vs. its Wintel peers. Even more meaningful, we estimate Apple Macs generating a gross profit-per-unit of nearly $340, which is 2-3x our estimate for its peers, keeping us focused on AAPL as the single best PC market investment.

Apple’s success is due to a number of factors, but one in particular is the way in which it predicted the dominance of the notebook well before it had achieved that position with consumers. The price of Apple’s notebooks fell below those of its desktop offerings in around 2005, a full two years before the same thing happened at HP, one of the largest PC manufacturers. Many consumers these days, if they have only one computer, choose a notebook because while performance has caught up to desktop machines, portability and battery life in laptop computers have made significant gains.

While Cihra doesn’t seem to mention it, if Apple does indeed release a tablet in 2010, and if it can price it reasonably, as recent evidence seems to suggest it will, there’s no telling what kind of gains we could see. If done well, Apple would essentially be creating a new market, which could provoke an uptick in its fortunes the likes of which we haven’t seen since the introduction of the iPod.

Переслать
iTopoMaps: Technology in the Wilderness
Like a lot of tech enthusiasts, I end up spending a lot of time sitting in front of my computer. When I do find a chance to break away I like to get out into the wilderness for a little backpacking. Nothing clears the mind like a nice long walk up a mountain and a night spent out in the open and of course, as with most things these days, there’s an app for that.

iTopoMaps makes getting around in the wilds easier than ever with downloadable USGS topographic maps, waypoints, range and bearing tracking and more.

Going for a hike is a great way to get some fresh air, take a break from the hectic pace of modern life and leave behind all the trappings of the modern technology. Well not quite all the trappings, I do of course always bring my iPhone with me. In fact, my 3GS is really well suited for helping me out on the trail.
- As a camera: An ever-growing catalog of great photography apps means that grabbing a quick panorama of the valley you just hiked out of is easier than ever.
- As a navigation tool: The built-in compass with both magnetic and true north can keep you pointed in the right direction.
- For emergencies: If you’re able to get some kind of cellular signal it can obviously be very valuable in an emergency situation for contacting help.
- As a quick reference guide: Want to identify that bird you just heard? There’s an app for that. Want to remember how to tie that Siberian Hitch knot in your tarp line? There’s an app for that. Want to figure out what animal made that track? You get the idea.
And of course, there’s always the built-in GPS. Being able to quickly place yourself on a map with a high degree of accuracy has obvious benefits on a hike, especially if you’re out bush whacking away from established trails. I suppose you could just bring a dedicated GPS device but if you’re packing light then multi-purpose is the name of the game. If you want it with you on the trail, then you’ve got to carry it around on your back, so the more you can do with less, the better off you are.

While iTopoMaps won’t give you all the functionality of those big dedicated devices, it offers more than enough for most walks. If you’re planning on serious multi-week backcountry trips then something a little more fully featured, not to mention weatherproof, may be necessary. For your average 1-3 day jaunt though, iTopoMaps hits the spot.

Before you hit the trail fire up the App and download the necessary map sections; maps are full 1:24k USGS Quads and free of charge. With the maps cached locally, once on the trail you can go into Airplane mode to save battery life and still zoom around and pan the map as needed. Set a waypoint, select it as your destination, then turn on the GPS to get your distance and bearing. All that’s left to do is start walking.

Once you reach your destination you can even snap a nice photo and load the image in as the default image for that waypoint on the map.

What’s your favorite iPhone app to use while out in the wilds?
Переслать