Posts tagged Apple’s
Apple’s Walled Garden Is Still Censorship With A Human Face
Apr 10th
Every geek worth his or her salt knows that Wednesday is new comic day, a happy day for exploring their local comics store and getting their pick lists filled with glorious four-color adventures. For some, this means purchasing electronic copies of their favorite books online, to be read on their computer, tablet or even smartphones.
But today’s experience will be marred for fans of Brian K. Vaughan’s Saga: the creator of the series from Image Comics has released a statement indicating that Apple would be banning sales of Saga #12 in the popular ComiXology app and any other third-party comic app due to depicted sexual scenes.
“Unfortunately, because of two postage stamp-sized images of gay sex, Apple is banning tomorrow’s SAGA #12 from being sold through any iOS apps,” Vaughan said in a statement posted at Image.
If you’re not familiar with Vaughan’s work, either on Saga or the award-winning series Y: The Last Man, then you would know that when Vaughan writes a series meant for mature readers, then it’s definitely going to be mature. Already in Saga, for instance, there have been scenes and depictions that I would definitely not want my younger kids reading.
That’s what makes this decision by Apple to prevent the sale of Saga #12 all the more odd. If they were being consistent, then they would have blocked the sale of Saga altogether. The only thing different about this particular issue’s scene? It is explicitly depicting sex between multiple male partners.
This is not the only thing that’s odd with Apple’s decision: while the company has not been shy about banning apps in their App Store that have content or activities that could be construed as violent or sexual in nature, this may be the first time they have curated independent content sold through an app (and, by extension, Apple, since they take a cut from everything bought in iOS). But, according to the App Store Review Guidelines, independent content, such as books or music, is not supposed to be curated.
“We view Apps different than books or songs, which we do not curate. If you want to criticize a religion, write a book. If you want to describe sex, write a book or a song, or create a medical App. It can get complicated, but we have decided to not allow certain kinds of content in the App Store.”
This hasn’t stopped Apple from blocking the sale of Saga #12 within ComiXology, even though this issue falls squarely under the definition of a book.
It gets even weirder: according to Vaughan, you can buy the very same issue directly from Apple itself.
“If all else fails, you might be able to find SAGA #12 in Apple’s iBookstore, which apparently sometimes allows more adult material to be sold than through its apps. Crazy, right?,” Vaughan wrote.
At the end of the day, from a practical point of view, Apple’s decision does nothing to actually prevent readers from reading this issue on their iOS device. You can still purchase the issue on ComiXology’s website and have it synchronize to your iPad or iPhone. This is what I do every week anyway, because it’s faster to make one big purchase on the site rather than tap “Purchase” and “Buy” 15 or 20 times.
Or, as Vaughan said, you can just get the comic right inside the iBook app. Which I would not recommend, because this is usually a sub-optimal user experience (code for: “sucks”). And then there’s the hard copy available at you local comic retailer.
Or (and here’s a wild thought) don’t buy the issue. Vaughan and artist Fiona Staples’ use of graphic imagery is not what this book is about, but rather elements of a larger story. Still, it is certainly the right of any consumer to choose to not purchase something if they find it offensive. Or return it and ask for a refund.
What Apple has done here, however, is taken that choice away from the consumer. They are not letting them discover new content and deciding for themselves if it’s good or bad. They are not letting consumers choose to impose Restrictions on apps that might display content that some would find objectionable for their children.
I have my own thoughts on Vaughan’s use of language and imagery in his works. I am personally uncomfortable with any explicit depictions of sex and violence but I also recognize that sometimes as a reader I’m supposed to have my perceptions and opinions challenged. That’s true for written works, music or art. If I consume literature that only makes me comfortable, what do I learn? How am I challenged?
But if I consume literature that only someone else finds comfortable, that’s even worse.
Apple’s values are not always mine or yours, and it’s past time to start noticing the walls of the garden in which Apple holds iOS users.
Image courtesy of Image Comics.
View full post on ReadWrite
Apple’s Walled Garden Is Still Pleasant Censorship
Apr 10th
Every geek worth his or her salt knows that Wednesday is new comic day, a happy day for exploring their local comics store and getting their pick lists filled with glorious four-color adventures. For some, this means purchasing electronic copies of their favorite books online, to be read on their computer, tablet or even smartphones.
But today’s experience will be marred for fans of Brian K. Vaughan’s Saga: the creator of the series from Image Comics has released a statement indicating that Apple would be banning sales of Saga #12 in the popular ComiXology app and any other third-party comic app due to depicted sexual scenes.
“Unfortunately, because of two postage stamp-sized images of gay sex, Apple is banning tomorrow’s SAGA #12 from being sold through any iOS apps,” Vaughan said in a statement posted at Image.
If you’re not familiar with Vaughan’s work, either on Saga or the award-winning series Y: The Last Man, then you would know that when Vaughan writes a series meant for mature readers, then it’s definitely going to be mature. Already in Saga, for instance, there have been scenes and depictions that I would definitely not want my younger kids reading.
That’s what makes this decision by Apple to prevent the sale of Saga #12 all the more odd. If they were being consistent, then they would have blocked the sale of Saga altogether. The only thing different about this particular issue’s scene? It is explicitly depicting sex between multiple male partners.
This is not the only thing that’s odd with Apple’s decision: while the company has not been shy about banning apps in their App Store that have content or activities that could be construed as violent or sexual in nature, this may be the first time they have curated independent content sold through an app (and, by extension, Apple, since they take a cut from everything bought in iOS). But, according to the App Store Review Guidelines, independent content, such as books or music, is not supposed to be curated.
“We view Apps different than books or songs, which we do not curate. If you want to criticize a religion, write a book. If you want to describe sex, write a book or a song, or create a medical App. It can get complicated, but we have decided to not allow certain kinds of content in the App Store.”
This hasn’t stopped Apple from blocking the sale of Saga #12 within ComiXology, even though this issue falls squarely under the definition of a book.
It gets even weirder: according to Vaughan, you can buy the very same issue directly from Apple itself.
“If all else fails, you might be able to find SAGA #12 in Apple’s iBookstore, which apparently sometimes allows more adult material to be sold than through its apps. Crazy, right?,” Vaughan wrote.
At the end of the day, from a practical point of view, Apple’s decision does nothing to actually prevent readers from reading this issue on their iOS device. You can still purchase the issue on ComiXology’s website and have it synchronize to your iPad or iPhone. This is what I do every week anyway, because it’s faster to make one big purchase on the site rather than tap “Purchase” and “Buy” 15 or 20 times.
Or, as Vaughan said, you can just get the comic right inside the iBook app. Which I would not recommend, because this is usually a sub-optimal user experience (code for: “sucks”). And then there’s the hard copy available at you local comic retailer.
Or (and here’s a wild thought) don’t buy the issue. Vaughan and artist Fiona Staples’ use of graphic imagery is not what this book is about, but rather elements of a larger story. Still, it is certainly the right of any consumer to choose to not purchase something if they find it offensive. Or return it and ask for a refund.
What Apple has done here, however, is taken that choice away from the consumer. They are not letting them discover new content and deciding for themselves if it’s good or bad. They are not letting consumers choose to impose Restrictions on apps that might display content that some would find objectionable for their children.
I have my own thoughts on Vaughan’s use of language and imagery in his works. I am personally uncomfortable with any explicit depictions of sex and violence but I also recognize that sometimes as a reader I’m supposed to have my perceptions and opinions challenged. That’s true for written works, music or art. If I consume literature that only makes me comfortable, what do I learn? How am I challenged?
But if I consume literature that only someone else finds comfortable, that’s even worse.
Apple’s values are not always mine or yours, and it’s past time to start noticing the walls of the garden in which Apple holds iOS users.
Image courtesy of Image Comics.
View full post on ReadWrite
What Apple’s Jony Ive Can Learn From Facebook Home
Apr 5th
Facebook Home, which Facebook has described both as “a new way to turn your Android phone into a great, living, social phone” and “the best version of Facebook there is,” won’t be available on Apple’s iPhone anytime soon, if ever. Does Apple care?
Probably not, although it should. More than an app, though not quite a operating system, Facebook Home delivers a highly visual, system-wide presentation of real-time social data that also makes innovative use of touch-based gestures. In the process, it makes iOS look, well, dated.
Jony Ive, call your office.
Why Apple Shouldn’t Worry About Home
In the short term, Apple has relatively little to fear. Tech blogger and Apple enthusiast Dan Frommer, for instance, argues that Apple retains a “big lead in hardware and OS quality, apps, media, and customer service” — and that as a result, we shouldn’t expect to see iPhone users bolt to Facebook phones, at least not yet. Instead, he figures Facebook Home will likely appeal to buyers of low-end Android devices.
(See also: Facebook Home: A Slick Interface & A Big Challenge)
Mobile analyst Benedict Evans told me:
The barriers to switching between platforms are pretty large: a slightly easier way to access Facebook Messenger won’t be enough to make people make the switch. That’s particularly the case for iPhone, which has a 70-80% repurchase intention rate.
Similarly, from Asymco analyst Horace Dediu:
In the phone business there are three things which define a product’s volume: distribution, distribution and distribution. Home is a more ambitious version of an app (designed to extract more from the user) and so it is more constrained in all three areas. It needs “permission” from device makers, platform vendors and operators in order to proliferate. End user installation is an option but it’s not likely to drive large volumes.
(See also: Facebook Home Could Be A Pain, Unless You Really Love Facebook)
Dediu’s quick analysis of Home leads him to believe that it could drive up to 10 million units a year. That’s not nothing, of course, but still a pittance compared to the approximately 48 million iPhones Apple sold just last quarter.
Why Apple Should Worry About Home
Home, however, could have a significant long-term impact on iPhone’s app-centric user interface. This might be to Apple’s benefit.
(See also: Why Apple Really, Really Needs To Kill It With iOS 7)
At yesterday’s Home launch, Mark Zuckerberg oh-so-delicately suggested that iOS — iPhone’s operating system — is looking a bit out-of-touch these days:
Instead of our phones being designed around apps first, what if we flip that around? What if our phones were designed around people first?
Indeed, Home’s innovative system-wide presentation and highly visual user experience may even serve as a guide to Apple design guru Jonathan Ive.
Facebook Home effectively takes over a device’s lock screen, populating it in real-time with the user’s Newsfeed, photo stream and Facebook-sanctioned notifications. Updates from the user’s Facebook contacts, or a Facebook message, for example, are revealed instantly no matter what app is active through the clever use of “chat heads.”
Chat heads also supports texting and messaging from within another (non-Facebook) app. Facebook Home’s notifications include the individual’s profile picture and can be displayed in a card-like fashion.
These are visually appealing features which are not available in the iPhone.
Here’s Zuckerberg belaboring the point yesterday:
We’re not building a phone, and we’re not building an OS — we’re building an experience that’s deeper than any other app.
Apple Is Playing Catch-Up
You have to assume that Ive and Apple’s iOS design team are poring over every detail Zuckerberg and company revealed yesterday. Earlier this week, Apple bloggers such as Mark Gurman, M.G. Siegler, Rene Richie and John Gruber discussed ways Apple might update iOS on the discussion site Branch. Consider these snippets from their public conversation:
Apple should use WWDC to introduce and explain new functionality… and improve iOS inter-app communication. Admit that some things sucked/sucks.
(Design chief Jony) Ive’s work is apparently making many people really happy, but will also apparently make rich-texture-loving designers sad.
Ive getting his hands on the UI might alter the consumer-facing bullet points, but probably not the API’s that were planned.
Ive is pushing a more “flat design” that is starker and simpler, according to developers who have spoken to Apple employees but didn’t have further details. Overall, they expect any changes to be pretty conservative.
There is clearly an opportunity for Apple to maintain its closed platform while still supporting greater inter-app communications, more robust developer access to the lock-screen, multi-modal personal communications, and the effective integration of data and contacts across apps, just like Home.
While iPhone hardware has clearly evolved, a 2008 iPhone user would feel immediately at home with iOS in 2013. There is good in such stability – and it is a testament to how much Apple got right, and how far ahead of the competition it was upon launch. However, as our smartphones do more and play a larger role in people’s lives, Apple cannot stand still – nor be perceived as standing still.
Images screencapped from the Facebook Home live event
View full post on ReadWrite
Apple’s Apology To China: Mission Accomplished
Apr 2nd
Apple’s formal apology yesterday to the people of China may not be enough to dissuade China’s government from its continued attacks on the company. But if the immediate response is any guide, it should be enough to let Apple keep building out its business in the world’s largest mobile computing market.
Following a damning and highly visible attack by state-owned China Central Television that accused Apple of “arrogance” for allegedly providing shoddy service to its Chinese customers, CEO Tim Cook publicly apologized.
According to Bloomberg, Apple’s apology is a rather common “rite of passage” for large foreign businesses in China.
Corporate mea culpas have become a rite of passage for international companies criticized by China Central Television, including Volkswagen AG, Carrefour SA (CA) and Yum! Brands Inc (YUM).
The network beamed its program on Apple to more than 1 billion people just hours after Li Keqiang, who has pledged to root out consumer abuses, was named premier. The state-run People’s Daily followed with more than a dozen articles at a time when China struggles to cope with poisonous food, air pollution, government corruption and thousands of dead pigs floating in Shanghai’s drinking water.
The importance of the Chinese market to Apple is hard to understate:
While the iPhone has only a small share of the Chinese smartphone market, Apple has been moving aggressively into the country. In the last fiscal quarter alone, Apple generated $6.83 billion in revenues from the Chinese market (including Hong Kong and Taiwan). China is currently Apple’s second largest market by revenue, though CEO Tim Cook has predicted that China will become Apple’s number one market soon.
Everyone Hates Apple… Until They Don’t
Apple needed to defuse this situation as best it could. In addition to Tim Cook’s apology, Apple pledged to improve its customer support policies, better train its official Apple resellers in the country and to enhance warranty policies for the iPhone 4 and 4S.
Moreover, Cook’s apology was noticeably personal:
In the process of studying the issues, we recognize that some people may have viewed our lack of communication as arrogant, or as a sign that we didn’t care about or value their feedback. We sincerely apologize to our customers for any concern or confusion we may have caused.
This may be enough to satisfy Apple’s customers and potential customers in China, and could limit anger and complaints about the company across popular social media sites as Weibo. As Reuters noted, shortly after the apology, another official Chinese newspaper, the Global Times, remarked that Apple’s reaction is “worth respect compared with other American companies.”
Perhaps, though Bloomberg notes that the many attacks on Apple from official Chinese government outlets were “more severe” than in the cases of other foreign companies.
Cook, who has visited the country twice already during his short tenure as Apple CEO, will likely make additional visits to smooth official feathers. He will no doubt also remind the government of Apple’s contribution to the Chinese economy. During his last visit to China, for example, Cook singled out for praise the many Chinese partners and manufacturers that Apple relies on to manufacture its products for sale around the world.
Tim Cook, PR Man
Cook’s apology is a wise move. Apple needed to let the public know that the company was committed to the China market and that it treats its China customers the same way it treats others — by, for instance, offering new replacement phones instead of refurbished models.
The timing of the apology was also critical. Apple could not afford to lose the narrative. According to CNN, even after the many negative stories by state-run media, Apple’s customers and admirers within the country are still unsure what to make of the situation.
Many Chinese are wondering what the episode was really all about: Government payback against the popular American company? Apple’s arrogance? Or was it legitimate criticism of Apple’s service in China?
CNN also noted that reactions to the original CCTV broadcast were “mixed on social media.” While many sided with the government, others thought “state media was overreaching.”
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
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Will Apple’s Apology To China Be Enough To Fix Things?
Apr 1st
Early Monday morning, Apple CEO Tim Cook issued an apology letter, written in Chinese and posted to Apple’s corporate site in China, in which the company promised to improve its customer support and warranty policies in China. The mea culpa came after several public attacks by official China media.
(See also What’s Really Behind China’s Attacks On Apple.)
“Sincere Apologies”
According to The Wall Street Journal, which offered a translation, the Cook letter read, in part:
We are aware that a lack of communications… led to the perception that Apple is arrogant and doesn’t care or attach enough importance to consumer feedback. We express our sincere apologies for any concerns or misunderstandings this gave consumers.
Cook’s contrite, rapid response ws not unexpected. Just last week, in “Nobody Likes Tim Cook. Oh, Except Apple Customers And His Peers,” I praised Cook for his willingness to quickly get in front of issues like Apple Maps and Foxconn labor concerns. And given that Apple’s 2012 sales in China were $23.8 billion and China is Apple’s second largest market, Cook really didn’t have much choice but to make nice.
Will The Apology Help?
Of continuing concern, though, is whether or not the China government is singling out Apple. Last month ReadWrite noted that actions taken across multiple organizations within China’s government could be part of a concerted effort to either limit Apple’s potential within the country or to help China build it’s own viable smartphone platform – to compete against Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android.
While this remains supposition, China’s aggressive pressure on Apple has clearly had an impact. Again, from the Journal:
Apple has been the target of criticism in China’s state-run media since the middle of last month. China’s powerful national broadcaster, China Central Television, and The People’s Daily—the official mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party—have accused Apple of skirting warranty periods, adopting customer-service policies that discriminate against Chinese customers, and formulating an inadequate and arrogant response to the reports.
As ReadWrite detailed last month, a widely viewed China Central Television (CCTV) report that accused Apple of not fully meeting its product warranty obligations generated a significant social media backlash within the country. Per the Cook letter, Apple will extend warranty coverage on the iPhone 4 and 4S and will replace any broken iPhone 4 or 4S with a new phone – not a refurbished device, as was the previous practice. The company will also provide additional training to Apple authorized resellers regarding company warranty policy and make its product warranty policies more clear to prospective buyers.
Image of Tim Cook courtesy of Reuters.
View full post on ReadWrite
Apple’s New iPhone Ads: Brilliant, Understated, Elegant & Boring
Mar 13th
Is the pirate dead? When did Apple become the new IBM? How did the company that once sought to destroy our restrictive computer overlords wind up becoming so buttoned-down?
How did Apple go from this:
To this:
And this:
The short answer, of course, is success. Apple now makes the world’s most popular personal computing products – the iPhone and iPad – and has created the most profitable ecosystem for our new mobile world. No longer the underdog, Apple is now the company everyone else is chasing.
Needs vs. Desires
That kind of success necessarily breeds a certain amount of conservatism. As the risks involved in rocking the boat go up, the rewards seem to go down and the temptation to take the safe route becomes all encompassing.
That’s why it’s not surprising that Apple’s new iPhone ads are exactly what we need – but not at all what we want.
The ads re-confirm that the bold revolution Apple wrought with the launch of the iPhone in 2007 has been realized. The computing world has changed forever. The PC hegemony is contracting. Smartphones and tablets are rapidly taking over the Web, invading the enterprise and challenging the once mighty defenders of the desktop, from Microsoft to HP to Dell and beyond.
(See also: PCs Are In Free Fall, But Windows 8 Shouldn’t Get All The Blame)
That’s why some six years later, Apple’s latest ads are no longer revolutionary – or even exciting.
The Tables Have Turned
Soon after the original iPhone was launched, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was asked his thoughts by USA Today (he can never take them back):
Would I trade 96% of the market for 4% of the market? (Laughter.) I want to have products that appeal to everybody.
There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance. It’s a $500 subsidized item. They may make a lot of money. But if you actually take a look at the 1.3 billion phones that get sold, I’d prefer to have our software in 60% or 70% or 80% of them, than I would to have 2% or 3%, which is what Apple might get.
It’s easy to mock Ballmer’s words now, but when you are the top dog it’s easy to be glib about the competition. Unfortunately, it’s just as easy to misunderstand what is happening elsewhere while your focus is on maintaining your lofty status.
In that very same interview, Ballmer went on to say, albeit less famously:
It’s not like we’re at the end of the line of innovation that’s going to come in the way people listen to music, watch videos, etc. I’ll bet our ads will be less edgy. But my 85-year-old uncle probably will never own an iPod, and I hope we’ll get him to own a Zune. [Emphasis mine.]
That’s exactly what’s happening to Apple – at least with respect to marketing.
The latest Apple ads effectively tell the story of the iPhone’s capabilities. But they most closely resemble a campaign from discount clothier Men’s Wearhouse. Is that really what Apple wants to be compared to?
Is Samsung The New Apple?
Consider instead this Samsung ad. It says little about Samsung’s own product and spends most of its time mocking not only Apple, but Apple users.
These are the kinds of ads that strike a chord. As ReadWrite noted yesterday:
[Samsung] wants to dethrone the iPhone in the U.S. Samsung apparently chose New York City for the launch event because it, “is nicknamed the Big Apple, which is also the symbol and heart of the United States, Samsung picked that city for the event.’’
Not very long ago, Apple fought for its very existence. Now it’s one of the world’s richest corporations. That’s a big change. It only makes sense that Apple’s advertisements reflect that evolution.
Today’s Apple execs obviously want to promote their product, excite their core base, not lend stature to the competition – all while showcasing the iPhone’s universal appeal. These latest ads likely succeed at that.
I like them. I also suspect they are the kinds of ads that Steve Ballmer would have happily approved back in 2007.
View full post on ReadWrite
Samsung May Dominate Global Smartphones, But Apple’s iPhone Rules America
Mar 6th
Samsung is the leading smartphone vendor in the world. In the U.S., however, Apple is still top dog — and its lead is growing.
For the quarter ending January 2013, Apple held a 38% share of U.S. smartphone subscribers, according to ComScore’s latest U.S. smartphone market share data. Samsung placed a distant second, with a 21% share. Apple gained 3.5 points of market share, while Samsung’s slice of the pie grew by only 1.9 points.
As went the two giants, so went their respective platforms. Android continued to lead with 52% of the U.S. market, but its share actually declined by 1.3 points over the previous quarter. Blackberry held a 5.9% share and Microsoft only 3.1%, both of them down from the prior quarter.
Samsung’s laid-back performance is somewhat surprising given its aggressive marketing efforts. Samsung is spending way more on advertising than Apple. (Of course, Samsung makes a much broader array of products than Apple does — everything from TVs and flat panels to smartphones to chips.)
This year’s Super Bowl was held on Feb. 3, just after ComScore’s numbers were compiled. It’s possible that the reported $15 million Samsung spent on its two-minute Next Big Thing commercial will deliver an uptick in subscriber share in next quarter’s ComScore report. Samsung is also planning to launch its flagship Samsung Galaxy S4 next week with an attendant media blitz. Several Apple blog sites, meanwhile, have pegged August as the release date for the next iPhone.
ComScore says 129 million people in the U.S. now own smartphones, a seven percent increase over the last quarter. The news, however, is not good for all vendors. Third-place HTC’s subscriber share fell 1.7 points over the previous quarter. Fourth-place Motorola’s share dropped 1.4 points in the quarter.
Top image courtesy of Samsung Mobile
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Apple’s iPhone Tops Smartphone Reliability Ratings
Feb 22nd
A brand new smartphone is a thing of beauty. It is shiny and responsive, a blank slate that can be filled with apps and widgets and fun. The battery still works, you can hear people on the other end of a phone call and the interface is zippy.
But eventually it all goes to hell.
FixYa, a community-based troubleshooting guide, has aggregated the top problems of smartphones from a variety of manufacturers and assigned a “dependability” score to each. The data comes FixYa’s database of 30 million users with about 8 million product problems. FixYa’s “Smartphone Reliability Report” looked specifically at four smartphone manufacturers: Apple, Samsung, Nokia and Motorola.
Smartphones can go from exciting and shiny new toys to problematic and frustrating devices in the blink of an eye. Anybody that bought a HTC Thunderbolt will tell you that, after a week or so, the battery could not keep up with the large screen or LTE connectivity. What use is a wireless phone that you have to keep plugged in all the time?
I’ve had smartphones that completely lost battery life after about nine months (greetings, Samsung Captivate). Smartphones where the batteries, literally, blew up (hello, BlackBerry!). Others where the proximity sensor and camera just stopped working after about a year (looking at you, Motorola Atrix). After several months, one smartphone just decided it no longer wanted to let me scroll down the screen easily (Nokia, take a bow).
Sometimes problems are the result of straight user error (I swear, 33% of people I know have cracked screens). Other times it’s just shoddy manufacturing or design. Batteries can be abused by people that don’t really know how to take care of a rechargeable device.
No one company is immune from dependability issues. The biggest complaint against Apple’s iPhone is battery life. Samsung apparently suffers from a litany of microphone issues. People dislike Motorola for pre-installed apps (Motoblur was a disaster, but that should change with Google’s stewardship).
Who came out the winner in FixYa’s ratings? To the surprise of probably no one, Apple.
It’s not that people had no problems with their iPhones on FixYa. Battery life was a major issue for users, followed by a lack of new features.
Samsung ranked well below Apple, but far ahead of Motorola and Nokia. Given the variety of smartphones that Samsung makes, it is hard to point at any one model and say, “this is the problem.” For instance, users rated the battery life on the Galaxy S3 as a positive feature, while denigrating battery life on the Galaxy Nexus.
Nokia was well behind its arch nemeses Apple and Samsung, though it’s also hard to pinpoint any single device as most problematic. FixYa gives Nokia a 22.15% market share, so it’s taking into account Symbian and Asha devices as well as the newer Windows Phone Lumia lines (market share stats cited by FixYa from StatCounter). Nokia also has an interesting problem in that some users complained that “the glass gets hot.”
Motorola is the trailer in the group. Users said they like the battery life on Motorola devices, but hated the pre-installed apps. Those pre-installed apps come from a previous generation of Motorola devices (like the Atrix) and from carriers like Verizon. Motorola’s Android skin, Motoblur, is essentially being phased out as Google takes a more active role in designing the hardware and software of the devices.
What is the most common problem you have with your smartphone? Let us know in the comments.
Top image courtesy Shutterstock
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Risk Averse: Will iOS Become Apple’s Windows XP?
Feb 22nd
Until recently Apple has been on an unstoppable roll. Apple’s iPhones and iPads have been flying off the shelf. But when Apple’s latest quarterly results got a thumbs down from Wall Street, from the market, lots of people started wondering if Apple had lost its mojo.
Dan Lyons put it this way here here at ReadWrite, “It seems Apple has hit a wall. It’s not just about sales and earnings, but also about innovation. It’s been years since Apple did something truly revolutionary.”
A Delicate Balance Of Innovation
But truly revolutionary can also be truly risky. With 75 million iOS devices sold in Q1 of its 2013 fiscal year, Apple’s success is now increasingly all about iOS. To keep the iOS train moving and churning out profits, Apple needs to innovate – but not so much that it scares away the legions of happy iPhone and iPad users.
Might iOS, the very product that helped put Apple on top, require risk taking beyond what the new Apple can handle? Current users love iOS – but Apple seems to losing the numbers war to Android.
To turn the tide, iOS may need to be re-invented. That often happens to operating systems, but it is not easy to pull off without killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. Other companies have seen inordinately popular operating systems actually hold them back from getting fully behind new and improved versions.
The Windows XP Comparison
Look at Microsoft. Windows XP was released on October 25, 2001 and it took until August 2012 before Windows 7 had more users. Windows 8 – given its challenging new interface – might have an even tougher time moving the needle.
Windows XP was successful because – as David Johnson, an analyst with Forrester has noted – “It was a very, very good operating system… a superb OS because it removed a lot of pain.” While the Macintosh was often called great, Windows XP was often said to be “good enough” and with inexpensive hardware as a platform, it won the desktop computing war.
Windows XP retains a strong hold on many users, to Microsoft’s chagrin. The company would like to see them buying new computers loaded with Windows 8.
Is it conceivable that Apple has achieved that magic “good enough” formula with iOS on its current iPhones? People hang onto to their iPhone because it has been a positive experience for them and it works – will that affect Apple’s ability to get the to try something new and presumably better?
The iPhone and iOS revolutionized smartphones and tablets much like the Mac popularized graphical user interfaces. Now, in spite of huge Apple numbers, the smartphone and tablet markets are slipping away to Android much like the computer market went to Windows XP.
Is iOS Falling Behind?
Where does iOS stand today? Erica Ogg at Gigacom argues that while there have lots of releases of iOS, there has been little change.
“While iOS has seen six new releases since its debut in 2007, there have been few major changes. The arrival of the App Store in 2008, and push notifications in 2009 were the last big adjustments in how the software works.”
John Martellaro, a Mac Observer writer who used to work for me at Apple, recently had this to say in his article, We’ve Changed and Grown. Apple’s iOS Hasn’t:
“iOS, now roughly six years old, was designed in an era of much less hardware capability and launched on the small 3.5-inch display of the original iPhone. Now, it’s being pressed into service on ever larger iPhone and also iPad displays. One of the big annoyances is the single foreground app/single window design.”
The iPhone is also losing some notable users and influencers, including Steve Wozniak and Robert Scoble. Yet in spite of all this, the number of people who own iPhones and who are planning to switch to another platform remains small. A recent study suggests that the number of iPhone users planning to buy another iPhone has dropped only from 88% to 75%.
Why Change Will Be Hard
If the iPhone and the iPad are no longer the clear technology leaders, big change seems in order. Ironically, Apple’s loyal customers who still plan to buy a new iPhone might be a hurdle. How much Apple can change iOS without losing the loyalty of those customers?
In a recent Ars Technica survey – iPhone users: what does Android have that you want? – 8% said they wanted bigger displays – but 10% said they would never switch from their iPhone.
Apple Has Been Here Before
Finding just the right amount of change in that environment won’t be easy. But Apple has successfully faced this type of pivotal moment before – sometimes even without the help of Steve Jobs. Apple’s history demonstrates a willingness to make technology breaks when needed.
Today’s need for innovation while maintaining a satisfied customer base calls for the same boldness that Apple displayed when it moved users from the Apple II line to the Macintosh line, and later from Mac OS9 to Mac OSX and finally to Intel processors. Apple users gave Apple high marks for these difficult transitions.
Can Apple Do It Again?
But this is a different Apple – and a different, arguably less-forgiving market. As Blackberry and Nokia so clearly demonstrate, things happen quickly in the mobile space, with little room for error.
Whether Apple can innovate enough to stem the Android march while keeping current users happy might be the first big test for the new, post-Jobs Apple.
Apple still has one key advantage. Apple owns the whole widget, the hardware and the software. In the past it has made the ecosystem change so compelling that loyal customers followed without hesitation. But Google and Microsoft are starting to copy Apple’s whole-widget strategy – and that could make any iOS transition even harder.
What’s Next?
All things point to Apple making significant changes in iOS in 2013. Most Apple iOS users will follow wherever Apple goes – but that is only half the battle.
It all boils down to two things. Does Apple have the vision to make the next version of iOS a true advance? And even if the next iOS is a huge hit among current users, will it be enough to stem the tide toward Android?
If Apple can pull off this difficult transition, it could find itself set for another 5 years. If not, it will face increasing pressure from many sides.
Image by Fredric Paul.
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Apple’s iWatch Concept Is Real – And Here’s How It Might Work
Feb 22nd
Apple is working on a smart watch. Any lingering doubts about that notion took a further hit yesterday when a patent filing for such a device surfaced, adding more fuel to an already frenzied fire of speculation.
According to the filing, Apple has conceived a watch-like device with a flexible, touchscreen display and the ability to connect to other devices (like your iPhone) via a wireless protocol, probably Bluetooth 4. There’s been plenty of unsourced speculation about what the so-called iWatch would do. In the patent, Apple chimes in and specifically mentions reviewing recent calls, editing playlists, receiving text messages and using maps. Other details in the filing point to the use of solar and kinetic energy to help power the watch, which will undoubtedly require far more energy than your old Casio calculator watch.
See the drawings from Apple’s patent filing below.
The patent filing describes a “wearable video device” that functions just like the slap bracelets that were popular among kids in the early 1990s:
In a first equilibrium position they can be flat. The second equilibrium is typically reached by slapping the flat embodiment across the wrist, at which point the bracelet curls around the wrist and stays relatively secure in a roughly circular position.
The History of the iWatch Rumor
The patent is just the latest evidence that Cupertino plans to move into wearable computing via our wrists, rather than starting with something more intrusive like glasses, as Google is doing. The Apple watch rumor first started coming together last August when a report surfaced pointing to a possible Bluetooth 4 link between the iPhone 5 and a future generation iPod Nano. The watch connection was a bit of a stretch, but visions of a Dick Tracey-esque future got people excited nonetheless.
The whole thing really started firming up a few weeks ago, when Nick Bilton wrote that “Apple is experimenting with wristwatch-like devices make of curved glass” that runs iOS. Citing multiple anonymous sources, Bilton said that Apple is actively testing a device that doesn’t sound all that different from what this patent describes.
Of course, companies like Apple have patents filed for all kinds of things, many of which never see the light of day. But a move toward wearable computing clearly makes sense, especially as one of Apple’s chief competitors in the mobile space is very publicly planning to launch its own futuristic accessory next year.
Between Bilton’s reporting and the details in the patent filing, it seems highly likely that a smart watch is on the horizon for Apple. As for exactly when such a product will drop, that’s anybody guess. But expect the Apple rumor mill to keep churning on this one.
Here are a few figures from Apple’s patent filing:
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