Is iAds Apples New Revenue Stream Or A Developer Support System?

Apple CEO Steve Jobs says the companies new ad platform for mobile devices, namely the iPhone, iPad, and iPod, is not a get rich quick scheme for his company but a support system for application developers by which they will be able to keep the cost of apps down, increasing the likely hood of continued interest in app development. The iAds program offers developers a platform onto which they can "build complex interactive ads into apps..." according to the NYTimes. Apples plan is to keep 40% of the revenues with 60% going to the apps creator, following a similar model as the iTunes App Store. “This is us helping our developers make money so they can survive and keep the prices of their apps reasonable.” said Jobs. When comparing his iAds network to Google's Adsense Jobs said “Search is not where it’s at” on phones, he said. “People are not searching on a mobile device like they are on the desktop.” I tend to agree with the observation but I have a hard time believing it's all about helping the developers...

Jobs Returns To The Stage At Apple

“I’m vertical, I’m back at Apple and I’m loving every day of it,” said Steve Jobs after a standing ovation by the crowd gathered at the Apple news conference held yesterday. “I feel great. I probably need to gain about 30 pounds, but I feel really good,” said Jobs in a post event interview “I’m eating like crazy. A lot of ice cream.”

During the conference Apple announced a new version of iTunes and a line of iPod Nanos that have a video camera, microphone, speaker, FM radio tuner and pedometer built in and will have a starting price of $149 US. The new features are meant to rejuvenate the slumping sales of iPods and take a bite out of the market for small video devices such as the Flip Video. The new Nano is compared in size to a package of gum while the Flip is roughly the size of a deck of playing cards.

Source: New York Times

iPhone Sales Strong In Weak Economy

Apple Inc. reported Wednesday that it had sold nearly 3.8 million iPhones in its second quarter, ended March 28th. Both revenues and profits for the quarter were up for the company with iPhones and iPods leading the way, computer sales were down 3% from 2008 figures. "We are extremely pleased to report the best non-holiday quarter revenue and earnings in our history," Peter Oppenheimer, CFO, said in a news release. Investors reacted on the news with Apple stock jumping $2.75 to $124.26.

Apple Unveils New iPod Shuffle - Smaller And Talkative

Apple has taken the wraps off of a new iPod Shuffle that half the size of it's predecessor, has 4 GB of storage for up to 1000 songs, and introduces a new feature called VoiceOver. VoiceOver tells you what song is playing and who’s performing it at the press of a button and can tell you the names of your playlists, giving you a new way to navigate your music especially handy during workouts. Perhaps the only drawback, though Apple will argue it is a feature, is that the controls are located on the earbud cord. While this may be a convient spot it necessitates the purchase of new ear buds from Apple, at least at the moment.

Slim Is In At Apple

Preparing for the holiday season, Apple has introduced new thin iPods including a new Nano that features a "shake to shuffle" mode allowing you to give the device a shake in order to shuffle the play list. According to the BBC "...Mr Jobs unveiled Apple's new Genius function which allows users to create automatic playlists from the iPod's library with the click of a button." the genius function is available on both the Nano and on a new improved iPod Touch that also includes volume buttons on the outside of the case and an external speaker for casual listening. "These are evolutionary products with some revolutionary new features," Michael Gartenburg, vice president of Jupiter Media told the BBC. "Apple has done it again. They have reinvented the line in a way to capture mainstream consumers' hearts and minds and doing at a price point that is extremely affordable."

Apple Settles Class Action Suit In Canada Over iPod Battery Life

A class action lawsuit filed against Apple Inc. in Montreal and Toronto has been settled with an offer to Canadian owners of 1st, 2nd, or 3rd generation iPods purchased before before June 24, 2004. The settlement awards $100,000 in legal costs and a $45 per owner rebate at Apple Canada's online store, with the exception of iTunes content. The suits were brought on by owners who claimed Apple overstated the battery life of the devices, claiming 8 hours when in practice they were averaging about 3 hours.

One down, and one to go, as the CBC explains, "The company is still facing another lawsuit in Canada regarding iPods, filed by Montreal student David Bitton last year, over the device's memory. Bitton said his iPod Nano has only 7.45 gigabytes of memory, rather than eight GB, as advertised by Apple. His lawyer is seeking class-action status and is asking for a full refund, or a 7.5-per-cent refund of the device's $220 purchase price and $75 in damages." The cost of the battery issue is estimated to be $3.6 million if all 80,000 owners apply and receive the rebate.

iPod Shuffle For $49

Apple has announced on it's website that the lovable little 1GB iPod Shuffle is now available for $49 and a new 2GB version will soon be available at $69! I wonder what this signals for others in the iPod family of products? For $49, there is no reason not to own an iPod!

Queen of England a Wii Addict?

The People is reporting that Prince William's girlfriend, Kate Middleton, gave a Wii for Christmas and the device has caught the attention of Queen Elizabeth herself. The Queen apparently saw William playing and begged to join in, "She played a simple ten-pin bowling game and by all accounts was a natural." The 81 year old monarch is by all measures a geek, constantly upgrading her cell phones, having over 100,000 songs on her iPod, her own e-mail account, and recently acquiring a Blackberry. Maybe this is why she refuses to give up the crown... what's your high score Charles?

No iPod for you!

A little girl in Germantown, Md. got what she thought was an iPod for Christmas but instead opened the box to find a bizarre note. The note read "Reclaim your mind from the media shackles. Read a book and resurrect yourself. To claim your capitalistic garbage go to your nearest Apple Store." The manager of the Walmart store where the device was purchased told the girls father that another customer returned an iPod with a similar issue. MYFox Washington has the story.

Microsoft not giving up on Zune MP3 player

According to PCWorld, Microsoft is not ready to call it quits on it's line of MP3 players just yet. A new line of Zune Players, the Zune 2, is reported to be coming with 2 flash memory devices and an 80 GB hard drive model. This generation will be equipped with Wi-Fi and supported by new community features and DRM-free music sales at the Zune Marketplace music store. It's a handsome looking device with a familiar looking "click wheel" like control, and while the first generation was not a huge success it had it's fans. With these updates the Zune 2 could become a solid contender in the MP3 player market, though it will be tough even for Microsoft to truly mount a challenge of Apple's iPod line.

Bricked your iPhone? These guys might still want it

The guys at TechCrunch have found a site that's looking for your old iPod, working or not! According to this post, buymybrokenipod.com will buy working or otherwise ipods and will give you a quote before you decide. You have to pay the shipping, but if you've just bricked your iPhone like Michael Arrington, $213 for an otherwise useless (but pretty) piece of technology might not seem so bad... the broken ones are taken apart for parts and the working ones are refurbished for resale, a nice green alternative to the trash bin!

iPod meets lego, how wonderful!

Thanks to Crave blog and a long list of other for this post... tenbyten Commerce Company, Ltd. a Korean distributor of all things plastic , or so it would seem, has an iPod doc that looks like a Lego brick! How geeky is that! The little red block comes with tiny little speakers too, I don't think it's licensed and I'm not sure it would fit together with the pieces of your Mindstorms kit, but how cool would that be! Looks like it comes in red, yellow, or blue.

Madfrogman lucky recipient of new iPod Shuffle

Thanks to all who participated in the iPod give away! There were a number of you who really did a great job getting the word out, and answering the bonus questions, I wish I had more than one iPod to give away. The lucky recipient is madfrogman (that's a great handle), a reader from Charlottetown. I'm already considering another give away, and I'll work out the details and let you know how to get involved in a future post. Thanks for reading!

Terry

PS. I'm planning a little vacation for the new year and have some thoughts about how I'll can keep the posts coming and perhaps include you in my plans. You will soon be seeing posts from a guest blogger who's going to help me while I'm on my trip and hopefully, if I can convince him, post here on a regular basis. This means more stories coming more often, and you'll continue to get posts even while I'm off, though I will be carrying my tech toys and will definitely be posting. It's a ways off yet, just I thought I'd prepare you for the changes.

Cheers!

Engadget reviews the iPod Touch

Engadget has written a lengthy review of the new iPod Touch and while I'm envious that they've been able to get their hands on one, I'm left a little disappointed in the approach that they chose for their review. It seems to me that they liked the device but criticize it for not being an iPhone, it is after all a portable media device and not a personal organizer and that seems to be Engadget's biggest criticism. I wonder what they might have written if they had not had the chance to use the iPhone prior to using the Touch? I think we'll see Apple release some of these capabilities at a later date when it makes sense to from a business stand point, after all the iPhone just barely beat it to market. If Apple were to release the iTouch with all of the features of the iPhone, minus the phone, it would most likely impact iPhone sales. Just my 2 cents. I'm not saying Engadget is off base completely, just think they chose the wrong Apples to compare (pun completely intended).

Last chance for the iPod give away

Don't wait! You only have one day before the big give away... no more entries after midnight AST.

iPod give away bonus # 4

You might have to dig deep for this one... I've become a ______ fan boy!

Only a couple of days until the give away, great work so far, keep the entries coming!

iPod Giveaway - Bonus Question #3

Okay, we've only got a few days left before I give an iPod! You can earn bonus entries by sending the link to 7 new friends, so get busy!

Here is bonus question number 3:

What wine did I recommend in an earlier post?

PC Mag reviews the iPod Touch

PC Magazine's Tim Gideon provides a round up of the iPod Touch's features and it's evident that he's a fan. Gideon says "This is probably the best portable media player ever made." If you are contemplating a purchase this is a decent in depth look at the features including photos of the interface / screens. It's one man's opinion, but it's obvious that the new device has some great features.

New! Poll added

I've added a new poll section, simply scroll down the page it's located on the right just above my profile. I'll add a new poll question every week. This week's poll: which new iPod are you craving?

New iPods

Here are a couple of pics of the new iPod Touch and the new iPod Nano, Courtesy of Apple.