Pundits still don't understand Apple's success
The only way pundits can justify the amazing success of the iPhone 4S is to call its buyers zealots. Sad.
Dan Frommer predicts 10 million Verizon iPhones in 2011
I think that is very conservative. I guess they’ll sell 4-5 million a quarter. So assuming they’ll start selling in late January they’ll sell at least 15 million Verizon iPhones. Possibly 20 million.
Microsoft Announces Windows Phone 7
Microsoft’s press release announcing the availability of Windows Phone 7
The goal for Microsoft’s latest smartphone is an ambitious one: to deliver a phone that truly integrates the things people really want to do, puts those things right in front of them, and either lets them get finished quickly or immerses them in the experience they were seeking. - Microsoft Press Release
The leading paragraph in the release is meaningless. The language is so vague that this could have been the text from an announcement of Windows CE 2.
By comparison here is Apple’s leading paragraph announcing the original iPhone
Apple® today introduced iPhone, combining three products—a revolutionary mobile phone, a widescreen iPod® with touch controls, and a breakthrough Internet communications device with desktop-class email, web browsing, searching and maps—into one small and lightweight handheld device. iPhone introduces an entirely new user interface based on a large multi-touch display and pioneering new software, letting users control iPhone with just their fingers. iPhone also ushers in an era of software power and sophistication never before seen in a mobile device, which completely redefines what users can do on their mobile phones. - Apple iPhone Press Release
They talk about what it does (phone, iPod, internet), how it works (using fingers), and how powerful the device is to accomplish specific tasks (email, web browsing, searching, maps, etc).
Microsoft can’t connect to users. Apple does. Microsoft’s biggest problem is culture. Their language, reactions, products, and mindset all come from a culture that has been guiding them toward consumer irrelevance.
The iPhone may not end up with the largest market-share but I bet it will continue to have the largest profit-share.
Update: It should also be noted that this data is from Apple’s lowest iPhone sales quarters. I’d like to see a comparison of June - December. I bet it is even more dramatic.
A Services Menu for iPhone
A standard services icon would help as well.
Flash® 10.1 available for Android 2.2
I linked to a video by PocketNow.com demoing the Flash beta that can be installed on Android. Granted this is still beta software but so far it doesn’t even look worth installing. After watching the comparison video for a couple minutes I think Steve Jobs and Apple are still correct - Flash just isn’t suited for mobile devices - except (maybe) web based Flash games- which anything worth playing has a native version anyhow.
Flash is:
- a memory hog (the device had to be rebooted)
- slow and clunky (watch the scrolling or ad animations). The world’s fastest browser becomes one of the world’s slowest.
- unusable/unwieldy. I loved to see how he started an embedded Youtube video but couldn’t get it to stop and had to navigate away because the button was just too small to hit.
- full of bugs. One page rendered was just all over the place due to the Flash plugin.
- full of ads. seriously, I have flash blocked on my desktop for a reason. I don’t need my mobile device crawling just so I get a slow animation of some corporate logo.
Oh, but you can watch web video embedded in the browser. If you are willing to trade fast and quick with slow and unwieldy just to watch a stupid cat playing a piano or have dozens of ads cluttering up the page then go for it.
Just for the record, it has been three years since the original iPhone launched and even if Apple really wanted Flash® on the device (which they don’t) we still don’t have a usable mobile version three years after the fact. Adobe® really missed the boat. Now that the mobile web is where most growth and profitability lie I don’t see Flash as relevant in a few years time. Goodbye proprietary browser plugins. And good riddance.
Android 2.2 (Froyo) Web Browser Speed Test or why I’m glad I don’t have Flash® on my iPhone. Seriously, Flash is still NOT ready for mobile devices. Comparison starts around 3:45.
Can you type 81 wpm on a cell phone?
This guy can on an iPhone… wow! Blows my mind. That is faster than I normally type on a laptop. Amazing.
Apple removes Wi-Fi finders from App Store
Why? Because they were using private APIs. That is a violation of the usage agreement. Considering an OS update is coming soon Apple is probably cleaning up the store of apps that use depreciated APIs so customers can have a better experience. All of this complaining about how Apple is screwing developers and censoring is overstated. If you want to develop for the App store then follow the rules. If you want to ride the line (like the soft porn apps) then you are taking a risk of being cut off. If you are using unauthorized private APIs then you have no excuse.
