Apple strict control is making its iAd partners unhappy

Apple iAd, which has been rolled out with the new Apple iOS 4 in July, is getting mixed reviews from its partners. Some companies are happy as they are getting good responses while some are not happy with the amount of control Apple is exercising over the creation of ads causing delays which the advertisers are not used to.

Apple iAd was launched in July 1, 2010 and initially, the company named 17 partners for its iAd platform. Out of these 17 partners, only two companies- Unilever PLC and Nissan Co., launched iAd campaigns for much of July while Citigroup Inc., Walt Disney Co. and J.C. Penney Co. launched ads during

back-to-school-season. Other partners are still working on their iAd campaigns.

Unilever and Nissan are happy with the iAd platform. Dictionary.com and CBS Mobile said that they could charge 177% more for ad space in their applications for the iAd. Neither Apple nor its iAd partners gave out any statistics but said their advertisements kept users interested for a longer period of time compared to other ads.

On the contrary, some iAd partners are saying that they are experiencing delays for Apple’s control over the creation of ads. From brainstorming to completion, it takes ten weeks to create an ad for the iAd platform which is more than the time required to develop an advertisement. Because of Apple’s involvement the whole process has become more laborious and in some cases the time of completion increases by two weeks.

For this reason, Chanel SA, a luxury marketer, postponed their plans of developing an iAd. Citigroup experienced delays and this is why the company is working in phase closely with Apple to make sure everything goes as planned.

AT&T proposes but big cities dispose

Though AT&T is the second largest network carrier in the U.S., many people are not so satisfied with its services. AT&T is the official carrier of Apple iPhone and very often iPhone users complain about dropped calls and poor Internet speed and high 3G data prices of the carrier.

The reality, on the other hand, is a bit different. It is true that AT&T’s network coverage is not so strong in big cities like New York, downtown Chicago, Illinois, San Francisco, California, but the carrier is not solely responsible for this condition.

In a news article published on CNN, it is said that AT&T faces serious hurdles while providing services in big cities. For example, large number of Apple iPhone users lives in New York and they require lots of bandwidth but the tall buildings makes it very difficult for the company to provide network services. What makes the matter worse is that the company has to go through a lengthy process to build cell-phone towers in these cities.

In a recent press event, Steve Jobs, CEO, Apple said that it would take only three weeks to add a cell-tower in Texas but three years if it is in New York because landlords and building owners do not want ugly looking cell-phone towers around their premises.

While service in other areas is quite good. Earlier, this year, PC World conducted its second 3G Wireless performance test where AT&T topped the list. Moreover, it observed a turnover rate of 1.01 percent in the second quarter (aside from the pre-paid subscribers) in the April-June quarter of 2010 which is the record low for the company.

Apple released updates for iOS: JailbreakMe code goes public

Last week, Apple blocked JailbreakMe from its in-store Wi-Fi to refrain users from jailbreaking demo iPhones. On August 11, 2010, Apple released updates for Apple--iOS 4.0.2 running on iPhones and iPod Touches, and iOS 3.2.2 running on iPads. Soon after releasing the update, Comex, the creator of the JailbreakMe 2.0, posted the source code. This would enable hackers to develop new softwares to attack iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad.

This is a serious security issue for iPhone users especially those who jailbroke their iPhones. There is a good chance that these users would fall victim to nasty attacks in near future and lose their valuable data. Even Mac OS X is vulnerable to similar attack for it contains a FreeType font engine.

The updates released by Apple would not run on first generation iPhone and iPod Touch. The security patches have been developed by another jailbreak hack developer and available through Cydia. In order to get the patch, owners of the first generation iPhone and iPod Touch would have to jailbreak their devices first and then download and apply the update.

Another major problem of this update is that after installing it, users would not be able to run any application that is not authorized by Apple which means, no more jailbreaking. If the user wants to continue with his jailbroken iPhone he might fall prey to a nasty hack and would lose all his valuable data.

Apple Scores 3 Million iPad Sales in 80 Days

Apple is in record breaking pace with the sales of its tablet device called iPad. On 31 May, Apple issued a press release that it sold 2 million units of this device in less than 60 days. It took just 22 days for the jump from 2 million to 3 million for the company of Steve Jobs.

The company has issued a press release today and stated that 11,000 apps have been created by developers for iPad since its inception. This indicates that many developers are trying their best to take advantage of the growing popularity of this tablet PC.

A happy Steve Jobs said, "People are loving iPad as it becomes a part of their daily lives. We’re working hard to get this magical product into the hands of even more people around the world, including those in nine more countries next month." iPad is still not sold in most countries of the world and this is an area Steve Jobs should try to work aggressively.

ASUS recently announced that it was going to bring a tablet PC called Eee Pad to compete with Apple’s iPad. For the time being, it seems that there is no competition for iPad and everybody loves iPad. 

Apple iPad forces Amazon and Barnes & Noble to slash prices of their Kindle and Nook

On June 21, 2010, Amazon, the largest online book retailer, dropped the price of its popular Amazon Kindle e-book reader from $259 to $189 in the U.S.

Immediately, Barnes & Noble, another major U.S book retailer dropped the price of its Nook ebook reader from $259 to $199. The company also introduced a new Wi-Fi only Nook priced at $149.

The price drop is seen as a way to cope up with the increasing competition from Apple iPad and other tablet PC makers.

Despite being expensive, many people prefer Apple iPad over dedicated ebook reader for they can perform a wide range of functions including serving as an ebook reading device.

The entry price for an Apple iPad is $499. Within first two months after its launch, Apple sold two million Apple iPad. The tablet PC comes with integrated ebook reading application called iBooks.

James McQuivey, analyst, Forrester Research, said that cutting price was inevitable but they never expected it so soon and so rapid.

To attract most customers Amazon has been selling books at $10 which irked many publishers. They feared that Amazon someday would force them to decline the price of the e-books.

Apple then came in and allowed publishers to sell books at a higher price ($15 per title). Under the new, agency business model, the publishers could sell books at a higher price and could make 30 percent commission on the sales.

Many analysts believe that within a year or so, e-book reader will be a dead technology because many tablet PC would come to the market in near future offering various features along with e-book reading applications. As a result people would not show any interest in buying dedicated e-book readers.

Apple released updates for MobileMe Web applications and Find My iPhone application

On June 18, 2010, Apple released update to its popular MobileMe Web applications and a new application called Find My iPhone App. MobileMe Web application allows the user to sync all his Apple devices all the time while Find My iPhone would help a user to locate his lost iPhone or iPad.

MobileMe Mail beta, which was launched on May 12, 2010, received the significant updates. The application is now open to all members. The interface of MobileMe Mail now comes in a three column format with folders on the left most columns, message in the middle and a reading pane on the right most column. There is also a third view mode in case if the user does not like the three-column view.

User can set their filtering criterions to filter mails and “one-click message archive” option like Gmail.

The biggest addition in the MobileMe Mail is that users, from now on, would be able to send emails to their MobileMe mail account from their non-Mobile e-mail accounts through me.com site. This feature was not available in the beta version.

MobileMe also comes with a new navigation interface similar to MobileMeMail’s top bar with iPad like buttons.

Instead of separate buttons for each application in the MobileMe interface, there is a cloud icon in the top left corner which opens up a MobileMe app switcher that is similar to the “Command-Tab” switcher found in Mac OS X. Through mouse or keyboard, users would be able to pick various apps in this switcher including Find My iPhone. However, Account settings icon and help options have been placed under a separate menu.

Apple also released a new universal application titled Find My iPhone. Users who lost their iPhones or iPad can easily locate it through this application. All they have to do is enter their MobileMe credential into Find My iPhone application through a friend’s phone and locate their device. The application also allows the user to remotely set a passcode to lock their device, display a message if someone finds the device or remotely delete all the sensitive data from the device. To maintain privacy, Find My iPhone automatically logs out a user after every fifteen minutes.

The MobileMe updates are now available to all MobileMe users. Find My iPhone is free to download through the app store. The application requires iOS 3.13 or later version OS.

Asus Eee Pad: The main attraction at Computex 2010

The 30^th Computex Taipei has started from today. It is the largest computer trade show in Asia and the second largest in the world. On the eve of the show, on May 31, 2010, famous Taiwanese PC maker, Asus, unveiled its highly anticipated tablet computer, the Asus Eee Pad. Like Apple iPad, the Eee Pad is a device that can be used to read e-books, multimedia, compact PC and Internet device.

Asus Eee Pad is available in the two variations- EP101TC and EP121TC. The EP101TC has a 10inch screen and weighs 675 gm and 12.1 mm thick. The EP121TC has a 12 inch screen. The Apple iPad has a 9.7 inch screen which means the Asus Eee Pad will have better visual.

The Asus Eee Pad sports an Intel CULV Core 2 Duo processor which is more powerful compared to Apple iPad’s 1GHz Apple A4 chip.

Asus Eee Pad has ten-hour battery back up.

The Asus Eee Pad will come with a virtual keyboard and special docking station with a keyboard so that users can easily input text. It will also have a stylus and a front facing camera.

Asus Eee Pad will have Wi-Fi. There is also an HDMI, USB, memory card slot

which looks like a 3G SIM module. The Apple iPad does not have any USB which many users do not like.

The Asus Eee Pad will support Adobe Flash which the Apple iPad does not support that means you can browse many of your favorite websites on the Asus Eee Pad.

The Asus Eee Pad uses Windows 7 as its operating system. The Asus Eee Pad 121 has a different version of Windows 7 known as the Embedded Compact edition.

This is a major draw back for Asus Eee Pad because Windows 7 is mainly designed to operate in desktop computers. Though it has codes to support multi-touch devices but it is a multi-tasking software which does not work well in a small sized low powered machine. It would have been better if Asus had followed Apple’s footsteps and created a dedicated OS for the device. Instead of tailoring its Mac OS, Apple developed another OS for the Apple iPhone.

Asus is going to launch Eee Pad in 2011 EP101TC and EP121TC in 2011. The Asus EP 101 TC would cost $399 and EP121 would cost $499. This is far better than Apple iPad because the entry level 16GB iPad WiFi only model costs $499 and WiFi+3G would cost $629.

Apple iPad Crosses Sales of 2 Million Units

Steve Jobs can now perhaps rest in peace and think of coming up with a new smashing gadget that would catch the imagination of the consumers once again. There has been official confirmation from Apple that iPad has passed the sales figure of 2 million units yesterday.

The product became so popular that it did not even take 60 days to cross this mark. The company issued a press release yesterday about this achievement: Apple Sells Two Million iPads in Less Than 60 Days.

It was also stated in the press release that the company was introducing the product in 9 countries around the world next month. Consumers in more countries will be able to buy the product in the later part of the year.

Right now, iPad is sold in a limited number of countries and that is perhaps why this sales figure of 2 million in just less than two months looks so impressive.

Obviously, Steve Jobs is excited and happy. The CEO of Apple said, "Customers around the world are experiencing the magic of iPad, and seem to be loving it as much as we do. We appreciate their patience, and are working hard to build enough iPads for everyone."

Apple reached the 1 million mark of selling iPads on May 3 2010. In fact, due to enormous demand, some customers have to wait to actually get an iPad in their hand. It is notable that it took some more time for Apple to sell same amount of iPhones (when iPhone was launched) a few years ago.  

This news came at a time when Asus has displayed its Eee Pad which is thought to be a direct competitor to iPad. Well, it seems that right now, Apple should be more worried about an iPad look-alike in China rather than Asus Eee Pad.   

Apple iPad Tablet PC: No Interest in India?

Today, my fellow blogger, Mehdi Hassan is very busy and he spent many hours to write this entry in another blog: 30 things about Apple iPad tablet PC. Well, I was also curious about this device because it will be perhaps one of the top 3 gadgets of 2010. Anyway, I visited Google Trends India and I was shocked to see that Apple iPad is not the list of most searched topic. It was very odd to me. On the other hand, in Google trends USA, people are just searching about it.

I think that the main reason for this lack of interest is that it has not been launched in India yet. Secondly, its price range in USA is from $499-$829 and it is too much expensive for average Indian consumers. So, it will not be a popular gadget in India and we saw the same thing about iPhone. I don’t think that Apple is going to give any subsidy for iPads in India or in other countries of South Asia.

iPad tablet PC can become an useful tool for people who browse Internet a lot. I wish I can get one some day.