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Apple Expected to Launch iTunes Replay in Coming Weeks

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August 4, 2011
  • Apple is rumored to be securing the rights to allow downloading of TV shows and movies in addition to previously announced music in a new service called iTunes Replay.
  • The service will allow users to access movies they purchased since January 1, 2009. Some content will only be available for download five times.
  • Streaming will be to Apple TV and most likely iOS mobile devices.
  • AppAdvice reports: “The name, iTunes Replay is currently being used internally, and is planned to be kept when Apple makes this public. You should expect this to go public in the coming weeks, as the necessary changes are being pushed to Apple’s servers at the moment.”

iOS Developers Unite Against Lodsys and Patent Trolls

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August 2, 2011
  • Renowned iOS developer Mike Lee announced on Monday a new venture called Appsterdam Legal Defense Team that will band together the small developers to fight against patent trolls.
  • Ars Technica reports: “The goal, aside from the obvious one of being free from frivolous patent lawsuits, is to become ‘the ants of East Texas, minding their business until someone invades their anthill.'”
  • Apple has licensed patents from Lodsys, which it says covers third party developers — but the infringement claims against iOS developers are continuing.
  • The result is uncertainty that could imperil these smaller developers and the developer community generally, not only for Apple but for Android and other platforms.
  • “This is bigger than just Apple platforms,” explains Lee. “Apple has the luxury and history of moving very slowly — they accepted a 60 day discovery, for example. Dozens of app makers could be destroyed by then. There is also good chance Apple can’t actually sue Lodsys, since Apple is under contract by Intellectual Ventures and IV probably snuck indemnity in there.”
  • “We’re going after Lodsys for sure, but understand the ultimate target is Intellectual Ventures,” Lee added. “They are the Mordor to these trolls.”

BBC iPlayer Expands Internationally with New iPad App

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August 1, 2011
  • The BBC’s popular iPlayer is an on-demand broadband television and radio service that has been available in Great Britain for four years.
  • As of last week, the service is now available through an iPad app to 11 countries in western Europe (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland) — with plans to launch in the U.S., Canada and Australia by the end of the year as a pilot program.
  • The app will allow users to stream programs over 3G and Wi-Fi, with the option to download for later viewing offline. International users will have access to some content for free, while full access will be subscription-based.
  • Luke Bradley-Jones, managing director of BBC.com, describes iPlayer as a VOD service: “We will have content from the last month, but also the best from the catalog stretching back 50 to 60 years.” He added, “What we’re trying to test in the pilot is the ability to drive exploration and discovery through a programming approach rather than an algorithm-based approach. We’re not trying to compete against a Netflix or a Hulu. This has to be tailored and hand-crafted, so we can create a tone of voice.”

Apple iOS Facial Recognition Could Change Mobile Interaction

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July 29, 2011
  • Reports are circulating this week that Apple will reportedly release facial recognition capabilities for iOS 5 as an open API for developers.
  • The technology was made available as a result of Apple purchasing Swedish facial recognition algorithm specialist Polar Rose in 2010.
  • Polar Rose is the developer behind Recognizr, which Digital Trends describes as “a social media linking app co-developed with TAT that recognizes users and displays their network profiles on-screen.”
  • The iOS API can determine where a user’s mouth and eyes are located, and can process images for face detection, which introduces new possibilities for Faces and iPhoto. Since it is an open API, we should expect that third party developers will create more advanced facial recognition applications.
  • GigaOM reports: “It’s not something Apple is advertising about with the software update yet, but as it develops, it could become one of the most significant additions ever introduced to Apple’s mobile operating system.”

Apple Launches New OS and Reports Record Profits

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July 21, 2011
  • Apple Inc. officially unveiled its newest operating system — OS X 10.7 “Lion” — on Wednesday. The OS introduces many features that mimic functions seen on its popular iPad.
  • The company also reported record earnings in the third quarter, despite any major new product announcements. Revenue was up 82 percent, and profits more than doubled, as consumers continued to purchase iPhones and iPads in record numbers (Apple computers also continued to sell, although iPod sales declined 20 percent).
  • Global sales of iPads nearly tripled to 9.25 million during the third quarter. Apple credits some of the success to adoption of the device by businesses such as Alaska Airlines and Nordstrom.
  • The New York Times reports that Apple’s current market value is 10 times Dell’s and nearly five times Hewlett-Packard’s.

Three Weeks After Launch, Google+ Now Available for iPhone

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July 20, 2011
  • Google launched its new Google+ social network June 28th, and an Android app was made immediately available.
  • Three weeks later, Apple finally approved the official Google+ app for iOS (until Tuesday, iPhone users had to access a mobile Web version in Safari).
  • Similar to the Web version, Google+ for iPhone includes Circles (stream of updates from a user’s contacts) and Huddle (for group messaging within a user’s circles).
  • Google+ for iOS works on the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 (running iOS 3.1 or later). A dedicated iPad version has yet to be announced.

Electronic Arts to Purchase Award-Winning PopCap Games

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July 14, 2011
  • Videogame maker Electronic Arts announced this week it would acquire PopCap Games, maker of games like “Bejeweled,” “Zuma” and “Plants vs. Zombies.”
  • According to the deal, Electronic Arts is expected to pay $650 million in cash and $100 million in new shares.
  • EA has long been a dominant player in the console gaming market; this acquisition plans to strengthen its presence in mobile and causal gaming.
  • Mobile games, like those played on Android and iOS devices, are the fastest-growing segment of the gaming market.
  • “EA’s global studio and publishing network will help PopCap rapidly expand their business to more digital devices, more countries and more channels,” explained Electronic Arts chief exec John Riccitiello.

Pop Culture and Media App: Video Time Machine for iOS

By
July 14, 2011
  • “Video Time Machine” is an entertaining and informative 99-cent iOS app from Original Victories, Inc. (compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad).
  • The app chronicles more than a century of compiled movies, commercials, TV broadcasts, and other moving images (the iTunes Preview description reads: “Watch over 10,000 hand-picked videos from 1860 to 2011”).
  • A simple interface enables users to select a year and then browse categories, including: news, games, sports clips, ads, movies, TV, and music.
  • For those more interested in entertainment surfing than a specific year or category, the app features a “random” button.
  • According to the Engadget post (which includes a video demo), all of the cataloged videos are available via YouTube, but the Video Time Machine “isn’t designed to simply mimic it; rather, the program’s meant to act more as a history lesson, giving us a unique opportunity to witness a slice of life.”

iPhone Users Lead the Charge in Mobile Gaming

By
July 8, 2011
  • According to a recent Nielsen study, the average iPhone user commits twice the average amount of time to playing mobile games as compared to other mobile gamers, suggesting that iOS may have the most engaged gaming audience.
  • The study also indicates that 93 percent of app customers have paid for games in the last 30 days.
  • The average iPhone owner spent 14.7 hours playing games during the month, while the average Android owner spent 9.3 hours (the overall average for smartphone gamers is 7.8 hours/month).
  • The report explains that consumers are typically more willing to spend money on games than other types of apps.
  • Nielsen breaks down the leading categories of most popular apps for Q2 2011 in the following order: Games, Weather, Social Networking, Maps/Navigation/Search, Music, News, Entertainment, Banking/Finance, Video/Movies, Shopping/Retail, Dining/Restaurant, Sports.

Milestone: Apple Surpasses 15 Billion App Store Downloads

By
July 8, 2011
  • Apple announced the 15 billionth app download this week. The App Store has been open three years.
  • There are some 425,000 apps and 100,000 iPad apps available to users in 90 countries.
  • Apple has paid more than $2.5 billion to app developers to date.
  • From the Apple press release: “Users of the more than 200 million iOS devices around the world can choose from an incredible range of apps in 20 categories, including games, business, news, education, sports, health, reference and travel.”

Most Popular Smartphone Platforms: Android, iOS, BlackBerry

By
July 7, 2011
  • Google’s Android continues its lead over all other smartphone platforms, according to the latest quarterly report from comScore.
  • However, Apple has overtaken Research In Motion’s BlackBerry for second place among U.S. smartphone software providers.
  • Android grew from 33 percent to 38.1 percent, while Apple grew to 26.6 percent and RIM declined to 24.7 percent.
  • Microsoft and Palm both showed declines as well.
  • In terms of handsets, Samsung currently leads with 24.8 percent of the smartphones in circulation while Motorola remains in second place.

Access to Month-Long iTunes Festival Available via iOS App

By
July 5, 2011
  • The annual iTunes Festival kicked off Friday in England, streaming select performances live in HD to iPads and iPhones for those who downloaded the free app.
  • The event is scheduled for 31 consecutive nights at the Roundhouse in London.
  • Paul Simon was the first artist to take the stage. Additional headliners include Coldplay, Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, Foo Fighters, Jimmy Eat World, Moby and more.
  • Apple funds the event by recording the live sets and selling them exclusively on iTunes.
  • Wired suggests an alternative business model: “But it makes me wish more festival organizers would do this the other way around — free recordings of the gigs you paid to see at festivals. Or perhaps a handful of free tracks to choose from an entire festival’s lineup, with the complete collection put on sale. There’s no better live recording than one created during the night you attended.”

Positive Review for the New Tumblr iPhone 2.0 App

By
July 1, 2011
  • Social blogging network Tumblr announced the release of its Tumblr iPhone 2.0 mobile app this week.
  • According to Digital Trends: “Users can now manage multiple Tumblogs, reply to messages and save drafts — important functionality that was completely lacking from the first version.”
  • Another positive addition includes the ability to sign up directly through the mobile app, rather than on the Web.
  • Digital Trends offers a positive review and suggests: “If you’re on Tumblr (and have an iPhone), definitely download this app right now.”

Hauppauge Broadway Box Delivers Live TV to iPhone and iPad

By
June 29, 2011
  • Hauppauge Digital is expected to release its $199 “Broadway” box by late July or early August.
  • The device enables viewers to use Wi-Fi signals to watch TV on mobile devices or via a Web browser.
  • It features a multi-format TV receiver that can tune QAM digital and ATSC over-the-air SD and HD channels.
  • Broadway operates much like the Slingbox device, but without an extra fee for mobile viewing.
  • The box currently works only with Apple’s mobile devices (iOS 3 or higher), but can be used with both Mac and Windows PCs.

Apple WWDC: New OS X Lion, iOS 5 and iCloud

By
June 9, 2011

The much anticipated Apple Worldwide Developers Conference kicked off Monday of this week in San Francisco and continues through tomorrow. To gets things rolling, Apple CEO Steve Jobs delivered the opening keynote and, as expected, focused much of his presentation on the company’s initiatives regarding cloud computing and related services.

Some analysts are commenting that Jobs was not only introducing cloud initiatives during the keynote, but attempting to redefine the very notion of the technology. “It just works,” was Jobs’ repeated mantra while he appeared on stage, suggesting that with iCloud, “Apple is transforming the cloud from an almost tangible place that you visit to find your stuff, to a place that only exists in the background. It’s never seen. You never interact with it, your apps do — and you never realize it. It’s magic,” reports TechCrunch.

In the same article, TechCrunch suggests that Apple is viewing the cloud differently than its competitors (and presenting it in a simpler manner). Also, Apple is placing a greater emphasis on the web component with its MobileMe service and providing iCloud free with iOS 5. Whereas Google and Amazon are concerned with the ideas of servers, disks, data — Apple sees the focus differently. According to TechCrunch: “Files are something Microsoft worries about. Files in the cloud are something Google and Amazon worry about. Apple’s iCloud is about opening an application and the thing you want to access being there.” (For a list of the iCloud offerings, visit the MacDailyNews report.)

iOS 5

Apple previewed iOS 5, the latest version of its mobile operating system (the company also released a beta version to iOS Developer Program members). The beta release includes over 200 new features available for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch by the fall. Features include: Notification Center for managing notifications in one place without interruption; iMessage service for easily sending text messages, photos and videos between iOS devices; and Newsstand for organizing newspaper and magazine subscriptions.

iCloud and Music

The response to iTunes in the cloud seems mostly positive so far (and has been helped by Apple signing agreements with all four major music labels). Rolling Stone reports that allowing consumers to “reproduce their entire digital collections on locker-style servers accessible via 10 devices – including iPhones, iPads and computers – may not save the ravaged record industry, but it could provide a crucial new revenue stream while allowing consumers to easily consolidate their music libraries in the cloud.”

“Keeping these devices in sync is driving us crazy,” Jobs said in San Francisco. “We have a great solution for this problem. We are going to demote the PC to just be a device. We are going to move the digital hub, the center of your digital life, into the cloud.”

“It is one way to make someone pay for music they’ve already bought. It’s pretty ingenious,” commented Syd Schwartz, a former EMI Music executive in an interview with Rolling Stone. “I’m sure someone in an executive office at a major label somewhere is going, ‘At least that’s one way we can monetize the stuff people stole from Napster over the years.'”

Additional Announcements

Apple’s iCloud announcement was augmented by news of several other products and services. The Nieman Journalism Lab offers an interesting perspective: “In addition to introducing the long-awaited OS X Lion and announcing noteworthy Twitter integration, Apple has also, from the looks of things, gone on a veritable app-eating binge. The company, it announced, has created: ‘Reading List,’ a read-later functionality that allows users to time-shift their consumption of content (sound familiar?); a cloud-storage service, iCloud (which looks remarkably like this one); and a new camera and image-editing feature (kind of like this one).”

From a journalism perspective, Nieman Lab adds: “The biggest news is Apple introduction of Newsstand for iOS, which looks to be essentially an iBooks for publishers’ content — a central location for users’ magazine and newspaper subscriptions. With the new feature (well, new as of this fall), readers can browse a virtual bookshelf — literally, ‘wooden’ and all — and subscribe to a periodical in one tap. New issues will be downloaded in the background, solving one of the biggest problems for magazine publishers who push out issues that are hundreds of megabytes in size.”

Mac OS X Lion

As announced by Apple prior to the WWDC, the company will be releasing its new Mac OS X Lion next month. MacDailyNews reports that Lion will include more than 250 new features, 3,000 new developer APIs and, “will be available to customers in July as a download from the Mac App Store for US$29.99. Some of the amazing features in Lion include: new Multi-Touch gestures; system-wide support for full screen apps; Mission Control, an innovative view of everything running on your Mac; the Mac App Store, the best place to find and explore great software, built right into the OS; Launchpad, a new home for all your apps; and a completely redesigned Mail app.”

Apple vs. the World

It’s worth noting that some see Apple’s developments as a significant move forward in challenging its competitors. Robert X. Cringely, for example, has gone as far as suggesting that iCloud’s “real” purpose is to kill Microsoft. In response to Jobs’ contention that iCloud will “demote the PC and the Mac to just be a device – just like an iPad, an iPhone or an iPod Touch,” Cringely explains on his blog that “Jobs is going to sacrifice the Macintosh in order to kill Windows. He isn’t beating Windows, he’s making Windows inconsequential.”

Intentional or not, only time will tell. Let us know your thoughts…

 

Related TechCrunch article: “It Just Works” (6/8/11)

Related TechCrunch article: “On iCloud, Baby” (5/31/11)

Related Rolling Stone article: “How Apple’s iCloud Could Help Save the Music Industry” (6/6/11)

Related Nieman Journalism Lab article: “Newsstand, Reader, iCloud: 3 takeaways for the news business from today’s Apple announcement” (6/7/11)

Related MacDailyNews article: “Apple introduces breakthrough iCloud; free service ‘just works’” (6/6/11)

Related MacDailyNews article: “New iOS 5 includes over 200 new features, including Notification Center, iMessage, Newsstand, Twitter integration” (6/6/11)

Related MacDailyNews article: “Mac OS X Lion with 250 new features available in July via Mac App Store for $29.99” (6/6/11)

Related Patently Apple article: “Apple working on a Sophisticated Infrared System for iOS Cameras” (6/2/11)

Related Wired article (with video): “Jobs Pitches New ‘Mothership’ to Approving Cupertino City Council” (6/8/11)

Related I, Cringely post: “iCloud’s real purpose: kill Microsoft” (6/7/11)

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