Apple Grabbing a Bigger Slice of a Richer Pie
Wednesday, May 28th, 2008
This item has been circulating online for the past couple weeks, but it’s worth highlighting here, as we’ve often discussed Apple products and software. Joe Wilcox’s May 16th Apple Watch column discusses Apple’s recent climb in market share for $1,000+ retail PCs (the vast majority of Macs, save for the Mac Mini, are priced above the $1,000 mark). In Q1 2008, Apple commanded 66% of the $1,000+ PC market (70% of $1,000+ desktops and 64% of $1,000+ laptops). Those numbers are pretty astounding, given how poor Apple’s overall market share had been at its nadir, but much of that surge has been recent: Two years prior (Q1 2006), Apple owned just 18% of the $1,000+ market.
Obviously, Windows machines still dominate in overall market share, particularly below the $1,000 mark, where Apple doesn’t really compete and where the vast majority of IT department purchases lie. But given the overall stagnation of the current PC market, the fact that Apple is able to generate such strong growth is really phenomenal, and speaks to the dominance in user experience (as well as an the introductory/halo effect of the iPod and iPhone.
(via Daring Fireball)
Garmin Unveils Nüvifone, First Real Competitor to the iPhone?
Thursday, January 31st, 2008
When we say “first real competitor to the iPhone”, we aren’t alleging there are not better selling mobile phones than Apple’s iPhone (though selling more than 22,000 smart phones per day isn’t too shoddy). No, we’re speaking of UI; user interface design. Even many of those aren’t particular fans of Apple’s mobile device acknowledge the idea that many of the UI innovations introduced in the iPhone will begin making their way into other mobile phones in the coming months and years.
Verizon has marketed LG’s Voyager as very much the iPhone-style, touch screen-driven device, but the Voyager’s touch functionality is significantly limited and isn’t even the primary interface for the phone’s OS.
Garmin, however, producers of some of the best-selling hand-held GPS devices, is now entering the smartphone market later this year with the Nüvifone, and based some of the initial available screenshots, it may be the first competing smartphone to really give the iPhone a run for its money.
Electronista highlights just how the phone’s GPS core will integrate with its smartphone functionality:
Almost entirely controlled by a 3.5-inch touchscreen interface, the device centers around its native GPS unit: in addition to straightforward navigation, a host of Google apps allow it to search for local businesses, check traffic, and view nearby weather. Any photos or videos taken with the built-in camera are automatically geotagged for positioning in location-based services.
Of course, we’ve yet to see a working model of the Nüvi. As noted by John Gruber, the only “screenshots” we’ve seen thus far are entirely mocked up vector art; they are currently no legitimate screengrabs available. So who knows where this announcement falls on the vaporware scale, but assuming it does make its way to market at some point this year, Garmin may well have a hit on their hands.
2008 Macworld Keynote: The Small Business Perspective
Tuesday, January 15th, 2008
Yet another Steve Jobs Macworld keynote presentation is in the books and, as would be expected, the Apple faithful are all abuzz. As a major fan (and consumer) of Apple’s products, Jobs’ annual keynote is very much the equivalent of Christmas morning for (Mac) geeks. Present company included.
At the moment, most of the buzz coming out of this morning’s presentation is surrounding the new MacBook Air, Apple’s almost-but-not-quite-ultra-portable notebook computer. Weighing in at less than three pounds and barely 3/4″ inch, it’s clearly one sexy machine, and one that I’m sure will sell like crazy.
Sitting back and digesting this year’s event, I’m focusing on today’s announcements from the perspective of a small business owner; what did Steve Jobs unveil that we can really incorporate into our workflow to help us work better, faster and more efficiently for our clients?
Script Leaked for Tomorrow’s Macworld Keynote?
Monday, January 14th, 2008
As with any Apple rumor, take this one with a grain of salt, but there’s been a supposed leaked copy of the script for Steve Jobs’ Macworld keynote address (scheduled for tomorrow morning) that’s been making its way around the internet since first popping up on Wikipedia Friday.
It’s a fairly intriguing read, and seems to fall in realistic spot as far as expectations - this would be a good, though not earth-shattering set of announcements (hey, we can’t have the introduction of something as big as the iPhone every year).
The only item on this list that really makes me doubt it’s authenticity is the “one more thing”, which would simply be the ability to download Y0uTube clips (yawn). There’s no way Jobs is ending any Macworld keynote with an announcement that lackluster.
Still a good read though, whether it turns out to be authentic or simply a well-written fake.
Best Buy Gets Snarky Regarding the iPhone
Tuesday, November 27th, 2007
Though I don’t make much use of it anymore, I’ve been a member of Best Buy’s Rewards Zone program for a number of years, and as such, receive Best, their pseudo-magazine each year at the start of the holiday shopping season. The magazine typically presents relatively “fluff” pieces covering the latest technology and highlighting brands and models available in-store.
This year’s edition features a write-up on various smart phones, and has an interesting side bar (p. 77) on Apple’s iPhone. Of course, Best Buy cannot sell iPhones, as the device is still only available either direct from Apple (via their online or brick-and-mortar stores) or via AT&T Wireless. Given Best Buy’s iPhone status (i.e., on the outside looking in), it’s not entirely surprising the snarky tone they take in assessing the iPhone’s value (or in their words, lack thereof) to the business user:
“But iPhone is not as smart as Apple thinks it is. Most glaring is iPhone’s current lack of compatibility with push Microsoft Exchange and Blackberry e-mail, essential components for corporate adoption. And AT&T’s slow and erratic EDGE network cripples Web surfing and e-mail downloads … iPhone is packed with a lot of distractions. After all, who wants to work when you can watch a movie, listen to music, or surf YouTube?”
Of course, while the EDGE network “cripples” surfing and downloads for iPhone, it apparently is perfectly sufficient for other AT&T smart phones, such as the Blackberry Curve and Samsung Blackjack (i.e., those that Best Buy can actually sell).
It’s not that they’re not raising some valid points (e.g., Exchange support is a non-starter for a fair number of business users), it’s the way in which they’re doing it, which comes off as little more than a case of sour grapes to the informed reader.
Separated at Birth?
Thursday, October 25th, 2007
This isn’t the first time that Sony’s been nabbed for taking inspiration from Apple for its marketing (and Apple’s not immune to criticism here either), but I suppose imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, no? Below is a promo photo for Apple’s second generation iPod nano and a recent promo shot of Sony’s Cyber-Shot digital cameras.
(via Engadget)
Don’t Forget Your Macworld Bingo Cards
Sunday, January 7th, 2007
TUAW points out a pair of sites offering MacWorld Bingo cards. Yes, you too can eagerly await Tuesday’s announcement of upgrades and new Apple products by playing along with your own bingo card.
Be forewarned however, that printing and filling out one of these will clearly brand you as either a complete Apple fan-boy or, at minimum, someone with far too much time on your hands!
Time to Get Those Last Minute MacWorld Predictions In
Friday, January 5th, 2007
Seattle’s own Mike Davidson offers his contribution to the ever-burgeoning number of Macworld predictions, and I have to say that I’m liking his list. Of course, most of the attention in recent months, from both Apple fans and Wall Street analysts, has been on the supposedly “sure thing” Apple phone, but Mike offers a few other tantalizing suggestions, including (my personal favorite) the “iTheater”.
Check out Mike Davidson’s Pre-Macworld Rundown »
Adobe Announces Release of Photoshop CS3 Beta
Thursday, December 14th, 2006
For much of the (Mac-based) creative community, the official adoption of the new Intel-based Mac computers won’t be complete until the release of Adobe’s Creative Suite 3 as a Universal Binary sometime this coming spring. For those unfamiliar, a Universal Binary is a program format optimized to run on both older PowerPC-based Macs as well as the new Intel machines. Older (non-Universary Binary) software is capable of running on Intel Macs today, but performance in many cases (Photoshop in particular) leaves a lot to be desired.
Suffice to say, there’s a lot of excitement brewing today after Adobe announced that they’ll be releasing a beta version of Photoshop CS3 tomorrow (Friday, December 15th) for free download. The software will include a two-day preview period for non-CS2 users; those currently running CS2 and possessing a legit software license will be able to use the CS3 beta at least until the final, official release of the software in the spring.
MacWorld has a rundown on the release »
Introducing Coherence
Wednesday, December 13th, 2006
I’ve been a big fan of Parallels Desktop since it’s initial release. For the uninitiated, Parallels is a virtualization solution for Intel-based Macs that allows you to run multiple operating systems simultaneously within OS X. Thus, I can run Windows XP within it’s own self-contained window on my desktop, alongside by usual Mac software. It’s an excellent solution for those who prefer the Mac environment but may still need to run a few PC-only programs. Here at Bainbridge, we utilize Parallels to more easily test websites and HTML emails across both Mac and PC systems, all on one machine, all on the same screen.
This week, the fine folks at Parallels have upped the ante, releasing an ambitious Beta upgrade to Parallels. It includes a number of significant new features, including drag and drop copying (the ability to simply drag and drop files between operating systems).
What really caught my eye, and what I think will really impress a lot of other folks, is the introduction of Coherence, a Parallels framework that basically hides much of the extraneous Windows desktop, showing just the actively running window/programs. So, what’s the big deal? The big deal is that now you can literally run Internet Explorer, Outlook, Office 2007, etc. side by side with Safari, iLife, and more, without having to switch between desktops.
Checkout these screen caps taken on my MacBook Pro. The first features a neat trick for hiding/revealing the Windows XP toolbar (using it’s Auto Hide function) by tucking it under the OS X menu bar at the top of the screen. All of my XP software is just a couple clicks away, but I don’t have to fully jump back and forth betwen the two operating systems to access them.
The second screen cap below showcases the side-by-side effect; Internet Explorer 6 and Safari are both open onscreen and I can easily jump between the two.
