GigaOM » Apple

Apple’s iPhone 4S most-discussed smartphone for second half of 2011

Darrell Etherington — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:00:44 +0000

Apple’s iPhone 4S is the smartphone on the tip of everyone’s tongue this holiday season, according to stats from Nielsen/McKinsey subsidiary NM Incite released Friday. The 4S captured 40 percent of online buzz around smartphones during the period between July and December 2011, despite not being introduced until October.

The iPhone 4S’s lead in terms of buzz is measured by the number of times it gets mentioned on blogs, message boards and groups, Twitter, Facebook and posts at online news sites. Nielsen used a list of the top 20 recently acquired smartphones from the third quarter of 2011, and a few popular ones released late, including the Google Android-powered Samsung Galaxy Nexus and iPhone 4S. The iPhone 4S grabbed 40 percent of all mentions in terms of devices on the list.

The 4S wasn’t the only iPhone mentioned in the list, however. The iPhone 4 and the iPhone 3GS also nabbed a lot of attention in online published items, resulting in Apple’s phones making up almost two-thirds of all mentions of smartphones in the six-month period covered by the NM Incite study. Combined Android phones, including the Galaxy Nexus and Droid Bionic were responsible for a quarter of the buzz, while BlackBerry devices came in third with a combined 10 percent.

This study shows that Apple’s iOS smartphones still command an impressive percentage of media and consumer mindshare when it comes to connected mobile devices, despite Android-based handsets pulling far ahead in terms of worldwide market share according to recent counts.

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Apple jumps the line to become U.K.’s no. 2 online retail site

Darrell Etherington — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 15:46:44 +0000

Apple was the second-most popular online retailer in the U.K. during the third quarter, according to data released Monday by web stats measurement firm Experian Hitwise and IMRG. Apple rose to second place from eighth the previous quarter, thanks to a five-fold increase in traffic between August and October.

Apple was second only to Amazon.co.uk, and beat out Argos, which has been at the top of the list along with Amazon’s U.K site since Hitwise began its rankings. In October 2011, the Apple site accounted for 1 in every 25o visits made by U.K. browsers, according to the information gathered by Experian Hitwise.

Part of the reason for the huge volume increase in traffic, which spiked in October, is the death of former Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs. Jobs passed away Oct. 5, just a day after Apple announced the iPhone 4S. The combination of the two led to Apple reaching its highest-ever levels of Internet traffic, with 14 million visits coming to the site in October alone.

Hitwise also cited the iPad as another cause of high traffic for Apple, since tablet popularity overall is a growing driver of web traffic. Amazon experienced a lift thanks to its Kindle Fire, for instance, and in addition to its U.K site topping the list, Amazon’s U.S. shopping portal even made the U.K. rankings, coming in ninth.

Apple’s surge in retail web rankings may not last, but a six-place jump is nothing to scoff at, even if it is a temporary boost dictated by extremely unusual circumstances. If Apple dips back down next quarter, it probably won’t fall all the way back, since some of those new visitors will probably stick around to keep tabs on what’s coming next, specifically to look for clues about iPad 3, which is starting to become a popular target for the rumor mill.

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Apple eyes Genius Bar overhaul as search for retail chief continues

Darrell Etherington — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:48:40 +0000

Finding a replacement for Ron Johnson, Apple’s former retail chief who departed the company to become CEO of J.C. Penney on Nov. 1, is no easy task. Apple is employing a head-hunting firm to find an outside candidate, but it may turn the search inward as the search hasn’t yet born fruit. Apple has also done some major shaking up of its retail operations despite the ongoing transition, and seems eager to continue charging ahead with those efforts, too.

According to Bloomberg, despite Apple’s hiring in August of executive talent search firm Egon Zehnder International, it may instead end up hiring someone internally if an outside search isn’t coming up with any results. An earlier report from Cult of Mac had pegged Apple’s current VP of Retail, Steve Cano, as Johnson’s replacement, but Apple refuted those claims.

Apple said via a spokesperson that its “search is under way with lots of interest,” and noted that the company is “carefully selecting Ron’s successor,” in a statement to Bloomberg. But in the meantime, it’s hardly business as usual for Apple Retail stores.

Just last week, Apple launched its revamped iOS Apple Store application, which provides ship-to-store ordering and EasyPay self-payment options to U.S. Apple retail locations. I argued that this represents another potential revolution sparked by Apple in brick-and-mortar sales, and now there’s a new report circulating that more changes are still to come.

On Saturday, 9t05Mac reported Apple will be making iPads the new wonder tool of the Apple Store Genius Bar, replacing MacBook Pros that have long been in service. Geniuses toting iPads would employ special software to determine if a user’s device was eligible for repair, diagnose problems and even order replacement parts. For Apple, this represents cost-savings; an iPad is much cheaper than a MacBook Pro, after all. But the real benefit will be for customers seeking Genius help, since it’ll make Genius work spaces less cluttered and more comfortable, and keep Geniuses much more mobile.

So despite Apple’s lack of a formal helmsman in place for its retail operations, the ship is sailing quite nicely, and even venturing outside its established routes. Good to see that even with a hugely successful retail model already in place, and in the midst of a highly transitional period, Apple still strives to bring its A-game to an area where it continues to have a steady, albeit les- publicized impact on a global scale.

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iPad 2 Now On Sale at Apple Online Store; Expect a Wait

Darrell Etherington — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 14:25:24 +0000

In case you missed it, the iPad 2 officially went on sale online at the Apple Store at 1 AM PST today. Online sales may have started a good 16 hours before the iPad 2 arrives in physical retail stores, but if even if you order right now you’ll be facing a much longer wait than you probably would if you were waiting in line.

All models are currently available, but already wait times for shipping have gone from three-to-five days, to five-to-seven days, and are now at two-to-three weeks for every model save one: the black 16 GB 3G Verizon iPad ships in three-to-five business days as of this writing. Either the iPad 2 is doing amazingly well right out of the gate, or Apple put most of the available stock into its brick-and-mortar retail channels to ensure customers who braved lines don’t walk away disappointed.

A two to three week shipping timeframe for current orders puts the U.S. iPad 2 in line with Apple’s limited international release, set for Mar. 25. I don’t want to jump to any conclusions, but if demand is stronger than Apple anticipated, those of us outside the U.S. should prepare for an extended wait as Apple scrambles to fill existing orders. Apple is limiting customers to a maximum of two iPad purchases, likely an effort to staunch the flow of overpriced resales through eBay, craigslist and other similar channels.

Customers hoping to get their iPad 2 from other online sources can check out AT&T, which is offering the 16 and 32 GB Wi-Fi + 3G iPad models for sale right now, with a listed shipping time of five to seven business days. Verizon doesn’t begin its online sales until 5 PM today, and other outlets like Best Buy and Walmart have yet to begin or detail plans for e-sales.

Did anyone already place their online order? If so, when did you order it and what was your expected shipping time?

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Apple Brings App Store, Online Retail to China

Darrell Etherington — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 15:00:43 +0000

Apple made a lot of money from direct sales last year, so it isn’t surprising that it would expand its online store to China, possibly its largest market in terms of growth potential. Nor is it shocking that it would expand the App Store’s reach there. Both initiatives launched yesterday.

Chinese expansion has been a long, difficult road for Apple. It took over two years for the iPhone to arrive in China, due largely to a lengthy negotiation process between the Chinese government, China Unicom (which is essentially government-controlled) and Apple. Eventually, the iPhone 3GS went on sale, albeit without Wi-Fi capabilities initially due to government restrictions.

The new online store allows shoppers to order all the latest Apple products, including the iPhone 4 and iPad, and have them delivered. Until now, Apple customers in China had to make the trek to one of four brick-and-mortar Apple stores in Shanghai and Beijing in order to make a purchase, though they had the option of pre-ordering the product from Apple’s Chinese website. Also available at the new site are custom engraving options, free shipping and customizable hardware configurations.

The addition of direct-to-door delivery options is a huge step for Apple. China, though developing economically at a fast pace, is still significantly behind in terms of roadways and infrastructure development. The new Apple store does notify customers that deliveries outside of major urban areas will add a few days to shipping times. Apple’s willingness to deal with the difficulties of delivering anywhere in mainland China shows its commitment to the emerging market.

Apple has only a 7.1 percent share of China’s smartphone market, with Nokia, Samsung, Motorola and Sony Ericsson ahead of the iPhone maker. Expanding its retail presence into e-commerce is the best way for Apple to start moving up that list, since Chinese consumers are spending billions online every year.

Also open for business is a simplified Chinese version of the App Store. In order to make purchases in the App Store, customers need to have dual-currency credit cards, a move put in place to prevent fraud. It’s a barrier to entry, but it should still expand Apple’s reach and help encourage more iOS device hardware sales.

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Free iPad Engraving Now Available Through Apple

Darrell Etherington — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 12:49:08 +0000

One of the benefits of buying an iPod direct from Apple online is that you get to engrave a free message on the back. It helps you easily identify your device, and it works well for gifts. The iPad lacked an engraving option at launch, but it’s here now, just in time for the holidays.

Apple updated the buying options for all models of the iPad to include free laser engraving earlier today. The option automatically comes up as you go through the process of ordering your iPad, and uses the same live preview feature that’s been standard for iPod engraving.

Note that even though it may seem like a cool addition, you might want to think twice before you brand your iPad. It does take a little longer to ship customized devices, and you can’t return your engraved order in the event of a spelling mistake. Plus, unless the product doesn’t work out of the box, you won’t be able to get a refund or exchange on your device, if the iPad policy is the same as the one for engraved iPods.

I’m not sure I would’ve gone for this even it was available when I picked up my iPad, but if you’re giving someone an Apple tablet as a gift this year, and you’re pretty sure they won’t want to return or exchange it, at least you now have the option. Special request for Apple: Let me engrave my MacBook Air.

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Microsoft Becoming Apple With First Retail Store, Online PC Sales

Darrell Etherington — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:37:34 +0000

Talk about biting someone else’s style. Not only is Microsoft trying to add some cool factor to its brand using celebrity influence, a game which Apple has long had in the bag, now it’s also opened its first official brick-and-mortar retail store, and it even just began offering PC hardware for sale via its online store. Next thing you know, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will be wearing black turtlenecks.

A revamp of the web site is part of the Windows 7 launch campaign, and it includes a brand new store that stocks more than just software. You can now purchase a range of Windows 7-toting computers from HP, Acer, Dell, Lenovo and Sony, which are the real heavy-hitters in the PC arena. You can also pick up a single desktop, a Lenovo A600 all-in-one. Selection seems slim, but Microsoft is being a good copycat and not overwhelming consumers with an overabundance of choice.

All of the computers available on Microsoft’s web site come in stock configurations only, with no customization options beyond the ability to choose a color on select models. Users looking for more in the way of upgrades should still continue onto the manufacturer’s web site to order their machine, but Microsoft isn’t playing to that crowd. Instead, it’s aiming at first-time buyers or people with little to no computer expertise who just want the buying process to be as simple as possible.

And if you’re not too keen on the fancy new Internets, you can always take a trip down to Scottsdale, Ariz., where Microsoft today opened its first retail store. Here’s Microsoft’s own description of what it’s like, since I’m a little out of reach of the Scottsdale area:

As soon as you enter the store, there are laptops on large cedar tables, with seating so shoppers can sit and tinker. The walls are lined with giant LCD screens that envelop the space with landscapes and product images designed to create interest and spark curiosity. Below the images, stylish all-in-one PCs are set up with Zunes, Xboxes, headphones and widescreen displays, showing how all the items work together to create a multimedia experience.

Toward the back are laptop bags and an array of software titles before you turn the corner and reach a veritable mecca for Xbox enthusiasts — a gaming zone featuring a 94-inch widescreen, with immersive sound, seating and an array of controllers to play with.

Sounds like the whole premise is designed more around showing, rather than selling, as early speculation suggested. Microsoft is clearly pushing the experience, rather than trying to sell the component parts. I’d say something snarky about how this points to a lack of imagination on the part of your average PC customer, but being Mac users, I’m sure we can all come up with much more creative snark on our own.

All of this image and distribution re-imagining on Microsoft’s part is great news for one company: Apple. There’s no better sign that you have your main competitor on the ropes than when it resorts to parroting your moves. All Apple needs to do is continue to set the trend, and watch as Microsoft tries to follow it.

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App Roundup: 10 iPhone Weather Apps

Adam Jackson — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:00:12 +0000

In my line of work, I do quite a bit both indoors and outdoors. As such, it is crucial for me to know the weather forecast at the drop of a hat. The weather app built into the iPhone is a simple, no fluff, no garbage, weather app. It does its job well, but any weather app can give you the highs and lows for the day. Oftentimes I find myself needing to know the humidity, wind speeds, or sunrise/sunset times and other nonsensical information.

Below is a roundup of weather apps for the iPhone, with features ranging from video forecasts to airport delays.

AccuWeather (FREE)

Features: Video forecasts, Radar, Severe Weather Alerts, and Weather Indices

This app’s user interface was by far my favorite, but at times it still felt a bit flawed. AccuWeather should have integrated typical iPhone gestures into the application as I often found myself wanting to swipe or enlarge something, only to discover that those features had not been implemented.

Despite this app’s shortcomings, AccuWeather still impresses me by the plethora of weather and climate information it provides. I love when things give me more than I need, it doesn’t matter what the product is. If I get more than I asked for, I am a happy customer, and AccuWeather sees to this.

One of my favorite features is its risk monitoring system, which breaks down severe weather conditions (rain, ice, fog, wind, etc.) and shows the chance of each of them happening over the course of the next 8 hours. Another feature that set AccuWeather apart was its indices feature, which shows UV, Air Quality, Flu, and Arthritis indexes for the day.

Weatherbug (FREE)

Features: Severe Weather Alerts, Weather Cameras, Radar, and Maps

I’ve always been a fan Weatherbug’s desktop variants, and was pleased to find that the iPhone version was comparable. Weatherbug has all the typical bells and whistles you would expect from a weather app, with a few extras, one of which is a real-time wind tracking, which is updated every few seconds, showing wind speed and direction. I don’t fly many kites or participate in many nautical activities, but I still find this to be a cool feature. It has the simplicity of Apple’s Weather app, but with a few extras, and unlike other free weather apps, it isn’t ad-supported.

The Weather Channel (FREE)

Features: Location-based Forecasts, Radar, Severe Weather Alerts, Video Forecasts, and Traffic Cameras

Being the No. 1 free weather app in the App Store comes with a bit of scrutiny. But what can I say? They are The Weather Channel, and they know what they’re doing. This app doesn’t give any more information than the Weather Channel web site, but it’s great to have such information at your fingertip while on the go. The map feature of this app uses Google Maps with a live update of radar, clouds, temperature, precipitation and UV index. I have very few complaints about this app, but my biggest is the large banner ad on top of the application. I understand that it’s a free app and they have to make money, but it’s a bit obtrusive at times.

Weathereye (FREE)

Features: Weather Alerts, Hourly forecasts, Traffic Information & Cameras, and Radar

This app is brought to you by The Weather Network, which is a Canadian company. Therefore, this app doesn’t have many of the smaller U.S. towns and cities. Regardless, I still liked it. It’s very similar to Apple’s Weather app in that it is as easy as “swiping” your finger across to switch locations. However, like many of its counterparts, Weathereye is ad-supported.

This app does a great job of covering Canada as well as larger U.S. towns and cities. If you live in rural America…sorry, you’re out of luck.

Pascal Dreer: AeroWeather (FREE)

Features: Altitude, Wind Speed/Direction, Sunrise/Sunset Times, Location Awareness, and Runway Reports

I have dabbled in aviation in the past, and have always found it interesting. In the end, my pursuit of aviation was a short-lived one. When I was up there, I could only imagine how crucial knowing the weather could be — literally life or death.

Pascal Dreer took this into consideration by giving us AeroWeather, an iPhone weather app designed with aviation in mind. AeroWeather is a full-service app that displays wind speed/direction, altitude, sunrise/sunset times, runway reports and more. This is the perfect weather app for anyone in the aviation field.

NavClock (99 cents)

Features: Displays Time/Location, Elevation, Coordinates, and Zulu time for aviation

I like this weather app simply because it displays an exorbitant amount of information in an easy-to-read way. There’s no complicated user interface, no gestures, just a page of information, some of which is fairly irrelevant most of the time. Skipping the bells and whistles of other weather apps, this one leaves little to be desired. One feature I would like to see in upcoming versions would be the ability to customize the way NavClock displays the information.

Deluxeware Weather ($2.99)

Features: Wind Direction/Speed, Local Time, “Actual Feel” Temperature, UV index, Dew Point, Visibility, and Humidity.

Deluxeware Weather is a pretty basic app for the weather genre. That means no radar, no maps, no airport delays, or wind direction/speed. What it does have is all of your basic weather information, such as 7- and 14-day forecasts, current time, the “actual feel” temperature outside and UV index.

Weather Pro ($3.99)

Features: Location Awareness, Wind Speed/Direction, Radar, and Satellite Images

When released last October, Weather Pro had more than its fair share of bugs, many of which seem to be fixed now. This app did crash on me a couple of times, while the other apps in this list did not. However I kept coming back and retrying Weather Pro. What brought me back to it time and time again were the small things, such as a great-looking interface, 3-hour climate monitor and up-to-date wind speeds for all locations. So for $3.99, I suggest giving this one a try.

Fizz Weather ($5.99)

Features: Landscape Forecast Mode, Sunset/Sunrise, Radar, Wind Speed/Direction, Barometer, Visibility, and UV Indices

There were three main features in Fizz that set it apart from its competition. One of those was the slick user interface, the other was the creator’s decision to include reported and predicted airport delays. The third feature that appealed to me was Fizz’s landscape mode. If your iPod touch or iPhone is turned sideways, you have the ability to browse through several informative charts and graphs displaying weather-related information, which was a huge plus.

Overall this is a decent, feature-heavy weather app, however there are a few shortcomings. As most of these weather apps have a built-in radar feature, I found Fizz Weather’s to be the most lacking, which is surprising for one of the more expensive apps.

My Weather Mobile ($6.99)

Features: Radar, Wind Speed/Direction, Landscape Mode, and Satellite View

The term “perfect” has earned a certain point of exclusivity in my vocabulary. When I saw the rave reviews this app got in the App Store, I was a bit skeptical. Surprisingly, it lives up to every expectation and is as close to perfect as it could be. This app comes in as the most expensive of this lot, but I will say that as far as paid apps go, it’s easily among the more feature-rich. In fact, it may just have everything you could ask for with a weather app. The full-screen radar and 36-hour trend graphs are extremely beneficial. The graphs are by far one of the greatest features of this application, as they are the powerhorse behind My Weather Mobile’s information. There are graphs for total precipitation, estimated/active precipitation, UV index and more.

Like any iPhone App genre, there are hundreds of options, costing anywhere from small fortunes to nothing. There isn’t necessarily a right or wrong choice as far as choosing a weather application, rather ask yourself which app would be more suitable for your situation. But since it’s also hard not to choose favorites, I find myself using Navclock quite often as a desktop weather and clock solution, and I tend to use Fizz Weather and My Weather Mobile while on the go. I love the information My Weather Mobile provides, yet Fizz’s sleek interface keeps bringing me back for more.

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Unlocked Apple iPhone Available From Buy.com in the U.S.

Darrell Etherington — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 20:00:48 +0000

If you’re still skittish about being locked in for a lengthy contract and don’t mind the fact that new hardware will almost undoubtedly be hitting the streets in only a couple of short months, and if you have money lying around not doing anything useful, Buy.com has a deal for you, for the low price of $799. That’s the price you’ll pay for a brand-new, in-box, unlocked Apple iPhone from Buy.com. In fact, it’s better than unlocked, it’s never been locked in the first place, so you won’t have to worry about sketchy jailbreaking/unofficial unlocking procedures if you’re not tech-savvy.

The never-locked 16GB iPhone 3G comes with a full Apple warranty, which is probably not the case with most unlocked units you’ll find on eBay, but Buy.com does warn that you might not be able to understand your product’s instruction manual, since the devices come from all over the world, and not necessarily English-speaking countries. That means this is probably a case of an overstock buy-out from a variety of global carriers in preparation for the June WWDC ’09 iPhone hardware refresh.

Apparently you can easily swap out SIM cards using these models, so if you’re a globetrotter, this might just answer your prayers. And maybe Om Malik, over at our sister site GigaOM, can finally come back to the iPhone fold using a more dependable network than AT&T’s. T-Mobile, or any of the 30 different smaller GSM carriers in the U.S., will work with these phones out of the box, according to Buy.com’s product information site. Plus, unlike with unofficially unlocked phones, you can connect to iTunes and update without worrying about being locked out and having to jailbreak again.

I’ve been wanting a second device so that I can devote one to testing, and it’d be nice to have something I can travel with and use pay-as-you-go SIMs with so as not to get charged massive roaming fees, but my heart flutters every time I think about that $799 price tag. Plus, I’m already going to be sufficiently gouged when the new iPhone hardware comes out in June and I have to try to talk my carrier into allowing me an upgrade when I still have two years left on my contract.

Buy.com may just be trying to move more units, but they are claiming that they have very few units left in stock. Anyone planning on picking one of these up? If so, what for? Is the $799 price justified, considering the freedom you get by avoiding a contract/AT&T’s spotty network?

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Apple Introduces Cross-border Shopping, for Some

Darrell Etherington — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 21:29:08 +0000

Up until today, Apple customers have only been able to ship products bought via Apple’s online stores to addresses located in the country of the store they’re ordering from. I say up until today because as of now, that’s no longer the case.

Now if you wanted to give your friend in Mexico an iPod for his birthday, all you have to do is opt for Cross Border shopping from Apple.com. There are currently 20 countries available for international delivery.

While the list does include France, Italy, Spain, UK, and Mexico, one notable absence is Canada. I mean, seriously, we’re right here. Mexico gets the nod, but we’re left out in the cold (excuse the pun)? Well, life isn’t fair, and a list of 20 means a lot of other countries are probably feeling left out as well, so I’ll swallow my national pride and move on.

Shopping internationally is easy, but easier if you speak the language of the country you want to ship to, because you have to shop at the international store of your choice in order to place your order. That means you’re also billed in the international currency of the store you’re shopping at, with the conversion rate from USD being determined by your bank at the time of the actual transaction. That means that buying the entry-level Mac mini for your friend in the UK right now would cost you US$735, and I’m not sure how the taxation works on that. Definitely not a way to take advantage of the generally cheaper U.S. pricing.

If you don’t speak the language of the store you want to buy from (say, British, for example), you can call Apple directly and they’ll help you with your order in the language of your choosing. At this time you can only use a credit card to pay. Not sure if this will really catch on in a big way, but there must be some market out there for it if Apple’s already gone and done it.

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