iPad application People free for users

August 19th, 2010

We all know that the iPad’s success has forced several media houses to try and roll out several applications that would be compatible with he iPad. The first to join the bandwagon is People, which have made viewing this application free for all its readers that subscribe to its magazine.

The world’s largest magazine publisher, Time Inc thinks that this is the base for all its printing and digital sales to be amalgamated into one medium. Apparently, there was a lot of discussion between Apple and Time Inc before they could come to an agreement. Time Inc wanted this application to be offered free of charge to its readers while Apple was looking to do business. Like any other application ready to be installed into the iPad from the application store, Apple would get a cut.

However Apple has finally decided to provide this service free of cost. Subscribers of People will now have to enter a verification code before they could download it from the application store onto their iPad.

This has been a topic of discussion for a while now whether media companies should charge their subscriber for utilising the digital offerings. This could have its own repercussions. If the media houses begin charging their subscribers then there is a likelihood that they could lose a few customers. Would they be able to sustain their business with lesser number of readers? This is an answer that only time will tell. There are other publishing houses that are quite happy with their current style of working and do not want to invest in digital content. Publishers like Conde Nast are not interested in giving digital content as a part of print subscription. Conde Nast is trying to chalk out a pricing structure to amalgamate the print and digital content, but they think that this could cost more than the current subscription charges.

But this not what Time Inc has followed. They believe that all its print customers should have easy and free access to digital content and they are following a strategy that will ensure that the number of users increases which will help maximise profit. This is because subscribers to People pay nearly $100 to utilise the services of their print content and Time Inc is of the opinion that their subscribers should be offered this medium however they want to.

By giving this application free of cost to their readers, People is hoping that the number of customers downloading this application from the application store will increase. In fact, the numbers have gone up to 2.5 million subscribers until the last report came out.

The publishers think that by mixing its print publications to the digital media, the number of subscriptions flowing into the print advertising will increase, which at the moment is more lucrative than the digital media. They would also like to implement this model into a lot of their other magazine by using the services of the iPad.

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iPad revenue soars

August 18th, 2010

With the success of 2 technology inventions, namely the iPhone and the iPad Apple’s profit went up to $3.25 billion in profit along with revenues amounting to $15.7 billion, which apparently is the highest achieved in any quarter.

In the recently announced results, it was declared that there was a 88% increase in revenue as compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts were anticipating between $13.82 billion and $15.74 billion in revenue, and earnings between $2.65 and $3.74 per share. Apple had offered a typically conservative forecast of third-quarter 2010 revenues between $13 billion and $13.4 billion, and earnings per share between $2.28 and $2.39.

Apple managed to sell over 3.47 million Macs which was a 33% increase as compared to last year during the same time. This was only due to the popularity of the iPad and the iPhone. This was accompanied by 61% increase in sales for the iPhones as compared to last yea though iPod did take a beating. Their sales reduced by over 8% and this are an area that Apple would have to work on.

The record-breaking earnings for Apple came at a fortuitous time, as Apple has been trying to shift the focus from the iPhone 4’s antenna-related issues to the successful sales of the device.

The iPad has been a success the world over. It’s estimated that over 3.2 million iPads exist in over 10 countries around the world. This is just the start because with the iPad yet to be released in several other countries and customers waiting to get their hands on this device, sales are only going to increase. International sales of all Apple products accounted for 52 percent of the quarterly revenue. The Mac did particularly well in Asia, according to Cook. Sales grew 73 percent in the Asia-Pacific region, 144 percent in China, and almost 100 percent in Hong Kong.

While iPod sales unit volume overall was down, the iPod Touch continued to do well, growing 48 percent and pushing iPod revenue up 4 percent for the quarter. There are now 100 million iOS devices sold cumulatively, something Apple boss Steve Jobs had predicted at its Worldwide Developers Conference earlier in the year.

Apple said it is forecasting $18 billion in revenue and earnings per share of $3.44 for its fourth fiscal quarter. That includes the charge Apple will take for offering free cases to iPhone 4 customers to prevent interference with the device’s antenna. Apple says it expects the offer to cost the company about $175 million during the next quarter.

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PC Tablets- A modern day invention

August 16th, 2010

The tablet PC was first introduced in the market by Microsoft. The product was then hyped to revolutionize the technology market and should have captured the market. This was way back in 2001, unfortunately though, clogged with poor marketing, high pricing and bad timing, nothing went well.

Although Microsoft did not live up to its expectations as far as its sale went, and with over 10 million tablets PC’s expected to be sold this year, the fight for the tablet market share has begun.

The reason for tablet PC’s to be a modern day as well as a future success are that it looks like a laptop but isn’t one, and it is bigger than a smart phone. At the same time, an iPad is easy to carry around, looks sleek and is a great medium to surf the internet, can be utilized for music, videos, games and has the facility of a touch screen which saves you the trouble of carrying around a keyboard and a mouse while on the move.

With the success of the iPad which has old nearly three million tablets in a space of 80 days, several electronic companies like HP, Dell, Lenovo, Acer, LG Electronics, IBM, Toshiba and Panasonic have announced to release tablets in the near future. One of the tablets to be released is by Lenovo with its Android based device named LePad and will try and capture the China market where the iPad’s presence is quite low.

Dell is all set to launch its version of the tablet, named Dell Streak which has Blue Tooth, Wi-Fi and the 3G facility. The company is hoping to thrive on the success of the iPad by releasing the product at a competitive price of around $700. There are also talks that Motorola in a joint venture with Verizon is planning on launching a tablet that will mainly focus on television content. Reports state that the tablet which will operate on the Android operating system is said to be lighter than the iPad and will have 2 cameras.

Chinese telecom supplier Huawei is all set to come out with its 7 inch touch screen tablet which was exhibited at CommunicAsia this June. The tablet operates on Android and is powered by a 1GHz Snapdragon processor made by Qualcomm. The tablet provides the facility of 3G, Wi-Fi as well as Bluetooth.

All the success for PC tablets goes back to the booming sales of Apple’s iPad. Tablets do not necessarily have a built in keyboard but works on the system of finger touch or a stylus/pen for data input or to access information. Tablets can be used as a gadget that would help a user several ways. Amazon’s Kindle is an example of a gadget that can do one function primarily, and that is of an ereader. Else, the tablet could be used as a medium for entertainment which is what it is popular for. Tablets are expected to be launched soon which will have applications that will help entrepreneurs apart from its entertainment use.

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Time Warner Cable releases apps for iPad

August 13th, 2010

What happens when two well known businesses come together? You get something really unique and different. Not just that you get something that will blow your mind away, something innovative enough to change the way the world thinks!

Time Warner Cable a part of the very well known Time Warner has come up with apps for the gadgetry excellence from Apple Inc. This new apps will now let customers watch their current programs apart from the other offerings that it already has.

The apps is currently anonymous and is not baptized with any particular name, neither does it have any release date. The only thing known about it is that it was demoed in the YouTube video by Jason Gaedtke the Vice President of Web Services at Time Warner Cable. . As soon as the user opens the apps it delivers the current programming so that you can view the one according to your area. They can choose to see shows that are being currently aired or even go though all of those TV listing so that users can view them at a later date.

The two goals that this apps tries to achieve is that it allows the user to publish as well as consume whatever content is there on the iPad. Not only does the user get to publish the content but they also get to control the video content in the user’s living room. If users want to watch a particular show all they need to do is click on the “watch now” option. Once the option is chosen you can then continue to watch that particular channel since Time Warner Cable box gets the channel changes on your behalf.

There is another option that as a user you can choose and this is about finding content that is appropriate from other TV providers and networks and let this content is streamed to your device. However the amount of content that will be available and the content providers would have to give is still not yet known.

It seems like Time Warner has some really big goals to meet, infact Gaedtke has even mentioned that this would help users have the access to watch any show they want to right from their iPad. Now they need not miss out on their favorite television shows, since they could get back to where they left off with the help of this app.  The company is all set to have the API’s of the apps to be sent to third party publishers so that they could add in their content in the unnamed apps. For now the apps is only a prototype and hence its features may not be the same and there could be a few new additions or subtractions to the already existing ones.

It seems like using your iPad to control your iPad is all heating up and the only ones to benefit are users.

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IPad to have Flipboard!

August 11th, 2010

Can you imagine having a mix of some of your favorite online media sites into one application? This exactly is what the ‘Flipboard’ is all about. With the Flipboard, an user can actually select nine of his or her favorite online media sites and this will post links either from those sites or maybe even from social sites like Twitter and Facebook and present it to you in a presentable format. The experience of using the Flipboard is beyond imaginable.

The Flboard runs in a very easy manner. The first things you will notice once you sign onto Flipboard are nine sections. These nine sections are the ones that you will have to personalize according to your interests. You will notice that a couple of the sections are already pre-filled; this is for the user to understand the functioning of the Flipboard. If required, you could also have your facebook account in there which will help you read news feeds from your friends. If you are following a friend on twitter, this could be added on as well.

Once these sections have been added, you will notice that each section has a photo, a piece of information from the article and a one liner entered by the author. If you click on the photo, the page opens up where you get to read the complete information and if required, also can flip through pages of that site.

Although this may seem to be yet another RSS feed reader, the Flipboard application works differently. The Flipbaord gives you a feel of reading a magazine and gives you the complete detail rather than a piece of it. For example, if your friends have posted pictures of a party he went to recently, you can view all of them. Also, if a friend of yours has posted something on twitter, you can read the piece of information and if it’s an external link, a brief of the link. If you like what you read, Flipbaord has a Read on the Web option which will take you to the external link within the application. Because of its personalized feel, Flipboard gives you a different experience while being used.

Although the application sounds great to use, it does not seem very popular among users. The application Store does not rate it very high. A lot of this is due to the fact that because the Flipboard did very well, they were taken aback by the number of requests from Apple to have their customer’s Facebook and twitter accounts added. This obviously caused a delay in having these set up leading to dissatisfaction at the end users side.  But like the saying goes patience is virtue, Flipboard will get things right in a short span of time.

If there is flipside to this application, it is the fact that you can add only nine sites. There are over 60 sites to choose from and it would benefit a user if they could increase the number of sites being viewed on Flipboard.

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Net Gen iPad to be Smaller, Faster and Furious!

August 9th, 2010

The iPad has been gaining a lot of reviews in recent times and although the iPhone 4 is the newest gadget released by Apple Inc, the iPad is still the most talked about. Introduced in January by Apple Inc, the iPad tablet has been designed keeping in mind mobility, sleekness and indeed technology. It has everything that you could ask for and possibly even more. The great thing about the iPad and the most talked about part is its 1GHz ARM Cortex-A8 design based microprocessor that is said to start up the tablet at lighting speed.  Those who have used the iPad tablet confirm the quickness at which the tablet performs with.

Although the features of the tablet are worth talking about there are a few features that users would still like to see on their iPad tablet. According to a website from Taiwan, the Digitimes has reported that giants Apple is soon to release the iPad that will now have the Cortex-A9 based microprocessor. Obviously a better version of the Corex-A8, and users will have to wait for the new version that will be launched next year. Another mention by the website and the several rumors is that there will soon be a smaller iPad on sale was talked about. Don’t be surprised if you soon find yourself a smaller gadget of the original version in stores soon.

According to a research that was done by Digitimes, Apple is all read to get set for a big launch for the next generation iPad that will not only be equipped with the latest Cortex-A9 but the designed CPU is 512 MB RAM and this will be released by the first quarter of 2011. At present the iPad that is currently in the market has 256 MB RAM and of course the Cortex-A8 based A4 chip within it.

In other words Apple is looking to increasing its RAM speed by almost double making it the most powerful processor every introduced. The other brands have still not caught up with an appropriate answer in gadget technology when it comes to the iPad. We are wondering how they will cope up with the increase in speed and the smaller tablet size that Apple is currently aiming at. There is also a lot of speculation about the new iPad that is in news. You might just see a camera in the front panel which is excellent for video calls, iMovie application etc.

What users are also hoping to see in the much slated version of the new gadget is that the new iPad tablet should allow for multitasking. If Apple manages to meet all of these requirements that users are blatantly asking for then there is no way that the iPad will ever loose its strong hold in the gadget frenzy market for a long time. Apple as we all know loves to improve on its hardware, and features regularly, and this is one reason why it has done so well in the market not just with the iPad but also their range of smart phones that have captivated the markets.

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Remote Access with your iPad for Dish Network

August 6th, 2010

How would you react if you got to know that your iPad was now powered by Remote Access? In other words you can not just do your regular iPad activities but the tablet now allows its users the flexibility to schedule recordings, search and even browse through the list in its DVR libraries as well as resolve any kind of recording conflicts apart from its other remote function operations.

This amazing technology is now released by Satellite TV provider Dish Network and is said to be an excellent application that you will want to use for your Apple iPad. Your iPad can now be converted into a great remote control for your Dish Digital video recorder. This is apparently great news, especially if you are someone who was always in thought mode when it came to watching your favorite movie or partying out with friends.

This application is almost the same as the apps that that Dish created for the iPhone and the iPod Touch, infact the Remote Access that is for the iPad can easily convert the stylish Apple tablet into a full feature remote that also has access to some simply amazing DVR functions as well as its complete range of features. What more could a guy/girl ask for?

Users are now free to schedule their favorite TV programs recording on those multiple receivers, as well as delete the existing timers, not forgetting to browse through a maximum list of nine days of shows and even use the recording priorities features to manage their DVR libraries. Now you need not get into any kind of recording conflict with your better half and delete their previously recorded program that they hardly watched. This one has enough space to store nine days of shows! If you are wondering about its compatibility then you need to know that the iPad apps can be used with a huge chunk of Dish’s DVR’s.

The best part about the Remote Access Apps is that you can easily convert your iPad into a very useful TV controller especially for those that are connected to your Dish receivers. Still using it as a remove the iPad can then be used to flip though channels go though the extensive program guides and even set the recordings for programs. Not just that you can even get complete access to navigation features like pause, rewind and forward.

This apps is currently available for free and is currently available at the Apple Apps Store. So grab yourself one as quick as you can! You can also get your from the TV service provider that offers all internet connected laptops, Smartphone’s and even PC’s.

Truly a great apps especially if you thought that your Dish remote was a bit too tad, small and can be misplaced anywhere. With remote control access on your iPad you basically get from being user to king of your Dish receiver.  And now that the apps is free to download you can download it whenever you want to without thinking twice.

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iPad’s threat to online surveys

August 6th, 2010

The iPad is considered to be tool that has revolutionised the field of technology. The advantages of the iPad are that it is light in weight, runs on both 3G and Wi-Fi and supports lots of available applications on the internet. Of course, one cannot ignore the price tag which is affordable by many consumers. Experts believe that the efficiency of the iPad along with its ability to support various applications and the cost efficiency could make it a reckoning force in the field of online surveys.

The recent years have seen a steep climb in online surveys as compared to those of telephone and face to face surveys. People are happy utilising the internet at their own convenience rather than sitting across the table to fill up a survey. Though these surveys haven’t taken a beating, they have not become as popular as online surveys.

With the popularity of the iPad and the fact that this excellent piece of technology is being bought by millions of users the world over, this will only help researchers get direct interface with the survey fillers which wasn’t possible through the paper or the telephone surveys. The iPad is very easy to use and no user will struggle to make full of use.

Remember, there is a huge cost implication behind running field surveys. You will have to take into account staff to run the surveys, decide on a location, and collect data which has to be entered into a system before the report could be generated.  Companies usually run face-to-face surveys only if it is difficult for them to find the population to do the survey online or if the survey has to be conducted in stores where they can conduct a survey based on opinion while the customer is purchasing any product. By using the iPad, not only can you conduct surveys, but the data can be collected and researched along with the results in no time. Its like moving from 0-100 mph in 6 seconds.

Although the iPad is quite expensively set at around 500$ a piece, Apple sells millions which makes it the perfect medium to run surveys. Surveys were earlier run on computers as well, but there cost implications as these systems would run on specific business models. Companies can utilise the Application Store to create an application that suits their requirements or to target specific markets.

The iPad leaves its competitors behind in the online survey race. A few reasons behind this are:

  • The iPad can be used without a fuss. Users will get a hang of using this tablet in a few minutes even if being used for he first time.
  • The battery life of the tablet is beyond compare.
  • The Application Store creates an opportunity for developers to utilise this mobile platform which is not available in any other PDA or mobile device. Infact, more developers have been working using the platform provided by iPad rather than working on those provided by other mobile devices.

If you are thinking of conducting a field survey, think twice because the iPad will save you a lot of time and cost.

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IPad Rules Tech Gadget market, Competitors Lurk Behind!

August 2nd, 2010

It is estimated that Apple has sold over 3.3 million iPads in the last quarter. With this projected to grow to over 25 million the whole of next year, there is no doubt that Apple has left its competitor’s way behind in the technology race. This excellent boom in sales is believed to be one of the best ever seen in product launches.

We shall take a look at performances of various companies and their products launched in the market and whether they stand to gain or lose while being pitched against the iPad.

One of the biggest losers in this entire saga is PC Makers and sellers. The likely hood of companies and individuals buying laptops and notebooks would reduce. Although for now, the iPad has not really made a dent on their sales, yet Barclays Capital has forecasted that by next year several companies would lose out on sales and their profits would reduce as people would prefer to buy the iPad as compared to the flashy notebooks and other products of its competitors. Examples of these losers are Hewlett- Packard, Dell and Acer. Infact, last year, Dell managed a profit margin of less that 3%.

There is no computer device made without semiconductors. With the iPad using devices derived from cell phones. The sales of the iPad are likely to hurt both Intel and A.M.D. All these years, these two semiconductor manufacturing devices have always dominated the desktop market but this change is inevitable.

One of the biggest losers due to hard hitting sales of desktop would be Microsoft. With the iPad option for the IOS4 operating system, the sales of Microsoft next year will not look good, all this in spite of the success of Windows 7.

It is believed that products launched by Apple have lesser loopholes than those run by Windows. Due to the anticipated strong sales of the iPad, there is a strong chance of anti virus companies like McAfee and Symantec would definitely not run out of business, but their application would not be required for the iPad. There is a possibility that with the sales of the iPad, several hackers would try and exploit the applications loaded, but for now the antivirus companies are set to take a beating.

One of the first companies to get rid of the floppy drives was Apple. Would this pave the way for Apple to get rid of the hard drives used in computers and laptops once and for all? The iPad uses a technology called the NAND memory which consumes less power than the normal hard disk drives and with the high sale expectation of the iPad, companies like Seagate and Western Digital could take a beating. One company’s loss is always another company’s gain, and the hard drive used on the iPad could lead to companies like Samsung to increase their production. With more companies producing the NAND memory, the prices of this will drop leading to the extinction of the hard disk dives.

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iPad Sales Sky Rocket surpasses iPod in quarterly Sales Report

July 23rd, 2010

Silicon Alley Insider has revealed a chart that is a good indication that pictures are definitely worth a thousand words. The chart show’s Apple revenue according to the products in segments which is easy for analysts to understand that Apple iPad is now the major product on sales. The positive impact of the iPad has infact helped the gadget surge even ahead of the iPod Touch. The iPod was till recently the highest selling gadget that was responsible for bring in profits for Apple Inc. But it now looks like that the Apple iPad had surpassed even the iPod and after being launched during the third quarter of the year has managed to topple the iPad which is the third largest business revenue wise.

The iPad alone managed to get in $2.1 billion as revenue in the June quarter. The iPad and its accessories only mounted to about $2.17 billion while the iPad itself was around $2.1 billion. The average selling price of the iPad is about $640. Infact the iPad sales that have even crossed the iPod that has only managed to get in $1.5 billion as revenue for Apple. The chart that was released now clearly mentions that the iPad is now at par with the Mac using which apparently has bought in $4. Billion in its revenue sales, and the number of units that were sold was about 3.47 million. Although the iPod has an immense market share of 70+ its sales has still been falling drastically over the past few months.

The last quarter itself saw the iPod sales drop and it went down to seven dollars. The iPad’s third phase roll out has already begun and there has been a mixed response after it was introduced in New Zealand and Hong Kong.

It seems like the people in Hong Kong are much frenzied than their kiwi counter parts. The iPad’s 3rd phase roll out in New Zealand took place on Friday and the iPad fans were really not very happy since the rollout of the gadget was very secretive. They expected that the market should have been abuzz with the iPad getting into the market. However it wasn’t and everything was a big hush!

With Apple hushing out the announcements of the iPad coming into the New Zealand market, only those who were frantic enough to buy the tablet could. This could possibly be a big dampener in the iPad sales. The results will be available only after the third quarter and once that is out we will know if sales were hampered or no. If it is, it could turn out to be a big blow to Apple’s sales figures that have already altered their sales figures for 2010.

On the other hand buyers in Hong Kong stood in long queues so that they could get a piece of Apple with them. They were quiet ecstatic to get the iPad into their shores although the iPad has been unofficially on sale ever since it’s US launch in January.

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