apple vs. google vs. microsoft [infographic]

via gizmodo.com

this infographic shows the areas that apple, google, and microsoft are doing battle on. the third world war to control the future? google vs. apple vs. microsoft

what does each party want? microsoft wants computing to continue to be tied to the desktop—three screens and a cloud, as steve ballmer is fond of saying. for apple it's all about closed information appliances with lots of third-party apps, computers anybody can use. and finally for google it's about all roads leading to the internet, and the internet is currently synonymous with google.

Posted via web from connected marketer.

unexpected apple iPad fashions.

via ismashphone.com

Posted via web from connected marketer.

iPad announcement email. iPad wi-fi model available today.

here's the apple iPad announcement that arrived in my inbox this morning.

Shop Online     |     Find a Store     |     1-800-MY-APPLE Learn more about iPad Wi-Fi + 3G models available in late April. Some features and applications are not available in all areas. Application availability and pricing are subject to change. TM and copyright © 2010 Apple

Inc. 1 Infinite Loop, MS 83-DM, Cupertino, CA 95014.

All Rights Reserved

Posted via email from connected marketer.

first apple iPad reviews are in.

a handful of iPad reviews have been published online so far and they’re largely positive. of course with the expected caveats on the lack of a camera and lack of support for flash and multitasking. overall the consensus is that apple has a shot at creating a brand new digital media category with the iPad.

a number of reviews make special mention of its speed - a major selling point for apple devices over the competition in the past (e.g. google android), a battery life that exceeds apple’s claims.

following are excerpts from eight of those early reviews:

I believe this beautiful new touch-screen device from Apple has the potential to change portable computing profoundly, and to challenge the primacy of the laptop. It could even help, eventually, to propel the finger-driven, multitouch user interface ahead of the mouse-driven interface that has prevailed for decades. But first, it will have to prove that it really can replace the laptop or netbook for enough common tasks, enough of the time, to make it a viable alternative.

– Walt Mossberg, The Wall Street Journal

The first iPad is a winner. It stacks up as a formidable electronic-reader rival for Amazon’s Kindle. It gives portable game machines from Nintendo and Sony a run for their money. At the very least, the iPad will likely drum up mass-market interest in tablet computing in ways that longtime tablet visionary and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates could only dream of.

– Ed Baig, USA Today

No company can generate as much hype around a product launch as Apple. But that’s perfectly OK because no company is also nearly as successful at producing a new product that can justify almost any level of excitement that precedes it. They don’t do it with every product launch, but bloody hell: they’ve done it with the iPad….The most compelling sign that Apple got this right is the fact that despite the novelty of the iPad, the excitement slips away after about ten seconds and you’re completely focused on the task at hand…whether it’s reading a book, writing a report, or working on clearing your Inbox. Second most compelling: in situation after situation, I find that the iPad is the best computer in my household and office menagerie. It’s not a replacement for my notebook, mind you. It feels more as if the iPad is filling a gap that’s existed for quite some time.

– Andy Ihnatko, Chicago Sun Times

The techies are right about another thing: the iPad is not a laptop. It’s not nearly as good for creating stuff. On the other hand, it’s infinitely more convenient for consuming it–books, music, video, photos, Web, e-mail and so on. For most people, manipulating these digital materials directly by touching them is a completely new experience–and a deeply satisfying one. The bottom line is that the iPad has been designed and built by a bunch of perfectionists. If you like the concept, you’ll love the machine. The only question is: Do you like the concept?

– David Pogue, New York Times

Is the iPad a perfect product? No. And the omissions will give the anti-Apple crowd plenty of ammo. Why do I need this extra device that’s not a full-fledged laptop? Where’s the camera? What about Flash? Um, how about multitasking? These are all valid complaints, but one thing I can say about most Apple products, and certainly the iPad: There may be things it doesn’t do, but what it does do, it does remarkably well. Aside from the aforementioned limitations, there isn’t a lot else to gripe about. And to my great surprise, you can actually get real work done with the iPad.

– Tim Gideon, PCMag

Manic, nonstop use revealed a number of things: battery life is better than I anticipated. I got a full day of constant internet-connected use (it barely left my hands) on one charge. It fits well in my lap when eating, and it’s easy to wipe off stray noodles and arugula leaves and get right back to Twittering….I like it a lot. But it’s the things I never knew it made possible–to be revealed or not in the coming months–that will determine whether I love it.

– Xeni Jardin, Boing Boing

It turns out the iPad isn’t as much a laptop replacement as I thought (though it could easily be used as one). Instead, it’s an entirely new category of mobile device. For example, now when I want to surf the Web from the couch or back deck, the iPad is the device I choose. Starbucks? Same thing. Think of the iPad as a new arrow in your technology quiver, an arrow that will often be the best tool for a given task. I had high expectations for the iPad, and it has met or exceeded most of them.

– Bob LeVitus, Houston Chronicle

Apple’s engineers know something those other companies don’t: form has trumped function. You can load up a tablet with horsepower and extra features till it can do your taxes and lick the stamp, but if it’s not instantly obvious how to use those features without a manual — and if you don’t look good using them — nobody cares. The iPad isn’t wildly feature-rich. It doesn’t run Flash, and the only browser it runs is Safari. Like the iPhone, it can’t multitask, and it doesn’t appear to have a serious file-handling system. I’ve tried its much ballyhooed full-size virtual keyboard, and it feels like typing with frostbite. It doesn’t even have a damn camera. But you will care about it, because whoever designed its graceful lines and intuitive interface cared about you.

– Lev Grossman, Time

Posted via web from connected marketer.

CSS3 replacing Flash? Watch an AT-AT Stomp All Over Flash

via gizmodo.com

Above is a still image of an AT-AT walker (on an Apple iPad). But, if you go here using any WebKit browser (e.g. Safari or Chrome), it comes to life like on Hoth. It looks like a cool Flash animation, except it's not, it's pure CSS3 magic (read about how CSS3 can replace Flash here).

(Link to AT-AT walker in all its CSS3 glory. Remember you need to be using a webkit browser).

Posted via web from Connected Marketer

Steve Jobs interview about the Apple iPad (Video)

via kara.allthingsd.com

Interview with Steve Jobs starts at 1:55

Here are my two favorite highlights from the quick Q&A between Steve Jobs and Walt Mossberg:
Why would I pay more for a book from Apple? > "That won't be the case."
Battery Life of 10 hours for reading? > "You're not gonna read for ten hours."

Posted via web from Connected Marketer

Hitler responds to the Apple iPad

via techcrunch.com

The Downfall meme that will never die... Personally, I can't get enough of these parodies - I'm not sure if it's because Downfall is one of my all-time favorite movies, or because Bruno Ganz does such a spectacular job at playing Hitler, or the scene truly fits as a rant in virtually all situations.

While everyone is loving the iPad, one person who doesn’t like it is Hitler. In the YouTube parody above, which takes that now all-too-common scene from the movie Downfall and replaces the subtitles with a rant against the iPad. It’s the meme that will never die (there are at least 50 Hitler parodies using the same scene with different subtitles).

So what exactly does Hitler have against the iPad?

> “The iPad won’t support multitasking”
> “They didn’t give it a camera, fine. But it’s on AT&T! How am I supposed to use their crappy network?”
“eBooks? If I wanted eBooks, I’d buy a Kindle.”
> “It could have single-handedly destroyed netbooks. But what do we get instead? An oversized iPod Touch!”
> “It can’t even make phone calls!”
> “I wanted to watch videos of lolcats while laying on the couch. But no, they won’t even give it flash support.”

I have the same issues with the iPad, but it’s funnier when Hitler says it

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iPad... enough said

via failblog.org

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20 things I already know about Apple's iTablet / iSlate

Found this very true list while browing for news on Apple's big announcement tomorrow.

Posted via email from Connected Marketing

Give Bing a Chance? Over my dead body

via geekculture.com

This comic reflects the thoughts of many Apple Evangelists and Fanboys. However, people need to realize that the world has changed and that Google is now just as "evil" as Microsoft once was. Just don't expect andy MacOS Zune support any time soon :)

A famous leader once said "You can always form an alliance with the enemy of tomorrow against the enemy of today."

Posted via web from Connected Marketing

No more mac.com?

Please update your bookmarks to www.me.com

As of January 21st, 2010, www.mac.com will no longer redirect to www.me.com. Please be sure to update your bookmarks. This change will not affect any of your MobileMe services or published web pages.

Continue to me.com Add Bookmark

via mac.com

I wanted to check my email online this morning and I was welcomed to mac.com by this message. As much as like "MobileMe" I do not like the idea of "me.com" or having a "@me.com" email address versus a "@mac.com" email address. Being a longtime Apple user and fan I enjoy having an email address that helps me identify with the brand.

Is Apple working on putting something else up on mac.com? Is this part of a major rebranding effort?

As Apple does not give out the "@mac.com" address anymore I can only hope that do not pal on getting rid of the "@mac.com" addresses in the future.

Posted via web from Connected Marketing

The App Store Economy is Booming - Infographic

via gizmodo.com

$165 Million a month for Apple? Not to shabby if you ask me.

Posted via web from Connected Marketing

Rumor: Verizon Wireless prepares for the iPhone

via tuaw.com

Either wishful thinking or evidence of the inevitable, but BusinessWeek is reporting that Verizon is supposedly bolstering its network in preparation for the iPhone.

Verizon Wireless Chief Technology Officer Anthony Melone recently told Bloomberg BusinessWeek that the company is ready for the extra traffic that the iPhone would bring. "We have put things in place already. We are prepared to support that traffic."

We all know how dissatisfied iPhone users, including myself, are with AT&T's performance. Especially, if you came over from Verizon's wireless service like I did. All us iPhone users can do now is cross our fingers and say "Please Apple, please offer your phone on Verizon!"

Posted via web from Connected Marketing

BROWSER WARS: Google Chrome Beats Apple Safari

via gizmodo.com

All it took was the release of the Google Chrome beta for Linux and Mac and it happened: Chrome became is the number 3 browser in the world, narrowly sliding past Apple's Safari with a 4.4 percent marketshare to Safari's 4.37 percent. The Google-Apple war is getting real, people.

Posted via web from Eric's online marketing blog

Apple: "People Are Still Just Trying to Catch Up With the First iPhone"

via gizmodo.com

I love this image.

It makes me smile every time I see it. I don't know if it's because of the Futurama style of the drawing, Windows being portrayed by a Monkey, or the laser beam coming out of the iPhone :)

Posted via web from Eric's posterous blog

AT&T MMS launch: How was it for iPhone users?

So, what's the fallout of the AT& MMS update from last Friday? It seems that according to initial feedback nothing too exciting happened. There were just a few isolated reports of failures to get the update, failures to get the MMS functions after an update, and late delivery of MMS messages.
According to a non-scientific poll conducted by TUAW.com it seems that 46% of respondents had no issues at all and an additional 15% had initial issues that went away.

Is this a WIN for AT&T? In my opinion no because getting this right was expected after such a long delay. The iPhone is finally capable of performing rudimentary functions that any 13 year old's cell phone that they sneak into school on a daily basis.

How did the AT&T MMS release go for you?

It worked well. No problems	5739 (45.9%)
It seemed slow at first, but got better	1827 (14.6%)
MMS is missing some features I wanted	237 (1.9%)
MMS isn't of any interest to me. I use email for sending pix	1912 (15.3%)
Doesn't run on my older iPhone. I'm not happy	708 (5.7%)
Slow delivery yesterday. Much better today	795 (6.4%)
Not happy at all	1297 (10.4%

Posted via web from Eric's posterous blog

Is AT&T ready for iPhone MMS rollout tomorrow?

We've just heard from AT&T that new carrier settings for the iPhone 3G and 3GS will be available "late morning" Pacific Time (which would be early afternoon Eastern) this Friday, September 25, which will finally enable MMS support. Owners will have to tether up to iTunes to grab those settings, so fish out your cable (as if you don't have it permanently attached to your machine already) and make sure you've got some solid time in front of the computer to check for the update over and over (and over) again, alright?


How long have iPhone owners been waiting on this? Too long!!!! Still WAY to overpriced. AT&T, quick question: Where would you be today without the iPhone? Huh?!?! This could be potentially disastrous for the AT&T brand if they don'r pull this off - no wonder they are scared right now. We'll know more in 24 hours.

Posted via web from Eric's posterous blog

Is Apple toying with Google? [iPhone and Google Voice]

According to Google's statement from last Friday, in contrast to previous statements Apple rejected the Google Voice app outright.
So, it Google yelling: "You're a Liar!" to Apple? Sort of, but not fully. This may be the first chapter in the Apple Google war of the second decade of the 21st Century. It all started when Eric Schmidt, Google's CEO, left Apple's board earlier this year after sitting on it since 2006.
The issue is that Apple ahs always run a very tight ship, maybe a little too tights. But, now that all of a sudden there are millions of Apple users via the iPhone they are just "enjoying" this tight ship that Apple runs. There really is nothing wrong with what Apple is doing - it is doing waht Steve Jobs loves: Controlling the end-user experience to the t. However, why doesn't Apple simply come out and admit to this? Well, becasue there would be about a millin and one lawsuits files that day by companies that want their apps or programs to run on the iPhone regardless of what Apple thinks.
This brings us to the problem that Apple does not have the structures in place to properly monitor app submissions to the app store. Apple is making 30% of every app sold, so wouldn't it be in their own best interest to approve as many apps as possibel to increase revenue? That's where Steve Jobs and his tight ship come in.
So, in other words what we are witnessing is not the prelude to Google versus Apple, but rather Google versus Steve Jobs.
Since this story broke laste last week, Apple has again denied rejecting the Google Voice App to spite Google.
Read more: Gizmodo and Macrumors.

Posted via web from Eric's posterous blog

What is up with Mobile Advertising?

I've been intrigued by the potential of Mobile Advertising since 1999. Back then grand articles were written on websites, in books, and magazines of how a grand revolution in advertising is upon us and that it will shake the very foundation that makes up marketing. Well, here we are 10 years later and not too much has changed. Do we receive coupons from Dunkin' donuts as we walk by them on our phones? No. Do we get special offers from Target when we enter the store on our cell phones? No.

Then, where are we?

A story that I read today got me thinking. According to this story on AdvertisingAge.com from September 15th, the mobile apps which constitute the majority of the mobile marketing channel are "just an appetizer." As the author puts is: "In grand historical terms, this whole mobile app thing is only now climbing out of the primordial ooze." Well, Mr. Kevin Maney I hate to tell you but we've been in this state of climbing out of the ooze for at least a decade now. When will we finally move on to the next step?

I know some people will say that text message advertising is doing well, but I must point out that it is nowhere near its potential and I'm sure that it never will reach it as far as advertising goes.

While the iPhone, and in particular the app store, have moved us ahead by leaps and bounds in terms of branded communications and marketing on mobile devices, everything is still all over the place. Where would Video tapes be if both VHS and BETA survived until now? Or for that matter next gen DVD if the battle between BluRay and HD-DVD was still going on?

While competition does drive innovation, standardization can create a more focused effort with ultimately greater results. As much as people here in America lament the "big brother" approach of European or Asian economies, being light-years ahead in terms of cell phones, cell phone service, and technology in general does paint a picture.

Now back to the point by the AdAge article that we are clawing our way out of the "primordial ooze" in terms of mobile apps. Are these mobile apps he future of marketing communications to consumers on cell phones?  Apple showed a picture at its most recent iPod event that showed the superiority of its iPod touch - essentially a mobile phone without cell service - over current tablets or net books on the market.

So, does the future of mobile, mobile apps, and ergo mobile advertising in essence lie with smaller computer that happen to be phones as well (e.g. the iPhone)? That is something that only time will tell, because as Master Yoda says "The future, always in motion it is." But, if I had to put my money on it right now, I'd say that smart phones will become more and more like small computers. And the billion dollar question will be to find out how to spam people with ads on there, just like advertisers have on any other channel known to man, is the future.

One final thought: Is the reason that mobile advertising is not catching on that a moblie phone is seen as the last "sacred" advertising-free sanctity by people?

Posted via web from Eric's posterous blog

Apple: Microsoft, we will crush you! (At least in MP3 player sales)

via engadget.com

Posted via web from Eric's posterous blog