Tech Industry

They took start-up funding from Apple’s ‘iFund’, now it appears iPhone game developer ngmoco’s flirting with the other side — Google Ventures (The VC arm of the search giant) has invested in the developer.

TechCrunch tells us the profitable company took up to $5 million in Google cash. While Google’s ‘don’t be evil’ boss, Eric Schmidt, has in the past stressed that Google Ventures is not Google, but independent…

However, I surely wouldn’t be surprised to see ngmoco begin to port its titles to Android devics.

ngmoco competitor SGN recently began offering titles on Android. “SGN closed a bridge round led by Eric Schmidt

With Apple seemingly set on rebranding the Apple TV with the same brand as the UK’s second-oldest television broadcaster, ITV, it looks like the company may still have some fuss and botheration before it can convince broadcasters to truly join the iOS Internet TV network party (assuming such dreams don’t die the death through net neutrality).

In the same week as Disney CEO, Bob Iger, steps up to the plate to call the iPad a ‘game-changer’, it seems broadcasters aren’t totally sure they want the game changed.

A report claims rights holders of TV content are charging firms up to three times as much for a license to offer media via the iPad, a report informs.

MobiTV CMO Ray DeRenzo says broadcasters fear alienating their existing distribution partners, so feel obliged to charge top dollar. “It is three to four times more expensive to license the same piece of content for a tablet than for a mobile phone,” he told Mobile Entertainment.

“I can programme a package of content on mobile and make it available for $10 a month in the US, but if I take that same lineup of content and make it available on the tablet, I’m going to have to charge more like $30. And at $30, there is not a market for that product.”

With Apple reportedly set to offer some form of hybrid cloud-based TV content-cum-network via the future ITV box, does the $30 charge also represent an approximation as to the monthly charge Apple will have to make for access to all-you-can-eat content?

Disney’s Iger has a more positive vision, saying “Our gut is that cannibalization is negligible and that people still do most of their viewing on bigger screens.”

I think a new low may have just been hit, knockoff iPhone 4s are now being sold by knockoff Apple.coms. They even go as far to compare the knockoff to the legit. That is all. 

Apple’s next-generation iPad seems set to make a blushing appearance next year, and will include a three-axis gyroscope, just like the iPhone 4, a report claims.

UBM TechInsights believes that Apple tested a three-axis gyroscope manufactured by InvenSense in its iPad prototypes, but is likely to adopt a similar component from STMicroelectronics. The same one used in the iPhone.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jTro-BK2xY&w=700&h=400]

It took almost five years, but Apple Japan has finally agreed to replace first-generation iPod nano players in the event of their overheating. (Video above is a few years old).

This applies only in Japan, where, under pressure from local government, Apple has confirmed “very rare cases of overheating” in the battery of iPod nanos sold between Sep 2005 and Dec 2006. The company has published a note to its website admitting the problem.

The overheating had the effect of distorting the shape of the music player, or otherwise making it unusable. The fault came from a particular battery supplier.

Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said the recharging problems caused 27 overheating incidents, including six fires, which left four people with minor burns.

Apple waited until last week before it admitted knowledge of another 34 such incidents. A delay in data-sharing Japan’s authorities see as “truly regrettable”.

What hasn’t been revealed is just how Apple will handle similar complaints at the overheating iPod nano in other nations.

OK Cupid via DF

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2IuEH07xBg&w=640&h=385]

Suddenly 4:3 doesn’t seem like such a bad idea? via BoomTown

Yet more hassle for Cupertino on news that European regulators have joined forces with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to probe Apple’s policies regarding mobile software developers (ie. Flash on iPhones).

The move is part of the regulatory response to Apple’s attempt to ban Flash from its iOS devices, alleging the format isn’t sufficiently advanced for use on smartphones.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has criticized Flash for using too much power, limiting smartphone performance and other problems making it unsuitable for prime time in the mobile age.

Adobe has of course complained about Apple’s move, hence the new probes. The FTC opened up its probe in June. Now, according to sources at the NY Post, the European Union has joined in the investigation, which could last up to six more months.

The European Union recently adopted a new Digital Agenda aimed at encouraging the interoperability of technology.

Apple CEO, Steve Jobs is friends with Oracle boss, Larry Ellison, and Larry is a tennis buddy with former HP CEO, Mark Hurd, and he’s furious the HP board has let Hurd go following some slight scandal.

Hurd resigned last Friday after the company discovered discrepancies in his expenses claims. He was also being investigated over claims of sexual harassment made by former HP contractor and alleged adult actress Jodie Fisher.

In an email sent to the New York Times, Ellison claims HP just shot itself stupid.

“The HP board just made the worst personnel decision since the idiots on the Apple board fired Steve Jobs many years ago.”

He observed, “That decision nearly destroyed Apple and would have if Steve hadn

Faced by Apple’s growing Mac, iPad and iPhone marketshare, Dell has kicked back with a price comparison guide that clearly puts the fruit-flavored computer manufacturer in its sights…

In its latest campaign, Dell goes for a side-by-side comparison of the price of Apple computers in comparison to its own charges.

Comparing the Dell Studio 15 with the MacBook Pro 15-inch, Dell makes the claim to offer its machine at $950 per pop, while Apple charges $2,199 for its offering.

What isn’t mentioned is the processors speed — Dell ships a 1.73GHz chip (2.93GHz Turbo Mode) inside its machine, while Apple’s offers a 2.66GHz chip. What’s interesting too is that Dell pits its lowest end machine up against the top-priced Apple variant in its ‘Apple’s for Apples’ campaign.

What makes this possible is the inclusion now of Microsoft’s recently-introduced Windows Live Essentials software. Redmond’s attempt to emulate iLife offers a bunch of multimedia applications for consumers.

That Microsoft has introduced Windows Live reinforces the fearsome effect Apple has had on PC marketshare since the turn of the century.

New Apple TV in manufacturing this December, CDMA model iPhones will have a metal, not a glass back and the future of the iPad sees a 7-inch model and new, faster processor debut in December, that’s this morning’s big rumor round-up…

We’ve been looking at the latest reports from Digitimes (so usual warnings etc.) that Apple intends introducing an upgraded iPad equipped with a Cortex A9 processor next year.

The new 9.7-inch tablet will utilize a version of ARM’s latest processor and will carry 512MB of RAM. Apple’s expected to introduce the device in Q1, the report explains…

Apple will also (apparently) introduce a 7-inch version of the iPad, using the same processor and boasting a 1,024-x768 resolution IPS panel.

More news on the CDMA iPhone (c’mon, who seriously expected Apple to give Google unique access to every US network bar AT&T?) which Digitimes tells us will go into mass production (by Pegatron) in December.

“[Pegatron] will supply to both US-based Verizon Wireless and China-based China Telecom,” Digitimes tells us helpfully.

Big news, likely to start the usual discussions in the usual places too: “The CDMA iPhone’s back plate will be forged from metal materials and will feature an integrated antenna, according to Digitimes Research.”

Does this mean we can expect an iPhone 4.1? Or will this reflect an earlier launch of an upgraded model as some have predicted?

Wait, there’s more: CDMA iPhone sales will begin in January 2011 after a CES announcement by Verizon’s boss, and are expected to account for 35 percent of iPhone sales.

And then — even more, in this fun-filled fact or fiction Monday rumor bag from Digitimes. More news on the Apple TV, I’ll quote direct:

“Apple is also set to launch a new Apple TV using AMD’s Fusion solution and will not include a hard drive. The new device will adopt a user interface similar to the iPhone with support for social networking websites, network multimedia and the App Store. Mass production of the device will start in December, Digitimes Research noted.”

Be ready. (Of course, this also suggests news of 7-inch iPads, CDMA iPhones and the Apple TV won’t make the cut for the August/September music product refresh. If Apple TV doesn’t make the party, then it is possible we’ll be looking at a later launch for the iTunes in the cloud streaming services. That matches some previous reports which have suggested Apple’s huge data center won’t be active until the end of the year. Wait and see.)

While Apple’s developers may sometimes face a Byzantine race to get their apps approved, are required to avoid even a gentle whisper of controversy or nudity, and may even sometimes see their artwork pop up in an Apple patent filing, Cupertino’s dominance over the mobile app world seems set to continue, fighting off all foes.

ABI Research published its latest forecast for the mobile apps market which suggests that despite the growing competition posed by Android, and to a lesser extent, BlackBerry and Nokia, Apple will lead the pack — though Android will be hovering in the tail lights…

Specifically, ABI Research expects mobile application downloads from iOS and Android to account for 78% of all application downloads in 2010, with iOS (the iPhone

Google CEO Eric Schmidt talked to reporters at yesterday’s Techonomy conference about all things Google. Of interest to Apple watchers specifically is his take on Android and how Apple’s iPhone led the way, especially in browsers. He also mentions that Google makes a fair amount of money on each iPhone through the ads on Safari (and Admob?)

Here’s a shortened, quieter (but better lit) version on Youtube.

Quietly bubbling this hour is speculation on news that Verizon CEO, Ivan Seidenberg will deliver the opening keynote speech at CES 2011 this coming January.

This is significant in lots of ways: not least because it reflects just how central to the evolution of the consumer electronics market mobile/cell phone devices and infrastructure have become.

What is also significant about this is that the announcement of the speech almost immediately generated speculation the Verizon boss would use the speech to announce the iPhone is coming to Verizon — big news to US consumers.

That this speculation almost instantly appeared reinforces Apple’s place among consumers as the company at the center of the evolution of the mobile space. Apple has become the watchword for mobile innovation.

The CES speech could equally see Seigenberg deliver news regarding Android OS-based devices, potentially including tablets, should Verizon choose to continue its non-iPhone strategy.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs would also be unlikely to want Verizon to make its own iPhone announcement, when you consider how Apple likes to be in good control of its bigger announcements.

The notion that Apple and Verizon may reach some kind of deal matches months of rumor; AT&T’s move this week to secure the US exclusive offer of the latest BlackBerry device also suggests a new landscape in the US smartphone biz.

We’ll wait and see. Meanwhile Google has announced that 200,000 Android devices are being sold each day, up from 160,000 in the last quarter.

This is today’s paparrazi-style picture showing a disappointed (but sanguine) Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, leaving popular San Francisco restaurant, Flour and Water because he couldn’t get a table.

First posted by twitter user @LexyLady, I just felt some readers would never forgive me if I didn’t point it out — others, of course, will feel differently. That’s life I guess.

More information: Foodspotting founder Alexa Andrzejewski took the pic. “According to Sfoodie, when the customers right in front of Jobs snagged the last seats in the packed Flour and Water house so he did what a normal well-adjusted human would do and left.”

Flour & Water is a nice Italian eating place that serves up dishes cooked to trad recipes using nice, fresh ingredients.

Apple’s antennagate hasn’t had a huge effect on iPhone consumers, but has dampened enthusiasm slightly, reveals Changewave.

A July ChangeWave survey has taken an in-depth look at the reactions and opinions of 213 Apple iPhone 4 owners in an attempt to assess what impact antennagate had on Apple’s customers.

“Despite the waves of controversy that surrounded the iPhone 4 within days of its launch, the latest Apple release is outperforming almost every other smart phone in the industry in terms of overall customer satisfaction and meeting owners

The PayWall St. Journal has the story, Tech Gadgets Steal Sales From Appliances, Clothes, here.  Gist: Technology is getting more of our dollar than it ever has.  Where does that money come from?  All the other useless crap we used to buy.

Americans are spending more on electronics like iPads and flat-screen televisions and less on durable goods like furniture, washing machines and lawn mowers, according to government data released Tuesday…

Since September 2009, the 27-year-old has spent about $8,000 on new electronics. Among his buys are Apple’s iPhone 4, MacBook Pro, iPad and iPod. He also bought a Blu-ray video player and a $2,000 stereo system.

Apparel executives say the iPhone in particular has become an ornament in its own right. “It’s a new fashion accessory, there’s no doubt about it,” said Richard Dickson, CEO of branded businesses at Jones Apparel Group Inc., which includes Jones New York, Nine West and Anne Klein.

Besides, electronics, the other area gaining ground by 6.4% in June?  Savings.

U.S. savings rate ticked up to 6.4% in June from the previous month, its highest point in a year and far above its pre-recession level.

Best news I’ve heard all week.

Microsoft hardware, the division which makes mice and keyboards and headsets (or rather sources and brands that stuff), is teasing on its Twitter account that it has a big surprise coming.  Here’s the clue:

Knowing Microsoft and looking at their clue, it looks like something like a trackpad or mouse of the … ‘Magical’ variety.  Microsoft’s trademark change of color should totally absolve them of any charges of copycatting.

Where can we start forming a line for this bad boy?  Via Engadget.

News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch used a media event in Sydney, Australia today to once again state how important he thinks iPads and other tablets are to the future of publishing, though he declined to give accurate numbers of sales of his paid apps.

He did, however, confirm News Corp. to have “tens of thousands” of readers for its Wall Street Journal, The Times and Australian iPhone apps, and observed.

“It looks like they [Apple] will sell around 15m iPads this calendar year and more than 40m by 2012. And the iPad is just one of many tablet or slate computers in the pipeline. News Corp fully intends to be across all those platforms too.”

Calling his move to put popular publications behind paywalls online, “the start of a new business model for the internet”, Murdoch observed: “The argument that information wants to be free is only said by those who want it for free.”

Murdoch likes the iPad for its design, for its users who are already comfortable with making purchases online via iTunes and the efficiency of its walled garden, says The Guardian.

Anyone else out there remember iPhone marketing exec Bob Borchers? Well, he’s left Apple now and has just jumped aboard the mobile payments bandwagon.

Pretty clear we’re looking at some fast-paced developments in mobile payments, iPhones and more, as Visa and Mastercard face renewed competition.

Borchers will join the board of Payfone following the NewYork firm’s $11 million investment round. Borchers, now at Opius Capital, is to join the board, along with RIM’s Kevin Talbot.

What Borchers brings is wide experiene within Apple’s iPhone team, and experience setting up the iPod-auto-integration ecosystem.

Payfone works with carriers to provide a mobile payment system that lets you buy something by giving a merchant your phone number, and having the transaction billed to your phone account.

This is interesting, but constitutes a crowded market, with AT&T and Verizon planning a venture to replace credit and debit cards with smartphones, taking on Visa and MasterCard.
http://abcnews.go.com/assets/player/walt2.6/flash/SFP_Walt.swf

(Yeah, that’s Seth at 1:10)

Meanwhile Apple’s iPhone also has potential as an iWallet, some reports claim.

The times they really are a-changing, with the second report in a week suggesting Apple’s moving to dominate the PC industry, (as I noted right here last week). The latter report points out that if you include iPad sales, Apple is now the number three player in the portable market.

That’s right, if you count tablets as notebook PCs, Apple just passed Asus, Lenovo, Toshiba and Dell, observes Philip Elmer-DeWitt, citing Deutsche Bank analyst, Chris Whitmore.

Whitmore added Apple’s iPad sales to its IDC regulated notebook sales to find the company’s true position in mobile computing,
“When including the iPad as part of the NB [notebook] market,” he writes, “Apple leapt over Asus, Lenovo, Toshiba and Dell in terms of global unit share.”

One more thing: seems the iPad is “directly cannibalizing demand for other vendors’ NB products.” Apple’s MacBook sales must surely be suffering too, right? Wrong — they set new records in the last quarter.

Add Apple’s other mobile computer, the iPhone (and perhaps iPod touch) and Apple becomes the dominant PC industry player.