Tech Industry

It has been a busy day here in iPhone land.  The latest bit of rumor news comes fron the Boy Genius report.  According to their "reliable source" the iPhone will be available later this year from Best Buy and Radio Shack.   The deals are already secured and the iPhones are en route. 

This isn’t as big a stretch as we originally thought because both Best Buy and Radio Shack already sell AT&T phones and activation plans in the store.  Best Buy even sells Apple Computers and iPods while Radio Shack is an authorized iPod dealer. 

They sell iPods, they sell AT&T plans.  Why not?  This makes perfect sense. 

10 million iPhones?  Probably by September!

Apple’s senior vice president of Industrial Design, Jonathan Ive, has won yet another award, this time in recognition of the disruptive effect of the iPhone. 

Announced today, the 2008 Mobile Data Association Awards aim to recognise companies and individuals who have contributed to the UK mobile data industry.

The MDA Personal Achievement Award went to Jonathan Ive of Apple (News – Alert), in recognition of his contribution to the design of the Apple iPhone and its groundbreaking user interface. 

The judges remarked: "This year the MDA personal achievement award winner is Jonathan Ive for his design of the Apple IPhone and its user interface. The physical design of the IPhone and its intuitive user interface has completely redefined the mobile phone as we know it. "The iPhone is arguably the most talked about consumer-electronics device that has hit the market in the last 5 years. Ive has designed the best implementation of a touch UI, this with the Safari eb browser has definitely pushed mobile content into the forefront of the consumer consciousness. It sets the bar very high for all present and future competitors and as such, is shaking the mobile phone industry. We look forward to seeing Ive’s design innovation continuing to challenge the mobile world."

The 2008 judging Panel consisted of:

• Steve Reynolds, Vice Chairman, Mobile Data Association
• Anuj Khanna, Mobile Media Director, Mobile Data Association
• Martin Ballard, Director, Mobile Data Association
• Nick Hunn, m-Health Director, Mobile Data Association
• Mike Grenville, 160 Characters

The Mobile Data Association is a Trade Association that is now in its 14th year of operation. It includes all UK Mobile Network Operators as well as many content providers, aggregators and mobile data solution providers amongst its members.

 Apple faces "unprecedented" demand for the iPhone 3G, reports RBC Technology analyst, Mike Abramsky.

Citing recent research conducted on behalf of RBC Technology, the analyst told Silicon Alley Insider that 56 per cent of those planning to purchase a smartphone in the next ninety days plan to buy an iPhone – that’s up form 35 per cent in March.

The research also revealed that consumer interest in the iPhone has grown faster than in advance of any other phone launch recorded by the company. And 10.5% of those surveyed intend to buy a smartphone — any smartphone — up from 7%-8% average over the last few years. 

Additional findings:

– 25 per cent of those surveyed may buy an iPhone 3G in the future – twice the level of interest seen before launch of the first product last year.

– Top reasons for buying the iPhone include lower price (67%), 3G Internet connection (63%), GPS (47%), Microsoft (MSFT) Exchange email support (35%), and third-party apps (20%).

 Retail Week has compiled a list of the 100 “must visit” shops from around the world – with Apple retail outlets in London and New York taking two spots on the list.

Apple Retail Stores on Regent Street, London and Fifth Avenue, New York won places. The criteria for selection demands each store excels in product, service and creativity. “For someone who has not grown up in the technical generation”, said one retailer about Regent Street, “this shop is very simple, has a great range, excellent service and everything is laid out easily

On the New York store, Liberty chief executive Geoffroy de la Bourdonnaye  told Retail Week: "Apple has implemented the three key factors in retail: excitement, education and ease. It makes your life easy, the store is exciting and people are available to educate you. The outside is unique. It is transparent, features a glass cube and has no ground floor, only basement. This represents the transparency of the retailer itself and the design is in line with the DNA of the brand." 

Read the report here.

 A consortium of five companies have founded the Enterprise Desktop Alliance (EDA) to promote the deployment of Macs in the enterprise. 

The five founding companies include Centrify, LANrev, Atempo, GroupLogic, and Parallels, all of which already produce solutions to help integrate Macs into Windows-dominated enterprises.

The alliance will validate and promote the availability of solutions that make it easy to deploy, integrate and manage Macs using Microsoft Windows-based solutions.

“Interest in the Mac at large organizations is growing along with Apple’s market share,” said Bob O’Donnell, Vice President, IDC. “The challenge has been overcoming objections surrounding managing Macs within these corporate environments. Efforts that can make life easier for the IT professional and help the Mac become a more appealing and realistic alternative within the enterprise could help turn that interest into a stronger Mac presence.” 

EDA will be host a series of events, including webcasts and seminars, and will provide white papers, product information and other resources to help enterprise users make the move to Mac integration.

“The popularity of the Mac among corporate end-users does not mean that there have to be headaches for IT administrators,” said Peter Frankl, Founder and Chief Operating Officer of LANrev. “We are determined to help companies integrate Macs  into their enterprise environments by reducing total cost of ownership and increasing IT acceptance of Macs in the enterprise.” 

 Apple’s notebook sales have shot up 61 per cent since the first quarter of 2007, Display Search revealed last week. That compares to overall growth of the sector of just 35 per cent.

The monitoring firm claims Apple shipped over 1.4 million notebooks in the first quarter 2008, compared to near 900,000 the year before. While these sales leave Apple as seventh place notebook manufacturer according to Display Search figures, they do mean Apple and Asus are the biggest growing brands, with 61 and 67 per cent growth rates respectively – most other manufacturers experienced 20 – 40% growth.

"DisplaySearch analysis indicates that the increasing transition of consumers from desktop PCs to notebook PCs is having a direct impact on brands’ growth and market share. Brands with established enterprise and retail presences have had the most success in growing market share in the past several quarters," the analysts said.

Apple’s seventh place in overall notebook market share at 4.6 per cent, trailing behind leaders HP (20.8 per cent), Dell (15.1 per cent), and Acer (14.7 per cent) but still ahead of Asus (4.3 per cent) and Sony (4.2 per cent).

In the emerging and fast-growing Mini-Note PC market (the class of devices with displays from 4.5" to 10.2" like the Asus Eee PC, Acer Aspire One or HP 2133 Mini-Note), Y/Y growth was an astonishing 3,056 per cent and Q/Q growth was more than 70 per cent, the analysts said.

…while Asus’ success in this market is outstanding, rumours continue to bubble speculating Apple may introduce a competing sub-notebook product, straddling the space between iPhone and MacBook.

 Apple’s impact on the music industry continues to grow, with its Complete My Album feature reportedly accounting for 5 per cent of sales of recent Lil Wayne album, ‘Tha Carter III’.

Six tracks from Lil Wayne’s album were released before it shipped, and despite the entire album being leaked, it sold one million copies, Billboard reports.

"What’s more, 10 per cent of the album’s sales were digital, up from less than 1 per cent for Wayne’s past titles. And the most eyebrow-raising statistic? Fifty-two per cent of the album’s sales on iTunes came through Complete My Album."

These reports come as record labels today revealed digital sales in the UK to be going from strength to strength, with digital formats now accounting for around 85 per cent of all Top-20 singles sales. "More than 200 million downloads have now been sold in the UK since the launch of the first mainstream stores in early 2004. In total, digital formats now account for 8.6 per cent of all UK record company sales income," said BPI ( a UK version of the RIAA) chief executive, Geoff Taylor, adding: “Today’s record business is unrecognisable to that of five years ago. Labels have rapidly evolved into digitally literate businesses that generate significant revenues through licensing.”

Artists are becoming more imaginative, also: "For artists that have multiple tracks out, if the album is solid and there’s an offer that makes sense to consumers, they will use it," Universal Motown senior VP of digital business development Cameo Carlson says.

In related news, signs of change in music are also clear in Procter and Gamble’s Pantene shampoo brand’s plans to release music from an unsigned act through iTunes. Artist Rosi Golan’s song ‘Shine’ was chosen as the song for the ads – given the success now enjoyed by the Ting Tings following the use of their song in an iTunes ad, it’s pretty clear today that good music + high profile branding + cool ad = a chance to break new talent, with iTunes forming the casual storefront to make it possible for people to pick up such songs as and when they like.

Speaking to Billboard, Seth Klugherz, Pantene brand manager, P&G, North America, said, "iTunes is instant national distribution. There’s a trend of people wanting to learn more about the music they hear in commercials. iTunes is not a profit generator for us, it’s more to give consumers access to the song."

S’funny, these days, watching conversation turn towards China. China Mobile and the Apple iPhone make international headlines. The Olympics. Global manufacturing and the need to do so without landfill. We live in interesting times (Chinese proverb).

Enough build-up. Latest news is that Apple will open its first Apple retail store in China in Beijing’s Sanlitun district on July 19 (Shanghai Daily). And plans to open a second store in the city "during the Olympics".  Oh, and China Mobile looks to be in the final negotiating stages with Apple to carry the iPhone.  According to…them..they already have almost a 1/2 million iPhones on their network so a few more milion 3G models shouldn’t be hard to sell. 

Servicing a fifth of the world’s population – who are growing richer and more middle-classy every day – dosn’t sound like a bad idea at all.

 Apple’s kept it quiet, but the company has been quietly developing a way iPhone users can send MMS messages to friends using the device. At least, that’s the latest rumour spreading on teh ‘Net.

Seems an internal AT&T email has emerged regarding a service which lets users attach images, audio and video to a normal SMS. 

Related stories see Rogers Wireless, Canada’s exclusive iPhone 3G carrier announcing today that monthly service plans for the handset will start at $60 for 150 anytime minutes, 75 outgoing text messages, and 400MB of data.

"As Canada’s leading wireless carrier, Rogers is thrilled to not only bring the iPhone 3G to Canada but to make it affordable and accessible to as many customers as possible," says John Boynton, SVP and Chief Marketing Officer, Rogers Wireless. "We’ve designed a pricing structure that offers affordable, flexible voice and data packages so Canadians can truly unleash their iPhone 3G experience on Canada’s fastest wireless network."

Finally, Apple and China Mobile have cleared the main hurdle to a deal for China, meaning iPhone could ship in that country before the end of the year. It’s understood Apple’s move to abandon insistence on a revenue-sharing deal was the barrier to doing the deal in the first place.

Verizon boss Ivan Seidenberg seems ready to make it personal with Apple CEO Steve Jobs, offering some fairly harsh words for the company and its leader.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Seidenberg, boss of the world’s fifth-largest telecoms company, says of Jobs, disparagingly, "Steve Jobs eventually will get old."

Apple is credited with turning the mobile internet into a user-friendly reality with its iPhone – sold in the US exclusively through AT&T – and Seidenberg ain’t so happy, sure, he’s happy to call Apple "a great company", but scoffs at Apple’s iPhone sales so far.

"There goes the conspiracy again," he says of Apple. "You’re declaring them a winner before they’ve earned it on the field." Jobs has no monopoly on innovation, he cries.

Verizon Communications has a market capitalisation of $102bn, it’s the second-largest US telecoms company, and the fifth-largest in the world.

We’re entering our last two weeks of iPhone 3G anticipation, and activity around the 11 July launch is beginning to pick up.

Apple has released an eighth version of the iPhone SDK, inadvertently revealing plans to introduce remote control software for the iPhone and iPod touch in the process. In related news, China Mobile confirms talks between it and Apple are now focused on the detail, making it possible Apple could launch in China this year.

"iPhone SDK Beta 8 is compatible with the final iPhone OS 2.0 release and must be used to build and sign any iPhone OS application to be submitted to the App Store. As a reminder, you must be a member of the iPhone Developer Program to submit apps," Apple explains in release notes around the software.

The eighth beta version of the iPhone SDK includes Xcode IDE, iPhone Simulator with Open GL ES support, Interface Builder, Instruments, frameworks and samples, compilers, and Shark analysis tool. The software also requires use of the pre-release iTunes 7,7.

iTunes 7.7 will be the version of iTunes required to underpin iPhone Software 2.0 – and Apple plans to make the media library remote controllable by any iPhone or iPod touch user.

"Use iTunes 7.7 to sync music, video, and more with iPhone 3G, and download applications from the iTunes Store exclusively designed for iPhone and iPod touch with software version 2.0 or later. Also use the new Remote application for iPhone or iPod touch to control iTunes playback from anywhere in your home — a free download from the App Store," Apple explains.

Finally, Apple seems set to introduce the iPhone in China, where  China Mobile spokeswoman Rainie Lei said: "Apple is no longer insisting on a revenue-sharing policy, so the biggest hurdle for China Mobile to bring in the iPhone has been cleared, but there are practical issues still to be resolved."

 Apple plans to introduce a low-cost iPod nano later this year, and has raised its iPod and iPhone orders in anticipation of strong summer sales, an analyst warns.

FBR analyst Craig Berger reports Apple to have ordered production of over 15 million iPhone 3G’s and 2 million more old model iPhones this year – well above the quantity the company’s been counting on selling this year.

He also reveals Apple to have ordered about 15 per cent more iPods to be produced in the third quarter, and believes Apple is also preparing to introduce iPod classic and iPod touch upgrades. The most likely launch point for these is probably September.

The analyst also claims Apple has increased its Mac orders: Laptops up 10 per cent from his last check and desktops up 20 per cent. This may reflect the imminent release of new Intel processors designed to drive Mac upgrades as the critical US education buying season approaches.

Flickr User caandgiantsfan4life says he’s running a 3G test iPhone.  Looks like he might have one with an intresting "3G" font.  Are you calling BS?

iPhone users, rejoice – Apple’s on the edge of shipping iPhone Software 2.0, meaning the upgrade looks set to reach your mobile this month.

Cupertino “sources” report that it’s “highly probable” the iPhone 2.0 Gold Master will ship this Friday, two weeks before  the iPhone 3G ships and just close enough to the end of June to keep Apple’s promise to ship the software this month.

Gizmodo observes the latest software build offers two code-signing and encryption features which haven’t been seen before.

“Meanwhile, the iPhone Dev Team has confirmed they are working hard cracking the latest build, getting ready for the pwnage of the final release,” the report adds.

While it excels in some areas, Apple needs to improve in terms of the energy used in computer manufacture and needs to deliver much improved global e-waste schemes, according to the latest Greenpeace report.

It’s not all bad news for Apple – the company is one of the two best firms in terms of energy efficiency in its products, with all of them meeting and, in many cases, exceeding Energy Star requirements. However, Apple missed a big chance to advance its score by not improving the environmental performance of the new version of the iPhone, Greenpeace notes.

The latest Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics rates company performance on a range of categories, but this eighth edition introduces expanded and tougher criteria on toxic chemicals, electronic waste and new criteria on climate change. It ranks the top market leaders of the mobile phone, computer, TV and games console markets according to their policies and practices on toxic chemicals and take-back schems and more.

Companies are scored on disclosure of their greenhouse gas emissions, commitment for absolute cuts in their own emissions and support for the mandatory global emissions reductions that are needed to tackle climate change. On energy efficiency, a selection of each company’s product range is assessed to see how far they exceed the current de-facto global standard, Energy Star. The overall percentage of renewable energy in a companies total energy use is also assessed. 

Apple took eleventh place, scoring 4.1 points, mainly due to putting products on the market whose key components are free of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and PVC vinyl plastic.

"For example, all new models of iMac and the MacBook Air have bromine-free casings and printed circuit board laminates as well as PVC-free internal cables. Millions of iPods now have bromine-free enclosures and printed circuit board laminates. The MacBook Air also has mercury free LCD display with arsenic-free glass. MacBook Pros come with mercury-free LED backlit displays," Greenpeace explains.

"Apple scores poorly on most e-waste criteria, except for reporting a recycling rate in 2006 of 9.5 per cent as a percentage of sales seven years ago. It does only slightly better on energy criteria, failing to score on all criteria except energy efficiency of products, where it scores top marks (doubled) for all desktops computers, portable PCs and displays complying with Energy Star 4.0 and their iPod and iPhone power adapters not only exceeding the Energy Star standard, but already meeting California’s stricter efficiency regulations that take effect 1 July 2008."

 Presumably reflecting Apple’s ever-growing slice of the personal computer market it ignited in the ’70s with the Apple II and then reinvented with the Mac in the 1980’s, Microsoft’s Mac Business Unit has announced its biggest recruitment drive in eleven years.

A note on the Mac Mojo blog on the Mac BU site says: "We are hard at work planning for products beyond Office 2008, and we are growing our team to help turn our vision into reality. We offer the feel of a small company with a strong team culture of innovation, creativity, and creating great user experiences."

Microsoft is hiring for multiple roles (Program Managers, Developers, Testers, User Experience, and Marketing) based in Redmond and in Silicon Valley. "We offer an outstanding opportunity to build great software experiences for Mac customers, and to have a significant impact on the way millions of Mac users work around the world."

While it may not always be so obvious when using Microsoft’s productivity software, the Mac BU describes themselves as, "the brightest, coolest, and most interesting business unit at Microsoft – if we do say so ourselves."

Formed on January 7, 1997 the Mac BU is one of the largest developers of Macintosh software outside of Apple, currently employing more than 180 people and having an estimated yearly revenue of $350 million.

 An audio interview with SproutCore founder Charles Jolley (now senior user interface engineer for .Mac/Mobile Me at Apple) is available now. Jolley is the man with the plan, as commentators observe SproutCore could be the perfect open-JavaScript-based competitor for Flash and .Net.

Educated at the University of Kansas, he’s the former MD of Nisus Software. His SproutCore code is used as the foundation of Mobile Me. It’s a JavaScript framework designed to make web applications that work a lot like desktop apps while running within the browser, while also being widely compatible as a result of being built with JavaScript’s open standards. 

As interviewer, Dion Almaer, reports for Ajaxian: "We talked about the history of the project, how it differs from other frameworks that are out there, and where they are going."

SproutCore is much more JavaScript focused though, and gives you MVC in the client in a simple and intuitive way. I found it interesting to see how the framework has developed, from its Rails plugin roots," Almaer adds.

You can listen to the interview here, thanks to Mac Daily News for the link.

This is interesting – Nokia this morning announced plans to buy mobile phone operating systems maker, Symbian. This is significant because it underlines how software is the new battle ground for the smartphone market, with devices and functionality taking second place to ease-of-use and integration.

Nokia paid out over $250 million in Symbian license fees last year, so it makes sense for the company to purchase the firm. Well, that, an imminent competition from Google’s now-delayed Android platform, and the permanent looming threat of Apple with the iPhone. Apple, in particular, lends its proven skills in software design to the mobile phone market.

Mobile phone makers have been slammed in the past for creating user interfaces which don’t sufficiently engage users and lack the level of intuition most of us demand from devices we use every day. Apple’s iPhone raised the bar on this, so Nokia’s investment may also be predicated on that company’s need to bring in leading-edge software development skills. Symbian and its developers hold extensive expertise in the mobile phone software development space.

It’s a joint effort. Also announced this morning was the launch of the Symbian Foundation, which features Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, NTT DoCoMo, AT&T, LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments and Vodafone Group. All members will be able to use the Symbian OS under a royalty-free license. 

"Ten years ago, Symbian was established by far sighted players to offer an advanced open operating system and software skills to the whole mobile industry," said Nigel Clifford, CEO of Symbian. "Our vision is to become the most widely used software platform on the planet and indeed today Symbian OS leads its market by any measure. Today’s announcement is a bold new step to achieve that vision by embracing a complete and proven platform, offered in an open way, designed to stimulate innovation which is at the heart of everything we do."

"Establishing the Foundation is one of the biggest contributions to an open community ever made," said Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, CEO of Nokia. "Nokia is a strong supporter of open platforms and technologies as they give the freedom to build, maintain and evolve applications and services across device segments and offer by far the largest ecosystem, enabling rapid innovation. Today’s announcement is a major milestone in our devices software strategy."

Nokia expects the acquisition to be completed during the fourth quarter of 2008.

A press conference will be webcast live from London today at 11am, and will be available for replay from here.

Apple is seen as the greenest IT brand, sharing the lead with HP, Microsoft, IBM, Intel and Sony, reveals an environmentally-focused research study among enterprise technology users.

The survey – conducted by GreenFactor – revealed that 70 per cent of those surveyed said they would be prepared to purchase green products, but only if they were convinced of the positive impact of the decision.

The research was conducted among 3,500 enterprise IT decision makers during the first quarter of 2008 by Strategic Oxygen, GCI Group and Cohn & Wolfe.

Price, company policy, and lack of availability of green products were cited as typical reasons not to invest in greener kit, while enterprise buyers confessed to be searching for green versions of the following products (in order of preference): Laptops; desktops, servers, storage, network hardware.

In nine of 11 countries polled, price was the top barrier. Marketers must focus on better communicating total cost of ownership and overall value to potential buyers.

 An interesting glimpse at the fake iPhone (and mobile phone, for that matter) market in China. Buy a fake iPhone for $100 or less…

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMbdmdx47wc&hl=en]

 Apple’s iPhone is already snapping at the heels of Research In Motion and trouncing Palm, but spare a thought for another victim of the invasion – former partner, Motorola.

Apple worked with Motorola to deliver the first iTunes-capable mobile phone, the somewhat lacklustre ROKR. While this never truly competed with Motorola’s RAZR phone, it was an attempt.

Motorola’s handset sales are suffering now in the PiP (Post-iPhone) world. A survey by Rubicon Consulting reveals 14 per cent made the switch from Windows Mobile; 13 per cent from Blackberry, 7 per cent ran from Palm – but almost a quarter, 24 per cent, of those surveyed were previously owners of a Motorola Razr.

A survey conducted by JD Power and Associates found the average price paid for a handset in the US has increased by $9 over the past six months, to a record high of $101.