Some may recall Unilever to be one of the big brand names to first jump onto the iAds mobile ads bandwagone way back in June, now Europe’s about to see the first Unilever iAds make their appearance as Apple’s ad system hits Europes this month — and the ads will feature the “Lynx effect”.
Unilever is launching a new campaign for Lynx’s Excite range, with a major push through Apple’s iAds, as part of a £8.3m marketing spend. The “Falling Angels” campaign launches next week and will be supported by print, TV, digital and other activity. Expand Expanding Close
I can’t wait until my iPod touch/Mifi is my only phone. This is another step in that direction.
Google today announced Google Voice for iPad and iPod touch as well as some significant updates. No VoIP gateway yet, but you know it is coming.
What’s New in Version 1.1.0.636
* Support for iPod Touch
* iPod Touch and iPhone can now make calls using Click2Call
* Do Not Disturb setting
* Text forwarding is automatically disabled when registering for Push notifications
* Added Text forwarding setting to the app
* Easier to make calls from the phone Address Book
* Removed annoying OK dialog every time you send an SMS
* Fixed crashes caused by text messages that begin with a space character
* Fixed bug that caused the entire Inbox to load
* Fixed bug that caused Contact pictures to get mixed up
* Improved access to Contact groups
* Improved speed of Contact search
COMPUTERWORLD: If you thought Apple had a busy year in 2010, expect even more in 2011, when at least one analyst is expecting significant acquisitions, a move into 3D, the introduction of its connected TV set and the emergence of multi-core processors in the iPhone and other mobile devices.
Apple will engage in what it is calling ‘scheduled maintenance’ of its MobileMe service beginning at 10pm tonight (PT). The maintenance will affect users attempting to access their accounts, and will also impact against those trying to sync data between devices.
Good news, bad news in Japan, where Apple climbed from seventh to fifth place in Japan’s cellphone market for the first time, boosted by its well-received iPhone 4 in the July-September period, local reports claim. Expand Expanding Close
Apple owns 9.3 percent of Imagination Technologies and uses its PowerVR SGX graphics chip inside its iPad — now the smaller firm has seen profits climb 131 percent and also made a critical $27 million investment in 3D technology for mobile devices. Expand Expanding Close
Millennial Media just released their monthly mobile device trends report and here is our breakdown. For the month of November Apple led all devices manufactures with 25% of Millennial Media’s network with Samsung and Motorola coming in 2nd and 3rd with 17.3% and 15.33%, respectively. Apple’s iPhone came in first place for the most used mobile device on the network with 14.28% and Apple’s iPod touch came in second place with 8.96% of the network. Motorola’s Droid finished in third with 7.48% of the market and the Apple iPad topped Apple’s offerings with 1.76% coming in at 7th place.
In terms of the most used mobile application categories, games account for 28% of the network while music and entertainment apps came in second with a combined 22%. In terms of what the Millennial Network adverstises on, Android apps represented 54% of the network and iOS represented 38%. Getting into the Android vs. iOS portion of the report Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android tied at 38% for overall ad impressions.
Ad publishers and app developers were surveyed about the platform they intend to support the most in 2011 and the leading response was Google’s Android operating system. Apple’s iPad and Microsoft’s new Windows Phone 7 platform both tied for second place on the survey. Be sure to check out the top thirty devices graph after the break.
(I checked the date. It says today.) The NYTimes says that Microsoft is going to announce some iPad competin’ Slates at CES:
Next month, at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Microsoft will present a slew of new slates that it hopes will offer some competition to the Apple iPad, which has quickly become the leader in this market.
According to people familiar with Microsoft’s plans, Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive, is expected to announce a number of these devices when he takes the stage at C.E.S., showcasing devices built by Samsung and Dell, among a number of other manufacturing partners.
We already know that Xserves will be officially discontinued come January 31st and today Apple already started the process. They’ve removed the SSD option from custom ordered Xserves. The option is still listed on Apple’s Xserve promotional literature, but is gone as a configurable option. A 9to5mac reader contacted Apple business representatives and they reportedly don’t know the reason for the change either.
COMPUTERWORLD: Apple is already evolving a unified user experience. In future, there will be ever less difference when controlling an Apple device, whether it be a phone, a tablet or a Mac. The experience will feel the same.
Apple’s next edition of iWork may set a landmark as being among the first major Apple software releases to ship first online, as it seems books explaining how to use the productivity suite have been delayed for release in January 2011 — around the time Apple opens its Mac App Store. Expand Expanding Close
Asymco has an interesting report today in which analyst Horace Dediu argues that Verizon may need the iPhone more than its letting on, and suggests Google Android may not be as big a business as many think it to be.
To be fair, while Dediu makes a good argument for his points, critics are already pointing out that they are based on data which may not be 100 per cent accurate, and that Verizon’s best month was in August, two months after iPhone 4 shipped. (Though it was only a slightly better month on back of hype around new product from Samsung).
We’ve had an update from the sources of the orginal data, which is posted at the foot of this article:
Google Latitude has finally arrived on Apple’s iOS, nearly two years since Google first revealed its technology.
Latitude lets you see friends on the map, share your own location (or not), or even hide your location should you feel uncomfortable. Apple blocked the app initially in order to avoid confusion with Maps on the iPhone,” said Google. Expand Expanding Close
Apple is the key name in tech as iPad beats Android in this year’s Twitter Trends chart, reports the Twitter Blog, where the company today revealed its list of the top trends of 2010.
Apple’s iPad was the sixth biggest overall top trend,just ahead of Google Android at number 7. iPhone never made the overall list, which is headed by Golf Oil Spill and the FIFA World Cup. Expand Expanding Close
Billionaire Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s patent trolling lawsuit filed against Apple, Facebook, Google, YouTube and others has been dismissed by the courts.
“Plaintiff has failed to identify the infringing products or devices with any specificity,” wrote U.S. District Court Judge Marsha Pechman in her order to dismiss. “The Court and Defendants are left to guess what devices infringe on the four patents.
COMPUTERWORLD: Fresh research from the Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI) offers us a few insights into the behavior of iPad users, suggesting the device may well diminish newspaper print sales in future. Overnight reports also confirm weve been on track with our predictions for the iPad 2.0, which, it appears, will indeed host cameras front and rear.
Apple’s iPhone and iPad supply partner, Foxconn, this morning claimed its China workforce now exceeds one million workers — and the company continues to expand. A huge recruitment drive is taking place as the company rushes to build numbers to meet anticipated heavy demand for products to serve the Christmas market, a report claims.
Gorillaz will release their recorded on an iPad new album for free on Christmas day, the band confirmed.
“At the moment, we’ve got an Advent calendar on our website, and there is a daily door that opens to reveal a gift,” said Gorillaz co-founder Jamie Hewlett speaking to Perth Now. “On Christmas Eve, a video for one of the new songs from the iPad album will be released. Then, on Christmas Day, fans get the whole album downloaded to their computer for free as a gift.” Expand Expanding Close
COMPUTERWORLD: In a few years time Apple [AAPL] will face a handful of competitors as fierce competition within the smartphone industry drives a wave of consolidation between handset manufacturers, platform developers, carriers and app store providers.
Apple is deadly serious with its App-driven vision for life in the clouds, with a new patent application describing its new way to share and buy apps from the cloud.
Published today and spotted by Patently Apple the application reveals the concepts behind the Apple vision, whch essentially allows users to share apps on their phones — say you were impressed the first time you saw Angry Birds, for example. Expand Expanding Close
In time-honored fashion the leaks are beginning — this picture of a case for iPad 2.0 shows a rear camera, new curves and suggests new speaker positions on the system. Expand Expanding Close
