Specifically, the iPhone is responsible for nearly half of Apple's revenue (46.6% to be precise). The iPad contributes 21.2% towards Apple's revenue. Computers, both desktops and portables (MacBooks), contribute just 17.9% of Apple's total revenue. It's been no secret that iPhones and iPads are very profitable for Apple, but these figures ram home just how much the computing world has changed. Who would've thought even five years ago that computers and music combined would make up less than 30% of Apple's revenue?

It's not just the total figures that are startling. It's the growth. iPhone revenue grew 183% year over year, while the iPad grew 142% (note: includes the peripherals of those devices).

In comparison with the same quarter last year, combined the iPhone and iPad made up just under 48% of Apple's total revenue in Q3 2010. Computers were 28% of revenue in the same period, with music nearly 18%.

Computers, though, are still showing growth. It's really only the iPod which is declining. The iPod sold 7.535 million units last quarter - down 20% from the same quarter a year ago. This is not surprising because as the iPhone's storage capacity has increased, so has its ability to double as an iPod.

These latest earnings figures from Apple are very revealing about where the world of computing is not only heading, but seems to have already arrived! Smartphones and tablets dominate Apple's earnings and they are increasingly dominating our online life. Sure the difference is much more stark with Apple, as the iPhone and iPad are market leading devices in their respective categories. But these figures - and the difference year over year compared to computing and music devices - clearly shows the phenomenal impact that smartphones and tablets have had in the computing world.

But now, members of the hacking group known as the Chronic Dev Team have released a new jailbreaking tool called greenpois0n, which delivers, at long last, the highly anticipated "untethered" jailbreak.

The term does not, however, mean the same thing as "unlocking" - that refers to hacking a phone so it will run on another carrier's network - for example, getting the AT&T iPhone to run on T-Mobile's network. An unlocked phone must be jailbroken first, but a jailbroken phone does not need to be unlocked.

The Original 4.2.1 Jailbreak Tool: Redsn0w

The first group to jailbreak the newest iPhone operating system was the iPhone Dev Team, who released a tool called redsn0w. The software would work on both Mac and Windows machines, but as noted above, it required the phone to be tethered to a computer every time it rebooted.

We documented the procedures here in November with a warning that, frankly, this one should probably be skipped. It's a huge pain to be tethered, we said, especially on an iPhone.

The New, Untethered Jailbreak: Greenpois0n

The new jailbreak - aka "greenpois0n" - now allows you to jailbreak your device without the tethering requirement afterwards. Unfortunately, it's only for Mac users for now. From the website, it appears that both Windows and Linux versions are under development.

Greenpois0n does not support those who want to unlock their iPhones. The jailbreak does, however, support iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4, the iPad, iPod Touch 2G/3G/4G and even Apple TV (second generation).

How to Use Greenpois0n

To get started using this jailbreak, the following are the recommended procedures. A word of warning: some of the first to attempt this jailbreak are reporting issues and some are even saying that the jailbreak doesn't work. For others, it's taking a few times before the process works as designed. Others still say they don't have any issues at all. In other words, proceed at your own risk!

If you're feeling daring, then do the following:

1. Backup your device and restore it to iOS version 4.2.1, setting it up as a new device within iTunes.
2. Plug in your device to your computer and turn the device off.
3. Download and run greenpois0n on your computer. The onscreen instructions will guide you as to how to get into DFU mode on the device, which involves a series of button presses (press and hold sleep, press home, release sleep, continue holding home).

   

4. When your phone or other device enters into DFU mode, the jailbreaking process will begin.
5. When the process completes, you'll have a new "Loader" icon on your homescreen. (Apple TV jailbreakers, of course, will not. They will need to use Terminal and SSH instead).

   

6. Tap the icon to install Cydia, the jailbreak app store.

Note that, at the time of writing, both the greenpois0n website and Cydia's servers are experiencing high traffic loads and are intermittently up and down. Your best bet: wait a couple of days for the fervor to die down, then try again.

Unfortunately, there's just one problem: Disabling the service is as easy as a push of a button.

Don't let this give you a false sense of security, though. If your device isn't password protected and it's stolen, turning off the service is just as easily achieved. All the thief needs to do is go to "Settings", choose the account and set "Find My iPad" to "Off" or tap "Delete Account".

The obvious solution to this, of course, is to password protect your device, which is found under Settings -> General -> Passcode Lock. But shouldn't the feature - meant to protect you from thievery - require you to enter a password to disable it? Updating an app requires your iTunes password, so why wouldn't it be the same for the "Find My iPhone" feature? So much for finding your iPhone, iPad or iPod.

We reached out to Apple for comment, but have not received any response. In the meantime, lock your device, lest you end up like others who thought that "Find My iPhone" would offer them some way to recover their device.

For $30, the My3D will be cheap enough to get early adopters to give it a try, but it remains to be seen if the 3D experience will be good enough to attract enough buyers. With access to the iPhone's accelerometers and gyroscopes, Hasbro's hardware has the potential to enable interesting immersive virtual reality experiences that the old Virtual Boy's simply couldn't handle 15 years ago.

Will Developers Get to Play, Too?

For the time being, it is not clear if Hasbro will give third-party developers the ability to create My3D-compatible apps. Given that the device is basically a glorified View-Master, with all the hardware and software running on the iOS device, it would be a shame if developers couldn't write apps for it. Traditional toy companies, however, aren't exactly known for giving outside developers easy access to their hardware.

Assuming developers can build apps for this device, it'll be interesting to see how they will use these new 3D capabilities. The Associated Press reports that Hasbro itself wants to offer gaming and "virtual travel experiences and entertainment content." There is also the potential for new augmented reality applications here that offer a more immersive experience - though you might look like a dork staring through your My3D binoculars while standing in a busy tourist spot.

Apple posted a record-setting revenue of $20.34 billion and quarterly profit of $4.31 billion in the fourth quarter. In comparison, Apple posted revenue of $12.21 for the third quarter of 2010.

But earnings reports aren't just a time for companies to tout their sales, revenue and general awesomeness, and Steve Jobs proved no different today, making a number of statements about flash ("Flash memory?" said Jobs), the future of the tablet market, and the question of "open" versus "closed" systems.

Below we have posted the audio from today's earnings call where Jobs states his mind about a number of these issues, most notably what distinguishes the Apple approach from that of Google and Android: "We think the open versus closed is just a smokescreen to try and hide the real issue, which is: What's best for the customer?"

What's best for the customer, in Jobs's mind, is of course, Apple.

Why is this happening? Why are apps becoming more popular than music?

The original chart was posted on Asymco's website, home to a hybrid industry analysis advisory and app development firm. Assuming the data the firm has collected is accurate (they say it comes from statements made by Apple representatives), Apple customers will have downloaded more iPhone/iPod/iPad apps than songs sometime in the near future, either by year end or just a few weeks later.

That's a staggering thought, when you really think about it. After all, the original iPhone didn't even support the development of third-party mobile applications when it launched in summer 2007. It wasn't until March of the following year that Apple released development tools (the iPhone SDK, or software development kit), allowing aspiring developers to begin work on mobile creations that would run on an upcoming version of the iPhone operating system, due out later that summer.

When launched, however, these natively-built iPhone applications quickly became more popular the previously supported "Web applications" in terms of usage. App downloads surged and have been surging ever since.

But why are these apps, popular as they may be, on the path to besting music in terms of sheer download numbers?

Ouriel Ohayon, the creator of mobile application sharing and discovery platform AppsFire, has ventured a few guesses and we think he's right on the money. Here are the reasons he puts forth on the AppsFire blog:

1. Apps Let You Personalize Your Phone

Apps let you personalize your phone in the same way as only ringtones and wallpapers once did. They are the new music playlists, in a sense, he says. In many ways I think that's true - I know the first thing I do when I get hold of someone else's mobile phone is look at what apps they're using. I could care less what their musical interests are. However, I don't think this is the main reason for the trend.

2.Many Apps are Free

Ohayon says that apps are surpassing music in part because so many of them are free. That's hard to argue with. Apps are probably sampled more often because they're free. However, some of those free apps probably aren't used as often as the 99-cent song you knew you liked enough to purchase is listened to. Nor do free apps make up the majority of iPhone apps available for sale - roughly 70% are paid. Free apps cater to our desire to buy things on impulse, but without the guilt of throwing our money away. So what if you only play that game once? It was worth the price - nothing - to kill five minutes of time while in the waiting room of the doctor's office.

3. Apps Provide Downloaded Music Substitutes

Mobile applications like Pandora, Last.fm, Deezer, Spotify, MOG and Rdio provide free and/or paid subscriptions to streaming music. You don't need to download and pay for a song in iTunes if you use one of these applications - you can just listen to it over the Internet instead. Apple itself may have caught onto this trend, too. The company recently purchased streaming service Lala.com, which many suspect will be turned into a subscription-based, Internet music streaming service for iTunes.

In addition, some apps are music themselves. Ohayon points to apps like this Lady Gaga one or this Katy Perry one, for example, that package popular music within mobile applications. Some games also feature music like Katy Perry Revenge or Lyric Legend, which, when you think about it, is actually a new format for listening to music. But there are many, many others beyond the few mentioned here.

In fact, we spotted this trend nearly a year ago, noting the rise of "music-themed" apps that offer tunes and other content from artists. We then cited examples from NIN, Moby and Usher as artists who were using apps to promote their songs. (See: "Forget the iTunes LP, Apps are the New Album"). Still, the most devoted fans will probably buy both the app and the album, since only the latter usually works in playlists and when you go offline.

While no single reason can explain this trend in its entirety, the reasons put forth by Ohayon are reasoned and sound, we think. Asymco's Horace Dediu agrees, responding to Ohayon via the comments of the post, saying "apps are indeed content," referring to how apps can replace other forms of content. "Apps-as-media has implications in the way they are produced, marketed, priced and consumed," writes Dediu. "All the data since has been nothing but confirmation of this."

• Apple has opened three new stores internationally in Paris, London and Shangai. They now have 300 stores in 10 countries, with their 11th, Spain, coming soon.
• Apple has single days where over 1 million people visit their stores, and more than 50% of their customers are buying their first Mac.

iOS 4.1 and 4.2

• 120 million iOS devices have been sold since the first iPhone launched. 230,000 new activations occur each day.
• 6.5 billions apps have been downloaded from the AppStore, which now hosts 250,000 apps. 10% of those apps are iPad apps. 200 apps are added tot he store each second.

• iOS 4.1 - The next iOS iteration will be available next week for iPhones and iPod touches and features bug fixes for issues associated with the proximity sensor, Bluetooth and iPhone 3G.
• iOS 4.1 also features high dynamic range (HDR) photographs within the camera app, which takes three photos at varying exposures and blends them together to make rich photographs.
• Game Center will finally be lauching with the 4.1 release. It allows game enthusiasts to network with friends, get matched up for multiplayer games, see leaderboards and get push invitations to play online. Mike Capps from Epic Games (makers of Gears of War) demoed a new game, "Project Sword," which features Game Center functionality.
• iOS 4.2 Sneek Peak - Apple also provided a first-look at iOS 4.2, which will bring all the functionality of iOS 4.1 to the iPad. Folders, multitasking, and other familiar features will hit the bigger screen in November. Also, 4.2 will allow for wireless printing to networked printers on the iPad.

New iPods

• Apple has sold 275 million iPods to date.


• A new iPod Shuffle is a "best of both worlds" approach, which combines buttons and voice controls in a new small design. It will be in 5 colors, will get 15 hours of battery life and will hold 2GB of music for just $49.


• New iPod Nanos have eliminated to the click-wheel and gone touch screen with a square-shaped miniature iOS device. It also features a clip on the back like the shuffle, and the screen can be rotated with a pinch-and-twist motion. It has the same colors as the shuffle, plus granite and red versions. $149 for 8GB, and $179 for 16GB.


• The iPod Touch, the #1 portable game player, is now thinner and gets all the hardware upgrades from the iPhone 4, including the Retina Display, the A4 chip, the gyroscope. Also, it features forward and front-facing cameras, and can now run FaceTime for chatting with iPod and iPhone owners. $229, $299 and $399 are the prices for 8, 32 and 64 GB models.
  
• All of the new iPods are available next week, and can be reordered starting today.

iTunes 10 and Ping

• A new iTunes is available today and features a new logo (finally) and Apple's foray into social networking with Ping, a place to discover music and follow friends and artists.
• A new Hybrid View lets you view album artwork when browsing your library in list view. It only activates when you have more than 5 songs in an album as to not waste space.
• Ping, the iTunes social network, will feature a stream of activity and customized Top 10 lists based on your friends' music tastes. It can be accessed on-the-go from iPhones and iPod Touches.

One More Thing Hobby: New Apple TV - $99

• Apple unveiled a $99 Apple TV that is a fourth the size of the original and features a dark black design. It has no local storage and streams all of it's content from the Internet and your local machines.
• It has HDMI, ethernet, 802.11n WiFi and a remote.
• Users can stream music, TV shows, movies, podcasts, radio stations, photos and more with the device.
• Users can now rent first-run HD movies for $4.99, and HD TV shows for $.99 from FOX and ABC. Jobs thinks more networks will "see the light" soon.
• It also supports Netflix, YouTube, Flickr and Apple's MobileMe.
• It will retail for just $99, and is available in roughly 4 weeks.

Wow! That sure was a lot from Apple. Those new iPods look pretty slick, especially the new square Nanos that look like a watch-face (some one please make a watch strap accessory!). Ping and iTunes 10 should be fun to play around with, and I don't know about the rest of you but that $99 Apple TV looks very enticing. Oh yeah, and iOS 4.1 looks cool too - the HDR photos is sure to excite the photo bugs out there.

Let us know what you think in the comments below!

]]> Discuss]]> http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/apple_event_announcements_rundown_ios_41_new_ipods.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/apple_event_announcements_rundown_ios_41_new_ipods.php Apple Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:47:00 -0800 Chris Cameron Apple is holding its annual Fall event today. Historically, these events have always focused on the iPod line. While we definitely expect to see a revamped iPod lineup, the rumor mill also points towards a new Apple TV and a major update for iTunes. A number of pundits also expect Apple to release iOS4 for the iPad today.

To find out what really happens, check out our live blog below. The event is scheduled to start at 10am PT/1pm ET.

]]> Live Streaming

For the first time in years, Apple plans to provide a live video stream of today's event. By default, this stream will only be available to Mac, iPod and iPad users. There are some workaround for this for Windows users, however, and we also expect to see numerous rogue streams on sites like USTREAM and Justin.tv.

Live Blog

9:42 AM:The live video stream will be available here.



9:55 AM: Audience is settling in. Eric Clapton playing in the background.

10:00 AM: Steve Jobs takes the stage.Perfectly on time.

10:01 AM: Steve points out that Woz is in the audience. His "old partner in crime."

10:03 AM: Update on Apple retail. New stores in Paris, London and China. There are now 300 Apple stores. On some days, more than a million people visit Apple's stores on a single day. Apple teaches 80,000 one-on-one classes in its stores per week.

iOS Update

10:05 AM: iOS update: Apple has shipped 120 million iOS devices. Apple activates 230,000 new iOS devices per day. Steve Jobs notes that some of Apple's competitors seem to count upgrades as well.

10:06 AM: 200 apps per second being downloaded from App Store.

10:07 AM: iOS 4.1 Coming today (iPhone and iPod): bugs fixed: proximity sensor, bluetooth, iPhone 3G speed.



New features: High Dynamic Range (HDR) photos, HD uploads over WiFi, TV show rentals, Game Center.

10:11 AM: Game Center: play games with friends online. Showing how it works in Angry Bird.

10:09 AM: shows off HDR photos - very standard implementation of HDR with three different exposures.

Coming next week.



10:12 AM: Epic on stage to demo new game: Project Sword. Role-playing game (looks great on the iPhone). Uses Game Center. Show how easy it is to find other players (friends and strangers) to play with.



Going to be available in time for the holiday season.



10:15 AM: Sneak Peek at iOS 4.2: Update for iPad

10:17 AM: Air Play: stream audio, video and more over WiFi.

New feature: wireless feature and something called Air Play ("we will talk about this later").

Demo of printing: iPad will get an option to print - print queue will be in the multitasking bar at the bottom.

10:18 AM: Demo of iOS 4.2 on iPad. Steve shows off multitasking, folders, etc. Everything looks just like iOS 4 for the iPhone.

Release date for iOS 4.2: November for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

iPod Update

10:20 AM: 275 million iPod's sold to date.

10:21 AM: "We have gone wild." All-new designs for all models.

Shuffle: "It's been a really big hit." Recaps history of the Shuffle. People missed the buttons on the last generation shuffle.

New Shuffle: buttons, voice over and playlists. Also includes Genius mixes.

Will come in five different colors. Will sell for $49.



10:24 AM: iPod nano: "How do we make this better. The iPod nano has been super popular. We want to make it smaller and better.

The nano is now a really tiny iPod touch. Space for four icons. Comes with FM radio, volume buttons and 24 hour battery life.



"One of our board members plans to use this as a wrist watch.

10:26 AM: Demo of new iPad nano.



10:30 AM: New nano will come in 8 different colors, including a Product RED edition.

Price: $149 for 8GB and $179 for 16GB

10:30 AM: iPod Touch update: "It's an iPhone without a contract." Also: most popular game player in the world. Now Apple's most popular iPod.



Over a 1.5 billion games and entertainment devices have been downloaded to the iPod touch.

10:32 AM: New iPod touch won't get the iPhone 4 look. Instead: thinner, Retina display ("the best display in the world"), A4 chip, 3-axis gyro, iOS 4.1, front-facing camera. Support for FaceTime (also between iPhone and iPod touches).

Also: rear camera with HD video, 40 hours of music playback.

Pricing: 8GB for $229, 32GB for $299 and 64GB for $399.

Available next week. Pre-order starts today.

10:37 AM: Showing new ads.

iTunes Update

10:38 AM: "People have downloaded over 11.7 billion songs from iTunes." 100 million movies, 35 million books, 450 million TV episodes.

"It's clearly the #1 digital media store in the world.

10:39 AM: iTunes 10



New logo

10:39 AM: New feature: hybrid view - instead of long list with the same album title, you can now choose to see cover in the list view instead.

Discovery: "How do you find out about new stuff?" "What are my friends listening to? What concerts do my friends go to?"

Find out what your friends are listening to and downloading. With status updates, too.

Ping: a new social network all about music. Right in iTunes.



10:42 AM: Custom Top 10 chart based on what your friends and the people you follow are downloading from iTunes. "Just for you."

Shows Lady Gaga's Ping page. You can follow her, Twitter-style. If you want to, you can also allow anybody to follow you.

"It's super easy to use. Most of us will live in our feeds and all the music from people we follow will be delivered to us."

10:44 AM: Strong privacy controls: choose who can follow you, follow and be followed. "You can be as private or as public as you want."



Available immediately.



10:46 AM: Demo time. Jobs shows how ping works.

10:48 AM: Posts to Ping can include text, video, audio. Shows profile pages. Looks a lot like Facebook.

10:49 AM: Ping will be available on the iPhone and iPod touch. Will show up right in the iTunes store on iOS (but not the iPad yet, apparently).

10:50 AM: iTunes 10 will be available later today.

One More Thing

10:51 AM: "We've got one more thing. Actually - it's one more hobby."

"We have sold a lot of them, but it has never been a huge hit." But the people who have them tend to love them.

10:51 AM: "What do Apple TV users want? Hollywood movies and TV shows ("they don't want amateur hour" - a little swipe at YouTube), lower prices for content. Consumers don't want a computer in the living room. Don't want to manage storage.

10:53 AM: People don't want to manage storage. Want a silent, cool and small device.

10:53 AM: 2nd generation AppleTV.

Extremely small. One-fourth of the size of the original. Black. Built-in power supply, 802.11n wifi, Ethernet, HDMI.



10:56 AM: No more downloads. All HD (when available).

Prices:

First run HD movies for $4.99 the day the DVD comes out.

$0.99 cent TV show rentals. Only ABC and Fox for now. Jobs hopes others will get on board soon.

Netflix support. YouTube streaming.



10:58 AM: New UI - includes ratings from Rotten Tomatoes for movies.

11:00 AM: Jobs shows demo of Netflix (instant queue, etc.), photo slideshows, movie rentals.

11:03 AM: Apple TV demo continues with TV rentals (Jobs apparently like 'Glee'). The user interface looks very slick.

11:04 AM: "This is by far the easiest implementation of Netflix to use." (a swipe at Roku)

11:05 AM: With Air Play, you can stream movies from iOS devices to Apple TV. Seamlessly switch back and forth between iPad and Apple TV. See photos from your iPhone on your Apple TV. No apps, though.

11:08 AM: Pricing: "$200-$300 price range was a bit too high" New lower price: $99.

11:08 AM: Available in about four weeks.



11:10 AM: Recap of today's announcements.

11:11 AM: Obligatory music performance at the end of the event: Coldplay's Chris Martin ("I have no new products to reveal.")

11:14 AM: And while Chris Martin plays "Yellow," that pretty much wraps it up for today's event. Thanks for reading everybody!

]]> Discuss]]> http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/live_blog_apples_fall_event.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/live_blog_apples_fall_event.php Apple Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:55:07 -0800 Frederic Lardinois A lot of speculation was dished out leading up to the launch of the latest iteration of the iPhone, and plenty more has followed since it has started landing in the hands of early adopters. I was one of the lucky few that managed to secure a pre-ordered phone, but wasn't able to get it shipped to my home. Instead, I woke up and the crack of dawn and stood in line for several hours to get my iPhone 4 - meeting several great people during the process. Since having time to play and experiment over the weekend, I've been surprised by several things - good and bad, big and small - about the phone and the new OS.
]]> The Good: High Resolution Screen & 5 Megapixel Camera

The absolute best thing about the phone, and the single-most influential reason for which I bought it, is the high-resolution screen. Upon turning on the phone for the first time and looking at the icons and text of the home screen, the quadrupling of pixels is immediately noticeable. Videos, photos, apps, and text all look absolutely amazing on this screen and I am very excited to see more devices, like the iPad, include the technology.

The second best feature, in my opinion, are the major improvements made to the phone's outward-facing camera. The camera takes surprisingly great shots in poorly-lit conditions, and the flash works great as well at capturing crisp images with a short exposure. The camera also takes great close-up photos, and can focus on objects roughly three inches away. With the excellent assortment of apps to edit photos, some great shots are sure to come from the device, like the one on the right of my TV remote.

The Bad: Battery Life & The Antenna

There are several bad things about the phone as well, and its hard to pick which is the worst. The first big negative I noticed, and was surprised by, is the battery life. Other media outlets with pre-release devices reported using the phone for over 30 hours with normal everyday use, but personally I have not seen this myself. I have found the battery life to be equal to, if not a little worse, than that of its predecessor, the iPhone 3GS.

The other issue that falls in the bad category is the antenna and the problems caused by holding the phone. From my own tests, I can submit that, yes, holding the phone in the most normal of fashions is likely to have some effect on signal. While holding my phone, I steadily watched the bars tick down from 5 to 1, and at times to an entire loss of signal. To make sure this was an accurate representation of the signal, I tried sending a text message, which hung on about 90% on its progress bar. Upon releasing my grip and letting the phone rest in my palm, the message sent almost immediately.

I have not found myself lacking a strong enough signal to send and receive calls or text messages when holding the phone during normal use, however. The only time holding the phone has been a problem was during my tests when I held it for a prolonged period of time and with more pressure than one would normally apply.

The antenna issue does, however, have an influence on the behavior of users. While the antenna problems are not likely to have a direct effect on signal in normal use, it exists enough to make you aware of how you hold the device when you are trying to assure you have enough signal to complete various tasks. I have found myself resting the device in my palm as a form of early troubleshooting if I can't seem to load a webpage or update my Twitter app. The fact that the problem exists is enough to make users of the device think twice about how they hold device, whether it is the real solution to their signal problems at that time or not.

The Meh: FaceTime

I tried FaceTime on a few occasions from various WiFi connections. It seems the most important factor in the quality of video calls is the WiFi connection. Attempting to FaceTime with a friend using public WiFi at a Starbucks was a terrible experience, but it was far better when both of us were on secured private networks in our homes. Even then, however, the call failed once and we had to redial each other. Hopefully this will get better in time, but for now, once the novelty of video calling on a mobile device wears off, FaceTime may not be that exciting.

The Huh? Strange Bugs and Quirks

The iPhone 4 is buggy. Very buggy. One of the most annoying ones, especially for a user like me who takes a lot of photos, involves the deletion of photos from the camera roll. Almost every time I delete a photo while viewing the camera roll, some error occurs where the photo is replaced by an immovable black box.

I have noticed, however, that deleting items while viewing them (by tapping the trash can icon while viewing a photo, for example) does not produce the same problem. It only seems to occur when marking one or more items with the red deletion check mark that it happens. Usually, syncing the device in iTunes will fix the issue, but sometimes that will even make things worse. I have had several photos disappear and deleted videos reappear unplayable in my camera roll, which was only fixed with another iTunes sync.

The mail app is also very bug-prone. I noticed some strange things happening with mail back on my 3GS before switching, and now they are better, but still odd. Before, emails would appear and quickly disappear in my inbox, only to be re-downloaded, or sometimes not. Now, the mail app seems intent on peppering my inbox with emails from the distant past (or future depending on how you look at it). An email with no sender, no subject and no content, sent on 12/31/69 has appeared on more than one occasion, though it has been less frequent in the last day or two.

The Multitasker's Dilemma

The other source of bugs comes from apps that do not support or properly implement the phone's multitasking capabilities. I have had some apps break or become unusable, and the only solution was to delete them from the multitasking menu and "relaunch" them. While this is not really Apple's fault, it does, however, create a new level of thinking for users when it comes to their apps and troubleshooting.

Previously, apps started from scratch whenever you clicked their icons. Now, for better or for worse, some apps resume from their last active state. In the case of messaging apps, this can be useful. In the case of apps like Settings, it can be annoying when you last closed the app after digging several levels deep into various sub-menus.

To truly "relaunch" an application, users must now click the home button, then double tap the home button again to launch the multitasking menu, then hold down their finger on an app until it begins to wiggle, and finally click a red minus sign icon to remove it. In most cases this isn't really necessary, but when an app is not responding correctly, I find myself using this tactic as a crude form of "ctrl+alt+del." Here's an example of when this problem occurred.

One Hot Phone. No Really, I Mean Hot!

When out doing errands, a strange thing happened with my iPhone. I found myself with 5 bars of signal and 3G service but unable to refresh my stream of messages on my Twitter application. It couldn't be the reception, I had 5 bars, so I clicked the home button and then re-entered the app, but it still didn't work. That is when I deleted the app from the multitask menu, effectively force quitting it, but another attempt still didn't work.

Then I tried other apps, and I quickly discovered nothing was working. I made sure the phone wasn't trying to use some random WiFi, so I turned WiFi off. Still nothing. I flipped airplane mode on and off to reset the connection to AT&T, but that still didn't work. Then I noticed how the phone felt in my hand - it was hot. Very hot. And not just because I was in 100 degree Arizona weather. It still felt hot in my cool air conditioned car.

The phone had overheated, and while I could navigate to apps and menus, sending or receiving any data was impossible. I turned the phone off and immediately noticed the temperature of the device drop significantly. I turned it back on and all was back to normal, but as you can see from this example, the complexity added by multitasking changes the way users will approach troubleshooting problems on their device. The entire time I was trying to no avail, the phone was resting in my palm, a testament to the paranoia also caused by the antenna.

Final Nitpickingly Annoying Thoughts

I remember when I first heard of the very first iPhone, the biggest thing that excited me was the ability to combine my phone with my iPod. No longer would I have to keep carrying both items, and I would never miss a call while listening to music ever again. Needless to say, I am an avid listener of music. I am disappointed not only in the fact that the newest iPhone didn't get the standard 64 GB storage bump many had assumed was coming, but also that iOS 4.0 changes some behaviors for the iPod app.

Now that double-clicking the home button brings up the multitasking menu, the way controlling music and podcasts works is slightly different. Previously, I used the double-click to launch music controls from wherever I was on the phone. I don't mind having to the side the multitasking menu to the right to view the controls, but the behavior of the double-click in another situation is causing me grief.

When the phone is sleeping and the screen is off, a double-click of the home button always brought up the music controls, whether anything was playing or not. Now, it seems hit or miss on when this function works the way I expect it to. When music is playing, double-clicking usually works to bring up the controls. When nothing is playing, a double-click will only bring up the regular lock screen without controls, unless the iPod app was active when I hit the sleep button. Sometimes. The reason for this strange behavior is elusive, and annoying.

So between the great added features and the upsetting disappointments, things are kinda so-so with the new iPhone. I'm still glad I bought it, and the good outweighs most of the bad. But I still find it odd how many bugs and quirks the phone has, and I guess I will have to master the the triple click if I want the music controls to work my way. Other than that, it's a great device.

]]> Discuss]]> http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/iphone_4_pros_cons_after_a_weekend_of_tinkering.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/iphone_4_pros_cons_after_a_weekend_of_tinkering.php Apple Mon, 28 Jun 2010 10:20:00 -0800 Chris Cameron This morning, much of the tech world stood still as Steve Jobs delivered his keynote address at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, introducing the next-generation iPhone. As usual with a "Jobsnote," Steve took some time to let the audience know where the company stood with a few back-patting statistics. Jobs said the iPad has added 8,500 native apps since launching two months ago - a growth rate nearly three times that of the iPhone and iPod Touch two months after the launch of the AppStore in 2008.
]]> iPad Apps Growing 3x Faster iPhone Apps Did

The iPad sold 2 million units in its first 2 months on the market, or 3 iPads a second, as Jobs happily pointed out today at Moscone Center in San Francisco, California. During that same period, apps for the device have been released at a rate of roughly 140 per day. According to our calculations, it took the iPhone and iPod Touch more than twice that time to accrue 8,500 apps, growing at a slower rate of 56 per day.

The faster growth of iPad apps is likely due to the fact that the AppStore is not new, and many developers - having long since recognized the potential of the app market - have been building apps for many months already. It is not likely, however, that iPad app creation numbers will pass those of the iPhone and iPod Touch any time soon. The pair of devices has added 31,500 apps since the iPad launch - a growth rate of 525 per day.



iPhone Apps Still Sell Far Better Than iPad

The fascinating other half of this statistic is that while iPad apps are growing much faster than iPhone/iPod apps did initially, iPhone and iPod apps sold much better during their first few months, and continue to today. In the first 90 days of the AppStore's existence, 100 billion downloads made their way to the handheld devices. If the iPad is going to break that number, it will need to sell 65 million apps this month, nearly double its 2-month sales figure of 35 million apps sold.

App sales and the number of available apps have been increasing exponentially since the launch of the AppStore, and the iPad launch helped the last two months become the fasted period of growth for apps yet. In just two months, 1 billion apps were sold, up to 5 billion from 4 billion back in early April. The total number of apps also increased by 40,000 apps, from 185,000 to 225,000.

Is Price to Blame?

The iPad accounted for 21% of app growth, but just 3% of app sales - a figure that compliments why iPhone and iPod touch users install twice as many apps than iPad users. According to a study by Nielson, users of the handsets average around 37 apps on their device, while today Steve Jobs mentioned iPad users average just 17 per device. A mobile research firm out the Netherlands found that iPad apps run an average price of $4.67, whereas iPhone and iPod touch apps are $.80 less at $3.87 - an obvious deterrent to iPad app sales.

Apple also says it receives 15,000 app submissions a week, and that 95% of apps are accepted through within a week of being submitted. Based on these figures, 114,000 apps or updates to existing apps were pushed into the AppStore in the last two months. Since only 40,000 new apps were added during that time, this means that roughly two-thirds of app submissions are updates to existing applications.

A Lucrative Market

It's no wonder the updates keep rolling in, because developers are making good chunks of change on the AppStore. Steve Jobs says Apple has paid developers over $1 billion in AppStore revenue shares, or over $4,400 per app on average. If Apple has paid out over $1 billion to developers, that means it has pocketed over $428 million from its 30% cut of app sales.

At its current growth rate, the AppStore should pass the 10 billion downloads mark in early April 2011. However, with the continued exponential growth seen in the infographic above, it wouldn't be surprising to see the AppStore break this number as soon as the end of the year.

]]> Discuss]]> http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/breaking_down_apples_appstore_stats_infographic.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/breaking_down_apples_appstore_stats_infographic.php Apple Mon, 07 Jun 2010 18:18:00 -0800 Chris Cameron After a surprisingly short wait in line at our local Apple Store, where about 100 people lined up for their reserved iPads - and another 100 who didn't have a reservations - we finally took possession of our very own Apple tablet. We will take a closer look at all the apps, hardware and iPad-optimized web sites over the course of the next few days, but here are our first impressions after spending some quality time with the iPad.
]]> It's Very Fast, A Little Bit Heavy and a Little Bit Magical

Without a doubt, the first thing you will notice is the sheer speed of the iPad. Web pages render very fast, switching from landscape to portrait mode only takes a second - even in image and video-heavy apps like the Popular Science app or the ABC Player - and apps open extremely fast.

The device itself is light for its size, feels very solid, but still feels a bit heavy when holding it with one hand. Most of the time, we don't think this will be an issue as you will probably hold the device with two hands - but if you have wrist issues, this is definitely something to keep in mind.

A More Intimate Experience

Apple uses the word "magical" whenever the company talks about the iPad. After using the iPad for a while, we can't quite call it magical, but it's definitely a huge step forward for personal computing. Being able to manipulate the web with your fingers directly on the screen, browsing through the New York Times or Popular Science app on the couch and checking up on your Twitter friends in the TweetDeck app just takes on another dimension when you are using the iPad. It is indeed, as Apple calls it, a more intimate experience.

Yes, the iPad doesn't do multitasking, chances are that you won't want to use it for heavy content creation tasks and the iPhone was more revolutionary than the iPad, but if you already use your iPhone to surf the web on the couch and keep up with email, the iPad is better at all of these tasks than the iPhone and more comfortable to use than a laptop or netbook.

Read on for more detailed impressions of some of the iPad's hardware and software features.



Screen

Apple wasn't kidding when it said that the screen on the iPad would be gorgeous. It's not just that the extra screen estate allowed developers to build easier to use apps, but the screen really makes colors pop and the viewing angle is close to 180 degrees.

At the end of the day, though, it's really the size of the screen that makes all the difference when compared to an iPod touch. While some developers have only re-purposed their iPhone apps for the iPad so far, some apps like the Epicurious cooking app are already making good use of this extra screen estate by putting tabs on the side and bottom of the screen.

We should note, though, that running iPhone apps that haven't been optimized for the iPad isn't a very magical experience. Regular iPhone apps work just fine, but the blown-up fonts look fuzzy and using those apps just isn't a lot of fun.

Of course, we don't have any hands-on experience about the iPad's battery life yet, but we will update this post later today with more info once we get some more real-life data.

Virtual Keyboard

The iPad keyboard takes some getting used to. On a lap or on a table with the iPad in Apple's nifty case, typing with two hands is easy. If your hands are big, you can probably use both of your thumbs to type in portrait mode. Typing in landscape mode with the iPad in your hands means that you can only use one hand, however, and the iPad can quickly feel a bit heavy if you are holding it with just one hand.

Apple's Own Apps

We haven't had a chance to fully appreciate Apple's own email, contacts, calendar apps, but our first impression is that they are all well designed, work as advertised and - thanks to making use of the bigger screen - are generally much easier to use on the iPad than on the iPhone. Safari, of course, is the highlight here, where web sites render just about as fast as on a notebook and browsing even non-mobile optimized sites feels perfectly natural (though, of course, without Flash some sites just don't work very well).

The iPod app now looks a lot more like iTunes, with a sidebar on the right (in portrait and landscape mode). Interestingly, Apple did not include cover flow here.

More About the iPad Launch

Click here for our full archive of posts about the iPad launch.

Come back throughout the day for more of our coverage of the iPad launch.

iBooks

iBooks, Apple's e-book app, is a very capable e-book reader. Prices in the iBook store are typically between $9.99 and $14.99 (we also found a few books for $16.99 and Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged retails for $27.99). It's worth noting that the store also features a huge selection of free books from Project Gutenberg. We will take a closer look at the iBooks app and compare it to the other e-readers on the iPad later today.

]]> Discuss]]> http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/ipad_first_impressions.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/ipad_first_impressions.php Mobile Sat, 03 Apr 2010 12:35:39 -0800 Frederic Lardinois Later this month, iPhone and iPod application developers can expect to see sales drastically increase by as much as 300 or 400 percent over the course of a couple days.

They'll also be unable to change their applications, change marketing materials or download sales reports during much of this time. iTunes Connect, the interface that allows developers to manage all their applications in the App Store, will be unavailable from December 23 - December 28, 2009.

]]> The same downtime occurred last year and caused some consternation within the developer community.

"I guess iTunes Connect [team members] want a break too," wrote one developer, "but come on, closed for the holidays when people have a lot of time on their hands to buy apps ?"

Another dev shop, Bottle Rocket, wrote, "Apple is taking the next 4 days off. Good for them. So, should we take the hint and lower the shades on Bottle Rocket for at least a few days? The answer is, well, no comment."

Here's a graph showing the kind of traffic and sales pattern app developers can expect to see right around Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and the ensuing week or so. This is a visualization of data from iPod Touch devices last December:



So, once again, during what may be some app developers' biggest sales spike of the entire year, they will not have access to information on sales performance or other metrics, and they won't be able to tweak their marketing materials or create new incentives as the year's biggest gift-giving holiday approaches.

In the interest of maintaining our holiday spirit, we will refrain from comment on whether or not this is a lame move and instead caution our application developer friends to get their ducks in a row before iTunes Connect is out of commission.

]]> Discuss]]> http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/itunes-connect-down.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/itunes-connect-down.php Apple Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:50:43 -0800 Jolie O'Dell European music service Spotify is one of the most highly anticipated applications coming to the U.S. The service, best described as a streaming music version of iTunes, consists of both desktop software as well as complementary mobile applications for Apple's iPhone and the Google Android platform. Already, the service is wildly popular overseas in its current markets which include the United Kingdom, Sweden, France, Spain, Norway and Finland where it has accumulated over 5 million users. There, the company offers two versions of its service - a free application and a premium, ad-free subscription version.

According to recent reports, however, Spotify may do things a little differently when it reaches the States. Says Andres Sehr, Spotify's global community manager, the company is considering going the "freemium" route for the U.S. market.

]]> Why Freemium?

"Freemium" is a word coined to describe a business model where basic services are free while special or advanced features are available for a fee. That's a slightly different spin on the business model Spotify uses today. Currently, Spotify offers its European users a choice between a free, ad-supported application and a paid app which costs around about €10 (around $16.60) a month. With a Spotify "freemium" service, however, there would be just the one application in which users would pay for the extra features they want to use. Details on how exactly this would work and what features would come at additional cost is still unknown. Sehr says it's far too early say at this point. Also unknown is whether this "freemium" model would forgo the monthly subscription fees in favor of the premium upgrades.

Update: as one commenter notes below, Spotify is essentially one app in Europe too. On the company's site, however, it's pitched as available in three different versions - a free app, a day pass, and an ad-free premium version. How exactly the European "freemium" model would differ from the proposed U.S. freemium model is unclear. It may reflect more of a difference in marketing strategy than anything else.

In an interview published today in the Wall Street Journal, Sehr explained why the company is considering making this sort of change. "The U.S. is a completely different market, and the competition landscape's different," he said, adding that "when we launch there, it'll definitely be a challenge for us."

What Sehr is referring to is the particularly crowded market here in the U.S. where services like Imeem, Pandora, Last.fm, and many others are already well-known and popular destinations for streaming music online. In other words, Spotify isn't just rivaling iTunes in the U.S., it's going up against a number of other companies doing nearly the same thing, too.

Spotify on the Mobile

Where Spotify has an edge over its competition is on the mobile front. Although there are plenty of streaming music applications available for both the iPhone and Android platforms, Spotify's app does things a little differently...and considering the glowing reviews, better. Instead of simply providing a streaming radio of sorts based on a user's musical preferences, Spotify's mobile users can actually pick and choose the songs they want to listen to and build a custom playlist. That playlist can also be streamed when the mobile device is offline thanks to Spotify's caching technology.

For this reason, there were originally concerns that Apple would reject the streaming music app because selecting tracks, making playlists, and playing music offline puts it in direct competition with iTunes itself. Those concerns were soon discovered to be unfounded as Apple recently approved the app for distribution via App Store - a decision no doubt influenced at least in part by FCC scrutiny over the company's app approval process and anti-competitive tactics.

While the initial launch of the Spotify mobile iPhone/iPod Touch app is only in the European counties where Spotify is currently licensed, the Apple "seal of approval" means that (in theory), Spotify won't have any trouble making it into the American App Store, too. That is, once they get the American licensing agreements worked out.

Although the company already has European deals with Universal, Sony, Warner, and EMI and it solidified an American licensing agreement with the Independent Online Distribution Alliance (IODA) in July, its the Stateside licensing agreements that are holding up the service's U.S. launch. Still, the company remains optimistic and expects to make its American debut later this year or in early 2010.

]]> Discuss]]> http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/spotify_may_go_the_freemium_route_in_the_us.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/spotify_may_go_the_freemium_route_in_the_us.php Apple Fri, 11 Sep 2009 07:16:10 -0800 Sarah Perez When Radiohead keyboardist / guitarist Jonny Greenwood shrugs off the issue of audio fidelity, indie musicians should take note. Given that Radiohead is perhaps one of the biggest proponents of alternative music monetization, it's ironic that Greenwood is discrediting one of the industry's key price differentiators. Musicians with tracks on iTunes, Amazon and DIY stores like Bandcamp have often chosen to price MP3s at lower rates while higher quality recordings have fetched more per track. In a recent article with The New Yorker's Sasha Frere-Jones, Greenwood admits there is little reason for the MP3 generation to look for a higher quality experience.
]]> Said Greenwood, "We had a few complaints that the MP3s of our last record weren't encoded at a high enough rate. Some even suggested we should have used FLACs, but if you even know what one of those is, and have strong opinions on them, you're already lost to the world of high fidelity and have probably spent far too much money on your speaker-stands."

Greenwood's biggest complaint about MP3s was not quality or sound compression, but rather abundance. He suggests that MP3s make it far too easy for fans to hoard music without "giving it their full attention". In a recent Pitchfork article Eric Harvey suggests the opposite. Says Harvey, "The mp3 may have atomized music into millions of little pieces, but each piece, it seems, found a publicist. The average music fan now has the built-in capacity to double as promoter and distributor in an ever-expanding arena that's making and eliminating rules every minute."

Whether you see them as hoarders or promoters, one thing is certain, the iPod generation is changing how music is consumed. But if they can't depend on tiered pricing for audio quality, how can companies monetize the new music fan? While a Stanford study suggests that the iPod generation prefers the flat sound of an MP3, it doesn't mean today's listeners aren't willing to pay for their music. According to an NPD Group report purchasers of digital music downloads increased by 29% last year with iTunes controlling a quarter of all music sold. Some of the ways fans still generate revenue for bands include streaming music subscriptions, track and album purchases, concerts tickets, merchandise and paid application downloads.

Update, Ed: there can be a big difference in audio quality of MP3s promoted on the Web. For example the quality varied greatly between Radiohead's In Rainbows album and Saul Williams' album (promoted by Trent Reznor). See Kim Gaskins' post on the new Latitude Research blog Life Connected for further analysis.



Photos taken from Dead Air Space

]]> Discuss]]> http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/radiohead_guitarist_mp3s_fine_there_goes_fidelity.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/radiohead_guitarist_mp3s_fine_there_goes_fidelity.php Music Thu, 03 Sep 2009 22:03:00 -0800 Dana Oshiro Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has the Midas touch. In anticipation of the company's US launch, the on-demand music streaming site is finalizing what is rumored to be a $50 million dollar round of investments. According to the Financial Times, if Spotify closes the round with Wellington Partners and Li Ka Shing Foundation, the Swedish company will be valued at $250 million dollars.
]]> Spotify's only real revenue at this time is it's "premium" or ad-free subscription service. Critics may argue that this service will never earn the company enough to offset the cost of licensing music; however, the Telegraph's Shane Richmond reports that Spotify's iPhone application will only be available to premium subscription users. And if you're questioning whether or not the subscription is worth it, you obviously haven't seen the demo.

Unlike other mobile streaming music applications, the Android and iPhone applications allow members to cache streaming files for offline listening. In other words, there is no need to download a file for listening. It's an amazing mobile feature for users, but as a free application it would cannibalize Spotify's revenue stream from downloads. However, with the subscription requirement, the company is destined to make money from both downloads and streaming lists.

If the application doesn't make it into the App Store, Spotify has other opportunities to generate revenue with downloads. Ek announced plans in late June to launch a one-click download solution for easier on-site purchases. The company's ability to gain referral sales revenue shows potential, but the access model is less attractive than subscriptions. Spotify could offer a tiered file pricing system without compromising its existing service. The company could continue to stream compressed files for free while offering higher-quality files or rare releases for purchase and download. This option might appeal to diehard music fans, but it certainly doesn't have the cool factor of the mobile applications.

Regardless of Spotify's revenue streams, the company's US release is widely anticipated. Americans are eager to see what UK and Swedish audiences have been raving about. Some of the company's latest 3rd party tools look like amazing additions to the community. Spotify's blog featured the following:

1. SpotifiTunes: Independent web developer Phil Nash's iTunes playlist tool allows you to upload your iTunes library and generate additional links to your favorite artists in Spotify. Members can discover new album releases and sometimes surprising band collaborations from the past.

2. We Are Hunted: The curated We Are Hunted music community created a Spotify playlist complete with the site's top tracks and artists. Once users can cache this on their devices, they'll have the ability to listen to the community's 99 hottest streaming songs in offline mode.

3. Share My Playlists: This site contains almost 4000 pre-compiled Spotify playlists for your listening pleasure. The service offers amazing potential to leverage the popularity of existing celebrity deejays, music bloggers, labels and music properties. Just think about the range this service could offer. From indie electronic labels to Motown, if brands were to release weekly tribute playlists you can bet there would be listeners.

After this sort of a build up for the North American launch, it would be a let down if American audiences thought the service was anything short of fantastic. We won't have to wait long for a reaction, the release is expected before the end of summer.

]]> Discuss]]> http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/spotify_to_close_up_to_50m_round_before_us_launch.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/spotify_to_close_up_to_50m_round_before_us_launch.php Apple Mon, 03 Aug 2009 21:03:09 -0800 Dana Oshiro