Category: iPhone

iPhone 4S Pre-Orders Top One-Million in 24 Hours

Apple has announced that pre-orders for the iPhone 4S have topped one-million units in the first 24 yours of availability. Despite journalists and analysts being disappointed in the product, the iPhone is more popular than ever. In America, this is the first time an iPhone has launched on three carriers at the same time — AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon.  Here’s a clip from the press release:

Apple today announced pre-orders of its iPhone 4S have topped one million in a single day, surpassing the previous single day pre-order record of 600,000 held by iPhone 4.

“We are blown away with the incredible customer response to iPhone 4S,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “The first day pre-orders for iPhone 4S have been the most for any new product that Apple has ever launched and we are thrilled that customers love iPhone 4S as much as we do.:

Even though I expressed disappointment with the product launch, I had no doubt that the iPhone 4S would be immensely popular. It looks like a fantastic product and being on thee major American carriers is huge. Internet writers, particularly tech bloggers, are giving the product more heat than they ought to. The GPU on this thing is killer and the camera looks brilliant. Siri takes voice control, something that has been available on Google Android for years, to a game-changing level. The iPhone 4S is a great product backed by great marketing. The sales figures reflect that.

What do you think of Apple’s pre-order numbers with the iPhone 4S? Are they what you expected? Or did they exceed your expectations?

iPhone 4S 3.5-Inch Screen: Usability vs. Visibility

I’ve noted several times on this site that I think that the 3.5-inch screen on the iPhone is too small and that I greatly prefer screens that are larger than four inches. Recently Dustin Curtis wrote an interesting argument on why a 3.5-inch screen is ideal for most people. As an example, he compared the iPhone 4 to the Samsung Galaxy S II. His findings came down to usability vs. visibility. Here’s an excerpt:

Touching the upper right corner of the screen on the Galaxy S II using one hand, with its 4.27-inch screen, while you’re walking down the street looking at Google Maps, is extremely difficult and frustrating. I pulled out my iPhone 4 to do a quick test, and it turns out that when you hold the iPhone in your left hand and articulate your thumb, you can reach almost exactly to the other side of the screen. This means it’s easy to touch any area of the screen while holding the phone in one hand, with your thumb. It is almost impossible to do this on the Galaxy S II.

He definitely has a point in terms of usability, particularly one-handed usability. Most people don’t have Andre the Giant hands like RPadholics BigBlak and Slickyfats. For people like that, one-handed usability on larger screens isn’t an issue. For most people, it’s a compelling argument that a 3.5 inch touchscreen is easier to use than a 4.27-inch touchscreen like on the Galaxy S II.

The argument against 3.5-inch screens is visibility. It’s easier to see larger screens. A lot of my iPhone friends counter this point by saying, “I just hold my iPhone closer to my face and see everything just fine.” I suppose that’s an acceptable answer, but there’s also a comfort level involved. I have a few friends with BlackBerry phones that look like they’re making out with the things as they use them; they have to hold their Berries so close to their face that it looks silly and, more importantly, uncomfortable.

Then there’s resolution. In addition to making text and images appear crisper, higher resolutions on large screens allow for more data to be packed on a screen. That’s one reason I’ve been disappointed in Android phones with larger displays coupled with 800 x 480 resolutions and greatly looking forward to the proliferation of phones with large screens pumping out qHD (960 x 540) or 720p (1,280 x 720) graphics. Plus, the videos will look awesome.

Anyway, I wanted to get your take on mobile phone screens. How do you juggle the factors of size, resolution, usability, and visibility?

Source via Daring Fireball

Coffee Talk #407: How Will You Remember Steve Jobs?

Apple has asked that you share your thoughts and memories by sending an email to rememberingsteve @ apple.com. I’m going to be sending this story to that email address, so feel free to leave your thoughts here. I’d love to know what you’ll remember about Steve Jobs.

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Ivan Nova sticking it to the Detroit Tigers, awesome songs by The Carpenters, or the German sausage craze in LA, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

As most of you know, Apple’s Steve Jobs passed away yesterday. Apple has asked that you share your thoughts and memories by sending an email to rememberingsteve@apple.com. I’m going to be sending this story to that email address, so feel free to leave your thoughts here. I’d love to know what you’ll remember about Steve Jobs.

As for me, he’s definitely one of my heroes. I’m actually much more of a Steve Jobs fan than an Apple fan. I’ve always been amazed by how passionate he was about his products and how much he cared about the little details. This story posted by Google’s Vic Gundotra is a great example of Steve being Steve. His passion translated to consumer passion. In the history of consumer electronics, I’ve never seen anyone get people more excited about pieces of silicon the way that Steve Jobs did.

I’ll never forget Jobs’ Stanford commencement address from 2005. It was honest and inspiring. He talked about his successes, his failures, and how knowing that he was going to die soon liberated him. As complex as Apple’s products are and as clever as its marketing is, Jobs always made sure that the company was rooted in simple philosophies. As a whole, he wanted Apple to always try to make the best products it could make. As an individual, he wanted people to be the best at what they wanted to do.

Jobs was one of the most fascinating and influential people of my lifetime. I’ll always appreciate what brought to the world and my world.

Look in the mirror everyday and ask, “if today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am doing today?” If the answer is no for many days in a row, you need to change something. Remembering you are going to die is the most important tool to make big decisions in life, everything falls away in the face of death. External expectations, pride, fear of embarrassment or failure are all things that don’t matter in the big picture. Remembering you are going to die is the best way to remember you have nothing to lose. “You are already naked, you have nothing to lose by following you heart.”

Is the iPhone 4S Disappointing?

Apple unveiled the iPhone 4S at a press conference earlier today. Physically, it resembles the CDMA iPhone 4, but there are many changes under the hood. Additions include a faster processor, an improved camera, and Siri voice controls. While some of these new features are undeniably fantastic, there are some iPhone fans that wanted more. Some fans wanted a bigger screen, a new industrial design, and a 4G radio. What do you think? Was the iPhone 4S a disappointing announcement? Or did Apple do enough to stand out from the crowd?

As for me, I’m excited about the new camera and I always welcome a better processor…but I’m definitely disappointed in the product. I was positive that an LTE radio wasn’t in the works this year, so no worries there. Staying with a 3.5-inch screen is the big turn-off to me. Don’t get me wrong, in terms of image and (especially) text quality, Apple’s vaunted “Retina Display” is outstanding. That said, 3.5 inches is not enough (that’s what she said!). I would have loved an iPhone with a bigger display and a higher resolution. Before the end of the year, there will be Google Android phones that sport 720p resolutions on screens 4.3-inches and larger. I’ve gotten used to the size and usability of larger screens ever since I used the HTC Evo 4G. It’s tough going back.

Now it’s your turn! What do you think of the iPhone 4S? Are down to buy one? Or are you disappointed?

Can Sony’s “Only on PSN” Program Tackle the iOS App Store?

Sony recently announced an aggressive new program called “Only on PSN” that serves up downloadable games that are exclusive to the PlayStation online service. A lot of the games in the initial lineup are creative titles made by independent developers. With its focus on small games, creativity, and indie devs, “Only on PSN” will be competing hot and heavy with Apple’s iOS App Store.

IndustryGamers also believes that these two services are competing and asked Sony Computer Entertainment America senior director Susan Panico about taking on Apple. Here’s some of what she had to say.

On that platform [iOS] it is survival of the fittest and you really only get great success if you break into that top 20, but on our platform because it is managed and we do want to ensure we’re giving visibility to our community and marketing support behind this content, it’s a really great way for developers to not only have to invest little up front but they’re also getting the marketing machine of a large organization like PlayStation.

I agree with Panico to a point. Sony can definitely do a better job than Apple when it comes to adding community elements and catering content for its audience, which is more specific than Apple’s. Those are complexities and nuances that Sony can certainly leverage, but first it has to overcome a much more basic issue with PSN — the user experience.

The App Store’s user experience is flat-out better than PSN’s. Part of it is simply because of how you interface with each service; it’s much easier to navigate menus using your finger than it is with a d-pad and several buttons. Part of it is due to design; PSN is awfully stylish, but it’s not nearly as friendly or functional as the App Store. Before Sony worries about community engagement and casting Kevin Butler in side-splitting “Only on PSN” commercials, it needs to improve PSN’s user experience.

As for attracting independent developers for sweet exclusives, Panico said:

We have dedicated resources within our organization to go after indie developers and to work with these teams where we see great talent, and then of course we like to make sure people know we have an open platform and an open door, so they’ll want to come to us and bring their content.

Sony can definitely do a better job than Apple when it comes to reaching out to indie devs. I know people at both companies that are tasked with developer outreach and relations. Objectively, Sony has more people interacting with independent developers. Subjectively, Sony has better better people reaching out to game developers.

While a PSN vs. iOS App Store fight sounds ridiculous and lopsided in favor of Apple, there are several areas where Sony can win. Will it? I’m not sure about that. The allure of having a best-seller on iOS is tough to compete with. Will developers gamble and go for broke with Apple? Or will they prefer to go with Sony, which will (arguably) treat them better and do a superior job at helping them reach gamers?

What do you think of the “Only on PSN” initiative? Will Sony be able to attract the top indie developers? Will it be able to steal some talent away from Apple’s iOS walled garden?

Source

What Are Your iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S Predictions?!?

Tomorrow is Apple’s big presser for the next iPhone! Rumors include the company announcing a new iPhone 5 and a cheaper iPhone 4S, the iPhone being available on Sprint in addition to AT&T and Verizon, and Apple finally releasing a phone with a screen larger than 3.5-inches. The image used for the invite hints that voice control, powered by Apple’s purchase of Nuance, will be a big part of the press conference.

What do you think will happen? What are you hoping for? Will there be unicorns, rainbows, and sorcery?!? Please leave your predictions, thoughts, and wishes on the iPhone 5 presser in the comments section!

Meanwhile, Over at Padvance….

Here’s a selection of articles I wrote for Padvance last week. If you have a chance and are interested in the topics, please check ’em out! From cases that turn your iPhone or iPad into a 70-inch monster to Gameloft getting cozy with sexy Sony tablets to Logitech remote-control wizardry, there’s some neat stuff happening at Padvance.

Padzilla! — This case (using the term in the loosest possible sense) turns your iOS device into a 70-inch tablet. It’s useful for presentations and living in absurd excess.

Logitech Harmony Link — Logitech makes some of the best and most powerful remotes on the market. This device combines a hardware hub and an app so that you can use your iPad as a wondrous remote control with a personalized programming guide.

Nvidia Kal-El Packs a Fifth “Companion Core” — Although I was disappointed to learn that Kal-El doesn’t have a weighted companion cube, I was psyched to learn about the fifth companion core on this upcoming Tegra chip. This should help the Tegra line match or exceed the power efficiency some of its competitors enjoy.

Sprint Capping Mobile Hotspot Use Starting October — This is a bummer. Sprint was the last of America’s “big four” mobile carriers to offer truly unlimited data service. Starting October 2, 2011 it will be capping mobile hotspot use at 5GB per month.

In-App Purchasing Earns 72% of App Store Revenue — Very interesting stats on Apple’s App Store revenue. Freemium with in-app purchasing is huge!

Citigroup Survey Finds That the iPad is More For Play Than Work — This survey was headed up by someone named Captain Obvious.

Gameloft Optimizing Five Games for Sony Android Tablets — Sony’s sexy Tablet S and unique Tablet P get some special treatment from Gameloft.

Amazon September 28 Press Event — This is almost definitely for the Android Kindle tablet. The timing is right. It’s in the publishing center of the world. Lay it on me Amazon!!!

Meanwhile, Over at Padvance….

Imagine the title of this story spoken by the narrator of The Super Friends. What? That reference was too old?!? Damn it…. Anyway, as some of you know, I started writing for Padvance yesterday. Below are the stories I’ve written so far. If you’re interested in the topics, I’d appreciate a visit over there. Thanks muchly!

Making the Transition to Digital Comics with Comixology

Does Keiji Inafune Get iOS Gaming?

Bring Your iPad to the Kitchen with Belkin

What Headset Do You Use with Your iPad?

Totally Addicted to Quarrel Deluxe for iOS

I’ve playing the hell out of Quarrel Deluxe on my iPad 2. It’s a cute and clever game that blends elements of Scrabble and Risk. Like other word games, you have to string together letters to form words. The goal is to make the best word you can as quickly as possible. What makes this game unique is the it incorporates strategic gameplay that uses a different part of your brain.

Quarrel is played on boards of different sizes. Controlling the board is every bit as important as busting out words. You battle opponents to control different areas of the board. As you advance, your characters move forward and leave a sole troop behind. You can move your other characters to cover up any weak spots. While it’s fun to just beat up on opponents with your impressive vocabulary, that’s not always the best way to win. If you’re too aggressive then you’ll open yourself up to easy defeats.

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I absolutely loved the gameplay in Quarrel. It’s supremely clever and totally addictive. The stat system is cool (I’m a baseball nerd) and I love how it tracks progress. I was also impressed and amused by the game’s dictionary. I used the word “wank” in a battle and it was properly identified as slang for masturbating. Ha! Quarrel has cut into my daily Civilization: Revolution game time, which is the highest praise I can give to any iPad game.

Unfortunately, there’s no multiplayer in Quarrel Deluxe. That’s a criminal omission. The cute sounds can also be grating. During long games, I found myself muting the sound in order to concentrate on the excellent gameplay.

I foresee myself playing a ton of Quarrel Deluxe in the future. It’s smart, fun, and addictive. It has joined Civ: Rev as one of the few games I play every day and I don’t see it leaving that spot any time soon. If you get a chance to play it, please let me know you think!