Facebook looking to circumvent Apple’s App Store with HTML5 platform
TechCrunch’s MG Siegler reports Facebook is coordinating the effort in order to maintain control over web apps without having to submit to the App Store terms. According to people familiar with the project, Facebook hopes “to use Apple’s own devices against them to break the stranglehold they have on mobile app distribution.”
Interestingly enough, Apple initially pushed the concept of web apps for mobile Safari on the iPhone, but eventually switched to the App Store model in 2008.
Siegler, who claims to have seen the project with his own eyes, describes “Project Spartan” as a mobile web version of Facebook with drop-down menus for new apps. Once loaded, those apps would be surrounded by a “Facebook wrapper” that would integrate with the social network, adding features such as Credits, the company’s micropayment system.
Credits play a vital role in the in-development platform, as they would provide an alternative method for monetization to the App Store. Facebook is reportedly wooing third-party developer Zynga to the platform in hopes of accelerating the transition away from Adobe Flash and toward HTML5.
Google to preempt Apple’s iCloud with new music service on Tuesday
“Unfortunately, a couple of the major labels were less focused on the innovative vision that we put forward, and more interested in in an unreasonable and unsustainable set of business terms,” said Jamie Rosenberg, who oversees digital content and strategy for Google’s Android platform.
Without music licenses, Google will be unable to sell songs to users of the service, Kafka said. The company plans to offer free storage up to 20,000 and include a feature that automatically generates playlists in order to differentiate itself from competing services.
Google Music is expected to launch with an invite-only beta on Tuesday, and then roll out to all U.S. users “within weeks.”
Rosenberg declined to comment on future pricing plans for Google Music, though he did say that at least part of the service is designed to be free of charge. “I think as Google typically does, I think the free aspect will continue to be very generous,” he said.
Rival Amazon launched its Amazon Cloud Drive and Cloud Player services in late March, offering 5GB of free storage, enough for roughly 2,000 songs. After the launch, reports emerged that the online retailer had released the service before securing new licenses with the music labels. Media industry members were stunned, with some viewing the service as illegal.
App Developers Sticking to iPhone
Apple’s iPad and iPhone, let alone the explosion of Android devices and new offerings from RIM and Microsoft. That’s the takeaway from the joint IDC/Appcelerator quarterly survey of 2,760 mobile developers, out today.
The survey represents the third such partnership between research firm IDC and Appcelerator, which builds products that help developers recompile their applications for multiple platforms. Over the past six months, developer interest in both Apple’s iOS platform and Google’s Android platform has remained flat, even as more Android devices have shipped than any other kind.
App developers say the problem is that as Android is deployed on more devices, it’s becoming harder to develop for it, because of a profusion of device specifications and a pool of newcomer app developers, many of whom were Web and desktop developers just two years ago. Robert Koch, whose team develops the task-list organizer Wunderlist, wrestles with the vagaries of Android development every day. (Wunderlist is on iOS, Android, OS X, Windows, and the Web.)
“It’s very, very difficult to write a good application for every Android device,” says Koch, who cites differing screen resolutions, hardware configurations, and CPU speeds as core concerns. “We had to buy a lot of devices just [to test] our little task-management app.
AT&T increases early upgrade prices for Apple’s iPhones by $50
“We’ve updated our early upgrade and no commitment price points for smartphones and feature phones,” a company spokesman said. “Only customers who are not yet upgrade eligible or who do not want to sign a contract are impacted.
“As mobile devices become more sophisticated, their cost goes up. This change reflects the increased costs, while still allowing us to offer customers the latest device before they qualify. We’re happy to discuss individual account and upgrade needs one-on-one with customers.”
No-commitment pricing on the iPhone 4 is $599 for the 16GB model, and $699 for 32GB of capacity.
While early upgrades for the iPhone are more expensive, the pricing for other smartphones has also changed. For customers looking to buy a smartphone other than an iPhone, AT&T’s one-year commitment pricing has increased by $150 for the cost of a handset. And no-commitment pricing for all smartphones other than the iPhone has also gone up by $50.
Last year, ahead of the iPhone 4 launch, AT&T made any customer with an upgrade date before the end of 2010 eligible for upgrade pricing on Apple’s latest handset. That meant that some customers were able to buy the iPhone 4 at the standard $199 for 16GB and $299 for 32GB subsidized pricing up to 6 months early.
Best Buy rumored to give Apple’s iPad to all its sales associates
A new report claims that big-box electronics retailer Best Buy may be preparing to hand out iPads to each of the on-floor sales associates in its 1,100 US stores.
“A source with knowledge of corporate mobile device deployments” has told Forbes that one of the 10 largest retailers in the U.S. will soon distribute iPads to all its sales staff. The source noted that the retailer in question operates 1,100 U.S. stores, making Best Buy, which had 1093 U.S. stores as of September 2010, the most likely candidate.
The report also notes that Best Buy is a natural match because of its existing relationship with Apple. When the original iPad was released last year, Best Buy was one of Apple’s few launch day retail partners. Best Buy has already begun advertising the recently announced iPad 2, which goes on sale on March 11.
Best Buy’s rumored widespread rollout of the iPad to its employees could come as part of the company’s Connected Store initiative. The retailer launched a pilot program in 27 stores last year that gave several mobile devices, such as iPads, iPod touches and Samsung Galaxy Tabs, to sales associates for the purpose of educating consumers and processing purchases. According to the report, Best Buy has acknowledged that the Connected Store pilot could be expanded in the future.
Apple`s iPad 2 Event on March 2: 10 Things to Look For
News Analysis: Apple plans to hold a special event to reportedly unveil the iPad 2 on Mar. 2. But what exactly will it announce at the show? Can we expect any surprises?
On Mar. 2, Apple will take to the stage and reportedly talk about the new iPad 2, the follow-up to the wildly popular iPad. Rumors have been swirling for quite some time about what the iPad 2 will offer. Furthermore, speculation abounds over whether the tablet will be able to live up to the success its predecessor continues to enjoy.
Either way, the Mar. 2 event is sure to feature other big announcements besides the iPad 2. Although the iPad 2 will likely be the focus of the event, it’s quite possible that Apple will touch on other important aspects of its business, including its mobile operating system and the status of its CEO Steve Jobs, who is currently on a medical leave of absence.
Intel to debut Light Peak alongside Apple’s new MacBook Pros Thursday
On the same day Apple is expected to unwrap its new MacBook Pros, Intel said it will be briefing the press on “a new technology that is about to appear on the market.”
Intel’s new technology to be unveiled will be Light Peak, according to a report by CNET, which attributed the news to an industry source familiar with the details of Intel’s event.
Intel’s announcement will also be made in San Francisco, strengthening the connection between its news and Apple’s expected release of new MacBook Pros and potentially other products, on the same day that happens to coincide with Steve Jobs’ birthday, and which falls one day after Apple’s shareholder meeting.
A report by the French MacGeneration said that upcoming MacBook Pros would premier an unknown “new technology,” describing Light Peak as a possible candidate.
It also confirmed an earlier report by AppleInsider pertaining to sealed package deliveries of new inventory that were not to be opened, saying it could verify that French retailers had received new stock they could not open before Thursday, 1:30 PM Paris time.
AppleInsider sources have reported that new MacBook Pros will sport significant feature enhancements outside of the expected move to Intel’s Sandy Bridge CPU and chipset architecture. The inclusion of Light Peak could also explain an earlier report that claimed the new notebooks would sport minor modifications to their chassis design.
Apple and Intel have been publicly working together to deploy Light Peak for years, with Intel first demonstrating the technology on a Mac desktop system. Apple reportedly asked Intel to develop a new cabling standard with the ability to handle “massive amounts of data,” and serve as a replacement for a variety of ports now in use, including USB, Ethernet, FireWire, and DisplayPort.
Intel has aimed the technology at achieving 100Gbps throughput via light using fibre optic strands, reflected in the technology’s moniker. But Apple is rumored to be using an electrical variant using copper wire that can achieve 10Gbps, and has filed patents that describe lower powered mobile versions suitable for devices like iPad.
Apple’s Steve Jobs prioritizing next-gen iPad, iPhone on medical leave
While on medical leave for undisclosed health issues, Apple CEO Steve Jobs continues to work from home, remaining especially involved in work on the second-generation iPad and the next version of the iPhone, according to a new report.
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that, as expected, Jobs has stayed “closely involved in the company’s strategic decisions and product development” during a medical leave to focus on his health, according to people familiar with the matter.
Apple announced in January that Jobs would take a medical leave of absence for the second time in two years. At the time, Jobs wrote in a press release that he would “continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company.”
According to the Journal’s sources, Jobs continues to work on “the next version of the iPad tablet computer, expected out in the next couple of months, and a new iPhone, expected to be released this summer.”
Sources also reported that day-to-day operations remain “nearly unchanged” under COO Tim Cook, although some said there is a “sense of sadness” because of concerns about Jobs’ health. Cook also managed operations for the company while Jobs took his previous leave, earning $59 million in the process.
Though pundits have speculated about Jobs’ reasons for his leave of absence, the exact nature of his condition remains unclear. People who have seen Jobs in recent months have said that he “continues to look thin.” Sources also told the Journal that Apple and Jobs “appear to be going about things in much the same way as they did during his previous medical leave, at the time of his transplant.”
Apple’s Cook Faces Leadership Hole, Strengthening Foe in Google’s Android
Tim Cook, stepping in for his boss Steve Jobs for the third time in seven years, faces the challenge of keeping up Apple Inc.’s product development and girding the iPhone and iPad maker for rivalry with Google Inc.
Cook, 50, Apple’s operations guru, took charge yesterday after Jobs, who has been receiving treatment for cancer and a liver transplant, said he was taking another medical leave. In an e-mail to employees, Jobs said he would remain chief executive officer and be involved in major strategic decisions, yet didn’t say when he might return.
As chief operating officer, Cook runs day-to-day operations. When he stepped in for almost six months in 2009 during Jobs’s transplant leave, Apple shares climbed 70 percent. While Jobs, 55, sets the creative vision for Apple’s products, Cook’s oversight includes sales, manufacturing and distribution. He can ably take over again, said Peter Misek, an analyst at Jefferies & Co.
“He’s a star, just a different kind of star from Steve,” said New York-based Misek, who recommends buying Apple shares and doesn’t own any himself. “He’s arguably one of the best supply chain managers in the world, if you look at working capital management, cash-flow management, cash conversion cycles — all those great metrics.”
Apple’s Next iOS Improves Interface, Adds New Gestures
Apple this week released a beta version of its next mobile operating system, iOS 4.3, for app developers. We got an early look at the OS, which has not been released to the public yet.
Among a pile of minor interface modifications, there are a few major new features under the hood.
Some new multitouch-gesture controls on the iPad are the biggest goodie. In the developer release we saw, at least, the feature is hidden until you use a Mac app to enable it. This new feature is awesome, and it’s definitely something to look forward to when iOS 4.3 officially ships. (Apple has not disclosed a release date, but we’re guessing soon).