Apple introduces iOS 4.1; iTunes 10 and Ping Are Here; New Apple TV

Apple introduces iOS 4.1

·         First major release after iPhone 4 release.

·         There are bug fixes for some of the user reported problems related to the proximity sensor, Bluetooth and iPhone 3G users upgrading to iOs 4. 

·         Premiers Gamecenter, announced at the WWDC 

·         New feature called HDR for the iPhone 4 camera. HDR essentially takes three pictures, an overexposed an underexposed and mid range and combines them so that highlights are captured properly. 

·         Upgrade will be available next week and the price is free for all supported devices. 

Apple also announced iOS 4.2 that will bring iOS to the iPad in November along with new features for printing as well as a new media sharing feature called AirPlay.

The 4.2 release will also be available for the iPhone and iPod touch along with iPad.

New iPods

·         Continuing its tradition, this fall event on sept 1 announced new iPod Shuffle, Nano and Touch.

·         iPod shuffle combines the features of last two generations. Buttons plus VoiceOver and playlist features. 

·         iPod nano - now in generation six is really new! A tiny Multi-Touch screen without click wheel, still no video, camera or games. It looks like as if using the iOS like iTouch but one of the blogger who has actually spoken to reps onsite said that its not on iOS. But i think in near future we shall start having some apps for it too.

·         iPod touch – It now has a retina display like the iPhone 4 along with the Gyroscope, the A4 and two cameras front and back. There’s FaceTime support. The rear camera will do 720p HD video but it’s not a multi-mega pixel for stills.

New iTunes 10 

·         Apple has built a social networking service called Ping as part of the iTunes app, centered around music. More like fusion of twitter and Facebook. Users can follow other users and as well as artists. 

·         The new Ping will be available in iOS. 

·         It’s an important direction for Apple and it sets the stage for a whole new set of services and functions down the road. 

·         This might be one of the most important pieces of news longterm from today’s announcements.

New Apple TV

·         4 times thinner and smaller than existing TV has no storage and completely internet based.

·         Can connect over WiFi or direct cable and has Netflix and Youtube support in built. 

·         It’s totally built around a rental model, not a purchase model although you can still connect to your computer and your iTunes library and stream any content that’s there. 

·         First TV networks to join for renting the shows are ABC and FOX

·         Ports include Ethernet, HDMI, USB, optical audio and no power brick. 

·         By not attempting to include DVR functionality Apple sidesteps the battle for input one on the TV set. It’s a very different approach that Google is taking. 

·         The bloggers expect there’s going to be some questions of a TV device with no apps. The app eco system for TVs can make sense, like the iPhone before it, Apple needs to educate the market on a paradigm shift. 

·         This Apple TV is a reset in many ways and the TV a device with very entrenched habits and behaviors. Before consumers can make a shift to that model, Apple needs to establish a position in the living room. 

·         There’s also a lot of issues in terms of user experience, command and control and content rights that need to be figured out.

Yet Again: Apple puts competition in ambush

Avinash Birnale analyses the latest announcement from Apple and it's impact on Enterprise Mobility


In his trademark style, Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone OS 4.0 at Apple Headquarters. After the longest wait, Apple declared various new features and API support for its "only" smart phone iPhone! I followed various tweets and news, online coverages of the event and prepared this summary.

Steve Jobs and his team @ Apple has continued to keep millions of its fans surprising with every new technology they bring into the market. The recent launch of iPad took the apple stock at all time high $240 (6:13pm ET on 4/8/2010). The iPad launch was extremely successful with 450,000 units sold in just less than two weeks. And now as usual keeping its March tradition of announcing new OS - iPhone 4.0 is announced to debut in this summer - possibly in June-July time frame.

Apple described the iPhone OS 4.0 features as -

• Around 1500 new developer APIs (can be seen from developer portal), Over 2000 APIs for hardware accelerated math functions
• Developers can access Calendar, Photo Library, Camera Data, Quick Look, App directed SMS
• Developers shall get access to the testing tools that are currently used to validate the apps on app store!
• Over 100 new features for the end users including - Play list creation from device, 5x zoom camera, ability to change home screen wallpaper (same as in iPad), Game Center to gift the apps, unified mailbox and many more!

Steve Jobs described the major features exclusively in the event today. They include - Multitasking, enhanced location services, Local Push Notifications (reminders to wake up apps), Background task completion, folder arrangement on the home screen, Unified mailbox, iBooks on iPhone, Mobile device management for Enterprise users and IT, Game Center and the most exciting of all the iAd.

Multitasking Support
Though the multitasking support is announced in iPhone OS is a bit late compared to other competitor platforms such as Android and Web OS. The multitasking is not the multitasking we see on traditional mobiles or desktops. Its a different kind of implementation. Basically the multitasking is done only in the areas where you need VOIP Access, Audio Services and Connectivity requirements. For example, while you make a Skype call, you can browser or run other applications. Or while browsing through your emails, you can listen to Pandora radio!

The background task completion means ability to complete the connection transaction even after the app is terminated/ sent to background. For example, if your application is uploading or downloading data from your server, it can continue to do that even while in the background. The connection thread can only keep running. This will be useful when you want to complete the tasks that can be done only while you are connected and does not need any human intervention.

Apple claims this is unique way of having multitasking in the iPhone. You can fast switch between the applications with the double tap of the home button. The same feel of expose in the Mac can be seen - not exactly but but somewhat like it!

In short, only the important services that most widely needed to be done in the background are allowed - not everything you want to do in the background unlike Android.

True Enterprise Support
With the apple provided mobile device management support in iPhone, its entry in the enterprise is going to be very smoother one. Until now, IT teams have faced issues integrating the iPhones in their networks. Almost every CXO using iPhone, they had a real tough time keeping up with their boss's demands without compromising the security. They were dependent on the third party solutions for these device management.

With the unified mailbox and multiple exchange account support, iPhone is going to be more friendly and seamless in usage for end user.

Support for VOIP apps and ability to send them in background while the connection is live, makes the enterprises to utilize the cost effective features of SkypeIn and Vonage Mobile kind of services. Of course its interesting to watch how the network carrier will cope up with these.

Support for SSL based VPN, ability to push the enterprise application remotely from enterprise app stores are few more highlights of the true enterprise support. API support for developers to encrypt the data inside the application is one good item addressed from everyone's wish list!

Local Push Notifications
Looking at the current application usage trends, no wonder why Apple added the local push notifications! In order to give developers the ability to wake up the applications makes the features such as Alarms and reminders extremely easy to implement. With the current APNS it was very much waste of the feature. I personally never allowed any app to use the PUSH notifications except the mails. Its so much power thirsty that, i had to charge my phone twice a day!

New Addition - Game Center
The new concept of Game center has been brought in to encourage the gaming enthusiasts! This feature will not be available until later this year. It will allow you pair with other users.

After iBook, now iAd!
iBookStore was the latest addition for iPad, is now availabe for iPhone too. Steve Jobs introduced the new HTML5 based iAd concept. Using iAd, developers can host their digital contents and adverts on the Apple server to be delivered on to the phone. The iAd will allow user to browse through the adverts without quitting the app - preview or buying the products from the advert itself is going to be new experience for the users. The targeted adverts and may be user specific promotions will be new market to explore. Apple claims the iAd to be interactive adverts with emotions!

And the worst part -
The iPhone OS upgrade does not seem to be bringing in all these features to all the iPhones. I mean, only the iPhone 3GS and iPod touch 3rd generation are going to enjoy full feature set of of the new OS. the old iPod Touch and iPhone from first generation will not even be eligible for the upgrade. The second generation iPod Touch and iPhone shall get the upgrade but will not do any multitasking. The latest iPhone 3GS shall ahve all of this.

This to me suggests that, the new iPhone hardware is going to come! But unfortunately my iPod touch from last year is going to only enjoy limited features.

My hands on the SDK and BETA firmware upgrade
I downloaded the SDK 4.0 BETA and the firmware upgrade from Apple developer website today. Some of our apps work without any changes. But i observed few freezing on the launch itself. One even crashed the simulator!

I did the firmware upgrade on my iPod Touch (2G). It has a nice home screen, enhanced folder feature on the menu icons and nice iPod features to create my own playlist, folder view of the playlist! I like it :)

Look out for more posts soon after we explore the SDK with our existing applications.

Print Media reinventing itself on iPad

iPad has a rather Dickensian position: It changes nothing and it changes everything. For content producers, everything. It promises to strengthen the fractured visual narrative – so weakened by the constraints of limited form factors – and thus the narrative will enjoy a renaissance of sorts in that now it can be integrated. For application developers, nothing. The challenges of monetization, development, promotion are exactly the same. Yet the most interesting opportunity is for the media companies - the print industry in particular.


Sports Illustrated - Tablet Demo
How Sports Illustrated is using the iPad to provide a better experience to its audience.


Bonnier R&D concept Video
Good concepts for bringing a Magazine to life on the iPad. 


New Digital Magazine experience by Adobe and Wired 
The concept of the De constructed magazine favoring scrolling down instead of flipping sideways.. In addition, they show some new possibilities for advertisers.



“The iPad evolution can take several forms. I expect it to become the publishing platform for digital content, and I expect media companies to make the fast leap onto getting paid subscriptions. I also think Apple is going after the Amazon Kindle and B&N Nook to ensure we get the next generation of ebook readers to offer paid subscription for books, newspapers. I expect it to be a consumer device before it becomes an enterprise device. I also think you will see accessories built that will help the iPad connect to the home, whether to an entertainment system, home pictures or video. Adoption in the enterprise will come as a second wave, when more applications that use the iPad instead of a netbook are seen.” − Jayaraman Raghuraman, Vice President, Endeavour


Disclaimer
Endeavour Software Technologies - The Mobility Company - is working on iPad - iPhone - Blackberry- Android applications and concepts. We can be reached at www.techendeavour.com or info@techendeavour.com for the coolest ideas in Mobility.

Google planning to introduce App Store

Google has also started talking about their plans for Android Market, which is similar to the App store used for the iPhone. Ars Technica's coverage points out a blog post by Google's Eric Chu which notes that early handsets running Android will have a beta version of Android Market enabled. Initially, users will at least be able to find free applications there. After that, Google expects to update the market to allow users to buy and download paid content.

Though Android Market is similar in concept to Apple Inc.'s App Store, but it differs in some ways. For instance, because all iPhones run on the same software, developers don't have to create different versions for different phones. Android is open, and handset makers may decide to include different hardware capabilities or opt not to support all Android features, which has an effect on the way applications work. Perhaps there will be features for the Developers to upload different versions of their applications for different mobile handsets that might work better on different devices but we will have to wait and watch.

Analysis on 3G iPhone Announcement

Apple announced on Monday a much faster iPhone that's half the price of the current model.

The news is expected to address one of the biggest complaints about the hugely popular iPhone: That its Internet browsing is too slow. CEO Steve Jobs said the new iPhone, which is based on 3G technology, is 36% faster than top rival Nokia's N95 smartphone.

The things however which were also anticipated and did not get a reference were:
--No tablet device.
--No major changes to the form factor of the iPhone
--No other major product announcements

This reflects from the fact that Apple shares fell 4% after the iPhone announcement, as some investors were left wanting more from the gadget maker. The stock had been up 55% in the past three months on heightened expectations for a radically improved iPhone and the possibility of other product launches.

Apple discussed some other interesting things in the keynote. Here's what we can decipher from the same, with some comments:

The "lower" pricing. As Fortune.com first reported, the new 8-gigabyte iPhone will cost $199 and a 16-gigabyte version will cost $299. However, since AT&T continues to share 24% of monthly revenue from original iPhone so it's revenues are set to get a hit which they announced to offset by raising the price of its unlimited iPhone data plan by $10 a month (as part of its new business model). Also, as part of its new business model, Apple will no longer pocket a share of customer fees.

Background processing of applications on iPhone? One of the critiques of the iPhone is that it doesn't allow third party applications to run in the background, without being visible to the user.

Apple now says that it has solved the background problem by setting up a notification server that can wake up applications on your iPhone and pass incoming messages to them. Since Apple won't run apps in the background, does that mean they'll suddenly launch on screen and start operating on their own? And although notification does some of the things you'd want from the background, it doesn't do them all. For example, some developers want to write background applications that would perform tasks automatically, whether they are pinged by an outside server or not. But still it is a move in the right direction for sure !!!

Apple Development Center. Where is it heading? Apple bragged in the keynote that there were 25,000 applicants to the iPhone developer program, but the company admitted only 4,000. In other words, they seriously pissed off 21,000 developers.

The question is, when (if ever) do the other 21,000 developers get into the program?

Application demo's and what to expect. During the show, Jobs also introduced a slew of new applications for the iPhone, including a wireless system that automatically forwards e-mail to other devices, a friend-finding service called Loopt and mobile blogging software from TypePad.

Other new applications include a service from MLB.com that provides a live scoreboard of major league games, and music-making software, called Cow Terry, for creating songs on the phone.

The new iPhone applications are aimed at boosting revenue from data services. Apple, for instance, will charge $99 a year for its new MobileMe service, which sends e-mail, contact and calendar updates to users' devices.

Four of the applications demonstrated during the keynote were games, one was a consumer news applications, one was a social network product (Loopt), one was consumer shopping (eBay), one was consumer blogging (TypePad), one was sports information, and two were vertical medical.

Infact, Jobs kicked off the conference by talking about the iPhone for business users. He said that the iPhone now works with Microsoft's Exchange office server systems - a key feature if the iPhone hopes to seize market share from the BlackBerry. Jobs said that 35% of the Fortune 500 has participated in a beta program for business applications for the iPhone. But the demos were all related to consumer app.

What happens to iPod pricing? It's surprising that the price of the iPod Touch didn't change. It now looks more expensive than the iPhone, and it lacks GPS. I would not be shocked if the Touch ends up getting a price action this fall.

Since the original iPhone was introduced nearly a year ago, Apple has sold 6 million handsets, Jobs said Monday. The company has set a goal of selling 10 million handsets worldwide this year.

iPhone Survey Results from Rubicon Consulting

Some facts about iPhone users
Source [Mobile Opportunity]