Apple Development Info

Google’s New Nexus One Phone To Be Offered Unlocked

admin — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 21:30:33 +0000

According to this press release put out by Google, there is a new contender in the fight for smartphone supremecy. Thats right, Google is throwing it’s hat in the ring with it’s own Google branded phone. And the kicker with Google’s new touch based cell phone, the Nexus One, is that they will offer it unlocked out of the box. This is something that us in America haven’t really seen before - usually to get a cell phone we have to sign up for a lengthy contract with the provider in order to get a discount. And if you don’t want to sign up for a contract, or are already under contract, then you have to pay outrageous prices in order to purchase the phone and then it is locked so you can only use it with that one provider. Of course Google’s Nexus One will have a bundle offered by T-Mobile which allows you to buy the phone for a discounted price if you sign up for a 2-year service contract. Among the features offered by the Nexus One are 3.7″ inch touch screen, 5 megapixel camera with flash, dynamic noise suppression, tri-color trackball, and universal voice recognition. The device is very svelt at 11.5mm thin and 130 grams in weight. Powering the device is the newest version of the Android operating system, Android 2.1, which includes turn by turn navigation with Google Maps and the ability to download new applications for the device via Android Market.

Google’s willingness to offer the Nexus One unlocked is a very bold move that will definitely change the game when it comes to buying a cell phone. Google is such a huge contender that others will have to pay attention and consider offering similar deals to stay competitive. Apple for one needs to pay attention to what Google is doing with the Nexus One. Apple’s exclusivity contract with AT&T may be causing them to lose out on a huge portion of the smart phone market, and they need to realize this before it is too late. One caveat to the Nexus One is that it currently will not work with Verizon, Sprint, AT&T or Rogers. Google plans to offer the phone available for use on the Verizon network very soon but has not said anything about allowing the device to be used on AT&T, Sprint and Rogers.

Apple’s App Store Not As Profitable As Expected

admin — Sun, 17 May 2009 03:35:18 +0000

An article was recently published that estimates Apple’s current profit from the over 1 billion applications that have been downloaded from it’s iPhone OS App Store is approximately $20-45 million. This is much lower than the estimated $1.2 billion in App sales for 2009 that some analysts have projected. With an estimated ratio for paid to free apps as anywhere from 1:15 or as high as 1:45, and the weighted average app price of less than $2, it doesn’t look like the App Store is the golden egg for many developers. In fact, with about 60,000 registered iPhone developers, the average income for them is roughly $3,000. With many of the applications taking many people multiple months to work on them, this is definately not as profitable as some had hoped. Although this is just the average of an estimated number, but it shows that user’s aren’t willing to spend all that much money on software after their initial hardware purchase.

Is Microsoft Working on New Zune/XBox Mashup?

admin — Sun, 17 May 2009 03:20:11 +0000

The fellows at Team XBox have released an article claiming that Microsoft is working on a new handheld device that will contain features of the Zune portable music player, as well as be some sort of XBox video game device. They claim that many anonymous sources have spoken with them about the upcoming device, with one person using the term ‘xYz’ refering to the device being a meld of the XBox and Zune devices. The new device could also be used as a phone, which would place it as a direct competitor to the iPhone and iPod touch devices. If this device does come out with superior gaming and other capabilities, it could actually give Apple a run for it’s money. And even if this exact product never sees the light of day, NVidia and Microsoft have officially announced that they are working on a partnership to bring NVidia’s line of new graphics chips for mobile platforms to Windows Mobile devices before any other smart phone platform. I think its safe to say that Microsoft is definitely cooking up something to go up against Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch.

How To Get Around The iTunes 10MB Download Limit

admin — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 01:33:10 +0000

If you’ve tried to download items from iTunes on your iPhone over a cellular connection then you probably know that there is a 10 MB file limit imposed by Apple. That means that most video podcasts and some audio podcasts and songs must be downloaded via WiFi. Well if your like me then this is a major nuisaance. Well your in luck because we’ve found a way to stream items like podcasts and video podcasts via cellular connection no matter how large the file is.

What you do in order to bypass this download limit and stream files of any size is first go to iTunces like you normally would. Then you select the podcast that you want to stream. But when you go the the listing of episodes, don’t tap the download button. Instead, tap on the title of the item and it will load in a QuickTime player. While this isn’t the most convienent way to get these items, it definately works in a pinch. In fact, when you don’t have access to a WiFi connection, this is the only way that you can even access material over 10 MB.

Apple Commercial: PC’s Fine Print

admin — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 02:50:13 +0000

Apple has come up with a new line of TV commercials featuring the now famous Mac and PC guys. One of them features the duo as they always are, side by side on a plain background. As soon as the PC starts to talk, some text appears at the bottom of the screen in typical legal fine print fashion.

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Here’s an excerpt of what the fine print really says:

Please note that why you receive your PC there is some suggested work that needs to be done before PCs can perform at their peak. These steps include, but are not limited to, downloading and installing necessary drivers for peripherals. These drivers may include printers, scanners, cameras, storage devices, music players, and other media devices. There may be more depending on your needs. It is also recommended that first time users remove all unneeded bloatware and remove all optional components. To remove unneeded bloatware first open uninstaller, select applications to remove, and uninstall…

Next time I go to buy a computer I will keep this in mind, LOL