This morning’s Observer column. Over the past two months, Apple’s market capitalisation (ie its value as measured by the stock market) averaged out at $229.8bn. The corresponding figure for Microsoft was $215.9bn. And yes, you read those numbers correctly: Apple is now worth significantly more than Microsoft, and the difference isn’t just a flash in the Wall Street pan. This has implications for all of us who follow these things. The mainstream media, for example, need to discard the rose-tinted spectacles through which they have viewed Apple ever since Steve Jobs returned to the helm in 1997. Apple is no longer the Lucky Little Company That Could but a looming, secretive, manipulative corporate giant. Recent developments suggest that Apple itself also needs to adjust to... Similar posts

Yesterday Apple’s iPad finally came to Ireland, having teased us for a while with its appearance in the United States, Britain and indeed Northern Ireland. As readers of this blog will know, I have had my own iPad now for a few weeks, purchased while I was in Belfast on business. Well for those who didn’t make the pilgrimage to Northern Ireland or elsewhere, it’s now available in Dublin. News reports say that trade was brisk, and there were some queues of people when the shops opened, but nothing too hysterical, and there were still iPads available at the end of the day. My guess is that the excitement was slightly less intense here because many of the real fanatics had already purchased one in Belfast or Britain. As for me, I have now had the iPad for exactly five... Similar posts

All the bad news, Nokia smartphones dumb down profits Nokia releases Q2 2010 results; profits down, market share flat Nokia Q2 2010 results – profits down but smartphone sales up So lets do a reality check on the facts; Nokia profits are Down 40%, but are still making a Profit. Which means they are in the green economically, and are making a Profit of €221M Euros (285M$). But 40% less than last quarter, meaning that they are only making 60% of the profit they made last quarter, during the worst recession in over 100 years And everyone is complaining? The only thing this tells me, is that a manufacture like Apple who makes more profit on their iPhone 4, is ripping off their customers by charging a premium price for a Smartphone and Nokia does not! Reality Check cashed,... Similar posts

This article is one of the best portrayals of Nokia’s Perceived fall from grace: The Background Story …But somehow with Apple, the facts no longer matter. The iPhone was the ultimate best phone ever – according to Steve Jobs – and because Steve Jobs says so, that started to become the storyline. The truth didn’t matter… Mobile Phones Shipped last quarter …Because Apple was in the game, now anything Steve Jobs said was the word from god. And no matter how severely deficient the first iPhone models were, because they were Apple phones, that meant they were the world’s ‘leading’ phones. And if you didn’t match the current iPhone model with a potential ‘iPhone killer’ – then you were obsolete. …... Similar posts

From today’s NYTimes. Apple said on Tuesday that its net income rose 78 percent last quarter, driven by strong sales of the iPhone, the iPad and the Macintosh line of computers. The results show that Apple is continuing to outpace its competitors in its three major lines of business: computers, phones and tablets. And Apple would be selling even more iPhones and iPads if it could keep up with demand. “More and more, people’s lives are dependent on desktop and mobile computing,” said Gene Munster, an analyst with Piper Jaffray. “People realize that and are willing to pay up for it, and Apple is capitalizing on that.” Apple executives said they were pleased with the results, which topped Wall Street’s forecasts. “IPad is off to a terrific start, more people are buying... Similar posts

Apple beat earnings predictions today, as it always does, despite the usual cries of "this time, it's going to be a disaster." What a shock.... Similar posts

Apple today revealed, that isn’t long anticipated tablet (the iPad) will be first shipped to our shores next Friday, July 23rd. It will also be launched in eight other countries: Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore. “iPad allows users to connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before” says Apple in it’s press release this morning from it’s Head Quarters in Cupertino, California. Apple first unveiled the iPad at their press conference in late January this year and first launched the product in late April in the US. It had sold over 300,000 units within 24 hours of launch and announced on June 22nd, sales of over three million in it’s first 80 days. The iPad weights 0.68 kg, with... Similar posts

Ok, so this Friday, the Apple iPad becomes available  to purchase directly by Irish customers along with eight other countries. This is Apple's main page in Ireland. Thanks, Steve, we're chuffed, for the launch in Ireland, and the flaccid penis it is after a night on the beer. Hip-hip...I can't be bothered - April seems so long ago now! There is absolutely no news on whether any Irish publisher has signed up to making their books available on the iPad. Prices start at €499. Related articles by ZemantaApple iPad To Be Launched in 9 More Countries (techie-buzz.com) iPad Available in 9 More Countries This Friday...... Similar posts

If you weren’t immediately struck by the patronising ‘Listen with Mother’ tone of Apple’s initial response to the iPhone 4 antenna problem, then have another look. Are you sitting comfortably? The iPhone 4 has been the most successful product launch in Apple’s history. It has been judged by reviewers around the world to be the best smartphone ever, and users have told us that they love it. So we were surprised when we read reports of reception problems, and we immediately began investigating them. Here is what we have learned. To start with, gripping almost any mobile phone in certain ways will reduce its reception by 1 or more bars. This is true of iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, as well as many Droid, Nokia and RIM phones. But some users have reported that iPhone 4 can... Similar posts

Wonderful column by Charlie Brooker about the iPhone, er Jabscreen. Several times over the last year I've attended meetings which started with everyone present gently placing their Jabscreen face-down on the table, as though commencing a futuristic game of poker. It wasn’t rehearsed, wasn’t planned, it just happened; a spontaneous modern ceremony. There’s something inherently nauseating about the sight of a roomful of media types perched reverentially around their shiny twit machines, so each time it happened, a vague discomfort would hang in the air until, in a desperate bid to break the tension, someone would mumble a sardonic comment about the sinister ubiquity of the Jabscreen, likening it to a scene from Invasion of the Bodysnatchers. This would in turn prompt... Similar posts

This morning’s Observer column. Google has launched a new online tool that may eventually make you wish you’d never been born. It’s called App Inventor, and it’s a kind of DIY kit that will allegedly enable non-techies to build applications for Android smartphones. “To use App Inventor,” says Google, “you do not need to be a developer. App Inventor requires no programming knowledge. This is because instead of writing code, you visually design the way the app looks and use blocks to specify the app’s behaviour.” There’s a nice video that illustrates this point. It opens with an attractive young woman and her cat, who’s walking all over her computer keyboard. So she takes puss on to her lap and sets to...... Similar posts

Today Apple will hold a press conference to discuss the iPhone 4. The reason behind the Apple press conference is not yet known officially but rumours persist that Apple will discuss the antenna and signal problems which are affecting the iPhone 4G. Other rumours also include that the iPhone 4 press conference will see a price drop for the iPhone 4G, or in a worse case scenario that Apple will recall the iPhone 4 an that the signal issues are hardware issues and not software issues. Apple had said that a software update would be available soon to fix any signal related issues and it is quite possible that todays press conference will be 90% relating to the signal strength issues. The Apple press conference is set to take place at 10AM PT (6pm GMT) Friday, July 16th.... Similar posts

If you're a Big Bang Theory fan you'll remember their version of "rock, paper, scissors"....So now we've got the iPhone case to go with it:More info here... Similar posts

A great and thought out response to the hyped news that reading on the ipad and kindle has been shown to be slower! Carrying an iPad or Kindle, I can read many things in many formats, all on the same device. I may read marginally more slowly for extended passages, but I’ll probably do more reading overall on one of these devices, especially if I’m traveling, busy, or shifting settings. Having recently spent a vacation outside the US, the Kindle’s international delivery of books allowed me to purchase two new books while traveling — books I never would have found locally. I read more because of this. I could acquire these books without adding to my luggage. I paid less than for physical books. Does the fact upset me that, on average, I might read 100 e-pages while you read 110 in... Similar posts

Gawker is an amazing piece of software for Mac OS that I have just discovered.  With very little effort it allows you to put together a short movie of still imagines to track a day of work or an event. Time lapsed BBQ at McQuillan Manor – 11th July using Gawker from Russell McQuillan on Vimeo. For the... Similar posts

Google is bringing Android software development to the masses. According to the NYTimes, The company will offer a software tool, starting Monday, that is intended to make it easy for people to write applications for its Android smartphones. The free software, called Google App Inventor for Android, has been under development for a year. User testing has been done mainly in schools with groups that included sixth graders, high school girls, nursing students and university undergraduates who are not computer science majors. The thinking behind the initiative, Google said, is that as cellphones increasingly become the computers that people rely on most, users should be able to make applications themselves. “The goal is to enable people to become creators, not just consumers, in this... Similar posts

Long, thoughtful post by Louis Gray. For me, more than the over-used phrase of "open", the promise of true multitasking, and the platform's integration with Google Apps, was one word - "Choice". Choice of handsets. Choice of carriers. Choice of manufacturers. Second behind the word choice has to be "Momentum". I can see that Android has momentum in terms of improved quality, in terms of the number of devices sold and users, and yes, applications, which are growing in quantity, soon to be followed by quality. I really do believe that if Android does not already have a market share lead over Apple yet in this discussion, they soon will. It is inevitable. The growth in the number of handsets, carriers and users will drive more developers to the platform,... Similar posts

This morning’s Observer column. In an essay entitled "How to Make an American Job Before It's Too Late", Grove pointed out that whereas Apple has 25,000 employees in the US, Foxconn has 250,000 in southern China alone. "The company," he points out, "has grown at an astounding rate, first in Taiwan and later in China. Its revenue last year was $62bn, larger than Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Dell Inc or Intel. Foxconn employs more than 800,000 people, more than the combined worldwide head count of Apple, Dell, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard Co, Intel and Sony Corp." Grove cited these figures to attack what he regards as a pernicious mindset that now afflicts government policymakers in most western countries – "Our own misplaced faith in the power of... Similar posts