The only real thing that the iPhone and the Gphone have in common at the moment are five letters.
Google’s plans for the mobile phone market have caused quite the stir Monday, even though the company’s press conference Monday morning didn’t add much to what we already knew about Android, a collection of software that could be a catalyst for Linux on mobile phones over the next few years. Still, when any company the size of Google makes noise about steering its ship in a certain direction, people take notice.
One nice development is that we can stop calling the damn thing the Gphone, which stopped being cute awhile ago in the fine tradition of J-Lo, A-Rod, and K-Fed. But while both Apple and Google will be selling mobile phone software in late 2008, the companies seem determined to walk a fine line in their new dual relationship as trusted partner and wary competitor.
Android is a nice idea; take the promise of Linux as a mobile operating system and finally give it a backer with some legs. This could set Google up nicely for the future if mobile phones continue to turn into little computers, since companies like Symbian and Microsoft are far from entrenched in this market.
Apple is also eying that future. Much of what Google said about Android during its press conference–such as the desire for a better Internet experience on mobile phones–was uttered by Apple CEO Steve Jobs in January during the presentation of the iPhone. And it’s already sold 1.4 million iPhones in three months.
So this time next year, are we going to be talking about the looming showdown between Google and Apple in mobile computing, or the surprising resignation of Google’s Eric Schmidt from Apple’s board of directors?
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Posted in Apple, Google, Hardware, Ideas, Linux | 1 Comment »
Apple has apparently instituted a credit card-only policy for iPhone sales at its retail stores in order to guarantee supply for the holidays and frustrate potential resellers, according to multiple reports.
Would-be iPhone buyers must now present a credit or debit card if they want to take home an iPhone, and they’re also now limited to just two units, as they were on iPhone Day, according to The Associated Press. The AP quoted an Apple representative explaining the move as a way of making sure there are enough iPhones for the holidays and to prevent unauthorized resellers from flooding the market.
It’s not clear whether the same policy applies to AT&T stores. I e-mailed the Apple representative quoted in the AP report late Friday evening and haven’t heard back.
Before Thursday, when the policy was implemented, you could walk into any Apple store and plunk down cash for up to five iPhones. While the concerns about supply are harder to gauge from a distance, the credit card policy seems designed to make sure buyers leave a paper trail.
You can’t really enforce a purchasing limit if the customer pays cash. How would Apple know if I walked into the downtown San Francisco store this afternoon and bought two iPhones with cash, then drove over to the Stonestown Galleria or down the road to Palo Alto, and picked up two more? Would-be unlockers might also be wary about using a credit card to pay for their purchases, even though unlocking isn’t illegal. Apple is definitely paying attention to the market for unlocked iPhones, estimating earlier this week that 250,000 people have purchased an iPhone with the intention of unlocking it from AT&T’s network.
Apple is apparently well within their rights to refuse to accept cash, as outraged as our resident libertarians might feel. U.S. businesses don’t have to accept cash if they don’t want to, according to the U.S. Treasury’s Web site, unless there is a state law that specifically requires them to accept cash.
I’m sure there are at least a few people who were thinking about equipping their family of four with iPhones this Christmas. The reports make it sound like the restriction will just last throughout the holidays, but that hasn’t been clarified as of right now.
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Leopard, the latest update of the Apple Mac operating system OS X, goes on sale on Friday.
The release ends months of waiting for Mac fans, after Apple pushed back the launch to finish development on its much-hyped iPhone.
Early reviews for Leopard have been positive with veteran technology writer Walt Mossberg calling it “evolutionary, not revolutionary”.
Apple is hoping to build on recent strong sales of its Mac computers.
In the last three months, Apple sold 2.2 million Macs, up 400,000 on its previous best quarter.
The company is touting Leopard as a Vista-beater, pointing to new features not found in the new operating system (OS) from Microsoft that drives many PCs.
Leopard, the latest update of the Apple Mac operating system OS X, goes on sale on Friday.
The release ends months of waiting for Mac fans, after Apple pushed back the launch to finish development on its much-hyped iPhone.
Early reviews for Leopard have been positive with veteran technology writer Walt Mossberg calling it “evolutionary, not revolutionary”.
Apple is hoping to build on recent strong sales of its Mac computers.
In the last three months, Apple sold 2.2 million Macs, up 400,000 on its previous best quarter.
The company is touting Leopard as a Vista-beater, pointing to new features not found in the new operating system (OS) from Microsoft that drives many PCs.
‘Few disappointments’
In the New York Times, technology columnist David Pogue wrote: “Happy surprises, and very few disappointments, lie around every corner.”
At the MacLiveExpo, being held in London, there was a mixed response from attendees on whether they would be rushing out to buy Leopard on day one.
Many of the delegates said they would wait for the operating system to “bed down” before they bought it.
“I never buy any operating system when it first comes out. I normally wait until it has been out for six months or a year,” said David Ramage, a Mac user from Luton.
He added: “Tiger does what I need it to do right now. I’ve not seen anything in Leopard to make me want to buy it immediately.”
For developers, a new operating system means having to work to ensure their programs run smoothly on the new platform.
Ben Rudolph, director of communications at SWSoft, makers of Parallels, said Leopard was a big step forward for Apple and “would continue to drive sales of Macs”.
Parallels lets users run Windows and Linux alongside OS X on a single Apple machine.
Mr Rudolph said Parallels would run smoothly under Leopard, barring any last minute changes to the code released by Apple.
“If that happens, we’ll release a free, automatic update to account for them very soon after Leopard’s launch,” he said.
Of the new features in Leopard, Mr Rudolph said he was looking forward to being able to take advantage of his Mac’s 64-bit architecture.
The new OS takes full advantage of the latest generation of chips inside Apple machines, while running applications on older processors also.
“I’m also looking forward to new user-experience features like Stacks, which should help me organise my incredibly messy desktop, and Spaces, which lets me cycle between different desktops.”
Nik Rawlinson, editor of MacUser magazine, said many users would get Leopard in its first few weeks on sale.
“When Tiger was launched it earned Apple $120m very quickly and all the expectations are that sales will be double that.”
He added: “Vista has been quite a disappointment for many people and Leopard could be the reason many people make the switch to Macs.”
He said he felt Leopard had enough new features to distinguish itself from Microsoft’s Vista.
“A lot of things that were previously only add-ons in the Mac world, such as the Apple TV interface, are now integrated into the OS.
“That is competing directly with Media Center on Windows PCs. Apple has seen that Microsoft has moved forward in some areas and is responding.”
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