Macs At About 15% In The US, A Stepping Stone For Apple's Mobile Strategy

By now, you know that Apple is doing quite well in some countries, more than the 3-4% of global sales that some firms like to publish. In fact, if you include iPad into the mix, as these same firms equate netbooks as regular laptops, Apple would be the largest PC maker in the world.

In fact, Apple has 15% of the OS market in the US.

But this charge here is a clear demonstration of just how far Apple has come in general and specifically, the Mac. That's right, this is about the Mac. And the Mac isn't going anywhere as many bloggers and tech pundits fear.

Now, not to rehash what you probably know through your day's browsing, but I want to focus just on how Apple can further make inroads into the psyche of the other mobile users. And let's face it, from now on, it's about laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

Actually, in Apple's case, it's Macbooks, iPads, and iPhones. (Oh, and let's not forget the iPod touches. However, the touches do not get the respect that they deserve but Apple owes a large part of its mobile success to the touches. I'll follow up on a post another time.)

And what's important to note is that Apple is well positioned in these three segments of the mobile market.

And further more, Apple has managed to achieve something that will give it an advantage that no other companies, including Google, Microsoft, RIM, or HP has been able to achieve. I'll give you one guess.

Nope. It's not the ecosystem or the iTunes although we know it is also something that no others have managed to duplicate. It is as if Apple has secret magical dust that it used to make all these pieces work.

That I am talking about is the general familiarity of the iOS that millions of users have with it. And With the release of Lion (the next Mac OS upgrade), Apple brought what it learn from the iOS and incorporate some features into Lion.

It's launchpad that works like the screen swiping n the iOs devices. It's also the four finger swipes to the left and right. It's also about the new Mac App store that iOS users will be familiar with.

Another example will be the directional scrolling on the Macs now conforms with the way it works on the iOS. Swipe up, and you move down the screen.

And over time, Apple will prove both the iOS and the OS X that includes additional features shared between the two.

You cannot say that about the Android, Blackberry OS, or Windows Phone 7. And if you're an iOS user who happens to have a Windows machine and the next time you upgrade, you probably would take a look or two at the Macbooks because you're already familiar with its operations. You've seen it before and you have experiences with it.

Furthermore, Apple will increasingly follow Google into the cloud. Admittedly, Apple has been late to the game. But I think it recognizes that as people take up more iPhones, iPads, and Macbooks, it has to offer a solution that allows users seamless access to files and media.

We can already guess where Apple is going with mobile computing. In the next couple of months, we will learn more about Apple's mobile plans further, maybe as soon as April when it traditionally shows the world what it has planned for the next iOS. And later this summer, we'll finally get Lion.

And for iOS or Mac fans, or if you're just a general Apple fan, 2011 is going to be about iPad 2 as Steve Jobs said. It's going to be a huge year for Apple's mobile vision.

More on Apple's OS marketshare at TUAW, Macdailynews.

Current State of Mobile Computing: Tablet or Laptop

Depending on who you talk to you and who you believe, the netbooks, perhaps even lsptops, are taking a sales hit because of the iPad.

Perhaps. Then there are those who are not so sure this is happen on a large scale. Given the potential that Apple may be on the verge of a $20 billion quarter and cuts on orders by dorm laptop and netbook makers, it has industry and mobile observers such as myself very excited.

Is this the beginning of the end of mobile computing as we know it?

More at Greenjava Mobility.

iPad: Two Things Needed For School And Business

The iPad is being pushed for the education market. Personally, I think things would have gone much better for me at school if I had the iPad waaaay back then. But there are two things I think would help the iPad really take off for school.

Printing and Microsoft Office.

Pre: Needs Redesign?

I think this picture from Engadget says it all. It's from their post from a Sprint store that started selling both Palm and Sprint's savior, Pre.

I'm going to reserve judgment until I get a chance to visit a Sprint store and hold one in my hand but if nearly every review out there indicates problem with the hardware, basically the cheap feel of the case, and wholesale complaint about the keyboard, I'm going to go on the limb here and say that an iPhone or traditional Palm PDA form factor is in the works. I've read a couple of posts about a WebOS Centro as well.

As you know, Palm is now loaded with a bunch of former Apple executives and engineers. Maybe the Pre's design is what the iPhone could have been and Jobs simply dismissed it. Now, the Pre's design is a push of of those ideas that Apple rejected.

Now, only the WWDC. Maybe we'll see something about the iPhone. Maybe we won't. I still very happy with the iPhone and all that it can do. It's still much better than anything out there though the Pre's iPhone features have made it a very close competitor. We'll see if Apple (or Jobs) put some more distance between the iPhone platform and its competitors.

On the whole though, Palm's Pre design may need work especially when Blackberry folks are trashing the keyboard and more people are beginning to come around to the excellent virtual keyboard on the iPhone. In trying to make the Pre small and easy to fit into the user's pocket, Palm might have created a design error. We'll know in the coming days whether this is nearly as big an issue for users as it was for reviewers.

Pre Reviewed But Walt Says Wait Until You See iPhone 3.0

Walt Mossberg does indeed know that Pre (going on sale this Saturday) is being pit against the current iPhone and it has a lot of folks excited. But next week, Apple may finally show us if there is anything else in iPhone 3.0 that they've kept from the public. There's been a lot of speculations about unannounced features and hardware additions.

Walt seems to believe that Apple will be surprising us at the WWDC or whenever new iPhones are announced. In fact, he seems to believe that claim strongly. Over on Onxo, we've summarize the current reviews (most came online in the last few minutes) and the Pre is probably the device most people will look to if the iPhone doesn't exist. So just in case you're wondering, based on the reviews, the Pre is pretty good but the iPhone is still the go-to mobile device.

Here's are some perceived advantages the Pre may have over the iPhone: physical keyboard, WebOS, background apps, Synergy, removable battery. Now, I did say "perceived". I rather like the iPhone's intuitive and smart virtual keyboard. I wouldn't mind having a removable battery on the iPhone though.

As for the other perceived advantages, well, it's a matter of personal preference and we still don't know if the iPhone 3.0 will address those issues - I'm particularly looking forward to the search function. And I don't want to go into the advantages the current iPhone over Pre and its other competitors. You know what they are. No need to go into that. Too many to address (and most of them may be subjective).

We'll know next week or the coming weeks what how Apple intend to answer the Pre.

Via AllThingsD, Engadget

Jobs To iPhone Fans "No Rebate"

It's obvious how much Palm loading up with ex-Apple execs and engineers has irked the people currently occupying the halls of Cupertino that is Apple's headquarter. What's not known is just how much Jobs and Co. is willing to let that slip out into the public.

Outside of thinly veiled patent threats surrounding the Pre, there really hasn't been much said about the issue.

Now, most bloggers (and Wall Street analysts with these blogs) believe that Jobs will officially return to work from his medical leave by introducing the next generation of new iPhones. No one knows if it'll be at the WWDC in early June or at a special planned media event.

Whenever or wherever the new iPhones are unveiled, I can totally hear what Steve Jobs is going to say about the prices.

"We have three models. $99. $199. And $299. (PAUSE) And no rebates required," to thunderous applause and laughter. (I don't know if there will be a $99 model. However, given how aggressive Apple wants to grow the iPhone platform, I wouldn't rule it out.)

Note: I wonder if his return will also be marked by declaring what a fine job Tim Cook has done in Jobs' absence and that Tim should keep the CEO title on a permanent basis while Jobs run the show from being the curtain. Sort of a Medvedev-Putin thing.

iPhone At WWDC and Palm Pre

I'm a Palm fan. I've been using Palm PDAs since Palm III. Their best work was, I still believe that to be the case, is the Zire 72. However, I'm I bigger fan of Apple fan and I totally love my Apple gears. With that said, I'll gravitate towards whoever provide the best technology along with the best user experience at the end of the day.

With that said, I read an article in Silicon Alley Insider that speculated on whether we'll see the iPhone at the WWDC. Personally, I don't think that'll happen. I'm not even sure we'll hear about the iPhone 3.0. But one of the points they made in favor of the iPhone being shown off at the WWDC is the idea that Pre will be available around the same time as the developer conference and Apple will want to spoil the party.

Insider said "With the Palm Pre on the market as possible temptation, Apple will want to have its new iPhone out ASAP."

It's certainly a valid point. But it's not something Apple will do. I think what Apple may push the iPhone release into late June or July. Why is that? You're wonder if I'm saying Apple is afraid of a little competition.

Not at all. If anything, it shows Apple's confidence in its mobile platform. People with the first generation iPhones will see their contracts ending. Anyone who wants a new mobile device will want to see what Apple has in store while Pre may already be out on the market or is close to it.

By pushing back the launch, Apple puts a few weeks between Pre's release and iPhone's own debut. It freezes the market. And not just for Palm but Windows Mobile phones and Blackberries. More importantly, it freezes some segment of the Pre market.

What does it do? Well, we hear media reports of Palm limiting Pre availability just so that they can call the sellout a win. Three hundred and seventy five thousand units is the Pre figure what Wall Street is floating around. I doubt that's true. Come on, it's Wall Street. Given the "Pre-"hype, that's a pretty low number.

Imagine if Apple manages to make it so that Palm can't even sell out 375,000 Pre's. And all Apple has to do is do nothing. Maybe to spice things up, the Week, Pre is announced for sale or goes on sale, Apple will announce a special iPhone event a couple of weeks later.

What do you think? Palm is playing chess while Apple maybe playing go. Cupertino can win the war without firing even a shot.

Via: Alley Insider

Note: Apple is doing major house cleaning with the iPhones. Don't be surprised if Apple to ratchet up a notch or two until the new iPhones are out by lowering prices. Pre will have to go against lowered priced iPhones now and newer and more powerful iPhones later. Not an enviable position to be in. Remember what Jobs has said previously. No umbrella room for their competitors. Ouch.

Oh, $#&%!!! Pre Is An iPhone Killer!

That's right. How do I know this? Well, I don't but apparently, ATT believes that to be the case. I'm rooting for Palm to stay alive but I won't judge until you mobile warriors have a go at it. I don't trust paid bloggers or media reviewers with agendas.

So, ATT has release a comparison document between the iPhone and the Pre. So, Apple folks, what do you think?

Personally, there are valid points but some are kind of weak like the Wi-Fi. Nothing about MobileMe, iPhone 3.0, or integration with OS X. You know where I'm going with this. But ATT's chart is pretty lame. Where do I start?

• QWERTY keyboard. Why talk about something you don't have?
• Limited WiFi. Dude, please, guys. Folks aren't going to stop buying Pre's because they can't have access to the Starbucks hotspots.
• No roaming and stuff. It's a consumer phone. But it's apoint.

So you see, not a very good chart. Let's try this:

• Access to millions of songs on iTunes. Thousands of TV shows and movies.
• Battery life. Push notification.
• iPhone 3.0 - announced and unannounced features.
• MobileMe that keeps getting better.
• Web clipping and other little known features that are useful.
• iPhone's enterprise features.
• LET'S NOT FORGET THIS: It's an iPod Touch as well!!!
• Ease of use, intuitive.

I'm not a fan of this kind of tactic. Listen, ATT, you're the face of the iPhone. You've got the best device in the market. You're simply bringing attention to a challenger on life-support! It shows you're concerned. Maybe even scared. And it's obvious you're doing this without Apple's blessing or knowledge. Let the merits of your product do your talking. Tell people what the iPhone can do for them and why they need it.

Learn from Apple. Maybe do a "Hi, I'm iPhone. Hi, I'm Pre" commercial instead. Throw the Storm in there as well.

Note: I'm not included to believe Pre is an iPhone killer. Yet. And if it's not, it'll certainly come closer to being that than anything else on the market.

Another note: VW and T-Mobile doesn't seem to be concerned. Perhaps, no leaked docs from them yet. G2 versus Pre, anyone?

Via, Engadget, Precentral

Apple Lets Podcaster In - What Changed at Apple?

We've heard the stories about Apple's secrecy and it sort of went insane in the early days of the iPhone SDK with the nondisclosure agreements.  And when Apple finally dropped the NDA, developers were generally happy (users probably were affected much).

Well, you might not have know that an app called Podcaster was rejected and because of the NDA, the developer couldn't well talk about it much.  It was a big story.  You can google for details if you want to learn more about it.

Well, Apple has finally approved Podcaster.  Originally, it was rejected for duplicating a function on the iPhone -  well, eventually, an iPhone update on the iTunes allow iPhone users to wirelessly download podcasts, very much like what Podcaster does.

Macworld is just as baffled by this change of heart at Cupertino as we are.  They believe it's a removal of a feature in the original Podcaster app or that RSS Player, the new name for Podcaster, slipped through without Apple noticing.

I don't think those possibilities are likely.  Apple isn't stupid.  Well, okay, anyone can drop the ball at the gate.  I think it's more likely one of the reasons below or a combination of them all:

• The iPhone platform has matured enough where Apple is comfortable about the app landscape and features that it might include with the iPhone and iPod Touch in the future.  Apple probably wanted to get a feel for the how they want to manage the app store.  At the time, Apple was also dealing with a really bad MobileMe issue.
• Likely anything at Apple, they don't just open the flood gate.  Things tend to trickle out at Apple.  First web apps.  Then iPhone SDK a year later.  Lifting the NDA months after that.  Finally RSS Player.
• Apple has recently allowed competing Web browsers into the app store.  It's conceivable that Apple will let other applications that might duplicate features that already exist on the iPhone be made available.  Personally, I'm looking forward to the Google app include gTalk and gmail.  
• Competition.  Android Market should be out of beta soon.  Pre will offer a great challenge given the number of old Apple folks there - we could be looking at an app store with SDK similar to the iPhone.  RIM will soon make its app store available for the Blackberries and I'm sure Microsoft won't be too far off with their own implementations.  Apple could be looking at the market and realize that they need to be more open than they otherwise would have liked.
• Money.  More paid apps, more revenues for Apple.  
• Learn from the past.  Instead of shutting folks out, Apple might realize it's better to work with developers.  

As someone who relies on his iPhone and Touch more and more, I am very glad at this surprising development.  Whatever the reasons are, iPhone mobile folks have a brighter future to look forward to.  Now, if we can't get an iPod Tablet, then my mobile world will be perfect.

Via Macworld

Apple Execs - Hot Commodities

Given the good press the Palm Pre is getting so far in the media, one part of the story that is mentioned but hardly highlighted is the people behind Palm's latest and best chance of turning things around.

Now, we don't know if Palm Pre or the new widget-based OS will be the new OS X of the mobile market. There will be a lot of waiting, analyzing, blogging, and speculating along this line and we'll see a lot of comparisons to Apple and Apple's turnaround because a lot of the folks at Palm now trying to revive the company were former Apple executives or engineers. Certainly there are top names we've all heard in the media. Lesser known are the number of former Apple engineers.

However, should Palm succeed in turning it around, imagine how hot former Cupertino executives will be, especially those who had the fortune of being personally schooled (or ripped a new one) in the Jobsian view of the world.

And there is no denying that Palm Pre's UI and other implementations will get a lot more scrutiny and comparisons with Apple's mobile platform than with RIM or Windows Mobile. Mud will be thrown from the blogs on the Apple camp and Palm devotees will respond in kind. But at the end of the day, these former Apple executives will still need to convince us that Palm Pre is a product to be reckon with and that it's worth our while to consider it a good alternative to the iPhone. More importantly, that Palm is back.

Office on iPhone

You can do it on Windows Mobile, Palm, and Blackberries.  What is it?

Edit Office docs.  I'm a bit torn on this issue.  There are certainly limitations to working with documents on a small mobile device.  I've tried it before, and perhaps I should have given it more of an effort, it was not really my cup of tea.

However, of all the Office applications I want the most has to be Word or Page.  I've sent megabtyes upon megabtyes of text already.  I can see myself sending more be it attachment or something else.

Editing spreadsheets?  Not so much.  I've used DocumentsToGo to create workout schedules and expense trackers but nothing really elaborate.  And in the end, I hardly used either.  But that has nothing to do with the spreadsheet app but more with my routine.

I don't even want to get into a Powerpoint-like app.  I find the need for a presentation app rather than one that allows editing.

Like to hear what you think about this issue and what your experiences has been.