iPad Orders Being Recalled Mid-Delivery For Some

Maybe this is something or not.  For some Verizon iPad buyers, their orders are being delayed mid-delivery for some reason.  My initial speculation is that there is some quality issue.  

If true, I am surprised that has not happened already or in the past.  Of course, there could be other reasons or that this is simply nothing more than a logistical thing.

Hopefully, this will be cleared up by Apple and Verizon.  Waiting for the iPad 2 order is agonizing at best but having it snatched away from just when you're about it get it is kinda cruel.

From Cult of Mac.

iCloud: What Does It Mean For Storage Solutions? Probably Good Things

Steve Jobs always has a way to make sure the spotlight is on Apple and its visions.  And sometimes, this is bad for competitors.  Other times, it could be a good thing because Apple creates a mindset in the consumer that was not there before.  Take the iPhone.  Before the iPhone was introduced and sold in 2007, the smartphone market was very stagnant.  Then with the App Store, things just exploded.  And what does iCloud mean for Box.net, Dropbox, and others?

It does mean competition to some extent.  And that's what a free battlefield in every market means.  You've got established players and once in a while a new guy comes in and plays by a different set of rules.  The incumbents will have to decide a deal to deal with things.  Either innovate  and adapt or get wiped out.  The current crop of cloud storage solutions will have to find a way to provide value in ways that Apple's iCloud isn't.  And here's the thing to know about Apple:  they never try to be all things to everyone.  And that means opportunities for others to compete.  

Right now, I see Google and Microsoft definitely competing big time, even on iOS devices, Apple turf.  For someone like Dropbox, I definitely see some changes coming.  

Furthermore, iCloud will bring attention to the likes of Dropbox to the average mobile warrior that would otherwise not happen or will take lots of advertising dollars to make that happen.  iCloud could be more effective for competitors than any expensive advertising campaign can do.  Apparently, PC World agrees with me.

It all comes to down to how iCloud competitors want to deal with Apple.  Innovate and compete is the best way to go about it.  I definitely will continue to use Dropbox despite iCloud.  And also keep in mind that while iCloud will be a huge change for how iOS and Mac users deal with data, 75% of the market will not have access to iCloud.  That is hundreds of millions of users who can use third party storage solutions.

One Billion Smartphones By 2015 - WP To Take Second Place

When Apple debut the iPhone in 2007, there was already 1 billion phones sold worldwide.  However, that include regular phones that just made calls.  Since then, smartphones like the iPhone, Blackberries, and those based on Android have grown to become a large share of the global phone market.  According to IDC, there we will see 1 billion smartphones ship by 2015.

What's interesting is that I was going to extrapolate the numbers based on today's marketshare.  However, IDC had their own ideas.  Windows Phone 7 will come out of nowhere and take second pace from Apple while Android remains at the top.

With one billion smartphones in 2015, 440 million of them will be Android, 200 million will be WP devices, 170 million iOS phones, and 130 million Blackberries.  Essentially, IDC has WP growing from about 2 to 3 million shipped so far to 200 million in 48 months.  Or a 100x growth.  

Obviously, I am not one to put it past Microsoft to suddenly have a spurt of inspiration and innovative energy that can make this happen.  Still, this is one statistic I'm going to keep in in the back of my head for reference in 2015.  

Pulling back a bit, one billion is a crazy number and even by 2015, I'm sure the market will still have lots of room to growth on a planet with 7 billion-ish people.  And can you imagine the awesome mobile devices that we'll see in just 48 months?  

More at Info World.

No Need To Panic Yet: Key Gesture Feature in iOS 5 Not Available For iPad

The iPad usher in the post-PC era for Apple and the iPad 2 pretty much put an exclamation point on that.  Back in April of 2010, the iPad launched with iOS 3.  It was not until November that we finally were graced with iOS 4 on the iPad.  And now, with iOS 5 not even out, we still expect the iPad to enjoy every single feature of Apple's latest iOS.

However, developers are claiming that the gesture feature is not available on the iPad.  If true and this feature does not return this fall when the final version of iOS 5 is released, it means that less than a year after the iPad got the iOS 4, it is pretty much outdated as far as iOS features goes.  

That kinda sucks to me if you think about it.  So I don't think it's time for us to panic just yet.  The feature might return when iOS 5 finally ships.  A few months back, a beta version of iOS 4.3 included gesture that worked well on the iPad.  So if there is any kind of a limitation, it would be an artificial one placed on the iOS by Apple.  

And what of iPhone 4 and the latest iPod touch? I don't see why don't get gestures as well.  

More at Applebitch, AppAdvice, Apple iOS 5 Features.

Mobile At A Food Fair - iPhones And iPads Could have Helped Us Do Better Business

On Saturday, I went to help some friends with their first endeavor into selling food at a small stand they set up.  It was one of the more interesting experiences I've had.  I've done retail before for our family business but never sold food.  

I found that it was hard work but could mobile tech have made it easier?  Maybe even some kind of a bulletin or blog to help understand what's going on and how to go about becoming or efficient?

After all, we all had iPhones except for one and her job was to look pretty and pass out samples.  

And after this week's WWDC, I reckon that for our next food fair, I think iCloud can play a larger role in all this.  For instance, we had a schedule that we could keep and allow everyone to see who was showing up to help out.  Tweeting and updating on Facebook could probably be a way to keep everyone updated as well though I think I rather stay away from Facebook if I can.

Ultimately, we want to be able to use mobile to do better business.  Actually, I think we could have used an iPad to help us show off what we were offering and take videos of customer testimonies of what they thought about our food.

Also, keeping an inventory of what we had and we needed to stock up would have helped as well.  

There are plenty of apps that can help us with our jobs.  Maybe next time, we will try to integrate mobile tech and apps.  

Apple Changes In-App Subscription Rules - Whatever the Reasons, It's Great News

Apple instituted a draconian set of rules for in-app purchases, pricing, and some seemingly anti-competitive barriers in spring.  However, it looks like that walled-off part of the already walled garden is coming down.  

Some changes include not requiring publishers to charge the same price or less for subscriptions between iOS and non-iOS deals.  Now, publishers can set whatever price they well are pleased to do.  Publishers can sell them cheaper for the iOS or make it so expensive that no one will buy subscriptions through the app except through other means.  

One thing that does stay in the app is that there has to be a way for iOS subscribers/readers to buy it in the app.  it is unclear just what this all means for content.  i like to think that we'll see a lot more of it than expected.  

So, why the sudden change of heart?  Competition.  Probably.  Apple has received some input from publishers and worked out an equitable deal.  Apple wants to make more money from selling iOS devices and not changes from in-app purchases.  I think we're getting warmer.

So, whatever the real reason, this is great news for us mobile users.  This will also put pressure on other tablet platforms.  Another example of competition working for us mobile warriors.

More at Cult of Mac.

Features Missing from iOS 5 Beta I Would Still Like To See

Did you get everything you wanted from iOS 5 so far?  Yeah, me neither.  I had expected widgets to make an appearance on stage at Apple's WWDC keynote presentation on Monday.  It wasn't a game breaker for me but would be nice to have.  I have widgets on Android but I don't interact with it all that much.  

The other feature missing feature I would have like to see is a total voice command system.  One that can allow me to verbally unlock my iOS devices, dictate mails or messages, make calls, do searches.  I guess I was looking for a super-buff Siri.

What else was missing for you?  Insider has seven that they would have liked to see.