In what many are considering a puzzling decision, Gamestop will now accept trade-ins for used iOS devices. If you’re unfamiliar with Gamestop, they’re one of the most popular video game stores in the country. Their business model is built around the tried-and-true pawn shop ideal. People can trade in their old games for cash, or store credit. They take these trade-ins and then generally sell them at double what they paid for them. Simple and sweet.
Gamestop issued a press release, announcing their plan to give cash/store credit for iOS devices. They’ve provided generic information and have left out some important details. For instance, will they plan on selling these devices?
Here’s a quote from Gamestop president, Tony Bartel, “By trading in iOS devices, GameStop customers have yet another source of funds to put toward the purchase of new and pre-owned games, DLC, digital PC games and more”
One important statement comes from their official iOS trade-in page: “You also release GameStop from any claim for loss or unauthorized access, use or disclosure of any personal or private data or information stored on the iPod, iPhone or iPad.”
So be sure to completely empty out your device’s memory before taking them in, if you plan on trading anything in.
Looking around on their site, there’s no information as of yet if they have plans to sell their purchased devices. Digging a bit further, I gave my local Gamestop a call for further information. Was able to find trade-in values for these devices:
iPod Touch 3rd Generation 32 GB: $100 Store Credit/$80 Cash
iPhone 4 16 GB: $135 Store Credit/ $120 Cash
iPad 2 32 GB Wi-Fi: $300 Store Credit/ $240 Cash
I asked the gentleman if they planned on selling the devices and how much they would be, here’s his response (paraphrasing), “Umm, let me ask my manager…He said there are no plans right now, but probably in November”
So take that for what you will. Not that I suspected the store managers to have the information, but you never know what internal memos Gamestop sends to their employees.
To put the figures I listed above in perspective, here’s the cheapest (realistic) prices I could find for the devices above in used condition:
iPod Touch 3rd Generation 32 GB: $125 – From a random classified ad in Tennessee
iPhone 4 16 GB: $300 – Another random classified ad, device has cracked screen
iPad 2 32 GB Wi-Fi: $407 – From a site called Electronics Emporium
If Gamestop were to sell at these extremely low prices, they’d still be making a lot of money from every trade-in. Will be interesting to track the price point they actually sell them at, if they get around to it.
Their decision to buy these devices is perplexing, because they’ve simply been about buying and selling video games and systems. It wasn’t too long ago that they offered the same trade-in system for DVDs and Blu-Rays, but they ended up doing away with it, focusing solely on video games. If they don’t plan on selling the devices from the outset, then where is the profit coming from? Perhaps they just want to build their stock first, before they actually sell them. Only time will tell.
Gamestop has taken a lot of heat from gamers, who complain that their trade-in values are too low and are simply taking advantage of desperate people. Not only are the game values low, but their system hurts video game developers and publishers. The used market does nothing for the people who actually create these games; the profit is enjoyed by Gamestop only.
It will be interesting to see how the iOS community responds to this news. Would you sell to Gamestop for the trade-in values I posted above? Will there be a response from Apple, who like the developers/publishers will see no returns on their items sold as used?
The iPad is the hottest tablet on the market, and according to industry researcher IHS iSuppli, it will dominate until at least 2015. Not only is Apple’s product the most popular in the market, but it also has the most effective advertising campaign based on a new study.
Ace Metrix, a company that tracks television advertising effectiveness, found that out of the 35 tablet ads over the past year, Apple proved to be the winner of the most effective marketing campaign. The company looked at ads from Acer, HP, Blackberry, Samsung, Amazon, Motorola, and Apple, of course, among others.
As Jack McKee, the company’s head of marketing explained to us, it calculates an Ace Score based on the data it takes data from surveys. The Ace Score, specifically, looks at the watchability and persuasion elements of an ad. This score helps advertisers understand and predict how effective their ads are and will be in the future.
Using this score, Ace Metrix found that while Apple was clearly the overall winner for its 5 ads this year, Samsung had the single most effective ad with its “Feel Free” ad promoting its Galaxy tablet.
McKee told us that Samsung borrowed some of Apple’s tactics with its winning ad by focusing on the features. He said that the company had tried to prove it had a better product than Apple did in its previous ads.
What’s especially interesting about this study is the fact that several of the tablet makers scored above normal. In fact, even HP, which recently announced that it was pulling out of the tablet space, showed a really strong marketing effort. The company actually aired more TV ads than any other tablet maker this year, but their marketing efforts couldn’t save the tablet.
The tablet space is extremely competitive and the marketing effort of these companies only reaffirms this notion.
“We rated over 1,300 ads in the tech category alone,” said McKee. “That is just an amazing amount of competition.”
He went on to say that he doesn’t foresee Apple losing its top spot going forward. Even with Steve Jobs’ resignation, he believes that Apple is very effective in demonstrating its products in a simple way that shows consumers how their lives could be better with their products.
As for the other tablet makers, McKee told us that they would have to increase their efforts if they really want to compete with Apple.
“When you’re out there with a specific message, that message has to keep pace with your competitor’s message,” he said. “You can’t just stick with your initial thought and think that it’s gonna work.”
He advises the others to experiment to find the right formula, but to move fast in the process.
After refusing to comply with Apple’s new terms for in-app subscription payments, the Financial Times has seen both their iPhone and iPad apps pulled from the App Store.
Apple had set a June 30th deadline for all apps to meet compliance, which was to allow purchases and third-party subscriptions outside of the App Store to be offered at a lower price, according to AppleInsider.
Financial Times says that their biggest gripe with Apple is its control over subscriber data, not the 30 percent cut that Apple claims as their own.
“The FT iPad and iPhone apps will no longer be available to new users through iTunes … We are directing readers to the FT‘s new web app available at app.ft.com. iTunes will remain an important channel for new and existing advertising based apps.”
Taking matters a step further, FT launched a HTML-5 web app back in June as a workaround to Apple’s in-app subscription stance. The app can be loaded via Safari on iOS devices.
Other apps such as The Wall Street Journal, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon have all complied with Apple’s new rules. Do you think the Financial Times will ever comply with Apple?
CNN announced that it has acquired tech company Zite, which makes a news app of the same name for the iPad. CNN says it has already added Zite to its portfolio of digital products as a separate, stand-alone business.
Zite is an iPad news reader that uses personalization to determine what to show you.
KC Estenson, GM of CNN Digital said, “Zite represents the next generation of content discovery and personalized publishing and CNN wants to help lead in that space. We think we can advance the industry in a meaningful way that helps content creators grow their businesses while growing the distribution of a product that people already love. Zite’s technology can also be used to help CNN’s Websites and apps serve more personalized content, making our current digital services even better.”
Zite CEO Mark Johnson added, “Zite is thrilled about combining forces with CNN to create a world-class news discovery platform. In CNN, we have found a partner who shares our vision and passion. Being part of the CNN family gives us the capital to grow Zite’s business and continue to innovate in the space.”
Zite is currently available for free on the iPad from the App Store or iTunes.
Zite is currently only available on the iPad, but the company says it hopes to expand to other platforms – at least that’s what the FAQ says. A spokesperson tells WebProNews there are no Android plans at the moment.
If opposing coaches want to learn the playbook of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before they play them, they don’t need to look for a big binder with various plays written down. Look for the nearest iPad and steal it, instead.
According to a report in the St Petersburg Times the players for the Buccaneers are moving to the mobile device industry, at least in regards to their playbook. The team has apparently purchased iPad 2s for the players, and each one holds the Tampa Bay playbook, as well as video files of games, practice and various videos of other teams, all for the sake of improving preparation and consolidation.
Something should be mentioned about the trees being saved, because these playbooks are usually quite large, but I don’t think a “green” approach was what the Tampa Bay Buccaneers staff was going for. Instead, they just wanted to make the organization that goes with being a successful football team easier on the players.
Speaking of, these same players seem excited about their new toy:
“It’s crazy how much technology has changed the game,” second-year safety Cody Grimm said. “Back in the day, I think probably the whole team had to sit down with a projector and a reel, and watch the film together. They’d have the whole offense in the same meeting room. Now we all have our own iPad. Stuff that we used to come in here to see, we can sit on our couch at home and have access to it 24-7. It’s awesome.”
Of course, the NFL is not the first industry to do away with reams of paper–well, at least in the case of the Buccaneers–in favor of an iPad.
Not only are the Buccaneers committed to the switch, they’ve also taken steps to protect these playbooks from hitting the Internet:
“We give these playbooks out, and by the end of training camp, we collect them so nobody sells them on the Internet,” [Head Coach Raheem] Morris said. “They become game books. If you need a reference to go back, you can pull up a blitz from camp and look at it.
The report goes on to say the Buccaneers purchased 90 total iPad 2s for their team, and the entire franchise seems to be incredibly excited about the convenience these devices offer.
The surprising–but yet not entirely unexpected, considering the health issues he’s been facing–retirement of Steve Jobs has rocked the tech industry. To say he’s the topic of conversation since the announcement would be like saying water is wet. Clearly, both are obvious points.
While Apple has long since been a niche company that offered an alternative to the world of Bill Gates and the ubiquitous Windows operating system, the company didn’t reach dominant levels in the tech industry until it launched the iPhone. Granted, Apple was always considered a “cool” company to buy products from, but it wasn’t until their handheld devices–let’s not forget the iPod’s role in Apple’s modern popularity–hit that allowed the company to become one of the most powerful brands in the world.
And Apple owes a lot of its success directly to Jobs guidance as Apple CEO and his forward thinking in terms of handheld devices.
With that in mind, we’ve thrown together a modest video retrospective of Jobs, that charts his career from a 1980s nerd who was passionate about computers to the modern-day mobile device evangelist that spurred Apple’s push to the top of charts, at least in relation to brand name power.
The videos will be presented in something of a chronological order, detailing the rise of the man who became so popular, he was famously featured in an episode of South Park as well as having his likeness encased in Carbonite.
As indicated, we’ll start in the past and work our way towards the future. The first video is Jobs’ first appearance on television in 1978, at least according to the YouTube description. Just think, most members of the iPhone fan club weren’t even alive when the video was made:
This next video is from 1983, and it’s a take on The Dating Game and it famously features a plucky young software developer/company chairman who goes by the name of Bill Gates. You may have heard of him. Awesomely enough, during the introduction phase, Gates offers a quote that should never, ever be forgotten:
“During 1984, Microsoft expects to get half of its revenues from Macintosh software.“
See for yourself:
The next video is from 1984, and it features Jobs demonstrating the first Macintosh desktop computer. Oh, how times have changed:
Here’s how Jobs views the concept of computers, which, to him, are “the most remarkable tool we’ve ever come up with.”
Considering the quote from Bill Gates in the second video, this next clip demonstrates the love and happiness being shared on that stage in 1983 didn’t last forever. The next video, from 1996, details some of Jobs’ issues with his now-competitors over at Microsoft:
“They, they don’t think of original ideas…” Apparently, Jobs wasn’t a fan of Windows 95.
Fast forwarding to the modern era–the 2000s–and thanks in large part to the iPod and the subsequent release of the iPhone, when Apple’s role in the tech industry shifted dramatically. No longer were they the plucky company who made alternatives to “PC compatible” computers, in other words, computers that ran the Windows OS. Instead, Apple was redefined into the company that made cool-looking phones and hand-held portable music devices that everybody had to have.
The next video is the first debut of the iPod:
And with that release, Jobs and Apple became permanent fixtures in regards to popularity and as an incredibly powerful brand; so much so, in fact, videos of Apple product reveals, complete with Steve Jobs debuting the product, became events. To further this point, the hour-plus iPhone 4 announcement video that has a running time of almost two hours, has over 500,000 views:
Before that, however, Jobs had already entered full circle in relation to Microsoft when he appeared on stage with Gates, discussing the future of technology, as well as the admiration they share for each other:
Jobs also gave a commencement speech to Stanford University’s 2005 graduating class, a further testament to growing popularity of Apple, thanks, in large part, to Jobs’ guidance of the company as CEO:
This final video, and perhaps one of the last major appearances by Jobs, is at a Cupertino City Council meeting, and it discusses the building of Apple’s new campus, one that would, in Jobs’ word, augment the current Apple campus:
From an uncomfortable computer programmer appearing on TV for his first time in 1978, to the Cupertino City Council’s hanging on of Jobs’ every word in 2011–clearly, the city council did not want Apple to move to another county–it’s been an incredible ride for both Apple and Jobs. The company, while still making sought-after home computing products, has essentially transformed itself into what’s largely seen as developers of incredibly popular handheld devices like the iPod, iPhone and iPad.
The only thing missing from Jobs’ career is completion of the HumanCentiPad:
Of course, as the new chairman of Apple’s board of directors, Jobs could still see this project through to its completion.
British Airways “revolutionises customer service using iPads,” says a BA press release on August 17 about a service trial that got quite a bit of attention this week.
The airline says it’s trialling iPads with 100 cabin crew to enable them to improve the service they give to passengers by, for instance, quickly identifying where they are seated, who they are travelling with, their Executive Club (frequent flyer programme) status and any special meal requests.
[…] It gives cabin crew a whole library of information at their fingertips including timetables, safety manuals and customer service updates. It also means any issues can be logged with ground-based colleagues around the network prior to departure so solutions can be delivered while the flight is airborne.
[…] Bill Francis, British Airways’ head of inflight customer experience, said: “The iPad is already allowing us to offer a more personalised onboard service, but the possibilities for future development are endless. We’re receiving great feedback from cabin crew and customers already. It allows the crew to offer the thoughtful service they want to deliver and customers are treated as valued guests.”
BA says it plans to roll out iPads to all senior cabin crew across the airline in the coming months.
Will a tool like this actually “revolutionize” customer service as BA says, I wonder, as opposed to allowing its pilots to fly better or reducing aircraft weight by getting rids of loads of paper. Reading how BA explains it, I’d like to think it definitely would:
[…] When all the passengers have boarded and just before the doors are shut, cabin crew are currently handed a long scroll of paper, listing up to 337 customers. With the new iPads cabin crew will simply refresh their screen when the doors have closed through wireless 3G networks and they will have a complete list of passengers on board.
If that means that, one day, I can expect genuine personal attention from someone who will know a lot about my wishes and preferences, than I’d happily agree with BA’s superlative.
“Revolutionize” is an interesting thought, though, that some others have as well judging from the comments to my Google+ post about this.
Revolutionizing customer service”? Sheesh, all it really does is replacing paper by a fancy tool. That’s not exactly “revolutionizing” in my books. Yes, it might improve it a bit and make a few things a bit easier/quicker/nicer, but as long as that’s all I don’t really see it changing that much. It’s just PR language, meaningless blurb. Same as everything for Steve Jobs is “magical”. Or “amazing”.
Jay Gilmore, doesn’t think tools nor rules make better customer service:
[…] What they are doing in this case is creating a way to automate and improve the customer experience through better personalization. Attitude and employee culture will dictate whether or not the service is any better regardless of the system.
So revolutionised might sound sensational, but if the objective is to provide a better service, then why couldn’t the availability of more information truly revolutionise what BA do? Staff can be updated more readily with issues around baggage, weather, connections, delays, customers could log concerns or problems AHEAD of the flights and problems be resolved by the time they land.
(I agree, Paul, but I think what you’ve outlined is definitely aspirational rather than something that will happen as a result of this current trial.)
Alan Redman says that tools alone won’t improve customer service:
[…] it’s saying “our decision to help streamline information using iPads gives us the potential for better customer service.” The streamlining will create less confusion, thus simplifying the jobs of the flight attendants allowing them to focus more on the passenger. Basically, if someone is good at their job, better tools will make for better service, if someone is bad at their job or just doesn’t care, nothing is going to change that.
Great points of view, thanks to all who contributed. (Do you have a view? Add it here or at Google+.)
The question remains: Will iPads lead to better customer service? British Airways and many others are trying to figure that one out.
[Later] When I was writing this post, I wanted to include a photo of a BA cabin crew member greeting a customer or some such activity. So I started with a simple Google search for “british airways cabin crew.” I qualified the search by selecting sites with images.
Lots of results with some great photos. But most were related to media reports and other online content about BA cabin crew strikes earlier this year and last. Totally not the context I wanted when I provided attribution for a photo and link to the place it was published.
Part of the PR landscape, I suppose, but a nightmare to manage, don’t you think? Indeed, can you actually manage such a negative and reputation-damaging landscape?
Yahoo announced this week that its Fantasy Football offerings will be available across four screens, including the tablet (iPad). The others would be: PC, TV and smartphone.
Yahoo’s fantasy football platform attracted 5 million players in 2010, when mobile Fantasy Football users more than doubled from 2009, (PC users saw 5% growth).
Mobile users view 60% more Fantasy Football pageviews than PC users, even while PC users spend 100% more time than mobile users, Yahoo says. That’s an interesting piece of information.
“As the No. 1 sports site online as well as the top destination for fantasy football, Yahoo! Sports is providing our millions of fans with the most timely, easy to use and accessible ways to stay on top of their leagues,” said Ken Fuchs, VP of the Yahoo Media Network. “Whether you’re on the couch watching the game with a laptop, tablet or a connected TV, or live in the stands with your phone, our anytime, anywhere, any device approach will keep our users updated, connected and linked to their teams and leagues 24/7 throughout the fantasy football season.”
Yahoo says its Fantasy Sports offerings alone receive more visitors than all of NYTimes.com, and more time is spent playing Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Football than is spent on sites such as NFL.com, FOX Sports, CBS Sports, NYTimes.com, Amazon.com, Netflix.com, Disney Online, and Wikipedia.
On TV, Yahoo Fantasy Football is available via a TV app on the Yahoo Connected TV platform. It lets users view team-league standings and weekly matchups on the TV, in addition to real-time scoring and live matchup updates. According to Yahoo, over 8 million consumers have purchased TVs with Yahoo Connected TV.
Hold on, we’ve got another iPhone 5 rumor for you.
Several sites have independently reported that Apple is planning an October 7th release for their latest mobile device, the iPhone 5. Unlike the iPad 2 launch, Apple is rumored to accept pre-orders starting either the 29th or the 30th of September.
According to our sources, Apple has been weighing between launching the new iPhone on October 7th or October 14th, but with the product’s latest stages of pre-mass-production currently moving along nicely, Apple is presently shooting towards a launch on the 7th. On top of this, unlike with the iPad 2, Apple plans to offer pre-orders for the new iPhone.
Apple currently plans to begin pre-orders for their next-generation smartphone in the final days of September. The company has still not finalized the pre-order start date, but is debating between Thursday, September 29th and Friday, September 30th. The 30th seems more likely at this point according to one of our sources. Pre-orders for the new iPhone starting in late September will also mean that Apple’s fall event will take place in September.
With a supposed pre-order date of September 30th, an Apple media event would need to take place during the first part of September to formerly announce the device. Late last week a rumor began circulating that an event would take place on September 7th, but that was later debunked by Jim Dalrymple of The Loop. So currently, there is no planned Apple media event, but that could all change over the next few weeks.
Google has announced the launch of a new iPad app called Google Catalogs, which brings users access to a variety of popular catalogs to one place, digitally. Businesses that offer catalogs can get their own added as well.
“For years, shoppers have enjoyed flipping through glossy print catalogs to be inspired, discover new trends and find great products,” says Kinnari Jhaveri, Strategic Partner Development Manager on Google’s Commerce Team. “Today, mobile technologies can make catalog shopping more engaging, social and creative.”
Google says, with Google Catlogs, you can:
Interact: Zoom in to see products up close, tap on tags to learn more about an item or, in some catalogs, view inspiring photo albums and videos.
Find products in nearby stores: When an item catches your eye, instantly find it in a store near you or tap “Buy on Website” to visit the merchant online.
Express your creativity: Create a collage of your favorite catalog pages and products. If you need inspiration, you can check out collages created by others.
Share with friends: Email a product or collage to all your shopping buddies.
Get instant access to new catalogs: Add catalogs to your Favorites and get notified each time a new issue arrives.
Discover new products and brands: Search for products within or across multiple catalogs to find exactly what you’re looking for.
Launch partners include Neiman Marcus, Williams-Sonoma, Sephora, Urban Outfitters, Macy’s, Alloy, Anthropologie, Athleta, Bare Escentuals, Bare Necessities, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdales, Boden, Brooks Brothers, CB2, Create&Barrel, Delia’s, Eddie Bauer, Fossil, Free People, Gump’s, Horchow, L.L. Bean, The Land of Nod, Lands’ End, Nordstrom, Patagonia, Pottery Barn, Red Envelope, Ross+Simons, Ralph Lauren Rugby, Saks Fifth Avenue, Sundance, Tea, Ugg, Venus, and West Elm.
Google calls Google Catalogs a “greener way to shop,” as users can subscribe to paperless versions of catalogs, and be notified as soon as new issues are available.
If you put out any catalogs, you may be interested to know that there is an application, where you can apply to have yours considered for Google Catalogs. This can be print or digital.
Last week, it was reported, that Apple had been toying with the idea of releasing revamped version of their iPad, but the rumor was later squashed as problems arose concerning the Retina Display. Digitimes reports:
“The sources believe that the yield rate of the 9.7-inch panel that feature resolution of 2,048 by 1,536 may be the major reason of the supply delay since such panels are mainly supplied by Japan-based Sharp with a high price and Apple’s other supply partners Samsung Electronics and LG Display are both unable to reach a good yield. Since Apple is unable to control a certain level of supply volume, the iPad 3 is unlikely to be mass produced as scheduled“.
The rumored plan was to produce 1.5-2 million units during Q3 and 5-6 million in Q4 of the iPad 3.
Yesterday we reported Apple was currently testing an iPhone featuring 4G LTE, but it looked unlikely the iPhone 5 would feature the technology due to Apple unwilling to make design modifications. With that in mind, Apple would have to make some tweaks to their iPad design to include a Retina Display, and they’re not going to do that. DT states “iPad 3’s requirements over the physical thinness, rich color support and toughness will all conflict with the panel’s technology restrictions; therefore, this could cause a delay in the launch“.
It now appears that the iPad 3 is back on track for Apple’s release cycle, coming out sometime in Spring of 2012.
With famous Ponzi scheme operator and former most-hated person in America (usurped by Casey Anthony) Bernie Madoff currently clothed in more…utilitarian attire, it only makes sense that his former threads should go to use. I mean, he definitely doesn’t need them anymore.
Fashion company Frederick James, makers of “fashion iPad covers made out of luxury rescued and vintage fabrics” is making use of Madoff’s old clothing – his pants to be exacts.
According to their website, Frederick James obtained a “limited number of personal clothing items” that once belonged to Madoff at an auction put together by the U.S. Marshall’s office. From those clothing items they developed the Bernie Madoff Collection, a limited edition run of iPad covers made out of his various types of pants.
Take for instance the Mason’s Off-White Khaki Pants cover (the left one on the lead image). The cover retails for $350 and is described like this –
This cover is made from a pair of Mason’s men’s size 50 casual pants. They are an off-white cover. They are lined in navy blue linen.
Only 4 iPad covers were produced from this pair of pants. Each cover is unique. Two of the covers have the original pockets from the pants.
The other unique cover above is the Ralph Lauren Polo Chino Blue Pants cover. It also had a price tag of $350 but it’s sold out. It is made from size 35×30 pants, which means they must be from a much slimmer period in Madoff’s life. They only produced 4 of those as well. This truly is limited edition stuff.
As you can see, at one point Frederick James was offering 4 different pants-covers. The only two still listed on the site are the blue and gray ones. With the blue Chino cover sold out, that means your last chance to own this piece of history is with the off-white khakis cover.
I wonder what other fashion treasures they pulled from that auction. Will we see more Madoff-inspired device accessories?
As odd as they are, these are only the second strangest iDevice cases I’ve seen this month. If you want to see first place, check out the iPhone human hand case we told you about last week.
Boxee announced today that it has released its long-awaited iPad app.
The app comes with the Boxee Media Manager, which allows it to stream videos from your PC to the iPad, as well as a “Watch Later” bookmarklet and firmware for the Boxee Box.
“We built the app to be useful for any iPad user, even those who have never heard of Boxee before, but it has the added benefit for current Boxee Box users that you can send video to your flat screen throught it (we’ll include this for Mac/PC users in the fall update),” says Boxee’s Avner Ronen on the Boxee blog .
The app automatically delivers videos shared by the user’s Facebook, Twitter, and Tumbler friends.
On the “Watch Later” feature, Ronen says, ” Each day, we’re bombarded by video from everywhere. Use the freshly re-designed bookmarklet to, umm… bookmark videos from the Internet and have them waiting for you on your iPad (and anywhere else you’ve got Boxee). Now you’ve got one place to queue YouTube videos, TED talks, FunnyOrDie videos, a TV Show you missed, or anything else you don’t have time to watch right away. It’s an easy way to create a video playlist for the commute, the bed, the couch or the bathroom (this is mainly for Idan, whose iPad we don’t touch).”
There is also a “Featured” feature, which highlights hand-picked content chosen by Boxee’s editorial staff. The screenshot above shows a “Junip” video, so they must have some good taste.
The app also lets you send videos to your TV if you have a Boxee Box. In addition to that, they’ve added an experimental feature taking advantage of AirPlay. You can hit the AirPlay button and see your Boxee Box as one of the target devices.
Google has launched an update to its Google+ app for iOS. No, it doesn’t come with Instant Uploads (the key feature missing from this version of the app, if you ask me).
What it does come with is iPod Touch and IPad support, though support must not mean the same thing to everybody, because this has been the subject of a fair amount of criticism as the update has made its way onto devices.
@mathewi Mathew IngramI suppose it’s nice to have a Google+ app on the iPad, but it’s just the half-sized iPhone app, which is barely better than nothing18 minutes ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto
– Huddle settings
– Aggregated circle add notifications
– iPod touch & iPad support
– Performance and stability improvements
The lack of Instant Upload is a big deal for the service, because Android users connect to Google’s network every time they snap a photo with their phone, provided they’ve enabled the functionality. Google+ made Picasa cool again. That is at least on the Android platform.
That wasn’t the only complaint when Google first launched the iPhone app last month though. There were numerous complaints about the app freezing up and crashing. There was no way to share, and sometimes clicking a button would take users to the wrong place.
As I said prior to Google+‘s release for iOS, this market would be critical to win for the continued success of Googles social network. This kind of experience (especially coming from a company who can’t talk enough about user experience) isn’t exactly what I’d call winning.
The oft-discussed Google Chrome operating system is being prepped for tablet devices, and now, thanks to a YouTube video posted by Francois Beaufort, we have an idea of how the operating system will look in the tablet environment.
Beaufort posted the video over at his Plus account, the curiosity that led him to the video’s creation was centered on the touch interface:
This morning, I was wondering if Google Chrome Team worked a little bit more on the Touch UI during my holidays. Answer is not so much sadly.
The video, which leads this post, shows a good bit of the operating system, and if tablets are your thing, but you’re looking for an alternative to the iPad, you’ll definitely want to give the video a shot. Over at Tabletbite, their initial review, naturally based on Beaufort’s video, is generally positive. They really seem to like the keyboard, which does look to be a suitable size for tablet typing:
The QWERTY on-screen keyboard also looks pretty decent, again with big keys and slightly rounded edges. Also, the keys appear to have good response speed and overall they look clean and elegant… Aside from the virtual keyboard, the Chrome OS for tablets, as it is shown in the video, offers quick access to four other options, Web Store, Bookmark Manager, Chrome Web Store and Cloud Print. The browser doesn’t look very different from the computer or laptop versions and presents the same basic options that a browser should include…
Tabletbites goes on to say the video indicates Chrome for tablets is in the very basic of stages, and probably won’t be ready for primetime consumption for some time.
Instead of figuring out how to port the basically-useless Chrome OS to tablets, why not figure out how to port the absolutely stellar Google Chrome browser into Android as an app for smartphones and tablets?
For 90% of Chrome OS to work, you’ll need an internet connection. How many people are willing to buy a more expensive tablet with an antenna for data, as well as a pricey monthly plan? You’ll need a hefty hunk of data when you’re only using the tablet for internet use.
Um, aren’t you required to purchase the data plan when you buy an iPad? Why would a Google Chrome OS tablet be different in that respect? Furthermore, I’ve yet to see an iPad with “an antenna for data,” and yet, they connect to the web just fine.
Maybe BI just doesn’t like Google dabbling in an area Apple currently has control over, because they absolutely hated the Google Chromebook.
Trying to get your hands on some of Apple’s highly sought after iHardware in Hong Kong? There’s a zip line for that, courtesy of some creative Chinese smugglers. China has already had some crazy stories concerning Apple products–take the fake Apple stores, for instance–but this latest story may just take the cake, or, well, the iPad, if you will.
What we have, thanks to reports from TechCrunch (via Gizchina), are some creative smugglers from China who are trying to get the labors of Steve Jobs’ company to the good people of Hong Kong.
Normally, when one thinks of smuggling, images of clandestine operations featuring port authorities and greased pockets come to mind, but with this particular group, they decided to try something a little easier than bribing transportation officials to look the other way. In fact, the idea was so simple, it has to be considered brilliant. Instead of hidden cargo in the bays of planes and/or boats, the smugglers in question used zip lines.
Yes, the same kind of contraption that appears in the lead image; although, it’s not known whether or not attractive, barefoot blondes were escorting the Apple products or not. Considering the ethnic makeup of the region, it’s doubtful. Gizchina has more details on the brilliant-yet-simple plan:
The creative smugglers attached one end of a strong fishing line to the 21st storey of a Shenzhen high-rise and shot the other end across the Sha Tau Kok river to a small rural house in Hong Kong with a crossbow!
Sadly, as TC points out, the authorities did, in fact, break up the simple-yet-effective smuggling method, and according to news reports, when the contraption was shutdown, almost $50,000 worth of Apple hardware was recovered. Of course, that figure doesn’t include the amount of hardware that made it across.
The majority of the iHardware being smuggled across were iPad 2s and iPhone 4s. After authorities intervened, local news reports released some video of the operation, and although the news is presented in Chinese, it’s easy to get a good idea of what occurred:
Much like the iPhone that survived the parachute mishap, news like this is the kind of marketing one cannot buy. Whether Apple approves of the smuggling or not, simply knowing people in China and Hong Kong are going through such efforts to acquire Apple hardware has to instill a since of pride. The tagline almost writes itself: “Apple: Our products are so freaking awesome, people will invent new smuggling techniques to acquire our goods.”
Or, maybe, they could do another “I’m a Mac, and I’m a PC” commercial with a witty Justin Long and a stodgy John Hodgman, saying, “Hey PC, do people smuggle Windows phones between countries using zip lines?” “Only to get rid of them, Mac.”
One wonders what these enterprising smugglers will do when the iPhone 5 hits.
AOL officially launched its iPad-exclusive magazine today. It’s called Editions.
They’re not exactly following the trail blazed by News Corp.’s The Daily. Editions is free, and it’s content is personalize for each user. AOL bills the daily publication as “The Magazine That Reads You.”
AOL says it leverages a “sophisticated set of algorithms that takes all of your actions into account, from opening an article to adding a new interest, to help learn what you do and don’t like.”
For some, this will be very appealing. For critics of the so-called “Filter Bubble” this will likely add to the problem.
“Our goal for Editions was to take the best of the online and offline reading experiences and fuse them into a single, sleek magazine unlike anything else that exists today,” said David Temkin, Head of Mobile, AOL. “By combining custom features with technology that learns about you as you use it, Editions delivers a magazine every day that’s full of the things you care about most.”
Editions comes with 15 topic sections (Design, Tech, Business, Family, Health & Fitness, Sports, Entertainment, Travel, etc.), and the ability to edit each section to include your favorite companies, sports teams, celebrities, etc.
It also has local news, weather, hyper-local content sources, and a built-in Calendar that syncs with Facebook and iCal.
There does seem to be lot of interest in iPad-specific publishing these days. Even Facebook just acquired Push Pop Press, which is known for creating the iPad app based Al Gore’s book “Our Choice”.
Facebook has acquired Push Pop Press, and it’s going to be quite interesting to see what they do with it.
Push Pop Press created the iPad for Al Gore’s book “Our Choice,” but it’s not book publishing that Facebook is interested in, according to to Push Pop Press. It’s the company’s publishing technology, which is on display in the Our Choice app – its use o text, images, audio, video and interactive graphics.
Here’s Al Gore showing off the app:
In their announcement on the Push Pop Press site, co-founders Mike Matas and Kimon Tsinteris write:
Now we’re taking our publishing technology and everything we’ve learned and are setting off to help design the world’s largest book, Facebook.
Although Facebook isn’t planning to start publishing digital books, the ideas and technology behind Push Pop Press will be integrated with Facebook, giving people even richer ways to share their stories. With millions of people publishing to Facebook each day, we think it’s going to be a great home for Push Pop Press.
…
Both Push Pop Press and Facebook share a passion for improving the way we share and explore ideas and we couldn’t be more excited about what the future holds.
Facebook’s statement is: “We’re thrilled to confirm that we’ve acquired Push Pop Press, a startup whose groundbreaking software changes the way people publish and consume digital content. We can’t wait for co-founders Mike Matas and Kimon Tsinteris to get started, and for some of the technology, ideas and inspiration behind Push Pop Press to become part of how millions of people connect and share with each other on Facebook.” (via Liz Gannes).
When the video was viewed for the first time, my initial thought was is this one of Clive Barker’s new Cenobites? Is this who he’s selected to succeed the timeless Pinhead for a new generation of Hellraiser movies, or is something else going on here?
As it turns out, iPad Head Girl isn’t the next step in horror movie special effects. Instead, she represents a pretty slick viral marketing campaign; one that promotes a new men’s magazine that will only be available on the iPad environment. The magazine in question — is a tablet-only publication really a magazine? — is called Cosmo for Guys, and it comes from the Hearst media empire. Hearst is also responsible for magazines like Oprah’s O, and of course, the traditional Cosmopolitan.
According to The Next Web, the iPad Head Girl viral campaign was created by the Thinkmodo marketing team, and the design of the iPad helmet was pretty ingenious:
The video features a girl wearing headgear made out of 4 iPads shaped into a cube projecting video playback of each side of her head.
Apparently, the model wearing the iPad helmet couldn’t see without the use of a video camera in her purse. The camera relayed images of the surrounding environment to a pair of video glasses, which, in turn, allowed her to navigate the streets of New York City.
Of course, putting someone on the streets with iPads covering their face is not the only ingredients necessary for a viral marketing campaign. The product being pushed — Cosmo for Guys — needs to be featured in some aspect as well; and that’s where the genius of the design comes in. Next Web’s article contains a quote from the campaign’s director, which details the approach quite nicely:
“The concept and analogy here is to show a guy ‘getting inside a girl’s head’ and sort of ‘reading her mind’ by flipping through the magazine pages on the iPad. The reason for that is: it is the first magazine for men that is written by women, so for the first time women are letting guys in on what they think,” says the viral’s Creative Director Michael Krivicka.
That could be one of the largest digital publications in history of man, especially if the women writing the magazine start discussing things like quality time and meaningful conversation. If the subject of how men can entertain themselves while escorting their significant other on a shopping spree comes up, we’ll know that the goal of Cosmo for Guys isn’t education.
Try subjugation instead.
Facetiousness aside, Thinkmodo’s viral creation is certainly effective — could you ignore someone walking the streets with an iPad cube on their head? — although, it’s hard to say if the curiosity would lead to guys wanting to download a men’s magazine that’s only available on Apple’s touchable device. Maybe if there’s some fantasy football information available. Or beer commercials.
Apparently, guys who love being guys with their guy friends love beer commercials.
Would it make sense for Apple to purchase Barnes & Noble, the nations largest book retailer? If you read into Internet gossip, and you know you do, this is the rumor of the moment. It appears the rumor started over at BGR where an “unproven source claiming to have knowledge of discussions within Apple to possibly purchase Barnes & Noble.”
If you step back for a second and look at the situation, it kind of makes sense. If a deal did get done, this would give Apple access to Barnes & Noble’s ever expanding library of digital books for their own iBooks. In turn this would also allow Apple to discontinue the NOOK, which is an iPad competitor (and I use that term lightly). The acquisition would also give Apple access to convert some of their brick and mortar locations into Apple stores, which would help with their aggressive push into the retail setting.
Sure the rumored asking price for Barnes & Noble might seem steep, ranging from anywhere between $1 billion to $1.5 billion, but Apple has $76 billion in cash laying around, according to AppleInsider.
The deal does make sense just thinking about it, but some don’t think the deal makes much sense for Apple. Brian Marshall, with Gleacher & Company, wrote to investors on Thursday that he doesn’t think Apple will target Barnes & Noble.
Marshall also went on to say that spending over $1 billion dollars on Barnes & Noble would not be a wise use of Apple’s money. AI has more from Marshall, “We would much prefer to see AAPL use cash for strategic purposes and balance sheet optimization (e.g., acquisition of content rights, dividend initiation, share repurchases, etc.)“.
Remember your back-to-school lists? Whether you’re in grade school or college, it’s always smart to make an organized list of the things you need to succeed in the coming year. Pencils, Pens, Notebooks, Binders, Folders, newest-gen tablet device…
Wait, what?
One Chinese teacher has used social media to broadcast this message: Find a way to obtain an iPad or don’t bother taking his class.
A professor at Shanghai Maritime University has created quite the controversy after he posted a message on his Weibo account directed at students in his finance course. Weibo, if you don’t know, is a micro-blogging service similar to Twitter.
In this post he explains that all lessons, exams and other materials will require an iPad to access and that his students should find a way to acquire one over the summer otherwise they aren’t suited to study under his tutelage. Here’s the translated Weibo post, courtesy of MIC Gadget –
Started from the next semester, I will be using an iPad to teach the Financial lesson, all the lectures, exams, information will only given out in iPad compatibility mode. I hope every students would go and purchase an iPad, because iPad represents the most modern thinking, and my students must like that. If you don’t have money to buy one, then you go to earn money. If you cannot earn merely $4000 Yuan (around $615) within the holiday, then you are not suit in this course, and you are not necessary to be my student. Poverty or rich doesn’t reflect on your family background, but reflected on your ability.
Well, this exercise is a pretty quick introduction into the field of business and finance…I guess.
But the later Weibo posts paint the professor as a little bit of an Apple fanboy. Posting to the site in English, he said that the iPad is “not an innovation, it’s revolution.” He then argues that without the Apple tablet, “teaching process will be paralyzed.”
As part of his posts about requiring iPads in his classroom, the professor also demanded that male students dress in suits and female students wear “simple make-up” in class. These small steps are ways to “further success” in financial learning.
If this requirement is upheld, these Chinese college students will need to brainstorm. For those without jobs or parental support, how will they find the 4000 Yuan to purchase the tablet? Some of their fellow countrymen and women have already provided some options.
First, they can turn to the black market. In June it was reported that a high-school freshman from China’s Huaishan, Anhui Province had sold one of his kidneys so that he could afford an iPad 2. That transaction was left incomplete when the teen’s mother found the surgery scar on her son, whose health was inexplicably declining before her eyes.
For those weary of a sketchy operation, there is always the world’s oldest profession. Just weeks after the iPad 2/Kidney story, reports emerged that a young girl in China offered her virginity for an iPhone 4. She made the proposal via Weibo.
Although many feel that tablets like the iPad could be harnessed for educational purposes, should a teacher be able to require a student to purchase one? Probably not. But when you think about the high cost of education, remember that college kids can easily drop $1,000 or more on textbooks for one single semester.
Do you think the classroom of the future will be populated with tablets? Let us know in the comments.
