Posts tagged with "ipod touch"

Why the $100 gift card is better than an iPod

This year, Apple isn’t offering an iPod touch with the purchase of a new Mac. Instead, Apple is handing out a $100 gift card, advertising that the extra money is best spent on apps from the Mac App Store. You could argue that a $229 iPod touch is more valuable since you can resell it, but that ends up being a hassle as you have to buy the device upfront, mail in a rebate, and receive a check from Apple at a later date. Some might want the free iPod touch, but you could argue that a majority of senior high and college students already have one (or an iPhone), and wouldn’t benefit from an additional model. Apple no longer needs to make the iPod touch popular. By giving students a $100 gift card instead of offering a physical device, Apple is getting students to invest in the future. While the past decade was primarily about the iPod, this decade’s focus is shifting towards apps and Apple’s iCloud.

Apple is leveraging this year’s Back to School promotion to make the Mac App Store popular. While the credit can be spent in the App Store, iTunes Store, or the iBookstore, Apple wants you to load up your Mac with new software. In a matter of minutes, students can open their Macs, create an Apple ID, and download the entire iWork suite with little effort. Developers should be incredibly happy about this: Apple is giving potential customers money to spend on their applications. I would be coming out of my socks right now if I was the developer of Smartr or iStudiez Pro. This is a huge win-win for everyone involved. By handing out a $100 gift card, Apple accomplishes three things:

  1. Students have the opportunity to load up their Macs with paid software at no cost from the Mac App Store.
  2. Apple is aiding developers in the sales of their apps.
  3. Apple takes a 30% cut of each app downloaded.

By teaching students to purchase apps from the Mac App Store, Apple can lock new customers into their ecosystem, and get people used to the idea that software doesn’t come on a disc. Developers will be getting a lot of exposure during the duration of this program, although I think Apple will benefit again when the iWork suite will likely be the first thing students download. The beauty of handing students $100 worth of credit for apps, music, and books is that Apple will eventually make thirty percent of that credit back if students spend the entirety their cards in the Mac App Store or otherwise. Apple is investing in students to use their products, in developers to develop new apps on the Mac, and in their own ecosystem in one fell swoop. This is a great marketing strategy by Apple.

iOS 5 Already Jailbroken

As tweeted by MuscleNerd an hour ago, the screenshots above show an iPod touch 4th generation running the iOS 5 beta seeded to developers last night and already jailbroken to install Cydia. According to MuscleNerd, there aren’t “many surprises” here, as the device was jailbroken using the existing limera1n code and a tethered boot from a computer.

What this means for jailbreakers is still unclear. There have been jailbreaks for early iOS betas in the past, though in most cases the Dev Team preferred to wait for a public release before unleashing the necessary code to install Cydia on iOS devices. Furthermore, the exploit that allowed MuscleNerd to jailbreak his iPod touch is likely based on bootroom holes found in the past months on the iPhone and iPod touch – meaning, there’s no confirmation whatsoever iPad 2 users will get a proper jailbreak once iOS 5 comes out this fall / more betas are releases throughout the summer. Still, the images above show the new iOS 5 with Newsstand and Reminders running alongside Cydia – that’s a good start.

Report: iOS Devices Streaming 80% of Mobile Video

Freewheel, a video monetization startup, is reporting that Apple is dominating mobile video – 80 percent of it. FreeWheel said in its Q1 2011 report that the majority of video views are occuring on Apple’s iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. The iPhone and iPod each grabbed about 30 percent of all mobile video views while the iPad grabbed 20 percent; the remaining 20 percent belonged to Android devices. Everything else accounted for less than 1 percent of all video views on mobile devices.

FreeWheel attributes Apple’s dominance in mobile video to the early lead the company has had in the mobile video market with their line of iOS devices. They also believe that greater viewership on Apple devices represents the adoption of video publishers and mobile developers who build their apps / videos for iOS devices first before moving to other platforms. Despite having sold just 20 million tablets worldwide, the iPad already accounts for 20 percent of videos viewed on mobile devices, according to FreeWheel. GigaOM said in their article that “We thought the iPad would be an ideal device for viewing video when it was announced, but the extent to which it has been embraced by even traditional video producers and distributors speaks to the power of the platform. TV networks like ABC and HBO have built applications for the iPad, as have pay TV operators like Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision and others.”

While mobile video viewing accounts for only one percent of all online video views, much of it is driven by news and live events. Mobile views peaked during the Japanese tsunami / earthquake crisis and also during the NCAA Men’s College Basketball March Madness Tournament. This makes sense because much of the Japan / basketball events happened during “working hours” when viewers turned to their smartphones and mobile devices because they couldn’t watch TV at work.

The 20 percent that the iPad gets is the biggest stat in my opinion; most people don’t take their iPad with them everywhere they go, like an iPhone or iPod Touch. Most people use it after working hours, and to have that 20 percent is outstanding. [via GigaOM]

Apple’s 2011 “Back to School” Program To Launch Next Week?

Following speculation on what Apple employees and store managers will discuss at the all-hands meetings set for Sunday, May 22, AppleInsider reports one of the subjects of discussion may be Apple’s new Back to School program.

People familiar with the Apple’s retail operations have told AppleInsider that the company is currently gearing up for its yearly educational promotion. The news comes as numerous reports have revealed that Apple has scheduled early 7 a.m. store meetings with employees this coming Sunday, May 22.

But with the annual back-to-school sale set to kick off as soon as next week, the educational promotion is potentially a more likely subject for Sunday’s meetings. Additionally, other people familiar with next week’s plans say some of the materials and shipments rumored to be making their way to stores around the same time will be part of ‘procedural changes’ to the way the shops run or operate, rather than new products customers could buy.

The Back to School program usually runs until the first week of September – before Apple’s music event – and in the past allowed students to get a free 8 GB iPod touch with the purchase of a new Mac. The timing of this report sounds appropriate, with rumors running wild about an Apple 10th anniversary of retail event and new product launches, but with Back to School seemingly ready to be launched considering the company followed a late May / early June timeframe in the past years. The current iPod touch family – assuming Apple is following its tradition of giving away free iPod touches to new Mac owners – starts at $229 with the 8 GB model, featuring Retina Display and FaceTime HD camera.

Apple Stores Installing NFC Payment Systems?

According to BGR, several sources have suggested Apple may be gearing up to install new payment systems in its retail stores, quite possibly implementing the NFC technology that’s also been rumored to be one of the key features of the iPhone 5, in spite of recent reports claiming the opposite. The website reports Apple’s POS system (based on iPod touches) recently went offline for an entire day causing employees to not be able to process payments, and new tables (different from the standard ones) with cash wraps have also been installed in some retail locations, leading to speculation as to whether Apple is looking to renew its payment system.

Additionally, we have been told that there were recently multiple “overnights” in Apple retail locations, which required store employees to “assist in installing TBD devices” throughout the stores “as the retail segment of Apple grows.

We have a feeling Apple’s 10th anniversary plans might put a few pieces of the puzzle in place, but one of our sources also believes that NFC payment processing capabilities are among the enhancements that will be brought about by the new gear.

It’s unclear from the report whether Apple is planning on updating their POS technology with NFC to enable compatibility with future devices that will feature the technology on a consumer level, or if retail stores are simply installing new hardware for internal usage, not necessarily implying new iPhones with NFC are on their way. Multiple reports in the past months had pegged Apple was considering NFC for future iPhones and iPads, but recent speculation from different sources has suggested NFC simply isn’t ready for mass adoption, with Apple saving the implementation of Near Field Communication for another generation of devices.

Giveaway: Remix the Beat with djay for iPhone & iPod touch!

Let’s cut to the chase: djay is polished, good-looking, and a downright handsome virtual mixer that’ll have you scratching virtual vinyls like it was made all tiny for your thumbs and stuff. You’d think djay’s miniature client for the iPhone & iPod touch would be too small to get a proper remix of your favorite rap attack and guitar jam, but that little iPhone can instantly become the party superhero when equipped with an amateur DJ such as yourself and some stereo output to the nearest boom box. Choose any two tracks from your iPod’s library, adjust the equalizer to your liking, pump the gain, and position the needles to start laying down Scratch n’ Sniff quality beats. It’ll take some practice to get good, but all of the tools are available with a quick tap to help you combine tracks, and there’s even an automixer if you want to let djay do some the hard stuff. I couldn’t resist buying my own copy of djay for $0.99 in the App Store, currently on sale from $4.99. That’s a steal, but you can risk it all on one of two copies we’re giving away past the break.

Read more

Apple: 60 Million iPod touches Sold Since 2007 - 19 Million iPads, 108 Million iPhones By March 2011

In taking a look at the lawsuit Apple filed against Samsung over the Galaxy series “look and feel”, Nilay Patel at ThisIsMyNext uncovered some interesting details and numbers behind Apple’s iPhone, iPad and iPd touch sales that weren’t previously revealed by the company.

First off, Apple says in the “background” section of the lawsuit that over 60 million iPod touches have been sold since the device originally went on sale in 2007. These numbers are noteworthy as the company never officially disclosed iPod touch sales to the public, leading to speculation amongst bloggers and analysts about the actual profit and numbers generated by the iPod touch line. It was rumored last year that roughly 45 million iPod touches had been sold, and this note from Apple seems to confirm previous rumors that suggested the iPod touch was selling around 15 million units per year with a huge popularity in 2008.

Also in 2007, Apple launched the iPod touch, a digital music player. The iPod touch incorporated the distinct style of the iPhone and also became an immediate success. By March 2011, Apple had sold over 60 million units

In the same section, Apple goes on to celebrate the success of the iPhone and iPad among average users and mainstream media, as well as detailing how the iPhone revolutionized the communication industry. Apple says 19 million iPads were sold “by March 2011” – if you consider Apple announced they sold 15 million iPads from April to December 2010, that implies the company should have sold between 4 and 5 million tablets in Q2 2011, and we’ll know more about this tomorrow. Similarly, Apple says 108 million iPhones were sold as of March 2011. Steve Jobs said on stage at the iPad 2 event on March 2 that the 100 millionth iPhone had been sold the week before. Many are already speculating Apple might have sold nearly 20 million iPhones in Q2 2011, also thanks to the release of the Verizon iPhone that could have boosted sales in the United States.

No computer product that preceded the iPad looked like the iPad, but its design did resemble other Apple products—namely, the iPhone and the iPod touch, thereby extending the unique and innovative Apple design and trade dress to a new product—tablet computers. In its first 80 days on the market, Apple sold 3 million iPad units. By March 2011, Apple sold over 19 million iPads.

One last interesting tidbit from the lawsuit: Apple spent more than $2 billion in advertising the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad during fiscal years 2007-2010. You can read the entire document here.

Apple’s advertising expenditures for these products for fiscal years 2007-2010 were in excess of $2 billion.

Rejoice, The Easter Update To Angry Birds Seasons Is Here!

Remember hearing about that “amazing” Easter update for the Angry Birds Seasons game? Well just a few hours ago that update for Angry Birds Seasons went live (for the iPad version too) with version 1.4.0 and its full of 15 new Easter-themed levels, and of course some more of those golden eggs!

The new Easter-themed levels (jump the break for screenshots and a video) look just like you would expect with the strong prominence of the Spring sun, chocolate eggs and of course Easter bunnies. Intriguingly the update also brings the ability to send some Angry Birds and Easter themed cards to others.

EASTER EGGS FOR ANGRY BIRDS!
Spring is upon us and the time is ripe for some chocolate eggs and easter bunnies! So shed the winter gear and get in – Easter Eggs have never been this delicious! If you think St. Patrick’s Day was a blast, well, you ain’t seen nothing yet! This episode will again prove that Angry Birds is the most generous update giver of them all!

New Features in version 1.4.0:

- 15 LEVELS FULL OF SPRING
- NEW THEME TO FIT THE MOOD
- GOLDEN EGGS A-PLENTY
- LISTEN TO THE TWITTER OF BIRDS TO GET MORE

Read more

ESPN Launches ‘WatchESPN’ App, Commercial for iDevices

ESPN announced today its flagship network ESPN as well as ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3.com are now available to subscribers of Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks and Verizon FiOS TV via the new ‘WatchESPN’ App in the iTunes App Store.

WatchESPN has shown up in time for the Masters, the NBA Playoffs and the Major League Baseball season. Qualified subscribers who receive the linear networks as part of their video subscription can now watch the channels from the convenience of their iDevices. They even made a very funny commercial to promote the app, check it out after the break. Read more