Headlines blazed across the Internet this week that Google Play revenue grew by 67 percent, while Apple’s App Store only grew by 15 percent during the same time. Something about that seemed odd to me.
iPad
Nexus 7 gets stellar reviews despite faults, jitters, lagging apps
Reports of “faulty” GPS, “buggy” multitouch, “jittery” scrolling and an ecosystem that “still lags iOS” weren’t enough to stop Google’s latest Nexus 7 from getting a stellar review on par with Apple’s iPad mini.
I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation. Now we wait to get it.
Microsoft sued on behalf of shareholders over Surface RT
Paul Thurrott:
A proposed class action lawsuit has been filed against Microsoft on behalf of its shareholders, alleging that the firm lied about the financial performance of its Surface RT tablet. The surprise revelation that sales were much less than expected came months later than required by law, the suit says, and immediately “eviscerated” $34 billion of Microsoft’s market value, materially impacting shareholders.
The suit names Microsoft as well as Steve Ballmer, Peter Klein, Frank Brod and Tami Reller as defendants.
The news for Microsoft and the Surface RT just keeps getting worse.
Apple announces USB Power Adapter Takeback Program
Apple on Monday announced its USB Power Adapter Takeback Program, a program that will allow customers to return third-party adapters they feel are faulty. Apple is offering those customers a special price on obtaining a new Apple adapter. […]
Why PBS won’t support Android tablets
Simply put, it’s too complicated for us to even consider an Android app for the first version; we’ll continue to support those viewers with mobile web.
Just take a look at the different sizes of Android tablets they would have to support—that’s a nightmare.
Obama vetos ITC ban on iPhone and iPad
I think Obama did the right thing, as I outlined a few days ago.
Google’s Nexus 7 battery claims are shit
Katherine Boehret for WSJ:
Another drawback: In my test, the new Nexus 7’s battery life was underwhelming. Compared with the same battery test of the iPad Mini and first Nexus 7, it fell short at just six hours; the others clocked in at 10 hours and 27 minutes and 10 hours and 44 minutes, respectively. Google claims the battery life can last over nine hours, but the company tests it in Airplane mode (Internet connection off), with screen brightness set to 44% while playing video. I keep Wi-Fi on in the background and screen brightness at 75% while playing video.
Seriously Google? Who would use a tablet without Internet turned on? I understand that companies do things to make battery tests look better for them, but this borders on outright lying. Apple usually underreports its battery life, leaving its customers pleasantly surprised.
Obama should veto the ITC iPhone, iPad ban
We have less than a week before an order from the International Trade Commission takes effect, banning the sale of iPhone 4 and iPad 2 in the United States. President Obama can veto the order, but he has to do so this week, before the August 5 ban begins. […]
Microsoft sells 1.7 million Surface tablets… in 8 months
Microsoft made $853 million in revenue from the Surface and sold an estimated 1.7 million devices in eight months, according to GeekWire. That’s less than the $900 write-off the company took on the Surface two weeks ago.
Let’s put this in perspective: […]
Nexus 7 did not outsell the iPad in Japan
Using BCN’s bogus research, Google claimed the Nexus 7 took a higher percentage of the Japanese market than the iPad. Except BCN forgot to count one important source—it’s too good for me to ruin the surprise.
Apple still leads mobile profits
Daniel Eran Dilger for AppleInsider:
Strategy Analytics is attempting to estimate mobile handset profit shares for both companies. While it generated a lot of coverage for its report, the numbers not only don’t reflect reality, but they were further mangled by sloppy reporting from a variety of major tech websites.
I’m shocked. It’s a great article.
An Apple lover selling his iPad
A lot of people sent me this article by Steve Kovach where he sold his iPad because he no longer used it. I think some expected me to lash out or something, but I don’t have a problem with someone selling their device because it no longer fits into their lifestyle. We all use devices differently and when one of them no longer fits, it’s time to cut it loose.
Ballmer admits the Surface RT flopped
“We built a few more devices than we could sell,” admitted Ballmer when referring to the slow Surface RT sales. Microsoft recently cut the price of its Surface RT tablets by 30 percent worldwide, and Ballmer and Turner reiterated in the internal meeting that the huge writedown was a price adjustment that was necessary to sell Surface RT devices. While Ballmer didn’t provide a sneak peek at the next Surface, we’re told he confirmed new devices are currently being tested with incremental improvements.
So Microsoft took a $900 million writedown because the Surface sucks balls and in response the next version of the Surface will have “incremental improvements.” Perfect.
The worst CNN article in a long time
You could almost go through this article line by line and pick it apart, but let me just grab a couple of sections. […]
Nexus 7 is the worst tablet
Dustin Earley for Android and Me in June:
I can’t find one person who has been using the Nexus 7 for an extended period of time, and hasn’t seen a massive downgrade in performance. Just what kind of downgrade are we talking here? I cannot pick up my Nexus 7 without experiencing problems like a lag of ten seconds, or more, just to rotate the display; touches refusing to acknowledged; stuttering notification panel actions; and unresponsive apps.
No wonder people don’t go online with it, they can’t even get it to work.
iPad hits a new high in Web share usage; Samsung hits a new low
A new report from Chitika on Tuesday shows that Apple’s iPad is still growing its Web share usage. The iPad is now at 84.3%, its highest mark since the beginning of 2013.
Now Samsung copies the iPad mini
Seriously, something has to be done with these clowns.
Acer 8-inch tablet sucks balls
Even if it were, I don’t see why anyone would want to buy this tablet. The screen is so bad that I can’t recommend the device to anyone. Even if you truly must have an 8-inch Windows tablet for some reason, you shouldn’t buy the W3. You should just wait and hope that something better comes along.
Breaking Bad book available exclusively on iBookstore
The end of Breaking Bad is coming in just under a month, with the final episode airing this season. To help fans celebrate the series, Sony has released what it calls “the ultimate interactive fan experience,” with a new digital book available exclusively on the iBookstore.
Little League World Series keeps score with iPad
Little League Baseball and Softball announces today it will use the GameChanger app and website to keep stats and stream live game updates for their nine World Series events and ten region championship tournaments. As tournament scorekeepers record every pitch using the GameChanger iPad app, Little League families and fans will be able to follow the live game action from anywhere in the world.
This is great. Pilots, business people, everyday users and even organizers of the Little League World Series—confidence is high with the iPad.
Autistic man breaks through the silence
What a great story.
The coming freakout about iOS 7
It’s unfortunate, but Joel is absolutely right.
Zombies and assholes
Sascha Segan:
So you see the self-serving nature of this study: Adeven is trying to boost its business by making app developers worry they won’t make any money without Adeven. In the meantime, the company promotes a half-blind idea of what Apple’s App Store is. That’s why I’m not actually linking to the study here.
When are the mainstream media going to get off their asses and realize that the “research” from these companies are designed to help those companies sell their products. Nothing else. The BBC, CNBC and the others are just assholes for falling for this type of marketing.
Apple ends “App Store” lawsuit against Amazon
“We no longer see a need to pursue our case,” Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said. “With more than 900,000 apps and 50 billion downloads, customers know where they can purchase their favorite apps.”
iOS 7 dynamics
Rene Ritchie:
It’s not pixels painted so much anymore as particles placed, and not areas touched so much as directly manipulated.
Rene’s right in saying that there’s a lot going on with iOS 7 beyond the design. The way the operating system interacts with things around it is amazing.
5 years of the App Store
Apple is celebrating 5 years since the App Store first opened with a number of free apps for you to download.
The failure of Android’s open
Daniel Eran Dilger:
Open Source enthusiasts love to tell you Android is winning, and that it is winning because it is open. But they’re wrong on both counts. The history of computing makes that abundantly clear, as do the current leaders in profitability.
Some great points in this article.
Hardware keyboards for your iPad
This isn’t something I use, but I can certainly see situations where they would come in handy.
Prince of Persia on iOS July 25
Continue the age old saga of a wanderer who was born a Prince! The wanderer returns, in search of his unknown past on a journey to redefine his future. Prince of Persia The Shadow and The Flame is a pick up and play, smooth adaptation of an epic classic easy to handle but challenging to master. Play as the Prince who must battle the odds again to save his Princess and kingdom on a journey that will pave the path to his origins.
A Steve Ballmerism
Steve Ballmer:
How many of us have gone to a meeting with somebody who brought a tablet and then when it comes time to actually take notes, writes them down on pencil and paper. Or can’t get at the spreadsheet…or try to use it in terminal emulator mode…or take [a long time] to set up and turn their tablet into something that approximates a PC.”
Steve, let me be clear: shit like that doesn’t happen with people that have an iPad. If you see it happen, maybe it’s because they are using a Surface.