23
Jul
2010
Post Antennagate: Apple’s Low Stocks are Good
Apple, and Steve Jobs, may have the meanest reputations in the mobile phone industry, but there is no doubt in the sheer marketability of Apple’s devices. Considering how much Apple’s sales are continuing to increase, some are speculating that even if the iPhone 5 was made out of cardboard, it would still hit over 2 million unit sales in a week.
Joking aside, the sales performance of Apple has recently been released and it shows that the company is practically selling most of the handsets that they are making. In fact, Apple stated that the low stocks that retailers are complaining about are a good thing: it means that the devices are being sold faster than expected.
At this point, it is hard to believe any statement that comes directly from Apple –after all, they have stated that the antenna issue is not unique to the iPhone 4 and that other handsets have it too, with a straight face.
Tim Cool, the current chief operating officer for Apple has stated that the Cupertino based company is easily selling devices as they are being made. The demand for the device is up and they are ‘seeing fewer returns than the iPhone 3Gs’. Steve Jobs gave a similar statement last Friday; it seems that Apple’s new motto is to remind people that less iPhone 4 owners are taking up the return policy. This however, does not reflect the number of actual owners who are unhappy with their handsets.
At the same time, Apple has also stated that the shortages are not being done in order to create a buzz. And in this case, we believe Apple. There is no point trying to cause further publicity for devices and gadgets that are literally flying off the shelves. In fact, considering how bad things got after the antennagate conference ended, Apple should be selling every phone they can before people start wizening up.
9
Jul
2010
Apple Takes a New Approach to Data Mining
Apple is not exactly an industry friendly phone maker, but they certainly take the effort to try and take care of their end users (barring the whole antenna issue of course). This is evidently seen in the iAds system that has been implemented.
While Apple obviously stands to gain a lot from the new system, it seems that the folks at Cupertino have studied hard in order to create a system that end users would not fully object to. The iAds system has been designed to record user data regarding app downloads and app usage patterns from iPhone users, but at the same time, it prevents marketers and direct advertisers from being able to get the data directly.
This is because the iAds system takes care of all the data management and of course, ad targeting. Any user seeing an ad can rest assured that the data used to select that banner or popup was done by a system that was operating outside the control of the advertiser.
On the other hand Apple is not exactly tracking data that they do not originally have –with the small exception regarding user’s app usage patterns. The iTunes store keeps a transaction and download history for all users. This is the data that is used for targeted ads –in this sense it is easy to see how the iAds system is able to target users without having to reveal any data to Apple’s ad clients.
Apple’s decision to reveal this data is actually very important. The company has managed to avoid the same pitfalls that Google and Facebook had serious problems with. At the very least, this is where Steve Jobs gets to show off something that he is able to do better than his competitors.
The iAds system is already implemented in the latest version of the Apple iOS.
29
Jun
2010
The Kill Switch: Why Our Gadgets Need It
Smart phon
e technology affords us plenty of things, abstract and otherwise. From information access to simple convenience to pure entertainment, these gadgets are designed and made with the end user in mind. The innovation does not end there, aside from good hardware, manufacturer’s also select great software as well. Together these two elements provide users with the power of smart phone technology.
Of course, things are not always perfect –especially with software. While the occasional errant software issue can fixed with a quick patch or update, there are some apps that actually manage to get past manufacturer’s unique screening processes and would perform tasks that they were not intended for.
The kill switch for apps has been developed in order to combat this issue. While Google has not open declared how the kill switch is actually activated, they have formally announced that the feature does exist and they will use it if it proves necessary.
Basically, a kill switch is a method by which apps can be remotely disabled and even uninstalled or deleted. This is use as a last-resort in order to combat malicious apps or apps with unannounced behaviors.
Some users might feel worried or even unsecure with a kill switch, and while that is a normal reaction, many should know that the technology has been around for quite some time –and Google is not the only company to use it. Even Apple’s Steve Jobs has announced that the iPhone also has a similar feature.
Many articles have stated that Jobs “admitted” having a kill switch, but that is misleading. The man announced it; having a kill switch is not an error that has to be confessed. In fact, it would actually be wrong for manufacturers to not have a kill switch as that would leave their devices openly vulnerable to attacks by malicious applications.
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