Apple Matters

Chris Seibold, today’s designated idiot, has a post up at Apple Matters averring that the CEO of Microsoft is trying to spread doubt in the growing mobile market because he fears that Microsoft is falling behind. This time Ballmer isn’t laughing out loud at the iPhone but he is disparaging Google’s revenue model for Android. As Chris points out (blind hog meet acorn) the same tactic was used by Microsoft with Internet Explorer.Chris concludes that the FUD campaign won’t work:

The bright side is that the plan won’t work. People get why giving away something for free can be a great idea. People trust Google much more than Microsoft. Sorry Ballmer, you’ll have to try a little harder next time. People are getting tired of eating FUD.

Read the article over at Apple Matters.

Apple Matter’s very own Chris Howard has an article up wondering if the iPhone’s momentum can be stopped (answer=yes but it won’t btw). Chris has a huge list of recent positive iPhone head lines and then gives specific examples of where the iPhone’s popularity is really helping to drive the iPhone ahead of the competition. As Chris aptly puts it:

Because in Q4, when folks are buying a new phone, they’ll feel the weight of that momentum pushing, pushing them to buy the most popular phone, the one that “everybody” has. And then they buy it, tell their friemds, get added to that quarter’s statistics, and the momentum builds more

The iPhone has, in a sense, created its own halo effect. The more it sells, the more it sells.

Read the whole article, it is worth your time.

Apple Matters dimmest writer (Chris Seibold) has posted a bit about lessons Apple learned from not turning the original Mac into a dominant computing platform. According to the dullard the original Mac was fantastic, leaps and bounds ahead of the competition, but Apple’s slow response to changes consumers wanted led to the marginalization of the machine. Here’s an example of Chris’ reasoning:

The last thing to note about the original Mac was the failure to be responsive to the market. Macs cost twice as much as a PC but Apple never seemed to notice. When the company should’ve been trying to drive adoption the company chose to focus on driving profits in a big way apparently realizing too late that early adoption could drive later profits. You’ll note the iPhone is very competitively priced.

Okay, so the guy is a little slow. Maybe he can pick it up in the conclusion:

The answer of why Apple is being so flexible with the iPhone when the company hasn’t been flexible before is obvious. Apple learned a lot from the Mac. Apple learned that being way ahead in technology is great but that just gets write… more...

James Stoup has an interesting piece up at our sister site Apple Matters about the state of the iPhone. No, not about how great or terrible the device is but how much it must chafe Apple to have to partner with others on this project (Apple does not play nicely with peers). From the article:

After all, Apple is nothing if not a control freak. They want to be in direct control of every aspect of the “Apple Experience” and right now they aren’t. As I said before, that doesn’t mean that things aren’t going well, they are, but I refuse to accept that Apple is really satisfied with the current state of things.

It is interesting reading, especially when James wonders how Apple my retake control of the whole enchilada. That something I’d like to see.

Read it here!

The iPhone’s built in camera takes a lot of guff. No flash, 2 megapixels, that weird virtual button, the photos that always look as though you snapped them in the shakiest moment of heroin withdrawal… wait, that last one just happens to me. But the rest are true gripes.
If you can let the griping go it turns out that you can get some great pics with the iPhone and even apply some slick effects. Interested? Well start off with this article by Bakari Chavanu at our sister site Apple Matters for how a pro uses the iPhone to snap pics (and why) then read Turning the iPhone Into a Digital Photography Tool . The article covers every thing from pro tips to awards to apps. Worth your time!

Chris Howard has an excellent piece up at our sister site Apple Matters listing refinements for the iPhone. Highlights include:

Undo!! I lost a whole email when backspace got stuck on.
Rotate lock. Sometimes you just don’t want the screen to rotate. I lie in bed reading webpages. If I lie on my side, the webpage rotates to landscape (I prefer portrait most of the time). It’d be nice if there was an option to tap to lock the orientation. I know some apps I’ve seen have that feature. (Maybe a two-finger tap?)
WiFi sync. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to sync your iPhone over WiFi instead of having to plug it in? Please, Apple?

There’s a lot more in the article and since we don’t want to step on Chris Howard’s toes or make the site owner unhappy we’ll just give you the link and let you check it out for yourself.

iPhone Improvements Wish List

Chris Howard has a well written, thoughtful piece up on our sister site Apple Matters explaining why Apple rejects the apps it does. Apple gets a free pass on Pull My Finger and I am Rich but Chris susses out why Apple won’t let Podcaster or Mailwrangler through. Spoiler alert: It is about the cash.

James stoup has an excellent piece up at our sister site Apple Matters putting a fine point on just why the App store exclusions are not a big deal but that Apple making sure yoiu can’t get a banned app anyway is a huge deal.

James is right, it’s an excellent piece. Read it all at Apple Matters.

While John McCain is trying postpone the debate Chris Seibold is trying to postpone breathing at our sister site Apple Matters. I say this with certainty because no brain could function so poorly without major oxygen deprivation. My guess is that Chris Seibold is holding his breath in protest of something. Like he’s pissed at gravity. I’m sure his personal protest will work and gravity will be repealed or something. Until then you can read his latest missive about Apple and the iphone: Apple Rejecting Apps Doesn’t Matter

I know what you’re thinking, Chris Howard at out sister site Apple MAtters is bitching because Apple won’t some Apps on the iPhone. That is the easy conclusion from the title but wrong, wrong, wrong! Chris is more than a little upset because if you have to restore your iPhone you lose all the data that goes with the apps. Maddening indeed. From the article:

Hey, developers, how do you feel about that? How do you feel knowing I don’t want to use your apps because I don’t want to risk losing my data? I’m sorry, I know it’s not nice but I lost too much information I’d spent a lot of time keying in, not to mention time on games boosting my high scores.

Read the whole article (and get a little scared): No Backup, Why App Developers Should Boycott the iPhone