Posts Tagged Apple
iPhone Buyout Offer in Germany
By: Victor Mihailescu
It was widely expected that the introduction of an official unlocked iPhone, due to European laws, would have a big impact on the dynamics of the market, but despite the unlocking coming earlier than expected, the big boom has only just arrived.
German mobile virtual network operator Debitel has announced that it will be offering a 600 Euro rebate to
people who buy an unlocked iPhone from T-Mobile Germany but sign a contract with them instead. Considering that T-Mobile sells the locked iPhone for 399 Euro, this rebate effectively eliminates the cost of getting an unlocked iPhone, and gives users the freedom to use it on the carrier that better suits their needs.
Considering that Debitel sells airtime it buys from T-Mobile and rivals Vodafone, O2, and E-Plus in Germany, users will be able to use whatever carrier they prefer. “We are happy to offer iPhone buyers the freedom of choice that customers are entitled to expect from a service provider,” said Oliver Steil, Debitel’s marketing chief.
In one swift move, Debitel has essentially eliminated any advantage T-Mobile might have had because of their partnership with Apple, and the company has no qualms with paying the difference as long as it gets them new subscribers. The company will start offering contracts starting at 40 Euro a month for 200 minutes, cheaper than T-Mobile’s base offering of 49 Euro for only half the minutes. Customers that opt for using the Vodafone, E-Plus and O2 networks will – of course – not benefit from Visual Voicemail, but all other features of the iPhone will function properly.
What is amazing about Debitel is not only the offer they are coming out with, but the frankness with which they are doing it. They are clearly offering to buy you out of the T-Mobile contract, and not sugar coating it in any way. This could be a seriously nasty development for Apple, as Debitel won’t be sharing any revenue with them, and they stand to lose a lot of potential customers who prefer the more competitive service plans or network coverage. It will also be interesting to see if this move is mirrored in France, where it could be even more popular if the unlocked version of the iPhone will indeed sell for “significantly less” than in Germany.
Source: Softpedia
Add comment March 17, 2008
Apple Mac mini (2-GHz Core 2 Duo)
The Apple Mac mini has been around in one form or another for almost three years, and while the internal components have changed, the general concept and overall design has stayed the same. Pricing starts at $599, but the one we looked at is the upgraded 2-GHz $799 model. It’s one of the forerunners of the green PC, having gone through several generations of substituting energy-efficient notebook-class components for desktop parts since the G4-powered Mac minis of early 2005. The Mac mini has been the lower-priced, entry-level Mac, but now that it’s equipped with the Core 2 Duo processors, it is as powerful as a larger desktop while retaining its power (and space) savings. The Apple Mac mini appeals to both space-constrained and green-thinking PC users.
The Mac mini (2.0-GHz Core 2 Duo) comes in the usual 6.5-inch-square by two-inch-high white plastic and brushed-metal chassis. Like other Apple products, it’s iconic within its category. The system’s IR receiver for the included remote is on the front of the chassis, along with the slot-loading DVD burner. The remote is the same old Apple remote, with simplified controls and a small size that makes it somewhat easy to lose. Now that Front Row 2.0—which gives the mini an Apple TV-like interface so you can easily listen to and view all of your digital media like photos, music and videos—is part of Leopard, the remote becomes more than a novelty. And since the mini’s 120GB hard drive is enough to hold your iTunes library, even including downloaded videos, the mini now gives you the functionality of Apple TV (plus the ability to order stuff in iTunes) for only a few hundred dollars more—and you get a full-blown PC as well. You do have to buy the monitor, keyboard, and mouse separately for the mini.
Like most Apple systems the mini is quiet, with almost no fan noise. (You have to stick your ear next to the mini to hear the hard drive working.). It does still use an external power brick, but now that’s a plus instead of a hindrance. That’s because the brick is more efficient than some internal power supplies, particularly when the system is sleeping or idle. This Mac mini is both Energy Star 4.0 and EPEAT Silver certified, so it will serve you well while making a minimal impact on the environment (though it’s not quite the virtue generator that a Toyota Prius would be). Your power bills will be lower, and since the mini is physically such a small system, the impact when you recycle it will be smaller as well. According to EPEAT reporting, the mini is 90 percent recyclable (65 percent is the minimum needed to get any sort of EPEAT certification). Other components, like the 2.5-inch notebook-class hard drive and integrated graphics, help you cut down on power use in the long run.
Alas, the Mac mini’s performance on the benchmark tests was unimpressive. The Mac mini failed to run 3DMark06 while under Vista via Boot Camp, though its Windows Media Encoder scores were respectable: 1 minute 32 seconds (less than 2 minutes is considered very good). Its Photoshop scores were okay but not great: a slow 2 minutes flat on Photoshop CS2 can be attributed to the systems’ relatively meager 1GB of memory (we recommend 2GB). The time improved to 1:10 when I upgraded to Photoshop CS3, which is Intel-optimized in Mac OS X. For thoroughness, I tested CS2 (2:22) and CS3 (1:03) under Windows Vista as well. Again, good but not great. It is notable that at least for Photoshop CS3, the Mac mini makes a really good Vista PC.
Compared with systems like the HP Slimline 3200 series, the Mac mini is much smaller and has the benefit of being both a Mac OS X and a Windows PC. The HP Pavilion Slimline s3020n PC does have larger hard drives, optional internal TV tuners, and also works with MCE extenders like the Xbox 360. Look for more compact systems to start muscling in on the Mac mini’s turf as 2008 unfolds.
The Apple Mac mini continues to be an energy-efficient computer as well as a design statement. It’s an attractive alternative to Windows Vista PCs, even those with small form factors, since it’s a visual, technological, and spiritual match for the iPods in millions of pockets worldwide. It’s worth putting on your short list.
Source: PC Magazine
Add comment March 12, 2008
The Search for the Killer iPhone App
Many developers are hard at work building tools for Apple’s popular phone, despite what some consider limits on their ability to collaborate
Executives at venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers had a running bet as they announced a $100 million fund to encourage developers to build tools for Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone. The wager was over how many business plans they’d receive in the first 30 days after the Mar. 6 announcement. Kleiner Perkins partner Matt Murphy won’t divulge the number, but says it was exceeded within 36 hours.
So great is the interest among developers in creating a software-based tool, or application, for Apple’s popular iPhone or iPod Touch that on the same day Apple announced the release of the software developer’s kit, or SDK, Apple’s Web site crashed. Many developers resorted to grabbing the file using BitTorrent file-sharing technology.
Nondisclosure agreement
At stake not only is a slice of funding from storied Kleiner Perkins, an early investor in such companies as Amazon (AMZN), Genentech (DNA), and Sun Microsystems (JAVA), but potential bragging rights to building the next killer app for the iPhone. Programmers are generally pleased with the kit, but many are already running up against a lack of guidance from Apple on thorny questions, as well as limits on their ability to compare notes with other developers.
Craig Hockenberry is a principal at developer Iconfactory who hopes to create a tool that would make it easier for iPhone users to use microblogging site Twitter. “They’ve done an absolutely fantastic job,” Hockenberry says of Apple. “The problem that Apple has right now is, there’s too much interest in the iPhone SDK.” Several iPhone developers contacted by BusinessWeek.com say they’ve already sent Apple questions or reported concerns via phone or e-mail. Most don’t expect to get a response back for several weeks. The company didn’t respond to repeated requests for comment on this story.
Many programmers feel inhibited from turning to one another for help because of the confidentiality agreement they need to sign before downloading the free kit. Among the stipulations in the 2,700-word document: “You agree not to disclose, publish, or disseminate any confidential information to anyone other than to other registered iPhone developers” who work for the same firm. The restriction hasn’t stopped some developers from using public forums to answer each other’s questions—though it has given some pause. “Apple considers the SDK to be covered under an NDA [nondisclosure agreement] by developers,” wrote a participant in a discussion on Apple’s site who identified himself as Scott. “They don’t want people discussing it.”
Fat Fund
Apple is not the only company to impose NDAs on developers, notes Richard Doherty, director of consultancy Envisioneering Group. Yet the cell-phone software disseminated by Google (GOOG) contains language that appears to be less restrictive than Apple’s.
Erica Sadun had hoped to publish a book on the iPhone SDK within days of the publication of the beta, or test, version. Now she’s concerned she’ll have to wait until June, when the kit is released officially. “Apple is not clarifying what comes under the NDA,” she says. She’s particularly leery of language like this: “You agree not to use Confidential Information in any way, including, without limitation, for your own or any third party’s benefit without the prior written approval of an authorized representative of Apple in each instance.”
Meantime, programmers are muddling through. Chris Sloop is chief technology officer at WeatherBug, which provides weather updates to cell-phone users. He wants to know whether the iPhone will eventually be able to run several applications simultaneously, something the device can’t do today. That would enable WeatherBug, for example, to send an inclement weather alert while also providing alternate travel routes.
When Sloop and others like him come up with their cool new features, they may find a ready reception at Kleiner Perkins, which views the iPhone as more than just another cell-phone software platform competing with Nokia-led Symbian, Microsoft’s (MSFT) Windows Mobile, and various flavors of mobile Linux. “Amazon, eBay, Netscape, Google—we’d like to find the peer group of those companies on the mobile Internet,” says Murphy, who says his fund could swell to more than $100 million. “A lot of the pillars, foundational applications for the mobile Internet, will grow up on the iPhone.” Doherty believes that rivals Nokia (NOK) and Google might start similar funds, encouraging application innovation for their cell phones and software.
Plenty of Ideas
Indeed, several developers are pressing ahead, seemingly undeterred by disclosure restrictions. “We are really trying to think big thoughts about what’s the right advertising solution for the iPhone,” says John SanGiovanni, founder of Seattle-based Zumobi, a Microsoft spin-off that lets advertisers publish mobile widgets offering snippets of content as well as ads. Today’s mobile ads tend to consist of boring text messages or unattractive banners; SanGiovanni wants to make mobile advertising more interactive. After all, the new kit lets programmers tie their software to iPhone hardware, such as its accelerometer, a feature that could, potentially, gift the iPhone with capabilities of Nintendo’s Wii: Users might be able to “play” through ads by waving their phones around.
Another startup, Jajah, plans to take advantage of the access Apple provides to the iPhone’s microphone, speakers, and a Wi-Fi wireless broadband connection to build a highly capable Web-calling application. The application would allow frequent travelers to place calls via airport and coffee shop Wi-Fi and avoid expensive international roaming, which has left many an iPhone owner with a hefty wireless bill. This software would also allow users to look up phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and schedules of contacts from a corporate Microsoft Exchange address book. “If things like this are available, companies will give employees a choice of an iPhone vs. the BlackBerry,” says Frederik Hermann, director of global marketing at Jajah.
And even those awaiting guidance, Hockenberry says, are confident Apple will lend a hand eventually.
Source: Business Week
1 comment March 12, 2008
