Apple Launches Email Ad Campaign Focusing on Productivity

[jrswizzle]

You've got me there, I absolutely despise their non-gmail application. I think they moved it to the store, so it might get better eventually, but it is horrible right now.

To be honest, the only phone OS that does email right is WP these days. >_>;

I think we'll quietly see some type of additional attachment support in iOS 8 via iCloud Drive.

For instance, instead of the option to "insert photo or video", we'll have "insert file from iCloud Drive" which will open up the folder view we've seen and allow you to select whatever file you want.

Would make perfect sense and be extremely easy to implement.

 

[stulowe2009]

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Where was the zip file? In an email? Where?

I would think its fairly easy to forward along a zip file or save it to an app like Dropbox and then mail it from there.

Did you have to unzip it first?

This was the first result when I googled "sending a zip file on iPad"

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/izip-zip-unzip-unrar-tool/id413971331?mt=8

Here's another result that apparently shows iOS 7 added the ability to unzip a zip file without opening in any additional apps provided the files within the zip are supported

http://www.iphonehacks.com/2013/10/ios-7-supports-zip-files.html

I understand some people can do all their work on an iPad if it is mostly consuming things coming in, annotating bits, simple reports and some feedback going out. I have a friend who does factory inspections in China and he exclusively uses his iPad for work when in China. My work however is very varied and deals with different stuff everyday so not so easy.

You kinda missed a number of things I said though. The zip file needed uploading through a website interface (Apple's developer website actually) in response to a support thread. The file was an .ipa file that Apple insist is zipped before sending to them. I have the .ipa file to hand no problem through google drive and in other places to download to my ipad. But how do I then zip that and get that to the web browser? Biggest problem is that if you click a web site upload button on an iPad it lets you only upload gallery photos or take a photo, nothing else. This file is not a photo nor was it something I was able to email to Apple. No access on iPads to your all your files plus no access cross apps to zip the .ipa file anyway.

I just tested the izip app you linked to and it might be possible to get the file out of google drive and zipped in it but requires the paid pro version to be able to do this. It does say though it restricts the file types that can be zipped though so might not work. Even if that worked though it still wouldn't be able to get the file to magic it's way through the photo gallery to allow me to pick it to upload anywhere online in the browser.

It mind sound like an obscure thing but my days a riddled with random files and pieces to send around, edit, upload, collate, etc.. Half the time things are impossible or require crazy workarounds on iPad when they'd take less than a minute on my mac.

There is nothing though from a hardware perspective stopping an iPad doing much of this. It is Apple's decision to not allow an accessible file system across the device that leads to the issues. Artificial restrictions that are in place but they are looking like ones that might start to be eased with Apple at least giving access to icloud drive across all apps in iOS 8. Flexibility is why I stick to my android phone, quite a few times it's saved my ass in being able to do things I would have normally needed to be at my computer to do.

 

[Michael Goff]

I think we'll quietly see some type of additional attachment support in iOS 8 via iCloud Drive.

For instance, instead of the option to "insert photo or video", we'll have "insert file from iCloud Drive" which will open up the folder view we've seen and allow you to select whatever file you want.

Would make perfect sense and be extremely easy to implement.

That would be an excellent addition, and I would be glad to see it implemented.

That being said, and completely off the subject of email and attachments, I'm still a bit miffed that Apple is only giving 5GB free. It seems a bit small.

 

[gotluck]

I think we'll quietly see some type of additional attachment support in iOS 8 via iCloud Drive.

For instance, instead of the option to "insert photo or video", we'll have "insert file from iCloud Drive" which will open up the folder view we've seen and allow you to select whatever file you want.

Would make perfect sense and be extremely easy to implement.

please, for god's sake, please

 

[orioncrystalice]

I think we'll quietly see some type of additional attachment support in iOS 8 via iCloud Drive.

For instance, instead of the option to "insert photo or video", we'll have "insert file from iCloud Drive" which will open up the folder view we've seen and allow you to select whatever file you want.

Would make perfect sense and be extremely easy to implement.

that is a good point to think about. That could get big and fast in the enterprise world; think of the IBM muscle and entire businesses working with iCloud Drive. I hope they go this route.

 

[jrswizzle]

I understand some people can do all their work on an iPad if it is mostly consuming things coming in, annotating bits, simple reports and some feedback going out. I have a friend who does factory inspections in China and he exclusively uses his iPad for work when in China. My work however is very varied and deals with different stuff everyday so not so easy.

You kinda missed a number of things I said though. The zip file needed uploading through a website interface (Apple's developer website actually) in response to a support thread. The file was an .ipa file that Apple insist is zipped before sending to them. I have the .ipa file to hand no problem through google drive and in other places to download to my ipad. But how do I then zip that and get that to the web browser? Biggest problem is that if you click a web site upload button on an iPad it lets you only upload gallery photos or take a photo, nothing else. This file is not a photo nor was it something I was able to email to Apple. No access on iPads to your all your files plus no access cross apps to zip the .ipa file anyway.

I just tested the izip app you linked to and it might be possible to get the file out of google drive and zipped in it but requires the paid pro version to be able to do this. It does say though it restricts the file types that can be zipped though so might not work. Even if that worked though it still wouldn't be able to get the file to magic it's way through the photo gallery to allow me to pick it to upload anywhere online in the browser.

It mind sound like an obscure thing but my days a riddled with random files and pieces to send around, edit, upload, collate, etc.. Half the time things are impossible or require crazy workarounds on iPad when they'd take less than a minute on my mac.

There is nothing though from a hardware perspective stopping an iPad doing much of this. It is Apple's decision to not allow an accessible file system across the device that leads to the issues. Artificial restrictions that are in place but they are looking like ones that might start to be eased with Apple at least giving access to icloud drive across all apps in iOS 8. Flexibility is why I stick to my android phone, quite a few times it's saved my ass in being able to do things I would have normally needed to be at my computer to do.

Gotcha - see above. I think iCloud Drive will solve all kinds of issues like this.

For example, when you click the upload button on a website in Safari, you'll pull up iCloud Drive instead of the photos folder itself.

 

[gotluck]

I hope its not only compatible with icloud drive though, give us dropbox and onedrive. Google drive would be nice too, but I'm sure hate will get in the way.

 

[jrswizzle]

That would be an excellent addition, and I would be glad to see it implemented.

That being said, and completely off the subject of email and attachments, I'm still a bit miffed that Apple is only giving 5GB free. It seems a bit small.

Meh - but doesn't that leave out things like Photos, iWork documents etc?

There are very few cloud storage providers that offer a ton more space than that. Google Drive does (and there are various promos through other places), but Dropbox gave me less than 5GB when I first got it and others like Copy, OneDrive and Box are somewhat more obscure.

Given the likely integration iCloud Drive will have in iOS will make it far more valuable to me than any of the above mentioned. Because I still use an Android device and a WP device every now and then, I'll continue to use Dropbox (and Google Drive and OneDrive) - but I'd gladly pay for extra iCloud Drive storage. Heck, I already did as my backups for my various devices far exceed the initial free amount currently given.

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please, for god's sake, please

that is a good point to think about. That could get big and fast in the enterprise world; think of the IBM muscle and entire businesses working with iCloud Drive. I hope they go this route.

Based on what I've seen of iOS 8 so far, the email attachment issue is really the only thing missing from my wish list.

And given the fact that iOS 7 introduced a whole slew of unannounced features, it wouldn't surprise me if they show iCloud Drive doing things a vast majority of people do (with pictures and iWork documents shared across devices) and quietly slip iCloud Drive into a ton of other places in the OS.

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I hope its not only compatible with icloud drive though, give us dropbox and onedrive. Google drive would be nice too, but I'm sure hate will get in the way.

Lol, no way in hell that's happening.

Apple wants you using Apple stuff - that goes for anything that gives their ecosystem an advantage. iCloud Drive qualifies there. Plus, they'll want you to sign up for more storage.

I've never bought any additional storage from any other cloud provider. But given what could be a very integrated and pervasive cloud storage option across all my Apple products, I very well might buy additional iCloud Drive storage.

Though - I've speculated in the past that they could turn the attachment selector into a share sheet type interface at which point various third party apps could throw their own API in there. Think of how you press "Open In..." and it brings up the share sheet. Similarly one could simply select "Insert file" which would bring up a share sheet interface with a variety of options - both Apple and third party.

I've thought about this alot....can't you tell? Haha, side effect of being the ONE thing I am still waiting on from Apple in iOS.

 

[Michael Goff]

Meh - but doesn't that leave out things like Photos, iWork documents etc?

There are very few cloud storage providers that offer a ton more space than that. Google Drive does (and there are various promos through other places), but Dropbox gave me less than 5GB when I first got it and others like Copy, OneDrive and Box are somewhat more obscure.

Given the likely integration iCloud Drive will have in iOS will make it far more valuable to me than any of the above mentioned. Because I still use an Android device and a WP device every now and then, I'll continue to use Dropbox (and Google Drive and OneDrive) - but I'd gladly pay for extra iCloud Drive storage. Heck, I already did as my backups for my various devices far exceed the initial free amount currently given.

I don't think it leaves out photos, aside from maybe the photo stream thing. As for documents ... well, let's say it does. A document is in the kb, maybe a huge one in the mb. One would have to be a proficient writer for them giving free space to documents for it to make up a lot of space.

I just feel like, with cloud storage, the biggest cost for the provider is the initial investment. And I feel like Apple could make a bigger initial investment and maybe even give 10gb free. I mean, it wouldn't even have to surpass the other people, just be 10.

If it does have exceptions, though, then it might be alright. I guess we'll just have to wait, really. 5GB just sounds so small.

 

[stulowe2009]

I hope its not only compatible with icloud drive though, give us dropbox and onedrive. Google drive would be nice too, but I'm sure hate will get in the way.

Exactly. Our entire work world is in gmail, google drive and other google apps. Having to send stuff through icloud drive would be another additional pain in the ass. What would be nice is if Chrome were allowed to be proper chrome rather than a shell over the top of safari. Then google could just add the ability to upload from google drive when you click something online that accesses the file system.

 

[D-Dave]

"See? See? We have Office too!"

:|

...well, actualy for my needs office on the iPad is pretty nice and much better then pages and numbers. Still, the iPad is by far less useful (in a productivity sense) then the surface 3.

Anyway...I would love to see Outlook for iPad...THAT would be awesome

 

[jrswizzle]

Exactly. Our entire work world is in gmail, google drive and other google apps. Having to send stuff through icloud drive would be another additional pain in the ass. What would be nice is if Chrome were allowed to be proper chrome rather than a shell over the top of safari. Then google could just add the ability to upload from google drive when you click something online that accesses the file system.

iOS 8 opens up the Nitro engine to any 3rd party browser....so Chrome and others will be allowed to fully compete with Safari.

But if your entire work environment is Google, why are you trying to use Apple products? It would seem to me that if you make the decision to move to a specific platform, you shouldn't really get upset that another platform (that you didn't choose) makes it difficult for you to shoehorn their products into a different ecosystem....

 

[Michael Goff]

...well, actualy for my needs office on the iPad is pretty nice and much better then pages and numbers. Still, the iPad is by far less useful (in a productivity sense) then the surface 3.

Anyway...I would love to see Outlook for iPad...THAT would be awesome

Of course the SP3 will be better for productivity, it's a full x86 computer. It has more power, for one. It has more programs for another. But it's hardly fair comparing the two, since one starts at 500$ and one starts at 800$.

 

[gotluck]

I've thought about this alot....can't you tell? Haha, side effect of being the ONE thing I am still waiting on from Apple in iOS.

Aye this is the biggest thing missing in iOS for me. It is such a basic request ahh!

Apple wants you using Apple stuff - that goes for anything that gives their ecosystem an advantage. iCloud Drive qualifies there. Plus, they'll want you to sign up for more storage.

I would argue icloud only is a disadvantage as certain other OS' allow integration of all other cloud providers! (actually not sure about icloud not sure if apple allows it on other OS's which is why I dont use it to begin with). If they allow it through the web browser, they might, that is far more clunky than say dropbox / onedrive / gdrive integrated into file explorers themselves.

Perhaps extensions are the answer here and dropbox will integrate itself into the mail app.

Now that I look into it.. iCloud control panel does offer some integration, we shall see if apple ignores it with iOS 8's release.

Hopefully this IBM partnership will get more feature parity on nonapple systems. icloud drive use on ipads at work would be great, but we cannot use macs..

 

[stulowe2009]

iOS 8 opens up the Nitro engine to any 3rd party browser....so Chrome and others will be allowed to fully compete with Safari.

But if your entire work environment is Google, why are you trying to use Apple products? It would seem to me that if you make the decision to move to a specific platform, you shouldn't really get upset that another platform (that you didn't choose) makes it difficult for you to shoehorn their products into a different ecosystem....

Makes no odds at all unfortunately. All web browsers have to use the iOS Webkit Framework as their rendering engine. Enabling Nitro will only enable quicker Javascript execution on the same level with safari but it is still the exact same rendering engine as safari and is in effect still just a safari window with a chrome looking wrapper around it. Chrome uses Blink now as it's rendering engine on other platforms apart from iOS.

Apple's 'artifical restrictions' policy states:

section 2.17 “apps that browse the web must use the iOS WebKit framework and WebKit Javascript.”


**UIWebView I should have said really as what all browser makers have to use, which is the safari window any developer can have appear in their app. The new API is WKWebView which allows nitro to work**

 

[jrswizzle]

Aye this is the biggest thing missing in iOS for me. It is such a basic request ahh!



I would argue icloud only is a disadvantage as certain other OS' allow integration of all other cloud providers! (actually not sure about icloud not sure if apple allows it on other OS's which is why I dont use it to begin with)

iCloud in its current form wouldn't make sense on any other devices (though you can access basic stuff from iCloud.com).

When iCloud Drive is released it will be more like the current crop, though still seems like an iOS exclusive as it will be baked into the OS rather than a stand alone app. It remains to be seen whether or not Apple will release versions for other platforms but I highly doubt it. Apple doesn't release ANY of their apps for other platforms. At best we'll see an overhaul of the iCloud.com website that will include Photos and other files saved to it.

3rd Party integration can never be as good as first party integration. While Dropbox and others may allow you to "auto upload" photos and such, having a cloud storage option built in so there is no setting or tweaking is still more efficient. Some prefer to be platform agnostic because the options work for them. That's great. But those options don't fully replace or compete with full ecosystem integration. I should know, I've done it both ways. I have all Apple devices and the seamless integration is awesome. I've also worked to pull in Android devices, Kindles and Windows phones and while I can get it set up fairly well it just isn't quite the same.

Apple will always be about the Apple ecosystem and the Apple experience. In their minds, they make the best products and services and they'd rather not have that reputation tarnished because someone had trouble working their services on another platform or device. True or not, that's the philosophy.

It also makes for easier tech support

 

[gotluck]

I dont understand the IBM partnership if they are going to make everyone buy macs, especially for productivity related features.

iOS is still superior for enterprise, it won't be forever if they don't realize enterprise uses windows PC's

 

[jrswizzle]

I dont understand the IBM partnership if they are going to make everyone buy macs, especially for productivity related features.

iOS is still superior for enterprise, it won't be forever if they don't realize enterprise uses windows PC's

enterprise cares about email

I really wish Enterprise DIDN'T use windows.....I hate my work computer. I really don't like Office either....

 

[gotluck]

I really wish Enterprise DIDN'T use windows.....I hate my work computer. I really don't like Office either....

It's not going to change, at least where I am. gotta adapt. Too many custom applications, vendors only support windows. Hell, we cant even upgrade past IE 9 and finally finished Windows 7 upgrades a few months ago.

 

[jrswizzle]

It's not going to change, at least where I am. Too many custom applications, vendors only support windows. Hell, we cant even upgrade past IE 9 and finally finished Windows 7 upgrades a few months ago.

Heh, yup. Though I'm kinda glad we're stuck on 7. I hate Windows 8.

Windows has become so pervasive its pretty much impossible for any company of reasonable size to switch completely. You see plenty of startups and small companies using Mac, but....

To me, its less that Windows/Office is BETTER, more that its simply too integrated into everything.

 

[gotluck]

Heh, yup. Though I'm kinda glad we're stuck on 7. I hate Windows 8.

Windows has become so pervasive its pretty much impossible for any company of reasonable size to switch completely. You see plenty of startups and small companies using Mac, but....

and iOS could continue with landslide corporate representation.. I hope IBM slaps apple silly a bit

the only thing I really consider windows better at is gaming, believe me, for all other uses I'd rather be on a mac

 

[jrswizzle]

and iOS could continue with landslide corporate representation.. I hope IBM slaps apple silly a bit

Lol. It does and doesn't. iOS on an iPhone dominates enterprise, but I think the whole purpose behind the IBM partnership and email campaigns like this is that iOS on an iPad isn't seen as viable for anything as far as enterprise is concerned.

I'd guess many IT departments and companies see the cost of moving to Apple is prohibitive as well because the iPad isn't a viable option. That's what Apple is working toward. A mix of iPads and Macs that form a company's IT environment.

The iPad portion of that simply isn't there in many people's eyes. And of course, as we've talked about - the roadblocks to moving to Macs are still holding strong.

 

[stulowe2009]

and iOS could continue with landslide corporate representation.. I hope IBM slaps apple silly a bit

the only thing I really consider windows better at is gaming, believe me, for all other uses I'd rather be on a mac

You wouldn't believe how popular chromebooks are becoming in our organisation, I think we have about 700 in use now. Overall we have about 22000 users and have transitioned everything online into google apps and custom built web apps in the last couple of years. Great thing now is that people are using different stuff to all work the same. I don't generally care if a user wishes to use a windows machine, a mac, linux or a chromebook (iOS and Android for some things too). Transition from Microsoft and Windows dependence is possible in a large organisation it just takes a little excitement from those that make the decisions that IT can be more flexible.

 

[jrswizzle]

the only thing I really consider windows better at is gaming, believe me, for all other uses I'd rather be on a mac

Yup - and again, that's really only because there is still a subset of developers and companies out there that ignore the Mac userbase.

The ONLY reasons I have a Bootcamp partition on both my Macs are:

(1) SWTOR is Windows only.

(2) My Master's Program requires certain Excel add-ins so I HAVE to use excel.

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You wouldn't believe how popular chromebooks are becoming in our organisation, I think we have about 700 in use now. Overall we have about 22000 users and have transitioned everything online into google apps and custom built web apps in the last couple of years. Great thing now is that people are using different stuff to all work the same. I don't generally care if a user wishes to use a windows machine, a mac, linux or a chromebook (iOS and Android for some things too). Transition from Microsoft and Windows dependence is possible in a large organisation it just takes a little excitement from those that make the decisions that IT can be more flexible.

I wish my IT department was that forward thinking....jealous.

 

[orioncrystalice]

It might actually be an example of some forward thinking from because even though people are relying more and more on cloud storage instead of an onboard file system. They had a hand in creating it, but it seems like watching Dropbox, Google Drive etc, they decided to skip working with the file storage system altogether and possibly appease people and move forward at the same time by trying to finally establish iCloud as a new norm.