Notes from MWC: Copying iPhone, Offline Gmail, Turn by Turn GPS for iPhone

[plumbingandtech]

Repost #192811

It is BECAUSE apple "bundles" the software and hardware that we get great products. (See PC market and Microsoft)

Repost #8998922

Cloning failed on the mac.

Repost #993838

When there is only one store it makes the use and process of buying apps seemless. Unlike every other phone on the market.

 

[farmboy]

OK, Apple does NOT do commodity pricing

These CEOs, and in particular Ballmer (based on other comments I've seen), just do not get it.

They want all the software developers for the iPhone to develop for their phones as well; this would be easier if they all used the same coding. Then all the apps would run on everything. Then all the phones would essentially be reduced to the cheapest possible crap (commodity pricing), because they would all be essentially the same, and lowest pricing wins.

This is not Apple's thing, in any market they enter. Ain't gonna happen, and shouldn't.

 

[kolax]

It's people like you that killed the app store. No one will pay more than $.99 now so no serious developers are looking at making good apps. They're just making crappy $.99 widgets.

Make a good app and sell it for $0.99 and it'll sell extremely well. Think how many iPhone users are. The potential is huge to make a lot of money. $0.99 is an ideal price for a reason, it is the kind of money people can throw away with an impulse purchase. If developers aren't interested in earning a potential $1,000,000 from selling an app at $0.99 and making it good and hoping a potential 1.3 million people download it then who cares.

I really disagree paying anything more than $3 for an application for my iPhone. Something that someone has created, yet it is distributed for free (with Apple Developer Membership) and the developer doesn't have to do anything.

We aren't talking about people making a physical product - something like a chair, that for them to sell more than one they have to create more than one. We're talking about software that you make one, and it is just duplicated for however many people want to buy it.

What's kind of funny is Apple doesn't really "make" the hardware. Apple just picks the best parts from manufacturers like Samsung, Intel, Toshiba, etc. and then assembles them. So it's not like Apple has a factory where they make everything from scratch. Interestingly, Macs often use the same exact crap that's in PCs for major components yet the Mac doesn't fail nearly as much (suck it, Ballmer!).

That's what people say when Apple makes the hardware - they actually put it together and select what components go in it. Fair enough they don't make the majority of the components, but the fact that they select what goes in so they can design the software to precisely take advantage of what they have created hardware wise.

 

[Mr. Owl]

While I don't think anyone would accuse Ballmer of being open (unless you're talking about the Monkey-Boy Developers Dance™), or even the company he runs as being on the front lines of innovation... even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

If he were totally wrong on this one, there wouldn't be anywhere near the Jailbreaking community that there is.

While I haven't jailbroken (jailbraked? jailbaited? ... no wait, that's something else) mine, I would really like to be able to put stuff on there that Apple hasn't specifically approved.

Themes. UI tweaks. Flash. Programs that allow copy & paste, since Apple continues to decline to provide the capability. Something to edit text/word/openoffice writer documents. These things (maybe not the last one yet, I haven't looked) and more are all out there, ready for me to install them if I'm willing to jailbreak... or if the iPhone was more open.

My iPhone is the greatest thing since sliced bread and I wouldn't trade it for a dozen android phones... but it could be better.

 

[Mr. Owl]

I'd LOVE for the turn-by-turn GPS to be 99¢. Every iPhone user would download it at that price, they might even turn a tidy profit from just the sheer numbers of purchases if they advertised it right. Turn-by-turn GPS would be such a strong selling feature that chances are that Apple would release one of those "There's an App for that" commercials.

But they won't do it. I would hope, since they're not selling the hardware, that it would be less than the cost of a traditional GPS (when did GPSs become traditional?).

 

[topmike]

Other notes from MWC

I agree with the original poster "arn" about his insights with the MWC in Barcelona. I was also at the briefing, and here are some of the other notes:

Link to Digital Show Daily Here

Symbian (Nokia's OS) announced the Symbian Foundation and it will be a free OS for developers and users. You can access Nokia's QT software to create applications for all software companies, including the iPhone. (This is via a LGPL licence). Their fully open and public 4.5 software to be released in June 2009.

Balmer Rant

An audience member from Denmark commented on Apple's fame, but lack of market penetration. Balmer clapped and shouted "YEAH" to this comment, as if stating that Apple is just hype in the mobile space.

----->While the comment about Apple's lack of market penetration from the gentleman from Denmark During the Balmer Keynote is true in his country, here are the worldwide facts:

Symbian OS is the leading OS in the "smart mobile device" market. Statistics published November 2008 showed that Symbian OS had a 46.6% share of the smart mobile device market, with Apple having 17.3% (through iPhone OS), RIM having 15.3% and Microsoft having 13.5% (through Windows CE and Windows Mobile). Other competitors include Palm OS, Qualcomm's BREW, Google Android, SavaJe and MontaVista Software.​

AT&T's CEO of mobility (Ralph De La Vega) reported that the iPhone was responsible for more applications downloaded (at over 500 million downloads and 50,000 applications) with Apple's global 10 million phones in the marketplace, than the rest of the 1.1 billion phones out there. So while Apple represents a small percentage of the total number of phones, it surpasses the rest of the phones when it comes to application use and downloads. The iPhone was responsible for an increase in ARPU for AT&T by over $30.​

Google Application Support

Google (Vic Gundotra, VP of Engineering) is pushing Webkits with HTML 5, as this allows a single web application to be created for the iPhone, Nokia N-Series, The Palm Pre and Android based phones. They claim the biggest advantage of HTML 5 is:
Client-Side database storage
Client-Side caching
Safari JavaScript Database Programming

Vic is the one who demonstrated the g-mail application on the iPhone that allows a user to read his email in airplane mode.
​

As stated in other forum posts: Nokia announced the Ovi store (Ovi is "Door" in Finish), which is location aware. It will prioritize applications based on your current location and what your friends have downloaded.

Microsoft announced its own version of an app store called "Windows Marketplace." This will be accessed via the new Microsoft software, Windows Mobile 6.5.

Microsoft also announced "MyPhone" which competes with Apple's Me service. This is a free service for Windows Mobile users.

 

[ipoppy]

Wait? Didn't you say earlier it was a hardware limitation? Maybe I misunderstood what you were trying to say. If so, my apologies.

Yes I did say that and nothing is wrong with that statement if software is too "heavy" for iPhone.
Is it?

 

[DavidLeblond]

Doesn't Microsoft make the XBox 360 and it's underlying OS?

 

[SandynJosh]

Wow, Ballmer is so insightful.

No single company can create all the hardware and software, eh?

Yet what has Microsoft been working on for the past several decades? They dominate the operating systems market. They dominate the productivity software market. They're trying to dominate the music market. They're trying to dominate the mobile phone market. They're trying to dominate the computer gaming market.

Whatever market they can't dominate, their strategy is to kill or cripple the competition. I'm fairly certain it would be Gates & Co's DREAM COME TRUE if one day they woke up and found all-Microsoft software running on PCs, mobile phones, gaming systems, etc. all being manufactured by Microsoft.

And just how "open" and "full of choice" do you think that would be?

Pot, kettle, black.

What really chaps Ballmer's big behind is that the most common non-Microsoft program that people install on Windows computers are two Apple products: iTunes and QuickTime.

He needs to do more happy dancing while screaming that he "loves this company!" Maybe he might get to do some unfunny creepy commercials with Jerry Seinfeld.

 

[plumbingandtech]

Make a good app and sell it for $0.99 and it'll sell extremely well.

Think how many iPhone users are. The potential is huge to make a lot of money.

So. So wrong...so many things wrong in your post.

Google: "limited markets , leaving money on the table"

 

[Alx9876]

I want this app so bad. Please Apple let this GPS app into the app store.

 

[jimmer-uk]

they test it as well.[/U]

Could of fooled me, half of what I buy off the app store doesn't install or if it does is full of bugs. It's like a jumble sale for kiddie developers. Give me quality apple, not stating proudly "we have 20,000 apps" . 19,500 of which are total rubbish. It's not a race to get the most apps. I do not sue the app store anymore.

I want genuinely useful stuff and turn by turn would be right up there. Tomtom had it ready but apple bullied them off, not for the benefit of the end user I might add. I really do want turn by turn and would be prepared to pay £80-£120 for the software and Euro maps.

 

[apolloa]

"Mobile World Congress 2009 took place this week in Barcelona, Spain bringing together the major players of the mobile phone industry. While Apple chose not to attend, a lot of the talk still surrounded Apple's iPhone."

Hahahahahahahahahaha LMFAO hahahahahaha

Oh my f****** God. I have been following pretty much all the tech news web sites and mobile phone web sites for this week to see what has come out and there has been 1 yes ONE mention of the iPhone so far, that's the GPS app your reading about today which is a total waste of time as Apple refuses anyone to sell one for the iPhone.
IMO the iPhone is an amazing product UI wise but it has been SEVERELY held back with rubbish hardware (Camera anyway) and a total lock down of apps and good grief it can't even do MMS. You have to hack it or download an app for something the cheapest phone on the market can do.
Sorry for the rant, but I did read on one famous Apple news website today that the iPhone DOMINATED MWC!!!! hahahahahahahahaha
Wishful thinking, Apple will NEVER attend an event like MWC because they will be asked far too many difficult questions from the media and the competition will just slag them off constantly. As for WinMO 6.5, that's a disaster too.
The Palm Pre, now there's a damn fine phone.

 

[IJ Reilly]

At least the writer of this story understands that the word "openness" can mean anything anyone wants it to mean, kind of like "truth" and "beauty." Ballmer would like us to believe that "openness" in operating systems is defined by it being licensed to more than one hardware vendor, because that's what Microsoft does. Of course this is not "openness" by any definition, it's just licensing to more than one hardware vendor. The reality is that everyone would like to duplicate Apple's model, and they surely would if they knew how. This supposed commitment to the nebulous thing called "openness" is nothing more than a hoax, and an admission that they are chasing Apple and don't have a clue about how to catch them.

 

[kdarling]

What really chaps Ballmer's big behind is that the most common non-Microsoft program that people install on Windows computers are two Apple products: iTunes and QuickTime.

Never looked it up, but... more than Adobe's Flash? Or Java. Or even Firefox?

Microsoft has no problem with iPhones selling well. Heck, they get royalties because Apple had to license the Microsoft Exchange protocol to be taken seriously in business.

 

[Arisian]

I'd fight Ballmer....

 

[rockosmodurnlif]

Everyone is misunderstanding Ballmer. Microsoft has always been in favor of openness. They want your hardware open to run their software. That has always been Microsoft's business plan.

$0.99

You must be misguided. People don't want to pay for it. They expect it included on the iPhone. They pay money for fart apps.

 

[kolax]

You must be misguided. People don't want to pay for it. They expect it included on the iPhone. They pay money for fart apps.

Who are these "people"?

I don't know anyone who wouldn't pay $0.99 for a really good turn-by-turn directions GPS..

 

[Arisian]

Who are these "people"?

I don't know anyone who wouldn't pay $0.99 for a really good turn-by-turn directions GPS..

id have to agree.... .99 for a navigation based GPS unit on my iphone? I'd pay alot more, but for .99 you would sell quiet a bit....

People who pay .99 for fart apps deserve what they get...

 

[dejo]

How about nothing. It should be the next upgrade to google maps.

Who are these "people"?

I don't know anyone who wouldn't pay $0.99 for a really good turn-by-turn directions GPS..

I heard of this guy, mikeinternet...

 

[preservative]

my precious.......

 

[kage207]

I'm usually open for openness of the market because it's the way to go and keeps costs down.

But if one company can delivery an experience that is valued by it's customers why shouldn't they be able to give that to their customers? I mean if I'm willing to accept that I might pick a company that is closed. Well that's the experience I want. I'm sorry but Apple has given me best user experience in computers ever. Not only has it given me a great computer experience but with their other devices such as iPods, iPhone, and AppleTV. They have all worked together so well and there has been little problems when connecting the devices. Apple has given me so little problems I can't remember one problem ever by them.

But when I was with PC and Windows, it's just such a pain in the ass to get devices to work together, even ones when they were made for each other. Like getting my Xbox360 to sync with my computer. Took me forever for awhile because they would tell me to go this part of the site and I would get sent to the same page I was just on. Downloaded a bunch of **** to just get it working.

Apple should let other apps come in even if they are similar because it creates competition and innovation of others ideas to get their users to their applications.

 

[NetScheduler]

Silly

Until MSFT's stock is higher than AAPL's, and according to my holdings, its not, he needs to worry about his own stuff.

iPhone ftw! WM ftl .

Please don't embarrass yourself further with nonsense such this ridiculous statement. It's obvious you don't have any "holdings" - I seriously doubt you have, or have ever owned a single share of stock...

 

[apolloa]

my precious.......

Yeah. So that's Co Pilot and Tom Tom and the other company from today, yet so far NONE of them can sell the software thanks to Apple!!! Seriously, more and more people use smart phones for car Sat Nav, I do, because then you get out of the car and use the same device to walk around with and find places. Apple really are placing both feet together, taking aim with a big ol shotgun and blasting both feet off with this one!!

 

[wheelhot]

Integration of software and hardware is what makes the iPhone work so well...so you're wrong Ballmer.

Yup, and that is why Windows Mobile 6.5 wont be any jawdropping OS cause it depends on how jawdropping the smartphone will be.

Its amazing that is how MS leader is thinking right now.