Posts Tagged Apple
War looms as Sony hints that it will abandon iTunes
SONY has signalled it may withdraw its artists from Apple’s iTunes store and withhold its games from the iPhone in a sign the two companies are on the brink of all-out war.
Sony plans to open a competitor to iTunes, a music streaming service called Music Unlimited, in Australia soon.
Another service launching later this year will enable mobile phone users to pay and play first generation PlayStation games on their handsets. The head of Sony’s games unit in Australia said it was unlikely to be available on the iPhone or through iTunes.
Two weeks ago Apple blocked Sony’s electronic book application from the iPhone because it would have bypassed Apple’s system for buying content.
The new Sony music service, which opened in Europe last year, will have a library of 6 million tracks and users will be able to stream songs to Sony TVs, PlayStation3 consoles, PSP portable game players and Blu-Ray players.
The chief executive officer of Sony Computer Entertainment, Michael Ephraim, said music streaming was a ”new technology” that gave consumers greater freedom to play their music on a variety of devices.
Because Sony’s service will be stored on servers, users will be able to more freely access songs from any device, which Mr Ephraim said was in contrast to Apple’s system, which relies on users to transfer their library across devices such as the iPod or iPhone.
If Music Unlimited becomes popular it will provide a credible alternative to iTunes for music publishers, including Sony Music Entertainment, which includes Bob Dylan, Beyonce, Guy Sebastian and Delta Goodrem in its stable of artists.
”If we do [get mass take up] then does Sony Music need to provide content to iTunes?” Mr Ephraim asked. ”Currently we do. We have to provide it to iTunes as that’s the format right now.
”Publishers are being held to ransom by Apple and they are looking for other delivery systems, and we are waiting to see what the next three to five years will hold.”
Music Unlimited would eventually move to portable devices such as Sony’s PlayStation Portable and Sony Ericsson phones, Mr Ephraim said, but the company is not saying whether that will include devices made by competing manufacturers.
Later this year Sony will launch PlayStation Suite, which brings early games such as Crash Bandicoot to portable devices and phones such as Samsung’s Galaxy and Motorola’s Defy powered by Google’s Android operating system.
Mr Ephraim said it was another example of Sony ”opening up” its content to other platforms. In 2009 it opened up PlayStation 3 to allow users to watch the ABC’s iView.
Mr Ephraim said PlayStation Suite was unlikely to operate on Apple’s iPhone. ”We are not as closed as Apple is. It’s the first time in the gaming industry it’s non-proprietary. With the proliferation of devices [PlayStation Suite] could be an indication of where things are going.”
Information Source smh.com.au
Jobs ‘still involved at Apple’
Apple chief Steve Jobs, three weeks into an indefinite medical leave of absence, has remained involved in the company’s strategy and product development, the Wall Street Journal said.
Jobs has been staying closely attuned to the company’s day-to-day workings, said the Journal, citing people close to situation, with the 55-year-old chief executive taking meetings at home, keeping in contact by phone and even visiting Apple’s campus in Cupertino, California.
Last month Jobs announced he was to step aside, his third medical leave since 2004, but did not say how long he expected to be away or provide any details about his latest health issues.
He underwent an operation for pancreatic cancer in 2004 and received a liver transplant in early 2009. He has appeared gaunt but relatively healthy at recent Apple public events.
He turned over the helm to chief operating officer Timothy Cook on January 17, but kept his chief executive title and said at the time he would still participate in “major strategic decisions” at Apple.
Among the products in the works are the new version of the iPad tablet computer, due in the coming months, and a new iPhone later this year.
Apple’s fortunes have been uniquely linked to Jobs, who returned to the then flagging company in 1997 after a 12-year absence and introduced innovative and wildly successful products like the iPod, iPhone and iPad.
Apple has sold approximately 14.79 million iPads since the tablet hit the market last April, according to a tally of figures made public in earnings releases.
Last month the company reported a record quarterly net profit of $US6 billion as revenue soared to an unprecedented $US26.74 billion during the year-end holiday shopping season.
Information Source smh.com.au
Anger with Apple pushes firms to Android
The hardline approach taken by Apple towards media companies selling apps through its iTunes Store could push crucial content partners into the hands of competitors such as Google’s Android.
Android has been gaining rapidly on iPhone and a slew of new Android phones and tablets are due out in Australia this year from vendors including Motorola, Samsung, HTC and LG.
IDC telecommunications analyst Mark Novosel predicts Android will overtake Apple’s iOS to become the No.1 smartphone platform in Australia by the middle of this year. From preliminary IDC findings, by the end of last year Android accounted for about a quarter of all new smart phones shipped.
Apple is now strictly enforcing rules stipulating that all newspapers and magazine subscriptions for the iPad be offered through the iTunes store, ensuring its 30 per cent cut of all subscription sales, as well as that of the app’s initial purchase price.
Apple is also asking subscribers if they want their information to be shared with publishers, which could lead to publishers losing access to important data.
In Australia, publishers have had their apps rejected for exploiting loopholes that allow them to sell subscriptions and accept payments without giving a share to Apple. Sometimes apps are rejected without an explanation.
With Android, publishers have far more control over their apps and do not have to give a cut of revenue to anyone. But until Android cements its lead, publishers have no choice but to dance to Apple’s tune if they want a share of the App Store’s spoils – more than $1 billion was spent there last year, according to investment bank Gleicher & Co.
Some publishers around the world have said they feel betrayed by Apple’s hardline approach as their support for the iPad helped ensure its success. The European Newspaper Publishers’ Association was among the first to complain, saying it feared newspaper publishers would lose access to critical information about readers of their digital editions.
Media companies are busily developing apps for Android-powered phones and tablets to ensure their content gets out on to other devices.
But despite their desire for strong competition to Apple, local executives have stopped short of publicly criticising the company, which they rely on to approve their apps.
“Both publishers and consumers will benefit from a competitive tablet market. That will stimulate innovation and pricing competition,” Fairfax Digital chief executive Jack Matthews said.
“We want to make sure we are developing for multiple platforms so that we can encourage that competitive environment.”
News Ltd declined to comment.
Patrick Lo, global chief executive of home networking giant Netgear, encapsulated the private fears of many media executives at a small lunch gathering in Sydney last month.
He said content providers were very “wary” of Apple as the closed model of iTunes meant they were forced to pay a “ransom” to the company for selling their content on the service.
“[Apple chief executive] Steve Jobs wants to suffocate the distribution so even though he doesn’t own the content he could basically demand a ransom,” Mr Lo said.
However, Graham Clarke, chief executive of Australian app developer Glasshouse Apps, said Apple was within its rights to impose strict rules over iTunes as it built the mall, so to speak.
“I’ve never had a qualm with Apple’s 30 per cent [share] – I think they earn it a few times over,” said Clarke, pointing to the millions of potential customers Apple opens up for app makers.
“The opportunity would just never have been there without the App Store … they handle so much of the process so all that developers have to do is create a great app and put it on the App Store and Apple handles the rest.”
Information Source smh.com.au
Apple to launch smaller iPhone
Apple is working on new versions of the iPhone that are aimed at slowing the advance of competing handsets based on Google’s Android software, according to people who have been briefed on the plans.
One version would be cheaper and smaller than the most recent iPhone, said a person who has seen a prototype and asked not to be identified because the plans haven’t been made public. Apple also is developing technology that makes it easier to use the iPhone on multiple wireless networks, two people said.
Chief executive officer Steve Jobs, who remains involved in strategic decisions while on medical leave, aims to narrow the price gap that has made phones running Android more popular than iPhones. Google’s share of the global smartphone market more than tripled to 32.9 per cent in the fourth quarter, eclipsing Apple’s 16 per cent, according to Canalys.
Apple has considered selling the new iPhone for about $US200 in the US, without obligating users to sign a two-year service contract, said the person who has seen it. Android phones sell for a range of prices at AT&T, Verizon Wireless and other US carriers, and typically come with agreements that include a fee for broken contracts. The iPhone 4, sold in the U.S. by AT&T and Verizon Wireless, costs $US200 to $US300 with a contract.
Natalie Kerris, a spokeswoman for Apple, declined to comment.
While Apple has aimed to unveil the device near mid-year, the introduction may be delayed or scrapped, the person said. Few Apple employees know the details of the project, the person said. Apple often works on products that don’t get released.
The prototype was about one-third smaller than the iPhone 4, said the person, who saw it last year.
Apple can sell it at a low price mainly because the smartphone will use a processor, display and other components similar to those used in the current model, rather than pricier, more advanced parts that will be in the next iPhone, the person said. Component prices typically drop over time.
Apple is also working on a so-called dual-mode phone, two people said. This device would be able to work with the world’s two main wireless standards – the global system for mobile communications, used by AT&T and carriers such as Vodafone, and code division multiple access, used by Verizon Wireless. It isn’t known whether Apple intended to include this capability in the cheaper iPhone.
Universal SIM
Apple is working on a technology called a Universal SIM, which would let iPhone users toggle between GSM networks without having to switch the so-called SIM cards that associate a phone with a network, according to one person. This would help cut the cost of distributing and managing millions of SIM cards.
The new features could also give Apple an advantage over mobile carriers in influencing customers. The device would be affordable without a carrier subsidy, so buyers wouldn’t need to agree to terms, such as termination fees, that carriers demand in exchange for subsidising the cost of the phone.
Apple has also worked on redesigned iPhone software that would let customers choose a network and configure their device on their own, without relying on a store clerk or representative of a carrier, according to the person.
Information Source smh.com.au
Apple begins production of new iPad
Apple has begun to make a new version of its iPad tablet computer with a front-facing camera and faster processor, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The new iPad will be thinner and lighter than the first model and sport a more powerful graphics processor, the Journal said.
It will have at least one camera on its front for features such as video conferencing, and will also have more memory, according to the paper, adding Apple plans to unveil the new iPad through telcos Verizon Wireless and AT&T in the US.
Early in February, a Reuters eyewitness saw what appeared to be a working model of the next iPad with a front-facing camera at the top edge of the glass screen at a press conference to mark the debut of News Corp’s Daily online paper in New York.
Apple was not available for comment.
Information Source smh.com.au
