Opinion: Apple, Beauty or the Beast?

I listened with interest to Jamie’s self confessed rant on the Coolsmartphone podcast number 4 where he describes in great detail his thoughts on Apples actions around the patent lawsuits. It is really worth a listen, not only does his passion come across but so does the complexity of the situation and how easily people’s views can be swayed. One other thing the rant did was lead me to the question, Is Apple A Beauty or the Beast?
As both Jamie and Leigh mentioned on the podcast, interest in the technology arena has grown exponentially and people are now interested in corporate affairs.  Who is suing who and why, who is working with who and what does it mean for the consumer.  Unfortunately for Apple, too many headlines consist of the words “Apple sue xxx, product xxx could be banned” however the corporate beast is simply doing what it is there to do – making money.
In technology terms Apple are a wonder. Fame was found on the back of a visit to Xerox Parc and the subsequent licensing of the GUI that was demonstrated, followed by the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. There have been many ups and downs ever since but 1998 saw the introduction of the iMac and the style icon that Apple is known to be today had truly arrived.
The iPod arrived in 2001 followed by the revolutionary iPhone in 2007 and of course the iPad in 2010.
Apple is now in the same league as Coca-Cola, McDonalds and Ford. Wherever you go in the world people will recognise the logo and the products.
I’ve stated before that I am no great Apple fan but take a good look at any modern Apple product. The Macbook Air, the new iPad, iPhone or iPod. Every single one of the has an certain style and elegance. Speak to almost any Apple user and they will wax lyrical about their device. Sure they have their faults, what modern machine doesn’t but almost all of them will tell you how simple they are to use and how polished they are.  The Appstore is still the biggest with arguably the better apps.  Most developers have publicly stated a preference for developing for the iOS platform, there is more money being made through the appstore and the quality control is undeniable.
The beauty of Apple therefore speaks for itself.
The world however is changing and it leads to the question of whether beauty is enough.  Corporations have to be seen to be responsible both in their business dealings and their social dealings.  The banking crisis and the perception of the massive corporations is a prime example of this.  I am in no way comparing Apple to Barclays or Lehman Brothers however the fall from grace of companies that were not so long ago held in high esteem should serve as a warning – enough negative publicity and the beauty that you currently have can soon turn into an uncontrollable beast.
Examples of fallen technological companies are all around, IBM, Nokia, RIM – all still big companies but at one time or another all had dominance in their sector, even the great Sony are having problems.  Could Apple go the same way?  For now probably not however should the tide of public opinion turn they could find themselves in a very sticky situation that is rather difficult to escape from.
On balance, Apple have been and are still a beauty, its a brand people trust.  Great care must be taken not to abuse that trust as the fall from beauty to beast is a hard one to recover from!
What do you think? Is Apple a beauty or a beast?  Let us know over on our forums.

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Apple defeated in the UK

The high court has ruled that HTC have not infringed four Apple patents after a dispute between the two companies. The judge rules that the Apple “slide to unlock” feature, which has been used as ammo against other firms, was an “obvious” development and had actually been seen earlier on other handsets including Windows Mobile phones.
The four patents include unlocking a device by performing a gesture on an image, letting a user drag an image and have it bounce back, multilingual keyboards and a system for analysing screen touches.
HTC stated that..

(We) are pleased with the ruling, which provides further confirmation that Apple’s claims against HTC are without merit. We remain disappointed that Apple continues to favour competition in the courtroom over competition in the marketplace.

The sheer fact that the hotly-contested “slide to unlock” patent has been dismissed should help legal teams currently fighting Apple elsewhere, but there’s still a long road ahead.

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Apple iOS 5.1 Is Kind of a Dud

Mar 14 2012   12:56PM GMT
Posted by: EdFrmBrighthand
Apple
Apple released an update for the iPhone’s operating system last week. Sadly, the move from iOS 5.0.1 to iOS 5.1 offered very little for users of this smartphone. I’ve been using it for a week now, and I’m completely underwhelmed. This is too bad, as there’s a long list of potential enhancements that could have been made.

The most noticeable change is the addition of a camera button on the unlock screen. If you want to quickly take a picture, you can hit this button and slide the screen up and you’ll be in the camera app. The new version also allows you delete images directly from the photo stream.
If you’re an AT&T customer, your iPhone now tells you that you’re connected to a 4G network when you have an HSPA+ connection. Your phone isn’t faster than it was before, however.
Features MIA
What does it offer beyond that? Not much.  You still have the “choice” of only one keyboard layout,  you can’t specify the default apps for different tasks, there’s only limited support for Bluetooth, you can’t have different signatures for different email accounts… I could go on and on.
One of the best features was mysteriously stripped out. A beta offered Facebook integration, which allowed people to upload images to this social networking service directly from the Photos app. Unfortunately, this did not make it into the final version.
The iOS is much more mature and robust than it was just a few years ago, but there’s still plenty of room for improvement. It’s too bad Apple missed this chance to make some of the needed enhancements.
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Microsoft Employees Forbidden to Buy Apple Products

Mar 21 2012   4:29PM GMT
Posted by: EdFrmBrighthand
Apple, Microsoft
An internal Microsoft memo that has leasked out indicates that Microsoft employees are no longer allowed to use company funds to purchase products made by Apple. This is a sign that the competition between these two has heated up again.
Way back in the 1980s, Microsoft and Apple were bitter rivals in the personal computer market. Apple was ahead at first, but Microsoft eventually came from behind to triumph. By the mid-1990s, Apple was in such dire straights that it was brought back from the brink of bankruptcy only with a bit of help from its old rival. The hatchet had been buried, and Microsoft enjoyed a comfortably huge lead over Apple for another decade.
But a few years ago the competition between these two entered a new phase: Apple released the first iPhone in 2007, and fairly quickly it pushed Microsoft’s Windows Phone off the top spot. And then came the debut of the iPad, and now some pundits are saying that tablets might make PCs irrelevant.
Microsoft had been complacent about Apple for years, as OS X has such a tiny percantange of the sales enjoyed by Windows. But Apple is winning in the smartphone and tablet markets, and Microsoft is taking note.
The most obvious ways the giant from Redmond has reacted is by replacing the business-oriented Windows Mobile with the more consumer-friendly Windows Phone, and by the ongoing development of a version of Windows designed to run on tablets. But Microsoft is reacting in small ways to — like the aforementioned memo informing its employees that the company won’t be buying them any more Apple products.
At first blush this seems petty, but there’s at least one good reason for it: it always looks bad when your employyees are seen by outsiders using a rival’s products. And it’s not an unusual policy — I’m sure Ford doesn’t by many Chrysler cars for its executives to use.
On the other hand, I’m sure some people will take this as a sign that the Apple has Microsoft spooked, and the Windows-maker is therefore running scared. To me that seems a bit extreme, but I do think there’s small grain of truth to it. Microsoft can no longer afford to smile indulgently at Apple, because it’s once again a serious rival.
If you want to read over the memo that leaked out of Microsoft, I’ve copied it below:

From: Alain Crozier
Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2012 1:17 PM
Subject: Apple Purchases
Within SMSG we are putting in place a new policy that says that Apple products (Mac & iPad) should not be purchased with company funds.
In the US we will be turning off the Apple products from the Zones Catalog next week, which is the standard purchasing mechanism for these products.
Outside of the US — we will work with your finance and procurement teams to send the right message and put the right processes in place.
The current purchase levels are low, however we recognize there will be a bit of transition work associated with this. Details of historical purchases in the US are provided in the attachment to help understand the changes that will be needed.Thank you for your support and leadership on this.
Alain Crozier
CFO | WW Sales, Marketing & Services Group
WW SMSG Finance

Source

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Apple iOS 6 Will Remove Some Long-Held Limitations in the iPhone

Jun 20 2012   8:58AM GMT
Posted by: EdFrmBrighthand
Uncategorized
Apple CEO Tim Cook took the wraps off iOS 6 last week, and much of what he said was music to the ears of long-time users of the iPhone and iPad — some of the most irritating limitations in these devices are being taken out.
There’s going to be a new Maps app that will finally include turn-by-turn navigation, with Siri providing spoken directions.  Previously, users needed a third-party app for this service.
The Mail app is getting some long-awaited features, including the ability to add pictures and images to messages from the composing window, as well a separate signatures for each email account.
Fans of FaceTime will be happy to learn that iOS 6 will allow them to make video calls over a cellular-wireless connection, not just Wi-Fi.
A new “Do Not Disturb” feature will let people keep their phone (or tablet) next to their bed at night without it alerting them of every email that comes in. Also, people will be able to easily decline an incoming call  with a text message.
These are just some of the new features coming in iOS 6 when it is released in the fall.  For more information, read Brighthand‘s full article on this upcoming operating system.

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Apple and Samsung get 99% of the total mobile phone profits

Looks like it's a grim time to be a mobile phone manufacturer if you are not Apple or Samsung. According to the latest report by Asymco, Apple and Samsung accounted for 99 percent of the total mobile phone profits, with HTC taking the remaining 1 percent.

Out of the 99 percent Apple took the majority of it with an astounding 73 percent, with Samsung being left with the remaining 26 percent despite being the world's largest mobile phone manufacturer right now. As mentioned before, HTC took 1 percent out of the total and everybody else, including RIM, Nokia, LG, Motorola and Sony Mobile reported a loss in the first quarter.

With the launch of the Galaxy S III and the HTC One series phones, these two are likely to expand their share of profits over the coming quarters. However, it is going to take quite a bit of effort to dethrone Apple from the number one position, which it has managed to maintain despite not having the greatest market share.
For a more detailed analysis, click on the source link below

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Source

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