iPad 2 scarce at Toys 'R' Us
The iPad 2 has been chronically selling out at stores everywhere so news that a new outlet will have the iPad 2 can potentially send shoppers scurrying to that location. But don't expect to waltz into a Toys "R" Us today and get one.In the Los Angeles area, only select Toys "R" Us stores got a shipment of iPad 2s. And a store in Tustin, Calif.--a Los Angeles suburb--had already sold out of the iPad 2 by 10 a.m. The store opened at 9 a.m. Best Buy launched an iPad 2 promotion in its weekly flier.Problem is, few stores have any inventory.Best BuyThe situation isn't much better at Apple stores.The Manhattan Apple store had no stock on Sunday and a store representative said they generally sell out every day. And Best Buy, despite aggressive promotions (see graphic), has trouble keeping any inventory.Chicago downtown and Thousand Oaks, Calif., stores said they're only taking orders and have none in stock.And a store representative at the Thousand Oaks store apologized for giving the impression that iPads, via a Sunday flier featuring the iPad 2, were in stock, when they weren't.
Monday, March 23, 2015
iPad 2 availability easing at some stores
iPad 2 availability easing at some stores
For the first time on Tuesday morning, however, some stores in Los Angeles had enough inventory to sell an iPad to everyone in line then open their doors and still have stock to sell to walk-in customers. Two stores, one at The Grove in the Beverly Hills area of Los Angeles and another in Simi Valley, briefly had stock during regular business hours, according to salespeople at those two stores. Alas, that doesn't mean that circumstances have changed for the chronically sold out iPad 2 everywhere in California.An Apple Store in San Francisco says it still sells out before doors open for regular business and that people were already in getting in line at around 2:30 p.m. PST on Tuesday for Wednesday sales, according to a store salesperson.After international sales begin this Friday, we should have a better idea next week if this is a fluke or if supply is actually stabilizing.
For the first time on Tuesday morning, however, some stores in Los Angeles had enough inventory to sell an iPad to everyone in line then open their doors and still have stock to sell to walk-in customers. Two stores, one at The Grove in the Beverly Hills area of Los Angeles and another in Simi Valley, briefly had stock during regular business hours, according to salespeople at those two stores. Alas, that doesn't mean that circumstances have changed for the chronically sold out iPad 2 everywhere in California.An Apple Store in San Francisco says it still sells out before doors open for regular business and that people were already in getting in line at around 2:30 p.m. PST on Tuesday for Wednesday sales, according to a store salesperson.After international sales begin this Friday, we should have a better idea next week if this is a fluke or if supply is actually stabilizing.
iOS, Android, and Web traffic- Same old, same old
iOS, Android, and Web traffic: Same old, same old
The big reason, the ad company surmises, is that two quick tablet releases on Apple's part (the third- and fourth-generation models), helped grow the company's share."This data may also suggest that users largely don't switch between different OSes when they upgrade their device," Chitika wrote in a post announcing the results. "Should this be true, manufacturers of Android devices are competing more with each other for customers, while Apple is in little danger of having its user base dwindle."The analysis comes just behind a pair of reports last week highlighting the changing landscape of market share between the two tech giants. The latest, from ComScore, showed Apple gaining on rivals -- including Samsung -- for cell phone market share in the U.S., topping LG for the first time. Even so, a report from ABI Research just days before said Apple's in trouble when it comes to tablets -- the company saw a 14 percent decline in tablet market share from the previous quarter, falling to its lowest level since the first iPad debuted in 2010.Updated at 12:58 p.m. PT to clarify that the Chikita study only examined U.S. and Canadian Web traffic.
The big reason, the ad company surmises, is that two quick tablet releases on Apple's part (the third- and fourth-generation models), helped grow the company's share."This data may also suggest that users largely don't switch between different OSes when they upgrade their device," Chitika wrote in a post announcing the results. "Should this be true, manufacturers of Android devices are competing more with each other for customers, while Apple is in little danger of having its user base dwindle."The analysis comes just behind a pair of reports last week highlighting the changing landscape of market share between the two tech giants. The latest, from ComScore, showed Apple gaining on rivals -- including Samsung -- for cell phone market share in the U.S., topping LG for the first time. Even so, a report from ABI Research just days before said Apple's in trouble when it comes to tablets -- the company saw a 14 percent decline in tablet market share from the previous quarter, falling to its lowest level since the first iPad debuted in 2010.Updated at 12:58 p.m. PT to clarify that the Chikita study only examined U.S. and Canadian Web traffic.
iOS ups lead over Android among business users, Citrix says
iOS ups lead over Android among business users, Citrix says
And what about BlackBerry, which used to be king of the corporate market?A Citrix representative told CNET that the company does support BlackBerry. But collecting data on BlackBerry devices requires a special piece of software, which Citrix didn't leverage for this report. Citrix is considering whether to include BlackBerry data in future reports.Companies concerned about their mobile users wasting too much time with non-business apps continued to blacklist certain ones. The top forbidden apps included Angry Birds, Facebook, Dropbox, YouTube, and Skype.But other apps got the seal of approval from management. The most commonly whitelisted apps were Evernote, NitroDesk TouchDown, Skype, Chrome, and Adobe Reader. Skype was the only app to be both blacklisted and whitelisted.Update, 10:15 a.m. PT: Adds information on why BlackBerry wasn't included.
And what about BlackBerry, which used to be king of the corporate market?A Citrix representative told CNET that the company does support BlackBerry. But collecting data on BlackBerry devices requires a special piece of software, which Citrix didn't leverage for this report. Citrix is considering whether to include BlackBerry data in future reports.Companies concerned about their mobile users wasting too much time with non-business apps continued to blacklist certain ones. The top forbidden apps included Angry Birds, Facebook, Dropbox, YouTube, and Skype.But other apps got the seal of approval from management. The most commonly whitelisted apps were Evernote, NitroDesk TouchDown, Skype, Chrome, and Adobe Reader. Skype was the only app to be both blacklisted and whitelisted.Update, 10:15 a.m. PT: Adds information on why BlackBerry wasn't included.
iOS 8 to allow third-party keyboards
iOS 8 to allow third-party keyboards
Apple just made a big gesture to developers. No, not that one. A good one.As part of today's WWDC keynote, the company announced not only a new, smarter keyboard to debut in iOS 8, but also support for third-party keyboards like SwiftKey and Swype.What's the big deal about that? While Apple's keyboard remains a tap-to-type affair, albeit with much-needed new predictive-text capabilities, Swype is among those apps offering a gesture-powered keyboard: you trace your finger from one letter to the next, spelling out the word as you go.This kind of functionality is baked into most Android phones, and as someone who recently spent a couple months using one, I can attest that it's vastly superior. (Indeed, it's the one thing I miss about Android.) That I'll be able to enjoy the same scribbly style of typing on my iPhone is cause for celebration.Time will tell exactly what keyboards will come to iOS 8, but SwiftKey, for its part, already has an app in the works. (The company's SwiftKey Note app brought a predictive-text keyboard to iOS earlier this year, but you could use it only within that app.)While you're waiting, hit the comments and share your thoughts on this. Best new feature in iOS 8? Not convinced it's a big deal? Totally meh?
Apple just made a big gesture to developers. No, not that one. A good one.As part of today's WWDC keynote, the company announced not only a new, smarter keyboard to debut in iOS 8, but also support for third-party keyboards like SwiftKey and Swype.What's the big deal about that? While Apple's keyboard remains a tap-to-type affair, albeit with much-needed new predictive-text capabilities, Swype is among those apps offering a gesture-powered keyboard: you trace your finger from one letter to the next, spelling out the word as you go.This kind of functionality is baked into most Android phones, and as someone who recently spent a couple months using one, I can attest that it's vastly superior. (Indeed, it's the one thing I miss about Android.) That I'll be able to enjoy the same scribbly style of typing on my iPhone is cause for celebration.Time will tell exactly what keyboards will come to iOS 8, but SwiftKey, for its part, already has an app in the works. (The company's SwiftKey Note app brought a predictive-text keyboard to iOS earlier this year, but you could use it only within that app.)While you're waiting, hit the comments and share your thoughts on this. Best new feature in iOS 8? Not convinced it's a big deal? Totally meh?
iOS 7.0.6 hits 13.3 percent adoption rate in North America
iOS 7.0.6 hits 13.3 percent adoption rate in North America
Apple's iOS 7.0.6 had captured more than 13 percent of all North American iOS traffic on the Chitika ad network just two days after its debut.Releasing its findings on Wednesday, Chitika noted that the latest version of iOS accounted for 14.5 percent of ad impressions on the iPhone and 12.3 percent on the iPad, resulting in an average of around 13.3 percent.Though the initial two-day adoption rate of iOS 7.0.6 failed to match the results for iOS 7, Chitika believes the majority of iOS users could be running the latest update within the next week. iOS 5.1.1, which also delivered a security patch, took around three weeks to reach a 58 percent adoption rate on the ad network. Chitika expects 7.0.6 to reach that number in a shorter period of time.Apple pushed out iOS 7.0.6 on February 21 specifically to fix a security hole that would allow an attacker to access and modify data supposedly protected by SSL (Security Sockets Layer). The urgency of the update and the relatively ease at which iOS uses can install it directly from their devices likely led to its quick adoption.iOS 7.0.4 is still tops among iOS devices with more than 50 percent adoption, according to Chitika's data. iOS 7.0.6 and iOS 6.0 were about neck and neck at the time of Chitika's study. By now, 7.0.6 should be firmly in second place and climbing.
Apple's iOS 7.0.6 had captured more than 13 percent of all North American iOS traffic on the Chitika ad network just two days after its debut.Releasing its findings on Wednesday, Chitika noted that the latest version of iOS accounted for 14.5 percent of ad impressions on the iPhone and 12.3 percent on the iPad, resulting in an average of around 13.3 percent.Though the initial two-day adoption rate of iOS 7.0.6 failed to match the results for iOS 7, Chitika believes the majority of iOS users could be running the latest update within the next week. iOS 5.1.1, which also delivered a security patch, took around three weeks to reach a 58 percent adoption rate on the ad network. Chitika expects 7.0.6 to reach that number in a shorter period of time.Apple pushed out iOS 7.0.6 on February 21 specifically to fix a security hole that would allow an attacker to access and modify data supposedly protected by SSL (Security Sockets Layer). The urgency of the update and the relatively ease at which iOS uses can install it directly from their devices likely led to its quick adoption.iOS 7.0.4 is still tops among iOS devices with more than 50 percent adoption, according to Chitika's data. iOS 7.0.6 and iOS 6.0 were about neck and neck at the time of Chitika's study. By now, 7.0.6 should be firmly in second place and climbing.
Scout takes iPhone navigation offline
Scout takes iPhone navigation offline
With the likely release of Apple Maps as part of iOS 6 next month, independent navigation app makers will have a tough time competing against this free, preinstalled software. But Telenav seems poised for the fight, as it made an update to its Scout navigation app for iPhone today that includes the option to download maps, making the app useful even where there is no cell phone connection.This new version of Scout also brings in voice commands, which will mean drivers can tell it to find destinations by business name, as one example.When we reviewed the previous version of Scout, it stood out for its excellent route guidance, as long as the free app was upgraded with the $10-per-year voice prompts. Although we have not yet seen Apple Maps' route guidance capabilities, it would do well to emulate Scout. Scout's new downloadable-maps feature will also cost money, $10 per year, but that could still give it an edge over Apple Maps. Drivers will be able to download maps of the United States by region: Western, Central, or Eastern. With the preloaded maps, the app will still be able to show navigation even in areas with no data or cell connection.Telenav is banking on a few other features to keep Scout relevant when Apple Maps comes out. The Scout.me Web site lets drivers find destinations on their computers and sync them with their iPhones. The company is also counting on automakers to integrate Scout into cars, so destinations could be shared between car, phone, and computer.The newest version of Scout is available from the iTunes app store today.
With the likely release of Apple Maps as part of iOS 6 next month, independent navigation app makers will have a tough time competing against this free, preinstalled software. But Telenav seems poised for the fight, as it made an update to its Scout navigation app for iPhone today that includes the option to download maps, making the app useful even where there is no cell phone connection.This new version of Scout also brings in voice commands, which will mean drivers can tell it to find destinations by business name, as one example.When we reviewed the previous version of Scout, it stood out for its excellent route guidance, as long as the free app was upgraded with the $10-per-year voice prompts. Although we have not yet seen Apple Maps' route guidance capabilities, it would do well to emulate Scout. Scout's new downloadable-maps feature will also cost money, $10 per year, but that could still give it an edge over Apple Maps. Drivers will be able to download maps of the United States by region: Western, Central, or Eastern. With the preloaded maps, the app will still be able to show navigation even in areas with no data or cell connection.Telenav is banking on a few other features to keep Scout relevant when Apple Maps comes out. The Scout.me Web site lets drivers find destinations on their computers and sync them with their iPhones. The company is also counting on automakers to integrate Scout into cars, so destinations could be shared between car, phone, and computer.The newest version of Scout is available from the iTunes app store today.
Quickoffice, Docs To Go taking productivity tussle to the iPad
Quickoffice, Docs To Go taking productivity tussle to the iPad
Quickoffice and Documents To Go have long been in lock-step as the productivity apps to beat on the iPhone. As soon as the feature set of one pulls ahead, the other is sure to leapfrog its way ahead--for a while, anyway.A few hours after Data Viz updated its Documents To Go app for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, Quickoffice told us its intention to submit a version of its mobile suite for iPad to Apple in the next couple of weeks.Documents To Go Premium 3.3 adapts to the iPad's extra-large, high-resolution screen and adds a few features unique to the iPad. There's support for iTunes file-sharing between the iPad and computer, and you can also now share documents across apps, for instance opening a Documents To Go doc in the iPad's e-mail client. The premium version also now reads, edits, and creates Microsoft Office docs (2007-2010) and views Adobe and iWork documents stored by MobileMe iDisk and SugarSync services. The app is also now localized in Spanish, French, Italian, German, and Brazilian Portuguese languages.Documents To Go Premium 3.3 ($14.99) is available now from the App Store. In addition, Data Viz expects Apple to approve the 3.3 update to the standard version of Documents To Go ($9.99).
Quickoffice and Documents To Go have long been in lock-step as the productivity apps to beat on the iPhone. As soon as the feature set of one pulls ahead, the other is sure to leapfrog its way ahead--for a while, anyway.A few hours after Data Viz updated its Documents To Go app for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, Quickoffice told us its intention to submit a version of its mobile suite for iPad to Apple in the next couple of weeks.Documents To Go Premium 3.3 adapts to the iPad's extra-large, high-resolution screen and adds a few features unique to the iPad. There's support for iTunes file-sharing between the iPad and computer, and you can also now share documents across apps, for instance opening a Documents To Go doc in the iPad's e-mail client. The premium version also now reads, edits, and creates Microsoft Office docs (2007-2010) and views Adobe and iWork documents stored by MobileMe iDisk and SugarSync services. The app is also now localized in Spanish, French, Italian, German, and Brazilian Portuguese languages.Documents To Go Premium 3.3 ($14.99) is available now from the App Store. In addition, Data Viz expects Apple to approve the 3.3 update to the standard version of Documents To Go ($9.99).
New Palm brand design chief hails from Apple
New Palm brand design chief hails from Apple
When Jeff Zwerner joined Palm recently, he was in familiar company.The man hired as senior vice president of brand design at Palm is, like three other top executives and a board member of the company, a former employee of Apple. Zwerner has been selected by Palm to shape the company's brand, with responsibility for public relations, marketing, advertising, events, and design. Zwerner comes to Palm most recently from Factor Design in San Francisco, where, as principal, he consulted on strategic design for companies as varied as Hewlett-Packard, Coca-Cola, Gap, Disney, General Electric, and Apple. But before that, he spent two different stints in Cupertino, spending 1995 to 1996 as a senior art director, and returning from 2001 to 2003 as creative director of packaging. He joins CEO Jon Rubinstein, former SVP of hardware for Apple; SVP of Product Development Mike Bell, who held the same position at Apple; PR head Lynn Fox, who did the same job at Apple; and former Apple CFO Fred Anderson, who joined Palm's board two years ago.After a tough couple of years, Palm has been rebuilding its brand around the Palm Pre, a smartphone the company hopes will compete with Apple's iPhone. But the brewing competition has caused some recent sniping back and forth between the two companies. Palm initially advertised the Pre as being integrated with Apple's iTunes software, but Apple released a software update that disabled automatic syncing with the Pre. Palm quickly restored the functionality with a slightly controversial fix, but paving the way for perhaps an even larger squabble down the road.
When Jeff Zwerner joined Palm recently, he was in familiar company.The man hired as senior vice president of brand design at Palm is, like three other top executives and a board member of the company, a former employee of Apple. Zwerner has been selected by Palm to shape the company's brand, with responsibility for public relations, marketing, advertising, events, and design. Zwerner comes to Palm most recently from Factor Design in San Francisco, where, as principal, he consulted on strategic design for companies as varied as Hewlett-Packard, Coca-Cola, Gap, Disney, General Electric, and Apple. But before that, he spent two different stints in Cupertino, spending 1995 to 1996 as a senior art director, and returning from 2001 to 2003 as creative director of packaging. He joins CEO Jon Rubinstein, former SVP of hardware for Apple; SVP of Product Development Mike Bell, who held the same position at Apple; PR head Lynn Fox, who did the same job at Apple; and former Apple CFO Fred Anderson, who joined Palm's board two years ago.After a tough couple of years, Palm has been rebuilding its brand around the Palm Pre, a smartphone the company hopes will compete with Apple's iPhone. But the brewing competition has caused some recent sniping back and forth between the two companies. Palm initially advertised the Pre as being integrated with Apple's iTunes software, but Apple released a software update that disabled automatic syncing with the Pre. Palm quickly restored the functionality with a slightly controversial fix, but paving the way for perhaps an even larger squabble down the road.
iTunes reps 1 in every 4 songs sold in U.S.
iTunes reps 1 in every 4 songs sold in U.S.
Digital music downloads have jumped in recent years, said NPD, hitting 35 percent of the overall market for the first half of this year, compared with 30 percent last year and 20 percent in 2007.For the first half of 2009, iTunes itself snagged a 69 percent share of the overall digital music arena, trailed far behind by Amazon.com with 8 percent."The growth of legal digital music downloads, and Apple's success in holding that market, has increased iTunes's overall strength in the retail music category," said Russ Crupnick, entertainment industry analyst for NPD Group.The CD, though, marches on. Among CD retailers, Wal-Mart leads with a 20 percent chunk of the physical music market, said NPD. Best Buy took a 16 percent share, followed by Target and Amazon at 10 percent each.Still, the days of the CD seem numbered."Many people are surprised that the CD is still the dominant music delivery format, given the attention to digital music and the shrinking retail footprint for physical products," said Crupnick. "But with digital music sales growing at 15 to 20 percent, and CDs falling by an equal proportion, digital music sales will nearly equal CD sales by the end of 2010."Correction at 3:30 p.m.: The venerable audio CD is actually 27 years old.
Digital music downloads have jumped in recent years, said NPD, hitting 35 percent of the overall market for the first half of this year, compared with 30 percent last year and 20 percent in 2007.For the first half of 2009, iTunes itself snagged a 69 percent share of the overall digital music arena, trailed far behind by Amazon.com with 8 percent."The growth of legal digital music downloads, and Apple's success in holding that market, has increased iTunes's overall strength in the retail music category," said Russ Crupnick, entertainment industry analyst for NPD Group.The CD, though, marches on. Among CD retailers, Wal-Mart leads with a 20 percent chunk of the physical music market, said NPD. Best Buy took a 16 percent share, followed by Target and Amazon at 10 percent each.Still, the days of the CD seem numbered."Many people are surprised that the CD is still the dominant music delivery format, given the attention to digital music and the shrinking retail footprint for physical products," said Crupnick. "But with digital music sales growing at 15 to 20 percent, and CDs falling by an equal proportion, digital music sales will nearly equal CD sales by the end of 2010."Correction at 3:30 p.m.: The venerable audio CD is actually 27 years old.
iOS apps crashing- Apple's on it
iOS apps crashing? Apple's on it
The problem laid with the corruption of a binary package when distributed to the iTunes and Mac app stores.According to TechCrunch, Apple has responded to the issue in its developer forums in a short post by user iTunesConnect.We are aware of the issue related to apps crashing after update. We are currently working on resolving the issue. Stay tuned for updates.In an email to developers, Apple added:If a customer reports receiving an error when downloading your app from the App Store, he or she can receive direct help from the iTunes Store customer support team.If the iTunes Store customer support team determines that the issue lies with your app and not with the App Store or the customer's account, Apple will contact you to resolve this issue.Please let us know if you need additional assistance regarding your app.The bug was flagged by Instapaper creator Marco Arment, who noted that after his app's update was pushed live on 3 July, he was deluged with customer complaints about his app crashing. His blog post includes a list of known apps that the issue is affecting.At 10.30AM, Sydney-time, Apple contacted AllThingsDigital with news of a fix."We had a temporary issue that began yesterday with a server that generated DRM code for some apps being downloaded," Apple told AllThingsD. "The issue has been rectified and we don’t expect it to occur again."If you were experiencing app crashes, you should be able to now redownload your app from the App Store without problem.Edit: Updated 11.38AM GMT+10 to include details of Apple's fix
The problem laid with the corruption of a binary package when distributed to the iTunes and Mac app stores.According to TechCrunch, Apple has responded to the issue in its developer forums in a short post by user iTunesConnect.We are aware of the issue related to apps crashing after update. We are currently working on resolving the issue. Stay tuned for updates.In an email to developers, Apple added:If a customer reports receiving an error when downloading your app from the App Store, he or she can receive direct help from the iTunes Store customer support team.If the iTunes Store customer support team determines that the issue lies with your app and not with the App Store or the customer's account, Apple will contact you to resolve this issue.Please let us know if you need additional assistance regarding your app.The bug was flagged by Instapaper creator Marco Arment, who noted that after his app's update was pushed live on 3 July, he was deluged with customer complaints about his app crashing. His blog post includes a list of known apps that the issue is affecting.At 10.30AM, Sydney-time, Apple contacted AllThingsDigital with news of a fix."We had a temporary issue that began yesterday with a server that generated DRM code for some apps being downloaded," Apple told AllThingsD. "The issue has been rectified and we don’t expect it to occur again."If you were experiencing app crashes, you should be able to now redownload your app from the App Store without problem.Edit: Updated 11.38AM GMT+10 to include details of Apple's fix
How to manage a large digital media collection
How to manage a large digital media collection
Play media. This is where things can get rough for large collections. Some players just don't know what to do with more than 10,000-20,000 files, and others just slow down to a crawl when searching or browsing. My favorite player is the free, open-source, cross-platform XBMC, though Songbird and foobar2000 are both popular choices. Be warned, though--your first scan with any new program is going to take several hours. You are much better off tagging files first (see above), because once they're all tagged, you'll just have to go through that long, painful scan again.Play media with XBMC.Stream media. Streaming your media might be the best answer for your immense collection, though once again, tagging is key here. If you want a portable music solution that can work on mobile devices and computers far from your home network, consider Audiogalaxy. It's free, but it does require you to keep a computer on at all times, or at least when you want to play your music. It takes a while to assess your library, and is limited to 200,000 songs (not much of a limit unless you're part of the 1 percent), but you can then find and play them easily from any computer, Android, or iOS device.Stream music with Audiogalaxy.
Play media. This is where things can get rough for large collections. Some players just don't know what to do with more than 10,000-20,000 files, and others just slow down to a crawl when searching or browsing. My favorite player is the free, open-source, cross-platform XBMC, though Songbird and foobar2000 are both popular choices. Be warned, though--your first scan with any new program is going to take several hours. You are much better off tagging files first (see above), because once they're all tagged, you'll just have to go through that long, painful scan again.Play media with XBMC.Stream media. Streaming your media might be the best answer for your immense collection, though once again, tagging is key here. If you want a portable music solution that can work on mobile devices and computers far from your home network, consider Audiogalaxy. It's free, but it does require you to keep a computer on at all times, or at least when you want to play your music. It takes a while to assess your library, and is limited to 200,000 songs (not much of a limit unless you're part of the 1 percent), but you can then find and play them easily from any computer, Android, or iOS device.Stream music with Audiogalaxy.
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