However, several major companies did show up at MacWorld, including IBM, Xerox, VMWare, and Microsoft. Much of the rest of the floor was dominated by smaller independent companies. MacWorld still faces the problem that 80% of the show is focused on iPod/iPhone, and the remaining 20% is Mac-related, usually in the area of carrying or mounting the Mac.
This year, the market for cases and screen covers seems to have exploded; several companies offered customized case/cover services which would allow artwork to be uploaded and printed.
While the show was smaller than previous years, the show floor remained crowded. One improvement which will need to be made in the future is a better display area for iPhone apps; the current situation with 4 developers to a table is simply too crowded to have any value. ]]>
That is where the problem lies with the iPad. In an increasingly networked world, where does the iPad fit in? It's almost as big as a laptop, but only has the functionality of an iPod Touch. It is, for the most part, a larger iPod Touch with 3G capabilities. While Apple bills the device as something that fits in between an iPhone and a computer, the iPad is a large Mobile Internet Device (if it has 3G, otherwise, it is simply a Wi-Fi Device). The iPad has a far more limited niche than anything else Apple has out on the market right now, but it fills a useful niche in the Apple ecosystem -- a larger format visual device.
This is a product that takes aim at the e-readers out there, especially the Kindle. Just like Apple's closed system, the Amazon Kindle is a closed system, even more heavily restricted than Apple's. The Kindle Development Kit is still in closed beta, with little details on the approval process. For those considering an e-reader, hands down, here's a list of reasons on how the iPad is better than the Kindle:
Even after two years, the Kindle is still a niche product, and though I've seen a few in the wild, they haven't nearly been as ubiquitous as iPods or iPhones.
One of the things that Apple recognized was for the iPad to make use of the iTunes program for syncing and purchasing of content. While I believe that this may be more clumsy than Amazon's on-device purchasing, it maybe good enough for the first generation of the device and the current version of iTunes, but some improvements to the system must be done.
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The Kindle will likely retain a solid advantage over the Apple Tablet in one major area: free wireless connectivity. I suspect that this new tablet may come with wireless service but that it may be an additional service fee, much like a wireless modem or data tethering plan. While e-books are relatively small in size and do not constitute major bandwidth usage, if the Apple Tablet is as versatile as the iPhone, I don't see how it would be possible to offer free wireless on the device, especially considering how utilized the iPhone is.
Multifunction is good, and I suspect that the Tablet will be more than just an e-reader. My guess at the price point is going to be $799, with a data service contract on top of that.
Other possible announcements? iPhone exclusivity over, and perhaps a painting program for iLife '10? The MacBookAir and MacBook Pro may get a refresh, but announcements of new laptop products may be further downstream, as I suspect that Apple will want to focus on the new product.
Just 10 hours to go. Can't wait.]]>
]]> RIM has a faithful following, but will eventually lose ground, as Android begins to take off; at that point, people should be squarely in the Apple camp or the Android camp; both will have features so similar, that at that point, it becomes a matter of preference, and it is likely no more than 3 years from the point that people will be making that decision.
Apple meanwhile will dominate on their iPhone platform. The key to winning the next battle in the war of smartphones is being able to attract the typical consumer, and I think of the three major phone types (Apple, Android and RIM), Apple is by far the most user friendly, and the cheapest, which are two very big advantages. However, despite the usability, cheapness trumps all (in fact, when we think of free, even cheap options are overtaken by the notion of free), which lends the possibility that free phones would take away market share from other smartphones. The only problem is, there's no such thing as a free smartphone.
Googles Nexus One hits on the free notion alot; the phone is unlocked. You can take it to any carrier you want, for a one time charge of $530, and have a contract free phone for just the monthly cost.. Interent access is $40 a month extra, on top of the $40 you would pay for normal service with T-Mobile. The big problem is that people don't want to pay several hundred dollars for a phone, and they shouldn't. In the United States, Americans have become accustomed to the subsidization that phone companies offer phones in exchange for a two-year long service contract.
For the past seven years that I have paid for my own cellphone, I've only ever had one carrier: Cingular. This is not because I love Cingular (which merged with AT&T), but rather because no phone could ever entice me to change carriers, and up until recently, cellphone reception was decent enough that I didn't feel it necessary to switch providers.
Here's the thing: it doesn't make sense to change carriers for a phone unless a phone is so superior to the phones on the market that you cannot live without its features, and that phone for me is the iPhone. All the other smartphones on the market are imitations of the iPhone, and it's quite foolhardy at this point to try competing against the beachhead already secured by the iPhone. However, this is exactly what the Nexus One is trying to do, and despite the Google branding, I don't think the Google Nexus One is really ready to go head to head with the iPhone.
Here's the big problem. Within Apple, they have product cycles down pat; a new iPhone every year has been their trend; for Google, there are so many different manufacturers running Android on their handsets now that the Nexus One will be outdated in a matter months, whereas the iPhone is guaranteed a year before it is cycled out. This makes paying the subsidized cost of a smartphone a little easier to swallow, as the outdatedness is only a year, and usually not by any substantial amount; the differences between iPhones from year to year are expectedly, pretty minimal which means that you don't feel as bad when the next model appears. The same is not true for Android phones, which have such a varying degree of capabilities that the Nexus Two could be out in 3 months or 6 months or 9 months it could be out in 3 years, or it might never be out.
It might not matter too much if you've got a two-year contract with the carrier, but what if you bought the unlocked phone, how long does the unlocked consumer expect to use it? A week, a month, 6 months, longer? That initial cost is enough to discourage many a consumer just because $530 is perceived as a lot of money for a phone that one might use for 2 years, when they are accustomed to paying nothing for the phone.
In my opinion, a smartphone shouldn't be bought unless it has a long and useful lifespan as a gadget; and that's the real problem with the Nexus One -- just how long it will last.]]>
Now you can own your very own replica facehugger alien in the special Hunter edition of Aliens vs. Predator.]]>
I think having Darth Vader there was very motivational; the the market was clearly inspired today.]]>
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Here's the thing about the case; Ainsworth made the actual helmets for them on spec; he did not design them, someone at Lucasfilm did that, nor does Ainsworth claim copyright on the armor. This case essentially opens up the entirety of film props to be categorized as "industrial design" in Britain and subject to a limit of 15 years, rather than 70 years past the life of the creator. Within the United States, costumes are not eligible for copyright at all, as costumes are considered clothing, which is a "useful article", it is somewhat generous for them to be granting industrial design copyright protection rather than no protection at all. ]]>
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Hilarious. ]]>