There’s been a lot of speculation recently about the iPad 5. You’ve probably spotted a bit of it yourself online – Apple’s usual routine is to release a new tablet in the first quarter of the year, but the release of the iPad 4 and iPad mini in November disrupted this. Nevertheless, rumours are running rampant about a March release for the iPad 5. People are speculating about a thinner, lighter iPad, more in line with the standard set by the iPad Mini. And we’re happy to report that we can confirm these suspicions!
The above image is a leak we’ve been sent from one of our sources in
Whatever the exact dimensions, we’ve no doubt that this is going to be a gorgeous piece of hardware. Keep checking back in at Mobile Madhouse – when news of the iPad 5 breaks, we’ll be first on the scene with iPad 5 cases and accessories to help keep yours safe from harm!
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Surprisingly given the great complexity of the case, the nine juror-strong contingency took a mere three days to reach a decision; and that decision was simple – that Samsung had infringed upon six of the seven Apple patents that were in dispute, with five of the six constituting wilful infringement. Though the South Korean conglomerate counter-sued, asserting that Apple had wilfully infringed upon five of its patents (which largely pertained to wireless internet access standards, in lieu of the more subjective design patents levied by Apple), the jury ruled against these assertions, allowing Apple to escape the legal tussle unscathed. This stands in stark opposition to the Seoul ruling a mere week ago, in which the judge ruled that Apple had infringed upon Samsung’s wireless patents, and that the mitigating factor of prior art (design precedent set within the industry) was enough to say that the similarity in appearance between Samsung’s Smartphone and tablet ranges and Apple’s iPhone/iPad was coincidental – or at least coincided with the shift in design across the entire industry.
However, as a professor based in Singapore correctly pointed out, the South Korean standards of intellectual property are significantly less strict than in the US; there’s a long tradition of ‘borrowing’ ideas, and given Samsung’s history of manufacturing their designs in bulk as swiftly as possible (a tradition which has allowed them to supersede Apple in overall global sales, if not profit), it’s likely the South Korean chaebol was not able to vet their designs as comprehensively as an American company like Apple. Statements like this represent the sense of resignation that people now have regarding these Smartphone patent struggles; while Samsung has vowed to appeal the decision, and while the disputed devices have yet to be banned (a court case is set in December for this particular detail), a precedent has now been set, and it doesn’t bode well for Android manufacturers of any stripe, whether it be Sony or HTC.
Apple has long insisted that the Android operating system is a spit in the face of their longstanding Smartphone iOS, and Steve Jobs’ famous declaration to “go thermonuclear” on Google, its godfather, has become a virtual holy war for the Cupertino-based company. While the design patents levied against Samsung (and concurrent court cases with companies such as HTC and Motorola) may have validity, most people versed in the topic now accept that Apple is waging a proxy-war – going for the appendages of the hydra before they tackle the beast itself, in the form of Google Inc. And with this precedent now set, Apple has a much greater chance of succeeding in a legal tussle with the search and software giant. But what does this mean for Samsung? Well, it may not mean that much, to be honest – while a $1 billion payout may have crippled many lesser Android manufacturers, Samsung are currently ranked as the top manufacturer globally, and even with a significant stock hit from the decision (7.5%, or over $12 billion) they’re unlikely to be going anywhere anytime soon, considering their vast diversification into fields such as chipset, TV and tablet manufacturing. Their flagship device, the Samsung Galaxy S3, was exempt from the case, and its features are generally regarded to be distinct enough from Apple’s iPhone to not warrant any kind of sanction – a few tweaks here and there, a little time to cleanse the palate of the consumer, and Samsung should be back to doing what they’ve always done.
But the significance of Apple’s victory shouldn’t be underestimated, nevertheless. Now that they have proven their mettle in court against their biggest manufacturing foe, they possess the tools needed to go head-to-head with their foe in the arena of software. We here at Mobile Madhouse confidently expect a dramatic showdown between Apple and Google to occur within the next year or so, an impression bolstered by Google’s recent decision to attack Apple in the form of subsidiary company Motorola Mobility. And rest assured, we’ll keep you up-to-date with all aspects of this trial, should it indeed break out!
The Seoul court reached the conclusion on Friday that Samsung did not infringe upon the designs of the iPhone or iPad, with the judge stating that “these similarities had been documented in previous products”, which constitutes a tactic confirmation of Samsung’s ‘prior art’ defence. The judge went on to note that it would be difficult for consumers to mistake the products, as Apple had claimed, owing to the branded company logos and the significant differences in operating systems, applications, prices and contract services between the two, which also jibes well with Samsung’s defence of consumer intelligence (with a Samsung attorney in the flagship U.S court case protesting that “consumers demand more choice, not less”). Nevertheless, Samsung were fined 25 million Won (approximately £12,000) for infringing upon Apple’s “bounce-back” function in regards to scrolling, and face a ban of ten products, including the Samsung Galaxy S and Galaxy SII.
Apple, meanwhile, were found guilty of infringing upon two of Samsung’s wireless technology patents, and face a fine of 40 million won (approximately £22,500), as well as an embargo of four of their products – including the iPad 2 and iPhone 4. Fines of this size are peanuts to the two companies, who regularly boast revenue above 10 billion USD per year, but even given the modest size of the market in South Korea, those sales bans are bound to sting a little, even if they don’t eat into the profit margins significantly. However, it’s a bad omen for both companies: the much-touted U.S patent trial reached the point of deliberation on Wednesday, with nine jurors currently discussing the high-stakes patent battle between the two. Apple is demanding a staggering $2.5 billion in damages, along with a ruling that Samsung’s ‘infringing’ products face a permanent ban; Samsung, meanwhile, demands $422 million, claiming that Apple have violated several of its wireless technology-related patents.
While both companies face significant loss of face depending on which way the pendulum swings in the US trial, the results could be far worse for North American consumers; if Apple win, Samsung may be forced to pay them significant royalties on every Smartphone they ship, which may result in rising costs (in addition to the distinct possibility that several products – including some of the flagship Galaxy range – are banned). If Samsung wins, Apple may face a similar royalty rate; but far more importantly for the company that prides itself upon ingenuity and originality would be the loss of face incurred through such a ruling. Such a ruling may tarnish their reputation in their coveted North American marketplace, and result in a significant loss of sales from the traditional Apple faithful. And if a similar conclusion to that of the Seoul trial is reached, everyone loses – except the lawyers and expert witnesses, who will pocket a pretty penny for their involvement in what’s fast becoming the technology trial of the century.
For our part, we echo Judge Lucy Koh’s optimism, and hope that both companies manage to reach an understanding in the future. When companies like Samsung and Apple cease focusing on their superb products in lieu of focusing upon litigation, everybody loses – whether that loss is in money or dignity remains to be seen.
The other lawsuits occurring around the world are less clear-cut, however. The Federal court in Australia is currently mediating between the two disparate parties, over a lawsuit first launched in July 2011 regarding alleged infringement of the iPad by the Galaxy Tab. Samsung launched a countersuit, claiming that Apple had infringed upon three of the 3G patents that Samsung owns, which Samsung states are infringed upon in the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and iPad 2. The case has faced significant delays, however, since Apple have so far refused to disclose the technical specifications of their devices: Steven Burley, of Apple’s legal counsel, actually stated that the onus is on Samsung to prove the infringement case, and that Apple has no impetus to help them. Apple has also been poring over a number of legal affidavits, which were provided by legal experts to help the trial along, which suggests that they’re attempting to stall the trial until they have an exhaustive enough command of information to counterpoint any argument.
The high-profile U.S trial, on the other hand, is a veritable circus of publicity. The back-and-forth barbs are reaching farcical levels. For example, one ruling was obtained by Apple to suppress details of pre-iPhone devices made by Samsung; angered by this, and firmly stating that the pre-iPhone designs would provide conclusive proof that there was no infringement to be found, Samsung sent out information about the devices to a number of reporters, along with a catty paragraph suggesting that jurors should know “all the facts” before reaching a decision. When an angry, presiding Judge Koh summoned one of Samsung’s lawyers for a dressing-down over this publicity stunt, one of Apple’s attorneys promptly suggested the trial be ruled in Apple’s favour immediately as a consequence. In short, both companies have shown that they’re willing to fight dirty in order to protect their interests. But is that really a good thing?
After all, no matter who wins in these bitter legal wrangles, it’s the consumer who’s going to bear the brunt of the impact. If Samsung manage to obtain the level of royalties they seek for the alleged 3G patent infringements, Apple have to make up the lost income somehow – and it’ll undoubtedly be recouped through increased prices. If Apple manage to prove that Samsung have infringed upon their patented touchscreen technology, it’ll necessitate a rewrite of the software of devices like the Galaxy Tab and Galaxy SIII, which will cause significant delays for other software improvements as they scramble to fulfil the changes in time. Worse, it will set a precedent that will allow Apple to pursue lawsuits with other Android Smartphone manufacturers: the best-case scenario for Apple is a foot in the door which allows them to go for the jugular of Google itself, fulfilling the late Steve Jobs’ promise that Apple would “go thermonuclear” on their biggest rival in the Smartphone arena. In short, no matter who wins, it’s the consumers who lose. So we can’t help but wonder how the two manufacturing giants are going to deal with the fallout of their multi-billion dollar lawsuits; not in terms of legal wrangles, but in terms of the goodwill which they are, increasingly, squandering.
So how did Google respond to the detractors? With the typical showmanship we’ve come to expect from the search and mobile giant, they’ve decided to delay the Nexus Q in order to add more features. But instead of just closing sales of the Nexus Q, they refunded the cost of purchase to all consumers, and announced that everyone who pre-ordered the device prior to this announcement will still receive their pre-adjustment Nexus Q free of charge. It’s a savvy move that’s fostered some real goodwill towards the company; the pain of having to wait longer for the home-streaming device has been offset by the fact that it’s now likely to feature much greater cross-platform compatibility with applications like Netflix and Hulu, permitting a diverse range of uses for the device, and their act of charity towards existing consumers gives them some breathing space to avoid criticism.
We have to wonder why Google didn’t consider this in the first place, however. As a home-streaming device created by Google, the Nexus Q is naturally positioned as a rival to Apple TV, since the Cupertino-based corporation is by far Google’s biggest rival already in the Smartphone and tablet markets. Did Google really expect a device priced $200 more expensively than their competitor, with a reduced range of applications, to compete on equal footing? Some have argued that the Nexus Q was always intended to be a device appealing to the hard-core, bleeding edge Google enthusiasts: hackers have already succeeded in jury-rigging the device to perform a number of functions, including playing games and launching applications like Netflix to stream home movies. But no matter how loyal Google’s fanatical core of customers may be, the average user simply isn’t prepared to crack open their $299 device in order to tinker with it, and you can’t sustain a product by appealing solely to a minority.
With that said, Google have certainly been making measures to amend their initial error, and the future looks bright for the Nexus Q. The price tag may still be a stumbling block for many, but if they manage to increase the ease with which the average user can utilize a broad range of apps, they stand to make a tidy little profit on their investment. In the end, it’s not even about the money with the Nexus Q: the plucky little sphere is a statement that Google can go toe-to-toe with Apple, not just in terms of software and marketing, but also in terms of hardware manufacturing and design. It’s no coincidence that the brains behind the Nexus Q were two former Apple employees – there’s more than a little of the Cupertino-based company in its sleek, streamlined and minimalistic design. Whether the Nexus Q falls or rises, Google have thrown their chips on the table: for better or worse, they’re now looking to compete on equal terms with Apple, across every spectrum. Only time will tell whether or not they manage to succeed.
With the Toilet Map application, those worries (and that flush of embarrassment… get it?) will be removed. It’s incredibly simple to use: once you open the application, it culls information from Google Maps to automatically pinpoint every known toilet in the surrounding area. As if that wasn’t handy enough for the tourist-on-the-go, clicking on one of the floating toilet icons brings up a chart with relevant information about the toilet: the name of the shop it is in (if any), the hours it is accessible, any attendant price, whether it’s male or female only, or available to both, and even the type of shop it is located in (for example, it might say ‘Café’, just in case you want to get a bite to eat after you micturate)! Utilitarian in the extreme, you won’t find yourself fiddling around with Toilet Map like you would with one of the tie-in Olympic game apps, but we guarantee you’ll still be sighing with relief that you bought it!
4 – BBC Olympics
One of the official applications distributed by the BBC, BBC Olympics is the only application that streams live feed from the Olympic Games 24 hours a day. After all, though you may be attending the games, you can’t watch every single event at the games – so when Usain Bolt is performing his trademark leg stretches and you’re bored to tears waiting for him to actually start running, you can pull out your Smartphone and take a look at the concurrent swimming event, instead!
BBC Olympics is really easy to use. All of the most recent and high-profile events are organized in a Facebook-esque “top stories” section, allowing you to instantly access the most up-to-date information right as you open the application. Events stream live, and are saved for later perusal, which means you won’t miss a single moment unless you really just don’t want to see it. BBC journalists update the application with a live text feed as events occur; so if you happen to blink and miss a crucial moment, you’ll instantly know about it from their reaction - and as if that wasn’t enough, there are handy bios for each athlete performing in an event, allowing the less sports-savvy amongst you to garner a bit of context! And the capper? – This is a free application. You can have the whole of the Olympics at your fingertips for no cost at all! If you have even a passing interest in the games – even if you’re not attending – you owe it to yourself to install this application post-haste!
3 – London 2012 – Official Game
Something a little bit different, this time – not an application that will aid you in your trek around London or that will help you gather context on the Games, but rather a fun little diversion for you to plink away at in your hotel room at night. (Or in the stands during the pole vault event, for that matter!) Licensed as the official game for the London 2012 Olympics, the aptly-named London 2012 – Official Game is free to download and an awful lot of fun to play. It features a plethora of Olympic events – whether you want to see your little electronic avatar sprint the 100m dash, swim the 100m butterfly or leap their way into the stratosphere with the triple jump, there’s bound to be at least a game or two that you’ll enjoy.
In terms of graphics, it’s reminiscent of Wii Sports: stylized and cartoony, with deliberately disproportionate characters for added cuteness. You can buy new outfits for your character and outfit them to make them stand out in the multiplayer challenge mode. But don’t worry about power expenditure: if you have an up-to-date Smartphone, it runs incredibly smoothly, with bold, swooping camera angles that really put you in the thick of the action and add a sense of drama to proceedings. The only real complaint we had was with the controls, which can be sloppy from time to time.
There’s nothing more frustrating than coming in second place because the game decided to bring your avatar to a dead halt for no discernible reason. Multitouch support is all well and good, but if you’re going to rely on it so heavily, it needs to be more polished and less mushy than this. Nevertheless, the game was fun enough that we managed to muscle through and have a great time with it anyway. So if you find yourself with a free moment during the 2012 games pull out your Smartphone and give it a go!
2 – Travel+ London
In our overview of Toilet Map, we mentioned the two things that can never be found in London: rubbish bins and toilets. Well, we’re appending that list with a third addition: public transport that isn’t crammed with a veritable throng of people. At the best of times, London is one of the largest and busiest cities in the world, and the vast majority of people commute to their workplace via public transportation; during the Olympic Games, we can comprehensively state that it’ll be worse than ever before, courtesy of tourists flocking from all corners of the globe to catch a bit of the Olympic action. You really need to plan your journeys out in advance to ensure that you don’t get left out in the cold, unable to catch a train or hop aboard a bus thanks to a whole horde of tourists – and when it comes to forward planning (and on-the-fly amendments), nobody does it better than Travel+ London.
In their own words, they “[aggregate] live TFL feeds across Underground, Bus, Train, DLC, Tram and River networks, [allowing] users to find, plan and select the most efficient and direct route to their destination of choice”. In layman’s words, Travel+ London is constantly updating their store of information to take into account things like delays or crashes, ensuring that you’re always kept aware of mitigating circumstances that could affect your journey. A route planning feature means you can enter your destination and instantly have Travel+ plot the fastest way from A to B, utilizing whichever public transport you want, and a superb online map (parsed from Google Maps itself) ensures that even on foot, you know exactly where you are and exactly where you need to be going.
As if all this wasn’t enough, Travel+ London also saves your search history and previous journeys – so if you want to make the same trip twice, you simply have to open up your previous entry and check it out! For real convenience, it’s hard to find a better journey planning tool than this… and though you may find it unbelievable, Travel+ London is still in Beta. Imagine the plethora of features they’ll manage to pack in when they finally issue a full release!
1 – Hotel Tonight
Transportation is important, and games are a lot of fun to noodle about with in your spare time, but the most important factor in your 2012 Olympic experience should be where you’re staying. Most London hotels – most London hostels, in fact – are booked solid, and have been for months. It’s incredibly difficult to just “wing it” and check in somewhere – but if you’re stuck with nowhere to stay, there’s no better way to try than with the superb Hotel Tonight application!
They say the best ideas are the ones you think of and wonder “why has nobody else done this yet?!”, and we certainly felt that way about Hotel Tonight. The concept is simple: they are connected and in contact with a huge number of hotel chains, motels and hostels in major cities (including London, of course), and are notified when bookings fall through. They then update their application with the information. Everybody wins: Hotel Tonight receive money for filling the spare room with a warm body, the hotel chain receives money they wouldn’t otherwise have attained, and you – naturally – get a room for the night at a heavily discounted rate! There are few other circumstances where you could reasonably expect to stay in a hotel at a 70% discount on a same-day booking, but with Hotel Tonight it’s just a run-of-the-mill experience. It’s intuitive, it’s easy to use - but above it, it’s unbelievably convenient. And – incredibly – it’s free to download. If you ever plan on entering London, let alone attending the Olympic Games, you owe it to yourself to download this amazing application as soon as possible!
The plot is typical zombie fare: a dystopian vision of society, where the common man rose up against the ruling classes – and the corrupt politicians release a virus to turn people into bloodthirsty monsters en-masse to make good their own escape. You play a generic grizzly-voiced survivor, who stumbles into a haven of other survivors (imaginatively dubbed ‘Safe Haven’) and becomes their primary protector, roving around the city and using a selection of guns to help out his new friends. But the plot is almost immaterial; the short missions (rarely lasting more than a few minutes) and broad-strokes storyline lend itself to a burst style of play, putting Dead Trigger in the curious position of being a lunchtime game with next-gen graphics. We approve of this pick-up-and-play style of gaming, but it might have made the game more engrossing if there was an ongoing story – unfortunately, most of the ‘plot’ consists of text-only info-dump at the start of story missions, and it’s easily overlooked by casual gamers, who click “skip” to get to the zombie jamboree as swiftly as possible.
On the plus side, there are a large variety of missions. Some of them charge you with merely surviving until the timer runs out, and generally place you within an enclosed area to make the task more difficult. Others force you to protect escape routes to let your fellow survivors make good their escape. However, with a fairly small handful of enemies to shoot in the face, and repetitious map design, it can become tiring doing the same thing over and over. Fortunately, the wide range of different guns – everything from pistols to machine guns to a freakin’ mini-gun – and a prompt to change your equipped weapon/s at the beginning to each level (along with a ‘Recommended Gun’) means that you’ll at least have a healthy arsenal of weapons in your war against the undead. The game has faced some flak for only allowing the best weapons to be unlocked by spending real-life cash, but given the price of Dead Trigger itself (currently retailing at £0.75 on the Android app store), it’s difficult to find fault with Madfinger’s strategy. They have to recoup money somewhere, after all.
In terms of graphics, it stands head-and-shoulders above its competitors. (It’s certainly a far cry from, say, Temple Run!) In particular, the Tegra 3 version of the game automatically pre-packages an “ultra high” graphics setting, which dramatically boosts the quality of such niceties as water effects and the muzzle-flash on your gun; but if you’re fortunate enough to own a Tegra 3 chipset device (such as the HTC One X), you’re going to notice a sizeable decrease in your amount of battery time when running ultra-high. The lower settings still permit a respectable experience - particularly when compared to competitor games, or even Madfinger’s previous offering, Shadowgun – but if you’ve purchased Dead Trigger, you’ll probably want to set your graphical settings as high as possible. Unfortunately, on older compatible devices, this can cause frame-drop issues which seriously interfere with the experience.
Speaking of issues, there are several to be found with the controls. Dead Trigger opts for a similar input to Shadowgun: the left-hand side of the screen permits movement, the right permits aiming, and a small targeting reticle allows you to shoot. (There’s also an option to zoom in, via another button located close to said reticle.) But the touchscreen controls aren’t always the most responsive. Sometimes in the heat of the moment, a careless sideward swipe can cause your character to spin around, allowing a zombie to bite at your back before you have a chance of recovering. More serious is the indistinct overlap between the left and right hand sides of the screen: occasionally you’ll attempt to alter your aim, only to find you’ve began running towards the enemy, instead. And as a veteran FPS player, I found the zoom-in function slightly lacking: often, the targeting did not accurately map to the location I was shooting, and reloading causes you to exit the zoom-in function entirely (unlike many comparable console shooters, which zoom out for the reload animation and instantly zoom back in, permitting seamless fire). We’d recommend anyone playing Dead Trigger on Android to opt for a gamepad, which Madfinger (wisely) support for use in their game, as this makes the experience vastly less frustrating.
Overall, Dead Trigger is an excellent game that suffers few problems. These problems are restricted mainly to its polish and presentation; with just a little more pre-testing, the annoying issues with aiming and controls could have easily been averted. The repetitious level design is a little harder to remedy, but given the majestic, baroque environments of Shadowgun, we’re sure Madfinger had more in them than a succession of dreary car parks. Nevertheless, Mobile Madhouse heartily endorses Dead Trigger, and recommends you purchase it – because despite its issues, it’s just fun to play. It might not devour your brains, but it’ll sure eat up your lunchtimes!
Look at the statistics: though Amazon’s recent Kindle Fire dominates the smaller, 7” tablet market, its sales are grossly outmatched by Apple’s ubiquitous 10” iPad. Despite being more than twice as expensive - the Kindle Fire retails at $199; iPad prices start at $400, and rise to $800+ for superior models – Apple regularly boast sales which leave Amazon in the dust. While Amazon confidently expects to sell 17 million Kindle Fire’s this year, Apple is equally sanguine about the possibility of selling 70 million iPad’s. Apple dominates over 60% of the tablet market, in fact – and it’s entirely possible that the Kindle Fire only lays claim to its humble piece of the pie because of its comparative cheapness. What are they going to do when Google’s Nexus 7 retails at $199 for the basic model, with superior spec and hardware to the Kindle Fire?
It’s a similar story in the Smartphone market. Google’s Android OS currently lays claim to over 51% of the US market, with Apple’s iOS close on its tail with around 30%. The rest of the market is divided up between smaller operating systems, such as Windows Phone, Symbian, Tizen and others. The same applies to the consumer side of things; Samsung and Apple together dominate over 50% of Smartphone sales, and – owing to their high-end devices such as the Galaxy S3 and iPhone 4S – over 90% of Smartphone profits. So in essence, the operating system war is a two-horse race between Google and Apple, and the sales war is a two-horse race between Samsung and Apple. How much of a dent can a new contender possibly make, when long-going mobile phone manufacturers such as Nokia and RIM have already been edged out of the running by the current industry leads?
There’s a more pressing problem, as well – patents. As anyone with a passion for Smartphones will be aware, litigation is rife amongst Smartphone manufacturers. Apple is leading the fray, with simultaneous lawsuits against companies as diverse as HTC, Samsung, Motorola and Google, courtesy of their enormous legal department and impressive cash reserves. But even Nokia have been getting in on the act recently, launching a patent suit against Google for allegedly infringing upon one of Nokia’s Wi-Fi patents with their new Nexus 7 tablet. Most of these companies have spent years building up solid patent portfolios; Apple is well-known for registering enormous amounts, and Google has a reputation for buying out companies in order to acquire their patents: they recently bought out Motorola for $12.5 billion, obtaining more than 17,000 patents in the process. Amazon, by contrast, recent balked at the possibility of spending $400 million to outbid chipset manufacturer Intel on a number of Smartphone-related patents, despite the obvious impact this would have on their plans to diversify.
So how committed are Amazon to their new Smartphone? And how do they expect to gain substantial profits in a market already saturated with Smartphones of every stripe? Only time will tell.
HTC are hopeful, however, that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. A recent ruling means that HTC is free to sell its wares in America while the courts mull over the patent war, the judge correctly noting that a long delay in deliberation could cripple HTC financially if the allegations turn out to be unfounded. And though HTC faces fierce competition in its established market of high-end Smartphones (the recently-released Samsung Galaxy S3 is touted as a direct competitor to the HTC One X), it’s competition that HTC can face head-on, in the market arena where they are comfortable - rather than in an American courtroom.
But, as is customary when a company steps on Apple’s toes, rumours are flying about Apple’s upcoming “7 inch tablet”, a supposed reaction against both the Nexus 7 and Amazon’s new version of the Kindle Fire, slated for delivery in early August. If the traditional “industry insiders” are to be believed, this hypothetical product is slated for an October release date (around the same time Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 5), and will lack the retina display of its larger brethren. The specs are expected to include an underclocked A5 processor and about 512MB of RAM, along with the same 8GB / 16GB storage options currently provided by the Nexus 7 itself. However, the Chinese site “MyDrivers” which ‘leaked’ the specifications also reported a $249 to $299 price-tag for the 8GB model – significantly more than the Nexus 7’s 8GB version, which is currently priced for pre-order at $199. This begs the question of what, if anything, a device with similar specifications to the Nexus 7 would be able to offer to warrant such a bump in price.
The answer is comparatively little. The Amazon Kindle Fire and Google Nexus 7 are priced so competitively because they stand to gain little, if any, profit through direct sales; the devices are sold for scarcely more than they cost to manufacture. Profit margins are recouped through digital media sales (and in the case of Google, advertising). The larger iPad is priced higher because of its greater range of features: the option for much larger storage, the high-powered processor and – of course – the much larger screen all ensure that customers seeking a luxury purchase will opt for the iPad in lieu of cheaper tablets. The shallow end of the tablet market does not benefit from a ‘luxury’ mini iPad – so (assuming these rumours have any basis in fact) Apple would have to radically alter their traditional marketing strategy if they wanted to make a dent in a market dominated by the Kindle Fire (and set to be shook up significantly by the arrival of the Nexus 7).
This is just the latest imbroglio in Apple’s crusade against Samsung (and, indeed, Android Smartphones as a whole). Following Steve Job’s famous pledge to “go thermonuclear” on Android devices – which he claimed massively infringed upon Apple’s intellectual copyright – Apple have launched attack after attack on companies ranging from Google to Motorola. But some of their most famous clashes have been with Samsung, and for good reason, as the South Korean conglomerate is currently their biggest rival in the Smartphone market: together, Apple and Samsung account for over 50% of Smartphone sales, and over 90% of Smartphone profits.
However, the importance of banning sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is largely symbolic. The newer iteration of the device – the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 – is still on the marketplace; in fact, the Tab 2 was created specifically in order to circumvent a similar ban faced by the original Tab in the German marketplace. The scope of Apple’s design patent is fairly narrow, meaning by differentiating the Tab 2 just enough from the iPad, Samsung barely had to alter the specifications of the new device. So the banning of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 amounts largely to petulance on behalf of Apple; the real battle to retain Samsung’s Smartphone supremacy begins on July 30th.
But despite their comparative lack of experience, Microsoft have made a clever decision in deciding to take full control of their tablet computer; one similar to Apple’s recent decision to launch their own mapping system, rather than rely on Google Maps, or Samsung’s recent decision to utilize Bada instead of the Android OS on their entry level Smartphones – essentially, it’s not a great idea to rely on companies you’re in competition with in other areas. Both Apple and Samsung have a healthy mistrust of Google (proprietor of both Google Maps and the open source Android OS) because it has an impetus to harvest their customer’s data for advertising purposes: ergo, they are trying to become more self-sufficient, and cut Google off at the source (or at least stymie their efforts). Similarly, Microsoft could have outsourced hardware production to a company like Intel or Samsung, but by doing so they are essentially ‘sleeping with the enemy’. Additionally, by overseeing all aspects of both design and programming, Microsoft ensure that the Surface Tablet really is their device, custom made from the ground up and thus guaranteed to contain all of the features they desire.
And what are those features, you may be wondering? Well, sadly, Microsoft hasn’t released all of the specifications for their device yet, but the ones they have are fairly promising. They pledge to create two versions of the Surface Tablet: a smaller and weaker variant (weighing 676g at 9.3mm thick, designed with Windows RT and low-power processors in mind), and the Pro version (weighing 903g at 13.5mm thick, running the standard Windows 8 OS and designed for standard Intel chipsets). Both, however, possess 10.6” HD screens, a case incorporating a thin (and optional) keyboard peripheral, and a kickstand so users can watch the screen without straining their hands. While the Pro tablet has a maximum of 128GB memory, the RT version has a peak of only half that (and its standard version is a mere quarter, at 32GB). The Microsoft press release that accompanied the unveiling states that the Surface Tablet has a full sized USB port, a 16:9 aspect ratio and 22 degrees angled edges, meaning that even the weaker RT version should have no issue with running full 1080p HD video.
So far, reaction to the device has been mixed. Most pundits are impressed by the design of the Surface Tablet: one stalwart Apple blogger even grudgingly conceded that Microsoft could make substantial money by simply revamping the Surface Tablet case for the iPad, since it is so innovative and attractive. But the prevailing opinion is that there are not enough details about the specifications to make an informed judgement about the Surface Tablet yet. And almost everybody feels that Microsoft may be jeopardizing its relationships with other companies (such as Samsung, manufacturer of a previous Microsoft tablet computer) – analyst Michael Gartenberg speculated that “Microsoft felt they could not rely on others to deliver on their vision for Windows 8 in mobile computing”. Will Microsoft’s former partners resent their decision to stand on their own two feet, and withdraw support? And if they did, would Microsoft be capable of producing their own hardware in the long term? And – most seriously of all – is the fledgling Surface capable of going head-to-head with the ubiquitous iPad and coming out on top?
Only time can tell if Microsoft’s decision to diversify will be a good one.
This isn’t a particularly substantial rift in the two company’s fortunes. While Bada has the potential to steal some of Android’s thunder (and thus risk diluting the essential two horse race between the iOS and Android), the fact it’s designed with budget Smartphones in mind means that it will essentially act as a ‘gateway’ OS to draw in new customers, who may not be attracted to expensive, high end tour de forces like Samsung’s Galaxy S3. Samsung are also considering combining the base Bada system with the open-source Tizen OS; as another system which is not intended to upset the balance between Android and iOS (and as one which attracts third party developers courtesy of its freely-distributed nature), Tizen should add the muscle which Bada has so far sadly lacked.
It’s a savvy business decision from Samsung; they won’t be upsetting the proverbial apple cart, but simultaneously they’ll be setting the groundwork for a day when their own operating system is poised to take a chunk of the market. And with Tizen’s developers on board (along with the developers who helped develop the MeeGo system, swathes of which were appropriated for Tizen), Samsung are guaranteed at least some success in the arena of third party development, ensuring a healthy library of applications on launch. We’re fairly confident that Samsung will be launching at least one Bada/Tizen Smartphone this year; though the cost of developing software like this may be prohibitive under normal circumstances, Samsung’s healthy financial future means that it’s impossible to rule it out entirely!
She can hardly be blamed; nowadays, Apple seems to communicate mainly via lawsuits and summonses instead of marketing communiqués. Their closed-source software policy appears to have spread to their public service department, which has remained clammed up about their legal tussles with companies ranging from Samsung, to HTC, to chief rival Google. And their publicity is suffering accordingly – many Android stalwarts are up in arms about their tactics, accusing them of bullying rivals and attempting to monopolize the Smartphone industry via legal harangues, instead of the quality of their products. Even many of Apple’s fans are beginning to turn against them: type in “Apple lawsuit videolog” into YouTube and you can peruse a selection of rants from disgruntled ex-customers, many of whom turned to Android devices to spite Apple, rather than any legitimate desire to own a One S or Galaxy S2. Apple’s traditional strategy of high emotional engagement with their established audience, at the expense of non-users (thus building a brand sourced on perceived elitism, allowing its users to feel elevated against ‘outsiders’), is beginning to work against it; they are alienating potential customers with their high-handed tactics.
All of which might be acceptable if there was any basis for these lawsuits, but many of the concepts Apple claims they have patented are absurdly broad. They claim, for example, the Samsung Galaxy S3 has breached the patent for Apple’s Siri software because it contains a voice input system. They claim similar things about the S3’s unlocking mechanism, because you have to slide your finger across the screen ala the iPhone. It’s hard to empathize with Apple on this; it wouldn’t really have made a difference if the S3 was unlocked via touchscreen tap, or a dedicated button – how does the S3 possessing a slide unlock damage Apple’s potential sales? Is it truly possible to patent the concept of voice activation input, particularly on a system developed completely separately from Siri? Were patents ever really intended to be “gamed” like this, used as weapons for the purpose of defeating competitors, rather than protecting original intellectual copyright? But their legal tussles with Samsung could just be the beginning of a slippery slope; similar lawsuits with HTC and Google risk making Apple a target for exclusion by all of their competitors. There may be a pre-existing flimsy alliance between Google and many Smartphone manufacturers (courtesy of its Android OS, which they utilize), but can you imagine the damage they could do to Apple if they put aside their differences and formed a full-on alliance to crush the technological giant that is fast becoming their common foe?
Currently, this is all hypothetical – Apple have yet to alienate their market to that extent, and they still possess substantial advantages over their competitors, such as a more unified operating system and a stronger, more cohesively marketed brand than Android. But the longer they persist in doggedly suing competitors rather than creating the groundbreaking products that made their name, the more and more distrust they will engender. It’s not hard to see a bruised and demoralized Apple overtaken by Android in the year 2014 or 2015. So here’s hoping that Mr Cook can rein in his legal lapdogs and focus on his R&D division before it’s too late!
There are obvious merits to a system like Android; parent company Google’s policy of allowing disparate companies to adapt the OS as they see fit means that massively more Android Smartphones are being activated every day – some estimates place it at over 900,000, or roughly 10 per second. But with so many Android handsets out there, it’s a strain for developers to create applications that are capable of running on multiple devices. For example, when Instagram – a popular application that made its name on the iPhone – initially launched on Android systems, it lacked compatibility with HTC’s flagship One X device; arguably the most powerful Android Smartphone on the market at that time. That would be equivalent to Instagram lacking compatibility with the iPhone 4S on release; it would curtail a massive amount of potential users.
Apple, by contrast, utilizes their proprietary, homebrewed iOS on their Smartphones. The numbers speak for themselves: while only 7% of Android users are utilizing Android’s most recent version, 5.0 (the Ice Cream Sandwich OS), more than 80% of Apple consumers use the iOS 5 (and are consequently poised to immediately upgrade to the iOS 6 upon release with no issue). For the majority of users, this isn’t exactly a deal-breaker; only the hardcore fringe of customers cares about having the most up-to-date operating system sheerly for the sake of it. What is a deal-breaker, however, is being unable to use the most recent and popular applications because your phone was left out of some anonymous developer’s calculations. And it’s impossible to deny that the risk of that happening is far greater for an Android device than an Apple device.
That’s the biggest difference between the two opposing operating systems – unity. While Android may have a vibrant audience (and unquestionably broader, in terms of market appeal, than Apple’s), their sturdy opponent has a much greater ability to shepherd their users towards the most recent versions of their device. But, as in all things, there is a trade off for this - at the top echelons of development, the iPhone becomes inferior to devices like the Samsung Galaxy S3 or HTC One X. While a much more consistent OS than Android, leaving the iOS in the hands of one company has made it less adapatable and spontaneous overall. So while Apple may snicker at the "nerds" who tinker with their devices to maximize performance, or the applications which make such software alterations possible, they're still able to milk much less out of their Smartphones than the dedicated Android user.
Cook opened by revealing the updated line-up of notebook computers. Centrepiece of the selection was the all-new MacBook Air, repackaged in a slimmer body and replete with an improved Intel Ivy Bridge processor. This repurposed Air model offers up to a maximum of 512GB flash storage, ensuring faster access to programs and more disc space on the device. Next up, Cook unveiled the MacBook Pro, the luxury option for notebook consumers, boasting features including a 768GB hard drive, an SD card slot, and two high-speed ports, in addition to luxury fringe features like Retina display technology and a backlit keyboard. But for a notebook whose prices start at $2199, you’d expect such fringe features to be fairly routine by now.
For their second trick, Apple unveiled the latest and greatest version of their timeless Mac OS X, the long-anticipated Mountain Lion OS. Like the Pro and Air, many of the upgrades were more like tweaks, optimizing existing technology instead of radically moving forwards; but there were a few diamond-in-the-rough standouts to be found. The capacity to find all of your notifications (such as e-mail data, Facebook updates, and even information about the weather) in one easy-to-use location, for example, is now available via Mountain Lion, and your Mac now has the capability to synchronize itself with that same functionality on your iPhone. An increased ability to synchronize with iCloud storage also ensures that Mac’s are able interact fluidly with iPhone and iPad, allowing you to transfer documents rapidly between devices without unnecessary hardware interaction.
But as a company intimately connected with the Smartphone market, our main concern was the possible genesis of the iOS 6, and Apple did not disappoint; the grand unveiling of the sixth iteration of their proprietary operating system was our real centrepiece of the show. First on the agenda were the updates to Siri, Apple’s voice-activated personal assistant. Siri is now capable of launching applications on command, ensuring that a cluttered library of apps is no longer an impediment to swiftly finding Angry Birds on the go. Siri’s ability to find information online has also been improved, and its library of voice diction commands expanded. The biggest news of all, though, was the knowledge that Siri will be brought to Apple’s new iPad, the iPad 3, when the device upgrades to the iOS 6. Though the iPad has long had voice input functionality, this is its first brush with Apple’s proprietary Siri software, and has left many tablet users extremely excited.
As for the theoretical iPhone 5 – the device that spurred a positive frenzy of speculation – well, we haven’t heard hide or hair from Cook about it so far. But given that the release of the iPhone 4S was in autumn, it’s no surprise that Apple have modified their customary summer release announcement cycle; we should probably expect a September/October release for the new iPhone, whether it’s dubbed the iPhone 5, the iPhone 6, or something entirely different. But we’re confident that before 2012 is over, there’ll be a new flagship device to complement Apple’s newly-minted iOS 6!
In terms of expanding their market, though, the 2012 WWDC is expected to mark an even greater upswing in Apple’s fortunes. There are a number of announcements that industry insiders expect Cook to debut at the annual keynote (the central event, and the one which always garners the most media attention). Virtually the entire range of Macs are expected to receive upgrades: the MacBook Air, Pro, and iMac are all slated for update. In addition, we can virtually guarantee the debut of the iOS 6; and a grand unveiling of the most recent OS X upgrade, named Mountain Lion, is practically guaranteed, if you look at the plethora of advertisements that have arisen in the interim. Speculated features are largely expected to counterpoint similar ones in Google Android, including “Mail VIPs” (counterpart to Gmail’s “priority inbox”, which marks e-mails from specifically determined ‘important’ people) and “iCloud Tabs”, which will show which Safari tabs you have simultaneously opened across multiple devices, like your MacBook and iPad.
However, despite the customary buzz, there’s no guarantee that WWDC 2012 will mark the grand unveiling of Apple’s most highly-anticipated device, the new iPhone. While it would fall into line with Apple’s ordinary market release cycle, the iPhone 4S bucked the trend when it was released in autumn – it wouldn’t surprise us if that marked Apple’s new release schedule, meaning we could be waiting months for an announcement in that area. Besides, Apple certainly has enough on its plate with the new iOS and OS X announcements: it would be packing in an awful lot of information (even by Apple standards) to reveal the speculated iPhone 5, too. Keep in mind, though, that all of this information is pure speculation, based on Apple’s customary track record at events of this calibre, and our observations of their market expansion – we could be entirely off-base. Like you, we’ll just have to wait and see what Tim Cook pulls out of the bag today!
Though it seems like a dramatic schism, in practical terms the decision wouldn’t make much of a difference to Google. They’d stand to lose very little revenue; they might even gain, if Apple permits them to release a polished-up version of Google Maps via the Apple store. It’s an important decision, however, in terms of psychology, because it represents Apple throwing down the gauntlet to Google. Apple’s philosophy has always been a laissez-faire one; their closed-source iOS, their tight code and proprietary technology, all represent a company with the ultimate goal of standing on their own two feet, without having to rely on the software or hardware of any potential competitors (discounting the application store, which gains them a substantial revenue stream). They’ve had no issue with utilizing Google’s technology in the past - but now that they possess the capacity to take them on, and stymie Google at yet another turn, they have no qualms in doing so.
Google doesn’t appear to be worried, though, judging by their response – a glitzy media event in San Francisco on June 6th, at which they previewed some of the upcoming features of Google Maps. Their platform looks to be expanding rapidly, judging by some of their goals for the future: they’ve commissioned a whole team of planes to take 45 degree aerial photographs, ensuring the capacity to offer full 3D, fully scalable aerial map models of towns and cities in the future. Almost as impressive, though, was a portable, satchel-like device which permits people on the street to become vectors for the software, allowing Google to map narrow locations a car could not fit – in the future, they may even be able to offer full floor plans for buildings, based on this technology!
Of course, the language of business is a language of subtlety – neither Google nor Apple has made a public show of their burgeoning rivalry, despite it simmering under the surface for quite some time. (Some of the late Steve Jobs’ criticisms of Android in his biography go beyond scathing and straight into the realm of incendiary, however.) Google program manager Peter Birch even stressed the importance of the struggling partnership between the two companies, stating “I can’t really speculate on what the rumours may be” and “… we’ve been on Apple devices since 2008” when questioned on the possibility of a split. But actions speak louder than words, and we’re eagerly awaiting the outcome of this latest spat between the two Smartphone giants; will Apple’s map system be able to measure up to Google’s multi-million dollar counterpart? Or is this just the latest example of Apple’s dogged – and sometimes insane – determination to rely on nobody but themselves, no matter what the financial consequences? Only time will tell.
Though the platform is outsourced to different hardware vendors, in much the same way Android is, there’s no clear sense of that community that makes the Android such a singular experience; there’s a dearth of apps, and much fewer developers, compared to the Android’s surplus of both. There’s considerably less customization available as a consequence – meaning that despite having a business ideology similar to Google’s Android, the homogeneity and simplicity of the OS makes it seem a lot more like Apple’s. Compare and contrast this to the hardware of Windows phones, which, by and large, express the same degree of variation that you’ve come to expect from Android. The experience is not cohesive enough: it lacks the trademark focus of its competition.
Microsoft is certainly attempting to make up for this deficit; they’ve been making a real push to expand their market lately, contributing huge amounts of money to developers and even, in some cases, giving away devices in order to ensure that the prospect of developing for their company seems as attractive as possible. They’ve also updated their design philosophy: with the advent of proprietary, functional software like Metro (a clean and minimalistic UI, with easy window toggling to reduce confusion while utilizing multiple applications) and Bing (a multi-input search engine function that allows you to seamlessly blend touchscreen, voice, and vision input to fluidly search for content), they seem to finally be developing a market identity of their own.
Sadly, however, it still seems to be a market identity founded on the notion of compromise – compromise between the respective extremes of the open-source Android OS and the proprietary Apple iOS. Even at their most inventive, the Windows phone selection that presently exists is mid-range: mid-range in terms of specifications, mid-range in terms of price and, sadly, mid-range in terms of available features. Whether they can pick up the slack to eventually compete on an equal footing with their competitor’s remains to be seen; but, given the current climate of Smartphone development and programming, Microsoft would be better sticking to the desktop computer marketplace.
It’s a shame; a greater range of Smartphones can only result in more choices for the consumer. But in this system dominated by only two companies, it seems that consumers aren’t interested in choice; they’re more concerned with brand recognition.
But despite Apple releasing their schedule for the event yesterday (with a couple of conspicuous, eyebrow-raising gaps…), there’s been no mention whatsoever of the elusive iPhone 5. They’re remaining extremely tight-lipped about the latest device; in fact, Apple representatives have thus far claimed the chief draws of the 2012 WWDC to be the unveiling of the iOS 6 and their new OS X, christened (or maybe just codenamed) “Mountain Lion”.
With that said, the annual centrepiece of the event is the keynote speech, which was traditionally the domain of their late CEO, Steve Jobs – the image of him nonchalantly unveiling new hardware on-stage in his ubiquitous turtleneck sweater is practically synonymous with Apple as a whole. Despite his death late last year, new CEO Tim Cook is expected to take up his mantle on stage during the keynote, scheduled at 10am PDT on Monday the 11th of June.
With more than 100 sessions to attend, it’s certainly going to be a busy event - which is why Apple has cleverly released a free application for the purpose of tracking session and lab attendance, provide dynamic feedback, and see where the disparate sessions are occurring, ensuring that attendees are able to manage their time at the event more efficiently. Given the power of Apple’s marketing, many of the attendees are guaranteed to possess iPhones, iPads, or even iPod devices with internet capability: they have effectively parlayed their marketing brand into a tool to aid their consumer base.
Smart marketing has always been Apple’s real stock-in-trade, though. Whether dominating the online music business with their wildly successful iTunes software, or effortlessly cracking open the Smartphone market with the ubiquitous, omnipresent iPhone, Apple’s global brand is now of the strongest in the world – they trade on their image of minimalism and professionalism, but more than that, they trade on the image of the Apple lifestyle; iLife, if you will. (Or perhaps “LiFE”?) We can speculate on the many things that may be unveiled at the WWDC, but one thing’s for sure – the true centrepiece, keynote speech or no keynote speech, is going to be the way in which Apple unveils their products, not the products themselves.
Anticipation for the S3 has been high for quite some time. Its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy S2, was the high water-mark for Samsung’s burgeoning Smartphone expansion in 2011 – the device which afforded them record highs in their ongoing struggle against Apple, the market-dominating behemoth responsible for the ubiquitous iPhone.
For the first time, Samsung showed market growth exceeding that of Apple: more than 80% comparative to Apple’s roughly 50% gain. So the follow-up to the S2 was regarded as something of a Holy Grail for those disgruntled with Apple’s comparative supremacy; the device finally capable of knocking the iPhone from its coveted pedestal.
But the excitement reached fever-pitch on May 3rd, when Samsung unveiled the device and its many possibilities at an ultra-glitzy launch event at Earl’s Court in London. A mobile which, up until that point, had been regarded as some mythical ideal was painstakingly demonstrated in full – and, somehow, failed to disappoint.
Features such as the touted eye-tracking (preventing the phone from switching off while you observe the screen), the smart voice control (allowing greater utility when busy with other tasks) and expansive Cloud-based storage (courtesy of a partnership with digital storage company Dropbox.com) whipped up Samsung loyalists into a veritable frenzy of anticipation.
Now that the phone has finally been released, all of Samsung’s market goals have been confirmed: the S3 has had the most successful launch out of any Samsung product to date. In fact, not only has it marked Samsung’s most successful launch to date, but also the most successful launch for any Android phone, boasting more than nine million pre-orders – a heady figure, considering the comparatively lacklustre performance of the iPhone 4S (just over 4 million).
With that said, there was a fairly large issue on launch – despite promising the definitive capacity to meet every pre-order issued, an issue with the manufacturing process of the “pebble blue” coloured devices means that they have been delayed. They will now hit the market more than two weeks late; even the casual Smartphone user can see how this would alienate a significant proportion of Samsung’s user-base, especially in the light of their prior guarantee.
g~~60_35__82946.JPG "The Pebble Blue Samsung Galaxy S3")
For the time being, then, the Galaxy S3 is the Smartphone of the moment, a title it richly deserves due to its power, utility, and clever marketing. But the year is only half over; and with Apple’s annual WWDC just around the corner, the iPhone 5 (or “The New iPhone”, as the case may be) is almost certain to make its own debut before the end of the year. Samsung enthusiasts may be hoping that their chosen developer pulverises Apple effortlessly… but if we know anything about their company, it’s that the iPhone giant unlikely to go down without a fight!
Released in October, the iPhone 4S swiftly became renowned as Apple’s most inventive and versatile Smartphone yet. Its prime directive is fluidity: the user interface is designed to be as intuitive and functional as possible. It’s a smart way of doing things; by ensuring that different hand motions such as swiping, tapping and pinching the screen become inextricably linked with the concept of iPhone interaction, Apple have, in essence, created a brand based on the users own synergistic experience with the device – a brand which has been expanded by identical touchscreen interaction with the iPad. In terms of raw specifications, the 4S utilizes the iOS 5.1.1, Apple’s most recent variant on their proprietary operating system. It’s capable of acting as an internet hotspot, diversifying its internet connection over WiFi, Bluetooth and USB and permitting access to Apple’s famed app store while on-the-move.
Its most unique and talked-about feature is probably Siri, however. An automated voice control system, Siri is unique among such software in that it permits near-total control over every aspect of the device, from weather reports to appointments. This means it’s much easier for somebody busy with a different task – such as exercising in the gym, or driving a car – to check things on their phone without compromising their own safety. It recognises three languages on launch – English, French and German – with plans for more languages to be added as the system matures. Because the 4S is a slate-style touchscreen (eschewing excessive buttons in favour of a streamlined design), its keyboard is virtual, meaning greater functionality for inputting in a range of different languages across the board – ensuring a broad market saturation.
Apple, then, are clever marketers - that much is obvious to anybody who has paid a modicum of attention to their advertising campaigns. But for a raw comparison of the respective specifications of the iPhone 4S and the Samsung S3, you need only check out the table below.
But when you get right down to it, that’s not what this fight is about. Apple has never claimed to put out the strongest products on the marketplace: their claim to fame has always been sleek functionality combined with relentless, saturation marketing. For Samsung to stand a chance of beating out Apple in the long run, they’re going to need to spend a lot of money building up an aesthetic brand as recognisable as the classy, minimalistic sheik of the iPhone. The Samsung S3 may well be the Smartphone that drives the iPhone 4S off its precarious position as most-touted Smartphone, but will its follow-up be able to go toe-to-toe with the iPhone 5, or will it stand to become just another flash-in-the-pan contender for Apple’s crown?
Only time will tell.
With the schedule Apple has set for releasing new products that means we shouldn’t expect an announcement about the hypothetical iPhone 5 for at least another month, with their June 11th – 15th WWDC (worldwide developer’s conference) slated to be the platform from which the iOS 6 is unveiled. At this point, even the name “iPhone 5” is just speculation. After all, as the upcoming sixth release in the cycle, it could just as easily be dubbed the iPhone 6!
It’s to be expected, though. As an incredibly popular company, Apple products produce a disproportionate amount of buzz. Tickets for the WWDC sold out in a mere two hours, denying some U.S developers a chance to even attend. While previous WWDC outings were well-anticipated (the previous year had tickets selling out in just twelve hours), the fevered excitement for this new iPhone can easily be singled out as the culprit for this years ticket-snatching mania.
But is it truly warranted? After all, Apple produces many more products than the iPhone; their computer operating system, the Mac OS X, undergoes developmental upheavals just as regularly as the iOS, and the OS X is certainly going to have at least a few sessions and seminars devoted to it. Isn’t it equally likely that this year’s WWDC will focus on the computing, or the music and multimedia side of their business? Isn’t it even possible that Apple themselves have leaked the tantalizing hints of the iPhone 5, to drum up interest over a prolonged period of time? It's certainly true that they've finally got around to registering the iPhone5.com domain name.
We’d like to hear your thoughts on Apple, the WWDC, and the iPhone 5 (or perhaps “The New iPhone”, following in the footsteps of the iPad) via the comment system. Do you think it’s all meaningless hysteria, or just savvy marketing technique? Do you expect an announcement over the summer WWDC, or perhaps an autumn announcement, more in line with Apple’s traditional routine?
Whichever it may be, rest assured - when the product is unveiled, we’ll be first on the market with a fine selection of iPhone 5 cases!
