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Multitasking release gives iAd developers grip on iPhone, iPad users

Friday, April 9th, 2010
  • iPhone, iPad now able to multitask
  • Jobs announces pop-up ads for apps
  • One billion ads per day rolled out

WAS Apple’s announcement the iPhone was now about to multitask just a giant smokescreen for the fact its apps will now carry ads?

Because it seems that in announcing the new operating system for Apple’s mobile platforms, boss Steve Jobs gave with one hand while taking away with the other.

All the excitement over multitasking served to overwhelm the fact that iPhone and iPad users’ beloved apps will now be plastered with ads.

One billion of them, in fact. Per day.

At exactly the same time US regulators threatened to block Google’s proposed acquisition of mobile advertising

firm AdMob – which Apple wanted to buy – Jobs released details of Apple’s compensatory acquisition of Quattro Wireless.

At last night’s launch, Jobs told the crowd Google was off the mark with its Android mobile OS, claiming users now spent “all their time in apps”, not searching mobile devices.

But searching isn’t Android’s strong point – multitasking is, and it’s the reason Google’s tilt into mobile devices is gaining momentum, particularly with the release of the Motorola Droid, which sold 250,000 units in its first week on sale in the US.

So while multitasking isn’t exactly new to mobile devices, advertising is.

Well, good advertising is, according to Jobs, who said the current model “sucks”.

TheRegister reports Jobs spent a lot of time explaining how Apple would make ads better, telling developers that their apps would now carry iAds that “combine the interactivity of standard web ads with the emotion provided by television ads”.

The iAds would be embedded in applications, and therefore won’t close the app, popping up in a seperate window that can be closed with an “x” button and reveal the app behind it in the the state it was left.

Now that’s multitasking for you.

And while Jobs promised Apple had no plans to become a “worldwide ad agency”, he then went on to promise the crowd at the OS 4.0 launch that Apple could garner “one billion ad impressions per day by the end of the year”.

His maths? An average user spending 30 minutes a day inside apps, receiving an iAd every three minutes on 10o million devices equals one billion ads a day.

Sixty per cent of the cash raised would go to the advertisers, 40 per cent would remain with Apple.

And obviously, as with apps from its store, Apple will have to approve all ads before they host them.

Resource:

http://www.news.com.au/technology/multitasking-release-gives-iad-developers-grip-on-iphone-ipad-users

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Posted in Web Development | 1 Comment »

Google Maps for BlackBerry 4.0 Arrives, Brings Voice Search

Friday, April 9th, 2010

The first Google Maps update of the year for BlackBerry mobile devices adds features such as voice search and Google Buzz. Users can also touch a location on a map to get details about a business.

Google has rolled out a Google Maps for Mobile update for BlackBerry handsets. Though this is the first update of the year for BlackBerry users, the wait for Version 4.0 may have been worth it as it includes, among another features, a Search by Voice option.

“Simply press and hold the green ‘call’ button, speak your search and see your results quickly appear without typing a single letter,” Software Engineer Ole CaveLie explained in an April 7 post on the Google Mobile Blog.

Users can speak the name of a specific business—”La Pergola in Los Angeles”—or request a more general search, such as, “Italian restaurants.”

CaveLie also said, “Currently supported languages include multiple English accents and Mandarin Chinese.” (Surely the phrase “multiple English accents” is enough to warrant a download.)

Care to forego voice searching for some tried-and-true typing? A time-saving personalized search function—already enjoyed by Android handset users, CaveLie said—begins pulling up terms that a user has already searched for, using the first letters typed.

Still other new features enable BlackBerry owners to:

“Use Labs to try experimental features like the Scale Bar or Terrain layer (great for hiking enthusiasts!)

See nearby businesses at an address or location by selecting a point from the map.

Report a problem with the map data or a business listing.”

BlackBerry owners can now download Google Maps 4.0 for BlackBerry “by going to m.google.com/maps in your BlackBerry Internet Browser. The update for BlackBerry Enterprise Server administrators and users, including support for BlackBerry OS 5.0 phones, is available here.

RIM’s BlackBerry fan base continues to grow, and in 2009, RIM was second only to Nokia in worldwide smartphone market share, shipping 34.5 million handsets. On March 31, RIM announced revenue of $14.95 million for fiscal year 2010, up 35 percent from a year earlier.

However, according to AdMob, the fastest-growing smartphone operating system in the United States is Google’s Android.

Google’s Nexus One smartphone, as Google reminds visitors to its Google Maps for Mobile page, comes with Google Maps preinstalled.

Resource:

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/Google-Maps-for-BlackBerry-40-Now-Available-Includes-Voice-Search-670557/

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Apple Offers iPad Owners a WiFi Quick Fix

Friday, April 9th, 2010

Good news for iPad owners: Apple has suggested a fix for the sporadic WiFi connectivity that has flummoxed and frustrated a number of early iPad adopters. While reviews and comments around the iPad have mainly been positive, the WiFi issues caused a stir and forced Apple to quickly address the issue.

Apple has acknowledged on its Website that some early iPad adopters are experiencing issues with the device’s WiFi connectivity and offered a suggestion for resolving the issue.

The problem, Apple says, is that after being restarted or roused from sleep, an iPad may not automatically rejoin a known WiFi network.

“This can occur with some third-party WiFi routers that are dual-band capable when: using the same network name for each network; using different security settings for each network,” according to Apple’s support site.

To fix the issue, Apple suggests creating separate WiFi network names for each band — name 802.11 b/g Fred, for example, and 802.11n Tom. Also, Apple says to make sure that both networks are using the same type of network security.

“If the issue persists, reset your network settings using Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings,” Apple wrote on its support page, adding that users should make sure their WiFi router firmware is up to date.

Within hours of the iPad going on sale April 3, a discussion forum on the Apple support site began to fill with complaints of sporadic WiFi connectivity, with signal strength bars moving from high to low, though the device hadn’t moved. By April 8, nearly 400 comments had been added to the discussion.

Many early purchasers, acknowledging that they were “guinea pigs,” to have purchased a brand new device and form factor, compared settings, routers, whether all equipment was from Apple or not and how current their firmware and routers are.

“Put me down for the same issue here. Intermittent WiFi signals. Goes from full to one bar all over my house no matter where I am in relation to router,” forum visitor Dollardoctor posted on April 5. “Guess that’s what we get for being apples [sic] guinea pigs…. Yay us!”

Resource:

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/Apple-Offers-iPad-Owners-a-WiFi-Quick-Fix-186835/

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Gap launches fashionable app for iPad

Friday, April 9th, 2010

With the iPad now unleashed and roaming the States in numbers, big name apps are starting to emerge already.

And Gap has brought an app out, too. Just kidding – they’re a big enough name in the clothing world. Although they didn’t call it the Gap App, funnily enough.

It was actually christened the “Gap 1969 Stream”, after the year the company was born.

The app, which is described as a new way to shop online, lets the user browse through fresh denim looks and styles, before allowing them to purchase.

It also contains a number of celebrity photos, designer videos and other bits and pieces.

The 62MB app is free, as well, although currently only available in the States, naturally enough given the iPad isn’t out here yet.

When Apple launches its tablet in the UK, you can expect Gap to follow over here.

Resource:

http://www.techwatch.co.uk/2010/04/08/gap-launches-fashionable-app-for-ipad/

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