Tag: Apple

Love Me Do

swebmanLeave a comment

It was 50 years ago today, the Beatles began to play, They’ve been going in and out of style, But they’ve guaranteed to raise a smile. So may I introduce to you, The act you’ve known for all these years,  John, Paul, George and Ringo

See what I did there 🙂  Did you pick up what I just put down?

The Beatles’ Apple Corps Ltd. and EMI officially announced Friday the group will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1962 original release of the Beatles’ song “Love Me Do” with a new replica of that Parlophone Records single to hit the streets Oct. 22. The replica version will include the version with Ringo Starr on the drums, as the original single did.

The Beatles’ first Parlophone Records release with “Love Me Do” and “P.S. I Love You” on the flip side, was released on Oct. 5, 1962 as a 7-inch vinyl single with the label number R-4949. The new commemorative single’s audio was sourced from the 2009 mono remaster, the company said in announcing the new single.

I have over 600 albums from my days as a vinyl collector.  All in great condition but I must say, I do not listen to them very often.  Vinyl album sales were up nearly 44% – though at just 337,000 LPs sold, that represents just 0.3% of the total market.  Time to hook up the turntable again?

The CD remained comfortably the most popular format on which to buy an album in 2011 – but another strong year of growth for digital sales suggests it may not be for long.  Just over 86m albums were sold on CD in 2011, according to figures compiled by The Official Charts Company, representing 76% of the market.

However, the number of CD albums sold was down 12.6% compared to the previous year. Digital album sales meanwhile rose 26.6% to 26.6m, making up 23.5% of the market for albums in 2011.

Vinyl album sales were up nearly 44% – though at just 337,000 LPs sold, that represents just 0.3% of the total market.

So guess what? The Beatles remastered vinyl box set, first mentioned in 2009 and rumored increasingly more often this year, will be released Nov. 13, according to advance listings from two retailers.

So for $399 dollars you can get all of the original Beatles albums digitally remastered for the holidays.  Given how long it has taken to remaster them, I bet they sound awesome.

Happy holidays.

Webman

 

The New E-Mail Champion

swebmanLeave a comment

Where are people opening their e-mails?  This is a critical piece of information for all e-mail marketers today.  E-mail access has changed radically over the last couple of years with the rapid emergence of mobile and of course new devices such as the iPad.  Well, we have a new number 1 in where people access e-mail.  And the winner is:

In a recent study completed by Litmus, www.litmus.com, a leading e-mail testing and marketing analytics company located in Cambridge, MA, the iPhone and the iPad now represent 28% of all opened e-mails.  The results of this study were sourced from over 1 billion e-mail opens from Litmus’ global e-mail analytics solution.  Take a look:

Even more amazing is that mobile is now the number 1 platform for opening e-mails:

And yes, Apple dominates mobile:

So for all companies using e-mail to drive business and customer satisfaction, what is your responsive design strategy to capitalize on this rapidly changing trend?  Your competitors are surely looking at this opportunity with a keen eye.

Thanks to the folks at Litmus for the awesome analysis and infographics.

Webman

Just a bit outside!

swebman1 Comment

As we have covered, the iPad has totally changed the market for personal computers.  For a device that supposedly no one needed, it appears as if these forecasts were a bit wrong.  Just a bit outside 🙂

The growth of the iPad continues to be staggering.  Looks like it has become pretty important for consumers:

So the iPad is now used by 46.7% of those surveyed as their primary computer.  Impressive!

Looks like it has become a real favorite for non-work related activities.

And people are using their iPads for many different things:

Remarkable.  More on this report from Business Insider can be found at http://www.businessinsider.com/ipad-usage-survey-results-2012-7#what-are-people-doing-with-the-ipad-that-makes-it-a-personal-computer-web-surfing-is-the-most-popular-activity-followed-by-email-and-then-other-applications-11

Well done Business Insider.

Webman

Mobile E-Mail

swebman1 Comment

As mentioned yesterday, mobile access to e-mail is exploding, now accounting for nearly 33% of initial e-mail access points. Folks are on-the-go and reading their e-mails within a much different context than reading on their laptop/desktops. Walk around your office and notice how many people are heading to or in meetings with just their mobile device. If they are like me, the amount of time spent looking at an e-mail is getting shorter and shorter, while the volume of e-mails continues to escalate on a daily basis, making the right offer, at the right time to the right person a rapidly changing target.

If you are like me, your e-mail evaluation process has changed from scan, read, delete to scan, delete, read so the need to capture my attention in the headline or in the first line of the e-mail has become even more important as this is all that is visible on the screen. so not only has it become difficult for companies that I have opted into for offers, but for companies that are trying to acquire me as a customer for the first time, they must really capture my attention immediately. If not, delete for them.

One of the challenges for enterprise or company e-mail providers are the variety of capabilities that are available through each of the mobile service/technology providers. This is extremely important to understand as the ability to reach consumers B2C (mostly via the Apple IOS or Google Android platforms) is significantly different that a company that is trying to reach business customers B2B (Many businesses still use Blackberry but not sure for how long). Take a look at the following infographic for the differences across each of these platforms.

So make sure you are taking these platform differences into consideration when planning your campaigns. Thanks again to the folks at Litmus for the cool infographics. www.litmus.com

Have an awesome day.

Webman

Draw Something – Part 2

swebman1 Comment

We covered Draw Something last week, but so much is happening so fast we needed to do a quick follow-up.

Quick reminder – Draw Something is a highly addictive social drawing game available for Apple iOS and Android Devices.  You draw and guess words, play cooperatively with friends or competitively with rivals.

Here is what the app looks like when you download it:

So what are the updated statistics:

  • Launched 7 weeks ago
  • 20 million daily active users
  • 37 million downloads
  • 3 billion drawings since launch
  • 1 billion drawings last week
  • 2,000 drawings per second
  • Number 1 app in 85 countries

Check out these Draw Something drawings – these folks are good.

Mine definitely do not look like these – LOL

Go and download the app from the Apple or Android stores and give it a try.

Enjoy.

Webman

Draw Something – WOW

swebmanLeave a comment

There is an app for that! Well we have heard that many times.  In the Apple app store there are now over 500,000 apps.  Enter the App Store and you will find apps in many categories such as games, lifestyle, social networking, productivity, education and many, many more.  Many of the apps are free, but these apps come with the ever present advertising, which I find annoying. If you have the $0.99 or the $1.99 pony it up to eliminate this clutter. For those of you with Android phones, there are now over 415,000 apps in that store as well.

The app market is big and getting bigger everyday.  The market size now exceeds $10 billion and is growing at 100+% per year.  Nice.

And games like Angry Birds are just amazing with regard to the shear number of downloads and people playing.  Angry Birds has been downloaded 600,000,000 times.  Hey Mario, we hardly knew ya.

When it comes to growing really fast though, we are watching a new app called Draw Something growing at a rate that may be unprecedented.  If you do not know what Draw Something is, ask your kids because they are likely playing it.  Draw Something is a highly addictive social drawing game available for Apple iOS and Android Devices.  You draw and guess words, play cooperatively with friends or competitively with rivals.  How fast is this growing?  Draw Something launched in February. Here are the statistics in 6 weeks:

  • Number 1 app in 80 countries
  • Downloaded more than 20,000,000 times
  • Generates $100,000+ in revenue per day
  • Has 12+ million users per day

Now for some staggering statistics about Draw Something:

  • AOL – 9 years to get to 1 million users
  • Facebook – 9 months to get to 1 million users
  • Draw Something – 9 days

Check out the video – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rCoRZbyLWE

Download the app and have some fun!

Enjoy the weekend.

Webman

An Apple a Day……

swebmanLeave a comment

…….has now been changed to An Apple per Household (Not there yet but well on our way)

According to a recent poll by CNBC, Apple products are present in 51%of US households. 55 million households own an iOS device (iPad, iPhone, iTouch etc.) or a Mac computer.

The average US household owns some 1.6 Apple devices. How many are in your home?

The Webman’s household has 8 Apple devices.  I get the feeling that this chart will soon look much different 🙂

Enjoy the day.

Webman

iPad vs Kindle Fire

swebman3 Comments

New iPad vs. Kindle Fire: Which Tablet is Right for You?

I have written about the iPad a number of times. One of my followers, Michael, is considering taking the plunge and buying a tablet.  He wanted to know the differences between an iPad and a Kindle.  So here we go Michael.  Not that I am trying to influence you in any way but Apple sold about a gagillion new iPads since the new one launched.  Not that I am trying to pressure you in any way or influence your decision 🙂

Headline – Two completely different products.  The new iPad with it’s coolness factor, new retina display, apps, and overall capabilities including as a reading device, etc. is a game changer but not as friendly to your budget while the Kindle Fire is more budget-friendly and primarily serves as a reading device.  So let’s take a look at the various factors to consider when you’re looking for your next tablet:

Media Content and Reading Experience

Both the new iPad and the Kindle Fire offer awesome content.  

Amazon offers more than 100,000 movies and TV shows to rent or buy, and Amazon Prime users can access unlimited free streaming for over 10,000 titles; Apple offers no such program. The iTunes store has more than 15,000 movies and 90,000 TV episodes. Both Amazon and Apple tout music collections nearing 20 million songs. Impressive.

When it comes to the music, Apple has the benefit of iTunes, with special features like Genius and iTunes Match. Amazon allows a little more breathing room for playback on other devices; from phones to other tablets to internet-enabled TVs. Apple is more restrictive, limiting media to its own devices.

Then there are books, newspapers, and magazines. Amazon’s selection is superior, but since you can get the Kindle App for your iPad, there really is no advantage there. The iPad retina display, with its 264 pixels per inch, game changer and not on the Fire

Specs

A quick summary for you:

Chart

The iPad offers 4G LTE connectivity.  Both access all wireless hot spots of course so you need to decide if you want the data plan on the iPad as this will add additional costs

If you want your new tablet to replace your digital camera, then the iPad’s new 5-megapixel camera will be a big factor. No camera on The Kindle Fire. Battery life will likely be longer on the iPad too, but that’s because it’s a bigger tablet that can house a bigger battery.

Software and Apps
The Amazon Appstore is very good, with thousands of choices, but it can’t compare with the more than 170,000 native iPad apps in the Apple App Store.  

It’s hard to argue with the simplicity and elegance of Apple’s iOS. It is just better.

Pricing and Value
The Kindle Fire costs $199, while the entry level 16GB iPad will cost $499. If your intentions are purely casual, like light Web browsing, email, and Angry Birds, then the Kindle Fire will likely suffice. But if you want your tablet to replace your laptop, or at least come close, the iPad is more powerful, feature rich, and offers a superior, tablet-optimized app selection.

Both great products.  Time to decide which one is right for you.

Webman

MyPad

swebman3 Comments

And here we go again.  Not resting on their already dominant position in the tablet market, Apple has released the next version of their iPad.  No fancy name for this one, just iPad.  I think we should just call this the MyPad.

Why the MyPad? Because soon you will not need a laptop, desktop, GPS device, calculator, alarm clock, wallet, credit cards, camera, video recorder, paint brush, flashlight, book, CD, DVD, in-store customer service, translator, map, blood pressure machine, glucose monitor or any any device that assists you with your life.  If there is not an app built right now, it will soon be available for you to use to do and monitor just about everything you need in your life.  You will still need tools such as a hammer and screwdriver but apparently not much else.

Whatever you call it, I am confident that the new MyPad will extend Apple’s lead over the competition. It is because the MyPad package, hardware, software, applications and price, represents the absolute best tablet you can buy — and it shows no sign of losing that distinction anytime soon.

New iPad

The most significant new feature of the new MyPad is the awesome new retina display. The Retina display on the new iPad features a 2048-by-1536 resolution, 44 percent greater color saturation, and an astounding 3.1 million pixels — in the same 9.7-inch space. That’s four times the number of pixels in iPad 2 and a million more than an HDTV. Those pixels are so close together, your eyes can’t discern individual ones at a normal viewing distance.  The same holds true for the new iPad’s speedier A5X chip. Much faster.  Also supports 4G.  Nice!

The situation is the same for the other new features of the new iPad. The 5 Megapixel iSight backside camera is a big improvement over the inferior camera in the iPad 2. The 5-megapixel iSight camera features a backside illumination sensor that captures great-looking pictures whether by sunlight or candlelight. Autofocus, tap to focus, and tap to set exposure functions mean every photo you take instantly becomes a classic.

The new iPad wasn’t given the power of Siri. But is was given a new dictation capability.  Write an email. Send a text. Search the web. Or create a note. And do it all with only your voice. Instead of typing, tap the microphone icon on the keyboard. Then say what you want to say and just like that, your spoken words become written words. Dictation also works with third-party apps, so you can do things like update your Facebook status or share a thought on your Twitter feed.

It’s the software………..

Apple also upgraded its iWork and iLife for iOS suites to coincide with the new iPad announcement. Pages, Keynote, Numbers, iMovie and GarageBand all have new features that make them better. The best new feature is the new iPhoto for iOS. It leapfrogs beyond the Mac version in almost every area. It takes full advantage a touchscreen as a canvas. The cropping tools, the brushes for spot repairs and enhancements, the new Journals features, so well done and only $4.99 at the app store.  Be a painter 🙂

No other competitor has anything close. Apple strikes again.  Mr. Jobs would be proud.  By the way, already sold out so you will have to wait a little longer.

Swebman

Sunshine on a Cloudy Day!

swebman2 Comments

Sing along time:

I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day. When it’s cold outside I’ve got the month of May. I guess you’d say What can make me feel this way?
My girl (my girl, my girl) Talkin’ ’bout my girl (my girl).

I’ve got so much honey the bees envy me. I’ve got a sweeter song than the birds in the trees. I guess you’d say What can make me feel this way? My girl (my girl, my girl) Talkin’ ’bout my girl (my girl).

My Girl – The Temptations

A while back we covered  the topic “What is a cloud?”  For a refresher here is the link.  https://swebman.com/2011/10/27/what-is-a-cloud/

Since that time the term cloud has become quite pervasive in our society.  Apple introduced the iCloud and Microsoft’s Windows 8 commercials talk about why the cloud is very important to your personal life.  What exactly is the iCloud?  iCloud stores your music, photos, documents, and more and wirelessly pushes them to all your devices.  iCloud automatically and securely stores your content so it’s always available to your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, or PC. It gives you access to your music, apps, latest photos, and more from whichever device you happen to be using. And it keeps your email, contacts, and calendars up to date across all your devices. No syncing required.  Here is a picture:

Why is this great for a consumer?  You no longer have to synch your devices to your home computer.  If you take a picture on your iPhone it is immediately available on your iPad or your Mac.  If you add a new contact, it magically appears on all devices.  Download a new song, movie, podcast or any other content from the iTunes Store and it is automatically stored in the “cloud” and accessible by you anywhere you have a wireless or networ connection.  Your stuff wherever you are. No longer a need for huge hard drive to store this stuff.  Put it in the cloud, access it on demand.  Very cool indeed.

What’s the big deal about cloud computing for companies?

Cloud computing makes it super cheap for anyone to access enormous computational resources. Rather than spending thousands to own your own computer and networks, you can rent all the power you want for however long you want, when you want it.  Companies can grow really big before they need to invest in their own data centers (Groupon started on Amazon), or they can quickly expand by putting a new service in the cloud. Examples include Pinterest, which uses Amazon Web Services, and LivingSocial, which uses Rackspace. Cloud computing is an internet-based model that does not bog down your server and no software installation is required.Some businesses offer cloud computing services whereby one may purchase only the services used.

What are the different technologies that are considered cloud?

  • Software as a service (SaaS): This is an application delivered over the Internet as a subscription. It is not installed on a company’s servers or on a person’s PC. When the term “cloud” is used for consumers, it typically means SaaS such as Dropbox or iCloud.
  • Platform as a Service (PaaS): This is where you want to build your own cloud application but you want to rent everything you need including the platforms like Java, Ruby or .Net. Examples of PaaS include Google App Engine, Microsoft Azure, and Salesforce.com’s Heroku.
  • Infrastructure as a Service: Here you rent the hardware (server with operating system, storage, and networking) and upload your own applications.  You share the hardware with other renters. You only pay for the computer resources you use. Amazon AWS is the biggest.
  • Private clouds: This means a company has built its own version of a public cloud to use for itself. When enterprises remodel their IT systems to the cloud,  they can become more efficient.
  • Hybrid clouds: This means that a company is choosing to store some of its applications in its private cloud and using a public cloud for spill-over. A retail company could, for instance, rent extra space on an IBM retail cloud in December when transactions spike. In the old days, a company would have to buy more servers to be ready for those spikes, even though they would sit unused for 11 months.

What’s next for businesses?

As IT leaders become more and more comfortable with the security in the cloud, large companies will be able to dramatically advance their customer knowledge and be able to communicate with you in a much more personal way.  For example, over many years, large retailers have acquired many smaller businesses that had their own technologies and customer databases.  In many cases, based on costs and internal priorities, many of these systems still run as stand alones inside of these companies.  Meaning, they have never been able to learn if you as a customer has transactional or loyalty relationships with other companies that they may own.  One of the first things that can be done when moving to the cloud is to develop an integrated customer data base from all existing companies within their portfolio.  This will start the journey of the parent companies having a 360 degree view of their relationship with you, leading hopefully to more loyalty and revenue from you.

Talk about transforming a brand with a negative image “It is going to be cloudy today” 😦 to “Use your cloud today” 🙂 – Now that is great marketing.

Enjoy the day.

Webman