Apple Archives - Page 5 of 8 - Serious Startups

NY Startup: StoryTBD Revives The Choose Your Own Adventure Model (Interview)

This is the story of an awesome New York startup for many reasons. First off, it’s a woman founded startup, we love covering women founded startups in addition to startups everywhere else. Secondly, it brings back a favorite past time of mine, and many other technogeeks around the same age in Choose Your Own Adventure.

I remember many a day sitting at a Crown Book Store (way before the big boxes) and deciding which of hundreds of Choose Your Own Adventure titles I would buy with my lawn cutting money and my allowance. The series of books really sparked your imagination and it was almost like buying many different books in one by the way the stories were laid out and the alternative endings you could navigate through.

Now, Katherine Myers, who had a career in the entertainment industry, with stops at DreamWorks, CBS, AMC and New Line Cinema, has turned entrepreneur and launched StoryTBD, a digital, mobile form of Choose Your Own Adventure.

We got a chance to chat with her a bit interview after the break;

Google+ Updated On iOS With Completely New UI, Android App Update On It’s Way

Let’s face it, iOS users have been skimped on Google+ since the beginning. First they didn’t get an app, and when they did, it wasn’t exactly the most functional in the App Store. Google did, however, stick to Android by updating and improving the application often, frequently adding features and improving on the app. Heck, they’ve even overhauled the desktop site a few times without even touching the iOS app. Now, the iOS is the first to receive the Google+ update, and it’s a pretty hefty one.

Google has said in their blog that was posted with the update, that they are looking to make the Google+ mobile experience much simpler, and much more aesthetically pleasing. And, from using it so far, they have succeeded. The iOS app has received a complete UI refresh, bringing a very sleek black interface, but it’s a lighter black than we are used to. The photos have been enlarged, there’s less abstract colors, and it’s really starting to look like a professionally done, beautiful mobile application. The Google team had this to say about their mobile application improvements:

To be clear, we’re not interested in a mobile or social experience that’s just smaller. We’re embracing the sensor-rich smartphone (with its touchable screen and high-density display), and transforming Google+ into something more intimate, and more expressive. Today’s new iPhone app is an important step in this direction—toward a simpler, more beautiful Google.

On top of an amazing new UI, Google has also finally added the ability to join a Hangout via Messenger to the mobile G+ app for iOS. This feature has long been missed by iPhone users, and it is definitely a welcome feature. The Google+ team has also said that the Android app will, in fact, be updated as well to match the new mobile user interface. We’ll be sure to let you know when this update is released, and iOS users can grab the update now in the App Store.

Source: Google Blog

Apple Pushes iOS 5.1.1 To iDevices, Fixes A Few Minor Issues

To anyone using an iDevice, Apple has pushed out a minor update today that will fix a few things and tweak some others. After users were reporting some AirPlay video playback issues and a few others things, it seems Apple deemed it necessary to release iOS 5.1.1. Another of the annoying bugs that were fixed was an “unable to purchase” message that would pop up even if users completed a successful purchase. This can obviously lead to some headaches, so iOS users will want to grab that update today. The iPad also received some attention, as there was an error with devices switching back and forth between 3G and 2G networks which has now been taken care of.

The update can be taken OTA or through your PC or Mac and is only 54.5MB. Of course, anyone with a jailbroken iPad, iPhone, or iPod will want to avoid this update and wait for the developer community to bring a jailbroken version to you. There’s a few other minor fixes and tweaks that have been pushed, and the full list of updates is as follows:

Improves reliability of using HDR option for photos taken using Lock Screen shortcut.
Addresses bugs that could prevent the new iPad from switching between 2G and 3G networks.
Fixes bugs that affected AirPlay video playback in some circumstances.
Improved reliability for syncing Safari bookmarks and Reading List.
Fixes an issue where “Unable to Purchase” alert could be displayed after successful purchase.

Source: Apple

Target Drops Kindle For Apple Mini Stores…. Wow!

Target has issued a statement confirming rumors that have been developing over the last two days suggesting that they are ending their sales relationship with Amazon and Kindle. The Minneapolis based retail chain said in a statement to The Verge:

“Target continually evaluates its product assortment to deliver the best quality and prices for our guests. Target is phasing out Kindles and Amazon- and Kindle-branded products in the spring of 2012. We will continue to offer our guests a full assortment of ereaders and supporting accessories including the Nook.”

The department store’s decision to stop carrying the Kindle line, including the Kindle Fire, is most likely to clear shelf space for Apple mini stores, or SWAS (store within a store), that were reported back in January. Targets been carrying iPods, and iPads for quite some time. Intomobile and other sites reported in January that they were going to expand that format and add more products.

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Steve Wozniak Says Windows Phone Is Aesthetically Superior To Android, And Even iPhone In Some Ways

Over the weekend, Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple, described in an interview what is to be taken as a very positive feeling about Windows Phone. Wozniak has been known to keep his eyes open to the competing technology to his company’s own, and many times try devices out for himself. Wozniak has even said in previous interviews that Android is, in some ways, more functional than an iPhone, which shows how he is the farthest thing from “tied down” at Apple.

Steve went ahead and got himself a Nokia Lumia 900 and had that as well as a two iPhones and a DROID Razr during his interview. The Lumia 900 brought in a lot of hype being the first Nokia-Microsoft phone that was launched, and has received fairly good criticism since its release. Of course, Wozniak was one who agreed that the Lumia 900 is a great device, but also that the Windows Phone OS is quite aesthetically pleasing, and even more so than Android. He went on to say that swiping through the menus and using the device in the same ways that he would use an Android or iPhone, was more intuitive and beautiful when performed on Windows Phone. This may come as a surprise to some, as Apple’s iOS is known for its very smooth and beautiful OS, and for an Apple co-founder to come out and say a Microsoft OS is more beautiful is unheard of.

Wozniak has made blunt statements like this in the past, and it’s very nice to see people in the tech world leaving their comfort zone and trying new things. Wozniak said that someone from Apple must be working on the Windows Phone team, and that the iPhone was still his favorite, so its obvious that his allegiance is still with Apple. While this may be true, Steve Wozniak is a prime example of someone who can recognize innovation, and give it the credit it deserves.

Source: A New Domain

Uh Oh iPhone App Downloads Dipped 30% In March

Something has happened and the world is undoubtedly all shaken up about it. Fiksu has reported that Apple iOS app downloads dipped 30% in March 2012. Yes, take cover, this is news of monumental proportion.

The number of daily iPhone app downloads decreased from 6.35 million in February 2012, to 4.45 million in March. Now we bravely wanted to suggest that it may have possibly been caused by the mad rush to get to 25 billion apps. Apple was holding a huge contest to commemorate that huge milestone. Unfortunately for the month of March, that happened on March 3rd.

This feeble attempt to look at the possible bright side was foiled by more data from Fiksu. They found that iPhone users downloaded fewer apps in March than any other month since the iPhone 4S launched in October.

Fiksu contributes part of the decline to the cooling off period that came right after the honeymoon period for new iPhone 4S users. Also, we can take into consideration those who upgraded from a previous iPhone. Upgraded iPhone users have probably used their previous iPhone to download and try as many apps as possible to vet the apps that they really like. Now, graduated to a new iPhone they don’t need to download every app they come in contact with.

Business Insider also reports that Apple has cracked down on developers using third party bots to download their apps and over inflate their number of downloads. This may actually be a more clear picture of the health of the iTunes app store. Don’t for a second though, think that 4.5 million downloads is shabby.

source: SAI

Samsung Protesters Promote “WAKE UP” Campaign Outside Apple Store, Only To Generate More Press For The Tech Giant

Samsung and Apple’s patent war has been going on for quite a while now, and the two companies have really been going at it, especially Samsung, when it comes to advertisement. Samsung has not been light-footed when it comes to attacking Apple whenever they can, and the iPhone has been a huge focus of their latest ad campaigns. Samsung has already spent millions of dollars in advertising, whether it’s against Apple or not, marketing their Galaxy devices, and continues to do so.

Today, Samsung hired a group of protestors to stand outside of an Apple store in Australia and relentlessly repeat their motto “Wake Up.” This wake up call is to Apple customers who are specifically looking to purchase iDevices, but other than that they really aren’t saying much. A timer is present with a countdown to the GSIII launch, and we’re not really sure if this group is planning to stay until the timer hits zero, or whether they will call it a day.

In my opinion, hiring a protesting group is money spent that probably should have gone to Samsung’s actual products. Is Samsung’s hardware as completely sound and perfected? No. Is TouchWiz an ICS launcher replacement that we just can’t live without? Definitely not. And if all of this is true, Samsung may need to rethink their marketing strategy. Sure, it’s not all bad, but stunts like this are not only ineffective, but also embarrassing for the company and Android itself. Most of the people walking into the Apple store that day either had no clue what these protesters were talking about, or didn’t care, because obviously Samsung’s products didn’t divert them from the Apple store the first time. While a commercial or two may be fine, Samsung is crossing the line with a full protesting team that is doing exactly what Apple wants in the first place: generating press. If Apple products aren’t good, why would Samsung attack them? Cupertino couldn’t be more pleased.

Source: Android and Me

Tim Cook Calls Windows 8 “Compromising”, Says iPad And MacBook Are Separate For A Reason

Microsoft has really hyped up their new plan to bring Windows tablets into the mass market. With Windows 8, Microsoft is trying to combine a software experience into both tablets and PC’s, bringing about a new wave of usage. Microsoft wants to develop apps that work seamlessly on both, and they want to build an environment where a user doesn’t feel any different when using a tablet compared when he uses his PC. This all sounds great and all, but in order to execute this plan Microsoft would have to do a lot of things we’ve never seen before in the mobile market and in the PC market.

Apple thinks this is the wrong way to go.

According to Tim Cook, Apple is purposely making MacBooks and iPads two completely different ecosystems. Answering a question about MacBook-iPad hybrid being a viable product in the future, Tim responded with a blunt but solid “no.” In fact, he went as far as using an analogy of combining a toaster and a refrigerator, explaining that these devices work great on their own, but combined would not be very pleasing to the user. Apple believes that streamlining two products down to one is “compromising” because somewhere in that process you will lose what makes these products work great for consumers. Apple has downright perfected their tablet. Not to say, it is perfect, but in comparison to the rest of today’s tablet market, the iPad is destroying the competition. Just look at the earnings numbers released today in the conference call. Apple recorded the best Q2 earnings call ever for the company, and iPads played a huge roll in doing so. Apple sold 11.8 million iPads in Q2 which is a 151% increase. They’re clearly doing something right.

Microsoft on the other hand, is having trouble getting any tablet sales at all. Windows 8 is supposed to be their savior, but is Tim Cook right? Apple has the idea of making one specific device do an outstanding job at what it is supposed to do. The MacBook, the iPad, the iPhone, all have specific pushes behind them that allow them to work together, but still separate them as completely different products for multiple reasons. Windows 8 will make tablets and PCs virtually identical on the software side of things, but this may cause some serious issues for overall performance of both of these products.

Tim Cook believes that Apple is doing the right things by separating and focusing their products, but Microsoft believes a combination will be the future for tablets and PC’s. Is Apple on the right path here, or will Microsoft come from behind to steal their market-dominating-crown. Let us know your thoughts in the comments, and be sure to check back for the latest tech news and updates.

Google Unveils Google Drive, The Company’s Unified Storage Service

What may be Google’s worst kept secret of all time, Google Drive, was finally announced today. Google has already had storage options available in other Google services (Google Docs, Google Music, Picasa, etc), but today they unveiled Drive as the unified way to manage just about anything you need to store. Google has been known to launch way too many products at a time instead of focusing on one, central service, so it’s nice to see them begin to implement unification into their ecosystem.

Much like they’ve done with the Play Store and Google+, Google is clearly trying to simplify all of their products down to one, easily-marketable line of products. In fact, Google Docs now redirects to Google Drive, and Google has stated that all previously available features will be there from the start. Google is also working on incorporating Google Drive into it’s products so they can dig files, photos, and anything else attachable by email into it’s services that interact with others, such as Google+ and Gmail.

Anyone who wants to can grab 5GB of Google Drive space for free, but getting anything over that will cost you a monthly subscription. 25GB will cost you $2.49, 100GB will be $4.99, and 1TB is $49.99. Google is also throwing in 25GB to your Gmail when you start paying them for Drive, which is also a plus (no pun intended). Google has released clients for Android, Mac, PC, but Apple’s iDevices have been left out for now with “clients on the way.” Google Docs has been updated to be the Google Drive app, so any users with it installed just have to go grab the update, but other than that be sure to check out all of the clients for your devices, and let us know what you think of Google’s new storage service in the comments below.

Apple’s New “iPhone At Work” Page Shows Off How Users Can Use Their iPhones For Business Too

Due to the fact that a lot of businesses are still choosing Android devices and Blackberrys over iPhones for their employees, Apple is clearly trying to push the iPhone into the business realm for more than just BYOD purposes. Apple wants employers to hand their employees iPhones as the device to use, not just an option they can bring. While costs of doing this will stop most companies from “handing their employees iPhones”, there are a few other reasons as well.

Apple has been known to always keep their software and hardware under their control, and as opposed to Google and RIM, it can sometimes be difficult for companies to switch their company devices to iPhones. With Android, companies can do pretty much anything they would like to the software in order to meet their security requirements. Of course, there are still many companies who allow their employees to pick the device they would like to use, and a lot of time these devices are iPhones. With this, Apple is trying to give users an easy way to use their iPhones for business, with their new page on their website titled “iPhone at Work”.

This page popped up under the “iPhone in Business” section, and explains to users how they can use their iPhones for business, and even shows off some apps to help them accomplish their daily goals. Apple first shows off a few of their own apps that help users “Organize your day.” We see usual apps such as Mail, Calendar, and Contacts thrown into the mix. Underneath those however, apps like MicroStrategy and Daylite Touch show ways that their users can manage projects and view different business goals and statistics to help their teams stay on top of things.

As a whole, this web page outlines everything someone with an iPhone would need to know about using their device for business. It also shows companies how integrating iPhones into their business can really boost production for their employees, especially if everyone is using an iPhone, and the apps that can accomplish the necessary tasks. Anyone with an iPhone or looking to get one should check out Apple’s new “iPhone at Work” page here.

Source: Apple, iMore

Apple Fan Boy Alert The Fragrance Of A Macbook Pro Has Been Created

Melbourne Australian artists Gavin Bell, Jarrah De Kuijer and Simon McGlinn have done the unthinkable. They’ve packaged up the fragrance that you can only experience when you open up a brand new MacBook Pro. Ok, truth here we know the smell they are talking about and you can also get it in an original MacBook and a MacBook Air, but for this story we’ll stick with the pro.

Unfortunately for the die-hard Apple fans the fragrance has only been captured for an art exhibit and it hasn’t been bottled for purchase at your local Macy’s or Apple Store counter (at least not yet).

The scent was created using Air Aroma for the DeFacto Standard, Art Exhibition in Australia. The creators say that the scent encompasses the plastic wrap covering the box, the printed cardboard, the smell of the paper and plastic components in the box and the aluminum laptop. What? They left out the foam that packs the MacBook pro all neat in the box, travesty!

The fragrance was built off fragrance samples from suppliers in France who sent over samples of glue, plastic, rubber and paper. They then compared the samples to actually unboxing a MacBook Pro and say they perfected just right.

The exhibit will be on display at West Space in Melbourne Australia from April 20th to May 12th. I’m sure if you’re that big a fan you could find a decent flight rate using Hipmunk.

source: macworld.au

Groupon Goes MIA From iTunes

Business Insider is reporting that the consumer version of Groupon has gone MIA on the iTunes store. While checking, the merchant version is still their however, the one users use isn’t. This while doesn’t make sense to some, actually does. Apple wants a cut from everything being used on their ecosystem. They built it, they should. However, Groupon while selling to customers directly on their website, or via the emails they sent out, unless have an understanding with Apple to give a kickback, are breaking the TOS.

For three separate editors on different computers and different networks, a search for “Groupon” brings up one app from Groupon LLC, but it’s the one for merchants, not the consumer-facing Groupon app.

Below is a screen shot of it missing the from iTunes store which Business Insider provided.

Massachusetts Startup: 7 Lunches Brings Lunch Specials Right To Your Email Or Phone

The daily deals space is blowing up like crazy. Other than social discovery apps, daily deals has to be the hottest app platform out there right now. It’s getting crowded, but every once in a while something different comes along in the daily deals space worth mentioning.

7 Lunches is one of those things. With the hustle and bustle lives we all live these days, the cost conscious business professional doesn’t have time to comb through lunch specials on restaurant websites. They also don’t have the time to cruise down to their local hot spot to just “see” if there is a good special. We need to know the specials and we need to know them now.

That’s how co-founder and co-creator of 7 lunches, Ryan Maturski came up with the idea for 7 lunches. He was eating in a local sub shop in North Adams, MA and he told the owner that he should send his daily lunch specials out via email. Voila. Marturski and co-founder Jeff Lee set out to do just that, not just with the sub shop but with every restaurant that they could get to participate.

More after the break
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Rawporter Roadshow: We Talk With Ric Fleisher about Urgnt.ly And The DC Startup Scene

As the Rawporter Roadshow continues we got a few minutes to sit down with serial entrepreneur Ric Fleisher about his latest startup urgent.ly. Fleisher has had several successful exits and is proudly working on his current startup that came about out of necessity.

Fleisher found that as more and more location based service startups came out they were all focusing on what they believe people want. Urgnt.ly is a new kind of location based app that focuses on what people need.

As the story goes it was a Friday evening and Fleisher had just finished doing the dishes. Before he went to bed he set the dishwasher to run overnight. He was awakened Saturday morning by his son that told him there was water in the kitchen. Fleisher got dressed and went downstairs expecting to find a puddle of water. Instead he found that his entire kitchen and surrounding areas in his home had been completely flooded by a dishwasher that was still spewing water.

More (including video) after the break
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