Virtualization, Cloud Computing and Mobile

2010년 4월 26일 월요일

Stats: iPad Users Consume 3X Videos As Other Users

Despite the now-infamous absence of Adobe's Flash, video aggregator MeFeedia says that video on the iPad is a flourishing and growing trend according to the data the company has collected over the past three weeks.

The company offers a few stats and postulates that, among other reasons, the "lack of distractions mean people watch more video, for longer."

MeFeedia added HTML5 video support earlier this month - one of several alternatives available for video on the iPad - and says that its internal numbers show the iPad to clearly be a media consumption device, more so than other users.

The company offers the following observations on its blog, noting that the "iPad was only launched a few weeks ago & this sample is for MeFeedia and MeFeedia Network only."

iPad is now the 5th most popular mobile device* *In terms of unique users, trailing only iPhone, iPod Touch, SymbianOS, and Android (in that order)
iPad users consume 3X as many videos as web users (up from the 2.5X number that we first reported a few weeks ago)
iPad users spend 4X as long watching videos as web users (up from 3X)
iPad users consume 5X as many videos as iPhone users (up from 3X)

We think that the lack of multitasking as a reason for people to watch more video, longer, is likely a fair point. And, as we've previously argued, the iPad makes a great media consumption (rather than creation) device.

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/stats_ipad_users_consume_3x_videos_as_other_users.php

SugarSync: 2 Petabytes and Counting - Welcome to the Personal Cloud

SugarSync is one of several companies competing these days to benefit from the disruptions in the market created by the new ways that people organize and share information from the any number of devices they use in their day.

That's a fundamental shift that is happening as people move beyond the desktop as a place to keep their documents, their media and their productivity applications.

Services like SugarSync serve in many ways as personal clouds that people use for their own work. They seem like plain vanilla services but that as well is the benefit the services provide. They are very simple to use. Data is automatically backed up to the cloud.

SugarSync's latest hosting numbers are revealing as they demonstrate how much data people are storing online.

SugarSync reports that in the past year, the amount of data added to the SugarSync data centers went from an average of 1 terabyte of data to 5 terabytes of information. In total, the company now hosts two petaybtes of information.

What's fueling this growth? The customers may provide some clue. About 33 percent of customers are from outside the United States. Mobile devices are far more predominant outside the U.S. It makes sense that people would need an alternative place to store infromation besides their smart phone or netbook.

In light of the booming mobile device market, SugarSync, Dropbox and a host of other services are companies that seem like it would make most sense to develop mobile apps. That appears to be true. In the past 18 months, Sugar Sync has released apps for the Android, BlackBerry and iPad.

Services like SugarSync show how the data we create will become part of a personal cloud network. These services lay the grounwork for a new generation of personal and business offerings that work with users to create data as a service opportunities.

That's down the road a bit but people do want so share. And they want to share outside the borders of a social network. Personal clouds could be a means to do that.

http://www.readwriteweb.com/cloud/2010/04/sugarsync-2-petabytes-and-coun.php

Android running on iPhone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yO2KQHkt4A&feature=player_embedded

Android Ported to iPhone

Hacker Planetbeing has apparently ported the Android to the iPhone. The Android OS is, in this video, apparently running successfully on the Apple phone.

Planetbeing has offered the Android-to-iPhone "pre-built images and sources" as a torrent download

For the time being, it looks like the porting only works on first-generation iPhones.

"It should be pretty simple to port forward to the iPhone 3G," says Planetbeing. "The 3GS will take more work. Hopefully with all this groundwork laid out, we can make Android a real alternative or supplement for iPhone users."

As Alexander Vaughn points out on AppAdvice, "Just like you can do Bootcamp on your Mac to access PC apps, you'll be able to go on Android to try all these apps that don't exist, or were not allowed on the iPhone."

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/android_ported_to_iphone.php

2010년 4월 22일 목요일

iPadDevCamp: The Future of iPad Apps

It’s Saturday morning at the eBay/PayPal headquarters, and developers are busy preparing for the second day of iPad development at the first official iPadDevCamp (brought to us by the same people who previously organized three iPhoneDevCamp events). The coffee is brewed and the bagels are served. Teams were formed last night but there’s still a few people walking around comparing skill sets and looking for a team to join. Of course there are iPads everywhere being held up by business card holders and other random homemade contraptions.

Developers have flown in from Argentina, China, Germany, Sweden, England and Canada. The goal is to meet new people on Friday night and by Sunday, have an awesome app. A hackathon. The best apps receive various prizes, from iPads to keyboards to cases.

In addition to being heads down for several days, focused on this exciting new platform, there are talks about marketing your apps, integrating PayPal, placing advertisements, Objective-C lessons and other presentations from well-known players in Silicon Valley.

Developers and Their Apps

I sat down with Dan Grover, the creator of ShoveBox, to discuss his latest project: Etude. It’s a sheet music app that looks beautiful on the iPad (although it’s only available for the iPhone right now). Imagine propping up your iPad on your piano and playing along with famous compositions. Below is an example piece of music.

I also discussed Audiotorium with Michael Emmons, a former Symbian developer who recently left that platform for iPhone OS. Audiotorium is both a recording and note-taking app that is perfect for college students and working professionals. Instead of carrying around a laptop that’s arguably overkill for lectures and meetings, you use an iPad to make sure you capture everything.

Music Creation

Now this is cool. Rana Sobhany uses two iPads as a DJ setup. Her blog about the experience and its progress is called Destroy the Silence.

The Results

Here’s a list of many of the apps presented Sunday afternoon after a rough two nights. Somehow these magicians were able to produce functioning apps that appear to be ready for App Store submission. However, many are still in the development phase on Github, or are now open source for anyone to download and try.

Relay — This app will be truly amazing when completed. The demo received a huge applause. Users can drag web sites, text, and music to and from the iPad and computer. Music seamlessly stops playing on one device and continues on the other. Web sites you’re currently reading instantly load on the other device. This app won the “Most Useful” award.

PAD — Personal Armour Defense — A mobile security system. Users set up wireless sensors (smoke, motion, etc.) in a hotel room, campsite,- or home to ensure protection. The system can be armed or disarmed using RFID. PAD received the “Most Alarming” award.

iPad Slot Machine — Another huge applause generator. One person throws an iPhone as the slot machine’s lever, and three iPads show the spinning objects. iPad Slot Machine received the “Coolest App” award and is pictured below.

iuiPad — Extending the iUI web development framework to support the iPad. This won the “Best Web App” award.

Shopkeep — Mine your email to find online purchases and track packages.

Melena21 — Finally an app looking towards helping people with special needs. Children can touch large images to indicate what they need or want. This app won the “Accessibility App” award.

Airhawk — Air Hockey on the iPad. This app won the “Most Monetizable” award because of its in-app purchases and use of ads.

iPad Boombox — A full screen MP3 player that looks and behaves like an old-school boombox. This won the “Retro” award.

Tank or Die — Use iPhones to control tanks on an iPad. This won the “Best Game” award.

iConessionStand — Users can order food and drinks at a sporting event right from their seats. This won the “Best Use of PayPal API” award.

http://theappleblog.com/2010/04/19/ipaddevcamp-the-future-of-ipad-apps/

The iPhone 4 Is Real: Anyone Buying the “Drunk Engineer” Story?

By now, many of you will probably already know that Gizmodo actually got their hands on that iPhone prototype they’ve been reporting so heavily on, by paying $5,000 to someone who found the phone at a bar near Apple headquarters.

You may also know that Apple has asked for its return, which Gizmodo (and many others, myself included) are taking as evidence confirming that it is indeed the next iPhone. The story of how it was lost reads like something out of a movie in the Gizmodo account, even though many of us drunkenly lose our phones everyday and it obviously isn’t that dramatic of an experience.

Then again, we aren’t losing the prototype of a highly coveted device built by an incredibly secretive company. Which brings me to my next point. Is anyone buying that this guy (Gary Powell, an iPhone engineer working on the Baseband technology) actually just got drunk and forgot the thing on his bar stool?

I’m not an engineer working for Apple, and my phone is just a widely available 3GS and not the yet-to-be-released iPhone 4 or whatever it’ll be called, but that phone is also the last thing I’m likely to misplace. I’d sooner lose my wallet or my keys, in fact. But if it’s a plant, why go to such lengths to engineer a simple leak?

I think it may be as simple as the ante-upping nature of Apple’s hype machine. After the year or more lead up to the iPad’s unveiling, including photographic and video leaks, first-hand accounts from all kinds of sources, and the will-they or won’t-they ballet that went on for months and months, building a good head of buzz up around the next iPhone in the time remaining would be rather challenging using Apple’s conventional tactics. Many eyes are stuck firmly on the iPad and what’s next for it, and won’t be distracted by the usual grainy photographs.

A hands-on exclusive that conveniently makes its way to one of the most prominent and widely-read tech blogs operating on the web today is definitely one way to wrest the spotlight away from the iPad and back onto the iPhone, where Apple needs consumer attention to be come June. It may seem elaborate, but when you consider the cost of such a plan versus a widespread marketing campaign, and that Apple’s secretive-chocolate-factory reputation remains intact, it starts to seem very reasonable indeed.

Whatever the case, it looks like we know what the next iPhone will have in store. Here’s a quick rundown of the highlights in case you missed them:

Front-facing camera (almost certainly for video chat)
Separate volume buttons
Micro-SIM (like the iPad)
Better back camera and camera flash
Aluminum border with metallic buttons
Optical glass or ceramic back for improved signal reception
Slightly smaller, higher resolution screen
Secondary mic for noise cancellation
16 percent larger battery

Gizmodo tore the phone down, too, and found out that the internals are all Apple production parts, which makes it incredibly unlikely that this isn’t the real thing. It remains to be seen whether or not the final production units that ship this summer will look exactly like this, but I think it’s safe to say we’ll see something pretty darn close.

The best part of the new design in my opinion? Not the industrial styling that brings it more in line with the current iMac and MacBook offerings, though that’s pretty awesome. No, it’s all the phone-oriented improvements Apple seems to be making. I’d never trade my iPhone in for anything, but I have to say that it hasn’t been the greatest cell phone I’ve ever had, in terms of strict telecommunications functions.

The new back for improved signal transmission, the second, noise-canceling mic, the larger battery and the front facing camera all point to this being the best iPhone yet for actual real-time communication, which is definitely something worth getting excited about.

http://theappleblog.com/2010/04/20/the-iphone-4-is-real-anyone-buying-the-drunk-engineer-story/

Apple Q2 2010: Another Quarter, Another Record

Only Apple could make success seem banal, reporting the best ever earnings for a second fiscal quarter today.

Apple reported revenue of $13.50 billion and a net quarterly profit of $3.07 billion, or $3.33 EPS, once again beating the Wall Street consensus, and comparing quite favorably to $9.08 billion and a net quarterly profit of $1.62 billion, or $1.79 EPS, a year ago. It was indeed another boringly great quarter, but if Steve Jobs is yawning with success, he didn’t show it in the press release.

“We’re thrilled to report our best non-holiday quarter ever, with revenues up 49 percent and profits up 90 percent,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’ve launched our revolutionary new iPad and users are loving it, and we have several more extraordinary products in the pipeline for this year.”

For those with less interest in profit and more in the magical product pipeline, Macs were solid, iPods flat, and iPhone sales bucked the cyclical decline.

Apple sold 2.943 million Macs, up 33 percent from 2.216 for the same quarter last year. While laptop sales were up 28 percent from a year ago, desktop sales jumped 40 percent. That doesn’t alter the 60/40 split between laptops and desktops, but it was still a good quarter for the iMac.

It was a good quarter for iPod sales, too, despite them being flat, at 10.89 million sold versus 11.01 million last year. While that’s technically a one percent decline in units sales, revenue was up 12 percent, likely fueled by the increasing success of the iPod touch. That’s very good news.

Also very good were iPhone sales, which tend to be cyclical, peaking with model launches and declining until the next launch. For last quarter, Apple sold 8.752 million Phones, compared to 3.793 during the same period last year, a 131 percent increase. However, Apple actually increased the number of iPhones sold from the first quarter of 2010, which saw 8.737 million sold. That’s big news as we approach the next iPhone launch, expected this summer.

While nothing was mentioned about the iPad, expect that to come up in the conference call, which will duly be reported on TheAppleBlog.

http://theappleblog.com/2010/04/20/apple-q2-2010-another-quarter-another-record/