Posts Tagged iphone 3g
free iphone to become a gaming force
I didn’t expect much from games on the iPhone. I had visions of casual games, perhaps a fancy take on solitaire or a version of poker that takes advantage of the handset’s touchscreen. Surely not a true mobile gaming experience.
Boy, was I wrong. For the last few days I’ve been sampling some of the games available from the iTunes Store on the iPod Touch, and I’ve been stunned at how elaborate and involved they are. On the iPod Touch I’ve played a version of Gameloft’s Real Soccer 2009 that rivals the version of the game on the Nintendo DS, and I didn’t even miss the buttons. I’ve seen demonstrations of Sim City, forthcoming for the iPhone and the Touch from Electronic Arts (ERTS), that look more elaborate and sophisticated than any versions I’ve played before on a desktop PC or console.
They’re immersive, addictive fun. And it’s now readily apparent to me that the iPhone and iPod Touch are well on their way to becoming an important force in handheld gaming. When you consider the ease and reach of Apple’s (AAPL) online method for distributing games, Apple could do in this category what it did in online music, causing big headaches for the genre’s established players, Sony (SNE) and Nintendo.
Apple’s come a long way in short order. In the three months and change since the iTunes App Store opened for business, it’s already home to some 1,500 games, compared with fewer than 300 titles for Sony’s PlayStation Portable and about 600 for Nintendo’s handheld console, the DS.
Apple’s Gaming Advantages
The iPhone maker is also holding its own when it comes to units sold. Based on sales data and analysts’ projections, Apple is on track to sell an easy 40 million devices or more a year that are capable of playing games.
Nintendo sold 42 million DS consoles during the 18 months from January 2007 to June 2008, according to market research firm iSuppli. So Apple is on pace to sell about as many game-capable handhelds in a single year as Nintendo, the market’s current leader, has sold in the most recently reported 18 months. This suggests that Apple could be on the cusp of claiming the crown as the world’s market leader in handheld gaming.
Now look at Apple’s advantages over competitors. Apple already has more titles for its games than both of the other two combined. And aside from the free ones, games on the App Store sell at prices ranging up to $9.99 and sometimes a little more. Compare that with the $20 to $40 for Nintendo DS games and the $10 to $40 for games on the PSP.
And with Apple selling via iTunes, there are no costs associated with the distribution of physical media. All games are downloaded directly to the device. And in the event the game is buggy, the developer can easily issue an easy-to-download fix. The developer gets 70% of the sale and Apple keeps 30%, with no one else to get in the middle. Nintendo and Sony partners have to worry about shelf space at stores, shipping, returns, defective merchandise, and even the occasional shoplifter.
On a revenue comparison, Apple’s gaming sales will be much smaller than at Sony or Nintendo because the price of individual games is so much lower. What’s more, not everyone who buys an iPhone or a Touch will also buy games. But the potential game sales per iPhone user will be higher because of the price differential. In its most recent quarter, Sony sold 3.18 million PSPs and about 12 million games for an average of fewer than four games per device.
Apple’s Impact on the Gaming Industry
While there’s no data yet on specific iPhone game sales, users of the iPhone are heavier gamers than those of other phones. A survey by iSuppli’s ConsumerTrak found that U.S. cell-phone users report spending less than 3% of phone-use time on games. But that average shoots up considerably to more than 9% on the first iPhone and 6% on the iPhone 3G. (That’s still less time than iPhone owners spend on e-mail, texting, or talking.)
How big an impact can Apple have? “They’re not going to put Sony or Nintendo out of business,” says Van Baker, a gaming analyst at Gartner Group (IT). Both companies have strong and thriving home-console businesses.
And the iPhone and Touch aren’t ideal gaming devices. They’re also made for calling, Web access, and e-mail. And both lack buttons, which arguably would give players more control over complex in-game moves and maneuvers. (But the iPhone and the Touch have the multitouch screen and the accelerometer, which allow for some pretty fancy moves of their own).
Nor are Apple’s newly spawned gaming devices cheap. The iPod Touch starts at $229 and the iPhone 3G starts at $199 and requires a two-year service contract. The Nintendo DS goes for $129 while the PSP goes for $170 to $200. But once you add the cost of games, and in the case of the PSP, a $30-to-$40 Memory Stick, the iPhone’s price begins to look competitive. Then the iPhone also has iTunes, which includes easy access to music, movies, TV shows, and more games all the time.
It’s enough to make me wonder whether Apple is on its way to conquering yet another sector of the consumer-technology business from out of nowhere. We’ll certainly know more after the holiday season, but if I worked for the Sony or Nintendo handheld gaming divisions, I’d be watching the holiday sales figures closely.
New etiquette for the Free iPhone 3G generation
Now the iPhone, the tech symbol of the “in” crowd, is on the verge of crossing the line into AIG-like excess and arrogance. “I’m not sure, under the current economic conditions, that it’s a great statement to make,” says Rob Enderle, principal analyst of the Enderle Group. “You may not want to flash it.”
From “my apps are cooler than your apps” contests to “sent from my iPhone” e-mail footers, people love showing off their iPhones. That’s not surprising, given that the users most compelled to buy the latest and greatest handsets and cell phones are “alpha dogs,” says Sarah Welch, COO of Mindset Media, which helps companies target ads based on personality traits. It’s when alpha-dog enthusiasm goes overboard and becomes bad manners that others get annoyed.
Yet the iPhone’s cultural impact is much more than just another wedge separating the haves and have-nots; the iPhone changes how people interact with each other and their surroundings. Traditional cell phones and iPods already audibly isolated people in their own little worlds, and iPhone’s visual carnival pushes that isolation further.
With more iPhone-like devices hitting the streets (most notably, Research in Motion’s BlackBerry Storm and T-Mobile’s Google Android-based G1), the notion of a siloed nation is neither far-fetched nor far off.
Indeed, traditional cell phones rattled American culture in only a few short years. In 2006, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger put the kibosh on the use of cell phones while driving in California — “you’re terminated!” — which led to a rash of tiny Bluetooth headsets sprouting from people’s ears.
“You can walk around and be insane, and people will think you’re just another person with a headset,” Enderle says. “With cell phones, we were largely talking on the phones, and that created a problem. We’ve moved to things like the iPhone that are much more visual, which makes the problem more pronounced.”
The visual nature of the iPhone can be a big distraction. Will consumers, walking around with their heads down as they play a game or look at a map on the iPhone’s mini-screen, collide with each other like pinballs?
Glibness aside, there are real and tragic consequences to being visually distracted. Last month, a train engineer in Los Angeles was allegedly text messaging on his cell phone moments before he crashed into a freight train, killing 25 people, including himself.
“These things are significant distractions,” Enderle says, “and I think the culture is going to have to wrap its arms around a certain number of behaviors that reduce those distractions.”
can you justify buying an iPhone payg free
I remember getting my first computer, an Apple II, back in the late ’70s. What mostly stands out about those times wasn’t the fun I had playing with it or the sense of discovery and accomplishment I achieved as I learned how to program it and figured out ways to use it in school. The main thing I remember was how I constantly had to justify owning it. People asked “Why do you need one?” and “How much did you spend on it?” and “Can you make any money with it?”
I really can’t put my finger on the exact date those annoying questions finally ended, but thank goodness the personal computer has earned its rightful place in our society. There are those who stubbornly remain technologically challenged, but at least they don’t ask me those kinds of questions anymore.
Or so I thought.
Now I’m getting the same thing with my iPhone. When Apple finally released its version 2.0 operating system for this device and allowed third-party developers to create applications for it, the iPhone was no longer just a cell phone — it’s now a hand-held personal computer that just happens to make phone calls.
Yet whenever I talk about the iPhone on my radio show or write about it in my newspaper column, I get inundated with irate callers and e-mails that ask me the same questions I used to get about my first computer. The questions have been upgraded to reflect the times, but their meaning is the same. My favorite: “Why do I need a cell phone that does all of those things? All I need to do is make and receive calls!”
I get this question a lot from people who own a computer. I usually begin by asking them if they want to communicate only when they’re sitting in front of their computers. After a few blinks, I push on with some examples. E-mail is a good place to begin.
Getting and replying to e-mails on my iPhone saves me countless hours of delayed response time compared to e-mailing only from my computer. And there are so many more examples.
To track packages, previously I had to be in front of my computer. No more. Package Tracker is an iPhone application that shows meall incoming and outgoing packages from FedEx, UPS, DHL and the post office. I can even label the tracking numbers so I know what they are, and I get up-to-the-moment routing details. This little app costs 99 cents.
My neighbors, the Braunsteins, recently threw a fundraiser for the Asheville Symphony Guild’s “Musical Feasts” that had a mystery puzzle theme. Our host devised a series of word puzzles the guests had to solve. No problem. I whipped out my trusty iPhone and called up WordBook, a dictionary and thesaurus ($7.99) that can also solve crossword puzzles and anagrams. I just put in the letters and it unscrambled them for me. You can’t do that with the paperback version.
Plus, my iPhone stores thousands of pictures that can be displayed on a really big screen so I could proudly show off photos of my sons, dog, house, etc.
TV Forecast (free) lets me see when my favorite TV shows are on and what the upcoming episodes are about. If I forget to record them on my DVR, no problem — another iPhone app lets me instantly and remotely program my DVR. Already there are thousands of apps for the iPhone, and each one gives the computer and the iPhone new abilities.
So there you have it, my justification as to why I need and use my iPhone every day. The reason is the same one I used to justify my personal computer way back when: It just makes my life a little bit easier and better. Maybe it can for you, too.
All the above apps are available online at the iTunes store.
This is the opinion of Craig Crossman, who lives in Asheville and Palm Beach, Fla. He writes a syndicated column and hosts the national radio talk show “Computer America,” which can be heard locally via streaming audio at www.computeramerica.com, 10 p.m.-midnight Monday-Friday.
Freeverse Tranquility to iPhone payg users
Apple already sold 10 million iphones?
We never really know how many of anything Apple has sold until we are told, usually by Steve Jobs as the warm up to a keynote speech. But that doesn’t stop people guessing. And some guesses have had a little more research than others.
The folks at Mac Observer teamed up with the IV AAPL Sanity Board to count the IMEI numbers of iPhones (the IMEI is a unique cellphone hardware ID number). These they put together in a spreadsheet. According to the numbers, Apple has sold almost 10 million iPhone 3Gs. That’s the new one, which has been on sale for just under three months. Apple stated that it planned to sell ten million iPhones of all kinds by the end of 2008. It looks like it hit that goal early.
Those numbers aren’t quite as accurate as we might think, though. The numbers within the IMEI can be used to track batches and numbers of phones manufactured, but not the number sold. There could be inventory floating around in storerooms and repair shops. But the fact that this many have been made means that, according to financial blog Seeking Alpha, there are at least seven million 3G iPhones in the hands of users.
For the record, the latest iPhone listed on the spreadsheet is no 9,190,680, an 8GB black model which was sold three days ago on October 4th.
Will flash be on the iphone ?
iPhone users eagerly awaiting Adobe’s Flash technology shouldn’t hold their breath — despite the fact that a mobile version of the online multimedia software is nearly ready for Apple’s smartphone.
The reason? It doesn’t look like the two companies are going to settle into a collaborative partnership anytime soon, which ensures that Apple’s needed sign-off on the technology won’t be forthcoming. That’s in spite of the fact that online multimedia and interactivity — and video, in particular — have become a big part of the growing allure of smartphones.
“This is not a Flash technology issue, but a pissing contest between Adobe and Apple,” Roger Entner, an analyst at Nielsen IAG, told InternetNews.com. He said the “issue” between Apple and Adobe isn’t about technology but tied to “an overall war going on between Apple and Adobe.”
Hopes for an iPhone-compatible version of Flash had soared following a report at Brighthand.com today that said Adobe is nearly done with a Flash player for the popular device.
Adobe spokespeople confirmed the report but declined to go into specifics of where the effort stood.
“Adobe is working on a Flash player for the iPhone,” Stefan Offermann, a spokesperson for Adobe mobile technology, told InternetNews.com. “While the development work is in progress, we can’t share more details at this point.”
Apple did not respond to inquiries about Flash integration issues by press time. The company has indicated that Flash is too resource-intensive to be a good fit for its smartphone.
Still, Adobe maintains that Apple’s customers could benefit from their support.
“We think Flash availability on the iPhone benefits the millions of joint Apple and Adobe customers, and we want to work with Apple to bring these capabilities to the device,” Offermann added.
Flash has shipped on more than 800 million mobile devices and phones worldwide and has a annual growth rate of more than 150 percent, according to Adobe.
The technology has been licensed by a number of other handset vendors, including Nokia, Motorola, Samsung and LG, and currently runs on various mobile platforms including Symbian, Qualcomm BREW, Sony Ericsson OS, Microsoft Windows Mobile and Linux. Adobe said it can be ported to run on embedded operating systems as well.
With such widespread adoption already, it’s little wonder that industry watchers aren’t convinced that technical issus are at work in keeping Flash off Apple’s devices.
It’s unclear whether Apple or Adobe will get stung as a result of the problems. A recent survey conducted by Artificial Life found that 46 percent of mobile device owners use their devices for entertainment. The survey said that 87.5 percent of smartphone users access entertainment content, such as music, games and video, and that 33 percent use the phone for entertainment over any other purpose, including e-mail, GPS and Internet browsing.
For the moment, neither company seems likely to suffer much as a result — but the same can’t be said for Apple’s customers, Entner added.
apple allows SDK talk freely
Californian gadget maker Apple has removed the requirement that developers pledge an oath of secrecy on the contents of the iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK).
Apple said it had decided to drop the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) for released iPhone software on Wednesday, just days after Google championed the ‘openness’ of its own Android platform with the release of the G1.
Apple admitted that the NDA was “too much of a burden on developers,” even though its original intentions were to protect Apple’s intellectual property. Under the new regime, developers will be able to discuss the SDK and publish tips and solutions to help others.
Ultimately, Apple probably believes that relinquishing a little control over the iPhone SDK will encourage more developers to build apps and boost the attractiveness of the platform. It’s a move that can’t hurt as Apple seeks to carve itself a bigger niche in the handset space.
Adobe flash for iphone at last
Adobe’s senior director of engineering told attendees at the company’s Flash on the Beach conference in Brighton, England on Tuesday that Adobe is working on a version of the Flash Player for the iPhone.
According to a story on the Flashmagazine Web site, Adobe’s Paul Betlem shared the information in response to an audience question during a Town Hall meeting session.
Adobe has been committed to bringing Flash to the iPhone for some time. But since Apple has the ultimate say on whether or not to allow the Flash Player on the iPhone, and Apple CEO Steve Jobs told shareholders earlier this year that he didn’t think the current player is good enough for the iPhone, the situation is still up in the air. But Betlem added that once Apple gives its approval, Adobe will have the player ready in a very short time.
Flash support is one of the major features still missing from the iPhone. Without it, users are unable to completely recreate the desktop Web experience on an iPhone.
The Free payg iPhone Apps Sweepstakes
At first, Jon Trainer had visions of retirement. The software developer had created a game that could be played on the Apple (AAPL) iPhone and iPod Touch devices, and sales were through the roof. Users of the iPhone couldn’t get enough of the $7.99 Bullfrog Touch, which pits a ravenous swampland amphibian against a swarm of invading insects.
After two weeks, reality set in. “People moved on,” Trainer says. The number of nifty new software-based games, tools, and other pastimes came flooding into the online App Store, elbowing aside early entrants. “As more and more applications got into the store, people weren’t delving deeper into the list,” Trainer says. The number of applications has surged to more than 4,000, from 800 when the App Store opened on July 10. Even a $3 price cut failed to revive Bullfrog. At this point, “it’s not making enough money to be a full-time business,” Trainer says, adding that he’ll fall back on sales of his Mac desktop application, which keeps track of software licenses and is priced at $20 a pop.
In the latest Silicon Valley gold rush, scores of programmers have raced to perfect and sell their own wares through the App Store, spurred on by stories of overnight riches, including the $250,000 earned by makers of puzzle game Trism. But as the market gets crowded and prices plummet, many developers like Trainer are resetting growth and demand expectations. “Yes, we have gotten some people rich quick,” says developer Erica Sadun. “So does the lottery.” The odds of striking gold in the App Store, she jokes, are only slightly better.
Surpassing Revenue Expectations
Developers had reason to hope for an iPhone app bounty. In June, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster predicted that if 91% of iPhone and iPod Touch users purchased $10 worth of applications a year, the App Store would generate as much as $1.2 billion in revenue in 2009. Today, a little over two months since the store’s launch, the App Store already rings up $1 million in purchases a day, indicating potential annual sales of $365 million.
But considering how fast iPhones are flying off shelves, Munster’s figure may prove conservative, says Richard Doherty, director of Envisioneering Group. “It’s safe to say that some time this fall, the App Store is going to surpass revenues of all mobile application stores in history,”
Vodacom reveals iPhone payg plans
After much waiting and an Apple-appropriate level of secrecy, Vodacom has finally launched the iPhone and announced its pricing plans.
The phone which has been a best-seller across the globe is available from a number of retail outlets and service providers but they are likely to be in short supply in the immediate future.
Speaking at a media briefing on Tuesday, Vodacom’s Chris Ross commented that the company had brought in an initial batch of 30 000 phones but that there had been more than 30 000 pre-bookings made through the Vodacom website.
Not all of these pre-bookings will turn into actual orders but it provides some indication of the pent up demand for this phone that has proved phenomenally popular internationally, with queues forming outside shops long after launch date.
The phone will be sold in SA on both contract and pre-paid. It is not network locked and will sell without a contract for R6 389 for the 8GB model and R7 569 for the 16GB model.
Vodacom is launching three packages for the phone – all of which include 100 SMSs, voice minutes and 250MB of data. The data allocation is in stark contrast with international operators that have typically thrown in high data caps to encourage people to use the internet abilities of the phone to its fullest extent.
Preliminary testing on a review unit seems to indicate that if you don’t watch any YouTube videos or stream internet radio stations, customers should be able to easily stay inside the Vodacom data limit.
The packages cost R450 per month for 120 minutes with a pay-in of R2 189 for the 8GB and R3 299 for the 16GB at the low end.
The top package includes 500 minutes, costs R925 per month and requires a pay-in of R1 799 for the 8GB and R2 899 for the 16GB model.