Let me help:

• So Far Rivals Can’t Beat iPad’s Price (NYTimes, 3/2011)
• “Would-be rivals to Apple’s iPad have more of a chance in Europe than they do in the United States, but they need to cut prices fast to grasp the opportunity, IT research firm Forrester said on Tuesday. [...] their prices cannot yet compete with Apple, which has far larger scale in the tablet market and an efficient supply chain.” (Reuters 8/2011)
• “PC makers are struggling to match Apple’s prices” (Daring Fireball, DigiTimes 8/2011)
• “Something unexpected has happened at Apple, once known as the tech industry’s high-price leader. Over the last several years it began beating rivals on price.” (NYTimes, 10/2011)
• “The first crop of Android tablets that hit the market failed to come close to the iPad’s entry-level price of $499″ (CNET, 10/2011)

Google’s answer to this problem is that the device doesn’t matter. Its all about the browser. Apples answer is iCloud — it’s all about apps.

[A short recap for those just joining the conversation, iCloud is a thing that enables sharing of data between your devices. You take a picture on your iPhone, and moments later that photo is on your iPad, in iPhoto on your Mac, and even the photos folder on your PC. Apple is initially building this into many apps: iTunes, Photos, App Store, iBooks, Pages, Keynote, Numbers, Backup, Contacts, Calendar, and Mail]

Why is this important?
Today maintaining state between computers, smartphones and tablets relies on a hodge-podge of technologies:

• Mail is kept in sync using special imap server settings on each device.
• Music is sync’d only with a cable connected to iTunes running on just one computer. Same for bookmarks, photos, iBooks.
• Kindle books, probable the closest in style to iCloud, syncs through my Anazon login. Yet that one login on each device gets me precious little beyond the books.
• Calendars use a mashup of CalDAV, Googles services, and Microsoft Exchange. My address book is in a similar situation.
• OmniFocus todo’s are sync’d through a custom WebDAV folder on my edstrom.net server.
• Dropbox, one of my favorite utilities, also comes close. Their big claim to fame is their open API which many applications have adopted instead of building their own sync layer. And there is certainly demand for it: take a look at all the Dropbox apps.
• Games may or may not save state…

In a lot of ways, I think iCloud is the answer to the old buzz catch-phrase: Single Sign-On. Now I can sign into any device -once- and all my apps, my photos, my documents, my music … will all be there. Outside of the browser window.

MAJOR THEMES FROM THE CONFERENCE

• Existing technologies (tablets, smartphones) will be adopted by a much broader audience this year.
• The iPad is getting far more attention than Android. Often Android devices are not even considered.
• Making your content/experience/application location aware (Location Based Services) is gaining momentum.
• There is a lot of interest in Gamification/Gameful approaches to products.
• QR codes were everywhere.

RANDOM NOTES OF POSSIBLE INTEREST

• The Like button is only 11 months old. (!)
• Ambient Location with automatic check-in’s is emerging. Ambient Location is location tracking such that automatic things can happen: your lights turn on when you get home, get an sms when you need to get off the bus, letting the boss know when you are running late, etc.
• The hyper-local approach seems to be morphing into hyper-personal
• QR Codes were used for contact info, liking on facebook, downloading apps, viewing promo web sites, on the backs of t-shirts, on business cards, etc. Once you know how it works, it is hard to *not* scan them.
• QR codes can be made here or you can read about them here.
• App development recommendation: go big or go home, and it is vital to have a solid well-organized back-end
• Users are much more aware of how much you support (or don’t support) new features. One app got a 3/5 rating in iTunes because they didn’t have retinal display graphics in their audio player … be ready to embrace upgrades without delay when new phones/software updates become available
• Check out Qwiki (be sure to turn your speakers on). I can’t help but think of StarTrek. Recommended use: search by name name to find out more info.
• WordPress powers 12% of the web
• Flipboard is moving towards an ad-based model. 31 employes, $0 revenue so far, VC ends at the end of the year. An iPhone app is in the works.
• People spend 3 billion hours a week playing video games; 10,000 hours by age 21 — essentially an entire 2nd education. Playing games produce: positive emotion, stronger relationships, meaning, accomplishment. Gamers spend 80% of their time failing, “work is more fun than fun.”
• Dropbox had a cost per acquisition (CPA) about $300 through google ads but the lifetime value (LTV) was only $99 so they switched to referrals with a 2-sided incentive program. They saw a sustained growth of 60% when they made this change.
• Engagement metrics from newest thinking to old-school: daily active users, time on site, frequency, customers, registered users, returning visitors, unique visitors, visits, page views, hits
• * Watch the smartphone and tablet penetration this year. Smartphones are in the early majority stage, tablets are still at the early adopters. 15 mill iPads sold in 2010, 28 mill predicted for 2011 (looks like 0.6mill iPad2′s sold in first 3 days)
• Google’s specific blue “was worth at least $80 million” – Paul Ray of Bing
• In tablet design: clarity trumps density, and buttons are a hack.
• There are two types of designers: Intuition based design and Data-driven design. The latter helps reduce arguments based on opinions but may lead you to a local-maxiumu … where the design is not optimal, but can’t get any better without whole-sale change or intuition.
• Video of 4 year-old on an iPad, “how did you learn how to do that?” “I’m just learning all these things from the screen”… for kids, all screens are touch screens.
• Favorite tools for designing: white board, paper prototypes, lots of gesturing, listening and translating jargon. created a gesture map.

TIPS FOR NEXT YEAR

• Pre-select sessions online (plancast, lanyrd, sxsw app), but paper may be easier when you are there
• Take pictures of things you want to remember but don’t want to write down or carry
• Wi-fi was really good except 10 minutes before major session times (keynotes), AT&T worked reasonably well for me
• Group text messages via GroupFlier worked great for coordinating meet-ups
• Have a team email list
• Make t-shirts with a QR code

“Last night, I was browsing through story after story on the interwebs that hoped to help people decide on a tablet purchase by comparing the Xoom specifications with the iPad. From multitasking to chip speed to RAM, analysists attempted to find consumers the best possible value for the money.

And they completely missed the point.

When it comes to tablets, it’s not about the specs. It’s about user experience. It’s about the way we use the device and how the device fits itself to the way we want to use it.”

Andy explains:

“But you kind of have to hold the iPad 2 to really get the redesign. It’s thinner by a third, plus its edges taper to a thin line of metal. It’s almost inconceivable that this thing you’re holding is a multicore tablet computer. The Xoom tablet is trim, light, and very pretty … but when you place it next to the iPad 2, it looks as though it was designed and built by angry Soviet prison labor instead of by Motorola.”

And who wants to surf the web, watch a movie, or try to be productive on something designed by Soviet prison labor? It’s suppose to be a joy to use, not a chore. Right?

Specs are a nice place to start when it comes to comparing one tablet to the next, but if you never go beyond the quantitive specs, you’ll never understand the qualitative aspects. And I’d argue that the qualitative aspects are far more important.

Here’s the situation:

I have a media iMac at home. I have an iPhone and an iPad that sync music, podcasts, books, apps, movies, and photos to this media machine. I don’t sync the contacts, calender or email through iTunes as those go through the cloud.

I recently started using a MacBook at work. I’d like to switch synchronizing the iPhone and iPad to the work machine. I’m not sure entirely why. Some vague reasons that have crossed my mind:

• It’s a nicer and faster computer than my 5-year old iMac.
• I could download new apps or books from iTunes instead of searching within the App Store on iOS.
• New podcasts would download during the day to listen to on my commute home.
• I’m more likely to sync to my work computer than my home machine.
• The old iMac’s USB doesn’t charge the iPad at all unless the screen is off, so I’ve started charging both devices at work.
• I don’t really use the iMac at home other than to store stuff.

The problem, however, is the media. Podcasts will download on their own, so that doesn’t seem to be a problem. And with iTunes Sharing, I can sync the files — or at least a lot of them, but I won’t get the play counts and I don’t have the space for all of the media (the iMac has a pretty full 1/2  TB drive). And it only works at home when I actually have the work computer on with iTunes running. Yet, there does not seem to be a way to sync smart playlists (maybe I just recreate them? but again, the play counts which are vital to many of my smart playlists, are missing). And iPhoto synchronizing from a shared library is manual only. This is a bigger issue, because my wife and I take lots of photos of our kids, and I really appreciate how new photos taken with our SLR or iPhone just magically show up on the iPad after a sync.

So … is this a fictions first-world problem that I invented and needs no solution? Or is it a real problem? How would you solve it?

“AirPlay is important in the evolution of media because the tech infrastructure Apple has been building for more than a decade is finally maturing enough to reach that holy grail of weightlessness.”

The idea that you can easily present a slide show, play a video or movie, play a song, play a video game or whatever … from the device you are holding to the TV on the wall is very intriguing. No need to switch remotes, configure the “source” for the video, or anything else. Just choose “play” and choose “that screen over there”. Weightless indeed.

“What’s remarkable—and what should be, for any Microsoft shareholders, a deeply troubling sign—is that Ballmer, apparently, wants to do none of this. For him, the PC model is the only option. It doesn’t matter that it has never worked for this market in the past. It doesn’t matter that the tablet needs a new approach to user interface design, one that is fundamentally different from that of traditional PCs. Ballmer wants the PC business model—a Microsoft operating system on commodity hardware—running PC software, and the unsuitability of that software is seen as an irrelevance.”

Apparently though, they have a new tablet to show at CES this year. Given how well their announced-at-last-year’s-CES tablets did this year, it’ll be awesome … oh wait, they never shipped. Never mind.

Anyone else noticing a pattern with Microsoft announcements?

The desktop metaphor is on the way out.

Sure you still have files, and may sort things into folders. But this is becoming a per-app thing, not an operating system wide thing. If you look at all of their major apps: iPhoto, iTunes, iMovie … they all use files, but you never see them. This is all the more clear to me with the focus on full-screen applications. There is no longer the ability to drag something from another app (say the desktop) into an application.

The Launchpad and Apple Mac App Store further this. Applications simply exist now, and there is no need to ferry them into being with physical CD’s, installers, uninstallers, and the like. Today there is an Application folder where you keep most of your apps. Tomorrow, they will all exist in the folder-less entity, the Launchpad.

So then, what is the “desktop” good for, if you don’t use it to install apps, and files are stored within the applications themselves?

As for the Mission Control feature, all I can say is that it looks like a bridge technology. It isn’t the destination, but it will help us get there. It’s far to dependent on gestures, which didn’t demo terribly well in the keynote presentation. People understand (some) 2-finger swipes. 3 or 4 is too over the top. Sorta like keyboard shortcuts. Good for power users, and that’s about it.

The future is Touch.

Between the design of the new full-screen apps, the Launchpad, and focus on switching between applications in Mission Control, what I’m noticing is an entire lack of on-screen controls that wouldn’t work well with a touch interface. That is to say, Apple is not taking advantage of the high precision and capability of a mouse and cursor.

Apple has mentioned multiple times that you can’t slap a touch screen onto a laptop and call it a day. And in the sense that your arm would get tired, I’d say they are right on the money. But when they say the future of laptops and desktops is to be used with a disconnected Magic Trackpad of some kind … that’s a whole lot of misdirection.

Apple has to have something they are working on that will let you touch the screen of a desktop or laptop in an ergonomic sort of way. What it is, and how it works is anyone’s guess. But it won’t be your traditional laptop form, desktop form, or even tablet form. It will be something new, something unexpected, and I can’t wait to see it.

Let me rectify this.

iPad:

• The iPad will not replace a laptop. But it will replace more of your laptop than you think. Pick up the keyboard that goes with it, and it’ll be closer still.
• Not having a traditional desktop with files and folders is an asset to the iPad. It makes it easier to use, and easier to understand. If you don’t believe me, walk around your office and see how many people “file” things into their desktop.
• Reading books with iBooks works fine, and is a pleasure. The highlighting and notes abilities are very nice. I’ve read a few books on it now.
• The screen is not useable outside. I tried it on a cloudy day, and the reflection was too much.
• It is far better for consumption than creation. However there are some creative bits that work well on it (drawing, short emails, etc). As such, I haven’t quite found a good fit for using it at work.
• The iWork apps (I have Pages and Keynote) are great, but are not compatible with last-years desktop version of iWork. This is really disappointing, and worse: the iPad Keynote app reads my ancient PowerPoint files just fine.
• There are some really fun, addictive, and innovative games available for only a dollar or 2 each.
• I didn’t get the 3G version, but will next time The ability to pay for 3G access a month here or there would be perfect for vacations.
• Overall: if you have room in your budget for another device, you’ll love the iPad for surfing, social networking, sharing photos, and playing games.

iPhone 4:

I still have a 3GS, and will likely get the new phone (iPhone 5?) next summer.

First, lets talk about the antenna: From what I understand, the antenna thing might be an issue in certain situations, for some people, but for other people, they get reception where they never previously were able to. If you are concerned, get one of the bumpers – it fixes the death-grip problem. If you are really concerned, wait till January. The rumors are stronger than usual, and suggest that January is when there will be an iPhone on the Verizon network.

Other than that, I hear the screen is amazing and the camera is as good as many dedicated cameras. FaceTime is great, and I’m waiting to hear if this latest incarnation of video conferencing will be one that the public actually adopts.

If you’re concerned about an “open” platform and are thinking of picking up an Android phone, I’d highly suggest reading this, this, this, this, or this.

Overall: Apple is still making the best smart phone, at a competitive price. Other phones are at least a year behind in technical capabilities, and if you look at their usability, I have yet to see a report of a new phone that is better than (or as good as) the original iPhone that was released 3 years ago.

Links:

• RSS in Plain English
• Infographic on how people spend their time
• Google Reader
• Pulse on iPad
• Reeder on iPad
• Instapaper
• Social Networks Twitter and Facebook
• Twitter on iPhone
• Flipboard on iPad

“[They] are using the tablet-style computer for tasks as varied as accessing work e-mail, approving shipping orders, and calling up on-the-spot auto-finance options.”

It takes time to change things, but now that Apple is bigger than Microsoft, one has to wonder how long corporate will continue to cling to the underdog.

“Focus and perspective are our bread and butter. We have to think carefully about problems in multiple fields in the course of a standard workday, and poor quality of thought invariably leads to disproportionately significant repercussions later. There’s almost no limit to what I’ll pay to increase my focus and productivity without a corresponding increase in pain; iPad would be cheap at three times the price.”

“So what’s the difference between a Mac and an iPad? It’s that blank slate thing. No matter what you do on a Mac, the keyboard and mouse and window-based operating system make it impossible to ignore the fact that you’re using a Mac, and it’s often equally impossible to ignore the fact that you’re using a particular program.

In contrast, the iPad becomes the app you’re using. That’s part of the magic. The hardware is so understated – it’s just a screen, really – and because you manipulate objects and interface elements so smoothly and directly on the screen, the fact that you’re using an iPad falls away. You’re using the app, whatever it may be, and while you’re doing so, the iPad is that app. Switch to another app and the iPad becomes that app. If that’s not magic, I don’t know what is.”

Intriguing idea. I’ve never really noticed that the computer didn’t fade away, but now that I think about it, I think he’s right.

Think of it from your spouse’s perspective: they probably lump it all together and says you are “always on the computer”, but in reality, you’re doing a variety of things (tagging photos, researching on wikipedia, reading the news, and writing to your Aunt in Darkest Peru). To anyone but you, it looks like computer time. The iPad may yet be different.

Favorite bit about how saying the iPad is just a big iPod Touch misses the point: “Ken Case of The Omni Group has said, size matters, which is why a swimming pool is not just a big bathtub.”

“if you work in tech, you should spend some time with an iPad. If it doesn’t change the way you think about what you do, you’re either a genius or an idiot.”

“So while [techies] trump up our skills at designing “easy to use” interfaces for our applications, millions of people are still trying to figure out how to get our beautifully designed application out of its zip file or disk image.  Or where in fact the Downloads folder is. Or what, exactly, a folder is. [...] I’ve watched firsthand as people who’ve struggled to do basic computer tasks as long as I’ve known them pick up an iPhone and be cruising around within hours, if not minutes. For people who do not already thoroughly understand computers, New World devices are easier to understand and easier to use.”

“A detail from the iPad keynote: Steve demoes the Mail application and he puts it in horizontal mode. Oh, look, an Inbox list pops in. Neat.

And I think, hmmm I wonder if you can resize that splitter, making the source list wider. Its a tiny target, so it would be hard to grab…

And then I realize: you can’t resize it.

And a bright light did shine upon my liberated face and a voice did whisper a thunder: You’re free. Free of pointless preferences and finger-baiting adjustments.”

[via Minimal Mac]

No camera? How will we do video chat?

Good entry price point of $499, but I’m irritated that I can’t use my $30/month iPhone internet on this thing. You want me to pay for internet per device? Seriously? Where is the Kindle internet model where it comes with free internet for life?

I can totally see myself sitting down to read a nice long book with the iBooks app. But I’m still skeptical I’ll buy many books this way — $15 for a new book, and no re-sell or lending capability? I don’t mind that with music, but I rarely read books more than once and want to be able to pass the book on when I’m done.

I feel bad for Kindle owners. Given the attention this thing is getting, the screen-looks-like-paper feature was an overrated (but necessary?) step to advance the art of eBooks. Sorry Amazon. Thanks for your efforts. Good luck with your ePaper initiatives – the rest of us will be happy with color alternatives.

The new apps look amazing. Especially the calendar program. And the iWorks apps. Can’t wait to try them out.

Interesting that Apple made their own “Apple A4” chip instead of putting an Intel chip into the device. I wonder what this means for the future of other Apple devices.

Oh yea, and the iPad name is horrible. Please Apple, please. Give up on the iEverything name. The original iMac was what? 1998? This is a tired, dull, and not-what-we-expect-from-a-leading-company-like-yourself name. Canvas would have been so much better. Or Slate. Or just “Apple Tablet”. iPad? iPad?!?