I couldn't agree more with MG Siegler on the topic of battery technology. I was very excited when Apple revealed the new iPad would continue to get 10 hours of battery life while powering that gorgeous screen. Unfortunately, they just snuck more of the old battery inside. This would seem to be a great use for some of that $100 billion Apple has in reserve.
It's pretty remarkanble that Apple has ranked #1 seven consecuttive times. Head over to J.D. Power to read the whole report.
For a seventh consecutive time, Apple ranks highest among manufacturers of smartphones in customer satisfaction. Apple achieves a score of 839 on a 1,000-point scale and performs well in all factors, particularly in ease of operation and features.
This was just a thought experiment as Apple's stock price continues it's run up following the latest earnings report. Any guess on how long it takes to rise to the price levels of the more expensive iPad's?
Former Google engineer, James Whittaker, writing on his blog:
Google Labs was shut down. App Engine fees were raised. APIs that had been free for years were deprecated or provided for a fee. As the trappings of entrepreneurship were dismantled, derisive talk of the “old Google” and its feeble attempts at competing with Facebook surfaced to justify a “new Google” that promised “more wood behind fewer arrows.”
The days of old Google hiring smart people and empowering them to invent the future was gone. The new Google knew beyond doubt what the future should look like. Employees had gotten it wrong and corporate intervention would set it right again.
Hat tip to Daring Fireball for the story.
You can be sure that anytime Apple's Senior VP of Industrial Design Jonathon Ive says anything in public, it's worth reading. The London Evening Standard recently conducted an interview with Ive. This quote was my favorite. The whole interview is worth reading.
Q: What are your goals when setting out to build a new product?
A: Our goals are very simple - to design and make better products. If we can’t make something that is better, we won’t do it.
If other companies focused on the same thing, their products would be much different.
If you live in the U.S. and don't have your new iPad order placed already, you're going to have to wait for up to 2-3 weeks to get that new iPad. According to the Apple Store page, shipping times are now listed as 2-3 weeks on all models. The experience is similar at many Apple sites throughout the world.
It's a shame the new model didn't offer more revolutionary changes to entice the sheep to make a purchase.
Don't forget to set your clocks forward by an hour before turning in tonight if the area you live observes daylight savings time. I also wouldn't count on your iOS device to take care of this for you if past history is any judge.
Farhad Manjoo writing for Slate.com:
Imagine you run a large technology company not named Apple. Let’s say you’re Steve Ballmer, Michael Dell, Meg Whitman, Larry Page, or Intel’s Paul Otellini. How are you feeling today, a day after Apple CEO Tim Cook unveiled the new iPad? Are you discounting the device as just an incremental improvement, the same shiny tablet with a better screen and faster cellular access? Or is it possible you had trouble sleeping last night? Did you toss and turn, worrying that Apple’s new device represents a potential knockout punch, a move that will cement its place as the undisputed leader of the biggest, most disruptive new tech market since the advent of the Web browser? Maybe your last few hours have been even worse than that. Perhaps you’re now paralyzed with confusion, fearful that you might be completely boxed in by the iPad—that there seems no good way to beat it.
For your sake, my hypothetical CEO friend, I hope you’re frightened.
A hat tip to The Loop for the link to the Slate story.
Anyone who uses a mobile device of any kind knows what a pita it is to carry around a charger to get the device through the day. Are we getting closer to really cutting the cord? Perhaps.
I can already leave my iPad charger at home. A reality that will continue even with the release of a power hungry 3rd generation device with the most amazing display ever manufactured for public consumption.
My phone isn't quite to that level yet. I keep a charger at work and have another in the car for topping off my phone when it's not in use. Most days I probably don't need it, but it's so vital I can't take a chance. I'd welcome the opportunity to not even think about topping off.
My laptop is the real week point in my device lineup. There's no way to get through an entire work day using it without it's power supply. But with the increasing adoption of SSD drives and better battery technology revealed by this ZDNet story, even this problem looks like it could be solved rather soon.
All this points to something very significant. It suggests that Apple has managed to increase significantly the power density of the Li-ion cells that it uses. In an industry that has seemed stagnant for some time now, this is quite an achievement and goes to show that Apple’s battery research labs and manufacturing plants have been hard at work. There’s no doubt that we’re going to be seeing the fruits of this labor in other Apple products soon.
A hat tip to parislemon for the link to the ZDNet story.
;)