Steve Jobs' Disney Has Sold More Than 1 Million eBooks on iOS.

Disney reported that it has pushed out more than one million ebooks to iOS loving children.  And adults I'm sure.  I cannot underscore the significance of this enough.  In a previous post I published on December 29, 2010, I had suggested that perhaps, Apple should create release a SDK with a subset of tools for the iBooktore.

An iBookstore SDK.  This will provide a more enriching experience for writers and publishers for the readers.  After all, the iOS devices can do so much more than read books.  If you want to do just that, the Kindle or the Nook would suffice.  

And interestingly, these one million books are not ebooks.  Rather, they are iOS apps that are books that provide text and rich media like sounds, pictures, and video clips. The sales volume from Disney is a testament to this idea.  I created book using Shutterfly for my nephew last Christmas.  If there was a tool to easily create an interactive ebook, I have all the materials I need to do just that.  Heck, I might even be able to sell it on the app store if there was a easy way to create what I am talking about.

So, Apple.  Time for you to step up and seize this moment.  I have a suggestion how Apple can do this easily.  And there are two routes Apple can do this:

1. iWorks.  Pages has all that we need in terms of layouts.  And Keynote provides a page-by-page presentation.  The combination can be used to create an interactive ebook app.
2. iAds tool that Apple released for develops is a great opportunity for users to create apps running.  From what I understand, it is an even easy tool to use than the iOS SDK.

Obviously, creating an iBookstore SDK that can publish to both the iBookstore and the app store would be idea.  And this would be a golden opportunity for Apple revolutionize the book industry and, more importantly, how contents are created and consumed.  Let text readers have their ereaders.  For anything else, there's the iOS devices.

More on Disney's 1 million book app sales at TUAW.

 

Is There Room For Web OS In 2011 - Maybe Not

Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 (WP7) did not sell one million units its first weekend but Microsoft cannot afford to cede the mobile market to Apple or Google. And it has the staying power and deep deep pocket to win marketshare if not necessarily the hearts and minds of users.

With WP7 already having an app store already rivaling HP's Web OS in terms of numbers of apps, is there room for Web OS in the market anymore?

Mobile Summary - What's Been Happening In the Mobile Market

Things are moving very fast in the mobile world right now.  So, here is a brief summary of things that I've kept up with.

Android

• Android seems to be making a huge run for a chunck of the mobile users.  I haven't seen this kind of excitement in a platform with the number of different gears out there since the early days of Windows CE.  Even Dell, a traditional Redmond ally, is entering the mobile market with Android.  
• Droid is kicking up a lot of dust.  At who, well, that's hard to say now.  Though I don't like the keyboard or the boxy design, I like everything else about it.  Bigger screen than the iPhone with a whole lot more resolution.  And it's thinness is something worth noting.  All that without sacrificing battery life. Also, it runs Android 2.0.
• I recently rooted my G1 for tethering and installing Google Navigation.  I think this is why Android has such a large following.  Smart smart folks involved and it is more open than the iPhone will ever be.  Of course, that's both good and bad.

Windows Mobile

• I'll be honest here and say I don't know what's going on.  I know the HTC's HD2 is out.  But no WM 7 or Zune integration.  On the other hand, Zune gaming is looking good this week with additional 3D games.  As an Apple fan, I am contemplating getting a Zune HD just to see what the big deal is.  Yeah, I'm a gear lover.  I'll still be getting iPhones, Macbooks, etc. 

Palm Pre

• After the iPhone, I'd get the Pre.  Right now, the Android devices are underpowered and new gears won't be out until 2010 with better insides.  Today, Palm's stock price jumped on rumors that Nokia is looking to take it off the market.  I don't know if Nokia wants WebOS but with a bunch of former Apple guys with access to NOkia's deep pocket and treasure, wow, this would be better than if Dell picked up Palm.

iPhone Platform

• Not a good few weeks.  Okay, iPhone demand continues to be strong.  Shortages and stuff like that.  Except in China where today, it has sold 30K in about two weeks.  Orange managed that in one day.  But then, I wouldn't get a crippled iPhone either (no Wi-Fi in China).  
• Oh, and even as it provides a tool for developers to see how their app is doing through the approval process, Apple is facing a new revolt of sort
• There are now 100,000 apps with over two billion downloads.  
• Still waiting on the iTablet. Lots of blog chatters about Apple trying to save the print realm.  

ATT Versus Verizon

• This is interesting.  You know those 3G commercials?  Verizon is doing the same thing that Apple has being doing to Microsoft with the "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" campaign.  Alright, maybe VW took some liberty at how it wants to influence potential customers or VW customers looking to jump ship to join ATT.  ATT has decided it would have none of it no more and has sued VW to make them take off the commercials and for damanges.  ATT has a lot to lose as it is rumored that they will lose their iPhone exclusivity in 2010.
• ATT issued a memo disputing VW's claims.  More at electronista.
• Again, the commercial is pretty good for its entertainment value.

Nintendo

• It's never enough.  Nintendo is a cash machine but apparently, it's never enough in a capitalist society.  So, what happened?  Well, I'm thinking the economy has more to do with it but news and blogs are saying it has more to do with the iPhone.  Okay, maybe some but not all of it.  Still, it's been a while since I've bought a Nintedo handheld and I won't be getting it until it's like the DS 2 or something.  The next version of DSi will have bigger screens.  Let's hope that Nintendo decides to bring more than just that.  The iPod Touch is not completing with the DSi or PSP directly because it can do so much more.  But because it can do so much more and by the sheer installed base, it is getting a lot of attention from traditional gaming outfits.  It'll be interesting to see how Nintendo responds.  We already Know Zune is going into Windows Mobile and Xbox mobile gaming is likely just around the corner.  Maybe Nintendo should buy out Palm and add DS gaming to it?  What do you think?
• Crunchgear doesn't think Nintendo needs to worry about Apple right now.  Not yet.  I agree, for now.  Nintendo, with the recent price cut to the Wii is going into the important Holiday Season with more sales than Xbox, PSP, or PS 3.  

Google

• See the above Android section.
• Google just bought Gizmo5.  VOIP with Google Voice.  Match made in mobile heaven.  This is interesting because there were talks that Skype was interested in Gizmo5 until eBay, Skype, and the former owners of Skype settled their disagreement.  Imagine how this works out.  Android devices requiring only data access and calls via VOIP.  
• More on the Gizmo5 buyout:  Daily Wireless, CNet
• With the purchase of Gizmo5, look out for blogs and news reports about exploding VOIP markets.  Folks will be jumping on the bandwagon about it.  Take it easy.  Skype isn't going to sit this out.  But love to see Google Voice go at it with Skype.  An Edison-Tesla type of brawl in our time.
• Chrome OS is coming a lot nicely.  We should see it in the next few weeks.  
• While we're on Google, CNet has an interview with Google's CEO and made a claim that Docs will be just as good as Office.  About the Docs statement, I don't use OpenOffice for the same reason I don't use Docs as much.  You want to rival Office?  Check out Numbers from Apple.  Go ahead and copy it, Google.  Microsoft said it copied OS X.  So that's okay.

RIM/Symbian/Others

• This week, it was reported that phone sale growth resumed in the third quarter of 2009.
• 45 Million smartphones shipped worldwide,  representing a 5% growth. More if you're willing to pay $7000 for the rest of the report at Strategy Analytics.  Yeah, this is all I need to know.
• Here is a table lifted from IntoMobile.  Nokia is number one, followed by RIM and Apple.  Apple with just two models (and two various of the 3GS) may put a hurt on others next year.  Nokia is in the pole position with 39.3%.  RIM has 20.8% (great growth) with Apple trailing at 17.1%.  No one has has double digit marketshare or growth except folks in the "others" category.  
• Nokia, mentioned above, in looking to snatch Palm off the market, according to Barron's.  

Here's my thought in all of this.  The ideal situation is each of the mobile giants have an equal share of the market.  That way, it keeps them all honest and their innovation engines running high.

So, this has been what's going on the last couple of weeks in mobility.

Work Computer: Desktop or Laptop

We're at the point today where the desktop cost advantage over the laptop is negligible. Sure, the desktop traditionally feature faster CPU, mower powerful GPU, and maybe even more ram. For pros who work in field that require more processing power, desktops are the way to go.

What about the rest of the office workforce who don't need those kind of power? Does it make sense to have a power hungry desktop when a laptop will suffice?

Increasingly, more and more folks I've talked to, from folks who crunch Excel files to developers at high profile Internet companies are moving away from desktops. A couple of mobile warriors were given a laptop as well as a desktop but they almost never use the desktop.

Perhaps for some of you, maybe it makes sense to request a laptop in the next round of upgrades. For employers, giving their employees laptops said something about trust and ownership of work that does along with it. Employees can take the laptop with them wherever they go.

And we all know that on some level, employees use their company laptops for personal use. That's entirely acceptable in my book.

And beyond the cost, productivity, and changes in technology, we are an increasing mobile workforce. Being tethered to a cubicle is no longer acceptable for a lot of companies and their employees. And it's a trend that cannot be denied.

So, what do you prefer? And how have mobile warriors out there convinced their employers that a laptop, smartphones, or mobile devices is better for them than a desktop?

Mobile Tip: Airsickness Bags As Mobile Stand

This comes from Macworld.

I'm very familiar with those airsickness bags you see with every seat on airline (I get car, bus, and train-sickness like crazy).

So, if you're not using them, use them as a stand.  Check out Macworld's suggestion.  What you do is make a cut-out wide enough to hold your mobile device but leave enough room so you can see the screen.  Then you hang it on the seat from front of you.  Now, you've got yourself a hands-free stand

It works great because even if the seat in front of you is pushed back, gravity will make sure the iPhone iPod Touch, or whatever video device you're using will be vertical.

Check out further instructions and pics at Macworld.

Note:  Here is another tip we found that you'll find useful in making an iPhone stand .

Mobile Tip: Battery Tips from CNet (With Video)

In late July, Onxo came up with a list of battery saving tips to help mobile users extend the battery life of their devices. It was one of our most sought after article.

Now, CNet has pretty much the same thing in video form.  Though they used an iPhone 3G, a lot of the same suggestions can be applied to any mobile 2.5G or 3G devices.  This goes for the Onxo tips as well.

The video title is called "Maximizing iPhone 3G Battery Life".



In watching the video, we left out a couple of items from our earlier post.  GPS.  Turn it off if you can.  If you're not using it.  It might be used by location-based apps.  We don't know if it's actually doing anything when you're using the GPS function but leave it off until you need it?  It goes the same for the location function in the iPhone.

It's kind of cool to have that in Loopt but we don't need it on all the time.

Mobile Tip: Don't Do This At Home!

http://www.gadgetsngizmos.org/Okay...I have to warn everyone.  I would never do this with my iPhone or my regular handsets.  Nor would I recommend that you do.  This truly takes being a mobile warrior and phone competition to a whole new level.  


Phone-racing.  This week's Friday movie:






Come back for today's mobile and iPhone update and this weekend for the week's roundup.


Have a great weekend!



Note: I originally saw a short clip of this on Gadgets and Gizmos.

Mobile Tips To Extend Battery Life (Artificially)

I love my gadgets to the point of babying them although I tend to drop them quite often.  Don't know why that is.

But there's something I cannot help as far as operating my mobile devices and that's the battery.  They die. (So melodramatic, isn't it?  Its the only thing that doesn't "stop working". but "dies".  "Sorry to have to tell you this but your battery are dead...alive for only 9 hours.  So young.  So tragic.")

In my experience, I've come up with a few tips that has worked for me.  And here they are.  Please note that everyone has different standards and expectations.  Plus, we've got different devices so some of these tips may not have be relevant for you.  Plus, your mobile unit may have more battery saving options than others.

Here we go.  By the way, I am basing my experiences here off my iPhone (1st gen).

• Turn it off when you don’t need it.  Seriously here.  If you’re in a meeting for an hour and you can’t be disturb, why leave it on at all.  Also, I’ve occasionally turned off my phone when I’m driving for more than half an hour.  I’ve got an iPod nano that I use if I want to listen to music in the car.  An hour here.  Half an hour there.  It adds up.  
• The screen can be dimmed.  I usually keep it at 50% brightness.  In the iPhone, it works great in the daylight and I’m sure helps with the juice quite a bit.
• This is a bit like turning off the device but not as extreme.  Turn on the airplane mode.  I have not tested this thoroughly but if the antennas in the phone are not trying to pick up signals, I’m guess it’s saving quite a bit of power.  Does anyone know for sure?  I’m guess the it’ll vary depending on the device.
• Bluetooth – I’ve used it before and I’m sure I’ll use it again some day.  But I don’t mind using just the headset that came with the iPhone.  So if you can avoid it, turn it off.  
• 3G.  I don’t have a lot of experience with it.  With my phone, I’m content with the EDGE speed for the most part.  I’m also around WIFI much of the time.  Turn it off when you’re not using it.  
• Turn off WiFi if you do not have access to it.  Even though it’s not connected, it yearns to be in the company of an access point so it’s always looking.
• E-mails.  If you don’t need it pushed, set it to check at an incremental time or do the checking manually.  This goes for any other kind of updates on your phone.  There was this app on for the jailbroken phone that checks news, stocks, weather, and e-mail all at the same time.  The juice it sucked up was monstrous.  I took deleted it after a couple of days.  
• If you can e-mail or surf on a computer, do that.  If you can use a landline to talk, do that.  I know folks who insist on using their mobile phones all day.  Okay, I respect that.  I just don’t get that.  
• If you’re near a computer with a USB port, you can charge it if you have the iPod USB cable.

There you go.  Once again, your mileage is going to vary depending on what device you have and your personal habits.  Some of these tips can work with other mobile devices that are not smartphones.  Regular phones, PSP, UMPCs, or even netbooks (I only see the dimming of the screen as helpful).  

For laptops these days, the standby is very good.  The power-saving features are just excellent.  Make sure you take advantage of that.  

Also carry an extra battery.  For those us of at the mercy of Steve Jobs’ insistence of no user-friendly battery changes, I guess we just take it.  However, there are a lot of battery extensions that will work.

Here’s a link to Gizmodo who also have some battery saving tips.  I did not include the auto-lock because I'm not 100% sure every device has that feature.  

If you've got any tip we've missed, please share with them us.  Battery technology is barely budging these days and additional battery life will likely come from advances in other components of a mobile device and changes in our behaviors.

Remember though, you don't wan to go overboard in babying your mobile device either.  It's here to serve you, not the other way around.

Haptic Responses (Latest From RIM)

It's no secret I'm an iPhone user and Apple fan. Nevertheless, I would not want them to get too full of themselves. With Sprint's Instinct just the latest iPhone killer (it's all a matter of opinion, isn't it?), it stands to reason that the iPhone's year on top can just as easily be toppled by any of the more entrenched smartphone manufacturers.

According to Crackberry.com, Blackberry Thunder's haptic keyboard could be just the feature that out APPLE the iPhone. So far, things have been quite on the Canadian front as far as what the Thunder's features are and how it will compete against iPhone and other smartphones (yes, iPhone isn't the only player in town).

I'm hoping everything said in Crackberry's blog entry is correct because honestly, there's only one man I know with a real "reality distortion field" and he's not the CEO of RIM.

Whether Apple's view on haptic implementation for its virtual keyboard will go the way of the one-button mouse is uncertain. Only time will tell. Of course, there is rumor of an iPhone with a slide-out keyboard in the wild as well. That too, only time will tell.

iPhone 3G (or iPhone Next), Android phone, Thunder. I can't wait. Nor am I looking forward to having to chose between the three. Great haptic keyboard implementation or not. iPhone killer or not. As a mobile worker, I say "bring it on"!

The smartphone market is in its infancy. It has the capability of support multiple winners. So the more the merrier.

onxo's Mobile Convergence

Mobile Convergence

Is the time here yet? It's the same question I asked at Macross-Frontier earlier today. I love gadgets. I've had the Palm III, Palm V, skipped a couple of models and now I've got the Zire 72.

I also took back a Dell Windows Mobile handheld I bought my brother who has long since moved onto other handhelds himself. Currently, I've got a unlocked and jail-broken iPhone that I use with T-Mobile. Personally, I love to hear how others who has Blackberries, Treos, or any other smartphones feel about their mobility.

The few people I know who are armed with Blackberries have said "it does what its suppose to do". You can't get a better endorsement than that. Honestly. For a couple of blackouts a few months ago, the Blackberry service is excellent by most standards. Wish the airlines work that way.

I personally like the iPhone and the Treo because of the user interface both offers. One offers a screen-based keypad while the other uses a standard physical QWERTY layout. The touch-based selections of both phones allow me to avoid scrolling much. I do think touch-based screens are the way devices are headed. However you may or may not like iPhone's onscreen keyboard, it works well enough but the flexibility offers the user to use the screen in full or at half screen when you're typing. It works well enough.

So full touch screen. Isn't that what those pads in Star Trek are like? I have also seen many such devices in anime. After all, the Japanese designers and engineers are very good at miniaturization for many years now.

Some smartphones now have GPS and, soon, it should be in most phones sold on the market in one fashion or another.

To sum it up, the follow are features that the first decade of the 21st Century mobile device should have:

• Internet
  
• GPS
  
• Touch-screen
  
• Ubiquitous network access
  
• Music and Multimedia player
  
• Simple office-type document access
  
• Better battery-life
  
• Access to a cloud system for more storage and processing power
  
• Still picture and video capture
  
• Video-chat along with the standard messaging systems (SMS, e-mail, IM, etc.)
  

The screen should be depend on the type of devices. So, let's get into the types of mobile gadgets I'm talking about here.

Phone (candybar, flip) Like today's phone, the screen should be complete touch-screen, perhaps on both sides so that when the user is hold it, the finger in the back can also access features. 2"-2.5" screen would suffice. It's limited to almost text-based information with little or no graphical interface. I've done texting on a keypad. It's no go for me. The screen should offer a keyboard though it'll be kind of cramp and not really for writing a long letter or writing the next screenplay (yes, I know people in Japan have written whole novels on their phones with the numerical keypads. I'm impressed but it's just not for most people).

Smartphones Your standard HTC, Treo, or Blackberries. But more like today's iPhone, it works as we know it but with more connectivity and access to a cloud system for storage and processing power. The screen should be from 2.5" to 3.5". I'd try to squeeze in a 4" screen but you'd need a Jonathan Ives-caliber designer to do it right. It will have all the features I've listed above.

Smartpads Think of the Star Trek pads or those you might see in anime. They've got a 5" and up screen. Of course, the screen cannot be too big or otherwise, it defeats the true nature of real mobility I'm talking about here. How is this different from just being an oversized smartphone? Real estate. As in the size of the screen. It'll function well as an ebook reader. I love to see a full page of text rather than quarter or even half a page.

Plus, you can see with the bigger screen, it'll allow you to create split screens. What do I mean by that? Suppose you're in a video conference with someone working out of her home and another guy in NY (because you're a mobile warrior, you can be anywhere you want to be), you can see both person while at the same time, maybe even be working on a document with them. Or you can be surfing the web while watching a video by splitting the screen in half.

Laptops I don't see why laptops cannot have all the needed features I have listed above. Today, most laptops are tethered to an outlet or places where there are WiFi or ethernet jacks. Unless you have paid wireless access through a wireless mobile provider, you are confined to your work, home, or a Starbucks. A GPS may not be needed but it's good to have. You may never know when you really need it. I see that a lot of laptops today have a wecam built-in but I really would like to see it on all laptops. The keyboard should be done away with and replaced with a flat surface for a true multi-touch experience. I think you can appreciate something like this. It make take a while to get used to only because we have been conditioned to have a physical keyboard on our laptops. It doesn't have to be the case.

So, there you have it. I've created my anime-style mobile device. As you can see, it not too far-fetched. The only thing that maybe hold us back is the battery-life as I have mentioned in the other blog. With new technology like Intel's Atom chip, a brand new mobile platform will be born. It's what the UMPC was meant to be but failed miserably at.

I don't care if it's Apple, Nokia, or Microsoft. Someone freakin' built these things already!