When Will iOS 4 Hit The iPad??!

... So when does iOS 4 arrive for the iPad?... And why is the gap between releases (iPhone vs iPad) so significant?

I ask because, even as an active iPad fanboy, it really bugs me. First and foremost, I generally do not like using two related devices (my iPhone and iPad) on more-distantly related operating systems. It is tough to explain why it is annoying - particularly when they shared the same OS up until just a few weeks ago.... But for a company so dedicated to user experience and fluidity, it is strange to ask users to navigate between different experiences. And that takes me to point two: iOS 4 is so markedly better than its predecessor that it really is difficult to return to the old form.... even on a device I passionately enjoy. I use the iPad almost entirely as a productivity device: email, web, documents, content, etc. And that really is where iOS4 shines: email is dramatically better and background applications make everything more efficient/productive.

Ultimately it is difficult to complain because both devices are great and I am spoiled by the new operating system... Which will make its way to the iPad eventually.

YouTube's HTML5 Mobile Site Aims to Drive 'Home Screen' Adoption

Last week YouTube Mobile adopted HTML5... it wasn't long ago that Apple touted YouTube as the iPhone's original launch partner (via a native application). Their adoption of HTML5 is yet another indication that it is fast becoming a standard for web experience and portability. This alone is newsworthy... but I wanted to quickly showcase YouTube's example of their 'pop-up' unit: - it appears immediately on load of a YouTube page - it is big, bold and interferes with the video's viewability... and is therefore noticeable - it directs users to add an icon to their iPhone's homescreen... which is an effective way to convert a pageview to an iPhone icon - it is part of an emerging trend to point directly (both visually and through language) to actionable items

With Slew of Apps, Apple Emerges As Major Developer, Publisher

As a mobile developer / publisher, the Apple App Store is as a much a distribution floodgate as it is an enigma. Being featured within the app store guarantees massive distribution and consequently begins a virtuous cycle: featuring leads to downloads which leads to "top 25" placements which then leads to greater distribution. To date, Apple has been unclear about their editorial stance... but the results have been reasonable: they are quick to highlight branded apps (ie Facebook, eBay), innovative apps (ie Runkeeper, Evernote), and trendy apps (ie Foursquare, Gowalla, etc). Over the last few weeks - with the entrance of the iPad and iPhone 4 - Apple has itself become a publisher and have really pushed their apps: iMovie, iBooks, Apple Store App, Find My iPhone, and the iWorks suite. And then Apple uses their marketing power (primarily real estate) to promote and distribute their applications.

Because the applications are terrific (for the most part), it is hard to complain... but it is another indication that:

1) the app store is an editorial black box controlled by Apple, who itself is becoming a major developer 2) Ultimately, this is Apple's ecosystem and their incentives can certainly conflict with developers'

Below are a few screenshots... the first of which is most revealing. Apple labeled its own Apple Store App as the App of the Week and the first two featured applications are also Apple's:

Also interesting: even if you go to the Apple Store's website via an iPhone browser, it prominently promotes the iPhone application:

Apple iOS4's Auto Calendar Event Creator

The best feature of Apple's iOS4 update that is overshadowed by background applications, folders, etc? Apple now enables calendar event creation contextually and within email exchanges. When a date and time are written in an email - iOS4 will hyperlink the text (ie Tomorrow at 8:30am) and allow you to add it to your calendar. It's a huge time saver and something I have long wanted in Outlook (where calendaring is a *massive* pain) and in GMail (where there is similar, but flaky functionality).

Apple consistently pulls off these relatively small features and integrates them seamlessly. Why Microsoft hasn't figured out a similar feature within Outlook... over its many years... signals the shift in the two companies' success in consumer products / development.

Retailers' Surprisingly Good Mobile Experience - Rubio's Example

You probably don't think of Rubio's (the fish taco fast food chain) as a leader in web / mobile innovation... but the below example is well done and really should be more widely adopted. Background: after seeing someone drink from a Rubio's cup, I asked where the closest location was? Neither of us knew... so I went to www.rubios.com on my iPhone expecting to search their standard website for the "locations" page. Rather, they automatically detected that I was on a mobile device and prompted me to provide my location - which they then used to display the nearest Rubio's restaurants. Rubios is using Know-Where Systems to run the web application. While the experience is rather simplistic - you can imagine building a more robust one aimed at mobile users. Clearly location is a key lever there... but couponing, nutrition, hours, etc are all examples of content aimed specifically at mobile users.

Apple iPad: 3rd Fastest Selling Device (Behind Nintendo Wii & DS)

If there is a voice for mobile growth, Mary Meeker is it. And she has 50+ slides of charts and data to prove her bullishness.

Below is the latest version of her Internet Trends deck (updated June 7 for the CM Summit in NY). I have included screenshots of three particularly interesting slides which are relevant to previous posts on this blog. The entire deck is embedded below via Scribd: Other than Nintendo's Wii and DS, the iPad is the fastest growing device - taking just 28 days to sell 1,000,000 units. That is more than 2x as fast as the iPhone and 1/2 as fast as either Nintendo device (which is impressive):

Android's growth is impressive... and ramping significantly. The wild card will be the new iPhone 4 (how many units will it move?) and whether rumors of a non-AT&T iPhone come true by year's end:

Normalized to the iPhone, iPad usage is more alike desktop PCs than smart phone usage. This is conceptually straightforward - but clear proof that these tablet devices are effective ways to surf the web and accomplish other 'desktop' activities:

MS Internet Trends 060710

AT&T Pushing Additional iPhones Between Android & Apple Announcements?

My day of short blog posts continues....

The below email from AT&T ('Add an iPhone today') is interesting because:

- it arrived in my inbox a few days ago (May 15) - is in advance of the supposed June launch of the newest iPhone ... which will also supposedly be on AT&T

- it comes just a couple days after the announcement that, for the first time, Android devices are outselling the iPhone (see here) ... and AT&T's Android offering is weaker than Verizon's or even T-Mobile's

- there is no incentive whatsoever to add an iPhone - no discount, family plan, etc

- it was sent in advance of Google's I/O conference - which would obviously focus on Android

It strikes me as an attempt to squeeze in sales between Android growth, Android news and the forthcoming iPhone. Of course you could argue it is an indication that perhaps the next generation iPhone, as many hope, is available beyond AT&T???

Google Continues Apple Attack: Android 2.2 ('Froyo') & Google TV

Gizmodo has called the Google I/O conference "dizzying" - in part that's because of their several product announcements. In part it is because they are taking direct aim at Apple and, as Gizmodo also says, is "leapfrogging" them. And in part is because Google's Android 2.2 release is dizzingly fast: Introducing Android 2.2 (it's fast):

Android 2.2 compared to the iPad:

Introducing Google TV: