iPod Minis: Google & DOJ Edition
- At Google's I/O conference this week, the search (and everything else, really) giant announced a few important things of relevance to iOS users:
- A new and improved version of the Google Maps app is coming to the iOS, now with support for iPad.
- A new streaming music service to compete with Spotify, Rdio, MOG, and other companies. Called Google Play Music All Access (catchy name), the service will cost $9.99/month.
- One thing Google didn't announce--and why would they?--was that a new study shows that over 90% of all malware (viruses, etc.) on mobile devices infect Android. The percentage for iOS? Zero.
- The U.S. Department of Justice's price-fixing suit against Apple for its eBook pricing practices popped up a few notable items this week:
- The DOJ produced an email from Steve Jobs that it says implies that Apple wanted to drive the price of eBooks up.
- Apple responded by saying that publishers had already agreed to fix prices at higher levels before it got involved.
Free at iTunes Store - May 13, 2013
Music
Single of the Week
All You're Waiting For, by Classixx
- Download at iTunes
TV
Episode 1 (Original UK Version), from Downton Abbey, Season 1
- Download at iTunes
The Cast Look Back, from The Office, Season 9
- Download at iTunes
The Scripture of Nature (1851-1890), from Ken Burns: The National Parks
- Download at iTunes
The Seminar, from The Office: Season 7
- Download at iTunes
True Blood: The Authority. The First. The Last. The Eternal, from True Blood, Season 5
- Download at iTunes
Episode 1, from Daniel Deronda
- Download at iTunes
Extended Sneak Peek, from North America, Season 1
- Download at iTunes
Season 1: Extended Sneak Peek, from Graceland, Season 1
- Download at iTunes
The Last Enemy: Episode 1, from The Last Enemy
- Download at iTunes
Tegan and Sara: Guest Music Supervisors for MTV's Awkward, from Awkward, Season 3
- Download at iTunes
Apps
Asphalt Heat
- Download at iTunes
Running with Friends
- Download at iTunes
What's the Saying?
- Download at iTunes
Beat the Boss 2
- Download at iTunes
What's My IQ?
- Download at iTunes
Say the Same Thing
- Download at iTunes
Story
- Download at iTunes
Zitrr Camera
- Download at iTunes
I Am MT: Card Battle
- Download at iTunes
Mini Empires Plus
- Download at iTunes
Books
Star Trek: Countdown to Darkness #1, by Mike Johnson and David Messina
- Download at iTunes
Tales of Terror and Mystery, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
- Download at iTunes
Deliver Me, by Farrah Rochon
- Download at iTunes
The Ultimate Guide to Pushups, by David Nordmark
- Download at iTunes
iCloud Mini Guide, by Macworld Editors
- Download at iTunes
The Keeping, by Nicky Charles
- Download at iTunes
Be Sarcastic, by Darrel Miller
- Download at iTunes
Touched, by AJ Aalto
- Download at iTunes
Recent New Content - May 10, 2013
New and substantially updated content added to the site recently includes:
App Reviews
iTunes 11
- How to Sync Apps to iPod touch (update)
- How to Use iTunes Match (update)
- Using Sound Check with iTunes (update)
- Browsing Content at the iTunes Store (update)
- How to Sync iPhone to Computer (update)
- How to Setup iCloud & Use iCloud Backup (update)
- How To Install iTunes on a Mac (update)
Misc.
- T-Mobile iPhone FAQ (update)
- iPod touch GPS Options (update)
- What Printers Are AirPrint Compatible? (update)
- My iPod or iPhone Is Disabled. Why, and How Do I Fix It? (update)
iPod Minis: New iPhones, Carrier News
Not a lot of news while we await the fall's new products, but a few notes of interest:
- iOS 7 is coming soon and it's showing up in web server logs
- The new OS will be running on new iPhones, of course. One report has the screens for those phones going into production in June, with another saying the entire phones will start manufacturing in June/July. Sounds like a late summer/early fall launch timeframe for these models.
- On the iPhone carrier front, T-Mobile (whose entry into the iPhone game I detailed a few weeks ago) has already sold over half a million iPhones and saw its first subscriber growth since 2009 as a result of the iPhone. Also, U.S. Cellular, the 6th largest wireless phone company in the U.S., will be offering the iPhone later this year.
Free at iTunes Store - May 6, 2013
Music
Single of the Week
High Heel Leather Boots, by Baby Bee
- Download at iTunes
TV
Pilot, from The New Normal, Season 1
- Download at iTunes
Rites of Passage, from Vikings, Season 1
- Download at iTunes
The Cast Looks Back, from The Office, Season 9
- Download at iTunes
True Blood: Season 4 Recap, from True Blood, Season 5
- Download at iTunes
The Office: An American Workplace (Pilot), from The Office, Season 1
- Download at iTunes
Behind the Scenes, from North America, Season 1
- Download at iTunes
Collision, pt 1, from Collision
- Download at iTunes
The People, from Ken Burns: The West
- Download at iTunes
Graceland/Burn Notice: Sneak Peeks, from Graceland, Season 1
- Download at iTunes
Apps
Jamm
- Download at iTunes
FallDown! 2
- Download at iTunes
Dots: A Game About Connecting
- Download at iTunes
Hardest Game Ever 2
- Download at iTunes
Moldiv - Collage Photo Editor
- Download at iTunes
HT Professional Recorder
- Download at iTunes
Fruit Mania
- Download at iTunes
Emoji>
- Download at iTunes
CamStar
- Download at iTunes
Pic Stitch
- Download at iTunes
Books
Always You, by Kristy Moseley
- Download at iTunes
A Beautiful Struggle, by Lilliana Anderson
- Download at iTunes
Tongue Twisters for Kids, by Riley Weber
- Download at iTunes
The Gods of Mars, by Edgar Rice Burroughs
- Download at iTunes
Superman #1, by John Byrne
- Download at iTunes
Top Shelf Kids Club 2012
- Download at iTunes
Podcasts
Grantland Pop Culture
- Download at iTunes
Dan Carlin's Hardcore History
- Download at iTunes
Real Time with Bill Maher
- Download at iTunes
Hardwell on Air
- Download at iTunes
Norm Macdonald Live
- Download at iTunes
NPR: How to Do Everything Podcast
- Download at iTunes
iPod Minis: New Discount Carriers, iOS 7, iOS 6.1.4 Released
- There's been a lot of action recently at the low-price end of the cell phone market when it comes to the iPhone. For one, T-Mobile (a very recent iPhone addition) and MetroPCS have merged. No word yet on when a MetroPCS-compatible iPhone will debut, if at all. For another, there are rumors that the iPhone may be coming to Boost Mobile this year.
- When iOS 7 debuts later this year (which should still happen on schedule, despite reports to the contrary), expect to see major changes to the look and feel of the OS. Since the firing of Scott Forstall, rumor has it that the Jony Ive-led design team is undoing all of those interfaces designed to look like real-life objects (the gaming table in GameCenter, the leather in Address Book, etc.) and replacing them with more modern, forward-looking alternatives. If so, I can't wait.
- Apple today release iOS 6.1.4 for the iPhone 5. It's free and available through iTunes or your iPhone. The update reportedly just adds a tweak to the speakerphone (though weird to issue an update just for that, no?).
- Path, the app maker who has been slapped down for grabbing users' data and taking it for themselves without permission, seems to be at it again.
- The New York Times says Apple should be doing more to prevent the theft of iOS devices. Based on all the comments I get from users who have had their phones stolen, perhaps they're right.
Free at iTunes Store - April 29, 2013
Music
Single of the Week
Monedita, by La Santa Cecilia
- Download at iTunes
Free Song
Lost and Found, by Tessa Rose Jackson
- Download at iTunes
Free Song
Youth, by Daughter
- Download at iTunes
TV
Dwight Schrute: A Hero for Our Times, from The Office: Dwight Schrute's Ultimate Episode Collection
- Download at iTunes
Office Romance: Jim and Pam, from The Office: Jim and Pam's Jam Pack
- Download at iTunes
The Lawless, from Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Season 5
- Download at iTunes
Episode One (Unedited UK Version), from Any Human Heart
- Download at iTunes
June 1842, from Crawford, Season 1
- Download at iTunes
Gumbo (Beginnings to 1917), from Ken Burns: Jazz
- Download at iTunes
Apps
Bee Leader
- Download at iTunes
Robot Unicorn Attack 2
- Download at iTunes
Draw Something 2
- Download at iTunes
Iron Man 2: The Official Game
- Download at iTunes
Face Swap!
- Download at iTunes
What's the Movie?
- Download at iTunes
Grumpy Bears
- Download at iTunes
Books
Surf's Up, SpongeBob!
- Download at iTunes
Invisible, by Cecily Anne Paterson
- Download at iTunes
Beneath the Cracks, by LS Sygnet
- Download at iTunes
Red, Green, or Murder, by Steven F. Havill
- Download at iTunes
Eternal Vows, by Chrissy Peebles
- Download at iTunes
Return to You, by Kate Perry
- Download at iTunes
The Misbehaving Marquess, by Leigh LaValle
- Download at iTunes
iPod Minis: 37M iPhones, 19M iPads Sold, but Profits Drop
- Apple announced its financial results for its second fiscal quarter this week. The highlights of the announcement:
- 37.4 million iPhones, 19.5 million iPads, 5.6 million iPods were sold in the quarter. The first two numbers were up over the second quarter of 2012, though the iPod number was down. The sales graph on the iPod has been pointing steadily downward for quite a while. That product line is drying up.
- Revenue for the quarter was US$43.6 billion, with $9.5 billion in profit.
- The iTunes Store generated $4.1 billion in revenue in the quarter. This is also the 10th anniversary of iTunes, and Apple has posted a neat history of iTunes here.
- CEO Tim Cook had a couple of interesting things to say about the products that are coming down the line:
- The new products (think iPhone 5S and iPad 5th gen.) are coming in the fall and big surprise products in the fall and through 2014. To me, that likely means the HDTV, the iWatch, and maybe some other unknown products.
- Cook also said that, despite the rumors that the next iPhone will have a bigger screen, there will only be a large-screen iPhone when there won't be trade-offs in doing it.
Free at iTunes Store - April 22, 2013
Music
Single of the Week
Recovery, by Frank Turner
- Download at iTunes
TV
Episode 1 (Original UK Version), from Downton Abbey, Season 1
- Download at iTunes
Chapter 1: The Boy in the Iceberg, from Avatar: The Last Airbender, Season 1
- Download at iTunes
Rise of the Turtles, Pt. 1, from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Vol. 1
- Download at iTunes
First Day of School, from One Life to Live
- Download at iTunes
All My Children: First Look, from All My Children
- Download at iTunes
Sneak Peek, from Zack Stone Is Gonna Be Famous
- Download at iTunes
Season 14: Sneak Peek, from MythBusters, Season 14
- Download at iTunes
Wally Buys a Car, from The Best of Leave It to Beaver, Vol. 5
- Download at iTunes
Meet the Family, from The Show with Vinny
- Download at iTunes
Necessary War: Dec. 1941-Dec. 1942, from Ken Burns: The War
- Download at iTunes
Apps
Take It Easy
- Download at iTunes
Wedding Day Makeover
- Download at iTunes
Twitter #music
- Download at iTunes
FX Photo Studio
- Download at iTunes
Keek
- Download at iTunes
Yahoo Weather!
- Download at iTunes
Wordy
- Download at iTunes
Bookworm Heroes
- Download at iTunes
Books
Tuesday's Child, by Dale Mayer
- Download at iTunes
Bates Motel on A&E: Jiao's Story
- Download at iTunes
Water, by Terra Harmony
- Download at iTunes
The Survivors, by Angela White
- Download at iTunes
The Job Offer,by Eleanor Webb
- Download at iTunes
Mylo Xyloto #1: Color is Crime, by Coldplay and Mark Osborne
- Download at iTunes
iPod Minis: Apple by the Numbers
The most interesting news items of the week (and news is slow right now. This is a dead period before the next generation of Apple products, it seems) came in the form of numbers:
- 80/20 - That's the revenue that Major League Baseball sees from iPhone users vs Android users for its online subscriptions to watch games. While site traffic is about 70/30 in favor of iPhone, an MLB official recently said the profit split is higher, maybe even as high as 85/15. Which shows that while Android's marketshare is inching up, it's still true that most Android users don't use the full extent of their devices' capabilities and that Android users don't want to pay for content.
- 63% - The marketshare in digital music held by iTunes, according to a new report.
- 12 - The number of megapixels that the camera for the next-generation iPhone is rumored to have. The camera will have other quality improvements, too.
- 4 out of 5 - Out of the 5 most highly paid employees at companies in the S&P 500, 4 of them work at Apple.
- 2.6 - The iTunes Store generates 2.6 times more revenue than Google's competing content store, Play, according to a new study.
