Linked List: February 5, 2013

Tuesday, 5 February 2013

Alex Gollner examines the nine different ways Apple has described itself in its press releases since 1995. The biggest change, no surprise, is from biz-dev bullshit to plain English, four days before Steve Jobs became CEO in September 1997. Also interesting: as the company has gotten bigger, its description of itself has gotten simpler.

How We’ll Know When Google Play Really Has Caught Up to the iOS App Store ★

Erica Ogg:

Where is Android’s Angry Birds? Or its Instagram?

Yes, obviously the game and the photo app are both on Android now. But where’s Android’s killer, break-out (non-Google, for obvious reasons) app that explodes on the platform and leaves iOS users clamoring for it? Vine, for instance, is the buzzy mobile app of the moment, and as is par for the course for these things, it’s iOS only.

Yours truly, back in November 2010: “Where Are the Android Killer Apps?” Still waiting.

Simple Bracket ★

Kickstarter campaign by Studio Neat (of Glif and Cosmonaut fame) to launch a gorgeous March Madness bracket management iPhone app. You owe it to yourself to watch the video through to the end.

Should Apple Follow Netflix’s Lead and Produce Its Own Movies and Shows? ★

Bryan M. Wolfe, writing for AppAdvice:

Going forward, Apple could learn a lot from Netflix. With all the talk of a rumored Apple television, perhaps Apple should consider getting into the television production business, or at least partnering with someone else. After all, it is in Apple’s DNA to control all aspects of whatever they produce.

Just imagine the excitement were Apple to release an actual television that came with original programming. I bet that it would be huge, for example, if Apple would work with Disney’s Pixar to create original children’s programming only available on Apple devices.

Not an outlandish idea. But Apple makes its money selling hardware and building platforms. Why should Apple compete with HBO and Netflix when, as it stands now, they can provide access on their platforms to both HBO and Netflix? Apple’s interests are aligned differently than Netflix’s.

The converse of this is why Netflix abandoned its plans to build its own set top hardware box, instead spun it off to Roku.

Update: It also occurs to me that hypothetical Apple-produced content would likely be rated no older than PG. You’re not going to see House of Cards from Apple.

Starfish ★

Lex Friedman and his fellow Macworld staffers poke holes in a scammy exhibitor at Macworld/iWorld. Crazy story.

HP Issues Statement on Dell’s Leveraged Buyout Plan ★

Official statement from HP:

Dell has a very tough road ahead. The company faces an extended period of uncertainty and transition that will not be good for its customers. And with a significant debt load, Dell’s ability to invest in new products and services will be extremely limited. Leveraged buyouts tend to leave existing customers and innovation at the curb. We believe Dell’s customers will now be eager to explore alternatives, and HP plans to take full advantage of that opportunity.

No love lost between these two, that’s for sure.

Instagram Feed Now Available on the Web ★

Not bad at all. But I’m surprised they didn’t do a proper iPad app first. Now they’re in the weird position where, for iPad users, Instagram looks and works better on the web than it does in the Instagram app.

That Dell Quote ★

Carl Franzen, writing for TPM:

Back in 1997, when Dell was still reporting major growth (despite not selling PCs through retail channels at the time), Dell’s CEO was asked about what a then-struggling Apple, Inc. should do to right itself. As Dell told an audience at the Gartner Symposium in Orlando, Florida (in words immortalized by CNET):

“What would I do? I’d shut it [Apple] down and give the money back to the shareholders.”

Asked about Dell’s comments 16 years later in the context of Dell’s privatization effort, a Dell spokesperson gave TPM the following statement:

“That comment has been taken out of context and is not relevant.”

By which they mean, “We need a drink.”

Why Michael Dell Took Dell Private ★

Ashlee Vance, writing for Businessweek:

The worst-case scenario for Michael Dell would have occurred if an activist shareholder had gotten into the mix. Dell would have faced the prospect of being kicked out of the company that bears his name. I’m certain this is why Dell went private. Dell, Silver Lake, and Microsoft get a company that pumps out enough cash to keep all parties happy, while Michael Dell shields himself from being berated by analysts, investors, and the media. Best of all, he gets to keep his company.

I’m curious to see how Microsoft’s $2 billion investment in this deal will play out with all the other Windows OEMs. It’s one thing for them to get into bed with Nokia, in a market where Microsoft was floundering, but another for them to get into bed with a particular PC maker.

Google Trends: Droid vs. Galaxy ★

Re: my offhand remark yesterday that Verizon seemingly isn’t pushing its Droid brand as hard as it was a few years ago, this Benedict Evans tweet got me poking around Google Trends. Decidedly non-scientific, but the trend lines jibe with my hunch: Galaxy interest is going up, Droid interest down.

I linked to a U.S.-only chart, because Verizon is a U.S. carrier. Here are the numbers worldwide (which suggests the hottest spots for Galaxy interest are Indonesia and India), and for comparison, a U.S. chart and worldwide chart that include the terms “iPhone” and “iPad”.

Twitter Wasn’t Mentioned in 50 Percent of Super Bowl Ads – Hashtags Were ★

Bobby Grasberger, regarding Matt McGee’s methodology for counting Twitter references in Super Bowl commercials:

All 26 of his “Twitter mentions” included hashtags. But many of the hashtags were platform agnostic: not accompanied by a Twitter logo.

In fact, by my count only 3/26 of the hashtags were accompanied by a Twitter logo. That means the other 88% (23/26) could just as easily be credited to Instagram, Google+ or, most appropriately, all three major hashtag-supporting platforms.

Fascinating, really, that when it comes to punctuation-character-prefixed social media network jargon, “#SloganHere” hashtags are now seemingly far more common in advertising than “@CompanyName” account names. I do think the fact that they work across both Twitter and Instagram is a factor here.

Update: Great point by Matthew Hunt:

The interesting part to me is hashtag = “you should talk about us”, vs. old “go here to see what we have to say”.

Something Has Clearly Gone Wrong ★

Strategy Analytics report on U.S. phone market share:

According to our Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) service, mobile phone shipments grew 4 percent annually to reach 52 million units in the United States during the fourth quarter of 2012. Apple became the number one mobile phone vendor for the first time ever, capturing a record 34 percent market share.

That’s not number one “smartphone” vendor. That’s number one phone vendor, period. According to NPD, one of three phones shipped in the U.S. last quarter was an iPhone. NPD puts Apple at number one in the U.S. in “smartphone” sales, although Samsung has tightened that race. But keep in mind that Samsung’s line of “smartphone” includes a lot of low-end junk, not just high-end Galaxy and Note units.

In terms of usage, Net Marketshare still has iOS with a massive mobile web browser share lead over Android. None of these numbers square with the “something has clearly gone wrong at Apple” belief.

Nokia Reviews the Nokia Lumia 620 ★

They like it.