Yesterday I posted a link to a story about Microsoft actively developing Office for iPad.
Some people believe that Microsoft won’t do this. David Sparks lists [two great reasons][] why Microsoft should.
A friend of mine suggested that Apple won’t approve the app if Microsoft submits it to the app store. To that argument I have one great reason why Apple will approve the app: Apple will collect 30% of the revenues. Nothing would make Apple happier.
The iPhone is one of the best tool on my accountant’s tool belt. Since picking up the fist generation iPhone back in 2007, there isn’t a day that goes by where my trusty iPhone has helped me through the work day.
Yesterday Apple announced the release if it’s lastest iPhone, the 4S. For those of us who have the iPhone 4, it may be a hard decision to jump on the upgrade bandwagon to the 4S, especially if we have to pay full retail due to contract timing.
But, for those of you who have been holding off purchasing an iPhone or a smartphone, Apple didn’t leave you a way out given that you can buy last year’s model, iPhone 4 for a mere $99. Furthermore, the iPhone 3GS is free win a new contract (AT&T only).
If you are going to work a smartphone into your workflow, the iPhone is the better choice than Android. Aside from the better user experience, the number of quality apps available on iPhone is light years ahead of Android.
If you are not completely sold then go for the free iPhone. You really don’t have anything to lose.
For those of who use Macs and like the Apple’s wireless keyboard, but miss the keypad1, a solution may be here. Get yourself Magic Numpad.
Numpad is basically Apple’s Magic Trackpad with a clear film overlay that has numbered keys. It comes in three lay outs:
Numpad’s software turns the Trackpad into a number pad. I haven’t tried it, but I have tried ten-keying on my iPad using Digits, a calculator app with a ten-key layout. That’s not easy to do.
(via 52 Tiger)
It never made sense to me why Apple doesn’t make a version of this keyboard with a number pad. It can’t be a limitation in technology. ↩
If indeed he has built Apple sufficiently well to last then he has built an admirable process and not just a product. But this would not be a unique achievement. There have been other companies which preserved their founders’ cultural imprints, at least for significant periods beyond their departure. Consider that Disney, Ford and even HP and IBM remained successful for many years after the departure of their founders operating much the same way. They were infused with an indelible culture and preserved it for some time.
Apple Inc. is Job’s ultimate product.
Regardless of who runs the company, this is what Apple believes in as explained by Tim Cook in a 2009 earnings call:
There is an extraordinary breadth and depth and tenure among the Apple executive team. And these executives lead over 35,000 employees that I would call all “wicked smart.” And that’s in all areas of the company, from engineering, to marketing, to operations, sales, and all the rest.
And the values of our company are extremely well-entrenched. You know, we believe we’re on the face of the Earth to make great products, and that’s not changing. We’re constantly focusing on innovating. We believe in the simple, not the complex. We believe that we need to own and control the primary technologies behind the products that we make, and participate only in markets where we can make a significant contribution. We believe in saying no to thousands of projects, so that we can really focus on the few that are truly important and meaningful to us. We believe in deep collaboration and cross-pollinization of our groups, which allows us to innovate in a way others cannot. And frankly, we don’t settle for anything less than excellence in every group in the company, and we have the self-honesty to admit where we’re wrong, and the courage to change.
And I think regardless of who is in what job, those values are so embedded in this company that Apple will do extremely well.
(via Macworld)
Wow.
(via TechCrunch)
From the Wall Street Journal:
The trove of 6,000 patents cover key swaths of the high-tech world, including Wi-Fi, social networking and a fourth-generation wireless technology now being deployed called LTE.
Any company in the mobile phone space with the cash to bid in the auction for Notel’s patent would be nuts not to bid. Apple with nearly $70 billion in cash could easily win.
As I mentioned in a previous post, Apple’s use of iPad in its stores to sell product will be copied by other retailers. This May 11, 2011 Seattle Times story talks about Nordstrom doing just that, but with iPod Touches.
Taking a cue from Apple, Nordstrom also announced plans to put about 5,000 mobile checkout devices into workers’ hands at 116 full-line clothing stores by the start of its Anniversary Sale in July.
President Blake Nordstrom said salespeople will use the Internet-connected devices to hunt for out-of-stock merchandise or complete credit-card transactions without making customers wait in line for a cash register.
This story ran before Apple implemented the iPad. I’m sure it won’t be long before Nordstrom switches.
The fastest way to send your vCard on iPhone, iPad, and iPodTouch.
