Tag Archives: Apple

Idea To iPhone: The Essential Guide To Creating Your First App For iPhone and iPad

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Idea To iPhone- The Essential Guide To Creating Your First App For iPhone and iPadApps are big business and the media is full of stories of app millionaires. The internet has made becoming rich easier than ever, or has it? How easy is it to make an app? Or more importantly, how easy is it to sell it?

17-year-old Nick D’Aloisio hit the headlines by selling his app, Summly, to Yahoo for an estimated £18m, making him a tech superstar. But what about the rest of us who are not teenage whiz kids? I reviewed new book, Idea to iPhone to find out. Read on….

Idea to iPhone: The Essential Guide To Creating Your First App For iPhone and iPad by Carla White talks you through building an app from idea to iPhone, iPad, iPad mini or iPod Touch. Chapter 1 kicks off with your app adventure. It lists the excuses you may have not to make an app and dismantles them. I immediately liked this book when I was flicking through it for the first time. It is 294 pages of hard to find knowledge that you would not get anywhere else. Well, maybe if you trawled the internet for days, but even then I am not sure.

The graphs and pictures are great. The book is easy to understand anyway, but they add to the information getting into your brain. I learned that making an app is not as hard as you think and nor is it as expensive.

The other great information in this book is on Apple. How to grab their attention and how to work with them. Carla goes through everything you need to know about working with Apple and how iTunes can help or hurt sales. For instance, did you know that Apple take a 30% cut? They also pay you once a month after a four-week delay. There is also a step-by-step guide on becoming an Apple developer. Each chapter ends with a handy table of key points.

Chapter 2 is Shaping Ideas into Apps People Want. An essential chapter as there is no point in making apps that no one wants. This brilliant chapter lets you know how to find your audience. It also tells you how to integrate your app with Facebook and which device will be right for you.

Another thing I liked about the book is the quotes doted throughout. Perfect for inspiration.

Teaching you about finding an audience and building an app is one thing but marketing is also paramount. This book also covers that. You don’t need to hire an expensive PR company (at least not at first) you just need some hard work and imagination. There is also a checklist on building a press kit and information on how people scan iTunes. Essential for marketing your app.

It also has tips on finding a great designer, or designing yourself. And also a lot of information on finding and working with a developer. Tech tips on Xcode are also incredibly useful.

Further tips on making a profit, keeping track of money and getting the press interested make this book essential for anyone who wants to create their own app and become successful.

Idea to IPhone: The Essential Guide to Creating Your First App for the IPhone and IPad

 

Top Apple Products For Christmas

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No 1: iPhone 5

The iPhone 5 is slick and beautiful. Slimmer and faster than it’s predecessor. When it came out people queued around the block, and no wonder, it has a bigger 4 inch retina screen, faster wireless and a powerful A6 chip. In fact Time Magazine named it the best gadget of the year.  It is twice as fast as the old iPhone, and twice as beautiful. It is the best smartphone on the market by a significant margin. Get it at the Carphone Warehouse.

No 2: iPad

I love my iPad. In fact, I am writing this blog post on my iPad. It is intuitive and knows what I want before I even know. Everyone I know who has gotten an iPad has no idea how they lived without it.

 

 

No 3: iPad Mini

Like an iPad but smaller and more portable. If you want to join in the iPad fun but want something a bit cheaper and smaller, this is for you.

No 4: iMac

If you need a new computer, Apple’s new iMac is just perfect technology. This is Apple’s most advanced desktop ever, and it is incredibly thin, 5mm at the edge. It is 75% less reflection than the last model. I even saw a picture of someone in Starbucks with an iMac. Funny, but it also lets you know how light it is.

No 5: iPod Nano or Touch.

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I usually have an iPod shuffle, but I lost mine (sob) and got an iPod Nano for my Christmas. While my brother has an iPod Touch. The iPod Nano also has an FM radio, a new design, and is smaller than a credit card. It also has a pedometer built in and the Bluetooth lets you connect to the headphones and the heart monitor. Sigh.

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Apple iPad 3 and iPad 4 Anger Latest – Exclusive – Apples Major Blunder and What You Need to Do to Upgrade

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As you probably know, along with launching the iPad mini yesterday, Apple also launched a major update to the iPad 3. Understandably, many people who just bought an iPad 3 are very upset that there product is immediately and unexpectedly out of date. See our full earlier article here for more.

At the moment the situation is unclear. There are reports that one Apple shop will give you a free upgrade if you bought the iPad 3 less than 30 days ago. This represents an extension to the standard 14 day return policy. However you’re still not going to be happy if you bought it 31,32 days ago etc. days ago.Today we tried to get to the bottom of the matter.

Our Findings

We bought an iPad 3 in early October (Outside the 14 day but inside the 30 day policy). We first called the Apple care centre. They told us it was a false rumour that there was a new iPad and that we were not entitled to a refund or an upgrade. This was  frustrating and irritating to say the least. However we had more success when we called the store where we’d bought the iPad from. They told us that if we returned the iPad to the store within thirty days of our purchase they would be happy to refund us.

So that’s what we did. We went into the store and explained the situation. The staff were helpful and friendly as always but initially reluctant. In fact we had to be pretty insistent (and point out that we’d already been offered a refund on the phone) before they  offered us a refund. There was no way to pre-order or upgrade we could only get a refund. The member of staff said to us, ‘We don’t really have a clear policy and we’re not sure what’s happening at the moment’. So we got our refund.

What You Need to Do

You need to call the store where you bought it and insist on an upgrade/refund. If your iPad was bought longer than 30 days ago you may struggle. I would try and call the store first, get the name of the person you spoke to and then go into the store in person. Try and not put this off as you don’t want to go over the thirty day period.

What is going on?

Apple’s management has really screwed up on this one. Apple should have predicted this before the launch and certainly should have had a clear policy in place by today. What’s obvious is that no one has any idea what’s going on and store managers seem to have been left to fend for themselves. This is a PR disaster.

Apple may be trying to ignore this and hope it goes away. In my opinion that’s a very poor strategy. They fear a mass recall of iPad 3s. Going by recent sales, 5 million iPad 3s might be eligible for a recall within the 30 day period. That’s a lot of iPads for a product which is no longer supposed to sold. It would be a big problem but Apple needs to bite the bullet on this one. At the moment a lot of people are upset and they risk doing lasting damage to the brand.

What’s clear is they didn’t plan for this. What a terrible strategy to offer us a refund and not an upgrade. We might take that money and spend it elsewhere (such is the strength of the product we won’t). There should have been a clear way to upgrade.

This incident raises serious questions about Apples strategy and its management. Where is the leadership?

Apple’s iPad 4 has Caused it a Huge Headache as Angry iPad 3 Owners Demand Justice

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Update – Our Investigation and What You Need to Do to Upgrade.

Apple just caused itself a huge unnecessary headache by bringing out the iPad 4. It’s not really a complete new iPad but more of a minor upgrade to the iPad 3.

The new iPad features a new A6 chip which Apple claims is twice as fast as the old A5. It also has twice as fast wi-fi, LTE connectivity and the new lightening connector charger which also charges the new iPhone and iPods. All of this is at the same $499 price.

The trouble is these are actually really significant differences and everyone who just bought an iPad 3 is extremely and understandably upset. As one person on twitter said the new iPad 4 chip will be powered by the tears of iPad 3 owners. In the end though consumers may actually be the ones to benefit. There are already reports that one Apple shop will give you a free upgrade if you bought the iPad3 less than 30 days ago. And if one Apple store is, it’s pretty certain they all will. However you’re still not going to be happy if you bought it 31,32 etc days ago.

My guess is that millions of iPads could be exchanged and this could end up damaging Apples brand and costing them a fortune.

My questions, why did Apple do this? Has it planned for the consequences? Where on earth does this leave the iPad 2? What happens to all the returned iPad 3s?

Part of the reason Apple has done this, is that it fears the new iPad mini will start cannibalising sales of the larger iPad. If this happens it could significantly cut into Apples margins. They felt they had to offer something extra to encourage people to spend the extra money and go for the larger version.

Of course the other reason is that this keeps Apple even further ahead of the competition. But has it planned for the upset iPad 3 owners? My guess is no, because the lack of clarity and the strange inconsistent messages we’re getting from Apple stores. If that’s the case it’s a big mistake and Apple has made a huge strategic error. But Apple must have planned for the large number of iPad3’s, it must have sitting in its inventory at the moment, which are now obsolete.  So what happens to them all.

The trouble is the iPad 3 is too similar to the iPad 4 to conveniently drop it into a lower price category. That would hurt margins and only upset iPad 3 buyers even more. Moreover this would also kill the iPad 2 and then its price would have to be dropped as well. So how does Apple offload the iPad 3? Could they be sent back to the factory and upgraded cheaply? If that’s the case the situation might not be to bad. The next few days will tell us a lot more.

Apple store iPad comparison

The iPad 2 pricing is also messed up in my mind. The iPad 2 now seems very expensive when it is only $100 more for an iPad4.

Apples share price is down 3% today. This is largely because it slipped out during the presentation that Apple had only sold 15 million iPads in the fourth quarter as opposed to the 18 million expected by analysts. But a better reason in my mind is the confusion between the iPad 4 and iPad 3. What a bizzare situation. Apple has damaged itself by releasing a better product at the same price.

Despite all this I felt the presentation was impressive. It is amazing how many new things Apple has announced in the last two months. The new 5mm iMac was particularly incredible, more impressive than the mini iPad in my opinion.

 

 

 

Apple Could Trump Microsoft Surface Tablet with iPad Mini Launch on 23rd October

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Rumours are swirling around the launch of Apples iPad Mini. It had been thought that invitations would go out on the 10th October in preparation for an October 17th launch.

But the 10th has come and gone without a word from Apple leaving many confused. It has been speculated that Apples recent production problems may force them to push the iPad Mini launch back after Christmas. However tech site AllThingsD is now claiming its sources are telling them the iPad Mini will be launched on Oct. 23.

That would be just three days before the scheduled date for Microsoft’s Surface Tablet launch and more importantly Windows 8. The new Windows 8 operating system is designed to work on computers, tablets and phones. The launch is extremely important for Microsoft, as it tries to catch up with the popular IOS and Android operating systems.

The timing of the iPad launch on the 23rd, if it is true, could trump the Surface tablet and disrupt Microsoft’s plans. With the inevitable hype around any Apple product, the Surface tablet and Windows 8 could risk being lost in the storm.

In contrast to the iPhone 5 details about the new iPad Mini have been hard to come by prior to launch. Sources suggest a 7.85-inch liquid-crystal display and a lightning connector. A location for the launch remains a mystery but AllThingsD predicts its will be Apple’s Town Hall Auditorium.

 

Unlock iPhone 4 and 4S cash value for the new iPhone 5

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Mazuma Mobile, the UK’s leading mobile phone recycler has released the current prices consumers can expect to get for their current iPhone handsets as Apple make iPhone 5 announcements. Mazuma expects to see high volumes of the iPhone 4 & 4s to be sent to them as soon as Apple announce the release of its latest handset mirroring the 2011 4S launch. Mazuma recycle over 20,000 handsets per week, with iPhone launches representing the biggest spikes in consumers wanting to unlock the cash value stored in their current handsets.

Charlo Carabott UK MD says: Generally speaking, we expect very high volumes of iPhone 4 and 4S to be recycled worldwide once the iPhone 5 is available. More so than any other iPhone release, simply for the reason that Apple sold more iPhone 4 and 4S than previous models and the iPhone 5 has been long awaited. For consumers wanting to maximise the return they get, we would recommend getting their handsets in early!”

Currently Consumers can get the following prices from Mazuma Mobile for their current iPhones:

·     iPhone 4 8GB- £145
·     iPhone 4 16GB- £150
·     iPhone 4 32GB- £155
·     iPhone 4s 16GB- £250
·     iPhone 4s 32GB- £275
·     iPhone 4s 64GB- £300

*Prices correct at going to press

 

 

Mazuma is committed to safely and efficiently recycling old mobile phones, mainly through reuse. Mazuma’s reconditioned mobile phones are sent for reuse to a number of developing countries where there is a demand for used phone handsets.

www.mazumamobile.com

Apple Bring Out New Macbook Line

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Apple are bringing out a new range of Macbook computers months before competing devices with Microsoft come out.

Apple have added faster chips and sharper displays. The thinner, lighter Macbook Pro computers have high definition screens. The Macbook Pro will have seven hours of battery life and up to 768 gigabytes of flash memory.

Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook revealed the new range at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference, which began today. Apple also announced a new version of it’s mobile software iOS 6, which includes new features for the voice-activated Siri service.

Last year’s event was hosted by Steve Jobs before he died in October. Jobs introduced Apple’s iCloud service.

This conference, which lasts from June 11-15, will allow CEO Tim Cook to reveal his vision for Apple.

Gwyneth Paltrow chooses crack over canned food

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Gwyneth Paltrow chooses crack over canned food

Gwyneth Paltrow would rather “smoke crack” than eat unhealthy food.

The 38-year-old actress is well known for her unusual dietary habits, previously being on the extremely strict macrobiotic eating plans, she revealed she was not a fan of tinned snacks.

She said: “I’d rather smoke crack than eat cheese from a can.”

The ‘Iron Man’ star – who has her own cook book ‘My Father’s Daughter…’ – also revealed she wouldn’t take her kids to fast food restaurant McDonalds, but may find it difficult if they knew about the toys that come with some meals.

Gwyneth – who has two children, daughter Apple, seven, and son Moses, five, with her husband, Coldplay singer Chris Martin – added: “I take them to Pizza Express because I think that’s much healthier. Don’t tell them there are toys!”

However, not all of her habits are so positive, and she admits drinking wine is a favourite past time of hers.

She added: “I drink wine constantly while I’m cooking. Wine, either colour.”

Despite not being a fan of calorific treats from a can, Gwyneth has previously revealed she loves “well-made” cheese, and prefers it to chocolate.

She said: “OK, it may not be the healthiest of indulgences, but cheese, really beautiful, well-made cheese, has to be one of the best things on the planet. Give me a slice of Camembert over chocolate cake any day.”