'Freemium' iPhone Apps Growing as Successful Business Model

Thursday November 11, 2010 10:21 AM EST; Category: iPhone
Written by Eric Slivka

GigaOM takes a look at so-called "freemium" iPhone apps: applications that are free to download and offer basic functionality but generate revenue through the use of In App Purchase content. According to the report, freemium apps are becoming increasing popular with developers, who are finding it a viable business model, and the number of such apps generating sufficient revenue to rank among the top-grossing App Store titles is increasing. A look at the top-grossing iPhone apps today finds 34 of the top 100 apps are free, but make their money through in-app purchases of mostly virtual currencies as well as other premium features. Remco van den Elzen, CEO of analytics firm Distimo, said he believes in-app purchases now represent about 30 percent of all iPhone App Store revenue. "We're seeing more developers implement more in app-purchases especially with games," he said. "Freemium Apps are also picking up significantly. A lot of developers realize it's a successful model."

Another analytics firm tracking such data revealed that in January only two freemium iPhone apps ranked in the top 50 grossing apps, a number which rose to 10 by the end of October and stands at over 20 today.

The striking success of freemium iPhone apps comes even as their prevalence in the App Store remains low, with only about 1.34% of iPhone apps using the model during the third quarter of this year.

Interestingly, the freemium business model has yet to catch on with iPad applications, as none of the top 200 grossing iPad apps utilize the strategy on a platform where higher purchase prices for applications are the norm.

As the report notes, iPhone developers are learning how to offer a solid app experience for their free versions while also pushing attractive upgrade options via In App Purchase, finding that the strategy can be more lucrative than offering ads in their applications and attract a more loyal base of customers.

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Apple's New MacBook Air Tops 'Consumer Reports' Ratings

Wednesday November 10, 2010 02:17 PM EST
Written by Eric Slivka

The Loop reports that popular ratings and reviews magazine Consumer Reports has released its latest ratings of notebook computers, and Apple's new 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air models have topped their respective categories.

The 11-inch MacBook Air scored 67 points out of a possible 100, easily outdistancing the second-place Toshiba Satellite and its 51-point score. The 11-inch model received a "very good" rating for ergonomics and display, a "good" rating for performance and "fair" ratings for versatility and speakers. Consumer Reports also found the MacBook Air had battery life of 6.25 hours. The Toshiba's battery life came in at 5.5 hours of battery life.

The 13-inch model faced stiffer competition, but still managed to finish on top of its category with a score of 78, two points better than the Toshiba Portege. The 13-inch MacBook Air scored "very good" for performance, ergonomics, and display. It also scored "good" for speakers, "fair" for versatility and had 7.5 hours of battery life.

Despite some reports of display issues with the new MacBook Air, the notebook does seem to be proving relatively popular, generating significant buzz and demand appearing to force Apple to bump shipping estimates for the entry-level 11-inch model slightly to 1-3 business days.

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Apple Debuts New Apple TV and iTunes Movie Content in Japan

Wednesday November 10, 2010 08:55 PM EST
Written by Eric Slivka

Apple today announced the launch of iTunes Store movie rentals and sales in Japan, offering over 1,000 movies in the initial catalog. Apple today announced that movies are now available on the iTunes Store in Japan giving customers an incredible way to enjoy movies on their iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC, or with the new Apple TV on their HD TV. Starting today, there are over 1,000 movies to rent or buy in high definition and standard definition from major international film studios including 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, The Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros. Pictures, Universal Pictures and top Japanese studios including Asmik Ace Entertainment Inc., Fuji TV, Kadakowa Pictures, Nikkatsu, Shochiku Company Limited and Toei Company Limited.

Customers renting movies through the iTunes Store have up to 30 days to begin watching their rented content and 48 hours to finish once they have begun viewing it.

The company also announced that the new Apple TV began shipping in Japan this week, offering customers there an additional means to access the iTunes Store video content and other offerings.

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Apple and Oracle Announce Plans for OpenJDK Java Implementation

Friday November 12, 2010 09:29 AM EST
Written by Eric Slivka

Apple and Oracle today announced a partnership to bring Oracle's OpenJDK project, and thus a Java SE 7 implementation, to Mac OS X. Oracle and Apple today announced the OpenJDK project for Mac OS X. Apple will contribute most of the key components, tools and technology required for a Java SE 7 implementation on Mac OS X, including a 32-bit and 64-bit HotSpot-based Java virtual machine, class libraries, a networking stack and the foundation for a new graphical client. OpenJDK will make Apple's Java technology available to open source developers so they can access and contribute to the effort.

Apple also noted that it will continue to support the current Java SE 6 on Mac OS X Snow Leopard and Lion. "We are excited to welcome Apple as a significant contributor in the growing OpenJDK community," said Hasan Rizvi, Oracle's senior vice president of Development. "The availability of Java on Mac OS X plays a key role in the cross-platform promise of the Java platform. The Java developer community can rest assured that the leading edge Java environment will continue to be available on Mac OS X in the future. Combined with last month's announcement of IBM joining the OpenJDK, the project now has the backing of three of the biggest names in software."

Apple made waves last month with the revelation that is planning to deprecate its own line of custom-ported Java packages, sparking fears of a complete discontinuation of support for the platform. In an email response to a customer's question, Apple CEO Steve Jobs reportedly noted that Apple's Java version was always a step behind the latest version from Sun/Oracle and that the status quo "may not be the best way to do it."

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AirPlay Functionality Apparently Removed From iPhone 3G

Friday November 12, 2010 12:18 PM EST; Category: iPhone
Written by Eric Slivka

9 to 5 Mac reports that iPhone 3G owners have been struck with yet another blow, this time with the apparent removal of AirPlay functionality in the golden master version of iOS 4.2. The feature had been functional on the iPhone 3G in earlier developer builds, but appears to have been removed in the homestretch. After speaking to multiple developers and users testing out the iOS 4.2 betas, we have determined that AirPlay did in fact work on the iPhone 3G at one point, meaning the AirPlay functionality was definitely removed from Apple's two-year-old iPhone at its GM stage.

The report notes that Apple's product page for the Apple TV claims that AirPlay functionality is coming on "all iOS 4 devices", but the company has apparently changed its mind about iPhone 3G compatibility for unknown reasons.
The change is not the first to see the iPhone 3G lose access to a feature that had been enabled in the development process. Early developer builds of iOS 4.1 offered access to Game Center functionality for all iOS 4-compatible devices, but Apple later disabled the feature for the iPhone 3G and second-generation iPod touch before finally restoring compatibility for the second-generation iPod touch but leaving it out of the public release for the iPhone 3G.

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Verizon Wireless Offers iPad at Stores Nationwide on October 28

BASKING RIDGE, New Jersey and CUPERTINO, California—October 14, 2010—Verizon Wireless and Apple® today announced that iPad™ will be available at over 2,000 Verizon Wireless Stores nationwide beginning Thursday, October 28. Verizon Wireless will offer three bundles, all featuring an iPad Wi-Fi model and a Verizon MiFi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot, for a suggested retail price of $629.99 for iPad Wi-Fi 16GB + MiFi, $729.99 for iPad Wi-Fi 32GB + MiFi and $829.99 for iPad Wi-Fi 64GB + MiFi. Verizon Wireless is offering a monthly access plan to iPad customers of up to 1GB of data for just $20 a month. In addition, Verizon Wireless will also offer all three iPad Wi-Fi models on a stand-alone basis.

“This is the perfect pairing for holiday travels,” said John Stratton, chief operating officer for Verizon Wireless. “iPad together with the nation’s largest and most reliable 3G data network allows customers to easily connect on the go wherever they are.”

“We’re thrilled to be working with Verizon Wireless to get iPad into the hands of even more customers this holiday season,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s COO. “iPad allows users to connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before, and together with Verizon Wireless we’re offering an easy way to stay connected wherever you go.”

iPad allows users to browse the web, read and send email, enjoy and share photos, watch HD videos, listen to music, play games, read ebooks and much more, all using iPad’s revolutionary Multi-Touch™ user interface. iPad Wi-Fi models are just 0.5 inches thick and weigh just 1.5 pounds—thinner and lighter than any laptop or netbook—and deliver up to 10 hours of battery life.*

Apple’s App Store? offers iPad users access to the world’s largest catalog of apps with over 280,000 apps and more than 30,000 iPad specific apps in 20 categories, including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel. With Apple’s iBookstore?, the best way to browse, buy and read books on a mobile device, iPad users have access to more than 100,000 books from major and independent publishers.

MiFi 2200 is small enough to fit in a pocket and allows customers to create a personal Wi-Fi cloud capable of sharing the high-speed Internet connectivity of the Verizon Wireless 3G Mobile Broadband network with up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices. The MiFi 2200’s rechargeable battery provides up to four hours of active use and 40 hours of standby time on a single charge.

Customers can sign up for more information on Apple’s iPad together with Verizon Wireless’ MiFi 2200 at www.verizonwireless.com/iPad, at any Verizon Wireless Communications Store or by calling 1-800-2 JOIN IN.

*Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary.

Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s most reliable and largest wireless voice and 3G data network, serving more than 92 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 79,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD). For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple is reinventing the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

Press Contacts:
Brenda Boyd Raney
Verizon Wireless
brenda.raney@VerizonWireless.com
(908) 559-7518

Trudy Muller
Apple
tmuller@apple.com
(408) 862-7426

NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit Apple’s PR website, or call Apple's Media Helpline at (408) 974-2042.

Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, iPad, Multi-Touch, App Store and iBookstore are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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Apple Gives Sneak Peek of Mac OS X Lion

We took our best thinking from Mac OS X and brought it to the iPhone. Then we took our best thinking from the iPhone and brought it to iPad. And now we’re bringing it all back to the Mac with our eighth major release of the world’s most advanced operating system. Mac OS X Lion arrives in summer 2011. Here’s a sneak peek at just a few of its features.

Introducing the best place to discover and buy new apps made just for Mac, right on a Mac. Just like shopping the App Store on iPad, the Mac App Store offers endless possibilities to browse and purchase apps. And it simplifies the way you install apps on the Mac. Just click once, and your new app is downloaded, installed, and ready to go. Learn more about the Mac App Store

The Launchpad gives you instant access to your apps — iPad style. Just click the Launchpad icon in your Dock. Your open windows fade away, replaced by an elegant, full-screen display of all the apps on your Mac. It takes just a swipe to see multiple pages of apps, and you can arrange apps any way you like by dragging an app icon to a new location or by grouping apps in folders. Downloaded an app from the App Store? Your new app automatically appears on the Launchpad, ready to blast off.

On iPad, every app is displayed full screen, with no distractions, and there’s one easy way to get back to all your other apps. Mac OS X Lion does the same for your desktop. You can bring an app to full screen with one click, switch to another full-screen app with a swipe of the trackpad, and swipe back to the desktop to access your multi-window apps. And systemwide support for full-screen apps makes them bigger and more immersive. So you can concentrate on every detail of your work, or play on a grander scale than ever before.

Mission Control is a powerful and handy new feature that provides you with a comprehensive view of what’s running on your Mac. It gives you a bird’s-eye view of everything — including Exposé, Spaces, Dashboard, and full-screen apps— all in one place. With a simple swipe gesture, your desktop zooms out to Mission Control. There you can see your open windows grouped by app, thumbnails of your full-screen apps, Dashboard, and even other Spaces, arranged in a unified view. And you can get to anything you see on Mission Control with just one click. Making you the master of all you survey.

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