Computer Interface
(This is the concluding part of this write-up. It has been
continued from previous month’s Journal)
Other recent developments in the mobile ecosystem :
iPhone 4’s antennae problem. Apple Inc received a lot of bad
press this month. There were several customer complaints about the design of its
phone antennae.
Some complained that the smart phones, which were launched a week ago with
block-buster sales, when cupped in a way that covers the lower left corner,
strangles telecom service signal strength.
Apple Inc, had to (publicly) accept that its iPhones
overstate wireless network signal strength. Apple apologised to customers in an
open letter and said it was “stunned to find that the formula” it uses to
calculate network strength “is totally wrong” and that the error has existed
since its first iPhone. The letter also said that “Users observing a drop of
several bars when they grip their iPhone in a certain way are most likely in an
area with very weak signal strength, but they don’t know it because we are
erroneously displaying 4 or 5 bars,”. Apple shot down users and outside
engineers who said the signal problems were due to faults in its new antenna
system. The antenna is incorporated in the casing. The company stated that “big
drop in bars is because their high bars were never real in the first place”.
Further adding that when users were noticing a dramatic drop in the number of
signal strength bars on their phone’s display, it was likely due to weak network
coverage in that area.
The company said the incorrect formula was present in the
original iPhone — released in 2007 — and promised to fix it by conforming to
AT&T guidelines for signal strength display through a free software patch that
would be issued within a few weeks. The software update will also be available
for the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G. Apple maintained the iPhone 4’s wireless
performance remains “the best we have ever shipped.” It also reminded user
they could return their smart phones within 30 days of purchase for a full
refund.
A direct result of this issue is that
- a suit has been filed against Apple for the poor reception.
- Another class action suit has been admitted on the issue of restrictive
trade practice—Apple and AT&T’s marketing tie-up.
- A major (reputed) consumer goods publication in the US refrained from
giving iPhone 4 the much coveted ‘Buy’ recommendation.
- A senior member of the team (directly) responsible for the antenna has put
in his papers. Its being called Applegate’s first casualty.
An indirect consequence of this issue is that
- Apple has “earned” the dubious tag #fail on twitter.
- Sales of Android phones are picking up.
As per latest reports, they are higher than iPhone 4.
Microsoft discontinues Kin after 48 days. Just 48 days
after Microsoft began selling the Kin, a smart phone for the younger set, the
company discontinued it because of disappointing sales. The swift turnabout for
the Kin, which Microsoft took two years to develop and whose release was backed
with a hefty ad budget, is the latest sign of disarray for Microsoft’s recently
reorganised consumer product unit. While neither Microsoft nor Verizon Wireless,
which sold the phone exclusively, disclosed the sales figures, media reports
suggest that sales were disappointing. In fact, Verizon is said to have slashed
the prices of the phones to $50 from $200 for the higher-end model and to $30
from $150 for a stripped-down version. Microsoft said it would cancel the
pending release of the Kin in Europe and would work with Verizon Wireless to
sell existing inventories. Microsoft indicated that it would shift employees who
worked on the Kin to the team in charge of Windows Phone 7, a coming revision of
Microsoft’s operating system for smart phones, which is due in the fall.
Kin, according to the grapevine, was dubbed an absolute
failure. It surprised many that Microsoft, often regarded as a company known to
sticking with new products and improving them over time, killed a product so
quickly. Microsoft’s consumer products unit has been struggling to offer a
credible competitor to other Apple products. It has chased the iPod with its
Zune for several years with little effect. Apple’s iPhone, as well as an array
of smart phones powered by Google’s Android software, are more recent
challenges. Microsoft also recently cancelled a project to develop a tablet
computer that would compete with Apple’s popular iPad.
IBM endorses Firefox as in-house web browser.
New York State-based IBM, known by the nickname “Big Blue,”
has a corporate history dating back a century and now reportedly has nearly
400,000 workers. Firefox is the second most popular web browser in an
increasingly competitive market dominated by Internet Explorer software by
Microsoft. Despite this fact, technology giant IBM wants its workers around the
world to use free, open-source Mozilla Firefox as their window into the
Internet. All new computers for IBM employees will have Firefox installed and
the global company “will continue to strongly encourage our vendors who have
browser-based software to fully support Firefox”.
Making Firefox the default browser means that workers’
computers will automatically use that software to access the Internet unless
commanded to do differently. Rumour has it, that going forward, any employee who
is not using Firefox will be strongly encouraged to use it as their default
browser. The feeling with the management is that while other browsers have come
and gone, Firefox is now the gold standard for what an open, secure, and
standards-compliant browser should be. Open-source software is essentially
treated as public property, with improvements made by any shared with all.
While Firefox is the second most popular web browser, Google Chrome has been steadily gaining market share. Last week, it replaced Apple Safari as the third most popular web browser in the United States. The take away from this is that we will continue to see this or that the browser become faster or introduce new features, but then another will come along and be better still, including Firefox.
At the cost of repeating myself …. (refer to BCAJ Jan 2010 issue) the survival in the new mobile ecosystem is going to be really very tough. The losses listed in this battlefield as of now :
- Kin — Microsoft’s smart phone
- Google is planning to hang up on Nexus 1 and plans to shelve Wave
- Nokia is looking for a new CEO
- Applegate’s first casualty
- Blackberry is battling shrinking market share (losing to iPhone and Android phones) and is trying to crawl back in to the limelight has recently launched Blackberry Torch.
The hunter is now the hunted.
C’est la vie.
