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Survey: iPad is Kindle Fire-proof
A site called SodaHead.com, which calls itself an "opinion based community," says that consumers it's polled about the recently announced Kindle Fire tablet from Amazon don't think Apple's iPad has much to worry about. One of the site's recent polls has 61 percent of the audience saying the iPad will stay up on top as the tablet of choice. As SodaHead goes up the income scale, that opinion only gets stronger -- a whopping 94 percent of consumers who say they make more than $100,000 a year say the iPad will stay king. That's not too surprising, especially since Apple has always aimed for a higher price point anyway. When you get back into the middle income range, SodaHead says things are much more split: in the income range of $25k to $100k per year (which is where the majority of the US sits), only 54 percent of the audience covets an iPad, with a more reasonable 46 percent aiming to give the Fire a try. The Fire's price does make it more intriguing to people who might not want to invest in an iPad. But Apple's tablet is already a runaway success, and if the Fire does provide a little competitive demand (or maybe even some features that push Apple towards even more innovation), then that's probably a good thing for all of us consumers.
Survey: 41% of smartphone users set to buy iPhone 5
Ad network InMobi has been asking its customers what they think of the rumored upcoming iPhone 5 (purportedly to be announced at the event in Cupertino next week), and as you might imagine, the response is overwhelmingly positive: 41% of current mobile customers in North America say that yes, they're planning to buy an iPhone 5. That's even before the phone's features or specs are officially announced, and again, that's all mobile users in the US, Mexico and Canada. 50% of those planning to buy the phone say they'll do it in the first six months. Now, as any sales exec will tell you, intent doesn't actually equal action, so there's no guarantee that these people will actually buy the phone. But demand, it's safe to say, is high. Those numbers drop off a bit if you start talking about a possible "iPhone 4GS", however. Fewer than 15% of customers say they'll go after a revised version of the iPhone, rather than an actual numbered iteration. We just don't know what Apple's planning -- there was no 5, or 4, or 4GS included in the official announcement at all. But it's clear the public is more interested in a brand new phone rather than a faster version of what we've already got. And finally, the most troubling numbers here are for the iPhone's competitors: 52% of current Blackberry users and 27% of Android users are planning to jump to an iPhone 5, and even if it's a 4GS, 28% of Blackberry users still plan to switch over. Apple's certainly got users drooling for a new iPhone -- we'll have to see what they unveil next week. [via 9to5Mac]
Enter at Your Own Rift: Happy half-birthday, RIFT!
It's hard to believe -- but amazing nevertheless -- that RIFT is almost a half-year old. Six months ago, hundreds of thousands of gamers rushed through the gates to become the first to explore Telara, included me, and we were introduced to what's become one of the most dominating MMOs of the year. Following this smooth release (and it was smooth), Trion Worlds set a remarkable standard for itself by pumping out meaty content updates at a steady, rapid pace and marketing RIFT out the wazoo. We've already witnessed two live events, numerous subscription specials, the addition of a ginormous raid, and my not having hit 50 yet -- to my eternal embarrassment. Of course, there have been bumps in the road as well: a lackluster initial world event, a segment of disgruntled players and opponents, and the looming specter of several heavy-hitting MMOs waiting in the wings. But for right here and right now, this is Trion's time, and the company is taking advantage of this half-year milestone to light the fireworks and lay out the good china in celebration. We got on the phone with Scott Hartsman and his Justice League to talk about what the studio has up its sleeves for this event -- and what's next for this rapidly expanding title.
T-Mobile loses 50,000 customers in Q2 2011, revenue dips slightly
T-Mobile USA issued its Q2 earnings statement today and, while the outlook isn't quite as bleak as it was during the first quarter of this year, there's still some cause for concern up in Bellevue. According to the report, the carrier lost a total of 50,000 customers last quarter, which is actually an encouraging sign, considering it dropped a whopping 99,000 during Q1, and 93,000 during the second quarter of 2010. Total revenues, however, dipped slightly to $5.1 billion from the $5.2 billion reported for the previous quarter, with service revenues holding firm at $4.6 billion -- a 1.7 percent decrease from Q2 2010. President and CEO Philipp Humm blamed the numbers on a "challenging market," but was quick to point out the brighter aspects of T-Mobile's statement, including the carrier's expanded 4G coverage, and the fact that a full 29 percent of its customers are using 3G or 4G smartphones -- an "all-time high." Skip past the break for more numbers and acronyms.
Temkin Group study finds satisfied Mac users
Apple has topped the charts in another customer satisfaction survey, this time from the Temkin Group. That company studied 842 recent PC buyers, and found that Apple won across all of five categories versus PC brands like Dell and HP. From information pre-purchase to setup, customer service and overall satisfaction with the computer in general, Apple led the way, as you can see in the chart above. The largest difference in the two types of computers was in the area of customer service, where Apple shined with over ten percentage points more than its competitors. Buying a computer directly from a manufacturer scored high across the board, and of course Apple is the king of those sales. And perhaps most telling, Temkin found that Apple's high scores were transmitted by word of mouth quite a bit -- when people have a good experience with an Apple computer, they tend to tell their friends and family much more than other brands. That's indicative, we'd suppose, of both Apple's quality, and the power of its brand in general.
Some early-bird Verizon iPad 2 customers still waiting for shipments
Several Verizon customers who tried to order an iPad 2 directly through the telco giant are still awaiting their shipments. Considering the worldwide shortage of iPad 2 units, that might not sound like a big deal at first, ... until you hear the second half; many of these customers ordered the iPad 2 on its first day of availability and still haven't received one. According to the rather lengthy forum thread linked above, these Verizon customers were promised either next-day or 2-3 day shipping for their iPad 2s, but more than two weeks after launch day, many of these orders still haven't shipped. This hasn't been the case for all launch-day Verizon customers, but it's become enough of a problem to gain widespread attention. Citing sources within Verizon, CrunchGear claims the shipping window from Verizon was always 2-3 weeks and has since been extended to 3-4 weeks. This is the same shipping delay as that on Apple's website. What's rankled many of these Verizon customers is not just that their orders have been delayed out much longer than they were promised, but that Verizon has charged many of these customers for their orders well in advance of those orders actually shipping. Verizon has not commented on the matter, but even if it does so, it's unlikely it'll be able to do much to fix the situation to everyone's satisfaction. Demand for the iPad 2 has vastly outstripped supply almost everywhere, so those few unfortunate Verizon customers finding themselves in this mess have little recourse, sadly.
Sprint posts best customer gains in five years
The decision to move to WiMAX instead of LTE will probably be second-guessed by pundits and investors for years to come, but regardless, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse has emerged as one of the wireless industry's great comeback kids now that he appears to be succeeding in his goal of turning the carrier's tailspin right around. The latest victory comes in the form of Sprint's fourth quarter 2010 results, which reveal its largest subscriber gain since the first and second quarters of 2006 -- yes, 2006. Total adds were 1.1 million, though net postpaid adds were only 58,000, suggesting that prepaid services are the big push right now. Additionally, Sprint reported its lowest postpaid customer churn in the fourth quarter of any year in its history at 1.86 percent. On the downside, the company's still technically in the red, reporting an operating loss of $139 million on revenues of $8.3 billion. Overall, Hesse says they've got "momentum" heading into the new year, anticipating net customer additions in 2011. Give us an EVO 4G 2, Dan, and we might just be willing to agree.
Consumer survey says iPhone owners more likely to shop online, go snowboarding
This little list of factoids from last fall's Survey of the American Consumer is pretty interesting. It runs down a few of the things that iPhone owners are more likely to do than the average American. Some of them are obvious (iPhone owners are more likely to make calls over the Internet, see their phone as entertainment, or even pay a subscription to watch live TV on the device), but did you know that iPhone owners are even more likely to own an elliptical trainer or be snowboarders? In fact, they're 282% more likely than the average American to order a product from Zappos. Maybe they just wanted to save money. At any rate, these stats are really more of a novelty. We already know that most iPhone and Apple product users tend to be male, older, and affluent; it's not surprising that pastimes and activities that also appeal to that segment are popular among iPhone owners. In the end, the most interesting stat may be the last one: iPhone owners are 52% more likely than other people to want to "wow" others with their devices. We know that iPhone owners have more money and more resources than others, but I'm interested to know more about just how vain we are and how Apple cultivates its own image to target that audience.
Disney wants to take Epic Mickey to 'Nintendo levels' on the Wii
Gamasutra got a chance to speak with the executive VP and GM of Disney Interactive Studios, Graham Hopper, who says that Disney is swinging for the stands on their future game releases. The games division is learning from "pure" gaming studios and their success, and while Hopper admits that the company hasn't always treated their properties correctly on the gaming side, starting with Disney's Epic Mickey, it wants to "give their projects the time and appropriate resources to be successful." In other words, let them stand on their own as games, rather than squeeze them up against a movie's release date. And Hopper hopes for quite the payoff, too -- while third-party titles on the Wii have been hit or miss (mostly miss), Hopper expects Epic Mickey's success to go "to Nintendo levels." He does say that they don't want to turn Mickey into Mario by "simply using him as an icon or an avatar in a game," but Disney's goal in the future will be to make sure that each of their properties' appearances are worth it. Hopper says if they port a film to five different gaming platforms, customers should expect "not the same story five times over, but five different stories, each uniquely suited for the platform they're on." A good plan to have, but much easier said than done.
Apple scores high on customer experience index, iTunes not so much
According to AppleInsider, Apple has scored higher than other PC companies on Forrester's new customer experience survey, but their main software app didn't fare quite as well. Apple came in at number 35 on the list, which places them way above PC competitors like HP, Compaq and Dell, though iTunes only scored place number 46, putting them way behind online media competitors Barnes and Noble (which sat at number one) and Amazon.com (#4). The survey was driven by asking customers how well their needs were met by the companies on the list, how easy it was to conduct business with them, and how enjoyable the different interactions were. Note that this survey only rates customer interaction -- in terms of actual sales, iTunes is still through the roof. And Apple is still leading the way in customer satisfaction as well. But in terms of actual customer experience, iTunes especially, for something that is quickly becoming Apple's core method of interacting with customers, could probably use a little work.
A WoW player's guide to microtransactions
Well Blizzard has finally done it. After charging only for out-of-game services like faction changes and character customization, with the release of in-game pets on the Blizzard store, they've finally moved on to selling virtual items for real money. And there's a word, dirty in the mouths of some, that's floating around that some of you may not have heard or understood before: microtransactions. We wouldn't blame you -- some of our own staff didn't even know what they were just a little while ago. But with the decision to sell in-game items for straight cash, Blizzard has entered the fascinating and treacherous world of microtransactions. And if you're going to follow them off into this world, you might as well at least know what they're all about. And so, we're here to help. Whether you've never heard of microtransactions before, you're convinced that they're the devil and that Blizzard has grown too greedy for their own good, or you can't wait to open up your wallet and get a Pandaren Monk to follow you around, let's take a second and look at the history of the microtransaction model, what it means that Blizzard made this decision, and what might happen to the game in the future.
Survey: Average iPhone user has spent $80 on apps
$80 on apps? I didn't think it was that much, but after going over estimates in my head, that sounds about right, actually. A survey of 1200 App Store customers estimates that we've spent about $80 on applications so far, with an average of about 65 applications per customer. There's a little weirdness in those figures though: they also say that 65% of the apps downloaded were free, and that the average app price was $1.56. There's some extra information hidden in there: if 65% of the apps are $0, and the average price is still up above $1, that means people are spending way more than $1 on the apps that they do buy. More research seems needed there. There's another surprising figure as well: of all the 1200 customers surveyed, altogether they only had about 15,000 unique apps on their iPhones. When you compare that to the latest figures of about 65,000 apps, that means you've got about 50,000 apps (definitely the majority) that are completely untouched by these customers. Of course, 1200 is a tiny sample when you're talking about the millions of iPhones sold overall, but if that is in fact a representative sample, that means that there are many, many more apps than people have actually downloaded and tried in iTunes. Not hard to believe -- with iPhone developer numbers in the hundreds of thousands, tons of trashware on the store, and the relative ease it takes to crank out an app, it's no surprise that you've got way more apps than people interested in trying them. But then again, isn't that the way we want it?
MLB is about to make a million dollars off an iPhone app
Lots of developers are saying that they can't sell their apps at $9.99 in the App Store, but Major League Baseball is apparently the exception -- the $9.99 At Bat app is not only gaining accolades from users, but it's selling like nachos at the ballpark, too: with 130,000 copies sold so far this year, MLB is about to break a million dollars in revenue, even after Apple takes its cut. Pretty impressive for a pricey app. Of course, that's chump change when you consider exactly what MLB is dealing with -- the app integrates the Gameday Audio service, which sells for $14.99 on its own, and baseball's television and video content makes much, much more than a million dollars. The iPhone revenue, big as it is, is just a drop in the bucket for MLB, really. But nevertheless, the MLB app stands out as proof that, even if you have to include exclusive live audio content from major sporting events around the country, it is possible to make an app that people will happily pay $9.99 for. Stands to reason that if developers can make their app at least as functional and useful as At Bat, they too can make a million dollars.
LGJ: Pirates are grumpy, underutilized customers?
Each week Mark Methenitis contributes Law of the Game on Joystiq ("LGJ"), a column on legal issues as they relate to video games: This week I've been at the Game::Business::Law Conference, and one of the speakers was Jason Holtman, Director of Business Development / Legal Affairs for Valve. Jason set out a fascinating theory on piracy: The majority of 'pirates' are just underutilized customers. This certainly sets forth an interesting business proposition, but also interesting possibilities for legal strategies related to piracy management and IP protection. I do want to caveat that this is building on a theoretical basis, and that doesn't necessarily mean any of these strategies is optimal for any given company. I want to summarize Jason's viewpoint to better frame the discussion. His view, and his research suggests, that piracy is heavily mitigated by ensuring worldwide cross-market releases.
Blizzard: We're working on the Comcast problem
Snowman Eyonix posted an update to the ongoing Comcast issues on the forums today: he says that Blizzard is talking to Comcast about the problem, and that they may have identified the problem in a third-party network between the affected folks and Comcast themselves. He says work on the issue is ongoing, and that while they don't have an ETA, he'll let us know when there is more to know.We don't know if the "third-party network" includes those Los Angeles datacenters that were being blamed earlier, and to be honest, we don't even know how widespread the problem actually is. A few of our writers are on Comcast -- most of us haven't had any problems at all, though one of our writers in LA is experiencing lag and the occasional disconnect.We'll keep an eye on Eyonix's thread and let you know if anything changes. At this point, it seems the problems are known and Blizzard is doing what they can to solve things.
Netflix snatches 9 millionth subscriber, says Watch Instantly still not profitable
While snagging 500,000 Blu-ray subscribers is admirable, the big picture helps to explain Netflix's dominance even more. Sometime during the third quarter of 2008, the rental giant managed to secure its nine millionth customer. Needless to say, the DVD rental portion of the business is doing just fine, but CFO Barry McCarthy confessed that its Watch Instantly digital delivery aspect was still "a tax on the P&L." Essentially, he reiterated that it was an investment in the future, noting that if it didn't start it, someone else would have. He also proclaimed that more content could easily be added to its library of online-accessible titles, but that it wouldn't come free. At present time, we suspect Watch Instantly isn't really hurting for users, which means you could very well be hurting for a new wave of content for some time to come.
AT&T hits goal of one million U-verse TV subscribers
Just a day after announcing that U-verse TV was lit in select areas of Raleigh and Orlando, AT&T has reached its long-time goal of securing one million U-verse TV subscribers before the end of 2008. And yeah, the outfit's chief executive of telecom operations totally called this last week, but we're willing to bet he had access to some pretty confidential (and telling) figures. At any rate, the milestone has been hit less than 2.5 years after the service first launched, reaching some 79 major markets in 16 states. Kudos AT&T -- now how's about you get those expansion efforts moving forward at a frantic pace? You know you want two million by July.
DirecTV gives recession the cold shoulder, sees increased profits in Q3
While many mega-corps are struggling just to make ends meet, DirecTV is basking in the glow of a rather awesome Q3. The satcaster proudly announced that it saw revenues increase by 15% to $4.98 billion, all while operating profit scooted up 16% to $658 million and net income shot up 14% to $363 million. As has been the trend of late, a fair chunk of its good fortunes came from subscribers opting for "premium" services, which is a fancy way of saying that customers are totally digging HDTV, HD DVRs and video-on-demand. Oh, and now that HD is live in Latin America, we actually wouldn't be surprised to see a fruitful Q4 just a few months from now. Recession? What recession?[Image courtesy of DayLife]
Sprint posts Q3 net loss of $326 million, sees 1.3 million subs leave
Sprint's year just keeps getting worse. After losing over 900,000 customers last quarter while posting a $344 million loss, the company insistent on advertising with faux soap operas and in black and white (and yellow) is hanging its head once more. During Q3, the carrier saw 1.3 million net subscribers head for the exits, and it also reported a loss of $326 million. According to CEO Dan Hesse, Sprint "has yet to turn the corner," warning that the process of turning things around would be gradual. Moving forward, the company expects gross additions to "stabilize," while the turnover rate is apt to remain at around 2.15%. In related news, the provider's stock price has sunk around 60% in the past six months, and while that's surely bad news to shareholders, not many other mega-corps out there are doing tremendously better.[Via The New York Times]
Verizon adds 233,000 net new FiOS TV customers in Q3, up to 1.6 million total
Man, this is just downright eerie. If you'll recall, AT&T managed to add 232,000 net U-verse subscribers in Q3. Lo and behold, its biggest fiber rival (that'd be Verizon) added 233,000 net new FiOS TV customers in the same quarter. Coincidences aside, Verizon's pretty proud of its current position in the market, now claiming 1.6 million FiOS TV subscribers and offering the service for sale to 8.2 million premises in the United States. Just for comparisons sake, the outfit only had 700,000 subs at the end of Q3 2007, and it added just 176,000 newcomers in Q2 2008. In related news, it also managed to acquire 225,000 net new FiOS internet customers, and with cable companies jacking up rates left and right, we wouldn't be shocked at all to see even more frustrated pay-TV users make the leap to fiber in Q4.
