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iPhone 4 antenna woes contextualized by dude in the know
It's the ultimate of ironies that Apple's externalized antenna array in the iPhone 4 -- hoped (and hyped up) to finally give us a phone every bit as good the rest of the device -- has become the cause of most rancor in the immediate aftermath of the handset's release. This morning you'll be rubbing both sleep and disbelief out of your eyes as you read that Apple's response to some people's reception problems with the 4 is to hold it differently. But, before we start ostracizing Apple as the singular offender here, let's hear from a man in the know. Spencer Webb runs AntennaSys, a company that designs tailormade RF solutions, and has himself worked on making quad-band transceivers for AT&T. As he tells it, almost all phone makers have now transitioned to locating their antennae at the bottom of the phones. This has been in order to move radio wave emissions away from the head (a shortcoming that a top-mounted aerial would incur), which the FCC has been quite demanding about with its SAR standards -- The iPhone 4, however, moved the antenna action from the back of the phone to the sides. This probably improves the isotropy of the radiation pattern, but only when the phone is suspended magically in air. Another great point made here is that testing done both by the Federales and mobile carriers might include the head, but never accounts for the presence of the person's hand. Thus, although a phone's antenna could test very well, it might suffer from such issues as those experienced with the iPhone 4. Mind you, this still seems like an assembly (rather than design) problem to us, since most of our editors haven't had any reception worries and we in fact saw improved performance on that front while conducting our review testing. Spencer himself has decided to buy the phone knowing full well about this potential limitation, and concludes on the note that "sometimes an antenna that's not great, but good enough, is good enough."
Cataclysm Talent Preview: Discipline priests
Last night, Blizzard unexpectedly released an extensive talent preview from Cataclysm for select classes. Priests were among those classes, and as the resident healing priest, I will be walking you through the preview for discipline (as well as holy) talent by talent. The preview confirms the full details on the long-awaited discipline ability, Power Word: Barrier. A new talent called Archangel was also unveiled. Hit the jump to check it out.
Cataclysm Talent Preview: Holy priests
If you didn't already know, late Wednesday evening, Blizzard released a new and thorough Cataclysm talent preview for select classes. Among those classes was the priest class, and as WoW.com's healing priest, thus I have been charged with providing you with a talent-by-talent breakdown for the holy tree. (There is also a preview analysis for discipline.) The preview's biggest highlight is Chakra, but there are a few twists and turns in the tree that are well worth a look. Hit the jump and we'll get down to business.
Could a closed Mac be in Apple's future?
By all accounts, and despite the groans of inconvenienced developers, iPhone OS has been a smashing success. In the second quarter of 2010, Apple sold roughly 20 million iPhone and iPods, compared to about 3 million Macs. The iPad alone has already sold its millionth unit. That means there are a lot of iPhone OS installations out there on Apple-branded equipment. Under the hood, iPhone OS is virtually the same as the OS X that runs on Mac desktops. Steve Jobs announced this back in 2007, and it has been confirmed by any number of jailbreaks that allow third parties to explore the iPhone OS from the command line. It may be closed but iPhone OS is still basically OS X. What differentiates iPhone OS from Mac OS has been the openness of the platform. Developers must go through Apple's review process to deploy software to the vast audience of iPhone OS device owners. Apple sets the rules, ensures the quality, polices the system. It's a new way of computing, closer to the TiVo or Wii experience than, say, the Windows or Linux experience. Could it be the future of a new Macintosh line?
Pachter: April's low game sales 'baffling'
The April NPD sales figures for the US were bad. How bad? Let's try: The April NPD figures were as if millions of analysts "cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced" bad. Speaking with IndustryGamers, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter says his group found the results "baffling." He notes that sales were the lowest since May of 2007, "when this generation was barely underway," and it was the weakest April since 2005. Pachter also stated, "The sequential decline of 54% is the greatest in the 11 years that we have been tracking monthly data (except for December-January declines), dwarfing the previous record of 42% set in March-April 2002." At a loss to explain exactly why April 2010 was so bad, Pachter feels it was just a "fluke." He explained, "We do not believe that core gamers suddenly shifted allegiance to Facebook or iPhone games in April, nor do we believe that Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 online play increased dramatically during April." With May's lineup including several major titles across multiple consoles, the analyst feels the month could show "dramatic growth." If not, well, let's just hope for the best right now. Flukes happen.
Study: Americans spent $25.3 billion on games in 2009
US consumers of those newfangled video games apparently spent $25.3 billion on them in 2009, according to the Today's Gamers Survey by Newzoo and TNS. If this study seems vaguely familiar, it's likely because there was a similar report released on massively multiplayer games a couple months ago, which found that Americans spent $3.8 billion on MMOs during 2009. Typically, data we see comes from retailers, but this survey was conducted using 13,000 respondents, aged 8 and up, who were "carefully selected to represent each individual country's demographic profile." As VentureBeat notes, the numbers in the Newzoo report are quite different than NPD's report on 2009 sales -- by about $5 billion. Unlike NPD, the Newzoo study also reports data on several European nations. A free summary [PDF link] of the report is available on GamesIndustry.com, while the full report will cost you €299 ($384). We wonder how much US consumers spent on research reports in 2009 ... [Via VentureBeat]
Estimate: Top 1000 iPad apps making $372k a day
Here's an interesting look at just how big the iPad app market might be. Vimov, the makers of Weather HD, have used their own sales numbers to put together an analysis of what the top 1,000 iPad apps on the App Store are pulling in, and they've come up with a series of estimated sales for each position in the top 100. By their reasoning, the top paid app in the store sells about 5k copies per day, with the number two app selling about 3k, the number three app about 2.5k, and so on. Vimov estimates that everyone in the top 100 list, when you add them all together, is making about US$304,058 on any given day. The shelf drops off from there -- in the top 1000, developers are making about $372,000, and past that, they're obviously making less. So, what does this all mean? First, these are obviously estimates; Vimov's app is $0.99, and Weather HD, as they say, peaked in the early frenzy around the iPad's release. They did try to account for that, but even they admit that there's some error involved. Second, things are changing quickly; Apple told us that there were around 500,000 iPads out there last week, but that number is probably much higher a week later. Also, iPad app pricing is still all over the place. Even now, you've got everything from $0.99 to $9.99 in the top 10, which suggests that profits are hard to guess. [via MacNN]
Rising iSun: Thoughts on the iPad's prospects in Japan
Today's guest post is by Peter Payne, a longtime watcher of Apple's prospects in the Japanese markets. Peter is the proprietor of the Japanese pop-culture web shop jlist.com (some content NSFW). Apple's new iPad has gotten off to a great start and managed to impress a lot of reviewers, which is quite an achievement if you think back to the negative press that was being written about it immediately after Steve Jobs announced it in January. By all accounts, it seems to be a wonderful invention; perhaps it's the perfect "throw this in your bag for a weekend in Vegas" computer. Still, how the device will be received outside of the U.S. remains to be seen. Take Japan, a country that I've lived in for nearly two decades. When the iPhone 3G was introduced two years ago, it got off to an extremely slow start. The shape and functionality were just too different for the Japanese, who prefer clamshell phones with physical numeric keypads. Due to an odd linguistic quirk of the Japanese language, it's actually faster to enter Japanese hiragana-based text using a numeric keypad than with a QWERTY keyboard, and -- I am not kidding here -- many best-selling novels are actually written using keitai denwa (mobile phones) with numeric keypads. However, as time went by, a core of dedicated Japanese iPhone fans emerged and helped evangelize the device, mainly by showing their friends all of the newest apps that they'd downloaded, and the iPhone started to catch on in a big way. Even the popular boy band SMAP quit their contract sponsoring NTT Docomo's phones and signed on with Softbank, presumably so that they could help promote the iPhone. These days, though, iPhone's share of the smartphone market tops 46 percent, and attending one of Danny Choo's media events for hipster blogger types is like a miniature iPhone convention. How about the revolutionary iPad, though? Will Japanese fans go for this new device? I have some experience with Apple and the Japan iTunes store -- on my site, we sell the prepaid cards that let people around the world access iTMS Japan's content -- so I'll look into my crystal ball and see what's in store for iPad.
NPD: Final Fantasy XIII sold almost twice as many copies on PS3
Let's go back a couple of years, to E3 2008. At the Microsoft Press Conference, the company drops the news that Square Enix has agreed to release Final Fantasy XIII simultaneously on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. There is much cheering and/or weeping and gnashing of teeth, depending on which side of the console wars you are on. Two years later, in April of 2010: Final Fantasy XIII is released on both consoles simultaneously. And the most recent NPD report says that while the Xbox 360 version sold a respectable 493,000 copies, the PS3 version sold 828,000 copies -- almost twice as many. We'll let you guys sort that one out for yourselves. Do remember where the consoles were at in both places -- back in 2008, the Xbox 360 had an early lead on big software (LittleBigPlanet was Sony's biggest game of the show), and these days, PS3 sales are doing much better. But we will say that, according to NPD analyst Anita Frazier, this is Final Fantasy's biggest launch ever, and that XIII has topped the first-month sales of XII by 48%. That's a lot of l'Cie.
Windows 7 is safer when the admin isn't around
Not that we necessarily needed a report to tell us this, but the fewer privileges you afford yourself as a Windows user, the more secure your operating system becomes. Such is the conclusion of a new report from BeyondTrust, a company that -- surprise, surprise -- sells software for "privileged access management." The only way we use Windows 7 is as admins and we've never had a moment's bother, but some of you like stats, and others among you might be involved in business, which tends to make people a little more antsy about these things. So for your collective sake, let there be pie charts! The report looks into vulnerabilities disclosed by Microsoft during 2009 and concludes that all 55 reported Microsoft Office issues and 94 percent of the 33 listed for IE could be prevented by simply running a standard user account. Or using better software, presumably. Hit the PDF source for more info -- go on, it's not like you have anything better to do while waiting for the Large Hadron Collider to go boom.
iPhone devsugar: 9 ways Apple can improve App Store
Apple has been working hard to make the App Store a better experience for both customers and developers. Recently, they introduced in-app purchases, scheduled sale prices for apps, provided review status indicators in iTunes Connect, and introduced other new features. Despite that, they still have a long way to go. Through talking with developers, I've assembled a list of items that Apple might yet look into and implement. They range from issues arising from iPad development and deployment, to longer-standing items that would benefit the entire store. Here, then, is a list of nine suggestions for improving the App Store experience for iPhone OS developers.
Totem Talk: Glyphing for Fire Elemental
Axes, maces, lightning, fire, frost, and wolves, and best of all, Windfury. It can mean only one thing: enhancement. Rich Maloy lives it and loves it. His main spec is enhance. His off-spec is enhance. He blogs about the life and times of enhance at Big Hit Box, pens the enhance side of Totem Talk, and leads the guild Big Crits as the enhancement shaman Stoneybaby. After writing last week's article and then this week diving headfirst into some 10s and 25s I felt like the Glyph of Fire Elemental Totem needed some love. I felt even more so after looking at my combat parses for Lich King fights and noticing Fire Nova was my second highest damage ability. The fight is a long one -- a very long one -- and it got me wondering if I could step up my output by glyphing into fire ele. After all, who doesn't want more minions running around doing damage for them? Fire ele has the potential to be a great glyph: the elemental is another pet doing good damage and we can still cast Fire Nova off the totem. Of course the downsides are deal breakers for the glyph in most cases: The pet is leashed to the totem Fire Nova's damage is lost if the boss or mobs move away from the totem The 5 minute cooldown is still longer than most boss fights Read more to see when and where it's appropriate to glyph into this.
Leaked Xbox 360 'Valhalla' motherboard analyzed by Ben Heck
Sure, you might've seen the purported Xbox 360 Valhalla motherboard leaked yesterday... but have you ever really seen it? There's a subtle difference, one that requires you gaze through the ocular receptors of our dearest old friend (he hates when we call him that) Ben Heck. Joystiq sat down with him to deconstruct the pictures and get his take on all the hardware nuances. First and foremost, there appears to be no connectors that "look remotely like a Xbox 360 memory card reader," which lends credence to the thought process they might be going the way of the dinosaur. WiFi is still missing in action, and as for Project Natal integration, Heck's highly doubtful that's in the cards, though he shares our mindset that a bundle would make sense. The big question is size reduction, and to that our game console laptop guru suggests that, given the constraints due to a DVD drive, the best we can expect is a one-inch drop in height (standing console), 0.5 inches in depth, and just "slightly thinner." Sorry folks, looks like even in your wildest dreams, it'll still tower over the Nintendo Wii. A great read, don your thinking cap, give yourself 15 minutes, and hit up the source.
iPhone devsugar: The need for multiple ipa delivery
App Store clutter remains an ongoing issue. In addition to "business card" applications that offer little or no functionality beyond a simple web page[1], there are lite editions, demo editions, full editions, and even in the case of Tweetie 2, completely new applications providing upgraded functionality. Each of those applications must be registered with a unique app identifier, each one takes up a separate slot when installed on your iPhone's home screen, each application occupies a separate App Store listing, complete with its own screen shots, marketing material, reviews, and so forth. Each one must be managed by you in iTunes, where you must decide which to sync, which to keep, and so forth. Add to the mix, the possibility that we're likely to see iPad- and iPhone-specific application releases in the near future in addition to the Universal Application solution that Apple has been heavily promoting. That's because iPad applications offer developers the opportunity to re-imagine their interfaces, adding features without the constraints of the iPhone's small screen and modal interaction limitations. An iPad app that adds significant new functionality may branch off and become yet another related app in a single application family.
Should you be building universal apps for App Store?
Universal apps. They're the solution for delivering your iPhone OS application to both the iPhone and the iPad and having it run natively on each without silly make-do's like pixel doubling. It's a way to ensure that your app "fits" each platform, providing art and interfaces that match the target screen. Or, as Apple puts it, "Developers can now start planning for universal applications, allowing them to take full advantage of the technologies found on iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch with a single binary." Right now, I've got a bug up my sleeve about the whole issue. I'm not convinced that it's the right solution for a lot of apps. Just because you *can* merge an iPhone app with an iPad app, and sell one product, you shouldn't -- unless the functionality is significantly the same for both platforms.
No Apple stock split...for now.
Thursday, Briefings.com, CNBC and a passel of other market analysts predicted that a 4 for 1 stock split would be announced at the Apple Shareholder Meeting. This rumor moved the market, but there are conflicting opinions to why. First, for the uninitiated, a stock split is a zero sum game. One interpretation is that a firm considers its stock too highly priced for the average consumer and decides to split. For example, let's say that Apple is trading for $200 and you have one share. If a 4 for 1 stock split takes place, you will wind up 4 shares, instead of 1, but each share will be valued at $50. Did you gain or lose any money? No. It's all on paper. However, to those not familiar with the Buttonwood tree, and that's a lot of us, it sounds like 'quick buy Apple and you'll be getting 4 times as much'. The case for this sort of stupidity is well made by Barrons. Stock splits are nothing new to AAPL. They've split 2 for 1 three time in the past, in June 1987, June 2000 and February 2005. There are two general schools of thought on the reason behind stock splits, and they are total opposites. The first theory is that a company will split a stock if it is in trouble to allow lower dollar investors to buy their shares at half the price and thus incur less risk. The other school of thought is that a good company realizes their stock is just too expensive for the small trader who has some cash on the sidelines. It is meant to give the small guy an easier way to buy some stock without needing to commit the $200 for a share. Both sides have their points and, to an extent, both points are based on smoke and mirrors since they do not effect the worth of the company or the aggregate value of the stock by one penny.
TUAW redux: The future of iPhone OS and Mac OS
One of the big topics of discussion yesterday in our TUAW back channel was this post from the New York Times Bits blog. In "Why can't PCs work more like iPhones," Bilton pointed out that the iPhone has given Apple a chance to build a new OS from the ground up. This is a familiar viewpoint to us here on TUAW. Last year, I asked whether the future of the Mac OS would turn out to be the iPhone. In my write-up, I pointed out that the iPhone OS was built from scratch to work with Objective C 2.0 with its properties and other modern language features. Its API, far from being cobbled together, showed ever increasing design maturity without the weight of heavy backwards compatibility concerns. I concluded that Apple might take a lesson from the iPhone OS and consider offering a ground up redesign for Mac OS X, at least in terms of core OS principles. In his post, Bilton considers how Mac OS X might integrate iPhone OS features into its user experience, suggesting a possible Front Row-like overlay layer, running an iPhone OS interface. The goal would be to craft iPhone-style GUI simplicity onto the desktop experience, so that users could move seamlessly between their mobile and desktop worlds. But as much as we believe that Apple is heading cautiously in the direction that Bilton suggests, the TUAW consensus is that a desktop OS needs far more structure and, at the same time, flexibility than what the iPhone OS offers.
Macworld 2010: Adam Jackson
Adam Jackson has been attending Macworld since 2003, including the New York and Boston shows. His devotion to Apple and the Macworld Expo was highlighted in the excellent "fanboy" film Macheads (available via iTunes). When I sat down with him at Macworld we spoke about the past, present and future of Macworld. Video after the link (pardon the abrupt start).
PSN leaderboards point to top game downloads for January
Gamasutra wasn't able to get its hands on year-to-date PSN sales data directly from Sony, but it has come up with some interesting conclusions based on an unscientific look at ... leaderboard stats. The site broke down January's new releases, as well as a few other games that sold well last month, and the big debut of the month appears to be Hustle Kings, which added over 39,000 players to its ranks. Assault Heroes only picked up 754 new players, but given that it's a game that actually came out in 2006 on the Xbox, that's not a big surprise. PSN also offered up its "10 for '10" sale in January, and Uno came away from that event with a whopping 87,000 new players on its leaderboards. Braid and Critter Crunch also did well, adding 20,000 and 17,000 new players to their leaderboards, respectively. Keep in mind that these numbers are far from official, and not complete anyway -- Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment, Thexder Neo and Matt Hazard were released on PSN last month, and none of those games are included in this analysis, due to unreliable or nonexistent leaderboards. But it is probably fair to say that PSN had a pretty good month in January, especially with the games featured in its "10 for '10" sale. More of that, please.
Looking forward to Macworld Expo 2011, despite John Dvorak
OK, I'm the first to admit that I didn't feel Macworld Expo had much of a future without Apple. After all, I was the guy responsible for the graphic that showed a gravestone with "Macworld Expo 1985 - 2010: Rest In Peace" engraved on it (my apologies to Paul Kent of IDG World Expo for that...). But even in that post, I still ended on a note of hope about the show. Many of our readers, however, agreed in an informal poll that the show had seen better days and that without Apple, Macworld Expo 2010 would be the last stop. Longtime PC Magazine writer John Dvorak took the decidedly negative path in a recent post titled "Macworld Expo's Iffy Future." Based on a single quick walk through of the Expo captured on video, he concluded that the show is dead: "Last one? I think so." After spending a few days at Macworld Expo 2010, I have exactly the opposite opinion to Dvorak. 2010 was the year that many vendors stayed away from the show, thinking that it just wasn't worth the time and effort. Nearly every exhibitor I talked to at the show said without reservation that they'd be back next year, and I've heard from many hardware and software vendors who say that even though they weren't in San Francisco this year, they'll be there in 2011. Just as I'm certain that spring crocuses will soon peek through the snow, I'm confident that Macworld Expo will be back in 2011 with even more exhibitors and visitors. Why? Let's go through some reasons.
