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Hands-on: Blur (single player)
click to enlarge Bizarre Creations is known for its racing expertise, honed in the great Project Gotham Racing series, and their latest title, Blur, is no exception. The arcade sensibilities of Bizarre's own Geometry Wars and the underrated (I said it!) The Club add a few new colors to the mix, but the driving is as solid as ever -- as you'll know if you've been playing the multiplayer beta. The real key to Blur, though, is the much-discussed social features. Bizarre has more or less perfected console racing over all of its past iterations, and so when we were invited to Activision HQ last week to check out Blur's single-player components, the focus wasn't so much on the how of racing, but the why. %Gallery-92682%
Microsoft Kin: everything you ever wanted to know
For as long as Windows Mobile 6.x overstayed its welcome, Microsoft seems to be doing what it can to launch a full-out assault on the mobile battlefield -- first with Windows Phone 7, and now less than a month later with Kin. As we were reminded ad nauseam at the unveiling, the pair of devices -- dubbed Kin One and Kin Two -- aren't for the tech enthusiasts in the crowd, but rather for a younger audience Microsoft is calling "generation upload." That's apparently a group whose life is focused around capturing memories and updating Facebook, without any care or concern whatsoever for apps. Will Microsoft's gamble for control of the feature phone market prove successful? That remains to be seen, but for everything we know so far, read on!%Gallery-90313%
Belkin Surf, Share, Play and Play Max app-equipped routers may finally make wireless configuration tear-free
Belkin may have once been about flashy, blue LED-glowing routers with alpha-numeric model numbers, but its new Surf, Share, Play and Play Max are certainly horses of a different color. We caught a glimpse of the new range this morning, and while routers are usually a bit of a snooze fest, this group of boxes show potential of being the easiest routers in the world to configure. While they are surely vanilla-looking, they come with the SSID and encryption pre-configured. Just plug in and you are good to go, though if you want to change your network name to something "creative" you can do that with the included software. Beyond the simplistic setup, all of the 802.11n routers -- save for the entry level $49.99 Surf -- come with "apps." For instance, the $79.99 2.4GHz Share comes with a USB port that supports external USB hard drives or printers and Belkin's own backup and printing software. By far the snazziest of Belkin's "progs," as we now like to call them, is the Vuze Torrent Genie, which gets baked into the $129.99 Dual-Band, Gigabit Play Max. The software shifts the download of your totally legal torrents to the router when your computer isn't powered on or has been disconnected from the network, ensuring that your transfer keep on humming with or without PC intervention. We know, the fact that we're remotely excited by a group of new WLAN routers seems like an early April Fools joke, but this time around we actually encourage you to read the PR below for more details on these boxes. %Gallery-88917% %Gallery-88918%
TUAW Tip: Get your animated slideshows to MobileMe
For all the things Apple does right, there are some strange decisions in the integration of iPhoto and MobileMe. iPhoto has a wonderful way to create animated slideshows with music and professional looking transitions and you can look at them all day on your Mac, or send them to your iPhone or AppleTV. But things get ugly when you want to post them on the web for family and friends using MobileMe. It's baffling, but there is no direct way to upload an animation you've created to MobileMe, even though you can easily send stills or even iMovie videos to the web. Well, it can be done, but it's a non-intuitive work around. First, create your slide show in an iPhoto folder the usual way. Then hit the "Export" button on the lower right of the iPhoto screen. From there, you can determine the size of the QuickTime movie you want to make. If it's for the web, I'd suggest the large size. The movie will render, and then be placed in your iPhoto Slideshows folder inside the Pictures folder. From there, you have a couple of options, none of which are well documented: One way is to open your newly created movie in the latest version of QuickTime. Then from the Share menu, select "MobileMe gallery" from the options presented (you'll get the screen you can see in the thumbnail above). Another way to go is to is to import the movie into iMovie first, and then export it out to MobileMe from there. You can also drag the movie back into iPhoto (and yes, I know this is nutty) and then click the MobileMe icon to upload it there. Why can't you do this directly from iPhoto? Search me. It should be there -- maybe we'll see it in the app's next version. If you have another method to do this let us know.
Gartner and IDC agree: 3rd quarter Mac sales are up
Amidst the ongoing macroeconomic malaise (is it over yet? Can we come out from under the covers?), the PC industry's sales have been suffering as big corporations and cash-strapped consumers postpone those discretionary purchases of shiny new gear. The expectation, based on 2008's results, was that this quarter would be tough sledding. Results from analysts Gartner and IDC, however, both show an uptick in unit sales across the PC market year-over-year (2.3% higher globally per IDC, 0.5% higher per Gartner). Any pickup in sales comes as a surprise to Gartner, which had predicted a 5.6% decline in unit shipments. For Apple specifically, the news is also good: both firms predict a boost in unit sales and share percentage for Apple's CPU shipments, with US numbers up from 8.6% to 8.8% share (Gartner) or a blazing 9.4% share (IDC). For the unvarnished results, you can tune in this coming Monday, 10/19 at 2pm PT to hear Apple's quarterly earnings call. [via BrainstormTech]
Nokia posts $834 million quarterly loss, smartphone share down to 35%
Nokia just posted a net loss of 559 million euro (834 million dollars) for the third quarter -- its first quarterly loss in a decade according to the AFP. The loss comes after a reported 20% drop in sales and 1.17 billion euros in write-downs, mostly for impairment charges on Nokia Siemens Networks. Nokia also said that its smartphone market share dropped to 35% versus 41% in the previous quarter. With fierce competition from Apple and RIM, and Palm just launching its Pre into Nokia's European stronghold, well, it's a good thing Nokia's branching out into untapped markets like single-core Atom-based netbooks. Read -- Smartphone slip Read -- First loss in a decade Read -- Nokia Q3 statement
YouTube mobile uploads increased dramatically since iPhone 3GS
When the video recording capabilities of the iPhone 3GS were announced, I really looked forward to using the direct YouTube uploads to share things that no one else cared about, like my dog or my nephew. It seems like many other 3GS owners had similar ideas. The YouTube blog is reporting that since the 3GS was released last friday, uploads have increased from mobile devices by 400% per day. They even list some of the many videos that have been uploaded since the 3GS release that range from boring to annoying. I know that these mobile uploads of videos have a pretty limited audience, and most people watching them will wonder why they were ever uploaded in the first place. However, it does make sharing special (or mundane) moments with family and friends much easier, and I for one am happy to have the option. [via MacRumors]
Best Buy still leads in Blu-ray sales, but Wal-mart is closing in
Looks like the gap among HD media retailers is narrowing, with Wal-mart slowly closing in on Best Buy's 40 - 50% marketshare estimated by retail analysts asked by Video Business. As the DVD market shifts to Blu-ray, it's expected that market shares begin to resemble those of DVD where Wal-mart holds sway with 40% of the sales. Our poll results show that most of you report copping at Amazon (home of the frequent BOGO, low prices and other promotions,) but do you see changing dealers as Blu-ray goes more mainstream?
Retail experience draws women to AAPL?
Piqqem, a service that crowdsources stock picks, has some interesting demographic data about who says they're buying AAPL. Among female users, Apple is the most highly rated stock to buy. The lowest-rated stock is Dillards -- which leads to an interesting analysis by Alex Salkever, director of research and marketing at Piqqem. He says that focused specialty retailers are better at weathering the economic downturn so far than large department stores. "And while Apple has seen sales growth in its chain stores level off, I submit that a big reason why Apple has held strong is due to the attraction its products, stores, and services hold to women beyond the teenage years," he writes. Personally, I think linking womens' stock choice specifically to the retail experience falls somewhere between a little chauvinist and a little short-sighted. AAPL is also the most popular stock among all of Piqqem's users, for example. It certainly can't hurt Apple's business, though, to appeal to women, teens, and other key demographics with disposable income right now. Many analysts point to Apple's strong cash position as reason enough to buy AAPL. Indeed, Apple's stock price has recovered some since Macworld, and is trading around $98 a share. It's certainly shy of their 52-week high of $192 a share, but it's well off their 52-week low of $78.20.
Reminder: Q1-2009 conference call liveblog, today at 5 p.m. ET
Just a reminder: Be sure to come back today at 5 p.m. Eastern (that's 2 p.m. Pacific) for Apple's First Quarter 2009 Results Conference Call. We'll be liveblogging the occasion, with contributions from your favorite TUAW bloggers, and yours truly. Apple is streaming audio from the call here. A recording of the call will be available at that page for a few weeks afterward. Fortune's Apple 2.0 blog has its roundup of projected Q1 sales numbers from Bernstein Research's Toni Sacconaghi and Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster: Mac sales. Munster: 2.5 million to 2.6 million. Sacconaghi: 2.57 million. iPod sales. Munster: 18.6 million. Sacconaghi: 18.1 million. iPhone sales: Munster: 6.4 million. Sacconaghi: 3.5 million to 4 million. In related news, AAPL hit a two-year low yesterday, closing at its nadir of $78.20 per share. Also, Bloomberg is reporting that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will review Apple's 10-K filing from last year. Apple hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing, but Bloomberg says the SEC wants to make sure investors weren't being misled about Steve Jobs' health. (Via Macworld.) More coverage of the earnings report is available at our sister site Blogging Stocks.
Citi reiterates AAPL 'buy' rating, cuts price target
Citi analyst Richard Gardner repeated the firm's "buy" recommendation for Apple stock, but reduced his estimate through 2011 to "reflect a more conservative view of consumer spending," according to the Associated Press. Gardner reduced his 12-month price target to $132 from $153. He noted "soft" iPhone shipments in the last quarter of 2008 and conservative guidance for the first quarter of 2009 as reasons behind the cut. "We view weakness as a buying opportunity," Gardner said. If Apple's stock were to drop by $7 or $8 before the company's Q1 2009 conference call on January 21, "[Citi] would be aggressive buyers." He expects the company will announce a profit of $1.42 per share for Q4 2008 during the call. AAPL was down by about $1.45 in afternoon trading. [Via Mac Observer.]
Apple market share tops 10%, Windows share lowest since tracking began
Microsoft's share of the operating system market is dropping, while Apple computers and handhelds have topped 10 percent for the first time, according to a new report on Internet-connected computers. NetApplications, the company that tracks browser and operating system market share for a variety of sites across the Internet, released its data for December 2008. According to a Computerworld analysis, the number of Windows users decreased in December by 0.94 percent to 88.7 percent. The fall was the steepest in four years since Net Applications began collecting data, and was also more than twice that of any similar period in the previous three years. The Computerworld article does note that December statistics do slant slightly towards the Mac due to the reduced number of in-office days for corporate users, but the overall shift is decidedly Mac-ward even once that's accounted for. Apple's share is just over 10 percent, if one combines the market share for both Macs and iPhones. Macs account for 9.63 percent of computers online. (Windows Mobile devices are included in the 88.7 percent figure.) Also of note, almost three quarters of Macs online have an Intel processor. This time last year, less than half had one. Overall, Mac OS X's share grew by 31.7 percent compared to a year ago. Windows XP remains the operating system with the largest installed base, with over 65 percent of the market.
iPhone triples market share as of Q3 2008
Apple saw the iPhone's market share triple over the past year, capturing 12.9 percent of the worldwide smartphone market, according to a new Gartner analysis. For the quarter ending September 30, iPhones accounted for 3.4 percent of the market in 2007. That figure was more than 3x higher on the same day in 2008. Nokia is the leader worldwide in smartphone sales, with 42.4 percent of the market. BlackBerry maker Research in Motion comes in second with 15.9 percent. In North America, Apple is in second place behind RIM, with iPhones accounting for over a quarter of all smartphones. Gartner analyst Roberta Cozza also noted that this quarter marked the first time iPhone sales exceeded those of Windows Mobile devices; that's pretty astonishing when you consider how many flavors of WM handsets are out there. [Via Macworld.]
Mac internet share hits record 8.87%
Apple 2.0's Philip Elmer-DeWitt notes some new Net Applications statistics that suggest 8.87 percent of all Internet users use a Mac: a new record. Add to that the iPhone platform's 0.37 percent, and over one in eleven use an Apple product to browse the web. The iPhone gained 12 percent more users compared to the month before. Also notable is that Windows users accounted for less than 90 percent of Internet users for the first time in recent memory. Also, market share for Internet Explorer dropped below 70 percent for the first time since its popularity surged in the late 90s. Linux also gained ground, increasing almost 17 percent to 0.83 percent of all Internet users. Net Applications tracks statistics from over 160 million visits to websites it monitors. The full report is here.
BusinessWeek: AAPL 'ripe for the picking'
BusinessWeek's Gene Marcial is gushing -- gushing -- over Apple stock, suggesting they're not only a good buying opportunity for those who already own some shares, but a good entry point for those who have never owned stock in the company. "The case for Apple is simple: Its stock is cheap based mainly on strong earnings and sales growth, and the outlook for further expansion of sales and profits. And the stock's profile based on such benchmarks as its technical chart pattern and price-earnings ratio affirms Apple's attraction," he writes. Marical quotes Standard & Poor's Thomas Smith, Barclays Capital's Ben Reitzes, and Needham's Charles Wolf -- all who have their own reasons to recommend buying the stock. Of 34 analysts who track the stock, 27 recommend buying and five recommend holding. Only two suggest you sell. As of this writing, Apple was up by over $7 per share at 89.75 during a generally positive session this morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up above 8,311, an increase of 265 points.
AAPL up nearly 14% among broad market gains
Shares of Apple stock closed higher today, among a widespread buying spree that pushed the Dow Industrials up a record-breaking 936 points. AAPL closed at $110.26 per share, an increase of $13.46. Nearly 55 million shares changed hands. Microsoft, Dell, Google, HP, Sun, and AT&T also posted double-digit percentage gains for the day. Analyst firm Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Apple stock to "outperform" this morning, saying the company's short-term prognosis looks good, despite the dip in the market. Bernstein did, however, cut its price target by $50 to $135. AAPL was up slightly in after-hours trading.
Munster: Apple overestimated Q3 margin impacts
Gene Munster is skeptical that Apple's guidance of lower margins for the rest of the year in its Q3 conference call back in July, and expects the company to continue to outperform expectations. The Piper Jaffray analyst said that lower prices for NAND flash memory will offset any reductions in price for new iPods introduced last month. Munster speculates that even with an introduction of a sub-$1,000 MacBook before the end of the year, Apple's margins will remain healthy. Yes, it will have an impact, but not to the degree that Apple execs hinted in their phone call: Munster thinks margins would only fall to around 30 percent. In fact, Munster says "investors would see the lack of redesigned, lower-priced Macs as a more significant negative than they would a 30 percent GM guide in the December quarter." (Emphasis mine.) He reiterated his "buy" rating. Munster's price target for AAPL is still higher than many others (at least recently), at $250 per share. [Via Ars and AppleInsider.]
Creative ditches Zen Share WiFi player, X-Fi DAP might be in the works
Creative got some Jello-O knees in the run-up to launching Zen Share, its WiFi-enabled PMP, and decided to quit the project altogether. The company is blaming "technical complications," which we have a suspicion is shorthand for "building the necessary software to make WiFi helpful in a DAP is harder than we anticipated." That's too bad, but have no fear: Creative is replacing the project with a player due in the next two months that will sport an "exciting" design. We know, you're so excited right now. Rumor has it that the player could be an X-Fi-branded DAP with a metal back and X-Fi audio processing. Creative also confirmed that it's moving exclusively to flash memory.[Via Electronista]
iPod iNsider trading?
Nine bigwigs at Taiwan's Inventec Appliances could be headed to jail over allegations of insider trading-- the executives allegedly failed to report lowered order numbers by Apple before dropping off $22.4 million worth of stock on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Apparently, Apple decided to send more of its iPod order to China, and the executives reportedly knew in mid-January that the decision had been made to do so. But they didn't reveal the troubles until mid-March, at which point IA's stock tumbled, and the execs had already reportedly unloaded their stock.In other executives and stock news, Jobsy picked up a few Apple shares this week-- 120,000 for $5.75 a piece. The stock price has actually been dropping since around August 1st, but considering the price is right around $117 right now, Steve is sitting pretty-- it's good to be the king. Apple says Jobs isn't selling at this time, though. Obviously-- he's got to wait until the ultraportable shows up, right?[via MacBytes]
Share your iPhone stories with Apple
Attention enthusiastic iPhone owners - Apple would like to hear just what it is you like so much about your new gadget. At a new page under apple.com/iphone, Apple has presented a form with which you can share your iPhone stories. Has the iPhone changed the way you work? Perhaps you warmed grandma's heart with your finger-flickin' photo albums? Or maybe your two-and-a-half year-old figured out how to use your iPhone? Whatever the tale, Apple would like to hear it, probably so they can scatter some quotes from real world folks like you around the iPhone product pages.Personally, I had to thank Apple for finally putting the real internet in my pocket, as no other device - not even a BlackBerry or IE on Windows Mobile - has been able to handle the home-grown content management system we use for Weblogs, Inc. blogs. The iPhone can, which means I'm able to perform some of my administrative duties at Download Squad anytime, anywhere I need, and that's enough of a life-changing story for me.[via iPhone Alley]
