STEVE JOBS 1955 - 2011

APPLE iPAD ALLOWS YOU TO CREATE YOUR OWN MAGAZINE :: INTRODUCING FLIPBOARD

APPLE CONTINUES TO OPERATE AS A START UP

• 3 Million iPADS in 80 days
• 3hr staff meetings once a week with all department heads
• Continued innovative product development
• Hands on CEO of product development
• Mobile devices that will replace PC's and MAC's
• Sleeker, faster, more compatible iPhone 4
• Created a digital platform for music, movies, books and more that will allow users to engage in a vast amount of content via touchscreen products

Apple recently released Safari 5.0 with the Reader view which conveniently "removes annoying ads and other visual distractions from online articles." I have personally been zapping those annoying ads with Readability, which Apple used to power its reader, since last year.

Surprisingly, no one seems to have noticed how easy Apple has made it to remove ads from web pages just by double-tapping the browser on the iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. This, while Apple is simultaneously attempting to re-invent interactive brand advertising with its new iAd format, rolling out July 1. What gives?

Apple CEO and device impresario Steve Jobs has seen online ads and thinks they're so bad they actually threaten the user experience of Apple products from the iPad to the web browser. Fortunately, he's also trying to do something about it.

The Dean's Notes: If all corporate companies, record labels, oil/gas companies, etc. paid as much attention to detail to their products and staff as Steve Jobs does, the economy may just be in a better position at the moment. You have to give a lot of credit to successful indy musicians and start up companies who are thriving by paying attention to detail and listening to what the consumer has to say about their products.

iPAD + VELCRO = LOVE

iPad + Velcro from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.

GAP + iPAD = COOL

As a consumer based in Europe (and partly as a digital marketer), I never thought Gap was a cool brand. But now, a few days after the iPad has been launched, I definitely changed my mind.

The Gap 1969 Stream iPad app is so much of the moment! It's an iPad application that allows you to browse a lot of (branded) denim content, celebrities and designers videos as well as music. And on top of this, looks like you can also purchase products directly from the application. Once again, the geek marketer in me claims an iPad as soon as possible. But I guess I will have to wait until end of April to get one in Italy.

MTV DEVELOPING 'CO-VIEWING APPS FOR THE APPLE iPAD

Magazines and newspapers aren't the only media eying big benefits upon the iPad's arrival: TV is poised to use the device in new ways, including creating interactive, social apps designed to be used while watching live programming.

MTV Networks, for example, is developing a "co-browsing app meant to be used while watching live TV," said one executive familiar with MTV's iPad plans. "This means the iPad could be the appendage that makes interactive TV a reality."

Kristin Frank, general manager of MTV and VH1 Digital, said MTV is focusing on two approaches to its apps, whether for mobile or the iPad: co-viewing apps that capture the social-media chatter around TV and awards shows and apps for video on the go. IPad apps for "Beavis and Butt-Head," "MTV News" and "VH1 To Go" are all due in April, she said.

"Fifty-nine percent of people are multitasking when watching TV -- that's something we've always known," said Ms. Frank, referring to recent Nielsen data quantifying a longstanding observation. "This is the next evolution."

Mobile phone apps to run on the iPhone and Android devices remain MTV's priority for 2010, Ms. Frank noted, but the iPad apps under construction are a reminder that TV is not about to sit the tablet out.

'Sweet spot'

Part of the idea is that mobile devices are easier and more appealing to play with while watching TV than laptop or desktop computers -- but the tablet will hit the sweet spot in between.

The iPad is going to open new opportunities, said Somrat Niyogi, CEO at the app developer Bazaar Labs. "I do think that with the iPad you are going to see a lot more conversation because the screen is bigger," he said. "People will be more receptive to typing. It's early, but you're going to see in the next 12 to 18 months a series of start-ups experimenting in new ways to layer digital on the TV experience."

Bazaar Labs has already released an iPhone app called Miso that suggests another avenue opening up. Miso users "check in" to TV shows or movies -- much like they do on Foursquare and Gowalla for physical places like bars and restaurants -- to share what they're watching on Twitter and Facebook and earn badges.

Networks and movie studios are interested in the app's ability to get viewers to broadcast what they're watching to their social networks, according to Mr. Niyogi, who recently partnered with MGM Studios so users can unlock branded badges for its movie "Hot Tub Time Machine."

Social media boost

You can see why networks and others might be intrigued by apps that revolve around what's on TV right now. Major live, broadcast events like this year's Oscars and Winter Olympics have already demonstrated how much social media chatter can surround televised events -- and boost ratings. And tweets about TV shows tend to spike as they air, often making hit shows into trending topics on Twitter during airtime, according to data from Trendrr, a tracking service for social and digital media .

Even Google TV, the search giant's planned partnership with Intel and Sony, intends to better integrate social networking and web-based applications with TV -- imagine social-networking apps for television built by developers with Google's Android operating system. The companies are reportedly working with Logitech to develop remotes with keyboards to make it easier to do things like update Twitter -- a behavior we're already seeing with users on mobile phone touchscreens or QWERTY keyboards.

Bravo recently introduced Talk Bubble, which lets viewers interact with the Real Housewives of New York, for example, while the show is on air and share comments via Twitter or Facebook. About 40% of Talk Bubble's use so far is coming from mobile devices, according to Lisa Hsia, senior VP-Bravo digital media.

AMAZON KINDLE: IS IT WORTH IT?

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May. 6, 2009-- Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today introduced Amazon Kindle DX, the new purpose-built reading device that offers Kindle’s revolutionary wireless delivery and massive selection of content with a large 9.7-inch electronic paper display, built-in PDF reader, auto-rotate capability, and storage for up to 3,500 books. More than 275,000 books are now available in the Kindle Store, including 107 of 112 current New York Times Best Sellers. New York Times Bestsellers and New Releases are $9.99 unless marked otherwise. Top U.S. and international magazines and newspapers plus more than 1,500 blogs are also available. Kindle DX is available for pre-order starting today for $489 at and will ship this summer.

“Personal and professional documents look so good on the big Kindle DX display that you’ll find yourself changing ink-toner cartridges less often,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO. “Cookbooks, computer books, and textbooks – anything highly formatted – also shine on the Kindle DX. Carry all your documents and your whole library in one slender package.”

New Large Display

Kindle DX’s display has 2.5 times the surface area of Kindle’s 6-inch display. The larger electronic paper display with 16 shades of gray has more area for graphic-rich content such as professional and personal documents, newspapers and magazines, and textbooks. Kindle reads like printed words on paper because the screen works using real ink and doesn’t use a backlight, eliminating the eyestrain and glare associated with other electronic displays.

The New York Times Company and Washington Post Company are launching pilots with Kindle DX this summer. The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and The Washington Post will offer the Kindle DX at a reduced price to readers who live in areas where home-delivery is not available and who sign up for a long-term subscription to the Kindle edition of the newspapers.
“At The New York Times Company we are always seeking new ways for our millions of readers to have full and continuing access to our high-quality news and information,” said Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., chairman, The New York Times Company and publisher, The New York Times. "The wireless delivery and new value-added features of the Kindle DX will provide our large, loyal audience, no matter where they live, with an exciting new way to interact with The New York Times and The Boston Globe. Additionally, by offering a subscription through the Kindle DX to readers who live outside of our delivery areas, we will extend our reach to our loyal readers who will be able to more readily enjoy their favorite newspapers. Meanwhile, we are continuing to work with Amazon to make The New York Times and The Boston Globe experiences on Kindle better than ever."

Kindle DX’s large display offers an enhanced reading experience with another category of graphic-rich content—textbooks. With complex images, tables, charts, graphs, and equations, textbooks look best on a large display. Leading textbook publishers Cengage Learning, Pearson, and Wiley, together representing more than 60 percent of the U.S. higher education textbook market, will begin offering textbooks through the Kindle Store beginning this summer. Textbooks under the following brands will be available: Addison-Wesley, Allyn & Bacon, Benjamin Cummings, Longman & Prentice Hall (Pearson); Wadsworth, Brooks/Cole, Course Technology, Delmar, Heinle, Schirmer, South-Western (Cengage); and Wiley Higher Education.
Arizona State University, Case Western Reserve University, Princeton University, Reed College, and Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia will launch trial programs to make Kindle DX devices available to students this fall. The schools will distribute hundreds of Kindle DX devices to students spread across a broad range of academic disciplines. In addition to reading on a considerably larger screen, students will be able to take advantage of popular Kindle features such as the ability to take notes and highlight, search across their library, look up words in a built-in dictionary, and carry all of their books in a lightweight device.

“The Kindle DX holds enormous potential to influence the way students learn,” said Barbara R. Snyder, president of Case Western Reserve University. “We look forward to seeing how the device affects the participation of both students and faculty in the educational experience.”

New Built-In PDF Reader

Kindle DX features a built-in PDF reader using Adobe Reader Mobile technology for reading professional and personal documents. Like other types of documents on Kindle, customers simply email their PDF format documents to their Kindle email address or move them over using a USB connection. With a larger display and built-in PDF reader, Kindle DX customers can read professional and personal documents with more complex layouts without scrolling, panning, or zooming, and without re-flowing, which destroys the original structure of the document. Everything from annual reports with graphs to flight manuals with maps to musical scores can be viewed on a single, crisp screen with Kindle DX.

New Auto-Rotation

Kindle DX’s display content auto-rotates so users can read in portrait or landscape mode, or flip the device to read with either hand. Simply turn Kindle DX and immediately see full-width landscape views of maps, graphs, tables, images, and Web pages.

New 3.3 GB Memory Holds Up To 3,500 Books

With 3.3 GB of available memory, Kindle DX can hold up to 3,500 books, compared with 1,500 with Kindle. And because Amazon automatically backs up a copy of every Kindle book purchased, customers can wirelessly re-download titles from their library at any time.

Incredibly Thin

Kindle DX is just over a third of an inch thin, which is thinner than most magazines.

3G Wireless, No PC, No Hunting for Wi-Fi Hot Spots

Just like Kindle, Kindle DX customers automatically take advantage of Amazon Whispernet to wirelessly shop the Kindle Store, download or receive new content in less than 60 seconds, and read from their library—all without a PC, Wi-Fi hot spot, or syncing. Amazon still pays for the wireless connectivity on Kindle DX so books can be downloaded in less than 60 seconds—with no monthly fees, data plans, or service contracts.

Syncs With Kindle for iPhone and other Kindle Compatible Devices

Just like Kindle, Kindle DX uses Amazon Whispersync technology to automatically sync content across Kindle, Kindle DX, Kindle for iPhone, and other devices in the future. With Whispersync, customers can easily move from device to device and never lose their place in their reading.

Massive Selection of Books—Plus Newspapers, Magazines, and Blogs

The Kindle Store currently offers more than 275,000 books, including popular books like New York Times Bestsellers, New Releases, and fiction and nonfiction released in the past several years. Dozens of newspapers and magazines are also available for subscription or single-edition purchase. BusinessWeek and The New England Journal of Medicine are available in the Kindle Store starting today, and The Economist will be available soon. Subscriptions are auto-delivered wirelessly to Kindle overnight so that the latest edition is waiting for customers when they wake up. Over 1,500 blogs are available on Kindle and updated and downloaded wirelessly throughout the day.

Kindle DX includes all the other features Kindle customers enjoy every day, including:

• Wirelessly send, receive, and read personal documents in a variety of formats such as Microsoft Word and PDF
• Look up words instantly using the built-in 250,000 word New Oxford American Dictionary
• Choose from six text sizes
• Add bookmarks, notes, and highlights
• Text-to-speech technology that converts words on a page to spoken word
• Search Web, Wikipedia.org, Kindle Store, and your library of purchased content
• No setup required—Kindle comes ready to use—no software to load or set up
  

Amazon Kindle is sold through Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

FYI: I think the Apple iPad will be a better buy. It has the iBooks feature and so much more. Read older post: Apple Goes Old School

APPLE GOES OLD SCHOOL...

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Apple went big on TV for the new iPad with multiple spots during the Oscars telecast, but don't expect "Meet iPad" to do huge numbers on the web.


While other big-budget TV marketers have taken to flogging their TV ads using social tools on YouTube, Twitter and elsewhere, Apple's strategy is decidedly retro. For Apple, it's all about driving viewers to Apple.com, and a potential sale; dissemination of the video itself is secondary.
To wit: Apple's "Meet iPad" has registered 275,000 views on the web after its debut before an Oscars audience of 41 million Sunday night, from 70 different placements, according to Visible Measures. Respectable, but given the general excitement on the web for new Apple products, a sleepy start. The most-viewed copy with just about 100,000 views was uploaded by a YouTube user, not by Apple.

Social aversion Apple generally does not participate in distribution channels it doesn't control, especially social media, which collides with the CEO Steve Jobs' command-and-control style of running the company. For example, Apple does operate a Twitter handle for iTunes, but @apple is in cold storage.

But Apple's approach is particularly striking given how much energy even the least tech-y major marketers spend to get web views on, say, their Super Bowl campaigns to squeeze additional return on their multimillion-dollar investments. By contrast, Apple's online distribution of its ads focuses on ad buys on, say, Yahoo's home page or in rich media units on YouTube, NYTimes.com or WSJ.com.

"They have willfully abstained at a time when everyone else is hopping on this bandwagon," said Matt Cutler, VP at Visible Measures.

Apple's enthusiastic user base can be reliably trusted to devour anything related to the company or CEO Steve Jobs. Apple never has to even ask. But given that enthusiastic support, Apple ads tend to underperform on the web; only one has made Ad Age's viral chart in the past year, which is typically populated by lesser marketers.

Different approach for iPadBut Apple may be changing its playbook in the iPad, at least a little. The company posted six iPad-related videos to its YouTube channel, albeit with comments turned off, and even allows users to embed the videos on their own sites.

It's a step in a different direction, but as one observer points out, far from embracing the kind of interaction that drives sharing. "This is no different than putting a TV ad on ABC -- it's just going where the eyeballs are," said Steve Rubel, senior VP at Edelman Digital.

STEVE JOBS HAS A PROBLEM...WITH HITLER