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Apple Testing New Genius Bar Layout→

Apple Testing New Genius Bar Layout

Gary Allen writes about a new Genius Bar layout over at ifoAppleStore:

The designers’ solution to Genius Bar crowds was to pivot the GB table by 90-degrees so that it’s perpendicular to the rear wall of the store, and to eliminate the iconic kids seats and tables. A photo of the new set-up has surfaced showing a tall, 10-foot long wood counter at the rear of a store, with black stools on both sides. The table is set about 15 inches out from the rear wall of the store to allow employees to move from one side to another.

Often referred to as the “heart and soul” of an Apple retail store, the Genius Bar has come a long way since the floating notebooks for support staff and iPod-oriented questions and repairs. As Apple has evolved as a company and revamped its product line over the years, the Genius Bar has consequently changed to accommodate new kind of customers, questions, and, ultimately, devices – on both sides of the Bar. Customers’ details are now entirely managed on iPads, check-ins happen through a dedicated iPad app, and even signatures and machine information are being stored inside custom iPad software made for retail.

It’s rare to see a Mac at the Genius Bar these days, and perhaps the new layout is just another sign of the times.

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Five

It’s easy to look back at five years of iPhone and say that it was just about technology.

Five years ago, the original iPhone launched in the United States to much hype and a slightly different world. Apple was a much smaller company; Obama wasn’t President of the United States; R.E.M. were still together. The interface design behind the iPhone was, too, a little different than the bits we touch and swipe today. Both Ars Technica and Macworld have published solid retrospectives about the past five years.

The iPhone has created an economy that’s spurring the creation of jobs and new positions all over the globe. It reignited the mobile phone industry, and, in one fell swoop, turned competitors upside down as they struggled to keep their eyes open to the new wind blowing in their direction. The App Store didn’t launch until 2008, but its numbers are the very example of the software revolution spearheaded by the iPhone.

Unlike most inventions of modern history, though, the iPhone created a culture. And that’s because – unlike the ATM or the cordless telephone – the iPhone brought people together. By allowing developers to craft software for consumers willing to pay for it, the iPhone took down the wall between creation and consumption – the virtual barrier that normally separates an inventor from people using a product.

Both sides affected by this change – developers and users – ultimately became the starting point, the goal, and the focus.

The iPhone is about the people.

Like any other company looking for a profit, Apple has always needed to make money with the iPhone. But, after five years, I like to think that there can be a good cause behind profit and industry strategies – that there can be a purpose to “make great products”. And maybe I’m wrong, but I believe the iPhone has proved to be one of those major changes that have made people’s lives better. By combining breakthrough hardware design with the human touch, iPhone didn’t just change the way people communicate, work, and play: it saved lives, improved workplaces, told stories.

Sometimes there’s more to progress than just technology.

[image credit: Flickr]

MobileMe Shuts Down→

MobileMe Shuts Down

As initially announced last year with the launch of iCloud, Apple has officially shut down MobileMe – its former cloud-based platform for data syncing and document storage – yesterday, June 30, 2012. Replacing the standard Me.com login page with a shutdown notice for all users, Apple notes that “for a limited time, you can still move your MobileMe account to iCloud and download your Gallery photos and iDisk files at me.com”. The MobileMe login page is still providing links to find a lost device through Find My iPhone, download Gallery and iDisk data, and transition to iCloud. A Transition Q&A page is available here.

As also previously announced, old MobileMe subscribers with 20 GB of storage have received a free upgrade to iCloud until September 30, 2012:

MobileMe members with 20GB of storage receive a complimentary iCloud storage upgrade of 20GB, and accounts with additional purchased storage (40GB to 60GB) receive a complimentary upgrade of 50GB after moving to iCloud. These free upgrades are good through September 30, 2012. After that date, you can continue the upgrade at the regular price or let it expire and use the free 5GB plan.

Wikipedia provides a good summarization of MobileMe’s evolution and changes through the years, leading up to last year’s launch of iCloud, which Apple deemed the platform “for the next decade”.

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June 2012 In Review: WWDC Edition

June was all about WWDC. The big draw cards of the event were undoubtedly iOS 6 and the new Retina MacBook Pro, but there was also the refreshed MacBook Air and MacBook Pro lines and Mountain Lion which will launch sometime in July. Beyond WWDC, Rovio had another big month, Google released two new iOS Apps (Chrome and Google Drive) and there were some rumors about the next version of iTunes from trusted publications.

On the apps front, it was a bit of a slower month with WWDC taking most of the attention, but there were still some highlights including the spectacular Reeder 3.0, vjay, and Launch Center Pro. Some noteworthy editorials from June was Cody’s look at the new Podcasts app, Federico’s musings on OS X in ‘Different and Familiar’, Gabe’s thoughts on why upgrade pricing isn’t coming to the App Store, and my look at In-App Purchases for games and the conflict between economics and good will to consumers.

You can view previous editions of “Month in Review” here.

WWDC ‘12

This year’s WWDC centred around three things: new and updated Mac hardware, Mountain Lion and iOS 6. So to kick off, Apple unveiled refreshed MacBook Air and MacBook Pro lines that saw nice spec bumps with the jump to Sandy Bridge processors and the inclusion of USB 3. But the real spotlight of this section of the keynote was the new 15” Retina MacBook Pro that features a gorgeous Retina display and new, thinner hardware profile - and as is standard with any new product, Apple swiftly debuted a new ad featuring it. There was also the silent Mac Pro update that wasn’t really an update and then the new iPad Smart Case, updated Airport Express and updated USB SuperDrive.

Jumping to the software announcements, Apple revealed that Mountain Lion would arrive sometime in July for just $19.99 ($10 less than Lion). It features a tighter integration of iCloud, in-built dictation, Facebook and Twitter integration and several iOS influences from Notification Center to Game Center, Notes and more now arriving in OS X.

Then there was iOS 6. The headline features here were the new Maps app, Facebook Integration, added Siri functionalities, Do Not Disturb, Passbook and more. If you want to learn more, go check out our complete overview of iOS 6, Federico went into great detail and covers everything you would want to know from the keynote and things you may have missed. iOS 6 arrives sometime this Fall.

Finally, we also have our tidbits and links article regarding this year’s WWDC keynote which features some interesting nuggets of information that didn’t quite deserve their own dedicated post. If you want to watch this year’s keynote, you can do so here. As part of every WWDC, there is the Apple Design Awards. This year the winners included, Limbo, Jetpack Joyride and Paper amongst other very worthy winners - you can check out the full list here.

Developers who missed out on tickets to this year’s WWDC didn’t have to wait long this year to watch the recorded videos of the developer sessions, with the full catalogue of videos going live just four days after the event concluded.

Conclusion to the “4G” iPad issue in Australia

When Apple this year unveiled the third generation iPad, it labelled one of the models “4G + WiFi” across the world - despite the 4G only being compatible with US and Canadian networks. In Australia, the ACCC intervened and pursued legal action against Apple for misleading Australian consumers of the iPad’s 4G capabilities (it didn’t work with the 4G network operating in Australia). This month saw the legal issue conclude with Apple agreeing it mislead consumers and paying an AU$2.25 million fine plus AU$300,000 in costs to the ACCC. I took some time to read the judgement and posted some interesting details in an article covering the court’s acceptance of the fine.

Rovio has yet another big month

It seems as though we can’t go a month without at least some big news from Rovio. This month it was because their latest game in the series, Angry Birds Space hit 100 million downloads in 76 days - and that was right at the start of June. Now, just in the last few days we’ve seen the trailer for Rovio’s next big game; Amazing Alex which is set to launch in July on iOS and Android.

Ping, Podcasts and the next iTunes

Soon after this year’s WWDC, AllThingsD’s John Paczkowski reported that Ping will be removed from the next version of iTunes. What followed in the last week of June was the launch of a new iOS app from Apple that was dedicated to playing and discovering podcasts. It had been somewhat expected after the developer preview of iOS 6 lacked a link to podcasts in the iTunes Store app. There was also the report from Bloomberg which suggests that the next major release of iTunes will see improved sharing functionality and deeper iCloud integration.

Google iOS Apps

June saw the launch of Google Chrome for iOS which features draggable tabs and sync for bookmarks and tabs as well as the launch of Google Drive for iOS. Google also pumped out a Gmail for iOS update that added notification support.

Everything Else

The Highlights

Everything Else

Inspiring UIs

Bob Mansfield, Apple SVP Of Hardware Engineering, To Retire→

Bob Mansfield, Apple SVP Of Hardware Engineering, To Retire

In a short press release, Apple today announced the Bob Mansfield, Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, will retire. Mansfield joined the company in 1999 as Apple acquired Raycer Graphics. He led the Mac hardware engineering since 2005, the iPhone and iPod hardware engineering since 2010, and the iPad  hardware engineering since its inception.

“Bob has been an instrumental part of our executive team, leading the hardware engineering organization and overseeing the team that has delivered dozens of breakthrough products over the years,” said Tim Cook. … “We are very sad to have him leave and hope he enjoys every day of his retirement.”

Over the next several months, the role will be transitioned to Dan Riccio, currently vice president of iPad hardware engineering, who joined Apple in 1998 as vice president of Product Design. The entire hardware engineering team will continue to report to Mansfield until his departure.

We’ve embedded Apple’s statement past the break.

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Google Chrome for iOS Now Available

Announced and demonstrated onstage earlier today during Google I/O’s Thursday event, Google Chrome is now available in the App Store for iPads, iPhones, and iPod touches running iOS 4.3 or above. Chrome for iOS, much like its Android relative, features draggable tabs and can sync preferences and bookmarks thanks to Chrome Sync support. This also means that credentials can be synced between desktop Chrome and your smartphone or tablet, letting you quickly log into your favorite sites. Easy to turn on/off Incognito Mode means you can browse the web privately — web history and session cache won’t be saved while it’s enabled.

Google Chrome for iOS is basically a web view — unfortunately you won’t get the performance of Chrome rendering or V8 as with the desktop versions. You will however, get the syncing features, style, and convenience of Google Chrome’s interface. Download Chrome for iOS from the App Store.

Update: Google Chrome for iOS now out in the US

Past the break, you’ll find Google’s latest video for their Chrome web browser, showing off the iPhone, alongside the previous desktop, Google Chrome OS, and Android versions. We’ll also continue updating this post with impressions and links as it finishes propagating worldwide. Stay tuned!

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Google Drive for iOS Now Available

Following a series of announcements at its I/O 2012 event, Google formally introduced the official Drive app for iOS today. Available for free as a universal download for iPhone and iPad, the Google Drive app gives you access to all your documents and folders stored in your Google account, as well as the ones shared with you. Documents can be marked as starred to be easier to find, and made available offline through the details panel of an item view.

Complying with Apple’s terms for in-app purchases, the Google Drive app allows you to purchase additional storage using your iTunes account.

The Google Drive app for iOS doesn’t come with full editing capabilities – instead, Google is pushing the client as a way to “quickly and easily” find and view your files, pictures, and videos stored on Google’s servers. Files can be shared with collaborators from the app and, obviously, synced to desktop devices, but as far as editing capabilities go, it appears Google is only allowing users to forward documents to other installed iOS apps using the standard “Open In…” menu.

The app’s design is largely similar across the iPhone and iPad, relying on the tablet’s larger screen to display more panels at once and bigger media.

Google Drive for iOS is now available on the App Store.

Rovio Officially Introduces “Amazing Alex”, Launching In July On iOS and Android

Initially teased back in May, Finnish game maker Rovio formally announced its next game for iOS and Android today, launching a dedicated website, a set of wallpapers, and a video to reveal more details of the upcoming title. Coming “in July 2012” for iOS and Android (in May, Rovio said the game would launch within two months), Amazing Alex will be a puzzle game focused on letting Alex – the main character – build chain reactions across different locations, levels, and using a variety of objects to create fun and engaging Rube Goldberg-like devices and machines.

Rovio acquired the game from developers Snappy Touch and Mystery Coconut – it was originally called Casey’s Contraptions – and reworked it with a new physics engines, new graphics, and further developing the character of Alex.

Whilst it’s still unclear whether Amazing Alex will be a paid title or a “freemium game”, Rovio is already promising 100 levels, regular free updates, 35 interactive objects, and the possibility of building and sharing puzzles with your friends. A promo video posted on Rovio’s website (and also embedded below), doesn’t show any actual gameplay footage, but suggests a highly colorful and distincitive setting for the game.

You can check out the teaser site for Amazing Alex here, and follow @amazingalex on Twitter for future updates.
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