Want to Host Your Own iTunes Store? That’ll Cost You $1.3 Billion a Year.

If you were to run your iTunes Store out of your basement, just think about how much it would cost to serve Apple’s 225 million accounts on file. With 15 Billion iTunes song downloads, 14 Billion app downloads, and with those downloads soon to be happening simultaneously between your Mac, iPad, and iPhone thanks to iCloud, Horace Diedu writes that we can deduce a lot about how much it costs Apple to keep the operation running smoothly. “Since we know something about the average price of songs and apps, and we know the split between developers and Apple (and roughly between music labels and Apple) we can get a rough estimate of the amount Apple retains to run its store.”

Diedu took the margin of apps and song downloads per month (assuming if the app store runs ‘break even’) and added them together; the margin consists of what Apple pays out to content owners before processing, delivery, and maintenance costs. He concludes that it costs Apple $133 million a month, or $1.3 billion which is paid towards keeping everything operating smoothly. Remember, we’re not calculating the gross margin, but rather the amount Apple is left with after paying developers, record labels, and publishers, before pouring that cash into their operating fees. The leftovers, Deidu concludes, would go towards capacity increases, perhaps in Apple’s new datacenter.

[via Asymco]

iOS5: There’s a reason it’s called ‘beta’ software.→

iOS5: There’s a reason it’s called ‘beta’ software.

Malcom Barclay comments on how iOS 5 is hurting App Store reviews,

I can understand users are very eager to get their hands on the latest & greatest iOS shown off at WWDC. So they sign up for developer accounts for £59, with a few clicks and an alternative restore through iTunes. Voilà new iOS on shinny iPhone. Problem is, this is beta software and there’s a very good reason it’s called beta software. It’s not finished.

Barclay writes, “The review system is not for leaving bug or support related questions, for example, ‘How do I add a favourite?’.” While the review system in the Mac App Store is generally unfiltered and used to spew much vitriol if an app doesn’t work, the iOS 5 beta adds to this problem since so many casual users are downloading the software early from Apple or somewhere online, and then complain when these apps are broken or crash.

Barclay reminds us that while Apple doesn’t provide a proper support system so developers can better engage with customers, that you should be mindful (in general) and contact the developer directly with any questions, concerns, or bugs. With iOS 5 just being released this week, developers have had little time to update their apps, submit it to the app store, wait for the review process, and fix any current bugs. Considering that iOS 5 is beta software, you shouldn’t expect anything to run smoothly - iOS 5 is scheduled to be released in the fall, and iterative updates will be made in the meantime. ”There is no point in dev’s releasing fixes for these issues yet because this is just beta 1, there could be as many as 6 more to go.” Barclay concludes.

Many of us often forget that the beta labels software that is untested; instead it’s associated with ‘early’ or ‘preview’. If you currently have iOS 5 running on your devices, be aware that developers aren’t supermen. Many are just getting back from WWDC (full of knowledge), and will be working to update their apps for the scheduled Fall release. If stuff doesn’t work in the meantime, that’s the risk you take. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enjoy your first look, but to simply to be mindful that you’re using an unfinished product.

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Alone, Apple is Worth As Much as Microsoft, HP, and Dell Combined

While market cap isn’t always the best tool to evaluate company vs. company in value, Apple’s estimate value of $301 billion isn’t to go unnoticed. Robin Wauters from TechCrunch took a look at Microsoft’s, Hewlett Packards, and Dell’s market caps in the PC industry to see of the powerhouses could stack up against Cupertino. Apple is doing pretty good for themselves; with a combined market cap of $302.4 billion, Microsoft (~$200.3 billion), HP (~$72.8 billion), and Dell (~29.3 billion) only have a solid billion over the competition if the estimates are accurate, and it’s only a matter of time before Apple has another record quarter to surpass the trio.

Right now, the difference in market capitalization between Apple and Microsoft is roughly $100 billion. That’s more than the combined worth of Research In Motion, Nokia, Netflix and eBay.

Or: $100 billion is the sum of markets cap of Amazon and Adobe.

Or: $100 billion is only $15 billion shy of Intel’s total market cap.

Apple has currently raked in $51.41 billion for the year, posting a record revenue of $26.74 billion in January and a revenue of $24.67 billion in March, with just under 70% of that being iOS device sales alone. In comparison, Microsoft posted revenues of $16.43 billion in April, and $19.95 billion in January, earning $36.38 million in their second and third fiscal quarters, with revenue deriving from Microsoft Office, Server, and Windows.

During this year’s WWDC keynote, Phil Schiller announced that the PC industry shrank by 1%, as Mac sales grew by 28%.

[via TechCrunch]

Screeny: Simple Screen Recording for the Mac

In the world of screen recording apps for Mac there are many options, but most are complex and expensive. What if you could have a great screen recording app that was easy to use, had a great UI and was under $20 US? Well, browse no further my friends.

Drew Wilson, the designer developer behind dialoggs, Pictos and Valio, has just released a screen recording application for the Mac called Screeny.

Screeny is an “unbeatable screen recording experience” and could be the easiest one you have ever used as well. Before we go into details, here’s how it works: Launch the app - it lives in your menu bar. Set the capture area. Use the floating control panel, the menu bar shortcut or set a key command to record and boom, you’re done. Read more

Munster’s WWDC 2011 Survey: Developers Choose iOS and Android Before Mac

Among the 5000 developers crowding Apple’s WWDC 2011 this year, Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster was on the scene, surveying a small pool developers on platform related questions. Munster’s sample of 45 participants consisted of only iOS developers, who’d naturally favor Apple’s development platforms over Microsoft or RIM. The results of the survey were published in a note to clients that compared these 45 responses to 20 he gathered in 2008, when the iPad and Android markets were non-existant. Of the developers sampled, Munster found that the pool of iOS developers typically favored smartphone development over desktop development, and that iOS was best for monetization. Philip Elmer-DeWitt highlights some of the findings:

  • Only 7% are also developing apps for the Mac, down from 50% in 2008.
  • Nearly half (47%) write apps for Android, 36% for Research in Motion’s (RIMM) BlackBerry, 13% for Microsoft (MSFT) Windows Phone 7 and 7% for Hewlett-Packard’s (HPQ) WebOS.
  • Asked which platform had the highest potential for future growth, none mentioned the BlackBerry, WebOS or Nokia’s (NOK) Symbian.
  • Although 100% preferred iOS for ease of development and monetization, they did have some complaints, chief among them Apple’s “strict limitations” (38%) and the App Store approval process (11%).

Lion, iOS 5, and Apple’s iCloud were hot topics of WWDC 2011 this year, and while Munster only surveyed a handful of developers, there’s a lot to be excited about for both Mac and iPhone development. Scott Forstall announced on stage that iOS development in particular is still a hot market with over 200 million iOS devices sold. iOS’ installed base is leading the market at 44%, compared to 28% for Android and 19% for RIM. Total, Apple has paid developers $2.5 million dollars for apps marketed in the App Store.

Desktop development is still strong, as showcased in Apple’s Design Awards this year, featuring amazing apps like Pixelmator and Capo. Many developers are going to be updating or releasing new versions of theirs apps for Lion through the Mac App Store, and if Reeder is any indication, I have a feeling Mac development is as strong as it’s ever been. Survey results have been posted after the break.

[via Fortune Tech]

image via Aaron Ash

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A Roundup Of Custom Notification Center Widgets, Themes and Mockups

With the release of redsn0w and the first unofficial widget for iOS 5 over the weekend, we noted how developing widgets for the new Notification Center could open a big new opportunity for developers willing to invest on features not implemented by Apple – e.g. widgets in iOS 5 are limited to the iPhone and the Stocks and Weather applications. We first detailed UISettings on Saturday, a widget that, similarly to toggles for popular iOS 4 tweak SBSettings, allows users to quickly activate iPhone hardware functionalities like WiFi, Bluetooth and Brightness.

Since the release of UISettings, several developers have started playing around with the concept of widgets in Notification Center. Besides some obvious updates to UISettings that brought an improved design and stability, others have released new tweaks to enable new functions in the area otherwise reserved to notifications. Spring Prefs, for example, is an upcoming widget by @GreySyntax that will put system information in the Notification Center. Available RAM, firmware version, IP and uptime – they all can be viewed right under the status bar of iOS 5 with a pulldown gesture. In the same sneak peek, you can also see a custom Notification Center theme that gets rid of Apple’s much criticized linen background for a more elegant transparent effect and minimal layout. Read more

iPhone 5 Reaches Final Testing Stage, Launching In September

Several rumors in the past months indicated that Apple wasn’t ready to launch a new iPhone model this summer, and the WWDC confirmed speculation of Apple focusing on software (with iOS 5, Lion, and iCloud) to save the next-generation iPhone for a Fall launch. We’ve already discussed why this would make sense for a number of reasons. 9to5mac is now reporting the new iPhone has reached the final “AP” testing stage, and is being carried around by high-level Apple executives. Apple is apparently also working on a deal with Verizon to launch FaceTime over 3G, something that was spotted in the first beta of iOS 5 and suggested the company was playing around with settings to enable video chat on mobile operators by the end of the year.

Although this has been assumed since the no-iPhone-at-WWDC-rumors broke, the current plan is for a September launch for the next-generation iPhone.

Apple and Verizon have yet to strike a deal regarding FaceTime over 3G for the Verizon network. Keep in mind that 3G and 4G aren’t the same thing. < Don’t read into that too much. Or maybe do.

The website has also done a little digging into the iOS 5 SDK and discovered codenames for two unreleased iPhone devices, N93 and N94. The current-gen iPhone was codenamed N90 and N92 for the GSM and CDMA variations, respectively. Considering rumors of worldphone capabilities that are floating, it’s not clear why would Apple have two different iPhone models in the works, unless one of them is destined to another US carrier like T-Mobile or Sprint, as recent speculation claimed. However, it seems very clear at this point that the device will feature minor hardware changes and the same industrial design of the iPhone 4, with 9to5mac also claiming that the iPhone 5 could have the same 5 MP camera of the current generation as code strings in the SDK point out. The iPhone 5 was rumored to be set for an 8 MP upgrade from either OmniVision or Sony, though a report from last week also said Largan Precision had been contacted to provide 8 MP sensors for the next-generation iPhone.

Steve Jobs Email Confirms iWeb Will Be Discontinued

MacRumors has posted what they believe to be a legitimate email from Steve Jobs to a customer, in which Apple CEO sort of confirms that iWeb, the website creation tool bundled in the iLife suite and connected to MobileMe’s hosting service, will be discontinued come the official end of MobileMe services next year. Following the announcements at WWDC that saw the introduction of iCloud and the support document that detailed how existing MobileMe subscribers will be given instructions to migrate to iCloud this Fall, many wondered what would happen to old offerings like the aforementioned iWeb and the me.com web apps, which didn’t see any announcement or confirmation at the developers event. iWeb allowed users to design and update websites on a Mac, then host them through MobileMe. Steve Jobs suggests users will have to find an alternative design tool and provider to host the websites.

The email:

Q: Dear Mr. Jobs,

Will I need to find an alternative website builder and someone to host my sites?

I have invested a lot of time and effort and the thought of re-training sucks more than mobileme ever did.

A: Yep.

Sent from my iPhone

MobileMe subscriptions were automatically renewed to June 30, 2012, free of charge for all existing free (trial) and paid customers. It’s not clear at this point which other MobileMe services won’t make the transition to iCloud as Apple hasn’t confirmed anything but the information from the support document so far, but several tech pundits started believing that iWeb was headed towards discontinuation when it didn’t receive a substantial update with the iLife ‘11 suite last year.

New MacBook Airs Coming On Wednesday? [Updated]

Following the screenshots detailing Nuance integration in iOS 5 through Apple internal settings, Chronic Wire reports new MacBook Airs may be coming out on Wednesday. Chronic had a good track record in the past pinpointing various Apple rumors and he seems certain the new line will launch this week, on June 15th. However, he didn’t post any tech specs of the new machines – though it looks fairly obvious that Apple will implement Sandy Bridge processors and Thunderbolt technology like in the iMac and MacBook Pro 2011 refreshes. Several reports in the past months pointed at Apple aiming at a June-July release for the popular ultra-thin laptops.

Meanwhile, 9to5mac also claims Apple will we holding retail store overnights on Tuesday for a Wednesday product launch, but they couldn’t confirm what the product could be. They don’t believe it’s the new MacBook Air family like Chronic Wire does, but it could be considering recent speculation.

We have since heard from a source that there are still some current generation MacBook Airs shipping to retail stores across the world into the next couple of weeks. Because of our own independent information, we doubt a new MacBook Air launch for Wednesday. It does make sense though based on the scheduled retail overnight.

Other products recently rumored for an update would be the Mac Pro Server, Mac mini server and Time Capsule/AirPort Extreme stations, which several bloggers believed would be unveiled by Apple at WWDC.

Update: Chronic Wire now reports Back to School promo material will be put in place during the retail overnights on Tuesday, with a launch on Wednesday alongside the new Airs. The Back to School 2011 promo was initially believed to be set for a WWDC announcement with possibility for students to get the usual iPod touch with the purchase of a new Mac, or a discount off a new iPad 2.

Update #2: MacRumors initially posted part numbers of what they claimed to be the four models supposed to become available this week. In a tweet, they later confirmed the numbers were for unlocked iPhones. Currently, Apple offers four MacBook Air models with 64 GB and 128 GB SSD options for the 11-inch, 128 GB and 256 GB for the 13-inch.