I said it first. Then Buzz Out Loud (A CNET Podcast) said it. The Loop is saying it. Android’s 28% of all smartphone market share over the iPhone’s 21% was deemed a massive blow to Apple. Well duh (sans the Android victory part). Of course Android is going to have more market share - they’re selling a lot more phones than Apple. In all fairness, these numbers simply represent the volume of Android phones in the marketplace. How do you think Microsoft grew so big so quickly? They put their product everywhere. And look how that turned out. As an Android owner, I’ll say it’s way too early to determine what effect Android sales are having on the market, and whether this trend will last.
Just Like I Said, Android Market Share is No Big Deal
Steam for Mac Launch Details Revealed
Valve has just posted a press release revealing the last details about the launch of Steam for Mac, which is scheduled for tomorrow. First, you’ll be able to see the “Steam Play” feature in action, which allows you purchase a game once and play it on every platform that supports Steam.
Also, Torchlight from Runic Games will be available tomorrow.
You can read the full press release after the break.
The MacStories Things Giveaway for Mac, iPad and iPhone
That’s right folks, thanks to Cultured Code we’ve got three copies of Things up for grabs. For those who don’t know, Things is simply the best GTD application available on the Mac, iPhone and iPad, featuring an elegant and beautiful interface and a feature set which allows you to quickly enter and organize your tasks in areas, tags, people and projects.
Giveaway details:
- 1 copy of Things for Mac, our review here (worth €49.95)
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1 U.S. promo code of Things for iPhone (worth $9.99)
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1 U.S. promo code of Things for iPad, our review here (worth $19.99)
We’ll pick up one winner for each version on Friday, May 14th. To enter the contest, be sure to follow @macstoriesnet on Twitter and leave a comment here including your Twitter username and the reason you’d like to win a copy of Things. Have you tried other GTD apps before? Do you think Things can fit in your workflow? Just let us know.
As always, good luck!
Verizon Making an iPhone Mobile Campaign?
Once a company starts making advertisements for a product, more than likely, they’re going to carry it. And Verizon is rumored to be making lots of sexy ads for the iPhone, which probably feature Verizon’s infamous coverage map and something along the lines of, “The iPhone. Now in More places.” Ads firm Landor Associates also calls the next iPhone, “the iPhone HD.” So folks, we’ve only got a month until WWDC, and hopefully we’ll be filled in with Apple’s next move in the smartphone marketplace.
[9 to 5 Mac via CrunchGear]
Steve Jobs, Alive and Well One Year Later
Bloomberg Businessweek is reporting that Steve Jobs is in fact, “Fully operational” one year after his liver transplant. It only took Businessweek to make me realize just how lively Jobs has been the past few months, from the release of the iPad, to the campaign against Flash. Also noted is his recent endorsement of a Californian law that promotes organ donations, as well detailing the specifics of Jobs’ previous condition and surgery. While most it reiterates what we already knew, this just goes to show that Apple investors and customers should rest easy - Steve’s not going anywhere for a long time.
Square Mobile Payment System Going Live
If you’ve ever heard about Square Mobile, they’re offering one of the coolest payment systems I’ve seen in a while. Take a white plastic cube, slip it in to your iPhone, iPod touch, or Android device’s headphone jack, swipe your card, and Square takes care of the rest. Without need for a merchant account or expensive fees, Square is something I’d love to implement somehow - it’s going completely online sometime this week (previously, its availability was limited). Check out the video after the break.
iPad Wifi Issues Will Be Fixed With a Software Update
Remember when there was so much talking about the iPad having problems with wifi connections and disconnecting from networks? Some U.S. colleges even banned the device due to these problems with wifi. Apple has finally updated a support document about the issue including some “workarounds” to get wireless connections working properly on the iPad:
- Verify your Wi-Fi router firmware is up to date.
- If your router’s security encryption is WEP, try WPA or WPA2, as WEP can cause intermittent disconnects with the iPad which requires retyping a password.
- Make sure the iPad screen brightness is not at the lowest level.
- Obtain a new IP address by going into Settings, Wi-Fi, accessing the settings of the current network, and choosing “Renew Lease.”
- Finally, if these steps do not work, users are recommended to try turning Wi-Fi off and back
Also, the issues will be fixed with a Software Update. I can see OS 3.2.1 coming by the WWDC.
Adobe Called, They got Flash Working
While I generally wouldn’t talk about the possible triumphs of Android on an Apple site, I have to rightfully follow up with this little piece that happens to mention Adobe’s failtastic display of Flash. Deep in the labs of the Adobe underworld, that infamous Nexus One is finally running flash. Personally, I’m intrigued by how they went solving interactions between the browser and flash content - you have to initiate flash content through a gesture.
Apple Tethered to AT&T for Five Years
While AT&T won’t let iPhone owners in the States tether their MacBooks to their iPhones, Apple has been tethered to AT&T for quite a while now. Apple’s contact with AT&T is rumored to last five years, meaning we won’t see anything happening with Verizon for a while. But here’s the kicker: Apple & AT&T may have accidentally invalidated this contact by informing customers that their contact was only exclusive for two years, and had to sign up for an additional three years to keep using the iPhone. Ooops.