Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.Apple rose to
dominate sales of digital music by more or less mirroring the way consumers acquired music in the physical world -- that is, purchasing songs, but providing a greater degree of granularity. This worked well for music and has also
held true for apps and best-selling books, but hasn't been as in step with consumer media acquisition habits for other content.
For example, before Apple
brought sales of video material to iTunes, most consumers did not generally own TV shows except for perhaps a few cherished series on DVD. They either watched them as they aired as part of a cable-like subscription or paid a flat monthly fee for the privilege of recording them on a DVR to be viewed after they aired. Furthermore, both Blockbuster physical stores and later Netflix's DVD by mail feature relied on a system of one-time consumption via rental or subscription that eschewed ownership of movies. And today, Vevo.com offers free streaming of many music videos that Apple still seeks to sell.
Continue reading Switched On: You Tell Me It's The Institution
Switched On: You Tell Me It's The Institution originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
When considering the great technology advances of the past few decades, GPS tends to get short shift compared to such culture-rocking innovations as the internet and cellular networks. But it is a marvel nonetheless. Just a few generations ago, the idea of hopping in a car with no clue how to get to a particular destination was foolishness (or at least fodder for gender-stereotyping comedians). Today, with an inexpensive device or smartphone software, we can do so with near certainty of finding our way.
Developers of navigation apps and hardware must place great care in creating an experience that doesn't unnecessarily distract the driver. For example, quite a few involve "lane assist" features that starkly indicate the options when coming to a fork in the road so that the driver avoids having to stare at the screen too long to figure out the right path. In addition, spoken instructions have long been a defining commodity. While
Telenav, for example, offers a free version of its navigation app, it doesn't include such audio. And Nokia recently followed suit with its distribution strategy around
Nokia Drive, leaving the version with spoken turn-by-turn directions exclusive to its Windows Phones.
Continue reading Switched On: A road trip with Siri
Switched On: A road trip with Siri originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Dec 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
The most surprising thing about the
iPhone 4S is that people were surprised by the iPhone 4S, for there is ample precedent to the company both confining upgrades largely to a speed bump and to saying no to a host of potential new features. As to the former, the iPhone 4S is straight out of the playbook of Apple's successful upgrade of the Apple 3G to the 3GS, although the competition wasn't as strong as it is today.
Similarly, when Apple first lowered the price of the iPod touch below $200 in 2009 amidst widespread speculation that it would add a front-facing camera for FaceTime (which it did in the next generation), the company noted that it didn't think the product needed any more "stuff." So, what, then, defines the iPhone 4S? The differentiators can be thought of as four "Ses."
Continue reading Switched On: The four Ses of the iPhone 4S
Switched On: The four Ses of the iPhone 4S originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 09 Oct 2011 20:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
Industry conferences that include competitions among scores of startups generally don't look too kindly upon companies producing hardware. Nonetheless, there were quite a few physical products shown off this week at TechCrunch Disrupt in New York. These were either the main offering of companies or complements to their service offering, and judging by their demo platform of choice, the iPhone appears to be a leading agent of disruption -- the companies introducing hardware used Apple's handset to do everything from avoiding stress to measuring its biological impact. Switched On will introduce four such products after the break.
Continue reading Switched On: Devices designed to disrupt
Switched On: Devices designed to disrupt originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 May 2011 21:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
Much like their home countries, Apple and RIM share much in common, but contrast in important ways. Both companies are among the few that produce their own software for their cellular handsets. Apple, a personal computing pioneer, sees market expansion in smartphones. RIM, a smartphone pioneer, sees market expansion in mobile computing. Looking at the tablets on offer, Apple has been just as adamant in
decrying a 7-inch display as RIM has been defending it, the latter saying that it sought to create an ultramobile device with the PlayBook.
Apple designs products for consumers that have relevance for enterprises. RIM designs products for enterprises that have relevance for consumers. This has also been evident with the PlayBook, which has taken heat for its lack of native e-mail and calendaring options. RIM consciously put these on the back burner because it wanted to appease CIOs concerned about data theft, even though it meant a less appealing launch product for consumers. Another parallel: RIM has suffered as AT&T
delays in supporting Bridge, just as Apple struggled with AT&T supporting tethering on the iPhone.
Continue reading Switched On: RIM's shot
Switched On: RIM's shot originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 08 May 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
In the short history of smartphones, handsets carrying all but one of the major operating systems have been available to multiple U.S. carriers. That exception is iOS, for which the iPhone has been the only model. Of course, the iPhone's close cousin, the iPod touch, is available regardless of carrier (or service fees, for that matter), and has sometimes been referred to as "the iPhone for Verizon users." Ultimately, though, it's not. While the iPod touch provides access to a dizzying array of functionality that will likely expand this fall, its lack of an integrated cellular radio and attendant voice calling features means that it cannot assume that primary role in one's digital life in the same way that many smartphones have.
For this reason, the notion of a
Verizon iPhone remains one of the hottest rumors in the industry, with many assuming that it would cause a fundamental shift in the competitive landscape. But there are many reasons that a Verizon iPhone may take years to arrive -- if it ever does -- and may not create nearly the disruption that it has on AT&T.
Continue reading Switched On: Getting real about a phone that's not (part 1)
Switched On: Getting real about a phone that's not (part 1) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 18 Sep 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
Beyond an opportunity for a lucky few to visit the surreal and sophisticated wireless testing labs buried deep within the Apple campus, the
Steve Jobs "Antennagate" press conference had few surprises in terms of using a tool at Apple's disposal -- its own Bumpers (augmented by those of third parties) -- to address a vulnerability of the iPhone 4 antenna design. The difference between the iPhone 4 and other devices is the clear marking of the spot at which physical contact causes the signal to degrade. Optimists could consider this a visual reminder to avoid contact while pessimists could see a constant reminder of imperfection. Regardless, at its press conference, Apple added - and continues to add -- visual verification of its assertion that multiple handsets (or at least smartphones) can fall victim to a strategic grasp.
Beyond that, the only muted revelation of the day was that AT&T is reporting that the iPhone 4 is monitoring dropped calls on the iPhone 4 at a rate ever so slightly above that of the 3GS. However, the 3GS did not have a reputation for being particularly tenacious at holding on to a call. Indeed, were it not for all the heat the previous iPhone took at AT&T, perhaps Apple would not have had to push for so radical an antenna redesign. Therefore, it would have been interesting to know how the iPhone 4 compared to the AT&T smartphone average (skewed as it is to iPhones anyway), especially given the earlier Apple demonstration of how other smartphones can suffer from attenuation.
Continue reading Switched On: Of guiltlessness and giveaways
Switched On: Of guiltlessness and giveaways originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Jul 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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When the original iPhone was first launched, its camera ranked among its least competitive features. While the face of Apple's product broke ground for how it reacted to touch, its eye into the world was wanting. It could capture only two megapixels, lacked autofocus, a flash, or digital zoom, and had no support for video capture. It seemed as though Apple had somehow felt obliged to put in a camera, a feature the company would leave off the iPod touch and iPad. The 3GS bumped the resolution to three megapixels and added in video capture that even included trimming capabilities, but Apple's heart still didn't seem very into the iPhone as a digital imaging device.
That's changed with
iPhone 4. While its five-megapixel camera lags behind the eight-megapixel cameras on devices such as the
Droid Incredible and
HTC EVO 4G in terms of raw resolution, and it includes just one LED flash bulbs as opposed to two on the EVO 4G, Apple's inclusion of a backlight sensor has aided the product's low-light capture, and the included software makes use of the cameras in innovative ways.
Continue reading Switched On: An 'i' for imaging
Switched On: An 'i' for imaging originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Jun 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
Their screens lacked color and their apps lacked Internet access, but one thing the PDAs of yore had in common with the smartphones of today was text input that couldn't compare to a full-sized keyboard. The challenge, of course, is that full-sized keyboards generally aren't very good traveling companions for pocket-sized devices. In 2000, a
startup called ThinkOutside addressed the issue with the first Stowaway keyboard, an ingeniously designed folding keyboard that used the dock connector of Palm PDAs to create a touch-typing experience that fit in your pocket. (Stowaway designer Phil Baker is the author of the book
From Concept to Consumer, which explains how ideas become products that get built overseas and ultimately sold back here).
ThinkOutside went on to create versions for PocketPCs, infrared (to accommodate incompatible dock connector standards) connections, and then finally Bluetooth. The company was eventually purchased by accessory maker Mobility Electronics, which renamed itself iGo after its flagship power adapter product, and eventually cancelled the Stowaway. At the time, PDA sales were sinking and relatively few handsets supported Bluetooth; most of those that did supported only the profiles needed for headsets and speakerphones, not keyboard input.
Continue reading Switched On: Stowaway from the PDA era
Switched On: Stowaway from the PDA era originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 May 2010 20:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
Today's smartphones handle voice conversations, short texts, email, instant messages, and tweets from around the globe. They are moving toward real-time translation of languages -- and if the batteries malfunction, they can even send smoke signals. But if there is one staple of communication that has seemed immune from "app-ification," it is the fax machine. This dial-up dinosaur has proven so resilient that it seems certain that the mutant cockroaches surviving humanity may find some use for 14,400 bits per second document transmissions. However, a recently launched $3 app for the iPhone may be the harbinger of the demise of the fax, or at least for one of its most common rationales.
Continue reading Switched on: Giving fax the axe
Switched on: Giving fax the axe originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Ross Rubin (@rossrubin) contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
At least since the advent of the first camera phones, people have been wondering whether the cell phone would limit the opportunity for all kinds of other products, particularly portable electronics. Even the more pedestrian features of basic cell phones have been blamed for the declines in (or at least limiting the market for) pagers, Family Radio Service (FRS) radios, and even watches. And beyond portable electronics, cordless phones have also been in a state of decline for years as more consumers cut the cord.
But the
iPhone 3GS has renewed the old debate for a number of reasons, including data that shows that iPhone users are disproportionately inclined to use their phone's advanced features and changes in the hardware and software that improve the digital camera, add video capture, and open the door to in-vehicle turn-by-turn navigation.
TomTom, which has returrned to its roots by demonstrating navigation software for the third-party hardware of the original iPhone 3G, can now offer that software through Apple's App Store. So, will the iPhone shutter Canon, run Garmin off the road, or make Flip flop? Thankfully, for the sake of all wishing to avoid reading headlines containing these atrocious puns, not for the foreseeable future, at least in the U.S.
Continue reading Switched On: iPhone 3GS is fine, young, but not a cannibal
Filed under: Cellphones
Switched On: iPhone 3GS is fine, young, but not a cannibal originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
Apple may be right that the benefits of multitasking do not outweigh its costs at this point, and the company will address at least some of the needs that have traditionally been met with background apps via its reworked push service and in-app e-mail due to launch this summer. However, the rationale presented at the
iPhone OS 3.0 event this week against background apps is an incomplete argument at best.
First, let's turn back to when Apple first announced that the iPhone would not support background applications at
WWDC last June. Apple's Scott Forstall showed a screen shot of Windows Mobile's busy Task Manager noting, "This is nuts." He pointed out how background applications consume cycles, sandbagging performance, and consume battery life. But since when does Apple accept that Microsoft's implementation of something is the last word?
And at the iPhone OS 3.0 preview, in a quantitative justification of the background process ban that included relaying testing on Android, Apple talked about how running a background IM client can reduce standby time at least 80 percent, whereas a push system reduces standby time only 23 percent. However, the case against background applications is not so straightforward.
Continue reading Switched On: Taking the iPhone to tasks
Filed under: Cellphones
Switched On: Taking the iPhone to tasks originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Mar 2009 20:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Cellphones
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment.
In the 1999 geek classic, "Pirates of Silicon Valley", an Apple employee watching the famous "1984" commercial with Steve Jobs points to the Big Brother character -- intended to represent IBM -- and then points to Bill Gates of Microsoft, whom Jobs has just introduced as part of Apple's family. The silent message is that the real threat to Apple is Microsoft, not IBM, and indeed the following scene depicts Jobs confronting Gates after Jobs sees Windows 1.0 running on an NEC PC.
That scene, set in 1983, could be easily recreated 25 years later, substituting the iPhone for the Macintosh, Microsoft for IBM as the iPhone's perceived threat, and Google for Microsoft as the iPhone's more serious threat. Like Microsoft in 1983, Google is a key Apple partner in 2008. The iPhone features Google Maps, GMail and Google as its default Web search engine, and Google CEO Eric Schmidt even sits on Apple's board of directors. And also like Microsoft in 1983, Google is working fervently to create a wide range of competitors to Apple's iPhone. None of these may ever match the integrated experience of Apple's iPhone, but it's clear that the first
Android phone has come closer to the iPhone experience than Windows 1.0 did to the original Macintosh operating system.
Nevertheless, Google's task is a lot more daunting than Microsoft's was at the dawn of Windows for several reasons.
Continue reading Switched On: With friends like Google, does Apple need Microsoft?
Switched On: With friends like Google, does Apple need Microsoft? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Sep 2008 13:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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