Archive for October, 2011
Apple’s 4-million-iPhone-4S weekend in context
Oct. 17, ‘11: Apple announced this morning that it sold more than 4 million iPhone 4S units over the weekend. That is an Apple record, a mobile phone record — according to Apple — and maybe even a consumer electronics record. For context, … Continue reading →
Design of the times: The wrap-around ribbon
Oct. 16, ‘11: As recently seen on: Grantland, Huffington Post, Google Offers, Korilla BBQ, Netflix, The Daily Feed, Fab, and TheLadders. Also: Commerce as content, shopping through art
Freemium and the iPhone App Store: The in-app purchasing model really works
Oct. 14, ‘11: One of the best decisions Apple made for the iOS App Store was to open up in-app purchasing to free apps. (It was initially for paid apps only.) This has allowed app developers — especially game developers — to really … Continue reading →
How much does it cost to make an Apple Store?
Oct. 14, ‘11: In a new analysis, Asymco’s Horace Dediu calculates that Apple spends around $10 million on average to create each of its retail stores. ifoAppleStore, an excellent resource on all things Apple Store-related, has a little more detail, but doesn’t show … Continue reading →
Apple’s iPhone-line drought is over
Oct. 14, ‘11: Remember when Apple launched the Verizon iPhone this past February and practically no one lined up to buy it? That’s not the case today, as the iPhone 4S started selling this morning. Both MacStories and Business Insider have “iPhone lines … Continue reading →
Smart: Hulu isn’t selling
Oct. 13, ‘11: Peter Kafka has the release. In short, Hulu’s owners — Disney, Fox, and NBC — have decided not to sell it. No word on whether Hulu CEO Jason Kilar will remain with the company, but it would be a big … Continue reading →
How does Google make money?
Oct. 13, ‘11: In a word: Ads. This past quarter, Google generated $9.7 billion of total gross revenue. Of that, almost all of it was from advertising, both on Google’s sites and on its network “partner” sites, which run Google’s AdSense ads. But … Continue reading →
Google mobile ads now a $2.5 billion run rate business
Oct. 13, ‘11: Google CEO Larry Page just said on the company’s earnings call that Google’s mobile ad business is now on a $2.5 billion revenue run rate, up from $1 billion a year ago. In the context of Google’s overall business, that’s … Continue reading →
The most amazing thing about Apple is how fast it’s still growing
Oct. 13, ‘11: There are many impressive facets to Apple’s business: Its sheer size, its growth over the past decade, its international growth, its profitability, and how much of it comes from the iOS platform, which only came into existence four years ago. … Continue reading →
Apple still can’t keep make iPhones fast enough, even with the familiar 4S design
Oct. 13, ‘11: One of the advantages of keeping a similar case design for the iPhone 4S, I thought, was that it would help Apple stay in front of demand. Not quite. The iPhone 4S — which goes on sale tomorrow — has … Continue reading →