Galaxy SIII's Monster Launch Numbers

Trevor Mogg on Samsung's Galaxy SIII selling 10 million units in the two months since it's launch:

With the S3 having quickly established itself as a handset to be reckoned with, the attention is now turning to Samsung’s main rival, Apple, to see if it can dazzle consumers with the next iteration of its iPhone, expected to be unveiled in September or October. Sure, Apple sold a colossal 35.1 million iPhones in the first three months of this year, but with more high-end, feature-rich Android phones coming to market, it’ll have to pull out all the stops to maintain those kinds of figures.

For real? Apple's now 9-month-old iPhone 4S sold a healthy 26 million (Samsung's model is only 10 million shy (generously adjusting for other iPhone models sold), I'm sure they'll catch up) units this quarter in spite of the fact that many would-be iPhone owners are holding off until the fall launch of the next-gen iPhone. How about we wait and see how the new handset does before we start declaring the latest iPhone-killer, mmmkay?

Proview Gets Paid, Doesn't Pay

Richard Lai:

Guess who's hasn't yet gotten its share of Proview's recently acquired $60 million? The lawyers that helped it win the iPad trademark dispute in China.

Does anything need to be added, really?

Different Approaches

Christopher Hitz on one customer's experience trying to get a refund from Dell:

After months of e-mails and calls, after hours of wholly unnecessary typing and talking, Mr. Golden is finally getting what should have been given to him — and nothing more — long ago, and without all the irritations. And Dell is expecting joy.

I've spoken with Apple support (on the phone and in-person) a handful of times. Every time they were very helpful. They fixed it, replaced it, or couriered a new one immediately each time. I didn't have to send anything in, or follow-up with anyone, or do some sort of dancing incantation. They resolved the situation immediately and effectively. That's why Apple tops customer satisfaction rankings constantly.

Sparrow for Windows

Ellis Hamburger on Sparrow for Windows:

To sum it up, Sparrow for Windows never existed.

I recently accepted a new position. This jobs required me to use a Windows machine and let me tell you… none of the awesome software I use daily exists for Windows. That includes Sparrow, Tweetbot, Reeder, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, Pixelmator, Aperture, Fantastical, Cobook, Bettertouchtool, and (to a lesser extent) Garageband. And the Windows alternatives (where they even exist) cost hundreds of dollars more than I paid for the OS X versions I use daily.

I now have two computers for work. The MacBook I use for everything and the HP I use when absolutely necessary.

Google Promotes Patent Trolls

Asa Mathat writing for some publication on Google's recent patent woes:

In attempting to fend off Apple and Microsoft’s suits against Motorola Mobility and advancing its own patent litigation against both companies, Google, which is facing a lot of regulatory scrutiny in the U.S. and abroad over what some allege is abuse of SEPs, has been arguing that proprietary non-standardized technologies that become ubiquitous due to their popularity with consumers should be considered de facto standards.

What Google's doing here is encouraging the filing of more patents. Phantom patents. Companies will need to patent something, anything, whether they ever intend to make it or not just so that if the day should come that they make something needing the technology or process described in the patent they have it in their portfolio, ready to go. If, like Apple, a company values secrecy or showmanship (or both) they will be rendered unable to participate in the tech landscape in that way without filing a bazillionty fake/misleading patents or setting up shell corporations to do the same thing.

In short, Google is promoting patent-trollism.

Google's Cowardly Patent Assertions

Jim Dalrymple on Google's recent patent assertions:

So, Let me get this straight. Apple spent billions of dollars researching the best interface for mobile devices and patented their findings. Those methods of interacting with a mobile device became so popular, Google illegally integrated them in its inferior Android operating system.

I was going to comment on this, but Jim nails it. Google knows that they stole Apple's ideas and they are terrified because Apple will win with their recent mother of all patents decision.

Sparrow Acquired By Google

Sparrow Blog:

We're excited to announce that Sparrow has been acquired by Google.

Welp, it was good while it lasted.

On Intellectual Property and the Defense Thereof

Jack Purcher on the "mother of all patents" Apple was awarded:

In 2007, Samsung, HTC, Google and all others in the industry didn’t have a smartphone with the likes of Apple’s iPhone features. They didn’t have the solutions that Apple eloquently brought to market to make a smartphone truly smart. Apple carefully and meticulously crafted a full end-to-end smartphone solution. So when the copycats and their followers whine in public and on blogs that Apple should learn to compete instead of initiate litigation – I bowl over with laughter.

Killian Bell acknowledges what Purcher said, but follows immediately with this:

Admittedly, it does appear that Apple uses its legal team to fight the opposition all too frequently.

This kind of thinking blows my mind. Apple should defend it's intellectual property. Jobs said in no uncertain terms at the iPhone launch event in 2007, "And boy have we patented it".

7 Inch Tablets And Their Keyboards

Shawn Blanc on the Nexus 7:

However, typing on the Nexus 7 in landscape mode is pretty much a joke. The keyboard is too big to easily type with your thumbs while holding the device, and yet it is far too small to type home row style.

This is the exact concern I would have with the purported iPad Mini. The keyboard is so crucial on these sorts of devices and it seems to be gleefully overlooked by so many pundits and reviewers.

The Future of iPhone 3GS

Matthew Panzarino:

The iPhone ‘next’ would be the flagship, the iPhone 4S would offer Siri and take the place of the 4 in the pricing lineup, and the 3GS would remain ‘free’ on contract. But, if the prices were right, Apple could expand the 3GS from a contract device to an off-contract pre-paid model that might finally give the company a horse in the developing nations race.

That's a good theory, but I don't understand why it necessitates the death of the iPhone 4.

3GS for Prepaid, 4 for $0, 4S for $99, 5 for $199. Easy and it covers the whole gamut.

(via Marco Arment)

Now Apple Has To Do Samsung's Advertising As Well

Kit Chellel:

A U.K. judge ordered Apple Inc. to publish a notice on its website and in British newspapers alerting people to a ruling that Samsung Electronics Co. didn’t copy designs for the iPad.

I don't know what Apple will do, but I sure know what I'd do.

Office Touch

Peter Bright on Microsoft's Office for tablets:

These are not touch applications, and you will not want to use them on touch systems. They're designed for mice and they're designed for keyboards, and making the buttons on the ribbon larger does nothing to change that fundamental fact.

Microsoft needs Office to be their killer app. They have to do what it takes to get this right.

Siegler on the Nexus 7

MG Siegler on the Google Nexus 7 tablet:

I’m about to do something I don’t do often — something I always said I’d do if the product deserved it. Something some people seem to think I’m incapable of: praise a Google product — an Android-based Google product, no less.

Solid review. This is one of a rare breed of balanced reviews of a tech product that is 1) made by Apple or 2) competes with a product made by Apple. This gives me great hope for the viability of an iPad Mini now that I can clearly see the use-case for a well-made smaller tablet.

Cleanliness and the Nexus 7

Steve Troughton-Smith:

The Nexus 7 back plate just doesn't clean; very susceptible to dye. The white model was a terrible idea.

Click on the link and look at the photo. Imagine if the first iPods (or any iPods for that matter) got this disgusting looking after normal use.

Apples vs Phantom Oranges

Killian Bell (emphasis mine):

We’ve been watching the iPad laugh in the face of the competition and dust off competitors without too many worries for the past three years. But the Surface will be the first tablet to put up a real fight, and that’s something Apple will need to keep an eye on.

For real? This is just as bad as people declaring that iPad Mini will destroy the Nexus 7 or the Kindle Fire. When it ships and you can actually use it and see how it works under real-world conditions then you can feel free to make whatever comparisons your heart desires. Until then please stop talking. This sort of rampant speculation is the reason my site's named what it is. Review and compare actual, shipping products only, please.

Macs, Mountian Lion, and AirPlay Mirroring

John Brownlee on the relatively recent kerfuffle over AirPlay Mirroring not supporting reasonably new Macs:

It’s simple: the secret sauce that Apple requires to make AirPlay Mirroring work is on-GPU H.264 encoding, or the ability to compress video on your device’s actual graphic chips without calling upon the CPU.

Marco Rips Antone

Marco Arment on ReadWriteWeb's follow-up article about the Retina MacBook Pro:

Actually, it’s pretty clear that Gonsalves is not an Apple customer, and doesn’t want to consider why all of us stupid consumer sheep keep falling for Apple’s “marketing”. And it says a lot about ReadWriteWeb that they’d allow someone so blatantly unqualified to write two inflammatory Apple articles with their logo on top.

Scathing.

NBA Contract Signed on iPad

Deron Williams:

Officially a Brooklyn Net! Signed my contract on an iPad Just thank God for this wonderful Opportunity #HelloBrooklyn lockerz.com/s/223996151—

I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that iPad is still not for content creation, and is, in fact, a toy.

Missing the Gravy Train

Drew Olanoff:

The guy who invented the mouse must be a bazillionaire, right? Wrong. Douglas Engelbart invented the mouse in 1963, submitting the patent for it in 1967.

However, Engelbart was way ahead of his time, and his patent expired before the personal computer came complete with a mouse

Egocentric

John Gruber reiterates many people's view of iPad content creation:

iPad is unsuitable for content creation for anyone unless it’s suitable for them.

Well put.