New laptops near from Apple
10/05/12 14:46 Filed in: Laptops
As we head towards the summer, it is likely that Apple will revamp its range of laptops, with new MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs. Although we never like to speculate on Apple’s next move, it does seem likely that the MacBook Air will be more influential on the new ranges than the MacBook Pros.
It is likely that Apple will look to the thin, optical drive-free laptops as the template for portable computing, The MacBook Pros have been great laptops, but as any owner will tell you, the Pros are heavy and bulky, whereas the Airs are a delight to carry around.
Our own experience has told us that we use the optical on our Office iMac rarely, and we almost never use the SuperDrive on our MacBook Pro. Also the speed bump offered by SSD drives is hard to ignore. The old style hard disks feel sluggish by comparison and so if the capacity gap can be narrowed, it looks likely that Apple will opt for SSD as standard.
Add to this the likelihood that Apple will use new Retina displays, matching moves on the iPhone and the iPad. This would make graphics and video gorgeous to view on these displays, and combined with new Intel chips, make them very compelling purchases for the rest of 2012.
It is likely that Apple will look to the thin, optical drive-free laptops as the template for portable computing, The MacBook Pros have been great laptops, but as any owner will tell you, the Pros are heavy and bulky, whereas the Airs are a delight to carry around.
Our own experience has told us that we use the optical on our Office iMac rarely, and we almost never use the SuperDrive on our MacBook Pro. Also the speed bump offered by SSD drives is hard to ignore. The old style hard disks feel sluggish by comparison and so if the capacity gap can be narrowed, it looks likely that Apple will opt for SSD as standard.
Add to this the likelihood that Apple will use new Retina displays, matching moves on the iPhone and the iPad. This would make graphics and video gorgeous to view on these displays, and combined with new Intel chips, make them very compelling purchases for the rest of 2012.
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Update: Broadband on Kilmacanogue Exchange
24/02/12 20:41 Filed in: Broadband
Afters years of delays, eircom have stated that the Kilmacanogue exchange in Co. Wicklow is finally being upgraded for broadband. In recent years customers in this area, including ourselves, had to rely on slow broadband connections from the Bray exchange. However work has now begun on the transition so that Kilmacanogue and its surrounding area should be provided with higher broadband speeds, once the lines in the area are connected to the newly upgraded exchange.
When we requested a statement form eircom, they said:
We will keep you up to date on any changes, but the most recent roadblock, which was a dispute with Comreg over how the transition should be organised, appears to be resolved, and work can now begin..
When we requested a statement form eircom, they said:
The first work is due to commence in April and the Bray/Kilmacanogue work is due to commence at that time. The provisional completion date is end of June 2012. As the work begins, a more firm timetable will emerge but hopefully this means there is some end in sight. We will not know what broadband speeds you will get until the line is moved, but hopefully the work will deliver an improved service, regardless of provider.
We will keep you up to date on any changes, but the most recent roadblock, which was a dispute with Comreg over how the transition should be organised, appears to be resolved, and work can now begin..
iPhone review from 2007
09/02/12 17:49 Filed in: iPhone
We thought you need a bit of humour, so here is the Sunday Business Post’s review of the iPhone from 2007, just as it was about to be launched in Europe. We particularly like the references to “inevitable” scratches to the glass, the view that the iPhone will be “largely ignored” and that apparently Nokia and Sony-Ericsson will wipe the iPhone when it comes to music! Enjoy!
Reality Bytes: iPhone’s chances are doubtful in Europe
Sunday, June 24, 2007 - By Adrian Weckler
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Reality Bytes: iPhone’s chances are doubtful in Europe
Sunday, June 24, 2007 - By Adrian Weckler
Later this week, Apple will release the year’s most-hyped gadget, the iPhone.
It could prove reasonably popular in the US, a low-tech cellular backwater where people still pull aerials out of their ‘cellphones’ and have to pay to accept calls.
In more modern Europe, the iPhone will be largely ignored.
There are several reasons for this. First, texting on the iPhone will be very difficult; it has no buttons and will have a Qwerty keyboard touchscreen layout, so thumbs cannot be used.
Secondly, there’s the touchscreen format itself. Despite its announcement that this will be glass and not plastic, irritating smudges and scratches are inevitable.
Then there’s the iPhone’s technology - or lack of it. Incredibly, the gadget has been made as a low-tech slow-band GPRS unit.
So browsing the internet on it - which is what it is trumpeting as a key feature - will take ages. Activities such as watching YouTube will prove juddery and stopstart. Then there is its music facility.
From what we know, there is no possibility of downloading music on it.
Instead, it will need to be connected to a computer anytime one wants to get music on or off it.
This is miles behind current technology and will certainly not appeal to the likes of Vodafone, O2 or 3, for whom revenue from music downloads is becoming crucial to their business models.
Ironically, in Ireland this could leave the iPhone’s success in the hands of Meteor, the only non-3G network which doesn’t have a big business in downloading music.
But a €600 phone on Meteor? The network of cheap calls, free texts and pre-paid customers?
That is a strange proposition.
It seems likely that a core of Apple fans will rush to buy the iPhone when it launches in Europe, whenever that is .
But this is a small number of people. With a hatful of powerful new music phones due out later this year from Sony Ericsson and Nokia - which can download music from revenue-thirsty operators - the iPhone’s chances in Europe look very weak, to say the least.
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What a Difference 5 Years Makes…
Amazing what five years does. In the first half of 2007 Apple did not sell a mobile phone. In 2012, they control 75% of the profits of the entire mobile phone industry, and 40% of all revenues. This is today’s chart from Business Insider:
This shows two things. Firstly how Apple have come to dominate the industry, and they do this selling one model of phone, in three flavours (iPhone 4S, 4 and 3GS). The majority of their units and revenue come from just one model of iPhone, the new iPhone 4S. Apple don’t produce a myriad of handsets and configurations, and this helps to sharpen their image in the market. Everyone knows about the iPhone and most people either have one or intend to get one.
Secondly, Apple’s profit level on these phones far exceeds any other manufacturer. Many Android phone makes would envy the margins that Apple hold, while they pump pout low-cost handsets with thin dividends. Apple makes less than 10% of the total handsets sold, and yet rake in 75% of all of the profits.
It is an amazing story and shows just how far Apple Inc. have moved in the first five years. They have a sharp position in a crowded market, but manage to make their iPhone business one of the most profitable in the tech sector..
This shows two things. Firstly how Apple have come to dominate the industry, and they do this selling one model of phone, in three flavours (iPhone 4S, 4 and 3GS). The majority of their units and revenue come from just one model of iPhone, the new iPhone 4S. Apple don’t produce a myriad of handsets and configurations, and this helps to sharpen their image in the market. Everyone knows about the iPhone and most people either have one or intend to get one.
Secondly, Apple’s profit level on these phones far exceeds any other manufacturer. Many Android phone makes would envy the margins that Apple hold, while they pump pout low-cost handsets with thin dividends. Apple makes less than 10% of the total handsets sold, and yet rake in 75% of all of the profits.
It is an amazing story and shows just how far Apple Inc. have moved in the first five years. They have a sharp position in a crowded market, but manage to make their iPhone business one of the most profitable in the tech sector..
Sony vs Apple
John Gruber, of Daring Fireball, has summed up all that is wrong in the technology industry, and just how right Apple have been in their positioning and timing.
When Apple launched the iPhone in 2007, they knew this would hit sales of the iPod. In fact during the 2007 keynote, Jobs stated that the iPhone was three devices in one: an iPod, a phone and an internet device. Many CEOs would have worried about cannibalising their own products, but as Gruber points out, “Apple is skating to where the puck is heading; Sony is skating to where the puck is at the moment.”
Sony are looking to a drop in camera sales, probably directly dented by the great camera in the new iPhone 4S. How many iPhone users still buy a separate point and shoot camera, now that the 4S comes with an 8 megapixel camera? Sony still focusses on separate devices, instead of going where the market is aiming for. They are chasing the model of the past, and not moving to where people will be in five years time..
When Apple launched the iPhone in 2007, they knew this would hit sales of the iPod. In fact during the 2007 keynote, Jobs stated that the iPhone was three devices in one: an iPod, a phone and an internet device. Many CEOs would have worried about cannibalising their own products, but as Gruber points out, “Apple is skating to where the puck is heading; Sony is skating to where the puck is at the moment.”
Sony are looking to a drop in camera sales, probably directly dented by the great camera in the new iPhone 4S. How many iPhone users still buy a separate point and shoot camera, now that the 4S comes with an 8 megapixel camera? Sony still focusses on separate devices, instead of going where the market is aiming for. They are chasing the model of the past, and not moving to where people will be in five years time..
