http://www.ipodobserver.com/ipo/features/the_back_page/ Daily news, opinions, editorials, reviews, tips, forums, comments, and podcasts all relating to the iPod, the iPhone, Apple, and the surrounding industry. en webmaster@ipodobserver.com Copyright 2009 Fri, 17 Jul 2009 07:47:06 -0400 http://www.ipodobserver.com/ipo/article/id_hate_to_be_on_the_app_store_approval_team/ http://www.ipodobserver.com/ipo/article/id_hate_to_be_on_the_app_store_approval_team/ Oy ve! I was compiling a list of least-appreciated jobs this weekend -- it's what I do when I have three days off from work -- and guess how surprised I was to find a job at Apple as Numero Uno Least-Appreciated Job? The job in question is being on the App Store approval team -- the group of men and women responsible for deciding which apps gets approved and which gets rejected iPO Reports, iPhone, iPod, iPod touch, Columns and Opinions, The Back Page Tue, 26 May 2009 17:45:29 -0400 http://www.ipodobserver.com/ipo/article/apples_tim_cook_all_but_screams_ipod_super_touch/ http://www.ipodobserver.com/ipo/article/apples_tim_cook_all_but_screams_ipod_super_touch/ For months now, I've been convinced that Apple is going to release an iPod Super Touch, and that this would be the company's answer to the netbook craze. After listening to Apple's quarterly conference call today, I've never been more sure of this. iPO Reports, iPhone, iPod, iPod touch, Columns and Opinions, The Back Page Wed, 22 Apr 2009 20:29:03 -0400 http://www.ipodobserver.com/ipo/article/steve_ballmer_champions_openness/ http://www.ipodobserver.com/ipo/article/steve_ballmer_champions_openness/ Steve Ballmer. Today, we get to admire his...audacity, as today is the day that he became the new champion of openness. Yes, that's right: The CEO of the company most responsible for co-opting and corrupting open standards, for trying its hardest to eliminate open standards in many instances, is now championing the idea of "openness."  iPO Reports, iPhone, Columns and Opinions, The Back Page Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:33:30 -0500 http://www.ipodobserver.com/ipo/article/analyst_toni_sacconaghi_to_clients_i_still_dont_understand_apple/ http://www.ipodobserver.com/ipo/article/analyst_toni_sacconaghi_to_clients_i_still_dont_understand_apple/ Analyst Toni Sacconaghi with Sanford Bernstein decided Wednesday was a good day to demonstrate to his paying clients yet again that he has no clue what Apple Inc. is about, how they operate, what their goals are, and what direction the company has consistently taken in its pursuits of the cell phone market. Columns and Opinions, The Back Page Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:54:40 -0500 http://www.ipodobserver.com/ipo/article/Why_Chrome_Think_Apple/ http://www.ipodobserver.com/ipo/article/Why_Chrome_Think_Apple/ John C. Dvorak and some others have been asking why in the hell Google would bother releasing a new browser in this day and age. When it comes to Google, the super short answer is, "Why not?" For a longer answer, we have only to look at the lessons that Apple has provided The Back Page Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:00:00 -0400 http://www.ipodobserver.com/ipo/article/Analysts_Miss_the_Boat_Question_Innovation_in_iPhone_3G/ http://www.ipodobserver.com/ipo/article/Analysts_Miss_the_Boat_Question_Innovation_in_iPhone_3G/ Yesterday, I wrote a column saying that a key component to Apple's price drop for the iPhone 3G centers around the App Store. I still haven't seen anyone else cottoning on this, which doesn't surprise me, but I was a little surprised by a couple of things coming from the world of analysis and punditry. Most notably is a piece from Dow Jones saying there's no innovation in the iPhone 3G. The Back Page Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:00:00 -0400 http://www.ipodobserver.com/ipo/article/iPhones_Price_Drop_All_About_the_App_Store/ http://www.ipodobserver.com/ipo/article/iPhones_Price_Drop_All_About_the_App_Store/ Many people seem to think that Apple lowered the price of the iPhone merely to move more units, and that dropping revenue sharing has come about because Apple is willing to let carriers subsidize the device.? I think that Apple is actually trading revenue sharing from the carriers in favor of what may be a much bigger pie: revenue sharing from its developers in the form of the App Store. The Back Page Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:00:00 -0400 http://www.ipodobserver.com/ipo/article/iPhone_All_That_a_Bag_of_Chips_and_a_Rootbeer_Float_Too/ http://www.ipodobserver.com/ipo/article/iPhone_All_That_a_Bag_of_Chips_and_a_Rootbeer_Float_Too/ The iPhone has arrived, and it's everything it was cracked up (by Apple) to be. Contacts, music, calendars, photos, movies, YouTube browsing, Web-surfing, and it makes calls, too! Writing a review for this device could legitimately be anything from two words ("It's great.") to a 3,000 word opus on all of the nitpicky pros and cons, but I'm going to take the middle road and look at the broad picture. The Back Page Sun, 01 Jul 2007 16:00:00 -0400