Info Laptop

With the introduction of Push Notification Services, I envisaged a world of iPhone apps that would deliver countless valuable updates as they occurred. Of course, that’s precisely what hasn’t happened. Few of the apps available in the App Store actually make use of PNS, and those that do are of dubious value. (For example, Ambiance pushes notification of new sounds added to its library. Useful? No, not particularly.)

I also imagined we’d have Push notifications in our Twitter clients by now (Atebits, I’m looking at you!) because knowing what my fellow geeks are doing right now on the other side of the world is crucially important to me. I know you understand.

One Twitter app that’s leading the way with PNS is SimplyTweet 2.0. It’s Yet Another Twitter Client, sure, but it has an impressive feature set and its developer, Hwee-Boon Yar, sat down to answer some questions about the app, including telling me what it’s like developing for the iPhone as well as sharing his experiences of being on the receiving end of Apple’s broken application approval process.

Hwee-Boon, 31, lives in sunny Singapore where he owns and runs MotionObj, a company dedicated to iPhone software development. I wanted to know why he created Yet Another Twitter Client.

“I had used the iPhone for about a year and when the App Store was announced I thought, why not give it a try? I already had a Twitter account for some time but there weren’t any Twitter clients that met my needs -– in fact, I think there were only about three Twitter apps back then.

I already knew Smalltalk and C, and the toolset and languages for developing iPhone applications is based heavily on those language. So I thought a Twitter client would be an easy way to learn the tools and to build a business on, especially since I preferred not to work for anyone else. That was the start of the App Store Gold Rush period, and I was very naive.”

There has been an explosion in Twitter clients in the last year. Isn’t the market too saturated to bring anything meaningful to the table?

“When I started, there was only a few Twitter clients, but I could see the numbers growing. I joked that Twitter apps are the new flashlights in the App Store. But Twitter clients are one of those wonderful applications that can be treated in many different ways. Some applications do very well with a clean user interface and basic functionality, some applications strive to have tons of functionality. Occasionally one will appear that tries to do something innovative.

My aim is to keep SimplyTweet’s interface simple and usable but at the same time add and enhance features, such as conversation threading, push notifications, themes and photo searching.”

Bringing together the various APIs and having them all play nicely together must have been taxing; you presumably had to combine Twitter’s API, the iPhone SDK/Frameworks and interoperability with Apple’s PNS Servers. In the words of Marge Simpson, this sounds like a hassle coupled with a burden.

“The iPhone application itself makes use of Apple’s iPhone SDK, and there are occasional bugs in there, quirks that have to be worked around. Some of the functionality used in Apple’s built-in applications [in the iPhone OS] are not made available to developers. For example, I spent a day building the trash can animation effect similar to how the trash can button in Mail animates when you delete an email –- all because that element is not made available to developers for use in their own apps. But these problems are not uncommon to most platforms.

Interfacing with Twitter can pose problems. Sometimes they make a change that requires the code in the SimplyTweet application to be updated. Here’s where the real problem is. Twitter is kind enough to give sufficient lead time for developers to make changes, usually around five days. This works when you have full publishing control over your application. Unfortunately, with the App Store, even if you make a change and immediately submit the new update, there is no guarantee it will be approved within five days. I have waited weeks, sometimes only to have an update rejected; [I] worked out a fix, then had it rejected again. Each re-submission puts you at the back of the queue again.”

So while day-to-day iPhone software development is built on rock-solid foundations, the complaints we’ve been hearing about Apple’s approval process are valid? Is the process really broken?

“In short, it’s a mess. Approvals are unpredictable and payment is hard to track. Plus we can’t charge for upgrades, but for many software developers, upgrades are a major source of income.”

Including SimplyTweet?

“SimplyTweet has been relatively unknown for a long time, but it has actually undergone more than eight upgrades. All of those were free. But making updates can often take a lot of time and currently, there is no way a developer can make money from them. Add to this the hits-based nature of the App Store and you find developers are not so keen to do upgrades. The App Store apps are relatively cheap compared to what’s available on other mobile platforms, which is great for iPhone customers, but it doesn’t foster a healthy developer ecosystem.”

Hwee-Boon thinks that this low-cost, short-run revenue model will cause the quality of applications to drop and ultimately hurt both developers and users. It’s hard to disagree. We’ve all seen apps repackaged with “Pro” suffixes to justify charging customers afresh for what is, essentially, an upgrade to an existing app. (I invite you to add your own examples of such Apps in the comments.)

So why continue to develop for the iPhone when the outcome remains so bleak?

“Despite major issues with the App store, the iPhone is still the best mobile platform at the moment. Only at the moment.”

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Last week Gizmodo published a leaked proposal (32MB PDF) from marketing agency Lippincott detailing plans for Microsoft’s upcoming brick-and-morter retail stores. It makes for mind-numbing reading, running at a mammoth 124 pages of (mostly) brain-freezing execu-speak.

I’m glad I don’t work in Marketing. It’s a troubled, stressful world where there’s no such thing as a “lie” and the customer is considered little more than an uninformed, paranoid bag of walking money. Marketing execs rabbit incessantly about “managing expectations” or “steering brand awareness” and other essentially meaningless buzz-phrases. Either it’s subtle genius, or howling bum-gravy.

Here are a few of the “highlights:”

• Customer experience seems to be high on the agenda, though geared toward Emily, a hypothetical customer broadly categorized as one of three types: Basic Communicator, Productive Connector and Escapist.
• “Reconsideration of the Microsoft brand by consumers” — speaks for itself.
• NikeTown, AT&T, Sony, Nokia and Apple are acknowledged as providing retail/customer service benchmarks that Microsoft could learn from or aspire to.
• A Digital Media Wall is planned that will span the length of the store wall. There are lots of design mockups of what might appear on it. Check out the proposal for details.
• Windows 7, PCTV and Windows Mobile will also get their own dedicated stages.
• The stages will get their own dedicated Microsoft Surface Tables.

There’s a lot more in there besides these few points. Here are a few of the visualizations. No prizes for spotting similarities with the Apple Store. (But, to be fair, how many ways are there to design a retail store that sells computers and software?)

I found this one odd. Buried in the proposal is a chart that explains which sort of customers use Microsoft’s various services. Bing is said to be for “Search Explorers” and “Search Productives.” MSN is for “Information Seekers” and “Functional Organizers.” Frankly, I’m failing to see how these are truly distinct, different things?

Microsoft was quick to post a comment on the Gizmondo website, saying:

“As a part of our process in briefing creative agencies, we shared some early prototypes and concepts of our retail store plans. No final decisions have been made. As we previously announced, we are on track to open retail stores this Fall.”

I wish Microsoft every success in their Retail stores. I’ll happily visit them to see what techy goodness is on offer. But for what is supposed to be a proposal that should make me want to run out and start building the first Microsoft Store with my own two hands, the language in this document leaves me cold.

“The brand vision: realizing potential. The value proposition for the retail offering and experience is: inclusive exuberance.”

Inclusive Exuberance? Seriously?

OK, I know I’ll be flamed for my criticism. But look — if you think this sort of language is not a screaming insult to human intelligence and dignity… well, then, you’re probably already in Marketing.

For the rest of us looking forward to seeing what these new stores have to offer, we can only hope they’re not as cynical, “corporate” and soulless as this document manages to be!

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Allow me to set the scene. It’s January 2007. The iPhone has just been announced and the tech world is going crazy. CNBC interviews Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

CNBC: “Let me ask you about the iPhone [...] What was your first reaction when you saw that?”

Ballmer (laughs): “Five hundred dollars?!! Fully subsidized?!! With a plan?!! I said if that isn’t the most expensive phone in the world… and it doesn’t appeal to business customers because it doesn’t have a keyboard, which makes it not a very good email machine. Now, it may sell very well…”

And sell very well it did — the estimated total is now 37 million and counting. OK, so Ballmer was never going to clap his hands and rave about the iPhone, but while laughing dismissively might have irked Apple enthusiasts, it likely reassured Microsoft’s shareholders. Ballmer, after all, must answer to them.

Culture

In another interview, this time with USA Today in April 2007, Ballmer said, of becoming CEO of Microsoft:

“…the CEO in a lot of ways becomes the icon for many things in the business. The CEO establishes culture.”

This from the man who heaved himself, sweating and scarlet-faced, across a stage screaming with unbridled joy over Microsoft. Well, you can’t fault him for being passionate. Sadly, it’s a passion he doesn’t seem to want to celebrate or promote amongst Microsoft’s customers.

“USA Today: People get passionate when Apple comes out with something new[...]. Is that something that you’d want them to feel about Microsoft?

Ballmer: It’s sort of a funny question. Would I trade 96 percent of the market for 4 percent of the market? (Laughter.) [...] There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance. It’s a $500 subsidized item. They may make a lot of money. But if you actually take a look at the 1.3 billion phones that get sold, I’d prefer to have our software in 60 percent or 70 percent or 80 percent of them, than I would to have 2 percent or 3 percent, which is what Apple might get.”

Let me take off my Apple Hat for a moment and consider his answer more carefully.

“It’s sort of a funny question.” Steve, how is it a funny question? It’s a very simple question. Would you like your customers to be as passionate, loyal and fanatical about your products as Apple’s customer base is to its?

If I were a Microsoft shareholder, sure, I want to hear you reinforce the fact that 80 percent market share is more attractive than 3 percent. But I also want to hear you acknowledge that customer enthusiasm — particularly of the Apple Fanboy variety — is at least desirable. I want to know that you’re pushing the boundaries everywhere, not just in the corporate world. You don’t seem to mind whooping and skipping when you want to share your passion for Microsoft. So why is it a “funny” question to ask if you want to engender that same passion in your customers?

Furthermore, according to Gartner, this is how worldwide Smartphone Sales by Operating System looked, first in 2007, the same year Ballmer dismissed the iPhone, and then again 12 months later.

When a Bad Economy is a Good Thing

In March, at the McGraw-Hill Companies’ 2009 Media Summit, Ballmer said of a slight downturn in Apple sales:

“The economy is helpful. Paying an extra $500 for a computer in this environment — same piece of hardware — paying $500 more to get a logo on it? I think that’s a more challenging proposition for the average person than it used to be.”

Superficially, this sounds like common sense. I mean, a laptop is a laptop, right? Whether it’s wrapped in plastic or aluminum, you’re talking a chip (probably Intel), a few gigs of RAM, a keyboard and a screen. To the blissfully unaware, to the Lauren’s of this world…the difference is little more than a glowing fruit on the lid.

What Ballmer is really saying here is distasteful, not just in what it implies but also because he didn’t even try to make the point subtly. He’s suggesting Apple’s sales dipped because customers are struggling financially, not due to any special marketing strategy or other efforts on Microsoft’s part. To hang a lantern on it and tacitly state “The economy is helpful” is crass and insensitive. I wonder how the marketing team in Redmond felt when they heard their boss say that?

The Numbers Don’t Lie

Fast forward to this week. Apple announced its latest quarterly earnings. In Apple’s own words, its “best non-holiday quarter ever.” So much for Ballmer’s ‘helpful’ recession. Also, the Wall Street Journal reported that despite accounting for less than 3 percent of the global smartphone market, Apple’s iPhone has taken 20 percent of that market’s operating profits. Predictions from Deutsche Bank for year’s end point to Apple and RIM sharing 5 percent of the smartphone market and taking almost 60 percent of its profit.

Ballmer’s assertion that it’s better to have massive market share suddenly deserves scrutiny. Apple and RIM don’t command 60 percent of the market (yet) but they’re soon going to command 60 percent of its profits.

The iTunes store continues to perform superbly (8 billion songs downloaded as of June 2009), while the App Store is a smash hit. Mac sales have remained strong despite the crippling economy Ballmer relies upon to keep the competition in check.

I’m Not Taking Shots

This article isn’t about taking an easy shot at Microsoft, or gloating about Apple’s recent successes. I know, so far it reads that way, and I won’t deny there’s a certain satisfaction to be had basking in Apple’s glow. I’ve brought you on this journey to make a serious point that’s more about leadership and vision than smartphones, laptops or market share. (But those facts are crucial to placing these final thoughts in the right context.)

At the Media Summit Ballmer was asked if he used any Apple products. “No, none. I don’t, my sons don’t, my wife doesn’t.”

Imagine you are a Microsoft shareholder with a vested financial interest in Microsoft’s success. Certainly you don’t want the CEO to promote the competition, but you do want him to demonstrate he’s in touch with the real world.

Surely the right answer should have been, “Yes, I have an iPod. I also have a Zune, of course, and a Zen. I have them all. It’s important to see how they work — see what choices our customers have. I want to experience first-hand where these products succeed, and where they fail. So, sure, I have an iPod. I have all the other music players, too!”

But, no. Instead we got Ballmer’s typical, speaks-before-he-thinks derision.

Ballmer said a CEO “establishes culture.” If Microsoft is looking to him for its creative and business leadership, no wonder Windows Mobile 7 is practically vaporware and the company’s next operating system is referred to by many not as an incredible new OS but instead as Vista “done right.”

Ballmer appears less relevant with each passing year. He’s not a man to respect or fear, despite chair-tossing antics. Rather, he’s becoming a sad and lonely figure, out of touch with the tech industry outside of Microsoft’s dusty old-boy network.

But why should it matter if Microsoft has crummy leadership? We don’t care, right? Good riddance to ‘em?

It matters because, if Microsoft does a lousy job it will ship lousy products. Apple will therefore face less vigorous competition. In any market, when competition is weak or lackluster, the dominant player becomes complacent. It’s hard to justify the R&D costs of constant, breathtaking innovation when the competition isn’t doing the same.

We need a creative, innovative Microsoft that today behaves with the same hunger for success it had in the 70’s. As long as we have that, we’ll have an Apple that stays one step ahead, delivering products Microsoft can only aspire to produce. We can’t get there with Ballmer in the driving seat. He’s out of his depth, and it doesn’t matter how much he sweats as he screams “Developers! Developers! Developers!”; he simply fails to inspire creativity or confidence — just as he fails to recognize opportunities in new/developing markets, such as mobile media or the rapidly-changing smartphone space.

We need a Microsoft as imaginative and exciting as Apple. If that could happen, just imagine what Apple would do to raise the bar ever-higher. I’ll leave you with one more excerpt from that 2007 USA Today interview.

“USA Today: You don’t find you’ve got a problem with people saying, “Sorry, but I really think you’re wrong here”?

Ballmer: That happens all the time. From 10 this morning until I came over here, I got more “Steve, that’s wrongs” than I got “Steve, that’s rights” today. It was two to one, “Steve, that’s wrongs.”

He’s just not getting it, is he? Maybe someone’s trying to tell him something…

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I posted a while back about Apple’s freely available Summer Camps for Kids. These camps let children pick an iLife application that they’d like to learn about during a 3-hour session in an Apple retail store.

My son just attended his first Apple Camp and loved it. Since he’s younger — and because I was interested to see what it was all about — I went along with him for the 3-hour camp. The following is a recount of the experience, and what makes this Apple program so ingenious.

Welcome!

There were about a dozen kids on this particular day, each of whom were given a very cool green “Apple Camp” t-shirt upon arrival and sign-in. Geoff, the instructor, immediately learned the name of each camper. This seemed to be key in engaging the kids and keeping their interest and involvement for the remainder of the time. Now, my son is a bit on the shy side, but Geoff (and Apple) created such a comfortable environment that he had no problem interacting with the other kids and this relative stranger leading the group. This alone was a huge success in my book!

iTunes Store

This particular camp was focused on Garageband. As such, I expected a direct dive into the music-making iLife application, but Apple’s lesson plan started with the basics — a plan that came full circle in the end. They began by learning iTunes — looking for music in the iTunes store, specifically. Now I knew going in that this was essentially a great marketing campaign, designed to hopefully create life-long customers out of these kids, but Apple really went for the jugular!

The first thing the kids were shown how to do was search for music, movies, audio books, and so on in the iTunes Store. My son already knew about this, but hadn’t done it on his own before. (Now I’m thinking I’d better turn 1-click purchases off!) The intro to iTunes continued by showing the kids how to search their own music library for music they liked, and then create their own playlist, which they’d revisit later on at the end of the course.

Garageband

Now it was finally time to launch Garageband. To start, they were shown how to use the Learn to Play feature. (And let’s make sure everyone checks out the Artist Lessons that can be purchased at an additional cost! My son especially liked the Fall Out Boy lesson on “I Don’t Care.”) After a little playing with this premium content, they moved on to the Magic Garageband feature, where they saw how all the instruments went together to make a song. They were shown how to isolate some instruments and alter others, all the while getting a feel for Garageband’s potential and the user interface at the same time.

When they were finally given a chance to get into the Loops browser, a little bit of instruction was given on the user interface before they were set free to create their masterpieces from the available instruments and loops. And oh, by the way — there are additional Jam Packs that can be purchased for more loops! These references weren’t a big deal to me; after all, most of it was stuff I would love to buy anyway. Geoff went down the line during the free work time, helping kids as they went, and showing little tips as they seemed ready to absorb them. When it was time to save their music, they learned how to share it to iTunes and add it to their playlist. At this point they were given a blank CD, and taught how to burn their playlist.

Not Going Home Empty-Handed

So at the end of the Camp, my son came home with much more than just the knowledge of how to use Garageband to make some interesting music. He brought his work home on CD (which my wife is really glad to be listening to in the car…over and over again!), but also the desire to check out the iTunes Store, Learn to Play with real Artists, and tinker with endlessly available loops. Oh, and don’t forget the shirt that he’s worn for a couple of days, which has made him the envy of friends young and old!

Apple (and my hat’s off to the instructor, Geoff) did an incredible job of putting on a fun and informative technology camp for kids. Not only did the kids pick up some great skills and learn some new software, but Apple also managed to push some of its premium content at the same time. I’m OK with the marketing, too. I mean, it’s to be expected from a free offering! I was truly impressed with the program, and now my son is chomping at the bit for the next one, when he’ll get to learn iMovie. Great work, Apple. I’m sure you’ve secured yet another life-long customer in my son.

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