Ed Sutherland

Microsoft doesn’t want to take billions from Office for iPad?

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Picture Microsoft in one of those V8 commercials, where the actor whacks himself in the head after he could be drinking a healthy vegetable drink rather than a can of diet cola.

Now, replace the veggie juice with an iPad and you might have a scenario playing out in the executive suite of Microsoft today.

Why? The software giant refuses to sell a version of its Office suite for the iPad, a mistake possibly costing $2.5 billion. One analyst believes the company is leaving $2.5 billion on the table by insisting to offer the popular software bundle to Microsoft's tiny tablet market, as well as the declining number of PCs.

Can any company be that short-sighted? Wait, that was a rhetorical question...

BMW adopts Apple’s Genius model to educate car buyers

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

If there is one consumer experience needing updating, it is that trip to an auto sales floor. Too often, the salesperson can only provide potential buyers with the most basic information. Luxury automaker BMW hopes to change all that, using Apple's Genius model to answer consumer queries.

Part of the BMW Genius Everywhere program to launch in the U.S. in 2014, young people armed with iPads will roam the automaker's showrooms even before the sales staff get down to clinching the deal. The company becomes just the latest hoping to ignite more sales by taking a page from Apple's wildly successful Geniuses who provide unassuming assistance and educate consumers on Apple gear...

Apple patent focuses on ending blurry iPhone photos

Ed Sutherland ∙ February 14, 2013

Don't you wish you could avoid the usual routine after taking photos with your iPhone: sifting through shots to eliminate the ones where your thumb is perfectly exposed - but your special someone is blurred beyond recognition. Your worries may be over, as a new patent reveals Apple wants to make you a better camera phone photographer. The camera Apple outlined in the filing is designed to continuously capture and store images in a buffer until you release the shutter.

Your mobile device takes from there to automatically scan the buffer, rate the pictures just taken using a number of parameters and present you with the best image...

Apple closely trails Amazon in mobile shopping satisfaction

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated February 27, 2017

A new survey out Wednesday gives an intriguing snapshot of current mobile shopping. Naturally, the top Internet retailer, Amazon, takes the first spot in shopping satisfaction but Apple is close on its heels and ties with TV retail powerhouse QVC. In a survey by analytics player ForeSee taken during the all-important holiday shopping period, Apple scored 83 percent as consumers expressed increasing satisfaction with mobile shopping...

Apple is killing it when it comes to mobile video

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

There is now confirmation of what we already suspected: Apple is killing it when it comes to mobile video. The iPhone, iPad and iPod touch collectively account for 60 percent of mobile video, with Apple's smartphone and tablet comprising more than half of all mobile clips viewed during 2012, according to a study released Wednesday. By comparison, 32 percent of Android devices are used for viewing mobile video.

That's another acknowledgment of both Apple's tablet dominance and the fact that owners of Apple mobile gear use their devices more often than their fellow Android-totting counterparts. In 2012 alone, mobile video viewing grew sixfold versus the previous year as mobile devices increasingly replace computers as the preferred platform for media consumption...

Gartner: more than half of all handsets sold in 2012 were Apple, Samsung

Ed Sutherland ∙ February 13, 2013

The battle between Apple and Samsung for smartphone supremacy rages on. While the two rivals accounted for more than half of smartphones sold during 2012, demand for the South Korean firm's phones rose nearly 86 percent while iPhone sales rose by around 22 percent last year. According to Gartner, the two companies took No. 1 and No. 3 spots in overall while ranking first and second in the growing market for smartphones, respectively.

This as the cell phone industry saw its first dip in sales since 2009. Other vendors, of course, were left fighting each other for scraps...

Surface Pro teardown: Apple’s iPad wins the repair race

Ed Sutherland ∙ February 13, 2013

Microsoft's one-week old Surface Pro tablet already has some dings in its reputation. The device is more difficult to repair than Apple's iPad, according to a teardown by iFixit. The Surface Pro makes extensive use of glue to secure everything, including the battery and display, giving Microsoft's latest tablet a score of just one out of ten for repairability. And repairs could become common, given simply using the Surface Pro could be harmful to the hardware...

Forget the iWatch, Apple is researching iHuman – a wearable computer

Ed Sutherland ∙ February 12, 2013

Have you followed the talk of a possible iWatch from Apple, an all-glass iOS device supposedly putting a smartphone on your wrist? That would be small potatoes compared to a whole network of sensors turning your body into a walking, talking Apple device.

In an 84-page filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the iPhone and iPad maker describes what it calls a "Personal items network." Covering you head-to-toe, sensors would detect movement, temperature - even track how fast your heart beat when watching certain television shows, according to a Tuesday report...

Apple’s invisible antenna patent sets stage for all-aluminum iPhone case

Ed Sutherland ∙ February 12, 2013

A new patent granted to Apple today could signal a huge advance in a trimmer, slimmer iPhone perhaps made from a single block of aluminum. The U.S. patent describes "microslot antennas" cut into the smartphone body, eliminating the need for exposing hardware required for communications.

While it could make fans of minimalism - such as Apple's chief designer Jonathan Ive - jump for joy, could the patented technology cause another production slowdown?

Amazon beats Apple for best U.S. consumer reputation

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

More indications that Apple may be slipping in the eyes of some consumers. Internet retail giant Amazon.com now has the best reputation among U.S. corporations, Harris Interactive announced Tuesday. Despite Apple winning the poll in 2012, Kindle-maker Amazon grabbed the top spot this year - ironically cited for its emotional impact on consumers despite operating a completely virtual business.

The online retailer also topped Apple, Google, Disney and others in the products and services category. This result only highlights Amazon's increased brand image in tablets, music, movies and cloud computing, areas bringing it into conflict with Apple and other tech players...

The iPhone 5 rates fifth in US user satisfaction

Ed Sutherland ∙ February 11, 2013

Results of a new smartphone user satisfaction survey have some observers scratching their heads. Apple's iPhone 5 ranked fifth in the U.S., behind a number of Android devices from Motorola, HTC and Samsung. Due to Apple's past high ratings in customer satisfaction, the survey's findings prompted questions so far left unanswered.

According to a poll by OnDevice Research, Motorola's Atrix HD took first place in the U.S. user satisfaction scores, with the Motorola Droid Razr M, HTC's Rezound 4G, Samsung's Galaxy Note 2 and the iPhone 5 filling out the top five devices.

While Apple was named the top brand in overall mobile device satisfaction by U.S. consumers, Google ranked number two - even though it does not directly produce mobile devices...

How Apple sales are hitting a language barrier

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

Do you need another metric to follow in the race between Apple and Android? How about language?

That's the focus of a new report suggesting Apple's iPhone is predominantly focused on English-speaking nations while Android-powered Samsung smartphones are popular in Asia, Africa and South America, where English-speaking consumers are a minority.

After sifting through the Twitter accounts of both Apple and Samsung, a Saudi Arabian researcher at King Saud University (KSU) found 75 percent of Apple's followers spoke English, while about 35 percent of Samsung's online fans were non-English speakers...