Author: Charles Jade

With nary a yellow sticky saying the Apple Store will be back soon, today Apple quietly updated the white MacBook. The company’s value laptop got a slightly faster CPU, better graphics, and longer battery life, but not a better price.

Like the recently updated 13″ MacBook Pro, the MacBook continues to use a Core 2 Duo CPU, now at 2.4 GHz, up from 2.26 GHz. Also like the 13″ MacBook Pro, the MacBook now uses the Nvidia GeForce 320M GPU and advertises up to 10 hours of battery life on a slightly larger 63.5-watt-hour battery.

Unlike the updates to the MacBook Pros, the MacBook saw no increase in memory (still 2GB) or hard drive size, which is still 250GB. The price remains $999, and that’s arguably the problem. Is the MacBook really a value anymore?

The biggest difference between the 13″ MacBook and the 13″ MacBook Pro is now the price, $999 versus $1,199. However, increasing the amount of memory to 4GB like the 13″ MacBook Pro narrows the difference to just $100. For that extra $100, the 13″ MacBook Pro adds an aluminum unibody enclosure, backlit keyboard, FireWire 800 port, and an SD card slot.

You also get a subwoofer in the MacBook Pro, not that it matters with tiny laptop speakers, but the those other features easily combine for a $100 of value. It’s hard not to see the MacBook as little more than a price point attraction to lure customers into an Apple Store where friendly associates can upsell to the MacBook Pro, not there’s anything wrong with that.

What might be wrong is the lack of a true value-priced MacBook at say, $799. While it could be argued that the iPad is the “post PC” portable at $499, the iPad requires a computer if for no other reason than software updates. This means a price-conscious consumer wanting an iPad is better off buying a PC, especially a laptop, if they want the iPad, too. Is that what Apple really wants? It’s something to think about.

The other thing to think about is when, or maybe if, the MacBook Air will be updated. Once again, the niche laptop was passed over. The MacBook Air was last updated in June 2009 at WWDC, meaning history may repeat itself this year, or maybe not.

Unless Apple has kept some magic in reserve, it’s hard to imagine how the five-hour battery in the thinnest of Mac portables will be increased. With the advent of the iPad, a truly portable computing device, it’s becoming more and more difficult to see where the MacBook Air fits into Apple’s portable future.

In a distinct break from terse messages sent from his iPad, Steve Jobs has posted a 1,700 word missive on his Apple’s website. Broken into six sections, the essay explains Apple’s stance on Flash in detail.

Jobs attacks Flash for being closed, crash-prone, and battery draining, while defending Apple for supporting open standards and trying to create the best user experience for mobile devices. All that may be true, or not, but what this really about is control.

Countering complaints against iPhone OS being a walled garden of an operating system and development platform, Jobs argues that Flash is “100% proprietary” because development is controlled by Adobe. In contrast, Apple fosters “open standards” like HTML5 and technologies like WebKit, even though iPhone OS itself is admittedly proprietary.

Jobs then attempts to counter the argument that a device without Flash denies users the “full web” experience. He notes that H.264 is an alternative format that makes video available from a long list of sites that does not include Hulu. As for the lack of Flash games on Apple devices, Jobs admits that’s true, but argues there are more “games and entertainment titles available for iPhone, iPod and iPad than for any other platform in the world.” That may be true, but all those games require an iPhone OS device, locking out tens of millions of people with nothing better to do than play Farmville at work.

Turning to “reliability, security, and performance,” Jobs slams Flash for security and reiterates that “Flash is the number one reason Macs crash.” He then points out that, despite promising a mobile version of Flash, Adobe has repeatedly failed to deliver. Jobs notes that “We think it will eventually ship, but we’re glad we didn’t hold our breath. Who knows how it will perform?” Ouch.

That leads into complaints about battery life, the example being ten hours of iPad video with H.264 versus five hours with Flash. Regarding the Flash interface, Jobs complains that Flash is designed for mouse input, not touch. Since most Flash websites would have to be redesigned to incorporate touch input, “why not use modern technologies like HTML5, CSS and JavaScript?” Ouch, again.

Finally, there is “the most important reason.” Cross-platform apps result in the “lowest common denominator set of features.” Taking a another dig at Adobe for needing 10 years to develop a fully Cocoa version of Creative Suite, Jobs declares that Apple wants developers to use the best native tools to create the best user experience in applications. That way “everyone wins,” well, except for Adobe.

Really, it’s about control. Couching it in terms of the user experience is fine, and true, in my opinion. However, as is made clear repeatedly in the essay, Apple is determined to remain in complete control of the development of its mobile devices, from the hardware to the operating system to the application development process. The question then becomes whether Apple will be able to do so.

With the statement by Google that Flash will be included as part of Android, and Microsoft signaling that Flash will be a part of Windows Phone 7, though not the first version, it’s essentially Apple against the rest of the world. Apple may indeed succeed in “leaving the past behind” with Flash and ushering in the era of HTML5. However, should market pressures ultimately force Apple to allow Flash, it will be because the lack of Flash has hurt the viability of iPhone OS. The “past” may yet catch up with Apple, but that has yet to stop Steve Jobs and company from looking towards the future.

Modified image courtesy of Flickr user plasticbag

The “center of the app universe” will be at Moscone West in San Francisco this year, as WWDC10 kicks off on June 7 and runs through the 11th.

In a press release, Senior Apple VP Scott Forstall doesn’t even pretend it’s about the Mac anymore. WWDC will provide “in-depth sessions and hands-on working labs to learn more about iPhone OS 4,” helping developers “make their iPhone and iPad apps even better.”

And it doesn’t end there, unless we’re talking about information on the next iteration of Mac OS X.

For developers, the $1,599 package gets you in on five technology tracks: Application Frameworks; Internet & Web; Graphics & Media; Developer Tools; and Core OS, but no IT/SysAdmin track. The sessions offer blanket coverage of iPhone OS development, but unless OS X 10.7 sessions will be super secret, there doesn’t appear to be a lot there. It sure seems telling that five design awards will be handed out for the iPhone and the iPad, but not the Mac.

For those who are not developers, expect to see the next generation iPhone, rumored to be named the iPhone HD. If the infamous prototype revealed by Gizmodo is the final version, its hardware features will include: a front-facing video camera, camera flash, micro-SIM card, and two volume buttons. Also, John Gruber has suggested the resolution of the display will jump to 960×640. The launch date for the phone will certainly be announced, probably June or early July.

That phone will be running iPhone OS 4, of course, which has already been previewed. There may be a few new features, along with information about a “unity release” of iPhone OS 4.1 for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad sometime in late summer or early fall.

As for what to expect that is not related to the iPhone, if one can expect anything, probably a quiet update of the MacBook is in order. There’s also the question of the MacBook Air, which was last updated at WWDC09. The iMac will almost certainly not see an update until the fall, same for the Mac mini, if then. The Mac Pro, which shockingly has not seen an update for over a year, is a candidate for the Intel’s Xeon 5600 CPU. That could mean a 12-core Mac Pro with two six-core CPUs running up to 3.33 GHz. That would be pretty amazing, run pretty hot, too.

Or Apple could completely ignore the Mac and OS X for the desktop, but, hey, how about that magical iPad? No matter what is or isn’t at WWDC10, TAB will be covering the Keynote, product introductions, and new developments in development, of course.

In a question related to revenue for next quarter, the response included four factors: a stronger U.S. dollar, a Mac portable transition, the educational buying season, and a “future product transition.”

The “future product” could be the new iPhone, which is expected to launch in June. As for the portables, while the MacBook Pros were just updated, the MacBook awaits a refresh, as does the MacBook Air, assuming it’s not discontinued.

Besides that enigmatic statement, there were more than a few interesting questions and answers for this call.

The iPad was a popular topic. While units sold wasn’t updated at the call, next quarter iPads will be reported as a “line item on our data summary,” meaning units sold and revenue. That’s a clear indicator of success. More concretely, the iPad 3G will ship on April 30 in the U.S., and come to nine additional countries in May. There are more than 5,000 accessories compatible with the iPad, and more than 3,500 specific apps for the iPad. Price came up more than once, which Apple considers to be “aggressive” on the iPad. Nonetheless, regarding price cuts, the reply was “nothing to announce today.”

The iPhone, which sold a record 8.572 million units, saw a 41 percent jump year-over-year, three times better than the overall smartphone market. The iPhone is seeing crazy growth in Asia Pacific, Japan, and Europe, up 484, 183, and 133 percent respectively. The iPhone in China is seeing a sales increase of nine times and revenue doubling, but that has more to do with the lackluster launch than real success so far.

In an awkwardly answered question about iPhone exclusivity, it was admitted that multiple carriers increases units sales and market share where it’s done, but that “the formula doesn’t work in every single case.” Also, AT&T has made some “big strides” in network improvement. Good grief, why not just admit AT&T pays more per phone than Verizon ever will and be done with it. It was just so awkward hearing someone praise AT&T.

Speaking of awkward, in response to a question about whatever happened to the Apple TV, it was stated sales are up 34 percent YOY, but that’s still a “small” number that we will likely never learn. There was a little rationalizing about how the Mac and the iPhone compete in much larger markets, hundreds of millions of units sold per year, so that’s why the Apple TV remains a “hobby” for Apple. Note to Apple: 200 million televisions were sold last year.

Additional random bits:

• Not much was said about the Mac, except that you can forget about a MacBook mini because Apple executives can’t think of “a single thing” a netbook does well.
• As for the iPod, as noted, while sales were flat, revenue was up. That’s because the iPod touch saw 63 percent sales growth.
• Apple still owns about 70 percent of the media player market.
• Half of people buying Macs in Apple Stores continue to be new to the platform.
• There are now 286 Apple Stores, which saw 47 million visitors last quarter.
• Apple expects to open 25 Apple Stores in China, up from two, by the end of 2011.
• Apple has $41.7 billion in cash on hand, enough to purchase Adobe twice over and put an end to Flash without the passive-aggressive behavior.
• Apple considers the advertising initiative iAd a “toe in the water,” or possibly in Google’s eye, depending on how you look at it.
• As always, the company is excited about the “product pipeline.”

Overall, a great quarter and a pretty good conference call. I’m looking forward to “future product transitions” for all.

Only Apple could make success seem banal, reporting the best ever earnings for a second fiscal quarter today.

Apple reported revenue of $13.50 billion and a net quarterly profit of $3.07 billion, or $3.33 EPS, once again beating the Wall Street consensus, and comparing quite favorably to $9.08 billion and a net quarterly profit of $1.62 billion, or $1.79 EPS, a year ago. It was indeed another boringly great quarter, but if Steve Jobs is yawning with success, he didn’t show it in the press release.

“We’re thrilled to report our best non-holiday quarter ever, with revenues up 49 percent and profits up 90 percent,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’ve launched our revolutionary new iPad and users are loving it, and we have several more extraordinary products in the pipeline for this year.”

For those with less interest in profit and more in the magical product pipeline, Macs were solid, iPods flat, and iPhone sales bucked the cyclical decline.

Apple sold 2.943 million Macs, up 33 percent from 2.216 for the same quarter last year. While laptop sales were up 28 percent from a year ago, desktop sales jumped 40 percent. That doesn’t alter the 60/40 split between laptops and desktops, but it was still a good quarter for the iMac.

It was a good quarter for iPod sales, too, despite them being flat, at 10.89 million sold versus 11.01 million last year. While that’s technically a one percent decline in units sales, revenue was up 12 percent, likely fueled by the increasing success of the iPod touch. That’s very good news.

Also very good were iPhone sales, which tend to be cyclical, peaking with model launches and declining until the next launch. For last quarter, Apple sold 8.752 million Phones, compared to 3.793 during the same period last year, a 131 percent increase. However, Apple actually increased the number of iPhones sold from the first quarter of 2010, which saw 8.737 million sold. That’s big news as we approach the next iPhone launch, expected this summer.

While nothing was mentioned about the iPad, expect that to come up in the conference call, which will duly be reported on TheAppleBlog.

Web metrics firm Net Applications has been tracking the iPad since its launch, and after 10 days the trend is clear.

The iPad will soon account for one twentieth of one percent of the overall OS market. If that sounds infinitesimal, it is, and yet according to Net Applications the iPad now roughly equals the BlackBerry in market share.

However, it’s important to remember that Net Applications data is drawn from some 160 million visitors per month to a worldwide network of sites, rather than counting unit sales. That means it’s not market share so much as web share, which explains how the iPad caught the BlackBerry so quickly. Despite having sold tens of millions of more units, browsing the web on a BlackBerry is painful experience, while the iPad makes it sublime. Nonetheless, since the future is browsing the web on mobile devices, web share numbers today could very well be the market share of tomorrow.

For analysts and bloggers pondering what, exactly, the iPad is for, the above chart pretty much answers the question. It’s a new way to browse the web. With only 500,000 units sold, the iPad is already showing up against its rival siblings the iPod touch and iPhone, which have sold some 35 million and 50 million units respectively. Keep in mind too that both handheld devices are available worldwide, while the iPad will not see international release until May. Since Net Applications uses a worldwide network of web sites to determine market share, it’s quite possible that by the end of June the iPad may surpass the iPod touch in share.

Looking at estimated mobile device numbers for April, which tend to change very little from month to month, the iPad is indeed on par with the BlackBerry, and quickly closing on Android and moribund Windows Mobile. While that’s impressive for a new device sold only in the U.S., the combined iPhone OS share of the market is even more so. It will be around 37 percent, meaning by June at the latest expect iPhone OS to surpass the ubiquitous Java ME as the most used mobile OS, at least according to Net Applications.

Looking past the numbers, for those who purchased an iPad it appears your investment is safe. Just weeks after launch, the iPad is already solidifying its position as viable platform. For those who don’t own an iPad, expect Google and Microsoft to be scrambling to get a viable competitor in the marketplace as soon as possible. It looks like the tablet is here to stay at last.

Related GigaOM Pro Research: What Does the Future Hold For Browsers?

Nearly a year after the last MacBook Pro update, and months after Intel launched its latest mobile CPU, Apple has added Core i5 and Core i7 CPUs to the MacBook Pro…or at least most of them. The 13″ MacBook Pro will continue to use the Core 2 brand of CPU technology first introduced in 2006. Apple Senior VP Phil Schiller carefully avoided that point in an ebullient press release.

“The new MacBook Pro is as advanced on the inside as it is stunning on the outside. With faster processors, amazing graphics and up to three more hours of battery life, the new MacBook Pro delivers both performance and efficiency.”

Those amazing graphics would be the NVIDIA GeForce 320M for the 13″ MacBook Pro and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M for the 15″ and 17″ MacBook Pros. Regarding battery life, Apple now claims a jaw-dropping 10 hours of battery life for the 13″ MacBook Pro, and between eight and nine hours for the 15″ and 17″ MacBook Pros.

Besides CPU speed increases, larger hard drives were added across the lineup, and the base configuration for RAM was increased from 2GB to 4GB. Pricing remained largely static, except for the 15″ MacBook Pro, which saw an increase from $1,699 to $1,799. While there aren’t really any big surprises, like USB3, there are a few small ones in the specs.

The 13″ MacBook Pro has two models: a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and 250GB hard drive at $1,199; a 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and 320GB hard drive priced at $1,499.

The 15″ MacBook Pro has three models: a 2.4 GHz Intel Core i5, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M and 320GB hard drive at $1,799; a 2.53 GHz Intel Core i5, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M and 500GB hard drive at $1,999; and one with a 2.66 GHz Intel Core i7, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M and 500GB hard drive at $2,199.

The new 17-inch MacBook Pro features a 2.53 GHz Intel Core i5, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M and 500GB hard drive for $2,299.

Beyond the specs, the focus is on the 13″ MacBook Pro, which got an insignificant speed bump instead of the Intel Core i5. However, it could be argued that by staying with the Core 2 Duo for the 13″ MacBook Pro, Apple kept the price down and the battery life up…way up. In contrast, the 15″ MacBook Pro, which in certain circumstances could be as much as 50 percent faster than the previous model, costs $100 more and lags behind the 13″ MacBook Pro in battery life.

While it’s no surprise that the 15″ and 17″ MacBook Pros got advanced NVIDIA GPUs, there was reason to be concerned about the 13″ MacBook Pro. Because of the legal battle between NVIDIA and Intel over chipsets, it was a distinct possibility that the 13″ MacBook Pro would be stuck with whatever poor-performing Intel HD graphics. Instead, the 13″ MacBook Pro got the NVIDIA GeForce 320M, integrated graphics, but without the Intel suck.

Interestingly, the 15″ and 17″ MacBook Pro did get stuck with Intel HD graphics, but only when it doesn’t matter. When a real GPU is needed, the high-end MacBook Pros have the NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M, and the ability to “seamlessly” switch between integrated and discrete GPUs. Optionally the high-end MacBook Pros can be upgraded to the Core i7 for another $200, as well as higher resolution and anti-glare displays,

If there’s anything missing from these updates, besides the Core i5 in the 13″ MacBook Pro, it’s USB 3. While it might not matter now, in a year or two when many people are still using their Core i5 MacBook Pros it definitely will. A USB 3 update, along with Core i5 for the 13″ MacBook Pro will likely be seen in the fall, so perspective buyers might want to consider how long they intend on owning their next MacBook Pro before buying today.

Via Apple 2.0, online advertising network Chitika now estimates that more than 600,000 iPads have been sold, doubling first day sales as reported by Apple on Monday.

If this rate continues, Apple will likely sell its millionth iPad before both the international and 3G iPad launch. That’s good news, both for current iPad owners, and for the future of the platform.

Chitka Research bases their estimates on the number of iPads seen coming through the Chitika ad network multiplied by “how much of the Internet we see at any given time.” Chitika serves some two billion monthly impressions over 80,000 websites.

Chitika may even be conservative in their estimates. On the day Apple announced 300,000 iPads sold, Chitika estimated 270,000. As to where those iPads were sold, not surprisingly the largest states have seen the greatest sales, with California, Texas, New York, and Florida accounting for more than 20, 8, 8, and 6 percent respectively.

As for when Apple will sell its millionth iPad, it seems increasingly likely that the second wave of iPad shipments for April 12th will help the company reach that milestone. This would be well in advance of a rumored international launch on April 24th, and likely before the 3G iPad ships in “late April.” To put a million iPads sold in a month in context, in January USA Today interviewed IDC analyst David Daoud, who estimates sales for slate and tablet-convertible PCs to be 1.25 million for all of 2010.

For those undecided on purchasing an iPad because of concerns over the viability of the platform, your credit cards can rest easy. The more iPads sold, the more apps and accessories created and sold, which means more iPads sold. The only possible downside of iPad success might be price reductions being less likely. However, that means better resale value when Apple releases the next iPad and you want to upgrade. The greater the iPad sales, the more impetus given Apple to improve the hardware, with things like a faster CPU and more RAM, maybe that rumored camera.

Next up, ten million iPads. How does Christmas sound?

With the Apple Event less than a day away, there’s no shortage of speculation and wish lists for iPhone OS 4, but what about less optimistic lists? For the jaded Apple fan, there’s no reason to wait until tomorrow to start bitterly complaining about what should have been in iPhone OS today.

Not that most Apple fans will be complaining, but expect the continued lack of Flash to be widely reported tomorrow. Some complain that HTML5 lacks the tools that Flash has, and that’s true. Too bad.

For the rest of us, there will be far more annoying features missing in iPhone OS 4. Here are ten of them.

1. Wireless Syncing: Perhaps Apple has usage data showing most people charge their devices by plugging them into computers, that wireless syncing is the kind of “complexity” Apple eschews, or maybe it’s greed. After all, MobileMe is Apple’s wireless syncing option at $99 a year.
2. Tethering: It’s been promised in one form or another for years, but we will never see iPhone tethering in the US. The last chance for that died with the 3G iPad. Both Apple and AT&T would rather have consumers buy a new device and plan than have tethering as an iPhone add-on.
3. Mobile Finder: Considering the moribund state of the Finder in OS X, don’t expect a file management initiative on casual computing devices. For good or ill, mostly ill, iTunes is the new Finder for mobile devices.
4. iPad User Accounts: Clearly, Apple does not care about traditional families, because after monetary problems I believe the lack of user accounts for the iPad will be the single greatest cause of divorce in 2010. Unfortunately, every user account on an iPad is potentially one less iPad sold, so forget it.
5. Unlocked Bluetooth: Sad to say, but Apple letting the iPad use any Bluetooth keyboard is good news. The iPhone and the iPod touch can’t even do that, just headphones, and Apple isn’t going to relinquish control now.
6. Custom Lockscreen: After three years of seeing the time and date, it’s hard to imagine Apple allowing users the ability to see e-mail or text messages, or the weather, or news headlines without at least swiping first. Of course, we are allowed iPod controls, so we should probably be grateful for that.
7. Apple Todo App: Even if you pay for MobileMe to wirelessly sync you personal information, you won’t be getting your tasks from iCal. Again, after three years, it’s hard to imagine that changing.
8. Apple Notes Redesign: Instead of a text editing tool like WriteRoom, we get cartoon icons on a yellow paper background and Marker Felt font. Obviously, Steve Jobs does not use Notes.
9. Delete Default Apps: It’s a small thing, but why not allow the removal of the default weather app, or stock app, or the horror that is Notes? Who knows, but after three years, not happening.
10. iPhone OS Moniker: Why not call OS X “iMac OS” or “MacBook OS”? Because it would be stupid, just like iPhone OS for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch is stupid. How about iOS, or OS X Mobile, or OS Touch? Looking at the invitations for the iPhone OS 4 preview, that’s not going to happen, but it should.

That’s my bullet list of bile for what not to expect in iPhone OS 4. How about yours?

Less than a week after the iPad launch, Apple has sent out media invitations for a “sneak peek of the next generation of iPhone OS software.” The event will take place this Thursday, April 8, at 10:00 Pacific Time at the Town Hall on Apple’s Cupertino campus.

As usual, no additional details, though the wording of the invitation apparently means that Apple will continue to use the “iPhone” moniker for an operating system used by the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Besides that, it’s all speculation, so let’s begin!

Conventional rumor wisdom strongly favors multi-tasking being added to iPhone OS 4. The sense is that multi-tasking will be done via some kid of Exposé-like interface, at least on the iPad. On the handheld devices, that’s hard to visualize. It’s also hard to imagine unfettered multi-tasking on older iPhone OS devices. The original iPhone, iPhone 3G, and the first and second generation iPod touch only have 128MB RAM on board, compared to 256MB RAM for the iPhone 3GS, third generation iPod touch, and the iPad.

Beyond that, there have been rumors of multi-touch gestures, as well as a unified inbox for Mail but there’s also a less-reported issue of price. MacRumors recently dug into the iPhone OS SDK, finding terms stating Apple promises to provide free updates “up to and including the next major iPad OS software release following the version of iPad OS software that originally shipped from Apple on your iPad.” Because of new accounting rules, Apple may very well no longer provide free updates to iPhone and iPad users, while continuing to charge iPod touch users for OS updates. Honestly, that wouldn’t be a big surprise from Apple.

The biggest surprise likely won’t be answered Thursday at all and concerns the specs for the next iPhone, which may be implied in the name. The iPhone HD has been the rumored favorite, suggesting a big increase in display resolution, perhaps more than doubling the current 320 by 480. That would simplify development going forward with the iPad, but it’s hard to imagine Apple letting that surprise out before the launch of the next iPhone, expected this summer.

TheAppleBlog will, of course, be providing coverage of all the day’s surprises and not-surprises, so be sure to check here.

Apple has announced that on Saturday more than 300,000 iPads were sold, including pre-orders, deliveries to channel partners, and sales at Apple Retail Stores. Steve Jobs, no doubt from his iPad, was ebullient.

“It feels great to have the iPad launched into the world—it’s going to be a game changer. iPad users, on average, downloaded more than three apps and close to one book within hours of unpacking their new iPad.”

Regarding those applications and books, iPad users downloaded more than a million apps and 250,000 e-books from Apple’s iBookstore, but it’s the iPad numbers that matter. While the iPad had a solid first day of sales, the numbers weren’t exactly “magical.”

Just yesterday, sites like Apple 2.0 were reporting estimates by financial analysts like Gene Munster of between 600,000 and 700,000 iPad sales over the weekend. Given first day sales, and considering Best Buy was closed on Sunday, as well as some Apple Stores, that seems highly unlikely now.

 Without knowing Sunday’s likely drastically reduced sales, an exact count for the launch weekend can’t be had, but 300,000 is the number that Apple wants the focus to be on. The original iPhone sold 270,000 units during its first weekend. While it’s true both iPhone 3G and 3GS sold more than a million units on launch, both launches were international. So the iPad outsold the iPhone on launch day, but who bought those iPads may prove more interesting.

Again via Apple 2.0, of the 448 iPad buyers surveyed by Piper Jaffray, some 74 percent were Mac users. As Mac users represent only a tenth of the personal computer users in the U.S., that could be problematic. However, a much bigger problem exists for Amazon, with 13 percent of respondents owning Kindles already and buying iPads. Perhaps the iPad will become the multi-purpose device for content consumption, eliminating single-purpose devices like the Kindle. That would definitely help overcome any “PC gap” the iPad might face and measurably boost future sales.

But today, Apple has sold more than 300,000 iPads, more than the original iPhone, and even more could have been sold had the 3G iPad been available. And yet, despite outselling the iPhone, there just isn’t the same sense of “game changer” that the came inside the box with the iPhone.

Related iPad Content from GigaOM Pro (subscription required)

The Wall Street Journal is just barely reporting that a CDMA iPhone will be introduced this fall, possibly  September, and that Apple’s exclusive relationship with AT&T “appears set to end.” According to “people briefed by the company” (presumably Apple), the CDMA iPhone will be one of two released, with the GSM model “likely to be thinner and have a faster processor.”

While the rumor itself appears thin, looking at it in a larger context gives good reason to believe your next iPhone might not be chained to AT&T.

Chris Foresman at Ars Technica distills the biggest of those reasons into its graphical essence.

According to AdMob, Android is on the verge of passing the iPhone OS, at least on smartphones. Adding in traffic to Mobile Internet Devices like the iPod touch, which Apple dominates, probably puts Apple up by double digits. Still, Android is the biggest threat to the iPhone right now. Apple needs new markets, and what market is bigger than Big Red?

Verizon had 87 million subscribers at the end of 2009, compared to some 85 million for AT&T. Nielsen estimated the number of U.S. iPhone users as of 6.4 million last April, up from 2.1 million in 2008, meaning the current number of AT&T iPhones easily exceeds 10 million. Add Verizon as a iPhone carrier, and it’s a zero-sum game in the millions with the iPhone taking from Android.

Finally, the source of the rumor lends credence to it: not the “people briefed,” but the Wall Street Journal. As John Martellaro, former Senior Marketing Manager at Apple, writing for the Mac Observer notes, sometimes “Apple has a need to let information out, unofficially.” In his essay on controlled leaks, Martellaro cites the iPad leak in early January, which turned out to be true. That rumor was published in the Wall Street Journal and one of the authors was Yukari Iwatani, the author of the Verizon iPhone rumor today.

A Verizon iPhone makes sense for Verizon, Apple, long-suffering AT&T iPhone users, and even AT&T. Nothing reduces network strain like millions of customers taking their business elsewhere.

Related GigaOM Pro Research: Why Apple Should Choose Sprint Before Verizon Wireless

Facts, supposition, and rumors swirl around the iPad as the April 3 launch nears, the biggest news being Apple has pushed back ship dates for new orders.

As of Saturday, all new orders of Wi-Fi iPads show a ship date of April 12, and the option to reserve a Wi-Fi iPad for local Apple Store pickup has been discontinued. 3G iPads continue to show late April for shipping. Curiously, 9to5Mac has reports of Apple charging credit cards for both the Wi-Fi and 3G iPads, but those remain unsubstantiated rumors.

More substantiated are multiple reports that Best Buy will have a few iPads on April 3. TUAW reports that approximately 675 Best Buys will have just 15 iPads per store on April 3, with an additional 15 possibly coming the following week.

At this point it seems like Apple could be looking at an iPad sellout launch weekend, but what does that mean for you?

If you are a doubter, you might point to everyone’s favorite Asian Apple rumor site passing itself off as a newspaper. According to DigiTimes, Apple has been forced to switch its supplier of touch panels from TPK to Wintek. Of course, last month DigiTimes was blaming Wintek for the iPad launch being delayed until April.

Moving from wild rumors to educated guesses, Apple 2.0 has been following sales estimates from the AAPL Sanity Board at Investor Village. By tracking order numbers submitted by e-mail and accounting for other purchases, the estimated count for pre-orders is now 240,000. That number does not include in-store reservations, educational, and enterprise orders, but Boy Genius Report supposedly had a contact reporting 150,000 iPads reserved for pickup as of March 15.

Regardless of the pre-orders numbers, the slip in ship date by Apple makes it apparent the company is selling every iPad it can make. While that’s good for Apple, it’s bad news for those who haven’t ordered one yet. If you want a Wi-Fi iPad on April 3, your best bet is Best Buy in the morning and an Apple Store in the afternoon. Those who reserved an iPad at an Apple Store have until 3:00 to pick them up, or the units will be returned to the shelves, or more likely to the next person waiting in the “magical” line.

The latest report (PDF) from mobile advertising network AdMob has good news for the company’s parent firm, Google, but greats news for Google’s mobile rival Apple.

For February, smartphone traffic share increased an astonishing 193 percent over the same period last year with a corresponding drop in feature phones. Half of that traffic belonged to Apple.

However, it should be noted those numbers aren’t market share, or web share, but ad share as measured by AdMob from data “pulled across ads served on more than 15,000 sites and applications,” half of which are from devices in North America.

Having disclosed all that, Apple is set to rule the mobile web. Just look at the graph and follow the thin blue line.

According to AdMob, the Mobile Internet Device (MID) represented 17 percent of traffic in February of 2010, up 403 percent year over year. Mobile Internet Devices include handheld gaming consoles from Nintendo and Sony and general purpose handhelds like the Zune HD. Apple’s iPod touch, according to AdMob, currently accounts for 93 percent of that traffic.

That’s not a typo, and while some might suggest that dominating percentage is hopelessly prejudiced by the data source, there is corroboration of a sort from Net Applications, which does track market share.

Leaving Java Mobile Edition out of the mobile OS pie because it fits better with feature phones, the remaining operating systems again demonstrate Apple’s dominance. The iPhone OS accounts for 60 percent of the market, while the iPod touch competing against smartphones is bested only by Symbian. Nintendo and Sony don’t even show up.

The downside is that not too long ago the wedge for Android didn’t exist, and more threateningly for Apple, Android share tripled from last month. AdMob backs up those gains, with Android now accounting for 25 percent of smartphone operating systems, up from just two percent last year, but that’s okay.

The hottest potential market isn’t smartphones, but Mobile Internet Devices. Apple effectively controls the market for handheld MIDs with the iPod touch, and 10 days from now that could happen all over again with tablets and the iPad. When Steve declared Apple a “mobility” company, it wasn’t the usual Jobsian hyperbole, but a declaration of the company’s business model going forward.

The future begins April 3.

For many iPhone users held hostage by AT&T’s second-rate 3G network, the announcement that a nationwide rollout of the AT&T 3G MicroCell will begin in April sounds like a long-awaited promise of coverage rescue finally coming true.

Certainly that’s what I thought when I started using the MicroCell last year, but six months later I haven’t found cellular freedom at home so much as a better jail cell for me and my iPhone.

Regarding the announcement, AT&T says only that the nationwide launch will begin in mid-April, with “new markets activating in cities across the continental U.S. for the next several months.” To date, that’s mostly been regions of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, with San Diego and Las Vegas being recently added.

However, browsing the MicroCell support forum, posts are appearing declaring MicroCell availability in Arizona, New Mexico and New York—not New York City. Expect the MicroCell to be available in most U.S. cities by the end of 2010. Now that the “when” has been answered, the question is whether there is any value for the iPhone user with poor coverage at home.

How’s that image for an answer. Instafail. Despite the “five bar” coverage in my house, I will intermittently and without any discernible pattern have calls fail immediately after initiating them. A second attempt always succeeds, but it’s frustrating, and it happens on both my iPhone and my wife’s iPhone. After six months of being a beta tester, replacing one problematic MicroCell, troubleshooting various problems with tech support and discovering solutions on my own, I still have problems.

Other problems include what I would describe as passive-aggressive xenophobia on the part of my MicroCell towards people in call centers, presumably on other continents. Calls to call centers represent the most frequent of infrequent in-call drops. However, I also drop calls if I let the kitchen get between me and the MicroCell, even if the distance is less than 20 feet. Even keeping the kitchen out of the way, the range of the MicroCell could be better. In two different houses, I find 50 feet and a wall or two is the upward range limit.

Should your MicroCell itself drop out—and it will—it’s pretty easy to get running again. Disconnecting power and reconnecting will almost always have it back online within 15 minutes. Should that not work, it will be necessary to re-register the MicroCell on AT&T’s website, then reconnect it with your network. It’s a tedious and time-consuming process, but I haven’t had to do that since November, so perhaps that’s one problem fixed.

What will these problems cost you? The MicroCell sells for $149.99, though qualified purchasers can get rebates of up to $100, making the cost of network coverage that AT&T should already be providing only $50. To get the rebate, you have to sign up for a MicroCell calling plan at $19.99 per month. If you don’t get a MicroCell calling plan, calls will be deducted from you cell plan minutes. Seriously, is this a great deal for AT&T or what? Unburdening their network woes on the backs of broadband providers and getting AT&T cell phone users to pay for it—brilliant!

So, should you get a MicroCell? That’s not really the question. Rather, the question is can you replace your POTS or VoIP landline with a MicroCell and iPhone? My experience is that you cannot. While you can count on the AT&T 3G MicroCell to extend “five bar” coverage to your home, the bars are still a prison, and AT&T remains the iPhone’s jailer. Those of us desiring to cut our landlines don’t need an AT&T 3G MicroCell, we need a Verizon iPhone.

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A few lucky individuals sending emails to [email protected] have apparently been getting responses from the iconic CEO on a range of topics from Mac availability to iPhone OS 4.

The seeming randomness of what gets a response, and the often short, cryptic replies, seem reminiscent of the famous fortune-telling toy, not that we aren’t all hanging on every single-word reply.

The latest terse missive seen above was in response to a question those of us with iPhone and multiple email accounts have been asking for years. TUAW reports reader Julio R. asked if the “iPhone will ever have a universal mailbox just like Mail has on my Mac?”

In typically minimalist reply, Jobs responded, “Yep.” While that’s not as affirmative as “Yep – definitely,” I’ll take it. A universal inbox is easily the most obvious missing feature of Mail on the iPhone. While that might be the most satisfying response from Steve Jobs of late, it’s hardly the only one.

A couple of days ago, 9to5Mac posted a response from an individual asking about Apple supporting Google’s Picassa library format. Not surprisingly, the response was negative, nor was it surprising that Jobs wrote Apple had a better alternative, saying “iPhoto on the Mac has much better Faces and Places features.”

There’s really no Magic 8-Ball equivalent to that, but a day later a MacRumors reader allegedly was told in response to the interminable wait for new Mac Pros “not to worry.” The common “Yes” response was given by another TUAW reader asking if it would be possible transfer Google Docs to an iPad through iWork.com, a response supposedly sent from Jobs’ iPad.

From AppleInsider, also sent from Jobs’ iPad and about iPads, was the response to a question about where the iPad will be sold, that being ‘initially at Apple Retail and online stores and Best Buy.” One has to wonder how AT&T, which sells the iPhone and will be providing a data plan for the iPads, feels about that email.

Assuming these responses are not fakes, those hoping to become one of the chosen ones should probably consider their questions carefully. It’s probably a good idea to ask a question that’s interesting, not to Apple customers, but to Steve Jobs, and one that he can answer in a way that satisfies him. Asking why the iPhone is chained to a second-rate carrier like AT&T, or why there is no to-do option for Calendar on the iPhone like iCal has on my Mac will probably not be responded to. At least not so far. Like the Magic 8-Ball, the best questions are short and binary, “yes” or “no” replies.

So, what question are you thinking of asking Steve?

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