iPhone Sticks It to the Cell Companies
Sorry for adding one more thing to the iPhone hype. I just have to pass along an observation that I think has been overlooked. Probably one of the best virtues of the iPhone is its push to force a change in how cell phone companies make and offer their products. AT&T, Verizon, and all the others claim that they make you sign contracts to subsidize the phone, but with the iPhone, that’s not true. You will be purchasing the phone from Apple, not AT&T. In other countries there aren’t any restrictions on what features a cell phone can have. But here in the U.S., the cell companies have a death grip on what a cell phone is capable of doing.
For example, let’s say you want a video player on the phone. The cell phone companies strip out video power to fit their own strategies for cell phone service. It’s not like they’re looking to integrate video with iTunes, for example. They want to power the whole thing, from digital video distribution for mobile devices to streaming video over their network. In this respect, not one manufacturer (Motorola, Nokia, etc.) has yet really fought for the consumer.
Apple, however, has vigorously taken head on the cell phone companies. When Verizon didn’t like the initial deal, they sent them packing and went with Cingular. Apple essentially has put the consumer up top, trying to put the features into the phone that we all want. To date, no one can doubt that it’s the most advanced smart phone out there. And the pricing plan, everything with AT&T has had Apple all over it.
So even if the iPhone is too expensive for you, one thing it is going to do is make it possible for manufacturers to demand more out of their deals with cell companies. No doubt Nokia, LG, or Motorola will try to build a better smartphone, and when they do, the competition will force cell companies to exit the practice of forcing the feature list to be what they want it to be. And if you do buy an iPhone, thanks for sticking it to the cell companies!
Safari For Windows, Inevitably Yours
When Apple recently announced a Windows release of their Safari web browser, my first reaction was thinking “Thank goodness.” (If you are still using Internet Explorer, I think you may need to wake up to much better technology and how up to speed you are.) On Digg and other web sites, tech wizards are asking, “Why should Apple enter the browser wars?”
Well, cause they’re going to win.
Here’s why. They know that making a large release of Safari won’t take much market share from Firefox. Firefox users are already way too committed to their browser to move over to Safari. A lot of them vocally denounce Safari anyway. But market share will come from IE users (cause IE is a significantly inferior product). Steve Jobs himself even said that the method of distribution will be to bundle Safari with iTunes downloads. So there will be quite a lot of exposure.
Firefox has shown how IE’s market share can only go down. Year after year they have made some slow growth in the overall browser share and will keep eating away at IE regardless of what Apple will do with Safari. The other less-well-known browsers don’t have a large enough user base to do damage to IE in a significant way. But Safari already has a host of Mac users, and who knows, with more and more Windows users buying Macs, if they’ve already used Safari, they’ll likely stick with it on their new Mac. At any rate, Safari can add to Firefox’s pull on IE share. The two will mutually bring over tons of users away from IE, without a doubt.
The iPhone has also created more demand for Safari. It’s the first serious attempt at making web pages appear as they are, no downsized version of the web. And, of course, the way that it happens is through Safari. Already, folks have begun to predict the rise of mobile web. With the iPhone setting a trend of web browsers doing both mobile and full-screen web rendering, Safari certainly has a chance at a niche market in ways that Firefox or IE haven’t.
With just a little bit of market share, Safari could be in a position to make a move for IE. But of course, it would need a boost.
My prediction is this: as soon as Safari + Firefox’s combined market share gets above IE, Apple will buyout Firefox. Then that will clinch the browser wars in Apple’s favor. And because of the superior technology that both Safari and Firefox have over IE, it will be a step forward for the world wide web. Right now, Firefox’s largest contributor is Google, representing well over 80 percent of its profits. The money’s in the search engines for both Safari and Firefox. Well, there’s no doubt that Apple has more pull with Google than Mozilla, and Google has bundled Firefox in its desktop software package. I think the relationship Apple has with Google could add some significant negotiating muscle to the table. (And if you are skeptical, remember how Jobs was able to negotiate “impossible” deals with the RIAA and DRM-free music…) Heck, if I were Mozilla, the whole point of Firefox would be to sell it eventually, once it had gained enough share. Regardless, why shouldn’t Apple come knocking? All that market share would be worth it. And for Apple it’s more than search engine power: users of Safari have much more exposure to Apple’s key products, which means better conversions to Mac.
So, Windows users, if you feel no motivation to begin using Safari, don’t worry. You’ll likely be using it in a couple years against your will.
Important Redesign Considerations
Sometimes it’s essential to redesign your web site. After two years of a red-black color scheme, I was getting a little bored, and so, if for no other reason, I felt the need to redo the look. What you’re looking at is a new design that, I hope, will accomplish the new objectives I have for this business.
Step one was to find a color scheme that I liked. Blues and grays are great for anything that needs a professional look and feel. I didn’t want it to be too mundane in that case, so I brought in a darker blue, no gray, and a somewhat florescent green to the palette. I wanted a new logo, so I created a metallic insignia, something like what you might see on a car, but with some color brightness to it.
The last step was to minimize content. I’ve become a convert of minimal content. I have noticed that my very favorite web sites have little content to sift through. Take, for example apple.com. These guys have one of the best home pages on the net, and it is incredibly minimal in its copy. However, run a search on Google for the site (site:apple.com) and you’ll find thousands of indexed web pages. So, like I believe we ought to do in government and in business, I cut the fat and trimmed it down to a couple paragraphs. I placed the contact form right there on the home page, and the portfolio as well. It’s all there in one quick glance. Then, using Ajax, I made the form and the portfolio accessible without being taken to another page.
All in all, I think it works. Hope some of these steps I took on this site might be useful for whatever your project might be.
