Hasta La Gadget!

If you happened to jump on the Google Maps for iOS bandwagon a couple days ago, only because you thought Apple might take the app down, you’re not alone. According to Technology Business Research analyst Ezra Gottheil, the new Google Maps app may not stay in the iTunes App Store forever, mentioning that a rejection into the App Store should’ve been “out of the question” in the first place.

Gottheil says that if, sometime down the line, if Apple believes that they have a superior app and if they have a compelling reason to do so, “they may choose not to accept Google Maps in some future manifestation.” This isn’t anything new, though, since Apple has rejected apps in the past by citing duplication of effort with the company’s own pre-installed apps.

However, Gottheil says that “Apple doesn’t want to force their users to use their Map app,” but once Apple Maps improves and there’s a lot of money at stake, don’t be surprised if you see Google’s Maps app gone from the App Store. The likelihood of this happening remains to be seen, though, but Gottheil notes that Apple shouldn’t have anything to worry about, since not all iOS users will download Google Maps, and that all iOS users will have Apple Maps anyway.

While Google Maps may be a better option than Apple Maps for some users, Google Maps doesn’t come with the benefits of being integrated into the iOS interface. Apple Maps works seamlessly with Siri, making it easy to pull up a map or get directions to a location just by spitting out the name and address. Check out our comparison of the two apps to learn more.

[via Computerworld]

Google Maps for iOS may not last long, according to analyst is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

In their yearly list of most innovative companies in the world, the folks at analytical group Booz & Co. found with a survey of participants that Apple was the most innovative group – for the third year running. This year it appears that Apple made a substantial lead increase over either of its previous years in the lead, with a massive near-80-percent of respondents naming Apple as one of the most innovative companies in the world. This number is up from 70 percent of those questioned last year.

In second place is Google with 43 percent of respondents naming the company as one of their top three “most innovative” company choices – this “essentially unchanged” from last year’s report, so they say. Perhaps astoundingly, if you only read tech and gadget news, the third place spot in this list goes to 3M who, the study says, “may not make headlines often, but the company again took place, capturing the votes of just more than 15 percent of respondents.” Speaking specifically on Apple, the study speaks highly of the gap the company is making.

“This year, Apple didn’t just top the rankings (as it did the past two years); it increased its lead substantially. The company — which in August 2012 became the most valuable in history, measured by market capitalization — was named by almost 80 percent of respondents as one of the three most innovative companies in the world, up from 70 percent last year.” – Booz and Co.

The rest of the list you’ll find contains companies you’ll be quite familiar with, for the most part. After 3M is Samsung followed by GE, Microsoft, and Toyoya. In 8th place there’s a tie between Proctor & Gamble and IBM, while Amazon this year has kicked Facebook out of the top 10 ranking entirely.

This study also shows some information on Research & Development spending, showing Apple to have nearly doubled their spending on R&D over the past three years. Apple’s $2.4 billion in R&D is 2.2 percent of its sales and just over a third of what the national average is at 6.5 percent. Inside the overall Global Innovation 1000 list, Apple ranks 53rd for R&D spending while Google ranks 26th and Toyota ranks #1. Samsung ranks #6, if you’d like to know, while Microsoft edges them out in 5th place.

[via Booz & Co.]

Apple named Most Innovative Company of 2012 by Booz & Co is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It’s time for Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster to break the news on Apple‘s dominance of the market once again, this time showing a report of 7,700 teenagers in the USA working with the iPhone in massive amounts. The survey showed that this most recent period of study showed iPhone use up 6% over the last time it was conducted, that being 6 months ago. At the moment, it appears that a whopping 40% of teens in the USA own at least one iPhone.

This study’s results from the Spring of 2012 showed 34% of respondents saying they owned an iPhone, the same number of respondents saying they owned a tablet of one sort or another. Regardless of if they had a tablet at the time of questioning or not, 19% of these US-based teens said they’d planned on buying a tablet (or a different tablet than the one they owned) within the next 6 months (that being the period we’ve just completed now).

This number jumped to 20% in this most recent time period (Fall 2012). The amount of responses for owning a tablet at the time of the survey jumped significantly upward to 44%. That includes all tablets of all types, including the possibility of Android, BlackBerry, and Windows, amongst other operating systems backing their unit up.

A whopping 72% of US teens who owned tablets here in this most recent study said they owned an Apple iPad of one generation or another. Of the 20% of those respondents that said they planned on purchasing a tablet in the next 6 months here in the Fall of 2012, 74% said they’d be buying an iPad specifically.

The amount of teens responding that they do not currently have a tablet was roughly 35%, this leaving a gap of about 20% of the total sample that either did not know if they owned a tablet or simply did not answer the question. The iPad mini was also included in this study even though it does not yet exist – the question regarding that specifically, of course.

The group of respondents that said they’d planned on buying a tablet in the next 6 months was also asked if they’d be more likely to buy an iPad if Apple were to launch a smaller device [as shown above] for $299. Of those asked 43% said yes, they’d go for that value proposition. Now we must see if the iPhone ownership numbers roll up on the iPad once the smaller version exists – we shall see soon!

[via Piper Jaffray; via Mac Rumors]

iPhone ownership hits 40% in US Teens is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Analyzing the way Apple customers work with their products and their store or choice this week was the NDP Group, this study revealing that 60 percent of Apple customers surveyed were more likely to come again after positive tech service. This study comes right alongside (incidentally) a supposedly “leaked” document for Apple Genius training earlier this morning that make it clear that Apple’s Genius Bar is trained to make the customer happy – and of course to fix their devices, too. The NPD Group’s “Tech Service Study” took on a collection of Apple product owners and found that the tech service piece of the Apple puzzle had a massive effect on their overall perception of the company.

Thirty-one percent of the set of surveyed Apple product owners responded that they had a much more positive view of Apple after they had an experience with the company’s tech service. Out of those surveyed, 40 percent of Apple product owners noted that they had been to the Apple Stores’ Genius Bar. Of those that visited the Genius Bar, nearly 90 percent said they were either extremely satisfied or very satisfied – in other words, it’s difficult to have a bad experience with an Apple Genius.

One of the big reasons that the Genius Bar is so satisfying, it would seem, is the large amount of users that get service there without having to pay any cash for a visit. Comparing users who accessed general tech support with Apple to those who visited the Genius Bar, 78 percent got free service from the former while 88 percent got free service from the latter. NPD Group notes that the correlation between free service from Apple and the consumer’s satisfaction was “major”.

Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at NPD, spoke up about the study, saying that Apple’s tech service appears to be a notably positive experience where traditionally accessing such service has not been pleasing for the average customer.

“Tech support is a great service for the consumer, but more importantly it’s a brand-building element for the retailer and manufacturer. People tend to associate any type of tech support as a negative experience, but Apple has demonstrated that those ‘negatives’ can be turned into positive brand experiences and result in a trip back to the store.” – Baker

Also according to the study, 53% of Apple consumers were “extremely satisfied” with their in-store experience, this percentage higher than any other type of service interaction. The study also found that “younger consumers” were surprisingly more likely to want to use Apple’s in-store service than any other group at 45% of respondents in that category – this is surprising, of course, because this youth market has otherwise been found to prefer more virtual interactions. Baker continues by noting that Apple’s model here is one that’s being recognized by retailers across the market.

“Retailers are rediscovering the value that services can offer the consumer. Store foot traffic has declined over the years leaving fewer and fewer in-person interactions. Having a strong tech support in-store model helps fill the transaction void and builds brand awareness and satisfaction.” – Baker

There were 2,000 respondents in this study, notes the NPD Group, with the sample comprised of USA citizens of 18 years of age or older. This study was completed with an online survey through NPD’s online panel in May of 2012, and as NPD notes: “Some of the participants were pre-identified as consumers who had returned or needed tech support on consumer electronic devices in the past 12 months.”

[via NPD Group]

NPD: Apple tech service key to repeat customers is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Gartner is reporting that worldwide mobile phone sales this quarter dropped 2.3 percent as buyers postponed upgrades and held out for the next big thing. Of the 419 million units sold in the last three months, Samsung, Nokia and Apple unsurprisingly took the lion’s share of the sales, while ZTE and LG rounded out the top five. Overall, Android’s the most popular phone operating system, running 64.1 percent of all new handsets, while iOS phones came in second with 18.8 percent. If you feel like you need some more spreadsheets in your life, then read on for the full breakdown.

Continue reading Gartner: worldwide mobile phone sales dipped 2.3 percent while users wait for next iPhone

Filed under: Cellphones

Gartner: worldwide mobile phone sales dipped 2.3 percent while users wait for next iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Aug 2012 05:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments