My latest post on Droid-Life is a slightly edited version of How Apple Can Save Digital Newspapers and Magazines. Like last week, I’ve included audio. It follows the same argument as before, with the exception that Google is more about giving users choice than Apple is. Apple has a tendency to make a solution their way and move on. In fact, for that reason I don’t expect Apple will revamp Newsstand. Google, on the other hand, needs their tablet solution to succeed. Having a platform that offers digital media in a way that people want could help sell tablets (and Android). As each ecosystem comes closer and closer to parity it won’t be about features, it will be about content. Which platform has the apps and media that I want? If Google can make sure Android is the answer to that question they’ll win the tablet market.
Too Much Customization
Sydney Myers of PhoneDog is switching back to Windows Phone after one month back with Android. Her reason? Android offers too much customization.
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A Little Less Online
In Paul Miller’s latest article he detailed his visit to a rally put on by various groups of Orthodox Jews about the dangers of the Internet. The article itself is a good read, but the video of the event is incredible. In the video Paul talks with a number of Orthodox Jews about their views on the Internet, but one man in particular, Eytan Kobre, an editor for Mishpacha Jewish Family Weekly, had some particularly fascinating things to say about how the Internet should be viewed.
Twitter Apps on Windows Phone
If I had to pick one social network to use exclusively, it would easily be Twitter. In this video review I take a look at a several different Twitter apps for Windows Phone 7 as well as some alternatives for people that only read Twitter. Rowi, Carbon, and Mehdoh remain my favorite three clients for the reasons outlined in the video.
Motoroogle
Over the weekend it was reported that the Google’s purchase of Motorola was okay’d in China under the condition that Android remain free and open for at least five years. The requirement came as a surprise since Google has never indicated that it would charge for Android or switch to closed source development. Google has emphasized that Android is free and open for anyone to use since the first Google phone, but is it possible that Google would like to change that with Motorola?
Another Day, Another Reason to Flee Verizon
I’ve been with Verizon for six years now. In that time I’ve had 10 phones on their network. For the most part I’ve been happy with the service. One of the reasons I’ve stuck it out with Verizon despite their goal of becoming the greediest carrier in the world is because they allowed users to keep unlimited data plans. That is, they will until later this year.
Google Partnering with OEMs to Release Multiple Pure Google Devices
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google is working with multiple OEMs to release five different Nexus devices this holiday season. Here are some possible reasons for this change:
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How Apple Can Save Digital Newspapers and Magazines
When Steve Jobs unveiled the original iPad it was hailed as a content consumption device. Most of the people that I know that own a tablet use the device for content consumption, not creation. Despite the heavy emphasis on consumption, publishers have struggled to get smartphone and tablet owners to pay for content on their devices.
The Internet set a new standard for content with most websites publishing content for free with ads lining the sides of the website. Eventually paywalls forced readers to pay for a subscription or a one time fee to read an article in its entirety. Readers who had become accustomed to free content moved on to other sources or looked for ways to get the content for free. The iPad was supposed to be the medium with which publishers would be able to charge for content again, but as Jason Pontin explains, the cost of app development and limited reader response made the iPad an illegitimate messiah of publishing.
Pontin concludes that since the iPad and Newsstand failed to attract subscribers, the web must be the future of publishing, not apps. I’m convinced that Pontin is wrong. Publishers made two vital errors with digital publishing: apps should not be treated as a magazine replacement and people shouldn’t be forced to pay for web content. If publishers and Apple can work together to correct these errors, together they can save digital magazines and newspapers.
Apple’s Opportunity to Change Search on the Internet
Last week it was reported that iOS 6, the next version of the operating system running on Apple’s iPhone, iPod, and iPad devices, will feature a new Maps application that will not use Google Maps data. Google’s services have always been deeply integrated in the iPhone since its debut in 2007. While many have suspected that Apple would move away from using Google services, the question is, how far will they go?
