I was one of countless people who downloaded the new Skype app for my iPhone today. The timing was perfect as I had a Skype call scheduled with one of our authors in the U.K. I spent about 45 minutes on the call with her and it was a terrific experience.
I've been using Skype for a few months now and there's sometimes an awkward delay between speaking and hearing. I didn't encounter any of that today. In fact, the call was probably more clear than the ones I typically make via AT&T's regular network on the iPhone. Go figure.
I really liked it that we were able to use Skype's IM feature while on the call. Our author was able to send me a review and a link in the middle of the call, which was very helpful for the discussion.
I guess the only drawback I see with the Skype app is the fact that you can only make calls when connected via wifi, not 3G. I work out of my home though, so it's very convenient for me to turn on and off wifi as needed; it's mostly off because it's such a battery drain, btw. It's also nice to know that I won't be tethered to my computer when I have to call my daughter in Spain or on any other Skype calls going forward. Highly recommended, especially since the app is free!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
ESPN...and Sports Apps in General
I admit it. I'm an ESPN addict. That's why when I search for ESPN in the App Store I always end up discouraged. They offer a couple of gaming apps but that's about it. ESPN has always been the leader in rich sports content, so why isn't there an app to showcase it on the iPhone?! Done properly, it's one of the few apps I'd be willing to pay for...
And speaking of sports apps... I'm not finding any that really wow me. I've downloaded Fox Sports, MLB's At Bat Lite and NCAABBNow (for the tournament), but I wouldn't say any of them are "must-have." In fact, the NCAABBNow one is just plain awful; do they ever update scores on it?! I see MLB one is free for preseason and then you have to pay for the pitch-by-pitch data during the regular season..that seems reasonable, assuming they don't gouge me on the price. Being such a baseball fanatic I'm sure I'll wind up paying whatever they ask me to though.
In the mean time, I sure hope ESPN gets their act together and develops a killer app. They're missing a huge opportunity.
And speaking of sports apps... I'm not finding any that really wow me. I've downloaded Fox Sports, MLB's At Bat Lite and NCAABBNow (for the tournament), but I wouldn't say any of them are "must-have." In fact, the NCAABBNow one is just plain awful; do they ever update scores on it?! I see MLB one is free for preseason and then you have to pay for the pitch-by-pitch data during the regular season..that seems reasonable, assuming they don't gouge me on the price. Being such a baseball fanatic I'm sure I'll wind up paying whatever they ask me to though.
In the mean time, I sure hope ESPN gets their act together and develops a killer app. They're missing a huge opportunity.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Amazon Kindle iPhone App: First Thoughts
I'm a Kindle 1 owner and was curious to see how Amazon planned to extend their platform to the iPhone. I installed the free Kindle iPhone app earlier this week and have been using it pretty much every day since.
The good news is that the app lets you sync your books with your Kindle, not just the book content itself but where you are in each one. I mention "book" a couple of times in that sentence because it's important to note that you won't get access to anything other than books through this service, which is disappointing. I subscribe to The New York Times and New Yorker magazine on my Kindle but I can't place that content on my iPhone. Yes, I know you can use the NYT's free iPhone app, but it's not the same; you have to download each article separately, which is extremely inconvenient when flying at 30K feet!
I was partway through a Stephen King book of short stories on my Kindle and I pulled it over to my iPhone. The app asked me if I'd like to jump to where I left off on my Kindle, which I did. I read a couple of stories and put it away for the night. When I went to that book on my Kindle it asked me if I'd like to jump to where I left off on my iPhone. Again, I said yes and the Kindle took me to my iPhone stopping point. Very nice.
The beauty of this is that I'll now always have all my Kindle books with me (since my iPhone is always with me). But what about those magazines? And how about all the other documents I email my Kindle account so that they're available on my device? If Amazon were smart they'd open up a service where you can keep all your documents in their cloud and access them on your Kindle or your Kindle iPhone app. I'd pay for that feature!
The good news is that the app lets you sync your books with your Kindle, not just the book content itself but where you are in each one. I mention "book" a couple of times in that sentence because it's important to note that you won't get access to anything other than books through this service, which is disappointing. I subscribe to The New York Times and New Yorker magazine on my Kindle but I can't place that content on my iPhone. Yes, I know you can use the NYT's free iPhone app, but it's not the same; you have to download each article separately, which is extremely inconvenient when flying at 30K feet!
I was partway through a Stephen King book of short stories on my Kindle and I pulled it over to my iPhone. The app asked me if I'd like to jump to where I left off on my Kindle, which I did. I read a couple of stories and put it away for the night. When I went to that book on my Kindle it asked me if I'd like to jump to where I left off on my iPhone. Again, I said yes and the Kindle took me to my iPhone stopping point. Very nice.
The beauty of this is that I'll now always have all my Kindle books with me (since my iPhone is always with me). But what about those magazines? And how about all the other documents I email my Kindle account so that they're available on my device? If Amazon were smart they'd open up a service where you can keep all your documents in their cloud and access them on your Kindle or your Kindle iPhone app. I'd pay for that feature!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
What's The Fastest Growing Category in the iPhone App Store?...
You probably guessed "games", and while that's still the largest category, it's not the fastest growing one. Be sure to read this excellent analysis on the state of the iPhone App Store market by Ben Lorica. It's full of very interesting stats and trends.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
iPhone App Store Price Sensitivity
Free apps are everywhere and it's easy to download as many as you want. I've probably downloaded a dozen or more free apps that I haven't even opened. Ever. There's also a huge difference between a free app and a 99-cent one. I've bought 2 apps (99-cents each) and I've downloaded 30+ free apps. What's the mix on your iPhone?
I bring this up because app developers are trying to figure out the right model for the iPhone. We had some related data we shared at our recent TOC conference. Our CEO, Tim O'Reilly, mentioned that we introduced our iPhone: The Missing Manual as an iPhone app priced at $4.99. The app sold phenomenally well, but we wondered whether we were leaving money on the table, so we raised the price to $9.99.
Guess what happened? Tim noted that by doubling the price, we cut the sales to a quarter of their earlier levels. Yikes.
The lessons learned: First, there's definitely a good deal of price sensitivity in the App Store, even (especially?!) below the $10 point. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, the convenience of always having your book with you is nice, but there's a point somewhere below $10 where the smaller screen's limits trump the convenience factor.
As a book publisher we'll continue experimenting on this front. Rather than just playing with price points and form factors though, I tend to think we need to focus more on the content. Instead of simply porting the print product to an app, what functionality can we add to create a richer reading experience that takes advantage of the iPhone's capabilities? IOW, forget about the limits inherent in a print book...build the app so that it fully leverages the device!
Speaking of which, Amazon's new "Text-to-Speech" feature in Kindle 2 would be awesome on the iPhone, don't you think? See my Publishing 2020 blog post for more about this opportunity.
I bring this up because app developers are trying to figure out the right model for the iPhone. We had some related data we shared at our recent TOC conference. Our CEO, Tim O'Reilly, mentioned that we introduced our iPhone: The Missing Manual as an iPhone app priced at $4.99. The app sold phenomenally well, but we wondered whether we were leaving money on the table, so we raised the price to $9.99.
Guess what happened? Tim noted that by doubling the price, we cut the sales to a quarter of their earlier levels. Yikes.
The lessons learned: First, there's definitely a good deal of price sensitivity in the App Store, even (especially?!) below the $10 point. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, the convenience of always having your book with you is nice, but there's a point somewhere below $10 where the smaller screen's limits trump the convenience factor.
As a book publisher we'll continue experimenting on this front. Rather than just playing with price points and form factors though, I tend to think we need to focus more on the content. Instead of simply porting the print product to an app, what functionality can we add to create a richer reading experience that takes advantage of the iPhone's capabilities? IOW, forget about the limits inherent in a print book...build the app so that it fully leverages the device!
Speaking of which, Amazon's new "Text-to-Speech" feature in Kindle 2 would be awesome on the iPhone, don't you think? See my Publishing 2020 blog post for more about this opportunity.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
So What About that Secret?...
I twittered it, but I neglected to write a short follow-up post here about the secret iPhone service I mentioned I had been testing last week. It was announced at the TOC conference on Tuesday and attendees had a chance to test drive it for free for a day.
What am I talking about? It's the mobile UI for Safari Books Online. The url is m.safaribooksonline.com but it's still in beta for the time being. I'm told the service will go live for all Safari subscribers later this month.
What's so exciting about that? The Safari mobile UI will enable you to access your Safari book subscription from the convenience of your mobile device. I've been playing with it on my iPhone and it's terrific. I love that I can read portions of a book while I'm standing in line at the grocery story, sitting at the airport, etc., all without having to pull out my laptop.
If you're a Safari subscriber you'll soon have the same access I do. If you're not a subscriber, go check out the service now -- it's unbeatable access to an extensive library of books, all for about the price of one print book per month.
What am I talking about? It's the mobile UI for Safari Books Online. The url is m.safaribooksonline.com but it's still in beta for the time being. I'm told the service will go live for all Safari subscribers later this month.
What's so exciting about that? The Safari mobile UI will enable you to access your Safari book subscription from the convenience of your mobile device. I've been playing with it on my iPhone and it's terrific. I love that I can read portions of a book while I'm standing in line at the grocery story, sitting at the airport, etc., all without having to pull out my laptop.
If you're a Safari subscriber you'll soon have the same access I do. If you're not a subscriber, go check out the service now -- it's unbeatable access to an extensive library of books, all for about the price of one print book per month.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
I Know a Secret...
...but I can't share it just yet. I've been beta testing a great new service on my iPhone and it's scheduled to be publicly announced at O'Reilly's Tools of Change (TOC) conference this week.
You can connect the dots a bit on this and easily figure the service has something to do with content/publishing, since that's the industry I work in and it's also the focus of the conference. All I can say right now is that this service is very cool, it's for a variety of mobile devices and it looks terrific on my iPhone.
Curious to hear more? Stay tuned, especially to my Twitter feed since that's where I'll be talking more about it during this week's conference. If you're interested in the publishing world but can't make TOC, be sure to also follow the #toc hashtag in Twitter.
You can connect the dots a bit on this and easily figure the service has something to do with content/publishing, since that's the industry I work in and it's also the focus of the conference. All I can say right now is that this service is very cool, it's for a variety of mobile devices and it looks terrific on my iPhone.
Curious to hear more? Stay tuned, especially to my Twitter feed since that's where I'll be talking more about it during this week's conference. If you're interested in the publishing world but can't make TOC, be sure to also follow the #toc hashtag in Twitter.
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