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PSA: Rdio closing on 22 December, download your playlists now or lose them forever
If you’re an Rdio user, you have a week to download your playlists before the service goes offline at 8pm ET/5pm PT on Tuesday 22 December. Although the company was acquired by Pandora last month, its new owners are not continuing the service, but instead incorporating some of its technology and talent.
You can download an archive of your collection, and also see your listening stats, by logging in at the company’s ‘farewell’ page.
Rdio has posted a few stats to the page, showing that the most-played album was Nothing Was The Same by Drake, while the most popular song was When I Was Your Man by Bruno Mars.
Via Engadget
Filed under: Apps Tagged: Music, Pandora, Pandora Radio, Rdio, Streaming Music
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Apple takes three of the top four slots in tech as Google shares Year in Search [Video]
Google has once more posted its annual Year in Search video, covering topics as diverse as the refugee crisis, the blue/gold dress, Cecil the lion, female engineers, the discovery of water on Mars, gay marriage, Star Wars and more. It also posted the top ten search terms for a range of categories, with Apple taking three out of the top four slots in consumer tech …
As last year, the latest iPhone model – the 6 last year and 6S this year – was the top search, while the Apple Watch climbed from #8 to #3 and the iPad Pro took 4th place. Samsung also got three places, with LG, HTC, Nexus and Microsoft getting one apiece.
- iPhone 6s
- Samsung Galaxy S6
- Apple Watch
- iPad Pro
- LG G4
- Samsung Galaxy Note 5
- Samsung Galaxy J5
- HTC One M9
- Nexus 6P
- Surface Pro 4
Across all categories, the top 10 list was:
- Lamar Odom
- Charlie Hebdo
- Agar.io
- Jurassic World
- Paris
- Furious 7
- Fallout 4
- Ronda Rousey
- Caitlyn Jenner
- American Sniper
You can check out the Year in Search video below.
Filed under: iOS Devices Tagged: Apple Inc, Apple watch, Google, iPad Pro, iPhone, iPhone 6s, Year in Search 2015
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4 Tips for Competing with Mega Stores This Holiday Season
Would you believe that 15% of midsize businesses won’t spend any additional marketing money this holiday season? When you consider that many of the efforts made will place them up against some of the biggest names in ecommerce, it’s easy to see why they’d rather just go along with business as usual. To compete with the big guys, you’d have to have a mega budget for promotions. Or, you could try some of these tips and stay in the game.
Free Shipping
The all-time, number one reason for abandoned carts is the cost of shipping. If you’re offering great deals on all the products in your store, you may just get those customers in the door. What happens when they add everything to their shopping cart, click through to pay, and see that the cost of shipping nearly doubles their spend?
If you guess that they leave your site and go check Amazon to take advantage of the free shipping that comes with a Prime membership, you guessed right. Now, offering free shipping is a big commitment. It’s going to cost you. Consider offering shipping over a certain dollar threshold if you can’t afford to give it away.
Abandoned Cart Offers
If someone still abandons their shopping cart even after you’ve offered free shipping, you’ve really got a problem on your hands. What can you do when they walk away anyway? Well, if you’ve got a program in place to go after those cart abandoners, then you can still reel them back in.
See, many shoppers have every intention of buying… eventually. You may just need to give them a subtle reminder that their cart is waiting. An email letting them know they forgot to finish the purchase is a good first step. Make sure to include a picture of the item to really pique their interest. Add urgency by highlighting the limited supply or an upcoming shipping deadlines. If those buyers still don’t come back, then you may consider offering a special deal on those particular items just to get the buyer to make the purchase. In most cases, the initial reminder is all you need.
Loyalty Rewards
During the holiday season, people will buy left and right. What if you offered them the chance to accrue points for prizes or discounts? An easy-to-register rewards program could mean they’ll come back to you for their next purchase just to see their points balance increase.
Now, the important phrase here is “easy-to-register.” If you require massive amounts of information before the customer can enroll, then you’ll lose them all. If they’ve already entered their payment information, then you should have all the data you need. Don’t make them do it all over again, and you’ll see a spike in enrollment.
Discounts by Percentage or by Dollar
Whether you offer a percent off or a dollar amount off of purchases, the outcome is almost always the same: a purchase. During your regular marketing routine, you may wait until buyers are further along in the buying journey to offer a discount of any kind. During the holidays, however, there’s no time to waste. You have to show your hand right away.
Before you get too excited about offering discounts on your products, you have to consider a few things. First, if the customers who take advantage of the savings have never shopped with you before, will they equate the discount with the quality of your products? Worse, will they expect a discount every time they shop with you in the future? That’s why discounts should be a last resort, but when you’re competing with the big guys, you sometimes have to give in.
You can keep up with the big stores without spending piles of money, but you have to commit to the promotion. There are ways to compete without spending much at all, such as fine-tuning your SEO, creating and promoting plenty of content, and taking over social media platforms. When you do these things to hook a buyer, though, you may need something to reel them in.
[New Ebook] Sneak Peek: The Ultimate Guide to Inbound Marketing For Schools
Once upon a time, students applying to colleges waited for relevant materials to arrive in their inboxes. Schools sent out viewbooks, pamphlets, and newsletters to prospective students to drive applications and enrollment—and it worked.
Today, it doesn’t. To help you navigate the new word of marketing to students, we’ve compiled The Ultimate Guide to Inbound Marketing For Schools, an ebook that explains how to reach and engage students throughout their enrollment journey using content, personalization, and automation.
We’ve pulled out the first part of several chapters of the book to help you see exactly what you’ll learn in the full guide.
Sneak Peek: How Inbound Helps Schools
Attract More Prospective Students
“The first step of the Inbound Methodology is to attract the right people to your site. After all, you can’t nurture and convert prospective students into applicants unless you have a base of visitors to work with.
This seems like a daunting task. For smaller schools, specific programs within larger institutions, or trade and nontraditional institutions, it’s difficult to build traffic and get found when you’re competing with established schools that seem to dominate search engine traffic and have money to spend on paid ads.
Larger institutions, on the other hand, probably already have a certain volume of site traffic, but it’s not always clear whether it’s the right kind. Are the prospective students checking out your school finding the right information? Are they seriously interested in attending? Is there a specific school or program you’re trying to help them find? The bad news is that you can’t click your heels and instantly shoot to the top of search rankings or quadruple your traffic.
But there’s good news too: Inbound marketing levels the playing field. Regardless of your budget, you can use inbound to own your search engine ranking instead of paying to maintain it, build your online presence, and attract the right visitors…”
Download the full ebook to continue reading about personas, blogging, and SEO >>
Convert Strangers Into Opt-in Contacts
“Your website content is up and running, and you’re starting to gain more traffic. But who’s visiting your site? How do you connect with your audience? That’s where conversion comes in—the moment at which the unknown turns into the known.
Any place on your website where a visitor has to fill out his or her name, email address, and other information to access content is known as a conversion point. You probably already have conversion points on your website—forms website visitors fill out to sign up for an information session, register for a tour, or apply.
But these are all late-stage conversion points. Students who aren’t serious about applying yet most likely won’t take the time to attend an info session or visit campus. … Choosing a school is a big life decision, so don’t expect that students will be ready to make the commitment to applying or visiting campus after their first visit to their website.
Instead, capture their information as early as you can with smaller asks…”
Close More Prospective Students Into Applicants and Enrollments
“After a conversion, you have your visitors’ contact information! But to turn them from a visitor into an applicant and eventual student, you’ll need to do a little more work. It sounds like a gargantuan task to turn a random visitor into an enrolled student, but it’s actually a process that can be broken down into simple steps. You’ll have to use email lists to nurture students…
Marketers can use pre-planned workflows to nurture leads. Each workflow should be tailored to a specific lead’s needs, and are generally a series of email sends containing helpful content, offers, and CTAs.
Before you launch an email campaign, ask yourself:
- What action will a student have to take to be placed into a workflow?
- What kind of actions will a student have to take to “complete” a workflow (i.e. a student is asked to apply)?
- What content are you going to send?
The key to an effective workflow is to provide value at each stage of the enrollment cycle…”
Ready to get the full picture on how inbound marketing works for schools? There’s a lot more where this came from. Click on the button below to download your copy of the full ebook now.
6 Tools for Selling Products on Instagram
Do you want to sell your products using Instagram? Looking for tools to make it easier for customers to buy from you? The right Instagram tools help you maximize your revenue. In this article you’ll discover six tools to help you sell products on Instagram. #1: Identify Shoppable Content With a Hashtag Hashtags are a […]
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Social Media Examiner – Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
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10 Illustrations to Use in Your Team’s Chat Room When Words Alone Don’t Cut It
Team messaging tools such as Slack and HipChat do wonders to streamline our day-to-day communications at work. But what about those times when you know what you want to say, but words (and your standard arsenal of pictures and GIFs) fail you?
Trust me, we’ve been there too. Maybe you’re suffering from caffeine deprivation and can’t find the strength to type. Or, on a lighter note, perhaps you simply want to thank someone for doing you a favor, but can’t find the right words to express your gratitude.
For situations like these, we created this set of 10 responses that are guaranteed to improve your work chats, make you more popular, and lower your cholesterol by 50%. Well … maybe just the first one.
Want to download them all in one fell swoop? Click here.
10 Awesome Illustrations to Use in Your Team’s Chat Room
1) “Crushing it.”
Finished a project ahead of schedule? Big launch go better than planned? Dropped a cement block on a priceless Fabergé egg? You, my friend, are crushing it.
2) “Coffee break?”
Fight the physical & mental fatigue with the magic that is roasted beans and hot water.
3) “Let’s roll.”
There are places to go, people to see, and big things to do. Reserve this illustration for when you’re on a serious mission.
4) “It’s beer o’clock.”
You know what time it is.
5) “Meetings are good.”
“Welcome to the subcommittee meeting to determine the schedule of future subcommittee meetings.” Sound familiar?
6) “Case of the Mondays.”
For when things go terribly wrong. Houston, we’re gonna need a bigger boat.
7) “I have no idea what I’m doing.”
There’s nothing wrong with being honest — we all end up here at some point.
8) “Success.”
Aw yeah. True happiness is a grinning llama rocking a 36” chain … isn’t it?
9) “We’re experiencing technical difficulties.”
Something just went down? Use this illustration to alert your team that it should be back up and running shortly.
10) “Thank you!”
There’s never a bad time to express your gratitude.
What other illustrations do you wish you had to express yourself? Let us know what we missed in the comments section below.
Apple shuts down analytics company Topsy two years after its acquisition
Almost two years ago to date, Apple acquired a Topsy Labs, an analytics company that made various products that searched and drew data from conversations happening on services like Twitter. Now, Apple has shut down the service according to a tweet from Topsy.
“We’ve searched our last tweet,” Topsy said in a post on Twitter this evening. Going to Topsy’s website now redirects you to an Apple support article on how to use Search on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. The company was tweeting often until November 20th, after which tweets slowed down and became more scattered, leading up to today’s final post.
Apple has yet to acknowledge what specifically it used Topsy’s technology and talent for, but there are several instances of improved and deeper search throughout iOS. For instance, iOS 9 introduced new, deeper “Proactive” search that leverages Siri, Contacts, Calendar, Passbook, and third-party apps to create deeper search functionality throughout the operating system.
Apple acquired Topsy Labs in December of 2013 for upwards of $225 million. When the acquisition was originally revealed, many speculated that Apple would use Topsy’s data from social media and integrate it into services like iTunes Radio, so it’s more than likely that some of Topsy’s technology is being used behind the scenes for Apple Music and Beats 1.
We've searched our last tweet.
—
(@Topsy) December 16, 2015
Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: Apple, iOS, search, topsy
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Jeb Bush calls Apple Watch unintuitive, lists his favorite iPhone apps in new interview
Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush has long voiced his support for Apple products. Earlier this year, he praised the health features of the Apple Watch, saying that it does a better job at health management than Obamacare. Jeb! later posted a video of his Silicon Valley favorites, voicing his support for iPhone over BlackBerry and MacBook Pro over iPad, while showing off his Apple Watch. Now, however, in a quick interview with Business Insider, Bush has become somewhat critical of the Apple Watch…
Asked for his thoughts on the product, Bush explained that it’s not as intuitive as other Apple products are. “It requires a lot more work than it needs to. It’s not as intuitive as other Apple products,” he explained. He went on to note that the battery life is nowhere near as good as it should be, but said he has faith that Apple will improve it and make it easier to use over time. Ultimately, he said that until someone comes out with something better, he’ll continue to use it. Bush did call it the “iWatch” several times, however, so that begs the question of whether or not we should trust his opinion.
Jeb! then went on to list some of his favorite iPhone apps. The candidate’s picks include CBS Sports Fantasy, AP, Kayak, Kindle, and The Wall Street Journal. View the full video below:
Filed under: Apple Watch Tagged: Apple watch, Apps, iPhone, Jeb Bush
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Google Play Books adds Night Light mode to make late night reading more enjoyable
Google today has announced an update to its Google Play Books app on Android and iOS that brings with it a new feature called “Night Light.” The update will rollout soon to users via the App Store for free.
Night Light is a feature that Google says will significantly improve the comfort of reading late at night in darker environments. Google says it has noticed that reading activity peaks between 8PM and 10PM local time, meaning that a lot of people are reading right before they go to bed and it’s not good for your eyes to stare at a bright white screen right before going to sleep.
Night Light, once enabled, will automatically adapt the color of the page based on the amount of natural sunlight, giving you the perfect temperature and brightness for enjoyable reading. The feature works by gradually filtering blue light from your screen and replacing it with a warm, amber light as the sun sets:
Today we’re introducing Night Light, a new feature that makes night time reading more enjoyable and easier on the eyes. When turned on, Night Light gradually filters blue light from your screen, replacing it with a warm, amber light as the sun sets. Night Light automatically adapts to the amount of natural sunlight outside based on the time of day, giving you just the right temperature and brightness. The color adjustment is more comfortable on your eyes and greatly improves low-light night reading.
Google says the update should be available soon on the App Store.
Filed under: iOS Tagged: Google, Play Books, update
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Google’s Project Fi now supports iPad LTE, $10/GB flat rate
Google’s Project Fi service will now work on tablets including iPads and other compatible data-only devices besides phones. There are no extra fees to add devices to a Fi plan and data only costs $10 for every 1GB you use. That varies from many mainstream carrier plans with charge monthly rates for data access.
In the next couple of days, current users of Google’s MVNO will see an option to order a free data-only nano SIM from the ‘Your Plan’ section of the Project Fi website. Google only touts support for the following devices (all tablets), but other unlocked phones and tablets that work with T-Mobile should also support Fi:
- Nexus 7 – K009 (US LTE)
- Nexus 9 – 0P82300 (US LTE)
- iPad Air 2 – Model A1567
- iPad mini 4 – Model A1550
- Galaxy Tab S – Model SM-T807V
Their support page notes being able to use a data-only SIM in a smartphone, but users won’t be able to make calls or receive texts. That will still requires a Nexus 5X, 6, or 6P so no iPhones or other Android phones yet. Users will be able to add up to nine data-only SIM cards to their account, but a SIM can be moved from device to device. Additionally, data-only SIM cards will not support tethering.
Those new to Fi can request an invite to join the service, but expect a waiting period.
Filed under: iOS Devices, Tech Industry Tagged: Fi, Google, Google Fi, iPad
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How-To: Setup Photos and iCloud Photo Library with external storage + Time Machine backups
Over the weekend a good friend of mine shared a screenshot of a really scary error message from Photos for Mac. Every photo and video taken over the last two weeks failed to open, saying instead that ‘An error occurred while downloading a larger version of this video for editing.’ The solution? ‘Please try again later.’ and press OK. What’s worse is he was relying on the app’s Optimize Mac Storage setting to fit the library on his local storage and trusting iCloud not to screw things up along the way. And he didn’t have local copies backed up, a mistake he for obvious reasons regretted.
Stories like these aren’t rare, which is why my colleague Jeremy wrote earlier this year that “iCloud Photo Library still isn’t worth the hassles,” despite Apple lowering iCloud storage costs. But I still recommend Photos and iCloud Photo Library, new features that topped my “favorite new Apple things from 2015 that will last for years” list, just not with the default setup. As with any cloud service, the one major caveat is ensure you have a reliable local backup (followed by plenty of patience at the start).
While there’s no turning back data loss, I shared my personal Photos plus iCloud Photo Library setup with my friend, which he’s moving to now for a hopefully better experience. Below I’ll detail each step, which required a little research before I figured it all out, so you can hopefully have a positive experience with Photos and iCloud Photo Library as well.
iCloud Photo Library Benefits
First, let’s discuss the benefits of even bothering with Photos and iCloud Photo Library. Using iCloud Photo Library lets you shoot or import photos and videos from your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, or the web and have them all go to a single library that you manage.
Delete a photo or video from any signed-in device and it goes to a trash folder for 40 days and can be recovered from any device before it’s fully deleted. Edit a photo’s color or light or crop it and apply a filter and the changes appear everywhere and can be reversed.
Create an album from any signed-in device and it appears everywhere else without syncing with iTunes. Select the heart icon on any photo or video and it appears in a Favorites album on all your devices.
This is how I find the 200 photos that I really like the most out of 13,000 that I’ve taken over the years, which comes in handy when it’s time to make a Christmas calendar at the end of the year.
Finally, iCloud Photo Library (with a subscription to a proper storage tier) lets you access huge sets of photos and videos from iPhones and iPads (and Macs) which would otherwise have too low storage. Using the ‘Optimize Storage’ option lets you see thumbnails of your whole library and selectively download only the photos and videos you open.
My iPhone 6s Plus is 128GB and it can’t comfortably store my photo library plus apps and offline music; even using the free Photo Stream feature on a 16GB iPad Air meant installing very few apps to accommodate the storage needs. Turn on iCloud Photo Library and you may still see the occasional low storage warning, but Photos will respond in the background by removing full images and videos stored in iCloud to free up space.
iCloud Photo Library Risks
But any number of things could go wrong with iCloud Photo Library or your iCloud account in general. So I do not recommend using Photos and iCloud Photo Library with Optimize Storage turned on anywhere without a Mac using the Download Originals option somewhere.
The problem is your Mac may not have enough internal storage to hold your entire photo library either, but Photos on OS X lets move your Photos library from the default Photos folder to cheaper and higher capacity external storage with little work.
But even with photos and videos downloaded locally either internally or externally, it’s possible something could go wrong with iCloud Photo Library and even your local files could get hosed in the process. OS X features a system backup tool called Time Machine that “automatically makes hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups for all previous months. The oldest backups are deleted when your backup drive is full.”
By default, external drives are excluded, but you can easily change this in the Time Machine settings within System Preferences.
Having at least one Mac with Photos setup to download original photos and videos that backup to Time Machine greatly minimizes the risk that something will get hosed in iCloud Photo Library. (I understand not using the service if you have a bad experience somewhere else along the way, but these steps should help iCloud Photo Library work for you.)
My Setup
Here’s exactly what I use plus recommendations:
- Always-on Mac mini (this is my desktop setup, MacBooks, iMacs, and Mac Pros are fine too but being connected often is key)
- Samsung 840 EVO 250GB SSD internally to speed things up
- Seagate Expansion 2TB HDD externally to hold my Photos and iTunes libraries (although I’d opt for a Thunderbolt G-Drive if buying today)
- Apple AirPort Extreme + Seagate Expansion 5TB HDD for Time Machine backups (Apple also offers 2TB and 3TB Time Capsules which are Extremes with internal drives)
- 200GB iCloud storage for $3.99/month to sync my 13,080 photos and 1,015 videos and counting, plans go up to 1TB for $9.99/month.
The Mac is always on and regularly syncs and downloads my iCloud Photo Library to Photos even when the app is closed. I upgraded the slow hard disk drive that came with my Mac for a faster solid state drive (guide here), sacrificing storage for speed.
I keep a larger external drive connected over USB 3 which works fine, although a faster Thunderbolt drive will eventually replace that for me. Apple’s AirPort Extreme is pricey but I use Apple’s AirPort Utility app enough that it’s worth it for me, plus I connect a larger external drive to it to hold all my Mac’s Time Machine backups.
Finally, Apple’s $3.99/month plan gives me 200GB of iCloud storage and I’ve got about 80GB free so there’s room to grow for me. Your specific needs will vary, but you should get the general idea.
Once you’ve got all the pieces in place, there are a few settings that differ from the defaults you’ll want to know about. If you’re Photos library won’t fit on your internal drive, you can move it from the Pictures folder in Finder to your connected external drive.
The trick here is to remember to set the new location as your system library in the Preferences for Photos. Only the System Photo Library can sync with iCloud Photo Library, although you can create additional libraries stored internally or externally that backup if you have the need.
The Download Originals to this Mac option in the Preferences for Photos should be checked on for the whole process to ensure this is the true version of your photo collection. This means your photos and videos are fully saved locally and not relying on iCloud for access.
Next, if you’re responsibly using Time Machine backups, keep in mind that the default system setting is to ignore external drives. You can change this in the System Preferences app under Time Machine > Options > Select drive > click – (minus) > Save. This step is key and took some initial Googling on my part when I first had the thought to go this route.
Knowing I have my whole iCloud Photo Library saved locally and backed up with my desktop Mac allows me to use the Optimize Storage option on my MacBook, iPhone, and iPad, giving me full access to my photos and videos regardless of local without worrying about losing data.
Additionally, you could add online backup with services like Backblaze or CrashPlan for added peace of mind (just check how external drives are handled). If you’re Mac and external hard drives are stolen or destroyed in a fire, you’re back to relying on iCloud alone to recover your photo library. Budgets and bandwidths will vary, obviously, so consider this piece a non-essential add-on to the equation.
For me, I consider external storage and Time Machine backups essential to using iCloud Photo Library with Photos. No matter how good iCloud got at being a reliable cloud service, it’s solely my responsibility to ensure that my personal photo collection of my daughter growing up doesn’t disappear one day.
Have you own Photos and iCloud Photo Library setup that you trust? Let us know in the comments.
Filed under:
How-To, iOS, Mac Tagged: iCloud Photo Library, iPad, iPhone, Mac, photos, Time Machine
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OtterBox iPad Pro Defender case now available to order (and 25% off)
OtterBox today announced availability of an iPad Pro version of its popular Defender case.
The Defender Series for iPad Pro packs in much of what you’d expect based on cases from the series for other Apple devices. For $129.95 (currently 25% off), you’ll find a polycarbonate protective shell with front bezel protection, a screen protector with full access to Touch ID, and a built-in stand with space to store an Apple Pencil.
And the new iPad Pro case comes alongside new versions of the Symmetry Series Folio, this time for the new iPad mini 4 ($59.95) and the new Profile Series for iPad Air 2 ($49.95). However both are currently 25% off for a limited time alongside the new iPad Pro case and most other products on the company’s site.
The new iPad Pro Defender case is available to order now for $97.46 (reg. $129.95) with shipping currently scheduled for Jan. 1. The other two new cases will ship in time for the holidays if you purchase before Dec. 17.
Filed under: iOS Devices Tagged: $25 off, Available, case, defender, discount, iPad Pro, OtterBox, preorder, stand
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Opinion: Five reasons Apple fanboys are right (and wrong) about Android
Last week, I wrote an article called The Top 10 Android Features Apple’s iOS 10 Should Steal, and — surprise — it turned out to be somewhat controversial. Over 120 comments reflected a wide range of opinions on the future direction of Apple’s mobile operating system, with most commenters agreeing that iOS should take some inspiration from Android, but only for the specific features they personally liked. Unfortunately, in keeping with our increasingly polarized society, a few particularly caustic Apple fanboys decided to go crazy, personally attacking fellow commenters who liked the ideas, the author who dared to suggest them (“poor old me“), and the very concept of taking any ideas whatsoever from Android.
On one hand, I understand where the fanboys are coming from. Some people just love whatever Apple releases and does, no matter what. Others are so emotionally or financially invested in Apple that any suggestion of potential improvement is perceived as an attack on the company’s well-being. But it’s hard to sympathize with people who freak out when Apple’s described as anything less than perfect. Walt Mossberg called out “cultists” for this behavior in his article, “It’s Not a Church, It’s Just an Apple Store,” naming it the Doctrine of Insufficient Adulation. Demanding unyielding praise is crazy, and ultimately unhealthy for the Apple community as a whole. Simple statistics suggest that under 0.05% of our readers fall into cultist territory, but they’re abrasive enough to turn off the other 99.95% of readers we care about.
It’s important to understand that these hard-core fanboys aren’t just a tiny minority of all iOS users — they also have fringe views relative to the general population. Reasonable people can debate the precise numbers, but Android currently powers roughly 4/5 of the smartphones out there. It’s easy to credit aggressive Android device prices, but it’s clear that Android has features that appeal to people, too. From my perspective, it’s perfectly reasonable for iOS users to want some of Android’s features — especially if they don’t want to switch to Android devices. Yes, Apple’s a great company, and yes, iOS is a great platform, but they’re not perfect. Even if you don’t like Google, there’s room to learn (and borrow) from Android…
1. It’s OK To Like Parts Of Android Even If You Don’t Like Google. Apple has framed its competition against Google in a “good versus evil” context, and although I don’t think that’s fair to either company, believe what you want. Just try to separate the company from the product, or alternately, good pieces of the product from bad ones. Some of Google’s innovations, such as Google Maps, OK Google (Voice Search), and Google Now cards are so clearly highly useful and well-developed that Apple either embraced them, copied them, or both. Google took good ideas from Apple to build Android, so there’s nothing wrong with Apple grabbing ideas from Google to improve iOS.
2. Whichever Android UI You Hate Isn’t Android’s Only UI. One gripe from the anti-Android crowd is that the Android user interface is visually cluttered or messy — no surprise, given that Android lets users customize their home screens almost as much as OS X lets you clutter your Mac’s desktop. But that’s your choice, and when it comes to a home screen (or desktop) for a device you use every day, choice is good. Right now, a stock Android phone lets you pick the UI elements, layout, and icon designs you personally like. Then, using apps, you can tweak the top-of-screen status bar, the transitions between home screens, and the size/number of icons you prefer to see at once. Android can look just like iOS, or substantially different. Done right, that’s a strength, not a weakness. And if you say you hate the ideas on Android, remember, most of the same customizations are built into OS X.
3. Android Has Served As A Testbed For Bold Ideas. Remember when Apple openly suggested that human hands weren’t large enough to comfortably hold phones bigger than the iPhone 5? Ah, memories. Well, you can thank Android — specifically, Google’s licensing of the OS to multiple manufacturers that were willing to experiment with different form factors — for freeing the iPhone from that set of shackles. Yes, it’s true that there were too many options out there at one point, but they helped smartphones establish a more popular set of screen size options than the “3.5-inch” and “4-inch” sizes Apple portrayed as perfect. Apple fanboys used to mock “phablets;” now they sing the praises of Plus-sized iPhones.
4. Android Is (Somewhat) Helping To Keep Apple’s Pricing In Check. If 2015 has taught us anything, it’s that Apple isn’t shy about pricing its products above market norms — it’s only in the context of $10,000-$17,000 gold Apple Watches that $99 Pencils, $129 “Magic Trackpads” and $169 “Smart Keyboards” sound like bargains. But $40 Android-powered media streamers, $50 Android-powered tablets, and $99 Android-powered phones are pushing Apple to keep $69 Apple TVs, cheap iPad minis, and “free” iPhone 5ses available to customers. That Apple products aren’t solely available to the rich is undeniably a good thing for everyone’s pocketbooks (and even, ultimately, Apple’s shareholders).
5. Android’s Embrace Of Open Wired/Wireless Standards Helps iOS Users, Too. Apple loves proprietary connectors — the Dock Connector and Lightning gave Apple all but complete control over iOS accessories, to the point that it repeatedly had problems supplying connectors to developers who wanted them. AirPlay, Apple’s proprietary wireless audio streaming standard, similarly turned out to be a trainwreck for developers who tried to support it. These issues, combined with high prices for Lightning connectors and AirPlay components, led developers to switch their accessories to Bluetooth and micro-USB, instead. Try to imagine what iPhones and iPads would have been like without Bluetooth, or how third-party accessories would have recharged for the last few years, since Apple didn’t let companies use female Lightning connectors until 2015. Competition, primarily from Android devices, made these alternatives available to iOS users. And in a twist of fate, Apple now owns Beats, arguably the most popular Bluetooth audio accessory maker in the world, which sells products to Android and iOS users alike.
One of the commenters on my prior article scoffed derisively at the idea that Apple could treat Google as a respectable competitor, much the way Microsoft has recently tried to make peace with Apple after decades of enmity. Given that Apple portrays itself as a white knight fighting for good, it wouldn’t be a terrible thing to see the company act like a magnanimous market leader, acknowledging at least some of its chief rivals’ value. While I understand the marketing value of a cold war between platforms, whipping iOS and Android users up into truly opposing and unwavering camps, the reality is that Apple and Android users get significant benefits from the existence of each others’ platforms. If the fanboys on both sides could acknowledge that, our discourse would be a lot better off, and we could focus on enjoying our devices rather than wasting time fighting over them.
More From This Author
Check out more of my reviews, How-To guides and editorials for 9to5Mac here! I’ve published a lot of different topics of interest to Mac, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Apple TV, and Apple Watch users, as well as a great holiday gift guide for iPhone users, a detailed holiday gift guide for Mac users, and a separate holiday gift guide for Apple photographers.
Filed under: iOS, iOS Devices, Opinion, Tech Industry Tagged: Android, Apple, Google, iOS, iPhone
Visit 9to5Mac to find more special coverage of iOS Devices, Apple, and iPhone.
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Skype iPhone & iPad app gets improved sharing with iOS extension
Skype for iPhone and iPad gets an update today to version 6.8 and with it comes new features for sharing content in the app. With the update, you’ll be able to quickly share links to websites and photos from your camera roll:
Skype 6.8 for iPhone and iPad makes sharing content with friends on Skype really easy. Simply tap on a share button to send links from apps and websites or photos from your camera roll directly to a Skype contact – just select the friend you want to share with and send! Perfect for sharing photos from your office party or present ideas with family members without the hassle of sending the content in an email.
The new app adds support for Skype in the system-wide iOS share sheet, meaning you’ll be able to easily share content from the web, in apps, and elsewhere directly to contacts in Skype. The company’s demo video below gives you the rundown on enabling the feature if you’re unfamiliar:
The updated Skype app for iPhone and iPad is available on the App Store.
Filed under: Apps Tagged: App Store, extension, iOS, iPad, iPhone, share sheet, sharing, Skype, version 6.8
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Why You Should Use Your Vacation Time [Infographic]
“I can’t afford to take time off.” “I don’t want work to pile up.” “I don’t want to be seen as replaceable.” These excuses for not taking vacation are all too common — especially in the United States, where hundreds of millions of vacation days go unused each year.
But here’s the thing: Vacation is actually good for your productivity and performance at work. Almost nine out of ten American workers feel like time off increases their happiness — which, in turn, can do wonders for your productivity.
Even your boss thinks so: 91% of business leaders believe their employees return recharged and ready to work more effectively.
To learn more about the state of vacation in America today and the benefits of taking time off, check out the infographic below from CityPass.
9to5Toys Lunch Break: Apple Watch $249, TP-LINK 802.11ac Router $100, Anker 26,800mAh Power Bank $40, more
Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.
TODAY’S CAN’T MISS DEALS:
Apple Watch Sport $100 off at B&H Photo, prices start at $249 with tax only in NY
Amazon Gold Box — TP-LINK networking up to 60% off: AC1900 Archer C9 Dual-Band Gigabit Router $100 (Reg. $125)
Anker USB Power Deals: Astro E7 26,800mAh Power Bank $40 (Reg. $60), Braided Nylon MFi Lightning Cables from $8, more
Best Buy’s latest Apple sale is your best chance to score iPad, Mac, & Watch deals before Christmas: iPad Air 2 $125 off, iPad Air $100 off, iPad mini 4 $100 off, much more!
Best Buy makes a splash with the lowest Apple Watch prices ever, deals start at just $249
Less than 24 hours remain! Save 25% on any book from Amazon: wp.me/p1xTlR-L6A https://t.co/55Bi0i6liO
—
9to5Toys (@9to5toys) December 15, 2015
MORE NEW GEAR FROM TODAY:
iPhone 6/s/Plus Accessories: Sport Armbands from $6, cases in a variety of colors/styles from $3 shipped, more
- Bluetooth Audio: Anker SoundCore Speaker $30 (Reg. $40), more
- Games/Apps: Guitar Hero Live for iOS/console $60, iOS freebies, more
- Daily Deals: Jawbone Mini Jambox Bluetooth Speaker $65, Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 $60, more
MORE DEALS STILL ALIVE:
Bose Holiday Savings: SoundLink Color Bluetooth Speaker $99 (Reg. $129), QC25 Headphones $269 (Reg. $299)
Buy a new Chromecast, receive a $20 Google Play credit plus more offers
- Media: iTunes HD Movie $10 Sale, Blu-rays from $4, more
- Pencil by FiftyThree smart iPad stylus from $30 Prime shipped (Orig. $50)
- USB Hubs: ORICO Aluminum 7-port $30 (Reg. $40), more
- Get half off a replacement Apple MagSafe 2 Power Adapter: $40 (Orig. $79)
- 2-pack Logitech UE BOOM Smart Bluetooth speakers for $170 shipped (Orig. $400+)
- Capture the action this Christmas with GoPro’s HERO+ LCD camera for $240 (Reg. $300)
- Fashion: Ralph Lauren 30% off – Half-Zip Pullover $42 (Orig. $99), more
- Affinity Photo is Apple’s Mac App of the Year, download it now for $40 (Reg. $50)
- App Store Free App of the Week: Cut the Rope 2 goes free for the first time ($1 value)
- The Room for iOS goes free for the first time in two years (Reg. $1), more
- Download Josh Groban’s latest album Stages for free ($11 value)
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz free Kindle download and audiobook (Reg. $9+)
- Mophie iPhone 6/s Juice Pack Air: $75 (Reg. $100)
- Buy select movies from Google Play and get a second copy to gift to a friend for free
- 1-month free Marvel Unlimited comic subscription
- Home Recording: PreSonus AudioBox Studio bundle $150 shipped (Reg. $200+)
- ChugPlug adds 4 hours of battery life to your Macbook: $25 (Orig. $130)
- Mpow Grip Magic Air Vent iPhone 6/s Car Mount $5 Prime shipped
- Twelve South blowout: iPad mini leather case $25 Prime shipped (Reg. $70)
- Home Recording: ATH-M40x headphones + Blue Yeti USB mic $130, more
- Sling Media Slingbox 350 (refurb) $55 shipped (Orig. $180)
- Apple’s latest freebie is Afterlight image editing app for iPhone and iPad ($1 value)
NEW PRODUCTS & MORE:
This limited edition Rolls Royce cocktail kit is a must see for car and James Bond fans alike
Justin’s Holiday Gift Guide: speakers, Lightning mics, storage, pocket synths & more to up your home recording set-up
Trevor’s Holiday Gift Guide: The perfect accessories for travel – backpacks, cord management, more
Dan’s Holiday Gift Guide: rare Apple collectibles & swag for the techie who has everything
Skip the holiday blues with these practical stocking stuffers
Top 10 holiday movies you can stream right now on Netflix
- LEGO Architecture teases upcoming Skyline series featuring the world’s most famous cities
- De’Longhi launches new PrimaDonna Elite coffeemaker w/ iOS connectivity
- Pine64 aims to knock off Raspberry Pi with its low-price 4K-capable microcomputer
- Amazon names the best-selling books of 2015, snag one as a surefire holiday gift
- The future is (almost) here with Moley’s robotic kitchen
- The latest Omate smartwatch for iOS/Android hits Indiegogo w/ instant success
- Amazon launches New Kindle Fire HD 8 ‘Reader’s Edition’
Filed under: Tips and Tricks Tagged: 9to5Toys, Amazon, Anker PowerCore, app deals, Apple watch, Best Buy, Daily Deals, free apps, Gold Box, TP-LINK Router, video games
For more news on Tips and Tricks, Apple watch, and 9to5Toys continue reading at 9to5Mac.
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Retarget Lost Customers During the Holiday Season to Drive Sales
This holiday season, you’re probably focused on reaching new customers and reeling them in with dazzling specials. Reaching out to holiday shoppers who need your help making good decisions on purchases for others is a great way to boost your bottom line, but what about all those shoppers who went before? What about the buyers you reached out to last holiday season but then never heard from again?
You can only bring in so many brand new buyers with each gift-giving season. If those consumers don’t stick around after the season’s end, how can you keep making money throughout the year? Well, with this holiday season, it’s time to start focusing on the lost customers. Wooing them back might just be easier than you think.
Go After Cart Abandoners
You probably already know that about 70% of your visitors will abandon their carts, at least on the first visit. Of that 70%, three-quarters of those visitors definitely want to come back later and finish the purchase. It’s just that life gets in the way, and suddenly it’s a year later and they never did buy that amazing gift for their special someone.
Well, now’s the time to bring them back. If you’re not already going after abandoned carts with an aggressive email campaign, start today. If you do already chase down potential customers, great! Now consider going back to last year’s almost-loyal customers and reminding them that they once loved your products, if only for a moment.
Retargeting Ads
These can be a little tricky, especially if you get too creepy with your messaging. Consumers aren’t crazy about feeling like they’re being watched, and you don’t want this holiday season to feel more like Halloween.
There are a few ways to retarget people who might just be interested in buying from you this season. The first would be ads that serve visitors to your site. Next, you want to target those who’ve searched online shops just like yours. Then there are those who engage with shops like yours on social media. Finally, you can target those who’ve seen your ads on other sites, whether or not they clicked those ads.
You can use the information you’ve gathered about this almost-customer to make sure they end up in the right place after clicking, too. If they’ve already searched products on your site, make sure the ad leads back to one of the items they loved. If they spend time searching prices for products like yours, make sure they get information about prices after clicking on your ad.
Again, it’s a difficult balance between delight and downright creepy, so you want to be smooth about it. Adding in a discount or other special offer can go a long way toward smoothing creeped-out feathers, so consider the lengths you’ll go to when convincing a buyer to click an ad. Then add some good copy, a strong CTA, and you’re set to bring back those long-lost customers.
Now you’re ready to reel in those past customers, whether they made a purchase before or not. Once you get them back, make keeping them a major priority. Imagine your bottom line if you could count on past customers, current customers, and new customers to make purchases at the same time. That’s what this holiday season could be for you.
KGI: iPad Air 3 to be released in 1st half of 2016, ‘unlikely to have 3D Touch because of production issues’
KGI’s Ming-Chi Kuo is out with a set of research notes today highlighted by ‘iPad Air 3’ forecasts. Notably, the newest 9.7-inch Apple tablet is expected to be released in the 1st half of 2016, perhaps at the March event we’ve pinned to include the Apple Watch 2 with a possible appearance of the 4-inch iPhone 6c. The bad news is that like the iPad Pro, the new iPad Air 3 isn’t likely to have 3D Touch, which is a big part of the new iPhone 6s/Plus experience, according to the analyst…
…new iPad Air 3 in 1H16F unlikely to feature 3D Touch. We forecast that iPad Air 3 will opt not to feature 3D Touch because of production issues.While we think the 3D Touch supply chain produced more to avoid shortages in the early stages, slower end-product demand and improved back-end assembly yield have resulted in the current high inventory. As 1Q16 demand looks to slow on seasonality and competition from other brands’ new models, we believe 3D Touch supply chain capacity utilization is currently lower than peak level of 30%, and that will last through 1Q16.
A 1st half 2016 launch window might also include early June’s WWDC which might be a good spot to highlight expanded capabilities of iOS 10.
Kuo also touched on the upcoming iPhone 7 which will unsurprisingly use the same 3D Touch technology as the iPhone 6s.
iPhone 7 in 2016F to use 3D Touch solution of similar technology & structure as iPhone 6s;
3D Touch to improve user experience of touch panel long term, but won’t contribute much to near-term shipments. We think only more apps supporting 3D Touch and continued improvement of 3D Touch UI design will support increased use of 3D Touch. 3D Touch one of the most severe production bottlenecks in iPhone 6s supply chain; current inventory higher than other general components.
In a separate client note, KGI reiterated (in the wake of the bearish Morgan Stanley report yesterday) that it forecasted lower than expected iPhone shipments for 2016.
Filed under: iOS Devices Tagged: 3D Touch, iOS 10, iPad Air 3, iPhone 7, KGI, Ming-Chi Kuo
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