Verizon sides with Google; new Get a Mac ad; iPhone speed boost?

[AppleInsider]

Verizon is joining Google's Open Handset Alliance, leaving AT&T as the lone major holdout. Meanwhile, Apple has aired a new "Get a Mac" ad trumpeting the irony of a Mac winning a Windows speed test.

Verizon teams up with Open Handset Alliance

Surprising at least some of its critics, Verizon on Tuesday said it would join Google and participate in the search engine giant's Open Handset Alliance.

Known by many in the past for restricting its hardware and software more than any other American carrier, Verizon will support and use devices that run the Android mobile operating system, which lets handset developers and third-party programmers use the hardware and software in virtually any way they see fit. The company recently announced that it would open its network to subscribers who want to unlock their phones or install their own software.

The decision was triggered in large part by the pressure from Google and others to demand open access for future cellphones using the 700MHz frequency, according to Verizon headman Lowell McAdam.

The new policy leaves AT&T standing alone as the only leading US cellular company to have so far declined signing up with the Alliance. The iPhone carrier has contemplated the possibility of carrying Android phones and supporting the open initiative but remains undecided.

New "Get a Mac" ad: "Misprint"

Ratcheting up its marketing for end-of-year sales, Apple has begun airing a new TV spot for its "Get a Mac" campaign.

"Misprint" takes a jab at competing PC vendors rather than Windows' creator, Microsoft. It refers to a PCWorld article which notes that the fastest Windows Vista notebook tested by the magazine this year is a MacBook Pro running Vista in Boot Camp -- not a system sold with Windows pre-installed.

"It's against the laws of nature," says John Hodgman's "PC" character as he phones in a mock complaint to the magazine.

Latest iPhone update provides speed boost?

If the iPhone's interface feels faster after applying November's 1.1.2 update, this is likely because Apple sped up the phone's clock rates with the firmware patch, according to iPhone Atlas.

Using a modified iPhone and an unofficial system monitoring tool, the site notes that Apple has nudged the speed of the main processor from an even 400MHz to 412MHz and the system bus from 100MHz to 103MHz when comparing the new version to its 1.1.1 predecessor

Just why Apple has increased performance is unclear, though the ARM processor used at the heart of the iPhone allegedly has far more headroom: if not for power concerns, Apple could run the processor as high as 620MHz or more, says the report.

iPhone sits atop Google's fastest-rising searches

A segment on an episode of the Today Show this week revealed that searches for "iphone" blossomed faster than any other term on Google's search engine in 2007.

Apple's handset gained momentum faster than the plush Webkinz toys, which reached second place, and the third-place Hollywood gossip site TMZ, according to Google Search and User Experience VP Marissa Mayer.

The iPhone is the only computing hardware to reach the top ten, which is also shared with Facebook, YouTube, and Anna Nicole Smith. The chart doesn't, however, reflect the total number of searches run for each term.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[g3pro]

Hopefully Apple will join the OHA as well. There are some pretty sweet apps already out there that would be great on the iPhone.

[SpamSandwich]

They forgot Ron Paul in the most searched for terms.

[quinney]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

If the iPhone's interface feels faster after applying November's 1.1.2 update, this is likely because Apple sped up the phone's clock rates with the firmware patch, according to iPhone Atlas.

I believe the correct technical term is "snappier".

[McHuman]

Originally Posted by quinney

I believe the correct technical term is "snappier".

"Sexier"

[Constable Odo]

Overclocking my iPhone to 620 MHz in the wintertime is nice. It makes the side of my face feel all warm and toasty on a blustery winter's day.

[JeffDM]

Latest iPhone update provides speed boost?

If the iPhone's interface feels faster after applying November's 1.1.2 update, this is likely because Apple sped up the phone's clock rates with the firmware patch, according to iPhone Atlas.

Using a modified iPhone and an unofficial system monitoring tool, the site notes that Apple has nudged the speed of the main processor from an even 400MHz to 412MHz and the system bus from 100MHz to 103MHz when comparing the new version to its 1.1.1 predecessor

I'd like to know how many people can notice a 3% difference in speed. Noticeable speed improvements probably come from combining multiple minor improvements, not just one minor bump.

[Delfoniq]

Does anybody else think that the Misprint ad is not as well thought as the others ?? ''The fastest Vista notebook we tested this year is a Mac!''. Great!

Doesn't this also imply that Vista although deemed as a bad and unstable OS, can run great on a Mac ?

Also, why all the free advertising for Vista? Couldn't they just refer to Windows as the "other OS out there" or "the leading competitor" ???

[Woz2024]

Originally Posted by Delfoniq

Also, why all the free advertising for Vista? Couldn't they just refer to Windows as the "other OS out there" or "the leading competitor" ???

Or 'the market leader'? 'Leading competitor' implies that Windows doesn't occupy a majority share.

Promoting Boot Camp and the ability to run Windows well is good for Apple, because it's one less thing to stop would-be switchers like myself from buying a Mac. Last time I planned to get a new laptop I wanted to get a PowerBook, but the inability to run Windows natively was a deal breaker. I couldn't sacrifice the things I use that only work on Windows. Now that Macs are happily booting into Windows there's no reason a MacBook Pro won't be my next computer.

If someone buys a Mac to run Windows, Apple gets just as much money as they would have if the customer purchased it to run OS X. Plus Microsoft gets to score a Windows purchase as well. It's good for everyone - Apple, Microsoft, and consumers. Of course, bad for Dell and HP, but I have little sympathy towards them.

[Delfoniq]

Originally Posted by Woz2024

If someone buys a Mac to run Windows, Apple gets just as much money as they would have if the customer purchased it to run OS X. Plus Microsoft gets to score a Windows purchase as well. It's good for everyone - Apple, Microsoft, and consumers. Of course, bad for Dell and HP, but I have little sympathy towards them.

Thanks for the correction about the leading competitor. I'm sort of a switcher too and I guite like that my Mc can run Windows fast. Still, the point that I was trying to make is that Apple maybe does not need to go to such extreme lengths (meaning citing how fast Macs can run Windows) in order to appeal to the popular masses. IMHO Apple needs to stress the superiority of its hardware and software using other means.

The whole ad felt weird, at least to me. In contrast, the 'Give up on Vista' ad felt really funny. I know I'm leaving myself wide open for criticism by saying this but think about this analogy, Ferrari or Porsche would never have to say how roomy or comfortable their cars are just to appeal to soccermums, right?

Mac can run Windows fast, who cares? Why would I want to use Windows on my Mac anyway (unless of course I absolutely have to) ? Would running Windows make my life more productive in the first place whether it is on a Mac or a PC?

[Denton]

Originally Posted by Delfoniq

Ferrari or Porsche would never have to say how roomy or comfortable their cars are just to appeal to soccermums, right?

It seems to me that Porsche is doing just this.

[SpinDrift]

Originally Posted by Denton

It seems to me that Porsche is doing just this.

And so are Ferrari
http://www.topspeed.com/cars/ferrari...e212423-0.html

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/news/de...?storyId=17177

But I do agree with Delfoniq, who cares how quick Visa is on a Mac. Who in their right mind would stick Vista on a Mac? That would be like using crappy Tesco 95 RON instead of Shell V-Power in your Porsche or Ferrari.

I can understand some people may be required to install XP in some instances, but Vista? *Shudder!*

[Woz2024]

Originally Posted by Delfoniq

The whole ad felt weird, at least to me.

It was only the end that confused me. They're going on about how well it runs Vista, yet show a Mac with the Leopard wallpaper. This would have driven the point home better:


Also, you have to remember that Apple makes very little money of its software. It subsidises the software to sell hardware. Just look at Final Cut Studio. For what you get, Avid or similar would be at least 2-3 times the price. If promoting Windows means it sells more hardware, it's happy.

Originally Posted by SpinDrift

But I do agree with Delfoniq, who cares how quick Visa is on a Mac. Who in their right mind would stick Vista on a Mac? That would be like using crappy Tesco 95 RON instead of Shell V-Power in your Porsche or Ferrari.

I can understand some people may be required to install XP in some instances, but Vista? *Shudder!*

Again, it all comes down to what people need. OS X is a good OS, but there are things that Windows does better (window resizing for one - why the &*%@ has that still not been fixed by Apple!?). As for Vista rather than XP, one of the big markets for Boot Camp is gamers. No virtualisation layer to create problems like VMWare can. For gamers, Vista will soon be the only choice. DX10 will become the standard API for new game engines, and there's bugger all chance MS will develop a version of it for XP.

[zanshin]

If even 10% of office workers who are given PC laptops for their job could take them home, boot up OS X and use Apple applications and OS for their "digital life," there would be huge numbers of new Apple users and fans in the world.

It would likely make business Windows support easier, since a large portion of the viruses and application support issues seem to stem from users taking home their Windows laptops and installing privately owned software like Quicken, AOL, photo-viewers and games.

Home web browsing of dangerous websites and personal email used to account for most of our virus issues. By booting into an inherently safer (and much more fun) Mac OS when out of the office, the work-day Windows user could protect their business set-up from such infections and unsupported software issues.

[ajmas]

There is Google Trends which gives you the info you want, on search popularity:

http://www.google.com/trends?q=iphon...ate=all&sort=0