Posts Tagged ‘apple’

A couple weeks ago, Apple released a new version of its flagship desktop application, iTunes. Oftentimes, differences between each version of iTunes are subtle enough to go unnoticed by the majority of casual users, but this time, Apple spiced up the app with some social functionality. It seems that Apple, with a reputation for constantly pushing into new markets, could not resist the allure of social media.

The network is called Ping, and has been described by Steve Jobs as “sort of like Facebook and Twitter meet iTunes.” Now that users have spent some time with it, we’re beginning to see a first wave of impressions. The verdict? Ping is nothing to write home about.

Katherine Boehret, in her Wall Street Journal review, called Ping “socially awkward.” While you can follow bands and other users, you cannot send messages, either publicly or privately. Ping does not notify you when someone comments on your posts, and offers no way of importing contacts from other networks. That last part alone could be a deal breaker, even without reports of rampant spamming.

Ideally, Apple would identify an opportunity to add value for customers, and design a service to deliver that value. But Ping seems to have been designed in reverse, capitalizing on the popularity of social networking to pull more revenue from the iTunes store (every mention of a band or song links to the iTunes storefront). The half-baked functionality points toward a lack of research about what users actually want from a social network, and what it needs to be successful.

That said, music lends itself extremely well to online socializing. With an already-faithful following of iTunes users, Apple could potentially become a significant presence in the social media sphere due to sheer brand loyalty. Of course, it wouldn’t hurt to look at some Facebook case studies.

Update:

Apple recently released some updates for iTunes and Ping. Users can now share music they’re listening to directly from their library, circumventing the previously tedious procedure of navigating to the Ping page. If Apple continues to make this type of improvement, users may begin to adopt the network more widely.

Howard Solomon, head of RF West, is an early adopter of the famous iPad! Check out his early review.

[Published on Tech Dork]

I am trying not to be a complete Apple homer here. Sure, I pre-ordered one. Sure I got up early and was the first person in line at Best Buy this morning. Sure, there was no way I wasn’t going to like it. But all that being said, this thing really is spectacular. Not sure where to even start. If I had to explain it in one word it would be – immersive. Regardless the application, you just get sucked into it. The screen and the colors are incredible, web browsing is in a league of itself, the bookstore is terrific. And well, you probably get the point. I’ll go into more details in a later post but bottom line is that the hype is warranted. Only two things that disappoint. One – typing is sub optimal. I’m typing this post on it and it is taking some time. Two – now I feel the need for multitasking. Until that occurs, no way this replaces my laptop for business purposes. I need multiple applications open at a time and that isn’t negotiable. Anyway, if you’re on the fence and can afford one, I say go for it. I don’t think you’ll regret it for a second.

We’ll be closely following his journey with the iPad so stay tuned for more!