iPad 2 still going strong: Makes up 60 percent of iPad web traffic in the U.S.

Is it a sign that people are holding back on upgrading to the new iPad? Or a measure of the success the discounted iPad 2 is seeing here in the U.S.? Schools purchasing iPads were a key driver of Apple’s record-breaking iPad sales last quarter.

Though the new iPad continues to break tablet sales records for Apple, some new data from Chitika Insights shows that here in the U.S., last year’s iPad model remains incredibly popular. In a report shared with GigaOM on Friday, Chitika says that based on data gathered from its extensive ad network in the U.S., web traffic coming from the new iPad accounts for about 18 percent of all iPad traffic, while 60 percent still comes from the iPad 2.

Chitika think that’s a sign that people are holding back on upgrading to the new iPad, and points to “the perceived minute differences between the iPad 2 and iPad 3, discouraging users of older iPads to upgrade.”

But, Apple sold 17 million iPads this past quarter, a record for the company, and Apple CEO Tim Cook specifically said that the most popular iPad sold was the lastest, third-generation iPad. There is a data discrepancy here, however: Chitika is talking about web traffic from iPads in the U.S. only, and Cook is talking about global sales.

I think this can also be explained by how important the iPad 2's discount, starting in March, has been to that model’s success here in the U.S. Discounting the iPad 2 by $100 to $399 was smart for a couple of reasons. Yes, it put the iPad in the hands of more consumers who weren’t excited about spending $500 on an iPad, but it’s also opened the floodgates for schools to be able to buy them for students. (And that coincided with a bigger push from Apple in general toward education apps and books.)

Apple said last week that between April and June this year, it sold 1 million iPads to schools — a quarterly record for the company. It has had a record-breaking quarter for Mac sales to schools, yet it sold twice as many iPads as it did Macs.

On the company’s earnings call with investors, Cook said pricing was a big part of the iPad 2's success last quarter: ”We priced the iPad 2  to $399 and did very well but, the most popular iPad is the new iPad. But iPad 2 was key in the K-12 area. We have been very aggressive in this space and I don’t see changing that.”

Apple’s very savvy about how it prices its products and simultaneously squeezes profits out of them. Its success with the iPad 2 even since the introduction of the brand new iPad shows that. That’s why this fall is going to be so very interesting in the tablet world. With Google, Microsoft and Amazon undercutting or trying to undercut the iPad on price with smaller but compelling tablets, Apple’s decision on how to price the still-rumored smaller iPad is going to have a significant impact. Not only on its competitors, but on its own profits as well.

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Why it makes sense for Apple to invest in Twitter

According to the New York Times, Apple has had discussions with Twitter about making a substantial investment in the real-time network. A closer relationship between the two — which has been rumored in the past — would make some sense for both companies.

photo: Om Malik

According to a report in the New York Times late Friday night, Apple has had talks with Twitter about acquiring a substantial stake in the company — on the order of hundreds of millions of dollars, the newspaper says, quoting “people briefed on the matter.” Although the report provides few details about how serious these discussions actually were, such a combination would make some sense for both companies: Apple would get an even more favored relationship with the real-time social network, and Twitter would get to maintain its preferred status on one of the world’s leading technology platforms.

Twitter is already integrated into most of Apple’s products, including the iPhone and iPad, and its OS X operating system for laptops and desktops — users can post to Twitter from within applications and apps with a single click because these devices are connected to the real-time network at fundamental level. When Apple originally announced the deal with Twitter last year, it marked the first time that the company had integrated any third-party service other than Google into its operating systems in such a way. And it has been incredibly powerful in driving usage for Twitter, as CEO Dick Costolo has described.

In effect, this arrangement outsourced the social aspect of almost all of Apple devices and software to Twitter, and was an admission of sorts that social elements and social software have been an Achilles heel for Apple for some time — as lackluster attempts such as Ping and Game Center have shown. The deal was also seen by many as a slap in the face to Facebook, which had discussions with Apple earlier about integration into Ping but dropped them; then-CEO Steve Jobs said Facebook’s demands were “onerous.”

Since then, Apple has started working with Facebook again, and some form of integration with the social network is expected to be included in the latest version of Apple’s iPhone and iPad operating system, as well as the new version of OS X, Mountain Lion. But Twitter still has the preferred spot inside Apple’s OS so far, and taking the iconic consumer electronics company on as an investor would cement that status. For Apple, meanwhile, becoming an owner would theoretically give it even more sway within Twitter — although it could be argued that the company already has a fairly significant relationship with the network.

Does Apple need to control Twitter completely in order to benefit from that integration? Not really, as I explained in a post after Barry Ritholz argued that Apple should acquire the company — but a sizeable investment would give it some sway in board meetings and in other ways that could give it more control, and if there’s one thing Apple likes to have, it’s control.

According to the NYT report, the investment from Apple would have given Twitter a market value of $10 billion, substantially higher than the $8 billion private valuation it had after its most recent venture-financing round — and some have speculated that Apple might even want to acquire the entire company, something it could easily do with the more than $100 billion it has in cash and marketable investments. Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, meanwhile, has said that Twitter has no need of extra financing because it has “truckloads of money in the bank.” Whether Apple can change his mind on that score remains to be seen.

Update: The Wall Street Journal says that according to its sources, discussions between Apple and Twitter about an investment were held a year ago, and there are no current acquisition or investment talks going on between them.

Post and thumbnail images courtesy of Flickr users Giuseppe Bognanni and George Kelly

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Android Application Makes Your Next Business Card Virtual!

Suppose, you have collected a stack of business cards from many people; and it became a pile on your desk until you are going to a new conference or deciding about a new deal with the person. Or those cards may tear the seams from your wallet.

Sometime we toss old card in the dustbin, but business card always play a good role as network tool, especially for business networking tool. If we chuck it, we may lose a good network.

But there is good news for business people that a printed business card can be a virtual one in the mobile. As more people began to carry smartphones, they would begin to ditch paper cards in favor of swapping digits. Yes it is possible because android made it feasible for smartphone users. It would one of useful Android Application in term of its utilization.

Market analysts are also saying, business cards are on the way to death. Now it has foretold the end of the traditional one. Of course, we have to mention, some people say that reports of the business card's demise have been exaggerated. But we must agree, going virtual is finally a realistic alternative in case of paper cards.

Although the paper made business card is still alive and kicking hand to hand, it should become extinct someday. You rarely look at those cards which are tearing in your wallet. Then what is the meaningful point?

In the age of electronic message-centric business communication landscape, people have a need for virtual card alternatives. Google Android operating System is finally making it viable. This Virtual card app offers a number of advantages over the paper card. As it is run in your Android smartphone, you don't need to carry it in your pocket. You can't run out of them, they automatically update, and perhaps most importantly, they can instantly hook into your social graph. So let's wait for the day when a business card is made of pixels and bits rather than ink and paper.

In the phenomenal growth of the smartphone market, Android is showing its performance since its inception. Sometime we find that Android is gaining on other smartphones. So it is all about to wait for time to see the Android's alluring prospect and magnetism.

Apart from in-built features in Operating System, third party Android Application development is also playing a major role in the smartphone technology world. And it is true that building innovative and far-reaching android applications always requires highly skillful and experienced Android application developers. From the day of Android's beginning, various reputed Android Development Companies in India have been working on Android SDK. But for a scalable application development one must select a development company who can meet the increasing demands of clients at an affordable rate.

Contact Rapidsoft Technologies for more details on
Android application development company, Professional Android Application Development

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