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IBM to support iPhone, Macs with new software

IBM is trying to reach more Mac and iPhone users, as well as making the enterprise more social.

Big Blue is expected to announce Thursday at Macworld San Francisco that it will soon be delivering its enterprise social platform, Lotus Connections, and Lotus Quickr team collaboration package for use with the iPhone and Mac.

Organizations can "now use IBM software for enterprise social networking, instant messaging, and securely encrypted e-mail and collaborative applications with the iPhone and Mac," said Alistair Rennie, general manager of IBM Lotus software.

Lest you think this is a "hell has frozen over" moment, Rennie said the motivation behind the efforts to expand the IBM software user base to Apple products is part of the continuum of an on-going trend toward the consumerization of IT.

In addition to lifestyle changes where staff are expected to be "always-on," this consumerization trend is also heavily rooted in mobility. Mobile was once considered an add-on to the desktop, but analysts estimate that mobile devices will exceed personal computers by 2013 with global shipments of mobile devices growing 46 percent to more than 250 million in 2010.

Rennie asserted that IBM needs to be able to support multiple platforms as consumer technology drives IT requirements. People want to use their iPhone or other device at home or on the road and still be able to do all the things they need to for work.

Similarly, the ways that users collaborate on projects are in a constant state of flux. In some cases, the devices are becoming more specialized, but the bigger trend is to see common smartphones--BlackBerrys, iPhones, etc.--running applications designed to specifically support collaboration tools.

Rennie said IBM intends to support the iPad with the notion that every enterprise user will eventually have multiple devices that they use at various times of the day. The main challenge is ensuring that enterprise level security methods such as encrypted email is available on the mobile devices. … Read more

Report: Apple to test $1 TV downloads

A new report Wednesday evening says cheaper iTunes TV show downloads could be in the offing.

Apple will be offering U.S. TV shows for $1 each, according to the Financial Times. The offer will coincide with the release of the iPad--expected sometime in April--and is described by "people familiar with the discussions" as a "test" to see whether cheaper downloads will result in increased sales.

TV episodes are normally $1.99 for standard-definition and $2.99 for high-definition through iTunes. The Financial Times says that "some" television networks acceded to Apple's push … Read more

Cost to build iPad: iSuppli says as little as $229.35

iSuppli, the outfit that makes it a habit of tearing down products as soon as they're released and splaying out their components for all to see, has already done an analysis of what it will cost Apple to build the $500 base model iPad. Not surprisingly, the number comes in at a good 50 percent less than the sales price--and it gets even better (for Apple anyway) as you move to the 32GB and 64GB models and add the 3G wireless component.

Remember, of course, this is only an estimate of hardware and manufacturing costs and doesn't factor … Read more

Apple iPad profit model gets a 'teardown'

Like the iPhone, Apple stands to make a greater profit on the iPad when consumers choose models with more memory, according to an estimate released by iSuppli on Wednesday.

The $729 version of Apple's iPad is estimated to carry a bill of materials (BOM) and manufacturing cost of $287.15, making it the most profitable iPad model, according to iSuppli. The iPad is expected to go on sale as early as next month.

The firm did not have an iPad in hand when doing its analysis but based the virtual teardown on an in-house cost model that includes commodity components that are used across many devices.

Though the estimate does not account for non-hardware costs, as the price of different models increases, other costs will stay the same, according to Francis Sideco, an analyst at iSuppli. "Regardless of the configuration, software and licensing is going to stay the same. The only thing that's going to change are the hardware costs and primarily the memory," Sideco said in an interview.

That memory-based pricing scheme has become standard practice for Apple when pricing its iPhone and iPod, for example. For the iPad, the 32GB model will be the most profitable, costing only $29.50 more to produce than the 16GB versions, but the retail price gap is $100, iSuppli said. After the display, the NAND flash memory is expected to be the most expensive item. In the mid-range 3G model, the 32GB of NAND accounts for 21.4 percent of the total BOM, iSuppli said. … Read more

Apple releases iPhone OS SDK 3.2 beta 2 for iPad

Apple has released an update for the iPhone SDK for the iPad, bringing the current version of that SDK to 3.2 beta 2.

Like previous versions of the SDK, beta 2 includes Xcode and is only available in a version compatible with Snow Leopard for iPad developers.

The SDK supports the larger 1,024x768-pixel screen resolution of the iPad and its new interface features. It follows the iPhone OS and SDK 3.2 beta released for the Apple iPad in January. So far, we haven't heard of any major differences between the two.

Panasonic Toughbook H1 Field is the anti-iPad

Whether or not tablets take over as a new mobile computing form factor of choice for much of the world depends on whether they can be easily used for key functions in ways that smartphones and laptops can't. Clearly, different users will be seeking different "key functions," and thus Panasonic has announced the Toughbook H1 Field. In many ways--nearly every way, in fact--the Toughbook H1 Field is a polar opposite to Apple's iPad.

A variation on an existing H1 used in professional healthcare environments, the Field combines Windows 7 OS with an 1.86 GHz Atom … Read more

iPad pricing: How low can you go, Apple?

The iPad's lower-than-expected price may go lower still if the device doesn't perform as well at market as Apple hopes. Recounting his recent meeting with some executives from the company in a research note issued last night, Credit Suisse analyst Bill Shope said Apple is evidently quite willing to get even more aggressive with the iPad's $499 to $829 pricing.

"While it remains to be seen how much traction the iPad gets initially, management noted that it will remain nimble (pricing could change if the company is not attracting as many customers as anticipated)," Shope … Read more

Buzz Out Loud Podcast 1161: Molly Wood is definitely back on BOL. Definitely.

Today's BOL ushers in the dawn of ... a new drinking game! Whenever you hear us say "definitely" on today's show -- and it's going to be often -- take a swig. Also, we Monday-morning quarterback the Super Bowl ads and explore the many reasons people don't want to buy an iPad. Oh, and my Droid is definitely crashy (drink!). -- Molly

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 1161

CNET TV Apple Byte: Apple faces critics

Brian Tong discusses the latest in Apple news and rumors including news that publishing companies are hiking prices thanks to Apple's iBookstore deals, Mac Pros are having issues with heat, and even more problems with the 27-inch iMac.

Be sure to check us out on Twitter and the CNET Mac forums. Do you have questions, issues, or stories you would like to see on MacFixIt? Email Us.

The application is the new the operating system

If you're a Google Nexus One user, you experienced a bit of magic last week.

In one click of an over-the-air update, your Nexus One became an iPhone--offering the ability to pinch and expand the screen to zoom in or out.

Just one click, with little to no user intervention. That's what operating systems look like in the 21st century, a future more clearly playing out in mobile than in the more traditional realms of personal computers and servers.

Apple is leading the way on this, but application developers have been quick to pick up on the trend.… Read more