1.7 million iPhone 4 in 3 days

This is what Apple had sold in 3 days since it went on sale on June 24. Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said the iPhone 4’s debut was the “most successful product launch in Apple’s history.”

In contrast, Apple sold just 1 million iPhone 3GS smartphones within the first three days of its release last year. The iPhone 4 went on sale in the US, UK, France, Germany and Japan on Thursday, but many stores have run out of stock. Demand of the device is incredible taking into account that Apple had confirmed the problem with its reception. Apple has given no indication when iPhone 4 supplies might catch up.

In the US, AT&T and Apple opened pre-orders June 15, but sold all 600,000 iPhone 4’s in stock by the end of the day.

iPhone 4 will be made available to many parts of the world by September and this figure is going to increase sharply. I m definitely going to be a proud owner soon when its available in Shanghai.

Malaysian Airlines - iPad as a check-in kiosk

Malaysia Airlines’ iPad check-in is the latest in companies adapting to the technological desires of their consumers. Specialized kiosks had been installed at their Kuala Lumpur Sentral stop. These dedicated iPad kiosks will make it easier for frequent travellers to check in instead of queuing at the busy counters.

Another one up for the iPad.

Check out the video below for the demo :

Nokia is sinking and Apple is flying

Bloomberg presented a chart that shows the erosion of Nokia’s market cap over the last 10 years. Not only that, it also shows how Apple has seemingly switched places with the Finnish phone maker.

10 years ago (back when the phone was bulky, the screens were grey, ringtones were sounding crappy, and I was still using a Motorola V), Nokia’s market cap was somewhere around a $245 billion which is where Apple is now. Both companies had actually traded place though not planned for.

In those days, phones were simple and there werent any differentiating factor except for the design. Most phones could send texts and make calls and nobody was really giving a damn on Wap or whether your phone could handle mms. But its all different now, a phone is more than just making calls or sending simple messages, today its all about the user experience, the size of the screen and its ability to bring the web to you. It’s cool to think about how much it’s changed right.

Just not too long ago, everybody was still talking about Nokia, the n95, the e66 and n96, these days, its either the iPhone, Blackberry or the Android based phones. Nokia is going through a difficult transition and its either they will make it to the other end like how IBM had transitioned or heading south similar to Motorola who was once the dominant mobile player.

3 million iPads in 80 days

Apple today announced that it sold its three millionth iPad yesterday, just 80 days after its introduction in the US. iPad is a revolutionary and magical product that allows users to connect with their apps, content and the Internet in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before.

And guess what i had also just bought one and I must admit that its one of the best device that i had bought so far. Its slick and has a great user experience. Many had said that its merely an extended iPhone, i disagree as its more than that. It actually allows me to use it like a notebook, i have access to my corporate emails, browsing is fantastic and great apps. Except that you cant do heavy lifting with it but then again how often do you do heavy lifting these days. And my kids love them, i have apps for each of them including my youngest daughter whom i had downloaded some educational apps. Apple is way ahead of the rest. Well done and i cant wait to get my hands on the new iPhone 4.

Build Facebook storefront in 15 minutes

It's a well-known fact that the more steps a shopper must take in order to make a purchase, the less likely that purchase is. The same is true for shoppers on Facebook, of course, which is why San Francisco-based Payvment has developed a tool that lets them buy from vendors without ever leaving the site.

Now in beta, Payvment turns companies' Facebook fan pages from marketing platforms into sales platforms. Specifically, its Facebook app gives vendors everything they need to create a storefront on the social networking site, including a built-in, full-featured admin area. Installation takes 15 minutes, the company says; once it's done, Facebook users can shop and make purchases from that store without needing to leave Facebook. Each TRUSTe-certified storefront can be added to an unlimited number of Facebook pages. Integrated product search enables discovery of the store's items from across Facebook, and a universal shopping cart lets customers complete their purchases from any Payvment-powered storefront on the site. Payvment currently supports sales in more than 20 currencies with automatic conversion; PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, Amex and Discover are all accepted. Other features include automated inventory control, email receipts, storefront comment capabilities and instant discounts for Facebook fans. Payvment is free for participants in its public beta program.

Since Payvment launched in November, more than 20,000 businesses and individuals have started to sell goods on Facebook and over 500,000 Facebook users have shopped for products in stores using the Payvment app. Businesses large and small: time to venture into the social shopping waters yourself...?

This is how you distract a footballer

Countdown to World Cup

On online commercial thanks to the guys at Adidas. The Adidas ‘The Quest’ ad is an exciting online ad that comprises some incredible directing and editing

How do you generate tons of buzz with $0 ad dollars?

The answer is with social media. The Pilpel ‘30 Girls 1 Villa’ case study is a fantastic example of companies and brands taking advantage of social media on a large scale.

Pilpel is Israel’s leading swimsuit brand. To launch its new collection and create buzz, it gave 30 girls each a bathing suit and a laptop, and moved them into a lavish villa for three days. All the girls had to do was constantly update their Facebook accounts, telling their friends how much fun they were having and posting info about Pilpel. With record breaking amounts of photo views and page impressions, the Pilpel ‘30 Girls 1 Villa’ case study is a great example successful marketing using social media.

Your overall marketing strategy should give due consideration to the power of social media. You may end up spending less and yet receive responses without your expectations.

The Sprint TV Ad reminds us how much progress we have made in technology

It is an effective commercial that reminds the viewer of how things used to be and how far we have come with technological advancements. It definitely offers a nice reminder of our technological history.

Uniqlo Lucky Switch online ads

I love this campaign from Uniqlo. Smart execution and what made it powerful is how it engaged the blogger communities to participate in the campaign. Check out the video below.

UNIQLO LUCKY SWITCH from HN on Vimeo.

Steve Jobs introduces the new iPhone 4 at WWDC

The big reveal at Apple's WWDC keynote this morning was, of course, the next-generation iPhone. The device will be called iPhone 4, and goes on sale this month in US, UK, France, Germany and Japan.

The 16GB model will cost $199 with a contract in the US, while the 32GB model will cost $299. It goes on sale on 24th June and will be available in 88 countries by the end of September.

Its launch in those five initial markets will be preceded by the release of the iPhone OS 4 software, which has been rebranded to iOS 4 to reflect the fact that it's also available for iPad and iPod touch devices.

Jobs focused on nine specific features of the new device during the keynote, starting with its design, which integrates the antenna into the structure of the phone itself.

The handset has a front-facing camera, which can be used for video calls via Apple's new FaceTime technology. It's Wi-Fi only, and will be made available as an open standard, which could see other handset makers using it in their own devices.

iPhone 4 uses the same in-house A4 chip as the iPad, and has a bigger battery, which Jobs said will lead to 40% more battery life for talktime: ten hours of Wi-Fi browsing, ten hours of video, and 40 hours of music.

The device will also have a gyroscope to complement its accelerometer and compass, which Jobs flagged as a boon to games developers, who'll now be able to use six-axis motion sensing in their games.

iPhone 4 will also have a five-megapixel camera, and will record HD video at 720p resolution.

Apple dishes out the stats in its WWDC keynote

App Store has now passed the five billion downloads milestone and the company has paid developers more than $1 billion for sales of paid apps on the store!

Jobs also confirmed that there are now more than 8,500 native iPad apps available in the App Store, which have so far totalled more than 35 million downloads. That's 17 apps for each of the two million iPads that have been sold.

Meanwhile, the iBooks application for iPad has so far generated more than five million e-book downloads and the five biggest publishers on iBooks is already accounting for 22% of their e-book sales.

Jobs also revealed that Apple now has more than 150 million registered iTunes accounts complete with credit card details and that this month, it will sell its 100 millionth device running the iPhone OS!

Apple announces $60m iAds spend from brands

Apple announced today that its iAd mobile ads network will launch on 1st July, and already has $60 million spend committed by brands for the second half of this year!

CEO Steve Jobs listed the brands who have already signed up in the eight weeks since iAd was announced and they include Nissan, Citi, Unilever, AT&T, Chanel, GE, Liberty Mutual, State Farm Insurance, Geico, Campbell's Soup, Sears, JCPenney, Target, Best Buy, DirecTV, TBS and Disney.

Jobs had further claimed that iAd is on course to account for 48% of the US mobile display advertising market in the second half of this year, basing that claim on figures from JP Morgan suggesting the market will be worth $250 million for 2010 as a whole.

What iAd offers advertisers is guaranteed reach across a wide audience. That’s why big brand advertisers are signing up. So far, Apple hasn’t demonstrated that iAd will have the sort of personalized “long tail” targeting that made Google’s AdWords and AdSense a multi-billion-dollar busines

"We're trying to combine the emotion of video with the interactivity of the web. This is what advertisers have been after in the digital advertising medium," said Jobs.

I can finally decide on what phone to buy!!

Check below for the demo video.

Source : Apple

Mercedes Benz and the Angel vs Devil

The Mercedes-Benz ‘Sorry’ commercial takes a funny spin on the concept of death coming to call. Apparently your car can be your life-saving angel and thats provided its a Benz. This is a very simple commercial with a great concept. It is memorable, shows off the car and showcases how well the car works under pressure.

2 million of iPads in 60 days

Apple says it has sold more than two million iPads since launching the device on 3 April. The device's launch in nine countries outside the US on Friday appears to have pushed it past the milestone, although the company hasn't broken down the sales by geography.

Apple sold 300,000 in the US on 3 April, and passed the one million mark on 30 April. One month later, and the total stands at two million. This has certainly surpassed the milestone made by Apple who took 76 days to sell 1 million iPhone.

Using iPhone to unlock doors

The OpenWays hotel key app seeks to eliminate digital room keys. Hotel room keys are easy to misplace and even when you can find them, sometimes their proximity to other digital devices can erase the code to your room.

This ingenious app allows smartphone users at select hotels to open the door to their room, extend their stay, and check in or out—all from the their iPhone or other supported device.