Monthly Archives: September 2013

Sep 25 2013
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Apple, iPad, Uncategorized

Apple’s iPad Roadmap

This is Apple’s game to lose and it looks like they’re fucking up.

The iPhone 5C is too expensive, plain and simple. Apple doesn’t seem to realize that their target audience has shifted. They’re no longer looking at developed countries. They are looking at the emerging markets. Apple is currently about 300 million devices behind Google. They need to close that gap. iOS is currently on about 700 million devices. This post looks at how they can get to the next 700 million.

First let’s look at the iPad. This device is arguably doing better than the iPhone because it still has decent marketshare. I will admit that Apple priced the iPad Mini too high, but that’s water under the bridge. Going forward Apple needs to fill out their iPad line. Here’s what I envision as the ideal iPad lineup:

iPad (10 inch) $349 – $375
iPad Mini (8 inch) $299 – $325
iPad Nano (6 inch) $249 – $275
iPad Micro (4 inch) (formerly the iPod Touch) $199 – $225

You’ll notice that I’ve repositioned the iPod Touch. As time goes on we should expect to see Apple sell fewer and fewer iPods. The era of a dedicated music device is over. Unless you’re a gym rat you probably don’t own/need an iPod.

Additionally you’ll notice that I’ve changed the incremental pricing between products. Apple needs to move away from $100 for each upgrade and bring it down to $50 to $75. This should still leave room for profit while increasing the viable market.

What’s really interesting about those prices is that it shows that there is already a spot for what I call the iPad Nano. A six inch device that sits between the iPod Touch/iPad Micro and the existing iPad Mini.

What do you think? Does this make sense or is it completely off base?

-ED

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Sep 19 2013
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Update on Gold iPhone

So it turns out the rumors were true. This thing is real. Whether or not this is the begining of the end only time will tell.

-ED

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Sep 18 2013
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Pixar’s Rules for Storytelling (How to write better)

I saw this on Reddit yesterday. This is too good not to share. Giving credit to where it’s due this originally appears on Aerogramme Writer’s Studio. Original Article.

Below are the 22 rules for writing better. These rules were originally tweeted by Emma Coats @lawnrocket who is a writer at Pixar.

  1. You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.
  2. You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be very different.
  3. Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.
  4. Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.
  5. Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.
  6. What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?
  7. Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.
  8. Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.
  9. When you’re stuck, make a list of what WOULDN’T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.
  10. Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you’ve got to recognize it before you can use it.
  11. Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you’ll never share it with anyone.
  12. Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.
  13. Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience.
  14. Why must you tell THIS story? What’s the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That’s the heart of it.
  15. If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.
  16. What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.
  17. No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on – it’ll come back around to be useful later.
  18. You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.
  19. Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.
  20. Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d’you rearrange them into what you DO like?
  21. You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make YOU act that way?
  22. What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.

-ED