Archive for Channel News

Apple Number One Smartphone Provider In U.S., But Not Worldwide

August 10, 2012 / Melissa Lewelling / No comments

Apple’s iPhone dominates the U.S. smartphone market, but Samsung’s Android platform takes the cake globally.  According to an IDC study released Tuesday, Android accounted for 68.1 percent of the global smartphone market during the second quarter of 2012, compared to 16.9 percent for iOS.

According to Apple solution providers, the discrepancy is due to the fact that Apple is not as well established abroad as Samsung, especially in Asia.

“Samsung and other smartphone producers had Asia and other overseas markets before Apple,” which took longer to break onto the scene because of barriers like localization, said Marc A. Wolfe, CEO of Proactive, an Apple specialist in Oakland, N.J.  

“Samsung is in a lot more markets than Apple is,” agreed Mark Gregory, president and chief executive of the Nashville, Tenn.-based MacAuthority. ”[Apple] just started selling in China about six months ago.”

Michael Oh, founder and president of Boston-based Apple reseller Tech Superpowers, said that while there are over 100 Apple stores located around the U.S. there are “far fewer outside the country.”

Samsung alone accounted for 44 percent of worldwide Android smartphone shipments in Q2, and the vendor offers a wide variety of different models.  According to solution providers, Samsung’s diverse portfolio allows it to compete more aggressively on price than Apple.

“Consumers are concerned with price point and the speed with which the phones come out,” Wolfe said.  “Apple has a following, but sometimes to get new people, [you need that] edge.”

“If Apple wanted to be the number one provider [in the world], they would sell more and cheaper models,” said Mark Greenblatt, president of Los Angeles, Calif.-based MacEnthusiasts.  “Their primary motive, in my opinion, is to have the highest profit.  I don’t think Apple is so concerned about being number one.”

Apple’s worldwide market share could grow as more businesses allow their employees to use iPhones in work settings. ”As Apple is more accepted in the corporate side [by] upgrading their software and getting inroads with enterprises, we may see companies standardize on iPhones the way they did with Blackberries,” Wolfe said.

Apple VARs disagree about whether this trend will continue or not: some say it’s just a matter of time before Apple beats out Samsung completely, while others feel that because of Samsung’s home-court advantage in Asia this trend is inevitable.

“Samsung is in a lot more markets than Apple is, but time will tell,” said Gregory.

Category: Applications and OSes, Channel News / Tags: , , ,

Apple Ups Password Security After Hacker Attack

August 10, 2012 / Melissa Lewelling / No comments

Apple announced Wednesday that it will be temporarily suspending password resets over the phone, after a hacking incident with Wired reporter Mat Honan’s account. 

Honan wrote about the incident Monday, describing how his Amazon, Gmail, Twitter, and AppleID accounts were all hacked and the data on his three devices synced through Apple’s iCloud were wiped out.

In an increasingly cloud-oriented world, hackers have more access to personal information than ever before and according to Darrel Bowman, CEO of Tacoma, Wash.-based Symantec partner AppTech, everyone is vulnerable no matter the security in place.

The attack on Honan’s accounts began Friday afternoon as hackers first obtained the last four digits of his credit card number from Amazon, then provided this information to Apple tech support to gain access to his AppleID account.  From there, hackers were able to remotely delete all data on Honan’s Macbook, iPad and iPhone.

Honan did not back up this data locally. Security experts and solution providers said this is an example of the dangers of relying too heavily on cloud computing.

“This exposes a primary weakness of the cloud,” said Andrew Plato, president of Anitian Enterprise Security, a Beaverton, Ore.-based security consultancy.  “When you delete something in the cloud, it’s gone forever.”

“iCloud is touted as this great solution,” said Michael Oh, founder and president of Boston-based Apple reseller Tech Superpowers, “but in the end I think there’s some caution that is warranted… anytime there’s a well-publicized incident like this consumers will have to think twice.”

David Sockol, president and chief executive of Emagined Security, said the attack will help customers understand that in the digital world, linking all your accounts together is not always a good idea. 

“Apple has already come out and said they’re going to enhance security by making it more difficult to reset passwords,” said Sockol.  ”At this point we don’t know what the new steps will be, but we’re all hoping it’ll make it more difficult for a hacker to perform this type of attack again.”

As for Apple’s handling of the issue, Sockol said that he was pleased to see the company “jumping in with two feet.”

Bowman does not believe the incident will have a long term impact on Apple’s image with consumers. “If Apple is honest and works to close up those holes, and gets more diligent in their security, they’re going to keep the trust of their users,” he said.

In a statement to the New York Times, Apple spokesperson Natalie Kerris said customers can still reset their AppleID passwords through the company’s online iForgot system (iforgot.apple.com), which directs them to previously established security questions or sends a temporary password to an on-file alternate email address.

Category: Channel News, Cloud, Security / Tags: , , ,

Acer Looking For Microsoft Alternative, Analyst Says They’re ‘Stuck’

August 8, 2012 / Melissa Lewelling / No comments

As Microsoft’s release date for its Surface tablet draws closer, Acer executives hinted Tuesday that the company might pursue “other alternatives” to Windows, but one analyst thinks the hardware company is bluffing.

“[Acer is] truly upset, that’s no bluff,” said Deron Kershaw, industry analyst with Gap Intelligence, “but they really don’t have a true alternative to go to. Linux isn’t anywhere near ready for consumers, Android doesn’t port well to a desktop or laptop environment, and Chrome OS just has too many limitations to be a serious competitor.”

While channel executives say they understand Acer’s reaction, none can envision Acer completely pulling away from Microsoft as a partner.

“If you don’t walk away from Microsoft completely you’ll almost have to go into open source,” said Jeff Middleton, a Microsoft Small Business Server MVP (Most Valuable Professional) based in Metairie, La.

With Apple, Google, and Microsoft already in the tablet market, “by the time you’re number four it’s going to be very hard to go into viable production,” Middleton added.

Similarly, Kershaw insisted that if Acer pursued its ‘other alternatives’ it would simply be doubling up on what is already available in the market.  “There’s nowhere else [for Acer] to go,” he said. Either way, channel executives agree that Microsoft has put its hardware partners in a difficult position by entering the tablet hardware market with Surface. 

“Microsoft can’t have their cake and eat it too,” said Andy Kretzer, director of sales and marketing at system builder Bold Data Technology, which partners with major hard drive vendors.  “Either they’re going to have a channel or promote their own product, but they can’t do both.”

As for Acer’s recent comment, Kershaw said, “I think making a lot of noise about Microsoft’s plans to get into hardware is more of a strategic move [by Acer], so that Microsoft really ends up scrapping their plans or immediately withdrawing from the market.”

Category: Applications and OSes, Channel News /

Microsoft Partners: Businesses Going To Wait On Office 2013 Upgrades

July 20, 2012 / Melissa Lewelling / No comments

Microsoft’s Windows platform and Office applications are getting an upgrade. Microsoft plans to release Windows 8 in October, and earlier this week, the company released a customer preview of Office 2013, code-named Office 15.

The latest version of Office includes new versions of the suite-standard programs, along with more integrated social-networking capabilities from Microsoft’s recent acquisition of the enterprise social-networking site Yammer.

However, Office 15 also comes with a twist: an enhanced user interface built for tablets.  At a press event in San Francisco on Monday, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer addressed concerns that Office 2013 would simply be a limited version of the desktop software, emphasizing that Office 2013 will be an “uncompromised experience.”

Microsoft partners see some key improvements to the user interface.

“The graphical elements have received a ‘Metro facelift’,” said Andrew Brust, CEO of Microsoft analyst firm Blue Badge Insights, based in New York City.  “And yes, certain touch-friendly UX elements have been added, including easily invoked full-screen views and some nice over-sized buttons along the right and bottom edges of the screen in Outlook. But the touch-first elements to the UI feel evolutionary to me, rather than disruptive.”

In addition to the ability to sync files and preferences across devices using SkyDrive, the integration of cloud computing and the new Click to Run virtualization technology are Office 15′s most interesting features, according to Brust.

Windows 8 and Office 2013 introduce touch in a “pretty significant way,” said Michael Cocanower, president of Phoenix-based Microsoft solution provider ITSynergy. “Just getting used to touch in day-to-day use will be a big adjustment,” he said.

However, Ken Winell, CEO of ExpertCollab, a Microsoft solution provider in Florham Park, N.J., says Office 2013 has features for older notebooks as well as the newer, touch enabled ones.

“On laptops that don’t have touch screens, it runs quickly, launches fast and has pretty much the same features as 2010,” Winell said. “The gist of it is that now [Office] is more responsive to people using it in a slate configuration.”

As far as the speed of adoption Office 2013 will see among businesses, Microsoft partners agree that it depends on what version customers are currently using.

“In the business world, I expect the usual pattern will take root: customers who are still on Office 2007 (rather than 2010), and are planning to upgrade, may go directly to 2013,” said Brust.  “Other customers, especially those who have recently migrated to Office 2010, will likely wait.”

Similarly, Winell said users that are currently working with Windows Vista or XP may leap frog Windows 7 and go straight to Windows 8 because of the positive reviews it has been getting.  However, Winell isn’t sure companies will upgrade to Office 2013 in the near term.

“I think [our customers] are going to wait.  Like all of us, it depends on the lifecycle of where you are [in the upgrades],” Winell said.

Category: Applications and OSes, Channel News / Tags: , , , ,

Apple VARs: “Microsoft Lacks Experience in Smartphone Hardware”

July 20, 2012 / Melissa Lewelling / No comments

Microsoft has been making waves recently in the hardware space with its launch of the Surface tablet, set to be released later this year. At Microsoft’s 2012 Worldwide Partner Conference in Toronto last week, CEO Steve Ballmer spoke with CRN about the company’s foray into the hardware business and most strikingly did not discount the possibility of a future Microsoft smartphone.

“Look, we’ll see what happens. We have good partners with Nokia [and] HTC in the phone space,” Ballmer told CRN when asked whether Microsoft might launch its own smartphone to compete against Apple’s iPhone. “I love what we’ve got going on with the Surface. We are going to focus on Surface and our other Windows 8 tablet partners and see if we can go make something happen.”

Apple solution providers are obviously biased toward Apple products, but they can understand why Microsoft might decide to get into the smartphone manufacturing business. Especially in light of Ballmer’s comment to CRN about Microsoft not leaving “any rock unturned,” it would be a logical follow through to see the software giant enter the mobile business of smartphones — but would it be a good idea?  Apple resellers say Microsoft could run into difficulties, especially when it comes to manufacturing the hardware and getting their product out into the market.

“The integration of software and hardware that Apple has is something that Microsoft has shunned in the past, but it’s clear that in the post-PC era, as its being called, [integration] has a lot of advantages,” said Michael Oh, founder and president of Tech Superpowers, a Boston-based Apple reseller.  “Microsoft would need to make their device function above and beyond what the iPhone does … and it’s really hard to out-innovate Apple.”

Despite the iPhone’s popularity and loyal fan base, however, Apple’s blockbuster smartphone is not perfect, and there are some opportunities for Microsoft to fill the gaps.

“As far as the interactions that people use, like gestures and the swipe-screen, Android tends to have a few new tricks in its pocket. Compared to what is out now, there’s room for growth,” Oh told CRN. ”Apple caters to the lowest common denominator, anyone can use their device … [but] I think that there are opportunities for someone like Microsoft to innovate in the space.  Apple has the brand loyalty that it does because of their continuous innovation, like the Retina display and Siri.  They’re constantly adding features that other people aren’t thinking of.  People really pay attention to that.”

Another area of growth mentioned for the iPhone was navigation and voice recognition.  “I think that better multitasking and interaction between applications is an area that Microsoft could possibly improve,” said John Eaton, president of San Francisco-based solution provider Eaton & Associates.  ”I think Siri is great, but it could be significantly better…I think that the web experience could be improved and lack of flash is a problem.”

Marc A. Wolfe, CEO of Proactive, an Apple specialist in Oakland, N.J., jokingly quipped that for Microsoft to compete with Apple’s iPhone they could “give it away for free.”

Continuing on a more serious note, however, Wolfe said, “I think making it supported in an enterprise environment and making it completely integrated, where IT would be comfortable knowing they’re just working with another Windows OS, [would be a way for Microsoft's smartphone to compete with the iPhone]. That’s one of Apple’s biggest issues, having to support a different operating system than IT is comfortable with.”

Microsoft’s decision to enter the smartphone arena is not going to be a straight-forward or easy one, however, as the company could risk financial loss, its reputation and OEM partner relations by doing so.

“I think it’s harder than it looks to be innovative and deal with the manufacturing and logistics of manufacturing than they think,” Eaton commented.  ”There’s a whole lot of logistics that go into developing hardware. I just don’t think they have the infrastructure to do that.”

“The other thing is that [Microsoft will] have to work with the carriers, and they don’t have a history with any,” Eaton continued.  “If they think that they’re experience with [commodity accessories] is going to prepare them for doing phones and tablets, I think they’re going to be disappointed.”

Category: Channel News / Tags: , , ,
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