Apple's newest biz strategy: Free, free, free
Apple revealed lots of new things on Tuesday during its product event at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco, but the most intriguing among them was not on the product list -- its newest business strategy: aggressive pricing. "Today we're revolutionizing pricing," said Apple's senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi, right before announcing that the company would be giving away OS X Mavericks, Apple's new flagship Mac operating system. On the screen behind him, the word "Free" appeared from behind a glimmer of light, one of the hokey slide animations that Apple has used in its keynote slides since Steve Jobs was the ringmaster.On a day where Apple announced a slimmer, faster, renamed iPad Air, and an iPad Mini with Retina Display, the biggest story may have been in dollars and cents, with the company electing to give away some of its marquee software offerings.Aside from Mavericks, Apple also announced that its iLife and iWorks suites -- with revamped versions of key apps like Garage Band and Pages -- would also be free with new iOS or Mac purchases. It's not an insignificant sum for consumers. iWork apps like Pages and Keynote currently cost $20 a pop in Apple's app store.Apple unveils new iPads, MacBooks, and releases...See full gallery1 - 4 / 30NextPrevThe move comes in the face of more intense competition for Apple on the software front. Google's suite of productivity apps, which includes Drive for storage and file syncing, and Docs for word processing and collaborative working, has increasingly established itself with users. And as Apple's biggest mobile hardware competitor, Samsung, gains market share, Android users are that much more tempted to use Google's productivity suite. Now Apple has added collaborative editing features to Pages and new sharing and syncing capabilities for iWork apps among different devices -- for example, start a project on the iPad and pick it up on a Mac. The strategy can also be seen as a play against Microsoft, the venerable leader in the productivity software category. Apple even took a dig at Redmond in its presentation, noting on a slide that users spend $99 on Office 365 per year. Melissa Webster, an analyst at the research firm IDC, said that the race is so lopsided toward Microsoft that the firm doesn't even keep market share data on the category. So what to make of Apple's giving iWork away for free? "It's a nice, carnivorous strategy toward Microsoft," said Webster. "It makes new Mac users think twice about getting Microsoft Office." Related stories:New announcements from Apple (pictures)Apple to release OS X Mavericks for freeApple announces new, faster MacBook Pros with Haswell chips, Thunderbolt 2, starting at $1,299Apple iTunes Radio notches 20M listeners, 1 billion songsApple by the numbers: 64% of iOS devices on iOS 7Mac Pro available by end of year, starting at $2,999Apple updates iLife for iOS and OS XApple's Cook on competitors: 'They're confused'Complete coverage of Apple's Oct. 22 eventWebster also mentions that it could be a pre-emptive strike against the market leader, and an attempt to lure users to Apple's own services, as Microsoft gets ready to release Office on the iPad. For its part, Microsoft has given its share of freebies. Last week, the company announced that it would give Office 365 ProPlus to students at academic institutions that license the software to faculty and staff. Of course, productivity tools are one of Microsoft's plumpest cash cows, the biggest revenue stream for the company after Windows. So it's unlikely that Apple's software play will really disrupt Microsoft Office's mojo. But it can be a useful tactic for Apple to occupy its users while trying to disorient a competitor. "It helps to distract [Microsoft]," Webster continued. "It's like death by a thousand paper cuts."Giving away software could also be one of the most natural moves for Apple. Chuck Jones, founder of Sand Hill Insights, a technology research firm, notes that most of the company's new Mac users probably already own iPhones and iPads, and updates for iOS -- Apple's mobile operating system -- have always been free. Following suit with the desktop OS might just be the right play into consumer behavior.Not only does the strategy shift come when Apple's competitors are stocking up their war chests, but also at a time when Apple is sitting pretty, to the point of, its critics say, coasting. While the company gets a lot of flak these days charging that it's lost the ability to innovate, it's still got fat margins and lots of users. "They've got so many people in the ecosystem now. Now is the time to make sure they stay," said Jones.
New iTunes-only 'Avatar' offers rich interactive viewing
New iTunes-only 'Avatar' offers rich interactive viewing
Starting Tuesday, "Avatar" fans who buy the mega-hit film on iTunes will also get a set of cool behind-the-scenes interactive features.For the last couple of years, movie buyers have gotten some of the same kinds of "extras" on iTunes that have long been included on DVD and Blu-ray versions of films. But now, with its new digital download of "Avatar," Fox is stepping up the offerings--"scene deconstruction" that lets viewers "move seamlessly from performance capture to template to final scene."As part of the package, buyers will get access to 17 scenes worth of the film's original motion-capture footage, as well as a "template" version of its Academy Award-winning visual effects.Even better, fans of James Cameron's $2.8 billion blockbuster will be able to watch the different versions of the footage side-by-side, or screen-in-screen. A 12GB, high-definition version of the film will cost $20 and will include fully 7GB of special footage, said Aubrey Freeborn, senior vice president for marketing and product management at Twentieth Century Fox. The 7GB standard-def version will run $15 and include 4.6GB of the special footage.This content is rated TV-MA, and is for viewers 18 years or older. Are you of age?YesNoSorry, you are not old enough to view this content.PlayFox has designed the interactivity to work in a variety of ways. Fans can watch the 17 scenes and choose one version--final, template, or mo-cap--as the main view. They would then see the other two views in screen-in-screen boxes, and can switch which view is in which box.At the same time, they can also choose a vertical or horizontal split-screen view, with the scenes' final version on either the top or the left side, and the template version on the bottom or right side.Another feature is called Green Screen X-Ray, and allows viewers to see through the final version of a scene to the original green screen footage.Twentieth Century FoxFinally, there are also several scenes of what Fox is calling "green screen X-Ray," an "interactive way to see through a final scene to its original green screen footage."Freeborn said that much of the same material is currently available on the Blu-Ray version of "Avatar," but that the iTunes offering is much more "seamless." Essentially, that means that those who buy the film via Apple will be able to switch between views with a single click, while the Blu-Ray version requires backing out to a main menu for any changes.For Fox, this new iTunes version of "Avatar" is a way to showcase what it plans on doing with a number of other movies going forward. In general, said Freeborn, for visual-effects-heavy films, Fox will offer similar types of alternate versions of scenes. And, the studio plans on going back over its existing catalog and adding extras where it can. "We're looking for other ways to let the consumer interact," said Freeborn. "It's about finding what is appropriate for the movie."For now, though, Fox is focusing on the "Avatar" release because it wants to make sure that buyers get the most out of the new extras, and because it wants to set a good precedent for future offerings. Freeborn also said that for the time being, iTunes will be the only digital platform through which fans can buy the new interactive version of "Avatar." But she said that will change when services like Amazon and others allow similar types of extras.At the same time, those buying the film through iTunes will only be able to access the special features on their Mac or PC. That's because neither the iPad nor the iPhone currently supports such extras. An Apple spokesperson wouldn't say when that would change.
Starting Tuesday, "Avatar" fans who buy the mega-hit film on iTunes will also get a set of cool behind-the-scenes interactive features.For the last couple of years, movie buyers have gotten some of the same kinds of "extras" on iTunes that have long been included on DVD and Blu-ray versions of films. But now, with its new digital download of "Avatar," Fox is stepping up the offerings--"scene deconstruction" that lets viewers "move seamlessly from performance capture to template to final scene."As part of the package, buyers will get access to 17 scenes worth of the film's original motion-capture footage, as well as a "template" version of its Academy Award-winning visual effects.Even better, fans of James Cameron's $2.8 billion blockbuster will be able to watch the different versions of the footage side-by-side, or screen-in-screen. A 12GB, high-definition version of the film will cost $20 and will include fully 7GB of special footage, said Aubrey Freeborn, senior vice president for marketing and product management at Twentieth Century Fox. The 7GB standard-def version will run $15 and include 4.6GB of the special footage.This content is rated TV-MA, and is for viewers 18 years or older. Are you of age?YesNoSorry, you are not old enough to view this content.PlayFox has designed the interactivity to work in a variety of ways. Fans can watch the 17 scenes and choose one version--final, template, or mo-cap--as the main view. They would then see the other two views in screen-in-screen boxes, and can switch which view is in which box.At the same time, they can also choose a vertical or horizontal split-screen view, with the scenes' final version on either the top or the left side, and the template version on the bottom or right side.Another feature is called Green Screen X-Ray, and allows viewers to see through the final version of a scene to the original green screen footage.Twentieth Century FoxFinally, there are also several scenes of what Fox is calling "green screen X-Ray," an "interactive way to see through a final scene to its original green screen footage."Freeborn said that much of the same material is currently available on the Blu-Ray version of "Avatar," but that the iTunes offering is much more "seamless." Essentially, that means that those who buy the film via Apple will be able to switch between views with a single click, while the Blu-Ray version requires backing out to a main menu for any changes.For Fox, this new iTunes version of "Avatar" is a way to showcase what it plans on doing with a number of other movies going forward. In general, said Freeborn, for visual-effects-heavy films, Fox will offer similar types of alternate versions of scenes. And, the studio plans on going back over its existing catalog and adding extras where it can. "We're looking for other ways to let the consumer interact," said Freeborn. "It's about finding what is appropriate for the movie."For now, though, Fox is focusing on the "Avatar" release because it wants to make sure that buyers get the most out of the new extras, and because it wants to set a good precedent for future offerings. Freeborn also said that for the time being, iTunes will be the only digital platform through which fans can buy the new interactive version of "Avatar." But she said that will change when services like Amazon and others allow similar types of extras.At the same time, those buying the film through iTunes will only be able to access the special features on their Mac or PC. That's because neither the iPad nor the iPhone currently supports such extras. An Apple spokesperson wouldn't say when that would change.
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