Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella points to Office for iPad’s early App Store success | 9to5Mac

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella points to Office for iPad’s early App Store success | 9to5Mac - Sure, you could argue that Microsoft’s shiny new Office apps for iPad are only ranking so well because they’re freemium apps since they’re listed for free but require a subscription to fully function, but they are taking up the top four spots nonetheless.

I must confess to being slightly wistful at the thought of Word for Windows source code being open sourced at the same time Office for iPad makes it's debut.

This is the room where the iPhone was born | 9to5Mac

This is the room where the iPhone was born | 9to5Mac - Ahead of the latest Apple-Samsung trial, Apple is sharing some of the details regarding the creation of the iPhone with the WSJ. As an aside, Apple also shared a shot of the secret windowless room where the original iPhone meetings took place. 

Such humble beginnings.

Apple engineer Greg Christie discusses the process of creating the original iPhone | 9to5Mac

Apple engineer Greg Christie discusses the process of creating the original iPhone | 9to5Mac - When the team found itself floundering and unable to settle on how the phone should work, Christie was told that his team could either figure it out over the next two weeks or be moved to another project so someone else could solve the problems.

Nothing like a good deadline to motivate!

How Scopely is building a hit factory, one mobile game at a time (interview) | GamesBeat | Games | by Dean Takahashi

How Scopely is building a hit factory, one mobile game at a time (interview) | GamesBeat | Games | by Dean Takahashi - But Scopely has figured out how to market and distribute the games that its developers are making, and the results are showing. The Los Angeles publisher of mobile games has grown revenues 300 percent in the past year and tripled its staff.

Neat article. Could be a winning model for mobile developers. They don't discuss the revenue split.

Non-poaching emails show Jobs was warring with Google long before iPhone was launched | 9to5Mac

Non-poaching emails show Jobs was warring with Google long before iPhone was launched | 9to5Mac - The damage had been done, however. Two years later Apple would unveil the iPhone, and just one year after that Google would go public with its own competitor. Jobs decided enough was enough, and a rivalry was born.

Since it's not possible to build an iPhone competitor in a year, it is safe to assume that Android only became an iPhone competitor when the iPhone emerged. Prior to that, it was a Symbian and Windows Phone competitor.

The Day Twitter Music Died - Digits - WSJ

The Day Twitter Music Died - Digits - WSJ - A big indication of the troubles facing the product was perhaps the departure of Kevin Thau, the business development executive who led the project. Thau left shortly after the #Music was launched to join Jelly, a company started by Twitter co-founder Biz Stone.

Lack of commitment. Twitter itself took years to gain traction. Why would any other app be different? And why is it a separate app?

The future of Silicon Valley may lie in the mountains of Afghanistan | VentureBeat | Gadgets | by Richard Byrne Reilly

The future of Silicon Valley may lie in the mountains of Afghanistan | VentureBeat | Gadgets | by Richard Byrne Reilly - Sony Energy Devices Corp. invented the lithium-ion battery in 1994. It was hailed as a breakthrough, providing longer battery life and without the “memory effect” that gradually reduced the effective capacity of previous types of batteries.

You don't hear Sony blabbing about how they invented the lithium battery without getting due accolades from the fan-boys.

9to5Mac: Apple iPhone, Mac and iPad News Breaking All Day

9to5Mac: Apple iPhone, Mac and iPad News Breaking All Day - When you do genuine like-for-like comparisons with truly equivalent products, the Apple premium shrinks considerably.

While I think the reasoning behind this post is sound, I'm not sure the facts are correct. For example, the Google Nexus 7 has a very high build quality and retina-type display. It's about half the price of an iPad.

I have a lot of Apple devices. The Nexus is just as good as any of them.

9to5Mac: Apple iPhone, Mac and iPad News Breaking All Day

9to5Mac: Apple iPhone, Mac and iPad News Breaking All Day - The Wrap is reporting that David Fincher is eyeing Christian Bale as his ‘first choice’ to play Steve Jobs.

I enjoyed Jobs. Looking forward to this.