News from 'The Apple Blog'

The iPad has become a valuable tool for the mobile professional. It can be more valuable still, however, when swaddled in leather, partnered with a Mac mini and other Apple goodies and wrapped in a Mercedes-Benz S600, as Mercedes tuner BRABUS shows us with the iBusiness.

The iBusiness is most definitely “the business.” The German-engineered, four-seater luxury sedan is the type of car for people who have drivers, and that’s a very good thing, because there’s no chance you’ll be paying much attention to the road in one of these babies unless you’re being paid to.

Each car comes packed to the gills with outstanding multimedia capabilities, including two iPads in the rear seats with matching Bluetooth keyboards for each. The iPads are capable of controlling every aspect of the S600′s COMAND system, including the radio, navigation system and telephone, in addition to BRABUS’ own custom multimedia functions. Don’t think you’ll be limited to offline or 3G use, either, because the car boasts its own wireless internet via UMTS and HSDPA connections.

As if that wasn’t enough, there’s also a Mac mini in the back seat that uses a drop-down 15.2-inch TFT display, Magic Mouse and USB 2.0 ports accessible to both passengers for real computing power. Finally, because you wouldn’t want to use iTunes on the Mac mini or the iPod apps on your two iPads, there’s a 64GB iPod touch in the center console that also controls the whole shebang using a custom BRABUS iOS application.

I couldn’t find any info with regard to pricing, but you can bet it’s going to be more than most of us can afford. The good news is, if you already have a Mercedes-Benz s600, BRABUS will install its custom iBusiness package for you, at a fraction of the cost, but still well beyond the reach of most ordinary mortals. So, anyone picking one of these up?

Related GigaOM Pro Research: Car Data As The Next Platform For Innovation

News from 'The Apple Blog'

Google bought AdMob, and Android has been catching on with consumers like a brush fire on a dry midsummer day, but Apple is still holding the reins as far as serving ads to smartphone users goes. That’s according to new data released by Millenial Media, which is now the largest independent mobile ad network.

Millenial used to be number three, but that changed when Google acquired the largest, AdMob, and Apple acquired the second largest, Quattro, which it recently shuttered in favor of its own iAd platform. That means the closest to unbiased numbers regarding mobile ads that we’re likely to get are probably from Millenial.

In July 2010, Apple led the pack with 35 percent of all mobile ad impressions and 55 percent of smartphone ads. Smartphones overall accounted for just about half of all mobile ad impressions, with 49 percent of that pie. Connected devices — including the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP among others — accounted for another 19 percent, while feature phones saw only 32 percent of the ads. It’s yet another sign that the dumb phone is on its way out, at least as a viable means of revenue for advertisers.

In the smartphone arena, Apple’s lead is still quite commanding. The next closest platform in term of ad impressions served is Android, and it accounted for only 19 percent of the smartphone share. Next closest was RIM, with BlackBerry devices seeing 16 percent of all ads. Finally, Microsoft’s Windows Mobile came in a distant fourth with 4 percent. All other platforms combined added up to 6 percent.

The success of Apple’s platform becomes very apparent when you take into consideration how developers are prioritizing ad targeting. Of those targeting multiple platforms, 100 percent are intent on supporting Apple’s iOS. Android is next closest with 75 percent of developers, and RIM is next with only 46 percent. Twenty-nine percent target Symbian, which is still a major player in the Asian market, and 21 percent employ Java. Finally, 17 percent target other platforms, including Windows Mobile.

These numbers reflect the sales success of the iPhone and its various competitors to date, but Android’s ever-expanding reach has the platform poised to takeover that majority share sooner rather than later. I predict a parity between or a reversal of the top two spots, at least in terms of developer support, by this time next year, based on the trajectory of Google’s mobile OS to date and the success of phones like the Droid and its successors.

Related GigaOM Pro Research: Report: The In-App Advertising Landscape

Apple’s iMovie is an app designed to run exclusively on the iPhone 4, but it will actually run on an iPhone 3GS by applying a hack. The app puts a mobile video studio in your pocket and gives you another creative way to use your iPhone by offering you some nice video editing and enhancement [...]

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