2 Apple medical trials shed light on HealthKit

TECHNOLOGY

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2014

Apple iPhone 6 pre-orders hit record 4m on first day

NEW YORK: Apple Inc said many customers will need to wait until next month for their new iPhones after a record 4 million first-day pre-orders were logged, double the number for the iPhone 5 two years ago. The company said demand had outstripped supply of the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which feature larger screens and longer battery life. Deliveries of pre-orders will begin on Friday and will continue through October. Bumper firstday pre-orders point to first-weekend sales of up to 10 million units, analysts estimated.

"Assuming preorders are similar to the 40 percent of first weekend sales for the iPhone 5, this would imply iPhone 6/6Plus first weekend sales could be around 10 million," Wells Fargo Securities analysts wrote in a note. About 2 million preorders were received for the iPhone 5 in the first 24 hours after it went on sale in September 2012. Apple sold 5 million of these phones in the first weekend.

Apple sold 9 million iPhone 5Ss and 5Cs, which were launched last year, in the first three days in stores. The company did not reveal pre-order numbers for these

phones. Raymond James analysts said they expect sales of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus to top 9 million in the first weekend.

"Apple will be selling every iPhone it can make, at least through October. Because of this, the first weekend sales are typically more indicative of supply than demand," they said. The company routinely grapples with iPhone supply constraints, particularly in years that involve a smartphone re-design.

Apple's website showed last week that the larger 5.5-inch "Plus" models displayed a wait time of up to a month. The

4.7-inch version was available for delivery on Sept 19. Janney Capital Markets analysts said the large number of pre-orders was due to "pent-up demand" for bigger iPhone screens.

The brokerage raised its sales estimate for the latest iPhones to 37.4 million units for the current quarter and 60 million for the quarter ended December. "We believe significant demand will even spill into the March and June quarters given supply and the timing of shipments in China," Barclays analysts wrote in a note.

The company said the new iPhone

models will be available to customers in its stores in the United States, Canada, Australia and some other countries on Friday morning. AT&T Inc, Sprint Corp, TMobile US Inc, Verizon Wireless and some Apple authorized resellers will also start selling the phones on Friday.

The phones will come equipped with Apple's new payments service, "Apple Pay", which launches in the United States next month and allows users to pay for items in stores with their phones. Apple's shares were up less than 1 percent at $102.92 yesterday afternoon. --Reuters

2 Apple medical trials

shed light on HealthKit

App tracks blood pressure, sugar levels

SAN FRANCISCO: Two prominent US hospitals are preparing to launch trials with diabetics and chronic disease patients using Apple Inc's HealthKit, offering a glimpse of how the iPhone maker's ambitious take on healthcare will work in practice. HealthKit, which is still under development, is the center of a new healthcare system by Apple. Regulated medical devices, such as glucose monitors with accompanying iPhone apps, can send information to HealthKit. With a patient's consent, Apple's service gathers data from various health apps so that it can be viewed by doctors in one place.

Stanford University Hospital doctors said they

Apple last week mentioned the trials in a news release announcing the latest version of its operating system for phones and tablets, iOS 8, but this is the first time any details have been made public. Apple declined to comment for this article. Apple aims eventually to work with health care providers across the United States, including hospitals which are experimenting with using technology to improve preventative care to lower healthcare cost and make patients healthier.

Reuters previously reported that Apple is in talks with other US hospitals. Stanford Children's Chief Medical Information Officer Christopher Longhurst told Reuters that Stanford and Duke

trials. DexCom Inc, which makes blood sugar monitoring equipment, is in talks with Apple, Stanford, and the US Food and Drug Administration about integrating with HealthKit, said company Chief Technical Officer Jorge Valdes. DexCom's device measures glucose levels through a tiny sensor inserted under the skin of the abdomen. That data is transmitted every five minutes to a hand-held receiver, which works with a blood glucose meter. The glucose measuring system then sends the information to DexCom's mobile app, on an iPhone, for instance. Under the new system, HealthKit can scoop up the data from DexCom, as well as other app and device makers. Data can be uploaded from HealthKit into Epic's "MyChart" application, where it can be viewed by clinicians in Epic's electronic health record.

are working with Apple to let physicians track blood sugar levels for children with diabetes. Duke University is developing a pilot to track blood pressure, weight and other measurements for patients with cancer or heart disease. The goal is to improve the accuracy and speed of reporting data, which often is done by phone and fax now. Potentially doctors would be able to warn patients of an impending problem. The pilot programs will be rolled out in the coming weeks.

were among the furthest along. Longhurst said that in the first Stanford trial, young patients with Type 1 diabetes will be sent home with an iPod touch to monitor blood sugar levels between doctor's visits.

HealthKit makes a critical link between measuring devices, including those used at home by patients, and medical information services relied on by doctors, such as Epic Systems Corp, a partner already announced by Apple. Medical device makers are taking part in the Stanford and Duke

Protecting sensitive data While HealthKit promises to enhance the process of data-sharing between physicians and those under their care, observers have noted the potential for sensitive data to be abused. Others are leery of having all their private information stored in one location, susceptible to hackers for instance. To ensure patient privacy, Apple is considering creating a "HealthKit Certification" for third party developers, with conditions stipulating how data must be stored securely on devices and forbidding sale of data to advertisers, according to people familiar with Apple's plans. Apple recently updated its developer guidelines with data sharing rules for health apps. Stanford's Longhurst said he expects the pilot to be expanded quickly if there are no problems. Rajiv Kumar, the physician leading Stanford's pilot and a pediatric endocrinologist at Stanford Children's Health, said his team may soon be able to set up alerts, so they can notify patients via Epic MyChart when their blood sugar spikes or falls. Kumar said two young patients with diabetes have been chosen to participate in the initial trial and he hopes to extend the pilot to teens and infants. Duke University's Ricky Bloomfield, an internal medicine pediatrician and director of mobile strategy, hopes the pilot will help doctors access the data they need to better monitor sick patients living at home. "This could eliminate the hassle of getting data from patients, who want to give it to us," said Bloomfield. "HealthKit removes some of the error from patients' manually entering their data." --Reuters

Netflix goes live in France as part of Europe expansion

Microsoft buys Minecraft for $2.5bn

NEW YORK: Microsoft has bought Mojang, the Swedish firm behind the popular video game Minecraft, for $2.5 billion (?1.5 billion). The title, which has sold over 54 million copies, allows players to build structures with retro Lego-style blocks, as well as explore a large map and battle others. The deal was announced by Xbox chief Phil Spencer. Mojang, whose three founders will leave the company, assured fans that "everything is going to be OK". Some analysts have speculated the deal is designed to attract more users to Microsoft's Windows Phone devices. The acquisition comes a year after Microsoft bought the Finnish mobile phone firm Nokia. Markus Persson Minecraft creator Markus Persson has been critical of Microsoft

Minecraft is one of the top-selling apps on both Apple's iOS store and Android's Google Play, and has recently been released for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, further boosting sales. Last month, it was the third most popular console game, according to market research firm NPD Group, despite being on sale for a while. The game's developer, Mojang, which was founded in 2009, brought in over $100 million in profit last year, and employs about 40 people. Microsoft said the Mojang team would join its game studio, which is responsible for titles such as Halo, Forza and Fable. The tech giant's chief executive, Satya Nadella, said: "Minecraft is more than a great game franchise - it is an open world platform, driven by a vibrant community we care deeply about, and rich with new opportunities for that community and for Microsoft."

Opposition to sale Mojang's founder, Markus "Notch" Persson, has previously criticized Microsoft, and commented to Reuters that the market for Windows phones was "tiny" and not worth developing apps for.

Minecraft has a large and enthusiastic cult following, many of whom have reacted angrily to what they see as a corporate takeover of a communallyspirited independent company.

"Makes me sick, and sad," wrote one user on a popular Minecraft forum. "It would kill the gaming community," EvilBatsu added. Others expressed concerns about whether fans would be able to exhibit their skills. "Not only will it cost more money to play the game it will cost people their jobs too. Many people play Minecraft and upload it to YouTube as their career, but if Microsoft takes over there will for sure be copyright issues." However some enthusiasts made the point that Microsoft could devote larger resources to upgrading and expanding the game. In a statement, Microsoft said it would maintain Minecraft across all its existing platforms, with a "commitment to nurture and grow it long into the future". It added that the acquisition was expected to be concluded by the end of 2014.

In an announcement confirming the deal on its website, Mojang reassured gamers, saying: "Please remember that the future of Minecraft and you the community - are extremely important to everyone involved. If you take one thing away from this post, let it be that." With regard to Microsoft, Mojang said: "There are only a handful of potential buyers with the resources to grow Minecraft on a scale that it deserves." The firm added that "Notch" had decided that he "doesn't want the responsibility of owning a company of such global significance".

James McQuivey of analytics firm Forrester noted that "Minecraft is one of the most important gaming properties in the world". "Not only is it profitable, but it continues to increase in profits years after its release, largely due to the passionate fan base that invests in building out their own Minecraft worlds. --

PARIS: Netflix launched its service in France yesterday, with the US online streaming giant also announcing a deal with a French cable operator as it began the second phase of its European expansion. For 7.99 euros ($10.34) per month subscribers in France can now enjoy access to Hollywood films, cartoons and television series including original content such "Orange is the New Black", a comedy-drama set in a prison, and the hugely successful political drama "House of Cards" starring Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright. "We hope like in the rest of the world to be very popular by offering very low prices," Netflix chief Reed Hastings told AFP.

Hastings said within the next five-to-ten years Netflix hoped to have a third of France's 28 million households subscribing to the service, the same level now reached in the United States, and wants to top two million subscribers within five years. Netflix has shaken up the industry in the United States by allowing subscribers to watch as much as they like, at any time, on almost any Internet-connected device such as a laptop, tablet or smartphone. While savvy users can also connect their devices to a TV, Netflix announced a deal yesterday with Bouygues Telecom which will

integrate the service into the operator's next cable television box.

Netflix's entry into the French market is the beginning of its second wave of expansion across Europe. It is to be quickly followed by launches in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland. The California-based company, which already has 50 million subscribers worldwide, threequarters of which (36 million) are in the United States, has been available in Britain, Denmark, Ireland, the

Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden since 2012.

Business drama The entry of the purveyor of popular US shows may turn into a business drama as a patchwork of European providers are bracing for an unequal battle with the company. Many have improved their offers or dropped their prices ahead of Netflix's arrival. In Germany, the Snap service of pay-TV channel Sky Deutschland recently dropped its

PARIS: This photo shows a television screen displaying the French user interface of US online streaming giant Netflix. --AFP

price from 9.90 to 3.99 euros per month, far below the anticipated Netflix offer.

In France, meanwhile, the main pay-TV group Canal+ strengthened and modernized its online streaming offer, CanalPlay, which has attracted 520,000 subscribers in the past three years. Netflix has had to negotiate an assortment of local rules and regulations to achieve this second wave of European expansion.

It faced particular obstacles in France where the film and television industry is strictly regulated. TV channels and media companies in the country are required to invest in domestic content and there have been fears that Netflix would take away subscribers from Canal+, the main source of finance for Frenchmade films. Netflix will contribute 2.0 percent of its sales in France to the National Cinema Centre, which finances French filmmaking, but escapes restrictions on the amount of French and European content it must show. Nevertheless, the company aims to produce its own French-language programming to woo French viewers. Netflix is commissioning a French-language political drama-a tale of power, corruption and revenge set in the port city of Marseille, France's second city. --AFP

Apps help brides find

perfect bridal gown

TORONTO: Finding the perfect wedding gown can be a daunting task but new apps can help women narrow the options by helping them find and virtually try hundreds of designs. Brides spent on average $1,281 on their wedding gowns in 2013, according to wedding website TheKnot, which surveyed 13,000 couples who were married last year. With the new augmented reality iPad app called Wedding Dress Studio, women can see how they would look in more than 300 gowns with different silhouettes, necklines, details and fabrics. "There are so many styles available today, and walking into that blindly, brides need all the help they can get," said Hillary Sica, executive director at Toronto-based Wedding Reality Inc, which created the app. "Our goal is to help give the brideto-be an idea of what will look good on her so that she's not trying on dresses that won't work when she gets to the boutique," she said.

With the app, women upload a body image of themselves wearing tight-fitting clothing that does not interfere with the contours of their bodies, and mark their shoulders, hips, and waist. The app overlays gowns, based on the details requested, on the image. The app uses patented fabric-remapping technology to mimic how fabric flows and stretches around the contours of the body, according to Sica. But she added it is only the first step toward finding the perfect dress.

"It's not meant to replace the experience of going to a store and having that moment but we're hoping it's a stepping stone in the process," she said. The company plans to partner with local boutiques in the future to make their dresses available through the app, which is free and available worldwide. Another app for iPhone and Android, called Wedding LookBook, created by TheKnot, also helps women find gowns. They can browse more than 5,000 gowns that can be filtered by designer, shape, price and style. The app also shows nearby stores where they can try it on or purchase it. Leslie DeAngelo, a co-host of the reality TV show "I Found the Gown," and president and owner of the wedding dress website Bridepower based in Massachusetts, said shopping for a bridal gown can be a very emotional experience. Apps can also be especially helpful for women who do not live near bridal shops, she added.

"We've heard some people say they haven't tried anything on because they're 300 miles away from the nearest bridal shop. Not everyone lives in a metropolitan area, so many brides browse websites and order that way," DeAngelo explained. She suggests brides-tobe keep an open mind and try different silhouettes. "You don't know what will look good. It's not like shopping for jeans," she added. --Reuters

After Aereo, what's next for Internet TV?

LOS ANGELES: Just because Aereo's business model has been shot down by the Supreme Court, that doesn't mean customers' desire for a better TV experience has gone away. People are still fed up with huge channel bundles, high prices, poor service and the lack of ability to watch all their shows on all their devices. That's part of why Aereo was attractive: It offered local broadcast channels and a few others on multiple devices for just $8 a month.

Industry watchers say the pay TV business must continue to evolve to win over unhap-

py customers, even if the nation's top court said grabbing signals from the airwaves and distributing them online without contentowner permission isn't the way.

"Even without Aereo, the reason people were cutting the cord, for cost reasons and so on, those don't go away," said Robin Flynn, an analyst with market research firm SNL Kagan. Last year, the number of pay TV subscribers in the US fell for the first time, dipping 0.1 percent to 94.6 million, according to Leichtman Research Group. Into that breach have leapt companies that have offered qual-

ity TV content online for low cost, like Netflix and Amazon. Hulu, which is owned by major broadcast networks ABC, NBC and Fox, offers full episodes of popular shows like "The Colbert Report" the next day for free.

While that's not live TV, which Aereo offered, for many it's a good-enough substitute. The decision against Aereo is a setback, but not a fatal one for people who want to break away from traditional TV, said Bill Niemeyer, senior analyst at TDG Research. "While the content on the major broadcast networks is very important for some people,

it's not important for everyone," Niemeyer said. "So it's a dent, but I don't think it's going to significantly change the trends."

High quality If anything, the rise and fall of Aereo has highlighted an important fact - that highquality TV signals are available on the airwaves for free - something that might have been forgotten if Aereo hadn't insisted that its technology simply replicates the antenna and wire that an average person could set up on their own. "What Aereo has really done in

our perspective is to address the lack of understanding that over-the-air is free," said Mark Buff, CEO of Mohu, a company that makes flat indoor antennas that attach to walls.

Mohu has sold 1.5 million antennas since it began in 2011 and they work in the kind of dense urban areas like New York where Aereo is believed to have had a small subscriber base. It is about to launch Mohu Channels, a device that blends Internet video services like Netflix with free-to-air TV in a single channel guide. --AFP

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