In Apple's iPhone 5 ads, everything old is new again

They often say that Apple never really invents anything. It only does things better than anyone else.

They also often say that making a call on an iPhone is as reliable as putting a bet on a sheep in a horse race.

So here's a newiPhone 5 ad that may confirm one of these alleged truisms, while defeating the other. For it features a revolutionary new noise canceling microphone on the iPhone 5.

Well, when I say "revolutionary," I might be prematurely full of Thanksgiving spirit.

I remember my fine engineer friend George offering that noise cancellation would be in the iPhone 5 and that it had been around on other phones already.

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LG, for example, announced its intention to implement noise cancellation in, um, 2009. And here's Google'sNexus One that had noise cancellation capabilities in 2010. But that isn't the point.

If people didn't know about this technology -- and I fancy many didn't -- then why not do a little ad that informs them in a reassuring, Applesque way?

That's exactly what this ad does. Oddly, it's as techie as an Apple ad has been for quite some time.

The second new iPhone 5 ad is a special for Thanksgiving. It features the Shared Photo Stream, a very fine way of sharing photos. Again, here Apple makes what could be complicated blissfully simple.

Just like family relationships this time of year.

Topics: Music, Media, Social networking, Advertising Tags: Technically Incorrect, Apple, iPhone 5, noise cancellation

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Apple's OS X 10.9 may feature Siri and homegrown maps

Apple's next major release of its desktop and notebook operating system is once again expected to gain additional features from iOS devices, according to Apple blog 9to5mac.

Citing trusted sources, the blog today says Apple plans to add full-on integration with Siri, the voice assistant that can be found on Apple's iPhones, iPods and iPads.

Apple already took the first step in that direction earlier this year by adding dictation to OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, which was released in July. The dictation feature lets users talk into their microphone and transcribe into text, but it does not go the extra step to turn spoken queries into actions on the computer.

Along with Siri, the report says Apple also plans to add its own maps within OS X, specifically to let developers make use of the feature within their own applications. Apple debuted its Maps in June at its annual developers conference, though only for iOS, and formally released it as part ofiOS 6 in September -- to, well, mixed reviews.

Apple has sped up its development cycles for major releases of OS X, releasing Mountain Lion just a year after its predecessor, Lion. Both iOS and OS X are also now under the management of the same senior executive, Craig Federighi, who formerly managed just theMac group.

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Apple began carrying iOS features over to Mac OS with 10.7 Lion in 2010. While introducing the new OS update to reporters, CEO Steve Jobs mused that some of the features were inspired by imagining the results "if a MacBook and aniPad hooked up." Some of those first features included a new app launcher, FaceTime video conferencing, and the Mac App Store -- a built-in software installer. That trend continued with Mountain Lion this year, which gained a handful of apps that began on iOS, like reminders, notification center, Game Center and AirPlay.

If recent history is any guide, it's safe to assume 10.9 won't make its debut until next year. Apple provided a surprise sneak peek of Mountain Lion this past February, giving developers about five months to get their software ready.

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Apple's tablet share falls to 50.4 percent

According to the latest IDC figures, Apple's share of the tablet market fell to just 50.4 percent in the Q3 of this year.For the quarter, there were 27.8 million total tablets shipped, with Apple selling 14.01 million of those.

Samsung came in second at 18.4 percent and Amazon jumped up to 9 percent with their new Kindle Fire line. Asus jumped to 8.6 percent thanks to the Nexus 7 and its Transformers and Lenovo rounded out the top 5 with 1.4 percent share.

Year-over-year, the market grew a healthy 49.5 percent, and the market grew 6.7 percent from last quarter.

Despite selling more tablets, Apple fell 15 percentage points from the same period last year, as Android tablets finally began to gain some traction. Samsung took most of that share, thanks to its popular Note 10.1 tab.

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