AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

I was pretty elated when I saw her eyes lit up on how easy it was for her to send emails, initiate video chats, and, of course, advance through the early stages of Angry Birds. All this was done on the iPhone. And yeah, the iPhone is legendary for its ease of use. The simplistic UI just works. I think the folks, like my mom, aunts and uncles, are an unserved population in the mobile market. I would like to see Google and HP examine their OS and products and honestly see how they fit in for the boomers. And despite the global economy in the pits, this group have quite a bit of money. My mom had even using her iPhone for years and iPad for almost a year now. She used it for just about everything she previously needed a PC for. And she never goes anywhere without one or more of her iOS devices. And more and more, I see folks with smart phones. No, let me correct that. I see more of them with iPhones and anyone else who want to get in on it, they need to go back to the drawing board and r...

First, I know nothing about what Apple is going to say in advance for March 2nd unveiling of the "iPad 2".  Zero.  Nada.  I'm not even going to get into what others say Apple will unveil.  Frankly, they're just delicious rumors for blog readers.  I'm gonna get ahead and make my own predictions and analyze each point and how iPad 2 is going to specifically influence the tablet market and the mobile market in general. March 2nd Event:  I'll have my venti mocha from Starbucks, wait for 10am PST.  I would have gotten the day's work done earlier in the morning just so I can spend the rest of the day pouring over the analyses, blogs, and, of course, even offering an opinion or two of my own on Apple's latest and greatest.   What is different this year is that Steve Jobs won't be there.  It'll likely be Tim Cook, Apple's headmaster until Steve returns.  He'll run through the numbers on Apple's successes over the Holiday quarter, the recep...

For years, we suffered at the hands of ATT's draconian rule because they were the only one we can get the iPhone from.  But it was not just the bad signals, dropped calls, and lies but it was also the stupid charges here and there. My credit card was compromised back in December.  It was also used for auto-pay for our iPhone accounts as well as our T-Mobile plans.  After reporting suspicious activities on there, all charges to the card were stopped. Now, maybe it was my bad that I didn't update the information with all the companies I use that card to make payments with but all of them were understandable about one missed payment that was quickly rectified once I received e-mail notifications.   Except one.  You got it.  Our iPhone overlord, ATT.  Not only that, they proceeded to charge me $40 for some kind of penalty.  Seriously, WTF?! All I know is that we're moving away from ATT for all things.  I'm happy with my WiMax access and my securi...

It's taken a while but solid state drives, SSD, are coming nicely. What I mean is that I see them more and more as an option from the major PC makers. Everyone from Dell to HP to Apple, its MacBook Air being very popular over the Holidays and demand has not let up, are using them as a premium add-on. Now we are seeing SSD sizes at more affordable prices. Not only that, the drives are bigger. Still, I am not quite ready to pluck down $1,500 to $2,000 for a 480GB drive. For that kind of money, it would be more economical to get a whole new laptop. Say a MacBook Air with 256 GB or storage. So what is in your laptop or MacBook? Have you moved onto a SSD or consider making the move in the near future? - Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch

Okay, so we know that Apple will be unveiling the next version of the iPad on March 2nd.  And while I expect rumors about it to surface through the weekend, I fully expect them to be the "take it with a grain of salt" type.   Already, Engadget is backtracking on some of their earlier "confirmations" about the iPad and there were more than a few "I told you so" from other blogs.  One source versus another.  One leak that seems to go contrary to another but just as juicy. However, after reading them, I find them a bit lacking.   Sure, the Apple electrified the tablet market and we are on the verge of a bunch of competing tablets.  But a tablet is tablet.  Apple might add a camera or two to the next iPad.  Apple is likely to jazz things up a bit with faster processor and more memory but as far as hardware goes, I don't see much advances beyond what we can realistically expect.   Take the Mac fans' collective reactions to the new Macbook Pro lin...

I am not 100% there yet but I am very close to getting the new MacBook Pro that was introduced to us today. And I cannot settle on the 15" or the 17". And just yesterday, I was still waiting to see when the Air will move to Sandy Bridge. Here is are a couple reasons and why if you're in the market for a new laptop, you want to consider Apple's new mobile lineup. Thunderbolt, the new tech offered that will serve as the future port for all accessories. And this is leap and bounds what is available - USB 2, FireWire, and what is not even out yet, USB 3. And the CPU upgrade aside, which believe me is a big deal, we are talking a whole new dynamic of way to work. So far, the benchmarks are showing Mac Pro like power. That means we are talking about a mobile workstation that lets you go away and do anything. Whether this is about video work, coding the next Angry Bird, and writing that next great American novel, the freedom this power we are getting is really something to ...

I am on the west coast and that means as of the start of the writing of this post, I am two hours away from Thursday and, if the speculations hold, hours away from new MacBooks using Intel's latest and greatest mobile CPUs. I got the first unibody Macbook when it came out the first time in late-2008. It's still chugging along and I've got no real complaints about it though I would like it to have a longer battery life. So I eager wait and see if the newest mobile Macs what I need - speed and longer battery life than the current line of MacBooks. And if things don't pan out, I will probably look to getting a new battery and a faster hard drive. Of course, I'll be getting Lion this summer. Hmmm...that sounds like a lot of money already. The new MacBooks are beginning to look even better. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch

Here is a good post on what the real issue, like I've been saying, is about with respect to Apple's subscription plan. Again, it's not about the 30% cut which Amazon and Google (the 10% cut is from Web subscribers, not in-app purchases - as far as I know, Apple doesn't plan to charge publishers for Web access) all fully plan on partaking. At first, I was perplexed by the lack of defense from Apple and its defenders. I think as Apple stayed silent through much of the firestorm about nothing (which was absolutely brilliant), Apple gave folks nothing new to write about. And many Apple supporters probably thought Apple's rates were harsh as well. That would explain the silence at the start. But as time passed, I started to see posts that genuinely examine the issue and many began to realized that Apple was not unfair. If anything, it was once again change how things were done. No longer would publishers freely acquire user information and sell it to the highest bidde...

Though there is no official word from Apple, but it does seem like everyone is assuming that the MacBook updates will happen tomorrow. Let's assume that to be the case. Hey, Apple, where's iWork? I passed on the last update but I am so ready for this one. There are a couple of features that I can sure use that are available in the current version but I like to see if the next one makes it even better. One I am interested in very much is publication to iBooks and/or other ebook stores through Pages or another app. I am talking more that just ePub. Also, I am hoping for a simple app dev program that I hope Apple release. You know, a fun sort of App-making for dummies. Regardless, I eagerly await the next update. Hopefully, this will happen soon. Oh, and some tie-in with MobileMe would be great too. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch

The mainstream media has not caught on to it yet and I've talked about it here from time to time. But be prepared to be bombarded with tons of media reports, blogs, tweets, and e-mails about it in the coming weeks or months. At week at the Mobile World Congress, near field communication, NFC, was being talked about as if it is the next holy grail of mobile. And to a follower of mobile happenings like myself, this is a big thing. In as few words as possible, NFC allows payments be made through mobile devices. Think of this as what you can already do at Starbucks. You can order and pay through the app. Well, this will happen in a much much better way. There are a couple of devices on the market with NFC capability, specifically, Google's Nexus S. But as with some technology, being first doesn't mean much. However, it is largely expected that Apple's next iOS hardware updates, including the next iPhone, will support mobile payment. And I expect an explosion of next...

Here it is folks. The moment you've been waiting for. Apple is due to officially unveil iPad 2 next week, March 2nd. Here is one bit of speculation on my part. There has been talk that Apple has already shipped some crates of new merchandise to its stores and retailers. The speculation is that they are new updated MacBooks. But what if they're not? Could they be iPad 2 units instead? More at World of Apple . - Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch

This is my comment response to another uninformed post with a click-bait headline.  This time, it's from one of my favorite site about ebook and publishing, Teleread. Their headline is " Steve Jobs muddies Apple subscription waters further with 'clarification' ".  I've been reading a lot about the Apple subscription issue so I can gain a better understanding of what Apple is trying to do and where the grievances are.  After all, isn't that the best way to go about getting a handle on things?   When I first read that Apple would take 30% of all subscriptions, I was flabbergasted.  30%!  Piracy!  As it turned out, this is way below Amazon's 70% cut on Kindle subscriptions.  Publishers are not concerned about that.  What they are not happy about is that Apple still will not share with them the vast and rich treasure trove that is the iTunes ecosystem that Apple spent the better part of the last decade creating. Here goes: How did Steve Jobs' e-m...

I've long suspected that Apple will do something to mess with the market when it comes to the 7" iPad. And Steve Jobs loves yo say one thing and do another. And with Steve dissing 7" tablets, I have in the past speculated that it is not impossible for Apple to release a 5" iPod touch. And this post from 9-to-5 Mac, though based on a rumor (which I hate trafficking but love reading about) kinda say the same thing. I believe that a fall release would be a perfect time for Apple to do this. After all, it will be an iPod touch, not an iPad. How will this fit into the whole whole iOS family? Perfectly. I think Apple is interested in tinkering with the whole iPod touch line in a big big way. I'm talking about wireless access beyond wifi here. Perhaps even with 3G-enabled iPod touches. And this going with a 5" or 6" tablet but calling it an iPod touch will muzzle critics who would have accused Steve Jobs of going back on his words. Plus, it would al...

Though this photo from the White House Flickr page showed only Steve Jobs from the back, he certainly did not look like those horribly faked photos from the National Inquirer. Good to see him in black. Kind of funny if you think about it. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch

Reuters has confirmed that Steve Jobs was indeed present at the dinner with the President of the United States in San Francisco tonight. That is fantastic news. And I hope President Obama was able to have a serious conversation about America's technological lead and innovative energy. Earlier, I write that I hope some sort of discussion about green technology took place. And it is interesting that Reuters dedicated a whole piece on Steve Jobs and nothing on the actual content of the night's discussion. But as I read the post, I came to realized that this maybe nothing more than to provide the President political cover with those who believe he has lost the support of America's businesses. That this meeting is more about the President's future and 2012 than America's future. I cannot understand what meaningful contribution the CEOs of Twitter and Netflix has to offer on maintaining America's technological edge and learning. Nor can I fathom what Facebook's ...

At the moment, at the writing of this post, President Obama is meeting with a few of Silicon Valley's heavyweights, Apple's iconic leader Steve Jobs and Eric Schmidt. And though there are many thoughts and conjectures about what the meeting could or should be about, there is one thing that I think many missed. Green tech. And right now even with tens of billions invested by the federal and state governments in incentives and grants and private investments, we are still a long way from getting off foreign oil and those pesky climate warming (or changing) coal. What we need is a Steve Jobs for green tech. What we need is for President Obama to ask one of those tech visionaries to leave his current position and take up post at a new company that would revolutionize energy conservation and renewable energy production. Imagine a healthy Steve being talked into taking reign of this new company. And it would have to be a private enterprise, perhaps with some grants from the government...

I left my iPad at work. Stupid I know. And thought it was going to come in hand for me to get some work done around the house with it playing video on Netflix or a podcast. I am on the iPod touch now and that is probably why I am not suffering from withdrawals or hoping into my car to go get it. Still, I had planned on using it to do some diagrams. So what does that say about the state of the tablet? Well, I don't think I have established a workflow that require it on a daily basis. Plus, the iPad in large part is a device for media consumption. Tonight, I've enough media diversions until I can get back on track tomorrow. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch

Okay. This is huge. Like him or not, Steve Jobs was put on this death bed hours earlier by the National Inquirer. Now, ABC News is reporting that the heads of these two tech giants will meeting with President Obama in San Francisco tomorrow night. This meeting is a part of the President's agenda to bring closer businesses to help America stay ahead of the pack in research and innovation. Honestly, who better to throw ideas with than the two most storied companies in Silicon Valley. And if anyone knows about being a visionary and coming from behind, it's Steve Jobs, like him or not. And obviously, Schmidt's management of Google and turning it into search and mobile powerhouse, is likely to have a couple of ideas on how to make the US stay on top. Schmidt, like him or not, is on top of his game. And I just want to say that ABC News could be wrong about this and there is an ever so slight possibility that the National Inquirer is right about Steve Jobs. And Maybe I just don...

I am sure all the bitching, moaning, and crying to the adults helped but after reading the details of Apple's subscription policy, it seems to make a lot of sense.  And quite frankly, it's fair. If you bring in your own readers/viewers, you get to keep all the money.  Your did all the work.  But if we helped you out, we get a cut of the pie.  For Apple, that's 30%.  Oh, and with personal data, it's opt-in, not opt-out like Facebook or Google.  So, that means we have to actively say that publishers and whoever they sell our information to can have access to our personal data.  Good move, Apple. My only issue is that the 30% seems a bit much and I'm sure with some content publishers like Rupert Murdoch, he is powerful enough to be able to call up Steve Jobs and ask for some kind of a special deal.   So, I hope after this week, all this nonsense will stop.  And here's what so great about competition.  Google, Nokia, Microsoft, RIM, or HP ca...

Over the weekend, I took my MacBook out for some time at Borders. I had to do work on the laptop that I cannot do on the iPad at this time. And this is an older MacBook. Late 2008 and the battery life has been put through it's paces in the last couple of years. According to a battery utility, it's got 80% left of the original charge left. When it gets to 70% or less, I'll probably have to decide if I should get a other battery or invest in a new MacBook. I turned it on and it attached itself to the free wifi. And the battery indicator said there was 2.5 hours of work I could do. But I wanted to spend my afternoon there working so I turned off the wifi. It has been quite some time since I've done that. The long battery on the iPod touch, and specifically, the iPad has really spoiled me. The battery life jumped to four hours! I was there for about four hours and got about three hours of work done so there was some change left in the battery had I wanted to stay longer. Bu...

In one of my tweets from the live Sony Play Event just now, and yes, the main focus was the Play and not the other Xperia devices, I mentioned that Verizon will be adding the Play to its arsenal this Spring. And with the iPhone and Droid, Verizon will have quite an all-star lineup. And dispite this addition, I only mentioned Droid as being screwed in all of this. Why? First, Droid is Droid. Hefty device and specs-wise, it's at the top. However, it is not a particularly well built device. I know some folks will disagree. I think its appeal has been somewhat limiting because of its image. It's why Verizon desperately needed the iPhone. With Playstation Suite coming to Android and now Sony's dedicated gaming mobile phone, Play, it will appeal to the same crowd that were attracted to Droid to begin with. It's unlike to have any impact on iPhone adoption on the Verizon network and certainly it is no threat to the iPhone 5 (or iPhone 4G if Apple releases an LTE vers...

A Bloomberg article was provided with information, which I surmised to be an orchestrated leak from Apple, that Apple is or was working on a $200 iPhone. Is that something that Apple can truly do?  Upon reading the article and knowing about how protective investors are about margins, I had my initial doubts.   And as the day went along, things began turning in my head that made me think that perhaps, there is something to this after all.   I'll give up a couple of clues:  payments, there's already a $200 iPhone of sort, and billions of cash in the bank. I'll get back to you later in the day and see if we come up with the same conclusion.

Sony said that content providers were being held ransom by Apple and its iTunes. Sorry, I disagree. I think it’s the ineptitude of content providers due to their archaic thinking that makes them feel this way. Here’s why. First, iTunes is very closed. Nothing on earth comes even close. Having said that, it should be easy for anyone offer a service to compete with iTunes. And we definitely have seen how easy that is can be done with all the plethora of services, brands, and devices over the year. And yet, they’ve all failed in their own unique way. What isn’t not unique is that how they’ve failed. I think it’s because of DRM and music studios trying to bleed their users and restrictions they put in deals. Even as the content battle is currently unfolding and iTunes success in the future is hardly guaranteed, the future tech and media historians will see if any failure to stem piracy and promote competition will rest in the hands of the providers who hold the media rights. And a...

I read books through iBooks app and buy through the iBooks Store. I’ve bought four books so far for myself. And just today, I was going to gift a book to a friend, I find out that I cannot do that. Why, Apple? We can easily do that with apps in the app store so I don’t understand why this isn’t possible yet for ebooks. That then led me to the larger issue about the success of iBooks. Rather, the lack of success that I am sensing from Apple. I don’t hear analysts talking about Apple’s share in the ebook market anymore. Okay, I also don’t hear about Kindle’s share either. I think it’s probably because the Kindle is totally dominating iBook in terms of number of readers and books sold. And I reckon things probably go uglier after the Holidays despite Apple’s iPad outselling Kindles because readers can simply download the Kindle app and turn their iPad into a Kindle. Being partial to Apple and its mobile vision, I hope that we will see some changes and improvements come to iBooks in ...

Quick thoughts on today's HP Web OS announcments: Palm injected much needed DNA into the boring old HP culture. Web OS integration very much like Apple's iTunes-App Store-iOS than Google's loosy-goosy implementation.  You get a sense of what they hope to accomplish. Synergy - get to know this technology.  It's important to HP's Web OS ecosystem. Willing to working with 3rd parties and give them what they want than Apple is.   Web OS is coming to PC - Desktops and laptops  Probably netbooks as well. I don't get this summer announcement.  I fear it'll be too late with iOS 5 and Android 3 coming in weeks.  iPhone 5 is scheduled to be released in the "summer" too.  Remember how the original Pre go clobbered by the 3GS? Web OS integration is what Google is unwilling to take Android 3, Honeycomb.   Web OS likes somewhere between iOS and Android in implementation. Palm with HP's deep pocket is now able to do what it could not with the original Web OS....

(Economy) Just in.  Refinery explosion in Texas.  Gas up before prices go up this weekend ( ABC ) (SciFi, Stargate) I like the idea of a small team.  Of comradery, honor, and sarcrifice.  Wrap all that into a science fiction series, you've got a great TV show.  That's what I think Stargate Atlantis is.   Rewatching it last night, I wondered how folks were on the expedition.  Apparently, there were 50 to 60 on the original trip and may have expanded to as many as 800 by the end of the series.  Good to know our guys in the Pegasus Galaxy were not without company.  ( Stargate Handbook ) (iPhone, Verizon) For those of you lucky enough to get your CDMA iPhone already, here's a video  on how to enable the personal hotpsot.  Personally, I wouldn't pay any of the carrier a dollar more than I have to, which is why if you're not totally digging for an iPhone or top of the line Android, Virgin Mobile has a great deal on some low-end Android de...

Dave the Mobile Warrior posed this question to me regarding FaceTime:  Do you think it's a flop? My response: It's a good blog topic :)   Right now, I think so...it's supposed to be open-sourced too right?  No one has seen it so far outside of Apple.  Like you said, few folks from Apple even talked about it anymore.  Apple is known for taking the long view on stuff like this.  Look at how long it has taken Quicktime to get to where it is today. But Facetime just has too many missing pieces.  It cannot do anything else other than video chat with other iOS devices unless it has a camera and with Macs installed with the beta Facetime app. I think it put the fear of God into a lot of folks when Steve Jobs demoed it but since then, life has moved on for Skype, Fring, and everyone else.  Even Google has their own video chat coming for Honeycomb (Android 3.0). Also, keep in mind that there is still no Facetime chat via 3G yet.  And yes, you can cond...

Steve Jobs promised good things coming for MobleMe, competition to Google's suite of webapps and cloud services in an e-mail to a customer. That is one thing that I am waiting for anxiously from Apple.  Currently, subscribers pay $99 a year to get services that we can already get for free from Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo. What makes MobileMe special is that it is highly integrated into the Mac and iOS devices.  Still, is that worth paying $99 more?   More and more, I'm doubting it.  I'm running my own personal website and Greenjava using the MobileMe hosting but Apple has not upgraded the iWeb app in the last iLife update so I'm finding what is there a bit long in the tooth.   Still, I want to wait and see if there is anything to MobileMe that Apple can bring to the service that is worth paying for.   There is worth that many components like mail will be free.  And I think that is something that even non-Apple product users might be interested in eve...

I don't mind Apple jerking publishers around because that's what Apple does, for better or worse.  But in light of the recent follow-through on enforcing guidelines in the app store policy, there is still a lot of uncertainty. I understand why Apple needs to do that.  One, they aren't ready to talk about it yet.  In fact, at the unveiling of "The Daily", Apple has said we'll hear from them rather quickly.   Second, tipping its hands prematurely isn't good for business and it's never been Apple's policy to do that.  The few times I remember when Apple spoke before it was ready were disastrous.   Having said that, I hope Apple will clear things up for publishers sooner rather than later.  As customers, it helps to know what we are buying into or know what to avoid.

Interesting stuff I read today: (Politics, Economy) President Obama spoke at the Chamber of Commerce today and is looking to reconnect with the biz community.  This LA Times post has a good summary on the challenges facing the Administration and the biz guys. It's looking like everyone is looking for the middle ground where it's easiest to do work.  Not a bad approach except there are still issues that need to be tackled where things could still get ugly ( NYT ) (Green) EV owners in the Carolinas would be getting free charging stations for a study.  Not bad.  Still, Considering the drip-paced production for the Volt and Leaf, I think these owners will be waiting for a long while.  A very long while.  Meanwhile, CA is allowing electric companies to hike prices for EV owners because they would be considered customers who use more electricity than the average household.  Talk about an idiotic move.  I hope some kind of exception is in the works. (...

I had a full weekend.  Dinners, coffees, trips to visit friends.  And it was my iPod touch with my Clear iSpot versus everyone else who had regular cell phones, Android device or two, and a bunch of iPhones.  How did that go? Before I get into that, I want to say that I am very tempted to pull the trigger on the Verizon iPhone in the coming week.  I have said that my wireless combo of iPod touch and iSpot was how I want to go from now on.  And while it works very well for me, it isn't working too well for some friends and families. I had an okay day on Saturday when I met up with friends for lunch.  It was like the old days.  We set up a place and time a day before.  And we met on Saturday as it was supposed to be.  And it worked out.  There was no opportunities for anyone else to try to call just before we were supposed to meet up and change the venue or the meeting time.  Personally, I found that to be annoying. And since no one c...

The seven-month old iPhone 4 just went on sale over at Verizon Wireless on Thursday, selling out the pre-order allotment in just 17 months and setting a record sales figure in just two hours, between 3am-5am. By any measure, that is an incredible feat I don't know can ever be duplicated. But every time someone says something is no longer possible for Apple, Steve Jobs and company always manages to outdo expectation. Meanwhile, ATT and Verizon Wireless (VWZ) crossed swords on Twitter and in the press over who has the better iPhone. And this week, that skirmish spilled over into television and online as they released opposing commercials that highlight who's got the better iPhone and what features one has over the other. The best thing about this is that mobile warriors like you and me win with this kind of competition. More at Greenjava .

I use Apple's Siri app on occasion.  And it's a decent app for process that pulls information from various sources.  However, I wonder if Apple will finally do more with it in iOS 5. After all, spending $200 million to buy it out must really mean that there is value in the app and the talent behind its development that the top echelon at Apple saw. It is a very useful app as it is if you have never used it.  It's a voice query app and I have spend some time here and there to see what I can do with it.   First, you can tap and say what you want to ask.  If the question is within reason, like "where am I?", Siri thinks for a bit and offers you what it thinks is the best answer.  When I asked it where my current location was, it showed me a map of where I am.   And for lunch, I was able to ask Siri where is the location to the restaurant I'm suppose to meet up with my friends.  It was a very easy process.  No typing required.   That's great...

This new Verizon commercial for the iPhone kinda says it all. Seriously though, I don't think Apple has never allowed AT&T to use the iPhone in any commercial at all. If true, this is Apple's payback to AT&T for maintaining such a crappy network all these year. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch

Neither Apple or Verizon Wireless has any iPhones for pre-orders to be reserved by current VZW customers.   The next time anyone can order one starts on February 9th and can be picked up on the 10th or wake up early to wait in line for one. No one knows just how much Apple allocated for today's pre-order or whether taking 16 hours to run out of iPhones was a success or not. We will not know just how well the CDMA iPhones are selling until a week or two after.  That is usually when Apple gloats to the public about their numbers. From the survey conducted by uSamp , there is a lot of enthusiasm for the seven-month old iPhone 4  We will not know just what kind of change in the mobile market this will cause until we see the actual lines (if there are any) or the effects ripple effects this has on Apple's competitors.

There, I said it.  Being able to access data while fielding a phone call is a good feature to have but for a vast majority of mobile users, we don't really do that all the time.  As a matter of fact, I cannot remember a time when I've had to do that while using the G1 on T-Mobile.  I think you'd have to think hard to remember having to do that and I'm willing to wager that it isn't often. Nor do I remember a time when I'm on the 2G iPhone telling someone I'll call them back so I can access something via the wireless Internet.  Once again, if this occurs, it's a rare instance. Having said that, there are some heavy users that live on their mobile devices and they probably need to chat and access data at the same time.   This issue is suddenly important once more because the iPhone is now on Verizon's CDMA network which does not allow this ability that the GSM iPhone is capable of on AT&T's network.   The millions of Droid and other Android use...

This is purely fun speculation on my part about Apple, iPad 2, and the possibility of Steve Jobs and friends offer a higher resolution display on the iPad 2. And here’s how. Charge more for it. I am sure the cost will be a lot more than the standard display being used for the iPad. And it probably does not makes business sense to introduce such an expensive display while trying to keep the price of the forthcoming iPad 2 in the same range as the current line of iPads. So, make one model with a retina display or simply higher resolution display. Seriously, there will be a market for this high-end iPad 2. For there rest of the lower end iPad 2 line, Apple can continue to use the same display as current model. I am sure there will still be improvements – like thickness and a more powerful efficient display. And there is precedent for this. Keep in mind that the Macbook Pro displays come in two models. On the 15” model, the standard resolution is 1440 x 900 with an option for a h...

Apple likes to shake things up.  They've done that with Apple II, the Mac, iMac, iPod, iPhone, and the iPad.  They did it with iTunes and the app store.  And now, they're doing it again by enforcing an app store rule that said content that are available for purchase outside the app must also be made available for in-app purchases. The most publicized victim of Apple enforcing this is Sony and it's Reader app.  It was rejected by Apple for not allowing in-app purchases of ebooks. You ask how is this different from what the Kindle and Nook apps already do?  It's not.  And if I know Apple, look for future updates to these two apps and other apps that draw purchased contents into the iOS devices to be rejected wholeheartedly or be resubmitted into the app store with in-app purchases. This shows Apple's growing confidence in its iOS platform.  Going forward, look for Apple to apply this rule to other media as well.  Music, books, video, and even comic ...