AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

Here are some interesting facts about the mobile platforms and what the mobile users of each platform are doing with their smart handset.  The information are provided by Nielsen.  The takeaway for me is that Android users are downloading more music than I expected.  That's pretty awesome given the perception we are given about Apple's iTunes dominance. Android dominates the market at 36% followed by Apple at 26% and Blackberry at 23%.  Looks like the second half of 2011 could be an epic fight for second between the Canadian company and Cupertino.   Android users are wireless Web hogs.  It's not difficult to imagine that since Android has ran up quite a bit of ad impressions during this time.  The average Android users use 90 MB more data than Apple at 582 MB.  Surprisingly, WebOS users are not too far behind at 448 MB versus iOS users at 492 MB. iOS users download quite a bit of music but Android users spend 23% of the bandwidth doing the same th...

I had to go to a few Office Depots and Staples today because I needed to print out a few post sized prints, four feet by seven feet.  Each store had almost different printers.  While there, I had a chance to look at the tablets that each are selling. Let me just stick with Staples.  I saw posters for the Xoom and Playbook.  So I got distracted and decided to find the tablets first.  I had never seen a Playbook before and I was looking forward to it.  Well, I saw it after having to walk through half the store to find it.  It was virtually like that in most stores.  And worse than that, no tablets were working!   Three of the Staples stores had both models.  But in two of the three stores, neither the Xoom or Playbook could be turned on.  I glanced around for help but there was no one interested in helping me.  Typically, at an Apple store, you get one or more of the retail people ask if you need any more within thirty seconds of...

I am back on the iPhone to lock up wireless data plans for which ever carriers I decide to go with. I don't think I'll be going with an Android device ad my next phone anymore. It had become way too complicated a platform to use. And with most carriers grandfathering plans these days, I think it's a good idea for me to lock things in while I can. I am on T-Mobile's 3G plan now. We also have Verizon's unlimited plan. So I guess I am set. Not way I am going with AT&T and Sprint isn't going to alter it's plans any time soon. Should the iPhone come to all the carriers this summer/fall, I would be good to go. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Apple is inviting a lot for foreign journalists to the WWDC in San Francisco beginning on June 7th.  What's interesting is that we've known for months that there will be no new hardware introduction as it has been in previous years.  After all, the World Wide Developer Conference is about developers and software.  So why the hoopla over OS X and preview of the next iOS? Well, it's hard to say.  It is not inconceivable for Apple to trying sneaking an iPhone in there.  But I highly doubt that.  Having just made that point, if Apple is trying to drum up world-wide coverage of the keynote speech (no one knows who's giving it so far), it better be much more than just about the next Mac OS Lion and what's going to be in iOS 5.   And it definitely better not be just an intro with a bunch of demos.  That is not worth a trip across the pond or across the Pacific from Australia.  After all, it's not like they'll be going to LA or NY. This is San Franci...

This is a very interesting day indeed as Microsoft outed the next Windows Phone 7 update.   Multi-tasking and more social friendly features are coming our way.     What's also interesting is that Microsoft confirmed Nokia mobile devices running Mango is in the works.   What this means for the mobile landscape is anyone's guess right now.   It really depends on when Nokia gets their WP7 phones out on the market.   I'm gonna go ahead and say that they will be rushed out on a limited release in Nokia's backyard where home field advantage might still mean something.   If it does come out around the Holidays, it may have to contend with a newly released iPhone (4GS or 5) and whatever else Google has coming with an Android update that features Honeycomb UI.   What I'm interested in seeing if this will reverse Nokia's fortunes and, if so, at Apple or Google's expense. Now, we'll have to see if Microsoft can actually deliver the update on time...

Not going to happen.   There's a rumor that the iPhone 3GS will not run iOS 5.   I think that's false.     If anything, it will not be able to take advantage of all the new features in the next iOS upgrade but it will still be able to run more than a few cool features that are coming our way   If I had to speculate right now, I would have to say any Siri integration may not work for the 3GS because of the higher level of processing power that is required.  Of course, it really depends on Apple how they implement it.  After all, Siri works even now on just fine.      

Finally, I’ve found a way to merge two topics I find a lot of interests in and maybe this will be an awesome click bait. Nah, I’m kidding (but not really). So, I have been reading a lot of posts of late about how the iPad really isn’t cannibalizing PC sales but rather that consumers are holding on to their old PCs older. Hey, that could be what’s happening and it go a long way in explaining why both HP and Dell are both experiencing a slow-down in the consumer PC market. It would definitely explain why Acer’s netbook market collapsed, people simply are very very satisfied with the netbooks. This would go contrary to the earlier reports that the iPad sales, along with other tablets, are hurting netbooks and low-end laptop sales. Here’s where I’m gonna to go “freakanomics” on you. People are definitely holding on to their personal computers, desktop or laptop, longer. And the reason is because many folks have bought a tablet and find that they can do most of what they do on their...

Intimacy.  That is the word that is put to the personal computing experience the iPad has brought to mobile computing and entertainment.  And while the iPad cannot get more intimate than the iPhone since it doesn't fit in the pocket of our jeans, the fact that it can do much more while it sits on your laps. It's on the moment you need it and it can easily take you through a work day or on a flight. I'm not sure that people, even iPad owners realize what's going on.  Their relationship with their iPads is vastly more different than with their laptop or smartphone.   I thought of this while I was looking at the original MacIntosh.  The very first one. The boxy thing with the smallish screen in black and white. Yeah, that one.  It was computing on a vastly different even than the Apple II or the IBM PCs around that time.   The new UI with the mouse as the controller gave users a level of control that was not achievable.  And through the decades after...

MobileMe mail is down for some folks and Apple has acknowledge that.  So far I haven't seen anything worse than the number of refrehses that I have do do on a daily basis.  Still, this can't be a good thing for Apple. There's expectation, rumors about iCloud notwithstanding, that Apple will revamp it's cloud services.   So, this late into the game with WWDC just weeks away does not give me confidence that Apple has its cloud issues licked.   More at Macnn .

Voice is great but even with Android having a huge lead in this department, I still see people hacking away on their Google e-mails or texting rather than speak their messages.  Here's the reason why.  We have not been trained to use voice after decades of trusting the keyboard.  And while iOS app, Apple's Siri, is pretty need, Apple needs not only build voice capabilities into the iOS but give us a reason to use it. Take Ping on the other extreme.  It's okay but we have no reason to use it.  With the rumored voice capability that is forthcoming, I'm sure Apple will vastly improve on Siri.  But will that be enough? I've used Siri to look things up  I've used it to look up definition of words.  I've put Siri in the dock to force myself to use it.  Practice using it so that I'm more comfortable with voice and when the time comes, I'll be able to take advantage of iOS 5's voice abilities.  But that's me. I'm sure you don't go to such ext...

Right now, the iPad 2 is awesome in that it's fast.  Very fast.  But that's limited to some apps and tasks. For the most part, I can't tell the different between playing Angry Birds on the origial iPad versus the iPad 2.  So, the question is if hardware development as advanced far beyond the needs of iOS 4 or even 5? Here's a most that kind of question this issue.   It's worth thinking about some more.  We know that Apple has a way to get us to upgrade by cripple certain features in favor of newer iOS devices over older ones.  Still, a hack here or there via jail-break can usually bring some of these missing features back to the older models. Other than Apple's artificially placed limitations, I don't see anything that iOS 5 can bring that the iPhone 4 cannot handle.  Obviously, we know nothing about iOS 5 yet and my declaration here is premature.  And I certainly hope to be wrong about this. Also, take Nvidia who is readying a four-core Tegra. ...

As tablets goes, it's iPad.  Don't let anyone kid you.  Xoom isn't selling well and the Galaxy Tab might have a market in South Korea where Samsung is headquartered but that's it.  Playbook?  Yeah right. Not even on the market for a month and there's already a recall. However, Apple's tablet dominance could be coming to an end if Amazon and Barnes & Noble can get their tablet plans off the ground. Amazon will soon unveil a new family of Kindle branded products  I reckon there'll be new e-ink readers as well as Amazon's flavor of Android tablets.  BN has done well with Nook Color and we'll see their second generation effort at the end of May.  What makes these two ebook sellers different from the other hardware companies?  And how can they succeed against Apple where other tablet makers have largely fail? Well, the first evidence of this is this. Angry Birds have been downloaded 1 million times on just the Nook Color alone.  And they got ...

A survey took a snap shot of what iPad users are doing on their Apple tablet.  The gist is this:  we consume and consume.  In all likelihood, we have evolved into a different kind of coach potatoes.  A digital or mobile variant of it. The top activity we do on our iPads is surf the Web.  Love Apple or not, Apple had done in incredible job duplicating the desktop browsing experience and ported it over to the mobile experience.  While the native mobile Safari on the iPad lacks some of the bells and whistles of the deskop version, for 90% of what you need to have a seemless Web experience is there.  And before, you get into Flash, ask the Android folks, not devotees (I wouldn't ask you take anything an Apple fanboy say either), and you'll know that Flash isn't quite there yet.  It's not Google's fault.  It's Adobe.   The second thing we do a lot of on our iPads is socialize.  In this day, "socializing" means tweeting, checking or updat...

As you know by now, if you're a Stargate or SG-1, Stargate Universe was wrongfully cancelled after two seasons.  The idiots at MGM not withstanding, I hope it lives on in some form, other media.  Maybe even a TV movie.  However, I'm gonna assume one this.  Had there been a season 3, Eli Wallace, could have received a new iPhone or iPad 2. See, the fictional Department of Homeworld Security could have established another Icarus base.  It potentially would have been a unidirectional trip.  That means the Milky Way could dial the Destiny but not the other way around.  That means at the very least, the Destiny could get supplies. That means Eli could get a new iPhone 4, or iPhone 5.  Heck, the crew could be supplied with tablets of their choice.  iPads, I reckon, will be the choice that many onboard the ship will make.   Anyway, like I said at the top, it's unfortunate that MGM decided to cancel the series and SyFy did not fight harder for t...

We iPad users prefer reading out our LCD screens over print media by a large margin.  Well, that's not exactly right but it's one interpretation.  By that line of logic, that's 94% of us. 52% of us think digital reading is better than print while 42% thinks digital and print media are about the same.  I think this is something that publishers all need to heed.  Textbook as well as book publishers on down to magazine publishers should understand just how quickly their industries are being transformed in a matter of about a year since the iPad came onto the scene. I still have books that I like to buy when I head out to Borders or Barnes and Noble.  I like the feel of having a book in my hand.  Nevertheless, I do a major of my reading on the iPad.  And with an estimated 60 million tablets expected to be sold in 2011, the publishers who have not figured out the revolutionary changes taking place, and that's a lot of them, they need to get their acts toget...

I caught wind of the update that Apple posted for the Apple TV.  Ordinarily, I don't pay too much attention to it unless it about new features.  Bug fixes don't concern me as much.  However, I noticed that you don't need to unplug your Apple TV and plug it into your Mac or PC and update it via iTunes. You can just apply the upgrade directly via WiFi.  So, why can't we do this yet with the iPhone or iPad? Or my iPod touch for that matter? Anyway, hope this feature is coming and soon.  I really don't like to have to wait until I get home just so I can sync my iOS devices first before applying the update.  I reckon the NC data center has a lot of capacity and I hope over-the-air data storage is a part of that.   More at Macworld .

Looks like VISA is taking the initiative and setting up an NFC payment network.  Hey, someone has to and as I've mentioned in the past, it would likely take VISA or Mastercard to get involved to move things along   What is also cool is that VISA should get a lot of banks onboard and has a few tricks up its sleeve that might make it easier for people to trust it.  After all, security and privacy is going to be a big big issue from now on.   What will it potentially involve? Multiple payment systems.  It does not necessarily have to be VISA credit cards. dynamic authentication for security purposes. NFC abilities on credit cards.  It means you don't need a mobile or phone.  This could also mean that any device with NFC capability without phone functions, like iPod touches, can be used to make mobile payments. Services to be available on the fall for the US and Canada - why not Mexico?! Can involve opt-in deals for merchants. Two things I like to add. ...

iWeb has pretty much been written off by many users.  As an iWeb user, who find it limiting but also ease to use as well, i had hoped that Apple would have greatly improved iWeb with a few asked about features that we dreamt about since version one.  Alas, none of that came to pass. I'm not ready to write it off until WWDC, the likely event for Apple to make some splash about MobileMe.  See iWeb is kinda of tied into MobileMe if you want to use the iWeb to publish your own website.  Again, there were a lot of limitations but because of vast potentials, many loyal users stuck with it.  It's typical behavior for Apple and its users.  Apple come out with a new app that shows great promise and users stuck around to see it grow into something special.   I'm touching on this today because I've been using Rapidweaver for another side project of mine and also that Sandvox 2.0 came out today and I figure it's a good opportunity to share what I hope Apple has in...

The question analysts and bloggers ought to be asking when pushing the idea of Apple using its own ARM chip in Macbooks is this:  is the Market ready to move away from Intel and embrace OS X on ARM?  Also, has Apple gained such a sufficient share in the PC market that Windows compatibility is no longer a wanted feature? The speculation that Apple will move to ARM in Macbook started last week and has yet to due. Apparently, there is nothing to talk about until WWDC next month.  So let's speculate further by asking a few other questions concerning this theoretical move. Again, are you ready to buy a Macbook without Intel inside? Will doing this give Apple an advantage over its competitors? Is Windows compatibility no longer a relevant move? Are you fine with good graphics but an overall slower Mac operation - Intel chips will still be much faster than ARM chips in 3 to 4 years.  Keep in mind that having Windows compatibility is a key selling factor for the Intel-based ...

People want the iPhone.  It's why Apple was only recently able to keep up with demand.  And as Apple move away from exclusive deals in more countries and expand carriers, it shows that even the 11 months old iPhone 4 is still able to keep up with the newer (not necessarily better) competitors on the market.  Ask AT&T about Atrix sales and ask T-Mobile with its slew of new Android devices but still managed to lose close to half a million subscribers.   It's not a surprise that we learn the two-year old iPhone 3GS is managing to even outsell the top Android devices. People want the iPhone.  It's a clean mobile experience that is a joy to use.  Still, outside of AT&T, the 3GS continues to elude users on Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile, the other three top US carriers. This provides Apple with an interesting opportunity.  Tim Cook has stated in the past that Apple does not plan on giving up any segment of the market to its competitors.  Nor do I...

I don't work for a company that has a top floor.  We only have one floor but my boss has an iPad.  And more and more, he is realizing the potential of having a light 10-hour mobile device with wireless connection that allows him to work and play no matter where he is in the world.  You could do that with a laptop but when you're the CEO and president of a company, having to start up a laptop with a 3-4 hour battery life just doesn't have the same appeal and ease of use as what the iPad brings to the table. And thought I've already got my own iPad, he is also looking to spread the tablet love to the rest of the company.  We're a small company and that's just us.  Companies many times bigger are virtually doing the same thing.  Hundreds of iPads are being adopted by one company while another with thousands are being deployed.   Whether it's iPads, Xoom or other Android devices, or RIM's Playbook, it's an opportunity for everyone.  And hardware aside...

There's been a rumor going around that Apple will make the switch from Intel's chips in Macbooks and switch over to the ARM architecture by around 2013.  There are a lot of posts on the Web about it.  Some think it'll happen and some think it'll never happen.  I'm in the camp that says "never say never".  However, you have to wonder why would Apple do such a thing? Here begins my speculation and let me say that in no way do I think this will happen.   Arstechnica laid out a good argument that while Apple can make the switch, there is no good reason why it would.  So, in what case would Apple use ARM chips over Intel?   How about this?  The Macbook.  The low-end Macbook.  Apple can begin to use the ARM chip in the Macbook.  One of the selling points about the Intel-based Macs is that they are Windows compatible.  It's less likely that Macbook buyers is likely to use Bootcamp and switch over to Windows.  And let's not forge...

According to EA, it's mobile revenue is $70 million while DS and PSP pulled in $28 million and $16 million respectively.  Not bad right? It's hard to say since the margins can vary.  EA probably makes more from DS and PSP sales considering how much more expensive those games are but it more than makes up for the smaller margins on mobile sales through volume.  All in all, not a bad quarter. Now consider this.  Apple's popular iOS devices, iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, dominates the app store revenue with about 80% of the market.  Taking a bit of a leap and extending that to EA's mobile revenue, Apple's ecosystem could be helping EA generate $56 million of total mobile sales. That means the iOS platform is taking in more sales than DS and Sony combined!   Of course, this is just some fuzzy math I'm throwing out there but I am pretty sure I am not that far off.  Without knowing the margin, we won't know if developing and selling games for the iOS is more...

With the huge iPad 2 launch that began in March and we just finished up April, Apple "only" managed to muster up 82% of market share. Okay, not being sarcastic or nothing like that.  I thought Apple would have wiped the floor with everyone else.  I think there might be two reasons for this.   First, despite what folks think, Apple does face meaningful competition from the rest of the tablet market as a whole.  You add in all those Android devices, Xoom, Galaxy, and other minor players, you can probably come up with 10-15% of the tablet market.  Then on top of that, you've got a few Windows versions that are just basically laptops without the keyboards. Second, Apple was still running into supply issues.  I've had to wait 10 days for our latest 3G iPad.   So, 82%?  Pretty good but I think Apple could have done better if supply issues did not come into play.  Love to see what May looks like and when Playbook from RIM has had more time on the ma...

I think when my T-Mobile contract ends at the end of May, I'm gonna fight really really hard not to get the white iPhone from Verizon. It's gonna be hard. In trying to help my retired dad and his wife save money, I've decided to take on their mobile bill. However, I am forced to go with Verizon because both ATT and T-Mobile have horrible coverage where they live. Still, I've got a couple of weeks left. I might even be able to hang through June. I figure I've got a month until we hear something more definitive on what Apple has planned. It is beginning to look more and more like there will not be an iPhone until later in the summer or early fall. Now, there are smart folks over at Apple running the company. I'm not talking just about Steve Jobs and the top echelon of the executive team but the folks who are forecasting sales. Obviously, Apple is continue to do well with the iPhone 4 and it doesn't appear they will be in a hurry to rush out the ne...

According to a healthcare survey, 75% of physicians owns an iOS device, iPhone, iPad, or even an iPod.   30% Of docs own an iPad.  I reckon this number will be higher soon enough. Brilliant and amazing.  In the past, a patient would look at the doctor's diploma to rate his or her qualification.  Pretty soon, we're gonna want to know if they use an iOS device.  After all, how can anyone trust the man or woman with his or her welfare if they don't use an iPhone or iPad? More at MacDailyNews

It was Sunday when the Americans and much of the Western Hemisphere learned about Osama Bin Laden getting what he deserved.  This is one of those events in our lives that we will always remember where you were when you found out.  I was at home when I started up the browser and shocked to read about it.  This was a day that many of us would not think we'll see.  At least, now that I've read up on how the special op went down, not in the way that was so dramatic.   Like I said, I was at home but it was earlier when my AP app on the iPod touch informed me that the President will be making an address.  This was around 1900 PST.  Yeah, President Obama wanted to talk to Americans on a Sunday night.  This could not be good. When I got the notification, I was in my drive way on the way to go get dinner.  I immediately went back into the house to grab my mobile hotspot just in case I needed to read up on what's going on.   Went to the supermarke...