AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

I'm pro-biz.  Rather I'm pro-competition.  Merger are good if they create value for the market, meaning us the consumer.  However, AT&T and T-Mobile merger never made sense for me from the start.  It's why I support DOJ's lawsuit against the merger.  And This Mercury News article is one of the better articles on this matter. Bottom line:   Eliminate choices. Proposed economic benefits is uncertainty. Using jobs as reason for merger but vague on how much it'll lay off due to duplications. T-Mobile prides itself on offering value.  Without a competitior with 33-million users, AT&T and others have no reason to compete on value. There are cheaper ways for AT&T to build out its network without buying T-Mobile. AT&T has already said it'll spend less than $4 billion to expand coverage from 80% to 97% of US population, much less than the $39 billion cost of the merger. Take all that together, you come to one conclusion:  the merger is abou...

Apple is no doubt an innovator.  And this next example shows just how far ahead it is thinking about the whole mobile system beyond what its competitors are doing. Just after a patent application by Apple was published last week regarding diagnostic tools that could remotely fix a device, we’ve read today that such tools already exist and is probably in use in limited capacity if not wide-spread.

No.  Your eyes have no deceived you.  Apple has indeed lost another iPhone, an unreleased prototype. And what makes this that much more bizarre is that it also happened in a bar. I've gotta say.  I don't know why people need to drink to unwind or have fun but I get whoever lost it probably was drunk and I hope he or she loses the job over this.   According to CNet , this happened in late July in SF.  It doesn't sound like Apple has recovered the device.  More to the story if you click over... Sigh...

Via Cult of Mac , they pointed out that Apple might have a new iPhone 5 design for us. Through the upcoming Photostream app, an icon showed an iPhone with a bigger screen and a home button with a different shape. Okay, I'm pretty excited by this...

According to Cult of Mac , Sprint is increasing the early termination fee to $350, in line with its competitiors AT&T and Verizon Wireless.   I figure this was coming with the next iPhone and the Galaxy S II due to hit within weeks of each other.  Android dominates Sprint's landscape so it'll be hard to figure if Sprint is doing this because of Apple or Samsung's device.   Bottom line is that it sucks but that's how we roll here in in the US.

The next mobile evolution is not going to be coming out as a new gadget.  It should be about green components.  Like chips, CPU, and screens. Today, a bunch of Chinese environmental groups unfairly accused Apple of poisoning China.  Ah, guys...look to Beijing.  The Chinese government is okay with it.  I don't agree with them but that's how their government guys do business there.  However, I am glad they brought up the issue.  It's how it was brought it up that I have an issue with. This has been an on-going issue since the industrial revolution.  And now, I think tech giants, car companies, and others should invest their billions in trying to develop green manufacturing process and green components that do no harm its customers or the environment.   And I know with certainty that it can be done.  It'll take money, research, and the will to make it happen. In science, nothing is impossible.  Coming from someone who has a science bac...

Just in a bit ago.  On Anti-competitive grounds, the US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit to stop the merger between AT&T and T-Mobile.   Whether AT&T saw this coming or not is something we will know in the coming hours.  Probably days.  Folks will be coming out to talk about this.  You know, people with "special knowledge" of AT&T's thinking.   This is probably going to make AT&T give up a lot of stuff.  But I hope the US gov is serious about this.  AT&T has not provided sufficient reasons why it needs T-Mobile.  In fact, a leak memo showed that it needs far less spectrum and resources to build out this LTE network.   This is a great way to start off the morning. Source:   CNBC .  

Google is offering service men and women free calls home when they use the calling function in Gmail. You have to provide your military e-mail address to your Google account.  Install the plug-in and you're done.  Call home any time.  For free. I think this is a great service that Google is offer.  Provide it does something extra more special for the troops.  Don't sell their info to the highest bidder.  Seriously, you gotta protect their privacy.  By linking their military e-mail to their gmail account, Google basically know who has served the country. And should their accounts be hacked ,well, you have to protect them.  I know Google is doing a great service to the country by providing this free calling.  I want to believe this is the good, do-no-evil side of Google.  But sometimes, the "anything goes, no privacy, get a second-identity" Google will pop up and mess things up. Source:   Google . Note:  A close family member was...

Alright, let's start this all over again.   iTunes Match does streaming your music library to your iOS device.  Earlier posts of mine suggested otherwise.  A good samaritan on Twitter pointed me to this MacTrast link.  I'm gonna make you go over and check it out.  They've got a youtube video showing it working. This information is also confirmed on Macrumors.   It all comes down to semantics I guess as far as how Apple wants to definite "streaming".  It's like wireless carrier's definition of "unlimited" or Google's definition of "open"

According to Appleinsider, Apple has acquired the license to stream music but chose not to because it fears that the wireless networks would not be able to handle the load.  And given Apple's experience with AT&T, who would blame Apple. This is how Apple works and why it'll always have its core fanboys – and by most reckoning, it is a bigger number than ever before.  While other companies don't have this problem about preserving quality for its customers, Apple would rather forgo the revenues if a service doesn't provide a certain level of quality.  Personally, I'm pretty easy to satisfy.  I've tried Rdio and it seems fine to me.   And I rather own my music than "rent".  I think a lot of people share this opinion  Now, when it comes to video, that's a different story.  I have both Netflix and Hulu Plus.  So, Apple, if you want to offer a video streaming service with a big library, I'm ready to sign up. Source:   Appleinsider .

Suddenly, there are a lot of posts about iTunes Match.  It's Apple's service that matches the music you have on your local drive and provides you with those from its own library.  And the music that Apple doesn't have, well, it'll up load them so you can download them to your other devices when you want. However, iTunes Match doesn't provide streaming.  However, we already knew that.  So I don't get why suddenly, people became confused all of a sudden.  I know, I know...it's how folks try to generate traffic for blogs.  I've been guilty of this. I admit but not with stuff we already know. So, let me clear things up once and for all:  Apple doesn't do streaming.  Period.   Someday?  Maybe.  Maybe video too.  Someday.  But not today.

If you want an iPad, get them when they're in stock.  Apple still run out of certain models from time to time.  The demand has just been crazy.   And now, it looks like iPad sales will accelerate simply because there isn't no alternative at the moment with the strength of the hardware, software, and the whole ecosystem.   Honeycomb tablets like Samsung's Tab is very good but it lacks the backing and mind share of the average consumer.  HP's Touchpad is selling out because of a $400 price drop down to $99.   A lot is counting on Amazon to stop Apple or at least slow down the iPad.   The bottom line is this:  the iPad works.  It simply does.  And its has a lot of apps to go along with it.  And unless someone can some around and provide the same experience, Apple's iPad will continue to flourish, whether there is competition or not. Furthermore, don't hold your breath for an iPad.  I've said this before.  Apple is just keepin...

Okay, something isn't quite right at HP.  In spinning off the PC division 12 to 18 months from now, they now believe Web OS will also be a part of those plans, which includes Web OS hardware like the Touchpads.  However, I get the feeling they're not talking about the same Touchpads we are. See, the Touchpad went on sale about two months ago and performed poorly.  So bad in fact, that HP lowered the price for the 16 GB model from $500 to $400 and eventually gave up and started a fire sale at $100. And at $100, even I wanted one. But I get the feeling the delusional HP guys are thinking "wow, they're popular all of a sudden".  Ah, guys.  they're popular because they are at $99.  Granted, they're also good first tablets.  But raise the price back up to $500 and you'll see interests in them go away. I want Web OS to be a viable mobile platform.  But in HP's inept hands, it'll never have a chance.  And given their plans not to sell off Web OS sep...

I spent the weekend basically out of the house because of the heat in Los Angeles.  I know it’s nothing like what my mobile warrior readers on the east coast went through with Irene.  I’m glad it’s mostly over but you guys still need to be careful about the flooding. Anyway, I left earning morning on Saturday because I had an appt with City of Hope so they can milk my platelets.  I took my iPad.  It was the beginning of my mobile weekend. How did the devices hold up?

I've said in the past that I don't like rumors but my own speculations seem to conform with the latest chatters on the Internet.  And I've concluded it's safe to say that certain Apple products are on the way.  It is a matter of when, not if. First, there are now while iPod touch parts in circulation.  And it seem like the new iPod touch, will sport pretty much the same design.  However, there is one difference.  We could see white iPod touch this time around. I recently cracked the screen on my iPod touch so I reckon I'm in the market for a new one.  However, I have to wonder what the specs will be.  I'm looking for better battery life above all else.  Consider just how think the touches are.  Oh, Apple, if you make one as think as the iPhone but add all the extra space with battery...I know that's wishful think. As for other specs, Appleinsider has pointed out something important.  Supplies of iOS devices are still in great dema...

Is there really a need for cable or satellite TV any longer? No. And old TV is preventing users from embracing the future as it is meant to be. Right now, TV and studio producers and execs are very afraid of the future. Mobile, particular iPhones, iPads, and the half a million Android daily activations are putting their old business model into disarray. They're holding onto to it with their dear life but they should. In fact, they should embrace the new mobile reality and slowly get themselves ready go move away from the old ways. There really is no need to be afraid of Apple or Google at all. Already, some cable companies realize this and have apps that allow current cable subscribers to view certain channels on their mobile devices. CNN is allowing cable users to watch live broadcast on their tablets. In 2012, we'll see more of these kinds of moves go embrace mobile. More and more of these artificial barriers to watching live broadcast on mobile fall away. Furthermore, new t...

Of the two upcoming Sony devices, I am most excited about the dual 5.5 in screen clamshell device. Before we go on, let's not call this a tablet. Honestly, I don't know that to call it. Courtesy of Engadget, we know the official name is now Sony Tablet P. It'll sport a Tegra 2 chip, 4 GB with a 2 GB memory card, and weigh in at 190 grams versus the iPad 2 at 601 grams, the Sony Tablet S at 600 grams, and the Xoom at 730 grams. A couple of things about this.

Okay, folks. Mac users may not have viruses to worry about much but they have to content with phishing scams. There is one going around that is telling MobileMe users that they can upgrade to iCloud. It looks legit but it ain't from Apple. After clicking through the link in the email, it takes you to a site that looks like Apple's own.

I have the iPad 2 doing the computing duties for the day. The MacBook Air is at home charging and being backed up via Time Machine. However, this isn't the first time where my iPad has taken the place of my laptop. As you might recall, I spent a lot of time with the iPad on the move with the late-2007 unibody MacBook at home. The reason is simple.

So now that Steve isn't CEO anymore, you have to ask this question: who gets his Gulfstream? I figure that 60-hour old CEO Tim Cook probably gets the ride.

As you may well know by now, the ill-advised 99-cent scheme that Apple created from about a year ago is now gone.  Good thing too.  I've never rented a show.  It doesn't make a whole lot of sense. People either want to watch their TV shows for free or to buy the whole collection for a set price. So, what's next?  This is like red meat for me since I love speculating about this.  And with the next Apple even less than a month away, one such as myself can only hope that something else has been in the works to replace this. Subscription video like Hulu or Netflix?

9to5Mac had a good post show excerpts of an interview with former founders of Apple, Steve Wozniak and Ron Wayne. At the end of the post, I wonder what Woz meant at the end about e-mailing Steve to get a product back.   Plus, I wonder if Woz will get more involved at Apple.  I know his philosophy today doesn't quite jive with the larger Apple vision but he could still be an important part.  Morale-wise, he could be a difference.  

I love the Triumph but I returned it for personal reasons.  I've got got my other mobile devices running at top efficiency.  My Android stuff, iOS stuff, and my laptops.  So I need to upgrade to anything at all for another year? That was what I proposed in my theoretical post a couple of days ago.  And in a series, I'm gonna get more specific about apps, form factors, and, my favorite subject, battery life. Let's start this post off with battery life.

For some reason, people are speculating that without Steve Jobs at the helm, Apple will suddenly start making deals and spending its cash.  Wait, what? Now, I am about big deals as much as the next guy, whether it makes sense or not just because it gives us something to yap about.  Google buying Motorola Mobility or something like that.  :But ultimately, we want that deal to make sense.  So, it's not going to happen just because Tim Cook is there in the CEO's office.   It isn't as if Tim Cook was just brought on board like yesterday.  He was there for years with Apple and his loyalty to it and the vision that he helped created with Steve Jobs isn't just going to get thrown out the windows in weeks or months.   But if Apple wanted to deal, who do you think they should go after?  What kind of tech do they need?  How would it help with their whole mobile vision?

I don't know if there is much more for me to say other than to watch this video.  It's Airplay mirroring in the forth coming iOS 5. What you'll see is whatever shows up on the iPad is displayed on the TV via the Apple TV module. Whatever you want to do with it, it works.  Presentation?  Sure.  Watching videos?  Definitely.  Gaming? Of course. This folks, is the future of the gaming console and set-top box all in one. I can't wait until I get my ones on it.

Voice is about to be the next killer app. And I know Android users have had better voice command features than on another mobile platforms. While they're nice to have, they're not nothing like the computer on "Star Trek". But that could be about to change.  According to Minyaville, search shows that voice on Google's Android has yielded some promising new features in the future. Meanwhile, Apple bought Siri last year, an intelligent app that allows users to speak into the app to get results back. Here is a infographics from Medical Transcription that shows us just how all this will happen.

According to Electronista, Microsoft has something really sweet here.  It's a four-core tablet running Windows 8.  I suppose it makes sense to try to leap ahead or at least keep up with the next generation Android tablet.  and iPad next year. It's likely using Tegra 3 from Nvidia that is slated for release later this year.  And with Windows 8 tablets going to be big at CES in January of 2012, Redmond might as well use the latest and greatest.  But actual release is not going to happen until spring of 2012. This gives Android and the iPad a lot of time to further entrench the tablet market.

If you've got an iPad, you simply must go and download Flipboard now. Essentially, it's an app that works the way you expect content to be displayed on a tablet. I cannot imagine anyone else coming up with anything more novel than Flipboard. And now, we learn that FB will soon feature videos and movies. According to Electronista , we should see this happen by the end of the year. Furthermore, there will be an iPhone and iPod touch version coming in weeks. Right now, I use Pulse and I find it very useful but it is very different from Flipboard. Also, it sounds as though FB wants to be the next digital store the way Barnes and Noble is now as a brick-and-mortar as it hopes to eventually sell books. Seriously, you have to download this for your iPad or your iPhone when it's available in a few weeks. Source: Reuters . - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

There isn't a whole lot of news out there today other than Steve Jobs this or Steve Jobs that.  I suppose the biggest news is that Steve's new authorized biography will be edited to add a section regarding his resignation. Rumors, news, and just about everything seemed to have trickled to a slow drip when it concerns Apple.  And typically, Thursday are already slow news days to start.  But there are a few interesting news if you're an Apple fan. Steve Jobs went to work at Apple yesterday and put in a full day. ( Appleinsider ) Steve Jobs will still have people to yell at; he'll continue working on future projects.  ( TUAW ) Tim Cook write an e-mail to Apple employees and promised more of the same.  And for all those folks who claim that CEO Cook will mean a nicer Apple, you can forget about it.  It's full speed ahead on the innovation front and the patent war as well. (German court affirm Galaxy Tab ban in Europe). And Tim Cook has already sho...

According to the Silcon Alley Insider (via WSJ), Verizon is not going to carry the Galaxy S II?  WTF, right?  However, Samsung's best selling Android flagship phone will appear on the other three major US networks this fall. The reason?  It's hard to say.  I'm guess the two companies could not come to some sort of financial terms.  And with the iPhone 5 launch coming around the same time, Verizon probably used it as leverage which Samsung did not take too kindly too.   It's going to be awesome seeing the iPhone 5 go head-to-head with Android's premiere device.  Samsung has already sold millions of these in Asia and Europe and it'll find a huge market here as well. It's too bad.  it would be nice to see the two giants fight it out of all four networks at the same time.  However, while it's been confirmed that the iPhone will start available to Sprint's customers this October, the rumors about T-Mobile also getting the iPhone are still just tha...

Very powerful... Source: BI .

For those of you with Playbooks and Touchpads that do no have a whole lot of native app support, you could be accidental pioneers of a new kind of mobile experience.  Web only.  That is you get all of your experience through the browser. Well, you typify what the future could be headed.

Sonic CD is coming to iOS, Android, and WP7.  What more is there to say? I think we'll see more of these older video game properties make their way onto today's mobile platforms.  And these mobile phones are tomorrow's console.  Makes sense for studios to leverage all those games. Lots of money in it.  Lots of great memories too. Source:   Pocketgamer .

I don't know where analysts get their information but they are worse and worse each year.  Apple has essentially locked down information in Steve Jobs' era at Apple and Tim Cook isn't likely to relax that policy any time soon. However, this post from 9to5Mac suggests that with Tim Cook at the helm, Apple would suddenly abandon years of behavior and work.  For instance, it suggests that Cook would try to come to an understanding with its Android foes. Apple's products are unique in their designs and how they work.  It's why you probably have an iOS device or a Macbook instead of a Blackberry, Android tablet, or a Windows laptop.  To give that unique away in any sense would dilute whatever makes Apple so special. Not gonna happen.  Apple will keep the pressure on its competitors through protection of its intellectual properties and innovation. Source:   9to5Mac .

During Tuesday's 5.8-magnititude earthquake, the wireless networks failed our nation's capital at a time when they were most needed to be working.  DC citizens were unable to reach 911.  Worry though, no?  We are more than ten years from September 11th and technology has improved dramatically in those years. What is going on? In a bigger national emergency, well, this could get really ugly fast. More at  Greenjava .

I love mobile tech but I’m also suffering a bit of mobile fatigue.  Technology is moving pretty fast and, as a mobile warrior, I am loving it.  As a human being, I can use a break.  Appreciate what I've got.  Here’s how the rest of this post goes. I’m writing a book.  Well, an online novel really.  It’s for children.  And I was thinking of a scenario and one thing led to another while I was watching 28 Days Later, and then it hit me. What if for some reason, all the ships and the planes in the world had to stop and there are no new gears being shipped?   Maybe it’s a zombie infestation that resulted in a continent sized quarantine, a primate revolution that resulted in the apes taking all the new iPhones for themselves, or alien invasion that destroyed all the new hardware because they're afraid we'll upload a virus onto their mother ships and crash them simultaneously. Or maybe one day, we ran of out those rare earth elements that...

For those of us who have watched Steve Jobs year after year, keynote after keynote, this is going to be such a weird feeling if we don't see him make at least a cameo on stage of whenever Apple's next event is going to be.  Presumably, that will be the unveiling of the next iPhone. On top of that, there is a feeling of sadness.  The child in me worries about the future, Steve's health, etc.  But the adult in me knows that Apple has the whole mobile market licked.  It's got products in the works years out.  Tim Cook has been running Apple since Steve Jobs went on his second medical leave. So, here's the bottom line.  Apple had a succession plan for the CEO.  It also means that Apple has a long-term plan for the mobile market as envisioned by Steve Jobs which will dish out a world of hurt for its competitors for many, many years. Patent wars will continue.  Apple wants its patents unique to its products and services. iPhone 5 will be out in a matter...

Apple's Board of Directors today announced that Steve Jobs has resigned as Chief Executive Officer, and the Board has named Tim Cook, previously Apple's Chief Operating Officer, as the company's new CEO. Jobs has been elected Chairman of the Board and Cook will join the Board, effective immediately. "Steve has made countless contributions to Apple's success, and he has attracted and inspired Apple's immensely creative employees and world class executive team. In his new role as Chairman of the Board, Steve will continue to serve Apple with his unique insights, creativity and inspiration." "Steve's extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world's most innovative and valuable technology company," said Art Levinson, Chairman of Genentech, on behalf of Apple's Board. "Steve has made countless contributions to Apple's success, and he has attracted and inspired Apple's immensely creat...

To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community: I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come. I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee. As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple. I believe Apple's brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role. I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you. Steve Source:   WSJ .

This just came to me via CNBC....

The tablet market is predominantly iPad.  That's it.  Some might be as far as to call it the iPad market because there really isn't a tablet market at this time.  Nevertheless, there could be a time when Apple and its fans will have to live with the fact that the iPad has to share the market with other devices running on Android, Windows, or Web OS. And pricing is going to be a big big factor in just how Apple can retain its dominant share in the tablet market.  And you can get that Apple isn't willing to cede it to anyone else.   This is why despite Steve Jobs say that there won't be an iPad with a  smaller than 10" screen, it is a given that Apple will have to release an iPod touch with a bigger screen.   7" tablets running on Honeycomb as on their way here.  And they can cost from $250 to $350.  It's likely that Apple can lower the iPad price down to $400 some day but the $300-$350 price range will be all Android or possibly Win...

Samsung has publicly declared itself out of the running for HP's business. And it's a very smart move.  It also puts an exclamation point on the state of the PC market.  What that statement is, that's for you to decide. Samsung has found great success in the Android realm with the popular Galaxy S.  However, just today, a Dutch court ruled Samsung violated some Apple patents and will result in the banning of Galaxy phones in Europe.  Ban or otherwise, the handset business is obviously more profitable and has a higher margin than the PC business for the giant Korean tech company. However, I'm Sammie made an inquiry or two regarding the future of Web OS.  Samsung has shown interest in licensing Web OS.  Perhaps, it might be interested in buying it from HP.

This is very spotty at this time but a MacTrast, a site that seems to be on a roll of late, is saying that the next iPhone will also be made available for T-Mobile and can run on its 3G network. While yesterday's report regarding Sprint getting the iPhone omitted this, it stands to reason that Apple will try to make its iPhones to run on as many networks as possible. Too bad it's too late for some folks.  I've already gone to Verizon and hopefully, I'll be able to grandfather in my unlimited data plan with a LTE iPhone in the future. Personally, I would like to see Apple make the iPhone 5 available to the pre-paid market as well in addition to the lower end iPhone 4 that will be out in a few weeks. Source:   Cult of Mac via MacTrast .

Apple got Samsung's Galaxy S II banned in Europe.  A Dutch court ruled Samsung violated three of Apple's patents.  It will go into effect in the middle of October.  We should see what this means for the mobile landscape in the coming weeks.   According to Apple's attorneys in the past, they have tried to talk to Samsung about this but were rebuffed.  However you have to really understand that Apple isn't suing Android makers for royalty payments.  It's suing them because it wants unique mobile experience exclusive only to its iPhone and iPad. I'm sure this isn't over.   The current ban is actually Europe wide but there are legal rooms for Samsung to maneuver.  The issue, however, goes beyond Samsung and strikes at Android itself.  This gives Apple a very big club to go after other Android device makers selling in Europe.  All the other blogs seem narrowly focused on the Galaxy devices.  They're wrong. It'll be interesting to see jus...

You've got a Macbook?  Maybe you do but you like to upgrade?  Or trying to convert someone over to the Apple's side of mobile computing?  Or trying to get one for work? eWeek, via MacDailyNews, has some compelling reasons why people should be buying Macbooks. I couldn't put it better myself.  I'll let you chick through to read it but personally, I like the security, the heart and soul Apple poured into making my Macbook Air, long battery life, and the elegance of the OS X. On top of that and it's not just me but others as well, many feel they're more creative and productive when they're using their Macs.  I certainly don't feel that way with my Dell.  Forget about Steve Jobs' reality distortion field.  Apple products just seem project their own creativity field for the users. What's your excuse for wanting or getting a Macbook? Source:   Macdailynews , eWeek .

Earlier, we shared with you s Reuters report that has some "exclusive" information on the next iPhones.  Plural. One will be an eight GB iPhone 4 and another will be the higher end model. Thestreet.com reports that it means its a free iPhone.  Well, maybe but probably not.  Keep in mind that Apple and AT&T typically offers a lower end iPhone.  Currently, it's the iPhone 3GS.  and the year before that it was the iPhone 3G. So, this newer model iPhone 4 with less storage falls in line with that kind of thinking.  There is absolutely no proof that Apple will price it low enough that carriers can subsidize the whole device and make it free. There is one possibility.  If this newer iPhone 4 can be sold around $400, then that could happen.  Remember that Apple will be going after the post-paid market as well.  A $400 iPhone could be just what is needed but it is still pretty expensive compared to the Android devices that cost $200 to $3...

Did you manage to buy a Touchpad for $99?  If you did, I truly envy you.  I really do.  It says quite a bit about you.  Okay, you're smart.  Brilliant, really. I'm sure the mobile device makers already know that.  Some bloggers do too but most generally assume that you aren't too savy when it comes to tech. And the fire sale of the Touchpad provided two very valuable lessons for those who would try to convince to buy their tablet.  For some like RIM and Motorola, it could already be too late with their current offerings.  They'll make another effort.  But for some just getting ready, like Amazon, learn from this.

According to WSJ, the iPhone will be coming to Sprint this fall, the third major US wireless network to join AT&T and Verizon. For years, AT&T was the exclusive iPhone carrier until Verizon Wireless offered the CDMA version of the iPhone 4 this Feburary.  Sprint will begin to offer the iPhone 5 in mid-October.  The article also suggests that the iPhone will not be offered at the same time as AT&T and Verizon.  Weird, no? Also, it said that Sprint should get the iPhone 4 along with the next iPhone, presumably the iPhone 5.  No word on T-Mobile's chances.   Source:   Macrumors via WSJ .

We knew that the iPhone and iPad are very popular devices and generally sell out for weeks or months. That’s what we are used to.  But a special model of Macbook selling out? That’s really something special. The 13” Macbook Air is difficult to find at resellers.  And the situation has gotten so bad that some retailers have added a premium on top of the retail price. However, Apple seems to be okay with as far as their own supplies are concerned.  I am not surprised by this.  A company favoring its own retail chains?  Shocker. No matter how you see it, it’s fantastic news for Apple and Mac fans. Source:   TUAW .

Apple will release two models of iPhones.  Reuters along with other news organizations have been getting into the Apple product speculation game, WSJ, Fox, Associated Press, and it looks like they just might have something more meaty than we can expect from a news organization. Obviously, we need to take them with a grain of salt until Apple does what it does and we find out if Reuters is correct. The gist is that Apple will release two models of iPhones.

According to MacNN, an iPhone with both CDMA and GSM modes have been detected.  According the original link, Techcrunch, an iPhone was det ected using both AT&T and Verizon networks.  However, this isn't surprising given the rumors for months that the next iPhone will be able to work on both more networks using one iPhone model - both GSM and CDMA. Although that was expected, it seems a bit late in the cycle for just such an iPhone to appear.  Considering, this should be have seen a while back. However, such an iPhone does mean that it will most certainly not support LTE.  You can't have it both way, apparently. Source:   Techcrunch via MacNN .

Lion has blurred the line a bit between the iPad and the Macs.  And judging by the news via Macdailynews that the Mac sales continue to rocket, Apple's OS X changes may be a hit. First, Apple's mobile strategy is a bunch of moving pieces.  It's complication and Apple's ability to wield it so effortlessly is probably why PC guys are very afraid of where things are going. So, 6.5X Mac growth over PC growth can be very scary.  And while the iPad cannot replace a laptop yet, it is cannibalizing netbook sales.  And aren't netbooks just smaller and underpowered PC laptops?

Apple has no Mac for sale below the $999 price.  Previously, it was the white polycarbonate Macbook and now it's the 11.6" Macbook Air.  And during the short lived era of the netbooks, analysts and a few a pundits argued that Apple has to sell some netbook like device below the $999 price.  Apple responded that they could not make a $500 laptop that was no a piece of junk. That was a couple of years ago. Fast forward to today.  the iPad and other Android tablets like the Xoom and Galaxy Tab start around $500 when they went on sale.  However, as Apple went from the iPad to iPad 2, some tablets have begun to be priced lower.  Let's forget about the Touchpad.  Xoom (currently $489 at Buy.com ) is sometimes be yours for $400.  The Asus Transformer is consistently at $386 at Buy.com and had gone down to around $350 at times. I also figure that by Black Friday, many tablets could drop as low as $300 on a consistent basis - especially as competition amo...

I like it.  I like it a lot.  It looks like after Amazon registered the domain names for kindlescribe.com and Kindlesribes.com, we can expect Amazon to called its Kindle tablet "Kindle Scribe".   I highly doubt that it could be for anything else.  Now, it is entirely possible that this could be a touch-based e-ink Kindle.   If this is happening now, we could be weeks away from an unveiling.  Just a couple of months before the iPad was introduced, there was a couple of URLs that Apple bought (admittedly, turned out to be nothing).   This is very exciting.  Amazon is looking to duplicate Apple's ecosystem with its own assortment of media stores.  It's got books, muisc, and video.  Now, all Amazon needs is an Android-based tablet.  The Kindle Scribe is a rather handsome and respectable name Source: Phandroid , Fusible .

First, there was the pick of the week song on iTunes that you can redeem when you visit Starbucks.  I like to think it was a success and now it looks like Apple and Starbucks are working closer together for other give-aways. Now, we can expect iBooks, TV shows, and even iOS apps that are given away on a regular basis. I find this kind of symbiotic relationship among vastly different companies (maybe not their philosophies) that can come together and make some magic. But if you consider just how deeply in tuned both companies are in mobile, you cannot help but not be surprised.  Maybe Apple should so something and forge an even closer relationship with something like the iPod touch or the iPad.  Go to any Starbucks and you'll find it difficult to not see an iOS device or a Macbook at the coffee tables.  In some areas, they outnumber even PCs. This has the feeling of something that Starbucks pursued and Apple quickly see value in this.  You want to drive traffic a...

Here's a must read post on why Apple added Twitter into iOS 5.  Apple really really thinks Mark Zuckerberg is a major (you fill in the blank but must be something negative).   With the rise of Google+ and the threat it possess, I wonder if Facebook will mellow out a bit and try to try to work with other companies like Apple.  Yes, I did purposely write "try to try".  Google will stop at nothing to come after Facebook.  And by working with another successful company with a strong mobile following like Apple, it provides an insurance policy of sort.  Facebook will stumble and fall.  At least by working with the likes of Apple, Facebook at least has some real friends.   Or at the very least, not make an enemy of a company that has a very vindictive CEO. The implications of the previous Apple-Facebook over iTunes user data has left Apple's Ping without a link to the outside world.  With Twitter, things will change for iOS mobile warriors. There a...

Huffintgon Post has listed 7 innovations that are driving education right now in school. I'll let you guess what they are since they're mostly what we talk about here. Yup, mobile tech and social media.  They mentioned iPads and smartphones but they could have just as easily replace "iPad" with "tablets" to be more politically correct. Smartphones definitely should have a place in the market as well.  Consider the Atrix from Motorola.  Instead of a backpack, students can carry their smartphones to school.  Then dock the device into a station at school and you're off learning new stuff.  Then take that smartphone home and dock it into your station at home and you're off doing your homework. I'll let you click through to see what else they think are driving learning in schools today.  I can say I agree with one in particular. Here is what I want now. To be able to go back to school now.  What a time it'll be to be learning with these tech and ...

Is this the start of another mobile arms race? CNet reports that Skype bought mobile messaging service GroupMe for an undisclosed amount. And by default, it is Microsoft that bought GroupMe since Microsoft bought Skype earlier in the year for $8.5 billion. Is this possible we are at the start of another arms race and this time the weapon of choice is SMS like messaging services that will eventually spell the doom of the era of mobile providers gauging its users for texting plans that require little to no bandwidth. I have to say messaging would not be my choice of service if I want to arm my company's mobile services. Honestly, I think location-based services like check-in companies Foursquare or Gowalla offers more opportunities for commercialization than group messaging. Facebook already made their move with Beluga. Apple already has iMessage that will be forthcoming with its next iOS update. Google has, well, a bunch of homegrown services at its disposal. Gtalk and elements o...

According to All Things Digital (via Gizmodo), Todd Bradley, head of personal systems group at HP and Jon Rubinstein of Palm were not informed of HP's decision to gut Web OS until the Sunfay before HP made its announcement to that effect and looking at options to spin off the PC arm of the company, which has been seen as a drag on the company as a whole. ATD's post gave a good examination of what questions remain and what options are there foe the men who were tasked to lead the assault on the mobile market on HP's behalf. This is important as it could determine the fate of Web OS and who will end up owning it and the patents HP now possesses through last year's $1.2 billion Palm buyout. HP will have to determine if it'll get more out of Web OS if it leverages the OS and the mobile patents as a separate entity either through a licensing agreement or a Nortel like auction that may or may not include the talents that created them. Or it could bundle Web OS as a part ...

In thinking about mobile and how we are always so engaged with our phones and looking down on them instead of looking up and around our environment. So I started to wonder about this and the next mobile revolution. Could the next leap in mobile be about taking mobile experience to the next level. Allowing us to not miss life while still being kept up to date on out social media updates, news, and other mobile computing tasks that some in our society are labeling as distractions. This is what is going on now. You see lots of folks, especially kids, who almost text continuously a few years ago, now migrating to busily updating Their Facebook and Twitter feeds, or getting updates from friends and families. Consider waiting in line for rides at amusement parks like Disneyland. In the past, kids and their parents has to wait patiently in line. Even among friends. They are forced to chat, take in the sights, or simply complain about the 90 min or so wait. Today, kids are immersed in their ha...

Do games help change our behaviors in real life? There are a lot of debates about that. They are ongoing and subjective to interpretation based on one's philosophy on the matter. But I believe green games can help in ways children's games help teach certain learning skills. Take for instance the games mentioned in this Sci Tech Today post . They teach about recycling, saving mythical whales, learning about a delta ecosystem, or knowing what to price to set at a yard sale based on what can be reused. Those kinds of games are valuable to teach aspects of conservation and what is involved in green living. Fate of the World puts the player in charge of a full city dealing with 200 years of near real world scenarios of population growth, food management, and other socioeconomic issues. Okay the last game might be a bit far fetched but nonetheless brings attention to problems we deal with outside of the confines of a virtual earth. All of these are excellent topics for gaming develo...

Privacy is a big big deal for me.  It's why I detest Facebook and I have virtually stopped using it and why I am hoping Google+ will act as a good counterweight.  So, when I read that Apple has removed the unique device identifier (UDID), I initially did not pay much attention to it until I realized that this could be a preemptive move to protect user privacy.  At worse, give Apple an advantage over other networks and developer. So, what is this UDID, what is used for, and why did Apple remove access to it?  Privacy concerns, to gain an unfair advantage over others on the iOS devices, or both.

All along, I believed that Apple will not release another iPad this year.  Certainly, not another 10" iPad, as some would call it, iPad 3.  However, I still do hope out hope for a larger screened iPod touch. Why am so sure?  iPad 2.  And iPhone 5.  But there's also a third reason.

I don't remember where I read this but before HP finally bought Palm, Apple was reported interested in Palm. If this is true, I wonder if Apple would still be interested in Web OS and its own treasure trove of patents. Considering that Palm has its own zealots, it would not br a bad idea for Apple to own them as well. Furthermore, there are multiple reports today that Web OS ran faster on the iPad than on the native Touchpad hardware. And that was running Web OS as a Webapp . So what do you think? Apple hooking up Web OS to iOS? Oh, man... - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Via Bloomberg, a Wall Street analyst upgrades RIM, maker of Blackberry and Playbook, because HP decided to end its mobile experiment and kill of all Web OS development. This really shows just how much brilliance it takes to work on Wall Street. Which is to say none at all. RIM's problem isn't HP. Nor was HP's problem in the market blackberries specifically but rather it's the iPhone and the legions of Android devices out there. Right now, everyone's problem in the tablet market is the iPad. And the only mobile platform out there that will challenge Apple's iOS is Android. RIM's dismal performance in the tablet market isn't that Touchpads were outselling Playbooks. Now, I know that just maybe RIM might begin to pick up some disenchanted Web OS users but I doubt that'll be enough to suddenly vault the company back to a rate of growth that puts it on par with iOS or Android's growth. The analyst might just as well be ready to upgrade RIM should ever...

According to HP, the tablet effect that Microsoft and other PC makers tried very hard to ignore is all too real. While HP doesn't specifically mention the iPad, no one thinks HP is referring to its own Touchpad, Playbook, Xoom, the Tab, or other Windows-based tablets. Obviously, with the iPad controlling a majority of the tablet market, consumers as well as some businesses are buying iPads and not buying laptops.  Last quarter, even Apple admit that the iPad has cannabilized some Mac sales. The only thing is there is a way bigger chunk of PC market for the iPad to cannibalize. What's funny is that data companies like Gartner, which refuses to admit that the iPad is a computer but rather categorize it as a media tablet, never admit that the iPad was affecting PC sales.  Now that the world's biggest PC maker admit the "iPad" effect, I wonder what will these firms say the next time they release their PC data.  And speak of the biggest PC maker in the world...

Pretty soon, you'll see some very good back to school apps posts all over the Internet.  And you know what?  If you're a student and you are lucky enough to have an iOS device, like an iPod touch or iPad that you'll be taking to school with you this fall, you could be arming yourself with some pretty neat apps. Here are some from iSmashPhone . And if you're not a student, you might think this doesn't apply to you.  But it does.  Evernote is one of the apps and sevices recommended.  And it's definitely not build with students in mind but definite has its uses across multiple disciples:  school, business, or just our plain old lives. Dropbox is the other app that is recommended, which, too, has uses beyond school or work. Growing up, I sometimes thought of school as work.  You don't get paid but you go anyway.  Obviously, as a kid, you don't appreciate some of the good times (and awkward ones) that go on until you're out of school and joined...

So, AT&T decides to screw its users by going with an all-or-nothing texting plan.  And yeah, they call it streamlining but those of who have been watching AT&T closing since 2007 when the iPhone went on sale call it “desperation”.  How are they desparate? Simple.  The days of texting as a revenue are coming to an end and AT&T knows this.  According to Daring Fireball and Paris Lemon , it has to do with iMessage that will be on any device running iOS 5 and the Macs.  That’s tens of millions of users who will be moving beyond texting. Personally, I’ve given it up a long while back. What will the other carriers do?  Well, here’s the interesting part.  They may follow AT&T and do the same thing.  Furthermore, I think something else will happen. Soon, carriers will need to bundle texting into their voice plans just to keep users.  If rumors about pre-paid iPhones are true, you can see the iPhone running on Virgin Mobile o...

Ouch...HP is having a really bad day on a generally bad day for the stock market. HP trading was halted as news reports confirm that it was getting rid of its PC business via a spin-off.  And just now, HP announced it will cease Web OS development and find other means to optimize the $1.2 billion Palm buyout. Can you say patents? HP's statement is that it will ""continue to explore options to optimize the value of webOS software going forward." Any guess who will pick up the pieces? Source:  Marketwatch ,  Statement on WebOS  (multiple sources)

Looks like HP is doing what IBM did a few years back when it sold its PC business to Lenovo. While there is no word if Web OS will be part of the spin-off but I hope they're smart enough to keep it in the mother ship  Source:   Bloomberg .

We all know there is going to be an LTE iPhone some day.  A true 4G iPhone.  And we also know that there will be a 5G iPhone as well.  Of course, it’s a matter of when. Recent posts from popular Apple sites have clues that points to LTE but they don’t tell us when that’ll be. As someone who loves things go fast, it isn’t easy for me to say this.  I rather have Apple build the next iPhone to last.  By that, I mean I want it to have longer battery lives.  I want what I’m getting on the iPad on the next iPhone. It will not be HSPA+ or LTE support that I care about.  Keep in mind that there are pockets of the US where they don’t have broadband.  And there is an even larger portion of the world without access to high-speed Internet.  So I think I can chug along on my CDMA 3G speed. Plus, without unlimited access plans anymore, any increase in wireless speed only that you’ll reach your monthly limit faster.  After that, you either get...

Here's an interesting post on the continuing saga surrounding Monday's announcement of Google buying Motorola Mobility.   Forbes (via MacDailyNews ) pointed out what we all know:  how Motorola put the squeeze on Google and forced Google to cough up $12.5 billion. Honestly, $12.5 billion isn't a lot of money to the likes of Apple, Google, or Microsoft.  And these guys are the ones fighting the vast majority of the patent war.   So, how did Motorola walk away with an over 60% markup to its market value?

In another he said, he said (or she said) scenario surrounding Apple, one institution has Apple having a poor back-to-school Mac sale while another sees the Macs doing very well despite rising living and educational costs. So, who's right?

While I love to be wrong about this, TechRadar UK is tipping the next iPhone to come out on September 12th.  And yesterday, the general consensus among Apple blogs is that the release date is actually October 7th .  So, who's right? Well, this is one of those things I like to iCal can come back later and see just who's right and who's not.  Me? I'm sticking with the Apple blogs on this one. And it goes to show that while general tech sites do sometimes receive rumors about Apple plans, they generally report them without knowing that they're mostly wrong.  I know it's a click-bait thing (kinda what I'm doing now?), but if they do a bit of a research, Apple almost never release a product in an early part of the week. Now, TR could be almost right about one thing.  September 12th, which is a Monday, could be a good day for Apple to hold a media event to introduce the iPhone 5 and refreshing the iPod line.  Then again, I reckon it'll probably be a Tues...

Before tablets, the closest things had have to gestures and touching on a computer are trackpads that have become ubiquitous on laptops.  Especially Macbooks.  My first laptop was the Powerbook 500, the first laptop that I know with a trackpad.  It was awesome to see folks marvel at it and lamented how their trackballs would lose traction or require cleaning. Since then, Apple and other PC makers have improved on the trackpad, but especially Apple. And then came the multitouch features of the iPhone. And today, we now have the iPad.  Of course, there are dozens if not hundreds of other devices out there that have similar features.   Interestingly, by watching babies, they seem to be more at ease with screens that respond to their touching.  An author gave a Blackberry to 20 different babies and they instinctively went to touch the screen.  Obviously, nothing happened.  This The Unofficial Apple Weblog suggests that perhaps Apple simply has tapped ...

This is it. A bunch of sites are independently reporting the next iPhone, call it iPhone 5 or iPhone 4S if you like, will go on sale October 7th and should be available for pre-order starting on September 7th. What's interesting is that earlier, most speculation has the iPhone going on sale by the middle of September to late September but then a couple of news sources moved that to October.  But this October 7th date seems more genuine than what we've been reading earlier in the summer. So far, we have 9to5Mac  pointing us in this direction.  Part of the reason is that ramp up has been going along nicely (thank you, poor poor factory workers).  (Also, TIPB has some information on the iPad 3 - don't read if you're waiting for one this fall, you're going to be disappointed.) Here is what we don't know.  Will the next iPhone pre-order be like the last iPad situation?  I certainly hope not.  While I did get my iPad 2 on a timely basis, there was this "wai...

An Apple Macbook Pro that was stolen during the London unrest created by criminal opportunists was recovered and the thief is headed to an extended vacation at the taxpayers' expense. Right now, there is only one way to get security for your laptop that allows you a chance to recover it.  You buy a software and install it yourself.  A future version of iCloud should have a feature that will allow users to locate Macs as well. In this case, the man in London used an open-sourced software that he later upgraded to a paid service to get more frequent reports and to track down the perp  He was able to eventually obtain very detailed information on the thief and gave that information to the police. It's a great story and not the first we've heard of this.  Nor will it be the last.   Perhaps, it's time that PC makers (not wait for Microsoft) do more to protect their customers' investments.  Again, Apple will have its Find My Mac feature working once iCloud comes ...