AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

Here's an excellent post from TIPB on what we want from iOS 5 but probably won't get - hey, it's what blogs are for right? My needs are simple.  I don't need wireless firmware upgrade.  Download half a gigabyte of information is seriously going to sap the battery life.  I don't want to have to download a big file and then having to plug my iPod touch back into the wall just so I have enough juice to enjoy new features.  Besides, updates from Apple are few and between.   What I really like is the suggestion to just outrigth steal from WebOS' Synergy.  Twitter and other social integration would be appreciated as  Siri on steroids.   More at TIPB .

It's a forgone conclusion that the next iPhone won't be coming out during its traditonal June/July period this year but mug later, like in the fall. If that's the case, what'll happen to the iPods? Are they going to get squished in along with the next iPhone launch? Or could the iconic line of dedicated music players pass through 2011 without an update until 2012? We really won't know until WWDC next week. It might provide a clue as to what we can expect when the next generation iOS devices. Personally, I am in the market for a 200+ GB iPod classic. iCloud or not, I am determined to take my media with me wherever I go. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Does it make sense for Apple to release an updated iPhone before the next iOS update is ready? Sure, and that could be why I won't be totally surprised if Steve Jobs goes on stage, reaches into the left pocket of his jeans, and tells the world, "this is iPhone XX".   But you say, "how can Apple do such a thing without the accompanying iOS?  Doesn't it need iOS 5?" Well, yes.  It would be nice to have iOS 5 ready but because of the fact that Apple did not talk about it back in April like it's done the last couple of years but, instead, in June, means it is not quite ready yet.   However, when the original iPad launched, it ran on iOS 3 and it was not until November when iOS 4 version for the iPad was released.   So, it is entirely possible that we can see a new iPhone next week.  It is highly improbably but that's another matter entirely.  

Don't know if you know they now, some Gmail was hacked by the Chinese, despite claims of innocence.  You know they did it, I know they did it, and they know we all know they did it.  With that settled, it's now known that Yahoo Mail as well as Hotmail were also in similar ways.   This Macworld post diplomatically did not mention Beijing by name as the perpetrator until near the end of the post but that their choice.  Having said that, the Google mail accounts of US officials, journalists, and activists were the main target.  I reckon gaining access to these same category of people is the same reason for the Yahoo and Hotmail attacks. And chances are, if you're reading this, you probably are just an average mobile warrior like me and not an ambassador something like that.  Still, it makes sense to change your passwords and such. As a matter of fact, changing the passwords to all your online accounts is a prudent practice, even if you're not a member of the p...

Apple will host its next World Wide Deveoper Conference next week in San Francisco.  And much of topics of what Apple wants us to focus on is out in the public.  OS X Lion, iOS 5, and, of course, iCloud.  But is that all there is?   I had been waiting all week long with glee, expecting to the blogs to run wild with rumors and speculations knowing well that most of it just stuff people are going to make up to get hits.  Imagine my shock when that has not happen at all.  It has been a relatively quiet week.  Maybe it has something to do with the long weekend we just had and folks are still exhausted.  I know I am.   Still, it is possible for Apple to pull a fast one on us and unleash something spectacular?  Yes, but I'm not hopeful. What?  No Crazy Rumors This Year? At this time the last few years, we were getting a lot of crazy rumors about this and that.  And of course, there was the Gizmodo theft of the iPhone 4 prototype and ...

Ready for a cheaper iPhone at $300 unsubsidized?  Well, an analyst has ventured a guess as to when it can happen.  Me, I think the sooner the better.  You know, competition and all.  But forget when but let's focus on what it can do to the market. Take the iPhone 3GS that debut in 2009 at $200 for the low-end model. And today, it's at $50 if you're willing to sign up for a two-year contract.  And yes, since the iPhone 4 became available on Verizon, the 3GS has helped AT&T fend off competition from its main rival.  While the $50 3GS has only 8 GB compared to the iPhone 4 with 16GB or more, it remains popular for a device that is about two years old. Suppose Apple continues to keep the 3GS on the market beyond this year after the next iPhone hits the market.  Whether it'll be called iPhone 4S or iPhone 5, Apple can sell the 3GS for much less unsubsidized or simply give it away if mobile users are willing to sign up for a two-year commitment. Also ke...

Okay, I'll wait in line to get an iPad 2.  In fact, I've done it back in April.  I didn't succeed in getting the models I wanted but I did. However, would I sell a body part to do it?  I would know sell a body part to even get an Apple IIc way way back then.  But a Chinese kid did.  Regrettably, he found out that it wasn't worth it. It's really sad and I'm not trying to make light of this.  And the situation occurred in China.  Plus, it's not some early teen kid but a seventeen year old.  He sold his kidney for 20,000 yuan which is about $3100 USD.  Now, the kid's health is failing.  I hope he pulls through.   This is a really bad symptom of a larger issue of materialism that China faces.  The iPad is a tool. Great but it like isn't being used by the boy further his education or career that we know of.   More at MacDailyNews .

Okay. I really was not raised by television. Growing up, I got at most an hour of TV a day on weekdays while on weekends, I get my fill of Saturday morning cartoons but for the rest of the time, the TV is off. Still, I’ve read about the volume of TV shows my friends watched growing up as I’m sure you have as well. And while some of what we watch could be loosely be construed as educational, things have changed. And yes, TV remain a big part of today’s children (for better or worse), so is the mobile tech. In particular, the iPad. Some schools have even gone out of their way to procure these still-hard-to-find Apple tablets for their kindergarteners. I even gave my nephew my original iPad. He loves it. He plays games on it and writes his numbers and letters. And in the past, I have recommended to my brother and his wife not to let my nephew watch so much TV, it fell on deaf ears. I get the usual irresponsible parental excuses. On a recent visit to my brother’s house, I note...

Just yesterday, another malware struck the Android Market Place. And personal data continues to be an issue with users and developers in a kind of warp sea-saw battle that has attracted Congressional interests (both good and bad and for political self-serving reasons). That has lead me to consider the state of app stores and if walled garden still deserves a lot of criticism or if more unsupervised ones are still the way to go. To date, there isn’t a lot of attention about iPhone and iPad users suffering from wide-spread malware while Android users, to some extent, has had to be more careful about what apps they install. However, iOS users does have only one legal app store while Android users continue to enjoy options to get their app needs from multiple sources. Having lived in both worlds, I have to say that I like being able to go about business free of whether my iPad or iPhone is being used to siphon off my private information. To some extent, malware and private info theft c...

Cloud is coming. That’s for sure and Apple has confirmed it just as much with its press release that Steve Jobs will also be headlining the keynote at next week’s WWDC event. Obviously, there is rampant speculation on what iCloud is and what it means for us Apple mobile warriors. I reckon it’ll be tightly integrated into the Mac as well as the iOS devices. No brainer there. Beyond that, my speculations are just as good as any rumors/leaks that are flowing all over those “pipes” that power the Internet. Regardless of what iCloud is, as a Mac and iOS user, I want it to be a seemless mobile computing experience unlike anything out there. Beyond what Google has available for its Webapps and Android. I want it to be many times better and more robust than the MobileMe experience I have had for the last few years. The iCloud is Apple’s chance to bring its legendary innovative energy that has made the Mac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad a hit with and made Apple the most valuable publicly trade...

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