AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

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...