AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

Apple rocks.  Maybe but I know for sure the dude who helped me with the problem was nice for doing what he did.  I told him the whole story and he came through for me. And the story was that I was showing an Elmo video on youtube for my nephew when he got bored and knocked it out of my hand. He said "Uh-oh" and mimicked the look on my face.  The sound of the iPod touch falling on their stone floor did not sound good. And it wasn't.  Start at the upper left corner and a spider web of cracks was over the top half of the screen.  The iPod touch was still usable but it was just annoying.  I had figured that if it did not work as a mini-tablet then it would dedicate the rest of its life as an iPod. Unluckily for me, I got a very understanding Apple Genius.

I am here for my Genius appt. It's crazy busy and the number of people here for iPhone purchases is crazy. I almost want to yell out "Don't buy it! The new one is coming out in weeks!" Still, it is impressive to see just how many folks are here. I saw a few folks walk out with MacBook Airs. As someone who owns a couple of shares of Apple stock, I can't be happier. As for the folks who bought their iPhones, well, they don't care that a new one is just around the corner. And the people who bought iPads are just the same. They're just excited to be a part of our generation's mobile computing revolution. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

"Find My Friends" has been located within the iOS 5 beta. According to Appleinsider , this could be a prelude to location-based social network. Otherwise, seriously, why else the need to stalk your friends or be stalked. What isn't know is if this will be extensive and how much of this will be available to third parties. And if so, will be supplant other services? Take Foursquare for instance. Will FS be forced to access only certain location data from Apple's service so that users have greater control over what developers know about them and where they are or have been? Apple just recently told developers that the individual unique codes of devices will no longer be available to them. Apple essentially will use iCloud as the launching pad to other social services. If you do a simple search for keywords in this regard, you'll see that Apple has a few patents on location, messaging, and social patents. Just as with the app store, Apple will eventually become a gat...

Here is Friday's movie clip. It also happens to be a new innovative Google product. "Almost" world premiere of the Gmale service. I wonder when the killer iOS app will be out.

Remember Gray Powell?  No?   This week, we learned that an Apple employee lost another iPhone prototype.  Ah, now you're beginning to recall who Gray Powell is.  He's the kid who lost last year's iPhone prototype in, yes, a bar.  And like this one, it also got lost in a bar.  What is it with people and alcohol? Anyway, I reckon Gray, if he's still working at Apple, probably got some rubbing from his friends about this.  Personally, if it happened to me, I try to laugh it off with each friendly jab but it'll serve as a reminder what a painful period that would have been in my life.   On the other hand, I'd be old news.  

I'm sitting here trying to imagine a 5" tablet or phone in my pocket.   It'll fit.   I wear generally pretty baggy pants and when I do wear jeans, well, they should be fine as well. However, I definitely don't see myself holding up a 5" device to the side of head to carry on a conversation with someone.     This line of thought started yesterday when we heard news of the 5.3" Galaxy Note from Samsung.   I've already a few things I didn't like about it, specifically, it ran Android version of the OS rather than the tablet version, Honeycomb.   That aside, it looks like a winner if people wanted to use it as a tablet.   I reckon Samsung will probably look into releasing a model that is Wi-Fi only.   My hope is if there is ever such a device, it would work more as a tablet than a phone, hence, installed with a tablet OS.   I see people who would buy this device or the Note using headsets or Bluetooth devices instead.   Unless yo...

According to Macrumors by way of SF Weekly, maybe Apple did not contact the SFPD after all but went after the lost iPhone on its own. And the men who went after the iPhone impersonated police.  If true, isn't that a serious crime in and of itself? Someone's gonna get a lot of trouble for this. Source:   Macrumors , SF Weekly .

I'm a T-Mobile subscriber and will be leaving them after almost a decade of relationship.  Along the way, the iPhone came and it was pretty awesome that we could use our iPhones on the network and bypass AT&T altogether even if it meant that we would not be enjoying 3G speed.   But imagine how things might have turned out had Apple also made a deal with T-Mobile as well. I think a lot of things would be very different. Complaints against AT&T's network would not have been so dramatic as it was. The burden may have been shared by T-Mobile.  However, it would have meant more people signing up for the iPhone on T-Mobile instead of waiting. T-Mobile likely would have experienced subscriber growth. It may well be Sprint that is the smallest of the four major US carriers. Verizon would have still be forced into Google's arms but experience greater pain in the marketplace as T-Mobile provides a better avenue for most to leave for the iPhone. T-Mobile might have grown fat...

Check out Samsung's new 5.3" Note - I guess it's a tablet. It can also be a smartphone like its Galaxy S II but with a bigger screen.  Whatever, I do like it.  However, I would only be interested if this was just a tablet with cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity but not as a phone. Here are some well known specs:

This Fortune post got it right.  The meger between AT&T and T-Mobile would mean it would cost less for the mega-AT&T to serve about 130 million users than serving just 100 million users.  It's simply economics.  What the post failed to say is that these cost savings won't translate to lower bills for the customers. It's about maximizing profit for the company and, ultimately, adding value to the shareholders.  Billings to customers will be the same.  Elimination of a competitor that prides itself with value mobile plans means it won't have to worry about customers looking for a better value.  It also means AT&T is free to increase prices if it wants since customers will not longer have the choice to go to another GSM carrier. So, when the author, Scott Woolley of Fortune, said that AT&T overlooked this argument for the merger, it most certainly did not.  In fact, had it brought this argument up, it might not have worked in its favor. As...

TUAW is reporting that Apple may have sold about 20 million iPads over the summer quarter.  Is it possible?  Definitely and I can't wait to see just what kind of effect this has on the larger PC market. Now, the source of the post, DigiTimes, is in my opinion, a click whore but one has to take what they say and compare it with reality.  And the reality is that Apple was facing the mother of all backlog for the iPad 2. And with back-to-school and the Greater Chinese market, there is a lot of demand.  And while the post said that Foxconn "shipped" twenty million iPads, chances are that Apple sold most of it and kept a couple of million in reserve. Since it had some in reserve to start the quarter, saying that Apple sold twenty million iPads would not be out of line. Source:   TUAW .

Looks like we could be in for another fire sale.  This time around, it'll be RIM's Playbook.  Best Buy will be lobbing off $50 on the 16 GB model and up to $150 on the 64 GB model. I've said this a few times already.  These 7" tablets priced around $500 are going to have to contend with 7" Honeycomb or Android 4 devices that will cost about $300.   I know the Playbook is a very solidly build device and is probably worth the premium but so is the 16 GB iPad coming in at $500.  And RIM did itself a disservice by releasing the Playbook when it was half-baked as far as the software was concerned.   I've also postulated that the new $999 is now the $499 for tablets.  If a device maker wants to compete with the iPad at the $499 and up, they would need to offer "premium" features and services that Apple cannot match.     Source:   Electronista .

Sprint released an economic study by an University of California at Irvine, David Neumark, said flatly that AT&T's merger history showed that is has eliminated over 100K jobs since 2002. There are a bunch of other figures that used numbers based on assumptions.  That happened on both sides in this particular matter.  What is given is that mergers ultimately mean job losses due to duplication, especially in this case where both companies are in the same market.  After all, mergers between two companies in the same market is to create value and eliminate waste. Now, if AT&T had bought a supermarket chain, I would be more prone to agree that it is not not as likely to cut jobs.  After all, it's unlike that its wireless customer service reps are going to be expected to be working at checkout counters or stocking shelves. And while AT&T did promise to bring back 5K jobs, it did not promise it would not cut jobs elsewhere. This merger between...

Eddie Cue is now a senior vice president, in change of all things Apple that is online.  Though this may not look like much but mark this date.  Apple is going all in with this could business.   We might not see it today or next year.  However, iCloud will looked markedly different 5 years from what it'll be like in the fall.  In fact it may not take that long.   When I read this first thing today, I thought the man would be overburdened.  Not so if Apple has a clear head about what they want.  They're past cloud efforts haven't been all that great but it seems with iCloud, they've turned the corner.

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...