AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

The iPhone 4S just went on sale in China. I am sure it's selling like hot cakes, regardless of what possible shortcomings Apple might have put into place to keep Beijing happy. For instance, I about my friends in China are able to sign into Twitter since the microblog site is essentially blocked. (I just sent out an inquiry on Weibo about Twitter what what possible replacement Apple might have or have not offered Chinese customers.) And while Facebook or twitter being blocked in China, Iran, and the likes, this is more of a censorship issue. Dealing with foreign censorship is something that Washington or the State Department should deal with But I like to see Apple tackle the privacy issue. I started using a new search engine called Duckduckgo . It's an alternative to Google, Bing, Yahoo, and others that make it their mission to track our travels across the Internet and sell that information essentially to their advertisers. Now, Apple has already put the stop to the newspa...

Here is a very pro-iPad GigaOM post but if you step back you can appreciate just how tablets in general has already changed how mobile warriors, particular mobile sales forces are able to accomplish more. The instant-on feature, long battery life, wireless connection, and essentially a laptop replacement are features that have the iPad going for it. On top of that the light-weight of the iPad is definitely a plus. Furthermore, all of what is the iPad allows the worker to accomplish its tasks more efficiently and spend more time away from the office. Obviously, tablets running on Android, Blackberry OS, or the forthcoming Windows 8 should be able to do the same. The question would be just how efficient they will be compared to the iPad. Another matter I like to bring up which the post didn't not address is the size of the iPad or other 10" tablets relative to productivity of the sales force. That is definitely something worth analyzing when smaller tablets go on the road in t...

More than 46 billion in revenue, 13 billion in profit, and, now, we learn that Apple has close to $100 billion in the bank in various cash and short-term investment vehicles, there has not been a shortage of what Apple ought to do with all that money "in the bank".  I know this much:  there will be no dividends or stock buybacks. It's not Apple's style.Tim Cook and Peter Oppenheimer told analysts during its financial call that the Apple board was in active discussion about what "constructive" ways Apple can use its cash, it gave folks hope that Apple is headed towards rewarding shareholders in one way or another.  Despite that, it's not happening. If Apple wanted to distribute money or buyback shares, it would have done it a long time ago.  A year ago even.   This is why I think Apple will put that money to work in ways that will solidify its future in mobile and ecommerce.  This will happen in such a way that even some of its cash rich competitors will ...

Siri is where the future's at. So this Su where I suggest where Apple should put its nearly $100 billion in cash and short-term investments: AI. As in artificial intelligence. And I'm not just talking about giving Siri an even more dazzling personality. I'm talking about robots. Androids. Sorry, I don't mean Google's mobile OS. See, this is where the future OS is at. Not OS XI or iOS 7 or 8 but a totally revolutionary OS that is intelligent all around. Something like Siri 5.0. One that can carry along a more natural conversation and truly act as a personal assistant. Eventually, it could be Apple's AI that power our homes and lives. That's where I would put a few billions.

According to Telegraph, 1/5 of Kindles are left unused after their collective unveiling at in Christmas morning.  I think this is an example of shady reporting, regardless of which reader or tablet you use. First, the post says nothing about the type of Kindle it is referring to.  It made it sound like they include in large part, the Kindle Fire. Now, you might suspect that this was a hit piece from an Apple or iOS fan. In the past, I would have thought that to be the case. However, with the forking of th Android platform, the writer could be a fan of just about any platform.   This includes Apple, even Mincrosoft, and, also very likely, a pure Android fan.   But 1/5, or 20% of all Kindles sold not bring touched ain't bad. Not good ad definitely not great but not bad either. Amazon has to do more to entice users and even educate Kindle owners what their devices can do.  I reckon that more of these abandoned Kindled are of the e-ink flavor and not the Fire. ...

Siri could be coming to other iOS devices.  Now, I'm not talking about iPad 2S or 3.  Nor am I talking about the future iPod touch update.  Rather, I'm referring to the current gen iPod touch, which happens to be the same as last year's version and the iPad 2. Here is an image capture via Cult of Mac with references to both the iPod touch and the iPad.  Now, it's a given that one day, Siri will propagate throughout Apple realm, even Macs.  That isn't the issue.  It's whether current hardwares on the market now, outside of the iPhone 4S, will also be Siri-capable. There is more at CofM on this.  The above pic is for the iPod as you can see on the top left corner.   It makes sense and also it's important that Apple begin to get Siri out of beta and to support more languages. This is most certainly a daunting task.  And it's just as urgent for Apple to get Siri into as many users of its growing hardware profile as soon as...

Apple fans, especially if you’ve got an iOS device or mobile phone, rejoice. Looks like Apple could be coming to a Target store near you. And I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say this. Apple could slow and surly be putting into place the means for users to not only buy Apple gears more easily but could also more easily allow iOS users to buy things with their iTunes accounts. You’re thinking “dude, what are you smoking” right about now. Here me out. Store within a store for Apple isn’t something new. In fact, it goes all the way back to ancient history: CompUSA. Yeah, like in the 90s. And then we have the Apple stores but Apple kept their little corner in Best Buys as well. But Target is uniquely different. It’s a general consumer retailers – food, consumer goods like clothes and furniture. Yup, Target does sell electronics and to my knowledge, I’ve never seen a Target selling computers before. And this could be an opportunity for Apple. More than that, a while bac...

One of the saddest moment, and not just for mobile, was when Borders shut down its stores and went dark, literally, in the retail arena.  And now, it looks like Barnes & Noble could be going down that path.  Essentially, the news today is that B&N is looking at spinning off the Nook and digital business. Right now, the stock is down by much and its investors’ sentiment confirms my fears – I’m afraid I could be taking another hit in the nostalgic department and see my local Barnes and Noble store go the way of the Borders stores. I used to study at Borders and B&N when I was in college and I still frequented them a couple of times a month.  It's there where I bought books, have coffees, and met up with friends.  Lots of terrific memories. And it brought me back to a conversation I had with a B&N employee over the Christmas season.  We chatted about how BN’s retail business was doing and how confident she seemed because they had the Nook ...

Apple could be launching an attack on e-commerce.  You probably don't know this unless you following the daily in-and-outs of Apple news. On New Year's Eve 2011, an app called GameStore was accidentally published and let lose in the App Store.  Really, there was nothing to GameStore other than that it was meant to allow users to buy things, fconceivably, in-app purchases. However, there was nothing to buy. And moreover, GameStore costs $0.99.  Now, Apple has informed buyers that they will be issuing a refund for the purchase. Macrumors has tracked this back to 2009 when it was iOS 3 that dominated the landscape.  You might think that it was a mistake. Well, it was and Apple has acknowledge it so. However, the official explanation from Apple was now what everyone expected. It certainly was not what I expected.  According to Apple, the app was prematurely launched and "was made available for sale prematurely".   What those words mean is that an app will be fo...

Apple to begin selling the iPhone 4S officially in China on January 13th, 2012. I said officially because the black market has already had their fill of the 4S for months since the introduction of the 4S in the US back in October.  Furthermore, more than twenty countries and territories will be also be getting the 4S on that Friday. While the iPhone 4S going on sale isn’t typically something most read unless its your turn to get it, this is China after all, the Middle Kingdom with its hundreds of millions potential smartphone users – not the typically 2 or 3 hundred million users like the US or the EU. I’m talking about big as in like 700 to 800 million users.

Siri seems to be a standalone app on the iPhone 4S that requires the user to activate it in order to use it.  What's interesting, however, is that Apple will likely allow some sort ot third-party support on it.  Before that happens or concurrently, I like to see Apple integrate this further. How about integrating Siri into its own apps?  Right now, if you're using Siri to make calls, conduct searches, or making appointments, you're fine but once you get into the mail, calendar, or browser apps,  you lose Siri. I like to see Apple find a way to integrate Siri into its own apps.  Mail search via Siri quickly comes to mind. Also, I like to see Siri populate mobile Safari that allows the user to quickly access a website or search.   I know that some will argue that there is the new voice-to-text function but I want to see something more than that.  I want to be able to say "go to CNN" and Siri takes the browser there.  Or "open new tab for the Apple S...

It's time that we realize what's going on. For the record, Apple did not invent voice command or even showed much interest in it on the Mac. However, with the release of iOS 5 along with Siri in beta, Apple has once again showed just how much foresight into the future of mobile computing for years if not decades to come. At this moment and this time, we could very well be looking at a voice platform and trust me when I say that others from Google, Microsoft, Nuance, and others will soon follow. On top of that and more importantly, we are at the cusp of a new AI implementation in Siri that will only become more intelligent with each passing version. One that will truly become a mobile assistant that augments our human abilities and expand our horizon. Now, I am not saying that Apple isn't going to dominate this new AI platform but Apple has opened the door for other companies to pour billions into researching, innovating, and, for some, copying to develop their own int...