AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

Google's mobile division, AKA Motorola, is working on a new device. An Android device, obviously. No one really knows what specs the device will have but I do have one request to make. Google, think Droid Razr Maxx HD. Think iPhone 5. By this, I mean consider the long battery life the Maxx has and what the battery life on the iPhone 5 would be if Apple doesn't go for thin. The Maxx HD has a 3,300 mAh battery coming in at 9.3 mm thick while the iPhone 5 is 2mm thinner at 7.3 mm with only 1,440 mAh of battery. The weight difference is more apparent with the RAZR coming in at 156 grams versus the iPhone 5 at 112 grams. However, the RAZR is a bigger phone after all. Having said all that, I gladly take battery life over thinness any day. In the last few days, battery life issues has been a recurring theme for many bloggers and people I know as CES just ended, Blackberry just introduced the new Z10, and a wave of new Android devices are waiting in the wing. Everyone wants longer batt...

Earlier, I  wrote about how Apple's attempt to bring HBO  to the Apple TV is a good move but doesn't make sense for those who want to cut the cord or have already done so.  Here, a post from  The Atlantic  that agrees with that assertion. On top of that, HBO on TV for the consoles have been around for about a year if not longer.  There are a couple of points that I like to further make on this issue. One, Apple's history of changing lives, how do we do things, and whole industries has spoiled us badly.  Apple TV started off as a hobby for Apple and continues to be so.  A lot of deal was made about television when Steve Jobs' authorized biography claimed that he has cracked television. What he means only he and Apple knows and Apple remains just as secretive as ever.  But this notion only serves to generate the craziness and irrational exuberance that we have come to expect from every bone-headed rumor or news about Apple. Tim Cook on...

Apple is always negotiating for content with rights owners so I don’t think I’m breaking my “no rumors” pledge when I point out Bloomberg’s post about Apple negotiating with HBO to bring content over to the Apple TV.  The reason I’m bringing this up now is because from what’s being talked about, it makes zero sense from Apple’s perspective unless it’s about making a few pennies here and here. See, Apple is a company that prides itself on big changes.  The kind of changes that wows the world.  Apple is the type of company that wants to bring a product to you and me and say, “thanks, Apple.  I didn’t even know I needed this until you brought it up”. So, what we know about the HBO talk is that Apple is looking to bring HBO Go to the Apple TV so that users can watch HBO shows on it.  Great.  With me so far?  The only thing is that the deal being worked on doesn’t cut the cord.  Users still have to have cable or satellite TV services in order to a...

After getting the last iOS update, which brings it up to 6.1, I was kinda "meh" except for the security plugs that were long, long overdue.  I was "whatever".  But having a couple of days to digest this now, I'm very excepted about one update:  Siri can now buy movies tickets for you. First, you have go to download Fandango but that's a small issue. As with any Siri services, you have to download the associated apps as well.  No big thing. What's big is mobile commerce for Siri just started.  Siri is moving beyond provide some searchable answers to user questions to starting to make money for Apple.  You can bet that any deal with Fandango in the case of buying movie tickets or other deals that Apple is likely to agree to will include Apple getting a piece of the action.  Whether it's a simple transaction fee or Apple getting a percentage of the transaction. I would love to be able to order pizza through Siri.  Had Apple sealed a deal with P...

Blackberry is no longer just a phone.  It’s not the new name of the former company called RIM.  And today, Blackberry unveiled to the world it’s latest and, hopefully, greatest mobile OS and flagship device.  Blackberry 10 and Z10 respectively.  I said hopefully because as I’ve mentioned before, we need more competition in the mobile market, not less. Having said that, there is a decent  summary of review from WSJ  on Blackberry’s new OS and device.  A couple of things.  Yesterday, I wrote about Palm and the Pre .  In the WSJ summary, they brought up Palm as well.  And there is no doubt that the feeling about Blackberry’s latest and quite possibly last effort to get back into the mobile game. From the reviews, it looks like Blackberry managed to hold serve and the new OS, services, and hardware is just enough to stem Blackberry fans from defecting to iOS or Android.  At this stage, however, anyone remaining with RIM, sorr...

First, let me say that I’m not sure anyone is all that concerned about what RIM is going to do with Blackberry 10.  As a mobile fan, I like to see it take a few shots at Apple and Google from a competitive perspective.  I want Blackberry to thrive again.  I mention all this because, well, remember when the Pre was released and how excited everyone was? Yeah, not many remember Palm, the Pilot, or, especially, the Pre now but it was huge news at the time when the newly energized Palm packed with former Apple executives and engineers were ready to go head-to-head with Apple’s iPhone.  At the time, Apple had the iPhone 3G on the market for about six months and Palm’s Pre was fresh. And WebOS made Apple’s iPhone OS (wasn’t called iOS yet I think) looked antiquated. In some respects, WebOS is even more innovative than iOS 6 is now.  And let's not forget, the Pre had a physical keyboard. Great timing.  Sure, it’s great timing as far as setting up a media ev...

As you may know by now, Apple just released a new iPad.  Not one with a new form factor.  It looks exactly like the iPad 2, 3, and 4 (give or take a few ounces).  What is new about this iPad is that the top line storage is now 128 GB, minus whatever Apple takes for iOS and its apps. Messages What does this mean?  It means that if you're in the market now for a new tablet with 9.7", you get it now.  It also means a couple of other things. It means come March or April, there will not be a media event to introduce the fifth generation iPad.  Why?  Because Apple just told the world that this is their new iPad and you'll probably have to wait until later this fall if you want a new iPad. It also means that the 128 GB iPad is going to go head-to-head with whatever Surface Pro or other Windows 8 tablets running ARM or Intel chips.  Apple is saying to the market that the tablet market is its own and no one else's.  No one messes with its top...

It’s not for us to be talking about Apple’s stock prices here and its value as a company in fiscal terms. However, what’s going on in the stock market could lead to certain mobile expectations that I would like to dispel now. Here is one that I want to dispel now. There will not be a cheap iPhone coming out any time soon. There. You have it. No cheap iPhones that cost $99 or $199 without contract. Why do I believe this? In order to do that, we do have to talk about Apple’s earnings and profit margins a bit in order to do that. See, one of the reasons Apple’s stock is getting killed is the perception that growth is slowing. Sure, it’ll happen eventually but growth is still there if you don’t look at the last financial quarter as a whole but on a week-by-week basis. And Apple is killing it by growing more than 25%. However, what some investors are concerned about is the drop in profit margins from a low forties to high thirties. This is largely due to the fact that Apple i...