AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

Source:   MacNN . For years, while Android dominate the market, the iPhone market, particularly in the US, has grown at the expensive of Blackberry and Windows but starting to impact Android as well.  And surveys typically suggest that iPhone users are more loyal to their chosen platform than Android users are to theirs or even to their branded devices.  However, I wonder if HTC One could change all that. In fact, I think it will.  I think HTC has a winner with the One because of its awesome screen and high-end feel to the form factor and use of metal instead of the cheap feel of the Galaxy line.  It's good enough to make some iPhone users take a look at the HTC One as a potential jumping off point for Android than the Galaxy. However, there are a couple of things that might hold some users off.  One is the camera.  That's a deal breaker for me.  4MP?  Really, HTC?  I know there will be folks who will argue that megapixels isn...

Source:   Politico , Macrumors . For those waiting for the Mac Pro, looks like it could be one of the first Mac to be made solely in the United States for years.  At least that's the going convention on which Mac Apple's Tim Cook is talking about when he said Apple has invested $100 million to make that Mac here in the US. Here is an interview with Brian Williams of NBC last year where Tim talked about it. Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news , world news , and news about the economy As you can see, it's not easy.  $100 million is nothing to Apple but it's something to most companies and what Apple hopes to achieve could be the spark of something big for consumer electronics and electronics in general. While this is old news, Politico has new details from Tim Cook as Tim start a PR trip through the East Coast which will end with his testimony on corporate taxes in Congress next week.  While that is a very important issue, it is outside the purview...

Source:  Cult of Android ,  CNET . At Google I/O, Google unveiled new Maps services and changes to the UI.  I've simplified it into bullet points.  It doesn't do justice to the whole user experience that will improve as a result but it saves you the effort of having to go through the Web looking for it all. 3D support with live cloud view Better and easier UI Real-time traffic Dynamic routing Zagat review Support for iPad Google Offers Desktop map search results will overlay on the map directly Sign into maps to create your own landmark and have that information available no matter where you are or which device you use All those are expected and great.  All of the above features have been in one map apps or another already.  What I like about the new Google Maps is the Photosphere which allows users to upload their own pics allowing Google Maps users to create their own street-view. Google Maps improvements will be coming to Andro...

(from  Auto Blog ) Services like Google Now and Siri are going to become a bigger part of our lives over the next few years and it’s quite possible that the next generation isn’t going to have to go through the antiquated search process we go through now, whether it’s through Google, Bing, or Siri. And in all likelihood, cars five to ten years from now will all support integrated systems for these AI systems.  Until that happens, there are millions of mobile warriors who commute in cars without the new and sophisticated integrations for systems like Siri (is there any out there for Google Now?). It would be great if someone can offer an accessory that would work with our mobile devices via BT or the plug and allow the user to use voice commands hands-free. Such a device will not cost too much.  $100?  I think even a module or stereo system with such support would be wildly popular for a few hundreds bucks. So, any enterprising engineers out there who c...

Source:   CNET . It’s finally here.  Google now offers Spotify-like service – pay $10 a month for streaming music.  Not sure how this changes the landscape of music consumption yet.  There could be some defectors from Spotify and Pandora, even put a dampener on any plan Apple has for its own music streaming service. Love competition!!!

Tim Cook said no major Apple product launches happening until fall of this year.  So, I find it funny that we still need posts from analysts or pundits affirming that.  The latest is that from the MacDailyNews / Cult of Mac stating that no new iPhone models will be coming.  What's interesting is that the two posts above quoted the same analyst, Peter Misek, as saying that Samsung will carve out a bigger piece of the high-end mobile device market from Apple.  It remains to be seen if that is so.  The thing is that bigger screen smartphones are gaining steam but there is evidence that they're limited in terms of adopters who really want something that big.  On the other hand, Apple's customary 70% of the mobile profit share has shrunk to 57% while Samsung has picked up nearly all of the rest ( Fortune ). Let’s go through realistically what we can expect in 2013: iPad/iPad mini.  I’ll go one step further.  We will see a new iPad this year but w...

Source:   NBC News . Last week,  I proposed that if Facebook and other social networks  or app developers, even search engines offer a paid version of their free services, it could go a long way in giving people choices regarding their private information and what is or isn't being shared.  After all, all these free services that have been blasted for sharing and selling user data to advertisers and third parties has to make money some how. My beef with the likes of Facebook is the lack of transparency, and not whether they have the rights to sharing information about their users.  Also, I detest how companies change policies on the fly to manipulate the public and change their relationships with the users. So, while I do believe some legislation is required to rein in those like Facebook, companies that provide free services can start charging them for people who are willing to pay to keep their information private. Seriously, right?  Why haven...