AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

Given the sickly candy colors that are making rounds for the less expensive iPhone that is likely going too go on sale next month, it is good to know that Apple is giving the top line iPhone 5S (or iPhone 6) extra care when it comes to new colors. While I am ready to accept that gold will be an addition ad a color, looks like Weibo , China's Twitter/Facebook, could well have uncovered a fourth color. How's a gray or metallic shade for you?

Source:  Appleinsider, Cult of Mac . Mophie, a top Apple iOS accessory maker, is known for its battery case.  I'm sure they do great business because, let's face it, we all can use more power regardless of how long the iPhone 5 or the iPhone 6 battery life are going to be. However, they also know their colors as is evident from these new Mophie battery cases for the iPhone 5. Meet these colorful Mophie Juice Pack Helium . These are awesomely deep rich colors - unlike the sickly yellow, green, or pink ones that we are seeing from various overseas websites.  Frankly, I think (hope) those colors aren't real ( On Apple ). When CNet asked whether users what they want most from Apple for the next iPhone, 60% wanted longer battery life.  So, I reckon Mophie will sell tons of these good looking battery cases.  If Steve Jobs was around, he might even say they're so pretty you wanna lick them. They retail for $80 - it's a good investment that will make ...

Source:   Appleinsider . Today, Apple started a long-rumored iPhone trade-in program that allows the customer to use the credit towards another iPhone purchase.  I'm gamed.  I've got an iPhone 4 that I love for them to take off my hand.  It's a Verizon one so I reckon there is limited use for anyone of my family members (and plus, they don't deserve it). Here's the thing, customers can get up to $280 for the trade-in. So you know that you're not going to be getting the best deal in town.  For that, I would still look else where.  However, the convenience of this is just too much to pass up for me. And there's one further restriction.  You can only use your particular trade-in gift card to buy the iPhone of your choice for the same carrier.  A big "doh" if you ask me.  It totally makes no sense to me.  I have since begun migrating away from Verizon towards T-Mobile and I want an unlocked version. However, for most users, this prob...

I wasn't at home when Apple's TV shows disappeared for many users on Apple TV and iTunes.  That's a bad thing.  No doubt about it.  It's probably a pre-iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks, next version of OS for the Macs, thing - beta and someone did something, caused folks inconvenience, and now it's back up and fixed. However, like  Mac Daily News , I wonder... Well, the thing is that recently, the Apple TV gain a few apps - Disney, ESPN, Weather Channel, etc.  It's all great.  However, you do need a participating cable or SATTV services for those apps to be of any use.  But it has lead many of us to speculate that Apple is steadily gaining some ground in trying to get studios and content owners to loosen up a bit.  It's an uphill battle but Apple could be near the apex where it's about to reach a deal with cable or content providers. From there now, it's all downhill. And could this glitch be a part of any of this?  Some kind of a content ann...

Here's the link to the CNET page that showed results from readers about what they want to see on the iPhone and what features they like best so far as we know and you can read it and think it over yourself or come back and I'll give you my two-cent.  But take a look at the new features pie chart and look at what CNET readers are asking for from Apple on the next iPhone 5S or iPhone 6: BETTER BATTERY LIFE!!!  60% Of the readers want Apple to figure out a way to give the next iPhone longer battery life.  Seriously, for me, that's the biggest issue.  And if you're a mobile warrior reading this post and other ones on this blog, battery life is a recurring theme here. Yes, Apple.  We want longer battery life for our next iPhones.

Consider this.  A watch that doesn't immediately tell you the time but if you ask it or install an app on it, it'll tell you.  That may well be what Apple, Google, Samsung, or any of the consumer tech giants are working towards.  A watch that isn't a watch.  That may be key to the wearable device buzz going on right now - convince consumers and a new generation of mobile warriors who don't wear watches to wear a device on their wrist or body that has other helpful benefits other than telling time or getting notifications from their smartphones which is likely on their persons anyway in their pockets or bags. A watch that is not a watch.  In fact, any thinking of a wearable computer has to be very much removed from the idea of a watch.  Consider what Dick Tracy has to do to access his watch.  Or remember Michael Knight in Knight Rider? Our heroes always have to move their watches close to their mouth to do anything.  I think that's so dorky....

Source:   Clouding Around . Samsung released a very colorful Galaxy Tab tablet for children.  And it may well also aim this tablet squarely at Apple in the education market.  Question is does Apple have anything to worry about? No.  Not with this version but Samsung has a Microsoft-like characteristic that some people admire and others don't.  They'll keep coming back  and trying year after year, screen size after screen size, until they find a fit they can live with. Right now, from what looks of things, it's very much for toddlers and pre-K mobile warriors.  And I can tell you that if you give this to my 3-year old nephew and an iPad (he has his own 3rd iPad with Retina Display), he'll opt for the iPad because this Samsung Tab looks like a toy while the iPad doesn't and he assumes it can do more for him. And he may well be right as this 7" Samsung Tab 3 Kids will give parents/teachers greater control over what apps their child will have ac...

Source:   CNET . Folks, nothing is free.  All those services we use online that we're not paying for, even some that we do pay for, are free because we the users are the products.   The information that we provide to Facebook, Twitter, and Google are all collected, analyzed, and sold to advertisers. So, in this case, Facebook was used because users were fed up with sponsored stories that appear using information that users were not aware of.  Frankly, as abhorrent as Facebook practices are, folks, they provide a free service that hundreds of millions of users use.  Someone has to pay for the electricity.  As it turns out, it's the advertisers.  And they need information you provide Facebook to better target you with ads that are relevant to you. In this latest spat, Facebook only added language that specifically says that as long as you're using its services, for free, they have toe rights to use you and sell you to advertisers wit...

Bloomberg reported today that Apple will introduce the iPhone and iPad simultaneously at the same September 10th event that has been widely acknowledge by true Apple bloggers and insiders.  However, while the September 10th event is not in doubt, personally, I think the Bloomberg claim is. This why I'm not linking to the false information.  However, just for fun, let's speculate a bit, small bit, about this.  Suppose if Bloomberg happens to be right, again money is that they're not, then we are looking at a likelihood that Apple has a window of opportunity in October to introduce a new product. If so, many Wall Street analysts will speculate it to be the iWatch or, iWear, a device that is long rumored to be the product that Apple may introduce to replace the iPod or even compliment the iPhone through Bluetooth. Then there's the famed Gene Munster , of Piper Jaffray, who not only believes in the unicorn, tooth fairy and that Apple will introduce an HDTV each year f...

Source:   Game Squad . I ask again how desperate Nintendo is right now to find an answer against the onslaught of Android and Apple's iOS devices, iPhone, iPod touch, and the iPad, against the traditional mobile gaming market? This desperate. I'm not kidding.  I wish I was.  Meet the Nintendo 2DS.  It's a 3DS without the 3D and without the hinge to fold it. The good thing is that this is only $130.  The bad thing is that it's a $130 mobile gaming device from Nintendo that no one will buy. Comments  from Nintendo-centric sites seem generally supportive - finding the positive.  But then again, we're generally a family-friendly bunch. In other news, Nintendo also dropped $50 off the Wii U.

Source:   Droid-Life . Should have known this was coming.  I'm excited to see Rovio's take on this with the birds and piggies.   Yeah, my nephews will go nuts when they find out.  

Source:  Forbes . Parents' worst night - a predator near their child.  In their room.  Not physically but this particular violation could be just as bad.  Through security opening in a Foscam baby monitor, complete with video and sound, a creep called a baby all sort of names. And the flaw was only covered up after media reports and even then, through an Internet scan, most owners of these Foscam monitors are still vulnerable to hacks - more than 40,000 of them. I've heard good things about Foscam from friends but I don't think we were expecting this kind of security hole. Honestly, I think these devices are going to be a part of future homes - the smart homes that I think will be one of the next battle ground between tech rivals like Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Samsung. So, if you own one of Foscam's devices, best to go their  website  and look for a patch. Recently bought cam for a friend.  Gotta warn them tonight!

The US government has released a report on the dangers that Android poses to users - viruses, malware, and other exploits. Perhaps, Apple should consolidate its hold on corporate and government users by highlighting better security and additional features more publicly. Source:   Clouding Around .

I love the rumors (except ones about the colors) about the next iPhone, whether Apple calls it iPhone 5S or iPhone 6, just as much as the next guy.  But fingerprint scanners and colors aside, I want to know one thing that should matter to every mobile warrior:  what's the battery life going to be like for the 2013 iPhone? And the only number I care about is the hours of standard use.  I don't care at all about standby time.  I charge, on average, my iPhone 5 every 30-36 hours.  Not bad.  Under heavy use, I can get through the battery in about 12-15 hours.  Again, not bad but I also would not mind a longer battery as an insurance against unforeseen heavy uses. I'm sure battery life is a very important factor for Apple when it comes to iPhone, iPad, and, yes, Macbooks.  Just recently, Apple updated the 2013 Macbook Airs and gave them between nine to twelve hours of use. I argued that Apple not only has upped the ante for its competitors but al...

The iPad mini will be a year old soon and be replaced with an upgrade by Apple this fall.  What I want to explore here is whether the decision to rlease mini, obviously having been in the works of years even when Steve Jobs was alive and at Apple, planned all along or Tim Cook's after he become CEO. I've got a 2013 Nexus 7 that has fit nicely into my daily workflow.  The battery is subpar given what Google advertised but it's still good enough where I can get through the day safely without running out of juice. Having said that, the Nexus 7 is a pleasant surprise.  I can live on the Nexus, if I had not been exposed to the iPad. That is not to say that I won't be getting a new iPad this fall.  The reason is because as good as the Nexus is, the Android tablet experience leaves one with much to desire because of the lack of a true tablet experience I'm used to with the iPad. Still, that's not the issue here.  The issue is the iPad mini.  Steve Jobs ...

No one is in position to save Microsoft.  Me, you, or even the guy or gal they select eventually to be the next CEO of Microsoft.  Needless to say, that ain't gonna stop anyone from offering suggestions to the next CEO or Microsoft on how to go forward and if he or she doesn't follow those suggestions, suggest things at Microsoft will only become worse. That's the state of where things are.  Still, there are obvious moves that Microsoft should make. For instance, find out who the folks are that have been playing politics and prevent the really smart folks from shining and get rid of them. Also, get rid of the protectionist attitudes there.  Get rid of those who thought new Microsoft products would cannibalize existing ones like Windows or Office.  Courier could have been Microsoft's answer to the iPad but it was killed off as many suspected for the likelihood of getting people off the PC.  This includes webapps and services that could have rivaled Googl...

Okay, as you know by now (or you should if you're a mobile warrior and junky) is that Steve Balmer, the second CEO in Microsoft's history, will be stepping down as soon as they find a CEO to replace him and try to put Microsoft on the right mobile path and establish a clear viable strategy for the future. Right now, Microsoft is treading water.  Has been for tenure of Steve Balmer's reign. Having said that, I'm still waiting to hear more about his "resignation" which I had suspected wasn't because of the way things have been going at Microsoft in the last few years, the reception of its products to compete with Apple's iPhone and iPad and Google's Android and search. Meanwhile, I'll doing a running update on today and maybe this week's headlines on Microsoft's future, Steve Balmer's resignation, and anything else that might be interesting. First, headlines dumping on Balmer: Ballmer Departure From Microsoft Was More Sudden...