AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

Apple announced this week that they are going with a new chip in their iPhone 5s, the A7. That was somewhat expected. What was not expected was that the chip would be 64-bit. While there was some controversy about whether going from 32-bit to 64-bit in the PC market was really beneficial to the end user, Apple had indicated that iOS 7 had been built to take advantage of the 64-bit chip architecture in the A7. I'm sure some of that is true but there is likely some embellishment as well. But not to be outdone, Samsung also announced that 64-bit chips are also on its roadmap. My question is this: is Android 64-bit ready? If not, is Google working on that? A quick Google search showed that Android is indeed not far behind Apple in the 64-bit race. However, one note of interest is that many of our apps on the PC, including Apple's OS X, are still running as 32-bit apps. And the transition from 32-bit to 64-bit started almost ten years ago and we are not quite there yet. ( The Verge ...

Thanks for nuthin', Apple.  American company that does its art in California is what Apple advertises itself to be.  And I get that China is a very important growth territory now and in the future.  I get that.  So, while I also get that Apple will allow the Chinese to begin preordering the iPhone 5s on September 17th ( 9to5mac ), three days before anyone else in the world would be able to order online or in the store. That just doesn't sit well with me.  Apple is an American company through and through.  I get that it is a multi-national company now and the "American" part has become much more fuzzy over the years.  It's why it specifically mentioned that devices are designed on California rather than the USA. The 9to2Mac post mentioned problems with previous launches - like scalpers, gangs, and unruly behavior.  I'll be honest, folks.  The last time I went to wait in line at the local Apple store for a launch, there were plenty of Ch...

This Youtube video of an iPod nano has been making rounds.  Ordinarily, such a video would not make me excited at all.  But for the fact that this is the "space gray" that is supposed to be the same color as the black iPhone 5s, folks want to see what their black iPhone 5s will look it. I had not considered the new black/space gray version until I saw this nano. The main reason is all the focus on the gold model and now nice looking it truly is in person.  Also, the white/sliver looks very nice if you're not into the gold. After watching the video of the space gray nano below a couple of times, I'm giving the black version another look.  My current iPhone is back.  Then I got thinking further.  Why can't Apple make an iPhone with the same body as the nano but only bigger for the 4" screen, or maybe even the future and rumored 5" version next year? Wouldn't that be awesome?  Well, one can only hope.  Check out the video and see if the blac...

Today, a dumb Wall Street firm downgraded Apple stock because of the following reasons.  One, iPhone 5C preorders are still happening without sell-outs and, two, because the iPhone 5s isn't available for preorder, the ongoing thinking is that Apple did not make enough to accommodate the demand.  Having said that, this nameless firm did not heed Tim Cook's warning regarding using only a couple of data points in the supply chain to try to discern the bigger picture. Here is a bit of the bigger picture I doubt Wall Street is seeing.  The iPhone 5C is the iPhone 5 with colorful plastic covers. A heck of a lot easier to manufacture than the iPhone 5s I'm sure.  And given previous demand for the lower tier iPhones, Apple likely made damn sure it has ample supply. Furthermore, Apple is including a couple of new elements in its first wave launch.  First, NTT Docomo, the last major Japanese carrier hold out , will be launching the iPhone along with its competitor...

I don't know. I get that this year unless Blackberry does something spectacular during the holiday sales, this may well be its last Christmas. On that note, it'll be hosting an event on 9-18 . So far, based on what's out there and leaks, it'll doesn't have anything that truly stands out from the crowd. But I'm a hopeless optimist. Yes, folks, we want more competition, not less. So far, people aren't all that excited about this year's Galaxy and iPhone updates. This is a window of opportunity for the iconic Canadian smartphone pioneer. - Posted using Mobile

Boy, that was a long title. I came by scientific background with the title can be a paragraph long. Just ask anyone on published a paper. Yeah, enough bragging. During the live blog of Apple iPhone event, learning the iPhone 5S has the same megapixel as my iPhone 5 was pretty disappointed. Despite what Apple has said at the event, I cannot help but think that Apple was trying to pull a fast one on us. You know, using the famed reality distortion field. However, upon reading more posts from experts. I think Apple I had done the right thing. Sure, Apple's competitors have been hammering the new iPhone by comparing megapixel on their own cameras. But if you're not aware, megapixels being nothing at all. Maybe just a little bit. But there are other factors that work. This post from Anandtech provides a very detailed analysis and initial thoughts on the iPhone 5S' new camera system and sensors. Essentially, the writer was pretty optimistic about the direction that Apple has ta...

I'm following iMore's forum where a bunch of Apple fans and future iPhone 5C owners are gathering for Apple's online store to come back online for the preorder rush. Plenty of other sites are probably standing by as well. If you're new to the Apple scene, we don't get a lot of excitement like this. Maybe just three times a year at most. And it's been a while. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I have never seen this before. This is what the Apple Store looks like just before the preorder starts for the iPhone 5C. I wonder if we'll see the same thing next week when the iPhone 5S start selling. Right now, Apple fans are waiting eagerly to order their new iPhones. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Source:   BGR . T-Mobile's consumer friendly plans, though not as perfect but close to what we all want, is paying off as it recorded a record number of new subscribers in August.  That's great news.  We'll have to see just where these customers are coming from and if it's enough to get its larger competitors off their butts and following T-Mobile. It could be a while before you expect the likes of AT&T, one of the most unfriendly companies as far as consumers are concerned, does anything.  However, T-Mobile's lower monthly plans, because it no longer subsidizes devices, has created transparency never seen before in the wireless carrier industry. For those new subscribers, what's not to like?  No more two-year plans that lock you in.  You pay for the plans you want and the cost of the phone is a separate line item charge if you pay T-Mobile on a monthly basis for the cost of the phone.  Once you're done paying off the phone, you only pay for ...

Apple HQ is in Cupertino.  That in California.  That's in the Pacific time zone.  That means it's pretty awesome to be living in California where I'm at because I'm in sync with a lot of Apple going-on.  Events are PST and that means most launches are as well. So, this is why the iPhone 5C preorder starts midnight PST - 12 AM, Friday morning.  Unfortunately, the iPhone 5s won't be available for preordering like other iPhones in the previous year.  Maybe Apple wants buzz by forcing fans to line up.  Maybe, as is likely the case, 5s supply is constraint at launch.  Whatever the reason, I'm hoping that Apple will make the iPhone 5s available for ordering on September 20th midnight, a week from this Friday. That means my strategy for ordering a week from now, assuming Apple does open up order for the 5s on the same day it makes it available for purchase in the stores, also applies to you folks looking to order the 5C, about ten hours from now. To star...

Source:   Apple , iMore (iPhone 5 specs) I was "meh" or mildly pleased with what we heard about the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5C from Apple on Tuesday morning.  There was one major disappointment in my mind.  Yes, the battery life.  I'm sounding like a broken record but, my fellow mobile warriors, you know as well as I do that battery life is everything when we are increasingly on the go. After seeing Apple wowed us with the 9 and 12 hours battery life for the Macbook Airs, I had high hopes for the iPhone 5S.  I was not expecting a substantial increase in battery life.  20-25% Overall increase in battery life would have been all I asked for. Well, well, well...I guess we sort of did.  Under LTE Internet usage, the battery life for the iPhone 5s and 5C stands at 10 hours, just like Internet use under Wi-Fi.  The iPhone 5 only had 8 hours of LTE use. Not bad.  Would have love to see Wi-Fi upped a bit but we can't have everything now, can...

Regarding Touch ID, Kevin Rose has tweeted.  That's a good bet. apple's touch ID will extend to tablets, laptops, apple tv remote, within the next 18 months. Purchasing all apps/media will be with touch. — Kevin Rose (@kevinrose)  September 11, 2013

Source:   CNET . By going 64-bit with the A7 chip, doubling the processing power for the iPhone 5S, Apple knows that in the short-term, probably a year to year and half out, iPhone users are not going to see a whole lot of advantages. In fact, we may never see anything tangible at all except for a few iOS tweaks that made the system snappy and maybe only a handful of apps will truly take advantage of the new CPU architecture. What's interesting is that Apple called this a desktop-class architecture.  Obviously, Apple is looking to turn iOS devices more into a crossover than just a regular sport car and not quite a truck either. Think of it this way. With PC sales slowing, includ Macs though not collasping like Windows-based PC, Apple has to continue to innovate and make sure its iOS devices, particular iPads, will pick up some slacks that the Macbooks do.   Final Cut, more advanced iWork features, and other video or sound apps will need this 64-bi...

I like this Mashable take on the iPhone 5S.  They call it a reboot rather than a straight up upgrade.  Makes sense.  Plus, there are not going to be a whole lot of apps out now that will true take advantage of the whole package - iOS 7, the M7 co-processor, and the 64-bit CPU.

I haven't post anything about Apple's iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C event yesterday.  Sorry, just woke up from sitting through the live-blogs yesterday morning.  Seriously though, it was pretty boring.  Not boring as in the event itself was but the fact that much of what Apple unveiled had been widely leaked through blogs, Weibo, and insiders. However, that doesn't meant there isn't anything to talk about.  And I'm sure I'll chime in at some point.  I'm going with a 64 GB iPhone 5S.  No way I'm waiting in line for it on the 20th and I doubt I'll find what the right model on the 21st, the opportunity and day I'll have to wait in line for it. So, I might not be too picky about which carrier (since they should all be unlocked) or color.  I'm leaning towards white/silver model.  But I do want the 64 GB model.

Source:   Arstechnica. Talk about despicable.  AT&T is using 9/11 to sell the Blackberry Z10.  Now, if I'm Blackberry, I'm be calling AT&T to get that ad off Twitter and anywhere else AT&T has posted it.  Of course, in today's social media, it's all over Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr. Man, what a bone-headed move.  I wonder who the brilliant guy who approved this is.  Arstechnica has a post and pic.  I'm not going to dignify AT&T's actions.

Source:   The Verge . Okay, Apple accusing and suing Samsung over design patents and UI implementations could be construed as anti-competitive and abuse of the patent system by some.  Personally, I think companies should steer clear of each other and do their own innovations, no matter what, and there won't be all this court action where lawyers get fat and rich. So, while the mobile war could be counted as an isolated incident in and of itself if not for this.  Dyson, famed vacuum maker, has now sued Samsung for the same thing that Apple has sued Samsung for.  Dyson is now suing Samsung for a vacuum-steering system patent that the Korean giant just lifted and put into its own system. This won't be Dyson's first dance with Samsung either.  It won a case against Sammie. While this may not be mobile related, it may speak to an inherent behavior of Samsung.  And with wearable gears just beginning to permeate in the minds of mobile warriors, I don't ...

It's been a quiet day considering that Apple's iPhone event tomorrow in Cupertino is slated to be the start of the mother of all Apple unleashing of products for the rest of 2013 through 2014.  After all, that is what Tim Cook promised us.  Having said that, while rumors have been delicious, again, it has been a quiet day. Perhaps, many leaks and rumors I'm reading have either been confirmed or deemed plausible.  And that leaves very little and little possibility of last minute surprises for today or even for the event itself. Having said that, while combing through blog posts of recaps, summary of rumors, and speculations, I've compiled a list of surprises ranging in their likelihood of happening from "just way freaking way" to "yeah, I can see that happening. Prices of the iPhone 5C - dubbed the less expensive iPhone.  Can Apple surprise us with the lower $500 advertised price?  Perhaps.  At $400?  Very plausible.  $350?  I can see t...

Did I just make up a word worth of being put in a dictionary?  Revisionistic. That is what I think could be going on with John Scully, the for Pepsi seller of sugared water, who was lured away by Steve Jobs over to Apple and subsequently resulted in Jobs leaving Apple. Here is  more details from Scully  himself. If would be nice of someone could confirm or deny his version of events.  However, Scully's admission of his own lack of understanding of the visionary leadership that Steve Jobs brought is very revealing.  And perhaps up to that point, hardly anyone has ever encountered the kind of leadership that Jobs brought to a company.