AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

iPad 2 is huge but more than that, it will be even bigger for video conferencing. Likely yo benefit is Apple's own FaceTime. And Skype is likely to have much more to gain than ever. As a matter of fact, Skype should send Apple a Thank You gift for releasing the iPad 2 with dusk cameras. More than just boring old video conferencing for enterprise, FaceTime an Skype will gain from the home market. Consider how easy the iPad is robust already, it's icon focused UI allows for an 1-click access to either of the two apps for the less than tech savvy people like our parents and grandparents to stay in touch with their children and grandchildren. I predict that Skype is likely to make an announcement about a spike in new users and downloads after the iPad 2 goes on sale on March 11th. Apple's FaceTime offers a seamless sign-in process that will be welcoming to everyone. And its video quality is second to none. And while FaceTime might have an edge over Skype in simplicity, Skype wi...

2010 Was about the iPad and after we have had a couple of days to digest Steve Jobs' March 2nd iPad 2 introduction, it is beginning to look like the Apple CEO is correct:  2011 is going to be about iPad 2.  And if you don't believe me or Steve, take a look at the hit the Motorola Mobility stock took today.  Down more than 5.5% on a generally up day in the stock market. And from the number of folks selling their iPads for the iPad 2's, it looks like Apple's biggest problem is making enough to satisfy demand. But we have to look at the big picture.  The PC market in 2011, as forecasted by Garner, will grow only 10.5%, down from nearly 16% from an earlier projection. And 2012 growth was also lowered.  That happened?   Specifically, the iPad and, in general, the tablet market.  Now that Apple has proven that there is a market for a mobile device with a long battery life that allows users to consume media and remain product, mobile computing is change drama...

First, I know nothing about what Apple is going to say in advance for March 2nd unveiling of the "iPad 2".  Zero.  Nada.  I'm not even going to get into what others say Apple will unveil.  Frankly, they're just delicious rumors for blog readers.  I'm gonna get ahead and make my own predictions and analyze each point and how iPad 2 is going to specifically influence the tablet market and the mobile market in general. March 2nd Event:  I'll have my venti mocha from Starbucks, wait for 10am PST.  I would have gotten the day's work done earlier in the morning just so I can spend the rest of the day pouring over the analyses, blogs, and, of course, even offering an opinion or two of my own on Apple's latest and greatest.   What is different this year is that Steve Jobs won't be there.  It'll likely be Tim Cook, Apple's headmaster until Steve returns.  He'll run through the numbers on Apple's successes over the Holiday quarter, the recep...

Here it is folks. The moment you've been waiting for. Apple is due to officially unveil iPad 2 next week, March 2nd. Here is one bit of speculation on my part. There has been talk that Apple has already shipped some crates of new merchandise to its stores and retailers. The speculation is that they are new updated MacBooks. But what if they're not? Could they be iPad 2 units instead? More at World of Apple . - Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch

I had a full weekend.  Dinners, coffees, trips to visit friends.  And it was my iPod touch with my Clear iSpot versus everyone else who had regular cell phones, Android device or two, and a bunch of iPhones.  How did that go? Before I get into that, I want to say that I am very tempted to pull the trigger on the Verizon iPhone in the coming week.  I have said that my wireless combo of iPod touch and iSpot was how I want to go from now on.  And while it works very well for me, it isn't working too well for some friends and families. I had an okay day on Saturday when I met up with friends for lunch.  It was like the old days.  We set up a place and time a day before.  And we met on Saturday as it was supposed to be.  And it worked out.  There was no opportunities for anyone else to try to call just before we were supposed to meet up and change the venue or the meeting time.  Personally, I found that to be annoying. And since no one c...

I use Apple's Siri app on occasion.  And it's a decent app for process that pulls information from various sources.  However, I wonder if Apple will finally do more with it in iOS 5. After all, spending $200 million to buy it out must really mean that there is value in the app and the talent behind its development that the top echelon at Apple saw. It is a very useful app as it is if you have never used it.  It's a voice query app and I have spend some time here and there to see what I can do with it.   First, you can tap and say what you want to ask.  If the question is within reason, like "where am I?", Siri thinks for a bit and offers you what it thinks is the best answer.  When I asked it where my current location was, it showed me a map of where I am.   And for lunch, I was able to ask Siri where is the location to the restaurant I'm suppose to meet up with my friends.  It was a very easy process.  No typing required.   That's great...

I inherited Mom's 3G iPad last week as she waits for iPad 2 with the better resolution and frontal camera so that she can conduct video chats for work and with friends. I have been using a Wi-Fi only version and more recently, bought an. iSpot for use with it to get the wireless Internet access. And while ATT prides itself on having the fastest 3G network in the United States, I cannot be sure if that means much. And here is why. In one day's use and based on past experiences with ATT in the past and with T-Mobile's own network and now Clearwire's WiMax service, I am in a good position to pass a long a few conclusions. Today, WiMax is excellent if you can get it. It is wicked fast. I consistently get about 4.5 Mbps. When T-Mobile turned on their HPSA+ network last year, I went from about 1MBps on the Android G1 to about 3 Mbps. And my understanding is that things have vastly improved by quite a bit. We could be looking at speeds up to 20 Mbps by the end of 2011. T...

My needs are simple as far as what I want from Apple on Wednesday. I don't mind being blown away but I sort want to see Apple move in the direction I think Steve Jobs and friends has been planning for years. The full integration of iOS and OS X. For a few years since Apple made available the iOS SDK, there is something that has been working very well that no one has given it much notice unless you're an app developer and something that I was exposed to as I give programming a try. The iPhone simulator. It works great and with the advanced multitouch pad and OS X gaining a lot of iOS features, it only makes sense for Apple to allow iPhone and iPad apps to run on Macs. This is a natural evolution But it would be a revolutionary concept. And imagine the sales pitch with this one. Get a Mac and you can run iOS apps. Or got a Mac? You can download apps from iTunes and if you get an iOS device, you can take those apps on the go! Is this going to happen? Frankly, this has just as m...

Depending on who you talk to you and who you believe, the netbooks, perhaps even lsptops, are taking a sales hit because of the iPad. Perhaps. Then there are those who are not so sure this is happen on a large scale. Given the potential that Apple may be on the verge of a $20 billion quarter and cuts on orders by dorm laptop and netbook makers, it has industry and mobile observers such as myself very excited. Is this the beginning of the end of mobile computing as we know it? More at Greenjava Mobility .