AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

I finally broke down and went with the white Verizon iPhone.  I know what you're thinking.  The next iPhone is probably a couple of months away.  What are you think?  You call yourself a mobile warrior?  Well, there are two reasons why I pulled the trigger on this one and they're both kinda related.  First, we've know for about a week now that Verizon is about to get rid of their unlimited wireless data plan.  For $30, it's all you can eat.  Some time after 7/7, that plan is going away and never to be seen again.   It's kinda of what AT&T did just before the iPhone 4 came out.  The good thing is that as a new Verizon Wireless customer, I can grandfathered in for the 3G service and very likely also for the LTE service when I upgrade to an LTE iPhone or another one, like Android later on. Secondly, I've decided to a good son and take on my dad and his wife's mobile plan.  I current have T-Mobile and where they live, there is like ...

I'm going to say it again: Apple will not be releasing a new 9.7" iPad this year. There will not be any iPad 2.5 or iPad 3. Why? Just take a look at the backlog that still exist at Apple's online store in the US. Then take another look at the iPad waiting period for Apple's online store in other countries. 1 To 2 week wait everywhere. And if that's not enough, go to Walmart, Target, and Best Buy, three authorized resellers outside of Apple, and see if you can pick up the model you want. Chances are, you can't. On top of that, the iPad controls nearly 90% of the global tablet traffic and 97% of the US Web traffic for the tablet market. Still not enough evidence that there will not be a new 9.7" iPad coming out? RIM has cut back on orders. As have Acer. And tablet makers are said to be turning to Windows 8 to combat the iPad because Android 3, Honeycomb, has failed to catch fire with consumers. Keep in mind that I said no 9.7" iPads....

I watched Cars 2 yesterday. It was pretty awesome but you can tell it was catered to children under 10 or so. I'm just a bit beyond their target market but I still enjoyed it immensely. Heck, I spent $150 at the Disney store on Cars merchandise right after (for my nephews). Still, it was no Toy Story 3. However, this new trailer for Pixar's upcoming blockbuster movie, Brave, that was previously shown on Cars 2 3D viewings, will put Pixar back on the path of breaking new grounds again. It'll not only be Pixar's first fairy tale movie (recently Disney ventures into this realm has been dismal and Pixar is going to show them just how to get it right again), Pixar will go back to tell a new original story. So, I'm going to call it. Pixar's "Brave" will bring in $2 Billion at the box office worldwide next year.

Here is a nice pic of the new N950 from Nokia .  It's is a slide-out keyboard style with an ample keyboard and higher resolution screen that you typically see on a screen of this size, 4".   Unfortunately, it runs Meego, an untested mobile OS from Intel.  However, imagine if it runs iOS 5 - yeah, it would blow the market wide open should Apple ever decide to release an iOS device with a physical keyboard.   I've tried the portrait keyboard on the iPhone and Blackberry. Then there's the Android G1 that I used for more than a year.  Trust me when I tell you that the landscape with the slide-out keyboard is much better for those who still cannot get accustomed to virtual keyboard.   Anyway, I'm sure Apple has considered released an iPhone with a physical keyboard but has so far decided against it.  Still one can dream. Oh, did I mentioned that the N950 has a 12MP camera?  The iPhone 4 has a 5MP camera.  There is expectation Apple will upgrade th...

I think for people trying to out-wait Apple, September is looking more like the date when the next iPhone will come out. No one know what exactly is going to be on this new iPhone as far as specs and screen size but it looks like there will not be any LTE iOS devices until 2012.  I reckon it'll probably be spring of 2012 when Apple upgrades the iPad once again.  I am in the camp that there will not be any new iPad coming out this year.   More at 9to5mac .

Guess what? I am writing this post from the iPad. Now, you know that I've done that for eons. Others have done this as well. What's different this time around is the wireless connection that I am using. Posting through T-Mobile's EDGE. With the GSM 3G iPad model, I am limited to AT&T in the United States. There is T-Mobile but a couple of things prevent most users from using their iOS devices with T-Mobile. Most users. I like to consider myself as more adventurous when it comes to my mobile needs. See, the issue facing T-Mobile users from is that the 3G network and the iOS devices are not compatible. Hence, you're limited to EDGE speed even if you are able to get it work. Secondly, Apple has switched over to using micro sim cards. And those micro sim cards are not provided by T-Mobile. So even if you're willing to go with the slower wireless speed, the sim card issue remains an obstacle. However, if you're willing to take the EDGE speed, you'll need...

Better kinda late than even later.  I'm talking about Apple's iCloud information about migration from MobileMe and for new users. Just about everything so far has been as expected.  iWeb hosting and iDisk are gone.  But we now know that there will be web access for those who like to access their mail/calandar/contacts through a browser. I can't say that I'm bitter about iWeb.  I've said before that I took an iWeb survey only a month ago.  It made it looked like Apple was soliciting information on my use and what I think can help them improve up on. More at 9to5Mac , Apple .

You know you're disruptive when other companies get sued because of the doors and possibilities that your product opens. After Time Warner was sued and eventually settled over its iPad app that allowed subscribers to stream services they order, Cablevision is being targeted by Viacom for virtually the same reason. This is pretty impressive considering that the tablet market did not exist 14 months ago.  And today, the iPad IS the tablet market.  After all, the iPad accounts for about 90% of the world's tablet traffic and 97% of the US market.   It's likely we are seeing the beginning of a turmoil in the video subscription industry, namely cable and satellite.  Don't be surprised if these apps are the precursors to video-only services for live TV. Source: Macrumors

1 Million T-Mobile customers are also iPhone users.  Most are still using pre-iPhone 4 devices but more than a few have taken the knife to their sim card and turned it into a micro sim to fit the iPhone 4. It's interest that just now, T-Mobile is bring this up.  Why?   The most likely reason is that Apple has begun selling unlocked iPhone 4 in the US and T-Mobile, while in the midst of a merger with AT&T, hopes to take advantage of the change. If you think about it, that is about $90 million extra dough iPhone users pay T-Mobile each quarter to access 3G data.  And not only that, while we pay for 3G access, we only get EDGE because the iPhones does not run on T-Mobile's 3G network   So for about $300 million a year that T-Mobile earns, it makes sense to advertise this seemingly insignificant figure.  Oh, and to make it easier on us, T-Mobile is working on securing micro sim cards so we don't have to cut up ours. So attracting users who are willing to br...

You've got roughly six months left until Christmas.  Enough time to change your ways. But if you remain naughty, Santa will bring you this...no, it's not coal.   it's worse  (Wired).