Podcasting With The iOS Devices

I once tried to recording a meeting I had with a couple of people (yes, I had their permissions) using the Android G1 and it did not come out well at all. So I tried it with an iPhone using the Voice Memos app and the quality was excellent.

Obviously, it was not to the level of a studio or even a semi-decent environment set up do record podcasts but it was workable.

So I did a test podcast with a friend at a coffee shop where you could hear the background noises.

To my surprise, our voices came out pretty clear. So I was considering doing a podcast on tech, both mobile and green tech, and on current events with social impacts.

I am still in the formulation stages but I am seriously considering doing this via iOS or other mobile devices only.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch

Should Apple Release A 4" iPhone?

Should Apple release an iPhone with a 4" screen?

The 3.5" isn't all that much bigger than the 4" that we see on some of the Android devices but you can feel the difference.

And while these 4" devices are heftier, it allows more room for folks who want to see bigger images and videos.

I think Apple should consider it. Here's why. Such a device would allow Apple to differentiate the iPhone line and provide users with more choices.

After all, Apple has only one device and that is the iPhone. By providing a 3.5" and one that is 4" to 4.5", Apple can open itself up to a greater segment of the mobile market.

We can finally have the iPhone nano.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch

Next Big Thing For Apple Should Be Medical Equipment

Medical care cost are rising despite the best efforts of the Obama administration and who know what the health care reform law will do. There are just too many moving parts. While I applaud the President's State of the Union Speech last night about medical malpractice reform, more must be done and more can be done.

This is why companies like Apple should get into the lucrative field of medical equipment. Imagine what Steve Jobs and Apple doing for hospitals what it did for the content creation industry.

Ease of use, low IT maintenance, and the cost savings. I can see hundreds of billions saved when techs,doctors, and other health care personnel can easily access and operate machines to do scans and perform tests.

If Apple is looking for an opportunity to invest its $60+ billion in cash that helps Apple's bottom-line and change the world once more, this is it.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch

Verizon's iPhone Data To Be Unlimited, For a Time Only - Brilliant Move To Steal Customers From Others

Today, we got confirmation that the data plan for the Verizon iPhone will sport only the wireless data plan for $30 a month.  Plus, it's only for a limited time though Verizon Wireless declined to say what this time limit would be.

Two quick thoughts.  First, great move by Verizon to provide unlimited data.  Otherwise, this added an incentive for switchers, current customers, and newcomers alike to get the iPhone from Verizon rather than ATT.  

Second, without provide a time limit on when they'll discontinue offer unlimited data for potential iPhone buyers, mobile warriors do not know when that'll end.  Perhaps, Verizon might provide a future date when they will discontinue the wireless data plan or it might just end it abruptly without any warning.  Facing the unknown, buyers are more incline to pull the trigger than take their time getting it.

I'll be honest.  If I need a phone, I'm inclined to get the Verizon phone just to lock in the wireless data plan.   

And by not revealing just how long Verizon will keep this unlimited data plan going, the uncertainty and the expected overwhelming demand for the iPhone works in its favor.  

Furthermore, ATT is no longer sure what it should do in response.  Should it start offering unlimited data plan once more to keep users from defecting or provide parity with Verizon to attract new users?  Or should ATT wait until Verizon discontinues the unlimited data plan, which it may not if it continues to find success attracting more customers than ATT.

Anyway, this is what competition is all about, folks.  

So by not saying when it'll take away the unlimited wireless data plan, Verizon Wireless is sitting in a good position – maybe it will end it at some future data or it might not.  The point is, you don't know and I don't know and that just might be enough to get us to lock ourselves in with VZW sooner rather than later.  And judging by the comments on various blogs, that is exactly what is going to happen.

Brilliant move.

More at WSJ.

Note;  Some commentors on Appleinsider are alluding Verizon's announcement on limited time for the unlimited data plan as collusion with ATT.  Very interesting.  I'm suspicious enough of the carriers to believe this as well.

Verizon's First iPhone 4 Commercial

A clock ticks down. Kobe taking the ball down the middle of the court for a final last second shot, with the hands of Lebron and Wade in his face, to win the NBA Championship in game 7. Or Jack Bauer disabling the relativity bomb at CERN that would collapse the planet. Or the end days as we get closer to 2012.

Nope! It's Verizon Wireless' new iPhone 4 commerical. Nay a mention of the iPhone 4 until the last seconds of the commercial. But it was effective. I got really really excited. Until I realized that I'm gonna stick it out with my iSpot and iPod touch setup.

Perhaps, I might finally see the iPhone 4G or 5 on T-Mobile sometimes this year. Meanwhile, this was a pretty effective commercial. Talk about freezing the sales in time.



For folks who have been waiting years for this, this is it. This is your time.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch

15" or 17" Macbook Pro With MacBook Air Features - Like Removing Optical Drive?

We all knew when Steve Jobs introduced the re-engineered Macbook Air, the current edition last winter, much of the features it gained were from the iPad.  And Steve said much of the what MBA inherited will be passed a long to the other Macbook line-up.

Naturally, many think Steve is talking about the SDD or the month-long sleep period.  Or perhaps, and this is something that has not be brought up for a while, it is that the other Macbooks and MBP will lose the optical drive.  

The question is would users want that?  And is the market ready for such an eventuality?  

Let's examine this for a bit and see where it can possibly go.

By removing the optical drive, Apple opens quite a bit of engineering possibilities.  First, it is possible for Apple to slim things down quite a bit.  As in nearly MBA thin.  It's doubtful we'll see them as thin as the MBA because of chip and heat issues.  The MB may go that route because there are no dedicated GPU inside of them.

On the other hand, the MBP line have dedicated GPU that can contribute quite a bit of heat.  Obviously, we are assuming that Apple has not already found a way to dissipate the heat from the CPU and GPU.  But we have seen Apple do the impossible and leap ahead of its competitors.  

For now, I think Apple, by removing the optical drive, can slim down the MB or the MBP quite a bit more but not MBA thin. 

Second possibility of is that Apple keeps the same form factor of the current MB and MBA even after removing the optical drive.  What can Apple do with all that space?

I've got some ideas and they might be wild:

1. Add more battery.  Right now, the Macbook and Macbook Pro are rated 10 hours and 9 hours of use respectively.  I love to see that space used to pack more battery and increase use by 30-50% more. That'll be good fro a flight from SF to Tokyo.
2. Room for more SSD.  You can never have enough space.  So why not allow additional SSD to be inserted in place of the optical drive?  
3. Room for a second CPU.  This is one of the more crazy idea.  But if Apple is about mobile, I would love to see this happen and I think it can especially on the 17" MBP.  This would be a designer's dream machine.  And I can use the power for my Final Cut projects.  
4. This is the craziest idea of all.  Add an iOS device in there.  Allow users to have the dual use of the great screen.  Consider this a 13", 15", or 17" iPad.  The trackpad is fully capable of functioning and substituting as the screen's touch functions.  The electronics that house and power the magic of the iOS devices is so miniaturized that, while I admit this is a crazy idea, can fit into the space where the current DVD drive sits.

A bit more about point number 4, fitting an iOS device into the Macbooks.  Think of this as selling two machines in one.  Furthermore, this Apple can increase profit margins because it doesn't have to fully build out the iOS device like it would have to otherwise - battery, memory, and LCD screen.  

I'm all for getting rid of the DVD drive.  I haven't used it for a while and I've got plenty of options when it comes to viewing my DVD collection at home.  And much of them have already been converted into digital copies so I can already take them on my Macbook or iPad.  

I hope this is what Tim Cook said on Tuesday's earnings call when he reiterated that the Macbook Air was the future.  I like SSD and long sleep but I also like removing the optical drive to make better 21st Century use of that space.

February Will Have a Busy Second Week

You want proof that 2011 is going to be very very important for mobile?  What? CES wasn't enough?

CES in the first week of January did not end quietly as Apple and Verizon lit things up with the CDMA iPhone last week. This week, we had a bunch of earnings, trashing talking during earnings calls, and, oh, Steve Jobs taking his 3rd medical leave of absence.

We might have a quiet week next but Sony may be brewing a PSP2 meal for us.  I'm hoping to see a PSP phone as well.  

Just about the only week we might have a bit of time to catch our breath is the first week of Feb.  Then mobile activities will spike from there.  Check this out:

• Feb 7th: Sprint is hold a mobile event.  Calling it a mobile first.
• Feb 8th: Dell will likely show off their smartphones and new laptops
• Feb 9th: HP jumps back into the mobile war with Web OS 2 and new hardware.  Maybe a couple of slates.  Probably some smartphones too.  

That's the second week.  We've yet to hear from T-Mobile but I can see that they'll probably save their best for the Mobile World Congress that'll take place after that.  

Basically, what you're seeing is a bunch of companies and carriers lining up at the scrimmage line, positioning their pieces, and waiting to work hard for our hard earned dollars.  

So,  get ready for what's ahead.  Come back here for analysis.  Do research.  And when you're finally ready to pull the trigger on your next smartphone or tablet, I have a feeling you will have the best stuff that these companies have to offer.  

And if you're a crazed mobile warrior like me who follow the industry like folks follow sports, you're in for a treat.  These events are like bowl games.  Each with their own theme and personality.  Loving every bit of this.  This sure makes up for a boring December.