Hey, Apple, How's iWork Coming Along

Though there is no official word from Apple, but it does seem like everyone is assuming that the MacBook updates will happen tomorrow. Let's assume that to be the case. Hey, Apple, where's iWork?

I passed on the last update but I am so ready for this one. There are a couple of features that I can sure use that are available in the current version but I like to see if the next one makes it even better.

One I am interested in very much is publication to iBooks and/or other ebook stores through Pages or another app. I am talking more that just ePub.

Also, I am hoping for a simple app dev program that I hope Apple release. You know, a fun sort of App-making for dummies.

Regardless, I eagerly await the next update. Hopefully, this will happen soon. Oh, and some tie-in with MobileMe would be great too.


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Mobile Payment Is Coming In A Big Way

The mainstream media has not caught on to it yet and I've talked about it here from time to time. But be prepared to be bombarded with tons of media reports, blogs, tweets, and e-mails about it in the coming weeks or months.

At week at the Mobile World Congress, near field communication, NFC, was being talked about as if it is the next holy grail of mobile. And to a follower of mobile happenings like myself, this is a big thing. In as few words as possible, NFC allows payments be made through mobile devices.

Think of this as what you can already do at Starbucks. You can order and pay through the app. Well, this will happen in a much much better way. There are a couple of devices on the market with NFC capability, specifically, Google's Nexus S. But as with some technology, being first doesn't mean much.

However, it is largely expected that Apple's next iOS hardware updates, including the next iPhone, will support mobile payment. And I expect an explosion of next generation Android devices to support this as well.

I really recommend reading up on it because just about everyone from your bank, credit card, wireless providers, and hardware companies will be getting in on this lucrative new business. Oh, and retailers would love this as well.

Also, there are also security concerns you'll need to be aware of.

So get ready media and ad blitz coming our way. I'll be devoting much much more attention than I have in the past. I started talking about almost two years ago, pointing the ease that the Japanese users have been able to enjoy with paying through their cell phones for years.

It'll be our turn soon.

It's Official: iPad 2 Announcement Coming on March 2nd

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.


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Bloggers Just Refuse To Face Facts About Apple's Subscription Plans - Trashing Apple Better For Business

This is my comment response to another uninformed post with a click-bait headline.  This time, it's from one of my favorite site about ebook and publishing, Teleread. Their headline is "Steve Jobs muddies Apple subscription waters further with 'clarification'". 

I've been reading a lot about the Apple subscription issue so I can gain a better understanding of what Apple is trying to do and where the grievances are.  After all, isn't that the best way to go about getting a handle on things?  

When I first read that Apple would take 30% of all subscriptions, I was flabbergasted.  30%!  Piracy!  As it turned out, this is way below Amazon's 70% cut on Kindle subscriptions.  Publishers are not concerned about that.  What they are not happy about is that Apple still will not share with them the vast and rich treasure trove that is the iTunes ecosystem that Apple spent the better part of the last decade creating.

Here goes:

How did Steve Jobs' e-mail muddying things up?  I thought it was exceptionally clear.  This is especially tru ewith respect to Readability.

Readability became a publisher of sort when it decided to become an aggregator of published media, posts, columns, articles and it sells them as a subscription.  If instapaper, Evernote, or anyone else tries to become active participants in distribution of content, their apps will be coming publishing apps.  Dropbox can eventually enter in their service as well and the Dropbox app will too become a publishing app.

And yes, if Twitter or Facebook starts to charge for tweets/posts/articles, they'll need to fork over 30% of their subscription revenues and it would be a pretty good biz for them and gladly give Apple its cut because they're not even doing it now.  As a matter of fact, all the above mentioned companies with apps should maybe think about getting into this business because it's a revenue stream they currently do not have.  

And there will not be any antitrust issues beyond preliminary probes - Readability needs to get a lawyer and he or she will tell them they've got no case.  Basically, Readability tried to game the system and failed

Bottomline: Publishers aren't complaining about the 30% cut (Amazon takes/took 70% cut from publishers - where's the outrage?).  Bloggers are (see note below for why that is).  What publishers are not happy about is the opt-in part about subscribers sharing personal information so they can sell that information and spam their subscribers. Readability came up with a biz plan that doesn't not work within the framework and going public in this manner is their last resort.

What's not clear is what this means for Netflix, Hulu, and other music subscriptions.  But I hope they are exempted.  I'm sure Best Buy, Amazon, and the few other smart service providers who aren't going around trying to trash Apple in public are trying to work things out with Apple.  

Here is the original Macrumors about the Steve Jobs e-mail.

Note:  Here's the thing, my fellow mobile warriors.  Trashing Apple is a good way for bloggers to get folks to click onto their sites.  It gets people fired up on both sides of the issue.  Writing about the facts doesn't bring in the clicks but it doesn't require leaving the moral compass at home.  So if and when Apple screws over Netflix or the music apps, I'll be back to vilify Steve and company.  Now, that would help me gain readers!

Apple Will Never Release a 7" iPad But Might Go With a 5-6" iPod touch

I've long suspected that Apple will do something to mess with the market when it comes to the 7" iPad. And Steve Jobs loves yo say one thing and do another. And with Steve dissing 7" tablets, I have in the past speculated that it is not impossible for Apple to release a 5" iPod touch.

And this post from 9-to-5 Mac, though based on a rumor (which I hate trafficking but love reading about) kinda say the same thing. I believe that a fall release would be a perfect time for Apple to do this. After all, it will be an iPod touch, not an iPad.

How will this fit into the whole whole iOS family? Perfectly. I think Apple is interested in tinkering with the whole iPod touch line in a big big way. I'm talking about wireless access beyond wifi here. Perhaps even with 3G-enabled iPod touches.

And this going with a 5" or 6" tablet but calling it an iPod touch will muzzle critics who would have accused Steve Jobs of going back on his words. Plus, it would allow Apple to cover the basis as far as screen sizes are concerned: from 3.5" all the way to 9.7". As for prices, I wager that Apple will really cover its basis.

You have no idea just how badly Apple wants to dominate this market. And releasing this bigger screened iPod touch will allow Apple an very potent arsenal to do just that.

How about UI and actual use of an iPod touch with a bigger screen? 9-to-5 Mac's sources say that it'll be about 6". I'll go with that for now but I think a 5.5" would be perfect. If you're using it for reading, it will for great. Think of it as a paperback that you would hold in your hands.

Watching a movie? I've watched a lot of stuff on the 3.5" iPod screen and 5.5" would be nicer.

And I also do a lot of work on my iPad. Though the 5.5" screen obviously cannot fit a full size screen, touch-typing or thumb-typing would work just fine. Go ahead and try it. Fold a piece of letter-sized paper in half and that is just about the size of what this bigger touch is going to be like.

Obviously, this will work for gamers very well. I'll be honestly, the 3.5" screen works okay but not as great as the iPad. and the 5.5" iPod screen would be a middle ground. Plus, it'll compete well with Sony's PSP successor, the NGP.

My only concern is the battery life. My iPod touch lasts me through a day of use well enough. But I have been spoiled by the 11+ hours that I get from my iPad. If somehow, Apple can give us comparable battery life as the iPad, oh man...

While nothing is set in stone about my dream 5.5" iPod touch, I am hopeful. And after months about hearing that Apple will not release a 7" iPad, it is feels good even if just reading about a rumor of a 6" iPod touch.

More at 9-to-5 Mac.


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Steve Jobs: Well Enough To Sit Next To the President Of The United States

Though this photo from the White House Flickr page showed only Steve Jobs from the back, he certainly did not look like those horribly faked photos from the National Inquirer.

Good to see him in black. Kind of funny if you think about it.




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Steve Jobs Was Confirmed To Be At meeting With The President; Meeting About The Future (2012 To Be Precise)

Reuters has confirmed that Steve Jobs was indeed present at the dinner with the President of the United States in San Francisco tonight.

That is fantastic news. And I hope President Obama was able to have a serious conversation about America's technological lead and innovative energy. Earlier, I write that I hope some sort of discussion about green technology took place.

And it is interesting that Reuters dedicated a whole piece on Steve Jobs and nothing on the actual content of the night's discussion.

But as I read the post, I came to realized that this maybe nothing more than to provide the President political cover with those who believe he has lost the support of America's businesses. That this meeting is more about the President's future and 2012 than America's future.

I cannot understand what meaningful contribution the CEOs of Twitter and Netflix has to offer on maintaining America's technological edge and learning.

Nor can I fathom what Facebook's Zuckerberg can possibly offer the president on any number of issues that ail our economy, energy policies, or K-12 education. Seriously, what does violating privacy time after time have to do with innovation at all?

More likely, the presence of the heads of these social and media companies was merely to serve as a reminder to a segment of the electorate that the President Obama had dinner with the guys who designed a way to efficiently mail them their DVDs and offer a way for them to share their lives with anyone who will read about it.

But who knows. Maybe Zuckerberg was there for the political gravy and President Obama did get some serious advices from the likes of Jobs, Schmidt (Google), Chambers (Cisco), Ellison (Oracle), and Levinson (Genentech) that will help him to get America back to innovating and working over the next couple of years and beyond.


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