Mac Doing To PC What iPhone Did To Smartphones

One key question I came away from the WWDC keynote is if the Mac is on the way to reignite the PC war that Apple has lost in the 90s.  After all, Mac sales has outgrown the general PC market each quarter for the last five years and in the latest quarter, while the market shrank 1%, Macs have grown 28%.  Is something going on here?  Is the Mac doing to the PC what the iPhone did to the smartphone market?

Granted the smartphone market is now dominated by Android because of Google's effort and it is a very good platform, Apple continues to play a big role in shaping it.  Not to mention that Apple has a majority of the profit in the smartphone business.  But Apple will never be able to dominate the phone market the way its iPod did to the MP3 market.

With PC, however, there is almost a staleness to Windows that people don't get too excited over even with new versions.  People get excited about new Android devices and new OS updates but that is not the case with Windows at all anymore.  And perhaps, it is just an issue of perception that Microsoft no longer innovates (which they do quite a bit).  

And the difference is that while Android devices are still growing in numbers, PC sales are down.  So what is going on here?  I know there is the thing about the halo effect from the iOS devices and iPod but there has got to be more than that.  Apple has consistently said that 50% of Mac buyers were former PC users.

I think it's the idea that we could be in a post-PC era.  People are buying smartphones and tablets instead of personal computers and for those who continue to buy computers, Macs has been granted the perception, true or not, that is has more value than your standard HP and Dell.  

Whatever the reasons are, something has changed in the last five years in the PC market that has, for the duration, shift the wind in Apple's favor

Apple's iCloud, iOS 5, And Lion

What about Apple's big day on Monday? Steve Jobs came on to the stage and helped introduced the next upgrad to its mobile and computing strategy for the future.

What does it really mean? I don't know. It was fantastic to see many pieces come together. At the same time as I followed the various live blogs on the WWDC keynote, I can't help but wonder just what is it that Apple showed us today.

Was this the future or was it just another lead change between Apple and its competitors?

You have to look at the three main pieces of Apple's mobile, Mac, and cloud products but see it as a whole that is more than the sum of its parts. After all, isn't this always the case with Apple anyway?

When Apple licensed the Mac OS to others, the Mac clones while mostly ran the OS adequately, it just never felt the same as a real Mac from Apple. The hardware, software, and services all worked together.

With iOS running on the iPhone, iPod touch, and the iPad and OS X running on the Mac, they are now being meshed with a renewed cloud focus.

My hope is that we are witnessing glimpses into the future than just incremental improvements.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch

Some iOS 5 Features Worthy of A Steve Jobs Keynote

Here's an excellent post from TIPB on what we want from iOS 5 but probably won't get - hey, it's what blogs are for right?

My needs are simple.  I don't need wireless firmware upgrade.  Download half a gigabyte of information is seriously going to sap the battery life.  I don't want to have to download a big file and then having to plug my iPod touch back into the wall just so I have enough juice to enjoy new features.  Besides, updates from Apple are few and between.  

What I really like is the suggestion to just outrigth steal from WebOS' Synergy.  Twitter and other social integration would be appreciated as  Siri on steroids.  

More at TIPB.

What About The iPod Refresh In The Fall

It's a forgone conclusion that the next iPhone won't be coming out during its traditonal June/July period this year but mug later, like in the fall. If that's the case, what'll happen to the iPods?

Are they going to get squished in along with the next iPhone launch?

Or could the iconic line of dedicated music players pass through 2011 without an update until 2012?

We really won't know until WWDC next week. It might provide a clue as to what we can expect when the next generation iOS devices.

Personally, I am in the market for a 200+ GB iPod classic. iCloud or not, I am determined to take my media with me wherever I go.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

New iPhone At WWDC Next Week? Possible But Highly Improbable

Does it make sense for Apple to release an updated iPhone before the next iOS update is ready?

Sure, and that could be why I won't be totally surprised if Steve Jobs goes on stage, reaches into the left pocket of his jeans, and tells the world, "this is iPhone XX".  

But you say, "how can Apple do such a thing without the accompanying iOS?  Doesn't it need iOS 5?"

Well, yes.  It would be nice to have iOS 5 ready but because of the fact that Apple did not talk about it back in April like it's done the last couple of years but, instead, in June, means it is not quite ready yet.  

However, when the original iPad launched, it ran on iOS 3 and it was not until November when iOS 4 version for the iPad was released.  

So, it is entirely possible that we can see a new iPhone next week.  It is highly improbably but that's another matter entirely.  

Yahoo and Microsoft Also Got Hit By Chinese Hackers

Don't know if you know they now, some Gmail was hacked by the Chinese, despite claims of innocence.  You know they did it, I know they did it, and they know we all know they did it.  With that settled, it's now known that Yahoo Mail as well as Hotmail were also in similar ways.  

This Macworld post diplomatically did not mention Beijing by name as the perpetrator until near the end of the post but that their choice.  Having said that, the Google mail accounts of US officials, journalists, and activists were the main target.  I reckon gaining access to these same category of people is the same reason for the Yahoo and Hotmail attacks.

And chances are, if you're reading this, you probably are just an average mobile warrior like me and not an ambassador something like that.  Still, it makes sense to change your passwords and such.

As a matter of fact, changing the passwords to all your online accounts is a prudent practice, even if you're not a member of the press or a freedom fighter living in a totalitarian realm.

More at Macworld.

Can Apple Surprise Us Next Week?

Apple will host its next World Wide Deveoper Conference next week in San Francisco.  And much of topics of what Apple wants us to focus on is out in the public.  OS X Lion, iOS 5, and, of course, iCloud.  But is that all there is?  

I had been waiting all week long with glee, expecting to the blogs to run wild with rumors and speculations knowing well that most of it just stuff people are going to make up to get hits.  Imagine my shock when that has not happen at all.  It has been a relatively quiet week.  Maybe it has something to do with the long weekend we just had and folks are still exhausted.  I know I am.  

Still, it is possible for Apple to pull a fast one on us and unleash something spectacular?  Yes, but I'm not hopeful.

What?  No Crazy Rumors This Year? At this time the last few years, we were getting a lot of crazy rumors about this and that.  And of course, there was the Gizmodo theft of the iPhone 4 prototype and the Web was crazy with what we know.  So why no Apple rumor craziness this year?

I attribute this to Apple announcing ahead of time what they want to talk about.  It isn't OS X Lion.  We know that much and expected it.  But it was that in a press release, Apple said we'll be hearing about iOS 5 and iCloud as well with Steve Jobs as the keynote speaker.  In all my time watching Apple, never have they done such a thing.  

iOS 5 was kinda expected to be a topic at WWDC but "iCloud"?  Before that confirmation, everyone had put the "iCloud" in the rumors category

It was as if Apple made an preemptive move to shut down rumor wild fire that they would have a difficulty putting out.  Sure, Apple has never responded to rumors in the past but that doesn't mean that Apple is not in any way influenced by them.  Stock prices go up and down because of them because Wall Street analysts and CNBC would include them in their reports  Expectations go up.  

By mention a head of time what to expect, Apple effectively shut down anything that would distract from what they want us to focus on.  At the same time, it is also a perfect opportunity for Apple to let loose something, a major and pleasant surprise while we least expect it.  

What can this surprise be?  I know what I want.  And I won't say because you could want something totally different from Apple next week.  

I leave this in closing.  Regardless of what we see next week, I fully expect to be wowed because it'll be Steve Jobs on stage and that reality distortion field will be on full.