Voice And Mobile Payment A No-Show At WWDC Keynote As Expected

Techcrunch has been at the forefront of a rumored Nuance deal to power iOS and Mac's voice control scheme but there was not a peep about it at Apple's WWDC keynote yesterday.  Nor was any mention of NFC or mobile payment.  

Both of these were not expected to be announced.  If they had, things would have gone through the roof.  So, we'll have to rely on the folks who would dig through the new API in iOS 5 and see what they come up with.  In the past, such efforts have yielded new information about hardware and new features.

I have been making my coffee and pastry purchases at Starbucks with the SB card app and I found that to be very convenient so I don't have to pull out my wallet.  Between voice control and a more robust Siri or NFC, I rather with with voice.  

We'll know in the fall after Apple releases the final version of iOS 5 and what new hardware will appear in the next iPhone.  Until then we'll eagerly wait to see if there are hidden gems in the developer iOS versions.

iCloud and iWeb

As expected, we got the bulk of what Apple has planned for iCloud.  At the same time that many questions were answered, quite a few remains unanswered.  For instance, what happens to iWeb and to people who build their websites around MobileMe?  For instance, like myself with my Greenjava site.  

Just a couple of weeks ago, I took an Apple survey just on the subject of iWeb.  Had that not taken place, I would have thought that iWeb, which was not updated in the last iLife upgrade, is being kept around in the same way iDVD is.

I'm sure we'll get the answers regarding iWeb and hosting by September.  I just would like to know as early as possible in case Apple plans on doing away with any kind of hosting.

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.