T-Mobile Announces 1M iPhone Users On Its Network Hoping To Capitalize On Sales of Official Unlocked iPhone 4

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 bring their unlocked iPhone over to T-Mobile is the reason why I think they've come out with this 1 million iPhone sub press release.  There has been no hard evidence that T-Mobile will be getting the iPhone this fall.

Source:  9to5mac.

90% of Enterprise Hacked; Will Get Worse With Mobile

I'll make this quick and short.  A survey with disturbing results showed that 90% of enterprises have been hacked and they are losing the battle.

And it appears they're not learning from this because 60% of them had been breached at least twice.  Sophisticated malware as well as social engineering as key for such breaches.

It's just unfortunate that such a thing can be avoided but the education in this regard is severely limited.  And most companies are too scared to admit it's going on.

And the recent rash of Android malware will only make it worse as more enterprise users go mobile with their work.  

Source: InfoWorld.

Apple's Mac PC Are Gaining In Enterprise And Why It Could Be Good For You

Apple's PC share in the enterprise market is now up to 11%. That's nearly 21% growth from about a year ago.  All this is due to two reasons:

Halo effect from iOS.  iPhones and iPads have done wonders for Apple's Macs.  Companies figure that if iOS devices are this great, maybe Macs are just as awesome.  

Then there's the "bring your own" device to work scheme that more companies are adopting.  Allows for happy and efficient workers.  They are not forced upon them devices and PCs that are not elegant to work with.  

It'll be interesting to see where things go from here.  Apple has retained a foothold through its millions of dedicated users throughout the vast business spectrum.  There has some more effort on Apple's part to sell to enterprise but in the short-term, it will still be folks like us who continue to help Apple out.  

Aside from ourselves doing well, why would we try to convince others to adopt iOS devices and Macs?  Think of it this way.  People are apparently more productive since making the switch to Apple's gears.  What's good for your company is probably going to be good for you as well.  If your company or group does well, you can be looking at higher stocks if you get them as a part of your compensation.  Or you could be seeing higher salary or bonuses.  

Source: Cult of Mac.

Hulu Got Offered For Sale - Not Google. So Who?!

Hulu got an offer for sales.  According to Business insider, tweets from CNBC and WSJ (they're very close to each other) indicated that Google is not the company that made the solicitation.  

So, if not Google, then who?  I know people want to think that it's Apple or Microsoft.  I doubt it.  Between the two, I'd said it's more likely Apple but even that's not likely.

I think Facebook makes more sense.  It has shown interests in video streaming with its own endeavors but I think they've largely been major fails.  

Also, in contention could be cable companies.  They're stuck in the Dark Ages of cable video and getting Hulu could also be a route for the company to avoid becoming dumb pipes for broadband.

Whoever it is, it figures going after Hulu is cheaper than buying Netflix and is a faster route to the living room to challenge Netflix.  

It'll be interesting once this deal is closed.  Can't wait.

Note:  As a mobile fan, I would love to see Apple or Google make the move.  That would be fantastic.

Source: Business Insider.

Israel Asks Apple To Remove App That Might Foster Violence And Hate

There is an app that the Israeli government is requesting that Apple pull from the store that they said is potentially fostering violence against Israel.  The app name is called ThirdIntifada.

According to the Yahoo News post, it is an Arabic term for varying degrees of uprisings against Israel.  I only said varying because, while I know a lot of it is violent, I don't know if all of it is.  Semantics aside, I do believe in the freedom of speech and religion to a point.  

Doing a quick check on iTunes, the app has received three stars with no reviews to read from.  Plus, just about everything is in Arabic, including screen shots so I have no idea what it's saying.  

The request to remove the app came from Israel's information minister to Steve Jobs.  

I am bringing this up because from Yahoo's post, I am not able to corroborate the claims.  I guess I have grown not to take anything we read at face value.  Could be the Yahoo post is as it says or that the AP writer is too lazy to doing any fact checking before posting this.  We've been examples of such in the past.

But if true, I sincerely hope Apple examines this issue carefully.  I think lots of governments and Apple competitors are watching to see just how plays out.

Source: Yahoo News.

150M iCloud Users? Basis For Apple's Social Network

RBC surveyed 1500 iPhone users and found that Apple may have 150 million iCloud users total, if you count in the number of iPod touch and iPad users.  Is that a lot?

According to figures provided by 9to5Mac, that's about 75% of Google's 200 million Gmail users and half of Twitter users.  It's no wonder Twitter is feeling pretty good about being integrated into iOS.  Still, all of these numbers pale in comparison to Facebook's 700 million users.

On top of that, iTunes Match could add $1.5 billion to the music studios and Apple's bottom-line.

That and in of itself is a pretty huge number.  Should apple want to leverage this along with its other social initiatives, iCloud could be the basis of a social network to challenge Facebook and Google.  Should this be the case, Apple can fold the fledging Ping into it and provide a better integration with FaceTime and iMessage.  And let's no forget Apple's photo streaming features.  

All of this can be done will protecting user privacy.

Source:  9to5Mac.

Versus: A New Series To Look At Present And Future of The Major Mobile Platforms And their Viablity

I'll be sharing with you my thoughts in the various mobile platforms
regardless of their sizes today and how they can survive through
tomorrow and even thrive.

I started thinking about this last night while listening to various
podcasts during my run yesterday. I think it's critical that we
examine where things are without getting too caught up in the various
fanboyism and take a good look at how things can turn out.

The iPhone 4 death grip was an issue but to this day, I cannot say for
sure if it was such a big deal. While Apple probably got a B- for how
it handled it, things could have turned out even worse for Cupertino.

Today, everyone is piling into RIM and its aging OS that runs on the
Blackberry. As far as I'm concerned, the Blackberry OS reminds me of
Mac OS 8 and 9 which was a patchwork that Apple desperately tried to
push out to compete with the better and faster Windows 95, 98, and
XP. Still, Apple prevailed and I like to see what are the chances
that RIM can rise like a Phoenix and remain a relevant mobile company
tomorrow.

Also, Android with its never-seen-before growth has come to dominate
the mobile market. However, it's no secret that it is plagued by
malware as well as fragmentation.

And today, an analyst even believe that the release of iPhone 5 that
is like to be on multiple carriers including Verizon and Sprint could
not only further stem Android's share of thr market but begin to erode
its dominace in the US.

It'll be a fun look at the future. Maybe there will br a dark horse in
this fast evolving mobile war that comes out of nowhere and blindsided
even Steve Jobs.