Samsung Profit Warning - A Sign of Things To Come

I am not sure I'm ready to go out on a limb here yet but Samsung's warning due to poor LCD and TV sales could be a sign that consumers are changing their ways.

During the last holiday shopping seasons, many retailers warned of possibly not being able to meet TV forecasts.  And it was largely due to the iPad.  And with sales of the iPad continuing to be hot and other tablets from Android, Web OS, and RIM already on sale all hitting the market around the same time, there really is only so much dollars to go around.

And Android tablets are about to go 2.0 with new releases just in time for the coming shopping season.  

I'm fairly certain this will put a lot of pressure on segment of consumer tech products - namely TV and PCs.  

In this BBC post, analysts expect Samsung to recover the rest of the year based on sales of their mobile devices - the Galaxy lines of phones and tablets.  

See what I mean?

False Alarm - Steve Jobs Not Attention Executive Conference; But I'll See Him At the Next iPhone Unveiling

According to Macdailynews, Steve Jobs is set to join a retreat with executives from other companies.  I don't' know about that but I think this is a good sign, eh?

The only problem is that the Bloomberg post they sourced from was from a year ago.  They had me all excited.  Really really excited.  That was what I was gonna share with you.

But so what? I fully expect Steve to be at the official unveiling of the next iPhone in August or whenever Apple deems it the right time to do so.  

Here's another thing. My experience so far is that thorn at people's sides are hard to get rid of.  And Steve Jobs has been a thorn at the side of a good many companies across vast disciplines.  And I'm pretty sure he'll be a pain-in-the-ass for these guys for a long time to come.

Source: MacDailyNews, Bloomberg 

Green and iPhone - It's All In the Apps

Just as much as I like to talk about the iPhone, I am also very passionate about trying to be as carbon neutral as possible. Living in LA, it's very hard. With my busy schedule, it's mostly one small step at a time for me. Buying locally grown food. Taking public transportion despite a fifty-fifty chance that I may throw up each time I step onto a bus or train. Then I came across this list of five iPhone apps for staying or trying to stay green as it is in my case.

I particularly like Carbon Tracker, which tracks your carbon footprint, and Green Genie, a social network for green, recycling, and conservation efforts. I think I'll go ahead and download the other three. The Green Gas Saver isn't for me but I think I'll give it a chance anyway.

How about Android, Blackberry, and Windows Phones users? Any good apps you can suggest for other users

Source: Cleantechnica.

Looks Like Google Plus Is Now Accepting Invitations (Updated: It's gone again)

Update: Looks like I spoke too soon. I managed to get about 10 people in before the icon disappeared. I've managed to get most people who requested a Plus invitation in but there a few left still. Again, if you want one and have a bit of patience, let me know and I'll do what I can to put you through.

Looks like Google is allow Plus members to invite people. There is no loop hole required this time.

I don't know how long this will last but if you want one, e-mail me at at paul.public.acct@gmai.com sooner rather than later. Or if you know someone who has Plus, beg for an invitation from your friend.

Exodus from Facebook continues.

Spotify Accepting US Sign-Ups

Hello, everyone!  It's a new day!

Spotify is now accepting sign-ups for services.  Here is the link to their sign-in page.  And yes, I've already put my name forth.  

I started using this a while back, courtesy of Dave the Mobile Warrior who helped me set it up.  

No pricing has been announced but expect it to be free for a few hours of streaming and if you can't get enough of it, you can sign up for a subscription.  According to Macrumors, €5 to €10 per month for European users.  I think we'll see about $10.  But to do well, I think they would need to go as low as $5 a month.  After all, you already get Netflix streaming for $8 a month.  It would not make sense for a music service to cost more than video streaming.

So, what are you waiting for.  Sign up now!

Note:  Remember those unlimited data plans I mentioned yesterday that are going away.  They're pretty handy when I needed to catch up on some TV shows.  Now with music streaming, those plans are even more valuable.

Another Note:  Amazon and Google both offer music lockers for users to stream their own music while Apple will have iTunes Match for $25 a month that allows users to store their music in the cloud.  I love competition!

A First: President Of the United States Hosts Twitter Town Hall (11AM PST, 2PM EST)

In a first, President Barack Obama will be hosting a virtual town hall meeting via twitter.  According to GigaOM, the meeting will take place at 11 am PST.  If you want to ask the President question, simply type in your question with the tashtag #AskObama.

More than just a publicity stunt, political leaders are increasing aware of the power of social media and mobile tech.  On top of that, it will allow President to gain a accurate feel for what youths today are thinking and feeling.  After all, the President's successful 2008 Presidential bid owe in large part to the youth vote.  Today, the youth segment of the population are increasingly anxious about their jobs, debts, and future.

And these are very well educated electorate who can determine the President''s 2012 reelection bid.  Furthermore, the White House and the campaign will be pouring over the Twitter data from the virtual town hall to see what's being asked, where they're asking from, and the number of retweets taking place.

I just hope Twitter has the server capacity ready for this.  Obviously, you can follow the town hall on your mobile

Note: The town hall meeting starts in an hour.

Microsoft Wants $15 For Every Galaxy device Samsung Sells; Nortel Loss For Google Became Just Ever More Critical

According to TechFlash, Microsoft, fresh of some victories against Android makers including HTC who will be paying Microsoft $5 for every HTC phone it makes, is going after Samsung for $15 of every Galaxy phone it sells.  Considering the pricing pressure it sometimes has to go through, Samsung's Galaxy success could also cost it big.  

And there's where all these companies with huge arsenals of wireless and mobile patents play such a big role in the ever evolving and interesting war.  Why?  Considering many sources already saying that Microsoft makes more money going after Android licensees than selling its own Windows Phone software, this is saying a lot.

And on top of Google's losing bid for Nortel's wireless, specifically LTE, patents to a consortium lead by Apple, Google really has nothing else to help fend its partners from Microsoft, Nokia, or even Apple from asking for future royalty payments on the patents they won.

Do you see a pattern here?  Of course you do.  Just because you're paranoid does not mean that someone isn't out to get you.  That's exactly what I see here.  And in war, all is fair.  And Google's mobile enemies are looking to stunt if not outright destroy Android.  Hey, if the table was turned, I am sure the same could be done to iPhone or anyone else.

However, I don't think Apple with its recently won Nortel patents can really do much damage to the market.  Since it and others were vetted by various government agencies, I like to think that as patent owners, Apple will not be able to stem competition in the market place.  Still, Apple does look a whole lot scarier now.

It addition to having Microsoft asking for its share of the Android pie, Samsung is in the midst of a potential divorce with Apple as the two companies lobbed lawsuit after lawsuit across three continents.  

It'll be interesting to see just when, not if, Nortel's patents come into play.  And the thing is that there is absolutely nothing Google can do to help its Android partners.