Looking For a Mobile Device Is Like Playing the Bachelor or Bachelorette Show

Someone on Google+ shared with me this post about the Bachelor or Bachelorette Show and how it relates to mobile.  And it's a brilliant analogy.  

We shop, research, inquire about potential mates.  And we pretty much do the same with our mobile devices.  Android with its freedom better or the ease-of-use and coolness of Apple's iOS ecosystem? Or is the Blackberry your preference choice with the excellent messaging and 

But unlike picking our significant others, smartphones have a 14 to 30 day return policy.  So it got me wondering.  Wouldn't the world better if we could return our partners/spouses if things don't work out within 30 days?  I can see a slew of excuses:

• Sorry, I have to return him.  It takes a while for him to wake up from his sleep mode.
• His/her battery life just doesn't last...if you get my drift.
• Let's just say I was unable to disable the excessive "notifications".

Anyway, picking the right mobile device is very important.  You will have to "marry" to it for at about 2 years at a time. 

So, what do you look for in a smartphone?

Source:  Blackberry And Beyond.

2011 Macbook Air: Processor Upgraded, Max RAM and Battery Remains the Same

Here is the spec page for the new Macbook Air, the new heir to the Macbook and all that is cool about Apple design, ergonomics, and lightness.

Specifically, I was concentrating on two things.  Memory and battery life. For either the 11" or the 13" model, the maximum of allowable memory is still at 4 GB while the battery life remains the same - 5 hours for the 11" and 7 hours for the 13".

Until one or both of those specs improve, I think my refub late-2010  Macbook Air from last year stands out pretty well.

I know that the processor has been given a great upgrade.  For someone who uses his MBA, to hack out writing, I won't be too jealous of proud owners of these 2011 Macbook Airs.  Well, maybe just a bit.

Macbook Nevermore

It appears the white Macbook, the original and longest surviving holdover Apple laptop, was retired.

When you type in the URL "http://www.apple.com/macbook", it just takes you directly to the Mac page with the picture of the Air.  I think some explanation will be forthcoming.  

And it does say quite a bit about the future of Macbooks.  If the Air is suppose to be the heir of the Macbook, it looks like Apple could be looking to slim down all the rest in future updates.  

China, Counterfeit Goods Capital Of the World, Now Counterfeits Stores

One of China's dark industry is the counterfeit of intellectual properties.  DVD, Blu-Rays, electronics, and software.  Heck, just about anything you can think of, it's been counterfeited.  Fake Apple goods galore - they're everywhere.  But here is one counterfeit that one would not even think some enterprising Chinese businessmen would go this far to do.  

They duplicated Apple Stores.  Not the App Store.  I'm talking about duplicating the whole physical Apple retail stores.  Decorations, blue shirts, gadgets - everything. Yes, everything.  The stairs.  Play area for the children.  And even the Genius bar.  According to 9to5Mac, the people there even believe they work for Apple.

I eagerly await Apple's response.  And then I eager await the response of the local government.  It's highly unlikely that these thieves did this without the backing or support of some local political boss.  On top of that, I wonder if they sell genuine Apple products or more counterfeits.  

New Mac Specs Unveiled - My Only Question: How's The Battery Life?

I'm jealous.  I want to have sources.  Any kind.  Like the ones that 9to5Mac has who gave them the specs for the upcoming Mac updates.

And what just is being updated?  

• New Macbook Airs will come out tomorrow along with OS X Lion.  The new MBA will get new i5 and i7 Intel chips.  (Link Here)
• New Mac Mini based on Sandy Bridge chipsets - there does not seem to be concrete information whether they will include Thunderbolt interface.  However, it makes sense for Apple to include them. It appears that the maximum memory is 4GB.  I think it ought to support up to 8 GB.  This is the year 2011 after all.  (Link Here)

I doubt we'll see a significant increase in battery life for these 2011 Macbook Air.  This post is being typed on the late 2010 11" Macbook Air.  4 GB with 128 BG SSD and 1.6 GHz.  I'm loving it.  My only gripe is that the battery life isn't longer.  It's good enough to serve my needs but you can never have enough juice.

Why Does Apple Get No Respect

As many as there are Apple friendly blogs out there, there are just as many if not more that cannot stand the success that Apple has garnered since the return of Steve Jobs.  Through the 14+ years, Apple has turned out hit after hit.  No one has been able to duplicate such success  

And it is as if some of these people are waiting for Apple to take a fall so they can finally say "see, I told you so.  All that was luck!"

Where do we start? Oh, the iMac.  Then the iMac in colors.  Then there was OS X that to this day, Microsoft's copiers have not been able to fully and adequately copy.  Let's move onto the iPod.  I still remember the nonchalant way Steve Jobs pulled it out and showed it to the world.  Who knew then that it would be the foundation upon which the "halo effect" of one Apple product brought to another.  

The move from PowerPC to Intel chips went smoothly and was ever bit as impressive as ever.  Ask another company to try to do that and they'll probably freak out.

Then in 2007, a year just as important as 1984 was to the Mac, Apple unleashed the iPhone on an unsuspecting smartphone market.  Then came the iPhone 3 and the iPhone 3GS after that.  The iPhone 4 followed last June and twenty million of these iconic mobile devices were sold to help Apple record their best financial quarter ever.  

Then there is the iPad released last April without a peer in the tablet market.  Many predicted that by now, Apple would have lost a majority of the tablet market to Google and its Android allies.  Then iPad 2 happened and everyone forgot about other tablets except the most hardened mobile warriors who will go to their grave vowing never to buy an Apple product (I applaud their conviction).

So, why the disrespect?  Why would Eric Schmidt yesterday, former member of Apple's board of directors, accuse Apple of not innovating but, instead, hid behind the patent laws to hinder competition?

This post from Brian Shall pretty much hit it on the nail.  There are just people out there wishing for something to happen so that Apple can be taken down a notch or two.  That they cannot see that everyone can win in the PC, smartphone, or tablet market.  That they see that for Google, RIM, or Microsoft to win, Apple must lose.  According to the post, he named about 5 things that could go wrong but probably won't that could be used as an excuse to take down Apple's stock price.

Take Apple's third quarter number and what it did to Apple's stock price the after market activity.  Apple beat even the most ambitious prediction and only managed a paltry 5% gain whereas Google last week gained 10% on a smaller beat.  

Microsoft is due up next.  I wonder how the Apple blogs will report on that.  I reckon they'll be harsh but it'll be nothing next to how Apple's been treated.

Apple Killed Today With Record Profit and Revenue, And Oh, OS X Lion Is Coming Tomorrow

I don't know how to describe this other than to say "wow".  Yes, yes, Apple blew way even the most ambitious out-of-this-world earning estimate.  Yes, yes, Apple sold nearly 3x the number of iPads versus a quarter ago.  Yes, yes, Apple's Mac growth has once again outpaced the general PC market.  It was in the midst of telling us all this that Apple execs casually let slip that OS X Lion is coming tomorrow.

I'm trolling through the Web and the trend is still on Apple's $76 billion in cash, $28.6 billion in revenue, and crazy number of iOS devices sold.  Hardly anyone is talking about OS X and trying to predict when Apple will release it, which new Mac could potentially accompany this launch, or how Lion further blur the line between PC and mobile devices.  

I guess it's one of those days.  I am sure in a few hours, the focus will come back to the here-and-now and Apple's last quarter performance will be yesterday's news.  But don't think that people are done parsing financial data looking for clues about what Apple could be doing with its cash and if notes offer information about future products.

And if that's not enough, poor poor Lion also contend sharing the headlines with on-going patent war, a saga that is for the history books.

I cannot remember another time when things are this busy and interesting for Apple  So, "wow", I can't believe Lion isn't the focus when its just hours way from release.