Steve Jobs Was Right And Wrong About the 7" Tablet

First, let me say that I love the iPad.  Regardless of your personal preference, the iPad is leading the charge for a new category of mobile devices.  I eventually hope to acquire another tablet that runs on a competing mobile platform.  To date, I've yet to find one entirely to my liking.  And it has more to do with the size and build of the tablet than anything else.  And since I"m not made of gold, the price is a factor as well.  So, why would an Apple fan consider a tablet with a smaller than 10" when Steve Jobs said that anything less than 7" simply doesn't work.

Well, for typing, I suppose he is correct.  I don't like pecking at the screen and smaller sized screens simply doesn't allow that.  But I can't say that I've bought that argument entirely.  There are a lot of things the the mobile users can do on the tablet that do no require excessive typing.  

So far, the 7" tablets on the Android platform are still running non-Honeycomb version of the OS.  I reckon that will change once Android 4 arrives later this fall.  That is a consideration.  The Playbook is well built but it is a bit more expensive than something for its size.  I am hopeful that HP will come out with a 6" or 7" Touchpad.  I would certainly jump at just such a device but with the 10" version not selling well, I don't know if such a device will see the light of day.

Obvious question is can Apple eventually release a tablet of this size and will they?  If so, I can see a lot of users adopt it as well.  When that happens, I wonder just how Apple will explain its previous stance and market such a device.  At least with the other platforms, we know that a tablet with a 7" screen can work adequately.  

Tim Cook: I Want The World To Know That the iPad Is Cannibalizing the Mac And I'm Fine With It

During Apple's financial call with Wall Street analysts on its most recent quarter, Tim allowed a new bit of information in such a way that was slipped into the conversation but at the same time, you know that he wanted it out there.  He wanted the world to know that the iPad was cannibalizing the Mac and he was not losing sleep over it at all.  

Then he added.  There are just more PC to cannibalize than Macs.  No wonder he fine with hit.  Microsoft itself just recorded another excellent quarter itself.  Obviously, it's at the point where Apple is so far beyond Microsoft in terms of revenue and profit that it just felt kinda sad for former number technology company.  And dispute making more money, its stock did not move and in fact lost some ground during the aftermarket activity.

The reason was another drop in the Windows revenue.  The collapse of the netbooks certain had something to do with it.  It remains to be seen if the back-to-school sales will help Microsoft out.  

Here's where Tim Cook's seemingly benign statement about iPad cannibalizing the Mac and PC is a bigger deal than anyone so far has given it attention.

T-Mobile Claims that G-Slate Being Faster Than Other Tablets Leave Out Important Information - Like Throttling

T-Mobile claims that the G-Slate, a Honeycomb based tablet, is faster than the iPad 2 and Xoom.  Of course, they're talking about the 3G connection (I don't buy the "4G" claim being made by ATT and T-Mobile).  But while that claim is likely true, I have to ask this in light of the current wireless environment where data usage is limited and metered.

T-Mobile, faster what?  Does it mean G-Slate users reach the end of their monthly data allotment?  Does it mean that it'll be faster for users get throttled down to EDGE? Or try to get users to upgrade to a more expensive plan?

I think it's better that T-Mobile doesn't charge extra for going over their data plan allotment but it is very disingenuous for carriers to talk about speed with the goal of throttle down or charge extra like ATT and Verizon Wireless do.

Source: Boy Genius Report.

Hulu: Apple Buyout Will Not Happen Because It Makes No Sense

I spoke with Dave the Mobile Warrior yesterday regarding Apple and Google possibly buying Hulu.  While he did not remark anything about Google, he did not think Apple would seriously consider making a bid.  They might try to help jack up the price for potential competitors like Google but that's as far as it'll go.

GigaOM suggests that perhaps Apple is likely participating in preliminary discussions that would allow them to take a look at the finances and inner working of the free and subscription based video service.  Along that line of thinking, I would have to agree.  

Both two blogs that I follow for mobile, GigaOM and Arstechnica both agree with Dave.  Apple would not seriously consider a bid for Hulu.  

GigaOM listed reasons why Apple should buy Hulu but these same reasons pertain to other companies as well.  It's their reasons why Apple won't buy Hulu that is more interesting – particularly the one about helping its competitors since Hulu is everywhere.

Interestingly, Ars also came up with that same conclusion.  More than that, Apple already has the content, just under a different format and distribution plan.  

Both are a must read to help dispel any hope that Apple will fold Hulu into its iOS ecosystem.  It simply won't work.

And good job, Dave, for making this call before everyone else.

Friday Movie: Trailer For Paranormal Activity 3

I can't recall if I've seen Paranormal Activity or Paranormal Activity 2. I'll have to go wiki them to see if the plots for those two movies sound familiar.

Having said that, here is this week's Friday movie clip. If you're new to my blog, I started this tradition as a way to celebrate an old tradition at my old work. Every Friday afternoon, we take off to go watch a movie.

My current job doesn't let me do that. Well, I can but I think it's not a good idea. So, this is the next best thing I can offer.

Here is the trailer for the third installment of this franchise, "Paranormal Activity 3".



Happy weekend!

iPhone Coming To More Chinese Carriers;

You might think that the iPhone proliferation in China isn't a big deal to those of us in the US.  Or that it should not matter to my friends in EU, India, other parts of Asia or my new friends on Google+ from South America but it does.  China will soon have one billion mobile phone users.  And it's anyone's guess that many more phones are in actual use.  You have to assume some folks carry more than one mobile device.

According to Phone Arena, China Telecom and China Mobile will join China Unicom, the only authorized iPhone carrier right now, in offering the next iPhone as soon as this fall.  If true, it underscores just how important a market that China is to Apple.  Obviously, not all one billion users will buy a smartphone but a major of them will.

Even if only 50% of the Chinese market embraces the smartphones, that is 500 million users.  And if Apple capture just 25% of the smartphone market, that is 125 million iPhones.  And there is no reason to believe that a higher percentage of the Chinese market won't adopt the smartphone or that Apple won't be able to take a bigger piece of the pie.  

No matter how you slice it, Apple is going to be selling iOS devices in the hundreds of millions – just in China alone. 

And trying to move up the iPhone launches in Greater China makes a lot of sense for Apple.  In its most recent quarter, Apple saw its revenue from this market jumped six times (PC World). To put this another way, Apple surpassed Chinese tech firm Lenovo (Taipei Times, Bloomberg) in revenue and, likely, profit as well. For Lenovo, having home field advantage is not help.  But then, can Lenovo or anyone else claim brand and image conscious China its home market but Apple?

Going forward, I expect Apple's mobile strategy to have a more profound impact from Chinese influence and that in turn will shape mobile experiences else where.

Kycera Phone For The Elderly With Emergency, Notification, And Pedometer; Is There An App For This?

This mobile phone comes from the maker of my first MP3 player, Kyocera. It's elegant in its simplicity. And from TechCrunch's post, it seems to be marketed at elderly. I'm not so sure, I think children can use this as well.

It has a pedometer, simple buttons and UI, and it has a feature that in the event of an emergency, it would trigger an e-mail to a caretaker. Again, children can really benefit from this kind of mobile tech. If I had kids and was to give them phones, I would want this latter feature.

Having said all that, this could easily be duplicated within an app for most mobile platforms. There are plenty of pedometer out there that just need a few tweaks that can do what this phone can do. Apple already has Nike+ built into its mobile devices and I am sure other devices makers can do the same with similar features.