Amazon's Tablet Plans are Real And Coming This Fall

Amazon is currently getting things ready to ramp up their own Kindle tablet.  I'm using Kindle because its the brand that is most popular within Amazon's own line of products and just as with Barnes and Noble did with Nook and Nook Color, I anticipate that "Kindle" will be very much the name of the tablet.

What's not entirely known are the specs.  Months ago, there was talk that Amazon might include a 4-core chip from Nvidia.  It was a ridiculous notion obviously.  And WSJ is reporting that the the top end tablet will not sport a traditional 10" display but one that is smaller. And there will not be cameras.

I reckon this is probably the result of one of two things.  Amazon really wants to reduce the cost of their tablets or they have yet to develop the skills to build in adequate camera and have been unable to find a source to their likely.

Amazon will be going up against the iPad 2 as well as a second wave of Android tablets.  

You're asking, wait a sec, isn't Amazon's tablet going to be on Android?  Yes and no.  Amazon is probably doing this without Google's blessing and is taking the codes from Gingerbread to do this.  On top of that, this is no unlike what the Chinese "Android" makers do.  They create their own flavor of the Google release.  

And Amazon does have its own app store.  

Google Plus Traffic Down Mere 35 Seconds Per Visit

The amount of time that people spent on Google+ dropped from nearly six minute to five and a quarter minutes.  That's a drop of 35 seconds.  Is that really worth reporting on?  Well, CNet apparently thinks so.  

Well, folks, let's just say that the decrease can be for any number of reasons.  I'm surprise that the number has not dropped more.  In the first few weeks, you would think that most of the time is spent on Plus trying to figure out how to use it and manage our Circles.  Now that we know mostly how things work on Plus, we don't need that extra couple of minutes looking around for things. 

Further more, Google+ are more savy tech-wise.  True mobile warriors I reckon.  We're probably on our Androids and iPhones.  You don't need to spend give minutes answering, updating, and posting pics.  

And a drop of 35 seconds is nothing at all to worry about.  Plus has already reached twenty million.  I can't wait until early next year when Facebook tries to go public.  

Google Plus really has the ability to steal some of that thunder.  

In a Blow to iPad, Students Get MacBook Airs

So you know the title of this post made in jest.  Last week, Tim Cook of Apple made the point to say that the iPad was cannibalizing Macbook sales.  And according to MacNN, 2,200 students in Owensboro, Kentucky will be receive Airs.

Intalled on these Airs will be Lion.  Just as important is that iCloud should play a meaning part of these students' education.  

Apple also made it a point to say that this was education deal involving MBA.  

So, not exactly the Air cannibalizing iPad sales but it is important to show that laptops still have legs against the up and coming tablets.  And it's nice to see some sibling rivalry between Apple products.  You can get that while the school was consider the deal,the iPad had crossed the educators' minds.

Question is, so why did the school pick the Macbook Air over the iPad?

Source: Macnn. 

HTC Case To Use Video Patents Against Apple Is Weakened Dramatically; iPhone 5 Could Be A Major Disruption

HTC, Patents, Resolution

I generally like to focus on just the mobile part of Apple's iOS and OS X but you can't help but get sucked into the back and forth patent spats between Apple and Android device makers.  And Apple won a key preliminary ruling when an ITC judge ruled that HTC violated two of Apple's key patents.

And just as when it looks like HTC might be able to use some graphics patents they recently acquired, FOSS Patents is saying the validity of those patents may be called into question, further weakening any offensive that HTC might try to mount.  Their sole recourse would be an appeal.  

As a mobile warrior and fan, you can help but hear about this every day.  But perhaps, with HTC signaling that they are willing to sit down and settle this, we could be coming to some resolution soon - one way or another, regardless of whether Apple even wants to sit down with HTC and resolve this or not.

The conclusion is that this will end up well for Apple and it'll ripple throughout the mobile market.  

Then maybe we can finally go back to talking more about the real important mobile stuff.  

iPhone 5:

Looks like I'm inching close to be among those waiting in line along with millions trying to get my hands on a brand new iPhone 5 with a 4" screen and curved back.  

According new case information leaked from China, that is indeed going to be the case here.  In the past, leaked case information regarding iPad 2 were pretty close.  I'm gonna call it and say that the next iPHone will have a bigger screen and back not unlike the iPad or even the iPod touch.

Still, I'm gonna need some additional details before I haul myself out of bed at 1 am to go wait at my local Apple store.  I want to know if the camera is any better, 8MP would be nice, and whether we'll see better battery life.  

The battery life issue alone could sway me.

What Does Angry Birds (the game) Have In Common with Nazi Germany

So, I ask you - what does Angry Birds, the all time popular mobile game have to do with Nazi Germany?

Angry Birds, if you don't already know, is about these pissed off birds try go get at the pigs for stealing their eggs.  Kids stuff.  Nothing more.  Nothing less.

Apparently, Glen Beck equates the birds to the wealthiest 1% while the pigs have taken their eggs to redistribute.  Ooookaaaay, so someone has not taken his meds agin.

According to Macworld, Beck then proceeds to make a connection to the Nazi and even his co-hosts had no idea what he was talking about.

So you Android and iPhone users who play Angry birds (myself included), we're the richest people in the world and the socialists are stealing our eggs and we could be Nazis.  Or not.  

State of the Tablet Market (Mashable)

Mashable has a post that gives a very good state of the ereader and tablet market.  It's a recommended read for all mobile fans.  It doesn't get into what is being sold and which mobile platform has the pole position in the market.  What it does is provide concise information on who is buying the tablets and how they are using them.

I've highlighted some information from the post but I've left the bulk of information from the post for you to read when you click through.  Here are some interesting information I like to share with you.  I've focused mostly on the tablet.  To me the ereader is a device fit for one thing.  Reading. 

• In 2010, 10.3 million tablets sold, 6.7 million ereaders sold.
• Household with $150K is twice as likely to own a tablet
• Household with children, 12% already own tablets
• Growth of single function devices like the ereaders will slow as tablet sales pick up steam and acceptance among consumers.

This last point explains a lot of chatter about Amazon's Kindle tablet and why even before the iPad debuted last year, I predicted Amazon will have to release a multi-function Kindle.

And what are we using our tablets for?  Here are the top five things people use a tablet for:

• Browing the Web
• Viewing photos
• Emailing
• Playing games
• Watching video

As you can clearly see, people are using their tablet mostly to consume contents.  While many of us mobile fans see an even greater role for the tablet in our lives at school, work, and the home, that day is not here yet.  The iPad came out only 15 months ago and tablet makers are still learning about the possibilities the tablet presents as a utility.  

I like to see this issue visited each year to help us see the evolution of the tablet and the changes as it relates to how we use it. Right this moment, the tablet market is basically the iPad.  As more Android tablets and Windows 8 tablets next year enter the market, we can see a whole different shift in the marketplace  One that we might not recognize.  And that is a good thing.

Source: Mashable

Madmen On Netflix Now!

Okay, for some reason, I'm pretty excited about this though I don't know why. I've never even seen the show but I've heard all of my friends talk about it.  Now, Madmen is available for streaming on Netflix.

I'll probably give this a go after I am through with Star Trek: The Next Generation.

There are four MM seasons.  I hope that's it.  One of the things I hate most about TV today is cliffhangers.

Source:  Huffington Post.