Apple's Cash Helps Apple Grow More Cash And Put Distance Between It And Its Competitors

PC Magazine has a pretty good post that I've kept locked away in my Instapaper account for about a week or so that I finally got around to reading.  Then I reread it and thought I share it with you.  With $76 billion in the bank, which is simplifying things a bit, Apple had more cash available to it than the US federal government (until Congress passes the debt ceiling and budget deal worked out by Congressional leadership and the White House).  And instead of wastefully throwing it away as dividend, stock buybacks, or reckless buying up companies, Apple used it to help secure components and reduce costs.

First, Apple uses its cash to help finance building new factories that could build out new technology faster.  When new tech comes to the market, the cost could be prohibitive to adopt.  And because Apple can almost guarantee its that its devices, like the iPhone, will sell in great numbers, Apple can be sure that its investments in this manner is sound.  

Take the iPhone 4's retina display.  To this point, no competitor has been able to adequately compete on the same level or come out with an even greater screen pixel density.  PC World pointed out display technology in another manner:  the capacitive screen worked better on the iPhone because Apple had the tech a year or more before everyone else.

And once competitors gain access to technology that Apple previously enjoy exclusively for a period of time, Apple had prior deals that would allow it to continuously secure components at a discount.  After all, Apple had help financed ability of its suppliers to build factories.  

Here's the interesting part about the post.  PC Magazine acknowledge that Apple does, in fact, build premium devices with futuristic feels to it.  In the past, before the second-coming of Steve Jobs, before the iMac and the iPod, PC Magazine typically lead the charge that Apple's Macintosh computers were overpriced.  

Having said all this, one might say that Apple is pushing innovation forward in ways that fans, rivals, and supporters of its competitors could appreciate.

There is more in the post that I encourage you read if you like to know more about Apple's operations and why it is fighting so hard, as evident in the patent war, to protect its innovations.

Source:  PC Magazine.

Will iCloud Become Apple's Cloud OS?

iCloud, though the public has not seen it, has been regarded as Apple's newest weapon and its best hope to supplant the services offered by Google, Microsoft, and others.  It will be what MobileMe was meant to be.  And it could be Apple's final effort in trying to convince users that it knows what cloud computing is.

Even at this point, iCloud may well be nothing more than a glorified online storage for files, photos, and music.  But as with everything Apple, it offers pinpoint improvements over time and adds new innovative features and apps when they feel it has been baked well enough.

And it could be possible that as iCloud evolves further, it could merge with iOS and OS X further in the coming years.  Just as what we are seeing now, iOS and OS X share features and that could become more so with whatever OS comes after Lion

Google's Chrome OS is a vision that we could see future embedded devices head towards.  And though that could be challenged by Windows and OS X, there is support for this path.  Mozilla's new project "Boot To Gecko" is aimed at the smartphone but just as some earlier netbook makers were anxious to make Android their default OS, don't think "Boot To Gecko" will be used exclusively for mobile phones.

Obviously, this is merely my own speculation.  However, a cloud-based OS where features are "downloaded" and accessed by the user would core OS be updated by Apple more easily.  And then Apple can build apps around it.  I reckon this could also be more efficient.

It was from reading this Yahoo post regarding iTunes getting iCloud integration that made me realize just how important iCloud could become.  It won't be just the core apps like iTunes, iLife, and iWorks but Apple could extend integrations with more advanced features in future updates.

This could lead to faster boot times and smaller footprints for future iOS devices and Macs.  And moreover, Apple could offload heavy lifting by its server farms as well.  

Russia Might iPad Use In Government

The Playbook from Blackberry received approval for use within the US government.  It was given FIPS certification.  And because the iPad was not, it appears that Russia could be looking at the Playbook or even an Android tablet with better security features.

It's likely that Apple will also try to obtain this certification but you can never really tell.  And given Google's interest in pushing for a more prominent role in government, Android could benefit greatly.  

We should know just how all this plays out eventually but this could be a huge victory for RIM.  And it needs every bit of help it can now.  And who will be the next to be certified?  Apple or Google?

Source:  BGR, Financial Post.

I Am Early For Dinner; Mobile Helps Diffuse Frustration

I like spending time with friends and families so generally when I am out, I leave some personal issues and worries at home. They get in the way of fun. I marvel at my ability to do this.

Being fashionably late, especially in Los Angeles, seems to be something that more people are taking to a whole new level. But with my mobile devices with most of the time, I have had something to do while I wait 15 minutes or half and hour while people I am having dinner with or just meeting up for coffee shows up.

And as I write this post, I am an hour early. Actually, no. The people I am having dinner with are an hour behind. Again, this is entirely fine with me. Most of the time, I am okay with it.

I got a chance to update my calendars, fire off a couple of emails, mod a pic I tool this morning donating blood and write a couple of journal entries (both on my phone and actual moleskin notebook).

In recent years, I almost never leave home without something to distract myself with. Before the smartphones, I had my Palm devices.

And before that? I shudder to think about those time. I recall being frustrated a lot.


- Posted using Mobile Devices

Cases Leads To Redesigned iPhone; Could There Ever Be Another "One More Thing" Anymore?

iPhone cases has always offered a clue about what Apple's future plans for its mobile devices.  And while this is confirmation that Apple's next iPhone has a resigned shape, we cannot help but feel that there simply is no way for Apple to control information the way it once did.

Like when Steve Jobs one-more-thing'd us with the original aluminum Powerbook.  That was totally unexpected.  These days, we simply have to way for obscure Chinese or Vietnamese website to leak the information to seal the deal on whatever rumors we've been hearing weeks or months prior. 

So, I ask this.  Can there ever be another "one more thing" from Steve Jobs or Apple?

MacBook Air 11" - Good Enough To Replace the MacBook?

Apple recently moved to disrupt the laptop market by removing the white MacBook from public market and replaced it with the 11" MacBook Air. It seems to be as a big a deal as the the release of Lion, Apple's newest OS, and new hardware.

There was a few reasons for this. First, solid state drives are going mainstream. they are fast and has less moving parts that makes traditional hard drives more prone to failure.

Second, iCloud will supplant local storage. Gone are the nice big storage for music and video. Access to your media and files are all going to be on Apple's servers.

Third, the Airs are super thin and has no room for SuperDrive. Physical media like the DVD and CD-ROM are on the way out. Sharing videos will take place on sites like YouTube. And if you want to watch a video, download or stream it.

Fourth, reverse scrolling will be preparing millions ready for the tablets.

Put all that together and you can clearly see that Apple is getting rid of the old and ushering the next stage mobile computing.

The question is whether the general public will be receptive. I can see many people lamenting about the loss of the SuperDrive and smaller storage.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Google Improves Tablet Search - Looks Really Nice, Especially Pic Layout

Google continues to do great work on the search front. And while it's debatable how some of their UI looks and feel, at least with search, they're doing pretty nice by me.

They've made the UI better for tablet by way of adding and move search buttons and drop-down menus for easier access.

On top of that, this is my favorite part. The image results layout has imrpoved with bigger previews so you know exactly what you're looking at. Continuous scrolling is nice and faster load time.

It may not seem like much but with tablets fast becoming mainstream devices for consuming media and text, it makes sense for Google to make it easier for us early adopters to latch on. Bing, your move.