Skype For iPad Here! (For Some)

I eager wait for the arrival of Skype app for iPad.  I've been using the iPhone version on the iPad and I just have had enough of it.  I do quite a bit of IM on Skype and it just was maddening to type on it.

As you know, Skype was recently bought out by Microsoft and there is no way we can tell what Microsoft intends to do with it.  

For now, I'm just going to think small and appreciate the arrival of a native iPad app.  

On another issue:  FaceTime.  It's Apple's video chat solution.  Could se see some kind of an improvement with the arrival of iOS 5?  There is chatter that Apple may being 3G to the iPod touch (I think it's more likely a larger sized iPod touch with 5-7").  I would love to see FaceTime and Skype go head-to-head.

Source:  Appleinsider.

HTC Filed Suit Against Apple In the UK; Apple Likely snapped HTC's Olive Branch

After being handed a setback by ITC that ruled HTC violated two key Apple patents and having the S3 patents that Apple's Mac alleged violated be ruled unpatentable, HTC was in a much weaker position in the courts and bargaining position.  

Hence, HTC suddenly became malleable to sitting down with Apple and negotiate an agreement with Apple.  That was last week.

Today, we learned that HTC filed a suit against Apple in the UK and the war between the two is likely to escalate to the level of fighting between Apple and Samsung spanning continents in multiple jurisdictions.  

Why?  Is HTC simply trying to rattle Apple a bit?  On the surface, one could see this as a ploy to bring Apple to the tablet.  However, I've got another explanation.

Apple took the olive branch from HTC, broke it in half, and threw it right back at it.  

And if I'm right, all the Android device makers will have to deal with Apple in just such a manner.  Apple does not file patents to collect royalties. Many Wall Street analysts mistakenly insist that exchange of money will make this "all go away" especially Taiwanese research firms.  Apple filed patents to protect its products from being copied and infringed upon.  

Also, HTC assured investors that the spat with Apple will not hurt its business.  I think HTC investors ought to do a little homework and find out just who HTC is dealing with.

Some TV Shows Bought On iTunes Streams To Apple TV, Now About iOS Devices?

Apple has a deal with ABC, Fox, and possibly others that allows Apple TV to stream TV shows they bought.  When I first read about this earlier this morning, I had to reread the post to make sure it was what I thought it to be.  And this was made possible through an Apple TV update available today. (Macworld)

If you buy a TV show from a studio has such a deal wtih Apple, you can now download the TV show but also stream it live through Apple's servers to your Apple TV and onto your HDTV.  This certainly has me closer to buying a TV after all.

What's missing is that some studios and channels have not yet agree to this.  Hence, users reported that some TV shows are missing.  

And while Apple now allows TV shows to be redownloaded, I wonder how soon before Apple allows users to simply stream TV they've gouth.  Furthermore, are we any closer to a TV subscription?

No 3.5" iPod Touch with 3G; 7" iPod Touch With 3G Makes More Sense

I'm gonna make this my thing for the fall until the next iPod touch comes out.  3G access is something I've wanted for the iPod touch but never got and now it's likely Apple is shipping an iPod touch with 3G.  My question is which one.

See, I've been using my iPod touch with my Clearwire iSpot until I bought new Android and iPhone recently.  It was my mobile battle platform if you will.  As a mobile warrior who insisted on taking that extra leap into what I think is the future, a future where there are no voice plan but data only plans, it was a grand experiment.  

My set up was not as robust as I would have liked largely because the VOIP options were spotty.  Now with Apple likely to release a touch with 3G, I reckon Apple should have an option for VOIP in development in the future.  Perhaps, there could be a FaceTime option for just voice.  

So, would this just be a conventional iPod touch upgraded with a 3G modem?  I think not though because the addressable market is just too small.  

I'm going against convention and speculate that the iPod touch as we know it will remain the same while there could be a separate subset of the touch with a bigger screen and form factor to support 3G and a larger battery life.

Just yesteryday I posted the news that Samsung has developed a 7" screen wtih 1024x768 resolution, the same one as the iPad.  To call this an iPod touch 7 would make sense and the resolution would allow Apple to let this 7" touch use iPad apps without requiring developers to rework their apps.

Furthermore, a 7" iPod touch form factor would allow Apple to increase the battery of this new device with similar battery life to that of the iPad.  

So, I'm gonna be looking at the Web to see if there are more evidence to support my assertion.  I promise to show you that Apple has already show us that it could be working on just such a device.  I'll get to it soon enough.

Apple's Gears Command more than 8.5% Web Access - Evidence of Windows Cannibalization

If you add both Mac and iOS shares, you get 8.57% of total Web access  What this means is the likelihood of the iPad making some inroads into the typical browsing behavior of its users and creating spike that could in a couple of years even rivaling the Mac even as Apple's computers continue to grow.

What it does mean is that future share loss will come mostly at the expense of Windows.  And with the new Macbook Air releases that coincided with the release of OS X Lion and back-to-school sales, Apple may further gain market shares.  It isn't inconceivable that we will see Apple's duo of OS X and iOS reach greater than 10%.

And depending on when the iPad 3 comes out with other Macbook Pro updates, well, I don't want to go overboard and speculate just how much higher Apple's Web access share will go.

Source: Macnn.

iPhone 5 (or 4GS) Launch Date A Moving Target; October Launch Now?

I find this information highly suspect given the movements in the retail market, both by Apple and its carrier partners but still, it would be of interest to those looking at the next iPhone as an upgrade.

According to Macrumors, AllThingsDigital sources place Apple's plans to launch the next iPhone in October instead of the early to mid-September date that had been flying around

Though it could happen, it is highly unlike to happen.  This would place the iPhone launch squarely into the iPod update time frame.  And while you might say "that would make sense", all the price drops for the iPhone 4 and free iPhone 3GS (refurbished) are taking place now or could start next week.  

In the past, Apple's carrier partners typically lower their iPhone prices about a month before the next upgrade happened.  

AllthingsD began their post, defiantly declaring "they're wrong" about the September timeframe that other blogs and news posts have been advocating.  

All I know is that a later iPhone launch would make my white iPhone 4 phone feel more fresh and I'm okay with that.  But I would like for us to remember just how right or wrong AllThingsD are with this new date.  

I sense that it's possibly that is a planted information by someone to misdirect the public.  There is just a smell to all this.  Wall Street and blogs will be rattling the bushes this week to see if they can shake up new information to back up this new October launch frame.

Samsung's 7" Screen with 1024x768 Resolutions Opens New Possibilities For Tablets

So for the 7" tablet market is largely confined to the Android flavor running Gingerbread or an even earlier version.  They also sport an across-the-board 1024 x 600 resolution.  And  it is only the most recent version of Honeycomb that will support 7" tablets natively.

And now, Samsung has improved on the 7" screen with a WSVGA resolution 1024 x 768, one that we continue to on LCD and notebook screens.  And this has not only a good chance of being adopted by Android device makers but perhaps even HP.  Or maybe even Apple?

Sharing a common resolution across multiple platforms could be a boom for developers.  Perhaps there are basic frameworks for their developments that can then use across platforms.  

And for HP, it could offer a smaller 7" Touchpad sharing the same resolution as the bigger 10.1" Touchpad.  Developers certainly would be happy about this.  It would allow them to develop one app for two tablets without modification.  

And should Apple follow and use a similar 7" tablet with the same 1024 x 768 resolution as its current iPad, it could open the door for a smaller iPad or a bigger screened iPod touch.  

I remain hopeful that we'll see a bunch of sub-10" tablets in the second half of 2011 to take advantage of the Holiday Season.  And this new screen could pave the way for that to happen.

Source:  Ubergizmo.