Apple's International Push Means Searching Retail Chief With International Experience

Apple is said to have hired an international header hunter to help them look for a new retail chief.  This information came from WSJ and of late, WSJ has printed a couple of questionable posts regarding Steve Jobs and Apple.

Having said that, this post regarding Apple's plan makes sense.  The international market is increasingly more important to Apple as growth.  In the last few years, Apple became increasingly reliant on the international markets for its sky-rocketing growth.  Apple's revenue in China alone was $3.8 billion in the last quarter, an increase of 6X from a year ago.

And with a strong brand, there is much Apple can benefit with a continuing strong retail presence.   

Source:  WSJ, Appleinsider.

iPhone 5 Will Be A Big Deal But Could It Entice Android Users To Defect? Maybe With Android 4, It Won't Matter; Microsoft And RIM Still Big Players Second Half of 2011

Is the iPhone about to surge ahead once the next iPhone is out?  According to a survey with very small sampling, it seems to be the case.  But let me say this again, it's a very tiny survey sample.  On top of that, there are places in the world where Android is a more affordable choice than the iPhone.  And there are also a large parts of the world where the iPhone isn't even available.

When the iPhone became available on Verizon, no one thought that Apple was going to suddenly turn the tide against the Android.  Even fact, as Apple sold more iPhones through the third quarter, Android not only held its grown but managed to grow its share domestically in the US as well as internationally where it is closing in on 50% of the mobile market.  

To be fair, Apple does control two-thirds of the profit in the mobile market.  All things considered, I think Apple would rather have profit than market share right about now.

For Apple's achievement, all this was done with the aging iPhone 4.  When Apple and Verizon Wireless finally made it available to CDMA customers in the US, the iPhone 4 had been on the market with ATT for eight months.  By the time the next iPhone is available, it will have been sixteen months since it debut.  

As a gadget fan, I'm watching the competition between the various mobile platforms with glee.  Ultimately, we win as these tech giants fight and innovate to entice us to stay with their platforms or defect.  

For mobile warriors who wants to keep score, watch out for the iPhone 5 (or whatever Apple wants to call it) going up against Android devices running Ice Cream, the next version of Google mobile OS, and others like Mango from Microsoft or RIM's new .  I don't want people to think that the mobile market has come down to a two-horse race.  Things can change rather quickly.  

For instance, Samsung's Galaxy S II has already sold over six million units even before reaching North American shores.  I reckon Galaxy S III is in the works as we speak.  

But the race this year will be different.  In the past, the Android had the advantage of being on all four major US carriers.  This year, we know that at least two of the four will be carrying the new iPhone.  It's hardly a 4-on-4 situation but ATT and VZW does account for a major of the US mobile customer base.  Having the iPhone running on Sprint and T-Mobile USA will help Apple but there is no indication that either of these carriers will get the iPhone.

One thing that the iPhone has over Android and other platforms (with the exception of Blackberry users) is that it has a stickiness no one else has.  iPhone users do tend to come back and get another iPhone.  With Android and Windows, there does not seem to be the level of loyalty that Apple's mobile device has.  

So, we will have to see just how many new customers pick the iPhone or an Android device and how many defections there will be from one mobile platform to another.  If Apple does end up with a sizable Android defections, it could be worrisome for Google and its friends (Samsung's Galaxy is a relatively strong brand that might provide some immunity to the iPhone appeal).  

We are six to eight weeks from a new iPhone assault.  Certainly by this Christmas season, we will see a big shift in the mobile market.  We also want to watch out for this: if Mango powering Nokia's new smartphones will help Microsoft gain mind-share (anywhere); if RIM's belated smartphones can mount a comeback in North America.

Brilliant Move To Oppose ATT Merger With T-Mobile

So far, everyone seems to think the T-Mobile takeover by ATT will sail through despite a bit of pockets of resistance, even with some powerful US Senators thrown into the mix.  But I think as examples of anti-competitive moves by ATT and loss of opportunities due to lack of choice in the market emerge, we might see things turn against the deal.

Take this Cablevision opposition to the deal.  According to Tmonews, they want to work with T-Mobile in setting up a GSM network for Wi-Fi and cellular broadband but are unable and unwilling to work with ATT.  Should the merger go through, Cablevision would not be able to partner with anyone else.  

Should there be a lawsuit, I don't see Cablevision having much of a case.  However, bringing this to public attention would help make the case that no matter what ATT says about the deal being good for consumers, it most certainly does not make it so in reality.  

It all comes down to this.  If the merger goes through, customers and operators have no one to go through other than ATT if they want to deal with GSM where it has the most international appeal.

I doubt this alone would be enough to convince regulators to turn against the deal.  But I'm sure this Cablevision example was not something anyone has though of.  

For regular mobile warriors or simply cable customers, we definitely want more choices, not less.

More at Fierce Wireless.

Uncle Sam Wants "You" (If You're a Hacker)

According to Reuters, the NSA and other intel agencies will be at Defcon in Las Vegas looking to see if they can find themselves a few hundred hackers to help protect the nation and maybe dish out a few attacks here and there against rogue nations.

Unfortunately, they won't be alone.  Corporate America will also be looking for some helping hand as well.  

Seriously, if you're in the right field at the right time, you can find a job even in at the beginning of a double dip recession we're in.

So, are you that guy?  Obviously though, you can't be some loner.  You'll have to be able to fit in and work with others.  If you've got the skillz, give it a shot.  After a few years, those high-paying tech job in the private sector will still be there waiting for you.  Won't wont hire someone with a resume that said he or she worked for the NSA.

Companies that Apple Should Have Bought But Didn't

I was really excited when there was word that Apple was in talks to buy Barnes and Noble.  Until something happens (not happening doesn't count), I remain hopeful.  Meanwhile, Technologizer via Daring Fireball, here are some companies that Apple left on the tablet.

Here are just a couple:

• Pixar doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me but why Apple did not buy Palm I'll never know.  
• There was talk that Apple should buy Nitendo and given how Nintendo is stumbling now, Apple should take another crack at it.

Here are a couple that doesn't make sense at all:

• Universal Music - Apple doesn't want to deal with contents. Maybe when they run out of things to take over.  This includes Disney which previously bought Pixar from Steve Jobs
• AMD - The company bleeds money and there is no tech they can offer today.  Apple's choices of buying chip startups has so far made the difference in the smartphone and tablet war.

Here are a couple that might work for Apple:

 

• Adobe - Apple can use the creative suites to entice more users to adopt the Mac and iPads.  I said it might work because there are probably other companies on the market that fit Apple's strategy.  
• EA - Video games is big now for Apple's iOS ecosystem and Apple can probably use some exclusives if it wants to invade the living room armed with top games.

There are more companies that you should check ou with a click through.  Any other companies that you think would be a good fit for Apple?  

I've got one.  RIM.  My only concern is the privacy issues that some countries are trying to insert themselves in the middle of.  RIM is a growth company despite being hammered in the US.  It is doing well everywhere else. And with a Apple-RIM combo could further allow Apple's other products, Macs and iPads, to make deeper penetration into enterprise.

Then again, you'll probably have to add RIM to another company that Apple passed on.

Note: Thanks to Dave the Mobile Warrior for showing me these two posts.

I bought 20 GB of extra iCloud Storage; Dropbox And Terms of USe

I decided to go ahead and buy an extra 20 GB of iCloud storage.  Now, I've got 25 GB in all.  You might think that I'm feeling a bit foolish consider that iCloud is still in beta.  

Well, most and more people around me are getting the iPhone and iPad because it's so easy to use and so seamless to integrate into their lives.  

However, if your mobile life is not as integrated to the iOS and OS X ecosystem as I am but want to be able to have similar cloud storage experiences, there are other options.

9to5Mac has a couple of competing services, Dropbox and SugarSync, that can be used beyond Apple's wall-gardened.  Having said that, they offer very different terms and privacy guards that Apple offers.  So if you're just a regular mobile user, you ought to be fine. However, if you're a developer and have certain files you like to keep as your own, you may want to consider your options carefully beyond price and storage capacity. 

So read the terms of services carefully.  I tend to be overtly cautious but you can't be too careful either.  And cloud storage is the future.

HTML Animation Creation Tool From Adobe: What We Need To Know

Edge, a new HTML 5 animation tool from Adobe.  Anyone who is interested in creating simple animations for website, I recommend download this beta and giving it a test drive.

In Macworld's post here, they give us four things to watch out for.  One point they mentioned is that this will not replace Flash.  My take:  Not yet. 

Also, it's geared towards mobile.  However, it doesn't mean if you're creative, you can't use it for anything else.  

Give it a try.  It's free anyway, for now.

Source: Adobe.