As China Become A Bigger Mobile Computing Market, Look For Their Influence On The Rest Of The World's Mobility

Apple CEO Tim Cook said the obvious during Tuesday afternoon's financial call with analysts:  China is huge.  It is now the second biggest market for Apple outside of the United States.  For Apple, it means sustained growth and greater demand for its products.

For mobile warriors outside of China, look for this to influence how Apple and other companies design their porducts to cater to Chinese mobile warriors.  And I think that will end up trickling down to the rest of us.  For instance, the QWERTY keyboard has such an influence on the world that it is difficult to imagine using anything else.

Apple has a layout that allows user to write in the Chinese characters with their finger.  I think other companies like Microsoft could conceivably do the same or allow the use of a stylus.  And obviously, dictation with greater access in iOS 5 will move things along.  Google has done quite a bit with Translate, the mobile app that allows users to type in words for direct translations.

And more than that, app developers will increasingly take notice of who their users are and cater them accordingly.  Already, the app market in China is one of the biggest in the world.

On top of that, launch schedules can be greatly influenced by China's growing mobile market.  I fully expect Apple, Samsung, and, in particular, HTC to grant greater emphasis on China.  In the past, mobile devices would not make their ways into China until months to even a full year after they've been launched in the US and elsewhere.  You can bet on that to change.

My Turn At Predicting Apple's Financial Health

I’m not a financial analyst or anything close but I thought I would use today to do some math of my own based on all the data I can find on Yahoo Finance and see if I can make a better prediction than Wall Street. See, I don’t care about the numbers even though I do own Apple stocks (like eons ago just when Steve came back. It was part of a basket of stocks that I never sold and didn’t know I had). I’m in this for the long haul. This is going to help me retire some day.

 So, I’ll put some numbers up and we’ll see how close I am three months from now.  I suggest you do the same and see if you're better than pundits and multi-millionaire Wall Street analysts.

Truth is, I think your number will be just as valid if not more so than the so-called professionals.

Tablet: Vox, Underpowered Tablet, Challenges Fire, Nook, And, Maybe, Everyone Else

Kobo has announced a new Android-based tablet (the smartphone flavor) that will cost $199, same as the Kindle Fire, but it will be severely under powered with only a 800 Mhz single core chip.  However, these days, specs are not enough to sway an user to one tablet or another.

What's interesting about this is an attempt of a social book club.  And here's the thing.  It has a 7" screen with the same 1024x600 resolution as most other 7" tablets.  What's different about its screen is that Kobo claims to use an "AFFS+ display with anti-glare" - same tech used in airplanes.  That was what caught my eyes.  Right now, as you know, tablets are not all that great for operations outdoor.

It doesn't stop there.  Free RDIO music stream, games and 15K apps.  Yeah, the Vox has will have more apps than the Touchpad and RIM's Playbook put together. Those are not the only freebies.  As I recall, neither the Kindle or Nook has this kind of material to start the users off.  Of course, we don't know if this is an app store that it is operating on its own or that its using someone else's.

So, why Vox?  Kobo has no choice but to join the tablet rush.  It's totally a defensive move.  It's an attempt to fight off Fire and Nook. And if it does succeed, the Vox will be a building platform for Kobo to expand its offerings.  The loss of Borders stores likely has hurt it greatly because Kobo e-readers were sold there.

At the end of the day, any kind of competition in the tablet market is everything we mobile warriors can ask for.  The Vox is not going to challenge the iPad and Galaxy Tabs of the world, but it could hasten the price drops in the sub-10" tablet market.

Amaon remains the strongest in this part of the market because of the strong Kindle brand.  It remains to be seen if these ereader companies turned tablet sellers have what it takes to traditional tablet makers.

And at Vox going for $200, the same price as the Kindle Fire, Kobo is sending a clear signal that it wants to fight for what rightfully belong to it.

More at Kobo.

Wanted Future iOS Feature: Ability To Flip Apps To Hide or Close

One of the most unique features I've seen in Web OS (on my Touchpad), is the ability for the user to hit the home button and see all the open cards or apps.  On iOS 5, you can do the same by doube-tapping the home button.  Okay, about the same thing.  It's the same thing on Android.  What makes Web OS, and now with Android 4, is that you can simply flick an app and close it.

I like that.  Apple, I like to be able to flip an app and close it.  Shut it down.  Right now, I have to hold down on the app icon that's running, wait until it starts to vibrate, and then touch the "x".  I think it's some Apple copy this feature from Web OS.

It's okay.  As far as we know, Web OS is dead.  I don't necessarily want Apple to copy the cards feature.  I just want to be able to hold down on the button and flick the app that I want closed.  Heck, Google is copying this feature from Palm, so, it's not shame.  We'd just be copying Google copying Palm.

In fact, I think both Apple and Google can learn a lot from Web OS.  Here's a video over view of how Web OS works on a Touchpad.  It's worth investing the time to watch it because it shows just how neat Web OS is that even Google is copying one of its most convenient feature - closing apps.



I'm hope iOS 6 will bring us some of the above features.  In fact, Apple ought to take Web OS off of HP's hands.

Which iOS 5 Features Will You Want to See Come To OS X?

I imagine more than a few iOS 5 features will eventually migrate over to OS X.  It probably will not happen within Lion's lifetime but it certainly could happen in the next OS update.  So, even with Lion just barely three months old and iOS 5 and iPhone 4S just released, let's examine which iOS 5 features we Mac users will like to see in the next version of OS X.

Currently, we have iCloud integration in OS X.  It was a first step that was needed simply because of the iOS update.  Furthermore, you can get that iCloud in its current form is far from the vision that Steve Jobs and Apple has for it.  iCloud is simply Apple's insurance plan to solidify and expand on its Mac-iPhone-iTunes ecosystem.

So, whatever new features iCloud will get, I'm sure parity will happen for both iOS devices and Macs.  That's a given.

The first iOS 5 feature I like to see on OS X is Notification Center.  Yeah, that's right.  You thought I was going to say Siri, did you?

With the Mac app store coming along nicely, look for Apple to eventually allow push to come to Macs. With push, what good is Notification Center?

So, imagine when apps are able to push information to our Macs.  Mail, iMessage, and sports alerts.  Even weather and stocks update like we have now on the iPhones (the iPads do not have native weather and stock reports - hence, they lack those two key updates).

In my NC setup, I get Foursquare, Facebook, ESPN, Gamecenter (Yeah, this could come to the Mac as well), and reminders.  Those are just a few important ones that I can remember off the top of my head.

The menu bar on the Mac is long big enough that Apple can implement a scrolling list of alerts and updates from Notification Center.

Siri - The New Search Engine?

For the moment, Siri, Apple’s new killer feature, is all the rage and has helped Apple sell over four million iPhone 4S this past weekend. The demo and the word of mouth from Apple, specifically iPhone fans, has permeated through the blog world and has entered the mind-share of the mainstream public.

More than that, Siri is still only in beta. For now, some might be able to argue that its abilities are limited. For the most part, I would have to agree. Siri has gained some features that are already available on Android via Voice Actions. And Google will surely double its effort to beef up its own voice feature. And beyond that, Siri can give snappy and sometimes sarcastic responses that has evoked amusement from users. But truly, that is all, isn’t it? If that is the case, why is Siri so popular? Will its use die down over time once the hype is over?


More at Greenjava.

iPhone 4S: Dictation Is A Feature You Don't Want To Ignore

This post isn't dictated but other posts that you've read since Friday were.  And they were dictated on the iPhone 4S.  Obviously, the best feature in iOS 5 isn't on just iOS 5 but on the iPhone.  Siri is only available on the iPhone 4S. And so is the ability to be able to dictate e-mails, messages, and notes.

Just as I've told a close family friend, who is an officer at a larger investment bank and hedge fund, if you can talk into your iPhone or any other phone before, why can't you talk to it?  It would not look more awkward than people walking around with a Bluetooth headset, looking like they're talking to themselves.

Since I got the iPhone 4S, I've begun a conscious effort to use only on Siri but also dictation.  As a matter of fact, I think this is the first phase in what I think could be contact-less interaction with our technology, not just mobile devices.

So, if you've got an iPhone 4S, you really ought to take advantage of this new feature.  And if you don't have an iPhone 4S, and you have another iPhone version, iPad, or iPod touch, I suggest you download Dragon Dictation from Nuance from the iTunes store and start using it.

Don't let all the 4S folks like myself have all the fun.  Embrace the future!

Note:  Though not entirely confirmed, it's been suggested that Nuance's voice tech was licensed by Apple and has been very much a part of iOS 5.  It certainly was a part of Siri when Apple bought Siri.