iPhone Launches In Massive Second Wave

Apple is set to unleash the iPhone 4S another wave of countries even as some iPhone shortages persist.  22 countries and city-states in all.

	Pop (M)
Austria	8.40
Belgium	10.80
CzechRepublic	10.50
Denmark	5.60
Estonia	1.30
Finland	5.40
Hungary	10.00
Ireland	6.20
Italy	60.70
Latvia	2.20
Liechtenstein
Lithuania	3.20
Luxembourg	0.50
Mexico	112.20
Netherlands	16.70
Norway	5.00
Singapore	5.20
Slovakia	5.40
Slovenia	2.00
Spain	46.00
Sweden	9.40
Switzerland	7.90
	334.60

I've left Leichtenstein blank because they've got on 36K people in the whole country.  That's smaller than the city I live in.

As you can see, this is a massive 334 million people who will be eligible for the iPhone this weekend.  I don't anticipate another 4 million moved in these countries alone like Apple was able to do in its first weekend of the iPhone 4S sale.

Still, combined with all the other territories that already have the iPhone on sale, we could potentially see that figure repeated yet again.  In two weeks since it's gone on sale, I wonder if Apple will have sold 10 million by the end of Sunday.

Well, let's not get too ahead of ourselves.  As popular as iPhone 4S is, one key drive for its sale is still not ready in many of these countries:  Siri. So far, Siri is only available in English, German, and French with limited use outside of the US for now, even Canada.

Source:  Apple.

Siri: Week Two, Any Change In Your Mobile Routine?

It's been two weeks since the iPhone 4S went on sale.  By now, I'm guess about 6 to 8 million iPhone 4S's have been moved off the shelves and into user hands all over the world.  I reckon we'll see 10 million by the weekend as the 4S goes on sale in more than half a dozen countries.

So, I think I'm in good company when I ask you.  Has Siri changed how you do things with your mobile device?  Now, if you're new to the whole smartphone scene and the 4S is your first mobile device, I can safely say that you're blown away.

For the rest of us, Siri could be the reason why we upgraded.  And I can tell you this.  I'm blown away just by what it can do as well and it's only in beta.

What can it do?  Well, it cuts down on a whole lot of tapping away on the screen.  You speak to Siri, make a request. Task done.  Making calls, sending messages or e-mails, or schedule an alarm or appt.  But that's the easy part, isn't it.

It's the search for answers.  And if your questions are directed, you can get most answers from Siri directly.  No more opening the browser and typing in your search.  No more opening up Google app or going to search. It really bypasses the whole routine.

Maybe this is why I've been reading more than a few posts about the threat that Siri is to Google and search as we know it in general.  Imagine what happens in a few years.  Never mind that.  Just think what'll happen once Apple brings Siri to OS X on the Mac! This alone could change the whole PC dynamics even further.

As you can from above, there is still a few things that Siri cannot do by command.  I don't know if this is a beta thing or not.  I am pretty certain that most tasks like this will come to us soon.

You'll be be getting a couple more posts on what I think Siri can potentially do once its out of beta and when migrates over to the desktop.  

Mobile: Taiwan Concerned About Apple's "Slide To Unlock" Patents; Directs Gov Agencies To Deal With Potential Suits From Apple

You may know by now that Apple has been awarded Patent Office the "Slide To Unlock" patent.  It's a very blatant copying by Android OS.  I'm find with it.  Companies copy each other all the time.  However, the Chinese provincial government of Taiwan is worried that its local firms, HTC, will come under additional lawsuits from Apple.

This is where innovation comes into play.  Why not just find a way around the patent?  You know, innovate?

See?  WebOS has its own way of doing it.  I don't see why others like Google can implement their own unlocking mechanism.  Android 4 has facial recognition, right?

Here's the thing.  Why a lock screen at all?

Source:  Focus Taiwan.

Note:  I know that Taiwan is still recognized by some island nations as an independent country and that China considers Taiwan as a breakaway province.  Still, the willingness of Taipei to capitulate to Beijing's wishes shows that its only a matter of time before Taipei begins to take orders from its archenemy.

Notification: Getting Directly to the App/Task From Lock Screen

You've noticed by now that you can see your notifications directly from your lock screen if you're running iOS 5.  Pretty neat, I know.  But once you've unlock it, the notification goes away.  Then you've got two ways of looking for notifications.  Hunt for them on your iOS device or use the Notification Center.

Apparently, there is a way to get to your most important notification directly after unlocking your screen.  I happened to have discovered it by accident a couple of days ago and only now have the time to share it.  And if you already know what I'm talking about, cool.

So, when you want to unlock your iOS device, you have to slide the locking mechanism.  Well, you can do the same with your notification.

If you have more than one notification from different apps, you simply choose the notification that you want to get to first, and your iOS device will take you to that app.  As you can see, my "slide to unlock" remains in its free-state position while I was in the midst of slide the icon for my Hanging game, which had sent me a notification earlier.

Now, if you've got a lock code, you type in your lock code and then it'll take you to your app.

It's rather neat.  Another example of Apple showing us a feature that we didn't know we wanted/needed until they made it available to us.

Android Devices Web Hogs?! Sprint CEO Said So

According to Sprint's CEO, Dan Hesse, the iPhones are less of a Web hog than Androids.  Does that make sense?  I always thought it was the other way around.  In fact, he said the iPhone is 50% more efficient than the Androids.

I am a bit surprised by this but Hess did give some reasons for this.  He attributed this to Apple's stricter app development policies - like accessing the network less frequent where as Android apps have a wider and freer playing field for developers.

Furthermore, he attributed the iPhone's better ability to offload data to WiFi hotspots better than its Android competitors.

What is interesting is that this could end up being a big deal when companies negotiate with carriers over cost of acquiring a smartphone.

At the same time, we have to wonder if this is a ploy being used by Sprint to bring to the negotiation tables in future smartphone talks with device makers.

Bloomberg TV+ Allows 24 Hour Streaming - Nice!

This is why it's so exciting to be alive now.  Those of you younglings who were not around or aware of the computer revolution in the early 1980s are now a part of another revolution - mobile computing coming of age. Not quite but here is another sign that we're trying to get to mobile nirvana as Steve Jobs envisioned it.  


Bloomberg TV+ is a new app for the iPad that allows users access to Bloomberg TV for free with 24 hour streaming.  I can tell you this already.  My service provider ain't gonna be too happy.  

I'm being lazy so I lifted some pertinent info from the iTunes page for the app:


Watch:
- Live TV: Bloomberg Television Live 24-hours a day
- Featured videos: The biggest business stories right now prioritized by importance
- Last 24 Hours: All the important business stories from the last 24 hours
- Exclusive interviews with the most influential people in business, finance and investment
- Original content produced for mobile
- Bloomberg's critically acclaimed shows on demand

Plus:
- Download videos for offline viewing
- Get extra content on people, companies and topics while watching
- Search our extensive library of video content
- Set and receive reminders for upcoming programs on Live TV
- Share videos via Twitter, Facebook and Email
- Customize your interactive scrolling ticker and get the latest news and market information
- Enjoy all of this in portrait or landscape; fully optimized for both

Who needs CNBC when you've got Bloomberg that provides more detailed and analytic news that isn't filled with analysts who rather be rock stars than financial stars?


There is no doubt that BTV for the iPad will be a huge success.  A vast majority of financial firms and Fortune 500 companies already deploy the iPads as a part of their IT arsenal.  They'll want this on the go.  CNBC charges for their live video and I'm not aware their iOS apps allow streaming.


Furthermore, other studios and cable channels should watch this closely.  The mobile market is a revenue stream that they cannot forgo.  I think Bloomberg already saw the cord-cutting as inevitable and going mobile now and ahead of everyone else is the way to go.

Mobile: Nintendo To Report More Over $1 Billion In Loss For First Half of Year

Nintendo is in a pretty dark place right now.  Sales are not going well and its products are no longer competitive.  It all started a few years ago when mobile gaming changed.  And certainly, I did not expect this.  Neither did the powers-that-be at Nintendo Japan.

And this was lead off by the iPod touch and now the weight whole iOS ecosystem is crashing down on Mario, Pikachu, and company's heads.

More at Greenjava.