Mobile War For Google Is About Search; For Apple, It's Just One Small Battle

Interesting note here about mobile search.  By 2016, a majority of searches will take place on mobile devices, specifically, wirless over smartphones.  AllthingsD suggests that a Bernstein report excluded tablets.  Had that been included, we may well see search on mobile, including smartphones, tablets, and devices like the iPod touch, move ahead of traditional desktop searches even before that.  Perhaps by 2014 or 2015 at the latest.

ATD goes on to suggest this is what Apple and Google is fight over.  I think its only one aspect of the larger mobile war.  After all, the mobile market isn’t just about searches.  Rather, searches will become only a small part of the growing and ever-changing mobile experience.  Even app uses will continue to evolve.

Rather than replacing Google with Bing or even something else, Apple will do what it does – and no one really knows what that is.  Siri would be my guess.

Apple and Google used to be good friends.  The only reason that changed was when they began to compete in the mobile hardware market.  And they are both still competing with Microsoft’s vastly improved Windows Phone so it’s not like Apple will get into bed with Redmond any time soon.  It doesn’t want a resurgent Microsoft and have to fight Google and Microsoft at the same time.

I wouldn’t put it past Apple to try to hurt Google on search at all.  And mark my word:  Apple will because it also recognizes that search is what puts food on the table for Google.  As to how, again, Siri perhaps.  As to when?  That’s the question.  It could be happening now, slowly.

See, Apple isn’t consciously out to destroy anyone in particular.  Had Google not come out with Android and was content with just doing web services and search, things between Apple and Google may still be cool.  Now, all bets are off.

For Google, search might be the war but for Apple, it’s just one of many battles it has to eventually fight on in the larger mobile war.

Source: AllThingsD

After the iPad 3, Apple Should Continue With The iPad 2 - But How Much?

Apple should and probably will make the iPad 2 available even after introducing the iPad 3 in the next 4 to 6 weeks.  That is almost a certainty given the educational focus that Apple wants starting with the special education event in January with the focus on etextbooks and iBooks Author.

After introducing the iPhone 4, Apple kept the iPhone 3GS on the market with a $100 price cut to entice mobile warriors who are unwilling to shell out $200 for the iPhone 4.  That was in 2010.  In October of 2011, Apple unveiled the iPhone 4S at the price points of the original iPhone 4, pushed the iPhone 4 into the 3GS spot, and gave the iPhone 3GS out for free.

How about the iPad 2?  At what price point should Apple make the iPad 2?  Cutting $100 and make the iPad 2 available starting at $399 is a natural move.  It'll be something that is expect from Apple.

But I really would like Apple to go lower, not for my sake.  For the moment, I plan on keeping my original iPad as my mobile weapon of choice.  Rather, I hope Apple could make the iPad 2 available at $350 with 8 GB of storage for the sake of the hundreds of thousands if not millions of students who could really benefit from learning revolution that Apple is leading with its mobile devices.

I don't want to say that this is wishful thinking on my part.  Rather, Apple can achieve a couple of things by making the iPad 2 at the $350 price range.  One, this will really give Apple the tablet momentum that it might needs against Android 4 and Windows 8 tablets that will come out throughout 2012.

Another point:  education.  What I thought missing from Apple's January 19th education, which focused on textbooks, e-learing, and iBooks Author, was that Apple did not address how they were going to get an iPad into the hands of the student.  If you ask me, Amazon with the Kindle Fire, even with its diminutive 7" screen,  offers an affordable solution.  Now, I know the argument that the 7" screen is too small to do much.  Hey, I understand and know that to be a fact.  However, you think those educators strapped for cash are going to care at that point?  $200 for the Fire versus $500 for the iPad.

By pricing the iPad 2 closer to $350, the price difference becomes much more manageable.  On top of that, should Amazon release its own 10" tablet, Amazon would have to price it in the money-losing $250 range to give itself some pricing room.  But ta $100 different, what would you go for?  A proven iPad 2 or a 10" Kindle that likely have many features taken out that should be in a modern tablet so Amazon can keep the price down?  The answer is obvious.

And with a pricing range from $350 all the way up to $830, Apple has pretty much the whole tablet market covered - iPad 2 from $350 to $399 and the iPad 3 from $500 up to $830.

And getting the iPads into the hands of these students is critical to Apple's future.  Apple will be able to corner a large segment of the k-12 education market as it leads and revolutionizes the future of learning.  This move could potentially translate into sales for Apple's other products as these students go to college or join the workforce.

We're talking about iPhones, iPods, Macs, and even Apple TV or Apple HDTV.

Hey, who knows.  Today's iPad-taught kindergartener may well be tomorrow's proud new owner of the iCar when he or she turns sixteen.

Not Saying The iPad 3 Is Coming But...

I'm not saying that the iPad 3 is coming.  Nor am I saying the iPad 2S is coming.  I simply don't know what's coming but I do know that Apple is up to something.  And if you're a tech fan or fellow mobile warrior, you probably know that Apple has released a new iPad in the late winter or early spring timeframe.  So, I think I'm am not too far off if I say that Apple is going to be releasing something in the next 4 to 6 weeks.

This four to six weeks is just enough for me to be within the ball park.  The original iPhone introduced by Steve Jobs on January 27, 2010.  However, preorders did not start until March 12th and did not start shipping until April 3rd to long, long lines.  I know.  I was there.

The iPad 2 was unveiled on March 2, 2011 and did not start shipping until March 11, 2011.

For the next iPad update, I think I am within that ballpark.  It's unlike that Apple will delay its release by months the way it did last year with the iPhone 4S.  It's possible but highly improbably.  Apple wants to keep the momentum going and release a new iPad now will really keep consumers who bought into the original iPad an opportunity to grade while try to keep the pressure on its competitors.

Now, we don't know with certainty what new features will accompany the new iPad nor will we know what suffix it'll have, 2S or 3 or entirely something else.

There's been talks that we might see a natural improvement with the processor and the screen.  Just as Apple gave the iPhone 4 the Retina Display and the A4 chip, we are hoping that the next iPad will sport an improved processor with better graphics capability as well as higher pixel density screen.

Over the next three weeks, we're going to hear a lot of rumors.  As a matter of fact, we go plenty of juicy iPad 3 rumors (which I won't go into - again, I don't traffic in rumors. Speculations, yes.  Rumors, no).  The pace of these rumors will pick up.

So, you've been warned.  Plausible iPad 3 rumors galore headed our way with chances of heavy wishful thinkings at times through into the mix.

With Avid Studio, Did the iPad Hit Puberty?

I've used iMovie on the iPhone and iPad and it's great.  I like it a lot.  And I'd like it even more if I had an ounce of creativity for making music and video.  Alas,  I don't but you know what, that might not really matter.  iMovie is really easy to use and this week, Avid Studio from Avid was released for the iPad.

So, I pose this question: has the iPad hit puberty?  And the tablet market is due to explode as professional mobile warriors, particularly the creative sort, find more innovative uses for tablets and realize their full potentials.

5.3" Galaxy Note Could Be More Acceptable To Mobile Warriors

The Galaxy Note running Android from Samsung could well be a silent hit in ways that no one expects. And it isn't just the huge screen with dense resolution though I love it. It isn't the stylus though I can see why Samsung included.



First, we need to figure out what the Note is. Well, is it a smartphone or a tablet? It can barely fit into one's pocket and you look ridiculous holding it up to your head to make a call. And by most definition, the screen, which is a bit bigger than the top end Android devices, is too small for tablet use. At the end of the day, most users will use the Note for productivity rather that using it as a phone. So it is safe to call the Note a tablet that makes phone calls.

More than that, Samsung is on to something. The note is a truly unique productivity pad that is useful across a broad range of disciplines. Students, office workers, mobile salespeople, the law enforcement, etc.

I can really see myself with the Note sitting at Starbucks studying and taking notes or doing a paper.

And if I need to make or take a call, I can simply use the wired or Bluetooth headset.

Go forward a couple of years, the Note may be connected in some manner to those wearable PC or watch that some mobile companies are developing. This will further enhanced a mobile warrior's productivity.

We know that Apple is entirely dedicated to the 3.5" screen on the iPhone and iPod touch and 9.7" on the iPad. Its competitors like Samsung have experimented with different screen sizes in the marketplace.

The Note is one such experiment that has gained momentum in the market. Hopefully, we will see a WiFi only version as well.

More at Wired.

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VW Superbowl Commercial Part 2!!! (With Little Vader...Maybe)

So, the little Darth Vader captured our heart with the VW commercial last year.  It was brilliantly done.  I've provided it as a reminder.  But now, there's a sequel.

Hey, George Lucas.  Please take note.

How We Got To Best Buy Using Pioneers In Their Superbowl Commercial

Here are two posts that I thought would merger well together today.  Actually three.  And it’s about Steve. As in Steve Jobs.  First is one about Best Buy being inspired by Steve and instead of using celebrities, they will use some folks we consider to provide more meaningful services or, what we consider today, builders of some sort.  Second is a post on the eve of Facebook’s IPO where Mark Zuckerberg, who we all know doesn’t give a rat’s ass about his users’ privacy.  Third, is about Steve and his return to Apple.

Put all three together, it’s about coincidences and that not even folks we consider geniuses are always right.  Sometimes, they’re so wrong but circumstances pulled them right back “on track” if you will.  Or put it another way, history will not be denied.

First, Best Buy's Superbowl commercial will be using tech pioneers like Kevin Systrom of Instagram .  This was done from the inspiration of Steve Jobs but I surmise it’s probably the iconic Apple commercial, “Here’s To the Crazy Ones”.  But think about it.  Had Jobs not come back to lead Apple, will this have happened?  Or was history going follow Steve no matter where he goes?

See, I started reading this post about Mark Zuckerberg and his early days of developing Facebook.  Apparently, he wasn’t too keen on keeping Facebook as his main focus.  As luck would have it, events forced him to stay and focus on develop Facebook.  Had he left Facebook early on, perhaps Zuckerberg would have left his mark on something totally different.

The same can be said about Steve Jobs as he resurrected Apple – iMacs, iPods, iPhones, iPads, and, quite possibly, Apple’s push into television.  But if you read through “Steve Jobs” and other information online, Steve was helped along by a series of events that did not necessarily have anything to do with his decision.

For instance, after Steve returned to Apple, he was not keen on selling Powerbooks to enterprise because if the inherent IT bias towards Macs.  And yet, Macbooks are thriving and even threatened to disrupt Wintel machines in businesses more than ever before.

Sure, the dude was a visionary with no one coming in close.  He saw things that no one else did and make it all work out.  Supposedly, had Steve Jobs accepted the CEO position at Google when the founders wanted him, could any of the iOS revolution still have taken place?

How would today’s mobile revolution look like?  I reckon it would still have happened.  Google would still be great but in a vastly different way.  Apple might not be around but with the bulk of us using gOS instead of iOS or Android.

Which comes back to Best Buy’s Superbowl commercial.  Steve could still have made waves in mobile, music, and disrupted all these industries that Apple did.

Think Different might still have happened but it would have just been “different” because genius will not be denied.