Why Is This The Rage This Week? Texts From Hilliary

Sometimes, it makes you wonder why certain thing gets on a roll and goes viral.  Apparently, "texts" from our Secretary of State, former US Senator from NY, and former Co-President, Hillary Clinton, is gaining steam.  Anyway, came across it from Google+.

Here's my favorite one so far.

More here at Texts From Hillary (TUMBLR).

Texting And Moving Is Always A Bad Idea: Here's Why

Here's a 20 second video why the texting should be separate from other forms of physical activities.  In this case, it's as simple as walking down the street.  You never know who or what you'll run into.  As in the case, texting while driving is also a pretty bad idea too.

I'm pretty sure the guy learned a really valuable lesson.

Facebook Bought Instagram To Build Community And Keep It From Google

I’m still trying to figure out why Facebook spent $1 billion on Instagram.  Obviously, they could have just put a team together to build an app or feature into its current Facebook with a bunch of filters, more than anyone else if they wanted to, and put it out there for users.  In speaking with Dave the Mobile Sage, we have come to the conclusion that Facebook wanted the Instagram community.

First, why $1 billion?  More at Clouding Around.

What Would a 4" iPhone Look Like?

9to5Mac has a post with pics on what a 4" iPhone would look like.  This seems to be the ideal size that many mobile fans are looking for.  Personally, I would love to have a 4" iPhone.  My aging eyes would not only appreciate it but I reckon the additional real estate would allow for more interesting mobileness.



Don't get me wrong.  Even if Apple doesn't come out with a 4" Retina Display on the next iPhone, the one after that, or ever, I would still very content with the current 3.5" display on the iPhone 4 and the 4S.

The question is would Apple be increasing the resolution of this theoretical 4" display?  Perhaps in the beginning, we might not see this.  Apple could still retain the same 960 x640 resolution with lower DPI and still call it a Retina Display because Apple marketing will rationalize that since this iPhone has a larger screen, you'll be holding further away from you and you still would not be able to distinguish the pixels.

I recommending heading over there and check out their pics.  I swipe one as you can see just to wet your appetite.  There more pics and a whole post examining how Apple would go about making this happen.  There is one portion of their speculation that I disagree with.

Care to figure out which one?

Carriers Struggle To Regain Control Over Handset Makers, Starting with the Apple

The future of mobile is about control.  Even as Apple, Google, RIM, Microsoft, and a few others battle for control of the mobile hanset market, it’s only a smart part of the larger wireless domain in which there are dozens of other companies struggle for the upper hand.  We’re talking about control.  With the right control, the winners get to tell not only end-users what they have access to but has the ability to dictate to others how they can interact with the customers.

This is why this post from a Wall Street analyst skews the picture.  A revolt against the iPhone?  Not quite.  Rather it’s an attempt by carriers to wrestle control they previously had over the handset makers.  With the popularity of the iPhone and Android devices like the Galaxy, companies like Apple and Samsung can dictate terms to the carriers.

And this had been a big alignment in the balance of power in the wireless realm that had previously favored carriers.

I’m not advocating that one company win over another.  Too much influence concentrated in the hands of a few isn’t good for us mobile warriors.  However, historically, wireless providers have never been our friends.

So, at the moment, with a due respect to Wall Street analysts, they’ll have to excuse me as I continue to root for Apple, Google, Samsung rather than AT&T.

Drop Likely Increase Invite Allotment To 500MB Due To Competition

I got an exciting e-mail from Dropbox over the weekend.  In the past, Dropbox gives us 2 GB of free storage when you sign up for the free account access.  But you can increase that over time if you invite friends, families, acquaintances, or whoever else to sign up.  If they sign up, you get additional storage.

The idea is that Dropbox hopes to convert you or someone else you invited into a paying customer.  So far, I think they're doing pretty well.  There was rumors that Apple considered buying Dropbox.  Now, iOS and Mac users have the iCloud.  Meanwhile, Google should be coming out with its down Dropbox competitor in the next quarter.

So, it's likely due to competition from these tech giants and other cloud storage players that Dropbox increased the invitation allotment from 250 MB to 500 MB.  This is fantastic news.  I was able to create dummy accounts to increase my space in the last (I also use those accounts for photos). What's also pretty cool is that space increases prior to this 500 MB offer will also be getting additional space.

Dropbox has become an indispensable part of my workflow.  I can store files on my Mac and access them at work.  Or I can use a number of iOS and Android apps that have native support for Dropbox.

This is just the beginning.  We are in the infancy of cloud storage.  This is nothing to cloud storage 2.0.  Seriously, 2GB is nothing today.  I can see Dropbox increase the free storage to 10, 20, or even 50 GB.  And for some folks, that still won't be enough because of the coming media storage capability.  Consider what Apple with its iTunes Match and Amazon and Google are offering in music.  We are seriously a skip away from even video storage.

And in today's HD world, 10 or 20 GB simply won't be enough.

Anyway, I encourage you to take advantage of this Dropbox offer.  We have a family account and it helps a lot when we sharing pics and videos.  So invite your friends, families, and people you like or dislike because this is a great deal.

And the best ones are free which this one is.

Apple Products: Mostly Mobile And Recession Proof

Today's jobs report was subpar and had the stock market been opened today, I'm sure there would have been a three-digit sell-off on the DOW.  Still, today's economy,while still in a slow recovery mode, is off life-support from when it was in 2008.  Apple was still under Steve Jobs and he vowed that Apple would innovate its way out of the recession.  No doubt Tim Cook would do the same.  

Should we go through another slowdown (very likely due to EU contagion), Apple's stock could be just as safe as US bonds.  Demand for Apple products are still strong.  So strong in fact that Apple is building a second Rome store in Italy, an EU country is could be counted as one of the likely to default.  

This isn't a stock post for Apple's finances.  Rather, we are wondering what it is about Apple products that make them so sought after even during the Great Recession and continues to sell in record amounts.  

What do you think Apple seems to weather economic turmoils better than its competitors?  It is just the premium brand, its dedicate fan base, or it's something else?