HTC To Design Itself Into Oblivion - Picks Thin Over Longer Battery Life

This is a lesson for Apple.

Something is seriously wrong at HTC.  Now, I like thin.  The fact that the mobile devices today like the Galaxy is pretty light and thin is something that I can appreciate.  The Motorola RAZR is thin too.  Very thin.  And both look very handsome.  I guess HTC is catching up to that.  At least that’s what HTC thinks its customers are tell them.  Sorry, HTC folks.  We like thin but we rather have longer battery life too.

See, HTC said that customers have told them they want thinner phones over longer battery life.  I guess most HTC users like to see their devices tethered to a wall socket or simple stare at future thin HTC devices because they want out of power after 4 to 5 hours of use.

I don’t know how HTC came to this conclusion but nothing could be further from the truth.  Many a blogs have ridiculed this notion.  Just look at the Motorola RAZR.  I’m sure it sold a few but considering how quickly Motorola released the RAZR Maxx, which is thicker because of the added battery inside, I would wager with anyone that the MRM is selling far better than the MR.

HTC got hammered when the iPhone went on more carriers and it is getting punched in the gut hard by Samsung’s Galaxy.  And now, HTC wants to make the mistake of taking design into a new direction:  less battery life.  It’s like a kid who was harassed by two bullies and then tries to get up to fight back only to slip and fall in his face.

What HTC is trying to do is decrease cost.  As competition mount, HTC came to the conclusion that it would have to compete on cost without sacrificing margin and profit.  By building smaller and thinner devices, not to mention using less expensive material, it could still compete.  It might work on some segments of the market but on the high end where margins are better, it will fail badly.

HTC could theoretically continue to create wonderfully great high-end devices but if its reputation for bad battery life permeates throughout the market, users are gonna look elsewhere for their high-end Android needs.

Hopefully, Apple has a better sense of balance between form and battery life under Tim Cook.  What would you want

iOS App That Allows User To Watch Paid Channels - Likely To Be Yanked Soon

This morning, I woke up to this 9to5Mac post on this app called TV Premium. It advised the ability to allow users to watch live premium channels. Well, there are not many but enough for my to give it a try. And for the most part, it works.

The question is how did this get through Apple's legendary app censors? Well, first, Apple's app approval process has not been what it was billed to be by the media. And with more and more app submissions, it's likely things aren't getting get better and apps like this will get through.

Back to the app. I started using it at Starbucks' par wifi network. It is free and bless Starbucks for it but it's to as robust as what you're likely used to at home. With that said, the video playback was spotty. Again, I am using a public network shared by many people.

Should you get this? Probably not because I figure it won't be there in a few hours. And even if you managed to keep this in your iPhone or iPad, you probably won't be able to use it much longer as these servers that are providing the feeds are probably going to be taken down pretty soon.

It is curious that this is happening. The legal issues and what the media companies and Apple will do aside, this is a glimpse into mobile video viewing. And as soon as the media companies stop fighting this, the better.




 

Friday Movie: Brave (From Pixar)

That time of the week again.  I know I've featured Brave before.  That was a long, long time ago.  Since then, there have been a few new trailers and clips released.  And wow, I think Disney/Pixar could have another hit.  And I think this time, it's on par with Nemo's success.

I know, despite being a dude and have no kids, I'll be there for opening weekend just the same.  The graphics and art are just that amazing.

So, enjoy and have a great weekend.  I'm off to a Game of Thrones marathon this weekend.

And here is Merida, her heroine.  Yeah, after this summer, expect a bunch of baby girls with that name.  It's not a bad name.  There'll be a bunch of babies born in 2012 and 2013 with that name is all.

What Is It That Made These Koreans Line Up?

You guessed it.  In the following video, these Korean mobile warriors are lining up for the new Galaxy Tab.  Whoops, I mean the new iPad.

What's be interesting is what kind of reception this'll get in China.  Or for that matter, how the next iPhone will go up against Samsung's flagship device, the Galaxy S III.  Remember, the iPhone 4S was poo-poo by many in the media because Apple didn't call it the "iPhone 5".  Still, it went on to break the iPhone 4's previous records.

What can we take away from this?  Make no mistake that the Galaxy S II and probably the III are top-notch devices that appeal to a large segment of the mobile market.  Just ask HTC, Motorola, and LG how they are faring against Samsung, let alone Apple. If you're not into the iOS frenzy, I certainly would recommend the Galaxy.  However, there is still that secret sauce that Apple provides that has yet to be matched by anyone else on the market.

Just this week, Verizon Wireless reported their earnings and sold over 6.3 million smartphones.  Of that, more than half at 3.2 million were iPhones.  More than half.  And that's not all.  The iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S are going up against the heavily marketed LTE devices.  Perhaps its the horrible battery life that the LTE devices that is well known and customers were simply opting for the best 3G devices that Verizon carries with longer battery life.

To mean, tha tmeans customers care about battery life.  That also means come this fall or winter when Apple releases the LTE iPhone (I'm guess that they will), This near 1:1 ration of iPhone to other smartphones could tip overwhelming in Apple's favor.

So, yeah, LTE is a big deal.  LTE with long battery life would be an even bigger deal.

Apple's Effort To Secure Supply Chain Should Go Beyond Mobile Market; Chance To Change The World of Manufacturing

I had similar thoughts about this Forbes post said about Apple using its cash to finance it’s future growth by acquiring and securing its own supply chain. Obviously, I cannot claim credit for this kind of thinking because Apple had been doing this for years with memory chips. The next step for Apple may be about changing the world of manufacturing and in ways that would leave its competitors gasping for air trying to keep up and really disrupt not just any one industry but a whole host of markets with new innovative processes.

Obviously, what Tim Cook is having Apple do with its money in trying to own its supply chain and keep competitors out is brilliant.  Apple can and will move a few steps even beyond that.  In the past, I had suggested that Apple may even spend R&D money into new ways of manufacturing and patent the whole process.

The initial discussion started when media reports began circulating about what Steve Jobs said to Obama about him being a one-term President and Jobs answered that manufacturing jobs are not coming back to the US when asked how companies can bring those jobs back.

But I think it’s possible.  Robotics and new ways of putting components together.  Think of this as robots building robots or other computer devices like the iPhones, iPads, and Macs.  Impossible?  Anyone thinking that clearly has not clue just how fast tech, on many fronts, is moving.

Not only is it possible but that is where we are headed.  All it takes is the will to make it happen and the financial clout.  And Tim Cook’s Apple has plenty of both.

We Do Banking On Mobile, Why Not Voting?

Are we close to the day when we can vote for our elected officials via our mobile?  After all, we do mobile banking and other types of transactions that has enough security that we can live with.  So, maybe we are closer to being able to vote through an app?

Here's how I see this can work. I am going to generalize this quite a bit.  Every registered voter who wants to sign up for mobile voting would have to go sign up.  Just register for online or mobile voting.  Also, the voter would have to provide a passcode.  Again, this will have to be online.

Then the voter would get a special letter from the government with a special code authorizing online voting. This letter would also have a randomly generated code that the voter must enter along with the passcode they created when they sign up for online voting.  If they match, the voting process can begin.

Okay again, I'm generalizing.  I'm sure you folks out there will have a better scheme for mobile voting and can come up with a better security system for doing this. Right now, each time I sign in to do banking, I am emailed a code by my bank each time I log in from a different PC.  I'm fine when it's on my mobile apps from the bank.

Also, Google has added security layer when you sign into Google accounts. They can text you a passcode that you have to enter after you've entered your login name and password.  Perhaps there are even more robust security measure.  You can be asked a series of questions before you start voting.

But I think it's time we start exploring mobile voting.  Right now, I think this works better than voting on your PC given the greater security risks.  And if we do this in the United States, we would not be alone.  Estonia did it as far back as 2007.

Heck, Astronauts already do this from space.  Here are more examples of other countries allowing online voting via Wikipedia.  So, this has been done.  If the government is still by the people and for the people, it's time we make this happen.

Forget Day-Long Battery Life, I Want Mobile Devices To Last Months

Today, smartphone batteries are atrocious.  We’re lucky if we can make it half a day without charging up.  So, those con numbers about standby time, talk-times, and hours of use really doesn’t stand up in real world use.  A couple of months back, Intel was talking about all day battery life from devices running on their chips.  It’s likely they’re parsing between light use like checking e-mails, texting, taking a couple of pics and watching some Youtube video.

Now, look at your own use.  You’re probably more a moderate user.  And if you examine how you use your Android or iPhone from when you first go it to today (maybe months or years), you’ll realize that you’ve come to rely on your smartphone a lot more than when you first started using it.

Chances are, your Android LTE device will be running on fumes by late afternoon.  You’re lucky if you can get to an outlet in time or you’re just heading home.  What happens if you’re got a longer work day or are heading out to dinner and a movie?  You’re screwed in what it is.

What’s the solution?  Well, as much as I like the specs race (who doesn’t), maybe it’s time to think about what mobile really is.  And there has to be a balance between performance of the hardware, what we can do with it, and how long we can use devices for.

I keep coming back to my calculators and I’ve gone through many of them over the years.  If it wasn’t for the HP graphing devices (the first mobile devices as far as I’m concerned), it was those Casio calculators that you can use in trig and geometry classes that run on the ambient light in the classroom.  Or even my simple no-name calculator from Office Depot.  That also runs on a small solar cell.

And they run forever.  Even battery ones we use in the offices.  I don’t recall changing batteries on those things yet.

That’s the kind of battery life I want.  As far as I’m concerned, that should be where the next mobile revolution should come from.  I want something that runs on one charge for days.  No scratch that.  I want them running on one charge for weeks if not months.