Mobile: Google+ Could Get Features That Mobile Warriors Will Find Useful (Maybe Save Money Too?)

Source:  The Verge.

Looks like Google is slowly but surely putting more effort into making mobile Google+ apps with more features that are, well, more mobile. Makes sense since Facebook has shown that it simply cannot make money as users stop using desktop versions and, instead, spend more time on mobile.

According to The Verge, there are strings in the codes that references "events" and "local".  Both are welcoming news as far as we're concerned.  I reckon this could be the events feature that Google has featured about in a separate app and local like means check-ins and probably deals.

We won't know for sure but I think Google realizes that it'll be just as hard for it to make money off ads on its mobile apps as it has been for Facebook.  And going local with local commerce where Google can get a bit of each transaction may well be how it can monetize Google+ and other location-based features.

Let's hope we see this sooner rather than later.  I am a sporadic use of Foursquare - only the lack of local savings has kept me from exploring it more.  Maybe Google has found a way for iPhone and Android users to save money and Google has found a way to take advantage of that.

Forrester Agrees With Me: Apple HDTV Is More Like a Giant Airplay-Ready Display

Source:  On Apple, MacObserver.

In our previous post, we suggested that Apple's HDTV won't be a TV at all.  If anything, it will only be an Airplay-ready display.  Oh, it'll be HD but it'll likely lack even a TV tuner.  For that, you'll have to pay extra for an accessory, likely, from a third party.

Apparently, others agree.  I'm glad that Forrester is turning to the corner to this idea.  And more and more, I think this is also what Steve Jobs said when he told his biographer that he cracked the TV conundrum.  Don't make a TV.  It's that simple.

This is also supported by folks who have "seen" the Apple display as a giant Thunderbolt display. This Apple HD Display will serve as the center of all living activities while Apple's iOS devices serve as conduits through which content flows.

And if you want extras like paid TV subscription like cable, Netflix, or iTunes content, you just have to pay extra for this.  All apps can be mirrored onto the screen.  Perhaps this is why we may never see an app store for the Apple TV.

Forrester, I like the way you think.  However, I disagree with you that the display will have touch sensitive.  It makes no sense.  Other than that, I think you're right on the money.

New York Times Sold Its Soul To Get Eduardo Saverin Interview

It's official.  NYT has sold its soul and, now, it articles are mostly based on biased pieces that hit individuals or companies based on access or not.  And in Eduardo Saverin's case, ES granted NYT an exclusive interview without any sort of in-depth analysis whatsoever.

I read the whole piece thinking I would find some hard hitting questions about Saverin's betrayal of the country that gave him and his family sanctuary.  He claimed his giving up his US citizenship was for other reasons other than avoiding paying taxes.  NYT mentioned a thing or two about the estate taxes but never drilled him further.

Folks, use Google+, use Path, use anything but Facebook.  The dude is a jerk and NYT bought the act.

Apple's Unicorn 7" iPad Has To Last (In Terms of Battery Life)

Today, Apple-centric sites are quoting a Wall Street analyst in saying that a sub-9.7” iPad will do well in school and be quite popular with gamers.  To that, I say, “no #$%, Sherlock!”  I think many bloggers are getting lazy.  The thing that would be more fun than talking about this is speculating how a 7, 7.85, or 8 inch iPad would impact not only the market but also change how tablets are used.

Let’s do that here.  First, battery life.  I think I can say for everyone who has own an iPad, tablet, or laptop is that battery life is very important to just about every mobile warrior.  That’s like the first amendment of any mobile warrior’s bill of rights.  What’s the point of not having long-ish battery life on any mobile device.

If the 7” iPad can keep up with the iPad in terms of battery life, look out.  You’ll be seeing a lot more of these devices on the go.  Be it for students, gamers, or business uses like delivery drivers or a mobile sales force, such a lighter and smaller device would be ubiquitous.  It’s going to be everywhere.

What if the 7” iPad has say 7-8 hours of use?  I can see a lot of use come out of this still.  However, anything less than 7 hours, you can pretty much forget about it.  A regular workday can last from 8 to 10 hours.  Quite possibly even more.  For a student, the hours are 6 to 7 hours a day, longer if the student go to a study group or the library that could well add another 4 to 5 hours.

Now, even at 10 hours for the current iPad, it’s unlikely the user is going to be using it through the whole 10 hours straight.  It’s likely an iPad can take an user through a whole day.  That’s why I suggested a seven hour battery life for the 7” iPad might be feasible but that is really pushing it.  Anything less than that, you run the risk of having a tablet run out of power half way through the day.

Ideally, you like Apple to maintain the 7” battery life to match that of the 9.7” iPad.  It’s possible.  The 7” iPad wouldn’t need to power a 9.7” Retina Display with its 2048x1536 and keep it at 10x24x768 like the iPad 2.  The smaller screen with the smaller dots could still give users a nice flaw display.  Certainly, it’ll be better than the iPad 2 display.  And with new tech, a 7” iPad could work with a thinner and more efficient display.

And Apple could afford to give the 7” iPad a battery that is big enough to power it for 8-10 hours.  But will Apple do that?

My speculation is that a 7” iPad with 8 hours of battery life is very likely.  I would love to have 10+ hours but I doubt that will happen.  There is precedent for this.  Consider the Macbook Air.  The 11” MBA gives the user 5+ hours while the 13” MBA offers 7+ hours.  From the 11” to the 13”, the battery life difference is around 30%.  If you translate that to the iPad, the drop in battery life from the iPad to the 7” iPad is from 10 hours down to 7”.

However, Apple could potentially squeeze another hour or so by reducing the speed of the CPU and using smaller and more power efficient components.  The current crop of new iPad 2 uses a newer 32nm version versus the 45nm chips in last year’s iPad 2 and this year’s new iPad.  According to Anantech, the newer iPad 2 offers a longer battery over last year’s and this year’s iPads.

In fact, we might be able to go as far as to suggest that a 7” iPad with 8 hours is very much in the books.  Provided that there is a 7”, 7.85” or 8” iPad at all.

If Apple's HDTV Isn't Spectacular, It Will Be Zuned; Also Why Google TV Isn't Thriving

This is short.  Google TV is pretty good but it isn't spectacular because there are other platforms out there that does much of what Google TV offers.  And if Apple's supposed HDTV isn't awesome, it will fail.  In essence, Google TV has been Zuned and Apple's TV will be zuned if it is merely a "me, too" HDTV.

It was foreseen with Microsoft's failed Zune experiment.  And this was as much as admitted by the man Microsoft tasked to make Zune go after the iPod.  Robbie Bach essentially said it was chasing the iPod with a product that wasn't offering anything new in ways that could get people to abandon Apple's music player.

This is the same thing that is happening to Google TV.  I don't have to buy a $300 Logitech device when a $50 Roku will do.  Nor will "Google TV" HDTV, with a premium in the hundreds, entice me to buy it when, again, a $50 Roku will do.

That said, I am still not sure that Apple's rumored HDTV will be just another TV.  Because Bach, after the Zune failure, now realized there is no point in making and releasing a new product that isn't better than what's on the market.  (This is why Apple is unlikely to release an HDTV even if it's iOS-powered).

For Google, it's time they stop the nonsense with anything other than Android.  That is where their future is going to be and Google has to go after the television with its core services that are popular and easy to use.  For instance, Google+ has a future role that is vastly different from what other competing services offer.  A more social entertainment service with pics and videos, both instantly available from users, amateurs, and professionals.  Would it be interesting to be able to participate in Hangouts on your TV?

So, if Apple releases just an HDTV with a built in Apple TV and Google  sticks with what it has, both products will be zuned in no time.

Tablets As Camcorders Could Increase

Is the tablet going to be the new camcorder, for older folks?  I was at my hospital yesterday where I go to donate blood and platelets.  Speaking with one of the nurses, she told me how she felt relaxed after her vacation to Hawaii and that she'd bring pics to show us.

When I asked her what camera she used, they said, "I used the iPad, you silly..."

Wow, I was thinking to myself.  But you know what?  I can see this pick up over time.  In fact, we haven't seen more of this because I think the iPad 2 camera just was not quite there.  And Android devices didn't really have any good camera and video apps.

I think we'll see more tablet users, especially ones more portable, take them on vacations and use them as their digital camcorders and cameras.

My nurse has an iPad 2 so I don't think the pics will turn out great.  Even she said something about that.  But she did say the videos came out awesome.

Friday Movie: This is Why Our 16th President Is The Most Badass POTUS

Some say that President George Washington is the best POTUS we ever had.  Probably.  But others say that it's our sixteenth president, Abraham Lincoln.  Let's just say that it's a tie.  How about that?

However, as far as I know (according to Hollywood), President Lincoln is the only vampire hunter that ever sat in the White House.  And in this day, that makes him the awesomest, most badass POTUS.

I'll be honest.  When I first heard about this movie, I thought it was the dumbest idea ever.  It's like "Hollywood, you've ran out of sequels and remakes to do already?!"  But after watch the trailers, I was like "wow, this works."

Here's this Friday's movie clip, a trailer for Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter!!!

Have a great weekend!