Samsung's Tizen Devices May Split Android Alliance

Source:  Appleinsider, Tizen.

Google or Samsung could be in for a rude awakening.  See, Samsung could be in the process of unfriending Android as Google become more and more of a competitor than a partner as Google is looking to dethrone not on the iPhone but the premier Galaxy devices as well.

First a little history of how these tech giants used to be friends but changes and advances in technology has forced their hands and shifted alliances.

So we know that Apple and Google don't get along these days.  It wasn't always like this.  Back during the PC days, it was Apple versus IBM and then Microsoft.  As Apple floundered and came back to life again with Steve Jobs' second coming, newcomer Google and Apple buddied up to take on Microsoft.  

The Apple-Google alliance was one to be reckoned with.  It would take on mighty Redmond and relegate Microsoft to the fringes as computing, both desktop and emerging mobile, shifted to browsers and apps on mobile devices.

Of course, Microsoft fought back as best as it could against the iPhone.  RIM gave no heed to Apple. Nor did Palm.  Things were good until Google's Android began to take hold of the market.  Well, it's more complicated than that but the gist is that Apple and Google began a multi-year process of splitting up.

Then there's also the Apple-Samsung alliance where Samsung made much of the little components that goes into the iOS devices.  It was a relationship for both until Samsung decided to copy Apple's designs and look of the iPhone.  At least that is Apple's side of the story.  It's a lot of "it said, it said" from both sides.

Google's relationship with most Android device makers like Samsung were good in the early days.  But after Google purchased Motorola, you can fee the change in the air.  The news was met with chilled responses at best from Google's partners.  

And we come to today.  A new alliance was formed last year between Samsung and Intel and the result is a new mobile OS called Tizen (wiki and website). It's another Linux-based open source operating system.  It's one that Samsung is looking towards as Google becomes more of a competitive threat by the day.  And Samsung will be unveiling and selling Tizen-based devices this year.  

Of course, as mobile fans, we want to embrace this.  More OS on the market means more competition.  It's a good thing.  A great thing.  We've got Android, Blackberry 10, iOS, Windows 8, and Tizen along with a few other smaller ones (Firefox OS, Ubuntu) looking to break out one day.  

No one knows for sure what Samsung is hoping to do with Tizen here.  Is Tizen just shot at Google to warn them over Android competition?  Or will Samsung really begin the shift from Android to Tizen?  No one really knows right now.  It really depends on the market.

For the foreseeable future, Android and Samsung smartphones are joined at the hip with Samsung making a few token Windows 8 phones.  We'll have to watch carefully just how hard Samsung pushes Tizen as an alternative.  

What will happen if Tizen does take off?  Again, it's great for us because competition is good for the market. It'll drive Apple, Google, and anyone else to continue innovating as hard as ever.  It'll prove that the mobile  landscape can change overnight.

However, for Android, there could be come big changes.  Perhaps there will always be a Samsung device running Android but should Tizen take off, Samsung will start making more devices, especially high-end ones like the Galaxy S and tablets.  And what's also interesting is that Android apps can run on Tizen devices.

That is key. Apps.  And you bet Samsung has already considered this issue.  

In the future, Android users will have to choose if they had been following the brand or the OS.  If they wanted high-end devices, they'll likely have to see what Google, LG, and Motorola has to offer.  For Galaxy S devices, obviously, it could be just Samsung's Tizen.

Social: LinkedIn Gave Every Employee an iPad mini - Hey, Zucker, How About Facebook Employees?

Source:  Business Insider.

Via Twitter, LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner gave each of his 3,500 employees an iPad mini.  That's about $1.2 million which I am sure Apple gave him some sort of a discount.  At least, I hope so.

And why not?  LinkedIn is on a tear and there really is no end in sight as the social network has found a way to monetize is service and actually provide value for its users and partners.  Whereas Zucker is still trying to figure things out and Facebook continues to deploy shady schemes to sell out its users to the highest bidders.

Yeah, I just don't see Facebook ever doing something like this.

That awesome moment when your CEO dishes out iPad minis to EVERY employee @linkedin @jeffweiner
— Darain Faraz (@darainfaraz) February 13, 2013

Cult of Mac Destroys Analyst - Love To See More Of This Kind of Article

People don't like lawyers and where Apple is concerned, no one likes Wall Street or tech analysts.  And there are many reasons we hate them.  And this Cult of Mac post documenting all the wrong predictions of one analyst, Peter Misek, is just so juicy.  Dude has been more wrong than most Apple blogs.  And for the blogs, they have a reason to traffic in rumors (which we don't do unless it is for a specific reason other than to spread them).  Blogs rely on readership to generate revenues.

Analysts are to do what?  You like to think they know what they are talking about but it's just been the opposite.  Analysts often ask wrong questions if they were not stupid questions to begin with.  They often bring attention to one data point and make absurd assumptions.  What's worse is when they blame Apple for making them look stupid.

Also, they are like spoiled children - wanting things both ways as in the case of iPhones.  Analysts had assumed that iPhone sales were weak, which they're not and Apple has trouble making enough to satisfy demands, so they believe Apple needs to make cheap iPhones.  Then they go on to lament about falling profit margin.

So, if rumor-trafficking sites like the Cult of Mac thinks these guys are nuts, we want to take notice.  I do enjoy reading CoM posts because they offer insightful analysis and speculations and juicy rumors (but not when the source is DigiTimes).

But this post shredding Misek's credibility is just awesome.  The douche said Apple will be holding a media event to introduce an Apple TV SDK which The Loop already debunked.

Cult of Mac has more than five other Misek blunders worth reading.

Note:  With these Wall Street guys, you have to wonder if they're really this stupid or if they're really pretty smart by looking stupid for the day when (or if ever) the SEC comes after them for stock manipulation.

Another Note:  Sometimes, these Wall Street and tech analysts show frustration when the most successful tech company, or any company for that matter, doesn't take their suggestions.  We should see that as a positive sign that folks at Apple know what they are doing.

Who Will Make the iCar?

Today, all the media seems to focused on Silicon Valley and advances in moble technology but it’s the greening of the auto industry that may be more exciting.  Furthermore, they represent the early days of a revolution in how we view cars and the energy it takes to power them.

I consider the Priuses, Volts, and Leafs just the early stages of this new auto revolution we are witnessing.  Cars before the hybrids were like regular cell phones.  Single purpose.

Hybrids came along.  The mobile parallel would be like the old 3COM’s personal digital assistant, the Palm Pilot.  You can do a bit more.

As we go down this road, it’s tempting to call the Telsa all-electric cars the iPhone of the auto industry but I don’t think we’re there yet.  Maybe the Telsas are more like Blackberries.  Because the Telsa cars are expensive, only a few can afford them.  Just like the early days when Blackberries existed mostly in the corporate world.

The true “iPhone” vehicle, iCar is still sitting in someone’s lab or possible garage waiting to roar onto the road.  And who will make this “iPhone” car?

For the record, I doubt it’ll be Apple in case you’re wondering.  I don’t think it will involve any of the tech giants except for perhaps Google.  The auto industry is a vastly different market after all.  I do believe that this iCar will encompass all the characteristics that has made consumer products so desired.

Sleek design, revolutionize the one or two things that makes a car a car and how we operate it, and provides features that we did not previously know we wanted.  It would revolutionize personal transportation not seen since the saddled horse.

Maybe we’ll have to look to George Jetson for inspiration in this area. Oh wait, doesn’t Google already have a self-driving car?  Or does Apple have what it takes to disrupt another market?  Also magine Google Now- or Siri-controlled vehicle that can plot out an efficient course for you based on your workday and dinner plans?

Amazon Prime Not Worth It Unless You Shop A Lot And Don't Already Have Netflix

This CNet post wondered if Amazon Price is worth the $79 annual fee.  It's a good read and very fair in its praises and criticisms.  Personally, I don't think so.  Here's where I'm coming from.

I'm a Netflix subscriber and I enjoy the experience thoroughly if not for the occasion video that I want to watch that goes missing.  Case in point is that I'm a science fiction watcher.  And the very popular Stargate TV shows are not gone from Netflix.  I irked me immensely.  However, that had no made me quit the service and go over to Amazon Prime where the Stargate TV shows are still available for steaming.

Sure, Netflix cost more but it also has a wider selection of videos.  On top of that, Amazon's video is not available for streaming on most major platforms.  Like the post said, it's not on Android at all.  You have to buy into Amazon's Apple-like ecosystem if you want to stream videos on a tablet.  And yes, you can now stream Amazon's videos on iOS devices san the Apple TV.

Also, as for book borrowing that is available to Prime users, I'm not a big enough reader that I would join up.

And lastly, I don't buy enough to justify the 2-day shipping.  Honestly, unless I can get something overnight, waiting two-days is too long.  If I need something really bad, I need it and I'll get it locally, say, at Best Buy or a local department store like Target, Walmart, or Costco.  For anything else, I can deal with the 5-8 days long free shipping.

So, what will get me to become a Prime user?  More videos obviously.  More original content but not necessarily exclusive content like Downton Abbey (Engadget) which Amazon will carry exclusively soon.  Then again, if Amazon is willing to fork over more money to obtain more shows I want to watch and it's exclusive only to Amazon, yes, I might consider jumping ship.  At the same time, Netflix is showing that it ain't no pushover - developing its own shows and getting more movies than anyone else.

As for the other features, I like to see Amazon opening book borrowing on other devices and stream videos to Android devices.  That plus add more videos that I want to watch.

Pokemon On iOS (And Coming to Android Soon)!!!

Source:  Joystiq.

Holy Cow!  Pokemon, the company which is not related to Nintendo, has just released the Pokemon TV app that allows viewers to watching videos, including the Pokemon cartoons ANYTIME and ANYWHERE!

I've already downloaded it and I'm freaking watching Pokemon on my iPhone!  Woohoo. Guess what I'll be doing at the Lakers game tonight against Phoenix during time-outs!

I've got a few comments to make about it.  The video seems a bit off for some episodes and, right now, I am not getting any sounds out of the iPhone app.

Also, I don't see how I can access season one where is where I want to start - from the beginning.  According to the press release, there are more than 700 espisodes and it looks like they'll be refreshing new episodes on a weekly basis.

Hey, nothing to complain about.  It's free.  It's Ash, Pikachu, and the gang.  What more can you ask for?  Oh, yeah, Pokemon games on iOS and Android.  Yeah, that would be super.

Cord Cutting: Intel Gets Into Online Video Service

Source:  CNBC.

This came out of nowhere.  Intel will be getting into the video biz.  We're talking about live streaming video.  Stuff we already see on cable/sat TV.  Okay, it's not cord-cutting but its still quite interesting that the world's premier PC chip provider is doing this.

I don't know why they're doing this or why they think they will succeed but I like it a lot.  Thinking outside of the box.

So, when?  Well, we just got a vague "this year" from CNBC and that Intel is still talking about it with content providers.

So, why?  This is fun.  Well, as Apple and Google move into the living room along with console makers like Microsoft and Sony, these devices, Apple TV, Xbox, and Playstation will be sitting in the living room without "Intel Inside".  On top of that, Google's efforts also like involve ARM-based chips.

By providing a bundled video service along with a set-top box, Intel is trying to assure it has a place at the table, or at the very least, in the showrooms.  In a way, Intel is trying to sell chips.  And if providing a video service, and I'm gonna go out on a limb here, also video games and apps, Intel is trying to create another platform.

It'll be interesting to see what kind of OS Intel uses.  It's conceivable that it could go to Microsoft or work its own Android OS.  Keep in mind that Intel does have is own mobile OS called Tizen that is it working on with Samsung, the largest provider of smartphones even a rival chip maker.

Whatever or however Intel implements this, folks, this is very good.  It's competition and it is a very good thing.  I'm hoping it is another step towards cord-cutting somehow and unbundling of services and channels.