iWhatever: That’s the Danger to Apple’s Dominance

Apple HDTV.  iWatch.  Cheap plasticky iDevices.  What they all have in common is that they could be Apple’s potential downfall in diluting the brand too much.  Just as Apple did not make a small slow netbook when people were clamoring for it, Apple is now being pressed to release products to satisfy the irrational and manufactured doomsday scenario that for some reason, Apple’s $130 billion+ in cash won’t allow it to weather.

Supposed if Steve Jobs caved to analyst pressure and release some cheap $400 Mac netbook that sluggishly ran the full OS X .  Apple would be crucified by the tech punids.  And then, how would Apple try to justify releasing $500 iPads or $329 iPad mini that doesn’t do all that the Mac netbook could run.

Instead of the netbook, Apple answered with the iPod touch for a few years before killing off the market entirely with the iPad.

Apple innovated instead of releasing a $400 garbage and waited for the right time to release a truly innovative solution.

Innovative product.  At a time of Apple’s choosing.

Apple’s strength has besides it’s innovative history is something that many other companies do not have.  Consider how much more products Apple’s competitors have on the market and the number of categories that they’re involved in.  If the key is getting into as many markets as a company possibly can and then try to cover the whole spectrum of the market with one or two flagship product and then cover the bottom with a flood of cheap products, Nokia, Motorola, and Samsung should be making much, much more money than Apple or anyone should.

And yet, Apple’s mobile profit has been twice that of its nearest competitor, Samsung, and bigger than many of its competitors put together.

Innovative product.  At a time of Apple’s choosing.  It’s called discipline.  Remember what Steve Jobs said in 1997, "I'm actually as proud of the things we haven't done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things."

 And this was not the first time Steve Jobs has said this.  He gave a similar quote to Fortune in 2008 in saying “we tend to focus much more. People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I'm actually as proud of many of the things we haven't done as the things we have done”.

I have no doubt that Apple is still the most innovative company in the world and will continue to be so in the near future.  Now, let’s see if Tim Cook and Apple’s management has the courage and discipline to say “no”.

Traditional Watch Companies Need Not Be Blinded By The Coming Onslaught Of Smart Watches

With all the talk about Apple and other tech guys getting into wearable gears like watches, I wonder how many of those folks are shaking in their boots right now about.

Or should they even be worried?

Watches, along with those high-end purses, really speaks to status than anything.  So, while some brands could potentially suffer, certain brands should be able to weather any onslaught the mobile guys are likely to dish out.  It’s unfathomable that Apple, Google, or Samsung will have the cool factor to come out with $10,000 smart watches that can challenge Rolex’s name.

Forget the uber-rich brands for now.  Even some of your more mainstream brands will continue to have appeals as regular watches simply because they are regular watches.  These days, everyone has a mobile device that could tell time and, yet, the companies that make watches, likely were hit hard during initial surge of smartphone adoptions,  have survived and still managed to keep on ticking.

It’s likely that they will continue to have their customers even when smart watches do hit the market.  They’ve got two options.  One, they can continue to make watches.  Sure, they’ll get hit a bit more but those companies that survive should continue to endure.  Second, they can join in the smart watch war.  They can consider both options and even bloody the noses of the mobile guys.

I recently just bought a pretty nice watch that does nothing but tell time.  It’s got a style I like and also because it was not a smart watch.  I totally see other folks who love watches and the style they bring to continue buying and wearing time pieces that do nothing more than tell time (or date if at all).

There will be a market for watches.  Just like there is a market for dedicated GPS devices even though they were hit hard when every mobile device makers added GPS chips to their phones.

Yes, the watch makers have to worry.  However, if they plot their future strategies carefully, I think they’ll do well.  Not all but most top tier guys and those who are able to market themselves smartly can even thrive.

The Smart Panel Running Android - Desk or Coffee Table Could Be In Our Future

Source:  Android Community.

Before there was the Surface RT and Pro, there was just the Surface.  It was Microsoft's own overpriced tabletop touch screen device.  It was pretty awesome by most reckoning.  Very much ahead of its time.  Now, check out the Android-based touch screen below.

I don't know about you but I figure Apple certainly has something like this in Jony Ive's lab.  And I wonder maybe, just maybe Google should have head everyone off at the pass and release this instead of the Chromebook Pixel.

Maybe Samsung'll do the honor.  Between Google's glasses, iWatch or whatever, this probably will get more mileage than those.

So, guys, forget the smart TV.  How about the smart desktop or coffee table?  I think I probably will get more out of this than anything else.

Apple Doesn’t Have ID Crisis – Currently Going Through Shift In Identity And That’s Good

Source:  Insider.

We b*#ch and moan about analysts and, yet, websites continue to link to them.  But in this case, I cannot help feel I have to address the idiocy that is currently permeating on Wall Street with regards to Apple.

Apple’s stock aside, it’s kicking butt left and right.  It’s dominating the tablet market in terms of units sold, not shipped like others.  iPhone sales were stunted by the fact that it could not make them fast enough.  The same goes for the iPad mini. 

Changing Identities

As far as Apple’s identity goes, Apple is no longer Steve Jobs’ company and certainly not in the way he ran it.  This is Tim Cook’s company.  What remains is the same innovative energy that existed before and probably with Tim Cook giving people greater freedom to innovate than ever before. 

For those who laments the fact that Tim Cook may not be the product or design guy that Steve Jobs was, That is where Tim Cook is going to get that innovative juice from – from the smart people who works for him.  Like letting Jony Ives off the leash.  Like letting hardware guys go nuts about what the future holds. 

Changes it that is not going to happen overnight.  What products Apple releases this year and next may be more evolutionary but certainly, the same folks who came out with the iTunes, iPhones, iPads, and Macbooks are still there but with greater freedom.  Is it going to be better than what Steve Jobs could have achieved?

We’ll have to see, won’t we?  Mistakes will be made like the recent iMac launch.  Over all, Apple will continue to churn out products that people will be winning to stand in line for to buy and change society.  We’ll get our iPhone or iPod watches.  We’ll get lighter iPads with better battery life.  We’ll get apps on Apple TV as well.

Maybe Siri will become sentient.  I think at this point, that maybe the only thing that satisfies anyone right now.  Or maybe we’ll get smart cars in ways that only Apple will envision. 

Whatever comes next from Apple, It’ll have Tim Cook’s influence, not Steve’s.  And that is a change in identity.

Wall Street Needs To Have Its Head Examined

However, you know who has identity crises?  Wall Street analysts.  The fundamentals for Apple or the mobile market has not changed.  They cannot deal with the reality that Apple is doing very well but not insanely so.  They cannot deal with that fact that while Apple has yet to tap the Indian market and only begin to gain a foothold in China, they want it to happen overnight. 

Apple Doesn’t Play Defense – Plays By Its Own Rules

And as for Apple playing defense?  Since when is a bad thing for one company’s product to usurp another of its own and grow it beyond it’s original size.  That’s what Apple’s iPhone did to the iPod and what the iPad is now doing to the Mac.  The only difference is that Apple’s products is also decimating markets of its competitors.  Ask HP and Dell and the PC market in general how it’s been going?  Ask former number one phone sellers Motorola and Nokia how things are.

Apple has one game:  bring out the best product it can that its people will want to use because that’s what people would want too.  There is no offense or defense at Apple when it comes to bring the best product it can make.  And that is one thing that has not changed at Apple. 

It’s always possible that Apple can falter.  In fact, one day, it will falter or have another company overtake it.  However, given the number of years and the discipline that Steve and Tim had worked together and the discipline that Apple has shown, it’ll be a long time before we really see any kind of crisis at Apple.

Steve Didn't Care About Apple's Stock Price, Nor Does Tim 

As for Apple’s stock, who cares?  Certainly not Tim Cook.  Okay, he might be but only a bit.  Certainly Steve Jobs didn’t care.  But neither Tim or Steve would publicly say that.  Whether it’s at $300, $400, or $1000, Apple will be doing whatever it has to do.  In fact, I think it might be a better idea for Wall Street to keep driving Apple’s stock down further so that Tim Cook can arrange to take Apple private and not have to worry about what Wall Street thinks.

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Mobile: iPhone 5S and Galaxy S 4 is Coming, So What?

Source:  iMore.

There is rumors that the next iPhone, the iPhone 5S is coming sooner rather than later.  Word is that the HTC One is coming.  But you know what? I think the Galaxy S 4 is also around the corner too.  In the US market, the next iPhone and Samsung's flagship device will should be out around the same time.

What does that mean?  It means absolutely nothing if you've already got an iPhone 5 or Galaxy S 3.  Or even if you just bought the latest Blackberry device.  And if not and you're in the market for something new now, you can't go wrong with the top end devices on the market.

It doesn't matter what will be on the horizon.  I've stopped looking at what's out there further down the road and I could not be happier.  Just being happy with what I already have or what I can already get on the market now.

The iPhone 6, iPhone 7, Samsung S 5 and 6, or whatever else will always be coming out.  That's what's so great about competition.  We mobile warriors benefit from the technical back and forth between Apple, Google, Blackberry, and Microsoft.  But we can't let it keep us enjoying the here and now.

Bloomberg on iWatch: Total Cow Waste

Unbelievable Bloomberg iWatch rumors:  Biometric on the iWatch?  Puleaze...

The Loop called it.  I don't know where Bloomberg is being led here.  Yes, it's being led by someone for unknown reasons.  I figure at this point, it's probably Apple PR trying to screw with the market.  I can see competitors now scramble to figure out just what Apple is up to.

At least, the Verge has something more real when it discussed issues with the battery life.

Regardless, the consensus seems to be that Apple will release a new device unlike anything currently in its line-up.  It'll likely go up against a plethora of Android watches as well.  Oh, and don't forget Google's glasses as well.

On Rumors:  It shows just how low journalism has fallen.  It has failed to keep up with changes blogging has done to reporting and now mainstream news sources have become blogs themselves by reporting on unsubstantiated rumors.  Can you imagine if this kind of blogger-type of reporting is translated to news that truly matters and instead of reporting on facts, journalists just go by rumors?

Oh wait...I think it already has been like this for years...never mind.

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Security: Evernote Warning Should Mean Changing Our Online Behavior and Complacency (And Passwords Often)

If you don't know by now, Evernote has warned that everyone change their passwords because "Evernote's Operations & Security team has discovered and blocked suspicious activity on the Evernote network that appears to have been a coordinated attempt to access secure areas of the Evernote Service". (Evernote blog)

A couple of observations about this.  Before I start, I want to say that this is not specific to Evernote.  In fact, various media outlets, like the New York Times, Washington Post, and WSJ, along with tech giants like Yahoo and Google in the past and, more recently, Apple, Facebook, Twitter, and Microsoft were all victims of coordinated and sophisticated hacking attacks.

And with more of us putting our data in the cloud, through various services and webapps and apps, we have to assume that one or more of them is always under cyberattacks and threats.  Furthermore, we may even have to assume that some of our data has already been compromised.

So, constantly changing passwords becomes all the more important than ever.  Backing up your data is also very important - not just stuff on your PC hard drive.  This goes for any banking or online purchases you might undertake - while you probably cannot back up your all your data, you might be able to download some data or take screen shots.

Also, don't think just because we spend more time on our mobile devices and less on PCs means that we are any safer.  Complacency is going to be a big killer.

Regardless of what Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, or your online bankers say, we cannot assume that they will be able to protect us thoroughly.  I reckon we are just one major attack away from really putting the fear of God into all of us.  And I think such a major attack is likely to happen sooner rather than later.

I've got a lot of my Evernote, e-mails, and other online docs backed up as are my passwords on a mobile backup drive.  I'm not sure that's even enough.  And it does take discipline to do all that I've mentioned.

It's like credit card frauds.  I've had it happened a couple of time to me already.  It happens even though I thought I've done everything I can to be careful.  It happens.

Just like a cloud attack.

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