Apple’s Philosophy on Products: Finding the Right Balance Between Experience and Technology, Not Making Compromises

How many of us out there want a 5" iPhone? I imagine millions of hands went up. And how about this one. Macbook Air with Retina Display with the same 9 to 12 hours of battery life? Still, millions of hands. And iPad mini with Retina Display? The same thing. Well, you can forget about it for the moment until Apple finds the right balance between providing the best user experience allowable by any technical breakthrough it can bring to the market at the right time. The more and more I think about it, Apple products all fit this philosophy, one that has benefitted users whether its a lowly iPod to the iPhone to the Retina Display Macbook Pro. And balance is something that is taken seriously. However, do not mistaken it for compromise. How does Apple know what that is? Well, imagine Steve Jobs and Jony Ives sitting around tinkering around with different designs and, then suddenly, it just sort of hit them. You just know it. More than just finding the right designs, Apple will not, I repeat, will not make compromises to products. Take for instance why Apple has not released a bigger screen iPhone when all of its competitors have 5”-6” screen phablets. Even a couple to be released later this year that go beyond 6”, pitting them ever closer to the 7” tablets. While Apple might be able to give the market a 5” iPhone now, it probably won’t be able to do that without compromising its form factor and, more importantly, the battery life of such a device. And with respects to many reviewers or Android fans regarding phablet use, I find the battery life lacking for the most part and their uses awkward at times. From the sound of things, Tim Cook, who had addressed the idea of a bigger screen iPhone, isn’t opposed to the idea. That has me believing that Apple already has something in the works. Apple is unwilling to make a compromise with the device such as a shorter battery life. So, Apple engineers and designers will continue to work on it until it finds the absolute right balance of a bigger screen iPhone. And that is an example of how Apple works. Also, don’t forget the transition from 2G in the original iPhone to the 3G iPhone and from iPhone 4 to the iPhone 4S with LTE. Sure, tech pundits complained about how Apple should have gone earlier with 3G or LTE antennas but no one complained about th battery life like users did with the HTC Thunderbolt, one of the earliest LTE phones that, by some accounts, barely lasted 5 hours of use.

13" iPad - If Apple Can Make This, Maybe Retina Macbook Air Won't Be Too Far Off

I don't know how I feel about carry around a 12" or 13" iPad (a 13" version is widely being reported as something Apple is looking hard at).  I suppose I will learn to like it.  I'm sure it'll be light enough and capable of doing more in terms of productivity than today's 9.7" iPad or the iPad mini.  And if that's the case, I'm probably for it and may even buy one.

Right now, I'm on the 11.6" Macbook Air as I write this post.  A 12" or 13" iPad would have a slightly bigger screen, not to mention that it'll probably have a Retina Display that even late-2010 Air and the current models does not support.

I'm talking about this now for a couple of reasons. One, more and more people I know want one. Especially the older folks in my life, grandparents, aunts, and uncles.  Including my mom.  For whatever reason, they want Candy Crush bigger and brighter than it already is on the iPad.

Another reason is that even as the market races to the bottom in terms of screen sizes and prices, having a bigger screen gives Apple an opportunity to have a premium product and be able to charge more for it and maintain industry leading margin.  For the average mobile warrior like ourselves, we don't care one bit but for the market, bloggers, and narcissistic pundits, it's kinda important.

And lastly, hate to say it, there is more chatter about it in one form or another - rumors, insiders, and supply lines all point to Apple testing a bigger screen iPad.  And rightfully so.  Apple probably has gone through dozens if not hundreds of screen sizes before settling on the 9.7" screen for the iPad and 8.75" screen for the iPad mini.

I'm sure Apple engineers and designers have also tested bigger screens than the 13" version. Maybe even screens closer to 20" as well.  And why not? There probably will be a niche demand for it.  More importantly, it's research that Apple has go conduct so that it can learn from it.

And while no one but Apple's higher-ups know whether it'll release an iPad with a screen bigger than the 9.7", I'm betting that it'll happen.  Not 2013 but 2014 seems plausible only because work on the iPad and iPad mini will be easier to deal with and for Apple engineers and programmers to move on putting more attention on designing a bigger screen iPad.

Still, this is only a speculative post on my part.  Others have taken things a step further beyond reading about bigger iPad rumors.  Macrumors, aptly named, has a mockup of what a 13" iPad will look like relative to its smaller siblings (yes, it does sound like I have arrived at a conclusion that Apple will indeed release this iPad, doesn't it?) and the Macbook Air.

The mock-up of this 13" iPad next to the Macbook Air shows just how far Apple has come (or could come) with the tablet compared to the traditional laptop form factor.

The question then becomes just how will the market receive such a device, how it fits into Apple's mobile vision and philosophy, and what it could mean for the Macbook Air.  Apple will not design and release a 13" iPad for the sake of doing it.  So, we'll have to see if the designers feel that there are needs that are not currently addressed by the current iPad line and how the users will benefit from a bigger screened tablet.

Yellow Journalism: Washington Post Already Sucking Up To Its New Boss (Jeff Bezos)

Source:  Washington Post.

Couldn't make this up if I wanted to.  In one of the first posts I've seen from the Post since Jeff Bezos bout the iconic print newspaper for $250 million, it's one about Bezos himself.  It's five myths about its new boss.

The first one is this: Jeff Bezos is destroying independent booksellers.  It makes good start to say that it was Barnes and Noble and Borders that started the trend and Amazon only stepped in later.  The segment of the post also regurgitated Amazon's own statements about the Kindle and  how its helping the industry.

Except it's also making sure that it can have titles all to itself cutting out booksellers, large and small.  Of course, Washington Post didn't quite put it the way I just did.

I'm not an Amazon hater.  I get stuff from them (pay the sales taxes), a Kindle user, and also a proud, new, and happy Prime user as well.

Speaking of taxes, the title of the post is "Five myths about Jeff Bezos" and, yet somehow, the post's author find it necessary to include myth number 4: Amazon’s key advantage is that it doesn’t collect state sales taxes.

Of course, Amazon benefited from it.  It made sense, even to me, in the beginning of the dotcom era to leave e-commerce be without taxes and such so that it can grow and flourish.  And yes, less government and taxes did help but it also helped put Amazon over the top as far as getting buyers to go to Amazon to avoid taxes that they would otherwise have to pay at Walmart, Best Buy, Radio Shack, Target, and you name it.

Well, because most readers aren't going to give too much hoot and dig in a bit, they'll take the "facts" of the post at its face value.

Let's remember who wrote this post. It's "Tricia Duryee is a former staff writer at AllThingsD, where she covered e-commerce, including Amazon".  Makes one wonder how much this was a paid post and whether Tricia is gonna be getting a nice promotion soon enough.

Look, I'm not saying anything about Bezos other than that dude's brilliant and has changed the world much in the way other true tech titans have.  And I look forward to his space program.  Still...

Note:  I wonder why this post didn't show up on the New York Times, WSJ, or elsewhere.

Caught Using iPHone To Pretend Using Galaxy S 4

Source:  Twitter.

I have no idea who Nicole Scherzinger but I do know.  In addition to being a so-so singer, she's also a paid Samsung plant to use the Galaxy S 4.  The problem with that?  Nothing.  It's the free enterprise, right?

Except this:

The tweet was from her iPhone.

I'm okay with people selling their souls and all but they've got to do it right!  It'll be interesting to hear her explanation.  What like those Chinese celebrities paid by Beijing to dump on Apple, she'll claim her iPhone was stolen or what not?

So, I know who Nicole Scherzinger is now.  Just not in the way I'd expected.

T-Mobile Looking To Become Apple's Official "Unofficial" Carrier

Source:  Macrumors.

Apple and Mac bloggers are looking to crown Apple, specifically the iPhone 5, as T-Mobile's saviors as its first full quarter of carrying the iPhone net it more than 1.1 million users instead of bleeding them.  Well, I think the iPhone 5 helped.  Definitely.

After all, T-Mobile sold 900K iPhones (a very old device by today's mobile cycle standard) against 600K of the very new Galaxy S 4 from Samsung.  So, it's likely that combined, both Apple and Samsung, more Apple than Samsung, helped T-Mobile.

Having said that, imagine what Apple can and will do for T-Mobile with the next iPhone.

Still, I think it's T-Mobile's "uncarrier" plans that play just as big of a role as the iPhone.  When Sprint got the iPhone, it felt the Apple effect but not to the extent of T-Mobile just got.  Sprint did not have a game-changing business model that T-Mobile current has.

I think in the next couple of quarters, we will see T-Mobile gain additional momentum as word of mouth of its plans spread through the mobile market.  Mobile warriors like myself will look upon this and realize just how important the Apple-T-Mobile partnership really is.

Maybe only the Apple-AT&T partnership back in 2007 was more revolutionary.

Also, having said all that, T-Mobile is looking to Apple for more growth as it looks to add other Apple products and services in the future.  By that, I figure its talking about the iPad.  I just don't see T-Mobile or any other carriers selling any other Apple devices, do you?

But the enthusiasm that T-Mobile is now feeling for Apple's iOS devices (those with LTE capabilities) seems to indicate that it is willing to become the final destination for iPhone and iPad fans.  Right now, I'm using T-Mobile's monthly $30 plan, 100 minutes and 5 GB of high speed data.

Perhaps, T-Mobile should announce a plan or two like this specifically to cater to iPhone users.  Even with just the Uncarrier plans and just the iPhone 5 or the next iPhone, I can see T-Mobile begin to stabilize over the next couple of quarters and start stealing users from its three main rivals.

How Does 1 TB For Your iOS Devices Sound?

Source: The Droid Guy.

I have only 16 gigabytes on my iPhone. 32 gigabyte on my iPad. And 32 gigabyte Nexus 7. As you can see, adequate for today I am already considering 64 for my next device, whatever it is.  There will come a time when we look back on this day and wonder how we could have lived on such small quantity of storage and not all of it available to the use remind you.  Just ask those hapless Surface users.

Now, a new start up is going to try to bring that time closer by giving us one terabyte of data of storage for out mobile devices. The company is called Crossbar.  The new storage is called resistive RAM or ReRAM.  What's more amazing is that the new storage will be faster, smaller than today's memory chips, and use much less power.

How long until we see the new type of storage, ReRAM?

Well, there's a good news. They are ready to go into production. However, I recommend it will be very expensive won't be coming too the next Galaxy, iPhone, Nexus or any other mobile devices for quite a while. However, the company start working with Crossbar right now to make this happen. Companies like Panasonic an HP.

So meanwhile, I'll be looking to muddle along on 64 or 128 GB for my next mobile device or tablet until s such time.

Apps and Services To Augment Mobile Market

Source: Barron's.

I don't know if Apple's last quarterly announcement spoke to a saturation of the high end market or not. I don't know if Samsung's reduction of the just released Galaxy S4 spoke to the same thing. But there is a change in the buying habit of the smartphone market that could be bigger than just the top end.

But looking at Apple's iTunes revenue growing of 25% to nearly $4 billion, you have to take notice. It's likely that Amazon and Google saw some kind of growth that points to a shift in how they see their apps/mobile ecosystem.

More so than Apple, at least in the beginning, Google likely saw Google Play as a source of direct revenue and profit than Apple. Apple wanted to sell iOS devices and Macs and it's iTunes ecosystem was to be an integral part of that. It was mean to operate at a break even point only. But as revenue exploded, it's like iTunes has added to the billions in cash that Apple gets every year.

For Amazon, it's Kindle ecosystem was mean to get people hooked in and continue shopping with it. More and more, its own ecosystem is valuable as an avenue to direct profitability.

This comes to my point. These operators of App Stores will rely more and more on them as perpetual sources of income so long as their mobile users, be it iPhone, Nexus, or Kindle, continue to spend $.99 for an app or $1.99 for a TV show. All of that adds up.

It'll be interesting to get some kind of color on how much each mobile user spends after buying a phone or tablet. As the market matures and the app buying experience becomes more prevalent, the revenue Apple and Google will generate from each user will only increase.

- Posted using Mobile