AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

Convention says that the iPhone 5 will not be out until the middle of 2011.  June has been the month that Apple released new iPhones since the iPhone 2G.  That did not change for the 3G, 3GS, or the iPhone 4.  Could 2011 be the year that Apple changed all that?  Here's why I think perhaps they might go ahead and change things up a bit. There is a lot riding in the mobile market.  Tens of billions and Apple and Google are locked in an epic war for supremacy.  And with Google and its multiple Android hardware partners, they can easily stagger their device releases through the year, giving mobile warriors the appearance that something new and fresh is coming out of the Android camp.   But with Android 3 release coming in the first quarter, giving Google the ability to attack the tablet market, I think Apple is in a position to consider moving up the time table for the iPhone 5 release.  Just this week, Best Buy in the US gave out the iPhone 3GS for f...

With the arrival of iOS 4.2.1, Apple finally gave us the ability to print from the iOS devices via AirPrint.  And while that is a great feature to have, I am one of those who will not benefit from this new feature.  And today, with new firmware upgrades,  With Instapaper, iBooks, and Goodreader, I have been able to get just about everything I need from the Web and books without having to print them out to read.  This is especially true when I use the iPad.  Think about it.  Instant access to all the files I need with apps on the iPad.   Unless a mobile warrior is in a specific job where printing docs is necessarily, I don't see the rest of us who use the iPad to consume information finding all that much use with AirPrint. And frankly, will Android need this feature?  I am sure Google will have a similar implementation as Android push deeper into enterprise.  HP will most assuredly add direct printing into its future Web OS devices.   But...

After some hairy moments with Fedex on the delivery of my iSpot, I finally got in after days of back and forth with more customer service agents than I hope to deal with. And yeah, I am very happy with this mobile investment. In fact, I was able to get it up and running in less than 5 minutes of opening up the box the iSpot came in.

I've yet to purchase a magazine on the iPad.  But I am going to get Virgin's new "Project" that was made available for the iPad yesterday.  It'll cost $3 per issue while the app itself is free.  And oh, a version for Android and the iPhone is coming as well. What's interesting is that while magazine and newspaper publishers have waited eager for the iPad to save them, that hasn't happened. Honestly, I don't know what the hold-up is.  I cannot understand Apple's, specifically Steve Jobs,  revulsion for subscriptions is all about. So, this model Virgin is using may well be the next best thing.  Instead of subscriptions, publishers can release apps and allow users to download new content on a weekly or monthly basis.  They can also set up alerts and auto-payments to make this work more efficiently. And at $3, it is a fair price.  Much more so than the $5 that Wired is charging per issue.  I believe that the per-issue price will likely drop as th...

The Samsung Tab has two cameras. The iPad has none. And many of smart phones has two and more will follow. But do tablets need to have two cameras? I can understand the need for a frontal camera has more mobile warriors switch over to video chats as a mean of communication. With Fring, Skype, and Apple's own FaceTime paving th way to the future, frontal cameras are a must. But I have yet to see the need for a tablet to have a back camera. I can only see limited use for it. I get the need for the iPhone and other devices to have a back camera as a lot of users use their phones as a point-and-shot camera replacements. Personally, I don't see myself pointing my iPad or a future Android tablet at my nieces and nephews. A sales team might go out to take pictures on location but I am sure they'll likely have smart phones as a part of their mobile arsenal. Maybe when the next generation tablets come out, Apple and others will show needs for the back camera on tablets that I h...

Apple has the exclusives to sell Beatles music for some period into 2011.  That was what the special announcement was done on Apple's website and iTunes this morning. And while I am especially happy for Steve Jobs who had been talking about this for years, I can't help but felt a tinge....no, let me back that up.  A big, big disappointment in what was not announcement. Were we so naive to think that Apple will make some sort of a big deal after all of the Christmas has been set in stone?  I remember distinctive three and four years ago, rumors would fly that something from Apple would be announced in December.  Those two years, it had all been about that iPad.  Well, folks, it didn't happen.   Then two years ago, Apple had to issue a special statement telling people nothing new will be announced before Christmas.   Then last year, no one said anything about a special announcement.   And this year?  Well, on Monday, we had that cryptic message...

I have the late-2008 unibody Macbook and since then, this has been the best Mac that I have owned.  Well, second best.  I still think my Powerbook 500 still rocked during the days.  You can't beat two battery packs.  You just can't.  But the Macbook comes pretty close and this two-year old just got better. I got 4GB memory modules in the mail today.  I wasn't too excited.  These days, my iPad is my go-to device for mobile computing.  At times, it shares duties with my iPod touch and the G1.  So what's two extra 2GB of memory going to do make me love the Macbook more than the iPad? Well, wow.  After installing the memory model, I am getting a totally different impression of the Macbook.  And more than that, I regret not maxing out the Macbook from day one. Everything just seems to happen faster.  Mail, Safari, and Rapidweaver flies and pages loaded up faster.   And if you read my blog, you know that I take every opportunity...