AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

Apple sold almost 19 million iPhones.  3 Million of them went to AT&T while 2.2 million CDMA versions were sold on Verizon's network.  Two point two million of a 9 month old, albeit fantastic, mobile device.  Who's buy them and which company had the most to lose from the Apple-Verizon partnership? Three Distinct Groups: Let's examine who's buy these iPhones on Verizon's aging CDMA network that does not allow the user to talk and access the data through the 3G network at the same time.  My guess is that its a mixture rather than greater subset of anyone particular group.  With over three million iPhones activated with AT&T, it is suffice to say that plenty of people stuck with Ma Bell despite its reputation of spotty network.  I am sure a large segment of the market went with Verizon that defected from AT&T.  After all, more than a few stuck with them because of the iPhone.  The demand was bad enough that Verizon struck a deal with Appl...

It's one of those things that I think companies know about and do but doesn't want to talk about it.  Keep tabs on their users is a gold mine for companies.  Companies like Google and Facebook want to be able to know what we're up to and how to best monetize that information.  Others like carriers might want to know how to best optimize their networks.   So why does Apple want that information?   It's too soon to tell.  Supposedly, this information isn't something new and have been covered in the past without fanfare until a couple of security "experts" decided to bring it to our attention.   Personally, I'm not worried - not yet.  And it's not like this information is something that Facebook, which is a lot more dangerous to privacy, will ever get it.   Still, I want to know why Apple is gather this information.  Supposedly, it could be a bug where information were not purged as it was supposed to.  And yes, Apple can ("is" to some...

Given how fast the iPad 2 is selling compared to the original iPad a year ago and the growth of the whole ecosystem that supports it, I wonder if the tablet market, specially one that is dominated by one player, is growth too fast.  And why is it growth so fast?    This year, it's been estimated that Apple will sell about 30 million iPads, quite possibly 45 million with a few really high-end predictions putting it at 60 million.  Let's just take the 60 million iPads for 2011 and say Apple manages to sell 60 million by 2013.  Sit back and take a look at those numbers.  That's a big big jump from 2010 to 2011, about 2x.  Then from 2011 to 2013, another 2x.   By 2013, the tablet market as a whole may reach 100 million tablets.  Then where would it go from there?  200 million in another 24 months?  Here's where post-PC comes into play.  Something has to give.  That means laptop sales, with the netbook segment of the market hav...

It's late April and still no iOS 5 intro. Still, something is cooking over at Apple. And this is an example of what might be in store. Foursquare execs were found on Apple campus. Would anyone just visit Apple for the heck of it? Maybe. However, there is a strong possibility that they had a meeting there. After all, checking into Apple campus is a pretty exciting thing considering all the wild speculations, even from myself, about Apple can transform MobileMe into. Would you want a free MobileMe account with check-ins that might have special deals only for iOS users? You bet I would! Here is where things are interesting and it isn't just some random check-ins that some people do when they drive by randomly. Erin Gleason, the public relations manager, checked in and mentioned she was moving into the next meeting. Then the next location of the check-in was was at Apple. The check-in was done by Dennis Crowley, with Gleason present as well as Foursquare's business dev and p...

This was suppose to be the year that competitors put a stop to the iPad assault on the tablet.  Rather than anything that has taken the consumers by storm, the Xoom and Playbook are filled with reviews about the great potentials these tablet platforms possess.  Howeer, in the wrap-up sections, it's all been "when the updates come...". I'm sure Apple's first mover position has advantages but it can't be all that.  Forget about the lack of lines at Best Buy or anywhere else in Canada where RIM has home-court advantage, what's disconcerting is that the executives at these companies are clueless or in denial.   I'm generally upbeat about things but for the rest of 2011, I'm not about the tablet market.   Here's one platform I'm holding out for that I think can still give Apple some competition.  HP's Web OS Touchpad. As long as they don't rush it out like Google and RIM did with theirs, they ought to have some awesome features that can ...

I've been typing on my iPad for more than a year now. And I don't think I'm alone in saying that I like the virtual keyboard very much. Light touches and generally accurate if you learn to trust it. However, I think I am in the minority on this issue. It's not because there are most people who don't like typing on the iPad. Rather, it's because most people don't type on the iPad. Either way, is there a need for those cases outfitted with physical keyboards that turns the iPad into a netbook? First of all, I don't think I've seen one that I like. I don't like the Kensington rubber keyboard. It's, well, rubbery. And it's not the only maker of keyboard-combo-cases that use a silicone or rubber cover. There are also ones with hard cases but they are still far from perfect. The Zaggmate case has these side walls that, from the pictures, feel weird to me. Besides the fact that I haven't found the perfect keyboard with a cas...

(This is a must read post from Apple fan, John Gruber on "Cutting the Cord".  It a very good analysis on why we're just are not to leave the PC behind when trying to get media onto our mobile devices.  I've offered a few notes myself below.) One of the issues with regards to mobile is that a lot of them requires the user to still sync it with a PC.  Specifically, we are talking about Apple iOS ecosystem here.  Android, on the other hand, is all set to go once you get it out of the box.  Having said that, there is a distinct difference between activation and sync and loading up the mobile devices with apps and media. To date and as far as I know, all Android devices are ready to be used once the user activates it wirelessly.  There is no need plug it into a PC first.  Simply type in your Google information (or set one up if you don't have one) and you're off to go.  And in the background, data is by synced.   On the other hand, all iOS devices...