AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

Last time we went out to dinner with a bunch of friends, it started off well enough but as the night went on, it devolved into. iPhone-fest, or a smartphone-fest (not everyone had an iPhone). Folks were texting, updating their social status or checking in, just gaming. A couple of folks even texted each other from different ends of the table. It was partly why I gave up using my G1 and iPhone with data. I am using an iPod touch with an iSpot but its not the same as an integrated device like the iPhone. But today, my aunt and uncle, as well as a few of their friends came to visit. I served them tea and they chatted. They had not seen each other for weeks now. I left them for a while and came back to the living room. It was quiet. And it was a sight I never expected to see. My uncle was playing Angry Birds on his iPad, my aunt was hacking away on her iPhone trying to solve a sudoku puzzle, another aunt was playing mahjong on her iPad, and another of their friend was playing who knows w...

There are a lot of expectations that Apple will release the next iPhone in the fall rather than the summer.  It truly defies what Apple has done in the past.  I myself have argued that Apple will stick with its annual update.  Now, we are a week from May and it doesn't look like Apple will be holding its annual April event to introduce the next iOS  So does this mean that I'm wrong and that we are looking a later date for the next iPhone release?   Well, I came across this post from TUAW that articulated three points support the fall iPhone assertion.  I'm not afraid to admit that I'm wrong.  I'm not wrong...yet. Three Reasons Apple Will Release the iPhone In The Fall: First, the two iPhone models just got released.  What?!  That's right.  The CDMA iPhone was just released by Apple and Verizon in February.  It's now late April, 2.5 months ago.  And as you know, Apple sold 2.2 million of them CDMA models in about six weeks. ...

It's been confirmed through a photo that the President of the United States has an iPad 2.  Obviously, Mr. Obama is not the first head of state to use an iPad nor will he be the last.  And dozens if not hundreds of law makers also make use of Apple's revolutionary and "magical" (not my word) device in the course of service to the public.  And with the news that the iOS device, specially the iPhone, may be keep information about the whereabouts of the user in a file on the iPhone and iTunes profile, is this a danger or violation of privacy that we need to worry about? No.  It's a concern.  If it's a bug, it needs to be fixed.  If there is something more to it than that, we should get to the bottom of this.  Google's Android, its openness is debatable, is not curated and, it soo, also record geolocation of its users. To be fair, I like to see all mobile companies get an opportunity to defend this specific practice before we go nuts about it.  And I ...

It's late April and there is still no iOS demo from Apple.  However, Boy Genius Report is showing off some pictures with a demo or engineering white iPhone unit working on T-Mobile's network.  Yes, this is kinda of like a rumor.  No one knows what this truly means and it opens the door for fun speculation.   So, does this mean that the iPhone is coming to T-Mobile?  Well, let's just say that it will.  What we are not sure about is whether by the time the iPhone makes it over to T-Mobile, T-Mobile will still be called T-Mobile or it'll be called AT&T.   But there is a way to find out.  Just before Verizon got the iPhone back in February, there were signs.  AT&T made moves to try to lock in iPhone users deep into their contract, 12 months in, by enticing them with early upgrades.  Then also, Verizon made some moves with its cancellation penalties.   Right now, I would look to see if T-Mobile makes similar moves that mirror wha...

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...