AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

Apple fans, especially if you’ve got an iOS device or mobile phone, rejoice. Looks like Apple could be coming to a Target store near you. And I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say this. Apple could slow and surly be putting into place the means for users to not only buy Apple gears more easily but could also more easily allow iOS users to buy things with their iTunes accounts. You’re thinking “dude, what are you smoking” right about now. Here me out. Store within a store for Apple isn’t something new. In fact, it goes all the way back to ancient history: CompUSA. Yeah, like in the 90s. And then we have the Apple stores but Apple kept their little corner in Best Buys as well. But Target is uniquely different. It’s a general consumer retailers – food, consumer goods like clothes and furniture. Yup, Target does sell electronics and to my knowledge, I’ve never seen a Target selling computers before. And this could be an opportunity for Apple. More than that, a while bac...

One of the saddest moment, and not just for mobile, was when Borders shut down its stores and went dark, literally, in the retail arena.  And now, it looks like Barnes & Noble could be going down that path.  Essentially, the news today is that B&N is looking at spinning off the Nook and digital business. Right now, the stock is down by much and its investors’ sentiment confirms my fears – I’m afraid I could be taking another hit in the nostalgic department and see my local Barnes and Noble store go the way of the Borders stores. I used to study at Borders and B&N when I was in college and I still frequented them a couple of times a month.  It's there where I bought books, have coffees, and met up with friends.  Lots of terrific memories. And it brought me back to a conversation I had with a B&N employee over the Christmas season.  We chatted about how BN’s retail business was doing and how confident she seemed because they had the Nook ...

Apple could be launching an attack on e-commerce.  You probably don't know this unless you following the daily in-and-outs of Apple news. On New Year's Eve 2011, an app called GameStore was accidentally published and let lose in the App Store.  Really, there was nothing to GameStore other than that it was meant to allow users to buy things, fconceivably, in-app purchases. However, there was nothing to buy. And moreover, GameStore costs $0.99.  Now, Apple has informed buyers that they will be issuing a refund for the purchase. Macrumors has tracked this back to 2009 when it was iOS 3 that dominated the landscape.  You might think that it was a mistake. Well, it was and Apple has acknowledge it so. However, the official explanation from Apple was now what everyone expected. It certainly was not what I expected.  According to Apple, the app was prematurely launched and "was made available for sale prematurely".   What those words mean is that an app will be fo...

Apple to begin selling the iPhone 4S officially in China on January 13th, 2012. I said officially because the black market has already had their fill of the 4S for months since the introduction of the 4S in the US back in October.  Furthermore, more than twenty countries and territories will be also be getting the 4S on that Friday. While the iPhone 4S going on sale isn’t typically something most read unless its your turn to get it, this is China after all, the Middle Kingdom with its hundreds of millions potential smartphone users – not the typically 2 or 3 hundred million users like the US or the EU. I’m talking about big as in like 700 to 800 million users.

Siri seems to be a standalone app on the iPhone 4S that requires the user to activate it in order to use it.  What's interesting, however, is that Apple will likely allow some sort ot third-party support on it.  Before that happens or concurrently, I like to see Apple integrate this further. How about integrating Siri into its own apps?  Right now, if you're using Siri to make calls, conduct searches, or making appointments, you're fine but once you get into the mail, calendar, or browser apps,  you lose Siri. I like to see Apple find a way to integrate Siri into its own apps.  Mail search via Siri quickly comes to mind. Also, I like to see Siri populate mobile Safari that allows the user to quickly access a website or search.   I know that some will argue that there is the new voice-to-text function but I want to see something more than that.  I want to be able to say "go to CNN" and Siri takes the browser there.  Or "open new tab for the Apple S...

It's time that we realize what's going on. For the record, Apple did not invent voice command or even showed much interest in it on the Mac. However, with the release of iOS 5 along with Siri in beta, Apple has once again showed just how much foresight into the future of mobile computing for years if not decades to come. At this moment and this time, we could very well be looking at a voice platform and trust me when I say that others from Google, Microsoft, Nuance, and others will soon follow. On top of that and more importantly, we are at the cusp of a new AI implementation in Siri that will only become more intelligent with each passing version. One that will truly become a mobile assistant that augments our human abilities and expand our horizon. Now, I am not saying that Apple isn't going to dominate this new AI platform but Apple has opened the door for other companies to pour billions into researching, innovating, and, for some, copying to develop their own int...

What does Verizon Wireless and Bank of America have in common? Verizon Wireless is wisely backing away from the $2 fee set to be imposed on its subscribers, those who can least afford it, after foolishly thinking it could get away with this.  We are after all in the "Occupy Whatever" era with social media becoming a weapon of choice for consumers, vigilante hackers, and those who would seek to overthrown their governments. And what's interesting is that VZW learnt nothing from Bank of America's own bone-headed adventure to raise debt card fees on its customers. I think most readers, my fellow mobile warriors, will agree with me when I say that while the banks are getting a lot of hate from the general American public (or people of the world for that matter), wireless carriers come in  a pretty close second on this "dislike" list.