MotherApple

A Tale Of Two Companies

Sat, 21 Jul 2012 22:09:44 -0400

Steve Jobs, 2010:

“If you see a stylus, they blew it.”

MIT Technology Review, 2012:

Microsoft Mulls a Stylus for Any Screen

iPod Nano Watch Change Up?

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 15:19:34 -0400

Could totally see Apple changing the iPod Nano back to long form and rebranding the current Nano as a watch/fitness device with Bluetooth.

Proof Android is Winning. See bottom shelf. See a magazine about...

Sun, 24 Jun 2012 22:13:21 -0400

Proof Android is Winning. See bottom shelf. See a magazine about it.

WWDC Predictions

Sun, 10 Jun 2012 09:55:44 -0400

Lots of hoopla this weekend and ridiculous expectations for Apple on what they will announce on Monday. Below is what I think will come out of Monday’s keynote.

EASY…

iOS 6, see some predictions below for that. I don’t think it will be drastic. I think all the stock apps will be updated, SIRI API’s, tweaks to notifications, new default wallpaper, and probably a surprise feature. I would love to see better app switching and a LaunchPad (like in Lion) interface for the home screen.

Mountain Lion. I don’t think we have seen everything from Mountain Lion yet. I think there will be a surprise feature unannounced before WWDC.

New Macs. I think only the MacBook Pro will feature a redesign and receive retina displays. I think all the other Macs (Air, Pro, Mini) will only receive spec bumps and less substantial. I just don’t see them throwing Retina in a MacBook Air yet due to power consumption and its thinner form factor. I think they will introduce new hard drives that combine Flash Storage will traditional hard drives. This was rumored last year and didn’t happen. This way they can put the OS on a 80GB Flash drive and the Home Folder on a 500gb traditional drive.

MAYBE…

Lots of rumors of an SDK for an app store for Apple TV out there. This is something I really hope happens. I think it could change the game for the Apple TV in terms of gaming and content compared to all other like products. I think the death of it will be the subscription model that content providers will be unwilling to offer right on the device.

iOS 5.2. I believe there will be an update released for iOS 5 following the keynote. I think it will have some new features as well. I foresee a scenario where they introduce some new feature for iOS 6 and say, like they did with iMessages for ML, this feature is coming right now in iOS 5.2. One potential feature that could come now is iCloud enhancements via web for Notes and Reminders.

The new MacBook… I think there is a chance that the existing MacBook Pro becomes the new education focused MacBook. The price could be lowered to $999 in the same way the iPad 2 was reduced to $399 when the new iPad was announced.

NO WAY…

There will be no iTV hardware introduced. There will be no iPhone announcements. Also as stated earlier, no design changes or retina on any of the other Mac lines like the Air.

ALSO…

Look for instant disappointment from the Tech press until the actual launch and sales numbers of the next iPhone. The Maps update will be scrutinized to death. This is all typical of all Apple events. All iPad announcements so far have been met with lukewarm response, and only the original iPhone and iPhone 4 received consistent praise from the gallery and Twitter. It’s the great under promise and over deliver approach that Apple takes.

iOS 6 Predictions

Sun, 20 May 2012 20:32:19 -0400

WWDC is right around the corner and the rumor mill is starting to churn. What will be the killer feature this year? And what will be the feature not discussed and withheld for the next iPhone. In iOS 4 it was FaceTime, and in iOS 5 it was Siri. Based on current rumors and needs of iOS have a few predictions. Here they are.

1. PHOTOSTREAM ENHANCEMENTS: There is pretty good evidence that Apple is working on social elements and photo sharing within iOS. I believe the stock Photos app will include Instagram like photo sharing through iCloud.

2. SIRI API: Developers will finally be able to tap into Siri and include their app information in the ”what can I do” of Siri.

3. NOTIFICATION CENTER API: I believe that Developers will be able to include Notification widgets with their apps. I don’t think you will find a “widget store” within the app store, but apps instead will be able to include them as part of their app. They’ll be able to be enabled and ordered in the Notification Center control panel.

4. LIVE ICONS: Apps will be able to push updates in the form of icon changes. Instead of a badge number the icon itself will be able to be replaced. Weather apps will benefit from this most.

5. MAPS & STOCK APP UPDATES: Pretty obvious that Apple is redoing the maps app with an in-house map system. I believe it will include turn by turn directions with the help of Siri’s voice. I would also expect updates to other stock apps like Weather, Stocks, Calendar, and Mail.

6. APP STORE OVERHAUL: The app store is due for a make over and with the Chomp acquisition earlier this year it seems ripe for change.

Google Music Is Bleeding

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 09:37:19 -0500

Google Music Is Bleeding:

Interesting how Google Music hasn’t even been mentioned in the media lately. This along with Google+ pretty much being a ghost town doesn’t say much for their sustainability.

parislemon:

Pretty much everything Wayne Rosso says (extending upon what Greg Sandoval previously said) rings true except for the notion that Google might pull the plug on the service so soon. That would make too much sense.

Also, the idea that Google Music is not taking off due to a lack of marketing is laughable. Does it concern anyone else how much Google — long flat-out opposed to advertising itself — is now seemingly addicted to it, in order to prop-up products?

This is all very surprising to me. As I wrote in May 2011:

This is exactly why you don’t pre-announce products. I hate to say this before I’ve even seen the product, but this thing has all the makings of yet another flop.

And in November 2011:

I still don’t really get why Google is doing this. This feels like another reach. They’re going after something that Apple has dominated for the better part of a decade. And they clearly know how difficult the content space is after the Google TV fiasco and the last 18 months trying to launch this store.

If Google is trying to focus, this seems like another distraction.

Google could have at least tried to do something actually interesting in the music space. Instead, they created yet another shitty-margin business. And they did so a decade too late. They really should have just teamed up with Spotify. Or Rdio. Or someone. Anyone.

We’re coming up on the two year anniversary of when Google Music was first unveiled. Two years! Warner Music is still not on board! Awesome.

Why the iPad Event Announcement Stopped Traffic.

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 09:34:50 -0500

During Mobile World Congress right during Eric Schmidt’s Google Keynote Apple sent out the invitation to the iPad announcement event on March 7th. While listening to Vlad Savov from the Verge Mobile Podcast rant about why an announcement of an announcement would literally send shockwaves throughout Mobile World Congress. He couldn’t understand the big deal that it was. He scoffed at Apple’s intentions of disrupting these events to draw attention to themselves. Well Vlad that is just smart marketing on their part. Take the attention of your competitors and put it on yourself with a single email to the tech industry. Now why is this a big deal? Because it’s Apple that provides the blueprint for the industry to follow for the next 12 months. All of these companies showing their gadgets at MWC are doing so as a response to Apple. Just wait later this year there will be retina screen Android devices and Android phones that talk back to you. The problem with Apple competitors is that when they try to innovate it ends up looking really stupid and a major reach. Folding laptops, tablets that house your phone and then dock into a keyboard are the norm for the likes of Asus, Lenovo, and Acer. These company need Apple to show them what people really want. They themselves are only capable of coming out with novelties at this point. This is why I always laugh when tech media claims that “Apple must do X” in order to compete with “Y”, when in fact its the other way around.

Mountain Lion Will Be Free

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 09:21:00 -0500

I made a post on Twitter recently that I think that Apple will give away Mountain Lion to current Lion users. I believe this is the future of OSX updates. I believe for as long as its 10.X it will be free to existing users of the previous iteration. Updating OSX will be a vital component to the future of iCloud. For as long as Apple provides iCloud as a free service they will have to implement future updates of OSX as a free upgrade. This is the strategy they have always taken with iOS. They are integrating iOS and OSX more and more with each release. Within about three years they will be the same operating system.

Some have taken notice that Apple has dropped the “Mac” from OSX. They dropped it because in the future OSX will be on devices that aren’t called a Mac. They’ll always be a Mac, but OSX won’t be just limited it.

Let's Stop Pretending Apple Is the Problem, Shall We?

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:12:43 -0500

nissacam:

Have you visited the New York Times to read Charles Duhigg and David Barboza’s analysis of the working conditions in the Chinese factories that work with Apple? It’s not really news, given how many other journalists and bloggers have been compiling similar articles these days, but it’s very, very thorough.

As usual, I’m struck by a few things. For instance, this focus on Apple. Apple is a big customer of Foxconn’s, but so is Microsoft. So is Nintendo. Logitech, Amazon, Panasonic - in fact, it starts to look as though Foxconn may have had a hand in most of the consumer electronics we’re currently surrounded by, doesn’t it?

Read More

I think this guy nails it. Because it’s Apple and they make more devices than anyone lets pick on them and get more page views.

Why We Gloat

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:04:00 -0500

parislemon:

5 years ago, I made a bet. Two bets, actually.

The first was with myself. I bet myself that if I devoted serious time to it, I could become a great technology blogger. It wasn’t an easy bet to make. I knew it would require upending my life at the time. And it did.

The second bet was related to the first. I knew that to become a key tech blogger, I would need a focus. As a relatively new Mac user myself, I decided that focus would be Apple. Yes, I was coming later to the party than some, but Apple was still a company at the time that was scoffed at by many. But drawing from my own experience, I truly felt that the company was on the cusp of changing the world. Again.

Read More

The Apple TV...Here is how it will be done.

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:36:02 -0500

They say where there is smoke there is fire. The unicorn known as the Apple TV, an actual television made by Apple has been a hot topic the past few months since Steve Jobs passed away. In the Isaacson penned biography, Jobs is quoted as saying he “cracked it,” referring to the Apple Television. However since that time there have been many naysayers claiming that Apple would never enter this market for a host of reasons.

1. People don’t upgrade their TV often enough for it to be a sustainable business.

2. If its anything like the tablet and phone industry the hardware evolution would move too fast for a device people kept 5-7 years as a TV would.

3. An Apple Television would need to get content deals not had by other television manufacturers.

4. There are already Smart TV’s out there with Operating Systems, apps, and widgets built in, how could Apple differentiate from those already on the market?

Ever since the iPad 2 and iOS 5 came out I’ve marveled at AirPlay Mirroring with my iPhone and iPad. It’s magic. Instead of the TV being a giant touchscreen, a slick touchscreen remote device (in this case an iPad/iPhone) controls the interface and content. Over WIFI AirPlay Mirroring works amazingly well.

So here is the deal, ever since the Amazon Kindle Fire came out people think Apple must release a smaller iPad at the risk of fragmentation to its app store. Here is where Apple turns the market upside down. I think that an Apple Television is coming and its coming sooner than people think. I believe they will release a television with a basic interface that is controlled by a new iOS Device called the iTV. The iTV is the remote that will ship with the Apple Television. It will have a 5” or 7” form factor with the 16:9 screen ratio that many Android tablets are shipping with. The iTV connects directly to the Apple Television as a mirroring device via BlueTooth or WIFI. It’s as if the TV is a touchscreen device, but instead of touching the TV you interact with the remote instead. There will not be any ridiculous keyboards for inputting with the TV. There will be an iTV app store on this device. There will be games and TV content apps in the store. It will use Apple Home Sharing to access music and video content from your Mac Computers. Apple will update the hardware each year where you only have to buy a new remote, not a new television. It will allow games to get more sophisticated over time and for the software and apps to be easily upgraded.

There is nothing quite like this on the market today. All current TV manufacturers are putting the OS on the TV itself with a ridiculous hardware button remote. Most of the time its clunky, slow, and difficult to upgrade. The iTV will be none of those things. You won’t find apps like iBooks on this device. It will be completely geared towards viewable media like TV, Music, and perhaps Photos via your Photostream. Apps like HBO Go, Watch ESPN, TNT, TBS, NBC, etc. will be the norm in native 16:9 formate on the device.

This solution answers most if not all of the “why Apple won’t do it” bullet points listed above. So when does it come out? They could pivot here and instead of releasing the TV they could release a new box or small dongle plug-in that communicates with the iTV touchscreen remote. Or the Apple TV could be a Newsstand like folder on all iOS devices where media apps would live. Then anyone with iOS device could get Apple TV. They would still just need to get the box. But it is my belief that a 16:9 tablet would be a great remote and a new device by Apple that could once again redefine the industry. Insanely great.

CES Over-hyped Again.

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 22:36:00 -0500

CES has now come to end. And here is thing, I honestly barely remember a thing that was announced. I remember a pretty cool TV thats still two years away from being an affordable option for consumers. I also remember a ridiculous laptop computer from Lenovo called the “Yoga”. Apple’s competitors are basically trying anything to get attention at trade shows. Basically the Yoga flips inverted so the keyboard faces down on the table and serves as a stand for a large touchscreen. This device will make more sense when Windows 8 launches. Speaking of Windows 8, it sounds like Microsoft has become silent on its progress. Most think it will launch in October with a public beta in February. I think Microsoft may be pivoting a bit on its user interface and GUI.

Here is the other thing. I don’t get some pundits who poo poo the Apple press who seems to also be downplaying CES significance. They use the argument that “we like technology” not just Apple technology. I think that argument is also bunk. The Apple press and bloggers are not down on CES because Apple isn’t there. They are down on it because most things announced or shown there seem to either be a shameless copy or a spaghetti on the wall desperate attempt to get attention. We’ve even seen smaller companies announce cloud services similar to iCloud. This never would have happened if it weren’t for the attention that iCloud received in 2011.

A lot people were pretty impressed with Nokia’s new Windows Phone. I even read many Apple enthusiast comment on it and claim to want one. But here is the thing. Why would they want one? What does it offer that their iPhone’s doesn’t have? I couldn’t find a single advantage other than being able to post pictures to Facebook faster. They liked the way it looked, but does look better than an iPhone? I have no doubt the Lumia 900 phone will be a nice device, but don’t act like its an upgrade in anyway to the iPhone. Thats not being a fanboy, that’s just keeping it real.

Think Copy! inspiredbyapple: Lenovo IdeaPad U310: We’re having...

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 22:42:59 -0500

Think Copy!

inspiredbyapple:

Lenovo IdeaPad U310: We’re having a fairly heated argument here - I say this is inspired by the MacBook Pro, others are suggesting that it is “merely heavily influenced” by it. Expect this debate to rage on for literally minutes more.

(image from Engadget)

Cloud Copy

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 22:42:08 -0500

Acer had one of the first keynotes at CES on Sunday, Jan 8th. One of the things they announced, aside from the MacBook Air rip off “ultra book” computer, was their new AcerCloud service. Essentially its iCloud for Windows and Android. It’s another prime example of where the industry is headed.

Each week on Twitter and on the tech blogs there is some pundit describing what Apple needs to do to compete. When in fact what they really mean is what Apple’s “competitors” need to do to compete. When you are responsible for setting every trend in the market in which you participate in, I’m pretty sure Apple doesn’t need to do anything to compete with anyone. They are the bar everyone else is trying for reach. AcerCloud and the countless MacBook Air wannabes at CES is living proof of that. The humorous part of the presentation by Acer was their slide showing what AcerCloud does, an almost complete rip form Apple’s slide at WWDC back in June. Further proof that the only thing Apple needs to do is just keep being Apple.

Why aren't Android tablets selling?

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:31:34 -0500

Many Android enthusiast believe that Android is set to take over mobile as a whole and Apple will not be able to withstand it’s assault. For sure it won’t be easy for Apple to maintain its marketshare due to sheer number of Android devices on the market. For instance there are over 400 Android Phone models in use today. Compare that to three models of the iPhone. Yet, the iPhone still holds 27% of the market. So if these phones are so great why isn’t anyone buying Android tablets? The answer is simple, the advantages the Android phones have do not exist in the table space. I’m here to sum this up point by point based on my own observations.

Many consumers buy Android phones because they can’t see themselves function without a QWERTY keyboard attached. Call it seperation anxiety. All tablets, including the iPad can be paired with a bluetooth keyboard.
Android smartphones present a larger gamut of screen size options including those with a much larger screen than the iPhone. While some think a larger screen is a feature, its more just a personal preference. In the tablet space the iPad is king in size, therefore negating another reason why the Android phone makes sense where the tablet does not.
Price: One advantage Android has over the iPhone is the plethora of cheap devices available. Even the high end Android phones can be found on Amazon for cheap only weeks after they are released. Android tablets on the other hand entered the market with prices at or around the same price as an iPad. So trying to offer consumers less for more was not a good strategy.
Availability: Prior to Sprint and Verizon getting the iPhone, you could only get one on AT&T. When the original iPad launched this was still the case. The iPad however could be had by anyone who wanted on from day one. How many people bought the original Android phones because they couldn’t get an iPhone on their carrier? What would Apple’s marketshare be if the iPhone was launched on all carriers from day one?

We Are The 0.6%

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:49:47 -0500

We Are The 0.6%:

parislemon:

Hard to pick the most ridiculous element of these updated numbers.

Is it that just 0.6% of Android users have Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) two months after it launched?

Is it that of the remaining 99.4%, only 55% are upgraded to Gingerbread (2.3), which came out over a year ago?

Is it that over 30% are stuck on Froyo (2.2) which is 20 months old?

Is it that 8.5% (something like 10 million devices) are stuck on Eclair (2.1), which came out two years ago?

Is it that only 3.3% are using Honeycomb (3.0), which means that all those highly-touted tablets last year are clearly huge flops?

I can’t decide. You choose.

MG hits again on the parody of Android. Imagine if iPhone 4 owners didn’t get iOS 5 until after it was out for 3-6 months. That is the reality of Android Phones.

"Clopen"

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 20:00:20 -0500

parislemon:

This is a great post by Danny Sullivan. For those of us caught up in the iOS vs. Android battle, it can be easy to lose sight of the simple, bigger picture.

Android may be “open” in the fact that other companies can use the source code and users who so desire (and know how) can root it. But from a pure consumer perspective, the Android phone ecosystem is often anything but open. It’s a huge fucking nightmare — as has been showcased once again by the release of Ice Cream Sandwich.

How weird is it that Google just released a new flagship OS and is going on and on about how great it is, but the vast majority of users have absolutely no access to it? Worse, most have absolutely no clue when — or if — they’ll ever have access to it. This sounds like pretty much the opposite of being “open” to me.

Even stranger, this even includes the devices given Google’s own stamp of approval. Writes Sullivan:

Read More

This is a great post and link that addresses the debate about just how open Android is. Android is only “open” to the carriers and manufacturers. The Users are the ones who suffer in the end, because they have the least say once they buy into Android.

Samsung Has Gone Too Far This Time.

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 08:04:32 -0500

The topic of patent infringements has been pretty hot in the tech world the past year. Apple has been at the forefront of most litigations as they stand to protect their intellectual property. Samsung, by far, has tried the hardest to be like Apple and have gone to great lengths to get there. Everything from their Android “Touch Wiz” interface and complete rip of the iPhone 3Gs to a new ad they have created for their Galaxy Tablet. They have even gone as far as hiring the same girl actor that appeared in an iPhone 4S commercial earlier this fall.

When I read about this story on The Verge today, I could only shake my head in disbelief. I recently got into a debate on Twitter with Shawn King of Your Mac Life about whether or not this story really matters. I took major offense to it, while Shawn thought it was no big deal. An actress can work where she wants to work. The question I posed is how often do you see the same actor/actress in any two commercials? To me this was a clear indicator that Samsung has no shame in their copyist attitude towards Apple. They could have chose from a 1000’s different aspiring seven-year old actors for this commercial, but no they *had* to chose the same one. It’s no wonder that Apple takes their patents so seriously. I think they know when something is intentional and when it isn’t. Samsung is like that kid in math class who doesn’t do his own homework and instead relies on those seated on those around him for the answers. Worst yet, he doesn’t even feel bad about it. Supposedly Samsung has already taken this video down from their site. It was in Korean with American actors, so we’ll see if this ad actually makes it to the States.

CES: The Industries Response to Apple

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 14:19:00 -0500

So now its 2012 and we are approaching yet another CES in Las Vegas. Last year it seemed like every manufacturer and their brother conjured up a response to the iPad. Here we are a year later and no one has been up to the challenge. If anything I think it may have sent some of them home for good. See Fusion Garage. I think Apple proved its not easy to create a game changing product; it’s not easy to copy one either. There were over 50 different tablets announced last January but how many of them were actually sold or were released in 2011. Trade Shows like CES are a great venue to peddle your products, but when there are so many look a-likes out there, it seems difficult to get noticed.

The problem with Apple competitors is they are not thinking outside the box. They only know what has been successful in the past and with no foresight towards the future. Apple seems to be the only company that truly innovates with forward thinking. They look to see what is missing or needs a major upgrade and then seeks out a new solution. Not an old one. Competitors analyze Apple’s success, but then try to out spec them with flashy hardware internals and buzzwords that common people have yet to understand. Hopefully they have learned a little bit from Amazon this year. Amazon didn’t try to out hardware Apple, they played the same game as Apple; a game of experience and content. If you can’t bring both, you might as well stay home. Software and content are the secret sauce that Apple’s competition lacks.

Now, will Google help their cause with their latest version of Android for Tablets? I don’t think they will because Google doesn’t value tablet apps. They think running and scaling phone apps is good enough. That strategy couldn’t be further more wrong. The reason most critics thought the iPad would fail when it announced was because they thought it was “just a big iPod Touch”. Once developers got ahold of the SDK, this notion was proved wrong. Seeing the iPad as just a big iPod Touch was a narrow minded view and also a naive one. On the other hand Google actually has taken that perceived approach of a big Android phone with their tablet strategy. No developers have gotten onboard with Honeycomb or ICS yet. From what I have gathered from the Google high ups, they are okay with scaling phone apps. I for one, do not think that consumers will be okay with that.

So here we go, another CES, and another year of the copy cats. Can’t wait to see what the industries response to Apple will be like this year.

Welcome to the Mother Apple website. Follow me on Twitter...

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 13:18:27 -0500

Welcome to the Mother Apple website. Follow me on Twitter @dominocollege for a unique perspective of technology and it’s relationship to Apple, Inc.