Colbert Gets An iPad

Thanks to Dave the Mobile Warrior for bring this to my attention.  55 Days left until iPad goes on sale.

More at App Device.

Adobe: No Flash on iAnything, Get Over It!

Folks.  I want to say I use Flash on just about everything on the Web that has to do with gaming and video.  Youtube.  That's right.  Hulu.  Can't do without Flash as far as I know.  Gaming.  Definitely.

Now, there's a new HTML, HTML 5, that might one day supplement Flash but that day isn't here yet and I'm happy Adobe is adapting its platform and evolving it with greater power and freedom.

I also like Adobe very much.  I use it for a lot of my work.  Now, Adobe, frak, dude.  Get over it.  Apple, namely, Steve Jobs, will never ever allow Flash to run on anything that Apple builds that starts with "i".

Adobe is lucky that Apple is allowing plug-ins at all in Safari.  So folks, don't be surprised one day if Apple's desktop browser one day stops supporting Safari and makes everyone use HTLM 5 for their needs.

So, what should Adobe do?  Well, there are plenty of other platforms that Apple has no say on.  Windows Mobile. Okay, they'll run into Silverlight there.  But there's Symbian, Linux, and Android.  That's like 90% of the mobile market there.  Plenty for Adobe to roam and swim in.

But here's a bold move I like to propose.  But your own mobile platform.  Heck, in fact, create one.  That's too hard and too risk a move that no one at Adobe will even consider.

I mean, look, Palm's cheap.  $2.5-3 Billion out to net you a pretty modern mobile OS.  Use it to showcase your technology, kind of like what Google is doing with Android.

What do you say, folks?  Adobe, get over it.  You're not going to see Flash run on the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, or anything mobile from Apple.  Keep innovating.  Make others need you.

Wish I Have My iPad For The Weekend

I have a full weekend. I am going to be on the move quite a bit. I think I could have a lot of use for Apple's just released iPad. And I think I would be using it as the way it is designed to be used.

By that I mean a 3G-enabled iPad that I can whip out of my Jack Bauer-approved messenger bag when ever I need to look something up on the Internet.

I remembered the first time I took my iPhone on a trip across the city on the trains. As you know, you're limited to by the battery life. It's pretty much the same for all smartphones and mobile devices.

But with the iPad, you pretty much get 10 hours of Internet use or video playback. I can't wait to see how this baby hadles a full day of 3G Internet, word and blog processing, and game playing. And hopefully with future updates, some multitasking involving Skyping.

For now, I've got my trusty iPhone and G1 for the next 87 days.

Fees, LTE, And Billions For Good Apps, And One More Thing

There's something big that's happen today in the mobile world but I don't seem to remember what it can be. We've got the Nexus One already. Something about Facebook being the most visited mobile social site? No, that's not it. Zune phone? No, that's in March or something.

Oh, I remember now. It's the SOTU address tonight and you can watch it on your iPhone or iPod Touch if you download the White House app (onxo:  government mobile). For the rest of you mobile warriors, you can listen to the President's address tonight on radio, your mobile devices via NPR, or do it old-school: watch it on your Flash-enabled browser.

By the way, a few mobile news everyone's gonna want to be interested in. By 2013, mobile apps will account for $15 billion dollars of mobile revenue. So, for anyone who has a fart app or, rather, something slightly more useful, there's a market for that.

However, I'm not sure that number is accurate. $15 billion based on 16.2 billion downloads. The research outfit that came up with this also assumes that 15% of the download will be paid. That's 2.43 billion apps that are actually paid for. That comes out to $6.17 per app. Obviously, they don't know about the major of the $.99 app in the iTunes app store. (Mobile-Ent)

Personally, I think a $3 average is more likely. That's put my estimate somewhere south of $7.5 billion. Still, not bad at all.

Also, the FCC is gunning for ATT, Google, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon on the exorbitant termination fees these guys are charging. Google and VW seems to think they ought to profit a bit more than what they would otherwise charge for selling the device outright.

Finally, CNet has a very good post on what's the state of the wireless network upgrade with various providers.  Lately, believe WiMax shows more promise than LTE given that 3G networks still have a lot of room to grow in terms of speed and stability.  Also, Clearwire has indicated that it isn't necessarily married to one particular technology.  I see a hybrid WiMax-LTE chip in the future, don't you?  (More at CNet)

Yeah, that's it for mobile news.  Still I think I'm forgetting something huge that's going to change the mobile world as we know it.  If I can only remember...see, I was so excited about it that I couldn't sleep last night.  And now, lacking sleep, I don't remember what it is.  Oh well, if I only had a tablet or a slate or a pad handy, I could have written it down in a form of a digital diary.

Maybe someone should develop just such a device.  Hey, Steve Jobs, boy, have I got a great idea for your next "...one more thing...".

Game's Over: iTablet Or Whatever It'll Be Called Has Been Confirmed

This is as much as a confirmation we're gonna get about the iTablet.  Rumors no more.  We'll know the features and the iTablet's implications to the mobile computing world tomorrow.

Value of Warranty For Your Mobile Device

I hate insurance companies.  Can't do without them (because of the law and the lawsuit-happy culture we live in) and they know it.  Car and home insurance companies are alike.  Medical too.  But what of trying to buy a bit of insurance for your gadgets?

I mostly scoff at offers I receive from employees at Best Buy about coverage for my mouse or monitor.  Sure, buddy, I look that stupid to you?  Apple Care?  Right.  Wasn't born yesterday, my man.

Well, over the weekend, a friend's iPhone 3G died.  Days from being eligible from getting a new one from ATT and mere months from a new iPhone model from Apple.  What's one to do?

Well, had she gotten Apple Care, that would have solved the problem.

So now, being so close to such an unfortunate situation, I wonder if this $5 a month offers from T-Mobile I laughed off to cover my G1 might not be such a bad idea.  Okay, perhaps not the G1.  But when I get my Nexus One or Two or maybe another iPhone, I should seriously consider getting some kind of assurance just in case my superhuman clumsiness gets the better of me.

One consideration that I think most of my fellow mobile warriors ought to consider is maybe to get enough coverage for the first year or 15-18 months.  I think that should be adequate for most people.  And if you're in the last quarter of your two-year contract, who cares, right?  If your device worked for the first 18 months, it is likely going to work for another six months.

Google Sayz T-Mo To Blame for Nexus One 3G Issues

On Android, I discuss about Google simultaneously blame T-Mobile's 3G coverage for Nexus One not being able to connect via 3G and say that a patch is one the way.

Dude, which is it?

Google would have a lot of explain to do if the patch fixes Nexus One's 3G problems in areas where they previously claimed a lack of 3G coverage.  What?  The patch miraculously upgraded T-Mobile's cell towers to providing 3G service?

More at On Android.

What To Expect At Apple's Media Event On Wednesday

Unless you're still hungover from Google's Nexus One unveiling and CES, you ought to know that Apple will be holding a media event to unveil their next creation on January 27th in San Francisco.  Presumably, Apple will introduce the iTablet/iSlate/iPad.

Also presumably, Steve Jobs will walk into the stage to great fanfare.  After all, it'll be one of the rare public sightings of this Silicon Valley legend.  And it's likely one of the last.  I'm in the camp that Steve Jobs will handle less and less of these public events and other Apple duties and turn them over to his trusted lieutenants.

Steve will reiterate much of the facts from Monday's call with financial analysts.  Millions of iPhones sold.  Millions of iPods that were put in Christmas stockings.  The success of the iMac line.  Another billion or two of apps downloaded.  Great success across the board.

Then Steve will go onto the main event.  Oh, he might refresh the Macbook lines.  There's talk that the Air might be delayed but no one will care since that's not why millions of fans are hitting the refresh button on their browsers for the latest from the live bloggers.

Oh, Apple's stock will go up and down based on what Steve has to say.

Then the real event starts.  He'll talk about the crappy ereaders on the market.  Everyone, including Kindle owners will see that Steve's right (after all, the reality distortion field will be turned up big time).  He might take a swipe or two at Microsoft.  That always gets the crowd rolling.  Then maybe even subtle jab at Google.

He'll take an indirect route to talking about the iTablet by talking about music, print media, and videos.  Then he'll eventually go onto the iTablet.

The crowd is dazzled.  It goes wild because it defies expectation.  How do I know this will happen?  Because it's Jobs.  Because this is Apple.

All the weeks of speculations and rumors - some true, some not.  Some are misinformation from competitors.  Some are misdirections from Apple itself.  I'm not going to get into what they are or aren't because I have no idea myself.

Then there will be demos.  News Corp will have a big showing, given all the leaks that Apple directed through WSJ and Foxnews.  Demos from publishers will help solidify the iTablet's role in print and ebooks.  If there is any kind of a new video business model to be showcased, Rober Iger will make the trek from Burbankand stroll onto the stage to say how happy they are to be a part of another Apple revolution (Steve sold Pixar to Disney in January of 2006 and is now the single biggest shareholder in Disney at 7% of Disney equity).

We'll also get demos from the video game studios.  Apparently, Apple will be pushing the iTablet as a gaming machine given the number of video game blogs that received invitations to this event.

It's also possible Apple will parade heavy weights from other markets like medical and education to demonstrate how the iTablet will also change their industries.

90 Minutes later, Steve Jobs thanks everyone for coming and the US economy will have lost billions in productivity because for that 90 minutes and the rest of the day, folks will be clamoring to know more about the iTablet and how it'll fit into their lives.

Also later Wednesday night, keep an eye on the Apple-centric blogs because they'll have information on how to watch the event via a Quicktime stream, courtesy of Apple itself.

What I don't expect to see.  I don't expect "...one more thing...".  There's chatter about iPhone 4.0 making a presence.  There's also talk that Apple will have something to say about iPhone availability on Verizon Wireless's network (personally, I'm holding out for T-Mobile).  Based on past Apple events and its singular focus, that's not going to happen.  The iPhone is kicking ass despite Android's best efforts and the Droid campaign.  Apple will not be in a hurry to rush things out.  I fully expect their annual iPhone product cycle to be maintained.  Of course, as a fan, I hope I'm wrong.

Sick This Week (But Not of Apple Rumors)

I started the week feeling a bit lethargic.  And I finally succumb on Wednesday night, ran a fever and I've been fighting this cold since then.  I'm hoping with rest this weekend, I'll be able to hit the ground running on Monday.

But I recalled Thursday afternoon being disinterested in additional piece of rumor about the Apple's media event next Wednesday to unveil the iTablet and financial call on Monday.  I think it was the cold but I think we've had enough, don't you think?

If you're an avid mobile enthusiast like I am, you can't help but trace each and every single rumor back to January 5th when Google unveiled Nexus One.  There was a new piece of information about the iTablet each day since.

Granted a lot of that were mere speculations by folks but were treated as rumors from deep within Apple's lairs.  Oh, and the witless Wall Street analysts and their minions in auxiliary companies didn't help matters.  As I've said before, I enjoyed it until I got sick.

I'm sure this weekend will be no different.  The rumors will stop Wednesday at 10am when Steve Jobs (we're not even sure he'll be there, we all just assumed) walks onto the stage and dazzle all of us (some are speculating for the last time) with Apple's latest innovation.

Government Mobile

The White House released their own iPhone app called "The White House".

The Democrats just lost Massachusetts Senate seat held by the late Lion of the Senate and brother of President John F. Kennedy, Edward Kennedy, for the last 49 years.  Still, live goes on and the White House and the Obama Administration continues do the work the American people voted them in to do.

Regardless of what happens with healthcare, banking reforms, or the pending environmental legislation now that the Democrats lost their filibuster-proof 60th seat in the Senate, governing still must be done.

Now, the US government has entered what I like to call "government mobile" with the release of the White House app for the iPhone.  With the iPhone app, users will be able to watch President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech.

 

Perhaps one day, we'll be able to vote, bitch, write our Congressman or Congresswoman, and participate in a public forum all on our mobile devices.

The White House app is a good start.  The White House will also be launching a mobile site that any mobile device will be able to access.  I like to see Congress and other government entities do the same as well.

Government Mobile, here we come!  Let's see more features and government services available online and on mobile devices as well.

Note:  Would it have been funny had Apple rejected the White House's app on some kind of technicality?

Another Note: The State of the Union address is Wednesday, January 27th. 6PM PST, 9PM EST.

Via Techcrunch

iPhone 4.0 - Multitasking And iTablet

There's talk that on the 27th, Apple will unveill more than just iTablet.  Whatever happens that day, we are potentially looking at what also comes next for the iPhone platform.  After the iPod Touch came out, Apple stated that there could be other devices from Apple based on this modified OS X.

So, we come to iPhone 4.0.  One of the features some users are hoping for is the ability to run apps in the background.  As an Android device owner, I have to say that the ability to have whatever music or podcast stream in the background is something I like to see on the iPod Touch or the iPhone.

How can Apple make this work?  More at Onxo Mobile Devices.

McDonald's Wi-Fi Key To Tomorrow's Success

Have you been to McDonald's late? I saw there yesterday and again today. And I am very thankful for the free wireless Internet.

I think this is one of the best moves aside from Ronnie and Company keepin up with the times by constantly updating their menu.

Think about it. Now, the fast food joint gives the youths another reason to come to the restaurant. Why is this important?

The iPod Touch is considered to be Apple's Trojan horse as the Touch's increasing youth-oriented marketshare gives Apple a firm foothold in tomorrow's iPhone market.

Like the Touch, McDonald's free wi-fi is the restaurant's play to instill in the mind of the youth that it offers more than a high sodium diet.

As a matter of fact, it would make sense for McDonald to offer special entertainment or tech deals over time to engage this savy and hip market. A tie-up with a cool company like Google or Apple can help things a long the way. Maybe a Google deal will also help give Android a way to the youth market.

Regardless of whether Ronald McDonald makes a deal or not, Wi-Fi gives customers another whole reason to visit.

Sent from my iSlate (from the not too distant future)

Posted with altBlogger.

WiMax $10 Cheaper (If You Can Get It)

For many of us, 4G is still a pipe dream.  Okay, no need for pipes but you understand what I mean.  LTE is still a year or two away while WiMax is coming, just not really to places near you or me.  However, Sprint is already dropping prices.

According to Fierce Wireless, Sprint is offer its 2nd $10 drop in the last 5 months.  So, now, it's $60 while it was $80 last summer.  So I ask you this.  Are you ready to go wireless for your exclusive wireless needs?

Let's take a look at this for a sec.  I've been going G1-tethering for my mobile wireless needs at a fast clip in the last couple of weeks.  With the Holidays and all and a trip last weekend, I was on the move quite a bit.  The G1 is great and all but it's no iPhone or not all that useful when I was trying to help a friend wrestle away his Facebook account from a hacker.

Well, I'm getting there as far as trying to go all wireless.  My needs are simple.  I use Hulu a couple of hours a day if that much.  Mostly, I'm writing or researching on the Web.  Occasionally, I download videos, music, and podcasts from iTunes.  I find myself more and more on the the i-devices.  So there really is no need for any 20mbps connections.

Now, I'm not saying I don't want that kind of speed.  I'm just saying I don't need that kind of speed most of the time.

Back to Sprint.  For $59.99 (plus the various hidden taxes/fees), you get "unlimited" 3G or 4G mobile use.  Not bad considering, right?  Way a sec.  There is some ambiguity with what "unlimited" is just like with all the other carriers.  There is a regular 3G plan that goes up to 5GB.

But it's really the 3G/4G plan we're talking about here.  4G offer unlimited usage, giving you 10Mbps and an wide average of 3-6Mbps.  But if you venture out of the WiMax coverage area, you're covered by up to 5GB of 3G use (which still gives you 7 700mb movies, 1,667 songs, 1.7 million emails).  All that information is on the broadband page.

What you will need is a modem.  Sprint offers the USB Modem U300 for free after instant savings and a $50 rebate (retail cost is $350).  Excellent deal if you ask me.  Sprint, in my book, has always been out there when it comes to offering good deals and experimenting with pricing schemes.  It also offers GPS navigation as well but I don't know if you have to pay extra.  I wager that you do.

Oh, and if you want to connect multiple devices, you'll have to get a Sprint-sanctioned routers that Sprint provides you the option of buying as you move along the check-out process.

So, how is Sprint doing this?  Because it loves us.  Or because Clearwire, its WiMax partner, has recently raised hundreds of millions for added expansion and it is moving into more lucrative cities.  Furthermore, Sprint is looking to lock up as many enterprise customers as possible.

Plus, there are two reasons why I'm excited about this.  When the Palm V came out, Palm offered  GPRS modem with a slow wireless Internet connection that had no reason to excite other than for mobile fanatics like myself.  It was also $59.99 a month as I recall.  And this is freakin' 4G, baby!  So, I'm thinking there's gonna be a lot of folks who will jump on this.  Also, Sprint is looking to ship out phones with WiMax support in 2010.  Oh, it's already 2010.  So soon.

Plus, there are rumblings about a certain deal that Sprint might strike with a certain large retail...alright, I'll come out and say it.  It's Walmart.  There's talk that Sprint and Walmart might set up WiMax towers to facilitate the 4G expansion.  That means more cities covered.  That means I might eventually get 4G in my area.

So, if you're fortunate enough to be living in an area with WiMax service, definitely give this deal a look.  I'm also betting that once LTE competition from Verizon and ATT becomes available in 2011, Sprint will likely grace us with additional price drops.

More at Sprint 4G, Fierce Wireless, Evdo Info

gDrive (Not Quite) Availble from Google.

Google is adding a new feature to Docs by allowing users to upload more files and bigger sizes. Up until the last year, we're all limited to what we can upload.

Soon, Docs users can store up to 1GB of data for free. Google's hope is that this will facilitate file sharing and collaboration. I imagine Google will allow users to increase the size of the storage through added paid service or Google will simple allow uesrs to use up their e-mail allotted storage space.

After all, 1GB is hardly enough. I get 2GB with Dropbox. Google also imposes 250MB limit per file upload.

This is a part of Google's vast cloud computing strategy as well as what they've got planned for the Chrome and Android OS. Safe bet is that Android and Chrome OS will eventually merge into a singular OS for mobile devices like phones, slates, and netbooks.

Alternatively, there are other online storages that are available. I'll get into that at a later time but Dropbox quickly comes to mind as I've been using it for a better part of a year now.

Also, if you're a MobileMe user, you already know you get quite a bit of space with iDisk from Apple.

And if you're a Windows user, give Microsoft's SkyDrive a try if you like 25GB of free storage.

• Dropbox
• MobileMe
• SkyDrive

Though not available yet, Google will roll out the new service in the coming weeks.

More at Arstechnica.

Breaking News: Google May Leave Chinese Market

Google may close up shop and leave the Chinese search market after a string of cyberattacks.

Also, Google, my favorite tech giant at this moment, will cease censoring its search engine. It will enter into discussions with Beijing on "the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all".

This is huge news.  This is how you do it, Yahoo, Microsoft, the West!  Very Very proud of Google!

More at Yahoo News, CNBC, Gizmodo, LA Times, CNet News.

74 Million Watch TV Wirelessly, 960 Million Smartphones Sold By 2015

Coda, a research outfit, repleased a report called "'Mobile Video and TV in the US". If you're a mobile warrior, this is about you and what you'll likely be doing in the coming days as far as mobile TV goes.

By 2015, six years from now:

• 74 Million wireless folks in the US alone
• 145 TB of wireless data. Somehow, I don't think this is all 3G, LTE, or whatever comes after. I'm sure a large chunk of that will be Wi-Fi.
• 24 Million will watch video using laptops or netbooks and account for another 311 TB of monthly data.
• Competition will drive device costs down for users. Hey, I'm for that any day of the week.
• 64% Of all phones will be smartphones.
• Increase in touch screen adoptions.

A few things to also consider. First the screens. I'm a big touch screen fan since the days I saw them on Star Trek in The Next Generation. But I'm willing to bet that will tablets becoming a bigger deal in the next few years, voice input is going to be huge. I know this report is mainly about mobile television and I'm positive a social aspect of streaming video will become apparent in the coming years as well. And voice will definitely play a big role.

The second thing the report doesn't appear to address is the uptake of the tablet and MID market. Like other folks, I think this area is set to explode. Sacrificed will be the netbook market. The netbooks don't leave a lot of room for the computer manufacturers to make money. But the tablet market represents a huge opportunity for jsut about everyone. Memory makers, pc manufacturers, chip companies, and outfits that make the screens.

Lastly, 64% of all phones sold will be smartphones. Let's put a bit of perspective on this. Say 2015, number of phones and devices sold to be around 1.5 billion globally. 64% Of 1.5 billion is 960 million smartphones or mobile devices like the iPhone. Let's assume for a sec that the predicted marketshare for some of the devices out are correct. Here are what the device makers are set to sell in 2015.

• Nokia - 374.4 Million units (I think Nokia will see a much bigger drop than analysts have the guts to predict).
• Android - 139.2 Million units (I think it can be more)
• Apple - 131.52 Million units (right now, it's about 25 million - huge jump, and not counting iPod Touches)
• Windows Mobile - 122.9 Million units (WM 7 is rumored to be out in 2011 now. This can be lower)
• Blackberry - 120 Million units (I think this is about right)
• Palm - 20.16 Million units (assuming Palm is still around then)
• Linux (others) -51.8 Million units (no comment)

The breakdowns are taken from Gartner's forecast for 2012 which has been known to be skewed but it's the best I can find at this time.

So, folks, that's a lot of smartphones and mobile devices to be sold in 2015 using 2012 forecasted breakdowns. Regardless of how in accurate that these numbers are, it's more about the volume. Personally, I think smartphones accounting for merely 64% by 2015 is a bit low.

More at Mobile Entertainment.

FB Hacked

Today, I had a friend whose facebook account. It literally was happening while we were driving to the mountains.

My friend had a Droid but it took my laptop to help him wrestle back. Honestly, I am not certain that most other smart devices are gonna be able to undo the wrong as efficient as we did.

It's why I am hoping we'll be able to possess tablets capable of full desktop browsing and other more traditional computing capabilities.

We stopped off at a Starbucks to access the Internet. It involved a bit of disception on our part. But we were able to regain the right ownership of the account.

I am not sure exactly how the hacker was able to gain control of the account to begin with. My friend has one of the black MacBooks. I suspect this was a case of phishing.

Tegra 2 Makes Nvidia My New Favorite Mobile Company

Nvidia's move in mobile makes me think of a BASF commercial that runs in the US. Its tag line is something along the line of ""We don't make a lot of the products you buy. We make a lot of the products you buy better".

That's what comes to mind when at the CES and Nvidia's new Tegra 2 chip. So, keep in mind of this when you get your tablet or slate this year.

As for whether Apple's iTablet will use it or not (I'm guessing not), I might end up with something that uses Tegra 2 regardless. Why? Just because it's it come a lot of things that I as a mobile warrior would want if I don't carry my Macbook with me.

And it's too bad too since I'm going on a trip this weekend.

So, Nvidia, your mobile GPU can be sucky (and defective) but you made it up with this new mobile chip. I hope to see you leverage more of your GPU expertise in the the mobile market. I think you can give Intel a major headache in this arena. I'm in your corner.

Now, somebody make me a 10" tablet running Android 2.1 using Tegra 2, and I'll buy it in an instant!

More about Tegra later.

Which iTablet Would You Want?

Over at CES, Dell just unveiled their own slate (I think this will be 2010's most overused word).

It's a 7" iPod Touch lookalike except it runs Android.

So, let me ask you this. Would you be interested in a 5-7" iPod Touch that you can use as a tablet? Personally, I would be very very interested.

Perhaps, this is what some of the rumors is about as far as Apple tablets are concerned. There have been talk about 7" all the way up to 11". I am hoping that Apple will come out with a few models that will satisfy a wider range of customers.

For anything around 7", I think customers would be satisfied with the 7" Touch to be running the regular iPhone OS. However, for the 10-11" model, I like to something more spectacular.

More on Dell's slate at Gizmodo.

E-Mail Exchange About Apple's Tablet

This is my reply to Dave The Mobile Warrior about the excitement building up to the 27th, which is Apple's event that will supposedly unleash the iTablet-iSlate up on the world:

Hey,
This is the future-Paul. I have pre-preordered this baby. :-)
This is the future Paul with the itablet/islate. Let the now-Paul know he's going to be very satified.
He is also very happy for future-Dave who listened to the Jan 27th-Paul about preorderig as well.

Sent from my iPhone (from a not too distant future)