Wireless Providers Behaves Badly And Only the Media Seems Surprised

No one should be surprised by what wireless carriers or providers do anymore.  A contract isn’t a contract like the old days when they’re allowed to change them on the fly.  Or contracts that say they can change terms on customers whenever they want.

This MSNBC post that customers are surprised by AT&T’s move against unlimited data strikes me as disingenuous because the writer cannot possibly believe the crap AT&T is giving him for the article.  This isn’t about bandwidth or anything of that nonsense that AT&T used to try to buy T-Mobile.

It’s about money and control. The industry lost their control when the iPhone-lead and then Android waves hit them.  We’re used to doing wireless a certain way and they want to control that.  Furthermore, they want to milk as much as they from users as they risk becoming the dumb pipes they deserve to be.

Why?  Well, the wireless industry was slow to react when Apple and Google assaulted the wireless market with their innovations and revolutionize the mobile industry.  And this is the only way they can try to slow things down or buy time until they can figure out how they would respond.

And the wireless lobby in Washington has scared the politicians in Washington and made the FCC impotent.

And this teethless MSNBC post does nothing except to tell us what we already know.

Mobile War For Google Is About Search; For Apple, It's Just One Small Battle

Interesting note here about mobile search.  By 2016, a majority of searches will take place on mobile devices, specifically, wirless over smartphones.  AllthingsD suggests that a Bernstein report excluded tablets.  Had that been included, we may well see search on mobile, including smartphones, tablets, and devices like the iPod touch, move ahead of traditional desktop searches even before that.  Perhaps by 2014 or 2015 at the latest.

ATD goes on to suggest this is what Apple and Google is fight over.  I think its only one aspect of the larger mobile war.  After all, the mobile market isn’t just about searches.  Rather, searches will become only a small part of the growing and ever-changing mobile experience.  Even app uses will continue to evolve.

Rather than replacing Google with Bing or even something else, Apple will do what it does – and no one really knows what that is.  Siri would be my guess.

Apple and Google used to be good friends.  The only reason that changed was when they began to compete in the mobile hardware market.  And they are both still competing with Microsoft’s vastly improved Windows Phone so it’s not like Apple will get into bed with Redmond any time soon.  It doesn’t want a resurgent Microsoft and have to fight Google and Microsoft at the same time.

I wouldn’t put it past Apple to try to hurt Google on search at all.  And mark my word:  Apple will because it also recognizes that search is what puts food on the table for Google.  As to how, again, Siri perhaps.  As to when?  That’s the question.  It could be happening now, slowly.

See, Apple isn’t consciously out to destroy anyone in particular.  Had Google not come out with Android and was content with just doing web services and search, things between Apple and Google may still be cool.  Now, all bets are off.

For Google, search might be the war but for Apple, it’s just one of many battles it has to eventually fight on in the larger mobile war.

Source: AllThingsD

Motorola: It's Google's Fault That Updates Are Late

According to Motorola, Google makes it very difficult for Android updates to come out on a timely basis because of the way Google operates and how they select the hardware for its Nexus devices.  Keep in mind that this is coming from Motorola, soon-to-be subsidiary of Google. And perhaps what Motorola said was meant for public consumption - that Google will not favor Motorola going forwards.  Words are just that, words, and we'll just have to see what the actions are.

Still, this is an interesting insight into what how Google operates as far as updating Android goes.  It's interesting because the perception that Android is an open platform is now out the window.  Android is an OS that is still "Android" as long as Google's stipulations are followed.  Once this OS is forked, it's no longer called Android and it's entirely something different.

Now, what does Motorola mean?

It's related to how Google picks the hardware and specs for its Nexus devices.  Google picks one device from the field.  It's a field that has different configurations - memories, CPU, and other components.  Once Google settles on one, it makes everyone else's life more difficult because they would have picked vastly different hardware.

Hence, the delay as other device makers have to make Android work with their hardware.  On top of that, Google has optimized Android for its chosen hardware, forcing others to make do with what they can.

As we well know, Apple only has to deal with its own iOS devices - so far, it's one chip a year.  On the other hand, Microsoft doesn't have a "Nexus" device, a showcase device for others to follow so it doesn't have this issue.  We have to wonder how Microsoft deals with the multiple chipsets - whether it optimizes the OS for each and every single device or does it "just make do".  It's like Microsoft's partnership with Nokia involves Nexus-level attention.

More at Droid-Life.

Dropbox Is Huge In Mobile But Google To Get Into Cloud Storage

Dropbox is a big player in online or cloud storage.  Practically owns the whole market by some reckoning given how many mobile warriors rely on it.  Well, DB is about to get company in a bad way.  Google is getting into the storage biz as well.

So, what we do know?  Well, most what you're going to read are pure speculations but I think we can safely make two claims that will turn out to be true:  Google's online storage will be tied into its own OS's,  Chrome OS and Android, and Google Apps.

Biz Insider also pointed out that SkyDrive from Microsoft is also a player, albeit, pretty unknown given that Dropbox still has more app support with only 2GB of free storage while SD has 25 GB.

I guess until Google unveils and releases its drive, I should give SkyDrive a "drive" as well.

As a mobile warrior, I can't say how glad Google is getting into this.  It'll make Chrome OS (who really uses it anyway) all the more versatile but it'll be Google's drive inevitable integration with Android that will make it all the more useful for heavy mobile users like myself.

Even now, Apple's iPhone with iCloud doesn't really give the users any kind of user-friendly storage like Dropbox.  In the past, MobileMe had the iDisk but with the introduction of the iCloud, the iDisk feature went away.

With Avid Studio For the iPad, Did the State of Tablet Hit Puberty?

I've used iMovie on the iPhone and iPad and it's great.  I like it a lot.  And I'd like it even more if I had an ounce of creativity for making music and video.  Alas,  I don't but you know what, that might not really matter.  iMovie is really easy to use and this week, Avid Studio from Avid was released for the iPad.

So, I pose this question: has the iPad hit puberty?  And the tablet market is due to explode as professional mobile warriors, particularly the creative sort, find more innovative uses for tablets and realize their full potentials.

5.3" Galaxy Note Could Be More Acceptable To Mobile Warriors

The Galaxy Note running Android from Samsung could well be a silent hit in ways that no one expects. And it isn't just the huge screen with dense resolution though I love it. It isn't the stylus though I can see why Samsung included.



First, we need to figure out what the Note is. Well, is it a smartphone or a tablet? It can barely fit into one's pocket and you look ridiculous holding it up to your head to make a call. And by most definition, the screen, which is a bit bigger than the top end Android devices, is too small for tablet use. At the end of the day, most users will use the Note for productivity rather that using it as a phone. So it is safe to call the Note a tablet that makes phone calls.

More than that, Samsung is on to something. The note is a truly unique productivity pad that is useful across a broad range of disciplines. Students, office workers, mobile salespeople, the law enforcement, etc.

I can really see myself with the Note sitting at Starbucks studying and taking notes or doing a paper.

And if I need to make or take a call, I can simply use the wired or Bluetooth headset.

Go forward a couple of years, the Note may be connected in some manner to those wearable PC or watch that some mobile companies are developing. This will further enhanced a mobile warrior's productivity.

We know that Apple is entirely dedicated to the 3.5" screen on the iPhone and iPod touch and 9.7" on the iPad. Its competitors like Samsung have experimented with different screen sizes in the marketplace.

The Note is one such experiment that has gained momentum in the market. Hopefully, we will see a WiFi only version as well.

More at Wired.

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VW Superbowl Commercial Part 2!!! (With Little DV...Maybe)

So, the little Darth Vader captured our heart with the VW commercial last year.  It was brilliantly done.  I've provided it as a reminder.  But now, there's a sequel.

Hey, George Lucas.  Please take note.