Bastion

Will 2010 Be the Year of the Tablet?

Yes, "you" don't see it - but that doesn't mean it isn't coming. You just don't have the vision for it.

Here, it is simple, really (and I agree with the author that this would be huge, but for Apple may cannibalize Apple TV sales...)

It's called a wireless docking station. Not intuitive? The dock goes in your media room and is "permanently" connected to your A/V set up. It has a docking port/stand to hold the iPad (my "trademarked" name for Apple's new tablet) that has either bluetooth, wifi, or maybe both - and IR for remote control.

If you use the iPad out of the dock on the couch, the device streams your content over bluetooth or wifi back to the dock for playback on your A/V system. This gives you more direct control over the device, and might even permit some multi-tasking (depending upon the robustness of the battery) - e.g. you could imdb something related to the movie you're watching.

If you keep the iPad in the dock (better for power management), you just use an Apple Remote to control the Front Row / Apple TV interface to your iPad's content.

In theory, you could also match a bluetooth keyboard to the dock for more "media PC" type of uses whilst sitting on the couch.

Ready to stop being a couch potato? Undock the iPad and go...

I think this could be awesome - maybe it would just replace Apple TV? I guess it would depend upon storage capacity...

Or maybe the iPad dock teams up with a Time Capsule - for backup of the iPad and extra storage...

On Aug 05 10:34 AM User 163599 wrote:

> I don't see why anyone would think a table PC would replace a media
> PC. The two are totally different kinds of hardware devices.
> One is ultra mobile, with a built in screen and keyboard.
> The other does not move, it always attached to your TV where you
> don't want to have to disconnect it. It does not have a keyboard
> but is instead accessed via a remote or wireless keyboard.
> Using a table PC as a media PC wastes all its advantages, size, screen,
> touch screen.

Rotten Apple? Google Voice App Blocked from App Store

Paul, this "choice" is also why there is so much incompatibility on PCs.

But I was most annoyed by your proposal that "many" Mac users install Windows to be "compatible with the world". With that word choice, "world", you are exaggerating the scope and need for Mac users to run Windows.

There isn't a whole "world" out there that we're missing. Macs natively do email, HTML, Word/Excel/PowerPoint, Photoshop, Flash, PDF, etc. etc. etc. just as well, if not better, than PCs.

So what "world" are you referring to? Gaming?

Oh well, for some, that will be worth infecting a Mac with Windows. For most, however, it does not...


On Jul 29 01:50 AM Paul H. M. wrote:

> This is an example of how Windows became big in the first place:
> it has always been much less restrictive than the Mac OS.
>
> Apple makes you do everything their way, while Windows makes it easy
> to choose from so many hardware and software companies that develop for Windows.
>
> Many Mac users are forced to install Windows, just to be compatible with the world!

Rumors Solidify Around Apple Tablet

Actually, I think the next (or parallel) logical move will be a 3rd-party clamshell "case" to protect the tablet, that also has a netbook-sized keyboard and port replication/additions (i.e. USB).

"Look, Ma, a netbook!"

Then Apple gets the best of both worlds - without ever having been accused of creating "crappy" netbooks.

On Jul 27 12:27 AM Aussie Machead wrote:

> This has to be the next logical move.. a stand and bluetooth keyboard added and you have the perfect computer for School's to use. ...

iPhone App Prices Fluctuate as Developers Adjust to OS 3.0

There is market economics at work for you! Fortunately Apple has enough developers and consumers that it can function as an efficient market.

Even this rhubarb about AT&T's subscription price for turn-by-turn will eventually fall out as the criticism mounts and few people sign up...

They will adjust the price to what people are willing to pay vs. the highway robbery approach they are taking now.

However, you'd have thought they would have done the necessary market research to find out what people would pay prior to launch so that they wouldn't get all this bad press!

iPhone's Success: First as a Browser, Then Apps

On May 17 09:47 PM Anthony B wrote:

> Just tried out the Zillow app last night, like it better than browsing
> the site on the computer!

Here, here - I like these apps (and Facebook, Weather.com, Yahoo!, etc.) more than using a PC browser because they are cleaner and simpler, usually having little to zero ads to boot!

State of the iPhone: Strong. Very Strong.

Frank, have you even used an iPhone? "Run little apps"? Have you run Oracle clients on it? How about Salesforce? Or maybe the medical imaging app? What about the full VNC client and other emulators that let you connect to text- and GUI-based servers?

Everyone thinks it's just fart apps and download version is simple web games, but you'd be wrong. It's that and a whole lot more. Will be even more when the app-to-peripheral features are release this summer. The blood glucose monitor demonstration earlier this year was amazing.

Okay, so you think the email is subpar? Blackberry and Win Mobile do not offer the same organizing and viewing options as iPhone Mail. I get all of my accounts integrated, and I can also use server folders just like on my desktop. I get full HTML messages with images and photos included - and I can use the pinch-zoom to see anything larger as I need. Sorry, the other guys can't.

It hardly "fails" as a smartphone because some of these "click-throughs" have not been implemented (as 100 end-user features are coming in the next release this summer, including the much maligned lack of copy-paste, I'm expecting all of these will be addressed). And as for contacts, I'm not sure what is so hard about tapping the search field and tapping letters, which then feeds an incremental search over the whole "book" or just a contact group.

Mmmm, nobody needs 35,000 apps. And a lot of them do similar things. Yes, Apple needs to improve how people can find the apps that have value for them. But just because you haven't found any you like, doesn't mean others haven't.

See, that's the real difference. With Apple's platform it is easy for developers to cater to every niche. With other platforms, making and distributing apps is hard, so developers only do it if they think they will make a lot of money (notice how most other smartphone apps are much, much more expensive that iPhone apps?).

For most iPhone apps, it can me an impulse buy, and that is great for developers. Good for consumers, too.

As for your doom-and-gloom about the economy, I don't get the sentiment. Those conditions existed for all of the previous two quarters - why hasn't Apple suffered thus far, while others have?

You know what they said about the boy who cried wolf...


On Apr 23 09:16 PM Frank Castle wrote:

> Man the Apple fanbois are all stirred up and crowing away again.
>
>
> Apple iPhone is well at what it does. Run little apps and feed the
> Apple EcoSystem. As a phone it's subpar. As a email device its adequate
> for the average user. As a PIM .. well it's got contacts but it's
> not that easy to search through a few hundred. Still no notes sync
> support. No support for click to call, click to email etc. So while
> its capable it fails as a smartphone.
>
> People seem to be glossed over by this fact and sure for consumers
> iPhone is a HUGE step up from the cellphones they were used to. But
> for anyone who has used this technology since Palm Professional -
> iPhone is a whole new device type and as I said amazing at what it
> does.
>
> I have both devices and I use Blackberry for day to day and frankly
> have not found 26 apps worth keeping. All studies have shown people
> download / try / delete / repeat so yeah you need a constant stream
> of Apps to feed that. At the end of the day I have to make a living
> and the time to waste of AppStore is maybe twice a week to check
> out what is new.
>
> I would wager Blackberry users don't want or expect 35,000 apps.
> They tend to be people who just want to be connected.
>
> And BTW the Storm no matter how bad you trash it - still selling.
> Actually equaled the same amount of iPhones sold in US and come Storm
> 2, the other models COMBINED with BES 5.0 Blackberry will do just
> fine and usher in a new level of enterprise intergration iPhone can
> only dream about.
>
> Great week for Apple but I don't think any company is ready to boast
> how great they are doing as last I checked the economy is just getting
> worse, more jobs are lost weekly and my pay sure as heck isn't going
> up this year.

Rumor of Apple, Verizon iPhone Deal Resurfacing

Yes, CDMA doesn't have legs, but neither does GSM. Verizon is already implementing the "next generation" network - it's called LTE (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...) - and it merges the CDMA and GSM standards.

Therefore, yes, Apple and Verizon could be in the works to release a new phone in 2010 - based on the LTE standard, not CDMA.

However, an LTE device should be backward-compatible with GSM and CDMA (2000) networks, so there won't be any issue with poor network coverage.

So this is great news, not just rumor - but given the industry's progress towards LTE, it also isn't all that surprising.

State of the iPhone: Strong. Very Strong.

I agree, great article, and a thorough and thought-provoking comment from iJah.

You know, it is the business model that Apple has created that is astounding. The nay-sayers pooh-pooh’d the first iPhone as a “toy” because they were so limited in vision. Back then, developers could only do Webkit apps, and their only revenue options were direct subscriptions/payments from users or advertising. This was no more compelling for developers than existing mobile web apps - they still needed commerce engines, servers, hosting, networks, etc - all this system engineering "infrastructure" - sheesh! If you weren't already in the business, you weren't likely to try to ante up those "table stakes".

Cut to the summer of 2008 and now any developer can try their hand at striking “gold” because Apple has taken care of all the e-commerce infrastructure. Really, it’s like what they did for personal desktop publishing, then personal media management, and now, personal application development.

The special thing about Apple is that they truly have a company culture where they want to put out creative tools for the masses, not just the gearheads and folks with deep pockets and development organizations (yeah, I’m talking about you, Microsoft and Oracle). I mean you hear about these AppStore success stories and a lot of them are “just a guy” with an idea and a lot of determination and passion – it makes you recall how Apple started: two Steves in a CA garage.

It has come full circle – but like that also implies, it is cyclical – Apple keeps repeating this “creativity for the rest of us” loop over and over in more and more areas. It really is amazing, and beautiful…

Revising Apple's Outlook in Line with Reality

Actually, no. If you are looking "long-term" and see that this recession is temporariy and that the company products and long-term outlook are strong, you look at this short-term slide as a *buying* opportunity.

Ever heard of dollar-cost-averaging?

If you think a company will be in a better position in 9 months, 12 months, or more than it is now, you BUY and HOLD.

Duh. There is a reason that Warren Buffet is a billionaire and you are not.

It's the day-traders and quarter-to-quarter traders (apparently like you) that have ruined this economy. Those objectives *change* behavior, and it drives people to make short-term optimized decisions that often are bad for the long-term health of a company, or the economy as a whole.


On Apr 20 11:04 AM constantnormal wrote:

> Just what do you guys mean by "long-term"?
>
> If you are talking "long-term" as in long-term capital gains, then
> Andy should take his profits now, before the bear-market rally gives
> out and AAPL sinks (along with everything else -- slower, but sinking
> just the same) as PE multiple compression drives valuations toward
> the single-digit regimes that occur at real bottoms.
>
> Of course, if you are talking "love-of-my-life" long-term, well then
> you are correct and nobody should ever sell a well-run profitable
> company that they are in love with, certainly not over a small thing
> like losing money.
>
> There were people buying at the top in 1929 (and 1937), some buying
> excellent companies (at inflated values, considering the impending
> future) and it took decades for them to break even.
>
> There were people in love with gold, back in the 70's, and it took
> 30 years to regain the levels they loved it at.
>
> Buying a stock for love can blind one to the fact that even the best-managed,
> most profitable companies can have their stock prices suffer for
> a very long time, if the larger market environment is bad enough.
> The name of the game is not to own the best stocks, it is to make
> money owning them. Those who forget that (or have never learned it)
> are doomed to be parted with their money.

Apple Refreshes Desktop Lineup: Is the Mac Mini Irrelevant?

I also have to disagree. An Apple TV is NOT a Mac mini. Apple TV is like a large iPod you connect to a TV. While a Mac mini is like a living room *computer* - not just a media server.

The ideal living room configuration:
A Time Capsule, with
An Apple TV on top, with
A Mac mini on top of that,
and all controlled via Apple Remote and Bluetooth keyboard/mouse

That's why they are all in that same form-factor: they are designed to live together in your living room, all connected to your HDTV.

Apple's Advantage over the Blackberry: Way More Memory

Ahh, that's the average size today - with applications that do not utilize advanced features. You have to beware predictions based only on today's realities.

If such predictions could be trusted, then we'd never have needed more than 640K of RAM - as was infamously predicted by Bill Gates in 1981 (of course, if the urban legends have any merit).

You put out 2MB for an app as an upper limit, but I can tell you from experience on my iPod touch that 2MB is about average for most applications. A professional game like SimCity comes in at 30MB, and many other apps that have a lot of features or data exceed 2MB (e.g. Google Earth at nearly 10MB).

And don't sell short the idea that "business" people don't want these kinds of apps. "Business" people are still people, and "people" are the ones buying iPhone apps in droves.

This is the promise of convergence - why would anyone want to spend the extra money on (and carry the extra weight of) another mobile device to do these things (i.e. a BB + iPod touch / PSP / or that Nokia thing).

If they don't defect to iPhone straightaway, then they will eventually want the same kind of user experience and options, and that could put some pressure on the BB platform and upgrade cycle.


On Jan 28 04:50 PM .crazylegs.. wrote:

> The Storm has 1 GB internal memory!
>
> With declining pricing of memory, it is not inconceivable that all
> future BBs will have at least this much.
>
> Also, the average app for the BB is perhaps 150kb-500kb. this means
> that 200 apps would only require 100 mb of space. Even if the apps
> got much more extensive and took up 2 mb, that would still mean 50
> apps would only eat up 10% of the Storm's memory...hence, this article
> is pointless!

If Apple Does Correct, It Will Do So Soon

First, how do you know how much of a reserve Apple needs to incent and retain talent, possibly buy other companies, and make its own investments in research and design?

Second, if, as you suggest, Apple has not rewarded shareholders with dividends, then how about that being the approach for using the cash rather than a share buy back?

In this market, a lot of investors are looking for valuable *income* stocks - just day traders are looking for short-term bumps in share prices.

I don't think Apple should be setting company strategy on rewarding day traders. A dividend would reward their true investors, and might even encourage more to buy in - which would actually have the one-two punch of making investors not only happy to get some cash from the dividend, but also see the value of their positions increase.

I'm tired of the shorts and day traders - they're ruining our economy.


On Jan 28 02:28 PM Roger Knights wrote:

> Cheat Sheet wrote, responding to my comment: "Excess cash in Apple's
> arsenal is best used investing in more talent and keeping talent
> within its pool. The bad economic times we're in right now means
> having this cash on hand is less likely for Apple to bleed talent
> via lay offs."
>
> That's true, up to a point. But that excuse is wearing thin. Apple
> has three times more cash than it needs for such purposes. And, if
> it were going to use its hoard to buy up other companies, it would
> have started long ago. This makes me suspect that the company may
> be planning a stock buyback.
>
> I wasn't really giving advice (in my post that CS was responding
> to), but speculating on a possible news-item about a buyback, which
> would goose the stock. Apple has a lot of unhappy shareholders, to
> whom it hasn't ever deigned to toss a bone in the form of a dividend.
> It's overdue, from their point of view; and it would be wise for
> Apple to accommodate them, especially in its current situation.<br/>
>

Apple: Like Starbucks and Whole Foods, A Trend That's Past Its Prime

Yeah - seriously lame article - total blog troll.

Hmmm, almost too bored to counterpoint...

Commodities still have quality grades (i.e. coffee and potatoes), but computers and mobile communicators designed for use and aesthetic are not commodities, and have more than just quality grades, but distinguishable functional differences (e.g. is there any functional difference between Starbucks and McDonalds coffees? No.)

Apple pricing is based more on margin and what the market will bear, not based on pushing large quantities. And in any case, their products are simply NOT whole-number multiples of the prices for "similar" products. The price myth is just that: myth.

The "early" competitive edge that he gives Apple with iTunes, he seems to think that other providers have come up with something comparable. Perhaps *several* providers in total can match the features of iTunes, but there is still no integrated service that cares for the customer experience as iTunes does.

And that applies to the App Store in huge multiples! Throw in the customer experience you get at an Apple retail store (where are those Blackberry stores and knowledgeable representatives?), and there simply is no comparison.

But here is his gem: "It does mean the glory days for the stock are over, unless they can tap back into the mass market that has left them."

Okay, you try to lump Apple with the performance of Starbucks and Whole Foods, but this is complete lunacy! For one, the mass market has NOT left Apple - they have been gaining market share in every category - and just had a record quarter, yeah, during the most dismal holiday season in a very, very long time.

Will this level of performance continue? Maybe not. Sure, lots of people will be tightening their budgets, whether they are still employed or not. But Apple is in a cash-rich position, which means that they can continue to invest and innovate during this recession/depression while their competitors will be cutting back. And that means that even if Apple is flat for the duration, they will be HUGE positive when we get to the backside of this recession.

A really sad, sad article. I hope your mother is proud of you.

How the iPhone and Poor Management Contribute to Apple's Downfall

As already pointed out, it's not stupid - it's the law.

I guess the complaint really drives not to the accounting method chosen, but the business model itself. You have to set up a subscription accounting if you sell a subscription product.

And I agree with the other posters that the free upgrades to the platform (iPhone and iPod) via iTunes is critical for establishing the platform. For the Mac platform, it is already established - that's why you pay for upgrades (not "updates" - i.e. bug and security fixes, as these don't necessarily add features but fix or improve existing features).

Maybe someday they will return to a paid-upgrade model, but for now, the market needs a zero-discouragement policy towards increasing unit sales so that the user base and market dominance is established.

Besides, as I think it was already mentioned, sure, the huge, pre-economic fallout sales were dampered by the subscription accounting. But that also means that as unit sales dramatically decline over the next several quarters, that extreme low will be dampered by the carry over from the boom.

Only investors on the short-term, quarter-to-quarter hype cycle care about this accounting nonsense. And it is certainly overlooking the impact of the Jobs health rumors and general economic collapse to attribute the stock's poor recent performance to the accounting method.

It's like bad science: ignoring any evidence that conflicts with your hypothesis.


On Jan 20 12:57 PM waf76 wrote:

> Recognizing $12.45 a month over a 2 year period for every 16gig iPhone
> over 2 years is stupid.

Windows Mobile: Like Using Fred Flintstone's iStone

Obviously the poster is not an iThing user - at all. The iPhone is not only "great for playing music", like it is just an iPod attached to a mobile phone.

It has a full browser, no WAP, displays just like a desktop browser, in portrait or landscape and dynamically scalable; streaming media (e.g. AOL Radio, YouTube, etc.); WiFi and Bluetooth networking; GPS-enabled Google maps; customizable interface (e.g. dock arrangements, clocks, pictures, etc); full pop, IMAP, and Exchange ActiveSync email client.

Gee, all of that is the same list you raved you could do on your HTC.

Oh, and I haven't even touched on the true power of the iThing - easy to find, integrated application platform. You can even run Windows on an iThing, via a RemoteDesktop client. Or a UNIX machine, via the VNC client. And you can get to all of your enterprise resources via the built-in VPN. You can use the iThing as a remote control for media players, presentation slides, automated home appliances, etc. It's the best way to take along videos for travel 'cause you don't need a separate DVD player nor worry about storing the disks. It's also the best way to share photo albums, 'cause, again, you don't need a separate device and it displays them in gorgeous high-resolution, deep contrast with an easy to use interface. Gone are the "brag books" or "wallet" photos - I just use my iPod touch. Oh, and I think I forgot to mention the iTunes Music store, where you can also just buy whatever you think your library is missing - whenever and wherever. For example, I used to collect the Starbucks free download of the week cards, but never got around to entering the code when I got back to a computer. Now, I have my iPod right there with me so I immediately put in the code and enjoy my free music, while I'm still in Starbucks.

Yes, Windows Mobile runs apps. But so does any smartphone. You show your ignorance when you claim that only Windows Mobile runs apps.

I just happen to feel that the best mobile app platform out there today is the iThing. Maybe that will change in the future, but for now...


On Jan 12 12:55 PM longandshort wrote:

> Obviously the author is not a mobile power user, she prbably just
> likes to carry a cool looking expensive phone around rather than
> run useful apps on it. I have been using my HTC windows enabled phone
> for 2 years now and have run more apps on the windows mobile platfrom
> than 2 years ago than I can find on a Blackberry today. e.g
> - full browser
> - streaming media and media player
> - dial-up networking(tethering)
> - maps
> - Sirius streaming radio
> - custom desktops (weather, clocks)
> - email (web based and IMAP)
>
> ..point I am trying to make is, Iphone is great for playing music,
> blackberry is great for texting and email, windows mobile phones
> are great for running apps..