Submitted by acohill on Mon, 02/15/2010 - 10:25
FastMac is advertising something I think almost everyone wants. It is a duplex AC wall socket with two standard 110 volt sockets, but it also has two USB ports. That's right, no more wall chargers cluttering things up. You can plug your USB charging cables right into the wall. Best part--these things are on sale for a limited time (note that these are pre-orders, so you may have to wait to get them).
Submitted by acohill on Tue, 02/02/2010 - 09:36
The iPad continues to generate enormous discussion on the Intertubes; while I have seen a lot of commentary about how it might be used in higher ed, I have seen very little about how it might be used by kids. The most obvious higher ed connection is as a replacement for textbooks, which are murderously expensive. A college student with an iPad can carry around an entire library of textbooks and should be able to save a lot of money at the same time. Textbook costs ought to decline over time, not to the $15 dollar level, but perhaps by 50% from $60 to $30 (and many technical textbooks are pushing $100 or more).
But the iPad strikes me as the perfect computer for middle school and high school. Smaller, lighter, no moving parts, much less to go wrong, and with plenty of horsepower to handle routine school assignments, which are mostly typing essays and papers. And you could do a lot of interesting basic math with a program like Apple's Numbers spreadsheet application. Apple is selling its three productivity programs for $9.99 each (word processsing, spreadsheet, presentations), about a third of the price of the cost of them for a laptop. With the dock and keyboard and wireless printing to a shared printer, kids have everything they need for school at much less than you might spend for a bare bones Apple laptop. I know there are very inexpensive Windows laptops available, but they still come with all the drawbacks of a laptop--heavy, moving parts, more susceptible to viruses, expensive software, etc.
Like the iPod, the iPad is going to change the way we do a lot of things. And like the iPod, it will create a lot of new business opportunities.
Submitted by acohill on Mon, 01/25/2010 - 17:24
A short, good analysis of six industries that Apple's tablet computer could change. Apple is expected to roll out the device next week.
Submitted by acohill on Wed, 01/06/2010 - 09:11
This article from MacWorld does a nice job of highlighting the emerging class of the titans. Apple and Google are ramping up for an epic fight, and we all win when two big companies compete for marketshare.
Google has announced the Nexus One smartphone, just the latest of several Android-based smartphones. Android is the open source operating system developed by Google which powers not only the Google phone, but the Droid phone from Motorola (distributed by Verizon). And alongside Android, Google has also announced the Chrome operating system, which wont' see the light of day for another year. Meanwhile, Apple has purchased an online advertising firm. So Google is aiming at Apple, and Apple is aiming at Google. The next couple of years will be interesting, and both companies will be forced to work harder and be more customer-focused--especially Google, which has little experience actually selling anything except ads.
Submitted by acohill on Tue, 01/05/2010 - 10:15
Here is a roundup of rumors about the new Apple tablet. Apple has announced a media event late this month, but is not saying what the announcement is about. Until very recently, most pundits were guessing Apple's table computer would not be announced until June of this year, but I think the increasing interest in the Google Android phone may have caused Apple to move up their announcement to suck all the oxygen out of the room and take the media focus off Android.
If that is Apple's strategy, it is likely to work. The iTablet or iSlate (nobody really knows what the final name will be) will relegate the Amazon Kindle and other bookreaders to strictly second tier status, much like the iPod put all other MP3 music players into a permanent also-ran status, and completely transformed the music industry.
There is still much debate about whether the new device will have an iPhone style interface or a Mac style interface, with the conventional wisdom betting on the iPhone. But what a lot of people forget is that it probably does not matter very much, because the iPhone is a Macintosh underneath. Every single iPhone has the full power of a desktop or laptop Macintosh. So the iSlate may look more like an iPhone, but as it evolves, Apple can easily and quickly add more functionality just by peeling away the cover on the hidden power.
Why is this device going to be revolutionary? It won't be just the technology--Microsoft has a tablet operating system for years. What Apple is likely to unveil along with the iTablet is a new section of the iTunes Store, stocked with magazines and newspapers. iSlate owners will be able to subscribe to a wide variety of publishing content and get the content wirelessly on their iSlate. This will save the rapidly collapsing magazine and newspaper businesses, which have been unable to find or build their way out of the two century old paper-based distribution model. With the cost of distribution of a newspaper or magazine slashed to nearly zero, papers and magazines will be able to focus on high quality writing and reporting, which is always in short supply.
As with other breakthrough Apple technologies, new kinds of opportunities will emerge quickly, creating new businesses and jobs where none existed before. One big sea change will be in higher ed, where colleges and universities that are smart will simply issue every student an iSlate on the first day of freshman year. Faculty will be able to provide their students with very high quality (book quality) class notes, multimedia presentations, and even administer tests via the iTablet. Can't they do all that now? Sure, but not with the kind of high quality interface and superb usability that the iSlate will bring. And textbook prices should come down, although some textbook publishers will resist.
The iTablet will allow new college textbook writers to enter the marketplace quickly and easily, just the way the iPhone App Store has created thousands of new software publishing businesses. Writing a textbook will no longer require years of negotiation with publishing houses still operating on a business model developed during the era of Charles Dickens. Instead, textbook writers will be able to market directly to faculty at colleges and universities, with the textbook distributed at very low cost via the iSlate Textbook Store.
The big, sheet of paper size screen of the iTablet will allow colleges and universities to create "virtual registrar" interfaces that will give students the ability to fill out and submit forms quickly and easily from anywhere, with much better interfaces and ease of use than Web forms (because of the direct input pen interface).
The iSlate will also boost TV show and movie sales, with the existing iTunes TV/movies section all ready to send video content directly to a large, comfortable, easy to watch screen.
Apple has been planning this for years. Note that Apple has had wireless keyboards and mice for some time, and continues to roll out improved wireless devices like the popular Magic Mouse. Prop the iTablet up on a desk, start typing away on your wireless keyboard, and you have most of the functionality of a laptop.
If the first decade of the 21st century was dominated by Apple and the iPod, the second decade will be dominated again by Apple with the iSlate. Stand by and watch the fun begin as the publishing world is turned upside down.
Submitted by acohill on Tue, 12/15/2009 - 10:55
Reports are beginning to dribble out that Google is very close to releasing an "official" Google phone based on Google's Android operating system. Other mobile phone makers have been playing catch up with Apple's iPhone for the past two years, with little success--anyone seen a Palm Pre lately?
But Google has so much money that the firm, like Microsoft in the old days, can just throw money at a project until they get it right. So Android and the Google phone might just finally give Apple a reason to work harder. It will be interesting to see what kind of deal Google comes up with--maybe the phones and mobile service will be free if you can tolerate watching a fifteen second ad every time you want to make a phone call? Or each text message will have a little pop-up ad attached to it the way that little ads pop up on YouTube now? In the future, will everything be free if you will subject yourself to watching piles of ads and giving away every shred of privacy to Google?
How about a Google car? It would be electric, of course, but you get it for free. But every time you start the car to go somewhere, you have to watch a 30 second commercial. And when you listen to the radio, Google inserts a voice ad every ten minutes. And the car comes with a Google GPS tracking device that logs everywhere you go and reports it back to the company. So when you drive to RiteAid to pick up some aspirin, your GoogleCar interrupts and says, "Really, you should go to CVS because aspirin there is on sale today."
Sound far-fetched? In 1994, when I told real estate agents that some day, houses would be bought and sold over the Internet, they said it would never happen.
Submitted by acohill on Wed, 12/02/2009 - 09:10
MacWorld reports that iPod zombies are scaring motorists and causing accidents in Great Britain. iPod zombies are bicyclists who pedal down the road with their iPod headphones plugged in. Yes, this means they can't hear road traffic, and worse, are probably mentally wrapped up in listening to the music instead of being aware of the traffic around them. How big a problem is it? The English Department for Transportation reports a 19% rise in serious injuries or death to bike riders this year compared to last year.
Submitted by acohill on Tue, 11/03/2009 - 13:41
I think we can all relate to this....
Submitted by acohill on Fri, 08/28/2009 - 08:11
Sirius XM has introduced something I might consider buying--it's a dock for an iPhone/iPod Touch. As I've said repeatedly, I don't want more gagdgets in my life. I have too many already. I want fewer, more capable pieces of technology. I've avoided a satellite radio because my car does not have one built in, and I have not wanted another one trick gadget in the car with another charger and cables taking up space. But this little dock is brilliant--it plugs into the 12 volt adapter in your car, charges your iPhone, and turns your touchpad iPhone into a Sirius/XM radio.
This devices highlights the brilliance of the iPhone as the first open cellphone platform (Apple now has competition from Google's Android phone and Palm's Pre). The iPhone as a platform rather than a dedicated phone has created new business opportunities, and by extension, new jobs.
Submitted by acohill on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 09:34
Nikon has released its new Coolpix S1000pj camera. The device has a built-in projector that will display up to a 40 inch image on a wall or screen. As far as I know, this is the first pocket projector device that is actually available for purchase. I've been writing about these for at least two years, but all the earlier products were essential vaporware, with "in development" as the operative phrase. Nikon has apparently succeeded in getting one out the door, and at a reasonable price. You get a 12 megapixel camera and projector for $430.
Nikon says the throw distance is a maximum of six feet, with "VGA equivalent" resolution. What I could not determine is whether or not you could hook a laptop up to it for an impromptu presentation. Since that is not mentioned anywhere on the Specification page, it probably won't do that. And that's what a lot of business people want. I'm not sure the camera will be particularly popular unless the price comes down; adding the projector to the camera makes it about $200 more than an equivalent camera without the projector. Since most people are moving photos to their computer and managing photos on the computer, the projector seems to be of limited value.
Submitted by acohill on Mon, 06/29/2009 - 13:22
There are 185 million cellphones sold in Europe every year, meaning that at least that many cellphone chargers come with the phones. And it is likely that 185 million old chargers get tossed out or sit in drawers when that new phone is purchased. But over the next four years, cellphone makers of "data enabled" phones will standardize on mini-USB jacks for the chargers. It will reduce the waste, but also should lower the price of phones slightly, as it should be possible over time to skip including a charger with a new phone.
Submitted by acohill on Fri, 06/05/2009 - 07:44
The CrunchPad may be available soon, and it is likely to be just one of many competitors to the newly emerging tablet market. The Amazon Kindle will be remembered as the first, but like many first to market devices, it may not outlast the competition. The CrunchPad is an inexpensive (projected to sell for $299) tablet designed primarily for Web browsing, but it is likely it can or will do more over time. The obvious other application would be viewing PDFs, which would put squarely in competition with the Kindle, which was designed primarily for ebooks.
We are all going to end up with a tablet, and the big loser will be laptop makers. I don't really need to lug around a five pound laptop while traveling. I need to check email, access the Web, and do presentations--all things an inexpensive tablet can do with low power processors and no hard drive.
Expect to see lots of new business models emerge around the tablet as well. AT&T got the religion early with the enormous success of the iPhone, which has captured an enormous segment of the mobile Web traffic out of all proportion to its market share--because it does a great job as a Web browsing device. AT&T is planning a tablet device that either has 3G wireless connectivity built in and/or simply accesses the AT&T wireless network via a companion AT&T cellphone.
Amazon's business model is based on selling books. And I'd be amazed if there are not some news publishers looking at including a tablet as part of a newspaper (newstablet?) subscription. In fact, a smart newspaper would look at selling newstablets at a lost (e.g. $99) and then drastically cutting the cost of a daily news subscription.
We're still only baby steps into the Information Revolution and the Knowledge Economy, but low cost, high performance broadband access is going to make the world go round. Communities that lack the telecom infrastructure to enable these emerging devices are going to see their business and jobs growth head into negative numbers.
Submitted by acohill on Wed, 05/20/2009 - 08:42
Connectivity via the cellular network is also appealing, as the long hyped vision of massive WiFi clouds everywhere and universal net access via WiFi has never materialized. Airports are particularly aggravating, with a range of options--at one end, you have the excellent free WiFi in the Roanoke airport to places like Atlanta where you have a choice of several overpriced commercial WiFi services that offer poor service. And hotels are another trouble spot for travelers, with budget hotels offering free but often slow service and high-priced hotels charging extra for service that is often worse than the their competitor's free service. I'm still trying to figure that one out.
But it all adds up to using the cellular phone network for Internet access. The iPhone has spiked a huge increase in mobile access because of the excellent design and great software, and one of the nicest things about the iPhone, compared to a laptop, is that it works almost everywhere because of the cellular data connection.
But as more and more users migrate to the cellular data services, the cellular networks will overload quickly. AT&T's heavily advertised 3G network is nearly useless, and I don't even bother to turn it on, because I usually get dropped calls and slower data speeds than the slower but more reliable Edge service. Wireless remains an expensive business, with steep operating costs. But we all want mobility access to the network. Communities planning broadband infrastructure have to be thoughtful about wireless investments, because it's possible to spend a lot of money on wireless broadband and not have very much when you are finished.
Submitted by acohill on Wed, 05/13/2009 - 13:02
Sprint's new mobile hotspot is cool. It is a little credit card size data only cellular data modem. Cellular modems have been around for awhile, but they typically have a USB port and you plug them into your laptop. This one has no ports. Instead, it creates a WiFi hotspot that can be used for Internet access by any WiFi device--your laptop, your iPhone, your iPod Touch, even your home network. It comes with a two year contract for $150, and it will likely be popular for business travelers who often get stuck shelling out $7-$10 a pop just to check email while sitting in the departure lounge of the airport. And don't get me started on the hotels that charge you $250/night and then expect you to pay another $10/day for Internet access. If you used it just once or twice a month instead of having to buy daily access, it would be a good deal.
Submitted by acohill on Thu, 05/07/2009 - 08:51
The new Kindle DX by Amazon is out. It's a bigger version the older Kindles, and the main feature is a much bigger screen. The gadget cost $489, but some of that goes toward the free connectivity on the Sprint cellular network. You can download books and news via the wireless link, and recent novels start at $10.
While leveraging almost everywhere cellular connectivity is clever, it limits the device's usefulness as a substitute for a full-fledged computer for Web access. The slower cellular data speeds are fine for downloading a book and then reading it offline, but trying to read the New York Times in the morning over a cellular data link is likely to be pokey, and the whole connectivity model does not scale up well once lots of people have the device. AT&T's 3G network can barely handle the still small number of iPhones.
Kindle will pave the way for better devices with color screens and WiFi connectivity to news and books. Kindle may also help publishers finally make the pricing and business model shift to better accommodate selling books in electronic format.
But there is still another shoe to drop: Apple has been making veiled hints about "new and interesting" devices, that many think could be a tablet iPhone. It would not take much to do that, as the iPhone is already a full-fledged computer running a modern, open source version of Unix. If Apple releases a tablet version of the iPod Touch this summer (an iPhone without the cellular phone but everything else), Kindle will fade quickly into obscurity.
Submitted by acohill on Mon, 03/30/2009 - 08:59
iPhone users are speculating that the ability to "tether" their phones to their laptops to share the iPhone data connection may be coming in June as part of an iPhone software update. This would be a boon when traveling, as it is tough to do much work that involves writing on the iPhone (or any phone) itself. Even with the now widespread availability of free/fee WiFi hotspots, there are still lots of times when having a data connection on the laptop would be very useful.
Right now, AT&T users can buy one of those little USB wireless modems for laptop connectivity via the cellular network, but it requires a second $30/month data plan. I'd pay extra for iPhone tethering support, but another $30/month is not worth it for how much I would typically use it in a month. I just don't need to be connected all the time, and if I have to wait an hour, it's usually not a big deal.
There have been two things that have probably been holding back the release of this feature. First, the AT&T 3G network has had limited capacity; adding a bunch of people with laptops connected for long periods of time would only make things worse. AT&T has been adding capacity, and if tethering is released, it must mean that AT&T is more confident that its 3G network can handle the load. Second, having your iPhone act as a wireless modem will eat up phone battery life, although you can charge your phone from your laptop. In any case, if this is released, it will make the iPhone even more useful than it already is.
Submitted by acohill on Tue, 03/24/2009 - 18:48
A new study of smartphone Web browsing shows the iPhone positively crushing the competition. The Apple iPhone accounts for 33% of all the Web browsing being done by smartphones. The nearest competitor is a Nokia phone, the N70, with a measly 7.1%. After that, it goes downhill even more rapidly, with most of the other phones in the top ten barely breaking 3%. The iPhone has a good, fast Web browser, a large readable screen, and a touch interface; the combination is unbeatable at this time.
Submitted by acohill on Fri, 03/20/2009 - 07:28
Remember the old days? Back when I was part of a corporate team teaching project management, we hauled in our presentations in milk crates--about a dozen of them for a five day class. We needed a van to haul them around.
In the nineties, overhead projectors were gradually replaced by the "modern" LCD projectors that initially cost many thousands of dollars, and required an oversize rolling suitcase and a strong back to lug them around.
They are now as common as dirt. Everyone has one. But after years of promising, the industry appears to be finally delivering the latest round of projector technology: the pocket projector. Which will likely spawn a lot of really bad jokes.
But I predict these will fly off the shelves, even though this one only has 640x480 resolution. These will really take off when someone is able to cram SVGA or XGA resolution into one. One thing I really like is the direct iPod interface. You could load your presentation into iPhoto as a series of PDFs, transfer it to your iPod, and then show it as a slide show. Salespeople will love these gadgets.
Submitted by acohill on Thu, 02/19/2009 - 10:48
Ed Dreistadt sent me this link about using the iPhone as an in-vehicle interface for information like tire pressure and reminders about changing your oil. One key design feature of the iPhone is its interoperatbility--it has WiFi, so it can talk to any other WiFi device, it supports standard email and Web data, and it has an open software API so it is fast and easy to write custom applications for the iPhone. Small start up software shops (usually one or two people) are writing all kinds of software that use the iPhone to control other devices or as an interface to information in other places--because it's easy and fast. Other smartphones are finally starting to roll out that offer many of the same features, but the iPhone has an enormous head start.
Submitted by acohill on Mon, 02/16/2009 - 11:42
A new study of mobile access to the Web indicates that in less than two years, Apple's share of that market has grown to 51%, with the popularity of the iPod Touch growing rapidly. The Blackberry is in second place with 19%, and most other portable devices with a Web browser have much smaller shares.
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