Newscorp is looking to unload its MySpace property, which has had its staff cut by almost 50% and seen many of its users flock to FaceBook. There have been many rumors of possible buyers. The most often named is FaceBook, which would make sense as they could then move the remaining hold outs over to FaceBook and shut down MySpace, but might have trouble gaining regulatory approval. Another obvious buyer could be Google, as they have been looking for a way to get more into the social scene and compete with FaceBook. Also mentioned have been AOL, Yahoo or private investment firms looking to grab the brand cheap and revive it.
But one name that has not come up is Apple. With MySpace being big into music, it might play well with Apple's recently announced Ping service. This would be a good way for Apple to boost the number of bands and users of their Ping service quickly. Apple has been looking for a social strategy and at one point was rumored to be interested in acquiring FaceBook. Also, Apple has been working with Rupert Murdoch and Newscorp on an iPad magazine and an acquisition of MySpace would hardly make a dent inApple's pile of cash on hand.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Verizon iPhone!
The iPhone is finally coming to the Verizon network. Announced today by Lowell McAdam fromVerizon and Tim Cook from Apple. It will be available for pre-order for existing customers on February 3rd with general availability on February 10th.
As I expected, this initial Verizon iPhone is basically the same as the current iPhone 4, but works on Verizon's CDMA network instead of a GSM network like AT&T. So why just release the same old iPhone 4 on Verizon without some cool new features, like LTE support? There are a few reasons. First and foremost, as Tim Cook pointed out, they wanted to get this out on Verizon as quickly as possible and sticking with the existing design allowed that to happen. Also, when the new iPhone 5 comes out (presumably this summer) the new features will be available for all carriers and Verizon will have something to offer at a lower price point, assuming the iPhone 4 will drop to $99 when the iPhone 5comes out.
There was one surprise in the announcement and that was Verizon's inclusion of their Mobile Hot Spot feature. Many Verizon smart phones offer this feature which allows the phone's 3G data connection to be shared with up to 5 other wi-fi connected devices. Pricing for this option was not announced but is typically an additional $20/month for 2GB of data.
As I expected, this initial Verizon iPhone is basically the same as the current iPhone 4, but works on Verizon's CDMA network instead of a GSM network like AT&T. So why just release the same old iPhone 4 on Verizon without some cool new features, like LTE support? There are a few reasons. First and foremost, as Tim Cook pointed out, they wanted to get this out on Verizon as quickly as possible and sticking with the existing design allowed that to happen. Also, when the new iPhone 5 comes out (presumably this summer) the new features will be available for all carriers and Verizon will have something to offer at a lower price point, assuming the iPhone 4 will drop to $99 when the iPhone 5comes out.
There was one surprise in the announcement and that was Verizon's inclusion of their Mobile Hot Spot feature. Many Verizon smart phones offer this feature which allows the phone's 3G data connection to be shared with up to 5 other wi-fi connected devices. Pricing for this option was not announced but is typically an additional $20/month for 2GB of data.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Happy New Year! Predictions for 2011...
Here are my predictions of what is coming out of Cupertino this year...
January - Announcement of Verizon iPhone, same as current iPhone 4 except CDMA instead of GSM.
February/March - iPad 2 comes in same form factor as current, only slimmer. Adds front and rear cameras with FaceTime. Available with wi-fi only or wi-fi and CDMA/GSM 3G data. May include new dual core A5 processor.
April/May - New iMac. Additional smaller model with a lower price point. If history holds true we will also get a sneak peek at what's coming in iOS 5.
June/July - iPhone 5 and iOS 5. The iPhone 5 will probably still not be an LTE phone, but more likely use a Qualcomm chipset that supports both CDMA and GSM, so that only one base model is needed. If the A5 chip happens this year, it will be included as well. This may be the year Apple introduces an iPhone "lite" instead of pushing the iPhone 4 down to the $99 price point, we may see a second iPhone model with less features.
August/September - New iPods, MacBooks and ePad. The usual iPod updates will come in the fall as well as new MacBooks that will be more like the Air, with integrated SSD and without optical drives. The big surprise could be a 7" iPad, I call the ePad, aimed at the K-12 market.
October/November - MacOS X Lion, New AppleTV. MacOS X Lion will finally be shipped and possibly even a minor update to iOS 5 adding some minor new features that didn't make the cut for June. These features may revolve around the AppleTV which will finally gain an App Store in time for the holiday shopping season.
Also possible this year are the much rumored iTunes Cloud Service, TV and movie subscription services, improvements to MobileMe and I am still holding out for some kind of home server product. We'll just have to wait and see...
January - Announcement of Verizon iPhone, same as current iPhone 4 except CDMA instead of GSM.
February/March - iPad 2 comes in same form factor as current, only slimmer. Adds front and rear cameras with FaceTime. Available with wi-fi only or wi-fi and CDMA/GSM 3G data. May include new dual core A5 processor.
April/May - New iMac. Additional smaller model with a lower price point. If history holds true we will also get a sneak peek at what's coming in iOS 5.
June/July - iPhone 5 and iOS 5. The iPhone 5 will probably still not be an LTE phone, but more likely use a Qualcomm chipset that supports both CDMA and GSM, so that only one base model is needed. If the A5 chip happens this year, it will be included as well. This may be the year Apple introduces an iPhone "lite" instead of pushing the iPhone 4 down to the $99 price point, we may see a second iPhone model with less features.
August/September - New iPods, MacBooks and ePad. The usual iPod updates will come in the fall as well as new MacBooks that will be more like the Air, with integrated SSD and without optical drives. The big surprise could be a 7" iPad, I call the ePad, aimed at the K-12 market.
October/November - MacOS X Lion, New AppleTV. MacOS X Lion will finally be shipped and possibly even a minor update to iOS 5 adding some minor new features that didn't make the cut for June. These features may revolve around the AppleTV which will finally gain an App Store in time for the holiday shopping season.
Also possible this year are the much rumored iTunes Cloud Service, TV and movie subscription services, improvements to MobileMe and I am still holding out for some kind of home server product. We'll just have to wait and see...
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
I want my AppleTV Apps...
The new iOS based AppleTV is awesome. Streaming from iTunes and AirPlay is great and it is one of the best NetFlix clients out there. But where are the Apps and the AppleTV App Store? We have an App Store for iPhones, iPads and now even for the Mac. So why not AppleTV?
Here is my theory... I think Apple is looking for the best way for the user to interact with the AppleTV before opening up app creation on it. A remote control just isn't an Apple-like way to do user interaction, it is so 1970's. I think maybe Apple is working on something like Microsoft's Kinect for XBox or some other futuristic way to interact with the big screen. Maybe some form of voice and gesture combination based interaction. Imagine a device that plugs into the AppleTV's USB port and sits above or below your TV that has a camera, microphone and other motion sensors like Kinect. This device could respond to voice commands, as well as gestures, to control the user interface or to play games. For example, you could just say "AppleTV open NetFlix" and the NetFlix app launches. Then you could scroll through movie lists using swipe gestures. This device would also allow the AppleTV to be an excellent FaceTime client! Just tell the AppleTV to "Call Grandma" and boom, you are video chatting with Grandma and she can watch her grandchild taking their first steps across the living room.
Hopefully Apple has something like this up it's sleeve for the next version of the AppleTV, then I think it will go from being just a hobby to being the next big hit for Apple.
Here is my theory... I think Apple is looking for the best way for the user to interact with the AppleTV before opening up app creation on it. A remote control just isn't an Apple-like way to do user interaction, it is so 1970's. I think maybe Apple is working on something like Microsoft's Kinect for XBox or some other futuristic way to interact with the big screen. Maybe some form of voice and gesture combination based interaction. Imagine a device that plugs into the AppleTV's USB port and sits above or below your TV that has a camera, microphone and other motion sensors like Kinect. This device could respond to voice commands, as well as gestures, to control the user interface or to play games. For example, you could just say "AppleTV open NetFlix" and the NetFlix app launches. Then you could scroll through movie lists using swipe gestures. This device would also allow the AppleTV to be an excellent FaceTime client! Just tell the AppleTV to "Call Grandma" and boom, you are video chatting with Grandma and she can watch her grandchild taking their first steps across the living room.
Hopefully Apple has something like this up it's sleeve for the next version of the AppleTV, then I think it will go from being just a hobby to being the next big hit for Apple.
Monday, December 6, 2010
What's next for iOS? [updated]
Now that iOS 4.2 has finally been released, what is up for the next version of iOS? There have been rumors of an iOS 4.3 release to support in app subscriptions, but what can we expect from iOS 5?
Here are some of the features I would like to see:
1. Multiple user support.
There needs to be a way for users to log into an iOS deveice and see their particular settings. This would be most useful for the iPad, which is more likely to be shared by multiple family members. It would be really nice if this feature was activated by face recognition using the front facing camera or by fingerprint scanning. Of course, for older hardware, the standard PIN entry could be used to determine the user.
2. Improved Notifications.
There needs to be a less intrusive notification than the pop-up box that interrupts whatever you are doing when you get a new notification.
3. Additional AirPrint printer support.
I am sure the originally promised printing to printers connected to a Mac or Windows PC will come in the next iOS version.
4. Wireless syncing.
Please, Apple, give us the ability to sync with iTunes over wi-fi instead of just a direct USB connection.
5. AirPlay support for streaming to iOS devices.
Being able to stream content from iTunes to an iOS device, like is done with the Apple TV, would be a nice addition.
6. Dashboard widgets.
This would be most useful on the iPad and would give it a home for the missing apps like calculator, stock ticker, weather etc... These widgets could be located on the search page when swiping left from the first home page and could also link to full screen, more detailed apps.
7. Podcast subscriptions.
It would be nice if I could subscribe to podcasts on my iOS device through the iPod or iTunes app add have them automatically download just like in iTunes instead if having to either sync or use the Get More Episodes feature.
8. Non-programmer's development tool.
This would be like HyperCard for iOS. A development tool for non-programmers that would allow users to create their own personal apps for use on their own personal iOS devices. The apps would be created on your computer and then synced through iTunes to any of your iOS devices.
9. Support for more voice commands.
One of the few areas where Android has an advantage on iOS would be in voice based commands to perform various functions. I believe this has something to do with Apple's acquisition of Siri and their Virtual Personal Assistant. I would expect to see some of its features integrated into the next version of iOS.
These are just a few of the things on my wish list for the next release of iOS.
Here are some of the features I would like to see:
1. Multiple user support.
There needs to be a way for users to log into an iOS deveice and see their particular settings. This would be most useful for the iPad, which is more likely to be shared by multiple family members. It would be really nice if this feature was activated by face recognition using the front facing camera or by fingerprint scanning. Of course, for older hardware, the standard PIN entry could be used to determine the user.
2. Improved Notifications.
There needs to be a less intrusive notification than the pop-up box that interrupts whatever you are doing when you get a new notification.
3. Additional AirPrint printer support.
I am sure the originally promised printing to printers connected to a Mac or Windows PC will come in the next iOS version.
4. Wireless syncing.
Please, Apple, give us the ability to sync with iTunes over wi-fi instead of just a direct USB connection.
5. AirPlay support for streaming to iOS devices.
Being able to stream content from iTunes to an iOS device, like is done with the Apple TV, would be a nice addition.
6. Dashboard widgets.
This would be most useful on the iPad and would give it a home for the missing apps like calculator, stock ticker, weather etc... These widgets could be located on the search page when swiping left from the first home page and could also link to full screen, more detailed apps.
7. Podcast subscriptions.
It would be nice if I could subscribe to podcasts on my iOS device through the iPod or iTunes app add have them automatically download just like in iTunes instead if having to either sync or use the Get More Episodes feature.
8. Non-programmer's development tool.
This would be like HyperCard for iOS. A development tool for non-programmers that would allow users to create their own personal apps for use on their own personal iOS devices. The apps would be created on your computer and then synced through iTunes to any of your iOS devices.
9. Support for more voice commands.
One of the few areas where Android has an advantage on iOS would be in voice based commands to perform various functions. I believe this has something to do with Apple's acquisition of Siri and their Virtual Personal Assistant. I would expect to see some of its features integrated into the next version of iOS.
These are just a few of the things on my wish list for the next release of iOS.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Should MobileMe be free?
What does the future hold for Apple's MobileMe service? Currently Apple charges $99.00 per year for a subscription to MobileMe, which gets you an email address, calendar, contacts, web hosting and 20GB of online storage. Most of these services can be gotten for free from companies like Goggle. I have been experimenting with Google's free Google Apps service, which gives me email, calendar, and contacts as well as other additional services. The big advantage of MobileMe is the seamless integration in Apple products, you can easily sync your email, calendar and contacts with all of your Macs and iDevices over the Internet. I have been able to do the same with Google services, although it was a little more difficult to setup. Also, Apple's web based apps are much more user friendly than their Google counterparts. With all of the free services available today, does it still make sense for Apple to charge for MobileMe?
MobileMe was originally introduced as .Mac, and was included for free with every Macintosh computer. The old service was not as useful as today's MobileMe service, but it was free. I would like to see Apple return to offering at least some of the MobileMe services for free again. Maybe give one year of service for free with the purchase of a Mac or a compatible iOS device. The free service would be limted to email, calendar, contacts, find my iPhone and maybe only 5GB of iDisk space. If you buy a new Apple product every year, the service would continue to be free. Other premium MobileMe services could be offered for an additional fee, such as more iDisk space, online backup of your Mac (Time Machine in the cloud), storage of your music and video library in the cloud that can be streamed to your iDevice, etc... And if Apple ever builds the iLife Home Server, this would tie in perfectly with that as well.
MobileMe was originally introduced as .Mac, and was included for free with every Macintosh computer. The old service was not as useful as today's MobileMe service, but it was free. I would like to see Apple return to offering at least some of the MobileMe services for free again. Maybe give one year of service for free with the purchase of a Mac or a compatible iOS device. The free service would be limted to email, calendar, contacts, find my iPhone and maybe only 5GB of iDisk space. If you buy a new Apple product every year, the service would continue to be free. Other premium MobileMe services could be offered for an additional fee, such as more iDisk space, online backup of your Mac (Time Machine in the cloud), storage of your music and video library in the cloud that can be streamed to your iDevice, etc... And if Apple ever builds the iLife Home Server, this would tie in perfectly with that as well.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Thoughts on an Apple server strategy
With the demise of the XServe, I have been thinking more about Apple's future server strategy and here are a few of directions Apple may be considering:
The case for licensing or Open Sourcing Mac OS X Server
Apple may be considering opening up their server OS. The first indication of this was allowing it to run in a virtual machine and all of the major Mac VM makers are supporting Mac OS X Server as a guest OS, but only on actual Apple hardware. There are no technical reasons the OS won't run on generic PC hardware in a VM, in fact, I think Oracle's Virtual Box team has done it. It is simply a licensing issue. Apple is a product company, though, so I don't really see them licensing the software. I do think it is possible that they would open source the rest of the Server OS in addition the Darwin core. That way, Apple would not have to deal with the driver and support issues that go with running the OS on generic hardware.
Pushing the Mac Mini Server
Maybe the Mac Mini Server is cannibalizing sales of the XServe so much that Apple has decided to focus on the Mac Mini Server. There are places like MacMiniColo.net that run entire data centers of Mac Minis.
Creating an iOS based server
I have posted before on my thoughts about an iLife Home Server. What if this box is iOS based running an A4 or future Apple multi-core ARM chip? This box could be very small and energy efficient, the OS could be installed on an SSD for speed and then use hard drives for data storage. It would be really cool if the base was the size of a Mac Mini with both SSD and a hard drive in it and some form of "dock" connector on the top that would allow for additional data storage to just be stacked on the top. The OS would automatically expand the storage volume to add the additional space, when you are running low on space, just add more drives to the stack. The server would be administered through either a web browser interface or an iOS app installed on any iDevice on the local wi-fi network.
Or, maybe Apple will do all three?
- Licensing or Open Sourcing Mac OS X Server
- Pushing the Mac Mini Server
- Creating an iOS based server
The case for licensing or Open Sourcing Mac OS X Server
Apple may be considering opening up their server OS. The first indication of this was allowing it to run in a virtual machine and all of the major Mac VM makers are supporting Mac OS X Server as a guest OS, but only on actual Apple hardware. There are no technical reasons the OS won't run on generic PC hardware in a VM, in fact, I think Oracle's Virtual Box team has done it. It is simply a licensing issue. Apple is a product company, though, so I don't really see them licensing the software. I do think it is possible that they would open source the rest of the Server OS in addition the Darwin core. That way, Apple would not have to deal with the driver and support issues that go with running the OS on generic hardware.
Pushing the Mac Mini Server
Maybe the Mac Mini Server is cannibalizing sales of the XServe so much that Apple has decided to focus on the Mac Mini Server. There are places like MacMiniColo.net that run entire data centers of Mac Minis.
Creating an iOS based server
I have posted before on my thoughts about an iLife Home Server. What if this box is iOS based running an A4 or future Apple multi-core ARM chip? This box could be very small and energy efficient, the OS could be installed on an SSD for speed and then use hard drives for data storage. It would be really cool if the base was the size of a Mac Mini with both SSD and a hard drive in it and some form of "dock" connector on the top that would allow for additional data storage to just be stacked on the top. The OS would automatically expand the storage volume to add the additional space, when you are running low on space, just add more drives to the stack. The server would be administered through either a web browser interface or an iOS app installed on any iDevice on the local wi-fi network.
Or, maybe Apple will do all three?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)