International CES 2012

Well, it’s that time of year again.  You know…that time of year when every other tech geek blogger is usually spouting off about the next best technologies being demo’d at CES.  For anyone that doesn’t know, CES is the world’s largest consumer electronics tradeshow.  In fact, it’s epic in size.  Some 3,000 companies show up to peddle their latest tech to the masses.  And every year, the “experts” predict the next top consumer technologies from the heap of contenders.  The issue that I take with CES is that inevitably, the most hyped technologies turn out to be total duds once they hit the market.

Remember 2009?  The hot tech buzz coming out of CES 2009 was Palm’s webOS.  How’d that work out?  Oh that’s right, Palm ended up near death and got purchased by HP only to see their precious webOS get turned into an even bigger failure in the tablet market.  Another hyped product from CES 2009 was the “Netbook”.  Remember these?  I know several people who actually got one.  Cheap, low spec laptops designed with couch web surfing in mind.  The result?  Enter the tablet, exit the netbook.

How about 2010?  Well, everyone was certain that 3D television would be the next smash hit.  Cut to a couple years later and 3D television isn’t really any further along than it was then.  I’ve seen 3D television in action before and it’s kinda cool.  It probably isn’t going anywhere as a technology, but it will probably never be a true selling point.

Well, what about last year?  CES 2011 was the year of the Android Tablets!  Something like 100 different Android based tablets were splashed around in front of the cheering ocean of consumer geeks.  They were ALL going to give the Apple iPad a run for its money.  I LOVE Android tablets.  I prefer a good Android tablet to the iPad.  However, MY opinion doesn’t translate into financial success for a technology.  The masses wanted iPads.  Most of the tablets exhibited at CES 2011 never made it to the marketplace at all.

So what’s my point?  When I see every tech blog out there spraying nonsense into the ether about this technology or that technology based on reports from CES, I get frustrated.  Ultra Definition Television?  Really?  They aren’t even trying anymore.  Flying cars, robot servants, holographic video phones…The utopian technolust world of The Jetsons sadly seems like a fallacy.  Perhaps, the best we can do is get The Jetsons boxset in 3D.

iPhone 5

After expecting the iPhone 5 earlier this year and instead being presented with the iPhone 4S, a lot of people have dismissed the iPhone 5 for now.  Not us though!  We are still digging through rumors and strangely worded press releases to get the truth for you!  We have come to the conclusion that the release date for the iPhone 5 will likely be in mid 2012.  We would bet on Summer 2012.  As soon as we get more information, we will post it here!   Below are some rumors about the coming iPhone 5.

iPhone 5 Specs

If you want to know what will be in it, just look at the licensed hardware manufacturers!  A glimpse at ARM’s roadmap shows a quad-core processor planned to launch around the same time as the iPhone 5.  It will likely be called the A6.  Quad-core will be the mobile trend of 2012.

iPhone 5 Mobile Network

The iPhone 5 will most definitely be 4g LTE.  It would be the death of the iPhone if it didn’t!

iPhone 5 Form Factor

When the iPhone 5 is released, we will be seeing a completely new form factor.  It will likely be a drastic change from the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S.

We will continue to post updates here as we get them!

Adobe Flash Player in the Android Marketplace

Today, Adobe announced that it is cutting Mobile Flash along with 750 jobs.

“Over the past two years, we’ve delivered Flash Player for mobile browsers and brought the full expressiveness of the web to many mobile devices, however, HTML5 is now universally supported on major mobile devices, in some cases exclusively. This makes HTML5 the best solution for creating and deploying content in the browser across mobile platforms.  We are excited about this, and will continue our work with key players in the HTML community, including Google, Apple, Microsoft and RIM, to drive HTML5 innovation they can use to advance their mobile browsers.”

- Danny Winokur, Adobe’s vice president of interactive development

I hate to say this, but Apple sure got this one right!  I never would have thought that HTML5 would kill Mobile Flash so quickly.  I’m happy with the forward progress of HTML5, but I will be sad to see Mobile Flash Player go.

trying to keep up with the latest buzz on our new girlfriend, Siri…. it turns out that she will let anyone use the voice activation feature on your new iPhone 4s, even if you password lock it.

Click on the above link to follow the steps to fix this little glitch.

iPhone 4....S

Hmmm…it looks an awful lot like the iPhone 4…in fact, it looks EXACTLY like the iPhone 4!  But Apple…how are pretentious people supposed to display that they are better than all the iPhone 4 people now?  Well, suck it up suckers…you’ll have to wait for the iPhone 5 for that!  So, why did Apple do this to us?  Why did they cover our mouths in our sleep while slowly pushing a sword into our backs?  The answer is simple…marketing.

Let’s say that X number of people were planning on buying an iPhone 5. Now that the iPhone 4S is coming out first, there will certainly be Y number of people who get the 4S. And then when the iPhone 5 comes out, Z number of people will get one. The formula is simple. Y + Z > X.

DAMN YOU APPLE!  Just you wait…the lines will still be wrapped around the mall for the 4S…and then the 5….and then the iPhone 5S…and onward for the rest of our lives.  So get used to it.  Of course you could always just switch to an Android phone!

Don’t forget to circle me on Google+!

Update

Check out our iPhone 5 rumors post!

iPhone 5 Launch

Let’s get right down to it. If Apple wants to defeat the rest of the mobile phone world, the new iPhone 5 will need to step up the game! Here are 5 features that the iPhone 5 absolutely must have if Apple wants to pound the competition.

5. Larger Display
iPhone users are starting to notice those large screen Android phones out there and they want their beloved Apple to follow suit. Come on Apple, bring us the display!

4. More Efficient Battery
A phone should last all day. That is all I need to say about that!

3. HD Video Camera
The iPhone 5 would appeal to a much larger group if the video recording capabilities of the phone were increased greatly. HD…at least 720p, preferably 1080p!

2. Dual Core Processor
Android phones have blasted past iPhones as far as hardware is concerned and it’s time for Apple to catch back up. A screaming fast dual core processor would help a lot!

1. 4G
Yes. The iPhone 5 needs to have 4g capability. Any phone trying to compete for the top spot in the world of smartphones, MUST have 4g!

Can you think of any more features that the iPhone 5 should have? Let me know in the comments!

Update

Check out our iPhone 5 Rumors post!

Jobs and Wozniak, courtesy of Gizmodo

“I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.” —Steve Jobs, August 24, 2011

I’m sure by now you’ve heard the big news that Steve Jobs is stepping down as Apple’s CEO, and the current COO Tim Cook will be taking his place. I can’t say that I’m surprised, Jobs has been ill for quite some time, and he needs to focus on himself and his family. So where does that leave Apple?

I’m not going to say that it’s all going to hell in a handbag, but I think Cook has some huge shoes to fill. Regardless of your IOS v. Droid/Mac vs. PC point of view, you can’t argue that Jobs is an amazing innovator and has made some very smart choices to get Apple to where it is today. Seriously, companies are going under and businesses are reporting losses, but people are still finding the money to buy the latest iPhone. People can ironically bitch about the economy while sipping a latte at the corner coffee shop while checking their stocks on an iPad2. Even in the worst economic times since the Great Depression, people thirst for Apple products. Yes, yes, there is an entire marketing team and countless others behind the company, but with Jobs at the wheel, they have consistently portrayed their products as hip, cool, and sexy—and we eat it up.

Okay, so you’re shaking your head because you could care less about Apple. Come on, you’ve got to give the man credit for being an innovator. Sure, I love Android OS on my phone, but who had the first true “smart phone”? Apple. I also dig the Droid Tablets now, but who had it first? Apple. What we know now as “Windows” originated with the Apple Macintosh. It’s one thing to take an idea that has already been created and make it better, but its quite another to give the public something completely new.

Oh, don’t give me the “he stole it from Xerox” argument. Okay, let’s say that he “stole” the GUI from Xerox—he sure as heck executed it in a way that no one else even thought of.

On the flip side, what happens when you try to be super innovative with your wacky products? You have some failures. Hey, it happens! Check out this list of Apple products that failed from www.minyanville.com. Some of those are such a flash from the past. I remember wanting a Newton so bad back in the day—it was going to change everything! And it would look oh-so-sweet next to my LC2. Even though these products didn’t make it, you can see how they led to better, more polished machines. You can’t win every time!

Another point to show how badass Jobs has made the company—you know how folks complain that iPads aren’t as good as Droid tablets because they don’t support Adobe Flash? What I find amazing is that it’s not stopping Apple. What are web developers doing? Making iPad versions of their sites that use alternatives to Flash! Hah, people bend over backwards to conform to iPad—most excellent.

Back to my original point, Cook has some huge shoes to fill. Maybe his leadership will do even greater things for the company! I know there are loads of people working behind the scenes at Apple, but none of that occurs without a great leader making the right decisions. I know, I’ve called Jobs “smug” in the past, but I think it’s okay to be smug when you can back it up. I wish luck to Cook, health to Jobs, and I look forward to seeing what Apple comes out with next. The competition between IOS, Droid, Windows, etc. is great—it just means we’ll keep getting more awesome products out of all these guys!

These are the Droids you ar looking for, apparently...

That’s right, Google has announced its intention to purchase Motorola Mobility, otherwise known as the cell phone division, for $12.1 billion. Not chump change right?

Google is feeling the pinch from Apple and Microsoft trying to push around their Android Operating System and mobile devices, so they are cutting out the middle man and aquiring Motorola, along with Moto’s 17,000 patents. Of course the buyout will have to pass muster with the Department of Justice, but all things considered this seems like it may be a great partnership for all the Android fans out there.

Google CEO Larry page said today on the companies blog that, “Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem.” As long as Google maintains their current open culture around Android and allows continuous development via open source apps, this could be the deal that cements Android in front of iOS permanently. Can’t wait to see what Moto and Google can cook up together.

Sources:

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Google-to-Buy-Motorola-Mobility-for-125-Billion-115673

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/supercharging-android-google-to-acquire.html