Patent Expert David Martin On Motorola's Patents: Google Bought "Crap"

Fosspatents, Florian Mueller, noted in one of his blog posts, that in a recent Bloomberg TV interview, M-Cam founder and CEO Dr. David Marin, called the Motorola's patents that Google bought, supposedly as part of its defense of Android, as bascally being all "crap", and that the best of MMI's patents were not all that particularly strong.

In fact, the best of MMI's patents are all subject to F/RAND commitments, which are sort of like a parking meter, something that can be used to collect small and limited amounts of money, but something that were anything like the nuclear warheads that many people presume that they were, and more importantly, none of the these Motorola patents will be able to protect Android from its many patent threats, including those posed by Apple, Microsoft and especially Oracle.

Mr. Martin's Bloomberg interview can be seen here, and if you really want to know how Google's purchase of Motorola's money-losing mobile division will effect Android and its ability to fend off Apple, Oracle, Microsoft, plus an ever growing list of other legal attacks against it, then I highly recommend watching Mr. Martin's fascinating interview.

Mr. Martin not only calls MMI's patents "crap", but that Google itself made an "immense mistake" in buying Motorola Mobility. One of the most interesting facts about MMI's patents is that many of them are hugely dependent on FreeScale patents, and FreeScale is something that involves Apple.

Accordingly, in light of the above, Mr. Martin thinks that Google has indeed painted itself into a position that will make it far more likely, not less, that Google will be sued in the future. The basic problem he says is that Google bought MMI in a panic, taking only the present aspects into consideration, while forgetting to consider the past aspects, which he predicts is something that will, more-than-likely, is going to give Google a far lot more grief in the future then it ever bargained for. In other words, like many others contend, Google should have stayed clear of Motorola.

In conclusion, anyone who thought for one moment that Google's purchase of Motorola Mobility would save it, or its Android platform, from all of its legal woes may have another thing coming. Google not only, according to several experts, wasted a massive amount of money on MMI, but in doing so they also allowed their cash horde of approximately $39 billion to shrink by a whopping third, which is something that will make it a lot harder for them going forward to buy other critical patents that they may need, but also something that will make it a lot easier for Apple to snatch up, and right out from under their nose!

And that's my 2 cents 4 this glorious and sunny Tuesday, August 31, 2011

Mr. David Martin photo via: Bloomberg

Samsung's Introduces 3 New Bada Phones: Is This The End Of Android's OEM Unity?

Samsung, one of the biggest and most successful of all Android licensees, appears to be hedging its bet by introducing three new phones based not on Android, but on its own Bada mobile OS, as one answer to Google's intended purchase of Motorola Mobility.

AppleInsider reports that the phones will be named, "the Wave 3, Wave M and Wave Y smartphones. The Wave 3 sports a 4-inch Super AMOLED screen, a 5-megapixel camera and a "full metal" body. The Wave M features an 832MHz processor and 3.65-inch screen, while Wave Y, which will go on sale in October, is an entry-level device with a 3.2-inch display."

Despite some criticisms, some believe that Samsung's Bada is already a superior OS to that of Android, but Samsung isn't stopping there, as it is also considering boosting its market odds by also potentially buying WebOS from HP according to this report.

So, could this really be the beginning of the end for Android's amazing rise in the marketplace, and its OEM partners unity?

Hell if I know the answer to that one, but one thing is certain .... it isn't exactly looking all that promising for the platform's future unity, and especially on top of all of the legal problems now plaguing Android.

Speaking of Android's legal mess, well thanks to the Lindholm draft showing that Google knowingly and intentionally ripped off Oracle's Java code, plus recent reports from BBC and others that Larry Page, Google's boss, 'knew about' unlicensed pharmacy adverts, resulting in a massive $500 million fine, all helps to show a clear intention and pattern on Google's part of knowingly and illegally abusing other company's IP, which should help to make it a lot harder for Google in the future to defend itself in court, in addition to stemming a potential erosion of its base of Android OEMs.

In conclusion, it will be interesting to see if Samsung's new Bada phones are the beginning of the end for Android's OEM partners. However, in the meantime, we can always enjoy the above video, via ObamaPacman, of an amazing iPhone 5 prototype. Yes, dammit.... it's only an imaginary iPhone, but boy-oh-boy, would I ever love to see this baby come true.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Samsung Bada phones via: Thisismynext.com

Ron Wayne, Apple And The Biggest Fortune Ever Lost!

I personally know of someone who lost a $1.6 million winning dollar lottery ticket and trust me, he feels totally crummy over it even after ten years passing.

$1.6 million is a lot of money to lose baby, but how would you feel if you realized that you lost approximately 25,000 times that much?

I don't know about you, but I would feel a little bummed out, no.... make that immensely bummed out just thinking of all of the goodies that I could have bought with that kind of dough, you know? Things like this simple little shack in Bel Aire.

Well, just imagine how Apple's little known third founder, Ron Wayne, must be feeling right now, because that's just about what he be worth if it wasn't for one simple little decision of his.... he sold all of his 10% of original Apple stock. Today, he's anything but a rich man, but he easily could have been one of the world's richest men and right up there with the likes of Larry Ellison, Bill Gates, Carlos Slims, and interestingly enough, even richer than Steve Jobs is now!

Unfortunately, Ron Wayne not only sold his 10% stake in Apple, but he sold it for a measly $800! That's barely enough to buy one of Apple's new MacBook Airs! Of course, at the time. his decision seemed reasonable. He said it was because he was afraid that he would just end up being a paper pusher for the rest of his life, and afraid that he would lose the money that he had already invested into Apple. After all, he was already hurting over another investment that previously went bad just before he was given the opportunity of a lifetime with Apple.

BloomBerg TV, talking about Steve Jobs resignation, did an exclusive interview with Mr. Wayne and Steve Wozniak that you can view here, in which, according to Mr. Wayne, he says that he doesn't regret his decision or the fortune that he eventually lost out on, but somehow, to be honest, I can't possibly take him all that seriously. Sure, I agree that crying over spilled milk wont' help, but seriously.... this is $35 billion dollars that we're talking about here! Man, if I had that kind of cash I'd be living in Germany right now, while owning additional homes just like the humble little Bel Aire shack in the above video, the world over, and in places like in Monaco, Paris, London and eleswhere.

Oh, and think of the private jets you could buy to whiz you to them where ever they were, and all of the beautiful Deutcherin, and all of the celebrities that you would have eating out of your back pocket so to speak?

Boy, oh boy, Mr. Wayne, you seem like a nice guy and all, but I'm pretty dang-tooting sure that I wouldn't want to be in your shoes. Just the thought of trading in $800 of stock that would have now grown to make me one of the world's richest men, and enough to make me a millionaire over 35,000 times over would be just a little too much for this poor boy to take, and frankly, your a much better man than I am Mr. Wayne if the thought of losing out on one of the world's greatest fortunes truly doesn't bother you!

In conclusion, we certainly all make little mistakes in life, but not many of us will ever have the opportunity to make a little mistake quite as big as Ron Wayne did, so I wish you all the best of luck in the future Mr. Wayne, because even though your a great guy, thanks to your little mistake your now also just like me, a poor man too.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this sunny, the day-after-I-survived-hurricane Irene, Monday, August 19, 2011

Apple After Jobs?

Shown above, is a video animation of Steve Jobs life, and now that he has officially retired from his post as Apple's CEO, many doom sayers are now predicting that it is going to be all down hill from here-on-out for Apple Inc., the world's mightiest tech company, but is that really the case?

Well, not according to an article Galen Gruman wrote for InfoWorld entitled, "Ignore the doomsayers; Apple will be just fine after Jobs". In his post Galen says basically that anyone who thinks that Apple will be fine just for a few years, and then it will surely wither and die without Jobs are all just plain wrong, and I personally tend to agree with him.

The main reason, of course, is that while Steve may have been the driving force behind much of Apple's past and current success, he wasn't the only one, and not by a long shot. There are many, many people besides Steve that have been responsible for Apple's amazing success.

If Steve did anything, what he probably did most to guarantee Apple's past, present and future success was that he personally hand-picked the entire executive team surrounding him with what is arguably the finest and most capable people on the planet, and people who have been molded, shall we say, all indelibly in Steve's own image. Thanks to Steve's training, they now all think, andl act, pretty much like Steve does himself and are expected to carry Apple onward much the same way as Steve has done all along.

In fact, as far as Steve's legacy goes, well Thomas Claburn, writing for InformationWeek, gives eight reasons on why he believes that Apple will go on to continue dominating pretty much the entire tech space for the next decade or longer. Stated briefly, these are:

1 - Apple's cash, a whopping $76 billion plus and growing like the proverbial weeds of summer

2 - Apple's platform, consisting of its famously easy-to-use, yet powerful OS X and iOS

3 - Its chips, that are all designed by engineers that Apple scooped up when it bought P.A. Semi back in 2008

4 - Branding, which as of now, Apple is the world's premier brand, out classing Google, Coke, Pepsi, Microsoft, Prada, etc. and officially recognized as such after WPP's Millward Brown division, in May, rated Apple the world's most valuable brand, worth an estimated $153.3 billion.

5 - Its designs, designs that are copied by just about everyone but never quite equaled. All you have to do is look at Android, Windows 7 and its upcoming version 8, or the many copy cat 'app stores' to see what I mean

6 - Apple's huge treasure trove of patents, some 11,000 strong and growing, including, of course all of its many multi-touch patents

7 - Apple's tablet, and yes, it might not of invented them, but with the iPad it most assuredly re-invented them and has yet too be equaled here again, as the flop of tablets wannabes including HP's TouchPad have shown.

8 - Apple's retail presence, and one that puts most, if not all, other retailers to utter shame when it comes to dollars-per-square-foot goes.

There is another major reason, I believe, Apple will continue to dominate the next decade of tech and one that adds to Apple's Secret Sauce, and that is simply the fact that Steve has personally said that he was planning on going nowhere... he's still intends to stay on in the important job of Apple's Chairman Of the Board.... a position that will allow him to help guide Apple and its vision for, as he says, "years to come", but all without the daily grind of having to handle the day-to-day details of running the world's most valuable tech giant.

So, in conclusion, as far as the Apple's future success goes, after Jobs, well it's looking pretty great from where I sit, and also, as Tim Cook pointed out in his address to Apple employees: "I am confident our best years lie ahead of us and that together we will continue to make Apple the magical place that it."

Magical indeed.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this calm-before-the-storm (hurricane Irene) Friday, August 26, 2011

Video via: Gizmodo; source: NMAWorldEditon

Steve Jobs Resigns: What's Next For Apple?

Another day, and another big shocking bit of tech news: Steve Jobs resigns as CEO of Apple!

People may come and go at big and small companies all the time, but not quite like that of Steve Jobs.

For one thing, when most people leave a company its stock doesn't tank, in after hour trading, by losing some $20 per share, or close to a whopping $20 billion dollars in its market cap, while also sending, at the same time, its competitors stock up over two percent.

Of course, there are good reasons, very good reasons why the world would take notice of someone like Steve Jobs departure from a company such as Apple, because he personally has single handily changed it and the world not on one, but on several different fronts.

First of all, he virtually kick-started the world of personal computing by bringing it the famous Apple II computer, and then by changing the world of personal computers yet again with its iconic Mac.

Secondarily, he went on to change the world of music, how it was listened to and distributed with both the iPod and iTunes. Not stopping there, Steve's sense of vision also went on to completely change the world of smart phones and tablets, and how movies were made with his ground-breaking company Pixar, now part of Walt Disney.

The big question on the minds of investors, Apple fans and its competitors is what happens now? Will Apple now shrink and pull back like it did when Steve was originally ousted from the company many, many years ago, as many iHaters and Apple's competitors would, I'm sure, just love to see happen, or will Apple continue on its present path, growing and dominating what ever it does? I'm personally betting on the latter, because, for one thing, Steve isn't going anywhere, as he still plans to remain on as Apple's chairman of the board.

Also, as far as Apple's future goes, it must be remembered that Apple has been technically run all along by Tim Cook, and rather nicely I might add. Only real difference now is that he is officially Apple's CEO. PCWorld gives a list of five things that Mr. Cook must personally do after replacing Mr. Jobs, but I think that there is really only one thing that must do: simply keep on doing what he has already been doing for years now, successfully running Apple with a firm hand!

As far as Apple's future goes, I also quote the following from the New York Times:

“You could make the case that Steve has injected so much of his DNA into Apple that Apple will continue,” said Guy Kawasaki, who was an Apple executive in the late 1980s. “Or you can make the case that without Steve, Apple will flounder. But you cannot make the case that Apple without Steve Jobs will be better. Hard to conceive of that.”

Tim Bajarin, president of the technology research firm Creative Strategies, said the news about Mr. Jobs was “a shock because it’s abrupt.” But Mr. Bajarin said that “while there’s definitely concern for Steve as a person,” he had little concern for the company.

“Steve has built a very deep bench of managers, including the leadership of Tim Cook, who clearly understands Steve’s vision, goals and direction,” said Mr. Bajarin, who has followed Apple for 30 years. “Secondly, this is not a company that creates product roadmaps on a short-term basis.”

In conclusion, Steve's departure as the CEO from the company that he founded and loves profoundly is the last bit of news that I and many others would have hoped for, but nonetheless was something we expected would eventually happen sooner or later due to his health concerns. I only hope that Mr. Jobs health will improve, and also that with Tim Cook, and Steve's other personally hand-picked upper management team in place that Apple will continue to dominate the tech space for many more years to come, because as Steve personally wrote in his departure letter:

"I believe Apple's brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role."

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Thursday, August 25, 2011

Steve Jobs photo via: Maypalo

A Look At The Funnier Side Of Google

When your popular and seemingly everywhere, sooner or later, someone, somewhere will take aim at pretty much everything that you do by spoofing your every move. Google is no exception, since it's extremely popular and seemingly everywhere, and as you can see in the above video, someone did exactly that, made a clever and amusing spoof of the online giant entitled: Google Toilet.

Of course, it's a spoof on the idea that no matter where you go, or what-ever-you-do, good-old El-Google is sure to be not far behind, be it for better or worse.

I saw the above spoof for the first time about a week ago, and since today is one of those days were I don't really have anytime to do much of anything, because seemingly I must be everywhere, well I thought that you, my dear two or three readers might enjoy this clever look at the funnier side of the online giant.

So, in conclusion, I hope that you find and enjoy this short spoof of one of the world's most popular and interesting companies as much as I, and a company that has brought us all so much digital goodness in our lives with its YouTube, Gmail, Android, Picassa, Google Docs, Google maps and Earth and seemingly another million cool online services.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Wednesday, August 24, 2011

The World Economic Crisis And Apple Sales

Despite all of the gloom-and-doom of the world's economy, sales of Apple's Mac, iPhone and iPad sales are booming!

This is especially so when you compare the Mac's growth to that of PC's. Mac sales in the U.S., for example, are up an astonishingly 26% compared to that of the PC which saw modest growth of only some 4%.

However, Mac sales are no longer the main bread-winner when it comes to Apple sales. That would go to the iPhone and increasingly even more so for the iPad, which by the way has been putting all other tablet sales to utter shame in comparison.

Of course, when it comes to the iPhone and the iPad they both run on the mobile version of OS X, or namely iOS, which now accounts for some 29% of the world's smartphone market, but if an exclusive update from Reuters turns out to true, then expect that 29% share to grow significantly, world economic crisis or not.

In the above report Reuters sites information coming from Apple's suppliers that suggest that within weeks Apple will be introducing a newer and far cheaper iPhone, and one designed exclusively for emerging world markets, with Reuters highlighting:

* Apple to launch 8GB iPhone 4 within weeks - sources

* Flash drive for light version of iPhone 4 being made by Korean firm-source

*Apple also targets end-Sept launch of iPhone 5-source

* Cheaper iPhone 4 may help to boost share of emerging markets-analyst

And this, mind you, doesn't even take into consideration that the iPhone 5 super phone is expected to be released as soon as this September or October at the latest. The iPhone 5 is also expected, as suggested by anecdotal evidence from developers reports, to be ... A Dual-Mode CDMA / GSM ‘World Phone’, which could help to grow the iPhone platform even more significantly.

So, considering the world economic crisis of lately, and even in spite of it, Apple's sales numbers have been truly remarkable. Even more remarkable is that any company could not only survive, but actually grow and grow sales significantly as Apple has done in spite of all the economic mess that we currently find ourselves in.

As far as the current economic crisis goes, so far, so good as far as Apple's sales go, but obviously everything could change and change drastically if the world economic situation continues to grow worse, a fact that has already seen Apple scaling back on its Q4 iPhone 4 build orders.

In conclusion, I'm sure that even as great as Apple sales have been in spite of all the bad economic news, they would have even been far greater still if it wasn't for the great recession caused by the credit crisis and the on-going European debt worries, so let's all hope that things change for the better, and real soon.

And that's my 2 cents on Apple sales 4 this Tuesday, August the 23rd., 2011

Apple logo via: DailyMobile

Now That The TouchPad Is Dead, Is The iPad Unbeatable?

HP's TouchPad, as nice as it is, or should I say was?, is not the only non-iPad tablet that is selling dismally these days.

In fact, and in spite of the flood of Android tablets hitting the market, all of them are also selling so poorly that it was reported that Best Buy, in a desperate move to clear its warehouses, decided to ditch them by throwing in a free Samsung Galaxy 10.1 with every purchase of a large screen television!

It was believed that once competitors got their own iPad contenders into the ring that they would knock-out out the iPad in the first couple of rounds, but clearly that has not happened.

The fact remains that people apparently don't want tablets...... they want iPads, a fact that has lifted Apple past mighty HP in becoming the world's biggest mobile manufacturer, with over some 21% of the world's total.

In fact, with HP killing off its highly praised WebOS and Touchpads, and with its decision to do so in one gigantic fire sale, some are now believing that this could only end up hurting other tablet vendors, and especially for those in the low end, and even to a lesser degree Apple itself.

Some, however, in the meantime, are really hoping that HP will eventually license WebOS in the near future, but others don't believe that there will be any type of a WebOS Phoenix, and as the Guardian's, Charles Arthur believes:

"WebOS is going to be one of those footnotes in history: a great little operating system that appeared about a year too late because Palm didn't see the threat that the iPhone represented, and couldn't shift its development quickly enough to be able to compete with it. Nobody is going to license WebOS because it's a dead end."

With Google's recent and surprised purchase of Motorola Mobility, some are now seeing the Android alliance already beginning to fracture, with some now already reporting that Samsung's Lee has begun looking elsewhere for solutions, including its own Bada OS.

Since Apple virtually reinvented the tablet space with the iPad some now believe its now so far ahead they are asking, especially now that the Toucpad is dead, just who could now even remotely hope to challenge Apple?

With all that in mind, the question is: is the iPad really unbeatable?

Sure it is, but, however, if it is ever beaten, well, one thing is also for sure..... it ain't' going to easy and it ain't going to be a dang-bloody pretty!

In conclusion, I really can't say if the iPad will or will not ever be beaten, but some are now suggesting that if you listen, and listen very carefully, all that sobbing you hear in the background is coming from many of the iPad's competitors, who if their honest and smart enough will just admit that maybe the iPad has already won the race, and maybe they should consider cutting their losses by relinquishing the tablet market to its re-inventor..... Apple!

And that's my 2 cents 4 this once again gloomy Monday, August 22, 2011

The Death Of WebOS: What Happens Next?

Wow, not long after Google recently announced its shocking news that it was buying Motorola Mobility earlier in the week, who would have expected, in the very same bloody week, that HP would also be announcing its equally shocking news that it would be spinning off its PC business and killing off its WebOS efforts that it once was hoping would take on iOS and Android in a mighty way!

Wow indeed!

After all, WebOS had such critical acclaim in the beginning, but sadly, oh so sadly it just didn't seem to have the same muster when it came to generating actual sales, and sales which have been so far impressively....... unimpressive!

I would have thought that WebOS would have been a great alternative to either Android or Windows, so in that sense I'm really sad to see it go. The death of WebOS, of course, could mean some kind of life for others depending on what HP finally decides to do with it. Some are talking about HP licensing it to others so that they could succeed with it, or selling it out right, but when you really think about it, if mighty HP couldn't make a success of WebOS, who possibly could? And if HP ever did decide to sell WebOS outright, who possibly would be interested in buying it now?

Google?

Well, we all know how desperate and very eager they are to snap up as much patents as they possibly can, but for Google, unfortunately, their recent acquisition of Motorola is going to take a big, big chunk out of their cash reserves, a whopping one-third, thus limiting anything that Google could do, or would even want to do!

As impressive as WebOS's patents are, there are bigger and more important fish out there to fry, such as Kodak's and InterDigital's patents, many of which could be crucial to the future of mobile computing.

Again, there is still always big-old-Microsoft. But what would they do with it? I guess that they could always take certain elements from WebOS and weld it, in some way or another, into its upcoming Windows 8, but that would take more time and it's just a guess on my part.

Simply buying WebOS in order to keep out of your competitors hands would also be a good possibility as well, and was something that Apple was originally interested in doing before HP bought Palm for $1.2 billion. Apple, at the time, offered a reported $600 million cash for the then struggling Palm. Could Apple, the king of tech and flushed with more cash then just about anybody else, possibly be re-interested in buying WebOS once again to keep it out of its competitors hands, and especially Google's hands? Besides that, Apple too could always incorporate the very best elements from WebOS into iOS and OS X , which if you ask me would be very cool.

In conclusion, I don't really know what will happen now that WebOS is now basically dead-in-the-water, but I do know, however, that it is rather sad to see all of WebOS's great promise, all of its hard work, and all of its innovation now seemingly all gone up in smoke! It's sad, sad indeed, because in the past three-years we barely even knew you WebOS, so rest-in-peace, rest-in-peace!

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Friday, August 19, 2011

WebOS photo via: Arstechnica

More Thoughts On Google's Acquisition Of Motorola Mobility

Florian Mueller, the award winning German patent expert (Ich bin ein Deutscher, auch!) posted today that Motorola was recently dealt a huge setback in its defense against Microsoft.

As interesting as this post was and is, I find his August 16 post entitled, "Proof: Apple attacked Motorola, not the other way round" to be even more interesting.

In it, Herr Mueller stated on his Twitter account:

"I would caution everyone against overestimating the strength of Motorola Mobility's patent portfolio. Microsoft and Apple sued $MMI anyway."

In other words, the whole notion that Google can protect the Android platform with Motorola's mostly FRand patents from Apple, Microsoft, Oracle, etc., is far from true, because as Herr Mueller points out MMI's patents are: ".... grossly overestimated .....".

In other words, as the Register reported the other day, when it comes to protecting Android from Apple or Microsoft, and especially from Oracle, Motorola Mobility's patents are basically "duds," $12.5 billion duds by the way, that if anything, are more of a poker-bluff strategy on Google's desperate part.

Apparently, some people are now beginning to see that Google's most expensive acquisition to date as being not just a case of sheer panic and desperation on its part, but also as one caused by its envy of everything Apple, and especially when it comes to the iPhone's big advantage over those of all Android phones, namely the harmonious union of both its hardware and software, and something it hopes that MMI would eventually enable Google's Android to match.

All I know is that Google's MMI acquisition will, of course, be a big deal, but not necessarily big in the ways that Google might have hoped it would. Instead of Android becoming one big open family, with many players, I can see the day when it becomes a closed platform very much like that of the iPhone, and available only from one source Google, and its newly acquired Motorola Mobility division.

In conclusion, I agree with Roughly Drafted Magazine that this lame brain acquisition will eventually only end up dooming Android, and Chrome OS, because even though Google might want to be Apple, just like Microsoft wanted to be, in the end, however, one thing is abundantly clear, as Roughly Drafted also wrote: "Google: you are no Apple!"

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Thursday, August 18, 2011

Google/Motorola logo via: DigitalImageAcademy

Best Buy Begs HP: Take These Touch Pads Back.... Please!

Here's a sad little bit of news if your hoping that someone, somewhere could finally make a meaningful impact in challenging the iPad's near total dominance of the tablet market: Best Buy begs HP to take back a whopping 200,000 Touch Pad's that are collecting dust in its warehouses!

Ouch!

Now that has got to sting, and big time. Yes, and according to this post, the Touch Pad could be much better renamed the "Ouch Pad", which is rather sad considering that the Touch Pad was being touted as one of the most likely to succeed against the almighty iPad!

One of the tip-offs that things weren't exactly going the way that HP had hoped was when it started recently making huge $50 and then $100 deep discounts. These were supposed to be temporary, but are now permanent.

Apparently, HP is now doing a little begging themselves, pleading for Best Buy be a little more patient and allow them to come up with a solution. Some are suggestion that HP could do, with the back-to-school season being in full swing, a special promotion, giving Best Buy customers a FREE Touch Pad with every HP computer sold! Now that sounds like a sweet deal for the customer indeed, but clearly this can't be too sweet of a deal for HP. HP might be a big company, but no company, no matter how big or how rich it is can survive for long by giving away their products, unless, of course, your Google and you happen to be giving away some other company's basic IP for free, such as the iPhone's patented features and U.I. in the form of Android!

With Android tablets selling extremely poorly, as well as RIM's PlayBook, and now with HP's Touch Pad gathering dust by the warehouses full, is it any wonder that we are beginning to see articles with titles like: "People don't want tablets, they want iPads".

When it comes to non-iPad tablets Jonny Evans in his post entitled, "Can you hear Apple's iPad competitors sobbing?" writes:

" Somewhere in the world a rapidly-growing landfill site is becoming the last port of call for all those Android iPad wannabes. This tottering graveyard of tablet dreams grows even higher once this season's fire sale on unsold non-iPad iPads finally reaches its sobbing end. Meanwhile the Apple [AAPL] fable factory tells us the iPad 3 "has been delayed", though how you can "delay" something which has never been announced beyond Apple rumor websites is utterly beyond me."

Yes, it's also beyond me that Android, Windows, Playbook and WebOS fans continue to insist, despite the facts to the contrary, that their tablets nonetheless will still kill off the iPad and do what Windows did to the Mac ... utterly bury it! They love to brag to no end how much more innovative and superior their own platforms are, and that the iPad offers no real innovation of its own, and based on the comment sections from some of the major web sites that I frequent, these deluded fans also continue to insist that the iPad is just ripping off the work of previous tablets, and tablets that I might add weren't exactly going anywhere for the past 20 years!

At the past CES, in Las Vegas, everyone who was anyone, and a lot of nobodies as well, were all proudly showing off their iPad killers and predicting that the days of the iPad would soon be coming to an end. While some wrote on why the Touch Pad, for example, had a real chance against the iPad, others where now beginning to write things such as the "HP's TouchPad Is Officially A Bomb".

In conclusion, when I look back on all the braggadocio of Android, and other tablet OS fans, and how they predicted that their tablet platform were going to kill off and then overtake the market that the iPad had created in the first place, I am reminded of Roughly Drafted Magazine's excellent post entitled, "iPad, the destroyer: 19 things it will kill" and I smile!

And that's my 2 cents for this glorious and sunny Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Photo HP Touch Pad via: Xbit.com

Motorola Mobility: Can Google Buy Its Way Out Of Its Android Legal Woes?

Ever since yesterday's shocking and unexpected news that Google was buying Motorola Mobility, the venerable but money loosing mobile firm, there has been no end of people blathering on about just what it will mean for Android, Windows 7 Mobile, RIM, and last, but not the least, Apple's iPhone.

Some say that Motorola's 17,000 patents will now make it virtually impossible for anyone now suing Android, or Google directly, in one way or another to win, and that this is Google's smartest move and acquisition yet, but is it really?

Well, for one thing, there are a lot of bigger and better brains out there, than my little pee-sized brain, who are now beginning to think that it could end up being the biggest mistake in Google's entire 13-year history.

These include Daniel Eran Dilger of Roughly Drafted Magazine in San Francisco. He compares this as a case of Google moving Android from a PlaysForSure strategy to Zune strategy, and just as that failed miserably for Microsoft, so too, he believes, it will for Google.

One thing that Mr. Dilger correctly observes is that:

"While Android fans like to point out how well the free software is performing by looking at its plurality of market share among smartphone makers, the reality is that Android isn’t doing so well. Google’s acquisition of Motorola is proof of that."

Basically, what he is saying is that Google's latest purchase is more one of desperation than that of really being smart. As I read somewhere, Google is like a rich spoiled brat that thinks he or she is entitled to anything that they want, and once they get into trouble they think they can just buy their way out of it, which, of course, is exactly what Google is hoping for, and desperately wanting people to believe.

Mr. Dilger also astutely pointed out that Motorola was eager to shed itself of its mobile division which was like an albatross around its neck, and one that no one was crazy enough to buy for over three years because it was such a mess and that anyone wanting to buy it was just asking for trouble. Motorola Mobility is the type of company that only someone with very deep pockets and was completely desperate, or downright foolish, would ever even consider buying in the first place.

The Register, in jolly old England, also asked the pertinent question: "Has Google (just) wasted $12bn on a dud patent poker-chip?"

Good question indeed. Motorola has patents, a lot of them, but that doesn't mean much if they are weak, which is why they think that "Larry Page's Moto bluff fails to convince" them, and for several good reasons. As the Register's, Andrew Orlowski, also astutely noted:

"It's all about patents, says Google co-founder and CEO Larry Page. Google insists that it bought Motorola to shore up its Android platform, which is caught in a litigious pincer movement from old buddies Steve Jobs and Larry Ellison......

But analysts I've spoken to are already wondering how much due diligence Google performed before the announcement, or whether the Motorola acquisition will turn out to rival Terra's legendary, rushed purchase of EMI. Here's why.

Android is a copycat platform. The APIs copy Java, and the UI copies Apple's iPhone. Oracle believes Google has violated Java IP, which it acquired with Sun Microsystems.......

But Motorola's IP war chest does not help Google here. It is poor where it needs to be rich. It is no help at all in the Oracle battle.............. But have a look where Motorola patents' strengths are: radio engineering and design. The most vital radio patents are already covered by existing patent pools."

Google's acquisition, in other words: could be more of a bluff than anything else! Sure, there are reasons for concerns, but if Apple, Microsoft, for example, where really worried over Motorola's patent pool then they would have made bids to buy Motorola themselves, but obviously they didn't think it was worth their time or money. Buying Motorola is like paying billions for a lot of parking meters knowing that even though they will bring in some money, it will only be in nickels and dimes, and thus what I would hardly call a good deal.

No wonder Mr. Orlowski added:

"Google has paid $12.5bn for a negotiating chip that appears to be almost impossible to redeem. In this light, the acquisition looks like panic, rather than a calm and carefully deliberated strategy. Google didn't take IP seriously, bidding silly numbers (such as pi billion dollars) for the Nortel patents. Then it realised it might be in trouble, and so went out and bought some IBM patents. Now it has splurged $12.5bn, truly believing the IP is going to be useful."

Mr. Orlowski goes on to state that Google could have done better, but decided to take the easy road that is now proving, if anything, to be not quite so easy after all.

Award wining patent expert, Florian Mueller from Germany (go Germany go!) thinks that the "$2.5 billion Google-Motorola break-up fee reflects sellers' concern and buyer's desperation," which in my mind makes me doubt if Google's latest acquisition is going to be anything but positive for the search giant, as Herr Mueller clearly points out in his excellent post above.

So, can Google really buy its way out of all of its Android problems by simply buying Motorola Mobile?

Maybe, you never really know, but it's looking increasingly like Google is indeed the rich, spoiled brat that thinks it can just do what it ever bloody well wants, and when it gets into trouble, well, it can simply buy its way out of them, which, by the way, has already cost them over a third of its cash horde, some $12 billion out of some $39 billion, and that's not even counting its recent purchase of some 1,000 IBM patents.

In conclusion, I really don't know how all of this weird and unexpected buyout will eventually play out, but I will close out by quoting Xconomy, who poetically summed upped the whole deal this way:

"Google is like the banker at the poker game who’s suddenly dealt himself in. The other players may be too deep into the game to step away—or they may decided to cash in their chips and go to another casino."

And that's my 2 cents 4 this cloudy Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Logos via: Xconomy

Google Buys Motorola: Will This Invoke Anti-Trust Concerns?

A came across a shocking tech news piece today, via Gizmodo:

Google Is Buying Motorola!"

According to Larry Page, Google's CEO:

"We recently explained how companies including Microsoft and Apple are banding together in anti-competitive patent attacks on Android. The U.S. Department of Justice had to intervene in the results of one recent patent auction to "protect competition and innovation in the open source software community" and it is currently looking into the results of the Nortel auction. Our acquisition of Motorola will increase competition by strengthening Google's patent portfolio, which will enable us to better protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies."

Of course, as big and as shocking as this might be in the world of high-tech, it must be remember that it is not a done deal, far from it. For one thing, you can bet your last pair of pink-colored Micky Mouse bloomers that others, maybe even Apple, will argue that this violates the Sherman Act in the U.S. , and then there is the European Union, who will also have their own anti-trust concerns and who have proven, in the past, not all that particularly keen on such deals.

So, is this a treat to iOS?

You bet it is!

This is, for one thing, one way that Google thinks that it can beat the rap for stealing Apple's, Microsoft's and Oracle's software patents in the first place by using Motorola's 17,000 patents as a bargaining chip.

Will such a patent strategy work, however, that is the question?

At this point, maybe, but again, maybe not.

For one thing, Motorola's mobile division isn't exactly doing that great, and that despite any success that it may have had with it's Droid series of phones, the very ones that helped to kick-start Android sales into high gear, and the very fact that the $12.5 billion purchase agreement will further weaken Google by seriously dwindling its cash reserves certainly isn't going to help Google at all as well!

For another thing, knowing Steve Jobs, well he'll probably shut down both iOS and Android than give in to Google and what he surely now sees as cut-throats. After all, he threatened to shut down iTunes in the past and I can see him doing it again if his back is up to the wall.

So, what could Apple actually do to help thwart any threat poised by Google's latest acquisition?

Well, apart from appealing to the various government agencies about anti-trust and other legal concerns, one thing that it could do that would really hurt Android big time, but at the same time possibly also might hurt iOS to a degree, would be for Apple to actually get all of the spurned Android licensees, such as Samsung, HTC, etc., to license iOS instead!

Now that is probably not going to happen anytime soon, and especially so under Steve watch, but boy, oh boy, I guarantee that it would absolutely screw Google and Android big time! It could also possibly introduce the same type of problems and concerns that Android now suffers from, including fragmentation as well as security issues, as individual OEMS raced to differentiate their iOS wares from each other.

So, will Google's buying Motorola piss-off current Android OEMs; will it prompt Apple to open-up and license iOS; and thirdly, will it invoke anti-trust concerns?

The answer to all three: God only knows about iOS being licensed to all comers, but you can dead sure that other Android licensees will be vary concerned and, above all, yes, you can bet your old pair of stinky socks that both the U.S. and European Union will all be looking at this deal with a fine-tooth comb, a very, very fine-tooth comb indeed.

In conclusion, I really hope this deal is struck down by both the U.S. and European Union who are both already looking into Google anti-trust concerns. It's not that I certainly want Google to go out of business or anything, as they have brought a lot to the table, but increasingly I find that the Google of today is becoming more-and-more like the Microsoft of the old: big, arrogant bullies who think that they can use any means what's-so-ever in order to dominate virtually every aspect that they show interest in.

And that's my 2 cents on this shocking news 4 this Monday, August 15, 2011

Logo mash-up via: Gizmodo

A Very Sexy iPhone 5 Mock Up (Video)

It's Friday, I'm pooped out, so I decided to do a very short post on the above video, which was part of a post, by the Fairer Platform, entitled: "If nothing else, these iPhone 5 mock ups are beautiful."

As you can clearly see from the video, this iPhone 5 concept, or mock-up, are very beautiful indeed, as is the overall video that apparently was made, and very professionally and convincingly I might add by the way, by the French site, Nowhereelse.

As beautiful as these mock-ups are, unfortunately we're just going to have to wait until Apple actually introduces its next iPhone to see just how close these we'll be to the real thing.

In conclusion, recent rumors are saying that Apple will hold a special event to announce the next iPods on September 7, with the iPhone 5 following shortly after. In the meantime I think that the iPhone 4 is still the best looking device of its kind out there, but these mock-ups would give it a good run for its money.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Friday, August 12, 2011

Big Business: Apple Takes The World's Market Cap Crown

Some are attributing Apple's agility for it now officially surpassing Exxon as the largest company on earth.

As of yesterday, and despite a wild sell off of stocks, including its own, Apple nonetheless managed to snatch the crown of being the most valuable company on the planet, by surpassing Exxon's market cap by approximately $5 billion.

Of course, with the market in panic mode, anything could happen and Apple could once again find itself in second place like it did two days ago. However, I have the sneaky feeling that Exxon and Apple may swing back-and-forth, trading places with each other for a little while longer before finally settling down. And once the title for the world's most valuable company does settle down, don't be too surprised if Apple eventually emerges the victor, because as Jim Cramer says, when it comes to the title of who deserves to be the world's biggest company, well Apple basically fits the bill to a tee, as you can see and hear via the video link here.

Mr. Cramer also notes that Apple is not only a $330 billion dollar company, but a company that has also probably destroyed over a whopping trillion dollars in the market cap of its competitors! I don't know about that, but surely reaching the coveted position of being the world's biggest company, market cap wise, has got to be a big psychological turning point for any company. It also must put a hell-of-a-lot of fear into the hearts of its competitors, and especially so when you consider that Apple also has one of the largest cash reserves and one of the largest revenue streams of any company on the planet as well.

In conclusion, like Jim Cramer, I think that there is probably no other company on the planet that deserves the crown of being the world's most valuable company more than Apple, and also just like Mr. Cramer, let me say that Apple you earned the position, so enjoy it!

And that's my 2 cents 4 this, I wish I was in Badden Wurttemberg, Thursday, August 11, 20011

Image Via: Bloomberg

Will Anonymous Destroy Facebook On November 5?

According to the video message above, Anonymous is now threatening to destroy Facebook on November 5.

How serious is this threat; can they actually destroy Facebook like they claim?

That, of course, is something that I honestly don't know, but considering what they have already succeeded in doing in the past, I wouldn't doubt it!

If their claims about Facebook are true, then I applauded them for bringing them out in public view, as I feel much the same. However, and nonetheless I'm not exactly sure that gives them, or anyone else for that matter, the right to actually carry out their intentions. After all, shop-lifters are criminals who deserve to be punish, but that doesn't mean that I, or anyone else, can just arrest or punish them all on our own. People can't just start punching out other people because they think they are doing something that they shouldn't. That's why we have police departments, and the courts.

Also, after listening to Anonymous's reasons for threatening Facebook, does that mean that we can expect that they'll next target Google? After all, people have been making pretty much the same privacy claims about Google. I've read that Google's stills keep every thing that you do or search for online much, much longer than what many think is reasonable.

In conclusion, if Anonymousness's Facebook claims are indeed true, then I can understand them bringing attention to their claims, but I'm just not too sure that they should be taking matters in their own hands by dishing out justice, no matter how well deserved it might be!

And that's my 2 cents 4 this cloudy, dreary Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Via: Gizmodo

The Latest Apple Inspired Devices: The Acer 3951 And Microsoft's Touch Mouse

The Aspire 3951 from Acer, shown above, is a MacBook Air inspired looking, and spec laptop. At this time it's still just a leak from the Vietnamese site, Sohoa (Google translation), but Engadget points out that the $760 to $960 machine will come with a 160GB SSD, as well as a second generation Intel CPU, and will be super speedy in booting up, as well being housed in an all aluminum case, just like the MBA, and all while getting up to six hours of battery life.

Engadget is also reporting on another inspired device from Apple, but this time it's from mighty Microsoft, who will be soon introducing its new multi-touch mouse, the Touch Mouse, which can be seen in the video below.

As for Acer's MacBook Air clone, well it might look swell-and-all, but you have to remember that it's still running Windows underneath, so it might be nice, but it's nowhere near nice enough for little old me. For others, no doubt, it may well be nice enough. However, even it if has equally good looks, with equal specs to match, and even with a somewhat lower price, the MacBook Air is still, I think , the much better computer. For one thing, it's not only the original, but it runs a much superior OS, namely OS X Lion, but, in addition, it can also run Windows 7 natively to, or in vitalization mode.

As for Microsoft's latest copying of Apple, well its new mouse is a hell-of-a-lot uglier don't you think? However, that said, even though Apple's mouse maybe the first multi-touch mouse around, I still have the sneaky feeling that its ergonomics will end up being much more superior to that of Apple's Magic Mouse, which unfortunately I find not all that comfortable to use, but it sure is dang pretty, isn't it?

In conclusion, both the Acer 3951 and Microsoft's new Touch Mouse I are clearly Apple inspired devices that probably would ever have seen the light of day if it wasn't for Apple's own similar designs. That said, they both also prove that it is Apple, not Microsoft, Acer, Google or anybody else that is clearly setting the pace and the trend for what everyone else is now doing these days in both technology, and other areas.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this, not-too-bad, Tuesdays, July 09, 2011

Could The "Lindholm Draft" Be The Death Of Android?

The Android phones that we see today look a lot different than did the earlier ones, as can be seen in the left photo via ObamaPacman.

Back then, Android was more of a BlackBerry or Palm Treo clone, and that was long before it ever became what many would now call a total and blatant rip-off the iPhone.

The iPhone's influence on Android, and virtually every other smartphone of today is quite obvious, as was pointed out, and amply illustrated, by the fine folks over at Redmond Pie.

However, it is alleged that when it comes to any likeness to the iPhone, by Android, it is due to it being a lot more than just a mere case of simple flattery, but is rather due to the down-right wholesale theft of many of Apple's patents, as well as others from Microsoft and Oracle. Of the three, only Oracle is directly suing Google, with the others, for the time being, preferring dueling it out in the courts between the various Android licensees themselves.

Unfortunately, when it comes to Android, Google has apparently made one mother-of-all-big-mistakes, and one that is now being dubbed simply as the, "Lindholm Draft".

So, just what is the "Lindholm Draft" anyway?

Well, according to Gizmodo it's a "Brash Android Email Duo (that) Could Prove Very Costly for Google." Costly indeed, as Google could end up paying billions in damages, plus ongoing and expensive royalties that in the future could help make Android a much too expensive proposition for OEMs!

The "Lindholm Draft" reads partially as follows:

"What we've actually been asked to do (by Larry [Page] and Sergey [Brin]) is to investigate what technical alternatives exist to Java for Android and Chrome. We've been over a bunch of these, and think they all suck. We conclude that we need to negotiate a license for Java under the terms we need."

Is it no wonder that Gizmodo quoted Judge Alsup as saying, in an earlier hearing, "........ that an accomplished lawyer would need only that document "and the Magna Carta" to win the case and prove "willful infringement." ...... "What's that mean? Well, not only would it make the whole "everyone is out to get us with patents" argument Google made the other day completely laughable, it would also mean tripling the already steep billion-dollar-plus damages demanded by Oracle."

Foss Patents has more detail on the "Lindholm Draft", but if it's true, as AppleInsider pointed out, that, "Google (is) fighting to suppress evidence (that) Android willfully infringed upon Oracle's Java" , well, then this could end up making Apple's own case against Android all the easier as well. What should be really worrisome for Android and Google, however, is something else that AppleInsider also wrote:

"Oracle's case against Google continues to carry an October 31 trial date, which may push the companies toward a settlement. On the other hand, Oracle is unlikely to want to give up easily, and may push for a stay in the case for an opportunity to expand its damage claims. Additionally, Oracle could opt to bring action against Google before the ITC, where it could threaten to win an injunction against the US import of Android phones, a bargaining technique that would be devastating to Google's mobile aspirations."

If it's indeed true that Google was trying to suppress evidence that Android willfully infringed upon Oracle's Java, then Google could end up also being charged with trying to obstruct justice, a rather serious charge in-and-of itself. Clearly, all of these developments can't make for the best of times for Google, Android, its OEMs or its users.

In conclusion, it's bad enough that recent surveys point out that more-and-more people now want an iPhone over that of an Android, WebOS or Windows phone, but with Oracle's and Apple legally breathing hard down its throat, and now with help from the "Lindholm Draft", Android's days in the sun may now be finally coming to a swift and a very painful legal end.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this rainy, I really wish I was in Baden-Württemberg, Monday, August 08, 2011

Interesting Apple News From The Week

Well, it's Friday and it has been a pretty hectic week in Apple related news.

This week, for instance, saw a reported growth of some 64% in worldwide smartphone sales, propelling Apple to the top of the heap and now Apple can now proudly proclaim to being the world's largest manufacturer of smartphones!

This was also the week that Google took a swipe at Apple and Microsoft due to their successful bid to acquire over 6,000 key mobile patents from Nortel. Google may have started a slug-fest, claiming that Apple and others were deliberately ganging up on Google's poor little Android, but Microsoft wouldn't have any of it and it fought back hard.

Of course, Google maintains that the 'Rock Star' consortium, lead by Apple was trying, to use 'bogus' patents to drive up the cost of Android, but according to the Sydney Morning Herald, "Apple's 'bogus' patents will 'strangle' Android"

What could be of real significance to Apple, however, is that China Mobile, the world's biggest mobile operator with over 600 million subscribers, has just confirmed that they and Apple have agreed to terms that would bring the world's most popular smartphone to the carrier. Already, China is the biggest growth factor for Apple products, and this should only increase that in a considerable way.

Some are now speculating that Apple may be bringing two new phones to the carrier, and that one of them will be a 'Simplified iPhone 4' in addition to the next model, the iPhone 5.

Meanwhile, "Apple iPad2 Rocks The Enterprise With Revolutionary Apps" and others are reporting that Apple will sell up to 40 million of them this year alone, giving it 61% of the market for 2011. That's quite impressive, especially considering the hoard of tablets now entering the market and seemingly on a daily basis.

In conclusion, I've only had time to mention a few of the many Apple related stories of the past week, but one more interesting tidbit is that despite the fact that the on going European debt crisis have hit stocks hard, Apple is nonetheless now less then 20 billion short of tying and surpassing Exxon as the world's most valuable company! Hopefully, that will take place soon, but we'll see.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this cloudy Friday, August 05, 2011

Google: Victim Or Big Cry Baby?

Yesterday, Google's David Drummond, Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, wrote a scathing piece on the consortium that successfully out bid Google for Nortel's treasure trove of mobile patents.

In his post, Mr. Drummond implied that "Microsoft and Apple acquired the Nortel patents for anti-competitive means. We’re also looking at other ways to reduce the anti-competitive threats against Android by strengthening our own patent portfolio."

But is that really true? Is Google being unfairly targeted, or is Google just being a big old cry baby?

Well, just for starters, Microsoft's Brad Shaw more-or-less completely blew that notion out of the water when he tweeted: "Google says we bought Novell patents to keep them from Google. Really? We asked them to bid jointly with us. They said no.", which was also backed up by Microsoft communications chief Frank Shaw.

As he does so often, Daring Fireball's, John Gruber, nailed it when he wrote in his post, "Google: Patently Absurd:"

".............., but Google’s hypocrisy here is absurd. Google isn’t arguing against a handful of never-should-have-been-issued software patents. They’re not arguing against patent trolls like Myhrvold and his shell companies like Lodsys — companies that have no products of their own, no actual inventions, just patents for ideas for products. They’re effectively arguing against the idea of the patent system itself, simply because Android violates a bunch of patents held by Google’s competitors. It’s not “patents” that are attacking Android. It’s competing companies whose patents Google has violated — and whose business Android undermines — who are attacking Android."

Mr. Gruber certainly has some good points, and I highly, highly recommend reading his post. Seriously, if the Nortel patents were, as Google claimed, all simply "bogus" then why in hell was it prepared to pay over three billion dollars for them in the first place? I agree with Mr. Gruber when he summed up his post this way:

"Google supporters claim that Google only wants to use patents defensively. But what exactly does Google need to defend against, if not actual patents Android actually violates?

How is Google’s argument here different than simply demanding that Apple, Microsoft, Oracle, etc., all should simply sit back and let Google do whatever it wants with Android, regardless of the patents they hold? And, let’s not forget, give Android away for free."

So, in conclusion, is Google nothing but a little innocent victim that is being picked on by a bunch of big old neighborhood bullies, or is it nothing more than a big old cry baby? The answer should be obvious, and considering how it has blatantly ignored, ripped-off and abused other companies patents, well then I think it should also be obvious who really is the big old neighborhood bully to boot!

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Thursday, August 04, 2011

Notel logo via: Good Logo

iSuppli Analyst On Why Android Won't Be Catching Up To The iPad AnyTime Soon

The above commercial is a clever and a rather fascinating peak at what Sony hopes will be its upcoming iPad killer. Well, I have to admit that it's all rather fun to watch, but on the other hand it doesn't exactly tell you very much about Sony's new fangled tablet, its specs, features, or any other advantages that it may have over that of the iPad.

I do know, however, that it seems like forever that this series of ads began, so for Sony's sake it had better be one dang-tooting-good tablet, and a hell of a lot better than what we have seen from competition thus far or Sony is going to end up with a lot of egg on its face.

Regardless of what Sony introduces, some experts like iSupli analyst, Wayne Lam, simply doesn't believe that Android or any of the cadre of Android tablet makers out there will be able to catch up to Apple's iPad or iOS anytime soon, as he stated in a question and answer post entitled: "iSuppli analyst on iPad vs. Android tablets (Q&A)" by C/Net.

Of course, you can read both the questions and answers for yourself at C/Net's link above, but the really big questions, as far as iOS vs Android goes, are the questions involving the ever growing patent war between the two camps. This is a war that was clearly started after Google first and deliberately decided to defy Apple's multi-touch patents by including and incorporating them into Android, including patented features such as iOS's 'pinch-to-zoom', etc.

Samsung, much like HTC and other violators, have all been pretty much bragging that they are not worried about any of Apple's legal moves against them, but their actions prove otherwise. Actions such as the recently reported fact that Samsung is now very interested in bidding on InterDigital's mobile patents in a clear attempt to get the upper hand in its patent war with Apple.

What I find the most amusing about all of this iPhone vs Android business is the sheer and unadulterated hypocrisy of seemingly everyone involved in the Android community, including, of course, Google and its OEM partners.

This hypocrisy, in conclusion, is especially true for some of the rabid Android fanboys out there who love flooding the comment sections of major sites and insisting that since Apple clearly can't innovate or compete, it has to has to resort to buying up patents in order to sue and stop all of Android's amazing innovation and progress. Obviously, you don't have to go to a playground to find child like behavior.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this rainy Wednesday, August 03, 2011

Analysts: The iPhone 5 Could Double Its Share, Plus A High-End iPad 2

It wasn't a very large survey, only 216 people were involved, but based on its results things are looking rather bright indeed for Apple's next version of its iPhone.

According to the survey, conducted by Analyst Gene Munster with Piper Jaffray, a whopping 74% of current Verizon customers who do not own an iPhone are waiting to buy the next iPhone 5. This is much higher, as pointed out, than the 53% of AT&T customers who are also waiting to buy the iPhone 5.

Based on Munster's survey, he now believes that this could mean that Apple’s share of the U.S. smartphone market could possibly jump from its present 29 percent to around 64 percent after the release of the iPhone 5, or so reasons the analyst. Now that would be something to see, especially the angry reaction from many of the die-hard Frandroids out there who would, I suspect, will angrily accuse Apple of ripping-off Android!

Besides the iPhone 5, other analysts are also predicting that we may soon see a new high-end iPad 2 to compliment the existing iPad 2, and all of this before we ever see a true iPad 3, which they believe will be coming out on a yearly basis.

CNet News, for instance reported just yesterday that, "Apple has begun production on an incremental upgrade for the iPad 2, presenting the possibility of the first instance of mainstream and high-end iPad models, according to an analyst.

A 'professional' iPad would have incremental improvements and possibly appeal to segments such as publishing, according to analysts.

"Apple is...expected to roll out a premium version of iPad 2--a higher resolution screen, front-/rear- facing HD cameras--in the current quarter," Ashok Kumar, an analyst at Rodman & Renshaw, wrote in a research note today. This follows similar reports about a high-end iPad in the works.

"It looks like Hon Hai is going into production with this new SKU," he said in a phone interview, citing supply chain sources.

Because Apple won't "sunset" the current iPad 2, just announced in March, it will be a model that "probably appeals to the publishing vertical and some other select segments," he said."

Of course, analysts have known to be wrong in the past, but certainly the prospect of an iPad 2 and the survey above seem within reason. I really love the idea of seeing the iPhone take back its rightful place from Android, which in my thinking should be totally illegal. As much as I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of the iPad 3, being a somewhat impatient kind of fellow, I'm all for the idea as well of seeing a high-end iPad 2 in the meantime, and especially if it's also true it will be sporting a very high-resolution screen as suspected.

In conclusion, all I will say is that I'm eagerly waiting to see if any of the above will or will not pan out. In the meantime, I noticed just last night that Apple's market cap was only a mere $23 B or so less than that of the world's largest, Exxon. Hopefully, this means as well that Apple could end up with becoming the world's most valuable company by the end of the month, and much, much sooner than what a lot of experts and non-experts, like myself, have been anticipating.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this rainy, dreary and depressing Tuesday, August 02, 2011

Images via: AppleInsider and CNet

Galaxy Tab 10.1 Temporarily Banned In Australia!

The patent wars continues to rage on and this time, at least temporarily, Apple has successfully gotten the advertising and the sale of Samsung's new Galaxy Tab 10.1 banned in Australia until Apple's suit against the South Korean electronic giant is finally settled, once-and-for-all.

Apple and Samsung have mutually agreed that Samsung would stop selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1 until the case is finally resolved, with Apple agreeing to pay Samsung an unspecified amount if Apple loses its case. Apparently, Apple believes it will win and Samsung thinks it won't, otherwise I can't see these two giants agreeing to anything. This is bound to not only frustrated Android fans who were just itching to get their hands on a Galaxy Tab 10.1, but I would also imagine would make many of them angry to the point of being absolutely livid!

Of course, Apple alleges that not just Samsung, but Android as a whole infringes on its intellectual property, and considering that Apple owns a host of patents on multi-touch, such as its 'pinch-and-zoom' gestures I can't see how Samsung and Android can expect to get around this one.

Apple, of course, isn't the only one accusing Android of ripping-off their IP, but Oracle and Microsoft as well also claim that Android is using their IP illegally. Amazingly, Microsoft is already making more money from off Android than it does from its own Windows Mobile 7, which seems to be getting a big thumb down by customers, who according to one recent survey, only a measly 7 percent are interested in buying a future Windows Mobile 7 phone, as compared to a whopping 48 percent for iOS, and a much smaller, but still respectable 19 percent for Android. RIM's Blackberry on the other hand is even less appealing, with only 6 percent indicating future plans to buy the device.

In fact, AppleInsider is now reporting that a mind-bending 74 percent of Verizon customers are waiting and just itching to buy the new iPhone 5 come this September or October!

Getting back to Oracle's contention that Android had also knowingly and deliberately ripped-off its Java patents, eWeek noted that: Google's emails are already coming back to bite them, with eWeek reporting that:

"Several potentially damaging emails could make things rough for Google if the patent infringement lawsuit Oracle has brought against Google is tried, particularly in front of a jury.Rate This Article:

Google may face an uphill battle defending itself in a jury trial against Oracle if some potentially damaging emails are introduced at trial."

In conclusion, with Apple already sucking most of the profits out of the smartphone market it will be interesting to see whether or not it can also suck the life out of its competitors sales by doing what they have now done temporarily with the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia, but, only this time worldwide? That's hard to say of course, because as some have predicted, Google or others would eventually make the claim to the government that the sale of Nortel's patents to Apple, Microsoft, RIM and others was anti-competitive and done solely to hobble, if not outright kill off Android.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this lovely, sunny Monday, August 01, 2011

Via: Engadet and Bloomsberg/BussinessWeek

Galaxy Tab 10.1 photo via: IBT