Has APPLE Lost It? Who will rule the Market?

Referring to my post on the 7th of October, 2011 titled 'Will the Apple get rotten?', I talked about how I felt the death of Steve Jobs was going to disturb Apple in terms of innovation and competing with the upcoming smart phone companies trying to catch up. Well, can we say that Apple is struggling  to compete with Samsung in terms of smartphones and Google is on their heels with the Android series?

And the competition gets tougher as Blackberry came back strongly with the Z10 and Q10, but wondering whether it would survive the ever growing number of smartphones. I think they(BB) reacted too late to their slump in market share. In actual sense I think those who made the competition serious have taken the greater market share, talk of Apple and Samsung, which means Nokia, HTC and the rest are just chasing behind. Apple comes out with the smartphone but has not been able to catch up on innovation. They seem to have forgotten that today's consumer has an ever changing taste for newer technology. Samsung got it right when they copied the design of the i-phone. That was the major thing that Apple had over the competing smartphones. Although not right, Samsung copied their way into success bringing themselves closer to the great i-phone.

Apple lost it when they kept focusing on just design while Samsung raced to bring some extended innovations to the already beautifully designed phone. They came out with direct call- which dials a number by just bringing the phone to the ear. Other innovations include 'tilt to zoom', a larger screen which seemed crazy at first, but now seems normal and yes, a stylus. Apple, left behind, could only come out with a longer phone with pretty the same design and no NFC with some very disturbing maps and the stock prices are moving southwards. I think Tim Cook should get to the kitchen and start cooking something new.

I think the next innovations will be applications which can affect our daily lives and make them better. Apps for checking our health- heart beats, blood pressure, monitoring our children accompanied with wearables which can connect to your phone seamlessly are here to stay- talk of the Google Glass and other gadgets which will be strapped to the body to improve our lives. Those who will get it right will rule the market and will go the bank smiling.
By the way Samsung is coming out with something new on March, 14th- the Galaxy S IV.

Do you remember when Sony was Apple? Sony dominated consumer electronics for decades, but that was a long time ago.

There was a time when Sony was the first name in consumer electronics. The company's Trinitron TVs dominated the TV market for decades. In 1975, Sony's Betamax was the first widely adapted consumer video recorder format. The Walkman hit the market in 1979 and changed the way people listened to music, creating the personal audio market category. In 1982 the CD, which the company developed jointly with Philips, changed the way we listened to music even more. Sony extended its reach when it purchased CBS Records in 1988 and Columbia Pictures in 1989, and scored a triumph in the home videogame console realm in 1994 with the first PlayStation. More recently, Sony backed Blu-ray and quickly dispatched the only other HD video challenger, HD DVD. READ MORE http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-57522413-47/do-you-remember-when-sony-was-apple/ Tomorrow is the 30th anniversary of the introduction of the CD. I'll look back on its history in tomorrow's blog post.

A liquid phone?

I guess the upcoming iPhone has already made much news. Nothing is making much news now than the proposed liquidmetal the new iPhone will come in. Liquidmetal is a solid made up of titanium, copper, nickel and zirconium among other metals, therefore liquidmetal is actually solid. It was developed in 2003 by the California Institute of Technology. So, why liquidmetal for the new iPhone? Liquidmetal has some wonderful properties that Apple would like to exploit; actually liquidmetal was used for the SIM ejector tool for the iPhone 4 and 4S. I guess that was an experimental trial for the next iPhone. Talk of a very tough, light metal which is said to feel as liquid or glass when touched (now you know why it’s called liquidmetal). The iPhone has always been a step ahead of its competitors though I think Samsung is giving them a run for their money. The hype of liquidmetal is already a big boost for the phone as people will like to know how it feels. The toughness of liquidmetal would mean it’s very difficult to shatter, very very light (that of plastic), and scratch resistant and very smooth to touch. So will you like to have a liquidmetal iphone 5 probably? I will like a Samsung Note though.

Limitless Technologies

Have you ever thought of some imaginary technology or seen one in a movie which you never thought could be possible? Well, stop thinking because it’s time to believe. Until the iPhone came into existence, I never thought smart phones will respond to touch so perfectly. Well, it did and now it’s normal. What about 3D screens. In the 80’s we never thought of it, whiles the 90’s thought of it as fantasy. Wireless charging of phones by LG’s WCD-800 device is wonderful. Yes, and what do you say about cloud computing. No need for high capacity drives to store data. Just store it in the cloud and access it anywhere.

Would you need a driver’s license in the future? Cars are going to drive themselves, just let it know where you are going. Will it make driving less fun? And what about a 41 megapixel camera? Huh. Well, Nokia has it. NFC is also changing the way you will pay for your products. No more credit cards, just the smart phone, your secret pin and your shopping list.

After all these, I begin to wonder whether technology has a limit. I just feel that everything is possible, yes, I mean it. Think of it today, and it is possible in the near future. Everyday, we are surprised by the new inventions. So, what do you think will be on the iPad 3? Do you have any limits?

Never stop thinking, and when you think about something just know it’s possible. If not today, you will see it in the shortest possible time. NEVER STOP THINKING!!!

Technology Tastes Better Nowadays

A few years back, words like apples, blackberries, palm, strawberry and mangoes were all considered fruits. Well, as the world develops, we have really evolved and so has technology. This has brought about all sorts of names which might make you think twice about what they actually are.

When I say blackberry, what is the first thing that comes into your mind; a fruit or a phone. My guess is most of you will say it’s a phone. Some years back apple would have meant a fruit so why do we think of an iPhone or an iPad when apple is mentioned. Strawberry; yummy right! Until u ask LG. It’s a phone and you can’t eat it. Ice Cream Sandwich and your mouth begin to water, wait till we ask Google what it is and they put it on your Android phones. Well, it’s their new OS. Mango? Yes you want a Windows phone.

A clear case of technology taking over nature. Let us hope it doesn’t take over humans, where one day if you say ‘woman’, someone might ask, the human being or ‘that’. So what will be the future for the yummy technology? Which fruits might be the next?

Remember, nowadays, you can take a bite of that apple but still watch your movies on it, taste a blackberry and still send a BBM with it or taste that ice cream and use it on your Nexus. What about the mango in your hands, fruit or Windows phone. It works both ways, the symbiosis of nature and technology.

Will the Apple get rotten?

On the 4th October, 2011, most people were disappointed when they realized there was no IPhone 5, but an iPhone 4S; an improved version of the iPhone 4. Tim Cook’s first delivery on introducing an Apple product did come with the great expectations. Many people went home disappointed and Apple shares did fall. Are we expecting too much of the most valuable tech company? Well, they have always lived up to the hype and hope the new cook is cooking something ‘techie’ for the i-people.

Little did we know that the disappointment of the iPhone 4S was just a prelude to an unexpected greater disappointment, the passing away of the co-founder of Apple Inc. The man who really change the world on how we saw and used our phones, computers and other gadgets. We were well aware of Steve Jobs’ ill-heath, but who thought it will come just 6 weeks after he resigned. After his first scare, Jobs seemed to have overcome the fear of death. That surgery which kept him alive until yesterday gave him a second chance to reflect on life, but that didn’t stop him from doing what he loved most. Now the big question is will Tim Cook carry Apple to the next level? Can he or will the Apple get rotten?

Steve is no doubt the most successful head of Apple. He came back and turned the company around after his absence did not show much success. The fear of most Apple fans is the return of the company to the doldrums. Steve handpicked Tim to takeover and he probably knows why. Tim is relatively unknown to most Apple fans because Steve was really Apple. Steve represented the totality of the Apple brand. Some fans and industry watchers think Tim will not be able fill the huge shoes of Steve Jobs. Other fans also think the Apple brand will be further promoted by the sympathy and news coverage of Steve’s death. An Apple fan said ‘now that Steve is gone, where will Microsoft steal from?’

Let’s hope Apple still continues to provide the world with the leading edge technology we all desire or else the Apple will get rotten soon. Goodbye Steve (1955-2011).

Apple, playing with our emotions?

Apple, playing with our emotions?

We were all comfortable with our ‘ordinary’ phones, making calls, sending SMSs’ and browsing the web. We were not craving for much, though. RIM’s Blackberry, Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericson and the rest were just up to the task of giving us what we wanted. We never complained but then came the iPod. The iPod by Apple Inc. made waves by changing the way we carried music around. We soon got hooked to it and every student wanted to own one. Little did we know Apple had a secret revolution in mind? Masterminded by their Chief strategist and General, Steve Jobs, they were bent on taking over the world. Then came the rumors, a special phone was about to be launched by this secretive tech company. Everybody knows Apple Inc. does not joke with eye-catching designs and wonderful colors.

On the 9th January, 2009, Apple Inc. keynote address at the Macworld Conference & Expo held in Moscone West in San Francisco, California. In his address, Jobs said, "I have been looking forward to this for two and a half years", and that "today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone." Yes, they did reinvent the phone. All was evident when the phone was released on the 29th June, 2009. Wandering where all these people came from, the queues in front of Apple and AT&T retail shops were just overwhelming. Everybody wanted to get a hand on the smart phone first on the market. I just wondered what the other phone companies had said when they saw that sleek object. Yes, and I watched Steve Balmer, CEO of Microsoft, downplay the success of the iPhone saying who will buy that expensive phone when Microsoft had a lot of cheap Windows Mobile phones. I guess he is still living the shock of the success of the iPhone. Other companies have tried to catch up, but copying has been the order of the day and their innovations are trying to keep up with the pace of the iPhone.

Since then, Apple Inc. has come out with the generations of the iPhone just when we were getting used to the previous one. Then came the rumors of a tablet and many said it was going to be a flop, maybe for the first time Apple was going to get it wrong. Again, there was a TKO by Apple Inc. who proved the success of the iPad by selling 3 million devices in 80 days. Looks like anything Apple touches turns into gold- or gets sold making the other tech companies grow cold.
Is Apple playing with our emotions? In a love relationship, you don’t break up with the one you have fallen in love with; doing that will cause serious emotional problems which we all know. Just when you have really fallen in love with your i-gadget, the rumors start again- the next generation of your gadget is coming soon, yes sooner. Apple is really playing with my emotions, now I have to wait for my new love iPhone 5. Sorry Generation 4 we soon have to part ways, nice time though.

What do we expert today as the iPhone 5 is launched? Without Steve Jobs, will Tim Cook stand up to the task; so far he had had very little flaws. And what do we expect of an iPad 3?