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May 03 2010

The Sony DASH Launches, the Kindle Still Sells & The Apple iPad Steals Their Hearts

So what is it about the Apple iPad that is so different from the Sony's just released Dash, and the Amazon Kindle and Kindle DX?

Today my friend Patrick Moorhead wrote a nice post about the Kindle vs iPad, and his opinions are well considered. He has been a long-time Kindle owner and user. And he still has a couple things he likes about the Kindle.

And while reading his post and writing a comment, I saw a Tweet about the Sony Dash. The Sony WHAT?

Here's the scoop on the Dash if you think Sony still has a clue about anything in digital consumer electronics besides TVs.

sony's fall from electronic heaven - the sony dash

Designed to stand on a bedside table, a kitchen — or even a bathroom — counter, Sony's new $199 device plugs into a home's wireless Internet connection to constantly serve up a variety of personalized digital bits. Users can configure the Dash to display Twitter feeds, Facebook updates, local traffic alerts or about a thousand other Internet "widgets."   – Sony Dash: One part touch-screen, two parts Internet

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Here is my considered response to Patrick Moorhead's Kindle vs iPad post:

I have not spent a lot of time with a Kindle. In fact I sort of revel in the fact that the "one-trick" pony was DOA, except for last Christmas's sales moment. And as for the Nook and the Sony thing, well… Along came the iPad.

Patrick, your financial comparison is odd. Adding in the 3G wireless subscription is like trying to subtract for the fact that the Kindle doesn't do the web. What's the number for that?

I got my iPad on the day they released. And I do agree the book-mode gets a bit heavy after awhile. BUT, my iPad can make Amazon think it's a Kindle. So the number of books, is exactly the same as for Amazon's inventory, and then you add the iBooks store and all the content that Google has put into the e-book format that the iPad can read.

So as a book reader, there may be favorable options on the Kindle, and I agree e-ink is pretty. BUT… again, it's black and while. Period.
If the Wall Street Journal is all you want, that's cool, cause WSJ doesn't do color. For everything else, with the Kindle your SOL. And then all the other stuff the iPad does. My goodness. This is why you're seeing Kindles on Craigslist in the 10% of list price range. Cause if you wanna do more than read, you have only one option at the moment.

I wish the iPad had an AMD chip in it. I wish the MBP I just bought had an AMD chip in it, rather than the i5 from Intel. But wishes ain't horses, and they probably won't ever be.

Great post, PM. Always thoughtful and fully informed.

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How fun that this dialogue is happening even before the slates and tablets arrive from other vendors like HP and Dell. And with OS's like Android, Windows 7 (oops, Microsoft seems to have stumbled with there deal with HP on this one), and perhaps the resurrected Palm OS, we're gonna see a bunch of "me-too" devices. And I'm sure a fair share of iPad-killer devices. (Remember all the iPod-killer devices? Or even the iPhone-killer phones like the Nexus One?)

And I, for one, look forward to the innovation contest that will ensue. In the end it will be good for all of us. At this point only the iPad is a contender. But I'm sure MSFT will get it together with some manufacturer for a Windows 7 tablet. I'm almost certain they won't go it alone like they have with the X-Box or the Zune. (Cause both of those projects LOSE money for Microsoft.)

But we'll see how they do. And we'll see what the iPad v2 looks like in September or so, just in time for Christmas.

@jmacofearth
permalink: http://bit.ly/ipad-dash

See all the iPad-iWay posts.

Sources mentioned in this post:

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Jan 03 2010

Just Click It: 1-3-10 (Sunday Lazy Sunday)

Category: just click it (links),social mediajmacofearth @ 6:41 pm

twitter types infographic, guy kawasaki, twitterTomorrow is the first work day for many of us in the new year. wOOt! I anticipate that I am heading into the best year of my career. A new job that is supported by good business models, good clients, growth and people I really like working with. The decade is out of the gates folks. Let's make it a better one.

7 Creative and Interesting Infographics about Twitter
With over 54 million users worldwide and close to 7 billion tweets being posted, Twitter is the world’s most popular micro-blogging platform, fueled by smartphones and online bursts of 140 characters. 2009 is the year of Twitter. It soared to lofty heights over the past year, all thanks to the active presence of celebrities such as Ashton Kutcher and Oprah Winfrey. The San Francisco-based Internet company isn’t a social networking website like Facebook or MySpace. Instead, the main focus of Twitter is about real-time information of the things you care about — work, industry, company, news.

Examples of online communities in the TV industry
There is a lot of talk about the way ‘old’ and ‘new’ media combine – how newspapers are using Twitter and how television broadcasters and production companies are working with online media. So this week we take a look specifically at examples of online communities in the TV industry

Why Twitter Will Endure
I can remember when I first thought seriously about Twitter. Last March, I was at the SXSW conference, a conclave in Austin, Tex., where technology, media and music are mashed up and re-imagined, and, not so coincidentally, where Twitter first rolled out in 2007. As someone who was oversubscribed on Facebook, overwhelmed by the computer-generated RSS feeds of news that came flying at me, and swamped by incoming e-mail messages, the last thing I wanted was one more Web-borne intrusion into my life.

Apple iSlate specifications revealed
We have just received some images of what seem to be internal Apple documents, revealing the Apple iSlate specifications. And what specs these are! A 7.1-inch multitouch display with fingerprint-resistant coating, 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB DDR3 RAM, 120GB hard drive, built-in projector… actually you can check the list yourselves. We cannot be sure if that information is to be trusted, but if we are lucky enough… boy, won’t the iSlate just rock?!

Design a Light WordPress Theme in Photoshop
In this tutorial I will create a new wordpress theme with a web 2.0 look. Sometimes the simplicity of the theme will bring you more readers. The light wordpress themes seams to keep your readers more on your blog.  From my experience is very important to create a good place for your readers to find quality content on a well designed theme.

Lenovo unveils ThinkPad design with AMD chips
The addition of AMD Neo chips to the ThinkPad family will let Lenovo offer lower price points, the company said. "ThinkPads running on chips from Intel Corp will still be offered."

10 Ways to Get Serious About Social Media
If this is your year to buckle down and tackle a social media strategy, it’s time to get serious. The time for oohing and ahhing is rapidly drawing to a close, and instead your efforts have to become about practical, methodical application. Here’s 10 ways to get serious about social media this year.

How to re-negotiate with your customers — and not lose a single one
“When I was at BuildOnline (my first company) and things went ‘pear shaped’ we called all of our customers and said, ‘I know that we signed contracts with you. The reality is that the market has changed and I need to change to the new realities. We committed to product features. I can’t ship those as promised. I’m sorry. Do you like our product & service? Yes? Ok, thank you. Listen, I know that if you like what we do then you’ll want a healthy supplier/partner.

Top 9 Internet memes of 2009 (msnbc says)
Ima let you finish reading this year-end list, but … Last September, Kanye “CAPS LOCK” West brought the nuttiness previously reserved for his Web site on stage at the MTV Video Music Awards. Crashing Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for Best Female Video 2009, the hip-hop auteur took the microphone from Swift’s hands and issued the words that made him the most hated man of all time. Ever.

Hate to pop your so cool Apple tablet hot air bubble but …
I’ve pretty much tried to stay out of this whole Apple fanboy daisy-chain lovefest over the possibility of some super duper tablet being announced this month. Except Robert Scoble just had to go and add his two cents worth about the glory that will soon be in our shaking hands (emphasis is mine).

Use GoToMyPC  (or Mac) Only After You Have Read This
Although I love GoToMyPC and use it every single day when I am traveling to connect to my home and work PC, there are a couple of things I wish I knew before I started using it! In all fairness, I still would have ended up using GoToMyPC, every bit as much as I do today, but it’s not something the company or anybody points out to you.

A new consultant mentoring program
As we go into 2010 I am planning on launching a consultant mentoring program by the end of the first quarter. This would be aimed at anybody who sells, markets or executes B2B services or products.

Ten things thou shalt not tweet
A funny, cautionary webcomic: Ten things you need to stop tweeting about.

Never Stop at a Gas Station Again
That would be how it works if you drove an electric vehicle. Your refueling would be done in the garage at your house, in a parking space at work, at the places you shop and dine.

A Ponzi scheme that works
The greatest strength of America is that people want to live there.

Social Media – Popular Sites to Consider: Get Connected in 2010
Social media is here to stay! The days of gossiping around the water cooler at the office have morphed into texting friends, family and business associates from any and every location. There has been a virtual explosion in the amount of people using the social media platforms available on the web.

13 resolutions for social media in 2010
What would a new year be without resolutions? Here’s what some pals of sOCial sunday told us they’d be working on with social media in 2010 …

You Should Attend Social Media Jungle in Las Vegas
I just realized that I am not going to be flying into Las Vegas in time to honor my speaking gig at Social Media Jungle, put on by Jeff Pulver. But I am not getting in until about seven hours after I was supposed to go onstage. For some reason, I thought everything was on the 7th, but then, I have calendar problems without lots of help from Diane (and I hadn’t run this event through her, so I blew it, yet again).

@jmacofearth
permalink: http://bit.ly/just-click-it-6

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Dec 24 2009

Do You iPhone, Blackberry, Android or Netbook? Stay Tuned for the Next Gen Mobile Device

Category: iPad-iWay!,lifestreaming,speed the web,tech opinion,toolsjmacofearth @ 4:09 pm

(Pat Moorehead from AMD has been doing some great writing lately about the MID vs the Smartphone. And as my response to his post went over the 300 word count I figured it would be better presented as a post and backlink to his AMD blog.)

Patrick asks, "Where would you place your bet: future Apple iPhone or a future MID?"

Patrick I think you are right on with this post, except for one point. The iPhone is an awesome device, but not the smartphone for all of us. In a recent opportunity I had to choose between converting to an iPhone or staying with my Blackberry Curve 8900. I went so far as to put my "trade" offer up on Craigslist. And I NEARLY did it.

And then I was walking down the street in San Francisco typing with my left hand when I understood why 90% of all the phones in first class on the flight out were Blackberries. I was having no problem composing a few paragraphs quickly, with accurate punctuation, spelling and capitalization. Do that with an iPhone.

So I agree that the smartphone is taking over the mobile space and will continue to dominate the netbook as a 2nd platform of choice. But I also believe there is plenty of room for improvement in the various interface options we have. While great for gaming, the iPhone is a sad text entry device. I am hearing that a recent speech-to-text app is now available for FREE, and that it works. Still, I will take my qwerty keyboard every time. (No wonder RIM profit was up 59% in the recently completed quarter.)

Your summary: "I believe future MIDs won’t have the horsepower or features required to tackle the future applications and future usage models only run on future notebooks and even if the cloud can provide the horsepower needed, pervasive, mobile, and fast access to the cloud is years away as LTE doesn’t start its ramp until 2014."

I had to google LTE and cloud to get a handle on what you were referring to. Here's something I found related to your topic from TelecomAsia. (LTE def: Long Term Evolution)

“Over 50% of our data traffic happens at home during peak hours, and smartphones have driven our data traffic up ten times,” said Softbank chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son in a keynote speech at the Mobile Asia Congress. “We need Wi-Fi to serve that traffic and give our customers a rich media experience.

“Of course we intend to migrate to LTE, but it’s not good enough to support customers when they use mobile internet at home,” Son said. “I use my nose to breathe, but when I am feeling aggressive or excited, I need to use my mouth to breathe as well. Wi-Fi is the mouth – it helps you breathe better.” from TelecomAsia.net

SUMMARY: So as far as LTEs and WiFis and MIDs vs iPhones vs RIMs vs Androids… I'm going to put my money on IIDs, or Innovative Internet Device. We haven't seen the future of mobile computing yet, but Apple appears to be setting up a high-powered demo in San Francisco around the time of CES.

So stay tuned. The Knowledge Navigator might be closer than we think.

@jmacofearth
permalink: http://bit.ly/Mobile-Internet

Update TwitterVenn today 12-24-09 Says the Blackberry is going to rule in 2010:

twittervenn, apple, iphone, blackberry, android

tweets about iphone, blackberry and android

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Nov 16 2009

AMD, Dell, Intel and Computers for the Rest of Us

Category: tech opinionjmacofearth @ 2:09 pm

After a 1.8B settlement it seems like a truce has been declared between AMD and Intel. But in the lawsuit that continues to rattle on in NYC involving Intel's relationship with Dell many things are yet to be illuminated. Austin tech writer Kirk Ladendorf quotes some revealing emails that have been presented in that case. The most tasty missives are between Michael Dell and Intel CEO, Paul Otellini.

In 2005 Otellini sent a message to Mr. Dell stating, "There is nothing new here. [Meaning that AMD's Opteron was kicking Intel's butt.] Our product roadmap is what it is. It will deliver increasingly leadership products… Additionally we are transferring over 1B a year to Dell. [Marketing rebates.] That was judged by your team to be more than sufficient to compensate for the competitive issues."

Ouch! It is fine for Intel to spend their marketing dollars on any program they like. That's not an issue. But when it came down to push and shove, another voice from Intel responded to Mr. Dell's stinging criticism. Intel Chairman, Craig Barrett, wrote in an email to Otellini, "Not a time for weakness on our part. Stop writing checks immediately and put them back on list prices asap."

And the rest is history. AMD did show up in Dell servers and desktops and laptops.  But were the marketing dollars being used to paint a better picture of Dell's financial performance during those lean years?

According to the story in the AAS, "The lawsuit claims that Dell received $304 million in Intel rebates during one three-month period in 2004, which amounted to 36% of Dell's profit.

"By the middle of 2006, Dell's rebate payments from Intel rose to $554 million in a quarter — more than the company's profit for the period."

So were Dell and Intel doing anything wrong? Did their decision make personal computers more expensive during that period because Dell was not making machines with the less expensive AMD chipset?

Again, it's not about CAN they do this. The real question is WHY did they do this. Why did Dell and Intel engage in what appears to be negotiations about how much Intel would spend to keep AMD's superior Opteron chip out of Dell's server business?

Well, the 1.8B settlement has been paid, and AMD can lower their swords for now.

Here is a screenshot from Dell's website today:

Intel's Processor chooser

The above "Compare processors" with the Intel logo showing on the chip goes directly to an Intel Chip Selector presentation. And further down on the left-nav of Dell's site for Small and Medium Business Laptops you find the processor selector outlining the available chips.

Dell processors available

So somehow AMD no longer has a chip in the race in Dell's laptop lineup and Intel still owns the conversation about which processor is the best choice for you.

@jmacofearth
permalink: http://bit.ly/Intel_Dell_AMD

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