Netizen

Apple Acting Soviet

I have used that phrase a few times here at this blog and I am glad some other blogger is using that same metaphor.

Why Apple Is ‘Losing’ the Samsung Lawsuit So Far

Apple is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. No, wait. That was Stalinist Russia .... that’s what’s so great about the current jury trial in Silicon Valley, where Apple is suing Samsung and Samsung is suing Apple. It’s forcing Apple to reveal countless facts and events that it doesn’t want to reveal. .... the discovery and revelation is punishing Apple ..... 1. Steve Jobs changed his mind about a 7-inch iPad .... 2. Apple spent more than a billion dollars marketing iPhone and iPad ...... 3. Apple closely watches the competition ..... 4. Apple listens to its customers ....... 5. Most people buy iPhone cases ..... 6. Apple thought about adding a “kickstand” to the iPad ..... 7. The code-name for the iPhone was “Purple” ..... 8. Apple made a phone instead of a camera or a car ... Schiller also revealed that the iPhone came about because Apple was interested in expanding into other markets. The company actually entertained the ideas of making “a camera or a car,” according to Schiller. .................. A big part of Apple’s aura is the perception of effortless genius. A dozen brilliant designers sit around a kitchen table and dream up the future...... But the Samsung trail has forced Apple to reveal a different reality. Apple works really hard to get its success. Apple spends a fortune to market its products. Apple people speak internally in the language of violence: It’s competitors are “enemies” that must be defeated in a design “fight club.” It pays close attention to the competitive products and customer satisfaction. Apple doesn’t always know what it’s doing.

You can put out only so many iterations of the iPhone and the iPad. And I don't think an iTV is in the works. So what's next? Is there no next? Has Apple reached its pinnacle? Is Apple going to now see a lost decade?

I'd not count out Apple so fast. It is an amazing company, it has been. And the iPhone and the iPad still have a few years' of air in their sails. But it is hard for me to see what fundamental product it might bring out in, say, three years that might be as much a departure as the iPhone was when it came out.

Apple’s revenue growth slowdown is fast – and global

Everyone knew that those growth rates simply had to come down, but the speed of the slowdown is a shock. .... not only is Apple falling off its March quarter growth faster than expected, the rapid cooling is evident simultaneously in North America, Europe and Asia — all major regions .... Perhaps the phenomenal strength of the Samsung Galaxy S III in June and July finally dented Apple’s smartphone momentum measurably. Samsung hit the 10 million unit sales mark in two months this summer ... Apple is now facing the Skylla and Charybdis of the European debt crisis and Samsung’s emergence as a real rival. We may well finally see some real iPhone price aggression from Apple in emerging markets come next winter

I Told You So: RIM To Android

A few days back I blogged saying if RIM wants to survive it should consider switching to Android. (RIM's Options, RIM's Waterloo)And now news is they are doing so. I am not saying I am the reason. Although it is mainstream practice for companies to follow chatter around them in the blogosphere and elsewhere. And it is not even that novel a thought. I am sure many people on the RIM team might have brought it up in internal meetings a long time ago. But I am glad to be in consonance.

It could modify Android if it wants, although why would you? Just because Amazon did it for the tablet does not mean.

Wait I wore the hat all wrong. It is past sense. RIM considered a switch to Android. And decided against it.

RIM CEO says company ‘seriously’ considered switch to Android

RIM took a long, hard look at migrating to Android before deciding to plow forward with BlackBerry 10. .... “We took the conscious decision not to go Android,” Heins told the Telegraph. ”If you look at other suppliers’ ability to differentiate, there’s very little wiggle room. We looked at it seriously — but if you understand what the promise of BlackBerry is to its user base it’s all about getting stuff done. Games, media, we have to be good at it but we have to support those guys who are ahead of the game. Very little time to consume and enjoy content — if you stay true to that purpose you have to build on that basis. And if we want to serve that segment we can’t do it on a me-too approach.”

This Is Now

Daiane Conterato modeling for Huis Clos, Fall 2008 Sao Paolo Fashion Week (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Instagram is a mobile app, true. But there is so much it has to offer the web.

'This Is Now': Watch the world in real time via Instagram photos

A new service called This is Now lets you see the world through Instagram's eyes. All you have to do is pick one of five major cities (New York, Sao Paolo, London, Tokyo, or Sydney), and you're instantly immersed in a beautiful real-time visualization of Instagram photos from those locations. Once you start watching, it's hard to pull yourself away..... uses the Instagram API to access Instagram's photos. .... The tool streams photos instantly as soon as they are uploaded on Instagram and captures a city's movement, in a fluid story