IAMJAM.ES

Google is obviously a very well-respected company in tech, and the company has really pushed the industry (& the world) forward by working on very innovative projects like Google Glass and Google Self-Drive car.

But once in a while, there is an outlier that makes you go “Huh? Really?”

Yesterday’s announcement of Chromebook Pixel was one of those moments. This machine is Dead. On. Arrival.

At $1,200, it costs more that the Surface Pro, the same as a 13” Macbook Pro w/ Retina Display. In a world where you can buy a touch screen notebook for ~$500, charging $1,200 for a machine with 32GB storage is just not going to work.

Google folks aren’t stupid, and they know this. But in their culture of experimentation and fast iteration, I think this is just an exercise with training wheels. They probably don’t care if they sell only a few thousand of these. But if Google is just testing the waters, they probably shouldn’t hail the Pixel as a big innovation in laptop hardware. It’s just like any other laptop, with a better screen, without Windows and with only 32GB storage.

- J..

There’s been so much talk about iTV for the last couple of years, and I think all that noise has drowned out the real possibility that Apple will be shipping an iWatch.

Heck, I would even call shipping an iWatch almost a certainty. It’s not a matter of if, but when.

Why do I say that? Simple. Apple stumbled on the fact that there is a strong demand for an iWatch when people were turning the iPod Nano into a watch without Apple even trying.

Having stumbled on that, Apple even shipped more watch faces after so customers can continue to enjoy using the iPod Nano as a watch. But what happened in the last iteration of the Nano? Apple moved away from the form factor so people can’t really wear it as a watch anymore. This move says to me that it is preparing itself for shipping an iWatch.

The market for wearable health monitors are also heating up with products like FitBit Flex/One, Jawbone Up, Nike Fuelband, etc. There is still no dominant player yet, and wearable health monitor market is not yet mainstream. It is a perfect market for Apple to disrupt and dominate with an iWatch that combines health monitoring with unique Phone+Watch use cases.

Here are some ideas on what such a device could do:

• Act as an authentication device for your other Apple devices. This can either act as another layer of authentication to make logging in more secure (password + iWatch in vicinity), or it can just make life much easier for users (no passcode required if watch is in vicinity).
• Prevent loss of other iDevices by alerting the user when the iWatch is getting too far away from the other iDevices.
• Be used as a voice input for SIri functions. How awesome would it be if you can just tell your watch to skip a track or read you an email while you are running, instead of having to pull out your phone?
• Of course, it can show basic notification from other iDevices so the user doesn’t need to look at his phone/iPad/Mac.

Perhaps one of the most interesting things about producing an iWatch is the amount of margin that Apple could potentially make. Even with just some of the basic functionality above, Apple would have no trouble selling it for $199. The iWatch would only have a small display, almost no storage needed, no GPS, no Wifi, no cellular radio and would just require a Bluetooth radio and accelerometer - relatively cheap components. And Apple could potentially sell one of these to every iDevice owner. With over 500M iOS devices in play on the market, that’s a huge opportunity with huge profit potential.

So Apple, when will we see the iWatch?

I love Chrome. Why? It’s fast, feels light weight, syncs my browsing data across all my devices and supports multiple platforms. I don’t need to think about whether I am on Mac, Windows, iPhone, Windows Phone, iPad or Android (which I keep switching between), I know Chrome and all my browsing stuff will be there reliably.

For all of Chrome’s awesomeness, it seems that the placement of the URL bar and Forward/Back buttons on iPhone and iPad is a bit bone-headed. They are placed near the top of the screen similar to their desktop version. But on both the phone and tablet, that placement causes great inconveniences for users. On the phone, for example, if you are holding the phone with your right hand, it’s likely that your right thumb will not be able to reach the back button, forcing you to use two hands. Similarly on the iPad, instead of just a finger motion to tap back, the user now has to move his arm and hand.

The placement of iPhone Safari’s buttons are at the bottom and they are much more natural to use. Placement of UI controls doesn’t seem like a big deal, but they make a very real difference on the user experience.

Local apps and experiences have grown by leaps and bounds along with the rising popularity of smartphones. Many apps today allow you to find nearby gas stations, restaurants, deals, banks, ATMs, etc. Of course, you can do the same with Google Maps - “Search Nearby”.

But I predict that the industry will be introducing another paradigm soon - “find X on the way”. This is just a logical progression to nearby - especially for North American users where lots of driving are involved.

Consider this scenario: you are driving from Seattle to Portland, and you are looking for a gas station. Most likely, you will prefer a gas station that is on the way to one that may be closer to your current location but would require you to back track. Similarly, if you want to pick up something, you probably would prefer to do that at a location that’s on the way of your daily commute routes. Combining “on the way” with Google Now would make a recipe of magic.

Google, I am looking at you to lead this new paradigm.

Today, the good fellows from Evad3rs team have brought a new jailbreak for iOS 6.x to the world. You can get it now from the evasi0n website.

Many iPhone users previously jailbroke their devices in order to achieve cellular unlock. However, there is a growing number of users who are jailbreaking their devices just so that they can use software and tweaks that would otherwise be unavailable. An increasing number of users are starting to feel that iOS are too limited and they crave to have some of the customization that their Android friends enjoy. Some of these apps and tweaks are extremely well done. After all, you need to be a pretty good hacker to be able to build these “unauthorized” apps/tweaks.

A quick search online for “best jailbreak apps”, and it’s easy to see why. Here is a list of the top 20 jailbreak apps according to Redmond Pie.

• Auxo – A re-imagined iOS multitasking experience.
• Overflow – Provides a dynamic Cover Flow like effect to docked applications.
• Dashboard X – An innovative and unique widgets system for iOS.
• MissionControl – Enhanced multitasking with support for Activator gestures.
• Go Desk – Desktop rendering package for iOS supporting interactive wallpapers.
• Emblem – OS X Mountain Lion inspired notifications on an iOS device.
• Dash – Yet another re-imagining of the iOS multitasking interface.
• MissionBoard – A near perfect card style app switcher replacement for iOS.
• CameraTweak – Enhanced camera functionality with multiple options.
• Chrome related packages (Chrome Download Manager, ChromeCustomization, BrowserChooser) – Multiple tweaks to improve the Chrome browsing experience on iOS.
• Octopus Keyboard – An intelligent BlackBerry 10 inspired prediction based keyboard.
• Bulletin – A package to dramatically enhance Notification Center.
• Deck HD – A centralized action bar for the iPad home screen.
• Attacher – Send and receive any file attachment through gestures.
• Quasar – Run multiple applications at once in their own iPad window.
• Stride – Unlocking iOS device through the use of pre-defined custom gestures.
• SwipeSelection – The ability to edit text and move cursor through the use of gestures
• Imperium – The background switcher revamped with multiple features added.

Many of these apps not only make your iPhone/iPad more useful, but also more beautiful. 

Clearly, there is an end user need for many of these scenarios, and Apple should pay close attention and address these needs in future iOS updates.

The latest IDC report of Q3 2012 smartphone shipment paints a grim picture for Microsoft: a mere 2% for MS smartphone platform versus 75% and 15% for Android and iOS respectively.

But those numbers do not reflect WP8 as it was shipped after Q3. WP8 is by all accounts a fantastic product; Nokia, HTC and Samsung are also backing it with strong hardware. The future seems promising for Microsoft.

And I would agree with that. I think Microsoft is likely to grow its smartphone share over the next several quarters, albeit slowly.

Why a Great Product isn’t Enough Anymore.

The biggest mistake Microsoft has made in the smartphone war is that it was late. Windows Phone 7 (which is really the first viable competitive offering in *modern* smartphone platforms) was shipped almost 3 years after the first iPhone was introduced.

And in this cut-throat, fast-pace technology world, that’s eons.

Being late means Google and Apple have had much longer time to ramp up their own ecosystems, which are increasingly important to consumers. It’s no longer only about the device you hold in your hand; consumers now look at apps available, how services work across their multiple devices, and whether services are interoperable with their friends and families.

In short, Windows Phone still has a big chicken and egg problem to solve.

Is that app on Windows Phone?

For a long time, many analysts have blamed Windows Phone’s slow uptake on the lack of key popular apps. That’s certainly part of the problem, but I think it also doesn’t tell the whole story.

Microsoft has done a great job in making sure that Windows Phone has an extensive app catalog and that top apps are available for it. During the Windows Phone 8 launch event, Joe Belfiore announced that the WP app store now has over 120,000 apps, and 46 out of the top 50 apps on rival platforms are also available on Windows Phone. So from that angle, the lack of apps problem should be gone.

Only it’s not. At least not yet.

Microsoft has invested heavily in making sure popular apps on rival platforms are also available for Windows Phone. But that’s by definition backwards looking. The problem is that new apps that are coming in the future will almost guaranteed not to be available for Windows Phone first. And that’s a big problem. Consumers who are buying an iPhone or an Android phone knows with high certainty that their platforms will be the first to be supported by mobile developers. Quite often these days, you can go to any public places and see signs showing that mobile apps are now available, but they almost always only support Android and iOS. Whether consumers want to use those apps or not is irrelevant. The point is that when people see one of those signs, it reinforces the notion that “things are available for iOS and Android (and not much else)”. So when it comes time to buy a new smartphone, consumers can buy an iOS and Android device and be certain that whatever the latest cool apps/games that will come, they will be first available on those platforms.

Can’t really say that about Windows Phone.

This is a classic chicken and egg problem, and there simply isn’t an easy way to solve it. Developers aren’t interested in developing for Windows Phone platform because of the small marketshare; users don’t want to buy Windows Phone because of the lack of apps.

I want my smartphone stuff on everything!

And increasingly, consumers also look at how their smartphone choice impacts their experience on other devices that they use. Email was one of the first services that people expect to be able to use from their smartphones, PCs, tablets, and anywhere else. But that’s quickly extending to other services: cloud storage, IM and other communication clients, blogging services, cloud bookmarks, etc. We want all these services to treat us as the same person even though we are accessing them from different devices; we want a unification of experiences across all these different screens and be able to seamlessly transition across them. I think the industry is still pretty early in deliver great multi-screen experiences, and I think there are tons of opportunities here.

But bringing the conversation back to Windows Phone, Microsoft is actually doing ok in this area. Photos taken on WP8 phones are automatically uploaded onto SkyDrive and become available on Windows PCs or accessible on the web. There is good integration with Messenger and Facebook Chat. However, there is much more to be done. The most glaringly obvious one is the lack of bookmark sync, which is available on both iOS and Android platforms via Safari and Chrome respectively. I would also say that Google is the leader is offering services that work well across multiple devices at this point.

Can we still be friends even though I have a Windows Phone?

The funny thing about your choice of device these days is that it’s no longer an isolated decision for many people. Take myself for example - I have been a long time iPhone user. My wife, my parents, my brothers, and many of my friends use the iPhone. My wife and I frequently use Find My Friends to see where each other is; my parents often use FaceTime to call us so they can see their granddaughter; sometimes my friends and I would chat about what are the latest cool apps they have when we get together.

You get the point. For most people, switching smartphone platforms is costly from a social perspective too.

Concluding Thoughts

I have recently switched from an iPhone 5 to a Lumia 920 and I am happy with it. The bigger screen, better camera, touch screen that works with gloves, wireless charging and the beautiful user experience makes the phone a joy to use.

But my switch isn’t without its pain. Some of my favorite apps like Redfin, Dropbox, Starbucks, Mint.com, Voxer, and Fidelity are not available on Windows Phone (although for some of these 3rd party developers have filled the void). I can no longer use Find My Friends with my wife. I can’t use FaceTime with my parents anymore and will have to ask them to use Skype instead. I can’t open the same websites on my phone as I have on my desktop Chrome browser anymore.

For now, I am putting up with some of these pains, but I am a geek and an early adopter. I suspect most people wouldn’t do the same and would rather stick with “known quantity”. Although WP8 is a fantastic product, it still won’t solve the platform’s chicken and egg problem overnight. Microsoft needs to continue to add critical and unique value to the Windows Phone platform to grow market share. Not until WP’s marketshare gets close to iOS and Android will developers start treating it with first class attitude. Making business deals for developers to create WP apps isn’t scalable and does not address the long-term issue.

*Full disclosure: Microsoft is my current employer, but I have no inside information or ties with anyone on the Windows Phone team any longer.

One of the things that really irked me about the Lumia 900 is that the metal camera strip at the back gets hairline scratches very easily. There’s essentially no way to guard against it as it would get those scratches even from your coat pocket or purse.

I recently learned that Nokia has replaced the camera strip and buttons with ceramic material on the Lumia 920. This makes scratching in those areas a thing of the past.

See full details from NokiaGadgets about this issue.

This might seem a very minor thing, but it shows that Nokia pays attention to details and that it is listening to customer feedback. Lumia 920 looks to be a fantastic product so far. Keep up the great work!

What an interesting time we live in. Everyone is worried about another economic downturn, the East Coast is still trying to recover from Hurricane Sandy, and we are supposed to be most worried about unemployment and job growth.

But look what’s been happening with all the gadgets.

• iPhone 5 - sold out with 2-3 weeks wait times online
• iPad Mini - sold out with 2 weeks wait times online
• Nexus 4 - sold out
• Nexus 10 - sold out
• Nexus 7 on AT&T - sold out
• Microsoft Surface - sold out but now back in stock
• Nokia Lumia 920 - sold out in many places too, but you can probably still find one.

Consumers seem to have an insatiable appetite for devices and gadgets. Either that, or manufacturers just aren’t making enough of them.

The past week has been an incredible one for Microsoft. With the announcement of Surface and Windows Phone 8, there has not been so much excitement and anticipation around its products in recent memory. Throw in SmartGlass and Bing Social Search, you may even suggest that the Microsoft brand has become “cool”. It’s almost as if Microsoft has been reborn.

But stepping back from all the hoopla, it’s easy to see that Microsoft’s success is far from guaranteed. Microsoft has yet to answer 3 key questions about the Surface.

1. Will its battery life be comparable to the iPad?
2. Will its pricing be competitive with the iPad and other Android tablets?
3. Will there be strong developer support and lots of great apps?

These are important and tough questions that Microsoft has not yet answered, and they are key to the Surface’s success. Let me just say that the road ahead for Surface will be a bumpy one:

1. Battery Life. Judging from the battery specs Microsoft provided, the current battery life estimates are 7.5 hours and 6 hours respectively for WinRT and WIn8Pro. The latest iPad has a 10 hours battery life.
2. Pricing. With all that impressive hardware and lack of manufacturing scale, it’s likely that the Surface’s price tag won’t be cheap. Current rumors peg the starting price of the WinRT version at $599 and Win8Pro version at $799. Both are higher than the 3rd Gen iPad.
3. Developer Support. Win8 is essentially starting with zero apps. If an old Windows developer needs to learn a new platform, would he choose Win8 or iOS?
4. Metro UI. Consumer reaction to the new UI is mixed at best and seems very polarized. Some seem to love it while others hate it. While I applaud Microsoft for taking a bold big bet on a completely new UI, for many people, they love Windows because they are familiar with it.
5. Consumer Confusion. Will consumers understand the difference between ARM and x86? What’s the difference between WinRT and Win8Pro? 

These are all big challenges for the Microsoft. While I am hopeful that the Surface will make a dent in the market, even running a base is not guaranteed at this point.