iPad me-too: an iPad Mini to stop the iBleeding?

With the iPad Mini, Apple catches up with rivals Samsung (Galaxy Tab 7.7), Google (Google Nexus 7), Amazon (Kindle Fire, also 7 inch screen), or Barnes & Noble (Nook, also 7 inch). As usual, connectivity comes second: WiFi enabled devices arrive before the 3-4G gizmos (TTM not specified for LTE).

At least, iPad mini is released before the Microsoft Surface 7 inch, for a good reason: it has not even been announced yet.

So Tim Cook is mocking at Microsoft, a company from the past. Steve Jobs was mocking at 7 inch tablets not so long ago, but that was a time when Apple was well ahead of the pack.

According to Strategy Analytics, Android claimed 41% of the tablet market on Q3 2012, up from 29.2% one year earlier, while Apple iOS dropped from 64.5 to 56.7%. Actually both are much lower, since some players don't disclose their sales figures, most notably Amazon, who will probably open up sooner or later anyway: Amazon is about distribution, not into OS.

Launching iPad Mini looks more defensive than proactive. The market leader was condemned to cover all bases. Now what's expected from a cultural leader reaches far beyond that.
 
mot-bile 2012

Nokia Tablet Windows 8

Saying Nokia must not fail for its future tablet is an outrageous understatement. The 10.1 inch, Windows 8 device must at least close some of the brand's gaping gap with Samsung's Galaxy series, and if possible propose an alternative to the Android - Apple duet (a more sustainable alternative than BlackBerry, that is).

A disruptive design could help, preferably one that would not be too reminiscent of the Nokia Communicator, or of the Sony Tablet P (the Terminator version of a clamshell, if not the Transformers version of a scallop).

Considering how RIM and HP fared, surviving next Xmas season could already be a noticeable achievement within 1.0 techie communities.

Nok-nok would be also working on a 'revolutionary phone'... Whatever that means (a Nokia Windows smartphone that sells, maybe?).

mot-bile 2012

Amazon, Facebook Smartphones? Who cares for Nokia Siemens Networks?

The coming holiday season is strategic for tablet market shares, and that's one of the main reasons why Apple blocked the Samsung Galaxy Tabs in key countries. Cupertino lawyers didn't even try to stop Amazon's Kindle Fire in spite of its vague iPhone 1G design: this low cost gizmo is not a direct competitor, it contributes to democratize the tablet format, and by contrast enhances the coolness of iPad in places where Galaxy's not available.

If the commoditization of tablets will take more time than it did for smartphones, it won't take ages either. Apple obviously intends to milk the cow as long as it can, and to make sure it doesn't miss the next wave. Meanwhile, Samsung doesn't seem to make the most of its leadership in bigger screens because what Smart TV needs is a leader in value aggregation. Unless your TV remains a dumb screen and your smartbox grows wings.

Smartphones will keep getting smarter, but frankly I don't care if Facebook, Amazon, and the countless players rumored to work on them launch one or not.

I care for the 17,000 people kindly fired by Nokia Siemens Networks by the end of next year, a measure shamelessly presented as a "new strategy" ("Nokia Siemens Networks puts mobile broadband and services at the heart of its strategy; initiates restructuring to maintain long-term competitiveness and improve profitability").

Fair enough, networks have never been sexy in this sector. Except maybe when there were more base stations than mobile subscribers, and when handsets were bigger than Macintoshes. But NSN can sound as attractive as SNS, and if it really wants to put "services at the heart of its strategy", all it has to do is to rephrase its press release.

I'd suggest: "Introducing "Newstrategization", our latest killer app".

mot-bile 2011

Apple employee walks into a bar...

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Again, an Apple employee walks into a bar, where he leaves unattended the company's latest prototype (this time a tablet*).

Highest stage of incompetence or ultimate marketing genius ? This incident feeds the buzz and tells the whole industry nothing has changed in Cupertino following Steve Jobs' resignation.

Want to hear the latest Polish joke ? Steve Wozniak walks into a bar of justice with a Samsung lawyer...

mot-bile 2011

* probably an iPad with a very Random Access Memory

Apple heart(break)s Samsung

Copycats. That's how Apple sees iPhone / iPad rivals. The main culprit and market share holder with its Galaxy lines, Samsung would have infringed no less than 10 patents, 2 trademarks, and 3 trade dress. As much as it hates suing a good client (Apple devices scream "Samsung Inside" from many angles), Samsung will file a counter-suit for less specific motives.

Nokia, HTC, or Motorola also have two-way legal battles with Cupertino, who also faces lawsuits from H-W Technology, or Robocast.

It's like a poke game : sue me ? suits me: I poke back. Forget hardware, OS, platform, or app wars : lawyer layer's all the rage now, and that's where innovation will come from...

Speaking of upgrades : LTE will be commercialized in July 2011 by SK Telecom and LG U+. Korea Telecom will follow suit (no lawyer needed) the following year : if they haven't decided yet with which infrastructure, they can until then rely on a strong nationwide Wifi presence to absorb the smartphone boom (unlimited wireless data plans include free access to Nespot). LG Telecom is probably eager to switch as quickly as possible to a more universal technology than the CDMA allowed by its own 3G license.

4G in SK ? 3G in NK ! On the other side of the DMC, North Korea's mobile market keeps booming : 430,000 subs EOY 2010, not much for a 24 M strong country, but quite big for a place with so few strong people. Mobility reaches far beyond the first nomenklatura circles : this is the place where not so long ago, only a few priviledged people were allowed to have a radio, locked on official frequencies. Here, suits to be feared are less of the law than of the military kind.

mot-bile 2011

Smartphone Overloads and Tablet Scares

Korean operators are just beginning to "enjoy" the dark side of their honeymoon with smartphones : capacity issues. This as smartphone penetration remains relatively low (about 5 M users), and data-guzzling tablets loom on very close horizon (Samsung Galaxy, Apple iPad...).

MNOs can't say they weren't warned : they've been waging a war to secure as many hotspots as possible, rolling out WiFi, Wibro, and all you can eat fiber networks to prevent data overloads.

What puzzles me is the commercial war that accelerated wireless data network saturation this summer : non existent before, unlimited data offers have taken over the country and right now, every other smartphone user subscribes to these proven networkphobic plans. Furthermore and as we saw earlier (see "VoIP over 3G, unlimited data... SK Telecom victim of the summerheat wave ?"), the ones who ignited the war were no others than the ones who risked the most : market leaders SK Telecom. Needless to say, #2 KT soon followed suit, causing #3 LG U+ (formerly LG Telecom) to join the suicical party short afterwards.

Short term vision 101 ? On the brighter side, this madness may help next gen networks bloom even earlier : Korea already targets 1 Gbps and 10 Gbps for mobile and fixed data by 2012.

mot-bile 2010

Cisco Cius ? Put it on my Samsung Galaxy Tab

With its Android based Galaxy series, Samsung seems to have packaged a nice alternative to the iPhone / iPad duet. Or is it the whole industry that's growing tired of the Cupertino arrogance ?

Anyway, the Galaxy S is already selling very well in Korea (over 200,000 units within days) and overseas (the top 5 MNOs went for it, 100 worldwide), and NTT DoCoMo already announced the launch of Galaxy Tab in October 2010 (LG's tablet is still expected in Q4).

Meanwhile, Cisco gave a new shot at the business tablet concept : the Cisco Cius is expected H1 2011. Also based on Android, the Cius looks much smaller than the 7 Inch Galaxy Tab, and seems to focus on video calls : "HD video (720p) with Cisco TelePresence solution interoperability for lifelike video communication with the simplicity of a phone call"*... That, of course, is provided you're connected to a big pipe, say Wi-Fi for instance.

Funny how Wi-Fi coverage is getting popular again : MNOs are abandoning flat rates for data... and all hopes that LTE can support the boom in heavy mobile / nomadic usages.

Cisco also throws in EVO 4G, Bluetooth, USB, the last one a sure bet.

But I would rather bet on RIM than Cisco for a hit in business circles, even if the BlackBerry Tablet is supposed to rely on the Blackberry handset for connectivity. Actually, that major drawback for the enduser could prove an excellent argument for CIOs and CFOs.

Nevermind that geeky CEO.


mot-bile 2010

* other applications apabilities (see Cisco Cius website) :
• 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, 3G/4G data and Bluetooth 3.0 help employees stay connected on and off-campus
• Virtual desktop client enables highly secure access to cloud-based business applications
• Android operating system, with access Android marketplace applications
• Collaboration applications including Cisco Quad, Cisco Show and Share, WebEx, Presence, and IM
Tablet Highlights:
• 7” diagonal, high-resolution color screen with contact-based touch targets delivers an elegant, intuitive experience
• HD Soundstation supports Bluetooth and USB peripherals, 10/100/1000 wired connectivity and a handset option
• Detachable and serviceable 8-hour battery for a full day of work
• Highly secure remote connections with Cisco AnyConnect Security VPN Client
• HD audio with wideband support (tablet, HD Soundstation)

Google and Verizon eye a pad - or at least a patch

In interviews to the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg*, two Verizon Wireless execs confirmed the carrier's discussions with Google to launch a tablet running on Android OS.

The absence of such discussions would have been surprising.

Verizon and Google will probably accelerate TTM for one manufacturer, very much the way they did with Motorola for Android handsets, and together they have enough power and motivation to close the gap.

Close the gap ? For Verizon Wireless, tablet TTM is definitely less important than LTE TTM, and recent LTE trials in Boston seem to confirm this sense of emergency. VZW can not only remove its CDMA-GSM handicap vs AT&T, but also enjoy a temporary competitive edge when its Texan rivals struggle with capacity issues (partly courtesy Apple). Likewise, tablets and other devices will be less critical than the ecosystems behind : AT&T may or may not keep its exclusivity with Apple for the iPhone until 2012, it still managed to open up to both the Kindle and the iPad. V wants more control on the value chain than pipe filling, and on a more sustainable basis ? Time to prove it.

Close the gap ? I never considered the key race to be between Apple and Google. Mountain View is more aiming at Redmond's throat than at Cupertino's. Yes, Apple the manufacturer is succeeding where Nokia the manufacturer failed, in trade diversification**, but Apple will never enjoy Nokia's record market shares. Yes, Apple played the role of an accelerator for existing usages and business models (ie didn't invent smartphones nor app stores), but Google can go much further and not just because, as expected, it's pushing Android ahead on handsets : Google can literally become a category killer for the wealthiest players around in the telecom and software industries. Operators know it, Microsoft knows it. A success of Google's instant cloud scratchers on bigger screens represent a much bigger disruption than the iPad itself (not really a game changer in the global ecosystem).


mot-bile 2010

* "Verizon, Google Developing iPad Rival" (WSJ) / "Google, Verizon in Talks About a Rival to Apple's iPad" (Bloomberg)
** OK, Nokia has gone a long way from timber

Samsung S-Pad in a Flash

LG and Samsung are rumored to launch their answers to the iPad during the second half of the year. Fellow Korean TriGem will shoot first (end of H1).

Samsung's S-Pad is expected to run on 3G (SK Telecom) and Wi-Fi, and on an Android OS, providing a bigger playground for Flash, which remains banned on Apple's iPad (to cheer them up, Google offered Adobe execs a couple of Android phones).

Repositioned as an editor, Apple has a right to decide what it considers entertainment or education, what fits its editorial line. But it should be careful not to position itself as AOL did against the world wide web. Apple wouldn't want to suffer from an AOL syndrome.

mot-bile 2010

Korea Telecom Qooks ebooks

mot-bile 2010 - In spite of a long literary tradition, Koreans are not big readers. Worse : in 2009, 90% of Korean publishers didn't print any new book.

Through the Korea Electronic Publishing Association, the Ministry of Culture is betting on ebooks to revive the habit (target : 100,000 ebooks per year). Kyobo Book estimates the Korean market at about KRW 1 tn (over USD 900) EOY 2010 and KRW 2.4 tn EOY 2012.

The Ministries of Knowledge Economy and Education are joining this national effort, which will also benefit local manufacturers : those guys didn't wait for the local market to do something (ie Samsung Papyrus, iRiver Story), but the issue became sensible after the launch of the iPhone, and the iPad buzz.

Harmonizing the 40 or so existing distribution platforms is a key factor of success, and the association recently held an "e-publication standardization forum" at the Korean Education & Research Information Service (KERIS).

Education is key in a country where families spend fortunes to help their kids survive one of the most competitive education systems in the world.

Precisely, for its first ebook distribution partners, Korea Telecom picked Woongjin Thinkbig, Inc., which holds a strong position in private tutoring text books, and Wisdomhouse Publishing Co., Ltd., which also has a specialization in educational contents.

The funny thing about the service is the brand : we've already mentioned Qook, KT's umbrella brand for home services. "eBook cafe / Book Cafe" makes sense because book cafes are getting popular in Korea. But "QOOK Book Cafe" bookcafe.qook.co.kr) sounds like the Java hub for rogue accountants.

iAdMobsters and multitaskers

Apple will take a 40% for all ads on its new advertising platform : iAd.

Google will gobble AdMob (whose moto happens to be "Enriching Mobile") with the benediction of regulators on the grounds that Quattro Wireless* + iAd = Google left some room to whatever's left of competitors.

iAd focuses on in-App advertising across iPhone, iPad*, and iWhatevercomesnext. Steve Jobs estimates the potential at 1 billion ad impressions per day on existing Apple devices.

Google focuses on everywhere, including iPad, iPhone, and iPutaspellonyou. It's been a long time since Big G ditched that billboard advertising "over 1 billion burgers served".

But iPhone OS 4 also offers improvements in multitasking, a word Cupertino definitely seems to be getting a grasp on.

mot-bile 2010

* snatched by Apple last January (see "SK Telecom pushes Android"). Google's purchase of AdMob last September has not been okayed yet.
** which eventually sold 450,000 units in 5 days instead of the 700,000 on day one earlier outoftheballparked by a fan (see "iFad's deliberate marketing blur") - anyway a good score. More significant : 600,000 ebooks and 3.5 M apps downloaded (iPad apps store claims 3,500 applications).

Hey kids, Apple is educating the market for iPad

mot-bile 2009 - Traditionally, ebook readers have been marketed for an elite of early adopters not only interested in high-tech but also in books.

With its Kindle, Amazon focused on "human" readers, making the technology as transparent as possible, talking about books instead of gizmos, and widening the base all of a sudden.

For its iPad, Apple seems to be focusing on kids and education (beyond, of course, the iMac / iPod / iPhone followers). Neither reinventing the old chalk tablet nor the old "kids as prescriptors" mantra : simply considering an important part of the edition ecosystem snubbed by rivals, a cornerstone of familial and societal spheres.

You're going to hear a lot about school textbooks, lessons, ebooks for kids, animated mangas and cartoons, and even do-it-yourself cartoons. About more serious stuff of course, but somewhere, Jeff Bezos must wonder why his marketing teams didn't venture beyond the standard Amazon customer.

Obama considering purchasing an IPad

That's what I gathered listening to his State Of The Union speech : the POTUS said he wanted to focus on Jobs and to help the country cruise safely through this painful iPeriod.


mot-bile 2010