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At 10am PT today, Apple held what was the much-anticipated “Special Event” at their headquarters – an event that was shrouded in rumors of new releases and changes.

Apple is notorious for doing everything it can to keep the general populace in the dark about its releases right up until the very end, and they are normally very good at it; however it seems that this time around there were enough legitimate leaks that many of the rumor-mill sites hit the nail on the head in regards to what the ordeal was about and left little to the imagination. As everyone (at minimum) expected, the “Special Event” held today was centered on the unveiling of the new iPhone 5s and the newly-developed-and-launched iPhone 5c. 

As my readers may already know I did not exactly have my hopes up about the event as a whole; in fact just yesterday I posted a guess as to what could be expected from this launch, and I also included my prediction as to how investors would perceive the announcements that were to come. I surmised that Apple would likely release three products: two iPhones and a new iPad. I also predicted that if Apple only launched the two iPhones (and possibly the iPad) without the added launch of some other sort of innovative technology, it could be expected that a notable loss of interest from investors and from the public would instantly follow.

Okay, Okay. So what actually happened at the event?

During the course of what ultimately turned out to be nothing more than a very over-dramatized release party, Apple did not even so much as launch a new iPad – all they did was launch the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c. Furthermore, aesthetically and technologically speaking the new pair phones were shown to be just as I had feared they would be; the iPhone 5s is nothing more than an iPhone 5 with a fingerprint reader and a few upgrades (albeit a significant camera upgrade, but this is to be expected based on their previous camera issue in the iPhone 5) and the iPhone 5c is nothing more than a plastic iPhone 5 with  bunch of colors. Aside from these changes, there is virtually nothing different in the iPhone 5s from the iPhone 5, and as for the iPhone 5c… well, I didn’t even think that should have launched in the first place.

So what does this all mean for Apple, and for consumers?

The end result of this less-than-exciting launch was that we saw a significant drop in Apple’s stocks today. Apple closed the day down two percent, which is not good considering they just launched the product intended to carry their profitability for the next year. If Apple is going to continue to stay in the good favor of stockholders and investors, they will need to make some kind of splash soon with a new product. Holding a launch like this without really innovating anything was not good for Apple. Even iOS7 (which I personally think is quite the beautiful system) is already experiencing mixed reviews from developers, and the negative commentary behind the software mixed with uninteresting hardware might result in a serious hiccup for Apple.

In my opinion, today’s launch was definitely not a business-savvy maneuver unless Apple has something like a Google Glass competitor up their sleeve that’s aimed for launch in the very, very near future. After all, we are seeing a lot of shifting in the mobile market right now, and we have historically seen that when a company sits still in times like these, it never ends up well. Google is currently launching their first original Motorola-branded smartphone, and Microsoft is currently moving into position to make some big changes in their mobile business. Even Blackberry is making ripples with the undertones of a Microsoft buyout. Without any real innovation, Apple is just leaving that door wide open for Microsoft and Google to walk through.

So is all hope lost for Apple?

I want to be optimistic and say that this launch being so underwhelming means that something huge is in the pipeline, but I can’t say that with any kind of assertiveness. It’s just a hope and it is not based on any sort of facts, but I would like to believe that Apple has yet to lose its touch; unfortunately, though, the cards don’t seem favorable right now.

I will be closing this with some extra resources for you. Below I will be linking the keynotes to the new iPhones and the new iOS (for those who didn’t catch that a few months ago). I feel I should also point out that I will be posting again very, very soon covering a small conspiracy I noticed, regarding the iPhone 5c; to give you a little teaser, I think Apple shot it’s “Innovation” slogan in the foot with the iPhone 5c by using similar marketing tactics to the Nokia Lumia 920 – but, we’ll get to that in the next post.

iOS7 Keynote can be found Here

the iPhone 5s and 5c keynote can be found Here

Image Source found Here

In recent weeks I have been putting a lot of focus on Microsoft thanks to all of the uproar surrounding a slew of changes that’s occurring with them. However, I think it’s just about time I put just a little emphasis on Apple. After all, they are set to launch a bunch of stuff soon.

Sorry for not getting around to talking about this launch sooner; I have held out on writing about it for as long as I can, because my honest opinion is that I don’t expect us to see anything exceptionally unique come out of it. Admittedly though, the world is a mysterious place and we could experience the unexpected. I’m going to break down the facts and see if I can come up with some conclusions on what we can expect from this announcement, and in the wake afterwards.

By now, most people who keep up with technological news are aware that Apple is being watched for signs that they can’t hold their own without Steve Jobs at the helm. Since his passing, the world has kept a keen eye on the company, as they have historically been unable to hold it together without him. Even though the iPhone 5 was released after Steve Jobs’ passing, many investors wrote it off as pre-planned, and because of this the world is watching this upcoming release intensely to see if Apple really still has all of its ducks in line.

So this means their next release better be pretty spectacular, wouldn’t you agree?

On September 10^th the world is officially expecting the announcement of two new iPhones – the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c – the iPhone 5s being the latest and greatest iPhone, while the iPhone 5c is said to be a more cost-friendly and probably-plastic version of the iPhone that will possibly sacrifice some key features to keep the cost down. I also believe that Apple will be releasing a new iPad; the prices of both the iPhone 5 and the iPad have been getting slashed in major retailers and I can’t imagine Apple cutting prices on the iPad if they weren’t on the verge of a new product release for the iPad line.

So, we have our preliminary lineup: two new iPhones and an iPad. Not so bad, right? Wrong.

As of right now I have three questions about the expectations of September 10^th and its impact on the technological world: what is it that the public is really expecting out of these new devices, what could Apple possibly offer us in the iPhone 5s that isn’t in the iPhone 5, and why is Apple producing the iPhone 5c in the first place? I ask these questions because the answers to them will lead us to the answer of the question that is on everyone’s mind: is Apple falling apart?

As always, Apple has remained secretive about almost everything (and will right up until the announcement), but it has been speculated that there will be very little changing in iPhone 5s compared to its older brother save a small camera and processor upgrade. However, one thing has been leaked: it seems that the iPhone 5s will contain a fingerprint scanner. The news that the iPhone 5s has a fingerprint scanner on it at all genuinely disappoints me and throws up an early red-flag that the iPhone 5s is going to be a flop. Here’s where I draw my concern with this leak from: short of a few hardware updates, the only difference between older the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4s was Siri – a novelty. When the new “4s” came out, it’s only change was a novelty and we really didn’t see any innovation between the two devices. I feel as though Apple is setting everyone up for another “4s situation” in the sense that they are going to market the 5s as a new phone when in reality the only major change is the fingerprint reader, which is really no more useful than Siri and is all-in-all just a novelty and nothing more. Fingerprint readers really don’t provide a tremendous increase in security to a phone, and the only thing this fingerprint reader is going to do is be fun to play with and drive the price up on the iPhone 5s. Meanwhile, the actual hardware itself will probably be imperfect at first anyway, making it less of a seamless integration and more of a “we need a wow-factor” afterthought.

With Apple under the microscope by investors right now, they really can’t afford to have the iPhone 5s come off as “The iPhone 5 with a fingerprint reader”. It will scare investors into thinking their innovation has been stifled and I’m sure that if this is the case, we’ll see Apple’s stock decline by close on the 10^th.

To quell the words that I’m sure will surface from that statement, I understand that a sub-brand such as the iPhone 4s or the iPhone 5s is designed to be non-innovative and merely an evolution of its original, but is that really what Apple needs right now, with the condition of the criticism they face? If anything, they really should have skipped out on the iPhone 5s and moved right to the iPhone 6, but we’ll get to that later.

So, the verdict on the iPhone 5s: prepare to be disappointed. It’s most likely going to be an iPhone 5 with a fingerprint reader.

Onto the iPhone 5c: launching this device at all is really one move I don’t understand. Apple’s explanation for this device is that they wanted to ensure Apple products were affordable for everyone and thus wanted to create a device that could be purchased at a low price point – but there is a problem with this. Historically, Apple has been able to offer budget iPhones all along without adding another product to their line. How do they do this? Simple: they just slash the price of the previous iteration and boom – instant budget-phone. There is no doubt that this is already happening in retailers now as companies like WalMart gear up to stock the new phone. So, why did Apple pay a bunch of people to create an intentionally sub-par device to fill a so-called “gap in their business model” when they were already inadvertently doing just that with older iterations of the phone? There is no doubt that we will see features missing on the iPhone 5c and with its plastic shell I’m sure we can expect hardware specs similar to the iPhone 4…. But wouldn’t it just make more sense to remarket the iPhone 4 then, and avoid the plastic look and avoid brand fragmentation? I would think so. In the end, I don’t see the iPhone 5c selling in the United States. The iPhone is a status symbol – just as equally, the iPhone 5c could become a symbol of “I couldn’t afford an iPhone 5s so I bought this” (you know how mean kids can be). If you market a product as “the iPhone for everyone else”, are you really expecting it to do well, when it essentially turns it back on virtually the entire history of your previous business model?

I think the answer here is that Apple is looking to grab the profit form a low-cost, high-margin phone and not considering the repercussions of such an approach. This is just my humble opinion.

Verdict on the iPhone 5c? In my opinion, Apple shouldn’t even launch this in the US. I can see it doing well in other markets where phones are much more expensive, but here in the US I couldn’t imagine it selling to expectation at all.

As for the iPad, well, speaking of brand fragmentation the iPad was a mess from the time the iPad three was released. I don’t want to see how they decide to brand this iPad – in fact, I hope one doesn’t even launch. Before another iPad launches, Apple needs to bring the fragmentation on the iPads under control. Therefore, my verdict on this product is simple: if you’re going to launch a new iPad, kill all sales and support for the previous versions. You need to wipe the slate clean on the iPad and start fresh – and whatever you do, Apple, don’t name this one just “iPad” again. Please.

So, I know this all seems pretty pessimistic, and it is. However, we have still seen some pretty good things come out of Apple. iOS 7 seems gorgeous, and after playing around with it I’m very impressed. However, Apple needs to do more than just come out with a new Operating system if they don’t want to end up like Microsoft. If the new iPhones and iPad are all that Apple has to offer on the 10th, then god speed to them - I can envision the stock plummet already.

Okay, so what would Apple have to do to save itself from that fall?

Release a Google Glass competitor, tomorrow and beat Google to the punch on wearable computing, then surprise us all with a massive screen on the iPhone 5s.

If Apple wants to keep investors from panic-selling, they need to innovate in the absence of Steve Jobs. This release is Apple’s chance to prove to the world that they can produce quality products without Jobs at the helm, and if they miss it, then they will have a hard time doing it next year after a year of interim for Apple investors to watch the iPhone 5s be nothing new, the iPhone 5c fail and other tablets really begin to catch up to them. Furthermore, while we’re waiting another year to see innovation from Apple, Microsoft will be plugging away at their changes, meaning that the lack of innovation soon will mean giving Microsoft the chance to spring into action.

Apple needs to do something remarkable, and I think the only way to do that is to move into wearable computing, and to ensure that they don't get left behind in the smartphone market. One of the major changes happening in the smartphone world right now is a movement towards bigger screens. This surge of large-screen popularity can be seen In the wildly popular Samsung Galaxy S4 and the HTC One, not to mention the over-the-top devices like the Galaxy mega. If Apple continues to ignore these two portions of the market, I don't believe that it will do the company any justice.

So my verdict on what needs to be done? Apple should increase the screen size of the iPhone in the 5s iteration, nix the iPad release, only release the iPhone 5c overseas and release a Google Glass competitor. Sounds like a lot, but this right here would be my dream release from Apple, and in my opinion would snatch them from the jaws of death.

Also, while I'm on the topic of wearable computing, Apple had better not produce a SmartWatch. If they jump on the SmartWatch bandwagon, they will only further be proving that they aren’t interested in innovation, because the SmartWatch market is likely to die very quickly.

In the end, we’re either going to be dumbfounded by an amazing innovation in the next 48 hours, or we’re going to be severely disappointed. I’m bracing for the worst, and hoping for the best. If we don’t see something spectacular come out of them, I believe we could potentially see a large shift in the mobile market over the year after. Who knows? Maybe we’ll see the first WinKiaBerry.


Image Source Found Here

 

As we all press endlessly into the future, we cannot help but wonder what it holds for us and when it comes to technology, people like myself try as best as possible to see into the future.

Why?

It’s fun.

That being said, I have always been one to keep an eye on Microsoft and their antics, especially lately with the Nokia Buyout and the rumors that Microsoft could potentially be in the market to buyout blackberry as well. Microsoft has been the dominating presence of technology in the past but is still struggling to regain its foothold after the mobile paradigm shift of the last decade.

In the wake of the recent buyout, what is Microsoft going to do during the course of the next five years? The company is in a churning state of change and as of right now, investors are worried (and so am I) about its future.

Though I think I’ve officially put it all together.

You see, in recent news there seems to be a leak of Microsoft’s latest software update to Windows Phones known as GDR3 (or General Distribution Release 3). This leak, which was a craigslist find, seems to outline some major changes that lay the foundation for what is known as Windows Blue, the grandiose update supposedly linking all of the different Microsoft platforms once and for all, thus unifying the new platform across all devices.

It’s interesting that we hear news about this now, right after the acquisition of Nokia, and in the wake a new rumored Nokia device, the1520, which keeps up with the large-screen trend by upping to a phablet.

So what can we expect?

Well, here’s my theory. Many people believe that the surface branding is going to die; I don’t believe that to be true. In fact, I wholeheartedly believe that the Lumia line is what Microsoft is going to kill. Microsoft is going to do it’s best to keep the branding under one name: Microsoft. As I said in a previous blog, Microsoft’s most difficult challenge is going to be to bring the branding issue under control that has been plaguing them. Therefore, Microsoft is going to rebrand the next Nokia device (likely the 1520) to “Surface Phone” or something along those lines, and will make it the transitional device on a slow step-down to a 4.5in surface device. Once this is done, Windows will release the “Blue” update and unify all of the devices, thus making the interface the same across all of them. During this time, I’m expecting to see one or two more companies scooped up, namely Dell and Blackberry, as Microsoft drops third party support and brings hardware production under one roof. Sub-brands like Dell, AlienWare and blackberry will be integrated into the Microsoft brand, and suddenly we will see a very apple-like, IT-and-Business-Friendly, all-1^st-party Microsoft.

While all of this is plausible, it is of course quite a distance off in the future and could be massively interrupted by the change in management that is on its way. Furthermore, my prediction hinges on Microsoft’s ability to bring the desktop and laptop market in-house – something that could spur a lot of problems, but also potentially open up the market for other up-and-coming operating systems like Ubuntu Edge and Chrome. Things like this could spell death for companies like Acer and HP though, who have already seen a few woes in this new mobile universe we live in.

All-in-all, I think one thing is for sure: Microsoft cannot keep living on the edge of first party – they will have to tip one way or the other, and continuing to trust other companies with their Operating system is not something that I believe Microsoft wants to continue doing. The advent of bloatware and other issues with Windows PCs is putting a blemish on their name that only going 1^st party can eliminate. Since this is most likely their goal, I have based my prediction off of what is most likely to need to occur, and then judging what I believe to be the only logical steps to get there.

In short, this is my prediction, based on a little research and mostly intuition.  I’m sticking to it, so let’s see what happens in the next several months.

Photo Source found Here

 

 

For quite some time now I have been covering the antics of Google as they produce their new Glass technology, and although I didn’t pick up a developer copy due to the heavy price tag, I will be one of the first to grab the consumer model assuming that the price comes down in the way that was promised by Google.

It seems that no one yet has announced a real competitor to Google Glass and although it’s likely that other companies are just simply keeping tight lips on those projects, we have recently seen something happen in the world of tech that I almost didn’t see coming:

Smartwatches.

Google is currently paving the way into a new generation of technology in which our everyday-use devices will be blended into our fashion and worn on our bodies. When Google announced Glass, the whole world stirred with the potential of the next sci-fi tech to become a reality.

The result is this: several companies, including Samsung and Qualcomm, have jumped on the bandwagon with something called a smartwatch. These things are essentially glorified Bluetooth receivers; they read your text messages, show you missed calls and in some cases they can even scan QR codes.

That sounds pretty cool, Especially if the price is right. However, because of the timing and the looming arrival of Glass, I’m concerned about the longevity of such a device. Let me explain.

Glass has been in development for some time now, and has a slew of developers working on apps for it. Furthermore, it has the ability to do virtually everything the Galaxy gear and other smartwatches can do, plus a few other cool tricks. It can take pictures and video, provide you with traffic updates, give you the weather and much more. In fact, the potential of the Glass system is virtually limitless, and it’s quite clear that Google is taking their time to make sure that they get it right.

So the question I have is this: why did all of these companies decide, just now, to release these smartwatches when a better, and most likely more well-thought-out, technology is knowingly on the horizon?

That’s not a rhetorical question. I genuinely don’t understand.

I wholeheartedly believe that Glass will kill the smartwatch; they will become inconvenient and a waste of money as soon as Glass is released. Why? Well, who wants their text message popping up on their phone, in their glasses and on their watch? It’s too many places. Furthermore, even a deal for some kind of integration between the two would be relatively silly. You could potentially use a smartwatch as a control for Glass I suppose, but then you would have to look at it, and wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of it?

As of right now, I see the smartwatch kind of like a mini-DVD. It seems like a good idea until you realize that DVD’s just work better, and mini-DVD’s don’t really revolutionize anything.

 

Picture source: Droid-life.com