~ In the end, GTD is what matters ~

Phil Schiller, during the keynote, might have said that “Can’t innovate anymore, my ass”. But we all know some of the features showcased in the keynote of iOS7 is already available on Android or other mobile platforms. The feature lists offered by the operating systems - Android, iOS, Windows - overlap and with each iteration they are getting blurred across the product. Only thing we are witnessing is the new found love for *flat* UX from every major software company - Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, Apple, Facebook, Pintrest.

We have to come to terms, that like any other product the smartphones or their OS, have reached a saturation point. I feel with iOS7, Apple might not have invented anything new, but refined the UX with Ivey touch. In design lingo, people have been using the term *Transluency* for describing the new interface.

I wouldn't go into comparison of the feature set with Android or Windows, as we already have many sites or blogs which have spun out that info in the last 8 hours {Check the additional reading section}. Nor I am qualified enough to comment on the design aesthetics of iOS7. Om has a good collection of tweets & thoughts from the design community, with both sides of the coin covered - iOS 7: Love it? Hate it? Either way, designers are talking about it.

The soldiers from the Android army state that the iOS7 features are strikingly similar to that of current Android version. While the Windows Users state that iOS7 has taken a leaf out of Windows UX. In the end, a product or a service is just a means of GTD easily. We might like different products or services based on our allegiance to a design or company or brand or experience. For me the following criteria play a role in choosing a product / service - Cost, Features, Ease of use / Simplicity, Design - software & hardware, How often they iterate their software / hardware, Quality Support. Fanatics can take a break & watch the competition deliver better products or service for Consumers :)

Loved the latest campaign by Apple.

Additional reading

Design & Insecurity is back at Apple {Techcrunch} | iOS 7 gallery {Arstechnica} | Early screenshots {Techcrunch} | iOS7 Beta high resolution screens | Finally, Apple steps up to Android with the futuristic, ambitious iOS7 {NBC} | iOS7 vs Android comparison {Droid Life} | iOS7 vs Android comparison {Phandroid} | CNet review of iOS7 | Much iOS 7 design inspiration came from others but Apple elegantly puts it all together {GigaOM} | The design of iOS 7: simply confusing {The Verge} | ‘This Is Our Signature’: iOS 7 {Gruber}

~ Upgrade OS, to use latest browser ? ~

A random trivial office conversation in the evening related to browsers made us realise that one needs upgrade OS {if you are running Microsoft Operating System} to use Microsoft's latest browser offering i.e. IE 10.

But, MSFT offers a compatible version of IE 10 for Users who aren't on Windows 8 ;)

Guess what, it is the same with Apple too. Safari 6 comes integrated with OSX Mountain Lion. One cannot download Safari 6 for previous versions of OSX. 

Isn't that just BIZARRE? One needs to upgrade their Operatin System {OS} to use latest browser release. What could be the possible reasons:  

1. Consumers are forced to upgrade to latest OS; which brings in more money for them
2. They don't want to invest time & resources to support the latest features for older browsers versions

However, other popular browsers - Chrome, Firefox, Opera - do not have such limitations.

~ Wearable technology ~

"To convince people that they have to wear something, it has to be incredible," Cook said. "If we asked a room of 20-year olds to stand up if they're wearing a watch, I don't think anyone would stand up." 

If The Verge is to be believed then that above observation from Tim Cook, makes him a realist. Many of us don't wear watch these days unless for fashion statement. I wear them occasionally. Not sure if  Cook made such a statement to stop the trail leading to Apple's next wearable tech gadget, which could very well be a smart-watch.

However, Tim Cook feels that the market for wearable computing is "interesting & profound" which is ripe for exploration by many companies. When asked about Google Glasses, here is what he had to say 

"It’s probably not likely to be a mass market item. It’s probably more likely to appeal to certain markets,” Cook said. I'm interested in a great product. I wear glasses because I have to. People generally want glasses to reflect their fashion, style, etc. So this is difficult from a mainstream point of view. I think the wrist is natural. I think there are other things in this space that could be interesting. Sensors are exploding. It will become clearer over time.

I feel that with ever expanding world of technology & manufacturing we are just churning out more smart devices for the same purpose - mobility & function. Lot of smart devices which are already in the market - Smartphone, Music Player, Tablet, Laptop - overlap the feature set over form factor. I have a music player, smartphone & macbook. The most I use during my day would be - Smartphone, Macbook, Musicplayer - in the order which is mentioned, when it comes to mobility. The pattern would resonate with most who own more than one mobile device. I feel people would prefer owing one unified device {carry/wear} over many devices for same feature set. 

There are already many next gen devices out there & also talking shoes, which is beginning to shape the ground for the next big thing - Bionic Technology - for the masses.

If you think Bionic technology is in nascent stage then you should watch this video to open your mind ;)

Additional Reading: Full transcript of the interview with Tim Cook at D11 | Tim Cook interview from AllThingsDigital | High resolution configurable bionic eye | Bionic eye gets better | Terminator Hands | 9 bits of scary Terminator tech that already exist

~ Android & OEMs ~

Is HTC suffering from the onslaught of cheap Android phones? Are Android OEMs having the same fate to that of PC OEMs? Yes for both the questions.

Two recent articles which highlight the problems HTC is facing - The Verge 

The Verge has learned that HTC's Chief Product Officer, Kouji Kodera, left the company last week. Kodera was responsible for HTC's overall product strategy, which makes the departure especially notable on the heels of the global launch of the make-or-break One.

It's not just Kodera. In the past three-odd months, HTC has lost a number of employees in rapid succession — most recently Jason Gordon, the company's vice president of global communications. Other fresh departures include global retail marketing manager Rebecca Rowland, director of digital marketing John Starkweather, and product strategy manager Eric Lin.

While Om Malik writes about how both, Apple & Samung have the upper hand in integrating Supply Chain in the manufacturing process.

Apple has used all the billions in the bank to lock up supplies for processors, memory chips, radios, displays and other such components at favorable prices. It has worked out long term manufacturing arrangements with the likes of Foxconn. It has its own retail outlets. While most of us try and focus on Apple’s hardware and software integration, we forget that it is software, hardware and supply chain integration that allows the company to sell 37.5 million phones in the most recent quarter. It allows the company to make phones that meet the needs of different carriers.

Samsung too is an integration beast. It owns memory chip plants. It makes its own processors. It makes displays and it owns the factories. It has the unique ability to churn out new products faster than anyone else in the consumer electronics business and thus overwhelm the market with dozens of models. Just look at the many flavors on its latest Samsung S4 device and you start to see that this is a game only for big boys.

Supply Chain Integration could be a very key factor for a Global player. However in India, which is one of the fastest growing smartphone market, has seen the rise of 2 companies - Karbon & Micromax - that offer low lost Android Smartphones. Micromax sources China for their production, like any other OEM to reduce production costs. The product features & functionality match that of Samsung. The exterior build quality looks same in both cases, PLASTICY. One can own a Micromax phone with S2 features for about 15000 INR which is 30% lesser compared to Samsung's device. The devices offered by Mircomax/Karbon might be cheap imitations of the South Korean giant, but they are selling like hot cakes in India.

If Samsung wants to retain it's growth & share in the Indian Android market then it needs to take cognizance of these companies & have a strategy. While Apple has always been late in introducing products in the Indian market. Micromax has outpaced & outsold both Apple & Samsung which is gearing up to touch the $1 Billion mark.

Additional reading: Pretty profitable parrots | First Mover or Fast Follower?

~ Manufacturing in the US is a mirage ~

I had few glimpses of #SOTU {State of the Union} address by Obama from my Twitter TL {Time Line}. Of the many things being said, one particular statement caught my attention 

Obama in #SOTU: "this year, Apple will start making Macs in America again." #JobsNow

— The White House (@whitehouse) February 13, 2013

There might be intent and zeal to get more manufacturing jobs back from China into the US. Absolutely nothing wrong with the idea. Financially, I do not think Apple will take this road to reduce its profits nor the sales.

Why this would remain a distant dream:

1. Apple products do not come cheap even in the US. They are priced commodities compared to the competitive products in the market. 
2. The current pricing model cannot be sustained if manufactured in the US.
3. If the prices go up, will consumers still buy Apple or look at other options? 
4. A company like Apple would never like to loose out revenue. Mr Jobs himself had made a statement that it would be nearly impossible to get the manufacturing of their products back to the US.

Google, Apple's asymmetric competitor, took the audience at annual Android event by surprise when they announced the Nexus Q, a streaming device which would be "Made in USA". 8 months after the hyped launch Google has already lost the plot with Nexus Q. They has killed it. What could be the reason?

Cost. Cost. Cost. 

Which consumer would like to pay $300 when you have options starting at $99 & above. That speaks a lot about what consumers really think. They are concerned about economy than "Made in USA". China has the grip over manufacturing sector. Even India has begun sourcing many consumer products from China these days. 

When Obama asked Jobs how to bring all the iPhone manufacturing jobs back to the United States. {via NYT}

“Those jobs are gone,” Jobs is said to have snapped back, like a professor to a student who hadn’t done his homework, “And they’re not coming back.” according to Forbes.

Unless Apple has a decent Wages-Cost ratio strategy up it's sleeve for their products that are manufactured in the US; till then it would remain a mirage for Obama & Apple.

I would like someone from the media to pose this question to Tim Cook at some point of time to know how Apples plans achieve this. Thought Obama was a thinker & who did his ground work before addressing. However, this time around makes me think that he is no better than any other politician who is seen making grand promises.

Charles Fishman has an article 'The Insourcing Boom' in the December issue of The Atlantic, which I would like to read. #Longread

Update:
The Atlantic has a good summary of reaction from various people here.

Image source: MrBrill

~ iWatch you ~

The rumor is that Apple is gonna bring another consumer product. This time around they have plans of making your watch smarter. Am sure you guessed it right with the name they have iWatch.

Am sure the device would be a reality very soon from the coverage it is getting from various media houses, NYT & WSJ being more prominent.

The idea of a smart watch would be a childhood dream come true for many. Personally, I think this device is an overkill in a market where we already have too many smart devices - Phones, Music Players, TVs, Tablets, Notebooks, etc. I wouldn't have the need to buy it as I already have a Smartphone. 

What do you think about the following 

1. Aren't there too many smart devices already out there
2. Would you buy one
3. Is there a need for one

Here is the coverage on the device - GigaOM | NYT | WSJ | DataMotion | Mike Elgan has covered much more here

Concept illustration courtesy of ADR Studio

~ Copy like Chinese ~

I have seen fakes of iPod & iPhone 3S in Bangalore. All of them are made in China. We all have read about the famous fake Apple stores that were mushroomed across China. 

Fake Apple Stores: BBC | Guardian | The Atlantic 

Today I came across another piece of article which is the mother of all copies. The Chinese have ventured into copy Architecture. The funny thing is that the 'copy' might even be completed before the 'original'. The stakes are pretty high for the Architect Zaha Hadid & her team to complete the original before the fake steals all the limelight.

Original Galaxy SOHO

Wangjing SOHO minus one building 

Source: Spiegel 

Indian companies aren't far behind. If you haven't seen Micromax A110 Canvas yet then check it out. It looks very close to Samsung Galaxy S3. Samsung should be feeling the heat, because the price of A110 is Rs 10000/- ;)

I just read About Us on Micromax page, "Our Strategy focuses on innovating, designing and using the latest technologies to develop products at affordable prices." Not sure if these are guys are innovating in copying other products or creating a design remix out of the HTC + Samsung. 

How many companies do you know of in the current era who are actually ORIGINAL in their design process & build something new. I bet there are very few companies currently in that space. Isn't there joy in creating something original? I hope 2013 has some kind of competition from players in their  design approach than copying Apple or anyone else.

~ Reinvention doesn't always help, unless it's better ~

The author nails it on the head *Apple, you really shouldn’t mess with things that work.* That suggestion applies to any company or any individual.

Unless you can improvise an existing product or service for better functionality then why even bother venturing into it. Apple could be doing that for strategic business reasons, which most of us know:

1. Reduce dependency with Google or Google products
2. Youtube being the first
3. Maps being the next
4. Siri's dependency on Google's Search API is reducing
5. Thermonuclear war ;)

The consumer will / should always be the king. They deserve better products or services for the money they pay. Today after many users upgrading their devices to iOS6, loyal iPhone users have been complaining about the home grown Maps app by Apple.

Most products or services get better with time. There is lot of ideation, time & energy that goes into product iterations before seeing the light and being accepted by end users. Am sure Apple is gonna turn around and address these trivial burning issues.

However, what appears strange is how can the quality of software deteriorate from an Apple stable. If your next question is why are so many people complaining much for just one app? Well maps is an app which has daily usage by many - for turn-by-turn navigation, finding public transport, etc. Also, Apple has always set the bar high be it - UX, Product Design, Innovation, Ideation, even Project Management. (How do I know about PM? I have been lucky to work with Apple on their Developer Forums community in 2008). When you have set the bar so high, it's natural that people notice the flaws when they are using them.

If Google releases their native Maps app for iOS, then it would be great to see how many users would prefer it over the pre-bundled app.

If I Were Google, I Wouldn’t Release A Native iOS 6 Maps App For Six Months

New Apple maps app under fire from users

The Irish government isn’t happy with Apple’s Maps – this ‘airfield’ isn’t an airfield at all

The Apple iOS 6 Maps are amazing. Not.

Just Googled for the title of this post & found Jeff Atwood's  post - Don't Reinvent The Wheel, Unless You Plan on Learning More About Wheels - written in 2009. Makes a good read.

Updates: 

25 Sep 2012 
Has Apple Peaked?

29 Sep 2012 
Tim Cook's apology
Tim Cook's apology shows that Apple cares, but still needs to fix problem

~ Late to the '4G' party ~

As I was going through the launch of EE in the British Isles, came across this section { http://ee.co.uk/#section-4gee}and noticed that I don't see an iPhone in the advt. 

Strangely, Apple for once is late to arrive on the 4G scene. With 25 hours to go for the launch of iPhone 5 & Apple to introduce it as the yet another amazing iPhone. Let's see where the battle of smartphones will go.

I feel the hype-cycle for smartphones, tablets & mobile OS is passé, which has reached saturation level for many OEMs. Hope this launch will not trigger another round of battle. Been reading these rumors y'day - Samsung will reportedly sue Apple over LTE use on iPhone 5 

The goal of technology should be more of an enabler / catalyst to make our lives comfortable, than anything else.

On a side-note, Naveen is very happy with EE launch :{

Update: 

Viewpoint: Apple's iPhone launches no longer excite

~ Switcher to Adopter ~

I became a SWITCHER five years ago, while I was consulting in the UK. Thanks to Rory & Martin, who sold me on OSX & MBP. However, my house-mates thought I was blowing my money on piece of hardware that was nearly 40% more than the Windows equivalent option.


Since then I have had no qualms about moving to OSX. Have enjoyed the stability n features of the operating system, design of hardware & the simplicity n UX of the applications. 


I have been waiting for Apple to refresh their MBP line and eventually they did couple of months ago. I would have upgraded to MBP, but then they introduced MBP RD. Was contemplating whether to upgrade to RD or not. After reading iFixt tear-down of RD, was bit held back.


After speaking to Navneet & Rory, there was no looking back from RD. I have taken a 3 year warranty, in case of any contingency. Thanks to Deepak R, who helped minimize the financial effect on my wallet :)


I eventually got to lay my hands on the MBP RD on Sunday. TBH, I was pleasantly surprised with the form factor. Simply beautiful. My old MBP was twice the size of this and heavy. Of-course Retina Display :) Boy, this one beats all the ultrabooks which are in the market.


After 3 days of usage, there are couple things which I miss as of now:

• The keys on my earlier MBP were much softer than the latest iteration.
• Chrome for RD is surely missed. Safari does it's job better for rendering websites. 

Here are some pictures of 2007 MBP against 2012 MBP RD.

If you are looking for more detailed review. Anandtech has a detailed one.

~ Remix for better ~

If you haven't watched the series called Everything is a Remix or Steal like an Artist, then you should be doing it right now.


There is no point in boiling an ocean or re-inventing a wheel. You build upon something which already exists to make it even better. That's the power of ideas. 


What triggered me to write this post was the simple UX flow of the ever growing mobile OS - Android. Android so far in its latest iteration i.e. ICS has evolved & has much better UX than the previous versions (Note: Am referring to Stock Android devices). But, even the stock UX doesn't come close to what Sharp AQUOS has to offer. I'm taken by the simplicity & minimal event triggers across various actions.

OEMs (Samsung, Sony, HTC, Motorola) who patch a layer of SHIT over stock Android should be watching this video to learn more about UX, Design & Minimalism. Above all, Google should be paying more attention to this video.

You should ONLY remix original if you can offer something better. Else don't remix.




The power of being open - where you have the option to create / improvise, something better than the original. Unlike WALLED gardened products or approach.

More about Sharp AQUOS

Via @Cotton

~ The ONE ~

There can never be replacement to an individual nor individual's ideas. No matter how much vision documents he has left for the life of the company. A person in-flesh & blood would make a lot of difference than on paper.


Today's iPad event shows how ONE man's vision brings a change in perspective towards a Product. You are missed Mr #Jobs. Good Night!

Very sad & disappointed.

~ Apple 25 billion counter ~

Few of my colleagues have been following the Apple's App store counter for over 2 hours now, on regular intervals.

If you see the counter rate at which the apps are downloaded, they are more surreal - like 500+ apps per second. If you want to check out visit www.apple.com or http://www.apple.com/itunes/25-billion-app-countdown/

Open the above links on multiple tabs & see if you get the same count value. You don't see the same value, not sure if the data feed which is coming from the server side is synchronized. There is definitely an REST call which is happening. Check out the video here.

Open you Chrome debug console, click on Console window and execute this command 'downloadCounter._currentCount'. Thanks Samee for helping me out ;)

Also, here is the Thank You message which Apple will splash after 25 Billion downloads :P 

~iPhone: To debut in India ~

All apple fanatics in India who want to own iPhone, don't have to invest in jailbreak iPhones anymore. As Vodafone and Airtel are bringing in the iPhone sooner/later this year. Even though the official dates of iPhone debut isn't announced, the tentative timeline should be Aug/Sep of this year.

The 3G version of iPhone in the US is slated for release on July 11th at $199 for 8Gb version. Need to see how the pricing would be for the same in India. I would consider their rate plans before switching from W880i to iPhone.

26 June 08 Update: Airtel has their own subscribe page now.

More info: Vodafone.in | Apple & Airtel PR

~ Get a Mac ~

Apple has just released new commercial for Get a Mac titled 'Sad Song'. The commercial takes a dig @ PC's state of affairs after using Vista.





To watch more ads visit here.

Note: Open this blog in Firefox & you need to have Quicktime installed to view the ads.

~ Leopard has arrived ~

Visit Apple (before 26th 2007) and then have a close look at the above image. If you happened to spot the difference, then you know what I meant to convey. More on it after the official launch.

Switched!

The wait is finally over, my macbookpro arrived few minutes back. I haven't yet opened the parcel yet. Waiting for lunch hour to unpack and see it. 2 hours to go.

I have switched for the best!

Goodbye Microsoft.

Apple blunder?

I have been anxiously waiting for my MBP (MacBookPro) from 21st June. Today when I hit Apple bridge-point for tracking my order status, here is what I didn't expect from Apple....just check the snapshot.



Did u spot the blunder?
If you haven't then go back and check the Date mentioned against 'Estimated Delivery Date', it says '04 Jul 2007 (Subject to change)'. Wonder if anyone can go back in time? I am not the lonly soul who has experienced this, check out Bri Guest's second comment on the apecode forum.

Hope there won't be such blunders with their 'Time Machine'