Apple has a problem.  Android penetration.  I could mention RIM/BlackBerry, but if you think that company and its devices still count, you’re Canadian.  Android sales have superseded those of iPhones.  How to [...]]]> A great day for Apple. Not such a good day for Amazon, Google and the recording industry.

Apple has a problem.  Android penetration.  I could mention RIM/BlackBerry, but if you think that company and its devices still count, you’re Canadian.  Android sales have superseded those of iPhones.  How to beat back the tide?

Software.

Software is harder to sell than hardware.  You can’t see it.  It’s the difference between admiring someone from afar and getting to really know them.  They may look beautiful from a distance, but up close and personal you might find nothing to converse about. Software is the conversation.  And no one’s software works as well as Apple’s, because of device integration.

Sure, the iPod looked cool.  But Apple won because of iTunes and synching and…  Software.  People eventually get the message.

And they’re gonna get the message about iCloud and when they go to their mobile carrier they’re gonna pay extra for an iPhone, just like they pay extra for Apple laptops and desktops.  They’ll buy iPads, not Android devices.

This is a huge win for Apple.

Google finds itself lost in the wilderness once again.  Trying to do everything, Google does nothing well other than search and e-mail.  Google is the new Sony.  If someone ever comes up with a better search engine, which is not impossible, Google is toast.

As for Amazon?  Music and consumer cloud storage is an afterthought.  Amazon would like to win here, but if it doesn’t, it can shrug its shoulders.  Amazon still owns retail in so many categories, and is the king of server space rental.

As for the music industry…

Unlike Apple, the music industry is very shortsighted.  There is no tomorrow, only today.  Steve Jobs is seriously ill and he’s looking to tomorrow, the labels still haven’t pulled their heads out of yesteryear.

How do you make music pay in the future?  How do you get a ton of revenue for recordings?

By getting everyone to pay.

Think about that, it’s not a hard concept.  The outline has already been drawn by the mobile companies.  You drop the price until everyone buys in, then you slowly raise the price under the rubric of adding new features, i.e. texting.  Twenty five years ago a cell phone was a grand and calls were a buck a minute.  Now plans are dirt cheap and cell phones are free, even ten year olds possess them.  I can legitimately posit that not a single person reading this is without a handset.

That’s penetration.

How do we get everybody to pay for music?  By dropping the price and making it easy.

You call that subscription.

Cable TV is a subscription.  As is Netflix.  As is your cell phone plan.  Don’t say people hate subscriptions, that they don’t want them, it’s about offering a great service at a fair price.

The record industry refuses to do this.

Don’t point to Rhapsody and Napster, that’s like trying to sell a 2001 computer, or a Vanilla Ice record.

How can you get everybody to buy a mobile subscription?

We can debate that all day long, but it’s become almost irrelevant.  Because today, Apple killed subscription.

Yes, iCloud scan and match is subscription.  But the concept of renting your music, like you rent cable TV, that’s kaput.

And what did it cost?

$150 million.  For approximately $40 million to the bottom line of each recording company, you know they’re not going to share the revenue with artists, the labels sold out their future.

It’s like Nintendo being paid a bunch of money to never develop the Wii.

It’s like Electronic Arts being paid to never develop mobile games.

It’s a denial of the future.

Who in the hell is going to buy a music subscription for even $3 a month when for $25 a year you can have everything you own, even stole, at your fingertips via iCloud.  That’s if you scan and match, if you bought the stuff on iTunes, it’s FREE!

Spotify, MOG, Rdio, they were just trumped by Apple.  By an industry looking for short term profits unaware of the future.

This is not hard.  Like I said, subscriptions are everywhere.  But like Wimpy, labels would rather have a hamburger today instead of owning a McDonald’s tomorrow.

How cheaply they were bought off!  $150 million is nothing to Apple, look at its cash hoard!  Apple gets an opportunity to dominate with its iPads and iPhones for this paltry payment.

It boggles the mind.

Yes, few people are paying for subscriptions today.

But right now Spotify and MOG, even the aforementioned Rhapsody, synch your playlists to the handset wirelessly, almost instantly, 2000+ tracks in the case of Spotify, but almost no one knows about this, because almost no one has used these services.

It’s like Amazon trying to compete with Apple selling music.  People would rather pay twelve times the price to Apple for the GaGa album.  Apple has retail stores throughout the world.  Apple’s infrastructure is so great, no one can compete.

Steve Jobs stands on stage and says it’s all about mobile and the music industry is too stupid to get this.  Afraid to make a free desktop offer to ensure a healthy subscription model in mobile, the record industry just shot itself in the foot.

You’re selling dope here.  Spotify is free on the desktop.  But you’ve got to pay on the mobile handset, handsomely, don’t you get it, that’s where the growth is!

Where’s the growth now?  Certainly not in digital track sales.  And for a measly sum you can put everything you’ve STOLEN in the cloud.  The labels made this deal for a percentage of $25 a year, for a service most people won’t even use?

This is so dumb it’s almost incomprehensible.

The labels have been snookered by Steve Jobs, who could sense their ignorance and preyed upon them.

Let me ask you, how come Steve Jobs believes in renting movies and not music?  Isn’t it funny that the scan and match service is a subscription?  Apple could have an all you can eat music subscription in the future, but why?

If people have the history of recorded music at their fingertips for one low price it doesn’t only benefit the labels, but the artists, the promoters, everyone in the music ecosystem.  Because the barrier to checking out new music is so low that people will do so and spend money in music.  Now we’ve ensured the future of a last century model, where you’ve got to buy it to hear it.  Huh?

Unbelievable.

The blackberry 700 onyx has been launched with the specific aim of bringing a new dimension to the industry. If you were being slightly uncharitable the blackberry 700 onyx is a bold and brash addition to the array of technological innovations [...]]]> Introductory Notes

The blackberry 700 onyx has been launched with the specific aim of bringing a new dimension to the industry. If you were being slightly uncharitable the blackberry 700 onyx is a bold and brash addition to the array of technological innovations that have characterized the blackberry brand of recent. The market has received the blackberry 700 onyx with excitement especially when they have realized the great benefits that it can bring to both the private consumer and businesses.

If you are a business executive the blackberry 700 onyx would not go amiss in your drawer of gadgets that support you in your work. The reviewers are very happy with the phone and you would be hard pressed to find a really negative commentary on the gadget.

Beyond the Notes
Appearances matter to both the brand the consumers who are buying the blackberry 700 onyx. Therefore it is interesting to note that the reviews always include a side note about the small size. We have reached a level in our cultural consciousness where we associate large size with inefficiency. Therefore it is much appreciated in the technological circles when the blackberry 700 onyx appears to be uncommonly small. The leather on the phone is an added bonus that brings class to proceedings and ensures that the phone will remain a firm favorite of senior executives. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the screen resolution on the blackberry 700 onyx and some people even say it is better than many computers.

Some Technical Things
Obviously the keyboard has been something of a sore point for other models but the blackberry 700 onyx seems to have discovered the right solution. Although the phone in its totality appears to be rather small, the keyboard occupies a relatively large space. This means that when you start typing, it is far more comfortable than what you would experience with other phones. Therefore the busy executive is given every opportunity to work in peace but a significantly fast pace. Of course the blackberry 700 onyx will not have the same feeling as a normal typewriter but it sure does a great job of mimicking it.

Communication Systems

In its basic forms, the blackberry is all about communication and the blackberry 700 onyx has not lost this crucial aspect of the marketing mix. With the 3G technology you can contact other electronic message points at a relatively speedy rate. The Wi-Fi technology is just the right technological support that you need to access remote connection points. The blackberry 700 onyx has the latest compatibility tools that enable you to interact with other technologies of the same generation. This forms a network of users that graphically illustrates the advantages of mobile computing.

Concluding Matters

The blackberry 700 onyx has the latest technology to ensure that you hear the people who are talking to you and that you are heard. The horrendous echo is now a thing of the past and you can talk to your friends in relative peace despite the obvious requirement to vary your volume levels. With the updated battery storage facilities you can go on for a long time even when the power is off.

Introductory Notes

The blackberry 700 onyx has been launched with the specific aim of bringing a new dimension to the industry. If you were being slightly uncharitable the blackberry 700 onyx is a bold and brash addition to the array of technological innovations that have characterized the blackberry brand of recent. The market has received the blackberry 700 onyx with excitement especially when they have realized the great benefits that it can bring to both the private consumer and businesses.

If you are a business executive the blackberry 700 onyx would not go amiss in your drawer of gadgets that support you in your work. The reviewers are very happy with the phone and you would be hard pressed to find a really negative commentary on the gadget.

Beyond the Notes
Appearances matter to both the brand the consumers who are buying the blackberry 700 onyx. Therefore it is interesting to note that the reviews always include a side note about the small size. We have reached a level in our cultural consciousness where we associate large size with inefficiency. Therefore it is much appreciated in the technological circles when the blackberry 700 onyx appears to be uncommonly small. The leather on the phone is an added bonus that brings class to proceedings and ensures that the phone will remain a firm favorite of senior executives. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the screen resolution on the blackberry 700 onyx and some people even say it is better than many computers.

Some Technical Things
Obviously the keyboard has been something of a sore point for other models but the blackberry 700 onyx seems to have discovered the right solution. Although the phone in its totality appears to be rather small, the keyboard occupies a relatively large space. This means that when you start typing, it is far more comfortable than what you would experience with other phones. Therefore the busy executive is given every opportunity to work in peace but a significantly fast pace. Of course the blackberry 700 onyx will not have the same feeling as a normal typewriter but it sure does a great job of mimicking it.

Communication Systems

In its basic forms, the blackberry is all about communication and the blackberry 700 onyx has not lost this crucial aspect of the marketing mix. With the 3G technology you can contact other electronic message points at a relatively speedy rate. The Wi-Fi technology is just the right technological support that you need to access remote connection points. The blackberry 700 onyx has the latest compatibility tools that enable you to interact with other technologies of the same generation. This forms a network of users that graphically illustrates the advantages of mobile computing.

Concluding Matters

The blackberry 700 onyx has the latest technology to ensure that you hear the people who are talking to you and that you are heard. The horrendous echo is now a thing of the past and you can talk to your friends in relative peace despite the obvious requirement to vary your volume levels. With the updated battery storage facilities you can go on for a long time even when the power is off.

OS5.0 is FAST. Menus open and close with no noticeable delay and the device feels generally snappier. In fact, those that reviewed the Bold 2 9700 often attributed it to the newer device or the application memory but it appears it was entirely the new OS5 that comes preloaded with the [...]]]> Speed:

OS5.0 is FAST. Menus open and close with no noticeable delay and the device feels generally snappier. In fact, those that reviewed the Bold 2 9700 often attributed it to the newer device or the application memory but it appears it was entirely the new OS5 that comes preloaded with the new Bold. Upon loading it up in the older Bold 9000, the same snappiness was experienced. This is the single biggest improvement of OS5 and makes using the Blackberry a real pleasure.

Battery Life:

Battery life seems to have improved a bit. With 3G turned on and moderate use, surfing, streaming Youtube, lots of Blackberry Messages, Google Talk running in the background, couple of texts and a few short calls and 17 hours later, I just hit red at 6% battery. This used to run flat about 3-4 hours earlier with IM off! Do note that my battery is rather old and it may have lost some of its original charge holding ability but you can expect your phone to last the day without the need for a recharge with moderate use.

Reception:

Now reception is a tricky one considering even on the 4.6 builds, this varied greatly from build to build. However I didn’t see any notable difference between this and my previous build 4.6.303 which is generally a good thing!

Bootup Time:

Another thing many reviewers reported was the faster bootup time. I’m actually not too sure about this as on my build, it did seem a tad faster though I have a suspicion it’s a psychological effect due to the new progress bar shown while on bootup. The bar gives you a rough idea of how far its into the bootup process and gives you the feeling that ’something is moving’ rather than just a blank hour glass loading that has no apparent end.

On my test, my Bold took 5 minutes to boot-up, still far too long, but the progress bar makes things better.

Media:

Now perhaps the most important thing that was resolved is that thumbnails load quickly now and media scanning no longer takes an eternity.I loaded some 187 songs into my phone, complete with album pictures and folders and it scanned them all in less than 10 seconds. A pretty good improvement considering that it used to take minutes. There are also some slight UI changes though nothing significant.

Browser:

Slightly faster, but still chokes on Javascript. We probably still have to wait for their Webkit based browser.

Almost the same just some slight cosmetic tweaks

Blackberry Messenger

Many of you who had upgraded to BBM version 5.0 which is available on the older OSes would see no surprises here. Those who haven’t would see use of Avatars, a nicer UI, the option for Blackberry Groups, barcode scanning and very importantly remote backup of your BBM Contacts

Blackberry’s Killer App is improved

Threaded SMS

For those of you envying IPhones for their threaded SMS feature, envy no more! Threaded SMS is here with a variety of styles and works pretty well making it feel like a BBM conversation. Expect your SMS bills to soar.

Threaded SMS finally!

IM Contact on Home Screen

I’m unsure if this is a new feature of OS5.0 or simply an updated function of Gtalk and MSN but now you can place contacts on your Home Screen or folder for quick access! I felt this was pretty neat.

Closing Thoughts

Now I didn’t have much expectations of OS5.0, expecting it to be a minor cosmetic update. Although yes the OS remains by and large the same, the speed improvements and snappier feeling, improved battery life combined with the faster media scanning makes it a must upgrade for Blackberry users (who know what they are doing). OS5.0 is a huge step in the right direction and all the Blackberry needs now is a real browser (and perhaps a slightly snazzier UI) and a bigger app library. Annoyingly, you still can’t easily add a new number to an existing contact….

It’s a bit of a bittersweet feeling as I recently purchased myself a 9700 Bold which will now feel almost exactly the same as my old Bold in terms of responsiveness since it has the same 624mhz processor. Battery is still at 1500mah and I have a feeling we’ll get similar battery performance. Suddenly the 9700 Bold seems to be a much less compelling upgrade with only a better 3.2 megapixel camera, trackpad, a smaller form factor (which to those with large fingers is a bad thing) and a higher definition screen (which in real life is practically unnoticeable).

Is the 9700 Bold worth the high RM2XXX price if you are an existing Bold user? Probably not with OS5.0 running so well on the 9000 Bold. I’m frankly quite surprised that RIM did not take the opportunity to upgrade the processor further but perhaps they didn’t see the need to with OS5.0 running so smoothly already on existing hardware. I do feel that it was a missed opportunity to really have a device that stands out considering the Bold IS the flagship device for RIM. I think this was most apparent when the 9700 Bold and Storm 2’s release was almost entirely overshadowed by Motorola Droid’s release. RIM seriously needs to get its ’sexy’ back.

Oh and would appreciate if comments were steered away from ‘IPhone ROX’ sort by the Mac fans among you. They do rock as a lifestyle device but still have ways to go before becoming a true business communication device with secure e-mail and multi-tasking still unimplemented and a short battery life which I’m sure would be rectified in future releases.

This often happens in everyday life: Blackberry, mobile phone or electronic gadgets [...]]]> Your favorite BlackBerry course to be treated as possible, especially considering the price is not cheap. But as smart-smart bunny jump, it will fall, too. For instance for you if  the BlackBerry splashed into the water, what should you do?

This often happens in everyday life: Blackberry, mobile phone or electronic gadgets from your pocket fallen into the toilet or into a puddle of water, when you’re bent over. So what should be done to save your favorite gadget? Turns out there are telling tip to straighten it.

If it happens to you, quickly turn off the BlackBerry, cell phone, or gadgets that, by removing the battery from its slot. This is intended to avoid a short-circuit or short circuit in the series What to Do When Blackberry Bioelektronic splashed into the gadget. Then, dry, wet your BlackBerry with a dry cloth. Then put the BlackBerry down on the pile of rice. Because rice has a chemical affinity (attraction) of water.

That is, the molecules in the rice has some sort of magnetic force on water molecules, so that water remains on the phone will soak into the rice. This system may be nearly equal to the system owned by silica gel packets that serves to maintain the humidity of electronics goods, or other goods.