RapidGroove: July 2012

Monday, July 30, 2012

August Break for RapidGroove

As I did last year, I'll take the month of August off from RapidGroove. During the month, I may post a few favorite RapidGroove Reruns – blogs written in the past that some of you may have missed. When I return in September, I hope that it'll be with a few other writers to share the RapidGroove blog with me while I spend some more of my time pursuing an additional graduate degree here at Penn.

Are you already a blogger interested in getting more exposure for your posts? Not yet a blogger but want to write? Get in touch. I have room to add a few more writers to share in RapidGroove and would be glad to hear about your ideas.

Meanwhile, to the person who asked me about new iPhones yesterday... here is my prediction.

New iPhone to be available in October:

4" diagonal retina-display screen
Slightly thinner than iPhone 4S
16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB storage options
New, smaller dock connector (and adaptors!)
iOS 6, with new car navigation features
Capable of operating on at least two 4G networks: AT&T and Verizon
Most likely names: iPhone 4G or iPhone 5

See you in September!

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

The Next Thing To Disappear

Things come and things go. I'm old enough now to start sentences with "I remember when we used to..." at which point teenagers and twenty-somethings roll their eyes. But the world does change and when it does things that some of us remember disappear for good, never to be experienced by the generations that follow.

Here are some of the things that have (mostly) disappeared during my life:

Typewriters
Transistor radios
Rabbit-ear antenna on every television
Rotary dial telephones
LP records and 8-track tapes (and even cassette tapes)
Cigarette lighters in cars
Film cameras and 1-hour film developers
Milk-men, milk trucks, milk boxes on the front steps
Paper boys delivering daily newspapers, and stopping by weekly to collect
Cars with simple engines you could tune-up at home

Maybe some of those things still are common in your corner of the world. And maybe your list of things that have disappeared is much longer or much different than my list. And maybe by now I sound like a grumpy old man. But I promise, I have a point.

If we can look back and see that things have disappeared, can we look around us in the present and guess at which of the things that we have now will disappear in the future?

This is my challenge to you. Look around you and consider the items in your life. Which of them will disappear in the next decade. Surely you admit that some of these things will fade away. Which?

Leave a comment and tell me at least one thing that is about to disappear. Try this exercise on your friends, and post their answers, too.

Thanks for reading! Blogs work best with active participation. If you enjoy this blog, please give it a +1 and leave a comment. Share it on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook. More readers will drive more discussion.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

First Verizon, Now AT&T Pool Data

Shift From Minutes To Megabytes

AT&T is following Verizon down the path of shared-data plans under the branding Mobile Share. In a nutshell, this involves buying a pool of data (as opposed to a pool of minutes) and then applying smartphones and tablets to use that pool.

This move was certainly anticipated. Verizon made a similar move earlier this year. Clearly the large carriers know that growth in data usage and drops in minutes require a response. Part of that response is in the infrastructure the carriers must build, such as a broad deployment of 4G data. Another part of that response is the careful crafting of monthly plans that are attractive to customers while recognizing the voice and data trend lines and protecting carrier revenue streams.

Plan As Announced at ATT.com

Specifics around the AT&T plans are published on the att.com website. Notable, consumers choosing to move in this direction do not need a contract extension. They choose a data plan capacity from 1GB to 20GB and pay an associated price, and then pay additionally to add smartphones and tablets to that plan. Tethering does seem to be available as part of these plans, which should be a nice convenience for users and an additional revenue opportunity for the carriers.

Have any of you moved to one of these plans on the Verizon network? Are some of you planning the move on the AT&T network? Are the prices attractive? Will it change the way you use some of your devices, such as getting carrier plans for tablets or using a phone to provide Internet access for laptops when out of WiFi range?

Leave a comment and let us know.

Links:

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Ouya Game System

$4M Overnight. What now?

I'm not much of a game system guy, so I don't tend to blog about gaming. But this one has me paying attention.

As of July 12th, after only a few days on Kickstarter, the Ouya game console folks have raised $4 million. Ouya had initially set out to raise $950,000. They got that much in less than a day.

Makes me wonder... how does a small company change it's plans when it gets at least four times the working capital it asks for?

Every time a kickstarter project raises a lot of money, people begin to wonder whether we are seeing a scam in the making. After all, Kickstarter projects come with no guarantees. I admit that this could be a scam, but I'm betting it isn't. The premise is very reasonable: Low cost hardware to run a mature operating system as part of a more open and accessible (when compared with Roku, AppleTV or Google TV, or other devices hooked to your HDTV) home entertainment experience.

Details
Ouya will be an Android-based game console that can output 1080p HD video. It's planned to have 8 GB of storage, 1 GB of RAM, and will sell for $99 with a planned release in March 2013

Would a true Android OS under the covers mean that this device could provide a bridge from the huge library of Android phone and tablet apps to your living room television set? If so, not only could this be a great way to play games but it could bring a long list of quirky, creative, fun apps to a big screen for a shared experience.

Is it real? Will they be able to bring it to market for $99 in less than a year? If they do, will the games be there? I don't know, but I'm rooting for them.

Links:

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Big Battles Among Little Tablets

Back on June 27 I blogged about the Google Nexus 7, the latest entry in the 7" tablet space. The Nexus 7 looks very interesting, but probably won't be the big news for long. Apple clearly owns the larger tablet space for now, but dominance in the smaller tablet space may still be up for grabs and new models are probably coming soon.

Some early models of the smaller form-factor tablet, such as the Blackberry Playbook, were failures while others such as the Kindle Fire and B&N Nook have been successes. The rumors are now heating up about a next generation of 7" Amazon tablets to compete with the new Nexus 7. Most rumors suggest an updated low-end model without a camera, and a higher-end model with a camera and higher resolution display. One or both models are rumored to have 4G carrier network capabilities. What else might we see? Will any of these new tablets have NFC (Near Field Communications) hardware for payment or access functions?

One possible addition to this product space is an Apple iPad Mini. There has been lots of speculation. On the one hand, Apple doesn't need to dilute their product line as long as their iPad continues to sell so well. But on the other hand, releasing an Apple branded 7" tablet right now could take all the attention (and most of the sales) away from Google and Amazon.

I think it's likely we'll see a crowded 7" tablet market in the second half of 2012, with most or all models in the $200-$250 US price range, and that they'll be very big sellers through the holiday season.

Are you looking for a 7" tablet? Does it need to have a "retina" display? Does it need NFC? What features are "must haves?"

Leave a comment and let us know!

Links:

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Vacation

I'm on vacation this week, fishing, grilling, swimming, soaking up sunshine... so no new blog posts this week. I was slightly tempted to say something about Instagram and others suffering outages, but I'm sure there's plenty of media coverage.

I may post a RapidGroove ReRun later this week. And I'll get back to new posts next week.

Happy 4th of July!

RapidGroove