The Beginning of the End for Apple?

The story of the iPhone, right from its inception in 2007 has been every product manufacturer’s dream story. It took the world by storm, rejuvenated the snail-paced cellphone industry (thanks to all the non-inventors out there) and touched (ahem, pun intended) the end user in every way possible.

The next chapter logically is the rise of the 'iPhone 4' mammoth - one that squishes the competition and leaps ahead. But well, despite the raving initial reviews, the path to stardom is not so rosy anymore. Infact, it is getting murkier as the days roll.

The 'death grip' antenna issue plaguing Apple’s new baby, the iPhone 4, is sounding the warning bells for Apple in the smartphone kingdom. Apple, touted as the undisputed leader in marketing, has so far completely botched up in handling the issue.

From the beginning

It all started with a user at MacForums posting a video of the brand new iPhone inexplicably dropping signal if held in a certain way. Soon it grew into a viral video campaign with users posting video demonstrating it all over the internet. Most highly technical analysis came to mixed conclusions. They all agreed that the signal attenuation was bigger than seen in a normal cell phone or the previous models, but failed to convincing prove that it was consistently replicable in all phones or that it was a deal-breaker. Almost a month since the release, the latest and the strongest dent comes from ConsumerReports which flipped sides from heaving praises to the devices to calling the ‘death grip’ a dealbreaker and withdrawing its recommendation to buy.

Where Apple failed?

The last time that Apple faced such a strong backlash from its users was the huge price drop of the initial iPhone, just two months after the launch, leaving all the early adopters out in the lurch. But then came in a genius marketing move – an apology letter from Steve with a $100 itunes credit to every early adopter. No company had pulled off a move like that, ever. Overnight Apple became the consumer’s darling.

This time, the response has been completely the opposite. An email from one of the fans to Steve was met with a curt ‘Just don’t hold the phone that way’ response. The sense of arrogance and dictatorship in that statement alarmed ever the most loyal followers. The resulting growing anger over the issue resulted in an unconvincing explanation under the pretext of the iPhone signal calibration. Very un-Apple-like. When ConsumerReport openly withdrew its recommendation of the iPhone 4, it instigated a bigger backlash and discussions over at the Apple board. And all that Apple did was to merely delete those discussions. The mere silence and the failure to communicate to its users is strongly denting the iPhone’s sales and along with it the company’s reputation and stock value.

What's next

For the competitors: For the last few months, many rivals under the Google wagon have released formidable opponents to the iPhone. Still none have so far bettered it in consumer sentiments. Finally, they get to cache in on all the negative sentiments piling up against Apple. In fact, the latest marketing campaign of Droid X, titled ‘Hold the phone any way you like’ does exactly that.

For Apple: This presents a very difficult situation for the company. It need to act fast to stem the negative sentiments and stop losing the loyal followers. And it better get its marketing act together. Of course, the solution may not be simple nor will it be at a cheap price, but it needs to be done to uphold the company’s image.

The solution

I don’t know what the right answer might be. Personally, I don’t think supplying a free bumper is a solution. It is not what I have come to expect from a company like Apple and moreover it is but a meek submission to the real underlying issue. A recall may be only apt solution. Or maybe, there’s a magic software/firmware fix which makes it all disappear. But whatever it is, time is not on Apple’s side. Apple might still sell a ton of iPhone 4s with the death grip and the records will keep tumbling. But in the process, it might lose a huge chunk of the early adopters – those who are the core of the companies success and those who word-of-mouth marketing will have a value of millions of marketing dollars.

So, your call Apple …

iPhone 4.0: My speculation

Speculations are abound for the iPhone 4.0 Software Preview session tomorrow. Every tech enthusiast is out with his/her own wishlist and speculation.

And here's mine (in the order of importance)

1. MultiTasking: If I were to play poker, I am willing to go all-in on this one. My bet is that the next version of the OS will have complete/partial multi-tasking capabilities. Besides the fact that it's high time for Apple to get this sorted, here's my rationale.

a) More than the iPhone, the iPad needs multitasking. I can't imagine having a tablet where I can't chat and read an ebook at the same time. It just spoils the experience.

b) All along, Apple has walked away from MultiTasking on the grounds of reducing the overall performance and draining the battery life. Take a look at the iPad - the battery life is astounding. In-fact, the battery life is more than what Apple claims (10 hours). And typically Apple never underclaims. So my guess is that the iPad is designed to inherently support multitasking and the resulting battery life wouldn't be too far less than their claim.

2. Folders: This is basic. I need to save files (music/doc/pdf) on my device and be able to access it offline. Also finally the iPhone will now double-up as a USB device!

3. Integrated and Improved Mailbox: El Jobso himself replied to a fan email than an improved and integrated mailbox is coming soon.

4. Better facebook integration

5. Tethering: Well, this was promised way back and no word yet. And hopefully, they have an on-the-go no contract tethering plan.

In the past, on many occasions, the announcements have fallen short of expectations. However, with Android and WM7 catching up, it's time for Apple to extend the lead again. Honestly, if you look at the wishlist, Apple could have long done them. Their gameplan is simple: once the radical innovation is ready, innovate only as far as the competition pushes you. Pretty smart, huh!

And if all goes well, we'll also see a new Advertising Platform - iAd - being released morrow.

The iPad: My thoughts

The iPad is here... and well, it is here to stay!

After having played with the iPad for a short time (like a kid at a candy shop), I stepped out impressed. I have my own reservations, but hey, this thing rocks.

So instead of harping over the same stuff which a lot of reviews would, I wanted to stress on three unique things that struck out the most regarding the iPad

1. Potentially, The Third Segment

For many year, there has been a big debate - is there a middle segment of devices, one that exist between the phone and the computer? And if so, what does that segment best do? At first, it looks like the MID (Mobile Internet Device). For the last couple of years, it seemed as if netbooks defined that segment. But well, there was always this lingering doubt - why do people buy netbooks? what does it do better than a pc? does it redefine the experience? My view is that besides the smaller form factor, the only reason why netbooks are good is the 'price point'!

Finally with the Apply iPad, it looks like this void might be filled. The Apple iPad defines the middle segment as the productivity segment - things that you do often, like browsing web, listening to music, watching movies and reading books and magazines. The key here is that the iPad redefines the experience, making it more personal and more accessible.

2. Building the device ground-up

One thing that instantly astonished me is the raw speed - the device is blazingly fast. Things just happen naturally, there's no lag. What's even more surprising is the horsepower (the engine) that drives it. All it has is an underwhelming 1Ghz Apple A4 chip with a mere 256 MB ram. So what's the secret sauce - the ground up approach to building the device. Instead of just taking the existng hardware and software and slamming them together to make the iPad, Apple rethought everything. Every hardware is fine-tuned and devised as to best do the core activities on the iPad. That's amazing.

All this makes me very suspect of the new HP Slate due to be released shortly. The specs of the HP Slate are far better (1.6 GHz Atom processor and a 512MB/1GB ram). But then it has the standard netbook processor, not one fine-tuned for a tablet experience. What's more, it runs the clunky Windows 7 Home Series. Well, I can safely bet that despite the faster processor, the HP Slate will be very sluggish compared to the iPad

3. The App World Ecosystem

When Apple first release the iPhone, it had no third party apps. The reason was that the core functions of the device were already built in - phone, browser, ipod, photos. Everything else is secondary. But with the iPad, the core functionality is not clearly defined. In fact, that's the strength of the device. You define the core functionality. For me, the core functionality would be social networking and productivity tools (like word). For someone else, it could be reading books and watching movies. What this means is that the App World defines the core utility of the device. And Apple realized it right from the beginning. That's why, in addition to making the iPad being able to upscale and run the thousands of existing iPhone apps, Apple ensured that there's more than 3000+ iPad only apps available at launch. These apps, besides taking advantage of the iPad large display space, also illustrate how the iPad apps are so different and better than those for the iPhone.

Of course, the device has its own drawbacks - no camera for teleconferencing, no usb ports, no flash connection and most importantly no multitasking. Well, here's my strong bet: from the beginning, iPad has been designed to support multitasking. The only reason it has been waiting so long is for the official release of the iPhone 4 Software Platform (since both iPad and iPhone run on the same product platform).

In all, I no longer see the device as a giant iPod touch. There's more to it than what meets the eye. Well done Apple!

MBA Talk: Need an aim... a goal... Here's mine - an orange one!

Often, at times, we are spurred by the weirdest of goals and dreams.

Here's one for me.
Did you know T-Mobile owns a trademark for Magenta? Well, yes, the color 'magenta'. That gives them exclusive rights to use the color in their industry sector (telecommunications, digital media, phones, maybe even internet!).

But hey, how cool is that! To own your own color. So there goes my dream - to own 'orange' or at least a specific shade of it.

So how do I do it? Here is the gameplan.

• Decide on a flavor of orange, say burnsque orange, misky musky orange, blah blah orange.
• Start a company and build it big. I mean really really big.
• Every aspect of the company should reflect the shade of orange - the walls, the computers, the products, the ink. Maybe even paint the employees orange.
• Make the company and the products ubiquitous. So much that when people look at the misky musky shade of orange anywhere, anytime, they just think of one product and one company - MINE!
• And then, my boy, the court would grant me ownership of 'Orange'. All Mine!

Well, I never say it was easy. But hey, it's possible!
As for the rest of you out there, may hay while the sun shines. Orange shall soon be mine...

MBA Talk: Is it really a Bargain?

"Buy 2, Get 1 Free", "Buy 2, Get 20% off" - well, all of us have see such promotions while walking through the aisle in our local retail store. Sure, they are lucrative and sound impressive. More often than not, I have fallen for them.

Have you ever thought - "Why do companies discount their products so much? Aren't they making a loss or atleast cutting into their profits?". The truth behind it all is that the real discount is very minimal, if any. It just looks like a fallout bargain! It is a bigger DEAL for the company, than for you.

Let's take a simple example and try to understand. A couple of weeks back, I went to Walmart to buy a refill filter for my Brita Water Pitcher.
And here were my available options

• 1 Pack: $9
• 3 Pack: $19

Well, when I walked in, I intended to buy just one. And I walked out with the 3-pack box. And why? It's an awesome deal. I get three filters for a little more than the price of two!

So, let's take a look at why a company like Brita would do this. The most important concept behind this is 'Time Value of Money'. If I get $1 today, it ain't the same as me getting $1 same time next year. If I get $1 today, I can invest at a bank at 10% interest and make it $1.1 by next year. So in other words, the $1 next year is only valued at $1/1.1 = $0.909 today!

Now let's do the math for the case of Brita. Let's assume that a typical Brita filter would last 1 year. Next let's assume that Joe (a customer) would buy Brita 1-Pack today and for the next 2-years. This would bring in a total revenue of 3*$9=$27 over the 2-year period.

But what's the current value of the revenue for Brita. Here we go.

Year	Revenue	Present Value of Revenue
0	$9	$9.000
1	$9	$9/1.1 = $8.182
2	$9	$9/(1.1)2 = $7.438

So the $27 that Brita would earn over the 2-year period actually amounts to only $24.62 right now (i.e. $9+$8.182+$7.438)

Let's add the second twist to this equation. Let's assume that every year Brita retains only 80% of it's customer base. The rest may leave due to dissatisfaction or due to better products from competitors. This means that there's only a 80% probability that Joe will still be a Brita water filter user and will buy the replacement filter next year. Even more, there's only a 64% probability (0.8*0.8=0.64) that Joe will still be a Brita water filter user in two years and hence will buy a second replacement filter in year 2.

Now let's use this additional data to calculate the expected present value of revenue for Brita from Joe over the next two years.

Year	Present Value of Revenue (from above)	Retention Probability	Expected Value
0	$9.000	100% (buying currently)	$9.000
1	$8.182	80%	$6.545
2	$7.438	64%	$4.760

Total Expected Present Value of Revenue from Joe = $20.305 ($9 + $6.545 + $4.760)
Cost of 3-Pack Brita Replacement Filter = $19
So the real discount is $1.3 (or 6.4% of revenue) for Brita!

In face, I think it ain't a discount at all for Brita. Here's why?
1. Think over the inventory cost of storing the future filters. The future replacements were already stored and sold along with the current replacement. So there's savings in future individual transportation and storage of the filter
2. Over the 2 year span, it is probable that you may lose one of the filter. In that case, you'll buy one more anyway.
3. What about technological advancements? Say, Brita came up with an advanced filter (a faucet one) in a year and you fall for it. The replacement are a waste, but Brita already made money out of it!

So well, the next time you see a bargain, you just need to realize that the company selling the product is getting a bigger bargain!

Will the rumored Apple tablet have the wings to fly?

One of the hot and much debated topics this week has been the Apple Tablet. The number of rumors and the varied sources they come from, all but confirm the imminent launch of an Apple tablet by the beginning of next year. What is more interesting is the debate as to whether the Apple tablet will really fly.

Some of the most intriguing questions raised are
- What is the target market? Well, even worse, is there a target market at all?
- Is it a true tablet or just a giant sized iPod? (Most rumors say it's just a 10" screen iPod)
- What is it's value as a gaming device? Well, a big screen always helps but one that big without any key controls doesn't gel well as a gaming controller.
- What is it's potential as a media device? Again, the big screen helps but well, do you just lay it flat in your lap to watch a movie? Naah!
- What is it's potential as a ebook reader? Well a lot in fact. But then, can't be the killer feature as I wouldn't shell out $500-$600 as compared to $150-$200 for a standard one.
- Biggest question: Is there a killer feature?

Well, I think some of the questions above are genuinely troubling when gauging the prospects of the Apple tablet, esp the question on it's target market. Is it an UMPC (well, the category is almost dead) or is it a gaming tool? Who will buy it? More importantly, when I own an iPhone and a Mac, what more can this tablet do and where does it fit? Well, am sure Apple have answered these questions (atleast to themselves) before crystallizing the idea into a real product. When Apple said it was developing a phone four years back, people had their share of laughter. In fact the major phone companies took no heed till the product was officially demonstrated. And all it took was less than a year for Apple to beat the big guns on their own backyard and become the leading mobile phone (atleast temporarily) in US. All this happened because Apple saw tremendous hidden potential in the mobile market, which was dwindling and losing steam day-by day. In fact, if there's someone who can create a market from plain thin air, I would place my bets on Apple to pull it off.

All said, I must agree that the challenges posed to the Apple tabloid are way too many and way too genuine. Throw in the fact that we are in a recession market and the odds don't look promising for a $600 device. Also to note that Apple has had it's own share of failures in it's long history. Standing examples amongst them are Newton, Lisa and Macintosh Portable. Meanwhile, Some of the products like the Apple TV haven't been runaway successes and have needed years of evolution to reach a refined stage.

In the end, the challenges are many and the prospect aren't outright encouraging. But then, every one of Apple's products (both successes and failures) have been valiant attempts to revolutionize it's target market and the Apple Tablet can be no different. While my perception of the Tablet's prospects is one of cautious optimism, I am more excited to see what is it that Apple really brings to the table. After all, when the world's most innovative company (arguably of course) has got something to show, you can't help but take heed to it!

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

The Apple iPhone 3.0 announcement: a different look

Last week was quite a week for the iPhone... It started with all buzz around the highly anticipated iPhone 3.0 announcement. Every columnist, tech blogger, iPhone developer and user had his own wishlist for iPhone OS 3.0. Then came the actual announcement itself. While a few were underwhelmed in not seeing their most-wanted feature being announced, the general consensus was that the new OS had a few surprises, a few disappointments but it was more or less on target with the user's expectations.

When I got to sit down and reflect back on what's the most significant aspect of the iPhone 3.0 announcement, it struck me that it was neither the copy/paste nor the push notification feature that was significant. In fact the announcement lays emphasis on two important aspects of the changing dynamics of the mobile/computer industry

The power of Software

In this rapidly changing world, where mobile devices get dated so quickly, how does one cope and stay on top? For long, the hardware has been the sole distinguishing factor. The best device was the one which could boast of an array of high end hardware components like processing chip, camera, battery, etc. Any phone that you buy would get outdated in a matter of few months due to constant hardware advancements. Developments in software was considered minor and there was no concept of pushing software upgrades on existing devices (at least not for a layman). This is where Apple came in and demonstrated the power of Software on a mobile device.

The iPhone when released in fall 2007 was a revolutionary device. But what's more revolutionary is the way that Apple has managed to keep the iPhone on top through regular software updates. The power of software is that it can be refreshed continuously and in fact remotely too. The amazing thing is that it's been two years since I got my iPhone but still it gets a new lease of life every June, with features that keep it atop with competing phones that are newly released. Every time when someone says that the iPhone lacks a specific feature or utility, all I say is 'Wait till the next release' (unless there are hardware limitations). This also goes a long way in strengthening consumer loyalty as buying a phone is like an investment for what it is now as well as what it can evolve into, in the future. When I look at my iPhone, I see it as 'a intelligent bot that grows smarter every June'.

The App Store

When Apple first introduced the IPhone and the device became a runaway success, it realized the importance of taking advantage of the lead. Apple had to establish differentiating factors which would set it apart from the competition. The iPhone hardware was good and the software was amazing. But how long would it take for it's competitors who had spent years and years in the mobile industry to catch up? Well, not many. Apple's arrival was just a wake-up call. It did not mean the competition would sit back and languish on it's fate. Apple had to take advantage of it's position to set up distinguishing factors - those which will keep the customers loyal and which will make the competition tough to catch up with. The answer: iPhone App Store.

It is ironic to note that the very Apple that was stubbornly against native apps during the launch of the iPhone, not only reversed it's stance but set up an ingenious model of native 3rd party app development for both developers and consumers. For the users, it ensured a simple rating-based one-stop shop for all applications with a dead-easy iTunes based one-click payment system. What's more, all of this is OTA (over the air), thereby removing the dependency on computers to a great extent. As for developers, besides setting up a simple model where they don't worry about marketing and distribution, Apple also provided them with a powerful SDK kit for development and even went so far as to set up a 100 million dollar venture capital program to lure potential developers. The outcome was this: 25000 apps in just 9 months with a user base of 30 million. Apple had shot ahead in the blink of an eye. Now as other companies like Palm and Microsoft are developing equal or better phones and softwares, they are stumped against the biggest hurdle - the App Store. The developer and user base that Apple has established are a mighty challenge to oppose.

The rise of the AppStore has led to another significant development - the emergance of the iPhone as a mobile gaming platform that competes against the likes of Sony and Nintendo. The SDK provided great interfaces for developing powerful games for the iPhone. But the real reason that iPhone has evolved into a mighty gaming platform is the easy of content delivery and the rise of network games. A Nintendo DS or a Sony PSP, while being really advanced in game development and also features physical keys, did not have a suitable mechanism for buying games on the go. Apple revolutionized just that and now it boasts of more games than those of the DS & PSP together. Also it has set a precursor to the future of the mobile gaming world.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Coming this Summer: "Will the real Jesus Phone please stand up"

Announcing this summer's hottest release - "Will the real Jesus phone please stand up" - a combined production of Apple Studios & Palm Pictures.

Oh yes, this is better than any movie you'd seen.

Last year, Apple storm-ed (no pun intended) through the smartphone market, thanks to the release of the 3G iPhone and the App Store. But just when it all seemed like Apple had obliterated the competition with a swish of it's wand arose a worthy competitor, one that was written off by many - Palm. With it's new Palm Pre device, which boasts revolutionary features like seamless backgrounding and complete integration of the user interface, Palm is attempting one last like-a-Pheonix-from-the-ashes attempt to duel the mighty Apple and reclaim it's long lost throne as the King of Smartphones. At the same time, Apple is aiming to keep it guards up and bring new magic to the iPhone to hold it's throne. This summer unveils an epic battle between two mighty giants, the outcome of which will determine who holds the throne for almost the next year or so. So here we go, an analysis on the Strengths and the Weakest link of both the giants.

Apple
Strengths

• User Interface: Apple is the undisputed leader in designing an intuitive user interface and the IPhone is no different. That a phone can do so well even without a real keyboard is due to the wealth of features and the always intuitive layman features which Apple brings in.
• App Store: Easily the biggest strength for Apple over Palm. Started only a year back, the App Store has grown in enormous proportions with more than 20000 apps. Any mobile application is bound to find it's way to the Apple App Store first, due to the huge user base and high returns. With demands not subsiding and new features and APIs being added in, the App Store is only going to draw more developers and naturally more customers to it's realm.
• Well refined touchscreen OS: Developing an intuitive touchscreen OS is a big challenge. Even Apple stumbled a lot in the beginning with issues in connectivity, performance and reception. But over the past two years, Apple has toiled hard to produce a very stable and reliable operating system. This will be a huge strength against the new-kid-on-the-block Palm Pre.
  

Biggest weakness
Though the IPhone has been a runaway success, it has its own share of quirks. People have long lamented the lack of very basic features (like MMS, copy/paste,etc). The latest IPhone 3.0 is more of a catch-up game to plug some of these holes. However very many features like flash, background apps and video recording are still missing on the IPhone and to Palm's advantage, they've nailed a few of these. Whether these lacking features will really bite Apple is the question that remains to be answered.

Palm
Strengths

• Strong background: Palm was the pioneer in introducing the concept of smartphones and proved that cellphones are more than just a substitute for the Plain-Old-Telephone. Though it had lost ground in recent years to Blackberry and Apple and is now the underdog, it has stayed the longest and carries a wealth of experience backed by a strong developer and consumer base.
• User Interface Integration: What makes the Pre a mighty competitor to the iPhone? The biggest lesson for Palm from the success of the iPhone is the importance of user-friendliness and intuitiveness in making the iPhone (and smartphone) a ubiquitous device. Also from the release of Google G1, Palm learnt that it is just not enough to catch up wirh the competition but instead bring something new to the table to make a real impression. Palm's Pre is a complete rethinking from it's past devices and has an integrated and intuitive user interface, called Synergy. Synergy tried to hide the details beneath the covers and actions happen seamlessly. For ex, it has an integrated contacts of all mail accounts, chat clients, facebook and twitter users. The Messaging application is one which bring together all kinds of messaging (SMS, MMS, all chat clients, facebook, etc) together so that one can see all the conversation is the same panel.
• True Backgrounding: One critical feature which Palm touts and Apple lacks is true backgrounding in applications. While Apple settled for the Push Notification alternative, Palm claims to have perfected the art and has opened up to inbuilt background apps. If Palm lives up to it's claim without a significant reduction in battery life, it can entice a huge gamut of applications that can only be dreamt of on the iPhone.
  

Biggest Weakness
Palm's biggest weakness is that of starting from scratch and going against the well established Apple customer base. For eg, The new Palm App Store and SDK will be an infant standing up against the mighty and refined Apple App store which boasts of more than 20000 apps.

End Note: Palm's reentry is promising and has got people to turn their heads. The Pre is loaded with features that can make the device stand out in the limelight. Apple on the other hand, brings in a plethora of new features through the iPhone 3.0 OS. As for Palm, unlike the introduction of iPhone by Apple, itdoes not have much time to get its OS right. It has to get it's act together fast and that too, on the very first attempt. In all, the battle of the Titans is equally matched!

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

The IPhone Jailbroken AppStore: Will it fly?

The IPhone has been on the news buzz consistently and well, for multiple reasons. The latest buzz is that of the introduction of the Cydia App Store for the jailbroken world (the dark side).

To me, this is a very interesting development. The biggest question which will also help us answer whether the Cydia App Store will really kick off is this - Why will application developers flock the Jailbroken App Store instead of Apple's own App Store which has a higher reach? Also can the Jailbroken App Store provide something really special that motivates users to instead unlock their phones and switch over?

The IPhone App Store has been one of the biggest hits of the previous year and has grown in leaps and bounds. But it is not without it's own quirks - thanks to Apple's restrictions (some mindless). If the Jailbroken App Store leverages Apple's restrictions and provides unique Apps which can entice users, it can not only become a big success but also sound an alarm bell (deservedly so in some cases) to Apple.

Here're some Apps which can make big on the Cydia App Store and tempt users to jump to the dark side

1. Turn-by-turn navigation: It's weird that Apple neither allows developers to develop apps for turn-by-turn voice guide navigation not has it release one on it's own. People have proved in the past that the IPhone GPS is good enough to build turn-by-turn navigation apps. This will a hot category of apps in the Jailbroken world
2. Tethering: Well, using the IPhone as modem and connecting your laptop to the Internet is very enticing possibility. Besides the fact that Apple has no App to do this, it is clear (due to AT&T restrictions) that IPhone Tethering with come at a big cost (atleast 30$/month and with a data restriction - like 5Gb). The high cost and the insane restriction alone can lure people into the jailbroken world where this is available without a penny cost.
3. Copy/Paste Functionality: Well again, not a dealbreaker but Apple still has no solution for implementing Copy/Paste Functionality and already there're apps on the Jailbroken world which has some implementions of Copy/Paste apps (may not be clean solutions but who cares!)
4. Video Recorder: For some reason, Apple App Store has no apps which allow video recording. Neither is there a native implementation by Apple. One can find a few apps (like Cycorder) to do this in the jailbroken world.
5. Adult apps: This category alone can rocket the Jailbroken App Store to success. No more shall I comment...
   

- Others: MMS apps, podcast apps, new browsers, (maybe flash apps), the list of apps which Apple doesn't allow currently are many...

Add to the above restrictions, the weird Approval Process by Apple. Besides being very strict on following good standard and being high quality, the Approval Process is a mystery as it has in many cases rejected apps for no logical reason. The latest is the Sirius radio app developed for the IPhone. It is a pity when people's time and money are wasted when their fully-tested apps are rejected for no obvious reason. It is but a logical fallout for these people to take their apps over to the jailbroken world.

In my opinion, I think the Cydia App Store will have it's own niche market and in fact will spark off an increase in the number of jailbroken phones. This will also be a rude awakening to Apple to plug some of the pitfalls in the SDK and types of apps allowed in the App Store and actually make the Application Review process more transparent.

Will I be one of those to jump to the dark world: would love a turn-by-turn navigation app and the video recording one... But will hold off for another couple of months to give Apple another chance and to see what more the Cydia can really deliver.

An online handcrafts store to showcase Rural India

Since the last month or so, I've been engrossed in a few home decor ideas and mini handmade projects. Special thanks to Niks for the innovative ideas and designs :)

While pondering over the idea of selling handmade stuff over the net, we came across ETSY (http://www.etsy.com/), a site dedicated for people to sell their handmade products. I am impressed by the site and more so by the concept itself - leveraging a common man to be a seller himself. Etsy provides you all the tools and guides to set up and market your own shop, right from creating a banner for your shop to tracking analytics as to which items in your shop are the most viewed.

All this got me thinking on setting up an Etsy-like model in India.

The Fundamental Idea
Besides providing a common platform for people to buy and sell handmade items, Etsy provides a global outreach for any individual/small-business seller. The target customers are no longer just friends or the local community. Now you can showcase your products across to the whole country or maybe even to the international community of people looking for handmade items.
India is a country with diverse cultures and a rich arts and crafts tradition. However most of these are home-run and small scale businesses which cater to a local market only. Setting up an Etsy-like site for people to sell their handmade products will give these businesses a new perspective and widen their reach. Many of unique Indian handmade products right like silk sarees, jewellery and clay and wood products will now get the global shine.

Why is now the best time?
Handcrafters and artists have thrived in India for generations. They have typically relied on tapping the local market which is mainly rural in nature. However the last decade or so, they have come under extreme pressure and competition, thanks to globalization. Retailers and wholesellers have started making inroads into even the smallest of villages and are making their products and services available at very competitive rates. However the effects of globalization has not seen a reverse trend - that of small and local businesses reaching out to the urban and the global markets. The lack of education, technology and patronage has caused these local businesses to succumb to the industrial giants.
It is high time that we created an environment that helps these homegrown businesses before their unique arts, crafts and talents all become history.

An online homemade items market
Most of these local artists and crafters cannot set up brick-and-mortar stores like that of big businesses to gain a bigger outreach. Their best bet would be to set up online stores which can accessed by anybody anywhere anytime. One of the effects of globalization has been the widespread growth of technology and Internet. More and more people in cities, towns and villages have access to the Internet and are resorting to using the same as an effective medium for their daily shopping. In addition, the falling rates and the ease of shipping to domestic and international destinations makes the whole world your consumer base. Hence the idea of setting up an online handcrafts site will not only boost the rural arts and crafts merchants in India by giving them a global outreach but will also help to showcase the great Indian culture and artifacts to the outside world.

The Challenges
While the underlying concept of an online handcrafts store for the Indian rural market seems sounds by itself, it is important to realise that the presence of such a site alone will not be successful with the rural home-run businesses. Some of the challenges are as below

1. Technology: Rural India is still way behind in technological advancements in comparison to the big cities. Home based Internet access is but a luxury and not an essential in many villages. In fact, many villages and towns have only one or two Internet cafes for net access. Also to host your own store using the proposed handcrafts web store, one needs atleast to have a webcam or a camera - another factor which is rarity in small towns and villages. Hence these local merchants and traders do not have the necessary technological infrastructure to leverage the concept of setting up an online store.
2. Education: A wide range of the targeted home-run arts & crafts businesses include people with no or very little education background. Many would not know to read/write English and have followed their profession as a generational occupation. Also the idea of reaching global markets and advertising on the Internet will be very alien to these people who for years together have targeted the local market only.
3. Shipping methodologies: Besides technology, numerous other infrastructure deficiencies pose serious challenges to the viability of the plan. One of them is the shipping options and ease of shipping globally. On one hand, one must agree that great improvements have been observed over the past decade or so in terms of reachability, cost and time for shipping items in India. However, there's no flexibility like flat-rate envelopes and web-based shipping calculators. This could pose a challenge in terms of estimating the shipping costs to various destinations without taking the item to the local post office.
4. Payment systems: Payments and money transfers over the Internet is still a growing concept in India. The lack of a standardized payment sending and receival protocol like Paypal poses a serious challenge in terms of logistics for transfer of money to these local sellers.
   

Setting up an overall Infrastructure
The challenges pointed above clearly outline that Rural India lacks is more than just a website for these local merchants to become online sellers. It is important to invest and ensure the setup of a suitable technological and related infrastructure to take the idea to a successful implementation.

1. Agent-based approach to reach the masses: To educate the rural merchants and also to facilitate a conducive infrastructure, an agent-based approach can be used. In the system, potential villages and towns will have local agents who will educate the people on how the system works and convince people to take their businesses to a global level through the online marketplace. They will also be equipped with necessary technological infrastructure (Internet/camera) and related computer knowledge to help out potential businesses getting on board. In addition they will be able to advice on all fronts right from tips on setting up a successful store to deciding a suitable price for their products. In return, the agents will get a small cut of the profits of the items sold. While the agent-based approach helps to bridge the technological and the educational divide, home-run businesses which have the essential tools and facilities can avoid the middleman and set up store on their own.
2. Leveraging Government help to educate and reach the target audience: The scheme proposed has the underlying aim of creating more jobs and uplifting rural Indian businesses. Hence the government help can be sought to help reach the masses of rural India through campaigns and support. Additionally the government can help to streamline processes like shipping and present them in easy-to-use methods to these businesses.
3. Social organizations and private sectors: This scheme presents a tremendous opportunity to tie up with social organizations working in rural areas. They can help in taking the idea to potential businesses and also facilitate in setting up agents for the businesses. Similarly one can set up links with private organizations to provide better infrastructure systems in areas like payment and shipping.

In all, while the challenges are many, the opportunities in setting up an online website for selling handcrafts, backed by suitable infrastructure, are tremendous and will go a long way in giving India the true boost of globalization. Well, finally it is time to show the world the Real India!

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Tree House restaurant & cafe: One of a kind

During my recent trip to Costa Rica, I came across this impressive place by the name of "Tree House restaurant & bar", during my stopover at Monte Verde.


The place struck a chord in me for two reasons. At the very first glance, it was the appearance. The place sure lived up to it's name - a restaurant built around a gigantic Higueròn tree, so placed that you certainly feel as if you're perched in the tree itself. While I enjoyed the setting and the ambiance, the real surprise came when the waiter came over to take our orders.
Contrary to using a conventional sketch-pad, he was punching away to glory on a tiny handheld device. Unable to resist my curiosity, I prodded him on what it was.

Whoa.... It was just an iPod touch! Incredulous - using an ipod to take in orders! The waiter explained how the whole system worked. Every server carried an iPod touch. The restaurant has an internal wifi which hosts an applet to take in orders wirelessly. All the waiter needs to do is connect to the server wirelessly, choose the items from the online menu, and voilà - your order is through. What's more cool is this - all the drink orders automatically go to the bar terminal and the rest to the kitchen terminal. Now that's very neat!

Why hadn't anyone thought of this idea before? The pros are many
- Innovative, cool ordering system that can attract more customers.
- In places like the Tree House which have multiple floors, it saves the waiter from making a trip all the way to the kitchen to place the orders. So in turn, lesser waiters are needed.
- Go green. What an environment friendly concept! No papers at all. All electronic.

The only cons of the whole system is the initial investment setup. Well, if we factor in the savings brought about by the pros, the investment is highly justifyable and will pay for itself in a pretty short time.

Well, at the end of the day, I had a hearty laugh over the fact that I had to go all the way to Costa Rica to see such an advanced restaurant ordering system!

http://www.treehouse.cr/index.php

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Blog on the Go

Ah, yes... Finally.. The freedom to blog - anywhere, anytime! Since the Apple AppStore opened it's doors to third party softwares and games, I've been eagerly musing over the idea of blogging on the go - right from my phone. For people like me who spend a good 3 hours on the trains everyday, this is but a luxury.
Since last month, I've been playing with a few blogging tools and testing them on my iphone. Many free softwares exist, some very close but none having all the right tools for blogging on the go. Some didn't support blogger/blogspot where I host my blog, some didn't have the ability to edit posts once published, some just had a horrendous user interface. Well one of them almost impressed me. I had this blog drafted and ready to publish and right then received a phone call. And alas, I lost everything - the blogging tool simply didn't have the ability to auto save drafts on incoming calls! Then I ventured into paid apps, tried a couple and finally settled for one which delivers in terms of price and functionality - iBlogger. The interface is simple, and thought it doesn't support posting pictures in blogs (atleast for now), it is quite straight forward to use and doesn't fail in ways listed above.
Most of all, I finally have the freedom to blog, on the go.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

IPhone 3G and the App Store

So yes... I finally got my hands on the iPhone 3g. Thanks to the high demand and the incredulously ridiculous Apple iPhone activation process, it took me almost 20 days since the release to get my very own.

So I've been using it for a week and here are my initial thoughts

1. Build quality is much better and sleekier than the original model. The back is plastic now, making it more glossy but also more smudgy.
2. 3g reception and call quality is very good (despite complaints from many). Browsing is atleast 2x times faster.
3. Speakerphone volume has drastically improved (finally)
4. Flush 3.5mm headphones is nice to have. Now I can fit in some high quality earphones or headsets.
5. Software update 2.0 ain't so good as the previous version - hangs frequently, quite buggy and even crashes now & then. Looks like the phone needs a clean boot every couple of days to keep away the crashes.
6. GPS is still a big mystery. While this definitely ain't so good as the real GPS devices, it still remains to see if they can be leveraged for turn-by-turn directions. My initial tests had mixed results - indoors, no way it picks up signal and outdoors, sometimes it took too long (>1 min) and sometimes it snapped spot-on in just a few secs.
   

All besides, I think the real win for Apple is the App Store. Finally I get to have my own games and utilities. And a real way to tap into the iPhone's real computing capabilities. The initial set of apps have been mind-blowing - amazing simulation and intuitiveness - with a wide variety of apps to cater to all target audience.

So here's a list of my top 5 favs - some cater to my needs perfectly and some coz they are just too innovative.

• Texas hold'em: well yeah - call me biased, towards Apple, towards poker - but this is my most favorite app so far. Very clean game-play, amazing graphics, two modes of play (landscape & portrait) and multiple poker tables make this game a real winner.
• Shazam: this one is purely purely innovative. Takes a 10-15 sec sample of any song using the microphone and within seconds pull out the whole history of the song. What's more - one more click and you're redirected to the iTunes store. Better still - one more click and the song is already bought and downloaded on your iPhone - beat that!!
• Box office: For a movie buff, this is a must-have. It takes advantage of the GPS coordinates to list theaters and movies near you, provides reviews from rottentomatoes and finally links to fandango to book your tickets.
• Remote: turns your phone into a remote controlling the music collection on your laptop/apple tv.
• City transit: when on the move in NYC and totally lost, this one is a savior. Shows the entire subway map and also the stations closest to you. Lots of scope for improvement but for now, good enough to be a favorite.
  

Finally, the more interesting part - what apps do I see missing and I really really wanna have

• Expense calculator: If I ever gotto get my hands on the Apple iPhone SDK, this would be the first thing I would develop. Why? Coz this makes so much more sense on a mobile device than on a desktop/laptop - an app which can keep track of your daily expenses. Any time you spend on anything, pull your phone out and log it in. Categorize your expenses, generate monthly reports and see how they compare with previous months/years - pretty kewl.
• Turn-by-turn voice navigation: Well, I can then lay my Garmin GPS to rest. The GPS on the iPhone is decent but there's no tool to leverage it to the best. It is known that companies like TomTom are already working on a turn-by-turn guidance software for the iPhone. So we'll see one pretty soon.
• Zagat-to-go: Zagat is arguably the best site for reviews and comments when exploring for nice restaurants. It has a pretty slick and intuitive iPhone mobile site, but then a zagat app would always be a nice-to-have.
• Video recording: The iPhone does not inherently support video recording but would love to see a third party app do that
• An ultimate racing game: F1 racing or the popular motoracer/superbikes, which take advantage of the accelerometer would be very exciting
• RPG games: my bet is that we'll see a whole lot of role playing games for iPhone in the near future. Would also make sense for the game manufacturers to come up with Lite editions, like AOE lite or Diablo lite. The lack of physical keyboard and haptics support will be the only deterrent.

So exciting exciting times ahead. All I can say is - Bring it on....

IPhone out... IPhone in...

Here's the dilemma I had a few months back. Speculation was in the air that a new iPhone is to be released very soon. I was excited to get a new one on my hands especially if it had 3G and GPS and more. But I wasn't gonna pitch in another couple hundred bucks to lay my hands on it. Also there were a couple other phones which looked enticing. So I basically wanted an exit strategy so that I can test the waters for the next phone.

What pulled the trigger on my decision was my friends insider word that the iPhone is gonna be a 200$ cheaper but will have a more expensive data plan. So off I went and got into the act of unlocking using Ziphone unlock tool. My first attempt was pretty bad - ended up losing Youtube and Visual Voicemail. But then I reverted all my actions and started off afresh. This time, it was all success.A few days before the big announcement, I posted up the unlocked one on ebay. The 3 day posting didn't look promising till the last one hour when the price jumped from 150$ to a whopping 370$. What's more - I got to play around with the unlocked iPhone to get a glimpse of the kind of applications and games that can be developed on the device.

So here I am, back to square one, using a $15 motorola phone, a device while does solely what the name stands for. But then, the next few days are dedicated to exploring the market and zeroing in onto my next device. Let's say - the wizard is on his wand hunt.

IPhone 3G is here! Finally!!!!

The iPhone is itself a revolutionary product in many ways. To take it up, spruce it and notch up to the next level is an extremely difficult challenge and that's exactly what Steve Jobs accomplished in his keynote today.

Come July and the 3G iPhone hits the market. Bolstered by an inbuilt GPS, enterprise support with push-email and the wide array of softwares & games (all thanks to the IPhone SDK), the 3G IPhone is all set to challenge RIM (Blackberry) and Palm and give them a run for the market share. The coming days will uncover an interesting battle, definitely worth watching.

So, here's a short cover-up on what the keynote did right, how the equations changes and what the unplugged holes are.

Where Apple scored with the 3G iPhone?
- 3G Support: Definitely not the first phone to go 3G, but yes definitely amongst the phones which would benefit the most by 3G support. This has been a deal-breaker for many and will go a long way to attract a big market share. 3G speeds of the IPhone has been shown be at least 2-2.4x higher than the traditional EDGE speeds.
- Enterprise Support & Push email: One area where iPhone lagged was the Enterprise market. That required a minimum of Microsoft Exchange support, push email and secure communications. And that's exactly what iPhone delivers in this new Software release.
- A-GPS: GPS support has become a must for the high-end phones of today's market and this can be no exception.
- Software Apps & Games: With the release of Apple Iphone SDK, the development of new apps & games has skyrocketed with interest for the same surpassing that of Mobile development for windows & symbian devices.
- 3.5 mm headphones: Apple finally woke up and decided to offer 3.5 mm headphone support (in constrast to the reduced 2.5 mm ones in the 2G iPhones)
- Innovative Chat/Messaging infrastructure: A modest example to show the extent Apple goes to avoid compromising on power and battery life in the face of power-hogging applications like chat & messengers
- Price: Well, how more enticing can you get than by slashing the price of the iPhone by half from $399 to $199. (Note: The price is actually up by $40 if calculated correctly ;))

Where Apple missed the boat?
- 3D Software Accelerator: An addition of 3D Graphics chip would have enhanced the splendid iPhone display to new levels.
- Haptics support: An advanced technology in touchscreen devices which gives the touch feedback feel as in case of real keys.
- Camera: The current 2MP camera is an unconvincing excuse. Recent Nokia/HTC devices have upto 5MP inbuilt camera in mobile phones
- Copy-paste functionality: So basic & so missing
- MMS support: Not sure why this still miss out on this one
- No video recording/video conferencing: This was one of the much expected features in the new release but the release fell short. While video conferencing was a bit too much to ask, basic video recording is an inexplicable miss
- No A2DP support: Cannot listen to music/video using wireless bluetooth headsets. Again a dealbreaker for a selected audience.

So here we go - the pros & cons of the new iPhone. All said and done, my take on it - the software update and the 3G iPhone is a big improvement despite its shortcomings. Buy, Buy, Buy!

Safari 3.1: Almost there but not yet

Been a couple of weeks since Apple release its Safari 3.1 version browser for Windows. 

I got a chance today to pull it up on my laptop and play around for a couple of hours. A remarkable improvement over the previous versions, Safari is finally set to compete with the real big players in the browser wars. Itz going to be long battle but - especially with IE still hogging more than 70% of the market share in the browser wars. 

The Goods

- Most Web-Compliant browser ever: The biggest strength of Safari 3.1 is this. It is compliant with most of the browsing web-standards. The ACID test is known to be the authoratative standard when it comes to determining how compliant browsers are. Although no browser so far has passed the test (a score of 100/100), Safari 3.1 leads the pack with an impressive 75 followed by a distant 31 (by Firefox) and a meagre 12 (by IE). 

- Memory - a no-hogger: When it comes to memory usage, Safari is very competitive with other browsers like Firefox and Opera (Of-course everyone knows IE is a big big memory hogger).

- Performance: Though the start-up might not be the fastest (well, the only thing that IE can gloat of), Safari is impressive when it comes to rendering speed and overall performance of the browser. 

- The Search feature is nicey-nicey. So are the bookmarks.

The Bads

- Safari does not support some core standards like ActiveX which is increasingly used in large number of websites.

- Safari has its own font rendering (similar to Mac display) and this makes the websites to look very different sometimes (different on the bad side). I went to my own blog, only to realize how horrible it looked!!! It was just impossible to read my blog!!!

- Not much support for customizations and add-ons - but only a matter of time till it arrives.

- The Title bars and Toolbars look a bit hazy and drowsy - could have been a lil brighter.

The last word

The 3.1 version is a signification move by Apple and successfully pitches Safari as the third competitor in the browser war. Safari performs great in terms of compliance, performance and memory. However a few niggles here and there, some of which could be dealbreakers, lead to the final verdict - Almost there but not yet. 

 

Movie Spot: Horton hears a whoooooooooo....

whooooooooooo.... nice...
Animation in movies is an art altogether. That way there are very few that really stand apart. When I see a really good animation movie which is neither Ice Age nor one from Pixar, I am really compelled to blog about it.
So here's one - my best pick for 2008 till now - an all out winner, "Horton hears a who". Built on a really crazy storyline, this movie is very well executed and keeps the audience entertained till the very end. To add to it are the amazing vocals from Jim Carrey & Steve Carell and the creative tid-bits which continued to amaze me through out the movie.
In a nutshell, the movie is all about the highly imaginative Horton - an elephant - who happens to hear noises from a tiny speck of dust floating through the air. Despite the popular belief amongst the whole community that there cannot exist a living being as tiny as dust, Horton continues his attempts to talk to the tiny speck of dust, only to realize that what exists within the speck is but a whole world by itself. What happens next is a roller-coaster ride as Horton tries not only to save the speck of dust but also to convince his whole community that a world exists within it.
Anything more I say is a spoiler, so I'll just stop here. For those who are ardent followers of animation as well as those who just want to catch a good movie, this one is a must watch.

Till Walleeee attempts to dethrone, this one remains my hot favorite animation for the year.

PS: Also got to watch the trailers of Walle (June 2008) and for the first time, Ice Age: The dawn of the dinosaurs (July 2009).

Follow-Up: It is official! The war is over - Blue Team wins...

Blu-ray vs HD-DVD - a hard-fought war of over two years and we finally have a winner. The Blue team (Blu-ray) will be the High Definition movie format for the future.

So what tilted the scales?
Well, the war was on since the studio giants were split between the two sides. First Warner switched camps to Blu-Ray, closely followed by Paramount and Dreamworks. The doom was then imminent. Was only a matter of time for Toshiba, the founding father of HD DVD, to accept
defeat.

So what happens to the millions of HD DVD players in the market?
Firstly it will take time for the umpteen manufacturers of HD DVD players to absorb the loss and shelve their products. Luckily the players are now being sold as Upscaling DVD players which provide better resolution/clarity with normal DVDs. So if you've already bought one at an exorbitant price, just bite your tongue and use it as upscaling/normal DVD player.

Now that the battle is over, should I just run over to the nearest CircuitCity store and pick up a Blu-Ray player?
Well - no! The battle being over is far from Blu-Ray becoming an accepted industrial standard.
- The players are still extremely expensive (300-400$) and you can do well to wait for the price to drop.
- Unlike HD-DVD, the Blu-Ray standard is still evolving and far from being complete.
- Tons of Blu-Ray players currently in the market are 1.0 standard players which do not even support an upgradable feature. So what you buy now may become an obsolete device in a year!

Expense Calculator v2dot1 released

Announcing the release of the new and improved Expense Calculator.

What you get?
Go out a lot? Spend time and money with friends? What about trips? Do you always have trouble calculating and setting accounts with friends? Worry no more - in comes the expense calculator.

Just key in every expense - what is the expense? who paid for it? what category? who were involved? - and whenever you want to complete and settle the accounts, just click a button and itz all done. No more hastles - life made simpler :)

How is it improved?
The all-new Accounts Calculator is highly customized to suit your needs. Start-up is now so simple - just key in the names and the various categories of accounts that you want to track. And you are set to roll.

Categorize your accounts now - add a category to every expense. The rows are colored based on the category (Excel 2007 only). And whats more - once you settle your accounts - you get to see how much was spent for each category. Helps you to review and plan future spendings.

The hallmark feature - Auto settling of accounts. Previous versions merely show the net up/down position of the individual people involved in the accounts. This one will now only do that but also give a list of how to settle (i.e. who pays whom) the accounts. And whats more amazing is the Shortest Settlement Algoritm (SSA - patent pending), which ensures the least number of payment transfers for settlement. Now - thats cool.

Screen Shots
1. Start-up screen (Setup users)


2. Accounts screen

3. Settlement screen (Just a click away)


Download Links (Best viewed with Excel 2007)
Account Calculator 2.1
Sample sheet

Feel free to give it a go. Would very much appreciate comments and suggestions for improvement. After all, there has to be a v3.0 in due course of time.