1. Skype & Facebook iPad App, Push Pop Press, Data Costs Rise

    August 3, 2011 by @mattsurfs

    2 long awaited iPad apps poked their head out of the app store today.

    First we had Skype launching an iPad version of their popular service yesterday. Those that have had a chance to review the app says it’s very compelling.

    Apple has a competing video chat application called FaceTime. One of the main differences between FaceTime and Skype is that Skype works with devices other than Apple. You can conduct calls from Mac to PC, or iPhone to Android where the FaceTime application only works on Macs and iOS devices.

    Another popular app a few of us got a glimpse last week was the Facebook iPad app. The app has not been released yet, but a version of the application was discovered hidden in the code of the Facebook
    iPhone app.

    By changing a digit from 1, to 2 in the code of the app you can enact the iPad version. Many have tested it and posted reviews online. From what I’ve read people say it’s a much more enjoyable than the web
    experience. Look for this to be available in the next few weeks.

    Anchor: That’s not Facebook’s only news involving the iPad…

    ###

    Facebook just acquired a company called Push, Pop, Press. The company famous in the Internet community for the first truly interactive digital book, Our Choice was written by Al Gore.

    Facebook says it doesn’t have plans on getting involved in the digital book publishing business, but this is a move their strategic interests for infiltrating the iPad ecosystem. This will give them very popular real estate on Apple devices.

    If you remember, Apple has announced a cozy partnership with Twitter to embed their share functionality throughout iOS 5, their next major platform release. This purchase by Facebook will allow them to be at the forefront of sharing interactive books.  Push, Pop, Press is leading the charge at what the future of book publishing looks like, now with Facebook interactivity baked in, both companies will ensure they are part of it, much to Apple’s chagrin.

    With all of these companies making compelling content for our mobile devices, data costs are skyrocketing.

    ###

    That’s right, mobile Data Costs to jump 7x in the next 5 years. While most of us become more reliant on our mobile devices for casual computing, we are putting a heavy burden on mobile operators.

    The costs are expecting to rise dramatically over the next 5 years accordingly to a report by Juniper research. The 53 billion dollar industry is set to increase to 370 billion dollars by 2016–an increase of over 7x. It’s hard to say how much, if any of the costs will be felt by the consumer, but it’s fair to say there will be some increases because data usage costs are exceeding revenues for many carriers.

    One solution to these rising costs is being championed by Japan, they are building a network of 100,000 wifi hotspots to soften the load on their cellular networks. I expect local governments and even private businesses like Starbucks, McDonalds, and Google to play a part in developing robust free wifi networks.

    Category: NBC San Diego |

  2. Apple Takes 30% Dig Into Amazon Profits, Airbnb Billion Dollar Valuation

    July 26, 2011 by @mattsurfs

    Apple told it’s application developers that they were invoking a 30% tax on any purchase made through their system. It the past, Apple has been very lax about how they enforced this rule. They were allowing apps like the Kindle, to have a buy button that would link to the Amazon website where you could purchase new content. This was still a rather clunky process, but it wasn’t nearly as disjointed as what exists now.

    Of course, Apple has their own e-reader dubbed iBooks, which now has a major advantage over these other vendors in the space.

    Amazon, the Nook, and Google have updated their apps this week to comply with Apple’s new policy, signaling the end of the grace period. However, if you refuse to update the Kindle app, you can still make purchases the old way which is of course only a short term solution. Many critics are saying this gives Apple an unfair advantage with their iBooks reader.

    This is not the first example of a major platform changing the rules of the game… Both Facebook and Apple have started a very powerful precedent in the developer community by allowing apps and purchases to go on without a tax and then changing their mind. Developers would thrive in these open markets which were magnets to entrepreneurs and engineers, and as soon as companies like Facebook and Apple have leverage and enough size, they decided to take a 30% from each of their content providers. While it’s perfectly within their legal right to do so, it doesn’t send a good message to someone out there who wants to develop on their platforms. What’s stopping them from taking a 50% cut, or changing other rules that greatly affect their ability to compete. I don’t think this is the last we’re going to hear of this.

    With these new innovations, there’s definitely a level of uncertainly while the dust settles on these new technologies.

    ###

    Speaking of disruptive ideas, there’s a new company that just received a billion dollar valuation who’s looking to change the way you book your accommodations. The company is called Airbnb.

    Airbnb is a service that turns your extra space into a temporary bed and breakfast. Owners can opt to stay in the home while their guests are in town, or they can rent their entire space out to would be travelers. Renters opt to share local accommodations for less as opposed to higher priced hotels.

    Airbnb boasts that they are renting 10,000 rooms per night and growing very quickly.

    The two main advantages are cost savings, and the experience of seeing how locals live. Obviously you need to balance that with a willingness to share a space with a stranger, which also has it’s down sides. You could share a space with someone that likes to listen to loud music, or smokes for instance. But Airbnb has initiated a rating system so you can read reviews of the rooms (and renters) before you stay there. They even have a nifty Facebook feature where you can seek out roommates that you have things in common with.

    Some people travel quite a bit and want to make use (and money) from their space when their gone. While other people might use the extra income to subsidize their mortgage or rent a larger place because they have the means to do so now.

    I am considering trying it out on my next trip. If I can rent a place for a lot less than I would pay for a hotel, and get income from renting my space out, the accommodations could pay for themselves.

    ###

    Qualcomm just acquired the rights for gesture based controls for digital devices. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but GestureTalk has sold the intellectual property for hand and body motions to control computer systems without holding, wearing,  or touching any device to Qualcomm.

    That’s right, there’s enormous potential to improve how we interact with computer, smart phones, gaming systems, and much more by reading our gestures. It’s just another major step in how we are humanizing computers and making them easier to interact with. It will be exciting to see what Qualcomm does with this technology.

    ###

    Apple has filed for a patent on a keyless keyboard. Apple files many patents they don’t do anything with, often times for their own protection. But in the case you could envisage a notebook that didn’t have any keys with a keyboard projected on any surface. It will be fun to watch this evolve over the years.

    Category: NBC San Diego |

  3. Nosh, Punchd, Adobe, and Twitter Make News

    July 20, 2011 by @mattsurfs

    There’s a new startup that wants to change how you rate and review restaurants. They’re called Nosh (nosh.me).

    Most review sites rate the restaurant themselves. Nosh doesn’t think all dishes are created equal. Just because someone makes a good pizza, doesn’t mean there pasta is up to par. We’ve all asked the waiter, ‘what’s good here?’ – so Nosh me decided to help answer that question by allowing their community to rate dishes, instead of the restaurant.

    If you have an Android or an iPhone, there is a mobile app where you can start rating away.

    ###

    A service called Punch’d, who mission was to eliminate the loyalty card we all carry in our wallet has just been purchased by Google.

    We all are presented with loyalty programs at our favorite places, it could be buy 10 coffee’s get one free, or something similar at your car wash. We have to carry around these business cards and get enough stamps to get something free. Half of the time we loose the card before we get the reward..

    By managing your loyalty cards on your smart phone, you always have it with you. You just pull up the app on your phone, and the person behind the counter checks off your purchase. No more carrying around dozens of cards or losing out on a redemption.

    There are many opportunities for Google to deeply integrate this service within their many businesses. Google Places seems like an obvious match, as well as the Ad side of their business. I couldn’t even foresee it being part of Google plus if it continues to have the adoption it’s been having.

    ###

    Adobe, the software giant, and probably most notable for their document format the PDF just purchased EchoSign and RightSignature. We send PDF documents that need to be signed all the time. Usually, one needs to print the document out, sign it traditionally, and then fax or scan it back. The process can be a bit of pain.

    Adobe is going to make transmitting digital signatures within their PDF documents much easier. Imagine receive an attachment from someone and all you needed to do type your name instead of the current disjointed process of printing signing and scanning.

    ###

    Well, if you thought Google plus put the breaks on Twitter, think again. There were more tweets sent during the World Cup soccer match, than ever before. Twitter said at their peak, there was just over 7 thousands tweets sent in just one second. This comes on the heels of Twitter announcing they have over 200 million tweets per day.

    Category: NBC San Diego |




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