Default: Living within Apple's gilded cage

January 05, 2014 by David Johnson

A lot of people, perhaps most, never venture beyond the default settings and applications found on their devices at the time of purchase. Others make it a point of personalizing the settings, and loading up their favorite alternatives to the default apps, dumping the defaults in a folder, and onto the back page, out of sight and out of mind. I see no evidence that one group is happier than the other. However, it does appear that the more adventurous of the two end up having more issues with their devices. I happen to be both. In some things, I am Captain Default. In others, I am David, Lord of the Unbeaten Path. This weekend, we will be exploring the benefits of accepting the default position, and living happily within Apple's tightly controlled ecosystem.

Blackberry CEO wants to bring the Blackberry experience to the iPhone. Just say no!

December 22, 2013 by David Johnson

Blackberry's quarterly conference call took place on Friday. I will try to avoid adjectives such as train wreck, or disasterous. But it is difficult to report on it without at least using the word, predictable. On paper, they lost $4.4B. That's more money than they have. Accounting is a funny business. My undestanding of it is that much of that is a non-writedown writedown of unsold inventory, literally, worth nothing. Every phone they build is a liability to the company. Now, they would like to bring that worthless experience to iOS and Android. You can here John Chen: Blackberry CEO, say it in his own words

Everything is an iPhone

December 20, 2013 by David Johnson

Do you remember when Android first came out? Does anybody? The internet has a very short memory, So let this be a reminder; Android was actually in development before the iPhone was introduced. Here is something else you may have forgotten. Android was originally a clone of the Blackberry OS. At the time, the was no iOS to copy. Once the iPhone was unveiled, Google scrapped their Blackberry clone, and started making an iPhone clone.

The iPhone tops the wish list, Santa is going to need some extra elves

December 18, 2013 by David Johnson

Alone, this data point probably means very little. After all, it is based on the research of Piper Jaffray, an analyst: a class of pundit that is almost never right about anything. In this case, they looked at 25,000 recent tweets to determine what people were asking Santa for Christmas. More people asked for an iPhone. The second most requested item was a PS4. That does not mean that they will get iPhones, just that they want it, badly. In case you were wondering, the iPad was a close third.

My thoughts on the NSA, privacy, and human dignity in the modern age

December 17, 2013 by David Johnson

In case you've been wondering, of course I've been following the NSA story since the first Snowden leaks. I have simply chosen not to make a career of it as some blogs have done. For wall to wall coverage on everything related to the NSA, let me suggest theverge.com. It is my intention to keep this piece concise, with only a handful of points for you to consider.

Samsung still can't buy a good, fake fan, or an original idea

December 15, 2013 by David Johnson

Once again, Samsung is finding it very difficult to buy a fake fan of its products. Considering the number of craptastic products they sell and give away, you would think Samsung could find at least one customer that genuinely likes using it. Apparently, this task is easier said than done. In other news that shocks no one, Samsung rips off yet another company's creative ad campaign.

State of the iPhone for 2013

December 15, 2013 by David Johnson

In terms of new product categories, it has been a rather dull year. When it comes to product updates, it's been a very good year. The MacBooks have had a substantial increase in battery life. Today's MacBook Air can last as long as yesterday's iPad. Speaking of iPads, the iPad Air has taken the tablet category to the pinnacle of what it should be. But what about the iPhone: the flagship of Apple's fleet?

How did the iPhone conquer Japan? Part Two

December 14, 2013 by David Johnson

Although this is a continuation of a piece on the iPhone's success in Japan, I thought it appropriate to start with the success of the iPad. Japan has proven to be a fertile market for iDevices despite the counter-indicators. For anyone thinking that the iPhone's success in Japan was a fluke, the success of the iPad should abruptly cut off that line of thinking.

How did the iPhone conquer Japan? Part One

December 12, 2013 by David Johnson

Here's a shocking fact: The iPhone makes up 76% of all new smartphones in Japan. Today, you can read this headline just about everywhere. A few years ago, all the headlines were telling us why the iPhone would fail in Japan. Shortly after the launch, the headlines were about why the iPhone failed in Japan. Now, less than a quarter of the population buys anything other than the iPhone. Is this the story of the greatest turn-around in history, or something more?

In phablet news: big phones are not big sellers

December 11, 2013 by David Johnson

Considering all the big coverage of phablets, it comes as a big surprise that big phones are not big sellers. Samsung has been announcing sales figures. As we know, companies only announce sales figures when they have something to boast, or think they can spin a sow's ear into a silk purse. In this case, it is more of the latter. Samsung has already, somewhat, acknowledged that this year's sales are less than expected. They have also had to answer to concerned investors about their flagging numbers. Appleinsider too a closer look at the numbers and found interesting results:

Did you know this LeAnn Rimes music video was shot entirely on an iPhone? Now you do.

December 10, 2013 by David Johnson

Microsoft keeps telling us that iToys are not useful for anything besides playing games and music. Apparently, they don't know about the iPhones ability to make great video as well, LeAnn Rimes knows, and took advantage of that fact. The stop-motion video shown above, was shot entirely on the iPhone.

Blackberry turned down Justin Bieber's offer to be their brand ambassador

December 08, 2013 by David Johnson

No wonder they’re dead. The clowns running Blackberry literally couldn’t make a good decision to save their corporate lives. They couldn’t recognize a good decision even when it walked up to them and begged to be used. In this case, the good decision was in the form of Justin Bieber. For peanuts, he would have been Blackberries bright-faced, local boy done good, pop-star extraordinaire, international spokesperson. On top of all that, he was a legitimate fan. Now, how much would you pay? If you are Blackberry, you just send that saucy little twerp packing. And that is precisely what they did. Wow!

iBeacons, the best and worst of science fiction

December 08, 2013 by David Johnson

Apple's iBeacons represent some of the best and worst that science fiction has predicted. More importantly, it's already here. In essence, iBeacon is tracking technology for indoors. It does inside, what GPS does for outside. Not only is it already here, but you might well be carrying it in your pocket at this very moment.

The iPhone is coming to China Mobile. Here's what, if anything, it means for you:

December 07, 2013 by David Johnson

Why, all of a sudden, does the world seem to care about the iPhone coming to China Mobile? If you scan the latest out of the tech press, that is all you see. I have been following this story for quite some time. It has been in the making for years. Honestly, I didn't care then, either. And I am having a hard time figuring out why it matters to any other, semi-normal human. Before giving you my guesses, allow me to catch you up on the particulars:

What mobile gaming numbers tell us about Android users

December 06, 2013 by David Johnson

A few days ago, I ran across an interesting report from IDC regarding mobile gaming. In particular, it provided a breakdown of mobile devices on which people preferred to buy and play games. Allow me to eliminate the drama. People love using iPods touch, iPhones, and iPads for gaming. But that's not the interesting part.

When shoppers go mobile, the go iOS

November 30, 2013 by David Johnson

37% of online sales are done on mobile devices. iPhones and iPads account for almost all of those devices. That was certainly the case on Black Friday. I am for anything that takes more Black Friday sales online and off the streets. We are constantly told that there are more Android phones and tablets than iPhones and iPads, so why are mobile purchases so skewed in favor of iOS?

Black Friday at Apple brings gift cards instead of discounts

November 29, 2013 by David Johnson

Apple's marketing team declare this to be the Friday you've been waiting for. However, there is a good chance the deals Apple has on offer are not the deals you were looking for. They are not exactly placing a lump of coal in your stocking. But they are also not reducing prices on, what will surely be the most popular gifts of the year. Instead, they are offering gift cards so that you can buy even more Apple products.

Clumsy Ninja, the App Store, and video previews, what gives?

November 22, 2013 by David Johnson

Apple is clearly have no trouble selling apps on the App Store. That may explain why the App Store has been updated so little over the years. But there is still a lot of room for improvement where the App Store is concerned, and Apple seems poised to address one of my biggest feature requests:

Activation Lock: another iOS 7 exclusive Samsung is finding difficult to copy

November 19, 2013 by David Johnson

Sometimes we iPhone and iPad users don't realize how lucky we are. Apple puts a lot of time, money, and energy into coming up with new ways to make using technology a joy. They put equal resources into making it safe and secure. Things Apple prioritizes are mere afterthoughts for competitors, until, that is, they see the competitive advance such features give Apple. Activation Lock is one of those features. Unfortunately for competitors, their attempt to copy it has hit a bit of a snag.

Lenovo's strategy: sell into markets where Apple isn't

November 10, 2013 by David Johnson

How do you beat the iPhone? you sell into markets where the iPhone can't. Since the iPhone is a premium item sold for a premium price, there are many places in the world where the populous cannot afford it. Target your cheap junk there, and you beat the iPhone in volume of shipments.