It’s romantic. The moments characters experience is more on the foreground compared to the actual product. iPhone’s just there doing it’s work and fitting in nicely with the atmosphere. Apple reminds consumers that iPhone is your “moment” companion, it’s your art tool, it’s your camera, it’s like a part of you that lets you “capture” your experince and your moments.
Also check this article.
Google Now is introduced last summer at the Nexus 7 event. It is a highly helpful and innovative way to be more informed with some minimal data. Basically it understands what you would like to be informed about, understands where you work and where you live, gives you the traffic info before leaving for home or work. Shows public transport points and timetables, it analyses your e-ticket that is in your inbox and gives you flight info including delays and boarding times. Gives you a translation card if you are abroad and many more things.
The great thing about it is that you only get what is relevant to you in a very convenient way, it is just cards of info that is just useful and helpful. The interesting thing about Google Now is that it can actually do much more stuff.
What you search on Google everyday is raw data. It is just words, words and words. But Google Now is designed to analyze this raw data to understand you better and know you better. It is designed to make you more efficient and aware, it almost fits the quote from Steve Jobs when he said “It is bicycle for the mind” about his first Apple computer.
So what else theoratically Google Now can do? Right now it does not analyze your artistic interests. In desktop if i search “Vampire Weekend tour” it gives me a card on the right side, a bit like Google Now. Giving me a short bio, songs, member, tour dates. This can be directly implemented in to Google Now, it can understand you that you like Vampire Weekend and it already knows where you live so it can give give a notification when the band is playing in your city. Or you can adjust how much care about the band, it can update you when the band release a new album.
Not only users but also for advertises this is a huge deal. If Google decides to somehow include ads in Google Now they are aware that it can dissolve the beaty of the Google Now as it would have a risk of giving unwanted data to users. But it can also be helpful for users if done right, say you are using Google Wallet for you transactions it can understand you like to shop in for example in “GAP”, it can give you a notification about when you are nearby a GAP store.
By using searches, location, transaction and interest data at the same time Google Now is in a very good position to get better and most probably it will.
Check out the GAP’s and the Malibu’s vine. It’s a great example how companies and brands can use Vine to showcast their products. A huge potential, and a good reach oppurtunity for advertisers.
Vine has launched last week with a big coverage from the tech blogesphere. Vine was acquired by Twitter in October,2012. It is a very exciting idea and really fun to use. The initial impact for me was that its great UX, it follows the instagram’s simplicity regarding the interface which is great. The feeling of watching the 6 second clips is very fun when there are some really creative footages. It is also a fun way to share your status. It is a clear alternative to where and who you with statutes, and it makes the process fun.
There have been some criticism regarding if Vine is just a fad or not. Personally i believe it may very well the next big thing after the Instagram if folks over Twitter can focus on improving it like supporting more mobile platforms. Also it is a new medium that no other company has made a move yet. I believe the future definitely holds more video shares-statuses and Vine is the first-mover they can keep it up, there is no reason they can’t be a huge success.
Most online video offerings aspire neither to art nor originality, but to likes, shares, tributes, clicks, eyeballs and interactions. It’s a way of giving the world back to itself to play with – and the most crucial story of all is not what happens onscreen, but what happens if clip meets world and world falls in love with clip.
Excellent piece from Tom Chatfield, on Gangnam and other viral videos.
It seems Apple is looking at the right companies to gain some more data for its own maps service. If the deal goes through, it would provide much more data for local veneus compared to current Google maps service. Especially for cafes-restaurants-bars foursquare has an extensive data which can be implemented into Apple’s maps service. Apple already have a deal with Yelp which performs poorly anywhere outside U.S. and limited to cafes-restaurants and bars, while foursquare can provide locations of local businesses/offices that have been pinned by users of Foursquare. The problem about Foursquare is that anyone can create a place to check-in, but Foursquare has already have good algorithm to leave the unnecessary places out. Just look at the explore tab and how it shows only the places that are genuine and at the same time popular. If Apple manages to get the foursquare data it would both benefit Apple and Foursquare, it is a certainly win-win situation.
free idea: facebook to acquire whatsapp
— Oğuz Özgül (@oguzozg) August 4, 2012
Last summer i tweeted the above idea and last week Techcrunch reported that Facebook has set their sights on WhatsApp. One of the most popular sms-alternative supporting cross platform messaging platform. There are a lot of reasons why Facebook would want to buy the platform. First of all, Facebook Messenger flopped. Whatsapp offers easier friend finder by utilising phone numbers when registering. It would be madness not to consider aquiring WhatsApp to beef up its Messenger platform, and have the users spending more time in Facebook.
It is pretty obvious that the original iPhone and iPad were conceived as the most innovative products that Apple has ever created. With iPhone Apple has showed us a touchscreen that does not suck. With iPad they created a tablet that can be an excellent alternative to computers because they were dead-simple to use just like the iPhone.
Apple created a magnificent software iOS and accompanied it with beatiful hardware as always. iOS is clearly a revolutionary piece of software with the most simple and elegant UX that is ever created in the tech-world.
So might be the next big thing that Apple is working on? Recently i have been thinking of Microsoft Pixelsense (previously known as Microsoft Surface) and what folks over Apple being thinking about it. If you don’t have any idea what Pixelsense is take a look at this video. I am not arguing that Apple is making a device in the form of an table but i think they have something more than a electronic table up their sleeves.
I am thinking about a huge tablet (17”?) that is adjustable in terms of adjusting horizantal and verticality of the tablet. It would be a touch based device with iOS installed. You could fire up Photoshop or Final Cut Pro in this high resolution huge screen where you could use your fingers or a official stylus(unlikely) for drawing. You can put it in a horizontal position to watch a movie or catch a series. Other thing that could be useful; collabarative desk environment. Say you are working on a project with some people. All of these people would share a desktop environment where notes and images related to the project are laid on the desktop. All of the project members can interact with them while having a conference Facetime. I believe if Apple manages to do something related to this it can be a huge thing. They can emphasise on “desk”, “real desktop” or say iDesk for their new product.
I strongly believe Apple is working on a large form factor tablet to be operated on a desk that could be an post-pc version of the iMac.
Since Facebook has became a default social network, there has been less startups that declared that they can do better. After all social networks is about numbers, especially in this case ‘number of users registered’.
However this does not mean that Facebook can be the only popular social network on the web. Facebook says that their mission is to make the world more open and connected. It is the place for keeping touch with your “friends” and encounters. Facebook is doing a great job on serving a basic platform that everybody can use. But is that enough for some users?
The problem with Facebook is that it becomes noisy and unrelevant if you don’t do the necessary settings and over %95 percent of users doesn’t even bother. My intention is not to predict Facebook’s end, rather point out that Facebook will not be the only network that will matter in future.
Recent successful social network startups suggest that a new approach in social networking; focus. Instagram a simple to use photo-filtering and sharing mobile app. Foursquare, simply a tool to check-in to places and see where your friends are. Twitter, simply share something in short text, see what others say.
One would say that there are similar services are already a part of Facebook and used heavily among Facebook users. (Instagram is now owned by Facebook) However there are considerable amount of people who prefer to use these networks instead of Facebook. As said before the main reason can be the problem of “noise” in Facebook. Also with ‘one focus’ startups can improve over the Facebook services overnight.
There have been some startups that tried to launch a network just for the “close friends and family”. In other words focus on “close friends&family”. A popular example would be ‘Path’ which has raised over $30m in series b funding. It’s seems promising but still needs more time.
We can conclude that networks with focus will be the next thing on the web space as there are still lots of gaps need to be filled.
When Ballmer came to the stage for the Microsoft Surface revealing event back in June. He talked about how Microsoft have done great hardware since its existent. He talked about Xbox and its success and wanted everyone to notice that Microsoft does great hardware.
Now that Surface has been released, Ballmer promises that more hardware is on the way. While it seems unclear which kind of hardware he is talking about, it would not be surprise if Microsoft releases its own Windows Phones. What would be really surprising if Microsoft will release its own Notebook. Although i believe Microsoft will not release a x86/x64 based Notebook, i believe they will put out numerous Notebooks all based in ARM. That wouldn’t be a surprise as Microsoft thinks traditional desktop era will be over, the evidence for this intent would be how Windows 8 is created. Microsoft want users to get used to Metro interface to make this transition. I believe the traditional desktop Windows will be strangled by its own creator; Microsoft to make way for the Windows RT. After all traditional Windows is a “open” platform with no application store to be controlled or to make money from. Realizing this video game developers have been very critic of Windows 8, although Windows 8 is still an “open” platform the developers have realized what Microsoft is trying to do; Microsoft wants to kill the “Desktop” Windows in favor of Windows RT.
Application Stores on any device is a huge benefit for users, they can easily find apps that they want have and use. Apps get updated you can see what others have to say about the app before you download/buy it, giving the users of ease of mind about their apps. Game developers are not happy because their platform is being taken away from them. If Microsoft goes ahead and kills the Windows or at least wants people to buy ARM instead of x64/x86 systems there will be a surely decrease in desktop usage which will decrease their sales. Still i cant see a reason why Windows RT won’t be success. It is obviously more easy to use and uncomplicated compared to desktop experience. While almost everyone in the planet is used to desktop experience, the average user will be pleased to have a browser and i am sure they will welcome the new interface in time.
