MythModel

App Store

wpak86 — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 20:07:26 +0000

Trendsetter: Apple

Catch-Up Crew: Google, RIM (Blackberry), Palm, Microsoft, Nokia, Samsung

Apple’s App Store is a software bazaar for downloading free and paid mobile applications.

As of this date, there are over 20,000 applications and over 500 million applications have been downloaded .

Following the success and rapid growth of the Apple’s App Store, cell phone manufacturers and software companies are releasing their own mobile app stores. There is a battle of mobile software apps brewing in this new growth engine. The future of the mobile industry will be driven by software instead of hardware.

This is a list of mobile app stores announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona:

Nokia’s Ovi Store
Windows Marketplace
App Store for Symbian
Android Market
BlackBerry App World
Palm Software Store

The Future of America’s Big Three Automakers

wpak86 — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 20:06:54 +0000

In northeast Baltimore, Route 1 was a haven for U.S. autodealers where GM, Ford, and Chrysler thrived together. Now, American autodealers have vanished and turned into vacant or no-name used car lots. Just the other day, I heard from a colleague that a Pontiac dealer sold more used Hondas than its own new cars. The sad reality is that this local auto crisis occurred before this global financial crisis shifted into full gear. In the coming months, the fate of these automakers will be determined by the Obama Administration. The Big Three will survive or go bust depending on whether it takes crucial and necessary measures to jump start again.

The van is a great example to illustrate the decline of America’s Big Three. My father bought his brown-striped Chevy G20 van here back in summer of ’89. It’s your authentic all-American family Van (and not a minivan). Too bad, there isn’t demand for this stuff anymore. The Van faded with the introduction of the minivan.

In 1984, Chrysler introduced the Dodge Caravan, a minivan that changed the American auto landscape forever and killed the Van (like Chevy G20). Dodge Caravan set the standard and became a best-seller for middle America in the ’90s. It was only a matter of time before foreign automakers did their research and perfected the true minivan. In 2008, Honda Odyssey claimed the #1 spot and knocked off the veteran, Dodge Caravan, the vehicle that saved Chrysler from the brink of bankruptcy over 20 years ago. What happened and why did it take this long to respond to this crisis? Do foreign automakers know more about the American family than the Big Three?

Last month, the White House provided an $17.4 billion loan package to the automakers. This package includes: $13.4 billion in short-term loans from TARP, a financial industry fund and $4 billion in February with congressional approval. Basically, the automakers are on emergency life support until the Obama Administration decides their fate and future. The Big Three must put their game face on and start an American rEVOLUTION, seriously.

Update: Will Fiat’s partnership save Chrysler? Although Ford announced $5.9B loss in 4Q ’08, Ford’s Fusion Hybrid launches on March 31st and all eyes are on the success of this most efficient hybrid. Can GM”s Chevy Volt set for 2010 cement its future in the hybrid auto category?

My Personal Review of Apple iPod Touch (2nd generation, 32GB)

wpak86 — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 05:57:55 +0000

I bought the Apple iPod touch (32GB) on September 11, two days after its official release. I’ve had this iPod touch for two months now. The first entry on this blog is my personal review of this amazing device.

Portable, Potential Laptop Replacement, Entertainment, Everyday Device.

The 2nd gen iPod touch is an upgrade to the previous iPod touch, such as adding external volume controls, a built-in speaker, and Nike+iPod support. If I’m correct, the Nike+iPod app is exclusive to the 2nd gen iPod touch and it’s not on the iPhone 3G. Apple is pushing the iPod touch as your everyday portable device. I’ve used this app on the treadmill and jogging around the track at the gym. I have to say that the “calorie count” and distance are fairly accurate. Honestly, I’ve stopped using my lightweight iPod shuffle because I can listen to music and use the app simultaneously during my workout.

During these two months, I’ve purchased music and short films on iTunes Store. The Godfather: Coppola Restoration is just stunning widescreen. Classic. But I’ve taken advantage of the App Store by downloading many apps (free and paid). I have currently 79 apps on my iPod touch, such as Facebook, Tap Tap, Air Sharing, eBay, Enigmo, Zippo Lighter, Urbanspoon, Obama ’08 etc. I have more free apps than paid apps. The plethora of apps (free and paid) allowed me to use the iPod touch for gaming, surfting, e-mail, music, video, productivity, and in sum, for everything. This device is mobile, easy-to-use, and a potential laptop replacement. I think the iPod touch puts the new “netbooks,” an unnecessary segment into shame. The iPod touch ventures on something new in the PMP (Portable Media Player) segment, while the netbooks are compressed light versions of the old.

So, if I’m using everything on iPod touch, why don’t I have an iPhone 3G? I commented on BusinessWeek’s “Readers Eye on the iPhone 3G” about this. I am currently on Verizon Wireless’s family plan, which is cheaper and have better reception than AT&T. Plus, iPod touch is slimmer, edgier, and lighter alongside with more flash memory (32GB) and longer battery life than the iPhone 3G. In the future, I will consider the iPhone 3G because it is the best selling handset in the US and outsold the Motorola Razr. But for now, I’m satisfied with my iPod touch.

P.S.- iPhone software update 2.2 is coming on November 21.