By Aldo Panessidi

Can you hear the Apple machine cranking? The infamous company has yet to reach its zenith for this century according to Gartner reports and financial projections of the past few weeks and its adoring public is not likely to disappoint or be disappointed.

Tablets will see an explosion in sales over the next four years, selling 60% as many units as PCs by 2015 – and Apple iPad will still have almost half the market by then, says the research group Gartner in a bullish forecast.

IDC and Gartner PC v Tablet forecast to 2015, when Gartner puts tablet unit sales at 60% of PCs'

The following video provides a iPad 3 - Rumor Roundup

After delivering a surprisingly popular (and by last quarter’s earnings reports, buyable) iPhone 4S, we are more prepared than ever to see the company’s latest iPad. The iPad 3 has had rumors swirling about it for months now. Considering the slate is to be the third in a line of tablet royalty, it is no wonder that the speculation and press around the device could easily fit into the format of US Weekly. And would probably be interesting than reading about the

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So when we caught wind that images of the device had been published by the Chinese language Apple Daily before the official announcement, inquiring minds needed to know just how accurate those images were considering the limited visuals that had been previously leaked. We are also keeping an ear to the ground for any news on Apple iPad3 accessories

Happily, previous reports seem in line with what was seen in the Apple Daily. The case will be familiar to iPad2 users, but has the twist: a gradual taper leading from the back to the edges. This will likely translate into new accessories needed for the new slate, but that remains to be seen.

From the spec perspective, the Apple Daily reconfirms that the iPad3 will have a 9.7-inch Retina Display and an 8-megapixel camera. With a quad-core Apple A6 processor and embedded 4G LTE connectivity under the hood, customers will not be disappointed. Apple is expected to debut the iPad3 at a press conference early March where we will hopefully hear more of plans to pair exclusively with a telecommunications carrier or if the device will be made available unlocked.

By Aldo Panessidi

Brand reputation can be hard to quantify.   The way consumers feel and the degree of trust they assign a company and its brand are tied up into a lot of intangibles.  However, Harris Interactive, a marketing research firm has developed a Reputation Quotient to measure brand reputation.   Comprised of six dimensions of reputation, this year’s new front runner, Apple was top-ranked in four: products and services, financial performance, workplace environment, and vision and leadership. The California based company was outscored by Whole Foods in the social responsibility category and by Amazon in the emotional appeal dimension of reputation.

This year marks the firm’s 13^th annual Reputation Quotient survey and Apple snagged a score of 85.62, the highest score recorded since the survey began.   Furthermore, in other  Google vs Apple  episodes,  Apple has edged out Google from its top spot in 2011’s poll. Another cloud-service provider, Amazon joined the ranks of the top 5 companies and the list was rounded out by Coca-Cola and Kraft Foods.

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According to Robert Fronk, the executive vice president of Harris Interactive, the rise of these kinds of companies to the top ranks is not unexpected. “We are seeing the emergence of a group of companies that garner reputation equity by being positively associated with multiple industries […] companies like Apple, Google, and Amazon.com combine innovation and leadership across multiple business areas, giving them true competitive advantage.”

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Between the iconic mobile tech devices (the iPad, iPhone, iPod, iTouch etc), the must-have accessories for those devices (docking stations, headphones and the like), and cloud services that Apple is going to bring to our homes with an iTV Apple fits Fronk’s model very well. Google will deliver comparable innovation and products, but may be hurting its brand reputation by not having the total control over device creation by its myriad of manufacturers as Apple does. Their core approaches to business, development and brand management vary – but then again, so does the name of which company reigns supreme.

By Megan Fleet

What a nice change of pace to hear news about major improvement’s to Apple’s newest version of its MacBook Pro!   With mobile technology more prevalent in our daily lives, consumers are used to being inundated with updates of the latest tablets, smartphones and the like. And while Apple has done a great job of branding its Macs, we just don’t get as many updates on them.

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So without further ado, an anonymous source spoke to MIC Gadget about the possibility of Apple switching back to NVIDIA as the primary GPU of its upcoming Mac Pro. That change is not the only one expected with the latest version of the company’s swanky offering. Reports also indicate that the new Mac Pro will sport Intel’s upcoming Ivy Bridge chipset. This will result in a faster, more efficient processor than the Sandy Bridge processor thanks to 22 nanometer transistor technology.

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These new chips also address the overheating issues that have been problematic with past models with a 30% increase in heat dissipation efficiency. According to the MIC Gadget report there is some testing of 8-core processors with 20MB of cache that would really add some zoom zoom to the Mac Pro.

As it is typically the more creative and aesthetically driven set that reaches for Macs (artists, musicians, writers and the like), they will be pleased to know that NVIDIA’s “Kepler” platform was chosen for the graphics (this platform is slated to launch approximately the same time at the new Intel CPUs this year). But, as Apple doesn’t plan to unveil its latest Mac Pro line until third quarter of this year, additional details and changes are bound to come our way before the finished product hits shelves. Perhaps we will see peripheral devices at this year’s Mobile World Congress that will tie in Apple’s personal computer offerings to their strong line iYouNameIt.

By Aldo Panessidi

LG’s high-end Android smartphone offerings have been somewhat disappointing in the past.  As such,  when we caught wind of the upcoming LG X3 superphone we were unsure how to react in expectation of this new device.  However, based on the information provided Paul O’Brien of MoDaCo, the anonymously leaked screenshots and benchmarks for this handset, LG may have a winner on its hands when they unveil the LC X3 as their new flagship device at this month’s Mobile World Congress.

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Through our multitude of industry contacts... we were able to secure information relative the feature list will include:

• 4.7" HD 1280x720 screen
• Tegra 3 Quad core processor (1.5GHz on single core, 1.4GHz when on 2-4 cores) + SMP Core (core companion) for IDLE task operations which will save battery life
• 2000mAh battery
• 16GB internal memory + microSD slot
• 8MP camera with ultra fast shutter
• 1.3MP Front Facing camera

We were also able to secure some informative screen shots

What can we glean from the screenshots?  They suggest that the X3 will have either a lightly skinned version of LG’s overlay running or simply stock Android ICS (4.0.3). The quad-core processor previously mentioned should mean great performance for everyday tasks. And with 16GB internal memory that can be expanded to 48GB thanks to an internal microSD slot, a power processor helps ensure that users have the space to download, stream, and share their music, photos and other data.

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Interested consumers may look forward to seeing a 2000mAh battery, 8 megapixel rear-facing camera that supposedly rocks an uber fast shutter. The front-facing camera isn’t as impressive, but will get the job done in a pinch. Through in an NFC chip and you can one of those neat NFC chip enable smartphone protective case wallets that bring a new meaning to fashion and function.

We are optimistic that LG will bring a worthy contender to the Mobile World Congress and dispel the misgivings and fears of those that been scared off by less than stellar mobile OS experiences with LG. If they fall flat, at least we will not be adrift in an Android-less sea of smartphone offerings from other manufacturers.

By Aldo Panessidi

Riddle me this Batman: what exactly is an exabyte? Technically it is “a unit of information or computer storage equal to 1quintillion bytes.” Wrapping your head around this large of a number is like trying to fathom the national debt of the United States and all of its ramifications.

So when we saw Cisco’s Visual Networking Forecast that shows global mobile data traffic projection for the next five years, the numbers were similarly difficult to swallow: 10.8 exabytes per month. To put it in perspective, this is an 18-fold increase from today’s data consumption. And with 71% of this massive amount of data will be consumed by cloud traffic and the approximate 10 billion mobile Internet-connected devices projected to be in use in 2016.

With the world population expected to be 7.3 billion, these numbers point to a trend of consumers toting around more than one device. They will be streaming video, data, and music at faster speeds on their tablets, smartphones, iPod, MacBooks and laptops televisions thanks to quickly adopted technology from LTE networks to the actual devices. More specifically, it is the jump in smartphone adoption that is the driving force in these huge data growth projections as this will account for 8 billion of the 10 billion devices expected to be in use.

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This staggering number of devices and leaps in technology will likely have a domino effect where consumers will require smarter accessories to integrate their devices into daily life without becoming cumbersome. And, with this kind of huge adoption of technology and cloud services, the question of what role the telecommunication giants will have comes into play. Even now we are seeing a shift towards internet-based services and unlocked cell phones that provide consumers with other choices beyond the traditional carriers.

Wherever the trends and technology go, we will be sure to keep you apprised as they change and shape a different future.

By Aldo Panessidi

According to analytics firm NPD, Android managed to steal the top spot from iOS by a sizable amount following Q4 last year, making Google's mobile OS the more popular choice amongst newcomers to the smartphone market.

First time smartphone buyers between October and December 2011 opted for an Android-based phone over an iPhone... that is 57% purchased an Android device, followed by 34% opting for an iPhone while the remaining 9% of buyers went with a different OS flavor.

Smartphone buyers in general, across the same time frame, helped narrow the gap between the two front runners, but Android still came out on top with 48% of the market over the 43% belonging to iOS users.

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When one considers the fact that time buyers are more likely to put extensive thought into their first smartphone purchase and given the plethora of form factors and brands out there running Android, the iPhone might not seem like the obvious choice for everyone.  Moreover, while iPhone is currently running on three of the top US carrier networks... Android devices feature on all four of the leading carriers

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Android continues to grow in the US, despite many already proclaiming its over-saturation in the market. Between both Apple and Google, they have accumulated the lion's share of sales, leaving only the scraps to the likes of BBOS and Windows Phone, but all good things must come to an end; the question is, when?

Which mobile OS (and mobile device) do you think is best suited for newcomers to the smartphone market and why? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

By Aldo Paneesidi

Managing Customer churn as well acquiring new customers is an ongoing problem for all carriers... as such, they make it difficult for customers to switch providers.  To this end, practically all carriers worldwide engage in 'false highly-persuasive' advertising.  They will typically lure consumers with the offer of FREE smartphone and then hook, reel and lock them in with long term service plans that are designed to not only subsidize the cost of the cell phone but provide wireless voice & data services at premium prices.  To further enforce customer loyalty, carriers lock their giveaway phones to only work within their network frequencies - thus making it difficult for consumers to leave them for another carrier.

In some cases, the programming may be easy to reverse, with the user simply reformatting the cell phone or removing the phone's memory card.   In other instances, the phone may be designed in such a way that it is impossible to use it with another network, with most cell phone brands, like Apple, Blackberry, Samsung, Nokia, Motorola, HTC, LG Mobile and Sony to name a few,  manufacturing specific phones for particular networks.

In contrast, an unlocked phone are simply handsets that aren't handcuffed to a specific carrier's service package can be used on any network.

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Unlocking a phone - How it works

A cellphone handset is like a body without a brain. It can't make calls unless it has a thumbnail-sized chip called a SIM card installed. The SIM card identifies an individual phone on a cellular network so that calls can be routed to it as the handset is carried from place to place, so the owner's account can be billed for air time and long-distance fees, and so on.

When a phone is bought on a service plan, the SIM card in that phone is linked to the subscriber's ID information for billing. Most carriers lock the phone by programming its software so that it will only work with the SIM card they provide — try to swap it with a card from another carrier because it has a cheaper service plan, for example, and the phone won't recognize it.

An unlocked cellphone is one that will recognize any SIM card. So if you're travelling in Europe and don't want to incur roaming charges or have every local call billed as long distance by your regular North American cellphone carrier, you can buy a local European carrier's card during your stay and pop it into your regular phone.

The caveat is that there are two main cellphone networks, and they aren't compatible with one another. One is based on the CDMA standard, which is popular in North America and parts of Asia, and used by Bell and Telus in Canada. The other is GSM, which is used by Rogers in Canada and is the most common cellphone standard outside North America, used by more than 2 billion subscribers in most countries around the world.

An unlocked phone will work on a compatible network — CDMA phones on CDMA networks and GSM handsets on GSM networks. But many CDMA phones have the SIM card built in, and have to be reprogrammed directly to make the phone work on another carrier's network. Most GSM handsets, on the other hand, have a slot that allows a SIM card to be swapped easily by the user.  As a result, unlocked cellphones available in Canada are predominantly GSM models.

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By Megan Fleet

For all its brand recognition and funding power, Microsoft has not seen a high adoption rate of its mobile software in the past.  However, this year looks to be a new chapter in the company’s move to diversify its end point offerings from traditional PCs, notebooks, MacBooks,  smartphones and tablets. This is being accomplished with partnering with companies like Nokia and BlueStack that will widen their customer base and mobile device sales.

Another recent move to accomplish this was bringing OneNote to Apple’s iOS and Android users will have the cloud-synced note-taking app at their disposal as well.  Leveraging this popular organizational tool, Microsoft is spreading its net far by including Apple and Android. And, multi-mobile OS platform availability highlights the changing landscape of customers wanting the device, apps, and mobile OS of their choice which explains the increased popularity of unlocked smartphones.

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Those with Android 2.3 or above can try out the app with 500 notes for free before having to shell out $4.99 to purchase the full version. With established competition like Evernote, Springpad and the up and coming Catch Notes, OneNote is a solid alternative where end users can edit tables synced from the desktop app and create to-do lists. Other features like photo notes, bulleted lists, check boxes and highlights make for a great experience even though custom tables cannot be made and synced.

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Microsoft looks to be making its move with savvy and has a multi-pronged approach. So, we have yet to see what the Mobile World Congress will bring to continue this trend whether it is with accessories or other technology pairings. Whatever is brought to the table, we look forward to it!

By Aldo Panessidi

The recent “cloud” technology is a buzz word that readers have grown to both love and hate.   What does it mean? How does it work? Well with data centers and internet: iCloud and Google are the poster children for bringing the wonders of the ‘cloud’ to millions of people with their smartphones, tablets, iPods and all the technology that brings it together.  Google’s project to connect these all to the web is called Chromium OS which targets the desktop.   Mozilla is taking another approach with Boot to Gecko (B2G) that will go after mobile devices with a standalone OS on the open web on mobile devices (a major announcement regarding this is expected to be made at MWC).

So, Google’s move to take its Chrome browser to the Android mobile platform doesn’t come as much of a surprise. While this reassures us that Android is not going anywhere as a mobile OS platform, we could soon see the end of native operating systems and the beginning of web operating systems. For, as Google’s Engineering Manager, Arnaud Weber says, “You should have your Chrome experience wherever you are.”

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What’s the benefit in this change though? The idea is that the open web can replace proprietary, single-vendor stacks like iOS, Android, Windows and all the familiar names when it comes to app development. At the moment, there are hurdles for web developers to build apps for the open web that are equal to native apps, but that too will change and will likely extend to our mobile accessories and peripheral devices.

The good news is that Chrome for Android is not a watered down version of Chrome. Instead, it is a full blown multi-process desktop browser (approaching our tablets and smartphones as additional endpoints). While it will include HTML5 features and Google’s V8 JavaScript for Android, it doesn’t look like AdobeFlash will be part of the roadmap. So, for streaming media that requires Flash, a media player may be a good device to keep as part of your arsenal.

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The immediate future hints to Chrome replacing the Android Browser in the coming months and potentially there will be devices that boot to the web at the MWC. But, with the tight control of wireless carriers that fear change and services they cannot charge for (battle royale of roaming and unlocked phones anyone?), the transition of this technology to mobile devices may take a bit longer to reach consumers.

By Aldo Panessidi

We all agree that Apple’s iPhones are iconic. They have three models on the market compared to Android’s plethora of offerings with a multitude of manufacturers including the Samsung Galaxy S II, the HTC Amaze, the Motorola RAZR Droid and the LG Optimus 2X . But, Apple’s offerings have made it one of the most valuable companies in the world and has handed its partners a brilliantly branded and easily sold product. Add great activation figures every quarter for carriers that sell the smartphone and it sounds like a great partnership for both Apple and the carriers.

Alas, the reality paints more of a love-hate relationship.   Carriers see the AT&T/iPhone exclusivity model and drool.   No competition from unlocked phones, other carriers, and seemingly one-of-a-kind device fits into the highly controlled model carriers prefer.  This explains why Sprint was willing to guarantee Apple $15.5 billion over four years to sell the iPhone. Then the mobile carrier posted a $1.3 billion financial loss last quarter. Then there is the bad blood with T-Mobile after failed negotiations over the iPhone which has resulted in the carrier offering iPhone users free microSIM cards to give up their 3G speeds and join their network.

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Recently Nomura Securities analyst Mike McCormack told CNNMoney, “A logical conclusion is that the iPhone is not good for wireless carriers […] When we look at the direct and indirect economics that Apple has managed to extract from the carriers, the carrier-level value destruction is quite evident.” This can be seen with Verizon’s drop in EBITDA service margin from 46.4% to 42.2% since adding the smartphone to its arsenal last year.  Whether iPad sales and service plans can make up for that remains to be seen.  However, they should be able to leverage the equally iconic and addicting Apple accessories.

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Alas, for now the iPhone is not going anywhere because of news like Sprint’s: best quarter in the past six years for net subscriber additions which can be attributed to the 720,000 new postpaid subscribers who changed to the carrier to get their hands on the iPhone. And by all accounts, the money should follow with increased price points and the newest iPhone release coming this year.