Field Notes 1

Apple iPhone 4S

Apple just released massive earnings last quarter showing the dominance of their smartphone in the market. My wife just had to have one and is thrilled in how much better it is over her previous 3G. She had no problems selling her old iPhone on Kijiji. Too bad Siri is limited in its use in Canada

Amazon Kindle Fire

Canadians beware. The Kindle Fire is crippled and has no access to US content at this time. Canada is not on the Amazon strategy road map right now so be patient, the kindle took 2 years to be Canadian friendly. Maybe a Kobo Vox is a better choice but does lack the joys of the Amazon ecosystem.

Nintendo Suffering

Well no kidding! iPad users play games on their tablet and don’t need a separate Nintendo DS game system. It makes great sense having both devices due to its game specific benefits but many are trying to simplify the amount of stuff they need to carry. The need to charge multiple batteries is an issue I find a real treat. If Nintendo doesn’t jump on IPad gaming fast they will suffer like RIM's arrogance in the marketplace. Let’s see how well the new Sony Vita game system copes but with its $250 price point it does seem too high for mass acceptance.

Crackberry

Looks like the markets have no trust in the new leadership structure. It’s hilarious how the perception is that Thorsten Heins seems to bring no background to propelling these guys forward. I guess he has 90 days to demonstrate the leadership required to move them forward and provide the trust was a smart decision.

RIM should pay me for a better press release like this one

" RIM :  we have focussed entirely on providing  secure solutions in the business marketplace with management tools for IT departments. Our playbook is an excellent adjunct to the blackberry for business users. We are actively working night and day to bring an excellent blackberry smartphone consumers device to the market place. The Playbook at this time will be a business tool ensuring security and privacy in the web and emailing experience.”

RIM is a trusted business tool and the keyboard and BBM features are key. Many business users don’t care about Angry Birds, they care about sensitive emails being secure in their transport. That is where RIM wins

Let LG make $ 10 disposable cell phones for the prepaid market.

RIM still makes a lot of money and is growing in the emerging markets and is not a dud like Kodak but it has to act very very fast to figure out where it wants to be in the US market. The silly DJ commercial for the Blackberry Bold is a joke. Everyone I ask in the 15-25 age group wants an iPhone not a Bold. So maybe they need a stronger ad campaign to keep the business user and grow into the consumer market. BYOD will decide and currently that is top of mind everywhere in the Fortune 100.

QNX software will be very good for RIM as its software that doesn’t need rebooting.

RIM employees have a lot to be proud of for their amazing innovative accomplishments over the years and are a top pick as new hires in the new start-ups happening right now.

Android

I just picked up an AT&T Thrive as my stateside telephone to help combat the huge roaming fees the carriers charge. I got to say the Android is a great experience. It’s a little rough around the edges but I can see why Android is gaining market share. There is only one place to get an Apple but many manufacturers support the Android OS. This is the greatness of its popularity. I do prefer a gated software process that Apple offers but we do need competition in the OS to ensure everyone is being innovative.

Kodak

What’s there to say? Senior management have destroyed this company and overexposed the film greatly. I cannot fathom how they have blown every single opportunity to become relevant in each market segment and have decent market share. Of course Nikon and Canon own the SLR business but Kodak let HP take the printer and point and shoot business. There should have been a shareholders occupy Rochester event years ago. I still have kodachromes from 30 years ago and they colours are as rich as ever. Too bad they didn’t really grab the digital frame market and really social media it to the hilt. It’s still a cool thought to send photo updates to grandma’s picture frame using the internet since she has no laptop or flickr access.

Apple Jobs

President Obama asked Steve Jobs as to why Apple products cannot be built in America thus providing jobs. Steve replied that he couldn’t find 20,000 American workers to live in a dormitory with suicide nets and enjoy cafeteria food 3 times a day.  The fact that Foxconn can add 3000 workers to a shift instantly demonstrates on the efficiency of an off-shore labour.

I am glad that ShoreTel makes their excellent purpose built IP Shoregear appliances in the USA. Canadians should take note that we need to keep jobs in Canada (thanks to Roots and Canada Goose for that)