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)

Future Shop Sucks 3

Somehow i was sent back to line to start all over

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© 2011 Future Shop. All rights reserved. For personal, noncommercial use only.

Future Shop Sucks 2

Its a coffee maker




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Wow u guys need help

Futureshop Sucks on online ordering

Trying to buy a coffee maker and 1 hour later still wAiting

After all your upgrades the online experience is still a nightmare

""

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Come on guys get on board with Amazon Cloud computing

The Otter Box Reflex iPad Case Review

I have been using Otter Box products for quite some time but have only used their traditional Otter Box 1000 boxes to protect photographic, electronic and radio equipment.

Having many other types of devices I searched for products that would protect my iPad or iPhone and took a spin over to www.otterbox.com, and bingo they had tons of stuff of interest to me.

Since I use my iPad a lot for business, photography or Ham radio uses, I find myself I need to protect my expensive iPad from harm.

I have been using the Otter Box Reflex case and so far its been a real life saver or should I say money saver.

The rear case slips on very easily and has some slight padding but what makes it unique is that it uses air cushioning effects to protect the device. I dropped the unit and it landed on its corner and the iPad was not damaged in any way. Otter Box designers call these Reflex Zones. Trust me they work.


The rear slips off easily so I can slide it into my Xtreme Mac charging stand or If I am using a different case if I am doing something else like maybe needing waterproof case.

Also included is a easy snap on and snap off screen protector shield that also doubles as a stand. I can easily take the shield off and use it as a stand watching movies on the airplane doing business travel. The angle is perfect even when the rude passenger in front of me reclines their seat back as soon as the plane takes off.

As usual the Otter Box products have legendary build quality

I loved the Reflex case for the iPad so much I got one for my wifes iPhone. Addition: i almost forgot but the creative design engineers also found a way to enhance the sound quality of the speaker. They have molded a section behind the speaker with a channel that improves the sound with a horn effect if you will.

Secure your iPad with Otter Box "The Latch"

I have been using Otter Box products for quite some time but have only used their traditional Otter Box 1000 boxes to protect photographic, electronic and radio equipment.

Having many other types of devices I searched for products that would protect my iPad or iPhone and took a spin over to www.otterbox.com, and bingo they had tons of stuff of interest to me.

Since I use my iPad a lot for business, photography or Ham radio uses, I find myself I need to secure my expensive tablet in ways maybe others may not.

The Latch is a multipurpose accessory that does so many things and can be used with the various Otter Box cases like the Defender, the Commuter or the Reflex.



The latch comes with a hand strap, a lanyard, a shoulder strap, a head rest attachment, leg strap and an angled stand. It all fits into a small carry case. It also includes some carabiners for attachment to the unit.

This versatile accessory does so many things .

Below are examples in how I use it is as follows:

The hand strap allows me to securely hold the unit.

The lanyard allows me to hang my iPad off my neck and have the unit in front of me.

The Shoulder strap allows me to carry my unit off my shoulder.

The head rest allows unit to be attached to a car headrest so that videos can be watched at eye level quite easily. This is a clever accessory. I even used this on an airplane to watch iTunes rentals.

The leg strap allows you to secure the iPad to your leg. I haven’t really used this.

The angled stand is also handy to use the iPad on a table and the angle allows the glare off lights to be reduced and easier to view.

There is a 4 point screen cover that is the core unit that all straps and cords attach to.

This has been an excellent accessory to have in my kit bag and has been very useful.

Check out the website for more information and videos of its use

List Price is $50

www.otterbox.com

BTW, My employer has an excellent application that allows the iPad to be voice enabled using wifi and can be used as a business grade IP telephone.I am seeing industrial and medical users adopting the iPad in these environments and the Otter Box Latch is perfect for these uses. Highly Recommended

Bankrupting of Avaya Telecom Implosion The bankrupting of Avaya from the inside out

This is a very interesting article with some financial analysis training as a bonus

Written by JMHawkes a consultant at SonicMG

http://www.telecomvardeath.blogspot.com/p/avaya.html