Pathik Shah

How Google Could Eliminate the Amazon Threat to Android

Google is supposed to be focusing on Apple, which is currently dominating the tablet market with the iPad. Instead, it has been forced to fend off another major threat to Android – the Amazon Kindle Fire. The Kindle Fire is the biggest threat to Google, which has been trying to minimize the fragmentation of Android, and ironically, is the most popular Android tablet yet. Even so, Google has been completely locked out of the Kindle Fire ecosystem, so it probably won’t see a dime of revenue generated by the Kindle Fire.

Google is rumored to be working on a Nexus tablet to compete with the iPad, but apparently, the Nexus tablet will be an inexpensive $199 Android tablet powered by ICS which will compete with the Kindle Fire.

If Google is indeed working on such a tablet, it should stop right away.

Launching a $199 Android 4.0 tablet will not only severely impact sales of all other Android tablets and alienate its device partners like Samsung and HTC, but it will also mean Google taking a financial hit. Amazon itself is losing $10-$20 per tablet, and hopes to make money by selling Kindle content.

Here’s what Google should do instead:

Make it extremely easy to install Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on the Kindle Fire. Launch a one-click flashing tool to flash an Android 4.0 ROM on the Kindle Fire.

This would not only give it back control of the Android ecosystem, but it would also be a huge hit to Amazon, which would continue to lose money on each Kindle Fire sold with no direct way to make it back.

I ‘m not getting into the technical specifics of how it would work; I’m sure Google can figure it out.

In case it can’t be done officially, Google can always bankroll such a project or help XDA developers develop such a pure Android 4.0 ICS ROM for the Kindle Fire.

This way, Google won’t alienate its tablet hardware partners, it won’t lose money selling cheap tablets, and it can focus on its main enemy – the Apple iPad.

Steve Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple. He will now act as the Chairman of the board, and Tim Cook will be the new CEO.

Letter from Steve Jobs

To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community:

I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.

Steve

Here’s a compilation of the best articles on the web about Steve Jobs.

The Life of Steve Jobs – So Far

Steve Jobs’ Best Quotes

Robert Scoble on Steve Jobs

Walt Mossberg on Steve Jobs

Om Malik on Steve Jobs

Vic Gundotra on Steve Jobs

And finally,

Steve Jobs – Commencement Speech at Stanford

Truly a legend. Steve Jobs, you will be missed.

Note: The official biography of Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson is coming out soon. Read it.

Buying Apple Stock Instead of Apple Products

With Apple’s market cap at an all time high, many investors are thinking what would have been if they had bought Apple stock years back.

Kyle Conroy has posed an even more interesting question. What if you had bought Apple stock instead of Apple products? The results are very interesting.

Apple has launched more than 300 different products over the years (317, to be precise).

If you had bought each of those products at launch, you would have shelled out exactly $591,719.

Now if you would have instead bought Apple stock instead of Apple products for the same price when they launched, the current market value of your Apple stock would have been $11,120,691.

That’s close to a 1800% increase to the original purchase price, not adjusting for time value.

Impressive, huh?

You can check out the original data set here – Apple Products vs Stock

Samsung Galaxy S 2 Review: First Look

The Samsung Galaxy S 2 will be the successor to the best Android phone of 2010 – the Samsung Galaxy S. It is supposed to launch today at MWC 2011. In this preview, I will give you a quick run-around of what you can expect with the Samsung Galaxy S 2.

Samsung Galaxy S 2 Specifications

Display: 4.3 inch SuperAMOLED Plus display, 800 x 480 pixels
OS: Android 2.3 Gingerbread
Processor: 1 GHz dual core processor (Exynos)
RAM: 1 GB RAM
Memory: 32 GB internal memory
Camera: 8 MP camera with autofocus and flash
Connectivity: Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, HSPA+

EDIT: Here’s a great review by Electric Pig – Samsung Galaxy S 2 Review

Design

The Samsung Galaxy S 2 is a bit bigger than the Galaxy S, thanks to the larger 4.3 inch display, but is both lighter (116 gms) and slimmer (8.49 mm) than its predecessor.

It is quite stylish and looks great. It also has a much better 4.3 inch SuperAMOLED Plus display with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. The display is brighter, offers more contrast and is more power efficient than SuperAMOLED displays. Watching movies and reading ebooks should be a pleasure on the Galaxy S 2.

OS and Hardware

The Samsung Galaxy S 2 will come with Android 2.3 Gingerbread with the TouchWiz UI and Swype. It will have a 1 GHz dual core processor and 1 GB RAM with 16 GB / 32 GB internal storage. It is as powerful as some Android tablets which will be launched soon.

Multimedia

The Samsung Galaxy S 2 will come with an 8 MP camera with AF and flash and will also offer full HD video recording and playback. It will be one of the best mobile cameras ever.

Connectivity:

The Samsung Galaxy S 2 should offer all the standard connectivity options – Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, HSPA+ etc. Browsing the web will be a great experience on this powerful device with a huge display.

Conclusion

The Samsung Galaxy S 2 could very well be the Android smartphone of 2011. It has the design, hardware, OS, camera and all the features that might be needed to take the pole position again. If I had loads of cash, this is the phone I would be going for.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 Review: First Look

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 is the successor to the most popular Android tablet yet – the Samsung Galaxy Tab. It will be unveiled today at the Mobile World Congress 2011. Just ahead of the official launch, some images and details of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 have already leaked out. It will be powered by Android 3.0 Honeycomb, the latest version of the Android OS.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 Specifications

Display: 10.1 inch SuperAMOLED Plus capacitive touchscreen display, 1280 x 800 pixels
OS: Android 3.0 Honeycomb
Processor: 1 GHz dual core processor
RAM: 1 GB RAM
Camera: 8 MP camera with HD video recording
Connectivity: Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, 3G HSDPA

Design

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 is much bigger than the Galaxy Tab and has a bigger display than the Apple iPad. But it will be much lighter and slimmer than both. It might be a bit bulky compared to 7 inch Android tablets, but should be slimmer than the Motorola Xoom. On the back, there is a rounded Samsung logo and the camera with flash.

OS and Hardware

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 will come with Android 3.0 Honeycomb, like all other major Android tablets launching in 2011. It will be powered bv a 1 GHz (or 1.2 GHz) dual core processor and will have 1 GB RAM. It will be one of the most powerful Android tablets at launch. It also has 32 GB / 64 GB internal storage.

Multimedia

The Galaxy Tab 2 will come with an 8 MP camera with flash and will also have a secondary camera (likely 2 MP) for video calls. It supports full HD video recording and playback and also comes with dual stereo speakers.

Connectivity

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 will have all the standard connectivity options – GPRS, EDGE, 3G HSDPA, Bluetooth 3.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n. It is also expected to offer 4G connectivity (HSPA+ or LTE).

The Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 will be one of the best Android tablets in 2010. It seems capable enough to beat the Apple iPad, Motorola Xoom and even the Apple iPad 2 when it comes out (taking in account the rumored specs). It is likely to be priced at around $700-$800 with a Wi-Fi only version priced lower.

Images via SamsungHub