The Internet of ME: article

Apple Pay uses a specific codec of NFC which only allows transmission to the NFC reader, not from it. This allows iPhones to send payment information, but they cannot receive anything back from the merchant.

This is great for the consumer, because you don't end up getting annoying ad pop ups after making a payment, but it's not good for the business, which benefits from their advertisements spreading.

Also not beneficial to businesses is that Apple Pay doesn't support loyalty cards or programs, which businesses also rely on.

Other proposed services do support loyalty programs and point-of-sale advertisements. This is the reason why we're seeing companies like Walmart support services like CurrentC, despite the service being inferior, and not desired by customers.

What businesses will have to come to terms with, though, is that if Apple Pay catches on with consumers, businesses will lose customers if they don't support the technology. And Apple Pay will gain mainstream support once word of its ease of use spreads, and people are able to get phone upgrades.

Do you find the fact that businesses don't care about a good experience annoying? Let me know what you think in the comments.

(via)

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Innovation, Iteration, Adoption, and the Nexus 6

"Nexus 6 is too big for right now, but right sized for the future"

Image Source: http://i-cdn.phonearena.com/images/articles/
146377-image/Google-Nexus-6-unboxing.jpg

That's what Darrell Etherington at TechCrunch said of the 6" screen phone from Google and Motorola. It's a decent article (and it's short), so I definitely recommend you check out his insight. I linked it above for your convenience.

As for me, I think that this same basic idea is the problem that Android has always had to deal with.

One of the beauties of Android is that there are multiple OEM's that use it as an operating system on their devices, so we see many iterations of devices every year. Manufacturers compete with their own previous models and also with each other in order to produce the best devices (or the ones that sell the best). This leads to a much more rapid rate of improvement over companies that control the hardware and the software of their devices (Blackberry, Apple). I attribute the rapid rate of improvement in Android since Gingerbread to this rapid iteration of devices.

The problem, though, is that this rapid iteration doesn't always end up like manufacturers intend. For example, NFC has been essentially standard in Android phones for years, but only now are we starting to see the potential of a real mainstream roll-out or adoption of the technology. Qi wireless charging has been available on many Android phones for years, and it still isn't really being adopted on the mass market. I fear the same thing will happen with the recent quad-HD screen trend as well; we won't have mainstream quad-HD content for years, if we get it at all.

It's great to be on the bleeding edge of technology. As a geek, I love this kind of stuff. But you have to also be able to see that adaptation and change take time.

This is what Apple has been good at since the launch of the iPod. Apple doesn't invent that much new technology (although they like to make it seem like they do, if you watch their keynotes). What Apple does is adopt technologies at the right time so as to make an impact. Their slow iteration approach has worked better for them to this point (I feel that they are suffering from this, now, but that is a post for another day).

This is what ties us back into the article that I started with at the top of the page; the Nexus 6 is too big for today. Yes, there is a "but," but it remains to be seen how important that will be. The question comes down to how soon will society change so that the Nexus 6 is perfect?

The OG Samsung Galaxy Note was ahead of its time. Samsung's strategy of throwing everything at the market and seeing what sticks payed off with that device, and as a result, they essentially own the "phablet" market. The thing is, though, that until last year (and more so this year than last) did the large Note size phone really hit the mainstream. It was too ahead of its time, and most people weren't ready for it.

Meanwhile, Apple didn't make the jump to the larger screen phone until now. And while they didn't make the best optimizations for their device, you cannot say that they are too early to the large device market. A 5.5" phone is no longer the weird monster phone that the OG Note was in 2011.

In case you're not an Apple fan, I also think that Android Wear was an execution by Google that was actually timed appropriately. I think Google waited long enough for companies like Pebble to drum up support and awareness for smartwatches, and then launched a product that just works better (with Android).

So, yes, I think the Nexus 6 captures the current track of technology. I can definitely imagine a future where we return to having a smartphone and a laptop. I can especially imagine this as the current movement towards ecosystems continues (smart homes, Android TV w/ chromecast, Continuity + Handoff, etc). Or perhaps the future is one where tablets still exist, but they're more of a one per family media consumption device, or only used for specialized artistic (or otherwise) tasks.

Again, the question is: is that future coming soon, or is that future a year or more off?

Because I can say that right now, the Nexus 6 is just too darn big.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Thoughts on "It's Time to Kill the Surface"

So first, this is the initial post that I'm we're talking about here: http://stratechery.com/2014/time-kill-surface/
Give the full article a read. It will help you understand what is being said above.

Source: http://thewindowsclub.thewindowsclubco.netdna-cdn.com/
wp-content/uploads/2013/10/surface-RT3-400x263.png?0479ea

So, MG Siegler makes the comments on Tumblr:

"Ben Thompson makes the case as to why new Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella should kill off the Surface product line:"

'This here is the greatest danger of forgetting your original goal; you start making up new ones, that are basically “because we need it to exist.” The hardware capability that Nadella claims Surface leverages only exists because of the decision to make Surface. Nadella is basically saying Microsoft needs to make Surface because Microsoft makes Surface. With that sort of reasoning, you can continue on a wrong path forever, just like the Xbox.'

"I was thinking this very thing last night after hearing Nadella speak at the Code Conference. He often seems to be making the case for many of Microsoft’s products because they already exist, not because they shouldexist. As he did with the Surface Mini, I expect him to trim."

This is a really interesting point, and one that goes for Samsung and their 12” tablets: the companies are making projects to answer problems that the large mass of consumers don’t have. Consumers are okay with carrying a laptop and a small tablet around because each serves a different purpose. And nobody that was working on large professional projects on the go thought, gee, I’d like to use a less precise input method while doing this. And consumers certainly didn’t ask for the headaches of Windows RT.

At the end of the day, the solution to consumers not buying your product isn’t to reiterate it. If they weren’t buying the idea before, they’re not sold on the idea regardless of the implementation. It wasn’t a question of poor marketing, it was a question of poor intention. After the first Surface generation, Microsoft should have rethought the whole division entirely. Perhaps the case of having a device to showcase the software for developers and OEM’s (similar to Nexus devices and/or the Chromebook Pixel) makes sense. That’s fine, and then you can charge any price for it because it’s not for consumers.

As it stands, though, even the Surface Pro 3, arguably the best Surface to date. isn’t compelling enough for me to buy, and I imagine most of the rest of the market will feel the same.

Friday, May 23, 2014

In Defense of Math

In Defense of Math

Just whipped this post up on Medium.com. Check it out and let me know what you think in the comments below.