Monday, March 16, 2009

Apple New Third Generation iPod Shuffle

Even I seldom listen mp3, I am tempted to buy Apple iPod. Now you know how Apple accumulate their cash.

Apple quietly launch it's new iPod Shuffle few days back. iPod Shuffle is getting simpler, is not just smaller in size, is neater in user interface.

When iPod Shuffle first launch, it doesn't came with a LCD display as other iPod does. Some people criticize this expensive 'low end' mp3 player, but I think Shuffle is just nice. The iPod Shuffle fill in the gap for Apple low end iPod mp3 player, fill up the full range product line for its iPod, from low end to high end.

Not everyone likes Apple product, not everyone need high capacity but bigger size iPod. Some people will prefer smaller, simpler mp3, like iPod Shuffle.

The 3rd generation iPod Shuffle not just smaller in size but the interface is simpler. Apple remove the wheel control, move it to the earphone. The control interface is much simpler, but provide more functions. How Apple do it?

Other than the normal pause and play, volume control, iPod Shuffle has VoiceOver function which speak out the song title, I think the design work just nice with Shuffle without LCD display. Another extra function is, you can now choose playlist with your earphone control.

If you do not need extra functions, you can ignored the extra 2 functions and still handle your iPod with the earphone control well. If you like simplicity (like me), iPod Shuffle is just for you.

Monday, March 02, 2009

A potential Google competitor candidate 2009

Google is the giant of the Internet, especially on search and online advertisment. If you ask me who is the potential candidate to compete with Google? I will say, is not Yahoo!, is not Alibaba, but is Apple.

Why not Microsoft? Microsoft is another IT giant, Microsoft can compete with anyone. It will not inspire you.

Google is a service provider on the Internet, but it also an Internet media company. Apple is a hardware, a software or an entertainment related company by selling iPod and mp3 songs. How could these two companies could compete with each other?

Google is good in search, and Apple is developing its search technology as well. Apple add in spotlight technology in Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, it is a search function, not just to help user to look for a data file on the hard disk, but it can help user access to application easily, by 'searching' it.

The different is Google search the Internet, Apple spotlight search your desktop. This is not all the truth, as you know Google Desktop application search your desktop too. Is hard to avoid competition these day.

Searching is just a start. Browser application lead me to relate Apple as the potential competitor of Google.

Google search already dominate the Internet, if it can control the software platform like Microsoft does, that will be great. Google's answer for the software platform is browser--Chrome.

Google Chrome is an innovative browser, it not just render html real fast, its new v8 javascript engine performance out do all browsers available on the market. Since new web application depends heavily on javascript, an efficient javascript engine is crucial for a browser.

Safari 4.0 beta public
Apple release Safari 4.0 beta public few days ago.
Click on the picture to view

Apple develop browser application many years ago, way before Google does. The first Safari browser was release in year 2003. Recently Apple release Safari 4.0 beta public, is surprisingly fast on javascript performance (test by Sun Spider and V8) , it is the only javascript engine which can compete with Chrome in terms of speed.

Chrome and Safari share the same html engine, WebKit. It is one of the fastest html render engine in the market now. WebKit is modified from an open source html engine, khtml from KDE project. WebKit is open source as well, Google take the engine to build Chrome and added in with their v8 javascript engine.

Is too early to say that Apple will compete with Google with its new Safari browser, it is just a beta version and javascript engine is not the only thing that we are looking for in a browser, but I think Apple is a potential competitor.