The iOS vs Android battle rages on - and Apple is losing talking points

This latest news about the two major mobile operating systems does not look good for Apple.  A new report, created by the mobile analysis company Crittercism, provides a very good (and surprising) analysis of mobile operating system stability In short, Apple’s most recent release, 5.0.1, has almost 34% of all iOS crashes, and 28.6% of total crashes recorded. While this is just one study, this is awful news for Apple if it proves repeatable. Android is often decried as the less stable OS (critics usually point to its fragmentation) but if less crash-prone than iOS, Android could get a big boost in market and mind-share.

This is an issue that Apple will have to partner with developers to tacke. While the App Store is the largest market, many apps may have been created a year or two ago and not updated recently (nor updated by the user). If you’re interested in the study, Forbes.com has a great in-depth exploration (as well some great graphics) here.

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The White House photo of the day for 31 Jan 2012 is one to remember.  It shows proof positive that the megatrend towards a consumerization of IT is not only unstoppable, but is changing enterprises everywhere in very positive ways.

The photo, shown below, shows two iPad’s in use, one each for the President and for Robert Cardillo, Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Intelligence Integration. Cardillo is reviewing several key items from the President’s Daily Brief on the iPad.

This is not the first time the iPad has been in the Whitehouse. But to my knowledge this is the first proof that it is being used in this way.

The caption from the photo read:

President Barack Obama receives the Presidential Daily Briefing from Robert Cardillo, Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Intelligence Integration, in the Oval Office, Jan. 31, 2012. Part of the briefing was done using a tablet computer. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

My guesses:

• The iPads have probably been modified to have their radios physically disabled or perhaps removed
• Cameras and microphones have probably also been removed
• They are probably brought in in a satchel and carried out that way too.
• If it is true that they have had their radios disabled then they probably don’t have a need for enhanced solutions for encryption and data control. But if they do have their radios enabled I would guess they are running Fixmo Safezone.
• Since the caption to the photo said only part of the briefing was delivered this way, there must be some information that is just too sensitive for storing in a mobile device.

I would also conclude that the forward thinking/forward leaning intelligence community leaders that made this happen had to deal with an incredible amount of red tape and security precautions and old think to modernize this process this way, and that means there are some unsung heroes in the community that deserve our thanks. Whoever you guys are, I know the community appreciates what you have done to modernize the presentation of information this way.

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Apple knocked it out of the park this quarter - but is it enough?

Apple Inc just had their first $40B quarter ever – to the tune of $46B dollars in revenue.  They sold 37M iPhones, 15M iPads and 15M iPods. Additionally, they sold 5M Mac computers. These numbers are ridiculous. Right now Apple is stacking away a ton of cash – so much so that it makes the $100M they wasted on a spurious lawsuit against HTC merely a drop in the bucket.

These numbers are astounding – but are actually not surprising. In this quarter, Apple released the iPhone 4S and was bolstered by holiday spending. But Apple wasn’t the only one with a big quarter. According to Strategy Analytics, 10M Android tablets were shipped in the final quarter of the calendar year. AT&T themselves had a huge quarter, selling 7.6M iPhones.

Samsung, as well, hit record profits this quarter due to strong smartphone sales (I’m sure their memory chips they sell to Apple, etc are not hurting their bottom line either). Samsung sold 35M smartphones in the quarter (a large percentage running Android OS). Samsung made a lot of this money on the Samsung Galaxy SII platform.

So what does it mean: Apple’s money pile is growing, and they are starting to make wise investments. The purchase of Anobit shows a look toward the future. Apple must integrate vertically to protect their supply chain, and might be looking to move manufacturing away from entities such as Foxconn (and the PR nightmare that they are). I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – Apple will continue to integrate vertically to protect their interests.

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Google+ might be a decent alternative to Twitter, but it does not play well with others

Okay Google, we get it. You make some really great products. But what’s the deal with Google+? The service is seems to aspire to be mix between Facebook and Twitter, yet is lacking the critical differentiators that both of Facebook and Twitter offer.

Facebook and Twitter have become huge for a few reasons. The first, is a low low barrier to entry. The second, is the ease of integration for Facebook/Twitter with each other – and the number of ways to access. Android and iPhone both offer deep Facebook and Twitter integration. I doubt iOS will ever integrate Google+ too deeply – simply because of the competition. All said, the real question is what is Google’s intent with Google+?

It seems that Google has done this before (with Wave and Buzz just to name a couple). They release a capability to market – that is not necessarily ready to go (nor fully thought out). Google+ is trying to take the spot of both Facebook and Twitter – and to be your go to for your entire social media consumption.

While I’m always open to a new service (especially one from Google which COULD better integrate into my workflow), Google+ is not that service and here is why:

• Google+ has terrible integration with other services
• It will easily let you add Facebook or Twitter (and publish there), but will not (easily) allow you to publish from Facebook/Twitter to Google+
• The Google+ app is just not very good
• Circles? A good idea at first, but how many circles do I need – how long will this take?
• Google+ integration into Google search results (very unlikely I care about Google+ results in any searches, as in, likelihood = zero)
• Nobody I really care about uses Google+ (and not other media sources (If you’re going to get me to migrate to a new service, you better have some high-speed differentiation)
• I haven’t yet figured out the Google+ notification system (I can’t seem to get them out of my inbox, let alone my GMail screen. THIS IS ANNOYING.)

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Ryan Kamauff introduced Google Currents to our readers, calling it “one of the best designed apps I have ever seen.”  I have to agree, they have done a good job with this, producing something that works on Android and iOS and works well for both those communities.

Currents also works well for producers of content. Producers can easily configure the backend of the app to distribute content in ways that are easy for readers to find what interests them.

We would like to draw your attention to the CTOvision.com edition for Google Currents. To find us, load the currents app on your Android or Apple iOS device. Then open this link on your mobile device:

http://j.mp/ctocurrents

We would appreciate you evaluating our feed there. We pull in the best content from our blog plus searched across Google+ on terms like “Technology” and the result is an interesting/dynamic feed of content for modern life.

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CES is the place to be this week...or is it?

Since @BobGourley won’t send me to CES, I have to constantly monitor my Twitter feed and all of the technology sites. But, we have curated what we believe are the top stories (and will keep updating) to provide you with what you need to know about CES 2012.

CES is getting smaller and less important – but that does not mean I’m going to ignore it. The absence of Apple’s real presence is (not their 250 skulking ninja scouts) means that Android devices undoubtedly are the headliners. Smartphones and tablets are the real money devices, with connected TVs as a back up story. PC manufacturers are trying to get the public excited about ultrabooks, but I don’t buy into the hype myself.

Top Stories thus far:

Asus to release 7″ Tegra 3 Android 4.0 tablet for $249

The 7" MeMO will be a big success!

The Tegra 3 chip is really an awesome performer. It makes Android in all forms run snappy, and is a great 3D game performer. The original Transformer was great, and the Prime was a huge upgrade (even Gizmodo liked it, here). The Kindle Fire has proven demand for 7″ tablets, and at $249 it will crush the Fire in capabilities and function. This will be the best small tablet, and a great starter Android device.

Asus releases ICS for Transformer Prime

The release of ICS was promised months ago by Asus, and it’s great to see them follow through. the Transformer Prime is keying up to be the iPad competitor that Google has always needed. ICS has a refined UX that is easier to use than Honeycomb or Gingerbread, and flattens the Android learning curve.

Windows 8 is around – and people like it!

Microsoft hit the ball out of the park with Windows 7. It sold better than any OS ever, and is widely acclaimed. Windows 8 is Microsoft’s attempt to bring touch to the mainstream OS – and if it is successful will be a huge benefit to the company. Despite the iPad’s dominance, I believe there is room for new devices in the tablet market – and if Microsoft can make a killer enterprise tablet, people will be scrambling to pick it up.

Windows 8 is a big step forward for Microsoft and will dictate their future in the mobile game

Intel releasing Android Smartphone

Android now supports x86 architecture, and Intel has finally released the first x86 Android device. It will be released first in China, but should follow shortly over in the US. The key will be finding the appropriate carrier. As Android is adapted for new uses, the strengths of the platform really shine.

Roku Streaming Stick

I’ve already talked about the Roku boxes in previous posts, but think the streaming stick is an even cooler capability. All you do is plug it into your MHL compatible HDMI port (which might be hard to find) and it will deliver Roku capabilities without the box at all.

So what did we miss? If you were at CES let us know – or if there’s something you think I missed please comment below.

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Google TV is headed to your living room, whether you like it or not

I recently purchased the Logitech Revue with Google TV. I absolutely love it. It’s one of the coolest ways to interact with TV to date, and offers the best overall interface for digesting internet streams as well. It is not as simple and intuitive as the Roku boxes, nor as pretty as the Apple TV, yet it is more powerful and capable than both. The Google TV comes with a crazy remote – it’s a full sized wireless keyboard with touchpad, yet that’s not the only way to control it. Android apps allow for easy control, using the device most likely to be in your hand. Google TV is coming, and coming fast.

The Google TV platform got a much needed refresh earlier this year when it was upgraded to “2.0″ or “Android 3.x.” The refresh offers much needed better user experience and a fuller Android Market experience. But the exciting thing about Google TV is not where it is now, but rather the huge potential of the platform. Google TV has been one of the stars of the Consumer Electronics Show this year.

Google TV is coming to living rooms everywhere, in 3 form factors;

• integrated directly into your HDTV. Sony already does this, LG, Vizio and others are going to as well. I am opposed to this if it costs money, however, because updates will hit with less regularity (and might cost you valuable ports on your TV!)
• integrated into your set-top box. AWESOME. Everyone knows the user experience of your FiOS/Cable/Satellite box stinks, but Google TV is coming to fix this. Motorola Mobility (owned by Google) also makes set-top boxes, and we should see some really great implementations in the near future.
• stand alone device. This is what I have (Logitech Revue) and while it is not for everyone (I’d say early adopters only) it is very cool. These will receive the most rapid updates and will be the most standardized devices.

Another big update this week is ARM processor support for Google TV. Since most Android applications are optimized for ARM processors, this represents a big jump forward for the platform. It is far easier to accommodate a small board with the ARM system on a chip design than it is a full ION or Atom instance.

Google TV is definitely going mainstream – and it might well be more a reaction to Apple TV than on any individual merits of the platform. I think the major manufacturers fear getting in bed with Apple and thus are hopping on the Google TV train. Get ready for Google TV, because like it or not, it’s coming to you.

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We’ve recently heard a few big announcements for mobile computing in the military, which has long been blocked by security issues. First, the US Defense Information Systems Agency approved Dell Android 2.2 for use on Department of Defense networks with a few notable limitations. DoD users won’t be able to access either classified data or the Android app store.  Currently only one device, the Dell Venue smartphone, runs Dell Android 2.2, so the benefits of mobile and BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) will not yet to be fully realized, but the future looks bright for Android in the military, with Dell planning more devices in the coming year to be rapidly integrated into DoD networks.  Mike McCarthy, director of operations for Brigade Modernization Command at Fort Bliss, Texas, expects an NSA-approved secure version of Android operating system in early 2012, leading to soldiers deploying with smartphones and tablets by the end of the year.

While Apple is having a harder time with the Army and NSA, it’s currently making headway with the Air Force, which will provide iPads to its Special Operations Command as “electronic flight bags” to replace physical maps and manuals. This limited deployment will be a test case for iPads and could lead to their adoption by the entire fleet of cargo aircraft and possible wider uses. The iPads will have WiFi but the Air Force is more concerned about information being lost through theft and is using the software GoodReader to encrypt individual files. While GoodReader by Goodi.Ware is a great app, it is primarily a PDF reader, and is not a security solution. Downloading PDFs is a very risky activity, which is why Invincea’s security software puts your PDF reader into a virtualized environment.

While these are all exciting developments for cutting costs and increasing capabilities, the DoD’s rush to adopt mobile raises some security concerns. As Adam Elkus noted, through cloud computing, mobile devices can even have tactical applications such as controlling a UAV, or can bring advanced analytics to the field. Tactical Nav, an app designed by U.S. Army captain Jonathan Springer to guide and coordinate artillery, has been used in combat and training. But mobile security needs to be further addressed before widespread military deployment. As Bryan Halfpap mentions, government Android should concern you without the proper Mobile Risk Management solution such as Fixmo, derived from the NSA’s own software, to manage updates, encryption, and compensate for vulnerabilities. While Apple’s closed ecosystem means it faces much less malware, concerns have been raised over the iPad supply chain. Security for the Air Force iPads also seems lax as the tablets will be connecting to the Internet and downloading files. Though military mobile is a great trend, it seems that at least as much attention should be choosing great Mobile Risk Management solutions as the right brand of phone or tablet.

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Hopefully these predictions will turn out better than Nic Cage's cinematic masterpiece (Knowing in the US)

Editor’s note: We have asked each of our researchers to pull together considerations meant to help in your planning for 2012. We solicit your feedback on all these predictive posts. bg 

In 2011, we had some really great technology advances – many were mobile-centric, but did not end there. The mobile world continued to explode in 2011 – with exponential smartphone, app and tablet growth. However, this world continues to fracture as every provider tries to carve out their piece of the ecosystem. Cloud computing has become part of our daily lives, as well the IT force multiplier du jour for enterprises. Social capabilities are omnipresent, and continue to grow in importance.

The next year will likely be filled with even more technological leaps and bounds, and here are some of my predictions on them.

My 2012 Technology Predictions:

Mobile

• Android increases market share of mobile smartphone OS’s – especially in budget arena, there are over 700k Android activations each day, a number which shows no sign of slowing down.
• A vast divide opens up between the Android “haves” and “have nots” – that is, the devices that have Android 4.0 and those stuck in Android 2.X
• 720p becomes the de facto standard for all smartphones – 720p looks good on smartphones, and soon Apple will have to adapt/adopt the idea of HD in your hand
• iPhone 5 update brings LTE radio + multiple handset sizes to iOS – iOS/Apple is getting hurt due to the fact that they offer primarily 1 phone, in 1 form factor. While you can get the 3GS for free on contract, that phone is no longer competitive against today’s budget Android devices.
• Apple releases 7″ iPad – while Steve Jobs thought this space held nothing of value, the Kindle Fire and Nook Color have proved him wrong. Apple needs a device that is more reading friendly than the larger iPad, and will roll something out to avoid missing this market share.
• iPad maintains 55+% share of tablet space – despite tablets made by everyone out there, the iPad will maintain the lion’s share of the tablet market – at least for 2012.
• Sprint or T-Mobile releases “family data plans” – in which every device you own shares pool of data. T-Mobile tried to remain viable by selling out to AT&T, Sprint gambled on WiMax (and lost). Both of these networks need SOMETHING to keep them viable in the mobile business.
• RIM is out, and Microsoft will do anything to be more than an afterthought – BlackBerry is hemorrhaging mobile share, they offer no differentiators for consumers and are starting to lose corporate accounts as well. Microsoft tore through the videogame world with the Xbox/Xbox360 through a commitment to development and massive use of cash. However, lack of quality devices and carrier commitment have left Windows Phone lagging far behind Android/iOS.

Consumer Technology:

• Apple releases iTVs (to compete with Google TV) – These will have Apple TVs built into real monitors – will most likely run iOS 5/6 (depending on release) and will likely integrate DVD (maybe even Blu-Ray)
• Google TV reaches ICS – the Google TV platform is really neat – and offers some cool things to do with your TV. However, it is like 3D – not quite enough content to be ready to roll, but the integration of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu Plus make it viable
• 3D TV remains on the fringes – Rolling out a new standard is all about content. 3D in the home is not ready, because there is not enough content.
• Streaming to the living room becomes a bigger deal – as “cable cutters” proliferate, devices like Roku, Boxee, Apple TV and Google TV become more widespread. It used to be that cable was a necessity, and internet a luxury, it is now becoming quite the opposite.

Enterprise Technology

• As the Bring Your Own Device (or Bring Your Device To Work) phenomenon continues, IT administrators scramble to provide virtualized environments on devices to employees – these efforts will be supported by  security professionals – but the proliferation of personal devices on enterprise networks will lead to a few major security issues – yet will result in stronger security capabilities for distributed devices.
• Enterprises will be making concerted efforts to outsource (to the cloud!) – Outsourcing desktops, infrastructures and platforms to the cloud will provide great flexibility and agility to IT administrators. This outsourcing will bring down the costs of IT labor and divisions as a whole. There are many concerns associated with cloud – but these will be swept under the rug as monetary savings and business process benefits take the spot light.
• As the Federal Government moves to cloud based services, there will be growing pains – enormous growing pains. NIST is working hard to create frameworks and standards for governmental cloud capabilities. This will change the way IT services are rolled out and offered to both govvies and citizens.

Social Media

• The big 3 of 2011 were Facebook, Stumbleupon and Twitter - they defined the way we interact with friends, find and curate content, and share.
• Facebook will continue to define our online social interactions - as much as everyone complains about Facebook/Chat/Timeline, they are on it, and on it to stay.
• Stumbleupon will continue to outperform Reddit/Pinterest/etc - it has the best mobile experience, and great sharing options, if you don’t use it, get on it now, and follow me (Kamauff).
• Twitter is the news sources of choice, as well the disseminator of links - we all use Twitter, it’s likely you found this site on Twitter, and that won’t go away. People will keep using Twitter for snarky comments, news and sharing links – but the character limit will create issues in the future.

So what did I miss? I welcome all comments/thoughts/complaints disagreements!

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We started December with a focus on Big Data by recapping Bob Bob Gourley’s interview at the Enterprise CIO Forum where he explained what Big Data was and what it was good for, highlighting Hadoop as the dominant framework for solutions. We also explained how Big Data can make a difference in manufacturing, the most data-intensive sector which stores nearly 2 exabytes of new information in 2010 ready to be mined and leveraged. Hadoop got easier to use last month with the release of Cloudera Enterprise 3.7, a complete life cycle management tool for Hadoop clusters, and we announced a likely January Hadoop Users Group meetingin Washington, DC.We also highlighted how the government has been conquering Big Data with more profiles of Government Big Data Solutions Award top nominees from this year’s Hadoop World, including GCE Federal, which provides agencies with financial analysis solutions in the cloud, and Wayne Wheeles’ Sherpa Surfing, an open source cybersecurity solution used by several Department of Defense organizations to monitor network communications data. We wrote about the FBI’s Next Generation Identification system, which will be able to search through the world’s largest biometric database better and faster than the current systems. Also, we explained the recent strides the federal government has been taking to embrace mobile computing such as tablets and smartphones  with the caveat that the government adoption of Android operating system is troubling without mobile risk management solutions. We also recapped Cyber Command’s first major tactical exercise and echoed the warnings of some of the internet’s foundersabout censorship in the Stop Online Piracy Act.

Throughout December, CTOvision.com had numerous posts on developments in mobile, which we believe to be one of the most important trends in IT. We reviewed new smartphones and found the Motorola Droid RAZR to be a good but not on par with the excellent Galaxy Nexus. We also reviewed the Kindle Fire, which has become the tablet of choice for Android app developers.  Mobile apps can have a strategic impact in government and even can even give Special Operations Forces a tactical advantage but only if risk is reduced via solutions like Fixmo’s Mobile Risk Management. Some great mobile applications we talked about were WayIn, which allows you to get instant feedback on media, Summly, which automatically generates text summaries, and Google Currents, which allow you to subscribe to news sources and RSS feeds. We also wrote about Carrier IQ, the controversial diagnostic application preset on most smartphones which logs extremely detailed information about users.

For disruptive IT this month we looked at interesting new devices to compile a list of gift suggestions for the holiday season, including the Roku player, which allows users to play media from their computers on their home theaters. We also provided information on the advantages and disadvantages of the Apple and Google ecosystems. We examined IT’s past with a history of ERP software, and predicted its future in 2012 as well as trying to determine what the purchase of Israeli flash memory producer Anobit means for Apple. We also wrote on innovative software such as Granola, which saves energy without reducing computer or data center performance, the revolutionary protection and availability storage platform Actifio, and Private Eye 3.3 which recognizes your face and blurs your screen when others try to look at it. We explained how such applications can be moved into the cloud with VMware’s vFabric Cloud Application Platform. We also wrote about how IT was being used in novel ways when we analyzed the technology of Occupy Wall Street, showing how connection, communication, and media technology was being used to sustain the protests.

As always, we also covered the notable cybersecurity news and trends for December.  We looked at the current state of security, with only 18% of applications passing security tests on their first attempt and countless “wake up calls” either going ignored or setting off a panic in the industry.  We explained some of the leading current threats, including USB drives, which can be used for attacks beyond delivering malware,  Duqu, often said to be a Stuxnet clone yet without the delivery system that made Stuxnet so dangerous and innovative, and the recently patched Microsoft TCP vulnerability. Fortunately, along with new and evolving threats there are new solutions, such as Fixmo’s  Sentinel for monitoring and auditing and Safezone for an encrypted sandbox, Invincea’s virtualized browser and PDF reader to insulate your computer as it engages in its riskiest activities, and CloudShield’s partnership with SAIC and McAfee to provide an end-to-end “Intelligently Adapt” approach to security.

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