the apple tablet, the iPad – the good news and the bad news

apple finally launches it’s tablet, the iPad. ues. that is the name, should there be any other? the whole industry, including consumers have been on edge about this product launch with speculations and excitement running through and through since last year. if we have heard and read about it before it was even launched, we should expect a lot more in the coming weeks.

wall street has reacted well, not crazy but AAPL’s price ended slightly up from previous day’s close $207.88, +$1.94.

now, the good news on the apple iPad:

• entry level price of $499 is a winner! this was almost shocking as most were expecting a price range of $600 to $1,000, most on the upper end of the price range. this price point is premium pricing versus netbooks but not crazy premium pricing and just about there versus entry level laptops. while is good news now, it will be excellent news next year when apple, based on previously established strategies will reduce its price on year 2.
• it does what most of what the iphone and ipod touch does.
• most of the 150 T apps in the app store will run on the iPad.
• this is just about there as good news – the name is, well -expected. we were expecting a magical name, but do they really have a choice on the name? you have the ipod, the natural and yes the no-choice name for the tablet should be ipad.

 

now, the bad news on the apple iPad:

• it’s just a bigger iphone/ipod touch. we were hoping it would be  a smaller macbook. the iPad would be redefining the market or creating it’s own if was a scaled down macbook as that would effectively cover what netbooks offer on top of doing what a macbook can.
• the product as is now is good but we do not think it will change our world in a major way. to us, what it is is it’s a much better e-book reader, something consumers will consider buying rather than amazon’s kindle. the price is at a steep premium versus the kindle but it is an apple product and has internet connectivity.
• what this is is a promise of greatness in the future. give the app developers sometime, enhance the features, add new ones and in a year or two, this can change our world.
• there are technical problems, or at least questions for now – it is heavy, battery life and the problem of having no keyboard. these are laptop-associated consumer concerns but can you blame consumers when this product is very close to a laptop. the comparison to laptops, including measuring the product against laptop expectations which is a very natural thing to do for consumers.

bottom line for us – no, it is not yet a buy for us. well, most apple products are much better when it reaches 2nd generation stage. on this one that is much more pronounced and real.

while this is not yet a buy for us, we think it has enough to get the whole market rethinking things and thinking about going after the iPad. it is not there yet, but we are talking of apple here and since they already have this in the market, the market may well be changed by the iPad.

the apple tablet – success to be driven by product strategy

the apple tablet is upon us, literally in a few minutes’ time. the frenzy has not died down and we should expect it to go into super hyper drive within the next few days. 

the apple tablet’s success will be hinged on one thing – what is the product strategy they are adapting for the tablet? product strategy is design and technology design but it goes beyond to the physical and technology heart of the product, at its core is what market does it intend to conquer and what consumer need it intends to tap into, actually, for apple the question is what consumer need it intends to create.

we think apple has two options which may at face value look similar but at it’s core and implication a most fundamental question.

• is the apple tablet a bigger version of the iphone/ipod touch?
• or is the apple tablet a smaller version of the macbook?

for sure, there will be common features and design for both strategic options,  but the direction it takes is very much different in taking one over the other. the build-up of further functions and use will be very different depending on where it starts. 

for consumers, the attitude and preferences are clearly and often separate in definition. we do not think any one product can satisfy both needs to the fullest. besides from a marketing standpoint, it is not wise to have such a product. it will be too confusing and too complicated for the consumer to appreciate.

there is a third option. it is something apple has done a few times during our lifetime – define a completely different and completely new product to create a completely new and different market.

we will come back to this point of view after we get to know what is the apple tablet.

cebu dancing inmates dance to michael jackson’s “they don’t care about us”

Michael Jackson’s long time choreographer Travis Payne and MJ dancers Performed with the Dancing inmates on January 19, 2010. Sony Studios made this event possible!

senator nene pimentel turns the senate into a hall of shame and dishonor

we think senator nene pimentel’s behavior on the senate floor is one of the most disgusting words uttered in that august place.  (read more about it here: senator nene pimentel dives into a pool of shame and dishonor with “insertion” remark towards mar roxas, takes the senate with him)

The debate took a turn for the worse when Pimentel used the same word to comment on Sen. Mar Roxas’ defense that he, too, had no insertion in the national budget.

“After your marriage, you will have your insertions,” quipped Pimentel, a rather unsavory remark that drew Roxas’ ire.

“I demand that that be removed from the record!” shouted Roxas. “This is an affront to my wife.”

Roxas was recently married to broadcast journalist Korina Sanchez.

“Then remove it immediately,” retorted Pimentel.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100126-249466/Trash-talk-mars-august-chamber-debate

did cerge remonde say good-bye with his last facebook status message?

we would like to say a prayer for the eternal repose of the soul of cerge remonde. may his soul sit in peace with the Lord.

jason ivler – finally caught! watch video of raid and arrest here.

finally, jason ivler has been caught. we applaud the NBI and other police operatives for this one. there were two agents who were wounded in the operation, we hope for their full recovery.

these are chilling videos of the NBI’s raid on the house and capture of Ivler in his home. it starts with dozens of NBI agents hoisting two ladders on the wall of the home and some shoot out inside the home just before the capture of  ivler.

i have not seen raids like these go on in real life but i guess this is it. it all looks clumsy, disorganized and often ridiculous. for sure this is not like what we see on tv and movies, not by a stretch.

looking at the video, the first thing that comes to you mind is that these NBI agents are exposing themselves to grave danger. ivler has been characterized as armed and dangerous and yet they just hoisted the ladders up the wall. when they get to the top of the of the ladder, it exposes them to gunfire, just like sitting ducks in a shooting gallery in fairs.

only four agents were allowed to enter the home by the mom of ivler and the raiding team relented. i don’t get that. having only 4 agents searching for ivler in the home in my view was too few. why would the raiding team allow the mom of the suspect dictate the terms? the raiding team has a warrant of arrest and to search the home, they should dictate the terms which includes how to conduct the search and how many men who will do it. reports says there were at least 50 agents, they should have used most of them for the search.

they did plan for this raid but looking at the video, it did not look like any planning was done and the command structure seemed very loose.  

if this was a planned raid, i feel bad for the NBI agents who do these raids. their lives do not seem to be well protected in the raids they do. the safety of the raiding team does not seem to be the priority here.

Minutes before the shoot-out, which occurred at around 6:30 a.m. at Hillside Drive in Blue Ridge, the raiders found the crumpled black towel in Ivler’s supposedly unused room on the second floor of the house, according to the agents’ accounts.

Suspicious, they checked the bathroom across the room and saw signs it had just been used.

It was at that point that Aguilar, the mother, became hysterical and ordered the raiders out, the agents said.

Tattooed arm

NBI-SAU chief Magno told the Inquirer that while Aguilar was shepherding them off to the ground floor from Ivler’s room, he noticed a small storage room at the landing of the stairs.

“I asked her if I could see what was inside the stockroom, and she told me, ‘There’s nothing there to see.’ She seemed to be in a hurry to get us out of her son’s room,” Magno said.

Insistent, Magno said he peeked into the dark stockroom and, using a flashlight, saw mannequins and boxes stored inside. He said he also saw “a tattooed arm.”

“I knew he was there,” Magno said.

‘He acted like Rambo’

Backing away from the door, Magno said he drew his gun and, in Filipino, shouted at the man to come out. He said Ivler answered with volleys of gunfire through the closed door.

“He acted like Rambo when he saw our operatives,” NBI Deputy Director for Intelligence Ruel Lasala said, referring to the Hollywood character portrayed by Sylvester Stallone.

Magno was grazed by a bullet in the right thigh as he and the other agents ducked for cover.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100119-248123/Road-rage-gunman-falls

MANILA, Philippines — (UPDATE 5) Aside from the killing of a Malacañang official’s son, Filipino-American Jason Ivler faces more charges for his attack on an arresting team of the National Bureau of Investigation, which resulted in injuries to two operatives.

At a press conference on Monday, NBI Director Nestor Mantaring said that Ivler would face charges of assault on agents or persons in authority, resisting arrest and illegal possession of firearms.

—

Ivler was arrested by joint operatives of the NBI and the Philippine National Police (PNP) after several months of hiding

Chief Superintendent Elmo San Diego, Quezon City police district chief, earlier said Ivler resisted arrest and was wounded in a gunfight with authorities.

the lesson from the screw-up on the Zucker Experiment at NBC – do not screw-up with the audience

the screw-up at NBC on “The Tonight Show that involved jay leno and conan o’brien is getting unscrewed. or at least that is what NBC is hoping it is trying to do.

we think it is such an  amazing story that it could have very well been written for a drama series aired on tv and could have won them awards and a top rating. not even reality shows could top the way this story started, evolved, twisted and got screwed-up. 

there is a nasty question that is left after reading the whole story – how can one of the country’s top tv networks, ran by highly paid executives with all those smarts, salaries and bonuses screw up so badly?

when you get some answers to that question, one more question pops up that takes you back to where you started – NBC’s bread and butter rest in a very large part to satisfying the audience, why did they suck at reading the minds and preferences of their audience?  sure, they have writers, producers and stars that pull in the ratings and ad revenues but all that is worth nothing if they are not masters of the mind of  the audience.

this all started when the venerable tv station launched the Zucker Experiment launched by NBC chief Jeff Zucker who decided months ago to move jay leno into an earlier time slot, the 10 pm slot which is prime time. the thinking was the tv station will save a lot of production money by removing all the drama shows occupying that prime time slot. apparently the production cost of a talk show like jay leno’s is  much cheaper  than  that of drama shows.

together with this move, conan o’brien was moved to take over the tonight show that jay leno was going to vacate. at the time of the move, the tonight show with jay leno was a top rater during the time slot.

after a few month’s of the Zucker Experiment, network affiliates complained on the side-effects of the experiment – they were losing revenue due to a loss of audience. NBC has said jay leno from a show quality standpoint was doing well but the dynamics of the change and the available choices from competitive tv sations for the audience, jay leno at an earlier time slot was not getting it done.

NBC Chief Jeff Zucker

the result of the Zucker Experiment is one lesson every brand manager knows – DO NOT BE A SUCKER TO CONSUMERS.  every brand manager learns this lesson very early in his/her career – screw up the product (formula or packaging) and you lose your consumers. more importantly, when you screw the product, change its formula or packaging based on a desire to reduce product cost (to improve profits), you can be asking for a loss of market share.

every product manager knows the product or the formula is most important to the success of a brand. a reduction in cost is a most dangerous thing to do as that usually involves a change in quality and product performance which can result to a loss in market share.

and yet this is exactly what the Zucker Experiment did. it is an experiment that made the audience  as suckers. NBC seemed to have ignored the consumers and focused too much on costs and profits.

what they committed is an epic fail in marketing 101 – screw with a number 1 brand, the tonight show was number 1 with jay leno in it by changing it’s  formula by putting in conan o’brien in the formula all based on an intent to cut on costs and increase profits, all done with the audience not being considered in the mix.

NBC simply  failed at applying what they are supposed to know best – being the master of the audience (consumer). clearly,  the Zucker Experiment sucked and henceforth, we think a new phrase will be added to the launguage used in the  tv industry  – “Don’t be such a zucker!”

the ampatuans with free use of cellphones while in jail – allows them to plan an escape/rescue from their jail, intimidate witnesses, destroy evidence and access their bank accounts

Ampatuans ‘VIPs’ in jail
They have cell phones, catered meals in PNP camp
Inquirer Mindanao
First Posted 23:35:00 01/03/2010

GENERAL SANTOS CITY—Even in their detention cell, the Ampatuans appear to live like kings.

The suspects in the Nov. 23 massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao apparently have mobile phones, catered meals, even someone who comes daily to clean their cell in the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) compound at the Philippine National Police headquarters at Camp Fermin G. Lira Jr.

Four members of the powerful clan that once enjoyed a close friendship with President Macapagal-Arroyo are being held at the CIDG lockup. Three are brothers—Zaldy Ampatuan, suspended governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao; Sajid Ampatuan, former acting governor of Maguindanao; and Anwar Ampatuan, mayor of Shariff Aguak. The other is their uncle—Akmad Ampatuan, vice governor of Maguindanao.

read in full here: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100103-245345/Ampatuans-VIPs-in-jail

that was the headline story in today’s PDI. the headline story for tomorrow’s PDI will probably be this one – CIDG probes Ampatuans’ ‘VIP treatment’ in police camp. (click here to read in full: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20100104-245437/CIDG-probes-Ampatuans-VIP-treatment-in-police-camp).

 

to us, it did not make sense that detained suspects are allowed so much luxury such as catered food. the use of cellphones to us in particular is the most stupid of the VIP privileges given to the ampatuans.

with the cellphone, the ampatuans while inside the jail can call anyone, including people who they can direct on what to do to hide evidence, tamper with evidence, talk and even intimidate witnesses.

one of the reasons why suspects are detained is to give the investigators a free hand to collect evidence and look for witnesses. having the suspects detained inhibits the freedom of the suspects to do any of those. giving them cellphones makes it all very easy for them to do just that.

the ampatuans can have the most sophisticated cellphones and it will allow them to use the internet, allowing access to almost anything not only limited to email or websites for general information  but more importantly their bank accounts. they can transfer funds, close accounts and do almost anything to their bank accounts.

almost all cellphones have cameras and that means they also have the ability to make not only audiol but visual contacts with the outside world. with built in cameras in cellphones and even  webcams on the other side, they can even have teleconferences, and do picture and video sharing.

the activities that have been allowed to the ampatuans with the use of the cellphone are not just limited to activities that will enable them to take an active role in winning the cases that will be filed against them through evidence hiding/tampering and witness intimidation, they can also plan and give intelligence information to their private armies outside of the jail to help them escape from detention.

videos and pictures of the jail the ampatuans are in, the layout of their cells and the jail itself , the kind of security equipment inside their cells may be transmitted to the outside world so that they can plan a flawless escape from their detention. the point of jailing them is to prevent escape. the ability to send our videos and pictures of the jail they are in keeps no secrets from any group who will want to free the ampatuans from their jail cell.

all of the above are very possible and yet the CIDG chief sees there is nothing wrong with it. (read in full here: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20100104-245492/Nothing-wrong-with-Ampatuans-VIP-treatmentCIDG-chief)

we think this CIDG chief, should be fired from his job and jailed himself as soon as possible.

 

“I don’t think we can consider those as violations or special treatment,” Director Raul Castañeda, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) chief, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Monday.