What We're Reading

Apple doesn’t have a solid TV strategy yet. But CEO Tim Cook thinks he can see the writing on the wall—the much loathed cable-TV bundle is on its deathbed.

Speaking on the earnings call after Apple posted a record first quarter, Cook said (emphasis added):

The way that we participate in the changes that are going on in the media industry that I fully expect to accelerate from the cable bundle beginning to break down is, one, we started the new Apple TV a year ago, and we’re pleased with how that platform has come along. We have more things planned for it but it’s come a long way in a year, and it gives us a clear platform to build off of.

Apple is on the fourth generation of the Apple TV. It now has an app that makes recommendations across streaming-video services and has a universal search function; it is currently limited by only allowing you to find a program across a limited selection of third-party services, but it has the potential to become the online equivalent to a TV Guide

With crowd source funding, your arm may become the next place to locate directions via GPS with a pico projector or the way you stay in touch with social media........without ever touching your phone.  Up for a donation; get a discount.  Imagine the possibilities.

Courtesy of Cicret Project

eMarketer estimates that this year, there will be 190.5 million US smartphone users of all ages, representing 73.4% of internet users and 59.3% of the population. By 2019, the smartphone audience will reach 236.8 million, or 85.5% of internet users and 71.4% of total consumers in the country.

Based on recent research, these users may be bigger addicts than they think. Among US smartphone owners polled in May 2015 by Gallup, 52% of smartphone owners said they checked their phones at least a few times an hour, with 11% doing so every few minutes. One-fifth looked at their devices about once an hour. About a quarter did so at least a few times a day.

However, further results indicated that many of these users were in denial about just how much they relied on such devices. Fewer than half (46%) of smartphone owners said they couldn’t imagine life without their phones. Females were 10 percentage points more likely than males to say they couldn’t picture living without their smartphones, an