The Smarty iPad Cover by Yanko Design (via Techabob)

Ben Brooks responding to MG Siegler’s post on why he hates Android and how Google doesn’t put the customer first like Apple does:

The relationship Apple has with carriers is fascinating to me — Apple seems to outwardly despise them, while knowing that carriers are (currently) necessary for Apple.

I wonder if Mr. Brooks remembers when Steve Jobs was interviewed by Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher at D8 Conference in 2010 (around the 4-minute mark):

Mossberg:And another time you talked about, you weren’t going to do a phone because you had to sell them through, I think you called them, ‘The Five Orifices’ at the time.

Jobs: Four, I think.

Good times.

via Modern Mechanix

Mr. Lead Screw via Northcoast Zeitgeist

Today is has unexpectedly turned into an Influence day.
Influencer: BMW 1 Series, introduced 9 July 9 2010

Influenced: Chevy Code 130, announced 9 January 2012

via Motoriginal

Jim Dalrymple mocks up the home page for AcerCloud, free of charge.
Looks about right to me.
What a gentleman he was to do that.

Influencer: Apple iCloud, introduced 6 June 2011

Influenced: Acer AcerCloud, introduced 8 January 2012

Yes, Apple’s competitors continue to rip off their ideas, but I give them credit for understanding it’s not just about the devices, but the ecosystem in which they live.
But could Acer have made a shittier looking cloud? Jeez.
Images via The Verge

Starting off the week with some exhaust on two of the worst new car model names:
Volkswagen Beetle E-Bugster
Hyundai Veloster
Are the marketing people doing this to appeal to the hipsters? Do they think adding ster to the end of everything is the silver bullet to success?
News alert – it’s fucking lame.

MG Siegler responds to the rumor Google will introduce their own Android tablet this spring:

The problem here is that Amazon is selling the Kindle Fire at or near break-even (they may even be losing money on each unit sold when you consider marketing, etc). And customers are getting what they pay for — a tablet of significantly less quality than the iPad.

If Google is going to undercut the $199 price, the hardware is either going to be shit — or Google is going to have to take a significant loss on each one sold. Maybe they do that and say they’ll make it back in search advertising. But there is real money they’re going to have to pay to an OEM to get them to agree to that.

Siegler’s whole post is spot on, but what about the ecosystem this “highest quality” Android is going to live in? Eric Schmidt’s quote seems to be addressing the hardware of the device. Hardware is only half the story.
It’s like selling a car to someone who lives in the desert. Sure, they have a great piece of automotive technology with climate control, and power steering and satellite radio, but it’s useless without access to roads and gas stations and mechanics.
This is essentially what Android tablets are today — cars in the desert.
Amazon gets this and while their car might be crappy, they at least have roads to drive on and places to go. Books, music and movies, all a few clicks away. Seamless.
Yes Google has their Android Marketplace but from most the articles I’ve read, it’s a place where you can’t make much money and the piracies rival what you’d see on a Canal Street here in Manhattan.
So for me, I could give a shit what Google releases, if they release anything, this spring. If I have nowhere to go when I drive off the dealer’s lot, it’s not even worth buying.

Justin Williams’s definition of friction within mobile applications:

If at any point in that process I see a crash, frustrating design decisions, confusing experiences or perceive a lack of functionality, I delete the app and go on with my day. Put more succinctly, if at any point in the first use experience I experience friction, it’s game over.

Sounds right to me.