Amazon 3-d Phone, Really?

b2ap3_thumbnail_bgr-a-phone-1.jpgGlimpse of Amazon 3-D Phone

 

Exclusive reports by BGR Blog disclose photos of the coming Amazon 3-D phone. http://bgr.com/2014/04/15/amazon-smartphone-photos-specs-kindle-phone-exclusive/

 

The prototype appears to offer six cameras to generate a 3-dimensional image. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/15/amazon-phone-photos_n_5154196.html?utm_hp_ref=technology

 

 

HFS analysts note that no official statements by Amazon have been issued yet, so some question should persist about how legitimate the photos might be. Nonetheless, speculation and anticipation clearly have been sparked by the blog post. What do you think?

Cisco’s Cloud Gets More Silver Lining

 

b2ap3_thumbnail_Cisco.jpg

Cisco Systems Inc, a world leader in network hardware, announced today plans for the coming two years to spend $1 Billion to upgrade its fledgling cloud services. http://www.binarytribune.com/2014/03/24/cisco-systems-inc-share-price-down-shifts-focus-towards-cloud-computing-services-to-join-the-competition/

 

The key initial outlay for the Cisco’s ‘Cisco Cloud Services’ enterprise involves constructing state of the art data centers, the old fashioned brick and mortar structures that house boxy hardware, cables, and a few work-spaces for a handpicked collection of human technicians that oversee the mix. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/24/us-cisco-systems-cloudcomputing-idUSBREA2N09T20140324

 

To HFS analysts, the more interesting problem a new entrant such as Cisco faces concerns who it will likely meet in competition for customers who pay for the privilege of using the cloud’s services. Today in the first quarter of 2014, the top ten cloud competitors include a few well-knowns, but mostly a collection of never-heard-ofs. Here’s a top-10 list from Secpoint.com:

 

Amazon Web Services

3Tera

Force.com

Appistry Cloud Computing Middleware

Microsoft Live Mesh

AppNexus

Flexiscale

Google App Engine

GoGrid

Terremark

 

With its big dollar investment virtually upfront, Cisco expects to be added to lists such as this one within two years, just in time to tap into an exploding new business model. HFS analysts point out that the model actually arose in the 1960’s when computing first twinkled in some future geeks’ eyes and visions of how it might someday come together kept them talking with one another through the night. In other words, it’s what computer planners have considered the basic model from the beginning, and finally after a few decades of rapid maturation, that basic model has become recognizable.

 

So if you were one of the billions of people who wished they had gotten in on the ground floor of plastics in the 1960’s or computers in the 1980’s or dot-coms in the 1990’s and you missed the investment opportunity, now is the time to set aside a small investment for cloud computing. Some day it might grow quite large. The only problem is, who should one invest in from the list of leaders? Maybe Cisco would be a good candidate, or maybe not.

 

What do you think?