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Apple Sneaking Into the Health Records Industry

Posted on July 19, 2017 by admin Posted in Business, Hardware, Medical, Software Leave a comment

What it is: Cedars-Sinai hospital is using iPads for both storing and displaying health information.

The huge mistake rivals make is that they try to duplicate and surpass the hardware features of their products compared to Apple products. That’s a huge mistake because it’s easy to shove more advanced hardware into a product. What’s more difficult is giving people a reason to use that advanced hardware.

In the smartphone and tablet market, rivals try to compete against Apple with lower prices and better technical specifications. That’s a recipe for failure. While rivals worry about prices and hardware specifications, Apple is moving towards making their products useful. One huge market that doesn’t care about prices or hardware specifications is the medical and health industry.

Cedars-Sinai hospital is using iPads for several purposes. One way is to use FaceTime to allow parents and children to interact when the children have infection diseases and need to be kept separate from other people. However, a far more interesting use for the iPad is to store and display medical information. Of course, any tablet or computer could do that. What Apple hopes to do is store medical information in a standard electronic format that’s also secure.

Now when you talk about security and online access, there can never be complete security. However, the availability and accuracy of medical information stored digitally means that health records can be accurately and quickly transferred among doctors and hospitals.

Right now, medical records are far more secure when stored in separate databases and pieces of paper. However, the huge drawback is the lack of accuracy and inability to transfer crucial information to others when needed. More than once, patients have been given penicillin or other antibiotics even though their medical records show they’re allergic to those medication. Today’s paper and half-solutions on a computer trade security for inaccuracy and inability to share.

By itself, there’s nothing special about the iPad when it comes to inputting and displaying medical information. What’s important is how that information gets stored and accessed securely, and that’s where Apple can make the iPad more secure than much cheaper Android tablets. First of all, iOS is far more secure than Android. Second, Apple can design security in rather than slap it on at a later date.

Hospitals are far less likely to be swayed by lower prices and better technical specifications than they are with devices that work and securely display information as sensitive as medical records. The iPad is never going to reach sales records it hit when it was first introduced. Instead, the iPad will find a new market in the enterprise world where price and minor hardware improvements matter far less than security and simplicity.

Apple’s big future lies in health. Real-time health monitoring will boost sales of the Apple Watch while health records will help boost sales of the iPad. While not everyone has a need for an Apple Watch or an iPad, everyone does have a need for maintaining their health. The only question is whether you’re willing to pay the price for better health or not.

The Smart Toothbrush

Posted on July 18, 2017 by admin Posted in Hardware, Medical Leave a comment

What it is: Philips Sonicare is launching a new smart toothbrush that connects to an app via Bluetooth.

Most people brush their teeth without knowing how well they’re really doing until they get feedback six months to a year later from their dental hygienist. Such lengthy times between feedback means that dental problems caused by improper brushing can persist and cause problems without being detected.

To solve this problem, Philips Sonicare offers a Bluetooth enabled toothbrush that connects to a smartphone app. By viewing the app on your smartphone, you can see which parts of your teeth you’ve brushed properly and which areas you may have missed. Now based on this immediately feedback, you can correct the problem before it gets out of hand.

The idea of as Bluetooth-enabled toothbrush might seem a bit like technological overkill, but it does present the idea of immediate feedback in ways that ordinary toothbrushes can’t match. Knowing how well you’re brushing and seeing a picture on a smartphone app can turn brushing into both feedback and a game. By proper brushing, under the guidance of a smart toothbrush, you can take better care of your teeth.

Real-time health monitoring is the killer app for wearable and mobile computers. Anyone want to monitor their heart rate using a regular PC? Want to exercise and track your calories burned by lugging a laptop around all the time? Mobile and wearable computers are reaching into areas that traditional computers can never access, which means we can expect new health breakthroughs beyond real-time tooth brushing feedback.

As more devices get smarter, it’s not hard to believe that routine eye exams, hearing exams, and even medical exams can be conducted entirely on smartphones and wearable computers. While some people don’t see a need for a wearable computer like an Apple Watch, everyone can see a need for maintaining their health through mobile and wearable computers. Initially, expect the elderly and the sick to embrace health monitoring apps and wearable computers. Then expect ordinary consumers to embrace real-time health monitoring to prevent problems before they can occur.

Apple is already testing a non-invasive glucose monitor that can show you the effect certain foods (candy, ice cream, soda, etc.) can have on your body while you’re eating it. Once you can see how negatively certain foods affect your body, you can modify your behavior (hopefully) based on this immediately, real-time feedback.

Health monitoring will be what makes wearable computers essential to practically everyone. While a smart toothbrush might seem like a gimmick, you can already imagine how its real-time feedback feature can be valuable and worth the price for better dental care. If you value yourself and your teeth, why wouldn’t you want a device that could improve your health at minimal cost?

To learn more about the Sonicare, smart toothbrush, click here.

Competing Against Apple By Being Stupid

Posted on July 12, 2017 by admin Posted in Business, Hardware, Software Leave a comment

What it is: Luxury fashion accessory maker, Louis Vuitton, plans to offer a smart watch to compete against the Apple Watch.

Apple products are considered a luxury brand because they’re expensive, but in return for their high price, you get better build quality, better technical support, and a simpler user interface. The way rivals try to compete against Apple is to copy their products but at a lower price, cheaper build quality, less technical support, and a more complicated user interface. Not surprisingly, most of these competitors never come close to achieving the success that Apple has reached.

The latest competitor to the Apple Watch is Louis Vuitton, which hopes to sell a Louis Vuitton’s Tambour Horizon smart watch with a starting price at $2,450. (In comparison, the Apple Watch ranges in price from $269 to $1299.) Strangely, Louis Vuitton’s Tambour Horizon smart watch will rely on Android Wear.

So here’s the dilemma. You can buy an expensive luxury watch running Android, or you can buy a far less expensive smart watch that also runs Android Wear. The only difference is that a Louis Vuitton smartwatch will look nicer and cost more but have largely the exact same features as a typical Android Wear smartwatch.

Will people buy a Louis Vuitton smart watch largely for the brand name and superior material quality? Or will they simply buy an Apple Watch instead? Given the fact that Android Wear smart watches haven’t come close to toppling the Apple Watch, it seems unlikely that the Louis Vuitton smart watch will convince many people to abandon the Apple Watch either.

For the high price of a Louis Vuitton smart watch, you get good material quality, probably less technical support, and an okay user interface. Is that something worth paying for?

Will anyone even recognize a Louis Vuitton smart watch when they see it? More importantly, will anyone care?

Louis Vuitton is trying to compete against the Apple Watch by taking a struggling wearable operating system (Android Wear) and stuffing it inside a luxury smart watch design. Louis Vuitton may sell some smart watches but you can be certain nobody at Apple is worried that they’ll eat into the Apple Watch market.

Right now, few companies can compete against the Apple Watch. Fitbit is superior for its lower price and simpler focus, but that’s like comparing a computer to a pocket calculator. A pocket calculator is easier to use but also more limited, just like a Fitbit is simpler than an Apple Watch but more limited.

Louis Vuitton isn’t trying to compete against the Apple Watch so much as they’re trying to create a smart watch luxury product. The big question is whether anyone will consider Android Wear a luxury item. Most likely, people won’t care about the operating system and just focus on the physical appearance. Whether Android Wear works well or not is largely irrelevant when you want to show off the expensive jewelry wrapped around your wrist.

Watching Louis Vuitton try to sell their smart watch should be interesting. In a few years, you’ll know how successful they were if they continue making smart watches or drop the idea altogether.

The Death of Jawbone

Posted on July 7, 2017 by admin Posted in Business, Hardware, Medical Leave a comment

What it is: At one time, Jawbone was a major competitor in the fitness tracking market. Now they’re liquidating their assets.

Pebble and Jawbone, along with Fitbit, were the leaders in the fitness tracking market. Then the Apple Watch appeared, which spawned rivals like Microsoft Band and Android Wear. Yet after several years when critics complain that the Apple Watch isn’t a big hit, rivals in the wearable computer market have faded away. Pebble is gone. Microsoft abandoned Microsoft Band after two versions, and now Jawbone is shutting down.

Meanwhile, Android Wear hasn’t achieved massive success and market share like Android, and Fitbit is struggling against the Apple Watch. Sales of the Apple Watch aren’t massive, but they’re steady and growing, proving that the Apple Watch isn’t a flop like the cylinder Mac Pro, but also isn’t a massive hit like the iPhone. Yet the demise of so many fitness tracking companies shows that the Apple Watch is killing the wearable computer market.

In the old days, there was a netbook market too. Then the iPad killed that. In the old days, there was also a smartphone market led by Blackberry, Nokia, and Microsoft. The iPhone killed that. Although the Apple Watch hasn’t proven massively successful, neither was the iPhone in its first few years of existence. Only after the iPhone offered an App Store and spread to more carriers did sales take off.

The Apple Watch will likely follow a similar path. For most people, it’s not a crucial product, but when Apple starts offering more intensive real-time health monitoring sensors such as a non-invasive glucose monitor, expect sales of the Apple Watch to skyrocket. That’s when the Apple Watch will more closely resemble the massive success of the iPhone.

Until then, the Apple Watch is succeeding simply by not failing like Jawbone, Pebble, or the Microsoft Band. Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, has hinted that he wears a glucose monitor, but never mentioned who made that glucose monitor. It seems unlikely that he would mention another company’s products for no reason, so given the intense rumors about Apple researching non-invasive glucose monitors, it seems logical that Tim Cook was hinting about Apple’s own glucose monitor. When that arrives, expect the Apple Watch to become the massive hit that the iPhone is right now.

In fact, expect the Apple Watch to exceed the iPhone. The iPhone is a necessary luxury that people can do without by either getting another smartphone or avoiding smartphones altogether. But in today’s world, a smartphone is a near necessity like owning a car in most parts of America. Tomorrow, the Apple Watch will become a critical luxury that everyone concerned about their health will want. When people can see exactly how the foods they’re eating is affecting their health, expect to see fewer customers wearing Apple Watches eating at places like McDonald’s.

The Apple Watch is going to change the world like the iPhone has changed the world. While most people want a smartphone, they’re going to practically need a real-time health monitor like the Apple Watch. The Apple Watch will still be a luxury, but it will be one that people will want just the same.

Watching wearable computer rivals fade away like Jawbone, Microsoft Band, and Pebble is simply the early signs of the Apple Watch’s dominance. In the next few years, expect the Apple Watch to dominate and this health focus will make the Apple Watch the most needed product in the world.

Watching the Struggling Industries

Posted on July 3, 2017 by admin Posted in Business, Hardware, Software Leave a comment

What it is: Fitbit recently announced a delay in their upcoming Smartwatch.

Fitbit is trying to release a smartwatch complete with its own apps, but they announced a delay in their project. The big problem Fitbit and other companies face when competing against Apple is that they try to control both hardware and software. Instead of using Android Wear like other companies, Fitbit wants to create their own operating system just like Apple. The big difference is that they must also attract developers and provide a software framework to allow developers to link into the operating system. More importantly, they must also demonstrate there’s a large enough market to attract customers so the developers can profit from their products.

Fitbit has a loyal following of customers, but to create a new FitBit operating system means they must convince developers that there’s also a market for selling apps. There may be, but one of the huge advantages the Apple Watch has is that it links seamlessly with the iPhone and Macintosh. For Fitbit to duplicate this, they’ll need to make the FitBit work with smartphones and personal computers, and that means making their operating system work well with Windows and Android.

Trying to introduce a new operating system to the world isn’t easy. Even Palm Computing, which once made one of the most popular smartphones in the world, had trouble keeping their PalmOS operating system current to the point where Palm even licensed Windows Mobile for their smartphones. For FitBit to succeed with their own operating system is a huge undertaking with no guarantee of success.

Samsung tried to break away from Android with the Tizen operating system, but Tizen still hasn’t attracted much developer support. Without developers, Tizen smartphones can’t attract customers because of the lack of apps. Without apps, customers won’t choose a Tizen smartphone and without customers, developers won’t choose Tizen either.

The same dilemma faces FitBit. Right now, FitBit succeeds by offering a low cost wearable computer. Add its own operating system with apps and now the cost of the wearable goes up. People aren’t buying FitBits right now for apps because there are none for current FitBits. If FitBit adds apps, will that encourage more people to buy FitBits?

Right now the Apple Watch has plenty of apps, but its app store is nowhere near as prosperous as the iPhone/iPad app store. The Apple Watch succeeds because it’s more than a fitness tracker. For people who just want a fitness tracker, FitBit is fine. For people who want more than a fitness tracker, the Apple Watch is fine. How many people want the features of an Apple Watch but in a FitBit instead?

FitBit is struggling to compete against the Apple Watch for the same reason that Blackberry and Nokia struggled to compete against the iPhone and Microsoft struggled to compete against the iPad. They’re simply too late. When you see other companies struggling to compete against Apple, that’s when you know Apple has a hit product on their hands.

The iPhone killed Blackberry, Palm, and Nokia. The iPad killed the entire netbook industry. The Apple Watch is now killing wearable fitness trackers like FitBit (Pebble is already gone). Watch the struggling industries and then look for the leaders such as iTunes helping kill off music stores and Amazon helping kill Borders Books.

In any market, there’s always a leader and a lot of has-beens. If the future is any indication, FitBit’s project will likely get delayed to the point where it doesn’t work that well and feels half-completed, much like Blackberry’s Storm smartphone that offered a touch screen like the iPhone but was buggy and not as good. FitBit is good, but their future doesn’t look very promising.

Apple Hires Dr. Sumbul Desai

Posted on June 11, 2017 by admin Posted in Business, Hardware, Medical Leave a comment

What it is: Apple recently hired Dr. Sumbul Desai, the executive director of Stanford Medicine’s center for digital health.

Apple has been hiring plenty of medical specialists and their latest hire is Dr. Sumbul Desai, who is running a telemedicine project at Stanford Medicine’s center. In addition, Dr. Desai has also been active in promoting the Apple Watch as a health monitoring device. Clearly Apple isn’t hiring Dr. Desai for no reason. Since the Apple Watch is the closest product they have linked to real-time health monitoring, it’s likely Apple is developing additional health sensors and apps for the Apple Watch.

The future is clear but rivals are simply missing the obvious. Real-time health monitoring is the key to the Apple Watch. A while back, Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, even hinted that he had been wearing a non-invasive glucose monitor to track the foods he’s been eating that can show him how his latest meal affects his glucose levels. By stockpiling medical and health experts, Apple is preparing the Apple Watch for the real-time health monitoring market.

What are rivals doing? Microsoft abandoned their Microsoft Band after two generations after the product failed to capture any meaningful market share. Google is still promoting Android Wear but are they pursuing real-time health with the same fervor as Apple? It doesn’t seem like it. Apple will be able to control both its hardware and software for real-time health monitoring. The fractured natured of Android means hardware manufacturers will need to build health sensors and Google will need to integrate this into Android Wear. This disconnect insures that Android Wear will pale in comparison to the Apple Watch when it comes to real-time health monitoring.

That means Apple is going to dominate a billion dollar industry with little or no competition. With a near monopoly on real-time health monitoring, Apple is poised to dominate a market more thoroughly than the smartphone or tablet market. Real-time health monitoring is the long-term future of Apple and the Apple Watch, along with Apple’s heavy investment in rounding up the best medical specialists around, clearly states Apple’s future.

Today the iPhone generates the most revenue for Apple. Tomorrow it will be the Apple Watch. The iPhone is going to continue growing but the Apple Watch will soon exceed even the iPhone in revenue. It may not happen tomorrow, but it’s going to happen and nobody’s even challenging Apple. When the future comes, expect rivals to be shocked and surprised at the obvious facts that they missed today.

The future is obvious if you just keep your eyes open. Apple is defining the future of health care. One day we’ll all be wearing Apple Watches to monitor our health and when that day comes, Apple will be the most dominant company in the technology and health market.