Saturday, September 10, 2005|
NY Times: IPod Phone Isn't Perfect, but It's a Start. And it's certainly true that financial interests of the three collaborators - Apple, Motorola and Cingular - have hog-tied the Rokr in a lot of unnecessary ways. The phone would be so much better if it held more music, let you buy songs directly online and let you use songs as ring tones. [Tomalak's Realm] 5:04:29 PM  comment
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CBS SportsLine Plans Include Considerable Podcasting. : It isn't as sexy as free video but podcasting plays a role in the integration of CBS SportsLine with CBS Digital. CBS Digital's Larry Kramer tells me the sports lineup for the new CBS Netcast will include most of the broadband programming starting with new columnist Ray Ratto and several new original shows by Jason Horowitz, including the fantasy programs. Some of the on-air programs will be added to the podcast lineup -- the CBS Sports NFL pre-game, for instance -- but the network's rights don't include game podcasts so the new "glogs" -- running color analysis of games -- will have to suffice. Online radio is nothing new for SportsLine, which was producing 10 hours of shows five years ago, according to one former exec. But delivering intact shows that can be downloaded and automatically including podcasting in distribution is a step forward. Even better if the shows turn out to be worth a listen.(It would help if a search for podcasting on the CBS SportsLine site turned up results beyond paid search.) Related: Sportsline Being Integrated Into CBS Sports The Podcasting section is sponsored by Portable Media Expo and Podcasting Conference [PaidContent.org] 5:04:19 PM comment
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NextWave Buys Majority Position in PacketVideo; Buys Out Other Investors. : Details on our sister site MocoNews.net... [PaidContent.org] 5:04:04 PM comment
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"The iPod's No Longer A Player, It's A Platform.". : Intriguing thesis from John Welch, who makes a good case that the iPod's success has more to do with ease of development than music. "... Every one trying to crack the iPod's dominance is missing a really important point: Third Party Hardware Developers. The iPod has scads of hardware developers cranking out toys at a furious pace, the other guys have none. The reason for it is pretty obvious if you think about it. Developing for the iPod is dead simple compared to the other folks." Within that, the real; key, he argues, is the dock connector that works with most iPods excluding earlier models and the shuffle. The proof: a growing of manufacturers accommodating iPods. You could do some chicken-egg arguing -- one reason iPod accessories are ubiquitous is because Apple owns so much of the marker -- but he makes some points worth exploring, particularly in light of the iPod Nano launch this week and the recent death of the Rio player. (via Robert Scoble) [PaidContent.org] 5:03:12 PM comment
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Thanks but no thanks "Customer reception to our new Reynolds Generations Series solutions, which we introduced in mid-January, is strong." So said Buzz Waterhouse, CEO of Reynolds & Reynolds, the biggest supplier of software to auto dealers, back in April 2002. Based on Microsoft's .NET platform, the new software suite was supposed to revolutionize the way dealers manage their business. The "breakthrough solution" was even featured in a glowing Microsoft case study.
Too bad it didn't sell. By the end of 2004, Waterhouse was out the door, as Reynolds & Reynolds reported disappointing results. This summer, new CEO Finbarr O'Neill pulled the plug on Reynolds Generation Series, announcing that the company would take a writeoff of $67 million. There were also warnings of "additional costs" down the road. According to Automotive News, the software was discontinued "because of poor sales, high implementation and training costs and substantial changes that were required in dealership processes to make it work." In other words, it wasn't worth the hassle.
It's just another small sign of software fatigue. At some point, companies begin to see declining returns from additional investments in new software, and they decide their existing systems are good enough. For auto dealers, that point seems to be now. - nick (nick@roughtype.com) [Rough Type: Nicholas Carr's Blog]5:01:49 PM comment
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Digital home wrecker This week's edition of the Economist has an interesting article that throws cold water on the tech industry's dreams of "the digital home." Struggling with a slowdown in IT spending by companies, many tech firms, from Microsoft to Comcast to Hewlett-Packard to Cisco, are looking to homeowners to take up the slack. They've convinced themselves, despite an almost complete lack of evidence, that people want to live in "Internet-enabled" abodes in which everything from televisions to garage-door openers is connected through a rich broadband network. As the article points out, there are many problems with this vision, not least of which is the fact that tech companies continue to promote proprietary data formats and rights-management protocols. Companies like Microsoft and Apple and Sony don't really want to make it easy for consumer gadgets to talk with each other; they want to control the entire system, to be the toll-taker at the front door. The resulting lack of interoperability means that "real-world digital homes usually do not work very well" - and won't for the foreseeable future.
But the biggest barrier to the digital home isn't a matter of technology; it's a matter of demand. Consumers certainly want to share Internet connections with other family members, and some of them may want to share a printer over a home network, but beyond that they show little interest in connectivity.The misreading of the market, the article suggests, may stem from the fact that many tech companies have long catered to a corporate clientele, and they assume, mistakenly, that consumers act like companies in buying technology: "During the information-technology boom, the industry sold its wares mostly to chief information officers or chief technology officers with big budgets. These are customers who tend to be receptive toward buying 'solutions' rather than products, and often hire consultants such as IBM Global Services to pull together hardware and software from various vendors. But 'consumers don't buy as an IT manager does,' says [Pure Networks CEO Tim] Dowling. 'They buy spur-of-the-moment and hodge podge; they buy things, not systems.' To the extent that the digital home is not a thing but a solution, he thinks, 'the vendors are all fooling themselves.'"
Sounds convincing to me. When was the last time you went out to Best Buy to purchase a "solution"? - nick (nick@roughtype.com) [Rough Type: Nicholas Carr's Blog]5:01:32 PM comment
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NTT DoCoMo Launches i-channel Service. Japanese mobile phone operator NTT DoCoMo launched i-channel, a news and... [Wireless IQ - News Feeds] 5:01:09 PM comment
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Vodafone's Got The Beat.
Vodafone 803T Cell Phone [Mobilewhack] 5:00:55 PM comment
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Now that the iTunes phone is out, everyone (and their mother) is jumping onto the music phone bandwagon. Vodafone's latest 3G handset offering, the 803T, features an all-in-one music player. Even flip top fans can get their groove on as the external display includes a music console to control tracks when the phone is folded. Stereo twin speakers makes it easy to annoy people when you say, "You have got to hear this new song I downloaded!" With added Bluetooth and a built-in 2.26 mega pixel camera, this phone—which comes in three colors—even has the necessary components to snap and distribute detailed pictures of |
Nokia in iTunes Talks With Apple?. It was rumored a few weeks ago that Nokia's forthcoming music phone with a 4GB hard drive would ship with iTunes software, but Nokia quickly poured water on it, saying Apple was free to write iTunes software for the smartphone,... [MobHappy] 5:00:41 PM comment
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Mobile base surges to 63 million. India added 2.73 million new mobile users in August, taking the total to 63 million. The number of net additions in August was higher than the 2.49 million added in July 2005. [Mobile Pundit] 5:00:29 PM comment
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Orange wants to enter India. Speaking at the India-EU Business Summit earlier this week, Sanjiv Ahuja CEO of French mobile giant Orange said the company would be very keen to provide 3G services in India.
Orange reffered here is not to be confused with the Hutch India’s brand Orange. Worldwide ownership of the “Orange” brand is with France Telecom. Read this to find out more. [Mobile Pundit]4:57:58 PM comment
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Celeb RingBack Tones. Ever wondered how does your favourite celeb personalise his/her cell? Hindustan Times has a story in its Mumbai edition today on the RingBack tones / Caller tunes set by Hindi film stars. This is what you would hear if you call them up. So here is what you were dying to know. [Mobile Pundit] 4:55:24 PM comment
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Russia’s Sistema interested in Reliance Telecom. Financial Express reports that Russia’s AFK Sistema has approached Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Enterprises controlled Reliance Telecom, to buy out its GSM mobile business. Reliance Telecom has 1.54 million GSM users out of the total 63 million Indian mobile user base. ADAE also runs CDMA-based Reliance Infocomm, which is the third largest mobile operator in India with 11.13 million customers. Earlier this year, AFK Sistema had signed a non-binding agreement with Aircel, which operates in the Chennai and Tamil Nadu circles, to buy a 49% stake. But the deal fell through. AFK Sistema runs Mobile TeleSystems, which is Russia’s largest mobile operator. [Mobile Pundit]4:53:47 PM comment
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Steve Jobs launches ROKR phone with iTunes in it, with Motorola. It looked as if he was going to disappoint us: he spent the first half hour of his launch of the iPod phone not talking about the iPod phone. [Newswireless.net headlines]4:51:59 PM comment
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Ireland: Three go for fourth 3G licence.  Three companies have applied for the fourth third generation mobile phone licence, according to the communications regulator ComReg. The applications from Eircom, Meteor and Smart Mobile will now be considered by ComReg. The licence on offer is a 'B' licence to provide 3G mobile services for a period of 20 years. Tag:ireland | Posted in: Breaking 3G News Our 3G Support Service - 3G Assistance-at-a-Distance[base ']Ñ¢ [Daily 3G News] 4:51:44 PM comment
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Maxis 3G network complete next year with HSDPA.  MAXIS Communications Bhd expects to complete part of its third-generation network by year-end, and the entire network is to be ready next year, said chief operating officer Edward Ying. Ericsson Malaysia will provide the company with a high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) that would allow Maxis to be one of the first telcos in South-East Asia to launch such services.
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WiMAX no threat to 3G: report.  Both fixed and mobile WiMAX will complement, not compete with Wi-Fi and 3G cellular data, according to a study released by Forward Concepts. The report said early views were that mobile WiMAX would be a threat to third-generation wireless services, but now cellular equipment vendors such as Nokia Corp. are saying that WiMAX will be complementary. Tag:3g | Posted in: Breaking 3G News Our 3G Support Service - 3G Launch Management [Daily 3G News] 4:51:02 PM comment
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Opinion: The Difference Between The iPhone And The iTunes.  It seems like a lot of the disappointment over the launch of the iTunes phone (AKA the Motorola ROKR) was because of the simple misunderstanding of what that phone was about. From the very beginning this deal was very clearly about putting a slimmed down version of iTunes on a Motorola phone. It was never about creating the "iPhone" or the "iPod Phone." Tag:3g | Posted in: Breaking 3G News Our 3G Support Service - 3G Devices [Daily 3G News] 4:46:35 PM comment
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TV over 3G - the next mass market data service?.  Mobile TV has the potential to become the wireless industry's next mass-market data service success story, according to the latest Unstrung Insider. To date, a number of Tier 1 carriers have launched mobile TV over 3G networks and dedicated mobile broadcast networks, with monthly usage already at more than 1 million sessions per month at some operators. Tag:mobile tv | Posted in: Breaking 3G News Our 3G Support Service - 3G Applications [Daily 3G News] 4:41:55 PM comment
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ACCESS to acquire PalmSource. PRNewswire, 9 Sept. 2005 ACCESS Co., Ltd., a global provider of mobile content delivery and Internet access software, and PalmSource, Inc., provider of Palm OS, a leading operating system powering next generation phones and mobile devices, today announced they have signed a definitive agreement for ACCESS to acquire PalmSource in an all-cash transaction valued at USD $18.50 per share of PalmSource common stock , or approximately USD $324.3 million (approximately %35.9 billion). ACCESS' USD $18.50 per share offer represents an 83% premium for PalmSource stockholders based on the market closing price of USD $10.09 on September 8, 2005. [Wireless Watch Japan] 4:41:29 PM comment
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Japan Broadband Wireless Network JV. WWJ Editors, 9 Sept. 2005 GlobeTel Communications Corp. announced that its subsidiary, Sanswire Networks LLC, has signed a Letter of Intent with Kashiwabara Token Corporation of Iwakuni City, Japan, to enter a joint venture in the establishment of a terrestrial ground-based wireless broadband and communications system, a prelude to the deployment of the Sanswire Stratellite Airship broadband network in Japan. Kashiwabara Token Corporation holds a controlling interest of a major cell phone system in the Hiroshima and Yamaguchi prefectures as well as the ICAN Cable television system in Japan. [Wireless Watch Japan] 4:40:45 PM comment
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Motorola Acquires i-Mode R&D Team. WWJ Editors, 10 Sept. 2005 Motorola confirmed that it has acquired a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Melco Mobile Communication Europe (MMCE), and it's European team of i-mode design employees and a research center in western France. The Rennes facility will become a European i-mode focused development center for Motorola, continuing to operate in its state-of-the-art research and design center in Cesson-Sevigne (Rennes), France. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. [Wireless Watch Japan] 4:40:19 PM comment
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DoCoMo Planning Push To Talk Service. Rumours are circulating that NTT DoCoMo will introduce a Push-to-Talk (PTT) voice service by mid-October. Several Japanese trade journals have reported the as-yet-unconfirmed plans, saying that DoCoMo plans to market a cellular phone equipped with a chip made by US Qualcomm in October. With three new carriers set to enter the domestic market in 2006, the dominant telco is said to be considering how to defend its market share by offering new services and incentives. source : WWJ... [i-mode Business Strategy] 4:39:49 PM comment
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BSNL Plans To Roll Out 3G By March '06. Telecom Asia: India's BSNL is set to offer 3G mobile services by the end of financial year 2005, the company's top executive said. BSNL chief AK Sinha also said BSNL is "busy preparing the tender document for BSNL's 3G network." Sinha said that the tender to implement 3G will be out "in the next three to four weeks." The tender will comprise 40 million to 60 million lines, of which around 30% lines will be dedicated for 3G service. "We hope that by March, next year, we will be able to roll out the service," said Sinha. According to the BSNL, depending on the government's decision on spectrum allocation and market study on the demand of 3G services among the customers, BSNL will decide the technical aspects of the network which will go with the tender. "Before coming out with the tender we have to decide in how many cities we will roll out 3G service," he said. [ContentSutra] 4:37:13 PM comment
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WorldSpace Records A Net Loss; But Gains Subscribers In India. News Release: These are the highlights pertaining to India from WorldSpace second quarter results: The numbers that I could cull out from the release is that WorldSpace has 27,933 subscribers in India compared to a total of 63,930 subs worldwide. It added 6,203 subsribers from India in the second quarter, more than half of the total addition of 11,427 subs worldwide during the same period. This shows that India is a key market for WorldSpace. The company had embarked on a huge marketing campaign in India during the quarter. Said Noah Samara, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of WorldSpace, "The second quarter of 2005 was a critical time for WorldSpace as we prepared for our initial public offering, ramped up our marketing campaign in India...We also continued to form strategic partnerships and add new customer-driven content to our satellite radio offerings, especially in India, an under-served and highly attractive market for our products.
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Low-cost Computing, Wireless Dominate Indian R & D. EE Times: Indian research and development is more weighed towards low-cost computing and wireless communications. The annual report of Indiaâo[dot accent]s ministry of information technology for 2004-05 has disclosed that R&D has been focusing largely on affordable computing and next-generation wireless communications. They include developing FPGA-based simple messaging terminals, developing an operating system for smart cards and building a future-proof, perpetually available mobile communications and computing infrastructure.
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BSNL To Deploy WiMax In Five Indian Cities Next Year. Sify.com: Indi'as largest telecom company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd has said that it will provide Wi-Max (broadband wireless) services in Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata and in the satellite towns of Delhi and Mumbai during next financial year. "Our customers can look forward to the establishment of a public wireless access network with Wi-Fi and Wi-Max deployments across the country during the next financial year. Work for Wi-Max will be undertaken in five major cities namely Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata and satellite town in Delhi and Mumbai," BSNL CMD A K Sinha said. For Wi-Fi (broadband wireless in a limited area), BSNL has identified 15 cities to deploy 300 hot spots at important locations like airports, hotels, university campuses, shopping malls etc.
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Last update: 10/1/05; 11:45:30 AM .
