Broadband
Monday, June 9th, 2008
Apple officially announced its launch of the next generation iPhone 3G. Key take-aways from Job’s speech at the Worldwide Developer Conference meeting..
· The new, 3G iPhone will sell for $199 for 8GB of storage, $299 for 16GB
· Launch delayed by 6 weeks (July 11) L
· Support for full location based GPS service
· 3G iPhone will 300 hours of standby time, improved from 8 hours to 10 hours on 2G talk time, and he’s quoting 5 hours of 3G talk time. Browsing should give you 5-6 hours, video 7 hours, and audio 24 hours of continuous operation.
· The 3G speeds are close to Wi-Fi
· Enterprise e-mail support (sorry Crackberry fans)
· 22 countries will get 3G iPhones first
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Apple’s upcoming iMac has made a tentative appearance in US retail channel systems. Meanwhile, one rumor has the 3G iPhone receiving both GPS and a significant visual update, an analyst calls WWDC’s opening “D-Day” for new iPhone models, and the latest SDK for the handset may allow background apps.
* AT&T is cut the price of new iPhone to $200
http://techland.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/04/29/att-to-cut-the-price-of-apples-new-iphone/
* Apple announced there are no more iPhones left in its U.S. and U.K. online stores.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/latestheadlines/ci_9234243?nclick_check=1
* Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster says the devices are in short supply at many of the retail outlets as well.
* AT&T’s product listing includes a new option — “iPhone Black,” the rumored color of the 3G model.
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/05/12/att_now_showing_iphone_black_model_in_device_listing.html
* Apple has confirmed to Fortune that Steve Jobs will deliver a keynote address on June 9, the first day of Apple’s World Wide Developers conference.
http://apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/05/12/3g-iphone-steve-jobs-to-deliver-keynote-june-9/
* AT&T told retail employees not to schedule any vacation between June 15 and July 12 to ensure sufficient staffing for “an exciting Summer Promotional Launch.”
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2008/05/06/apple-and-att-to-launch-iphone-3g-a-lot-sooner-than-we-think/
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Thursday, May 22nd, 2008
What exactly will be the nature of mobile search in the future? How will technology enable people to conveniently search and retrieve relevant information from the touch of a button from their mobile handset (be it an iPhone, Blackberry or some other smart device)? Say, you are visiting the Grand Canyon or the Empire State Building for the first time and you want to know the history of the site or the building, wouldn’t it be nice to point your phone, snap a picture and do a search on the building and get your answers instantaneously. This type of sophisticated search is not far in the future.
A number of companies are looking into capitalizing the new wave of mobile search. For instance Microsoft is working on software called Lincoln that, once downloaded into phones, will allow people to access online movie reviews by just snapping pictures of movie posters, DVD covers, or from an advertisement on a magazine or displayed on the side of buses.
But Microsoft is not alone. There are other players in the market. Kooaba and SnapTell services allows you to point to a real-world object, snap it and send pictures to their servers that will return results relevant to the context of the object.
http://blog.crispwireless.com/index.php/category/chan-komagan/
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Tuesday, May 6th, 2008
Media and entertainment companies are in strong consensus as to what will propel the future growth of the digital market, where the opportunities lie and what will drive revenues over the next five years, according to a study conducted by Accenture.
Four of the main sources of revenue growth cited by respondents are multi-platform distribution, short form video, social media and advertising.
When asked when they believe the mobile market will become a mass market, respondents were split, with slightly more than half (55 percent) saying within three years. On the other hand, 45 percent said they believe it will take longer.
http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/research/944.html
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Sunday, April 20th, 2008
Interesting analysis from AP on HD signal quality
For example, Discovery’s bit rate was 14.16 megabits per second on Verizon’s FiOS system but only 10.43 Mbps on Comcast; A&E HD was 18.66 Mbps on FiOS compared with 14.48 Mbps on Comcast. The FiOS system didn’t offer Sci Fi HD, which Fowler’s testing showed at 12.59 Mbps on Comcast.
The source image might not have been recorded in HD, or the television’s settings, the viewing angle and even the ambient lighting in the room could be the cause.
Derek Harrar, a Comcast senior vice president in charge of video, said the company recently began using new technology on some channels to compress three HD channels into the bandwidth of one analog station. Other channels continue to get the previous 2-to-1 compression.
Verizon’s FiOS doesn’t compress the signal once it receives it, and Willcox said it’s considered the picture quality “benchmark.” However, Verizon said the system is growing but is now available only in parts of 17 states and has just over a million subscribers — compared with more than 24 million for Comcast.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080420/compressed_hd.html
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Tuesday, April 1st, 2008
iSuppli randomly surveyed consumers from a continuously refreshed pool of more than 2 million U.S. residents and found a disparity of opinion between younger and older handset buyers. For instance, brand and price are the main factors for consumers both in the 18- to 24-year-old and 40- to 44-year-old groups. (See picture below) However, for the younger group, multimedia features such as a camera and styling are more important in deciding which phone to buy.
http://www.wirelessweek.com/Article-By-The-Numbers-031508.aspx
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Thursday, March 27th, 2008
TechCrunch is reporting that CBS is testing High Def Video content on it’s website.
Buried in the
lab’s section of the network’s Web site is a gallery of short HD clips from shows such as
Jericho,
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and
Dexter.
TechCrunch was first to report the story and said the clips are available in H.264 format at 480p, with 720 p and 1080p coming later.
CBS has been overshadowed on the Internet in recent months by Hulu, the video portal operated by NBC Universal and News Corp. Hulu launched earlier this month and has attracted a score of content from other networks, studios, and sports leagues. Hulu has also begun testing high-definition streaming.
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Thursday, March 27th, 2008
This is old news, but looks pretty cool from what I read. LG has always been an innovator in the consumer electronics industry.
LAS VEGAS, Jan. 6, 2008 - LG Electronics, co-developer of the MPH™ in-band mobile digital television (DTV) system, today previewed a series of products that will support local TV stations’ plans to launch DTV broadcasts for mobile devices in 2009.
At the 2008 International CES® here this week, LG Electronics is demonstrating products that incorporate new circuitry for receiving the robust ATSC-compatible MPH (Mobile-Pedestrian-Handheld) signals. Developed by LG Electronics, its U.S. R&D subsidiary Zenith and Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS), MPH is capable of providing robust over-the-air DTV signals to mobile, pedestrian and handheld devices.
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Monday, March 24th, 2008
Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. antitrust authorities approved a proposed $4.38 billion purchase of XM Satellite Radio (NasdaqGS:XMSR - News) by Sirius Satellite Radio (NasdaqGS:SIRI - News), the Justice Department said on Monday. The deal is also being examined by the Federal Communications Commission, which is expected to follow the Justice Department’s lead. The deal would combine the only two providers of satellite radio in the United States.
XM stock is up 15% and Sirius is up 6%. This consolidation in the Satellite radio space is long over-due. This will be good for consumers.
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Wednesday, February 27th, 2008
Analysts at UBS have been speculating for months about when and if a 3G iPhone will be released. UBS is tossing their opinion into the gauntlet, speculating that the 3G iPhone could be making an appearance within the next six months, with a possible announcement in September. Interestingly, they also make the claim that the 3G chips themselves will be made by German corporation Infineon Technologies AG.
AT&T’s CEO Randall Stephenson said that AT&T will introduce a version of the iPhone next year that can download from the Internet at a faster rate. The device will operate on third-generation wireless networks, Stephenson said today at a meeting of the Churchill Club in Santa Clara, California. San Antonio-based AT&T is the exclusive carrier for the iPhone in the U.S.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aAoHevYzQJgw
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Monday, January 14th, 2008
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![Freakonomics[Revised and Expanded]](/images/21xRHBWYYML.jpg "Freakonomics[Revised and Expanded]")
