50 Million Femtocells by 2014?

More than 50 percent of mobile data sessions originate indoors, say researchers at the Yankee Group.

And since 40 percent to 60 percent of mobile operator operational expense is attributable to backhaul transmission costs, Jennifer Pigg, Yankee Group analyst, expects data offload solutions, ranging from femtocells to Wi-Fi,  to be a growing area of interest.

Indeed, 60 carriers are in femto trials, with 13 commitments and nine commercial services already launched (AT&T, Vodafone, SFR, China Unicom, DoCoMo, SoftBank, Optimus, StarHub, Sprint and Verizon).

Acer to Market Tablet and E-Reader

Acer Inc. will start selling its first e-reader later this summer and also a touchscreen tablet computer in September or October, according to the Wall Street Journal. The e-book reader features a six-inch display, while the tablet PC will feature a seven-inch screen, and is powered by Android.

The interesting angle here is that consumers will have a choice of form factors. Apple's iPad uses a screen that is almost 10 inches diagonally, while Dell will sell a device with a five-inch screen. Acer is in the middle with a seven-inch screen on its tablet.

The issue, beyond the broad issue of whether tablet PCs represent a new PC segment or a new device category, partly hinges on what people decide they want to do with such devices.

Smaller screen devices such as the Dell might be seen as functionally similar to smartphones, in terms of portability. Large-screen devices cannot be conveniently carried in pockets or purses, and likely will compete more with netbooks or notebooks.

The Acer e-reader, dubbed "LumiRead," has a six-inch display and is equipped with two-gigabytes of flash memory, which allow it to store up to 1,500 books. Acer, which shipped more PCs than any company except Hewlett-Packard Co. in the first quarter, will sell its e-reader first in the U.S., China and Germany.

Why E-Book Readers are Like Netbooks

In some ways, e-book readers are in a situation similar to netbooks, which is to say, they both are product categories that face substitute products. E-book readers are going to be pressured by tablet PCs and even smartphones, while netbooks are going to be pressured from one side by tablets such as the iPad and notebooks whose better features and prices will continue to make them suitable substitutes for netbooks in perhaps seven out of 10 cases.

According to the latest research from Informa Telecoms & Media e-reader sales are expected to peak at 14 million in 2013, before falling by seven percent in 2014 as the segment faces increased  competition from  a wide range of consumer electronic devices.

Multi-function devices notably mobile phones and tablet-form-factor computing devices are the chief competing types of devices e-book readers will face.

This is likely to lead to a segmentation of the e-reader market into two groups; low-price, low-feature models and higher-price devices with advanced features, Informa predicts.

In order to survive, there are a number of approaches that vendors can take. They can develop low-cost e-readers with minimal features that can be used in conjunction with a PC or USB dongle to access additional content. E-readers like the Kobo ($148), may appeal to the cost-conscious reader, for example, Informa suggests.

Alternatively, high-end e-readers will start to resemble tablet computing devices. These will in effect become more like smartbooks than e-readers. Early steps in this direction include Barnes & Noble's latest software update for the Nook which adds games and a more open web browsing functionality.

Many e-reader companies are already looking to develop an electronic reading platform, initially based on their e-reader devices, but that will extend across e-readers, mobile phones, netbooks, note-books and desktop PCs.

The point is that netbook and e-book product segments likely will change as more tablets and smartphones provide end-user functionality that competes with e-book readers and netbooks.

Speakeasy Free Phone Offer Extended

Speakeasy has extended its "free phone" offer, which the company launched in March to apparent great success.

The company has been offering free Polycom SoundPoint IP 321 VoIP-enabled phones to new business customers who purchase unlimited or global Hosted Voice calling plans and have a minimum of five lines.

The promotion was so successful that Speakeasy has extended the promotion through the end of June.

Any way you look at it, merchandising tends to work.

World's 2nd-Largest WiMAX Network Switches to LTE

Russia's Yota network, which connects 300,000 people over WiMAX technology, is switching to LTE, and plans to spend $2 billion migrating its network to the different air interface.

Backed heavily by Intel, which hoped to make WiMAX as ubiquitous as Wi-Fi, the tide turned in favor of LTE when virtually all the world's mobile service providers decided to back LTE instead of WiMAX.

WiMAX had a headstart getting to market, but LTE now has closed the gap. Early adopters argued that they had to get to market fast, so WiMAX made sense. But the rival LTE air interface now stands to garner so much production volume that it now makes more sense, going forward, even for early adopters such as Yota.

Yota should be able to upgrade using software, some argue, as the Samsung-supplied base stations Yota uses can support both FDD-LTE and TD-LTE, and Yota uses spectrum well suited to the time division variant of LTE.

The new LTE network will start in Kazan, Novosibirsk and Samara, with Moscow and St. Petersburg to follow by the end of 2011. The 15 cities previously scheduled for WiMAX deployment will go straight to LTE.

Buckets for Verizon LTE, No "Unlimited" Plans

Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam says Verizon's 4G network will not offer unlimited broadband access plans, but will instead feature "buckets of usage" similar to the way most consumers now buy voice service and text messaging services.

Want 105 Mbps? Comcast Will Sell it to You

Want 105 Mbps Internet access? You soon will be able to buy it from Comcast Corp. "Extreme 105" will cost $200 per month after an installation fee of $249. This service is expected to be available in early June. The new “Extreme 105” will support 105 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload speed.

Comcast predicts that all of its residential networks will be upgraded to for such service by mid-2010.

The existing residential-tier “Extreme” offers 50 Mbps downstream and 10 Mbps upstream speed for a price of $99.95 per month.

Comcast Moves to Becomes Fastest Internet Provider -- Seeking Alpha:

Japanese Consumers Really Are Different

Japan often is looked to as a hothouse for new consumer electronics trends, especially in mobile, that migrate to Europe and then to the United States. There is much truth to that observation, but it is harder to explain why that might be the case.

Some observers would say Japanese consumers actually behave differently from consumers in other parts of the world. Consider that while Japanese companies remain major global players in flat-panel televisions, digital cameras and videogame systems, they have almost no presence outside of Japan in personal computers, mobile phones or home appliances, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Some analysts say a good part of the reason is that Japanese buyers are detail-oriented and prefer products packed with features. Furthermore, they will read thick instruction manuals from cover  to cover, and seem to prefer products made in Japan.

Most buyers outside of Japan expect new products to be simple and intuitive, and they are less concerned about a product's point of origin.

"The consumer in Japan thinks very differently than the global consumer," says Atul Goyal, an analyst at brokerage firm CLSA. "Once Japanese companies try to sell things to a global market, they need to understand how a global consumer reacts."

So it is something of a sea change that the Apple iPad seems to be resonating with Japanese consumers, as the iPad emphasizes ease of use.

Netbooks Squeezed Between iPads and Laptops

A new survey by Retrevo suggests netbook sales are getting pressure from iPads and notebooks, and the iPad might have gotten as much as 30 percent of potential netbook sales so far this year.

The Retrevo survey also suggests that consumers who were debating buying either an iPad or a netbook have decisively decided to buy an iPad. According to Retrevo, 78 percent of respondents who indicated they were waiving between an iPad and a netbook ultimately decided to buy an iPad.

Laptops are not as “portable” as netbooks but are getting cheaper. Of those consumers who wrestled with the decision to buy a netbook or laptop, 65 percent chose the laptop and 35 percent chose a netbook over a laptop.

Looking ahead, about 35 percent of consumers who say they are now considering a laptop or netbook purchase over the coming year say they are leaning toward a netbook over a laptop, while 65 percent are leaning toward a laptop over a netbook.

Retrevo therefore predicts netbook sales will get squeezed from two sides and will not be able to maintain past growth rates.

None of this yet settles the question of whether the iPad is "merely" a new form factor for mobile PCs or a new product category.

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Buy Dawn. Help Birds in Gulf

Help birds. Buy Dawn. Then go to http.://www.dawn-dish.com/en_US/savingwildlife/home.do

86% of UK Youngsters Own a Mobile;' 73% Own Their Own Books

About 86 percent of young people in the United Kingdom own a mobile phone, while only 73 percent have books of their own, a study by National Literacy Trust suggests.

The study of over 17,000 young people reveals a strong link between both young people’s reading ability and access to books at home, the National Literacy Trust says.

National Literacy Trust research reveals more young people own a mobile phone than a book | National Literacy Trust

270 Degrees of Rotation for Android 2.2 Devices

Android version 2.2 supports 270 degrees of device rotation, with the display adjusting as the orientation changes, either left or right.

New Dell "Streak" Tablet

I have no idea how well this new tablet driven by Android and featuring a five-inch screen will fare, compared to the nearly-10-inch screen on the iPad. But it will be very interesting to see whether the vastly-different form factor is the same, or a different use case.

Apple Tops Microsoft Equity Value for First Time

You knew it would happen one day, and on May 26, 2010, it finally did: Apple's equity value eclipsed that of Microsoft, at least for the day. At the close of trading, a small decline in Apple shares combined with a 4% drop in Microsoft’s stock to leave Apple’s market value ahead — at nearly $223 billion compared with about $219 billion for Microsoft.

 Over the past year, Apple’s share price has nearly doubled to more than $244, as the computer and device maker has ridden a wave of success with its iPhone and new iPad.

The movement of Apple to the top position in market capitalization among technology companies perhaps reflects its growing stature in emerging product categories and services, ranging from new devices to mobile advertising.

Presumably, that is why regulators suddenly have taken an interest in Apple's market dominance as well.

Facebook Updates Privacy Rules

Basically, users will have more control over their own sharing.