Thursday, July 1, 2010

Intel backs off WiMAX

Intel has decided to dissolve its WiMAX Program Office, which was set up to promote the development of related WiMAX technologies, according to industry sources in Taiwan.

That is not exactly the same thing as suspending or ending its support for WiMAX, which continues. It does indicate the expected returns from such promotion efforts now are diminished to the point where it doesn't make sense to keep pouring resources into the effort.

Once the global GSM mobile community decided to back Long Term Evolution, that was a turning point for WiMAX.

Staff members of the WiMAX Program Office will be incorporated into Intel's Mobile Wireless Group (MWG), PC Client Group (PCCG), or Sales and Marketing (SMG) unit, depending on their skills.

Mobile Games Explain Much About Mobile App Disuse

You probably have seen statistics indicating that a typical mobile app gets used for perhaps a month, and then usage declines dramatically over the following two months. One reason is that so many mobile apps are either pieces of content or gaming apps, and will lose their novelty over time.

After looking at about 40,000 game titles, O'Reilly Radar estimates a popular game app, on average (median), spends about 15 days on the "Top 100" list.

Walt Mossberg Sorts Through HSPA+, 4G Claims

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Looks Like Your Starbucks Purchases are a Coincident Economic Indicator

Your spending at Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts looks like a coincident economic indicator, meaning coffee purchases at the two outlets track the economy.

The Christmas season spike, when people are buying gifts, rather than coffee, appears to be the only anamoly.

Too bad Starbucks is not a leading indicator.

Google Revamps "News" to Allow More Personalization

Wi-Fi Access Plays Key Access Role for Apple Devices and Users

In case you were wondering about the growing role played by Wi-Fi access as a way of offloading smartphone traffic from the mobile network, about 24 percent of U.S. traffic in May 2010 used Wi-Fi, with very heavy usage by Apple iPod and iPhone users.

The iPod "Touch," of course, must use Wi-Fi, which accounts for its heavy profile.

AdMob May 2010 Metrics

Droid X Ad "Hold The Phone Any Way You Like"

Now that is funny....

Android 2.2

In case you were wondering what new things it will allow you to do.

Microsoft Kin: Fast Product Life Cycle

Product cycles are quite fast these days, sometimes not by design. Engadget reports that Microsoft's "Kin" is being killed, essentially, after a couple of weeks on the market.

Apparently the Kin development team has been rolled into the Windows Phone 7 team and Microsoft does not plan to launch the device in Europe this year.

Coding for Android Device Battery Life

Most of us have to pay attention to battery life these days. And as a dumb end user there is only so much I can do to regulate battery life. Turning devices off, dimming screens, shutting down wireless connections and, in general, just not using my devices are the sorts of things end users can control.

Of course, that sort of defeats the purpose of having always-on devices, doesn't it? Application developers can do some things to help when they create apps, and hardware engineers can do some things when they design devices.

Ironically, we are so "digital" these days that radio frequency engineering is almost a lost art, as you might infer from the antenna issues the iPhone 4 has been having.

But Android developers can do some things when they develop code that has a direct bearing on power consumption.

Where Touchscreen Mobile Users Visit

On a global basis, shopping and other services sites are the top destinations for users of touch screen smartphones and feature phones, according to Taptu.

Can Telx Outshine Industry Leader Equinix?

http://seekingalpha.com/article/212589-can-telx-outshine-industry-leader-equinix?source=feed

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What in Media is Growing; What is Not

Just about anything touching the Internet grew in 2009, as did professionally-produced video, Internet advertising and video games, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Just about everything else shrunk in 2009.

Consumers Use the Web, Companies Should Do the Same

If consumers are using video, social applications, wikis and other web applications to get and share information about companies and products, shouldn't companies be doing the same?

Has AI Use Reached an Inflection Point, or Not?

As always, we might well disagree about the latest statistics on AI usage. The proportion of U.S. employees who report using artificial inte...