Google Transparency Report: Government Blocking

Actual blocking of Google content is more widespread than you might think, a new analysis by Google suggests. The "open" Internet now is "closed" in more ways than you might think.

Google Transparency Report: Government Requests

Analyst: Few Would Leave AT&T for a Verizon iPhone

According to Credit Suisse analyst Jonathan Chaplin, AT&T doesn't need to worry so much about the long-rumored, but yet-to-launch Verizon iPhone.

Based on survey data, he found that only 23 percent of AT&T iPhone users would switch to Verizon, and, perhaps more shockingly, 51 percent of subscribers reported satisfaction with AT&T's service.

You can make your own assessments of whether losing 23 percent of its iPhone customers is a big deal or not.

Analyst: Few Would Jump (AT&T's) Ship for a Verizon iPhone

Stagnation, Double Dip, New Recession? Things Just Aren't Getting Better

In strict terms, the recession ended in mid 2009. In practical terms, you might argue it has ended with stagnation, the recovery remaining anemic.

It might not matter much whether there is a "double dip" recession, or just another recession, or simply continued stagnation.

Rumored Specs for HTC Tablet

Though HTC has not formally announced any plans for an Android tablet, there are rumors a device of that type might be available as soon as early 2011.

Now Digitimes — the source of the original rumor — has their sources inside of Taiwanese device manufacturer Pegatron Technology saying the specs for the device are set.

The HTC tablet will feature the NVIDIA Tegra 2 chipset, a 1280 by 720 resolution touchscreen, 2 GBytes of RAM and 32GB SSD, WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS.

An estimated price based on build cost suggests a device costing about $790.

Rumored Specs for HTC Tablet

Facebook Phone Might Not be a False Rumor

Facebook developers are said to be working on a secret project, and that project may be a Facebook phone, despite the company's denial.

Two well-known developers at Facebook, Joe Hewitt and Matthew Papakipos, are said to be holed up working on a project that few people have knowledge of, including other Facebook staff. Hewitt is known for his work on Firefox and a web-based 'OS' known as Parakey before working for Facebook. There he worked on a mobile version of the website for the iPhone, as well as creating the native iOS client.

Facebook denies phone rumors, but possibility still exists

Is Apple Working on a 7-Inch Screen iPad?

Apple might be looking to develop a new version of iPad, this one with a 7-inch screen and bring it to market sometime in 2011, according to a research note put out by Rodman & Renshaw analyst Ashok Kumar.

Some of us think that is a smart idea. The current iPad is too large to be a device normally carried everywhere, at least for some of us who have to use a notebook or netbook.

The Samsung Galaxy is available in a 7-inch form factor already, for example. 

Some smartphones, meanwhile, now feature 4-inch screens with very good "full web" access. In fact, some of us prefer to use the full web browser rather than apps for many tasks.

But content creation on a 4-inch smartphone still is too difficult. A 7-inch form factor is where the gap is, for a couple of reasons. It might just be small enough and light enough to lug around with a netbook. And it might be workable as a content creation platform for some tasks.

Is Apple Working on a 7-Inch Screen iPad?

In Case You Were Wondering Why Air Travel is No Fun

This chart pretty much tells the story about why air travel is not fun anymore.

Though one can make a good argument that it is better for the nation when more people can fly routinely, airline pricing has not kept up with the costs of operating airlines.

It is a business that in most years does not actually make money, for those reasons.

Despite "Good Intentions," Regulatory Reform Ultimately Fails

It is tempting to think that the government can "do something" to prevent consumer gouging, financial fraud or other ills. Certainly regulations and laws can be crafted.

The problem is that when the stakes are high enough, businesses always will have incentives to comply with the new regulations or rules and then simply shift effort elsewhere to recoup their losses.

Banks, like almost every other business that works under any federal regulations, are like water seeping through cracks in the rock.

The financial reform bill will ultimately fail. When there are huge financial stakes, smart people will find ways to evade the rules and strike out in new areas. That observation is simply a matter of historical record. Sarbanes Oxley rules designed to prevent Enron style failures have not prevented any of the current wave of failures. As nearly as anybody can determine, Sarbanes Oxley, despite imposing huge costs on public companies, prevented nothing and protected nobody.

Every set of regulations essentially fights the last war. But that never seems to deter people from thinking they can prevent the next problem by protecting against the last one. That's virtually never the case.

Banks Find Ways Around Reform Costs - 24/7 Wall St.:

Facebook Building Its Own Phone???

Facebook denies the rumor, but is said to be planning on building and distributing its own mobile device.

You might wonder, if the rumor is true, why it might do so. Some speculate that Facebook might believe it cannot have as much impact on the mobile world as it has on the web without one.

Having its own device helps Facebook become a mobile platform, not just an app running on a platform.

Here's Why Facebook Is Secretly Building A Phone: It Needs To Be A Platform, Not Just A Service:

Will Verizon Launch Apple iPhone on its LTE Network?

It is questionable whether a faster mobile network automatically leads to consumer demand. "Hot" devices or lead applications tend to be required as well. All of which might suggest the best way for Verizon Wireless to stoke demand for its coming Long Term Evolution network is to launch the Apple iPhone directly on 4G, rather than its 3G network.

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Short Mobile App Shelf Life Isn't Necessarily a Bad Thing

Today the average smartphone has 22 apps on it, but the half-life of an app is about a month. In six months only five percent of them have been retained, according to Borrell Assoiciates.

That isn't necessarily a bad thing. The most-popular type of mobile app downloaded to smartphones is "games." People play them for a while, then move on.

Other types of content, such as movie or other content apps, will have a similar short shelf life. People watch TV shows or movies and then do not necessarily return to using them in the future. That's not a problem; it's an opportunity.

But the general observation still holds: few developers are likely to make much incremental revenue from their mobile apps. But that might not be the primary purpose for producing an app.

Promotion always has been a leading reason for advertising, and apps with short lifespan that promote purchases of movie tickets, content, games and other products still are worth doing, from that perspective.

Preference for In-App Advertising Strong Across Platforms

In-App Advertising Works

In-app advertising appears to work, according to Nielsen.

In-App Advertising Preferred by End Users

Mobile advertising is increasingly finding its way into mobile apps, with teenagers being much more receptive than their elders, says Nielsen.

Fifty-eight percent of teens say they “always” or “sometimes” look at mobile ads. In general, men of all ages are more receptive to mobile ads than women. Only 37 percent of men say they are not at all likely to respond to an ad on a mobile device, compared to 44 percent of women.

Across all operating systems, apps users would prefer to view mobile ads within an app. Android users are more likely to click on an advertisement within an application, while iPhone users are the least interested in having ads take them outside of their application.

Mobile Advertising Will Be Indistinguishable from Online Advertising by 2015

About one online marketing dollar in every five spent in 2010 will go to a mobile campaign, says Borrell Associates. By 2015, the mobile share will have grown to almost two of every three dollars spent. Part of the reason for this heady forecast is the expected growth in the number of smartphones, Borrell Associates says.

The rest of the spectacular gains are simply the growing "mobilization" of consumer devices. Within five years, the majority of phones, computers, game machines, e-readers, and GPS navigation devices will be true mobile devices, each capable of receiving mobile-targeted advertising.

In effect, there will no longer be any real distinction between mobile and online, says Borrell Associates.
The other big change is that mobile campaigns will assume greater prominence for local marketers as well.
Today less than seven cents of every mobile marketing dollar is spent locally, by locally owned businesses. About 93 percent of mobile advertising is "national" in focus.

This will change as the devices themselves improve and the tools available to local marketers become less expensive and easier to use. By 2015, a quarter of every mobile marketing dollar will be spent locally, Borrell Associates forecasts.