Netflix Edges Past Hulu In Total U.S. Traffic

Web traffic to Netflix was 20.2 million in June, 2010, just edging past Hulu’s 19.7 million.

It has to be said that most of the Netflix traffic likely was people updating their queues and so forth, while more of the traffic to Hulu was people viewing actual videos, but the traffic is some indication of the potential for Netflix to move into the video download space, some would argue.

Netflix Edges Past Hulu In Total U.S. Traffic (comScore)

Microsoft Says 74% Of Business Computers Still Running On Windows XP

74 percent of business PC's are still running on XP, according to Tammi Reller, CVP of Microsoft Windows. That is some measure of how Vista failed to get traction, but also suggests a large opportunity for Windows 7 upgrades.

Reller says the average age of a PC is the highest it's been in a decade at 4.4 years old. Typically that would suggest replacement is imminent, as most enterprise PCs have tended to be replaced every three to five years.

The new wrinkle might be increasing use of smartphones, netbooks or tablet PCs powered by other operating systems. Those devices are unlikely to replacement existing desktops, but might siphone off some of the incremental demand.

Microsoft Says 74% Of Business Computers Still Running On Windows XP

IntelePeer and WorkSpace Communications Partner to Launch Hosted Unified Communications Solutions

IntelePeer has announced a partnership with WorkSpace Communications to deliver an easily deployed, hosted unified communications offering based on Microsoft Office Communications Server.

By combining IntelePeer's "Quick Start SIP Trunking" program, "Voice Peering Network" and "SuperRegistry," with WorkSpace Communications' Microsoft OCS environment, the companies provide a complete, turnkey solution.

IntelePeer and WorkSpace Communications Partner to Launch Hosted Unified Communications Solutions

Consumer Reports Does Not Recommend the iPhone 4

Consumer Reports says it cannot recommend the iPhone 4 because of reception issues. The consumer testing group says its findings are not based on the inaccurate signal reception display, but actual reception issues caused when the device is held in certain ways.

"When your finger or hand touches a spot on the phone's lower left side—an easy thing, especially for lefties—the signal can significantly degrade enough to cause you to lose your connection altogether if you're in an area with a weak signal.

Consumer Reports Electronics Blog: Lab tests: Why Consumer Reports can't recommend the iPhone 4

Screen Shortage Might Last Until 2012

HTC Evo devices are in very short supply at the moment, as are HTC Incredibles, and most likely, HTC Droid X devices as well, as all seem to use the same screens, and there currently is a shortage of capacity to manufacture the screens, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Analysts say there's a particular dearth of the Samsung Electronics Co. touch screens the HTC phones use. Samsung is building a $2.2 billion factory to make the screens, but it won't start operations before 2012.

It is unclear how the parts shortages might affect mobile providers selling the popular HTC devices, in particular Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile, none of which yet has the right to sell the Apple iPhone.

But to the extent all three carriers experience HTC device shortages, it does not seem clear that the relative positions of the three carriers will change, based specifically on ability to sell HTC devices in this class. For Sprint, though, the advantage it had by launching the first nationwide 4G network is dwindling as Verizon Wireless readies its own launch later in 2010.

84% of Internet Users Never Click on Ads

About 84 percent of Internet users never click on any ads, comScore says.

Conversely, eight percent of users are responsible for 85 percent of activity.

Should we be surprised by that? Not really, considering the Pareto principle, commonly known as the "80/20" rule.

Despite that pattern of behavior, it seems unlikely most advertisers will stop relying on click-through rates.

Google Chief Predicts "Interactive Video Ads"

Google CEO Eric Schmidt says  "interactive video ads," are on the way, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The ads, which could appear anywhere on a Web page, would be like mini-Web pages, allowing Web users to watch a video, leave a comment and see real-time updates within the ads that are more customized to their interests.

Schmidt says he has pushed Google's ad teams to think about the potential for such ads, without specifically adding details.

Indian Operator Aims at Wireless Broadband Market

Infotel Broadband Services plans to use its 20-MHz worth of national wireless spectrum in India to make a dent in that country's roughly one-percent broadband services penetration. But the company will not be able to offer switched voice services, according to the terms of its license. The restriction means Infotel will offer a fairly focused data access service, with users able to use PC-to-PC calling services to other Infotel subscribers.

The restriction illustrates the foundational impact regulation has on business models. Some observers say Infotel can only get so big while it has no ability to offer full mobile voice, which would require that it acquire another firm able to do so (a 2G or 3G provider, for example).

Government officials note that 30 percent to 40 percent of  36 million fixed line connections in India are not capable of supporting broadband services.

read more about Infotel

read more about fixed broadband in India

How Apple Hopes to Dominate its Rivals

Apple Study: 8 easy steps to beat Microsoft (and Google)

View more presentations from Ouriel Ohayon.

Social Media Dominates Asia Pacific Internet Usage | Nielsen Wire

Social media usage has seen unprecedented growth in Asia Pacific in the past year and is now one of the most critical trends in the online sector, according to Nielsen.

A new survey found that three of the seven biggest global online brands are social media sites: Facebook, Wikipedia and YouTube.

Close to three quarters of the world’s Internet population (74 percent) have now visited a social networking or blogging site, and Internet users are spending an average of almost six hours per month on social media sites.

Korea is one of the most social media engaged countries in the world, with the country’s leading social media site, Naver, attracting 95 percent of the Korean Internet population every month.

Japanese Internet users are the most avid bloggers globally, posting more than one million blogs per month, significantly more than any other country in the region.

Social Media Dominates Asia Pacific Internet Usage | Nielsen Wire

Cisco Touts "Connected Conversations"

Services, not raw speed, is where consumers think the value of faster broadband will be.

SIP Trunking: Growing, But T1 Remains the Mainstay

Although many organizations have deployed VoIP on their premises, they still use legacy technologies to connect to the PSTN, with T1 lines the most commonly used trunking service today through 2012, according to Infonetics Research.

Much of the SIP trunk demand is fueled by fast-growing hosted IP telephony services. For the first three months of 2009, service providers experienced an average of 40 percent to 50 percent year-over-year growth for IP Centrex, indicating the demand for outsourcing and managed solutions.

Infonetics Research expects hosted UC services to take off, with worldwide revenue doubling between 2009 and 2013, and we forecast SIP trunking service revenue to hit an 89 percent compound annual growth rate from 2008 to 2013.

It also is worth noting that many carriers interconnect with each other using T1 protocols, even if end user service is supplied exclusively in the IP domain.

SIP trunk use is growing, and by 2012 will be the second most commonly deployed trunking service, says Infonetics.

AT&T and Verizon are used most often as providers of SIP trunking services, survey respondents said.

Infonetics Research - SIP trunking gaining on T1 lines as companies seek efficiency

Mobile Subscriptions Hit 5 Billion

Mobile broadband subscriptions will reach 3.4 billion by 2015, up from from 360 million in 2009, Ericsson forecasts. Ericsson also predicts 80 percent of all people accessing the Internet will be doing so using their mobile device.

In 2000, about 720 million people had mobile subscriptions, less than the amount of users China alone has today.

The way Internet access gets used also will shift. Mobile subscriptions allow people who don't have access to a bank or a bank account to transfer money; fishermen and farmers can get quick updates on sudden changes in the weather forecast, villagers to get local medical care, and children to access online education.

Mobile subscriptions hit 5 billion mark - Ericsson

Most VoIP LInes Sold as Part of a Bundle

Most VoIP service is sold as part of a bundle, data from the Federal Communications Commission shows.

About 79 percent of IP telephony or VoIP lines sold by cable companies or competitive local exchange carriers are sold as part of a bundle, and intended to be used at a fixed location.

About 90 percent of IP telephony or VoIP lines sold by incumbent telcos are sold as part of a bundle, and intended to be used at a fixed location.

Tiered Mobile Pricing Hasn't Had Any Repercussions, Yet

AT&T's move to new tiered mobile data plans does not seem to have provoked much consumer protest, or much apparent change in usage, content provider strategies or even competitive responses from other wireless providers. That doesn't mean there will not be impact, though.

Content providers, application developers and OEM manufacturers have sought to provide the richest multimedia streams, the most interactive apps and the most eye-popping displays and capabilities to consumers, with no concern for impact on bandwidth consumption.

For some consumers, bandwidth consumption will start to become an issue. That might ultimately force some rethinking of device and application design, and some rethinking of business models and partnerships. Firms that

expected to stream video to end users, either for free or as subscription services, might have to think about how bandwidth caps now will potentially affect those business models.

On the other hand, some content providers might have new incentives to figure out ways they can work with mobile service providers in ways that take away bandwidth concerns.

Some might find a partnership, where content provider and access provider share revenue, might go a long ways toward creation of new "video service plans" that allow consumption outside any existing caps.

Yankee Group :: Research Report