It's Inevitable: US is Going to be Greece

Structural financial problems at the state and local government level are inevitable, and have been for some time. Forget all the old arguments about the size of government or the appropriate level of taxes. There now are obvious structural problems that must be addressed, and are not matters of political preference. Local governments face similar problems as state governments do with unfunded pension obligations.

This can cannot be "kicked down the road."

Kellogg Management School analysis of State pension obligations

TeliaSonera: Slow uptake of LTE blamed on no handsets - FierceWireless:Europe

TeliaSonera is thought to have only attracted around 1,000 customers to sign up for its new fourth-generation "Long Term Evolution" network, and the company says lack of handsets are a major reason adoption has been so slow.

The LTE network is said to provide coverage to almost 400,000 residents in Stockholm and Oslo. Ridiculously low adoption is based in part on the fact that, up to this point, TeliaSonera has chosen to launch service with no voice handsets. That has meant that the only thing a 4G network could be used for was PC connections.

As important as that application is for some users, it apparently provides no incentive for most users to switch from 3G to 4G. It remains to be seen whether 4G networks wind up being mostly about "faster downloads" or whether there really are distinctive applications that come to be seen as providing the value of 4G service.

TeliaSonera: Slow uptake of LTE blamed on no handsets - FierceWireless:Europe:

LTE Adoption Will Take Some Time: It Always Does

It will take at least five years before Long Term Evolution devices represent 25 percent of mobile broadband device sales (PC dongles, not phones), once they are introduced, and it might take as long as 16 years before LTE device sales reach their peak, based on past experience with new mobile air interfaces and device sales, according to Keith Mallinson, founder of WiseHarbor Research.

Assuming the first LTE networks activate in early 2011, that implies it will be 2016 before dongles and aircards based on LTE will represent a quarter of broadband dongle and aircard sales.

Mallinson also predicts it will be 2019 before LTE device sales are equal to CDMA-based technology devices, such as those using EV-DO, and HSPA/HSPA+.

History suggests that new mobile technologies to peak demand takes far longer than the five years, and as much as 16 years for a mobile technology to mature.

That suggests today's third-generation networks will be dominant for quite some time. AT&T Mobility, for example, recently surprised observers when it decided that, instead of moving directly to LTE, it would upgrade its existing 3G network to HSPA+. That will prove a quick bandwidth boost from about 3.5 Mbps to 7.2 Mbps for a relatively small amount of capital investment, even as it plans to start building its 4G network in 2011.

But such plans also mean that AT&T can target its 4G build to the most-dense markets, and count on the faster 3G network in less-dense areas that the company might take some time to build out, as typically is the case when new mobile networks are constructed..

link

Mobiles for E-Commerce: 12% of Users

According to the Mobile Marketing Association, about 12 percent of consumers recently surveyed report having used their mobiles to get coupons or other promotions, buy goods or services using the mobile device.

Some 17 percent say they have used their handsets to purchase applications or other digital content. Given current penetration of smartphones, somewhere above 30 percent of the installed base of all mobile phones, those are impressive statistics, since it implies more than half of all smartphone users have downloaded apps, while about 40 percent have used their mobiles for digitally-delivered coupons or promotions.

Digital Marketing Blog:

Twitter for iPhone: No Twitter Account Needed

Twitter for iPhone and iPod touch is available for free on the iTunes App Store and people can even use Twitter to read top tweets, browse trends, find people and read public tweets from users located nearby without actually having a Twitter account.

The whole idea is to make it real easy for people to use Twitter on their iPhones. Discovery and consumption of interesting, relevant information is a central focus.

Quick and easy signup exists within the application so new users won't need to visit the Twitter web site to create an account.

Twitter Blog: Twitter for iPhone

iPhone Users Want VoIP "Dialer"

Toktumi recently conducted asurvey of their Line2 iPhone users asking them if they would be interested inusing Line2 as their primary dialer instead of the built-in iPhone cell dialer.

Apparently, more than ver 82 percent (998 out of 1210) of respondents said they would be interested inswitching to Line2 VoIP as their primary mode of calling.

It isn't so clear whether that represents a desire for lower-cost mobile calling, a desire for a different "dialer" app, or better indoor signal reception. There is some indication it actually is signal reception that drives the results, rather than calling cost or dialer functionality.

The number one reason users gave for trying Line2 was to make calls over Wi-Fi VoIPdue to poor cell reception.

Hostreview.com New Line2 Survey Reveals 82.47% of iPhone Users Are Interested in Using VoIP as Their Primary Calling Platform

WebOS Coming to Slates and Printers - HP CEO

Hewlett-Packard has said it would leverage Palm's WebOS for additional devices such as tablet devices and printers, and HP CEO Mark Hurd has confirmed exactly that. HP “expects to leverage WebOS into a variety of form factors, including slates and Web-connected printers."

WebOS Coming to Slates and Printers - HP CEO

The Web Is Killing Radio, Newspapers, Magazines And TV

From 2004 to 2009, stats from Forrester say that use of the web is up 117 percent in terms of how people spend their time in a day. That may not be too surprising, but what’s interesting is that all of the other major forms of media consumption are down or flat during the same period.

Listening to the radio is down 18 percent, reading newspapers is down 17 percent, reading magazines is down six percent, and watching TV has seen no growth.

What is good for some contestants in some parts of each ecosystem obviously is not so good for others in the same ecosystem.

Google I/O: The Web Is Killing Radio, Newspapers, Magazines, And TV:

Android Sales Eclipse iPhone, Another Study Finds

Android phone sales have overtaken the iPhone in the North American market for the first time, Gartner found today. That is the second study conducted recently that suggests Android sales are overtaking Apple sales.

Thanks to a 906 percent surge in shipments worldwide to 5.21 million phones, Google's mobile OS outpaced Apple's in North America and the United States in particular.

Worldwide, Apple still comfortably outsold the combined Android platform, jumping from 10.5 percent of the market a year ago to 15.4 percent. Gartner however expects Android to overtake the iPhone before long as its worldwide sales grew six times larger over the same space of time, from 1.6 percent to 9.6 percent. Carolina Milanesi, Gartner VP, says the rapidly closing gap is an inevitable result of sheer scale.

"You have one vendor with one model and eight to nine vendors with many models -- of course you get bigger volumes," she said.

Most Android sales came from HTC and Motorola, which shipped 2.6 million and 2.3 million total smartphones each. Samsung has also been a significant contributor.

"In the first quarter of 2010, smartphone sales to end users saw their strongest year-on-year increase since 2006," said Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at Gartner. “This quarter saw RIM, a pure smartphone player, make its debut in the top five mobile devices manufacturers, and saw Apple increase its market share by 1.2 percentage points. Android’s momentum continued into the first quarter of 2010, particularly in North America, where sales of Android-based phones increased 707 per cent year-on-year.

In the smartphone OS market, Android and Apple were the winners in the first quarter of 2010. Android moved to fourth position, displacing Microsoft Windows Mobile for the first time. Both Android and Apple were the only two OS vendors among the top five to increase market share year-on-year. Symbian remained in the top position but continued to lose share, primarily based on its weakness at the high end of the market.

Smartphones accounted for 17.3 per cent of all mobile handset sales in the first quarter of 2010, up from 13.6 per cent in the same period in 2009.

Causeworld: Checking in a Good Cause

If you are going to "check in," check in for a good cause.

Causeworld: Checking in a Good Cause

If you are going to "check in," check in for a good cause.

Video Chat Behind Google Buy

Video chat probably is the top reason Google has bought Global IP Solutions.

Is Firefox Headed Towards A Massive Decline? Its Co-Founder Thinks So

It's hard to remember (and some never have known) a time when Google and Apple were upstart companies. But companies age, especially when they succeed.

Firefox was part of a "rag tag" open movement when it challenged the hold Microsoft’s Internet Explorer had in the browser market. When Mozilla began its assault, Internet Explorer had something on the order of 90 percent market share. Over the past five or so years, Microsoft's share has dropped below 60 percent, and Firefox has 25 percent to 30 percent share of the market.

But success has bred discontent is some quarters. At least some think Firefox is no longer the light, open alternative it once was.

Is Firefox Headed Towards A Massive Decline? Its Co-Founder Thinks So:

Content Businesses Face Devaluation

If the music business is any indication, digital distribution of content goods is going to change the economics of most parts of the content business, including print and perhaps some parts of the video market as well.

In the print business, there arguably are other forces at work besides "free" online distribution of content. But the expectation of access to quality content online is "devaluing" professionally-produced content, which means there will be less of it produced.

The video market is better placed to resist the commodity pressures that have hit the music business and are now affecting the print content business as well.

The reason video will fare better is that production costs in the print and music businesses are lower than they are in the movie or TV business. It just is harder and more expensive for useful and usable content to be created in the movie and video domains, compared to the music and print businesses.

The point is that the advent of digital distribution has complex impact. In some industries, digital distribution "only" changes distribution channels. Music, TV and news moves from plastic discs and paper to Internet distribution, for example.

In other businesses it undermines the historic business ecosystem. In the print and music business, the revenue and cost structures of producing content are changed.

Face It - In Music, Devaluation Is The New Reality | paidContent

Android Battery Life Victim of Open Approach

"Open and standards-based approaches to creating products are the industry norm, and generally result in faster development times and lower retail prices. But there sometimes is a price. Because it does not take the "open" approach, Apple is able to optimize performance of its hardware and software.

Conversely, open platforms such as Android are not able to take an end-to-end view, all the time. And that seems to be playing out with complaints of limited Android battery life, presumably from users who have downloaded many, or some particular applications.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt himself has taken the liberty to suggest that some of the third party applications offered through the Android Market are not completely efficient at resource management, thus requiring more power from an Android smartphone than they might otherwise need.

As with most other aspects of software and hardware development, there are trade-offs to be made. Android trades control for development speed, lower cost and diversity. Apple trades maximum third-party software development for better user experience.

Your Android suffers from poor battery life? 3rd party apps are to blame! (Phone Arena News):

Tawkon App Provides High RF Level Warnings

If you worry about radio frequency radiation coming from your mobile, and you use some BlackBerry models, you can download a $10 app that provides both a monitor and alerting system if your device is putting out excessively strong signal.

That can happen if you are inside a building with thick walls, if you are far from the closest cell tower, are in a deep signal fade area or even if you are holding the device in a way that increases signal interference.

Google Plans Battle for Tablet Dominance

To the extent that tablet devices are able to carve out a new consumer electronics niche, or perhaps even if all they do is create a new segment within the netbook or notebook product category, they also will create a new canvas for mobile advertisers.

If, as many expect, tablets emerge as content consumption devices, they will feature rich content. And rich content traditionally has meant new advertising venues.

For tablets, including the device Google and others are working on, that will mean a chance to grow a new rich media advertising venue. Historically, media and advertising have grown hand in hand.

It isn't so much the devices, though that is quite important for Apple. For many other contenders, it is the growth of a new advertising medium that likely is most significant about tablets.
link

Best Buy Launches Video Service

Best Buy Co. has launched a new digital video service, called "CinemaNow,"  that will provide customers same-day access to new release movies and TV shows available on DVD.

The service will initially be accessible through select connected LG Electronics Blu-ray Disc players and HDTVs, and on most PCs at www.cinemanow.com. Samsung's Internet-connected home theater equipment and Insignia brands also will have the feature.

CinemaNow is also expected to launch on an array of other devices from various manufacturers, including Insignia, later this year.

The first update to the CinemaNow service is expected to release on select devices later this year and will include an advanced user interface and expanded video playback features aimed at further improving the video entertainment experience.

CinemaNow will have "first run" movies for sale as soon as they arrive on DVD, with rentals for $2.99  to $3.99 per movie and purchases at $9.99 to $19.99, including HD titles and some available in 1080p.

The company will be competing against other retail giants such as Walmart and Blockbuster, as well as Netflix and Hulu, among others.

There will be other changes as well, It might now happen for a couple year, but Best Buy has said it will phase out DVD sales as early as 2012.

http://www.bby.com/2010/05/18/best-buy-provides-customers-same-day-instant-access-to-new-release-movies-and-tv-shows-with-launch-of-cinemanow/

Droid Incredible..Is That...

Consumer Satisfaction With Video, Wireless Up, Sprint Gains Most

Customer satisfaction with cable and satellite TV rises to its highest level in 10 years, up five percent, with nearly all companies registering improvements, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

Sprint Nextel seems to have made the largest gains over the last two years, jumping by double digits for each of the past two years. That's important as Sprint Nextel's customer service was widely seen as the cause of its high churn over the past several years. The improvement in customer satisfaction is mirrored by steadily better churn performance over the last couple of years.

Both Verizon’s FiOS and AT&T’s U-verse lead the way with scores of 73 and 72, respectively. Satellite TV still leads over traditional cable, with Dish Network soaring 11 percent to 71 to overtake rival DirecTV for the first time since 2005.

DirecTV fell four percent to 68 as aggressive pricing promotions by DISH, coupled with a price increase by DirecTV, has the two satellite TV providers moving in opposite directions.

All four of the largest cable providers show some improvement. Charter Communications makes the biggest leap, gaining 18 percent to 60. The company is now statistically tied with Comcast and Time Warner Cable, both up three percent to 61.  Cox Communications gained two percent to 67 to lead all traditional cable companies for a seventh straight year.

“Having enjoyed near-monopoly status in most areas for many years, cable companies had little incentive to provide quality services at a good price,” says Claes Fornell, founder of the ACSI.  “Now that satellite and fiber-optic TV providers have created a competitive challenge to cable, the cable companies have started to step up customer service and realize some gains in customer satisfaction, but they still remain far behind both satellite and fiber-optics.”  

Traditional local and long distance service improved four percent to 75, the highest level in more than a decade.  AT&T is on top after a six-percent surge to 75, followed closely by Cox Communications, unchanged at 74, and Verizon, up three percent to 73. CenturyLink and Comcast round out the bottom of the industry, with CenturyLink gaining three percent to 70 and Comcast rising two percent to 68.

Customer satisfaction with wireless telephone service set a new all-time high for the second consecutive year, rising four percent to 72.  T-Mobile gained three percent to 73, tying for the lead with Verizon Wireless, which declined one percent.

AT&T Mobility improved three percent to 69. Two years after the iPhone was introduced as an exclusive product, AT&T seems to have made strides to relieve some of the strains on its network caused by the rapid influx of iPhone customers.

Sprint Nextel had the largest improvement, gaining 11 percent to 70 a year after a similarly large 13 percent jump, pushing the wireless carrier from well below to very close to the industry average.

Perhaps the most-intriguing bit of commentary provided by ACSI was the brief note that "with wireless looking to be the future of telephone service, providers are ramping up efforts to provide new services, simplified usage plans, and better pricing." Note the language: "wrieless looking to be the future of telephone service."