Why Intel Uses Ethnographers

Most companies ask customers what they want or need when designing the new generation of products or services. Intel has a bit of challenge in that regard since people sometimes don't know what they want, and Intel makes products are are building blocks for the products end users actually experience.

So Intel hires ethnographers to "stand in" for the market.

How Moore's Law drove Intel into the arms of anthropologists

470.6 Billion Mobile VoIP Minutes of Use by 2015

The number of mobile VoIP minutes carried annually on 3G and 4G networks will rise from 15 billion minutes in 2010 to 470.6 billion by 2015, finds a new report from Juniper Research.

Mobile VoIP traffic will see steady rises in all regions over the forecast period, but particularly in developed markets, due to the increasing ubiquity of 3G networks.

WiFi mobile VoIP is potentially the most damaging of all VoIP traffic as it bypasses the mobile networks altogether, says Anthony Cox, Juniper Research senior analyst. We forecast that mobile VoIP over WiFi will cost operators $5 billion globally by 2015, he says.

Annual Mobile VoIP Minutes to Double Each Year, Reaching 470.6bn by 2015, According to Juniper Research

Over-the-Top Video Will Generate $20 Billion in 2014

U.S. broadband households that view over-the-top video will grow from 38 million in 2009 to 81 million by 2014, according to In-State. Of course, "viewing" is not the same thing as "paying."

But revenue from OTT video will more than quadruple by 2014 to nearly $20 billion, In-Stat forecasts.

Most of that revenue likely will come from subscriptions and pay-per-view sources, as content owners so far have found difficult the challenge of creating a revenue stream based solely on advertising.

In-Stat - Press Releases:

iPad Replaces Menus

So the big problem is people stealing the menus, eh?

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.

Intel backs off WiMAX industry, dismisses WiMAX Program Office, say sources

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.

Popular iPhone games stay highly-ranked only for a few weeks - O'Reilly Radar

Walt Mossberg Sorts Through HSPA+, 4G Claims

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

AdMob Mobile Metrics - May 2010 - Highlights

View more presentations from AdMob Inc.

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.

Microsoft Kin is dead -- Engadget

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?

Consumers, App Providers and Service Providers All Lose from Net Neutrality, Stratecast Argues

Some network neutrality proponents say users will benefit if all forms of packet priority are prohibited. In this view, more innovation and value will be produced if no applications can be given  favored use of the access pipe.

That would include streaming video, voice or any other real-time service.

Analysts at Stratecast do not believe the argument. Their analysis suggests application providers themselves, as well as end users and service providers, will be harmed if such policies are adopted.
In truth, nobody knows what might happen if all ability to prioritize bits were prohibited. The key thing, says Stratecast, is that there would be so much uncertainty that service providers would likely behave as though the downside were quite large in magnitude.

Higher prices for end users, less movement towards higher-speed access and ultimately even application experience degradation would occur, long term. The main reasons are the higher costs to "over-provision" physical networks, lower returns for such investment and less robust development of new services and revenue streams, Stratecast argues.

read the full position paper here