Cord Swapping, More than Cord Cutting

It might not matter much, in the near term, that end user preferences about consuming video are changing. But it might be quite a dangerous assumption to ignore those changes for the long term.

Many younger users simply have acquired the habit of using online methods for video consumption, as a primary behavior, with linear viewing being supplementary.

CRTC Rethinks Wholesale Broadband Access Policy

Wholesale policies historically have had huge implications for smaller contestants in the telecommunications business. One might rightly point to wholesale policies as the single most-important determinant of competitive local exchange carrier success in the U.S. market, for example.

Something similar seems to have been happening in Canada, where the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has moved to change wholesale access pricing policies relating to wholesale Internet access.

After concluding that wholesalers could charge their ISP customers on a metered basis, it now is taking another look at the policy.

CRTC to review billing practices for wholesale Internet services

Apple to "iPod" the iPhone?

Apple is working on the first of a new line of less-expensive iPhones and an overhaul of software services for the devices, people familiar with the matter said, moving to accelerate sales of its smartphones amid growing competition. In a sense, those moves would mean Apple is pursuing an "iPod" strategy, to a certain extent, creating a line of iPhones with various capabilities.

One of the people, who saw a prototype of the phone late last year, said it is intended for sale alongside Apple's existing line. The new device would be about half the size of the iPhone 4, which is the current model.

The new phone—one of its code names is N97—would be available to carriers at about half the price of the main iPhones. That would allow carriers to subsidize most or all of the retail price, putting the iPhone in the same mass-market price range as rival smartphones, the person said. Apple currently sells iPhones to carriers for $625 each on average. With carrier subsidies, consumers can buy iPhones for as little as $199 with a two-year contract.

Apple Works on Line of Less-Expensive iPhones - WSJ.com (subscription required)

Ericsson and Akamai Team for Mobile CDN

Ericsson and Akamai Technologies have announced an "exclusive strategic alliance" focused on bringing to market mobile cloud acceleration solutions aimed at improving end-user Internet experiences such as mobile ecommerce, enterprise applications and internet content.

The companies will jointly develop solutions for the fast-growing market of content and applications delivered to mobile devices. Working with Ericsson, the content and applications already being accelerated over the Internet by Akamai will now also be accelerated over mobile broadband.

Ericsson and Akamai establish exclusive strategic alliance to create mobile cloud acceleration solutions - Ericsson

Real Issues with Broadband

The thing about "problems" is that you have to know when a problem has been largely solved, substantially solved or is so close to being solved that one has to move on to tackle the next set of problems. Internet access and broadband are, in many ways, those sorts of problems. Availability is less and less a problem. Redesigning life and business to take advantage of the changes is where the real work awaits.

The Social Media “Formula”

“Advertising doesn’t work,” one sometimes hears, and is true, at least some of the time, largely because targeting is so difficult. The way people have expressed this is that "half my investment is wasted; I just don't know which half."

Social media typically is seen as a nearly-free way to create earned media results. But sooner or later, you'll start to hear people complaining that "social media doesn't work." That shouldn't be surprising. To the extent that social media works, it is because the speakers have something to say, that people are willing to listen to. That takes effort.

The content can either be something people cannot find someplace else, content that seems to express matters better than can be found elsewhere, or gathers enough of the "good stuff" that people can get to it quickly, without having to work so hard. It's almost the same classic rules that have governed "journalism" for decades.

The Social Media “Formula” : Technology :: American Express OPEN Forum

Mobile Banking Grows 200% in South Korea

In 2010, use of mobile phones for financial transactions and mobile banking in South Korea grew 200 percent. A Bank of Korea survey also shows that by September 2010, some 1.4 million people were registered for smartphone mobile banking.

The Financial Supervisory Service reports that in 2008 44 billion U.S. dollars worth of banking transactions were made using mobile phones, while the first nine months of last year $79 billion dollars worth of transactions occurred.

Arirang | Korea for the World, The World for Korea - Arirang.co.kr

Google's Take on Mobile Advertising

Survey Suggests 8% of Verizon iPhone Buyers Switched from AT&T

A survey of 40 Verizon iPhone 4 buyers on launch day found that just eight percent were previously AT&T customers, compared to 18 percent with Sprint and 13 percent with T-Mobile.

The survey, conducted by analyst Gene Munster, Piper Jaffray analyst, polled users in New York and Minneapolis. Of those polled, 63 percent indicated they are already Verizon customers. Some 18 percent switched from Sprint and 13 percent switched from T-Mobile.

Read more here.

New Devices, New Behaviors

User behavior when on a smartphone is quite different from behavior on a traditional device.

Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Partner Mary Meeker says nearly half of all smartphone usage represents new activity, such as navigation, game playing, social networking or use of  other non-traditional applications.

About 12 percent of activity is use of the web or web apps. About seven minutes a day is spent checking or interacting with email. About 32 percent of time is spent using voice or text apps.

SureWest Sees Light Demand for 50 Mbps, Almost None for 100 Mbps

SureWest CEO Steve Oldham recently confirmed a stubborn fact: not many customers are willing to pay for a 50-Mbps Internet access service. “We have a 50 Mbps service that a few people are interested in. We would offer a 100 Mbps service if we had anyone who would want to buy it,”Oldham said.

SureWest continues to see fiber investment pay off

Apple Working on Cheaper IPhones?

Apple is working on new versions of the iPhone that are aimed at slowing the advance of competing handsets based on Google Inc.’s Android software, according to Bloomberg.

One version would be cheaper and smaller than the most recent iPhone. Apple also is developing technology that makes it easier to use the iPhone on multiple wireless networks.

Apple Said to Work on Cheaper IPhones to Ward Off Android-Based Handsets - Bloomberg

Mary Meeker's Latest Take on Internet Trends: Mobile has Critical Mass

http://www.scribd.com/doc/48586092/KPCB-Top-10-Mobile-Trends

Sprint Makes More Progress

Sprint’s fourth quarter highlighted a company that has rebounded nicely, with almost 1.1 million net subscriber additions includng prepaid and postpaid customers.

Sprint added 58,000 postpaid subscribers, 519,000 net subscribers to its brand and prepaid subscribers of 646,000 to the Virgin Mobile, Assurance Wireless and Boost Mobile brands. Overall, Sprint added almost 1.1 million wireless subscribers—the most additions since the first and second quarters of 2006.

Postpaid churn also improved to 1.86 percent in the fourth quarter compared to 2.11 percent a year ago. Now that figure isn’t anywhere near the churn figures Verizon Wireless and AT&T enjoy, but Sprint is doing something right with its value pricing.

Sprint Q4 results, subscriber additions solid

78% Use Mobile Location Features

Location-based services and apps are increasingly important. A new survey by JiWire shows 78 percent of mobile consumers use location-based apps on their phone, and 29 percent use them multiple times a day.

Some 34 percent clicked on an ad in response to location specific message, while 57 percent are more likely to engage with an ad that is relevant to their location, an increase from 46 percent in the first quarter of 2010.

About 17 percent have made a purchase in response to a location-based advertisement and 84 percent of people who use app-enabled phones have participated in a shopping activity.

On average, the mobile audience uses 1.6 devices to connect while on the go.

Media Center - JiWire.com

Will Google or Facebook Buy Twitter?

Executives at both Facebook and Google, among other companies, have held low-level talks with those at Twitter Inc. in recent months to explore the prospect of an acquisition of the messaging service, according to the Wall Street Journal. The talks have so far gone nowhere, these people say.

Twitter's Suitors Talk in Billions - WSJ.com (subscription required)

Mobile Banking Can Deliver 300% Returns, Accenture Says

A study of 20 financial institutions around the world that offer mobile banking, commissioned by Accenture and conducted by TowerGroup, has found a Middle Eastern bank that is getting an eye-popping 300 percent return on investment by letting its two million mobile banking customers pay bills on their mobile devices, including topping up their pay-as-you-go mobile phones, paying utility bills, or paying a fixed monthly fee for a premium services package.

Another bank in Asia Pacific has achieved an ROI of 230 percent since launching mobile banking in 2007, according to the Accenture report.

http://nstore.accenture.com/acn_com/video/financial_services/banking/884-BankTechnology-InnovationsMisTheNewE-Generic-Mar2010.m4v

Mobile Banking Can Deliver 300% Returns, Accenture Says - Bank Systems & Technology

Mobile Apps Revenue to Triple in 2011

World-wide, revenue from mobile apps is expected to triple this year to $15.1 billion, including paid downloads and advertising revenue generated by free apps, according to research firm Gartner Inc.

Besides the potential of making money directly from such creations, more and better apps can help devices powered by Google's Android operating system continue to gain ground on Apple's iPhones and iPads. It's all about the ecosystem, says Nokia CEO Stephen Elops.

Google to Boost Staffing for Development of Mobile Apps - WSJ.com (subscription required)

U.S. Mobile Payment Will Grow Quickly, Some Think

Although mobile payments first became popular in Asia and Europe, analysts agree that the United States is going to catch up quickly. In its November 2010 report, the Aite Group forecasts that U.S. mobile bill payments will reach US$214 billion in gross dollar volume in 2015, up from US$16 billion in 2010.

Mobile Payment on the rise | MobilePaymentsToday.com

Starbucks Mobile Payment System: One Unfortunate Security Issue

The Starbucks mobile payment application has a security issue that could allow another person to "steal" the stored value on the linked Starbucks card.

Kelley Langford, vice president of sales and marketing at System Innovators, says the process takes about 90 seconds. One might argue the chances of such theft occurring are rather remote, and almost non-existent if a user keeps their iPhone in sight, in a pocket or a purse.

How to compromise the Starbucks Rewards Card app in 90 seconds