PC Subsidies Now Joining Phone Subsidies at AT&T

AT&T wants to move beyond subsidizing mobile phones with that strategy to other hardware, led by netbooks, that use the AT&T wireless broadband network. After rebates, consumers can buy netbooks from Acer and Dell for $99 and AT&T says it is in talks with other computer makers as well.

The payback is substantial, as AT&T gains customers paying $60 a month under contract and spends a couple hundred dollars upfront on the subsidies. The move also should help offset weakening sales from enterprise customers.

AT&T says it will expand its subsidy program to cameras, portable video game machines, GPS devices.

Depending on how AT&T decides to price those connections, the firm could undercut some of the demand Clearwire has been talking about stimulating. "Casual use" plans are a prime example.

Where this all culminates, of course, is an omnibus plan that allows users access for a number of devices as part of a single account, much as users now buy "family plans" for multiple mobiles.

Viewers Want Widgets, Parks Associates Says

Video-on-demand libraries and widgets will be the first generation of video services driving adoption of connected television experiences in the U.S., according to Parks Associates.

Some 33 percent of respondents are interested in widgets, and almost 50 percent are interested in premium Web content, including TV shows and movies, through a connected set-top box, says Parks Associates.

Among TV widgets Parks Associates believes have appeal are customized news, weather, sports, or traffic information.

“Broadband households are growing accustomed to viewing video off the Internet,” says Kurt Scherf, Parks Associates VP.

Scherf says consumers are willing to pay – either on the price of a television or as an additional subscription cost – for certain features.

iPhone is Global Mobile Web Leader

Apple's iPhone is now responsible for 66.61 percent of global mobile Web traffic according to a NetApplications.

The Java ME platform follows a distant second at 9.06 percent, trailed by Windows Mobile at 6.91 percent. NetApplications notes that despite the iPhone's commanding lead in mobile browsing share, Android (6.15 percent, tied with Symbian) and BlackBerry (2.24 percent) are rapidly gaining market share, but the report notes that doesn’t mean Apple's lead is shrinking, but that the overall market is growing fast.

Though one must be wary about imputing too much, the current figures indicate that there are clear end user behavioral differences between iPhone and BlackBerry users. That might be caused by user interface barriers or other user preferences, but the differences are striking.

Mobivox Introduces CRM Capabilities

Mobivox has introduced "CRM over Voice," allowing insertion of context-sensitive, unobtrusive messaging into user interactions while they are occurring, Mobivox says. That capability is made possible by two innovations, the ability to integrate and update a unified address book into the voice session, irrespective of what type of voice device or access network is used, and the ability to connect to transaction data bases.

“Mobivox partners can now perform all-important CRM in the course of service delivery, rather than before or after it, by dynamically inserting context-sensitive, unobtrusive messaging into user interactions,” said Diedrich.

Messages about special rewards or promotions based either on past behavior are one example.

“Over time, the platform’s multilingual voice user interface, or VUI, establishes a unique and very cost-effective relationship with the user,” Diedrich said. “Our network-hosted address book and user database allow for insightful user profiling throughout the customer lifecycle. By mashing the VUI with rich and relevant behavioral database information, we have created an unprecedented set of highly contextual CRM processes, executed in real time.”

Thomas Howe to Head Jaduka

Jaduka has promised "big news" at eComm, and one would have to say that some of that news already is leaking out. Consultant Thomas Howe has shut down his consulting business and now is the new Jaduka CEO.

NetworkIP, Jaduka's parent, clearly has decided that it cannot get the traction or valuation it seeks without a recognizable name at the top of its executive ranks.

I believe people refer to this as "street cred."

Social Network Humor

An amusing bit of social networking humor. Click on "related article" at bottom of this post.

It isn't quite the classic that "if operating systems were airlines" (http://ipcarrier.blogspot.com/2007/12/if-operating-systems-were-airlines-part.html) is, but is chuckle-inducing, nevertheless.

Shorter Sales Cycles for Communication Services?

Life always is so much more interesting than one suspects. Consider the conventional wisdom that enterprise buyers are spending more time than they used to making communications decisions.

Arunas Chesonis, PAETEC CEO, says sales cycles now are shorter than they were three to six months ago. "People are being forced to make decisions much faster," he says. A client was looking at buying an MPLS network. The chief information officer said he was going to make a decision in about 10 days. 

"Typically, you'd see something like that goes 60 days before they make a call," says Chesonis. "I can't quantify exactly for you how fast people are making decisions, but the economic pressures are absolutely affecting sales cycles on operating type services, something that would affect operating expense.

"If you're talking CapEx, a lot of these people are just deferring the decision till later this year, early next year, they're trying to conserve cash just like a lot of folks that are out there," he adds.

Lots of executives say sales cycles are stretching out. But Chesonis may be on to something.