T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide official: Android 2.1, QWERTY, coming in June (we go hands-on) | Technology Blog

T-Mobile is launching another midrange Android QWERTY slider, the "myTouch 3G Slide," with a 3.4-inch HVGA display, 5 megapixel camera, and a pretty heavily-customized skin based on Android 2.1.

Reviewers say "it's not quite like anything we've seen on a production Android device before, featuring a host of custom apps including the 'Faves Gallery,' a social aggregator for your most dearly beloved contacts; 'myModes,' a profile manager that can change the phone's themes and settings based on time or location; the Swype keyboard in place of Google's option; and the so-called 'Genius Button,' which seeks to extend Android's already decent voice command and text-to-speech systems by allowing you to do just about anything on the phone using your voice, hear messages read back to you."

T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide official: Android 2.1, QWERTY, coming in June (we go hands-on) | Technology Blog

Customize Nokia Turn-by-Turn Directions

Now that most every Nokia device to come fresh out the factory comes with free turn-by-turn navigation, Nokia allows users to replace the pre-recorded voice samples with something the user can create.

The application, called “Own Voice“, runs you through 54 phrases you’re required to say, a process which takes about 7 minutes, and then you’ll have a one of a kind navigation experience that you can choose to either keep on your device, or share with the world.

HTC Incredible, HTC Evo Ship Dates Set up Huge Contest

The Verizon Wireless HTC "Incredible," which sold out on its first day, now is being promised for additional sales on May 14, 2010. The delay pushes back by about 10 days the gap between the next round of Incredible sales and the first wave of HTC "Evo" sales, now slated for either June 6 or June 13, 2010.

The difference sets up a sales war between the Incredible and the Evo, both based on the latest HTC hardware and both using Android. The Evo is a dual-mode 4G and 3G device, though. Verizon Wireless has about a month headstart, but both devices are quite comparable in most respects.

Evo has huge potential for Sprint and Verizon Wireless, as they might finally be devices that can appeal to users who might otherwise default to the Apple iPhone.

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Apple Gets DoJ, FTC Antitrust Attention

The Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission reportedly are discussing which of the watchdog agencies will begin an antitrust inquiry into Apple’s new policy of requiring software developers who devise applications for devices such as the iPhone and iPad to use only Apple’s programming tools.

Regulators apparently are concerned the policy harms competition by forcing programmers to choose between developing apps that can run only on Apple devices, compared to platform-neutral versions.

The apparent interest shows that Apple has gotten big enough now to come under the typical scrutiny dominant firms always face.

The inquiry does not mean that there will be a full-blown investigation, only that there is some level of concern. Now that Apple's equity value ($237.6 billion) is bigger than Wal-Mart's ($201.7 billion), such scrutiny now will become an on-going concern for Apple, which will henceforth have to consider antitrust implications as part of its strategy.

That isn't to suggest Apple will face any immediate restriction of its freedom of movement. But that day is coming.

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Qwest: An Example of What to Do When Only "Bad" Choices Are Available

Sometimes a company might find it has only bad choices available to it. For Qwest, that might arguably be said to be case. Faced with huge debt burdens, Qwest sold off its high-growth wireless business and then spun off its cable-TV division.

The moves allowed U S West to trim debt, avoid expensive capital investments and maintain the healthy dividends long associated with a traditional telephone operator. But those moves also made a growth strategy nearly impossible, since other arguably comparable larger telcos such as AT&T and Verizon used wireless to underpin most of their growth over the last decade, while video services now are starting to be a material factor for the fixed services business.

From a short term financial perspective, divesting those assets was helpful, but strategically ensured that Qwest would not have the industry-standard growth drivers of wireless and video. Of the two, the lack of a wireless offering was most significant.

To be sure, Qwest had other problems. Its service territory was the least dense of any of the former Regional Bell Operating Companies, which would have been an issue even if Qwest had retained its wireless and video assets.

Nor will Qwest be the last company to face the problem of having only tough choices to make. That doesn't mean a firm cannot harvest the returns from a declining business for a time. That is precisely what EarthLink is doing, for example. But there is no long-term future.

Qwest, and many other firms in telecommunications, likely face issues not quite as severe as EarthLink does, but with the same limited set of strategic options. Communications remains a scale business, so the largest firms have had an advantage in both wireless and video. The largest firms also will have similar scale advantages for the next wave of potential innovations as well.

Though access providers of all sizes face some fundamental issues, such as their place and power within the Web and Internet ecosystems, wired services providers face such issues most acutely.

Wireless Now Driving Broadband Business

It sometimes is hard to keep up with all the changes occurring in the communications business.

"In 2004, Wi-Fi was embryonic, the Motorola Razr was the hot phone, the BlackBerry was
a CEO’s email device, and Apple's most recognizable product was an orange-sicle laptop," says Bret Swanson, president of  Entropy Economics LLC.

The point is that Internet innovation hardly has been a problem, and Swanson is not convinced creating new rules about "packet neutrality" actually would have a neutral impact on potential for further innovation on the facilities side of the Internet business.

But one of the sometimes unnoticed changes is the huge role wireless now plays in the broadband access business. In fact, by some measures wireless now accounts for the majority of bandwidth consumed by U.S. consumers, for example. Not surprisingly, that suggests wireless bandwidth is where key growth will occur over the coming decade as well.

"Wireless carriers invested $100 billion in just the past three years, and the United States vaulted past Europe in fast 3G mobile networks," he says. "Americans enjoy mobile voice prices 60 percent cheaper than foreign peers."

"And the once closed mobile ecosystem is more open, modular and dynamic than ever," he adds. "We estimate that between 2000 and 2008, total U.S. consumer bandwidth grew from just 7.9 terabits per second to 717 terabits per second."

"On a per capita basis, consumer bandwidth grew to almost 3 megabits per second in 2009 from just 28 kilobits per second in 2000," says Swanson.

Between 2000 and 2008, total residential bandwidth grew 54 times; total wireless bandwidth grew 542 times; total consumer bandwidth grew 91 times; residential bandwidth per capita grew 50 times; wireless bandwidth per capita grew 499 times and total consumer bandwidth per capita grew 84 times, for a compound annual growth rate of 74 percent.

Swanson estimates U.S. Internet traffic will continue to rise 50 percent annually through 2015. Cisco estimates wireless data traffic will rise 131 percent per year through 2013. That means hundreds of billions of dollars of new investment will be required.

So the question must be asked: "if network service providers can't design their own networks, offer creative services, or make fair business transactions with vendors, will they invest these massive sums to meet (and drive) demand?" Swanson rhetorically asks.

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Consumer spending surpasses pre-recession peak Economic Report - MarketWatch

Boosted by spending on autos and other durable goods, real U.S. consumer spending increased 0.5 percent in March 2010, at last surpassing the pre-recession peak set in November 2007, the Commerce Department estimates.

After-tax, inflation-adjusted incomes increased 0.2 percent in the month, with transfer payments such as unemployment benefits accounting for much of the gain. The tepid income gains should hamper the economic recovery, economists say.

The latest data confirms the "good news, bad news" nature of the economic recovery: the economy is recovering, but slowly, and with little robustness on the jobs front.

Consumer spending surpasses pre-recession peak Economic Report - MarketWatch