New Skype for the iPhone

A new version of Skype for the iPhone supports voice calls over 3G. I don't know about you, but I still find voice over 3G a challenging and non-predictable experience.

A recent call I was on was flaky enough that we reverted back to the public switched network.

New Skype 2.0 app for the iPhone allows voice calls over 3G -- Engadget:

WiMax 2: 100 Mbps Downstream Bandwidth

A second-generation standard for WiMAX now under development by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers promises 100 Mbps downstream bandwidth.

The 802.16m standard will significantly boost first-generation WiMAX speeds. Sprint's Xohm network generally supports speeds between 3.7 Mbps to 5 Mbps.

Significantly, the speed boost will be possible over the same distances WiMAX now operates over. WiMAX covers about 31 square miles from each access point.

WiMax vs LTE: What WiMax 2 promises - Feature - Techworld.com:

Web Browser Preferred Over Content Apps On The iPad

"I've tried a few content apps on the iPad, including the much discussed Wired app. But I don't like reading content via apps on the iPad and I gravitate to the Safari browser," says Fred Wilson, Union Square Ventures partner.

Among the reasons: the apps treat pages as monolithic objects so users cannot cut and paste text, follow links to other content apps, keep multiple pages open, use a common interface, or connect with social media.

Content apps do not allow use of search functions and cannot be aggreated using apps such as techmeme.

I Prefer The Web Browser Over Content Apps On The iPad:

Are Location-Based Services All Hype?

Location is a feature, not a business. Real-time and location-based marketing in all its forms might be the huge business many expect.But much attention at the moment is focused on the "research project" aspects of location, and not on the crucial issues of how to sustain the use of such features on a wide basis over time, and how to make it useful for average users. We aren't there yet.

Are Location-Based Services All Hype?

Some Spend 48.5 Hours a Week Playing Console and PC Games

About four percent of gamers spend 48.5 hours a week playing games on consoles and PCs, according to NPD Group. Overall, U.S. gamers ages 2 and older spend 13 hours per week playing games, up from 12.3 hours in 2009.

Hours spent playing both console and PC games showed a marked increase over last year's study, with console games increasing nine percent and PC games increasing six percent. The number of hours gamers spent playing portable games saw a decline of 16 percent.

The average age of gamers increased slightly over last year from 31 years of age in the 2009 study to 32 years in this year’s study. Avid PC Gamers and Offline PC Gamers, comprising 11 percent and 8 percent of the gaming population, respectively, are the oldest segments with an average age for both of 42 years.

EXTREME GAMERS SPEND TWO FULL DAYS
PER WEEK PLAYING VIDEO GAMES:

Leading Indicator Falls to 39-Week Low

A measure of future U.S. economic growth fell to a 39-week low in the latest week, pointing to a slowdown in economic growth, The Economic Cycle Research Institute, a New York-based independent forecasting group, says.

As reported by Reuters, the ECRI's "Weekly Leading Index" fell to 125.6 in the week ended May 21, down from a revised 127.2 the previous week, originally reported as 127.3, the lowest level since Aug. 21, 2009, when the index stood at 125.3.

The index's annualized growth rate tumbled to a 47-week low of 5.1 percent from 9.0 percent a week ago. That's the worst level since June 26, 2009, when it stood at 4.6 percent.

'The downturn in WLI growth evident since early 2010 has recently intensified, so it should be no surprise when U.S. economic growth slows noticeably in the months ahead,' says Lakshman Achuthan, managing director of ECRI."

That doesn't necessarily mean we are headed for the dreaded double-dip recession, but it is not good news. Drat.

ECRI | News | Media Coverage

New York Dead Zones Are Just a Fact of Life

For the 20 million people living in the greater New York area, spotty cellular service is a constant source of frustration. To document the extent of the problem, The Wall Street Journal examined data on dropped and unsuccessful calls compiled by the Nielsen Co., which sends out equipment-filled vans to make 140,000 test calls a year across the five boroughs, Long Island, northern New Jersey and southern Connecticut.

The results raise a pressing question: Why is the most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. plagued with dead zones?

Carriers deserve only part of the blame, the Wall Street Journal says.  The city is one of their highest-profile markets, and even as they cut capital spending nationwide during the recession, they kept budgets high in New York, even if that spending didn't always keep up with the pace of smartphone sales.

Ask the people who build and maintain the city's networks, and they'll give you a dozen alternative excuses: Too many people. Too many buildings. Too much reflective glass. Too much water. Each plays a role, the Wall Street Journal says.

It all adds up to wireless dead zones dotting the city and its surrounding suburbs.

Take the West Side Highway, a notorious trouble spot where Nielsen recorded eight failed calls up and down Manhattan. There, phones get a signal only on one side of the road, from cell towers high atop office buildings. (The Hudson River is on the other side.) So when there's a hiccup with a connection to the cell tower on the Manhattan side of the river, there's no other tower to back it up, and the call drops.

Dropped calls also happen because of quirks in the way carriers have set up their networks. For example, AT&T Inc. routes calls south of 59th Street in Manhattan to a switch downtown. North of 59th, calls go to a facility in Westchester. So when an AT&T customer crosses 59th, calls can get dropped as the network reshuffles from one switch to the other. Nielsen recorded three fails on or near that dividing line. AT&T declined to discuss coverage at 59th in further detail.

Sometimes, there just aren't enough cell sites to handle the load.  But it always is difficult to get authority to put up new towers, anyplace. In New York, it is harder because of the fragmented ownership of buildings. Outside New York, it often is possible to negotiate once with an owner of hundreds of buildings.

The upshot? Service issues are likely to continue to be an irritant.