Android is Really Growing, Fast

Android sales are really growing fast, globally, according to Gartner. In the most-recent second quarter of 2010, Android notched a 17-percent market share gain.

A year ago, Android had just 1.8-percent share.

Verizon Thinks Customers Will Pay a Premium for LTE Access

Verizon Wireless executives beleive they will be able to charge customers a premium for access to the new Long Term Evolution network. John Killian, Verizon Communications CFO, says the company has said in the past, and continues to believe, that consumers will pay a premium for LTE quality and premium speed.

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Others are not so sure. But one way of describing the potential impact  is to look at Clearwire net additions in the second quarter of 2010.

As of June 30, 2010, 52 percent of the company's wholesale subscribers resided outside of Clearwire's currently launched markets, Clearwire says. That's the impact of revenues paid by Sprint Nextel HTC Evo users who live in areas where all they can get is 3G network access.

Of course, that is an indirect indicator, as the net additions were driven by consumer demand for the Evo device, which does require an additional $10 a month payment--not directly for the 4G network, Sprint is quick to point out.

Still, now having had a chance to use the 4G and 3G networks Sprint and Clearwire operate, there is a clear latency advantage for the 4G network, which should be experienced on the Verizon LTE network as well. Sites load noticeably faster on 4G than they do using the 3G network.

Killian says Verizon Wireless LTE speeds will be eight times to 10 times the speed of the 3G network. If that turns out to be true, and there is every reason to believe it will be, consumers likely will make the same value-price decisions they already make for fixed service, namely that there is an expectation higher speed costs more than lower speeds.

Devices also will make a difference, though. Obviously, enough people thought the Evo was worth buying that a $10 a month surcharge did not seem to deter many of the earlier adopters. And though the surcharge is not specifically related to 4G access, more than half of Clearwire's wholesale net adds (Sprint is a wholesaler) were from customers unable to get access to the 4G network immediately.

That is more a test of Evo demand than 4G, but it is illustrative. Consumers might well value faster mobile broadband enough to pay more, especially when bundled with attractive new devices.

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3D is Mostly Hype; Action is in Apps

Despite all the current hype about 3D TV, it doesn't appear most consumer electronics suppliers think much sales volume will happen anytime soon.

At least that's the conclusion you might draw from plans exhibitors now seem to have for the huge Consumer Electronics Show to be held in January, 2011.

Some observers say there will include be almost no talk of 3D TV but plenty of talk about “apps” for TV, or "interactive TV" using a different name.

The immediate perceived business value seems to be creation of app stores for TVs the same way app stores have become strategic for mobile devices. Whether this will work or not is hard to say.

It is pretty easy to conclude that 3D sales volume remains far off into the future. Few consumers are likely to want to invest in expensive new display technology with little content so soon after making a switch to HDTV and flat screens.

3D A Relative Flop, TV Manufacturers Talk Up Apps

Game-Capable Mobile Sales to Swamp Game Consoles, Handhelds

Sales of game consoles and hand-held gaming devices will be swamped by sales of game-capable mobile devices over the next four yeas, according to analysts at iSuppli.

That probably does not mean that mobile devices will displace the existing game console market, anymore than tablet PCs will replace laptops or smartphones will replace laptops. More likely is the creation and growth of new use cases for mobile devices that extend gaming, but in ways adapted to the form factor and user interface a mobile offers.

FT.com / Technology - Industry split over net neutrality

Facebook, Ebay, Skype and Amazon say they are opposed to the Google-Verizon agreement about network neutrality, which makes "best effort" access the way broadband will be sold to consumers, but which also exempts wireless networks from the rules and allows application providers to create their own tiered, quality-assured services if they choose.

As part of the deal, Verizon gives up the right to create its own quality of service tiers for broadband access.

But the application providers also seem to object to creation of new managed services that are not classic "Internet access" services, much as a single pipe now supports Internet access, multichannel video services or business services with all sorts of quality assurances.

The area of disagreement seems to involve some differences of of opinion over regulation of networks and services of various types.

Lots of networks these days use IP technology. The public Internet, private business and organizational networks, plus separately-regulated video entertainment services are examples.

Each traditionally have been regulated using entirely different rules and principles, and at least one issue here is which models of regulation are "best," going forward.

The opponents do not want Internet access to regularly be available in a "best effort" and quality-assured or optimized versions. The Google-Verizon compromise preserves the best effort access, but does allow for development of private network or managed services.

One analogy, though many will not like it, is that opponents of the compromise do not want to see creation of a "two-tier" or "multiple-tier" access regime, while proponents of the compromise do not want to foreclose development of new managed services that are more akin to cable TV or private business network services than best-effort Internet access.

FT.com / Technology - Industry split over net neutrality

AT&T Says Google-Verizon Internet Plan is a Reasonable Framework

AT&T Inc.’s wireless chief said he largely supports a proposal from Google Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. for Internet regulation that would exclude mobile Web services from most oversight.

The proposal is a “reasonable framework” for the industry and demonstrates that carriers and Internet companies can reach agreements on Web policies, Ralph de la Vega said today at the Oppenheimer & Co. Technology, Media & Telecommunications Conference in Boston.

AT&T Says Google-Verizon Internet Plan `Reasonable' - Bloomberg

IGoogle Small Business Blog Launches

Google has created the "Google Small Business Blog," billed as a central hub that brings together all the information about Google products, features and projects of specific interest to the small business community.

The site gathers in one place details about templates for creating video ads on YouTube, tips for employees using Gmail or how to respond to the business reviews on your Place Page, you can find all of this helpful information right here in one place, Google says.

Introducing the Google Small Business Blog - Google Small Business