Monday, August 23, 2010

Samsung "Epic" Debuts

Michael Mandel Suggests a Moratorium on New FCC Broadband Regulations

Michael Mandel,founder of Visible Economy LLC, a New York-based news and education company, and a contributor for the Progressive Policy Institute, argues for a two-year moratorium on any new federal regulations on the broadband industry,including new regulation of ISPs.

"Whether or not you think that such a move is a good idea, such regulations are unlikely to boost investment or employment in the telecom industry, at a time when we need all the capital spending and jobs that we can get," he says. "For that reason, I suggest a two-year pause in new broadband regulation, keeping the current balance among the different players, which seems to be generating growth."

Nobody Knows Which Carrier Will Get iPHone Next in U.S. Market

Nobody yet knows which U.S. carrier will get the right to sell Apple's iPhone next, in 2011. There is logic for, and against, it being Verizon. At the moment some reports suggest Apple and Verizon are talking, but are not yet agreed on terms and conditions.

That makes sense. Verizon has been doing quite well with HTC devices lots of people do believe is the family of devices most similar to the iPhone. For that reason, Verizon might not feel it has to give quite so much to Apple to acquire rights to sell the iPhone.

Apple, on the other hand, has to weigh the advantages of a much-bigger base of customers Verizon would bring, compared to either Sprint or T-Mobile USA. Also, given component shortages at the moment, Verizon and Apple have to be weighing possible impact on device profit margins as well as ability to meet demand.

Verizon might not be willing to give Apple the margins it wants. And Verizon has to estimate a possible shift in demand from HTC devices to iPhones that result in no net gain in subscribers.

It is a fair guess iPhones will be available on some network other than AT&T's, in 2011. It will an important decision no matter which network it proves to be.

Why Social Media Fails

At such an early state of development, one would have to expect more failures than successes. But it is helpful to know what doesn't seem to work, and why.

Fool-Proof Way to Save Smartphone Batteries

Radical thought, but it works!

I have to admit, I've done this

Five Key Trends To Watch In Unified Communications

IT leaders are rethinking their voice and UC deployment plans, says consultant Irwin Lazar. Those technologies with demonstrable cost savings such as SIP trunking (96 percent are deploying, planning to deploy, or evaluating SIP trunking) continue to move forward.

But replacement of TDM endpoints with IP has slowed as IT managers struggle with the costs associated with infrastructure upgrades at a time when mobility and telecommuting raise questions about return from such investments.

UC adoptions continue to increase, with nearly 88 percent of companies having at least some UC plans. Delivering on-premise web conferencing as part of a Microsoft Office Communications Server installation is gaining traction; while adding click-to-call or desktop video to supplement voice is more difficult to justify.

Video deployments continue to increase, but usually require some business case, such as reducing travel costs.

comScore Reports Android Made Biggest Share Gains in May

Some 49.1 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in May, up 8.1 percent from the corresponding February period.

RIM was the leading mobile smartphone platform in the U.S. with 41.7 percent share of U.S. smartphone subscribers, followed by Apple with 24.4 percent share and Microsoft with 13.2 percent.

Google saw significant growth during the period, up four percentage points to capture 13 percent of smartphone subscribers, while Palm rounded out the top five with 4.8 percent.

Despite losing share to Google Android, most smartphone platforms continue to gain subscribers as the smartphone market overall continues to grow.

Will Generative AI Follow Development Path of the Internet?

In many ways, the development of the internet provides a model for understanding how artificial intelligence will develop and create value. ...