RIAA Switches Stance on FM Tuner Requirement for Phones

The Recording Industry Association of America seems to have switched its position on a proposed requirement to mandate FM radio tuners on mobile devices, a move that would have added manufacturing cost to every mobile device.

RIAA now is supporting Representative Darrell Issa's (R-CA) resolution asking Congress to 'oppose any mandate for the inclusion of terrestrial broadcast radio tuners in the manufacture or sale of mobile devices, which would stifle innovation, competition, and consumer choice.'

The resolution is co-sponsored by Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and would lessen chances the requirement would take effect.

Some observers might have noted that although the rule wouldn't have added much end user value, given the relatively light use of FM radio listening that typically occurs when a radio is convenient, in any case.

The average person spends between about two and a half to three hours or more each day with broadcast radio, some will note. See http://www.radioflag.com/social. The issue, from a handset supplier's perspective, is whether over-the-air FM tuner decisions should be mandated or voluntary.

Big Content now opposes FM tuner requirement for smart phones

Fixed-Mobile Convergence: 33% Growth in 2010

When is 33 percent annual growth a disappointment? When you thought it would be higher. Frost & Sullivan estimates that in 2010, the overall worldwide enterprise fixed-mobile convergence market reached 3.33 million FMC units shipped, growth of 32.7 percent year-over-year.

While this growth is significant, it’s lower than what Frost & Sullivan had anticipated, the company says Analysts suspect that emerging enterprise mobility solutions such as collaborative applications, team spaces, social tools and enterprise tablets with built-in mobility software clients are competing for the attention of both IT and technology vendors. Frost analysts suspect that diverted attention from FMC.

Frost defines a basic FMC solution as one that delivers first-level PBX-to-mobile extension, including such capabilities as single-number reach, simultaneous ring, single voicemail, and call-control features. An advanced FMC solution requires a mobile client to deliver call control and PBX features to the mobile device, as well as more advanced capabilities such as mobile and corporate IM/presence, unified messaging, conferencing, and dual-mode voice call handoff (manual or automatic) between networks.

In some ways, the slower than anticipated growth is not new. Most forms of enterprise IP telephony have been adopted more slowly than many of us had predicted.

FMC: Strong Growth, Despite Unmet Potential

Will Cloud Computing Change Volume Discounts?

A U.K. cloud computing service provider has become the first supplier to deal with the entire U.K. government as a single customer. Huddle said it has developed common terms and conditions and a pricing model for all of its business with government.

That implies a level of volume discounts and standardization of delivery that would have been difficult for suppliers in the past, given the greater labor intensity of legacy implementation methods. Volume discounts are standard in just about any business. What is new, in the software business, is the potential scale of the buyer base that might be aggregated for purposes of pricing discounts.

Government agrees terms with cloud supplier

Apple Earns Half its Revenue from iPhones

Apple now earns half its revenue from selling iPhones. Half. listen to the quarterly earnings call here.

That's why "Apple" isn't "Apple Computer" anymore.

Why is LTE Delayed in Europe?

Whereas LTE and LTE Advanced will surely be on the network upgrade paths for most operators, there are impediments to rapid and widespread switching in Europe.

Unavailability of new spectrum is the major temporary barrier, though there are other impediments as well. Spectrum caps will fragment bands and could prevent the full spectral-efficiency benefits that can be derived from large LTE channel widths of 20MHz or more.

HSPA-based technologies are continuously being improved to include many of the same capabilities that are in LTE and spectrum refaming in the 900 MHz band will be mainly with HSPA.

Whereas the U.S. auctioned off its 700MHz digital dividend spectrum- which became available with the switch from analogue to digital TV- in early 2008, Europeans have mostly yet to decide how to allocate their 800MHz digital dividend spectrum.

Mallinson: Why is LTE still delayed in most of Europe?

Foursquare Wants to Move from Check-Ins To Recommendations

Foursquare co-founder Dennis Crowley says the future of Foursquare, the location based service is "what its users are going to do, not what they are doing."

Right now Foursquare essentially tracks the realtime movements of its more than eight million users.

In the future, Foursquare wants to make use of the loads of data it’s collected on these realtime movements (600 million check-ins) to help users plan what they should do next.

From Check-Ins To Recommendations: A Glimpse Into The Future of Foursquare

Mobile Video Revenue: Close to $25 Billion by 2014

Analysts at the Yankee Group estimate mobile video revenues will approach $25 billion globally by about 2014.

That forecast assumes significant mobile user take rates for various types of for-fee video, both subscription and single purchase.