Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Samsung aims to block iPhone 4S sales in Italy, France

iphone-4s-blockedSamsung plans to file patent infringement claims against Apple’s new iPhone 4S and stop it from being sold in France and Italy, the latest move in a wide-ranging commercial dispute around patent infringement that also includes Apple suing to block the sale of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia on grounds that it violated Apple’s patents.


Apple has refused settlement offers with Samsung in hopes of blocking the Tab 10.1′s Australian launch altogether.


Some of us would continue to say that though there are legitimate issues of intellectual property protection, the patent process itself shows severe signs of misuse. Some would argue business success ought to emerge from decisions made by consumers, not lawyers, and that this increasingly seems not to be the case.

Mobile Operator Econet Wireless Launches Mobile Banking Service


Zimbabwean mobile operator, Econet Wireless has launched its mobile money transfer service, Eco-Cash.
Strive Masiyiwa, Econet Wireless Founder 
Eco-Cash officially was launched on 30 September 2011.
According to SWRadioAfrica, Econet, which has a subscriber base of more than 5 million customers, launched this service last week. Information on its website says the mobile cash transfer facility does not mean a subscriber has to open a bank account.
The new service will allow users to send and receive money, buy airtime, and make other payments using their mobile phones. Customers using EcoCash can also move money across different Zimbabwean mobile networks.

VeriFone CEO on Mobile Payments

Douglas Bergeron, chief executive officer of VeriFone Systems, talks about the company's mobile payment technology and expansion plans.



VeriFone CEO on Mobile Payments

OfficeMax goes live with Google Wallet at 100 stores

OfficeMaxCustomers can now use near field communications mobile phones to make payments, redeem coupons and receive rewards using Google "SingleTap" terminals installed at more than one hundred of the company's stores in the United States. Office Max operates about 1,000 retail stores.

The new terminals are available in stores throughout the greater New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington DC regions.

AT&T Will Sell iPhone 3GS "Free" on 2-Year Contract

AT&T will be able to sell the Apple 3GS to customers in the United States "for no incremental cost" ("free") on two-year service contracts that must include a data plan.

Four years ago, the cheapest iPhone cost $400. Today, it's free, at least on the U.S. AT&T network. The move shows that growth in smart phone adoption now is moving rapidly into the mainstream, with most of the sales volume coming from mainstream feature phone users.

AT&T Only U.S. Wireless Carrier To Get iPhone 3GS

Microcells and Backhaul will Have to be Cheap

Whichever technology is used to backhaul small cells, it has to be cheap, "it has to be massively cheap," said Andy Sutton, Everything Everywhere principal architect, access transport. "We have a financial envelope for small cells and it's challenging."

Cost is so important because small cells will have relatively low usage compared to a macrocell and there will be lots of sites to support. Compared with macrocells, small cells will cover distance of about 50 square meters or 538 square feet. That's an area about 23 feet by 23 feet.

One way to look at matters is that this is an area smaller than the range of a consumer's home Wi-Fi router.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Paramount Offers Streaming of "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"

Paramount's offer for consumersDon't hold your breath in expectation that a revolution in online delivery of streamed new release movies is at hand, Paramount Pictures is experimenting with a new digital distribution model for the most recently released Transformers movie. 


This is just a test, not the forerunner of a new service offering. But like an army gearing up for a battle it expects, without full knowledge of where the foe is, Paramount is probing and testing, trying to gain more experience with a delivery system that could erupt into a full battle at some point. 


By offering its own marketplace for customers to purchase the streaming video, Paramount’s parent company Viacom is essentially cutting out “middlemen” services like Netflix, Vudu and others, keeping a bigger cut of the overall revenue.


"Transformers: Dark of the Moon" can be rented in standard definition for $3.99. Windows users have the option of renting an HD version for $4.99. The movie is available to watch for 48-hours after making the purchase.

The promotion was emailed to an MTV mailing list. The offer will last through the end of February 2012, marking the first extended direct-to-consumer online streaming rental offered by Paramount. Paramount to test streaming

Directv-Dish Merger Fails

Directv’’s termination of its deal to merge with EchoStar, apparently because EchoStar bondholders did not approve, means EchoStar continue...