Sprint Benefits from iPad

Sprint doesn't sell the iPad, nor does it have the right to sell 3G connections for iPads. Nevertheless, Sprint says it is benefitting from demand for Apple’s device. The reason is that most iPads seem to be of the Wi-Fi-only variety, and that means a wireless hotspot service adds value.

Dan Hesse, Sprint Nextel chief executive officer says Sprint Nextel has seen an uptick in demand for its "Overdrive MiFi" wireless-hotspot device, as people use it to connect their iPads to the Internet when on the go.

Sprint CEO: The iPad Has Been Good to Us

Google Maps On Android: Key Location Based Service

"The combination and integration of Google Maps, Places Pages, Street View and Navigation (with the phone and contacts) has created a kind of LBS juggernaut on the Android device that will increasingly prove challenging to compete with," says Greg Sterling, a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land.

Right now, no such combination of services exists on the iPhone, which makes it a more “open” playing field for location-based services and local publishers, he argues.

"I use the Google services on my Evo almost exclusively now to find local information and directions," says Sterling. "And yesterday Google updated Maps for Android to make Place Pages on the device look and operate more like Places on the PC."

I'd have to agree that the navigation and mapping features of the Evo are the top reason the Evo has value, though I would rank "voice search" number two.

Google Maps On Android Becoming An LBS Juggernaut

How Is Desktop Videoconferencing Used?

At the moment, it appears that enterprise workers who use desktop videoconferencing are mostly the same people who used any other form of room-based technology, at least so far, Forrester Research analyst T.J. Klett says.

"We find that while 29 percent of workers use videoconferencing technology, only 15 percent have access to desktop video technology.

\The bulk of those using this tool are not the rank-and-file, but the managers and executives who have historically been the users of videoconferencing services.

How Is Desktop Videoconferencing Being Used In Your Business? | Forrester Blogs

Broadband stimulus flows disproportionately to Commerce Committee members

Over 40 percent of stimulus funds that the Commerce Department doled out for broadband went to or was shared by districts represented by House Energy and Commerce Committee members, according to an analysis by Communications Daily. The committee oversees telecom issues.

That's despite the fact that these members only make up 14 percent of the House, the analysis said. National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) records show that committee members' districts took in all or part of nearly $1.9 billion in grants, the report said.

The committee members whose districts were awarded the the most funding were Reps. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) with $128 million, Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) with $128 million, George Radanovich (R-Calif.) with $128 million, Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) with $123 million and John Sarbanes (D-Md.) with $115 million, according to the report, which drew from grant descriptions posted on the NTIA website.

Report: Broadband stimulus flows disproportionately to Commerce Committee members - The Hill's Hillicon Valley

Net neutrality: Job-killing zombie

Imposing net neutrality could reduce broadband expansion and cost the U.S. economy upwards of 300,000 jobs, according to a new Phoenix Center study.

Just a 10 percent decline in IT infrastructure investment, Brett Swanson of Entropy Economics found, could eliminate 502,000 jobs and $62 billion in gross domestic product growth. This is a price that the U.S. economy cannot afford.

Opinion: Net neutrality: Job-killing zombie - Douglas Holtz-Eakin and Sam Batkins - POLITICO.com

Slight Dip in Consumer Satisfaction with Broadband Access Services

Overall customer satisfaction with residential high-speed Internet service providers has decreased slightly from 2009 due to declines in satisfaction with cost of service and offerings and promotions, according to J.D. Power and Associates.

The study finds that overall satisfaction with residential high-speed Internet service averages 634 on a 1,000-point scale, a decrease of five index points from 2009.

The study also finds that customer satisfaction with cost of service averages 584 in 2010, a 12-point decrease from 596 in 2009. Contributing to this decline are decreases in satisfaction with fairness of prices paid and ease of understanding pricing options.

“Although product performance is most important in retaining customers, the top reason they switch providers is cost-related,” said Frank Perazzini, director of telecommunications at J.D. Power and Associates.

It isn't always clear how such "satisfaction" ratings affect customer propensity to churn, though. Some products just never seen to be seen as providing high value and reasonable price. Airline service comes to mind. But most consumers are happy with broadband. See http://ipcarrier.blogspot.com/2009/12/is-broadband-satisfaction-directly.html

J.D.Power and Associates

Moms text at home, use apps outside the home

We have a tendency to think of some products as "commodities." Even when that characterization is correct in some ways, it very often is not completely correct, with some important potential marketing implications.

Unless I completely miss my guess, I'd say the "Droid" and "Evo" probably appeal mostly to men, for example.

My unscientific sample suggests the typical first impression some women have is that the Droid and Evo are "heavy," the implication being that neither is a device  would prefer to carry and use.

The point, whether the characterization is mostly right, or not, is that user segments likely exist that service and app providers, as well as device manufacturers, have only begun to assess and design around. To be sure, a smartphone is a multi-purpose device. But most people have lead apps that are more important than most others, and could create opportunities to differentiate the end user experience.