IDCC Premium Board (IDCC)

[revlis]

Is CRS-3 a game changer?

Cisco's new carrier routing system, the CRS-3, while boasting considerable speed and capacity, will take some time to translate into high-speed content delivery for end-users.

”Cisco's announcement of 322Tbps, including packet inspection at that speed, is impressive,” says Naresh Soni, CTO of wireless technology developer InterDigital. However, it will take 18 to 24 months for the end-user to see the benefits, he adds.

While upgrading the core network is a step in the right direction, Soni says network optimisation should include the edge and end-point as well.

Cisco announced its upgraded routing system earlier this week, throwing around some hefty numbers, including 322Tbps capacity – triple that of its previous router, and 12 times that of its closest competitor, according to the company.

Put differently, this enables every film ever created to be streamed in less than four minutes, and every woman, man, and child in China to make a video call, simultaneously, says Cisco.

But commentators are quick to point out these speeds will not translate into the consumer's experience. “The speeds they claim are only possible if the routers are configured in a specific way, a configuration which is unlikely to be used, because it would require far too much space and power,” says Ryan Smit, research analyst at BMI-TechKnowledge.

“Even if it was configured in that manner, users would not be able to experience those speeds, because of other constraints on networks, such as the bandwidth limitations of last-mile connectivity.”

According to Soni, the new router is a next-generation product evolution, pitched at attractive cost points, which service providers will use if they want to upgrade their networks. But upgrades are extensive, he adds, and have to include the whole network, including edge, backhaul and end-points.

Traffic overload

According to Cisco, the new routing system will accelerate the delivery of broadband communications to keep pace with the incredible growth of video transmission, mobile devices and online services.

Cisco's Visual Networking Index states annual global IP traffic will quintuple from 2008 to 2013, with this year's forecast predicting 510 exabytes per year in 2012, growing to 667 exabytes in 2013. Overall, IP traffic will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 40%, the company states.

“Going forward, the increasing convergence of technologies and development of one digital platform for service delivery is driving a lot of data consumption,” says Soni.

He adds there's been a shift in the value chain. “Previously, device makers would sell devices to carriers, which then provide services to the user. Now, companies like Google, Apple and Nokia are delivering services directly to the user, which is driving huge levels of content consumption.”

Global telecoms provider AT&T recently conducted a successful test of the CRS-3, in a field trial of 100-Gigabit backbone network technology, which could help it deal with exploding traffic volumes. The carrier says it handled 40% more traffic on network last year than in 2008, with the trend continuing in 2010.

“Carriers are making incremental upgrades to infrastructure, but applications are constantly growing to consume additional capacity,” notes Soni. “The growth of mobile Internet, improvements in browsing technologies on mobile phones, as well as the increase in smartphone penetration, means data consumption is growing at a much higher rate than carriers can cope with.”

According to Smit, the CRS-3's greatest impact will be on telecoms providers, as the major target market. “It will allow them to route far more data at the back-end than they were previously able to do.”

He adds that the routing of data is only one piece of the puzzle. “But it does mean that, going into the future, at least the potential bottleneck has been widened.”

Soni argues a “brute force” approach to the bandwidth crunch, including extensions, new air interfaces, and network upgrades, is not enough. “You have to look at how to evolve the network in a holistic way, and reduce the backhaul load. This is where the big bottlenecks occur and you have to consider the whole chain from core to edge to end-point holistically.”

Video star

According to Cisco, in addition to capacity requirements, the growth of mobile and video applications is creating multidirectional traffic patterns, and driving the emergence of the data centre cloud. This is something the CRS-3 targets, by enabling the unified service delivery of cloud services, says the company.

Soni notes that cloud services are becoming more affordable, and points to the growth in computing power of mobile devices. “Processors in laptops and smartphones are rivalling that of desktop counterparts, but one has to consider the computing versus communications ratio. Where computing is required to process and render data, effective communications have to deliver that data intelligently.”

He argues cloud services will not benefit from the CRS-3 immediately, only when the whole network is optimised. Smit agrees: “It will not enable greater delivery of cloud computing until the other bottle-necks are addressed as well.”

Martin Springer, business manager for Cisco at BT, says the services the router offers are extremely impressive, with the ability to move large amounts of video data, direct access to data centres, and power savings.

“But from a South African perspective, it's going to be difficult to take advantage of these capabilities straight away, because they're very bandwidth-intensive.”

He notes that video is one of the CRS-3's key differentiators. “It can accommodate video in a way other routers aren't able to, and this ability to move video and collaborate around the world is a key driver for most ICT companies.”

While the router's high bandwidth requirements will delay its uptake locally, Springer is confident the technology will enter the market soon. ”It's an innovative concept, and something we can build on and gear up for in future.”

http://www.itweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=31259:is-crs3-a-game-changer&catid=69:business&Itemid=58

[magillagorilla]

China Unicom Unveils Its First Android Wi-Fi Customized Smartphone

Updated:2010/3/12 11:09
Tags:3G | Motorola | Wi-Fi | WAPI

According to China's Vsens, the wholly-owned customized terminal subsidiary of China Unicom, its new customized 3G smartphone, XT701, made by Motorola, is now ready for sale.

This is China Unicom's first smartphone product based on the latest Android 2.0 platform and the product, with Wi-Fi function, is sold at the price of CNY4,299.

Consumers who are interested in this product can find it in China Unicom's major business halls; electronics retail stores, including Suning and Gome, in medium and large cities; and mobile phone specialty stores. People can also buy the mobile phone from China Unicom's online business hall, 10010.com, and Vsens' online store, Vsens.com, and take advantage of the free delivery service. In addition, the Chinese B2C e-commerce website 360buy.com has been authorized to sell this product.

Based on the Android smartphone platform, Motorola XT701 features a slim and fashionable design. It not only supports 3G high-speed Internet access, but also can realize WAPI/Wi-Fi wireless access.

source:chinatechnews

[magillagorilla]

Google denies 'exit China' rumor

Updated:2010/3/12 09:15

Google on Thursday denied it was planning to shut down its business in China by the end of the month, dispelling rumors that it had informed its Chinese advertising agents to cease their business operations in the country.

Google's spokeswoman Marsha Wang told China Daily on Thursday that the company had not ordered its domestic advertising agents to stop doing business.

"That's not possible. Our China operations are still at normal," Wang said.

Google's China team continued to develop new services, hire people and its businesses were "as usual", Wang said.

In fact, two of Google's domestic advertising agencies also confirmed to China Daily on Thursday that their business was "running well".

Rumors about Google's possible retreat from China were running high on Thursday ever since its CEO Eric Schmidt said at a media summit in Abu Dhabi a day earlier that he expected "something will happen soon" about its high-profile spat with China.

Schmidt had said on Wednesday that Google's dispute with China would be solved "soon" and that the search giant was still in active negotiations with Chinese officials.

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology refused to comment on the Google issue on Thursday.

But Qin Gang, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said at a regular press briefing that "the communication channel between relevant Chinese ministries and foreign Internet operators is running well."

Qin also reiterated that foreign Internet operators should respect Chinese law while doing business in the country.

Google sent shockwaves across the business and political world when it declared on Jan 12 that it would stop censoring Chinese search results, and said it was considering pulling out of the country.

The announcement quickly turned into a political spat between Beijing and the US administration, which is weighing the merits of taking the dispute to the World Trade Organization.

Most industry experts believe that Google's likely exit from China may be a lose-lose deal for the search leader and China.

Top Chinese officials have, during the past few days, also sounded ambiguous over whether Google was still in talks to resolve the issue or not, signaling the difficulties for the two parties to achieve any sort of meaningful agreement.

Chinese officials attending the Two Sessions over the last few days have repeatedly urged Google to respect related laws of China

But a senior Google official said on Wednesday that the company had not changed its decision to stop censoring its Chinese language search site and that it was prepared to shutter the website if necessary. Tao Wenzhao, an expert on US studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said it would be a lose-lose deal if Google retreated from China.

A series of conflicts between the two powers, ranging from the US move to sell arms to Taiwan and US President Barack Obama's meeting with the Dalai Lama, have put the ties on ice.

Tensions, however, now appear to be easing after Washington sent two high-level officials earlier this month to mend relations.

Tao said even if Google finally decided to exit from China, the incident would have little impact on the soured relations between Beijing and Washington.

"It is worth remembering that Google is not the American government. This is just a commercial case," Tao said.

source:chinadaily

[revlis]

delete

[revlis]

Verizon Tips Its 4G Handset Hand

Verizon's first slate of 4G handsets may come out a little earlier than expected, according to a recent report. Other carriers are working on 4G devices as well, though at different paces. Even when the first devices arrive, however, 4G networks themselves will remain limited; most will likely need to have 3G abilities built in as well. Cost will also be high.


Listen to Your Customers, Grow Your Bottom Line.
Learn how loyal customers can be your best advocates for evangelizing your products and brand, while helping you to dramatically gain new business. Download "Customer Experience Management: Engaging Loyal Customers to Evangelize Your Brand."

Verizon will have the first handset running on its Long-Term Evolution (LTE) 4G network by the middle of next year -- about six months ahead of schedule -- according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

The development of LTE means faster cellular data transfers than the 3G networks now in widespread use by U.S. carriers, though exactly when LTE will become common has long been a source of uncertainty.

"Reports have had LTE available by 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and nobody was quite sure when," Chris Nicoll, a research fellow at the Yankee Group, told TechNewsWorld. "That's why Verizon pushed ahead with this announcement."

Verizon won't be the first with a 4G handset; both Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) and MetroPCS are reportedly going to launch 4G handsets later this year.

Meanwhile, Verizon arch-rival AT&T (NYSE: T) is continuing to invest in its 3G network and sticking to schedule for its 4G plans.
Look, Ma, We've Got 4G!

Verizon will launch its LTE service by the end of the year, Verizon CTO Anthony Melone, who's been beating the drums for LTE technology over the past few months, told the Journal.

The first LTE phones will have dual chipsets so they can fall back on 3G access when they're in areas that lack 4G access, Melone said.

Like Verizon, AT&T is building out an LTE network. Sprint, on the other hand, uses a competing technology, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, or WiMax.
The Wireless Network Technology Lowdown

LTE is a set of enhancements to the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) that's being worked on by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

The 3GPP is a group of telecommunications standards bodies. Its job is to maintain and develop technical specifications for GSM. GSM is the Global System for Mobile communication, the most widely used cellphone communication standard today.

LTE supports seamless connection to existing networks such as GSM, CDMA-1, W-CDMA, UMTS and CDMA2000. It supports peak download rates of up to 326.4 Mbps (megabits per second) for every 20 MHz of spectrum, and peak upload rates of 86.3 Mbps for every 20 MHz of spectrum.

A standardized way to deliver voice and messaging services over LTE was adopted in February by the GSM Association.

WiMax is a little faster than 3G and currently a little more expensive than DSL. There are two types of WiMax technology: Fixed WiMax and Mobile WiMax.

Fixed WiMax is based on the 802.16-2004 standard and is used for fixed wireless networks. Mobile WiMax is based on 802-16e-2005, an amendment to the Fixed WiMax standard. It's also known as "802.16e."

Work on WiMax is standardized through the WiMax Forum.

Sprint and Clearwire both have WiMax trials underway in the United States. So does Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSK), which runs its service over Clearwire's network. Clearwire merged with Sprint's Xohm 4G unit and the resulting firm is called "Clearwire."

Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), which holds 22 percent of the new Clearwire, is working with carriers around the world to build WiMax networks. Its combined WiMax/WiFi module, formerly named "Echo Peak," is an optional feature for Intel Centrino 2-based laptops.

In the end, though, WiMax may well serve more as a wireless broadband network, while LTE could become the technology of choice for cellphones.
What's Up, Ma Bell?

In the midst of this madness, AT&T is holding steady. "We're proceeding with our LTE plans; we're doing trials this year and will begin our commercial rollout early next year," AT&T spokesperson Mark Siegel told TechNewsWorld.

In the meantime, AT&T is continuing to pump money into its existing 3G network to upgrade its speed. "We're continuing to invest in HSPA 7.2, which could theoretically double network speeds," Siegel said. "That's very important because 3G will be around for a very long time as the 4G ecosystem is being formed, and 4G won't be everywhere at the beginning of the rollout."

HSPA, or High Speed Packet Access, is a combination of two protocols -- High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA). It increases peak data rates to up to 14 Mbps in the downlink and 5.8 Mbits/sec in the uplink.
Early Daze?

It's too early to roll out 4G handsets effectively, AT&T's Siegel contended. "One of the reasons we're taking a more deliberate approach to rolling out 4G handsets than our competitors have taken is to give the ecosystem time to form, and have devices like handsets available," he explained.

That's a telling point. "What are those handsets that Verizon's announced?" the Yankee Group's Nicoll asked. "Are they the very high-end business handsets or the low-end consumer handsets?"

Further, it's not as though the advantage a speeded-up 4G handset launch gives Verizon will be overwhelming. "I'm sure AT&T will catch up to Verizon," Julien Blin, principal analyst and CEO at JBB Research told TechNewsWorld.

Also, there's the question of just how many 4G handsets Verizon will be able to push -- perhaps not as many as it expects. "With new handsets like the Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Droid coming out this year, people are locked in for the next two years, so they're probably going to wait for the end of their contract, which will come late 2011 or early 2012, before they go out and buy a 4G handset," Nicoll pointed out.
Faster Phones, Lighter Wallets

4G wireless technology is going to bite consumers in the wallet, JBB Research's Blin said. "This is what happened when 3G devices first became available," he pointed out. "Like the first generation of 3G devices, the first generation of 4G devices won't be cheap."

Also, carriers may push customers toward tiered pricing. "We have said that, given all of the heavy data usage and the industry's great demand for it, that demand for data is going to continue," AT&T's Siegel stated. "As an industry, we have to look at what pricing models will make sense."

Perhaps voice plans will vanish altogether, the Yankee Group's Nicoll speculated. "Once you get LTE, almost everything becomes data because they offer voice over IP," he pointed out. "You won't have to have a separate voice plan, but your data plan might end up running to maybe (US)$100 a month."

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Verizon-Tips-Its-4G-Handset-Hand-69523.html?wlc=1268359275

[revlis]

4G phones on shelves in less than 3 years

By STEFANIA MORETTI, QMI Agency

Still in awe over the latest 3G smartphone technology? Get over it. Fourth-generation wireless is just around the corner and chances are you’ll be shopping for a new 4G compatible gadget in less than three years, experts say.

Chipmaker Intel estimates millions of early adopters are already using a version of 4G networks especially for laptops, with the U.S., Russia and Japan paving the way.

And most Canadian wireless carriers are already weighing their 4G options, hoping to cut upload and download times as well as service more devices simultaneously with less risk of network overload.

Currently Rogers, Bell and Telus are running what’s often referred to as 3G+ technology using High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) networks. It’s what makes most iPhones and BlackBerrys in the hands of Canadian cellphone users today tick.

There are two main kinds of 4G wireless technologies, with one type already at work in select North American and overseas markets.

The first is called Long Term Evolution or LTE. Unlike 3G technologies, LTE can send calls using Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP. It was designed to handle multimedia better too, moving effortlessly from cellular to WiFi and satellite.

LTE is considered a truer cellular based technology and is most likely to dominate the future marketplace because of its speed. 3G+ networks typically run at 15 megabits per second, LTE can hit 100 megabits or faster.

Then there’s WiMax. Generally speaking, its an older technology that grew out of WiFi, similar to wireless routers in homes, and was intended for wider fixed set ups such as regional office networks.

Telus has already named LTE as its 4G technology of choice. David Neale, senior vice-president of consumer products and services for Telus, expects LTE to be widely available by late 2012 or early 2013.

“Telus will deploy LTE when we believe it’s commercially viable,” Neale said.

Meanwhile, Canadian wireless startup Craig Wireless Systems Ltd. announced it would try and leapfrog the competition by launching Canada's first 4G

WiMax network bringing the high-speed wireless broadband service to Vancouver, B.C. South of the border, Clearwire by Sprint has rolled out pockets of WiMax in 16 states.

“While there's no question that so-called 4G will offer better, faster and more reliable mobile service than current technologies, carriers that claim to already be rolling out 4G networks are jumping the gun a bit,” said independent technology analyst Carmi Levy. That’s because the International Telecommunications Union hasn’t officially defined its 4G standards yet.

Only after the ITU stamp of approval will 4G compatible smartphones hit store shelves in Canada, Levy said looking out about two years.

And judging by the latest prototypes showcased at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona, 4G enthusiasts will have to buy a new device to latch on to the network, Neale said.

“The good news for consumers is most of us are getting new devices every couple of years anyway,” Levy said.

http://www.torontosun.com/money/2010/03/11/13195171.html

[magillagorilla]

Question: If China does indeed allow the iPhone with WiFi to be released with China Unicom, can one conclude that the iPad would then be next, with either China Unicom or China Mobile, as long as it were to support Wapi as well?


Apple Teams With China Unicom On New iPhone

Updated:2010/3/10 11:02
Tags:iPhone | WIFI | WAPI

Apple Inc., the company behind the popular iPod music player, is reportedly trying to re-enter the Chinese smartphone market with its iPhone device, by working together with China Unicom.

The Cupertino-based company wants to offer a re-designed version of its popular iPhone, along with Chinese standard WiFi capabilities.

Back in October, Apple tried to enter the Chinese smartphone market, but failed to take the country by storm as the phone offered a lot less than the what was being offered by the localized fake versions of the device.

The Chinese government asked Apple and Unicom to stop supporting WiFi and adapt to the Chinese standard WAPI.

However, now, Wall Street Journal has reported that Apple and Unicom are working together to offer the Chinese customers a re-designed iPhone which will comply with all state laws including support for WAPI wireless internet and WiFi.

Talking to reporters at a session of the National People's Congress, Unicom's Chief Executive Chang Xiaobing stated that the company will look to sell the iPhone at a competitive price in order to cope with competition from the cheaper fake versions of the device available in grey markets across China.

source:itproportal

_______________


Once again … China Mobile says it’s in talks with Apple to offer iPhone
By: Eneerg1 in IDCC | Recommend this post (1)
Fri, 05 Mar 10 7:35 AM

Dan Butterfield
iPhonAsia

Posted on 03/05/10 at 12:46am by Dan Butterfield
China Mobile CEO - Wang Jianzhou

With apologies to long time iPhonAsia readers … but once again (for the umpteenth time) China Mobile CEO Wang Jianzhou revealed (WSJ March 4, 2010) that China Mobile is in “talks” with Apple to offer iPhone.

Apple’s deal with China Unicom is non-exclusive and it’s possible that one day China Mobile and Apple will indeed come to terms on an iPhone deal. Summer of 2010 would be good timing.

If Apple and China Mobile do come to terms, it is more likely that the deal will be to offer consumers a low-priced EDGE 2G iPhone. Why 2G? EDGE is a very viable network used by 500+ million China Mobile consumers. Despite substantial state backing, TDSCDMA (China Mobile’s 3G network) has not motivated enough mobile consumers to upgrade to 3G and the China developed 3G standard may not be long for this world. TD-LTE will likely supplant TDSCDMA by 2012. In my opinion, Apple would not add TDSCDMA support in any special “for China” iPhone. If Apple does agree to support TDSCMA, then you can be sure that the deal involves a massive pre-purchase commitment by China Mobile … good for Apple (AAPL).

http://www.benzinga.com/159123/once-again-%E2%80%A6-china-mobile-says-it%E2%80%99s-in-talks-with-apple-to-offer-iphone

[revlis]

GyPSii adds context, location to Twitter
By Nick Wood , Total Telecom
Thursday 11 March 2010
Tweetsii app to launch first on iPhone followed by Android, BlackBerry; mobile social network still focused on emerging markets.

GyPSii on Thursday launched a new application that integrates its location and context-aware mobile social networking technology with Twitter.

Called Tweetsii, the app allows users to geo-tag their tweets, add rich media including pictures and videos, and recommend places to their contacts. It also enables people to search for tweets by location, or nearby users.

"Part of our strategy revolves around working to integrate our API to bring enhanced features to mobile services," said Shane Lennon, senior vice president of marketing and product management at GyPSii.

He explained to Total Telecom that Tweetsii is not just about adding location to Twitter.

"Location is only one part of the context. It's about enhancing the service beyond location to include content that's relevant to a particular user at a particular time," he said.

"Tweetsii also enables people to build a real-time user-created, rather than commercially-created, archive of points of interest."

The service also integrates updates from GyPSii members as well as other mobile location-based social networks that use its technology, such as Gowalla and FourSquare, among others, he said.

Tweetsii will initially roll out to iPhone users, followed by Android and BlackBerry handsets.

Lennon said the Netherlands-based company is still focused primarily on emerging markets.

Tweetsii's launch follows a location-based value-added services deal with Telefonica announced in February that will see applications and services powered by GyPSii launch in Latin America.

"Part of our business model is to analyse emerging markets and identify where it makes it sense to go next," said Lennon, who commented that for the last 12 months GyPSii has been focused on Asia Pacific, particularly China.

The company last July partnered with China Unicom to make its location-based social networking client available to the operator's UniSpace 3G customers. It has also struck deals to provide its API solutions to China Mobile and China Telecom as a basis for their own-branded services.

"China is our biggest market... 70% of the last 1 million users we added came from China," said Lennon.

"The way they access the Internet is via mobile; they have a lot of heavy data users, there isn't as much legacy technology and 3G coverage is rolling out really fast."

Lennon

http://www.totaltele.com/view.aspx?ID=453834

[magillagorilla]

Good For Google!

Google prepared to leave China

Updated:2010/3/11 13:09
Tags:Google | WTO

A second Google executive said on Wednesday that the company had not changed its decision to stop censoring its Chinese language search site and it was prepared to shut down the website if necessary.

"We are no longer willing to censor our search results in China, and we are currently reviewing our options," Google vice president and deputy general counsel Nicole Wong said in her testimony before the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee.

"If the option is that we'll shutter our .cn operation and leave the country, we are prepared to do that."

Wong added that the company would do it in an "appropriate and responsible way," that it has "hundreds of employees on the ground" and understands "the seriousness or the sensitivity" of its decision but "we will stop censoring" search results in China.

At the congressional hearing on "The Google Predicament: Transforming US Cyberspace Policy to Advance Democracy, Security and Trade," the Google executive said they had found out those attacks came from China but they were not going to say "who is carrying out these attacks" and they would hope the Chinese government would work with the US officials to investigate the issue.

She also told the lawmakers that the decision to review the business operation in China was made by the executives in the US, "without the knowledge or involvement of our employees in China."

After the hearing, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs Howard L. Berman told reporters that the US government should "think more carefully" before jumping into bilateral sanctions over the Google issue.

"First we try diplomatic engagement," he said. "Our ambassador in Beijing and other diplomatic persons are engaging with Chinese government over these issues. And we should look at the current trade agreements in WTO to see in what extent practice is going on in terms of violating the agreements. All of these are steps issues."

Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said Wednesday at a media conference in Abu Dhabi that the discussion with China will yield results soon, according to Bloomberg.

“We decided not to publicize our dealings with China,” he said. “We’re in active talks with the Chinese government, and we have no specific timetable, but something will happen soon."

source:chinadaily

_________________________

Google China Censorship Talks to Yield Results ¡®Soon¡¯
Updated:2010/3/11 09:37
Tags:Google

Google Inc., in talks with China after threatening to stop censoring Internet search results there, said the discussions will yield results soon.

“We decided not to publicize our dealings with China,” Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt said today at a media conference in Abu Dhabi. “We’re in active talks with the Chinese government and we have no specific timetable, but something will happen soon.”

Google, owner of the most popular search engine, said on Jan. 12 that it will stop filtering results in China after what it called an infiltration of its technology and the e-mail accounts of Chinese human-rights activists. Google also said it may have to pull out of China pending the talks with authorities. The dispute will be resolved in “weeks, not months,” a company spokesperson said today.

Schmidt declined to elaborate further on the talks or the source of the cyber attack. The Chinese government, which requires search engines to censor results, has denied any involvement in the incident. Google said on March 2 it hasn’t set a deadline for ending the censorship.

An exit from China would cost Google, whose revenue growth slowed during the U.S. recession, $600 million in annual sales, JPMorgan Chase & Co. said in January. Google’s total revenue was $23.7 billion last year.

Google’s market share in China increased to 35.6 percent in the fourth quarter from 31.3 percent in the previous three months, according to research firm Analysys International. The share of Chinese market leader Baidu Inc. fell to 58.6 percent from 63.9 percent in the same period, according to the researcher.

Google, based in Mountain View, California, rose $16.26 to $576.45 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares have fallen 7 percent this year.

source:bloomberg

__________


Google smartphone share more than doubles, Blackberry still No. 1

Updated:2010/3/11 11:12
Tags:Google | iPhone | Palm

Smartphones powered by Google Inc.'s Android operating system more than doubled their market share in the fourth quarter to 7.1 percent, a new report said.

The report by comScore showed Android phones powered by Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) jumping from 2.8 percent if the market in October.

The share of market leader Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ:RIMM), the maker of the Blackberry, rose to 43 percent, up 1.7 points.

Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone remained No. 2 with 25.1 percent of the market but it gained only 0.3 points in the three-month period.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) was the biggest loser among smartphone platforms, losing 4 percentage points to 15.7 percent of the market.

Palm Inc.'s (NASDAQ:PALM) market share also fell, to 5.7 percent, down 2.1 points.

The full report can be viewed by clicking here.

source:bizjournals

[magillagorilla]

HSPA, LTE and TD-LTE


T-Mobile launching 21Mbps HSPA+ 3G on March 14

Updated:2010/3/11 14:48
Tags:HSPA | 3G

Several sources are confirming today that T-Mobile is preparing to deploy 21Mbps HSPA+ service to at least four markets on March 14.

According to a report from the Android site AndroidandMe, markets for T-Mobile’s faster 3G service include Dallas, Miami, Los Angeles and Chicago. The site also suggests that Philadelphia may be a market, as the company is currently testing its HSPA+ technology in that region.

The first device slated to be compatible with T-Mobile’s faster network is the webConnect Rocket, an HSPA+ USB adapter for laptops. Early speed tests on the WWAN adapter show speeds of approximately 10/3Mbit up/down, and a latency of just 72ms.

With respect to compatible handsets, however, it is not clear when T-Mobile will offer phones that feature the necessary HSPA+ radio; speculation suggests that such phones could appear by the fall of 2010.

Pricing for the new service is not yet available.

source:icrontic

___________


Verizon Wireless reports average speed of 5-12 Mbps on LTE
Updated:2010/3/10 09:28
Tags:Verizon | LTE | VoIP

Verizon Wireless has achieved peak download speeds of 40-50Mbps on its trial LTE networks in Boston and Seattle. Upload speeds have reached as much as 20-25Mbps, the US operator said. Verizon has been testing LTE since August 2009 and aims to launch the service to 25-30 markets with around 100 million potential users by the end of this year. Successful data calls so far involved streaming video, file uploads and downloads and web browsing, as well as VoIP calls. Verizon Wireless engineers report LTE average data rates of 5-12 Mbps on the downlink and 2-5 Mbps on the uplink in real-world environments. The operator uses the 700MHz band for the new services.

source:telecompaper

__________

China Mobile's TD-LTE test network achieves download speed of 80 Mbps

Updated:2010/3/4 11:40
Tags:China Mobile | LTE | FDD | 4G | 3G

China Mobile (00941.HK; CHL.NYSE)'s TD-LTE test network has achieved a record-high download speed of 80 Mbps, according to an officer from the company, who declined to be named.

The TD-LTE test network was deployed to support the Expo 2010 to be open in Shanghai on May 1.

The test uses Alcatel-Lucent's end-to-end LTE solutions.

"Visitors to the Expo will be able to enjoy ultra-speed internet access and HD multimedia presentations. The test network will help popularize and commercialize the TD-LTE technology in the world," said Hua Luoxin in charge of Alcatel-Lucent's Chinese business.

The network realized the record speed on a 20 MHz channel. To reach a peak rate of 100 Mbps, the TD-LTE network requires only half the bandwidth needed by a FDD-LTE network.

The LTE is often branded "4G" as a next generation cellular wireless standard, also a successor to 3G standard. It can support both paired spectrum and unpaired spectrum at the same time.

source:tmcnet

[dws]

Hmmm...wonder what the next audit could yield? Thanks for bringing the chart here.

[magillagorilla]

I realize that the Apple ipad preorders will begin tomorrow, however, I still find it curious that the trading of Apple and AT&T were in such close sync with IDCC’s in the last 2 hours.

[revlis]

Intrinsyc's Destinator Powers Navigation Functionality in New Leica mojoMINITM

Destinator® Drives New GPS Application in Hybrid Agricultural Navigator

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - March 11, 2010) - Intrinsyc Software International, Inc. (TSX:ICS), a global provider of software solutions and navigation for mobile devices, has been selected by Leica Geosystems Agriculture, a pioneer of innovative precision farming tools, to power the turn-by-turn functionality in the new Leica mojoMINI portable guidance solution. Leica Geosystems' cost effective in-field navigation guidance solution is loaded with value and allows users to get the most out of the Leica mojoMINI whether in the field or on the go. In addition to a host of innovations to improve in-field guidance and accuracy, the Leica mojoMINI lightbar is also a versatile navigation device for use in any on-road vehicle.

"Intrinsyc is bringing innovative features to new vertical markets for location-based services," said Mark Sage, Director of Product Management for Intrinsyc, "The selection of Intrinsyc's Destinator navigation software to power the on-road navigation functionality of the new Leica mojoMINI is a prime example of the emerging need for integration of location based technology in a wide variety of consumer and enterprise devices."

Intrinsyc is focused on capturing additional market opportunities by working with companies, such as Leica Geosystems, to deliver more value to the end user through the integration of location based services and applications."

"The value of the new mojoMINI is enhanced by the addition of reliable turn-by-turn navigation," said Peter Bailey Leica Geosystems Product Manager. "Intrinsyc's expertise in mobile navigation and their ability to provide global support made them an ideal fit for our needs."

The new Leica mojoMINI is now shipping to growers worldwide.

To learn more about Intrinsyc and our Destinator navigation products please visit:

www.intrinsyc.com

http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Intrinsycs-Destinator-Powers-Navigation-Functionality-in-New-Leica-mojoMINI-TSX-ICS-1130207.htm

[Gamco]

A Qualcomm for the Smart Grid?
Michael Kanellos 03 11 10

Does a standard need to be open, or just openly licensed?
On-Ramp Wireless says it has solved a number of the problems with smart grid communications and can do it in a way that may allow them to avoid becoming road kill in an increasingly competitive market place.

The San Diego-based company has devised a networking platform, called Ultra-Link Processing (ULP) that, in theory, reads like a wish list of a utility's network manager. ULP signals have a five mile range, do not get obstructed by steel or concrete (the company put one under a manhole cover and could still maintain signal connections for two miles), and can carry enough data to provide remote monitoring or demand response services, according to CEO Joaquin Silva.

The equipment will also be relatively inexpensive and require minimal infrastructure, he added. A single base station, about the size of a WiFi router, will be able to handle data from 10,000 meters. The technology can also be used to monitor and control HVAC systems in buildings as well as link emergency response units together.

"It does well in buildings and it does well with a lot of interference," he said. "We've figured out a way to take it (the chip inside its networking cards) to an extreme amount of signal processing."

San Diego Gas & Electric will test the technology out in a trial and three other trials will be announced soon.

The big knock against On-Ramp? It's a proprietary technology from an unfamiliar, untested start-up. But here is how the company hopes to get around that: like the cellular giant Qualcomm, On-Ramp will likely license its technology. The company makes its own equipment now, but in the future it will instead provide intellectual property, chipsets and/or technical advice to larger, established manufacturers.

In a way, you could say the company is a combination of a newfangled technology and an old-fashioned business plan. Instead of adopting an open standard and trying to compete on price, performance, implementation and features like many other smart grid vendors, On-Ramp effectively will try to turn its technology into a de facto standard.

If the technology works and the licensing terms aren't punishing, licensing can be a lucrative path to success. Qualcomm became a giant in communications through that route. ARM chips can be found in over 90 percent of the world's cell phones, yet England's ARM does not make chips: it licenses chip designs and intellectual property to Freescale and others. (Side note: the processor on On-Ramp's networking card is an ARM 7 and the processor in the base stations is a Power PC. For chip fans, that's another walk down memory lane.)

Another old-fashioned note about the business plan: If you didn't know On-Ramp were a start-up, you'd swear it was a division of Texas Instruments. TI remains the largest manufacturer of digital signal processors, chips inside of cell phones that help extend signal range. It also sells ULPs, or ultra low power radio chips, and DLPs, or digital light processors.

While On-Ramp will not disclose its signal processing, Silva will describe the choices the company made when designing its products. The protocol is effectively designed for spoke-to-hub communications. Radios inside an electrical meter at a home are effectively designed to communicate with a central point like a router.

By contrast, mesh networks are designed for web-like networks. In a mesh network, any radio or end-point can communicate with any other. However, this also means adding layers to the communications protocols that can soak up power or bandwidth. (Mesh networking companies disagree.)

Spoke networks can also be designed for long range. On-Ramp's radios do not carry massive amounts of data. Homes and smart appliances, however, won't send massive amounts of data to utilities. A basic smart meter might send 5 kilobytes a day. If utilities want to get more data in a region, they can add more base stations, he argues.

So what are the problems? First, Qualcomm and TI, among other established chip vendors, will likely develop similar products. Last year, in fact, Qualcomm unfurled an initiative to develop products for the "Internet of things." How much attention the conglomerates pay to smart grid will depend on pricing and market conditions. Chips in the cellular market will likely command higher prices than those sold to smart grid vendors. If the cellular market grows while smart meter deployments get mired in trials, these large companies may not put much emphasis on smart grid. On the other hand, large chip companies need to maintain volumes so any potential opportunity can be attractive.

Second, existing cellular networks can already do many of the things that On-Ramp only promises. Silva argues that in the long run cellular will be more expensive. Utilities will want their own networks and won't want to run their smart grid signals on the networks already owned by AT&T and Verizon.

"The licensing fees and infrastructure will be too high," he said.

SmartSynch, which makes smart grid equipment that trade signals on cellular networks, strongly disagrees and has several contracts with major utilities to back up its argument. The Tennessee Valley Authority recently signed up to deploy SmartSynch's technology to track renewable power assets.

Ultimately, it will be the data from these trials that could determine the winners.

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/a-qualcomm-for-the-smart-grid/

[revlis]

ZTE, Vodafone Germany to Jointly Build R&D Lab in Dusseldorf

SHENZHEN, Mar 11, 2010 (SinoCast Daily Business Beat via COMTEX) --

ZTE Corporation (SZSE: 000063 and SEHK: 0763), a leading telecommunications equipment and network solution
provider in China, recently teams up with the Test & Innovation Centre operated by the Vodafone German subsidiary to set up a R&D lab in Dusseldorf.

The move is aimed to enhance the company's test and research ability in Europe and lay foundation for its long-term development in Europe.

ZTE not only builds the R&D center at its Chinese headquarters but also strengthens R&D in those cities near to its customers.

The Dusseldorf R&D lab, which will be ZTE's third R&D center in Europe, is expected to grow into a technology platform for the company's services to telecoms carriers in Europe, said Michael Stuckmann, chief operating officer for ZTE Vodafone Business Germany, adding that, in the new R&D lab, ZTE will research and develop broadband technologies
oriented to the whole European market.

ZTE established its German headquarters in Dusseldorf in 2005 and it had conducted a series of tests on innovative mobile telecom technologies
in the past two years in succession.

Source: www.cnstock.com (March 11, 2010)

http://www.tradingmarkets.com/news/stock-alert/vod_zte-vodafone-germany-to-jointly-build-r-amp-d-lab-in-dusseldorf-838622.html

[revlis]

RockYou’s Deal of the Day is new way to monetize social games with ads

RockYou’s investors include Sequoia Capital, Partech International, Lightspeed Venture Partners, DCM, SK Telecom Ventures and Softbank. In November, RockYou raised $50 million in a fourth round of funding.

http://games.venturebeat.com/2010/03/10/rockyous-deal-of-the-day-is-new-way-to-monetize-social-games-with-ads/

[revlis]

Kineto Adds Rick Applegate as Vice President of Global Sales
MILPITAS, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- Kineto Wireless (News - Alert), Inc., the key innovator and leading supplier of solutions that enable delivery of mobile services over broadband, today announced Rick Applegate has joined the company as vice president of global sales.

"We are pleased to have Rick on board during this growth period for the company," said Jeff Brown, the president and CEO of Kineto. "Operator demand for Smart Offload and Voice over LTE (News - Alert) solutions is increasing dramatically, and Rick's broad mobile industry experience will certainly help the company address these new opportunities." With more than 25 years telecommunications-industry experience, Applegate comes to Kineto from RadioFrame Networks (News - Alert), where he was the senior vice president of sales and marketing. During his career, he has served in a variety of senior management positions at leading telecommunications companies, including AT&T (News - Alert) and McCaw Cellular Communications.

"Kineto has an excellent reputation in the marketplace, along with a history of innovation. I'm excited about the opportunities," said Applegate. "Mobile operators are embracing broadband to help them meet network capacity and coverage demands, and Kineto is set to lead the market in this space." About Kineto Wireless Kineto Wireless is the key innovator and leading supplier of standards-based solutions that enable mobile operators to embrace the cost and performance advantages of fixed and mobile broadband access networks. Kineto provides software and services to major wireless infrastructure and handset vendors so they can deliver Smart Offload solutions based on Wi-Fi and Femtocell technologies, as well as Voice over LTE. Kineto customers and partners include Airvana, AudioCodes, Cisco (News - Alert), GENBAND, HTC, Juniper Networks, LG Electronics, Motorola, NEC, Qualcomm, RIM, Samsung and Ubiquisys. For more information about Kineto, please visit http://www.kineto.com.

http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2010/03/10/4666053.htm

[magillagorilla]

Solve the Bandwidth Challenge

I just noticed this “new game” on the IDCC website – sorry if posted previously.

http://www.thebandwidthsolution.com/

[revlis]

GoldSpot Media Introduces the Industry’s first iPhone and iPad Video Advertising Solution

Enhanced iPad SDK Delivers Unprecedented Flexibility to Publishers

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GoldSpot Media Inc., a leader in interactive mobile media solutions, today released an enhanced version of its mobile advertising client SDK, miAPI, to support iPad applications. With a simple, easy-to-use interface, the miAPI client SDK offers developers a single video advertising monetization solution across the Apple family of devices such as the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, as well as Android, RIM, Symbian S60, J2ME and BREW.

High-quality video ads for iPad, other Apple devices

GoldSpot Media’s miAPI client SDK provides publishers with the flexibility to render video ads anywhere, in any size on the mobile device screen, and in various formats: Full Screen, Split Screen, Overlays and Partial Screen. The enhancement also extends to the company’s mobile advertising campaign creation tool, miSpot, enabling publishers to run the same interactive video ad campaign on the iPad in partial screen mode, in lieu of a Flash video ad, as a full screen video ad on iPhones at app startup, and as a one-third overlay video ad on iPod Touch devices during app consumption.

“The iPad has generated strong interest from consumers and created new opportunities for publishers to reach their targeted audience,” said Srini Dharmaji, Founder & CEO of GoldSpot Media. “GoldSpot Media enables publishers to immediately monetize their apps and content with the most compelling and high-quality video ad experiences possible on the iPad as well as other Apple devices -- regardless of the network coverage or bandwidth.”

Delivering Flash-Like Experiences for iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch

Since Flash is not available on Apple mobile devices, the publisher community is still seeking effective alternatives to monetize their web content. To address these issues, GoldSpot Media developed the miSpot video advertising solution, enabling publishers to deliver a user-experience comparable to the interactive advertising power of Flash on PCs today, without requiring on-device Adobe technology.

A video demo of GoldSpot Media’s advertising technology in use on the iPhone and iPad can be viewed at this link: http://goldspotmedia.com/demo.php.


http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20100310005381&newsLang=en

[revlis]

5 million iPads to be built in first half of 2010?

Apple should be able to churn out approximately 5 million iPads in the first half of the year, claims FBR Capital analyst Craig Berger. The number is higher than what some analysts have said Apple will sell in all of 2010, and is based on a dismissal of claims that the company is experiencing production setbacks. "We believe various news articles and competitor notes calling for a build delay were just false alarms," says Berger. At least one report has suggested that the delay to April 3rd is based on software issues.

Companies involved in supplying parts for the iPad may include Infineon, Skyworks, Triquint, Broadcom and Texas Instruments. Broadcom would benefit in particular, argues Berger. The company produces a variety of embedded chips, such as wireless receivers.

The analyst has meanwhile altered his March-quarter build predictions for Macs, iPods and iPhones. iPod numbers have been shifted the most dramatically, from 4 to 9.3 million. Some 1 million desktop Macs are now expected, double an earlier forecast, while notebook figures have been raised from 1 to 1.7 million. iPhone numbers have been cut from 7.5 to 6 million, based on the belief that Apple wants to clear out inventory.

Berger cautions that shifts in production do not necessarily match sales, as they can be tied not only to inventory but to new product rollouts and seasonal matters. Q2 production estimates, for instance, currently include 7.3 million iPhones, 7.2 million iPods, 500,000 notebooks and 100,000 desktops.

Apple stock is presently trading at some of its highest levels ever, around $223 as of Tuesday afternoon. In the depths of the recent recession, the stock was trading for less than $80.

http://www.ipodnn.com/articles/10/03/09/analyst.dismisses.talk.of.production.delays/

[magillagorilla]

InterDigital Signs Casio Hitachi Mobile Communications to Worldwide 2G and 3G Patent License Agreement

Date : 03/09/2010 @ 4:26PM
Source : Business Wire
Stock : InterDigital, Inc. (IDCC)
Quote : 26.33 0.25 (0.96%) @ 7:22AM


InterDigital Signs Casio Hitachi Mobile Communications to Worldwide 2G and 3G Patent License Agreement
InterDigital, Inc. (NASDAQ: IDCC) today announced that its patent licensing subsidiaries have entered into a worldwide, non-exclusive, patent license agreement with Casio Hitachi Mobile Communications Co., Ltd. (“CHMC”), headquartered in Japan. The license agreement covers the sale by CHMC of all wireless end-user terminal devices, such as mobile handsets, computers, etc., compliant with 2G and 3G cellular standards through the earlier of June 30, 2010 or the establishment of the announced mobile phone handset joint venture involving NEC Corp., Casio Computer Co., and Hitachi Ltd. InterDigital® expects to benefit from a one-time recognition of revenue related to past sales under this agreement and, based on the announced structure of the new joint venture, sales for covered products by the new joint venture will be included in InterDigital’s total per unit royalty revenues once the new joint venture begins to operate.

“We are pleased to have resolved all outstanding patent licensing issues with CHMC,” commented Lawrence Shay, President of InterDigital’s patent holding subsidiaries. “This latest agreement further demonstrates the strength of our intellectual property, our global licensing program and our solid relationships with leading Japanese companies.”

In addition, InterDigital has identified additional royalty obligations in a routine audit of an existing licensee. The new patent license agreement and resolution of the audit issues combined will add approximately $40 million in royalty revenue between the first and second quarters of 2010. The allocation of this revenue will depend on final resolution of the accounting treatment.

[Gamco]

Shut down the patent office?
Posted by John Carroll March 9th, 2010 @ 9:14 am


Last week, I pulled out the verbal bazooka to fire a well-deserved blast in Apple’s direction for their patent malfeasance. By “malfeasance,” I don’t mean that Apple is technically breaking any laws. Rather, I have no patience for companies that use idea ownership in an aggressive fashion, even as I remain confident that it will blow up horribly in their face when they realize that waging patent war is a bit like the European powers thinking they could conquer each other in 1914. As I said last week, Apple makes a bad patent troll, as they make a lot of products, and their competitors have big stacks of patents of their own.
But, a lot of the people in the Talkbacks clearly had no idea what I was talking about. What am I, a communist? What do I have against intellectual property? If making illegal copies of music CDs is wrong, why isn’t it wrong, say, for the Android to use a little graphical widget to “unlock” access to the phone (which is one of the 20 patents Apple is using against Google…er, HTC).

Making copies of music CDs and copying a concept are COMPLETELY different. Copyright, which covers the wholesale copying of CDs, books, movies and other sources of content AS CREATED by an individual or group, is completely different than, say, ownership of all uses of a special field where the inputed characters is hidden from view as you type, and is used to grant access to some kind of system or service (a password field). Don’t worry, nobody owns a patent on the password field, but someone COULD have, and that’s the problem. The point I was making last week is that nobody SHOULD own ideas and concepts like that, and I get very annoyed with those people (a.k.a. “fanboys”) whose principles shift according to whether the wind fills the sails of their favored company and / or product.

If someone were to make copies of Apple software and distribute them without Apple’s consent, I would go after such a company in my blog. Apple CREATED that code, just as J.K. Rowling created a series of books based around a boy wizard named Harry Potter. What makes me seethe with developer rage is when Apple claims to own certain concepts in that code which nobody has a right to claim to own.

The reason ownership of ideas is so corrosive to innovation is not hard to discern, though the complexity in this case is that most people are not programmers, and thus are unlikely to understand why ownership of the concepts underlying movable widgets on a screen is so destructive. Think of it this way. J.K. Rowling should be defended against people who would copy her book wholesale and make discounted copies to sell on street corners. That’s flat-out theft, and allowing people to do that would undermine the incentive to create artistic expression in the first place.

What she should not be allowed to do, however, is prevent people from writing about boy wizards forced to live among non-magical humans and chased by evil forces who want to kill him. The protections in the previous paragraph secure Ms. Rowling’s right to the words she actually wrote. In contrast, owning the concept of young wizards going through puberty is something that no patent office would protect, because most people understand that it is silly to presume that someone can own a narrative.

Concepts or storylines are no different, conceptually, than patents on software algorithms or “busines processes” (the latter of which is what allowed Amazon to prevent Barnes & Noble from creating a “one-click” payment system).

If concepts or storylines were patentable, we would have no Daffy Duck (aaiiigh, everyone run screaming from the room at the very thought of such horror). Daffy Duck was clearly a response by Warner Bros to the popularity of a certain pale Disney duck with anger issues and an allergy for wearing pants. Granted, Warner Brothers’ creation had better diction, but the similarities are so obvious as to be hard to ignore. Fortunately for Warner Brothers (and cartoon lovers everywhere), Disney isn’t allowed to own the concept of angry animated water fowl.

Ideas are like pieces in a very large puzzle. If one person claims to own any of the pieces, then NOBODY can complete the puzzle. Right now, software companies around the world own so many patents that, if they were all to be leveraged at once to generate maximum revenue, none of the software in existence would remain untouched. That applies to “closed source” software as much as the open variety, because patents are so numerous and difficult to grok that most programmers will stumble across several in the course of a single project without even realizing it.

That is a problem, because ideas are the stone blocks in the pyramid of ideas. Ownership of any one block jeopardizes the blocks higher up, making those improvements that much less likely to be developed in the first place.

Granted, the patent effect may vary. It was possible to work around the LZW patent that underlay the GIF image format, an algorithm that Unisys sat upon until GIF found sudden popularity in a rapidly growing Internet. It’s a lot harder to work around Patent #6,424,354, which would claim that Apple owns the concept of event generating objects triggering user interface components on screen. An argument could be made that the common MVC design pattern runs afoul of this.

As the title of this post would suggest, I’ve started to wonder whether there is any real point in having a patent system at all (well, started is the wrong word, as I’ve asked this question many times before). Do patents serve a useful purpose, or are they just an anachronism, a vestige of a time when governments granted monopoly rights over entire industries?

One argument made in favor of patents is that it serves as an IP stake in the ground that gives Venture Capital firms the confidence to invest in new startups. But would Venture Capital firms really not invest in startups because there was no patent system in place? The artificial confidence bred by something as difficult to defend as a patent is a distraction. Far more important is the drive and experience of the management team and the insight and intelligence of the guys actually making and designing the products. Granted, those are hard things to gauge, but imaginary walls aren’t any more secure, and the skills of the people involved need to be gauged, anyway. Focusing on what matters would probably lead to better startups, anyway.

Another argument is that patents enable companies to spend money on expensive research safe in the knowledge that they will get a return on their investment due to the 20 year monopoly rights they have over the result. The example most used is the pharmaceutical industry, where bringing a product to market can cost in the billions (the notion that software companies would spend billions developing a sliding unlock icon is ludicrous, so it doesn’t merit inclusion).

However, I don’t know that the pharmaceutical industry is a pillar of productivity that justifies the creation of a system of state-created time-limited monopoly. First, some parts of that “bringing to market” process is unnecessarily expensive and slow. The approval process for a new drug can take many, many years, a process that resists streamlining because the drug companies make enough money to afford it, and probably don’t want it streamlined as it would lead to more competition. Likewise, a big part of bringing a product to market is marketing it, and the largest component of that, at least in the United States, are the incessant TV ads with which Americans are bombarded on television. Polls show that Americans know the names of more drugs and drug companies than people who live anywhere else.

I’m also not convinced that the drug companies really add the value that they claim they do. A common complaint is that drug companies rarely create drugs that FIX problems, so much as drugs that TREAT symptoms. From an economic incentives standpoint, that shouldn’t surprise anyone, as actually fixing a problem would lead to a very short shelf life for a new drug. The patent system is also a real hindrance to the developing world, as patents give drug companies the right to charge prices that no AIDS patient in Zimbabwe could afford in an entire lifetime.

My point is that monopoly rights on drugs haven’t had tremendous results. A different system IS possible, perhaps with R&D funded by other sources with more of an interest in permanent cures than ongoing revenue streams.

But, patents are a fact of capitalism, and to get rid of them is like moving down the slippery slope towards communism, right? Really? Monopoly rights are an essential component of capitalism? Contrary to popular belief, capitalism isn’t a system of spontaneous organization. It consists of a set of laws whose only unifying thread is that they have results that benefit people from an economic standpoint. To make a very geeky comparison, it’s a bit like thinking what a parallel universe with a slightly different set of physical laws might look like. Some universes, ours included, produce black holes and suns that produce heavy elements and live for a sufficiently long period as to be conducive to the development of life. Others are dark, lifeless voids which lack the ability to create anything beyond helium. Economic systems are frameworks, in other words, that are either tuned well or badly.

Copyright periods should only be as long as necessary to provide a return on investment and incentive to create. Patents, a purely artificial and state-created notion, should only exist if they truly provide value to society. I’m proposing here that they add little in the way of value.

A number of people pointed out in my previous post that Apple was the subject of lawsuits by companies as diverse as Nokia and Kodak (as if that justified Apple’s actions; kids, the next time a bully hits you in the hallway, spit in the face of the smaller kid that sits behind you). Well, without patents, Apple wouldn’t have faced these kinds of attacks.

Is Apple acting within the law? Yes, but then again, so were the bankers that farmed off securities containing a mix of normal and toxic assets, thus hiding the sub-prime contagion and inflating the real estate bubble which popped so catastrophically a few years ago. I think the problem we have in this country is that we think the limit of ethics and morality is whatever we can get away with legally. That puts a heck of a lot of stress on lawmakers, who as long as they are human, will make imperfect laws.

I know this will piss of a lot of Apple fans, but Microsoft owns a heck of a lot more patents than Apple does (and certainly than Google, which as this chart shows, may be somewhat exposed from a patent defense standpoint). When was the last time Microsoft went on a patent jihad against a close competitor? Patent innuendo war…maybe, though I discuss that in this 2007 post.

There would be a lot of resistance to an eradication of the patent system, particularly from the large companies that are its biggest beneficiaries (patents are like weedkiller…they keep smaller competitors at bay). But, after the patent trench warfare that is likely to occur as software companies scramble to secure territory in a key platform of the future, perhaps more will realize that the patent process is an expensive waste of money. It serves no purpose but to enrich a bunch of lawyers.

It should be stopped, or at least dramatically reformed. And hell yes, I will attack viciously any company that uses those patents aggressively. It was wrong for Nokia to sue Apple. It is also wrong for Apple to sue HTC. It’s pure patent-related predation.

Apple is trying to block innovation in the space by hobbling other companies ability to tap into the normal flow of ideas that makes software development such a dynamic industry to work in. That would be criminal in a rational universe. The fact it isn’t in this one doesn’t make it any less wrong.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/carroll/?p=1927

[magillagorilla]

Cisco news updated

Cisco (CSCO) Unveils CRS-3 Router; Can Download Entire Library of Congress in 1 Second
11:06 am ET 03/09/2010- StreetInsider

CNBC's Jim Goldman is reporting that Cisco's (Nasdaq: CSCO) "internet-changing" announcement today is the unveiling of its new CRS-3 router which can:

download the entire Library of Congress in 1 second

handle every man, women and child in China doing an online call at the same time, and

stream every motion picture every made in less than 4 seconds Goldman said that the new router features 12x speed. According to a headline from Bloomberg, pricing for the router will start at $90,000.

Shares of Cisco traded higher during much of this morning's pre-market session, but the stock is now down about 1%.

_________

Cisco unveils new routing system
11:14 am ET 03/09/2010- MarketWatch Pulse News Bullet

SAN FRANCisco (MarketWatch) - Cisco Systems on Tuesday introduced a new routing system that it says is geared "to serve as the foundation of the next generation Internet." The company's CRS-3 Carrier Routing System is billed as having "more than 12 times the traffic capacity of the nearest competing system." Cisco said AT&T has successfully tested the new product, in the "world's first field trial of 100-gigabit backbone network technology."

[Gamco]

The Behind The Scenes Story Of Apple's HTC Lawsuit
Jay Yarow | Mar. 9, 2010

Apple's HTC lawsuit is the first public manifestation of a series of private warnings Apple has been issuing to handset makers for a while now, says Yair Reiner of Oppenheimer in a note for clients, picked up by Philip Elmer DeWitt.

Here's the story:

In January 2009, Tim Cook said on an earnings call, "we will not stand for having our IP ripped off and we'll use whatever weapons we have at our disposal."
LG, Samsung, and Nokia, etc. thought that warning meant stay clear of multi-touch. So they did. Notable exception -- Palm, which Philip Elmer DeWitt writes "didn't represent a strategic threat to Apple." (Ouch!)
At the end of 2009, the Motorola Droid and the HTC Eris appeared with multi-touch capability.
Other handset makers waited to see Apple's reaction. If it didn't stop either company, then the handset makers would assume it was OK to use multitouch.
Apple's chief officers began telling other top level mobile phone manufacturers in January that it was not happy with these multitouch phones.
Says Yanir, Apple let the world know it "was ready to press its case along a number of axes that had made the iPhone experience unique, from the interpretation of touch gestures, to object-oriented OS design, to the nuts and bolts of how hardware elements were built and configured."
Then Apple filed suit against HTC because it was the highest profile Android partner and served as the best proxy for Apple's real enemy -- Google.
The effect of the warnings, and the lawsuit, are huge, says Yanir.

Until now, smartphone makers were trying to match Apple's user experience, and not thinking about patents. Now all the companies are checking patents before proceeding.
Says Yanir, "We believe a lot of software and hardware is being sent back to engineering departments for work-arounds."
Apple's legal actions have "temporarily left competitors playing catch-up with their shoelaces tied."
Even prior to the lawsuit, some handset makers were cooling to Google because it released the Nexus One. Post-lawsuit, handset makers are wondering if Android is the best way to topple Apple.
That's leading to a renewed interest in partnering with Microsoft, and its new Windows Phone Series 7.

http://www.businessinsider.com/apples-htc-lawsuit-2010-3

[Gamco]

United States Patent 7,676,837
Kilgore March 9, 2010

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Firewall protection for wireless users


Abstract
In a computer telecommunications network, firewalls protect a machine or network from undesired message transmissions. In the case of a firewall employed on a user side of the wireless link, a message rejected by the firewall has already consumed the wireless resources required to transmit. A system for protecting a mobile wireless user via a firewall employed at the wired line, or ISP side, of the wireless link in a wireless network allows a specific user profile to be provided for each user that is indicative of a desired firewall configuration corresponding to the mobile user. A firewall configuration is established at a firewall application in a wireless transceiver corresponding to the current location of the mobile user, and the same firewall configuration is established, via a wireless handoff, at a second wireless transceiver when the user is located in the area corresponding to the second wireless transceiver, thereby protecting a plurality of wireless users prior to wasteful wireless transmission of undesired messages.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Inventors: Kilgore; Brian (Melbourne, FL)
Assignee: IPR Licensing, Inc. (Wilmington, DE)

Appl. No.: 11/498,588
Filed: August 3, 2006

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related U.S. Patent Documents

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Application Number Filing Date Patent Number Issue Date
09847865 May., 2001 7089586


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Current U.S. Class: 726/13 ; 726/11; 726/3
Current International Class: G06F 17/00 (20060101); G06F 17/30 (20060101)
Field of Search: 726/13,11,3

[revlis]

New ITU Standard Boosts 3G to Satellite Connectivity

­A new ITU standard has been approved that will ensure worldwide compatibility, international roaming, and access to high-speed data services for 3G (IMT-2000) mobile phone systems. Recommendation ITU-R M.1850 identifies satellite radio interface specifications for IMT-2000 systems, which, by means of one or more radio links, provide access to a wide range of telecommunication services

ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré praised the timely endeavour of the ITU membership, including government and industry experts in developing these new standards. He noted that these advances will facilitate ITU's concerted effort to promote broadband access in rural and remote areas around the world.

Updates and enhancements to the satellite radio interfaces incorporated in the M.1850 Recommendation are compatible with the original goals and objectives of IMT-2000 while acknowledging the changing requirements of the global marketplace.

Even as the satellite component of IMT-2000 continues to evolve independently, work is already in progress to develop the satellite radio interfaces for IMT-Advanced. IMT-Advanced provides a global platform on which to build the next-generations of interactive mobile services that will provide faster data access, unified messaging and broadband multimedia.

The satellite component of IMT-Advanced will be designed to cope with increasing demands from the rising number of users in terms of peak bit rate and aggregate throughput and will have greater flexibility to simultaneously support many different types of services.

Posted to the site on 8th March 2010

http://www.cellular-news.com/story/42291.php

[Gamco]

Google Educates on Mobile Business
By Andrew Berg
Monday, March 8, 2010

If anyone has any questions as to Google's plans for the mobile space, it appears they'll find some answers. According to a press release, Google will hold a March 15 "educational webcast for investors, financial analysts and members of the press, focusing on Google's mobile business."

Google is no longer hiding its intentions regarding mobile. With the recent release of its Nexus One, which runs on the company's own mobile platform, as well as the purchase of AdMob and numerous mobile content businesses, few deny that Google has become a legitimate player in the wireless industry.

Eric Schmidt, Google's CEO, recently presented a keynote at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Schmidt covered all aspects of mobile, ranging from wireless broadband access to emerging forms of content. He said that Android is now shipping on some 60,000 devices per day.

Check back with Wireless Week for coverage and analysis of the March 15 event.

http://www.wirelessweek.com/News/2010/03/Business-Google-Educates-Mobile-Content/

[Gamco]

ARM Wrestling at the Rumor Mill
Bob Faulkner MAR 08, 2010 10:00 AM

Last week investors saw ARM Holding's (ARMH) stock up more than 10% with more than 40% of that gain taking place in a big move last Friday. That action comes when the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) gained less than 1% at the same time.

What, pray tell, could be sending this stock northward with such conviction? Why rumors, of course, and late last week we had one making the rounds that Qualcomm (QCOM) was interested in acquiring ARM Holdings. Qualcomm has thrown water on the idea but it’s out there.

I have absolutely no idea if ARM is interested in a sale or not. However, what I do know is that I feel very confident in saying that there is no way any of ARM’s licensees will buy this company. The regulators on both sides of the pond would never approve of the sale.

We know that nearly 90% of the billion-plus handsets sold each year include semiconductors containing an ARM core. Depending on the handset, there may be multiple instances. Imagine the hue and cry if one of your competitors now owned the intellectual property critical to making your part operate and possibly differentiating it from others in the field.

Look from the perspective of the handset OEMs. There are six handset OEMs that control about 80% of the entire industry. When we’re talking a billion units a year, that’s a big number. Given the market opportunity, it has attracted more than a few competitors on the semiconductor side of the equation. The OEMs have done a fabulous job of playing one supplier against the next in order to maintain price pressure in an industry that scrapes for profits. Just think how happy Apple (AAPL) or Nokia (NOK) would be to see their supplier base shrink and critical intellectual property consolidate into the hands of a few.

Given the current Congress and its mood of anti-business and anti-big (except for government of course), I don’t see any way they would allow the acquisition of ARM’s critical intellectual property by anyone already involved in the mobile handset business. The potential for competitive “mischief” is far too high. And even if an acquirer did play by all the rules, every action would be viewed as anti-competitive by the remaining licensees and provide a steady flood of complaints and lawsuits.

While I may doubt such an approval would pass Washington’s regulators, there’s no way such a transaction would make it through the EU Competition Commission. They hate everything! And they would particularly loathe the idea of a US-based company trying to buy one of their crown jewels. The signals would be very loud and very clear -- don’t waste your time and money filling out the paperwork. Not happening!

So if you think General Mills (GIS) or Home Depot (HD) is looking to diversify their operations and buy outside the box so to speak, then have at it. But, any firm currently in the semiconductor business that could actually leverage the intellectual property given their current positioning will be told not to bother.
http://www.minyanville.com/articles/print.php?a=27176

[revlis]

Gary Flake: is Pivot a turning point for web exploration?

http://www.ted.com/talks/gary_flake_is_pivot_a_turning_point_for_web_exploration.html

[Gamco]

Nokia files patent for self-charging kinetic phone
Newsbrief by Todd Haselton on Monday March 08, 2010.

Nokia recently filed a patent for a phone that could potentially recharge itself using kinetic energy. According to the patent, the "kinetic energy resulting from acceleration of a battery powered device is harvested using piezoelectric elements that are positioned to receive forces along multiple axes." In other words, energy from movement can be received in a power controller and added to the battery.

source: U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, via: New Scientist

http://www.mobileburn.com/news.jsp?Id=8922

[revlis]

Analyst: Apple will sell 35m iPhones next year, with or without Verizon

by Steven Sande (RSS feed) on Mar 6th 2010 at 7:30PM

One of the questions that always seems to come up during our TUAW Talkcast and TUAW TV Live sessions is "When do you think Verizon Wireless is going to get the iPhone?" According to recent comments from Merrill Lynch analyst Scott Craig, the answer to that question is irrelevant to Apple.

Craig anticipates that Apple could sell 33 million iPhones in 2010, and that number would rise to 35 million in 2011 even without a second U.S. carrier. However, the upside to Apple in selecting a second U.S. carrier -- possibly Verizon Wireless -- is that the number of 2011 sales could rise to as high as 55 million.

Other Wall Street analysts believe that Apple's decision to stick by AT&T for the iPad indicates a vote of confidence for the carrier, with analysts at Credit Suisse even going so far as to say that there's a 75% chance that AT&T will keep iPhone exclusivity for another year.

While the analysts don't seem to see a real downside risk for Apple, Credit Suisse recently downgraded Verizon from Outperform to Neutral based on the absence of the iPhone from their product line. It would definitely be in Verizon's best interest to make an agreement with Apple to carry the iPhone; however, Apple is unlikely to make agreements with non-GSM carriers such as Verizon Wireless until they are well into a transition to the 4G LTE technology.

http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/06/analyst-apple-will-sell-35m-iphones-next-year-with-or-without/

[revlis]

Only 300,000 iPads available by the end of March

Apple seems to reach low supplies of the iPad if sales go as planned, according to analyst Peter Misek from Canaccord Adams. The Hon Hai Precision (Foxconn) has allegedly experienced a production problem that lets just 300,000 tablets in stock by the end of March. Apple is believed to have counted on at least one million iPads for the above mentioned period.

As a result, the shortage could create an undesired effect and affect Apple’s predictions for April, estimated at 800,000 devices. Speculations are that the company could push back the launch by a whole month to be sure it has enough stock, but this is only an alternative.

Glass strength problems may have forced Apple to produce fewer devices than planned and it is not known if these technical issues are included in Peter Misek’s predictions. Apple has given some obvious signs about having a series of production issues as the iPad’s release was scheduled from the beginning to take place in April, or sufficient time to provide the missing units. The company, however, did not make any comment on the accuracy of these assertions.

The embarrassing situation Apple is now facing is not new at all for many e-book makers it counts to compete against. The first two holidays of Amazon’s Kindle were marked by severe shortages that are considered to directly originate in supply issues not cleared up until 2009. On the other hand, Barnes & Noble has also experienced similar problems, as it promised to release the Nook in October, but failed to have ready the Android e-reader for the retail stores until mid-February. In all these cases, the main cause has been the display technology, whether it was the e-paper or the 9.7-inch multi-touch LCD of Apple in discussion.

http://www.htlounge.net/art/11541/only-300000-ipads-available-by-the-end-of-march.html

[revlis]

Cisco exiting WiMAX RAN?
Report says company will no long develop base stations and instead focus on core

Reports have surfaced that Cisco is exiting the WiMAX radio access networks business following its $2.9 billion acquisition of Starent Networks.

The move is not a surprise. Starent views the future of 4G wireless as LTE, a competing technology to WiMAX, and some of the largest operators, including Verizon and AT&T, have announced plans to migrate their networks to LTE.

Cisco entered the WiMAX business with its $330 million acquisition of Navini Networks in 2007. It has a significant WiMAX supply arrangement with Clearwire.

According to a story in FierceBroadbandWireless.com, Cisco confirmed it is discontinuing development of WiMAX base stations in favor of focusing on packet core systems and applications. Cisco did not provide independent confirmation to Network World in time for this story, but in the FierceBroadbandWireless story a company spokesperson is quoted as saying:

"After careful review, our mobility strategy is to focus on providing a radio-agnostic IP end-to-end mobile multimedia services network. Cisco will continue to focus on the packet core and to also focus on investment in radio technologies such as femtocells and WiFi. As part of this decision, we have decided to discontinue designing and building new WiMAX base stations. We believe the best way for Cisco to serve our customers is by delivering value at the edge and the core of our customers' networks."

Some analysts say the window of opportunity for mobile WiMAX is closing.

“It’s obvious now that mobile carriers are going to deploy LTE,” says Laurence Swasey, principal of Visant Strategies. “There are no economies of scale with mobile WiMAX. Mobile WiMAX never materialized like many thought it would. Cisco is just staying up top of where the market is going.”

Read more about wireless & mobile in Network World's Wireless & Mobile section.

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/030510-cisco-exiting-wimax-ran.html

[revlis]

Inventec Appliances Targets 10% 3G Share in Mainland China
TAIPEI, Mar 05, 2010 (SinoCast Daily Business Beat via COMTEX) -- Inventec Appliances Corp. (TSEC: 3367) aims to capture a 10% share of the 3G cellphone market in Mainland China in 2010, said Jackson Chang, chairman of the Taiwan-based cellphone and network appliance maker.

The mainland 3G cellphone market is expected to have a big growth this year, the chairman pointed out. OKWAP, a smartphone brand under Inventec Appliances, is hoped to rank among the top five CDMA2000 cellphone brands in the mainland.

The mainland's Big Three telecommunications carriers will actively boost 3G cellphone sales this year, a big push to TD-SCDM, WCDMA, and CDMA2000 cellphone sales, the chairman added. The CDMA2000 cellphone sales volume is predicted to rocket this year.


In 2009, Inventec Appliances showed an unsatisfied performance in the mainland 3G cellphone market, where its cellphone shipments hit just 3 million over the full year, with an about 6% market share, the chairman said. OKWAP did not come onto the list of the top five CDMA2000 cellphone brands.

China reached a 3G cellphone sales volume of 11.224 million, according to the mainland-based consulting firm CCID Consulting Co., Ltd. (SEHK: 8235).

Source: news.ccidnet.com (March 05, 2010)

http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-inventec-appliances-targets-10-3g-share-mainland-china-/2010/03/05/4658647.htm

[revlis]

T-Mobile: M2M connections to outnumber humans 4-to-1

By Kevin Fitchard

As T-Mobile scales its M2M platform, machines will become the dominant connection type on the network though not the primary consumer of bandwidth

For every single human being punching phone numbers or surfing the net on the T-Mobile (NYSE:DT) network, there could be four machines chirping away quietly, embedded in utility meters, cars, freight containers, medical equipment, wristwatches and even the oversized flashlights carried by cops. T-Mobile national director of M2M John Horn believes that machine-to-machine (M2M) communications will not only be huge factor in T-Mobile’s future growth, but that it will become the dominant form of connection on T-Mobile’s GSM network.

Every analyst has a different prediction,” Horn said. “I don’t know what the exact number will be, but at the end of the day we could see a 4-to-1 ratio, easy.” Embedding every utility meter, every vehicle and every home with an M2M module would get you at the number without difficulty, Horn said, but with the pace of M2M innovation accelerating their applications out there the industry hasn’t yet conceived of that could send that ratio far higher in favor of machines.

As for how long it will take T-Mobile to hit that 4-to-1 mark, Horn wouldn’t say. Nor would reveal how many M2M connections T-Mobile has on its network today. The only M2M data T-Mobile has released is that it has enjoyed 100% growth in M2M connections on its network every year for the last four years. Horn explained that T-Mobile is still trying to figure out how to quantify M2M connections. It can’t just add those connections to its overall subscriber numbers because they are so vastly different from its consumer handset and data card businesses. Most of those connections consume only a modicum of capacity each month and most of them bring in only a relatively small amount of revenue. That’s one of the reasons why scale is so important, he said. Even if T-Mobile reaches that 4-1 ratio of machines versus handsets today, the revenues resulting from those 120 million-plus machines would still only be a small percentage of its overall revenue.

“But if you can get 200 million [M2M users], I’ll take a buck a meter,” Horn said. “It’s a much leaner business. If I had to go out and build a new network to do it, it wouldn’t be worth it.”

Ultimately adding any number of M2M devices to the network costs T-Mobile very little. It’s mainly a wholesale business model, so T-Mobile doesn’t have to acquire individual customers or activate individual connections—it just ships bulk SIM cards. It also doesn’t incur customer care or billing costs. And most importantly, it doesn’t have to make any additional network investment to support those millions upon millions of devices, Horn said.

T-Mobile would have to well exceed that 4-to-1 machine-to-human ratio before it would even contemplate adding 2G capacity to the network, Horn said. The vast majority of M2M apps work in the gaps of the GSM network and have no effect on call capacity over GSM or data capacity on EDGE in the typical cell, Horn said. The one caveat to that business model is the eventual deployment of higher-bandwidth M2M applications such as on-board vehicle entertainment systems. But Horn said those new apps will have different usage and revenue models and run on a different network, namely T-Mobile’s high-speed packet access + network. An application that is downloading gigabytes of data each much will have a data plan resembling that of a smartphone or laptop card. “Eventually, yes, you may need to add capacity for those types of apps, but then you have the revenues to justify that build,” Horn said.


http://connectedplanetonline.com/3g4g/news/T-Mobile-M2M-connections-outnumber-humans/

[Eric]

Touchscreens for Smartphones and Feature Phones ...

In a report published Thursday, Gartner projects that the sale of Touchscreen enabled mobile devices will surpass 362.7 million units in 2010, a 96.8 percent increase from 2009 sales of 184.3 million units, and By 2013 will account for 58 percent of all mobile device sales worldwide.

One month ago Canalys reported that for the 1st time in Q4 2009 the majority (55%)) of smart phones had touch screens and in CY 2009 45% did. They saw 166.3 million smartphones sold in 2009 and they broke down the sales and share of those touch enabled smartphones this way ...


http://www.canalys.com/pr/2010/r2010021.html

In that report Canalys commented ...

Looking at the whole of 2009, it is no great surprise to see Apple at the top of the table of leading vendors of touch-screen smart phones ,,, but Nokia stands out as a very close second, seeing tremendous growth thanks to models such as the Nokia 5800 and N97. And Nokia was actually the leading vendor by volume of touch-screen smart phones in the final quarter of the year. After Apple and Nokia, HTC and Samsung took the third and fourth spots, though Canalys notes that Samsung also ships a lot of touch-screen mobile phones that are not smart phones.

Samsung was actually the touchscreen leader in 2009 with over 40 million units sold although about 88% of those were feature phones not smartphones. Likewise LG had a significant share of touchscreen devices (mostly feature phones).
Overlaying touch enabled device sales (both smartphones and feature phones) on Gatner's estimated 184.3 million units sold in 2009, estimated sales and market share for Samsung, Apple, Nokia, and 'Other's' touch enabled mobile phones were approximately ...

Samsung     40.9m     22.2%     
 Apple       25.1m     13.6%       
 Nokia       22.4m     12.2%        
 Others      95.9m     52.1%      
            ------    ------ 
            184.3m    100.0%

Nokia will likely stay in the number 1 slot for touch enabled smartphones at least through the next 2 quarters and probably throught 2010 -- although that will depend on whether Apple expands its smartphone range to the mid-tier this year -- and challenge Samsung for the global lead in touchscreen mobile devices by year end despite the fact that currently they manufacture no touch enabled S40 feature phones, using touchscreen only in their Symbian & Maemo (Moblin) smartphone ranges.

>> Gartner Says Touchscreen Mobile Device Sales Will Grow 97 Percent in 2010

Gartner PR
Stamford, CT USA
March 4, 2010

The worldwide market for touchscreen mobile devices will surpass 362.7 million units in 2010, a 96.8 percent increase from 2009 sales of 184.3 million units, according to Gartner, Inc. By 2013, touchscreen mobile devices will account for 58 percent of all mobile device sales worldwide and more than 80 percent in developed markets such as North America and Western Europe.

"Touchscreens are no longer the preserve of high-end devices and are now being included in many midrange phones as more companies have been driving the consumer market for affordable touchscreen phones," said Roberta Cozza, principal research analyst at Gartner. "As phone capabilities increase, consumers are becoming much more aware of the benefits of touch interfaces, and vendors are responding."

With mobile phone vendors now focused on integrating touch technologies, many are now going a step further and beginning to deliver user interfaces (UIs) that are truly optimized for touch input. They are also increasing their software skills to deliver deeper integration of touch UIs with the underlying platform, rather than software overlays.

Ms. Cozza said that the success of the iPhone has shown the viability of capacitive touch technology in mobile phones, which enables more-natural, responsive and intuitive gestures. Gartner predicts that capacitive and resistive touchscreens will coexist in the short term in mobile phones. Capacitive touch will be the mainstream technology; however, resistive touchscreens will still be around because of its lower cost.

"As we saw at Mobile World Congress touch interface technology will continue to be one of the key areas of innovation during 2010," said Ms. Cozza. "Vendor and industry focus on touch UI will bring increasing sophistication and spur adoption of touch UI in other consumer electronics devices."

However, vendors need to concentrate on delivering an experience rather than just a product. "Consumers won't buy a mobile device purely for the touch UI," said CK Lu, research analyst at Gartner. Touch technology is just an enabler, and ultimately, it is a compelling user experience — which includes good UI design, applications and services — that will make or break a product."

Mr. Lu advised vendors to invest in expanding their UI design capabilities and ensure that designs for touch-driven UIs integrate closely with the underlying device software, allowing for an uninterrupted experience. He also said that vendors should consider integrating touch with other form factors, such as numeric or QWERTY keypads, because touch UI cannot fulfill all kinds of operations.

From a sales volume perspective, Asia/Pacific is the leading region for touchscreen mobile devices. In 2010, touchscreen mobile device sales in Asia/Pacific are projected to surpass 129.1 million units, accounting for 35.6 percent of the global market. By comparison, Western Europe and North America are expected to account for 26.8 percent and 24.4 percent of global touchscreen mobile device sales. Looking at penetration of touch devices as part of overall sales in their regions, however, Western Europe leads the way with 49 percent, followed by North America at 46.65 percent. Due to the much larger size of the overall market, touchscreen sales will account for just 23.4 percent of total mobile device sales in Asia/Pacific.

“The Asia/Pacific region adapted touch very early since handwriting is great for Chinese input,” Mr. Lu said. “Looking at worldwide performance, touch technology is mainly driven by high end smartphones and feature phones. However, in Asia, the percentage of smartphones are relatively low compared to their sales in Western Europe and the U.S. Although the touch experience is generally welcome by users, price remains an inhibitor for wide adoption of touch phones, particularly in emerging markets.”

Additional information is available in the report "Forecast: Touchscreen Mobile Devices, Worldwide, 2006-2013," which is available on the Gartner website at http://www.gartner.com/resId=1288713 ###

- Eric -

[Gamco]

New LaptopConnect devices from AT&T available March 7
March 5, 9:13 AM
Atlanta Gadgets ExaminerRick Limpert

AT&T has announced two new 3G LaptopConnect devices: the AT&T USBConnect Turbo from LG and AT&T USBConnect Velocity from Option. Both will be available in Atlanta area AT&T retail stores, business channels and online beginning March 7. The Turbo and Velocity enable customers to stay connected on their laptop while on the go with the nation's fastest 3G network.

The Velocity, is the first GPS-enabled LaptopConnect device from AT&T. The built-in aGPS functionality opens the door to location-based applications making it easier than ever for customers to get to their desired destination. Option offers a free software application, the Option GPS Control Panel, that leverages location-enabled sites like Yahoo! Maps and Bing for directions and local points of interest. Option GPS Control Panel will be available for download on the Option support web page beginning March 7. Additionally, through TeleNav Track LITE(tm) and Xora GPS Locator from AT&T, enterprise customers can add tracking and location awareness thus improving response time by easily locating the closest worker available for a service call.

The Turbo is AT&T's first LaptopConnect device from LG and features a compact, lightweight design. Turbo's HSPA 7.2 capability offers a high speed Internet connection that allows users to meet their professional and personal computing needs away from their office or home computer. The ergonomic design and unique USB connector makes Turbo compatible with a wide variety of laptop configurations.

Convenience is no afterthought with these devices. Both feature an integrated microSD card slot making them portable storage devices that allow users to carry the data and files they need at their fingertips. LaptopConnect devices allow customers to get more done on-the-go as well as keep up to date with their professional network from anywhere AT&T provides data coverage.

Beginning March 7, both the Turbo and Velocity will be available online and in AT&T stores nationwide. AT&T USBConnect Turbo will be available for free after mail-in rebate and a new two-year DataConnect contract of at least $35 a month (pay $99.99 and after mail-in rebate receive $100 AT&T Promotion Card. Two-year agreement and DataConnect plan required).
AT&T USBConnect Velocity will be available for $29.99 after mail-in rebate and a new two-year DataConnect contract of at least $35 a month (pay $129.99 and after mail-in rebate receive $100 AT&T Promotion Card. Two-year agreement and DataConnect plan required).

http://www.examiner.com/x-22770-Atlanta-Gadgets-Examiner~y2010m3d5-New-LaptopConnect-devices-from-ATT-available-March-7

[Gamco]

Smule CEO: Nokia Isn’t On The Short List Of Anything We Do
March 5, 2010, 10:59 AM ET
By Ty McMahan

Jeff Smith, chief executive at hot mobile-app company SonicMule Inc., known as Smule, couldn’t have been more frank: “Nokia isn’t on the shortlist of anything we do at Smule because we don’t think we can make any money.”

Getty Images Smith’s comment, said onstage at the Billboard Music & Money Symposium in New York, was directed at Liz Schimel, Nokia’s global head of music, entertainment and communities, regarding Nokia’s Ovi application store. The store is similar to app stores offered by Apple and Google for their mobile platforms.

“Our approach to Nokia’s store is, ‘Show me the money,’” Smith said.
Schimel replied, “We haven’t won your heart today, but that’s the plan.”

Smith’s frankness about his company’s aversion to Nokia’s platform and preference for Apple’s iPhone platform opened a spirited discussion about developer platforms for mobile applications.

“We need a standardized application platform,” said Daniel Klaus, who along with CNET Networks Inc. co-founder Kevin Wendle recently launched AppFund, an investment vehicle dedicated to applications for Apple’s forthcoming iPad tablet computer. “We need to create a standard so that the developers can be creative and the sector can scale.”

Klaus’s comments mirror those of the Wholesale Applications Community, an initiative launched last month by 24 telecommunications operators with support from several major handset makers. WAC’s objective is to offer developers a route to market that reaches the widest possible customer base and provides customers with as much choice as possible, according to its statement to the press.

Today, the route to market for developers requires them to approach multiple operators if they want to pursue the entire mobile market. The alliance would provide a single gateway for developers to access potential customers, although some venture capitalists believe that a unified platform is simply a pie in the sky. One of the most vocal is Accel Partners’ Rich Wong, a mobile investor who has repeatedly said mobile app developers shouldn’t wait for a “single silver bullet” because there won’t be unification anytime soon.

Mobile carriers can have a significant effect on the debate based on which handsets they choose to offer. Ed Ruth, director of strategic business development and partner management at Verizon Wireless, agreed that there needs to be a consolidation of platforms.

“But it’s not for us to decide, it’s for the community,” Ruth, another panelist, said.

Ruth said Verizon frequently has conversations with developers about their favorite application platforms, as well as consumers about their preferred handset operating system. Verizon’s position is basically, go with what the people want. And they’re trying to remain neutral in the debate.

This is presenting a challenge for venture capitalists, who may find themselves in a position where they have to pick a side and decide which platform will produce the most profitable companies.

Klaus’s AppFund has obviously decided - even before the device’s launch - that the iPad will be a platform for interesting software companies. Google has launched the Android Developer Challenge to fund applications for its mobile devices, Research In Motion and several firms manage a $150 million fund for Blackberry apps, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers has committed $100 million toward apps for the iPhone and iPod touch platform, although one of the partners of that fund, Kleiner’s Matt Murphy, has repeatedly stated that fund will be platform agnostic.

http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2010/03/05/smule-ceo-nokia-isnt-on-the-short-list-of-anything-we-do/?mod=rss_WSJBlog

[magillagorilla]

UPDATE 3-IPad to hit US stores April 3, then 9 more markets
12:19 pm ET 03/05/2010- Reuters

* Wi-Fi iPad to launch April 3, 3G iPad in late April

* Australia, Canada, Japan, UK & other mkts in late April

* Preorders start March 12 on Apple website

* Apple shares up 3.8 pct, hit all-time high (Adds analyst comments, updates share movement, changes dateline previous NEWYORK)

By Gabriel Madway and Sinead Carew

SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK, March 5 (Reuters) - Apple Inc said the first iPads will be in U.S. stores on April 3 and hit nine international markets from Japan to the United Kingdom later in April.

The news sent shares of Apple surging as much as 3.8 percent to touch an all-time high of $218.69 on the Nasdaq, as analysts said the announcement eased the concerns of some investors that a manufacturing bottleneck could delay launch.

The 9.7-inch touchscreen iPad, which is designed to surf the Web, play video and games, and read digital books, is the most anticipated product launch from Apple since the iPhone in 2007.
Chief Executive Steve Jobs unveiled the tablet in late January, but the company did not announce any international markets until Friday, when it said the tablet will go on sale in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK in late April.

"I think it eases concerns that were circulating about supply. There's always so much speculation around a launch, and this alleviates those fears," said Cross Research analyst Shannon Cross, adding that the breadth of the international launch should reassure investors.

Cross expects the iPad eventually to be a major growth driver for Apple. She estimates the company will sell 4 million to 5 million units in the first year which will add $1 to earnings per share.

There has been some debate on how successful the much-hyped iPad really will be. While most agree that the device is well-designed and appealing to consumers, some analysts are not convinced there is enough demand in the unproven market for tablet computers.

The iPad will have to compete for consumer attention with a myriad of more established device categories, including smartphones, netbooks and dedicated e-readers like Amazon's Kindle.

Apple said that an iBooks application for iPad -- which will compete with the Kindle store -- would be available as a free download on April 3.

A BIT LATER THAN EXPECTED

The U.S. launch date for the iPad model with short-range Wi-Fi wireless links, starting at a price tag of $499, is slightly later than the previously expected late March launch.
Oppenheimer & Co analyst Yair Reiner said there were some supply constraints around the iPad, which was not unusual for a major product launch. But he said that would not be an issue in the long run.

"I think supply constraints can have some short-term impact in the first quarter, obfuscating the true demand around launch time, but the longer term is more important," he said.

Customers looking for versions of the iPad with third-generation (3G) high-speed cellular data links will have to wait until late April, said Apple.

AT&T Inc , the exclusive U.S. carrier for the iPhone, will provide wireless connections for the iPad. But AT&T's top executive said earlier this week that he expects consumers to mostly use Wi-Fi to connect the iPad .

Beginning March 12, U.S. consumers will be able to go to Apple's website to preorder both the Wi-Fi-only model and the version with 3G and Wi-Fi, or reserve a device to pick up at a store on April 3.

Research firm iSuppli estimated the total materials costs for each device is $219.35, with a $10 manufacturing cost .

(Reporting by Gabriel Madway in San Francisco and Sinead Carew in New York; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick, Steve Orlofsky and Matthew Lewis)

[revlis]

GoldSpot Delivers Mobile Ads While You Sleep

GoldSpot Media is one of a small army of companies looking to deliver video ads within mobile applications. But unlike its cohorts, it’s also trying to ease network congestion — by delivering its ads at very particular times.

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based startup launched in 2006 with an eye to delivering ads within streaming video, but that opportunity fizzled as broadcast companies like Qualcomm’s FLO TV failed to gain traction with mobile users. So it turned its technology to applications, creating a drag-and-drop offering called miApp that enables publishers and ad agencies to add various types of video ads to their apps and deploy them across app stores and devices. The offering is the foundation of an interactive ad network that will launch “pretty soon,” according to co-founder and CEO Srini Dharmaji.

GoldSpot pocketed $3 million in a Series A round of funding two years ago from Exa Ventures and hopes to close a second round in the third quarter of this year. While mobile video advertising is still a very small space, established players like AdMob, which was purchased by Google, and Millennial Media already loom large on the field. But Dharmaji claims a key differentiator for GoldSpot is how it delivers ads: while the bigger ad networks stream video ads from the network, GoldSpot uses what he calls “opportunistic downloads” to download campaigns in ways that minimally weigh down cellular networks.

“We detect when a device is connected to Wi-Fi, for example, and opportunistically download the campaigns that are running for the month, so we don’t tax the 3G network in the process,” Dharmaji told me. Meanwhile, an app running on the cell network could receive the ad in the background and cache it on the phone to be presented later. “The app is released into the app store and is downloaded by the user. He starts the app and doesn’t see any ads in the first run, so the next time the user comes back he sees it.”

The technology also delivers content during off-peak times, “waking up” devices to cache ads overnight or during other periods when network congestion isn’t an issue. That strategy enables GoldSpot to deliver higher-quality video, according to Dharmaji, and to play ads quickly once they’re cached. The technology supports a variety of video ads including split-screen and interstitials, giving advertisers and publishers the freedom to choose the best type for their apps and pitches.

At this point, just how much opportunity exists in mobile video advertising is far from clear. In-app advertising is very much a new space where revenues can be hard to come by, and ads can be intrusive and off-putting. That’s especially true of video ads that can seem out of place and even jolting in non-video applications. And GoldSpot has its work cut out for in competing with entrenched, deep-pocketed players like Millennial and AdMob. If GoldSpot can present higher quality video ads, though — and if it can help carriers address increasingly important congestion concerns — it may be able to compete with the Goliaths in the space.

http://gigaom.com/2010/03/05/goldspot-delivers-mobile-ads-while-you-sleep/

[magillagorilla]

iPhone News

Option provides AT&T with premier USB modem

Mar 05, 2010 (M2 EQUITYBITES via COMTEX) -- Wireless technology company Option N.V (Euronext:OPTI)(OTC: OPNVY) announced today that it is shipping AT&T's first ever mobile broadband USB-modem with integrated GPS, the AT&T USBConnect Velocity.

The AT&T USBConnect Velocity is reportedly the premier mobile broadband USB modem offered by AT&T today, offering mobile users great features in one device, namely a built-in GPS, microSD storage up to 32GB and mobile broadband access on the AT&T 3G network.

The built-in aGPS features of the modem allow location-based applications like Microsoft Streets & Trips and Google Earth to operate. In addition, Option is delivering a free software application, the Option GPS Control Panel, that helps customers manage their GPS connections and allows users to show their location on Yahoo Maps, display YellowPages.com results and get driving directions from Bing.com.

The AT&T USBConnect Velocity connects to AT&T's 3G network spanning over 320 major US cities at 3G speeds while easily switching to AT&T more than 20.000 Wi-Fi hotspots when needed with qualified DataConnect plan and Wi-Fi enabled laptop.

Velocity also offers global compatibility with quad band 3G and 2G support, if travelling abroad.

In addition, the device comes with all software needed for Microsoft Windows (XP/Vista/7) or Mac OS X (10.4 and up), and no CD is necessary for installation. The USB modem weighs less than 1 oz (28 gr.) and is thereby an ideal travel tool.

Comments on this story may be sent to [e-mail]

http://iphone.tmcnet.com/news/2010/03/05/4658648.htm

_______________________


InterDigital Signs Option NV to Worldwide Patent License Agreement Covering Products Built to 2G, 3G and 802 Standards

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 8, 2004--InterDigital Communications Corporation (Nasdaq:IDCC), a leading architect, designer and provider of advanced wireless technologies and product platforms, today announced that its patent holding subsidiaries have entered into a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-bearing patent license agreement with Option NV, a provider of 2G, 3G and 802 technology products for wireless connectivity solutions. The patent license agreement covers the sale of terminal units and infrastructure compliant with all Second Generation (2G and 2.5G) and Third Generation (3G) cellular and 802 standards.

ir.interdigital.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=349926

[revlis]

I think olddog gave a good answer or an indication of one.

mo

[olddog967]

revlis: Interesting that Kineto filed to raise $15 million, but only was able to secure $9 million. Looks like some of the investors may be having second thoughts.

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1162354/000116235410000003/xslFormDX01/primary_doc.xml

[Data_Rox]

revlis - does that mean a further write down of our Kineto investment?

During 2007, we made a $5.0 million investment for a non-controlling interest in Kineto Wireless (“Kineto”). In first quarter 2008, we wrote-down this investment $0.7 million based on a lower valuation of Kineto. Early in second quarter 2008, we participated in a new round of financing that included several other investors, investing an additional $0.7 million in Kineto. This second investment both maintained our ownership position and preserved certain liquidation preferences. During 2009 we reassessed our investment in Kineto, and concluded that given their current financial position it was necessary to record an impairment of $3.9 million, which wrote down our carrying amount of our investment in Kineto to approximately $1.0 million at December 31, 2009. Due to the fact that we do not have significant influence over Kineto, we are accounting for this investment using the cost method of accounting.

[revlis]

Kineto Wireless Inc., a Milpitas, Calif.-based provider of mobile over wireless LAN solutions, has secured $9 million in a $15 million fifth-round funding, according to a regulatory filing. The company previously raised around $103 million in total funding since 2001, from Oak Investment Partners, Motorola, Sutter Hill Ventures, Venrock, Seapoint Ventures and InterDigital Communications Corp. The company has now raised around $103 million in total VC funding since its 2001 inception.

http://www.pehub.com/65387/kineto-wireless-raising-15-millon/

[revlis]

Orange announces Intel Atom-based MeeGo devices; Nokia N900 will have a role in testing MeeGo

Announced by Nokia and Intel at MWC 2010, MeeGo, the new versatile platform that combines Moblin and Maemo, will be used by Orange in some of its future devices based on the Intel Atom processor.

Orange says that these MeeGo devices (possibly including smartphones, tablets and netbooks) will come with a range of Orange multimedia services, like Orange Maps and Orange TV (which are part of the Orange Signature Services).

Orange’s MeeGo devices will also have a “customized home-screen”, just like many of the carrier’s handsets currently have.

Orange didn’t mention when its MeeGo devices will be launched. However, Intel and Nokia have previously announced that the very first MeeGo devices would only be available in late 2010, so they’re still about a year away.

http://www.unwiredview.com/2010/03/04/orange-announces-intel-atom-based-meego-devices-nokia-n900-will-have-a-role-in-testing-meego/

[revlis]

WAN Optimization and Management For Data Replication

Bandwidth Optimization
Whereas, data reduction strategies help in reducing the amount of data transferred over the WAN, the link latencies and reliability make a significant dent in the throughputs that are achieved. Data transferred as electrical signals at the speed of light can have noticeable lag when transferring over geographically distant locations, unlike the smaller distances of LAN. These round-trip delays range from a couple of milliseconds for inter-city connections to around 80-100 ms from coast-to-coast, and as much as 250-300 ms for submarine transmissions across the globe. When geostationary satellites are used, naturally the distances covered are much greater, resulting in delays of about 700ms.

While, there is not much that can be done to these latencies, a number of bandwidth optimization techniques can be used to ensure the effective utilization of this bandwidth. Typical data replication solutions over WAN use connection-oriented TCP/IP protocols that alleviates the application from the headaches of reliability, flow control, congestion control etc. While, these work well for LAN networks, the choice of transport protocol makes a significant impact on the utilization of bandwidth. Due to the very nature of the TCP protocol and its dependence on round-trip acknowledgments and sliding windows, the round trip time (RTT) it incurs plays a very dominant role.

A second major factor that adds additional challenges is the issue of packet loss. At such significant transport distances, packets can be dropped due to congestion or bit errors. While recovering from these hiccups, the TCP protocol gets into a 'slow start' mode, where it carries out more conservative corrective actions, resulting in even more restricted performance. In essence, the throughput achieved in long distance replication depends on two basic parameters: the link bandwidth and the transport delays and losses.

Various remedies exist to counteract the irregularity of TCP over long distances; specific tunings or accelerated protocols can sometimes be implemented to help alleviate this problem. Another fairly common, though expensive, solution is to place pairs of special dedicated appliances along the transport path to boost or improve its throughput. As pointed out earlier, although the performance of the TCP stack can be tweaked, it is a fairly accurate generalization that TCP is more suitable for the LAN environment than it is in long-haul networks.

In iSCSI storage servers it is much more desirable to have the TCP stack optimized for the LAN environment. This method of optimization is preferable, since the server is used to serve I/Os over the iSCSI interconnect to the storage network (SAN), which is LAN-like in behavior. For replication over long distances, the data replication can be done using an intelligent combination of several standard IP transport protocols that mix connection-oriented, acknowledgement-based traffic for certain control packets with connectionless protocols that use the bandwidths much more efficiently. The lost packets can be then determined by this custom protocol and requested for retransmission through either connectionless or connection-orientedw modes as desired. Thus by taking control of bandwidth optimization and not leaving it to generic transport protocols storage servers can ensure that the data replication be performed at near-line bandwidth rates. The bandwidth allocated for data replication can also be configured so that it does not flood the network and starve other applications of the bandwidth.

http://pcquest.ciol.com/content/techtrends/2010/110030401.asp

[Gamco]

Is Apple launching a patent war?
By Marguerite Reardon, CNET
March 4, 2010 1:54 p.m. EST


(CNET) -- First, there was the Macintosh. Then it was the iPod, the iPhone, and now the iPad. Next up in Apple's arsenal: The lawyers.

No doubt, when Apple announced Tuesday that it was suing HTC for allegedly infringing on its patents, only one company may have been named, but Jobs & Co. were issuing a legal warning to nearly every company that's released an iPhone-like device.

But how far will this fight go? That's the unanswered question.

The HTC lawsuit could be the first of many as the company stakes its territory in the smartphone market. Larger manufacturers, such as Motorola, Samsung, or Sony Ericsson, may find themselves in the crosshairs later. And even though this particular suit may start with HTC, Apple could end up battling much larger companies Google and Microsoft if it aggressively advances its patent war.

"If Apple just wants to push one competitor out of the way, then it may not implicate Google or Microsoft at all," said Jason Schultz, director of the Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic at the UC Berkeley School of Law. "But if they are staking out their turf and letting everyone know that they own the whole touchscreen smartphone market, then there will be a showdown."

Apple sends clear message

It's still early in the case. Apple has named the patents in question, but it hasn't yet defined how its sees HTC violating these patents. Schultz said when Apple begins filing more detailed arguments it will be much easier to see the company's strategy.

Regardless of how far it goes, Apple's actions are sending a clear signal that the company wants to put the kibosh on iPhone look-alikes. Even as far back as when the iPhone was launched three years ago, it's clear that CEO Steve Jobs wanted to ensure that the iPhone would secure a unique niche in the market.

During that first presentation unveiling the iPhone, he made a point of noting the more than 200 patents that Apple had filed regarding iPhone technology.

Since then, Apple's executives have repeatedly stated they will defend those patents. Last year, when Palm was making a big marketing splash with the Pre, Apple Chief Operations Officer Tim Cook said when asked about competitors that his company would be ready and willing to take on anyone who violated its patents.

"We like competition as long as they don't rip off our IP," he said. "And if they do, we will go after anyone who does."

Many technology companies, such as Nokia, Qualcomm, or Texas Instruments, launch patent fights to extract revenue from companies that will license their technology. In fact, that is why Nokia filed a lawsuit against Apple late last year. Nokia's patents, which it accuses Apple of infringing, largely deal with cellular and Wi-Fi technology. This is technology that Nokia licenses to many other companies, and it generates a nice revenue stream from these patents.

But Apple is not interested in generating cash through licensing technology. In fact, Cook made that very clear during the company's recent shareholder meeting. When asked if the company would consider licensing technologies that Apple develops but doesn't actually sell, he said that the company is "not in the business of licensing ideas."

"In many other patent cases, it's about money," Schultz said. "But that's not likely the case with Apple. You generally only get Apple developed technology on Apple products."

Apple certainly doesn't need the money. And it has plenty of cash to pick up the tab for a long legal battle. At the end of December, the company had about $25 billion in cash and short-term investments. When questioned about the company's large war chest, Jobs said during the company's shareholder meeting that Apple is holding onto the money to take "big, bold" risks. Stoking an expensive patent war to maintain the iPhone's unique position in the market, could certainly be considered a "big, bold" risk.

Why HTC?

Apple likely chose HTC as its target for several reasons. For one, HTC is a relatively small and young company when compared with some of its handset rivals, which means it has less money for a long legal battle. And it likely has fewer patents that can be used to countersue Apple.

And if Apple is able to strong-arm HTC into changing its designs or even wins the legal war, that will provide leverage that Apple can use against other phone manufacturers, such as Motorola, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson.

These manufacturers may back off on using similar iPhone technology on their own, or Apple could use a victory to bolster its position in future patent fights.

"I would guess Apple wants to take on a fight that they think they can win," Schultz said. "The smart thing to do in these cases is to pick on someone with fewer resources and fewer of its own patents. It makes it much easier to go after subsequent companies with a win under your belt."

Another likely major reason that HTC was picked: it is currently Apple's biggest threat. HTC was the first handset maker to start making Android phones. It sells five today, and it announced two more Android devices at Mobile World Congress last month: the HTC Legend and the HTC Desire.

These phones feature the latest Android software. These latest phones also look more like the iPhone with a curvier, softer, smoother phone design. And functionally, they match and even surpass the iPhone in some ways.

In addition to its growing Android portfolio, HTC also manufactures about 80 percent of the phones that use the Windows Mobile software. And it will likely be the first handset maker to come out with a smartphone using the new Windows Phone 7 operating system, which is specifically designed for touch screen phones could pose a threat to the iPhone.

Apple has good reason to be nervous about Android. Market researchers, such as IDC, are predicting that Google's Android will grow its market share faster than any other smartphone operating system over the next five years. By 2013 IDC predicts that the software will be the second most used smartphone operating system throughout the world.

Today, the Symbian operating system, used mostly on Nokia phones, dominates the smartphone operating system market worldwide. BlackBerry maker Research In Motion holds the No. 2 spot currently, with Apple in the No.3 spot globally. But by 2013, Android is expected knock out RIM as the No. 2 operating system provider globally and bump Apple from its second place position in the U.S.

Who's next?

So why wouldn't Apple simply go after Google if it presents such a large threat? That's a good question. One reason could be because Apple is also a close partner with Google.

Google pays Apple millions of dollars for search requests that come from Safari running both on Apple computers as well as from the iPhone, the iPod Touch, and soon the iPad. Apple is also featuring many Google applications on the iPhone, such as Google Maps and Google Earth.

Fighting an aggressive battle against HTC could still get Apple what it wants without going after Google directly. Other Android phone makers, such as Motorola and Sony Ericsson, may want to avoid getting in Apple's crosshairs. So they may alter their products to ensure their Android and Microsoft 7 Phones don't look or act exactly like an iPhone.

Yet another reason to go after HTC instead of Google or Microsoft may be because it will be easier to get the International Trade Commission, which will likely conclude its case much faster than the federal court in Delaware, to ban the importation of infringing devices into the U.S. Since Apple is not in this for the money, that's likely what Apple wants anyway.

"The patent statute prohibits the importation or selling of a product," said David Levitt, a partner specializing in intellectual property at the law firm of Hinshaw & Culbertson in Chicago. "HTC is the device maker. And the phone is the product sold to the end user, not the Google software."

Still, there is a chance that Google and Microsoft could be dragged into the lawsuit anyway, depending on how aggressively Apple frames its arguments. And given its large wallet, Apple may not care who it takes on.

If Apple's arguments include technology that is inherent in the operating systems provided by Google and Microsoft, and if they are not exclusively part of the hardware and software design provided by HTC, then Google and Microsoft may be forced to defend their technology.

But in reading the ITC complaint closely, Apple does a curious thing. It names 12 phones that it claims use technology that infringes its patents. Five of those phones -- including the Nexus One, which is sold directly by Google -- use Google's Android operating system. And seven of the phones named in the complaint use Microsoft's Windows Mobile software. While Apple specifically states that five of the phones use Android software, it doesn't explicitly state the other seven use Microsoft's technology. In fact, Microsoft is not mentioned anywhere in the complaint.

It's difficult to say why Apple didn't identify these phones as Windows Mobile devices. It could be because Apple and Microsoft already have a cross-licensing agreement for mobile technology. Microsoft has had an IP licensing program since December 2003, and it mentioned Apple as one of many companies that is participating in this program when it announced a cross-licensing deal with Amazon in February. Microsoft said it has more than 600 licensing agreements with a broad range of companies, including Apple, HP, LG Electronics, Nikon, Novell, and Samsung Electronics, among others.

Neither company has publicly stated what technologies are involved in the deal and which products are involved. But this could explain why Microsoft was not even mentioned in the ITC complaint.

It will likely be months before Apple reveals much of its strategy in the patent fight. But you can bet that other handset makers, as well as Google and Microsoft, will be watching closely.

CNET's Ina Fried and Erica Ogg contributed to this report.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/03/04/cnet.apple.patent/

[ciciagt]

OT: Is IHub rather slow yesterday/today for anyone else?

EDIT: just saw this on another board

Posted by: zigzagman Date: Thursday, March 04, 2010 12:19:51 PM
In reply to: Susie924 who wrote msg# 138384 Post # of 138386

WEB4 server is as slow as molasses today!...

It took over a minute for a post to post...

That's the WORST I've ever seen it here...

[Gamco]

revlis - I think this is important:(and I think I can hear "Oh Canada" playing in the background with vocal by "Mr. Boles"! LOL
--------------------------------------
Wi-LAN eyes Nortel's LTE patent portfolio: CEO
Wed, Mar 3 2010
By Ashutosh Joshi and Abhiram Nandakumar

BANGALORE (Reuters) - Wi-LAN Inc <WIN.TO> said on Wednesday it was eyeing bankrupt Nortel Networks Corp's <NRTLQ.PK> fourth-generation wireless technology patents, and had held preliminary talks with bankruptcy trustees.

Wi-LAN, which develops and licenses intellectual property for products in the communications and consumer electronics markets, said many investment banks have approached it to make a pitch for Nortel's intellectual property, particularly the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) technology.

"We are looking at the patents ... We are quite interested in the LTE or the 4G wireless portfolio," Chief Executive Jim Skippen said by phone. "Although there may be few other portfolios, but that is the one we are most interested in."

To acquire the patents, Wi-LAN may float a separate company, wherein institutional investors would provide capital, the CEO said.

"I still think it is going to take a while for this whole thing to play out, but we definitely have oars in the water, and we definitely are looking at it and thinking about," the CEO said on a conference call.

Once North America's biggest telecommunications equipment maker, Nortel filed for bankruptcy in January 2009. It is auctioning off its assets in an effort to pay back debt holders, rather than restructuring the business.

However, the company continues to retain more than 3,000 patents in the United States as well as other countries, which could potentially earn huge money for the company.

Wi-LAN, which currently has more than 800 patents, said it signed contracts with 59 companies in 2009 and is focusing on advanced wireless technologies, particularly technologies applicable to the use of white-space frequency for broadband access.

Wi-LAN reported a narrower full-year net loss, helped by a one-time tax gain, and said it expects higher revenue for 2010.

The company said it sees revenue of C$40 million to C$45 million ($38.7 million to $43.6 million) for 2010.

For the year ended December 31, the company posted a net loss of C$1.7 million, or 2 Canadian cents per share, compared with a net loss of C$9.2 million, or 10 Canadian cents per share for the year ended October 31 2008.

Wi-LAN said earnings were helped by a one-time tax gain of C$19.6 million related to its corporate restructuring program.

Revenue rose 33 percent to C$35.4 million.

Wi-LAN shares closed at C$2.95 Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange. They touched a high of C$3.04 in regular session.

(Reporting by Abhiram Nandakumar and Ashutosh Joshi in Bangalore; Editing by Jarshad Kakkrakandy, Ratul Ray Chaudhuri)