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  • Is an iPad a Revolutionary Device?

    After all the rumors and geek’s dreams… I’m almost sure some people get disappointed about the device and the general consensus among the people I spoke with about the iPad is that “Wow! But is not for me,” or “It’s only for geeks.”

    Yeah, Wednesday’s presentation was quite impressive and I have to agree that it would be nice to have such a device. But if I already have a computer and an iPhone… the only reason to buy the iPad would be that is not so expensive and that I love to have gadgets.

    But I have to be positive on it. I think it will make a huge difference and it’s the first of a new category of devices that will come sooner than expected.

    I see two main market segments for the iPad. Well, three if we include the geeks.

    Who does not have a photo album at home? The experience of opening the book, sharing and commenting the pictures while handling it and sitting close to our friends… Digital photography has reduced the amount of printed pictures, and we have started to use TV and computer slideshows to view it.

    I can imagine my parents using the iPad just like they were using an ordinary photo album, having it ready to show the pictures of their grandsons to unexpected guests. No need to open the TV, no need to bring the computer.

    In order to fit in this category it will require over the air iPhoto synchronization, something that Apple TV already does. Also, it would be great to have bi-directional synchronization to be able to play with the photos (re-arrange, comment, tag) on the iPad.

    Another area is a segment of professional applications. The list here is long: from doctors handling it in the hospitals, decoration outlets and architects showing their projects and interacting with their customer’s work, to more basic, like a restaurant menu or beauty salons offering it instead of newspapers and magazines.

    What the device is missing?

    Clearly it needs a video camera for video conferencing. It would be great if it also had a rear camera.

    Size is important… and most probably we will see this device in smaller, portable 6” format as well as in a larger format to facilitate reading newspapers and magazines.

    A memory slot and USB connector to connect with the rest of the world are also more than welcome.

    And networking capabilities! Why do I have to have the media in the iPad? Why not let the device mount an AFP or SMB drive, so that it could have virtually unlimited storage capacity?

    My conclusion is that it is only a first step, but the iPad is definitely a revolutionary device.

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    The Apple iPad is Here

  • The Apple iPad is Here

    “It is a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price,” said Steve Jobs unveiling Apple’s “latest creation” yesterday in San Francisco. Although we may doubt if the iPad really brings “magic” and “revolution” to us, we have to admit the prices are unexpectedly low. Yesterday, Apple’s stocks started to climb fast only when Jobs revealed how much we’ll have to spend on the device.

    All the rumors were saying the tablet will be not less than $999, and from this point of view the actual prices look really affordable. $499 for the basic version (16GB, no 3G) is something nobody expected; also $829 for the bloated 64GB, 3G version won’t scare anyone.

    So, what do you get for this price? iPad is 0.5 inch thick, 1.5 pound device with 9.7-inch, 1024 x 768, LED-backlit, responsive high-resolution Multi-Touch display that features IPS technology and has a wide 178 degree viewing angle.

    It’s powered by 1GHz “A4” chip designed by Apple (using their own P.A. Semi technology) and is claimed to have 10-hour battery life and a month of standby.

    It’ll come with a 30-pin dock connector, a microphone, a speaker, Bluetooth (2.1 + EDR), 802.11n WiFi and optional 3G, as well as an accelerometer and a compass.

    iPad comes in two versions—one with Wi-Fi and the other with both Wi-Fi and 3G. iPad includes the latest 802.11n Wi-Fi, and the 3G versions support speeds up to 7.2 Mbps on HSDPA networks.

    Every iPad is unlocked and comes with a GSM micro-SIM. Together with AT&T, Apple announced 3G pre-paid data plans for iPad: 250MB for $14.99 and an unlimited plan for $29.99 a month contract-free (with on-device activation and management, and a free use of AT&T WiFi hotspots). International deals will come in June.

    iPad syncs with iTunes just like the iPhone and iPod touch, using the standard Apple 30-pin to USB cable. The device features 12 Multi-Touch applications. Every app works in both portrait and landscape, automatically animating between views as the user rotates iPad in any direction.

    The operating system is based on iPhone OS, so the iPad can run all iPhone apps – either pixel-for-pixel in a window, or pixel-doubled fullscreen. Apple says they rewrote all of our apps for this display.

    Apple released a new SDK for iPad, allowing developers to target iPad’s specifics while developing new apps. The SDK includes a simulator that lets developers test and debug their iPad apps on a Mac, and also lets developers create Universal Applications that run on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.

    Apple also announced the new iBooks app for iPad, which includes Apple’s new iBookstore that will feature books from “major and independent publishers”– five new big Apple’s partners: Penguin, Simon & Schuster, Hachette Book Group, Macmillian and Harper Collins.

    iPad has almost full-size soft keyboard but it also connects to the new iPad Keyboard Dock with a full-size traditional keyboard ($70). Additionally, there is a "camera connection kit" to allow to plug a camera in over USB or use an SD card ($30) and a leather case ($40).

    Unfortunately, iPad doesn’t support Adobe Flash and multitasking. There is also no camera and HDMI output.

    New Apple device will be available in late March worldwide for a suggested retail price of $499 for the 16GB model, $599 for 32GB and $699 for 64GB.

    The Wi-Fi + 3G models of iPad will be available in April in the US and selected countries for a suggested retail price of $629 for the 16GB model, $729 for the 32GB and $829 for the 64GB.

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  • Verizon Business Offers New VoIP Contact Solution

    Verizon claims many consumers prefer to call a local business near them, even if their queries can sometimes be more effectively handled through a business’ central contact center.

    “With a new voice-over-Internet protocol offering from Verizon, however, businesses can maintain a consistent local face while directing overflow calls, as needed, to off-site customer service representatives or other retail locations,” says Verizon.

    The new offering, Verizon VoIP Inbound with Local Originations, provides a local phone number with call manager functionality traditionally used for toll-free phone numbers.

    According to the company, this capability enables local representatives in, for example, a neighborhood retail store or bank branch, to better focus on the customers in front of them by removing the need to juggle multiple incoming calls.

    "This innovative solution lets a business keep its local presence while more quickly serving call-in and walk-in customers alike," said Tony Recine, vice president of network and communications solutions for Verizon.

    "What’s more, this capability enables multiple agents to simultaneously address multiple customers, potentially driving additional revenue."

    A cost-efficient alternative to remote call forwarding, the new service integrates with Verizon IP Interactive Voice Response (IVR) offerings and can deliver customer calls to either traditional or IP-based contact centers.

    Verizon’s IP Contact Center is a portfolio of interaction services that includes VoIP Inbound and IP IVR. This network-based portfolio provides VoIP conversion in the network for reliable termination to SIP devices.

    These products help customers attain efficiency gains associated with IP such as compression and dynamic bandwidth allocation, as the company claims.

    Verizon says a smooth migration extends the capabilities of the legacy Toll Free network. The customers continue to dial an 8XX number (TDM) but the Network Gateway converts the Toll Free call into VoIP and allows for termination over standard access methods such as Internet Dedicated Access and Private IP.

  • Cox Successfully Delivers Voice and HD Video via LTE

    Cox announced the successful completion of voice calling and high definition video streaming over wireless networks using LTE technology.

    Cox’s 4G technology and service trials utilize the AWS and 700 MHz spectrum that it acquired at Federal Communication Commission auctions in 2006 and 2008. The company informed that they spent over $550 million for radio spectrum licenses to support its wireless plans, which include wireless broadband.

    Cox conducted the 4G trials in Phoenix and San Diego and chose these markets for “the advanced technology-orientation of its residential and business customers”, as well as the terrain and suburban density variances of their geographies.

    While Cox is testing 4G LTE technology in these markets, it is initially deploying wireless services using the 3G CDMA standard in some regions of California and Nebraska.

    “We are encouraged by the success of the Phoenix and San Diego tests, which further validate our decision to pursue 4G based on LTE, specifically the 3GPP Release 8 standard," said Stephen Bye, Cox’s vice president of wireless.

    Next month, Bye will expand on Cox’s 4G learnings as he participates in a keynote session titled "Ready for Launch of Next Generation Mobile Networks" at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

    Collaborating with Cox in conducting the 4G trials and testing the wireless services and applications were Alcatel-Lucent and Huawei.

    Cox, the third-largest U.S. cable TV company, provides digital video, internet, telephone and wireless services over its own nationwide IP network.

  • Apple Reports All-Time Highest Revenue, Sold 8.7 Million iPhones in Q1 2010

    Two days before the long-awaited unveiling of the company’s “latest creation”, Apple revealed financial results for its Q1 2010 (ended December 26, 2009).

    The company posted revenue of $15.68 billion and a net quarterly profit of $3.38 billion, or $3.67 per diluted share.

    These results compare to revenue of $11.88 billion and net quarterly profit of $2.26 billion, or $2.50 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter.

    International sales accounted for 58 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

    Apple sold 8.7 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 100 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter.

    Sales went up especially in Japan (400 percent!), Australia, UK, France, and Germany. Apple’s flag device is now sold in 86 countries. 17 new carriers have added iPhone to their offerings.

    Apple COO Tim Cook said the company is moving slow in China because they are focused on building the brand there and on the quality of point of sale (there are 1500 points of sale for the iPhone in China). Earlier this month Apple activated over 200,000 units in China.

    The company also sold 3.36 million Macs during the quarter (a 33 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter) and 21 million iPods (an eight percent decline).

    Laptop sales were up 18 percent and sales of the iPod touch went up 55 percent.

    “If you annualize our quarterly revenue, it’s surprising that Apple is now a $50+ billion company,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO.

    “The new products we are planning to release this year are very strong, starting this week with a major new product that we’re really excited about.”

    According to Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO, Apple expects revenue in the range of about $11.0 billion to $11.4 billion and diluted earnings per share in the range of about $2.06 to $2.18 in Q2 2010.

  • snom Makes Broadcasts Possible From VoIP Phone

    snom, a developer and manufacturer of IP phones, has developed a new audio device that will allow SIP-based VoIP telephones to be used as an extension of any public address system.

    The PA1 is an audio control system that augments the SIP-based PBX. It has a built-in four-watt amplifier that can provide enough volume to fill large rooms and open spaces with sound using easily connected external speakers. Headset connection is also possible through two 3.5mm jacks.

    According to the company, the device is ideal for broadcasting announcements or playing music, can be used anywhere from reception areas to airports reducing the costs associated with this type of system

    The PA1 can link with all SIP-based VoIP telephones and business IP PBX platforms.

    It can be power-fed either via conventional power supply unit connection or through Power-over- Ethernet (PoE). The specific addressing of individual snom PA1 control systems can be centrally configured via the device’s web interface.

    Aside of the leading SIP protocol, the snom PA1 can also be addressed via Multicast, thus enabling one transmitter to simultaneously address many receivers.

    The device can also be linked to any existing installed public address loudspeakers.

    “Even across a network of 100 metres of cabling, there is no reduction in sound quality,” said Nelly Monkhouse, Sales Manager at snom.

    The PA1 will be unveiled at CeBIT in March in Hanover, Germany.

  • What Does Nokia’s Launch of Free Navigation Mean to the Market?

    On 21 January 2010, Nokia announced that it is to make turn-by-turn navigation free with its Ovi Maps offering. The research firm Canalys claims the move is a logical one for Nokia to take, especially in light of the recent launch of Google’s free navigation solution.

    Google’s navigation currently supports only Android devices and is confined to the United States – though Canalys expects both of these limitations to be addressed this year.

    “As Google’s free solution becomes more widely available, it will inevitably have a negative impact on consumers’ willingness to pay for navigation, making it increasingly hard for application providers to charge for their solutions. Yet Nokia’s move should be viewed less as a defensive measure and more as it going on the offensive,” state Canalys.

    “It already has the necessary assets in-house, with its own navigation software, ownership of Navteq, and a huge, growing installed base of GPS-integrated smart phones. In making its own solution free now, it has a head start over Google and any other vendor that follows in every supported market except the US, giving it time to firmly associate itself with the concept of free navigation through promotional activity.”

    Canalys’ end-user research has repeatedly shown that navigation is a feature that consumers want on their mobile phones. Being the first to make global navigation free across so wide a portfolio of devices will give Nokia handsets a true value-add and help it differentiate its products in the increasingly competitive smart phone space, according to the research group.

    Alanysts predict Nokia’s free navigation announcement will not be welcomed though by all its mobile operator partners.

    “While some are happy to endorse or support services that help encourage data consumption, many offer chargeable GPS navigation services themselves, albeit with varying success outside the US, and may well be reluctant to support a move that encourages consumers to expect navigation and other mobile content and services for free, eroding potential revenue streams,” says Canalys.

    According to the analysis, Nokia’s announcement may conceivably push more operators into partnerships with third-party navigation solution providers, where navigation is bundled with the cost of a data plan, providing their own effectively free navigation solutions with an incentive for customers to sign up to data plans, while maintaining customer ownership advantages.

    “Similarly, handset competitors may consider entering into deeper, closer relationships with selected navigation software vendors to offer their own bundled or free solutions. This would minimize Nokia’s ability to use navigation as a differentiator and enable them to also take advantage of the growing consumer appetite for, and expectation of, having free navigation available on smart phones out-of-the-box,” states Canalys.

    That it may prompt operators and some of Nokia’s competitors to pay more attention to their own navigation partner relationships.

    Canalys analysts claim the most significant impact for navigation vendors will likely be the effect that a widespread Nokia advertising campaign will have on consumers and their willingness to pay for navigation.

    "All providers will come under substantial pressure to reduce prices, and few consumers will be happy to pay the kind of prices that vendors such as TomTom or Navigon are currently able to command through application stores,” thay say.

  • Truphone Brings Wi-Fi Calling to Nexus One

    After releasing VoIP enabled Truphone for Android earlier this month, Truphone today announced that it has updated the application to operate on Nexus One, which makes the company the first to provide Wi-Fi calling on Google’s device.

    In addition to compatibility with the Nexus One, the update (version 3.0.2), ensures compatibility with the T-Mobile Pulse, meaning that Truphone is now Wi-Fi compatible with a total of five Android devices (Nexus One, Puls, HTC G1, HTC Magic and HTC Hero). Compatibility with Motorola Droid is supposed to come soon.

    The Truphone for Android integrates a full VoIP engine allowing users to make free calls to Truphone, Google Talk and Skype users when both parties are in Wi-Fi, in addition to low cost calls to landlines and mobiles around the world whether they are in or out of Wi-Fi.

    It also includes fully integrated multi-headed Instant Messaging support for Skype, Google Talk, AIM, Yahoo! and MSN customers.

    The application builds on the company’s previous release which allowed customers to make low cost calls on their mobiles when out of Wi-Fi. When out of Wi-Fi, the application works by making a local GSM call to the Truphone gateway (if a customer has a bundled package of minutes this call is often free, otherwise is charged as a ‘local call’), from where the call is then routed over the Truphone network.

    Calls can be made outside of Wi-Fi using Truphone Anywhere in 33 countries around the world.

    The application is available now as a free download in the Android Market.

  • Gartner: Consumers Will Spend $6.2 Billion in Mobile Application Stores in 2010

    Consumers will spend $6.2 billion in 2010 in mobile application stores while advertising revenue is expected to generate $0.6 billion worldwide, according to market research firm Gartner.

    Analysts said mobile application stores will exceed 4.5 billion downloads in 2010, eight out of ten of which will be free to end users.

    Gartner forecasts worldwide downloads in mobile application stores to surpass 21.6 billion by 2013. Free downloads will account for 82 per cent of all downloads in 2010, and will account for 87 per cent of downloads in 2013.

    “As smartphones grow in popularity and application stores become the focus for several players in the value chain, more consumers will experiment with application downloads,” said Stephanie Baghdassarian, research director at Gartner.

    “Games remain the No. 1 application, and mobile shopping, social networking, utilities and productivity tools continue to grow and attract increasing amounts of money.”

    The research shows worldwide mobile application stores’ download revenue exceeded $4.2 billion in 2009 and will grow to $29.5 billion by the end of 2013.

    This revenue forecast includes end-user spending on paid-for applications and advertising-sponsored free applications. Advertising-sponsored mobile applications will generate almost 25 per cent of mobile application stores revenue by 2013.

    According to Carolina Milanesi, research director at Gartner, application stores will be a core focus throughout 2010 for the mobile industry and applications themselves will help determine the winner among mobile devices platforms.

    “Consumers will have a wide choice of stores and will seek the ones that make it easy for them to discover applications they are interested in and make it easy to pay for them when they have to. Developers will have to consider carefully not only which platform to support but also which store to promote their applications in,” she said.

    High-end smartphone users today tend to be early adopters of new mobile applications and more trustful of billing mechanisms, so they will pay for applications that can meet their needs, as Gartner claims.

    Analysts think average smartphone users will become less tech-savvy as smartphones come down in price to have a mass market appeal and these users will be more reluctant to pay for applications.

  • 3 Scandinavia Launches World’s First 84Mbps HSPA Network

    Danish and Swedish consumers can look forward to four times faster mobile broadband as operator 3‘s network speeds leap from 21Mbps to 84Mbps.

    To improve coverage, the upgrade will be complemented by a new 900MHz 3G network, the first in Sweden, supplied and supported by Ericsson.

    The three-year contract between Ericsson and 3 includes the HSPA Evolution capacity upgrade of its existing 3G network, via 42Mbps, to 84Mbps plus a new WCDMA/HSPA radio access network on the 900MHz frequency band.

    In addition, Ericsson is providing IP-based optical and microwave backhaul, and support services.

    Nationwide rollout in Denmark and four major cities in Sweden will start in the first quarter of 2010.

    Peder Ramel, CEO at 3 Scandinavia, said: "We were the first to launch turbo 3G in the Nordic region and now we are first signing up for the world’s fastest 3G.”

    “Ericsson is evolving our network so we can meet these demands and give our customers true connectivity, wherever they are – from city office to country cottage," he added.

    3 Scandinavia is a part of the global 3 group (25 million customers in 10 countries), a joint venture between Hutchison Whampoa Ltd in Hong Kong (60 %) and Investor AB in Stockholm (40 %). The company also holds a license to operate a 3G network in Norway.