|
Pings
& Packets - Thursday, March 7, 2002
by Derek Kerton
In the "More Money Than I Know What To Do With" category, Nokia has launched a subsidiary, Vertu, which will make phones costing on the order of $US 20,000. Beneath the platinum, gold, jewels and style will be -a phone! Come on, people! At some point philanthropy becomes a better choice than lunacy. Build a school in Zimbabwe for crying out loud. Custom phone detailers have been doing this work for some time, and apparently Nokia wants to cash in on that segment of the market. Nokia is right to do so in order to maximize shareholder value, but PT Barnum would have a few things to say about the customers. Other carriers are expected to follow suit.
More Money Spent on Mobile content than Wired. A study from Jupiter MMXI reveals that during 2001, European consumers spent $531 million on content on their mobile phones, compared with $226.8 million on content services on a computer. This is particularly promising for the mobile data industry. It reveals that the consumer mindset that "information should cost zero" has not migrated from the PC to the mobile phone.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173740.html
2002 Will be the year cell phones surpass wired lines. At the end of 2001, there were 1.045 billion fixed lines, and about a billion mobile phones, according to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). Gary Fowlie of the ITU predicts that, "Within the first few months of this year, mobile phones will overtake fixed lines."
Strong forecasts from the Yankee Group: The Yankee Group reports that in 2001, 114.3 million wireless subscribers were voice only, with 11.4 million subscribers combining voice and data. By 2006, Yankee predicts 100.4 million voice-only subscribers and 96.3 million voice and data subscribers.
http://www.washtech.com/news/telecom/14816-1.html
Research In Motion, makers of the popular BlackBerry recently announced a new GPRS device to run on 2.5G networks. The BlackBerry 5810 is distinguished from other RIM products by the inclusion of voice calling capability, as well as the BlackBerry's usual wireless data applications. VoiceStream Wireless and AT&T Wireless have announced plans to offer the device. VoiceStream will offer the 5810 for the hefty tag of $499, with a data-and-voice combo plan for $39.99. This is a nice option for those who are currently paying and managing two contracts for a phone and a BlackBerry. ATT has not announced pricing. With the advent of the Danger device, the Handspring Treo, and the talk of Microsoft's Stinger phone, traditional mobile phone makers are going to need to defend their market. Ultimately, the consumer will benefit from the increased competition, and a variety of devices of all shapes and sizes will be offered. So much for "any color you like so long as it's black."
In the "Abuses of Mobile Technology" Category: Acme Rent-a-Car in Connecticut was using GPS tracking and batch-sync technologies to spy on the driving habits of drivers. The system used the GPS network of overhead satellites to monitor such data as driving speed. Customers would be billed to their credit cards after their rental, without explanation, up to $150 in fines per speeding incident. Although the practice was described in the fine print of the rental contracts, it was an illegal provision, and the company was ordered to return the fines. Sa-a-a-ay, isn't that the company that's run by Wile E. Coyote? Man, that dog just won't hunt.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2001-07-05-ebrief.htm
NTT DoCoMo announced vague plans to Expand 3G Network Coverage to 60 percent of Japan's "populated areas" by the end of April, the company said in a statement. The company is slowly working through the many glitches one encounters as the leader in 3G deployments.
Meanwhile, DoCoMo partner KPN Mobile of Holland has set a date for its i-Mode launch. On March 16, the organized and quite polite Dutch will be able to access I-Mode services while doing their favorite activities such as bicycling and pole-vaulting across canals.
Air2Web has completed its acquisition of wireless ASP 2Roam. Included in the purchase are 2Roam's Wireless server Solution, the 2Roam development tools, and the respectable customer base including eBay, Hoover's and Best Western Hotels.
********************************************************
|
