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Monday, January 10, 2011

Verizon big winner from having iPhone? Not so fast (AP) : Technet

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Verizon big winner from having iPhone? Not so fast (AP) : Technet

Verizon big winner from having iPhone? Not so fast (AP)

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 05:05 PM PST

By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer Peter Svensson, Ap Technology Writer – Mon Jan 10, 8:05 pm ET

NEW YORK – Verizon Wireless would seem to be a big winner after its expected announcement Tuesday that it will start selling the iPhone and break Apple Inc.'s monogamous relationship with AT&T Inc. in the U.S.

But for several reasons, the iPhone's arrival to Verizon would be poorly timed, and Verizon's gains won't be as clearcut.

There's no doubt a Verizon iPhone would attract millions of buyers, and it would give the country's largest wireless carrier a chance to catch up with AT&T in attracting high-paying smart-phone customers.

Since the iPhone's debut in 2007, AT&T has been its exclusive distributor in the U.S. Many people held back because they already had service with a carrier they liked or were apprehensive about congestion on AT&T's network, particularly in New York and San Francisco.

Rumors about a Verizon iPhone have swirled for years and have risen in recent months. The Wall Street Journal has reported that an event Verizon is holding Tuesday is to announce a deal with Apple to start selling iPhones at the end of the month.

Verizon, Apple and AT&T wouldn't confirm that.

Analysts estimate Verizon iPhone sales this year would range from 5 million to 13 million, some coming from what AT&T would have sold. The iPhone is big business for AT&T: The carrier activated 11.1 million iPhones in the first nine months of 2010.

Many analysts say Verizon could sell more iPhones in the U.S. than AT&T this year, given pent-up demand from customers not wanting to switch to AT&T.

Yet several factors may give prospective Verizon iPhone buyers pause.

The first Verizon iPhone would likely only work on the older, "3G" network. That network has wide coverage, excellent reliability and less congestion than AT&T's, but data speeds are much slower than new "4G" networks both AT&T and Verizon are building. You also can't talk and surf at the same time with Verizon 3G phones.

Also, Apple has been launching a new iPhone model every summer, and presumably an iPhone 5 is coming. But Verizon may have to wait until next January to get it, giving AT&T a head start. That's because Verizon may be on the same one-year upgrade cycle that AT&T has been on.

Most importantly, cell phone companies do their best to tie subscribers up with contracts. AT&T executives last year stressed to investors that most of their iPhone users are on family and employer plans — more difficult for an individual to switch from.

"The consensus is that AT&T is reasonably well-prepared for Verizon's iPhone onslaught ... for now," said Sanford Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett.

For this reason, John Hodulik at UBS expects that 77 percent of his estimated 13 million Verizon iPhones this year would go to current Verizon subscribers, rather than new ones. That's a concern because Verizon has to subsidize the cost of each iPhone, hoping to make it up through service fees over time.

Verizon would essentially be paying heavily to upgrade its own subscribers. Hodulik figures that even with the iPhone's boost to service revenue, iPhone subsidies would reduce Verizon earnings this year by a net 15 cents per share, or about $425 million.

Still, analysts don't expect the Verizon iPhone to affect stock prices much, reasoning that investors have already factored in the news.

Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. of New York and Vodafone Group PLC of Britain. Since mid-July, Verizon Communications' stock has gained 40 percent, while AT&T's has gained 20 percent. On Monday, Verizon stock lost 1 cent to close at $35.92; Dallas-based AT&T lost 51 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $28.34.

For AT&T, long-term contracts and other factors would help it retain some iPhone customers. But Christopher King of Stifel Nicolaus estimates as many as 6 million would flee to Verizon over two years, while James Ratcliffe at Barclay's expects just 1 million this year.

Hodulik says AT&T would actually benefit in the short term from paying fewer subsidies, saving about 10 cents per share, or about $590 million, this year.

The No. 3 and No. 4 carriers in the U.S., Sprint Nextel Corp. and T-Mobile USA, may have as much to lose from a Verizon iPhone than AT&T. They won't have iPhones of their own and would face the added competition from Verizon's model. Sprint recently started reversing a multi-year subscriber loss, but its recovery is still tentative, and T-Mobile's subscriber figures are stagnating.

Other potential losers are Google Inc. and Motorola Mobility Inc. To counter the iPhone's popularity, Verizon has worked closely with Google to promote its Android phone operating system. Motorola was one of the main beneficiaries, having bet on Android phones to turn around a multi-year slide in its sales. Verizon now accounts for about 45 percent of Motorola's smart phone sales, according to analyst Tim Long at BMO Capital Markets.

The Verizon iPhone "will be the first true test for Android," Kaufman analyst Shaw Wu said. It would demonstrate whether gains in its market share are real or just temporary, stemming from weak competition from other iPhone rivals such as the BlackBerry, he said.

The biggest winner would be Apple. With the benefit of hindsight, the tie-up with AT&T was a strategic mistake.

Cell phone makers often give U.S. carriers exclusive rights to sell a model, but usually only for six months or so. Apple signed a multi-year contract with AT&T, probably so AT&T would carry a phone that broke many industry rules. Apple had complete control over the software on the phone, and it was linked to Apple's music and video stores, not AT&T's. When the App Store came along a year later, that was completely controlled by Apple as well.

But AT&T exclusivity limited sales in the U.S., both because many people are tied to other carriers, and because AT&T's network buckled under the onslaught of data-hungry iPhone users.

Apple didn't sign multi-year exclusivity deals in other countries, and the U.S. is now one of few countries to have a single iPhone carrier. In just weeks, even that distinction would end.

AMD's CEO resigns suddenly, board cites growth (AP)

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 05:54 PM PST

By JORDAN ROBERTSON, AP Technology Writer Jordan Robertson, Ap Technology Writer – Mon Jan 10, 8:54 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – Advanced Micro Devices Inc. forced out its CEO Dirk Meyer on Monday in a surprise twist of fate for a technologist who inherited the chip maker when it was in tatters and won fans on Wall Street for steering it through a wrenching turnaround.

AMD is a heavyweight in the computer industry as the world's No. 2 maker of microprocessors. Meyer's sudden resignation caught many in the industry off guard. Under his 2 1/2-year tenure, AMD came back from the brink of collapse by spinning off its expensive chip factories and its stock price went from less than $2 to more than $9 a share.

But AMD's board was blunt in its reason for showing Meyer the door.

In a statement, the board's chairman, Bruce Claflin, acknowledged that Meyer took the helm at a difficult time and "successfully stabilized" the company. The board, however, felt Meyer wasn't the right person to lead the company through its next phase of growth.

"The board believes we have the opportunity to create increased shareholder value over time," Claflin said. "This will require the company to have significant growth, establish market leadership and generate superior financial returns. We believe a change in leadership at this time will accelerate the company's ability to accomplish these objectives."

A company spokesman said Meyer will receive $8.6 million in cash and that all of his equity will become fully vested as part of his severance.

The announcement came the same day that AMD's chief rival, Intel Corp., announced that it will pay $1.5 billion to Nvidia Corp. for a license to all of Nvidia's patents. That settlement reflects the changing nature of the semiconductor industry as companies such as Intel and AMD are facing new types of competitors looking to put their chips in smart phones, tablets and other mobile devices using chip designs that consume less power than Intel's and AMD's offerings.

Patrick Wang, a semiconductor analyst with Wedbush Securities, described the resignation as "shocking," especially following AMD's launch of a powerful new line of chips called Fusion at last week's International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

"I totally did not see this coming," Wang said. "We just saw him at CES give a great presentation, really fired up about the direction of the company and the progress they've made, only to see some silly little arguments cause him to exit the company."

The company might consider another technical executive such as Rick Bergman, who leads AMD's products group, as a possible replacement as CEO, Wang said.

"What it comes down to is there's a major difference in terms of the visions of where the company should be a couple years down the road," he added.

AMD would only say that it is conducting a search that will include internal and external candidates. The company's chief financial officer, Thomas Seifert, 47, was named interim CEO, but AMD noted that Seifert has asked not to be considered for the permanent CEO job.

Meyer, 49, was only the third person to lead AMD since the company's founding in 1969. The previous CEO, Hector Ruiz, left in 2008 after six years on the job. AMD's founder, Jerry Sanders, whose flashy lifestyle added a splash of glamour to Silicon Valley before it was fashionable, was the only other CEO before that.

Meyer inherited AMD at a time of deep distress for the chip maker. It was saddled with debt, had lost billions of dollars, was losing ground to bigger rival Intel Corp, and had seen its stock plunge from above $40 per share in 2006 to below $2 a share at the end of 2008.

Meyer's biggest challenge was overseeing AMD's spinoff of its chip-making factories, essentially a lifesaving move to help the company cut costs and stay competitive with Intel. AMD now only designs its processors, and pays the spinoff to build them. That saves AMD billions of dollars in upgrade expenses that chip makers must shell out every couple of years to keep their factories competitive.

And while the company has made strides, Meyer apparently couldn't escape the board's sentiment that there's still more room to grow. Areas for potential growth include server and laptop chips, where AMD is particularly weak against Intel, and in charting a new course for chips for smart phones and tablet computers, two of the industry's hottest areas.

When it comes to laptops, in particular, AMD's processors have been criticized for having relatively short battery life. Over the past year, however, the company has made some technical improvements that have led to its processors being built into a wider variety of laptops.

AMD shares fell 40 cents, or 4.3 percent, to $8.79 during after-hours trading. In regular trading before the announcement, the stock had closed at $9.19, up 36 cents, or 4.1 percent.

Meyer's technical capabilities were one of his key selling points in taking the CEO job.

He ran AMD's core microprocessor business and was involved in the design of AMD's Opteron server chip, which allowed the company in 2003 to enter a lucrative segment of the server market dominated by Intel. The success of that chip helped transform AMD into a serious competitor to Intel across all computing platforms.

The AMD he took over was struggling with debt from its $5.6 billion acquisition of graphics card maker ATI Technologies. That deal was meant to improve the graphics ability of AMD's chips — indeed, the ATI technologies are critical parts of AMD's new Fusion chips — but in the interim AMD was forced to sell its factories and tap the market for urgent cash infusions. Part of the factory sale involved AMD selling an 8.1 percent stake in AMD to the Abu Dhabi government's investment arm.

Also Monday, AMD also updated its financial guidance.

AMD said that its fourth quarter revenue edged up 2 percent over the previous quarter to $1.65 billion. That's better than the $1.61 billion that analysts expected, according to data from FactSet. AMD will report full fourth-quarter results on Jan. 20. Intel is scheduled to report its numbers this Thursday.

___

AP Technology Writer Dana Wollman contributed to this story from New York.

Intel's truce with Nvidia shows industry's shifts (AP)

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 09:07 PM PST

By JORDAN ROBERTSON, AP Technology Writer Jordan Robertson, Ap Technology Writer – 21 mins ago

SAN FRANCISCO – Intel Corp.'s decision to pay Nvidia Corp. $1.5 billion for the right to its patents highlights the seismic shifts the semiconductor industry is undergoing.

The licensing deal announced Monday comes as both companies are adapting to the new rules of the consumer electronics world, as mobile devices are changing the way chips are made.

Intel, dominant in PCs, wants in to smart phones and tablets, and needs better graphics technologies as high-definition video proliferates across the devices. Nvidia, a leader in graphics, wants to challenge Intel on its home turf: the processors that act as the "brains" of computers.

The rise of the new class of mobile computers has set Intel and Nvidia on a collision course, the results of which were on display in the terms of the settlement between the two companies.

Intel will pay the $1.5 billion over the next five years. Nvidia said the settlement is expected to increase its annual net income by 29 cents per share for the life of the contract. The companies' existing contract was set to expire March 31.

Intel is essentially paying to end a fight it started.

When it sued Nvidia in 2009, the fight was over "chipsets" — specifically, whether Nvidia had the right to keep making the type of chip, which uses an Intel design, without buying a new license from Intel. Nvidia countersued, claiming it was covered by a deal the companies struck in 2004.

Chipsets help a computer's processor talk to the rest of the machine, and at one point both Intel and Nvidia made them.

The prospect of not being able to use Intel's technology took such a toll that Nvidia left the chipset business in 2009. Yet the lawsuits lingered.

That set the stage for Monday's settlement, which shows how far from chipsets the argument extended.

On the surface, the deal highlights how important Intel thinks Nvidia's graphics technologies are going to be. Several analysts interviewed by The Associated Press said they were surprised by the amount of money Intel was willing to pay.

But the subtext of what wasn't part of the deal is also compelling.

Most notably, Nvidia won't get the right to Intel's main technology — its processors and other technologies built on the so-called x86 design, the usual design for PC processors.

That exclusion is significant because it reinforces that Nvidia's plans to enter the processor market won't involve a pact with Intel. Technology companies, even and especially rivals, often license each others' technologies to expand their overall markets or to avoid antitrust troubles.

Nvidia has long been rumored to be trying to dip its toes in the processor market. The fact that Nvidia didn't get the rights to Intel's processor designs reinforces that Nvidia plans to take a different path to take on Intel. That path involves licensing a different design that is already popular for phones and other mobile devices.

Intel's earlier mobile chips have been criticized as too power-hungry for phones and tablets, but its latest models appear to address those complaints.

The design Nvidia will use instead comes from a UK-based company called ARM Holdings, which has emerged as a dangerous opponent for Intel and its smaller rival, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., in mobile devices.

In a separate announcement, AMD on Monday ousted its CEO of two-and-a-half years, Dirk Meyer, in a surprising resignation driven by the belief on AMD's board that the company's growth prospects would be better under a new leader.

The widespread adoption of ARM designs, which are now being embraced by Microsoft Corp. for future versions of its Windows software, is changing the landscape of the computing industry, straining old relationships and forcing chip makers to forge new paths.

"This is a big inflection point in the marketplace," said Chris Caso, a semiconductor analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group. "And as we look back a couple years from now, the landscape of the PC market is going to change dramatically. And I'm not sure if ARM is going to be the winner, but there's a lot of disruption that's going to happen, and generally that's probably an overall negative for Intel, just because they dominate the market so much right now."

The settlement doesn't change much for consumers, who generally don't pay attention to what kind of chipset their PCs use, and because Nvidia has already exited that market. Also, Nvidia graphics chips will still work with Intel's processors — Nvidia just isn't making the technology that connects the two any longer.

Where consumers may see a difference is when Nvidia starts rolling out its own processors, and consumers have to wade through marketing pitches that touch on the intricacies of chip design.

The settlement gives Nvidia a big cushion to help fund those efforts as well as brace for any decline in the market for separate graphics chips, which can add hundreds of dollars to the price of a PC. Intel and AMD are racing to cram better graphics technologies directly into their PC processors. Their aim is to reduce the need for separate graphics chips for most mainstream users.

Intel is no stranger to settling with rivals.

In 2009 Intel agreed to pay AMD $1.25 billion to settle AMD's antitrust allegations. AMD's complaints about Intel's behavior instigated government investigations around the world, including a record $1.45 billion antitrust fine in Europe that Intel is contesting.

Nvidia's stock rose 5.7 percent, or $1.17, to $21.80 in extended trading Monday, after the agreement was announced. Intel stock slipped a penny to $20.68.

CES: Kor-fx turns your body into a subwoofer (Ben Patterson)

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 08:41 AM PST

By Ben Patterson ben Patterson – Mon Jan 10, 11:41 am ET

Sure, you've played Halo: Reach on your Xbox 360, but have you felt it yet? That's the idea behind Kor-fx, a funky audio accessory by developer Immerz. You drape it around your shoulders, allowing a pair of strategically placed speakers to rest — and rumble — on your chest.

The speakers (which plug into a Walkman-sized control box, into which you can plug a game console or a smartphone) send low-frequency vibrations into your chest cavity that — as Immerz puts it — activate "neural pathways that subconsciously monitor vibrations of the chest cavity that naturally occur when speaking, laughing, or crying," giving you "a heightened emotional, sensory response" to the movie you're watching, or the game you're playing.

Sounds like a lot of mumbo-jumbo, but having tried it on the show floor at CES, I can tell you that Kor-fx worked pretty much as advertised — and I think I want a pair.

The best way I can describe Kor-fx, which is slated to go on sale in late March, is as a rumble pack for your body that gives you an uncanny, "you-are-there" feeling.

First, I watched a scene from one of the more recent "Harry Potter" movies, where Harry is sitting in an empty diner. All is quiet, until you hear a nearby train roar past ... and as the Kor-fx speakers rumbled, I could seriously feel that train barreling down the tracks — a sense made all the more impressive given that I was watching the scene on a tiny iPhone display.

Geek that I am, I couldn't resist pulling out my own iPhone to watch the Imperial Walker attack from "The Empire Strikes Back," and again — whoa. When Luke puts his snowspeeder into a steep dive and fires his laser cannons at the AT-AT's legs, I could feel the bolts crashing against the hull like ... well, like I was there.

Another example: the thunderous beats on the "Boom Boom Pow" video from Black Eyed Peas, with the Kor-fx speakers firing off on all cylinders. The effect? Like being in a concert hall and feeling the subwoofers thumping into my chest.

Indeed, the developers at Immerz told me that Kor-fx is "part technology, part psychology," with the device essentially using your chest cavity as a "resonating chamber" — in other words, Kor-fx turns you into a "biological subwoofer."

The effect reminded me a bit of D-Box, a multi-axle motion-controlled chair that shakes you this way and that in sync with the action of a movie. The D-Box chair gives you the same "you-are-there" experience that I got from Kor-fx — except Kor-fx manages to pull off essentially the same trick with a lot less hardware, not to mention a lot less money.

The true test of Kor-fx came when I watched the Imperial Walker scene in "Empire" again with the shoulder-draped speakers turned off. Yep, I could see and hear the laser blasts, but I missed the rumble. Somehow, I wasn't "there" anymore.

Pretty cool, but I've got a few bones to pick with Kor-fx. For one, the Kor-fx controller box (which comes with a dial for controlling the intensity of the rumble) is too big and bulky for my taste; hopefully, it'll be pared down in future versions.

Also, the slated price tag — $189 — is too expensive, at least for me. Personally, I was hoping for something more in the $99 range, or maybe $149. That's what I told the Immerz developers, anyway, who listened sympathetically without making any promises.

Immerz reps also said they're hoping to bring Kor-fx to movie theaters, where moviegoers would be able to wear the speakers for the price of a premium ticket. Another possibility: custom-designed Kor-fx movie soundtracks for creating special, low-frequency effects, like a silent but palpable flutter across your chest when the ghosties in "Paranormal Activity" are on the move.

— Ben Patterson is a technology writer for Yahoo! News.

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CES: Your wish is the (iPhone-controlled) Sphero ball’s command (Ben Patterson)

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 07:12 AM PST

By Ben Patterson ben Patterson – Mon Jan 10, 10:12 am ET

Sphero made quite a splash at the just-wrapped CES: A tiny nudge on your iPhone is all it takes to send the wireless, Bluetooth-enabled ball careening across the floor. A consistently good-sized crowd gathered at Orbotix's booth all week long to watch a trio of the little spherical robots slowly maneuver their respective ways around the showroom.

In simple terms, taking command of the Sphero is just a matter of firing up a mobile app (the iOS version took center stage for the CES demo, although I'm told versions for Android and perhaps even Windows Phone 7 are on tap) and guiding it with the on-screen joystick.

But controlling the ball is actually a bit tricky. When in motion, it tracks along a straight line by maintaining a sense of its … well, "nose" might be the best way of putting it. Nudge the joystick a bit to the right, and the Sphero will turn relative to its nose, which isn't necessarily the direction in which you think it should be turning.

With a little practice, though, I managed to get the hang of it, and there's always the "boost" button for punching the Sphero out of tight situations. You can also change the color of the glowing interior light with the tap of a button.

The engineering behind Sphero is apparently quite involved, with one of the developers at Orbotix telling me that the wireless ball makes more than 4,000 calculations a second to determine where it is and the direction in which it's facing. (Yep, it's strange to think of a ball as "facing" in any given direction, but it's necessary for navigation in the Sphero's case.) A "tiny little Segway that balances itself" was the simplest way he found to describe it.

The Sphero will run for about an hour on a single charge, Orbotix promises; when it's low on juice, the ball "sleeps" on the bundled inductive charging station.

So, won't piloting the Sphero around with a smartphone app get old after awhile? Probably, which is why Orbotix is marketing the Sphero more as a platform for augmented-reality games than as a stand-alone accessory, a strategy similar to the flying Parrot AR.Drone "quadricopter" that was the darling of last year's CES.

One of the possibilities: a game in which you use the iPhone's camera as a viewfinder to guide the Sphero to augmented-reality buildings that you want to topple. (And indeed, using the camera lens to point to where you want the Sphero to go sounds a lot more fun than trying to jockey it around with a joystick.)

Sphero is set to arrive in stores in late 2011, for about $100.

— Ben Patterson is a technology writer for Yahoo! News.

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4G War of Words Is on (PC World)

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 05:00 PM PST

Nancy Gohring Nancy Gohring – Mon Jan 10, 8:00 pm ET

Mobile operators were out in full force at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week, promoting their improved data networks and unveiling new devices. But with their marketing efforts in overdrive, the operators may confuse rather than attract users.

AT&T, for example, started calling its current upgraded HSPA+ network 4G instead of 3G. It's not the fastest major network in the country -- that's Verizon's LTE, based on advertised speeds -- but AT&T says it has a better transition path to its next-generation network.

"Today, we're seeing 4G on HSPA+ in markets with enhanced backhaul, with speeds up to 6Mbps," said Ralph de la Vega, AT&T Mobility's president and CEO, during his company's developers' summit held at CES.

"We have the best transition path to 4G and we're the only U.S. company with this plan," de la Vega said.

He is arguing that AT&T's plan is better than Verizon's because once AT&T starts launching LTE, users will be able to fall back onto the HSPA+ network, which can deliver as fast as 6 Mbps download speeds. At CES, AT&T said it will advance its timeline for rolling out LTE, with launches starting in the middle of this year.

Verizon, however, is going straight from its existing 3G network to LTE, without an interim step like HSPA+. That means users who aren't in the LTE coverage areas will drop down to Verizon's slower 3G EV-DO Rev. A (Evolution-Data Optimized) network, which offers download speeds of around 600 kbps to 1.4 Mbps.

Still, even if Verizon doesn't have AT&T's "4G" HSPA+, it has a head start on the pack with the faster LTE. Verizon launched LTE in 38 markets in December and last week said it is speeding up its upgrade path so that another 140 markets will come online this year. Currently, Verizon's LTE network covers 100 million people, and in 18 months it will reach 200 million people, Tony Melone, chief technology officer for Verizon, said at CES. He said the network should offer 5 Mbps to 12 Mbps download speeds.

Further confusing matters, T-Mobile last week also announced new plans for its own "4G" HSPA+ network, saying that it will double the speed so that it's capable of delivering an astounding 42 Mbps. That, however, would be the download rate if just one person were connected at a time to a cell tower. Operators typically try to offer users a more realistic approximation of the speed they'll get in a real-life situation when sharing the network with other people.

To make the situation even more complicated, the International Telecommunication Union has flip-flopped on what technologies should officially get the 4G moniker. In November, the ITU's Radiocommunication Sector said the only technologies that qualify as 4G will be a future version of LTE, called LTE-Advanced, and the next generation of WiMax, known as WirelessMAN-Advanced.

However, in early December it seemed to relent from that stance. Buried in a press release, it said that LTE and WiMax may be called 4G since they offer improved performance over 3G.

Consumers may also be confused because the data rates they get ultimately will depend on whether they have a device that works on the fastest networks. Currently, the only way to access Verizon's LTE network is using a USB dongle with a laptop.

Countless new devices were announced last week, few of which are yet available, to run on all the faster networks. AT&T said it plans to launch 20 new 4G devices this year, with the first appearing in March. One of the new phones is the Motorola Atrix, which runs on HSPA+. The Atrix can be paired with a docking station that looks like a laptop but has no CPU.

Verizon showed off 10 new devices that will run on its LTE network, including one of the first tablets to run the Honeycomb version of Google's Android operating system. That tablet, the Xoom, will come from Motorola. The first version will run on Verizon's 3G network, but buyers will be eligible for a hardware upgrade later that will make it compatible with the LTE network. Verizon isn't yet explaining the logistics of such a hardware upgrade.

Nancy Gohring covers mobile phones and cloud computing for The IDG News Service. Follow Nancy on Twitter at @idgnancy. Nancy's e-mail address is Nancy_Gohring@idg.com

CES 2011: CNet Best of Show, People's Choice and Best of CES Awards Announced (ContributorNetwork)

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 02:16 PM PST

JC Torpey Jc Torpey – Mon Jan 10, 5:16 pm ET
Contribute content like this. Start here.

The 2011 CES International is over and over 2,000 manufacturers were at the event showing of the newest gadgets, which included numerous tablet PCs, smartphones, televisions, audio products, and more. Every year, the respected online technology magazine, CNet, partners with the CES International to announce their picks for the "Best of CES" awards and the one coveted "Best of Show" award, as well as the People's Choice Awards. This year, CNet has again made its announcements, so which products made the cut?

CES Best of Show: Motorola Xoom

With 70 tablet PCs announced this year, it is no surprise that one tablet in particular, the Motorola Xoom, took home the coveted Best of Show award. The Xoom was one of the most innovative and beautiful tablet PCs at the show. Featuring a 10.1-inch touch screen, Android Honeycomb 3.0-the first tablet to offer it-and Adobe Flash support, it has everything the iPad does not. The Xoom will be available on the Verizon network, with the first devices offering 3G and Wi-Fi, but later in the year Motorola will also offer an option to upgrade their Xoom tablet to the Verizon 4G/LTE network. No price is available yet, but is it speculated the Xoom will cost the same as others in its class, about $199 to $499 with a two-year contract.

CES People's Choice Award: Razer Switchblade

The People's Choice award was given this year to the Razer Switchblade, and while it is only a concept, because it received this award probably means that it will be produced en masse eventually. The Switchblade is "a way to bring desktop PC gaming to a portable form factor," according to CNet. The gadget appears to be a netbook and it is said that it will contain an Atom processor, made by Intel. Other proposed features include a touch screen, 3-D graphics, and more. It is not yet available on the market and there is no other specifications available, nor a price yet; however, an update is in order as soon as that information becomes available.

"Best of Awards" in Various Categories

Other notable products also took home awards, the Best of CES awards. The products are from many different categories, some of them including:

Design: The Casio Tryx is a pocket camera that offers much more than the usual cameras do these days. With built in HDR shooting, a display that turns a complete circle and a sort of accelerometer that allows the user to shoot with either hand, it deserves the Design award. This product will be available sometimes in April and cost about $249.

Smartphone: The Motorola Atrix 4G, available on the AT&T network, will offer users a Tegra 2 dual core CPU, which allows it to run on the 4G/LTE network. Atrix 4G currently runs Android 2.2 Froyo; however, upgrades to 2.3 will be offered in time. No price is available yet, however, speculation has it that it will cost about $199 with contract.

PC/Laptop: This year, the PC Laptop Best of CES award goes to Intel for the new CPU, Sandy Bridge. It offers better performance and energy efficiency as well as a revamped graphics processing system. Also included is the new TurboBoost 2.0, which runs PCs and laptops up to 42 percent faster, depending on what the device is used for. Other CPUs were also released and will become available during the year on some desktops and laptops by various manufacturers.

Televisions: The Vizio VIA Plus television took home the Best of CES in this category. The VIA Plus offers consumes a Google TV ready experience, and an awesome remote control that features a touch pad so users can maneuver with their thumbs. The best feature though is Vizio's Versus, which allows gamers to play each other on the same television without the split screen indicative of how most head to head games are played on other televisions.

Jessica (JC) Torpey is a self-taught computer technician with more than 10 years experience in the field. JC's passion is studying the various political and business aspects of the technology industry. Combining that knowledge with her love of computers, JC uses it to influence her writing.

MS Dynamics AX Upgrade Boosts Software Development (NewsFactor)

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 01:49 PM PST

Jennifer LeClaire, newsfactor.com Jennifer Leclaire, newsfactor.com – Mon Jan 10, 4:49 pm ET

With the dust settling on the Consumer Electronics Show, Microsoft has turned its attention back to the enterprise. The software giant on Monday took the lid off new advances in the architecture of the next version of Microsoft Dynamics AX.

Code-named AX 6, the latest version of the enterprise resource-planning solution aims to empower independent software vendors (ISVs) to bring solutions to market faster while simultaneously reducing product life-cycle investments and expanding market opportunities.

Hal Howard, corporate vice president of Microsoft Dynamics ERP Research and Development, said the new version promises "rich functionality, advanced architecture, and the full power of the Microsoft stack." At the same time, he said, Microsoft is working to keep it simple by "streamlining application deployment, maintenance and upgradability."

Accelerating Software Development

New to Dynamics AX 6 is a model-driven, layered architecture that accelerates software development, requiring less coding than building from scratch and easing maintenance and upgradability. Microsoft said this allows developers to build high-value functionality quicker and better.

The new version also offers pre-built interoperability with the Microsoft Application Platform, including Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 and Visual Studio 2010, and other Microsoft technologies such as Microsoft Office 2010 and Microsoft SharePoint 2010. Microsoft said this allows developers to spend less time on technical integration and compatibility, and increases the breadth of developer resources available to ISVs.

"This is a welcome move," said Al Hilwa, an analyst at IDC. "I think positioning Dynamics differently from traditional big-bang ERP is a good way to leverage Microsoft's developer platform strengths into a key capability of Dynamics."

Hilwa pointed to what he called a RAD shift over time to more business-centric areas such as BPM and highly configurable package applications. He sees this as a move in the same direction, where rich applications begin to become rich frameworks to build on additional custom functionality. This, he said, opens up the space for high-value partners to leverage the Microsoft Dynamics ecosystem.

Customer Speaks Out

Microsoft reports strong momentum from ISVs, and customers are also giving Dynamics AX 6 the nod -- LexisNexis among them.

"We're looking to the future with Microsoft Dynamics AX 6 and are confident that its robust and scalable foundation can be counted on to help our business grow," said Bob Hadingham, platform director at LexisNexis UK. "We have been very impressed with how quickly and easily we have been able to extend our offerings for law firms and expand our international market opportunities by being able to focus our R&D efforts on application development for our core expertise, instead of investing in platform development."

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 is generally available today. A community technical preview of Microsoft Dynamics AX 6 is planned for February, and general availability is planned for the third quarter.

2011 CES Attendance Rises with a Global Scope (NewsFactor)

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 01:47 PM PST

Adam Dickter, newsfactor.com Adam Dickter, newsfactor.com – Mon Jan 10, 4:47 pm ET

The 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show was not only big on news, but big on participation, too. Among the announcements were Verizon's LTE device rollout and Intel's newest chips.

Attendance at the Jan. 6-8 trade show in Las Vegas, sponsored by the Consumer Electronics Association, was estimated at 140,000 people, up from 126,641 last year. Before that, participation had dropped off because of the economic crisis, with just 113,085 in 2009. Official numbers for 2011 will be released by the association in the spring.

The CEA said 30,000 attendees in 80 delegations from other countries came to Las Vegas this year.

"[CES] was a phenomenal worldwide event that spanned global industries, including technology, automotive and entertainment markets," said Gary Shapiro, the association's president and CEO. "This global technology gathering featured more innovation, more news, more social-media buzz, and more international attendance than any other show in CES history."

A Who's Who

Shapiro cited the participation of Ford Motors CEO Alan Mulally, who unveiled the company's first electric car, the Ford Focus Electric, as well as keynotes by Microsoft's Steve Ballmer, Verizon Communications' Ivan Seidenberg, Audi's Rupert Stadler, Samsung's Boo-Keun Yoon, Cisco Systems' John Chambers, Xerox's Ursula Burns, and General Electric's Jeffrey Immelt.

For the first time, CES featured a new forum, Entertainment Matters, to explore the increasing relationship between technology and media content. It featured a panel with representatives from Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Akamai Technologies, Interpublic Group, and WPP.

In all, there were 250 sessions featuring 900 speakers, with 2,700 companies participating.

"Despite lingering economic malaise, the IT industry is either feeling pretty good about its prospects or is doing a great job of pretending to do so," said Charles King, principal analyst of Pund-IT. "The growth in CES attendees from across the globe offers insight into the reason for this: Today, IT is essentially a worldwide market and, while economic hardships and unemployment are certainly still problematic, they tend to be regionally focused."

Toy Story

King added that while it's clear that recession still afflicts many countries and regions of the world, "others are doing just fine and want new IT toys. That, in turn, provides technology vendors a good deal of room for optimism in 2011."

While there was much coverage of 3-D TVs and the onslaught of tablets, King noted some lesser-noted highlights, including Intel's launch of second-generation Core processors that boost compute performance more than 60 percent, the increasing convergence of media and computing, and market-specific consumer PCs such as Hewlett-Packard's DreamScreen, a touchscreen computer developed for India that bundles education software as well as music and video content.

"This product and many others at CES suggest that vendors understand and are depending on the fact that consumer IT and sales have truly gone global," he said.

Michael Gartenberg of Gartner Research said the increasing foreign presence shows "CES is the center for consumer tech in the U.S, and no doubt many companies overseas are looking to crack this market."

How Useful Are Tablets For Business? (PC World)

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 12:40 PM PST

Keir Thomas Keir Thomas – Mon Jan 10, 3:40 pm ET

Last week's CES brought forward a huge number of tablets. It doesn't take a genius to realize we're entering the era of tablet computing. Either that or there will soon be a lot of red-faced manufacturers. (Don't laugh; it happens regularly in the world of IT.)

Assuming tablets are here to say, when it comes to corporate take-up there's an interesting question: What exactly are we supposed to use tablets for?

Tablets make a whole lot of sense in the home, where we can lounge around and browse our favorite Websites or watch movies. But that's not the kind of thing people should be doing in the corporate world, unless it's a pyjama-based, work-at-home day.

In short, what compelling reason can a business have for splashing out on tablet hardware, other than looking good in the airport departure lounge?

Luckily, some answers came at the end of last year with the results of a ChangeWave survey. It asked 1641 business IT buyers if they were planning to get tablets and, if they already had them, what they used them for.

Seven percent of respondents said their company provides employees with tablets. If the results are projected out to the entire corporate IT market, then tens of millions of tablets could be in use in the business world. Fourteen percent of respondents said they planned to get tablets in the first quarter of this year--a rapid rate of growth.

However, 78 percent of respondents said they intended to invest in Apple iPads, in spite of solid tablet offerings from corporate favorites such as HP and Dell. Of those who already had tablets, 82 percent already had iPads. Dell and HP trailed far behind with 7 and 11 percent owning their tablets, respectively.

ChangeWave went on to ask what exactly workers do with their iPads, and that's where it gets interesting.

Perhaps surprisingly, the primary uses mirror the home environment. Seventy-three percent of respondents use tablets to access the Internet and 69 percent to check e-mail. However, rather more interesting are the 46 percent of people who use iPads to provide "sales support," and the 45 percent who use them for "customer presentations."

However, it's isn't made clear what "sales support" means. Could this be accessing cloud-based customer relationship management software, such as Salesforce.com? Or is it merely demonstrating a spreadsheet of figures to a potential client? Or perhaps it means just looking flashy and professional by whipping an iPad out in public in front of those who have never seen one before?

It's worth remembering that the iPad can't run Windows software or even Mac stuff. Businesses have little more than what's built-in, in the form of cut-down versions of Apple Keynote, Pages, and Numbers.There are some intriguing add-ons available under the Business tab of the iPad App Store but there are no big names, such as Microsoft.

The 45 percent of workers who use the iPad to make presentations raises interesting questions. Unless they make presentations on a PC and import them into their iPad--which gives less than satisfactory results--we have to assume that presentations are being created directly on the iPad. Although Keynote on the iPad is easy to use, creating anything other than a one or two-slide presentation must be a labor of love. I'd hate to do it and, if I had to I'd set aside at least a day, because I know it would be time-consuming and fiddly work. Is that progress?

More than one-third of respondents said their iPad is a laptop replacement--an astonishing figure, bearing in mind that the employee is sacrificing a keyboard, full-sized screen, proper Web browsing, and full Microsoft Office compatibility. However, we have to ask if these figures are skewed by cost-conscious IT departments that offer workers either a tablet or a laptop. After all, offering both would effectively double the cost of IT, and we're not exactly in a financial climate that allows that.

What's incredible is that this research shows that business takeup of tablets is happening despite the lack of a killer application. There's not yet a piece of software that relies on the unique utility of a tablet to provide business functionality that can't be found elsewhere.

Some have argued that the tablet form factor is itself a killer application, but the truth is simpler: Today's IT universe is both more established and complex than that which allowed the killer apps of the 80s and 90s to shine, such as VisiCalc or Lotus 1-2-3.

Nowadays we know what we want to do. The question is how well tablets let us do it, and it appears to be that people are getting by just fine.

Keir Thomas has been writing about computing since the last century, and more recently has written several best-selling books. You can learn more about him at http://keirthomas.com and his Twitter feed is @keirthomas .

HDTVs at CES: Small Steps In The Big Picture (PC World)

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 11:10 AM PST

Patrick Miller Patrick Miller – Mon Jan 10, 2:10 pm ET

Whether they were big or small, LED or plasma, all the HDTVs on the CES 2011 show floor had one thing in common--they took the best that came out of last year, and added several slight, but significant, improvements.

2010 was a big year for HDTVs in several different respects: 3D TV hit the market, Internet-connected features started to make a splash, LED TVs became widely available across several price ranges, and the high-end sets got thinner than ever before. However, all these new cutting-edge features brought a whole host of problems with them. 2011's TVs aren't bringing nearly as many cool new features and might not look so impressive in a side-by-side specs comparison, but they're bringing lots of minor tweaks and polish that add up to a tremendous difference.

3D Is Finally Here, Kind Of

3D in 2010 was somewhere between a joke and a disappointment. Between the hassle of active-shutter glasses and the lack of 3D content, they were a very tough sell. However, between new content initiatives like Sony's 3(SOMETHING) channel and new technologies like LG's Cinema 3D and Vizio's Theater 3D, as well as Samsung and Panasonic's incremental improvements in active-shutter glasses technology, 3D TVs are finally ready for the market. Whether they'll catch on with consumers this year is anyone's guess, but if they don't catch the public's eye, it won't be because the tech isn't good enough. (For more on 3D TVs, read HDTVs in 2011: 3D Is Coming, We Mean It and Glasses-Free 3D: Sooner Than You Think?)

2011's Most Improved Technology: Edge-lit LED TVs

LED TVs hit the market in a big way in 2010, with several edge-lit sets making it into the mid-level TV model lines, and full-array sets with local dimming staying at the high end.

Full-array sets use a matrix of LEDs behind the LCD panel to illuminate the image, meaning you can get incredibly bright colors, and when combined with local dimming features, your full-array back-lit LED set can achieve overall image quality levels that outclass practically everything else on the market. However, they're still expensive to produce, so most TV manufacturers worked on improving their edge-lit LED technology.

Edge-lit sets are more power-efficient, less pricey to produce, and allow for much thinner designs. However, they rely on light-dispersing panels to spread the light from the LEDs on the side of the panel to the center, which means you can't control them quite as finely as a full-array LED set with local dimming can, and they often end up producing uneven lighting across the panel, yielding shadows along the edges of the display that are plainly visible in very bright or very dark scenes.

The challenge for TV manufacturers in 2011 was to find a way to combine their proprietary image-processing algorithms, panel coatings, light-dispersion matrixes, and local dimming features to get edge-lit LED displays as close as possible to a full-array LED panel's image quality. While we won't know how well they've done until their TVs hit the market, the edge-lit sets on display at CES 2011 were certainly impressive.

Smart TVs Get A Clue

Internet-connected TV features really came into their own in 2010-- almost every model we reviewed had some kind of basic Internet connectivity, including at least a handful of video-streaming services. However, there was still plenty of room for improvement. Some TVs had awful UIs, others were stuck with ill-fitting app functions (Netflix Instant Play that wouldn't let you pick a movie from the HDTV, YouTube apps that didn't allow HD playback) and the selection of services ranged from sparse to stellar--as though the manufacturers had just raced to get any and all services they could before release.

2010's Smart TVs are much more thoughtfully designed. Pretty much every manufacturer has added several new features, of course. However, it's not just the service count that matters. Vizio, Samsung, Panasonic, and LG are all emphasizing their new remotes, which feature navigation controls and QWERTY keyboards that are designed from the start to be used for navigating the Internet--possibly with a full browser.

What's more, each TV manufacturer is using their Smart TV platform to expand your TV's role in your home in different ways. Panasonic and Vizio are working integrated games into their strategy, with partnerships with GameLoft and OnLive, respectively. LG and Samsung are pushing their new apps stores hard. And all of them are paying close attention to any opportunity they can take to use their TVs to sell you new devices like Android tablets. (For more on Smart TVs at CES 2011, read "Smart TVs" Add The Best Of The Internet To Your TV.)

HDTV Design: More Bang For Your Buck

When it comes to the actual physical design of last year's HDTVs, it was pretty clear that most TV companies were infatuated with the super-slim dimensions they could achieve with edge-lit LEDs, leading to outlandish showpieces like Samsung's C9000 series, which was about as thin as a pencil.

The vast majority of the TV buyers saw this, wiped the drool from their mouths, and said, "Why do I care how thin it is once I'm sitting in front of it?" Sure, it looks good--but not good enough to pay extra for it.

Perhaps due to the general economic slump, the design theme of the year is More For Less. Of course, the high-end sets are still plenty thin and have their own flashy design elements, but we're seeing far more sets that have a narrower bezel than the models they replace--and an extra inch or two of screen space as a result. 46-inch sets are now 47-inch sets, 50-inch sets are 52-inch sets, and so on. Not only do these new sets look great, they feel like you're getting a better deal for your buck.

Check out PCWorld's complete coverage of CES 2011.

Postbox Combines the Best of Desktop and Web-based E-mail Clients (Mashable)

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 03:25 PM PST

Christina Warren Christina Warren – Mon Jan 10, 6:25 pm ET

This post is part of Mashable's Spark of Genius series, which highlights a unique feature of startups. The series is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark.. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.

Name: Postbox 2.1

Quick Pitch: Postbox is a desktop mail application for Mac OS X and Windows designed to combat email overload.

Genius Idea: In a world full of web based e-mail clients, it's easy to forget that sometimes, the best way to manage mail -- especially for offline access -- is with a traditional desktop client. Postbox is a desktop mail client, but the app adopts some of the features (such as tagging, quick and advanced searches, and conversation views) that some of the best webmail clients, such as Gmail, also use.

Founded by two former Mozilla heavyweights, Postbox is based on Mozilla technology -- the same stuff that powers Firefox and Thunderbird. It's easy to make the mistake that Postbox is just a prettified version Thunderbird 3.1, but the truth is, the app -- especially in Mac OS X -- is much more feature-rich, has better system integration and uses less memory.

Postbox 2.1 was released in December and added some new features to the mix, including support for the new "Summarize Mode" on e-mail replies and forwards.

Think of Summarize Mode as an attractive, well formatted way to see who said what in a conversation. When using testing Postbox 2.1, I was asked by one of my colleagues what mail client I was using because he was so impressed with how conversations were presented when replying to a long threaded e-mail.

Conversation Views, which were updated in Postbox 2.0, act kind of like Gmail's threaded message view, with the added benefit of grabbing conversations from various folders.

Postbox also features the ability to do quick replies to a message without needing to go to a separate compose window. This makes short replies simple and stress-free.

Perhaps my favorite feature of Postbox 2.1 is the fact that messages can be filtered by things like attachments, images, read status, contact, date, topics and To-Do. This is exceptionally handy when trying to search for a certain type of photo or document.

In my test of Postbox 2.1, I let it import in all of my mail accounts from Apple Mail. This worked without a hitch. Conveniently, Postbox also offers quick access to posting messages to Twitter or Facebook.

All in all, Postbox 2.1 is a solid alternative to Apple Mail, Windows Live Mail and Thunderbird.

The only sticking point is the price. Postbox is not a free app; it's $39.99. To us, that price is fair, especially for the app's feature set.

Fortunately, you can try Postbox free for 30 days, and the company also offers a money-back guarantee. If you don't need some of the GTD features of the app, "_blank">Postbox Express is available for free.

Do you use a desktop e-mail client? What is your favorite and why?

Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark

BizSpark is a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.

Rumor: Switch to Verizon iPhone, get unlimited data (Appolicious)

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 10:56 AM PST

SMS of Death Instantly Bricks Feature Phones and Smartphones (ContributorNetwork)

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 06:12 PM PST

JC Torpey Jc Torpey – Mon Jan 10, 9:12 pm ET
Contribute content like this. Start here.

With more than 4.6 billion cell phones in use as of February 2010 (whether they are prepaid "throw away" phones or smartphones) and a global increase in mobile phone usage of over 36 percent (an average of 81 percent of the population owns a cell phone), these devices have become the most popular mobile devices ever made.

Given that, it is surprising that only recently has someone finally been able to target cell phones with an "SMS of Death," which was reported in a German Conference the first week of January.

What is the SMS of Death?

Just as computers get viruses, a mobile phone can also get viruses. In fact, many anti-virus software makers have developed mobile versions of the computer software so that cell phone users can protect their devices. Both cell phones and computers use operating systems with various security flaws that can allow savvy hackers to write code that can infiltrate any OS. The SMS of Death, simply stated, is a text message containing a code that can completely destroy a cell phone's operating system.

According to the researchers who were at the conference, no mobile phone is invulnerable to an attack. Apparently, the researchers who made the report were able to force a simple non-smartphone to lose its network and shut down completely using the SMS messaging service. The researchers were able to do this to cell phones from various manufacturers including LG, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Nokia and Micromax, among others.

Which cell phones are more vulnerable?

While no cell phone is invulnerable, some are more vulnerable than others. Feature phones, are more difficult to wage war against because these phones use less memory than smartphones do, making the operating system a basic one, which typically requires that the wireless carrier authorize any operations that the phone carries out, aside from the usual games, text messages and calls the phones can make. Smartphones, on the other hand, are easier to attack because the operating systems used are much like those of a computer-and just as vulnerable.

PhD student, Collin Mulliner, from the Technische Universitaet Berlin's Security in Telecommunicaitons Department stated that any of the SMS of Death attacks "could take out a large percentage of mobile communications." This is true for two reasons; feature phones make up about 80 percent of all cell phone usage in the world and because the SMS death messages only need to be received and not opened to do damage. Once the message is received, it can access any portion of the phone's operating system and shut it down.

Consumer protection

One massive problem seen now is that anti-virus software is not currently available for feature phones; only smartphones. Additionally, it is not yet known if a smartphone phone anti-virus can effectively stop the message before it attacks. Mobile phone anti-virus packages typically require the user to open messages for the software to detect a virus and because no action is required by the user for the message to do damage, by the time the software detects a problem, it could be too late for that phone.

Jessica (JC) Torpey is a self-taught computer technician with more than 10 years experience in the field. JC's passion is studying the various political and business aspects of the technology industry. Combining that knowledge with her love of computers, JC uses it to influence her writing.

Lessons From AT&T Might Help Verizon Survive IPhone (PC World)

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 06:30 PM PST

Stephen Lawson Stephen Lawson – 2 hrs 58 mins ago

If Verizon Wireless introduces its own version of the Apple iPhone on Tuesday, users of its network might begin to face some of the same performance problems that plagued AT&T subscribers in some areas since the rollout of the popular iPhone 3G.

Verizon is widely expected to unveil an iPhone on Tuesday in New York, ending AT&T's approximately four-year exclusive access to the iPhone in the U.S. After widely publicized problems with AT&T iPhone performance in some areas of the country, especially San Francisco and New York, the idea of a Verizon iPhone has raised hopes in some consumers for a more reliable subscriber experience.

The iPhone, introduced in 2007, continues to gain popularity in the U.S. AT&T says it activated a record 5.2 million iPhones in the third quarter of last year, the most recent quarter for which it has stated results. Pent-up demand might push Verizon's early sales even higher.

However, the sheer popularity of the Apple device, and heavy average data use by those who own one, may also haunt Verizon despite its highly rated 3G network, analysts said Monday.

Some of the issues AT&T has faced were particular to its network and the timing of the iPhone 3G's introduction in 2008, and perception may have lagged reality as that carrier has improved its infrastructure, said Tolaga Research analyst Phil Marshall. In fact, AT&T has steadily increased the maximum speed of the networks available to the iPhone, and the current iPhone 4 uses an HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access) network that many reviewers have said can achieve a downstream speed of 3M bps (bits per second). That compares with between 600K bps and 1.4M bps for Verizon's 3G network, though Verizon's is often perceived as the more reliable of the two. In December, Consumer Reports magazine reported survey results that showed consumers rated AT&T the worst national mobile network.

But even if Verizon is better prepared for the onslaught than AT&T was, it might face similar problems in some places, Marshall said.

"Verizon benefits from the experience that AT&T's had ... but we can't assume they are in a significantly different position relative to AT&T," Marshall said. "Traffic is going to be a big issue for everyone."

The danger for a mobile operator introducing any blockbuster device is that it will sell faster and inspire more network use than was expected. AT&T has acknowledged it was caught off guard by the popularity of the iPhone, which was the first of a new generation of smartphones and triggered the mass-market embrace of mobile data in the U.S. In some areas, including places with many early adopters of the iPhone, AT&T gained a reputation for dropped calls and sometimes sluggish data speeds. Marshall believes AT&T is still suffering in public opinion for those early experiences even though its network has improved.

A key advantage Verizon would have with an iPhone introduction now is the benefit of time, Marshall and others said.

When the first iPhone was released, it wasn't even equipped for 3G, partly because that network wasn't available in enough areas. If Verizon introduces its first iPhone on Tuesday, it will do so with a 3G network already deployed across the country. The carrier's current expansion effort is focused on LTE (Long-Term Evolution), which the first Verizon iPhone is not expected to use.

"Verizon has much more coverage with 3G than anybody else," said ABI Research analyst Philip Solis. Geographic coverage helps with vertical applications such as telematics and boosts users' perceptions of network quality, he said.

"It helps that AT&T ran into these problems first," Solis said. Among the lessons Verizon might learn from its rival's experience is to be prepared to divide cells in densely populated areas, putting up more base stations, though not necessarily more towers, he said.

Verizon can even take a geography lesson from AT&T, knowing that places such as New York and San Francisco are home to early adopters, so the networks there should probably be reinforced, said analyst Roger Entner of Recon Analytics.

Beyond that, Verizon should be able to simply estimate its iPhone sales, look at the network impact of its existing Android smartphones, and do the math, Entner said.

One way Verizon might not follow AT&T is in relying heavily on Wi-Fi to bolster coverage, analysts said. AT&T bought hotspot operator WayPort in 2008 and now has about 20,000 hotspots in locations such as McDonald's and Starbucks. Last year the carrier began to deploy "hot zones" around larger areas such as Times Square in New York and part of the waterfront Embarcadero in San Francisco -- not coincidentally, two cities where network complaints have been most common. AT&T says its network handled more than 100 million Wi-Fi connections in the third quarter of last year, more than in the whole year of 2009.

Tolaga's Marshall estimated that 20 percent of the data traffic from AT&T's mobile network goes through Wi-Fi hotspots.

Verizon has been much less aggressive with Wi-Fi, though it does offer some hotspots. So Verizon will probably rely more on its cellular network to meet any surge in demand from the iPhone, Marshall believes.

AT&T's use of Wi-Fi presents some trade-offs, Marshall said. Wi-Fi can be easier to deploy and doesn't require licensed spectrum, but it gives the carrier less control, he said. Wi-Fi networks have fewer mechanisms for capacity management by a carrier. As a result, when AT&T shifts a user from cellular to public Wi-Fi, the iPhone user's connection may be more susceptible to slowdowns when more users jump on the Wi-Fi network, Marshall said. On the other hand, Verizon may have more work to do if it wants to keep building up its cellular network to keep up with demand.

Over the long term, a few factors could help Verizon do that job, analysts said. As users buy LTE devices, the burden of their data traffic bypasses the 3G network. Small base stations such as femtocells, in homes and other places with high demand, could pick up the slack. And the FCC has shown an interest in freeing up more spectrum for expanding the capacity of cellular networks.

Entner, of Recon Analytics, said Verizon's network should be fine in the short run.

"In the long run, it all depends on how much money they put behind it," Entner said.

Stephen Lawson covers mobile, storage and networking technologies for The IDG News Service. Follow Stephen on Twitter at @sdlawsonmedia. Stephen's e-mail address is stephen_lawson@idg.com

Twitter users have regional accents, study finds (Reuters)

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 05:31 PM PST

HDTVs Profess Love for 3-D, Internet at 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (ContributorNetwork)

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 09:37 AM PST

William Browning William Browning – Mon Jan 10, 12:37 pm ET
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As with every year at the Consumer Electronics Show, high-tech televisions debut and make consumers hungry for the holiday shopping season when the devices go on super sale. Here are five of the many HDTVs that made their premiere at the 2011 version of the CES.

What's new in 3-D TV this year?

Sony introduced a 3-D television that doesn't need glasses. Much like some movie theaters that project 3-D effects into the audience, Sony has made a very wide television which makes a 3-D experience less cumbersome without having to be so close to the television.

Many are skeptical of having consumer-ready televisions with such a big leap in 3-D technology but Sony is confident it will prevail. Toshiba and LG also had glasses-free televisions according to PC World.

What about Internet-ready televisions?

Just as HDTV has computer chips in it, now you can download apps for televisions to enhance your experience. PC Magazine reports Vizio made big news at the 2011 CES when it announced Hulu Plus, Blockbuster, On Demand and the gaming service OnLive to Vizio's lineup.

Bandai Games, Vimeo and Skype will also be available on Vizio's Internet-ready televisions. Vizio specializes in televisions and is sold everywhere, including online and Wal-Mart. These televisions will be huge sellers this year.

What else did Vizio come up with for 2011?

Vizio's televisions also got upgrades this year with the XVT series. Internet ready and loaded with extras like the aforementioned Internet services.

Vizio brought back the small remote and has passive 3-D technology which has cheaper glasses. Just like Vizio is a cheaper version of televisions sold at Wal-Mart, the normal consumer will settle for these new offerings because they're still cool.

Can computers be connected to televisions?

Intel is making televisions more accessible to your laptop computer. This year, Intel debuts a new television that can instantly connect to your laptop via a wireless chip in both devices. Just like wireless Internet cards are a thing of the past, so now are the USB devices that you once needed to make connecting your Intel computer to an Intel-driven HDTV.

PC Magazine reports the technology is called WiDi 2, or Wireless Display, you can now connect your laptop directly to a television. This works wonders for businesses if you want to control a presentation from your computer and have the entire room see it. The feature also works well for making and viewing home videos, watching movies and playing PC games on a bigger television.

Is Skype coming to HDTV?

Yes, Skype is being embedded in several televisions now, including BRAVIA and later Vizio. Sony Insider reports a Skype device will be standard with some televisions and then even a Sony Blu-ray player for those televisions who don't have Skype already on them in 2011.

So far, it looks to be a very good year for HDTV as manufacturers plan on making televisions an even bigger part of your entertainment dollar.

Start Of Verizon's iPhone Era Opens New Smart-Phone Battles (Investor's Business Daily)

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 04:47 PM PST

– Mon Jan 10, 7:47 pm ET

Smart-phone marketing battles will intensify when Verizon Wireless on Tuesday officially announces that it will start to sell the popular iPhone.

Longtime Apple (NMS:AAPL) ally AT&T (NYSE:T - News) will boost its fight to retain high-spending customers, while weaker rivals Sprint and T-Mobile mobilize to combat their bigger rivals.

Though Apple will gain by having Verizon Wireless, the No. 1 U.S. mobile carrier, as an iPhone distributor, analysts expect a new wave of high-performing and aggressively priced devices using Google's (NMS:GOOG) Android software to hit the market. Android has been quickly gaining market share.

The iPhone's launch on Verizon Wireless, which is co-owned by Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - News) and Vodafone (NMS:VOD), will ripple through the industry, analyst say, lowering profit margins all around as wireless firms subsidize the retail cost of smart phones.

"Verizon getting the iPhone isn't good for the industry because of (profit) margin and market share pressure," said Oppenheimer analyst Tim Horan. "The whole industry will increase their marketing."

Verizon Wireless is hosting a media event Tuesday in New York where it's expected to say it will start selling an iPhone 4-type device for its 3G CDMA network.

AT&T  has been the iPhone's exclusive U.S. carrier. UBS estimates AT&T has activated more than 32.7 million iPhone subscribers since the iPhone's 2007 launch.

Analysts forecast Verizon will add as many as 13 million iPhone customers in 2011. Some will be existing Verizon customers, but analysts say at least 5 million AT&T customers could switch to Verizon over the next two years because of the iPhone.

AT&T has prepared for Verizon's long-awaited announcement by aiming to lock iPhone customers into long-term contracts and hiking early termination fees. AT&T also plans to step up marketing of non-Apple smart phones, though it will still sell the iPhone.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week, AT&T touted plans to sell 20 new smart phones, 13 of them Android.

While Verizon's iPhone deal will put AT&T on the defensive, Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S - News) and T-Mobile are in a tougher position, analysts say. Both have been losing high-spending customers that sign service contracts and buy data plans.

Computerlike smart phones, which download Web content, music and software apps, are the key revenue driver of wireless firms as rates for voice calls fall.

AT&T shares fell 1.8% Monday, but Verizon shares also slipped a fraction. Apple's stock rose 1.9%.

In Europe and Asia, Apple has gained by expanding its roster of firms that sell iPhone, says Paul Lambert, an analyst at research firm Informa Telecoms & Media.

"Apple's global iPhone sales increased over 67% between the second and third quarters following the (June) launch of the iPhone 4," he said.

UBS analyst John Hodulik estimates that Verizon will add 13 million iPhone subscribers in 2011, with 10 million of them existing Verizon customers that upgrade.

Stifel Nicolaus analyst Christopher King estimates that 5 million to 6 million of AT&T's iPhone customers could switch to Verizon over the next two years.

AT&T's wireless network, especially in markets like New York and San Francisco, has been overloaded at times by iPhone usage.

But analysts say Verizon's aging CDMA wireless network will be attacked as slow in ads by AT&T, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile, which is owned by Germany's Deutsche Telekom .

Anticipating Verizon's announcement, AT&T is firing salvos.

"The iPhone is built for speed, but that's not what you get with a CDMA phone," AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel said in an e-mail.

Both T-Mobile and AT&T have improved their 3G wireless networks to HSPA technology, an upgrade for GSM-type networks.

With HSPA upgrades, AT&T and T-Mobile's networks are roughly four times faster than Verizon's CDMA, studies show.

Sprint sells devices that run on Clearwire's (NMS:CLWR) 4G network.

Horan says Verizon might have a bigger marketing punch if it releases an iPhone in 2012 that runs on its newer, superfast 4G LTE network.

Forrester analyst Charles Golvin says Android phone makers Motorola Mobility (NYSE:MMI - News), Samsung and HTC will step up marketing. He said they've positioned their smart phones against iPhones running on AT&T's network. He says they must make a case that their Android-based devices outperform Verizon's iPhone on the same network. "This will up the ante for HTC and Motorola," Golvin said.

At CES, Sprint unveiled the HTC 4G Evo Shift phone, priced at $149. NPD analyst Ross Rubin says Sprint and T-Mobile have been using "levers" such as lower-priced data plans to combat AT&T's iPhone.

Verizon's iPhone pricing and data usage plans will be key, he says. Verizon reportedly will offer unlimited data plans, setting itself apart from AT&T's plans, which have limits.
at 9:41 PM

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