Editor’s Note: RCR Wireless News goes all in for “Throwback Thursdays,” tapping into our archives to resuscitate the top headlines from the past. Fire up the time machine, put on those sepia-tinted shades, set the date for #TBT and enjoy the memories!
Motorola hedges its Google bets
The glamor days of Motorola ended some four to five years ago, soon after the firm’s tremendous success with its Razr series and the V3. Ranked second in terms of worldwide market share, Motorola has inspired its rivals to come up with their own slim designs.
Even Apple partnered with Motorola several years ago to build what can only be described as the initial draft of an iPhone, the Motorola E1 which was the first mobile phone to be fully integrated with iTunes. Motorola shares, however, have seen a steady decline over the years, with the firm now finding itself way behind the likes of Samsung, Sony Ericson and Apple. As a result, Motorola has also had to take the strategic decision to abandon the development of its own OS, choosing to add a layer on top of Google’s Android platform (MotoBlur) instead for its smartphones. Indeed, the sheer popularity of Android along with marketing boosts from both Google and Verizon helped Motorola’s Droid take second place for the most popular smartphone in the US after Apple’s iPhone. Now, after a concerted push into the Asian market and the perceived appeal of the social UI MotoBlur, Motorola once again appears to be on the right track. Motorola’s allegiance to Google, however, has come into question recently, especially concerning the firms deals with Skyhook Wireless and Yahoo. Motorola announced last week it would be using Skyhook’s location positioning and context offerings on its smartphones instead of Google’s native location services.
Earlier in the year, Motorola also launched the Android based Backflip with AT&T sporting Yahoo as its default mobile search engine instead of Google’s search. … Read more
FTC eyes Google, Apple
It may be Monday morning, but the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is up bright and early with both Google and Apple in its sights for various antitrust related issues. The commission is looking into suing Google over the search engine giant’s AdMob acquisition, in an attempt to somewhat impede Google from attaining even more control over the search business than it already does. The Internet is rife with rumors that an antitrust lawsuit or preliminary injunction will be leveled at Google by the FTC either by the end of this week or early next week, with Google already ramping up the defense rhetoric and appealing to mobile companies for help lobbying the FTC. AdMob, currently the largest mobile advertiser on the block, allows its clients to bombard iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Symbian and other smartphones with adverts non-discriminately, with both Google and AdMob saying the platform would continue to service all kinds of devices, rather than restrict itself just to Google’s Android OS. Regardless, if the FTC does move to nix the deal, Google would find itself facing a major hurdle in its mobile ad campaign business, giving rival Apple the upper hand in the space as the big kahuna of mobile advertising. … Read more
Skype launches group video chat for up to five people
Skype will soon be rolling out a group video chat function for up to five people says the firm, and will also be unveiling updated subscription offerings for calls to mobile devices and landlines in some 170 countries. A Skype executive told the AP news agency that the group video chat feature had been one of the most requested by the VoIP firm’s users, and that a public “beta” test would begin as early as next week. Initially, the group video chat feature will be free like Skype’s other video chat tools, but the company has already expressed an interest in monetizing it in several months’ time, adding to a list of other paid-features being released. Windows users will be the first to try out Skype’s group video options, with Mac users having to wait until later this year. Skype has also said it will be expanding its subscription services, which currently allow paying customers to make calls mainly to landlines in over 40 countries. … Read more
Mobile gaming trends of 2010
HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. – Throughout the LA Games Conference, two names kept resurfacing whenever the topic of mobile was broached – iPad and Android. It should come as no surprise why the iPad is almost universally seen as an opportunity for game makers. Just look at the prices developers are charging for apps on the iPad and compare that to the so-called sweet spot app price of 99 cents on the iPhone. From the tone of at least a few developers represented at the annual conference, the iPhone may be left behind as the path to greater profits per app gains momentum on Apple’s latest gadget. After the conference, SNL Kagan analyst John Fletcher told RCR Wireless News that while there is cause for concern, innovation should make up for it in spades. “The low and much used 99 cent app price point in the iTunes App Store concerned some speakers, but others were more interested in supplementing free or very inexpensive game prices with ads and in-game virtual purchases,” Fletcher wrote in response to questions. The clear take-away from the event, he added, is that “as the game business maneuvers from physical to digital, mobile is viewed as a critical platform to support.” It’s also worth noting that the keynote speaker for the one-day event, Ira Rubenstein, EVP of the global media group at Marvel Entertainment, was less than bullish on mobile at least in the short term. “I personally would love to figure out how to get our games and comic books working on these mobile platforms,” he said. As mobile phones and tablets become more of gaming and reading devices, he expects the company, which was acquired by The Walt Disney Co. at the end of 2009, to dive in much deeper. … Read more
100 billion LTE devices by 2020?
Speaking at the IEF conference in Germany’s the Technische Universitat in Dresden, Gerhard Fettweis, Vodafone chair professor told his audience he believed 100 billion cellular devices would be connected using LTE in less than a decade. According to UK based site TechEye, Fettweis’ predictions depend on LTE actually taking off properly in 2012, with LTE Advanced to follow in 2015. Small testbeds of the technology – being set up in collaboration with the likes of Qualcomm, Alcatel-Lucent and Infineon – are already up and running, including in Dresden itself, but until the technology gets rolled out on a global scale, the results are hard to quantify. Fettweis apparently noted that with LTE chips being embedded into all kinds of things, from handheld devices to lighting, to airplane seats, the number of connected devices could double current estimates and reach 100 billion cellular enabled devices by 2020. … Read more
Hot new devices: MyTouch3G Slide, Droid Incredible
T-Mobile USA Inc. unveiled its latest smartphone powered by Google Inc.’s Android operating system with the myTouch 3G Slide that the carrier said would be available beginning next month. The HTC Corp.-built device features a 3.4-inch touchscreen, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, the latest Android 2.1 OS, a five-megapixel camera and includes an 8 gigabyte microSD card. The device also features support for the carrier’s rapidly expanding HSPA+ network that the carrier recently said it expects to cover 185 million potential customers by the end of the year. Pricing for the device was not released, though the non-QWERTY version currently retails for $150 after rebates. T-Mobile USA’s plans to launch the device in June is setting the month up to be a hot time for new devices. Sprint Nextel Corp. has said it will launch its highly-anticipated Evo 4G device this summer, with reports indicating a June launch, while Apple Inc. is expected to unveil its latest iPhone iteration around the same time. T-Mobile USA’s announcement came perhaps not coincidently on the same day that Verizon Wireless’ HTC-built Droid Incredible was made available to the public. … Read more
Clearwire sees strong growth
Clearwire Corp. posted robust first quarter financial results highlighted by company record customer growth, but more importantly the company used its quarterly conference call to intriguing insight into its future network and device plans. Of significant importance was Clearwire’s statement that the company recently amended an agreement with Intel Corp. that will allow either party to provide 30 days notice before exiting their current agreement that requires Clearwire to continue exclusive use of WiMAX technology on its network through early 2012. The agreement was originally part of Intel’s investment into Clearwire in support of Intel’s plans to build up the burgeoning WiMAX chip market. This amendment would seem to open the door for Clearwire to follow up on its proclamation of being “technology neutral” and move forward with plans to install an LTE-based technology on its network. Analysts have been forecasting an eventual migration to LTE for Clearwire, a fact Clearwire’s management has said it has been looking at. However, the agreement with Intel has to this point prevented an actual deployment of any technology beyond WiMAX using Clearwire’s substantial spectrum holdings in the 2.5 GHz band, which the carrier said is around 150 megahertz in the nation’s top 100 markets. A move to LTE could open up the door to additional wholesale partners for Clearwire. Recent rumors have indicated that Clearwire has been in talks with T-Mobile USA Inc. on a possible partnership that would allow T-Mobile USA to offer next-generation services using Clearwire’s network to supplement T-Mobile USA’s current HSPA-based data service. In addition, Sprint Nextel would be seen as a likely passenger on any LTE plans as the carrier is a majority shareholder in Clearwire and its current “4G” service runs on Clearwire’s network. … Read more
Check out the RCR Wireless News Archives for more stories from the past.
