New CEO, Dan Hesse mentioned yesterday that later this year Sprint will introduce dual-mode CDMA/WiMAX devices. This is a good thing for them as they need to do what they can to be the first company dropping 4G on us. Another great headline in a short span of days for the third ranked company after announcing their Simply Unlimited plan earlier this week. If they end up signing a slew of new customers with their rate plan, they'll need to build up the network to support it and WiMAX sure would help!
Kind of ironic to think about #3 doing so poorly and thinking ahead to 4G technology while company #4 keeps reporting better numbers all the time and they have yet to launch their 3G stuff.
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Friday
Sprint to have WiMAX Phones in 2008
Apple to Keep iPhone Restricted After All?
With the SDK being released next week, many fanboys and wanna-be developers are expecting the doors to blow wide open and enter a world of possibilities. A world full of mashups, new apps, and new ways of harnessing the technology within the device. How awesome things will be a year from now when people can freely create programs for their phones, and making money along the way! Not so fast.
Word is coming to us that next week's SDK will only be an alpha version with rather severe limitations attached. Most surprising is that Apple’s intention is to formally approve or deny all software releases for the device based off of the SDK. Also, there will be restrictions that prohibit hardware add-ons and accessories. This shuts the door on keyboards and other traditional devices. It's also mentioned that those who jailbreak their phones and develop for the device might even be an advantage over those using the official SDK. According to iLounge, the beta version of the SDK will bow in June, in time for the WWDC.
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Thursday
Changes to AndroidGuys
Attention loyal readers and subscribers! AndroidGuys will be switching servers next week and will be moving off of Blogger. Get ready to update your bookmarks. AndroidGuys.com and AndroidGuys.blogspot.com will be forwarding to our new location soon. Keep a close eye on the site as we'll give the official launch date soon! Full Post
Apple COO: "Apple Not Married to Single Carrier Model"
In somewhat related news, Apple's Chief Operating Office, Tim Cook, said that the single exclusive-carrier model is not something that Apple is married to. That's news to us. How else would you explain selling a phone at full, non-subsidized price to one carrier per country?
Somehow we get the feeling they don't care a bit about people jailbreaking the iPhone either. At some point someone paid full price for that thing. AT&T would be the company taking the hit if/when the user jumps ship to use the phone on another network.
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New Video of Android Shows Up
Things are moving along swimmingly in the land of Android (Landroid?) and there's new stuff to prove it. BBC's Darren Waters was able to get a first hand experience with the man himself, Andy Rubin himself. He was able to get some video for everyone to see. This incarnation of Android was running on some unknown 3G prototype with a touchscreen.
Check out the bottom, there's a track ball down there! Web browsing looks very nice and has an intuitive feel which should be easy to learn for most folks. Andy also teases us with a mobile version of their 'Street View' mapping. You know the one, panning back and forth from eye level. Considering this hardware was only 300MHz, we're stoked at just how smoothly it ought to run when it hits the newest hardware.
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Sprint Answers The Bell
Sprint has upped the ante in the bidding wars for your cellular business. A week after Verizon and T-Mobile matched their offering for unlimited rate plans, and in T-Mobile's case bested it by offering text as part of the package for $99, Sprint counters by including everything but the kitchen sink.
They call it "Simply Everything," which includes Voice, Data, Text, Email, Sprint TV, Sprint Music, GPS navigation, Direct Connect, and Group Connect. A key to the store will also be given to the first 500 customers that sign up. After hemorrhaging another 1.2 million customers the company is pulling out all of the stops in an effort to slow down the bleeding. Now if they could only address their customer service issues. You can check out a complete article here courtesy of Kansas City.com
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T-Mobile Ends 2007 On A High Note
T-Mobile reports that it added more than 951,000 new net customers in the 4th quarter of 2007, which brings their total customer base up to 28.7 million. You can read the complete article here on Mobile Tech News.
The company also reported a decrease in churn coming in at 1.8% for the 4th quarter, which is down from 2.1% for the 4th quarter of 2006. T-Mobile's CEO Robert Dotson attributes the company's recent successes to innovations such as My Faves, Flex Pay, and it's @Home Services. Good for you T-Mobile!
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Wednesday
What's Under The Hood of Google's Android?
Capitol Hill Working for Us Today
Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-MA), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet has started a hearing today that will look to rid us of 2-year contracts for handsets that do not have to be subsidized. Are you listening iPhone owners? Your full price phones could potentially save you money and headaches down the road. And why shouldn't it? The carriers have no money to make up if you are paying full ticket. Would definitely be worth the $100-$150 you'd pay up front, wouldn't you agree?
The bill would require wireless carriers to offer consumers the ability to purchase subsidy-free wireless equipment without a long-term service plan at a price no higher than comparable plans offered with subsidized equipment. The bill would also require carriers to prorate early termination fees to ensure that the carrier recovers the cost of the subsidy, but no more.Full Post
Windows Mobile Virus Alert
Since there are no true Android phones running around yet, we figured that a bulk of our audience is using some other form of smart phone. Here's a little something you Windows Mobile users might want to be wary of. A trojan virus (WinCE/InfoJack) is currently making its rounds which sends the infected device’s serial number, operating system and other information to the author of the trojan. McAfee has been able to trace the program back to a web site whose maintainer claims it was designed to track what type of devices people are using to run applications. We smell something fishy. Have a look at some of the things this app is doing.
- Installing as an autorun program on the memory card
- Installing itself to the phone when an infected memory card is inserted
- Protecting itself from deletion, copying itself back to disk
- Replaces the browser’s home page
- Allows unsigned applications to install without warning
iPhone SDK Delayed?
Much like the update to the Google Android SDK, the iPhone's SDK seems headed for a similar fate with delays pushing the release beyond the end of February as previously announced. Based on this article on Guardian.com the issue appears to be security. The last thing Apple needs is a bunch of applications released that make it easier for hackers to gain access to your iPhone data.
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Tuesday
Google Laying Cable
Along with 5 other companies, Google will be helping to put down 6,200 miles of cable linking the US to Japan. At a cost of $300M, the project will begin immediately. Dubbed The Unity cable, it will connect Los Angeles and other sites on the US West Coast to Chikura, which will then be connected to other cable systems that serve other Asian countries. Full Post
Consumers Will Emerge Victorious in War of Providers
It's been said before that 2008 will go down as the year of the mobile device. Cell phones are getting smarter every generation and the rate of adoption is skyrocketing. Many of the smart phone buyers will probably tell you that they never pictured themselves buying one. Why is this happening? What has spurred this trend? One can't really point the finger at one particular reason as it's a combination of many things happening in the industry.
Everyone knows that customer satisfaction is what drives people to buy or use certain products and services. Now, more than ever, these satisfaction rates are climbing. There are three things that have happened over the last year within the cellular industry that have started changing things forever. Commitment to being open, pro-rated early termination fees, and the price war of 2008 are going to be looked at as the events responsible for the sea-change.
Lately each company seems to be mimicking the next, afraid to get left behind. After all, if 3 out of 4 companies are providing something you're not, then your customers will be looking to go elsewhere. Taking a look at what Sprint did two weeks ago with their announcement of the $119 unlimited plan. While I am not an expert in the field, I can still add a few things up. Sprint was essentially forced to do something dramatic to keep from hemorrhaging customers. Maybe by dropping their prices and offering something so unique, people will forget their less than stellar customer service.
Sadly, that idea will never come to fruition as Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile all announced similar, if not better deals within a week. My thought is that Verizon and AT&T made the plan announcements just because they'd rather not be beat at a game they are currently winning. T-Mobile is in no position to jump Sprint anytime soon if things continued at current pace so maybe that is why they were so aggressive in their plans to offer unlimited calling and texting for $99 a month.
How will Sprint combat these other plans? The latest rumor is that they are considering a $60 unlimited calling plan. This could not come at a better time as early termination fees are set to be prorated if they are not already. Customers will be able to switch carriers without that $200 hefty cancellation cost. The burden to retain customers gets heavier every day.
By offering an open network, users have the capability of switching to other carriers without being forced to buy a new phone. On top of that, they don't have to wait until their 2 year contract is up. It's not out of the realm of possibility that you could be switching providers every few months. That is at least, until the dust settles a little bit.
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Techfaith Wireless To Develop Google Handset
Coming off of a record 4th quarter for earnings, the Chinese handset manufacturer announces it will produce a smartphone using Google's Android platform in the coming year. You can check out the complete article here on Forbes. Techfaith specializes in "dual mode" smartphones. The bad news is that originality isn't exactly their strongest suit, as they blatantly rip off designs of other well known handsets. You can check out some screens here courtesy of Engadget.
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34 Weeks of OHA: #8
Open Handset Alliance Member Profiles (Week #8 - Google)
For 34 weeks, each Tuesday, Jordan from fandroid.net will be joining us to offer a profile of each of the 34 members of the Open Handset Alliance.
Company Name: GoogleHow the OHA site classifies them: Software Company.
What the OHA site says about them: Our mission is to organize all the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.
What they do: Cackle gleefully as the money comes rolling in. The Wikipedia entry doesn't quite seem to do it justice:“Google is an American public corporation, earning revenue from online and mobile advertising related to its Internet search, web-based e-mail, online mapping, office productivity, social networking, and video sharing as well as selling advertising-free versions of the same technologies.”
Kind of an inadequate description, because the thing about Google is this: it makes a sh!tton of money, and is worth an insane amount. Current Market Cap? According to Yahoo, $159 billion dollars. This site claims that $160 billion dollar bills stacked on top of one another would be 55,333,200 feet high, which wouldn't quite get you to the moon or anything but is still a whole lot of one dollar bills.
Most of this money comes from ads attached to search results. Google does other things, some well, some not so well: Gmail, Google Reader, Google Docs, etc., etc. It's the search stuff that made Google what it is, however – 75% + market share worldwide, such a dominant position that were Microsoft to acquire Yahoo its combined market share wouldn't even be a third of what Google has.
Everything else Google does can be seen as an attempt to add other profitable ad platforms to their core search functionality. Their in-browser email, document editing, RSS feed reader, chat, etc., are not only cool bits of cloud computing produced by an engineer-centric corporation, they also offer Google the opportunity to build a profile around you and more effectively target ads.
What they bring to OHA and Android: Well, they own the thing.
They bring clout, the will to innovate, and a suite of web-based apps that, in many cases, seem custom fit for the mobile platform.
The more interesting question is: why are they producing Android? The easy answer is: “For the potential ad-revenue, of course.” But they already have mobile apps that are widely used, why go to all the trouble of doing the actual OS, an area they have never attempted to infiltrate before?
Well, there is this concept that it gives them more hooks into the user. If they own the OS they can access the SMS subsystem, the GPS subsystem, the Contacts subsystem, and the Browser subsystem, so that when you text message a friend asking where the two of you should go for lunch they know that you have 5 pizza places in your contacts and are currently standing at the corner of 5th and 134th, so that when you go online to try and find a place to eat they can offer a custom answer -- Pagliacci's Pizza is two blocks away and a favourite of yours -- and thereby get a few bucks from the Pizza Place owner for their trouble. Of course, the user can opt-out if they so choose; its an option Google must offer if they want to avoif doing evil. Check out these quotes a USA Today article from a few weeks back, in which they interview Cole Brodman, T-Mobile's chief development officer:By combining "unique information about consumers from the Web," he says, with "other information" from mobile devices, such as location, "Google believes search responses can be much more targeted for Google, and that the value they can bring back to advertisers can be quite a bit higher." ...Android won't favor Google over Yahoo and other search-engine rivals. [Brodman] says consumers also can "opt out" of Google's "cookies," used to track their movements on the Web.
In my heart of hearts, however, I don't really believe its all revenue motivated. Google is an engineer's company. It's a bunch of folks rather like me: coders, hackers; they're just a lot smarter and a lot better paid. Google's folks are, in the end, into cool-ass tech. The ad stuff is placed on top to keep the money flowing, but many of these guys come up with this stuff just 'cause its a cool idea. Android as we know it, the open source OS, running on Linux, rocking its own Java virtual machine, promising to free up phones everywhere, is the product of a bunch of Google geeks sharing the cool toy they built.
But then, I'm a Google apologist, which is why I write these articles. If you feel so inclined, just ignore my hippy-happy, love-and-clean-code, Richard-Stallman rantings, and go ahead persisting in the belief that it's all motivated by money.
I feel sorry for you, you sad, cynical person.
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Monday
Any Device Any App Details to Emerge in March
Verizon is slated to roll out the rules and regulations concerning their plans to open up their network. March 19th is the date given from Big V as when to look for their announcement at the Open Developer Device Conference in New York. No word yet on when the network will officially start allowing the devices.
Is it really an open network if you have to sign off on a device? Kinda defeats the idea of truly open, doesn't it? Anyway. Here's the official Verizon announcement.
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Recap of Code Day
Over at O'Reilly, Andy Oram, gives us a little rundown of the Boston Code Day event for Google Android. A pretty in-depth debriefing, he talks about promises about openness and things we could potentially see. It's quite a lengthy read worth printing out and browsing through. Full Post
Bar Code Scanning May Be Here Sooner Than Later
A few weeks ago Scott did a piece on Google testing bar code scanning in conjunction with print advertisements. This technology seems to be a perfect fit for the younger demographic, but there's no reason why other businesses wouldn't try it as well. Here's an article that further explores it's possibilities, as well as the results of a trial run. This was found on Adweek.com. 
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You Need Microsoft To Buy Yahoo
Microshaft. Micro$oft. Microcrap. Yeah, I’ve heard them all, and I’m sure you’ve heard your fair share of insults lodged at the company in Redmond as well. To be fair they have given us plenty of reasons for these attacks. I am personally on my 3rd Xbox 360 after the first two suffered the 3 red lights of death, also known as 3RLOD. Don’t even get me started on Windows. Anyone remember the ill fated and buggy Windows Me? I rest my case. In spite of all these shortcomings however you need Microsoft to purchase Yahoo.
For all of the innovation that Google is responsible for over the last few years, none of it would have been possible without Yahoo and Microsoft chasing them from behind. Competition fosters innovation, which benefits you the consumer. Microsoft can be to Google what Apple is to Microsoft. That constant drive to one up the competition with new products, services, and ideas such as Google Docs or Yahoo Go! That’s not to say these innovations never would have happened without a worthy competitor, but I have a feeling they may not have been released on the same timeline that they ultimately were.
Here’s another example. Do you remember what happened when Electronic Arts won the NFL exclusivity deal effectively silencing their biggest competitor 2K Sports? Up to that point their competition with 2K Sports was getting more intense year after year, and because of this bitter rivalry consumers were treated to such innovations as realistic color commentary from a two man booth, more life like player animations, and overall faster game play. Ask any Madden fan how the series has faired since then, and if they are honest with you and themselves they will tell you that the series hasn’t added any truly innovative features since 2K Sports has been out of the picture. And no the passing cone doesn’t count as innovation. Frustrating? Yes. Innovative? Hardly. If you are a Madden “fanboy” save your comments for another day.
Could the same competitive spark be accomplished if say a company like News Corp. were to swoop in and purchase Yahoo? Perhaps, but Microsoft has more experience in this industry, so they would be able to apply pressure to Google immediately. From a consumer’s standpoint the worst thing that could happen is an unlikely Google/Yahoo merger. While anti-trust laws would likely squash this deal before it ever happened the two have been in talks about some type of partnership in hopes of thwarting Microsoft’s efforts. For those of you who are thinking “Google isn’t worried about Microsoft” ask yourself why they are seeking help from the government to block this Microsoft/Yahoo deal. You can read an article about that here on The Register
For all the ineptness Microsoft has demonstrated over the years, this is one instance where we should be cheering them on, particularly if you’re a fan of Google and innovation. I suspect like myself you’re a fan of both, so let’s all cheer Go! Microsoft! Go!
Saturday
AG5 - February 23rd Edition
It's Saturday and that means it's time for another Android Guys 5. This is where we compile what we feel are the most significant posts of the week for your easy perusal. With out any further adieu, here they are!
#1- New SDK Considered Big Improvement
Ryan Paul over at Ars Technica spent some time with the new release of the Android SDK. He claims that there are 'noteworthy improvements' to the platform with the recent offering known as 'm5-rc14'.
#2- AT&T and Verizon Offering Unlimited Plans
Following in the footsteps of Sprint, AT&T and Verizon have announced that they are now going to offer unlimited calling and data plans.
#3- Microsoft Is Jonesing For Yahoo
Microsoft has not given up it's fight to purchase 2nd largest internet search provider Yahoo.
#4- First LiMo Phone Due Within Weeks
Samsung is slated to start rolling out the first Linux based mobile phones later this month or early the part of next (March).
#5- Google To Use Balloons For Wireless Signal?
Here's a fun one to think about. What's cheaper than building a boat-load of cell towers to spread signal? How about putting balloons about 20 miles up in the sky?
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Friday
Parallel Kingdom Bringing MMO to Real World
Another geography based game is in the works for Android handsets. Called 'Parallel Kingdom", the game lets players "mine resources, build buildings, craft items, trade goods, meet people, start kingdoms, lead wars, and explore the world." To us, the game's success will hinge largely on how many people actually get involved. What percentage of people have A)a smart phone, B)running Android, C)with this game installed, and D) actively playing?
Head over to the site to read more and check out a video!
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This Week in Open Handset Alliance News (February 22nd Edition)
After the busy week of events from Mobile World Congress, a lot of the members of the OHA seemed to be stuck in vacation mode. Not a lot of news to report as everyone made their big headlines the previous week. Look for the next few weeks to be a little quiet as well. So,without dragging this out any more, here's a few things that happened this week for some of the members of the Open Handset Alliance.
Did HTC create the hardware for the new Sony Ericsson Xperia X1? (PDA Street)
nVidia and ARM bringing 3D graphics to handhelds and phones (Shonzilla)
T-Mobile HotSpot at Home Talk Forever debuts (Wireless Week)
LG drops AMOLED phones (UberPhones)
Samsung u550 added to Verizon lineup (Electronista)
Gaming design from Samsung looks intriguing, akward (IntoMobile)
CFO announced for Motorola (Just Another Mobile Phone Blog)
Thursday
Microsoft is Jonesing For Yahoo
Microsoft has not given up it's fight to purchase 2nd largest internet search provider Yahoo. For those of you keeping score at home, Microsoft's original offer of $44.6 billion or $31 per share was rebuffed by Yahoo, as they felt it significantly undercut it's value. Yahoo then made a counter offer of $40 per share and Microsoft as expected rejected that offer. Then we heard that Google might be interested in working out some type of partnership with Yahoo, but this was an obvious ploy to keep the company out of the hands of Microsoft.
Now we hear that News Corp (FOX) is also interested. It appears that Microsoft is set to drop the hammer by starting a proxy fight to acquire Yahoo. Why does Microsoft so desperately want Yahoo? Well, when is the last time you used MSN as your 1st, 2nd, or 3rd search engine choice? Exactly. You can read a pretty good article that covers Microsoft's latest efforts here on CNN Money.
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Balloons Full of Hydrogen and Possibility
When I first read the article on the Wall Street Journal yesterday afternoon I immediately thought to myself "Wow, this would totally make sense." It's a logical move that couldn't come at a better time for the cellular industry. Google is on the verge of revolutionizing the cellular industry twice in the same year. First with Android and now with a potential contract with Space Data Corp.
This is one of those cases where it should have been thought of a long time ago. By putting up roughly 330 balloons a day, they could blanket the country with radio signal and provide users with coast to coast coverage. By beaming down from 20 miles up, the signal would be free from interruptions typically caused by mountains, trees, water, etc. Imagine being able to use a cell phone out on the ocean! If this deal goes through, you'll not have to worry about the limitations caused by zoning restrictions.
Depending on how the 700MHz auction falls out, there could be even more potential. Think along the lines of mobile television, gaming, Wi-Fi, and plenty of other cool scenarios. Google could find themselves partnering up with an actual carrier like Verizon to offer floating virtual cell towers. It could even end up being an Open Handset Alliance deal with Google sharing their radios with T-Mobile and Sprint users only.
Regardless of who wins the auction, nearly $5 billion is needed to come out of pocket before building tower number one. This is where Space Data Corp. is hoping to be called on. Whether the spectrum gets used to provide cellular network, television, or internet services, this is by far a much cheaper alternative to building up a traditional network. How much money and time do you think would be involved in erecting 22,000 towers? An average of 6 balloons per state seems much practical. Google could have these balloons in the air by the time the ink finishes drying on the contract. It should be fairly obvious by now, but I'm a big fan of this one.
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Wednesday
Google to Use Balloons for Wireless Signal?
Here's a fun one to think about. What's cheaper than building a boat-load of cell towers to spread signal? How about putting balloons about 20 miles up in the sky? Somewhere between tower-based radios and satellite signals, a box can be attached to a 'space balloon' that has components acting as a radio tower. Signal could be sent out over thousands of square miles without the worry of mountains, trees, and ridiculously tall people. So why bring this up? Read on.
Google is considering a contract with Space Data, a company that launches 10 balloons a day in the southern parts of the US. Helping truckers and oil companies stay in touch, one of their balloons could replace the need for 40 cell towers. And if a contract with them doesn't appear to be in the stars, perhaps Google will just outright buy them. According to one source, Google is pondering both options right now. And not surprisingly, neither company wanted to comment on the matter.
Check back for more on this one, as we're just hitting you with some of the basic details. Look for more tomorrow!
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Google Android Code Day Reminder
This Saturday, Google will be sponsoring the Android Code Day in Cambridge. The event will take place at the Charles Hotel and is slated to run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Featuring speakers on building apps using the Android SDK platform, developers and enthusiasts could learn quite a bit about what's being worked on and discuss some of the challenges that people are facing.
Speaking of challenges, the Android Developers Challenge has about two months left. $10 million worth of booty is up for grabs as individuals and teams have until April 14 to submit their applications to Google.
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Sprint to up the Ante?
Since three of the big 4 carriers announced $99 unlimited plans yesterday, Sprint's unveiling of the $119 unlimited plan just seems downright worthless. T-Mobile will start offering unlimited calling and texting tomorrow for $20 less than Sprint. AT&T and Verizon's plans offer unlimited calling, but no messaging.
A rumor is spreading today that Sprint will combat these plans with an unlimited calling plan of around $60 per month. At a savings of 40% over competitors, Sprint might be in a good position to pick up some of those customers they've been losing. Even with calling only, they'd be offering a whole lot for very little. We hope they do make a move like this as we have a little bias towards members of the Open Handset Alliance. Worst case scenario, Sprint closes up shop but takes the price war to a whole new level in the process.
Hold on to your butts, this could get really ugly and really fun. What a great time to be a consumer, eh?
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First LiMo Phone Due Within Weeks
Samsung is slated to start rolling out the first Linux based mobile phones later this month or early the part of next (March). It should be a pretty good indicator as to what kind of hardware we might expect from them once their Android phones hit. We're excited to see the different software apps that become available. Samsung is one of the founding members of the Open Handset Alliance and has stated that they plan to drop an Android phone in early 2009.
Respect knuckles to OpenAndroids for the article
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20/20 Podcast #9 (Bonus Edition)
Last night Jamie and Scott got together and knocked out a bonus edition version of our 20/20 podcast. That's right, there is a full hour of AndroidGuys goodness to listen to! We liked the format from last time around where we just shot from the hip only referring to bullet points for topics. We did not use any notes, so everything you hear is natural and as it comes. We're pleased with the results and hope that you will be too! If you have a topic or comment that you'd like to see us cover, leave a comment or drop an email. If you like what you hear, subscribe to the AndroidGuys 20/20 Podcast Feed today!
Part 1 (9A) topics: Rate plan changes from Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile, FCC Auction, Wi-Fi, RIM suing Motorola and the iPhone.
Part 2 (9B) topics: The iPhone compared to all other platforms, Nokia and Symbian's numbers, Yahoo, Microsoft and Danger, and "Write Once, Run Anywhere".
Part 3 (9C) topics: Alienware and Dell phone rumors, Starbucks, Wi-Fi everywhere, who's making the first Android phones, Google/Android business model, mobile search.
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Tuesday
Monkey See Monkey Do
The virtual ink had not even dried on our last article when we saw that T-Mobile is expecting to offer a $99 unlimited calling and texting plan. Currently the unlimited text package would run $14.99 in addition to the 5,000 minute plan costing $129.99 a month. That's a heck of a savings for those of you out there eating up minutes, you clock-gobblers.
The plan is set to start effective this Thursday, February 21st.
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