Category: Mobile

Machine-to-machine (M2M) services are a promising opportunity for carriers struggling with a saturated handset market and data traffic that’s increasingly difficult to manage. M2M promises to boost revenues with minimal network taxation by delivering lightweight data transmissions to everything from e-readers like the Kindle to railroad cars and home appliances. Harbor Research has predicted that shipments of so-called “intelligent devices” will grow to 430 million in 2013 from 73 million in 2008, while total device revenues will exceed $12 billion.

For software developers and hardware manufacturers, then, the question is how to tap the new market for connected devices. How do you add connectivity to existing products, or create entirely new intelligent devices, and what kind of business model should you employ? Those topics are the focus of a Long View I posted today over at GigaOM Pro (sub req’d).

Operators have streamlined certification processes and invested substantially in order to help developers bring products to market as quickly as possible. But not every carrier has achieved the same degree of traction. Other factors must be considered in choosing a carrier partner for M2M deployments, too: Deployments through Verizon or Sprint can be more expensive, due to the costs of licensing CDMA technology, but CDMA can provide superior coverage in rural areas — a key advantage for segments like utility communications, which must cover broad areas. And carriers that have yet to build much of an M2M business may be flexible on price compared to their more established counterparts.

Meanwhile, operators and their partners are experimenting with a variety of business models and pricing schemes as M2M begins to get legs. We’re likely to see business models break down according to how devices are being used. A gadget that intermittently receives premium content at irregular intervals — like an e-reader or connected music player — is a natural fit for pay-per-use models where carriers take a share of the purchase price. Scenarios that require more consistent connectivity but consume little bandwidth — a mobile heart monitor, say, or applications that track energy usage — are likely to leverage traditional subscription models at flat rates.

And complicated alliances between carriers, device manufacturers, application developers and outside vertical markets will require new business models and revenue splits. So while the new world of M2M teems with opportunity for every player in the value chain, some substantial hurdles must be overcome if the segment is going to be the savior mobile network operators hope it will be. Read the full post here.

Image courtesy Flickr user birdphone.

In October 2009, Mozilla’s outgoing CEO John Lilly told me that Mozilla was working on a new iPhone app which it would release in next few weeks. Weeks turned into months, but Mozilla is finally getting ready to release Firefox Home, which as predicted was based on a Mozilla Labs project called Weave. Since then, the project has been renamed, Firefox Sync and include the Firefox “Awesome Bar.” In a blog post, Mozilla spokesperson writes:

The app is called Firefox Home, and it gives iPhone users instant access to their Firefox browsing history, bookmarks and the set of tabs from their most recent browser session. What’s more, it provides Firefox “Awesome Bar” capability that enables people to get to their favorite web sites with minimal typing.
Firefox Home provides an amazing “get up and go” experience. It’s encrypted end-to-end. It’s your home on the Web, wherever you are. And, of course, it’s free.
Firefox Home for iPhone is part of a broader Mozilla effort to provide a more personal Web experience with more user control. For devices or platforms where we’re unable to provide the “full” Firefox browser (either technically or due to policy), we aim to provide users with “on the go” instant access to their personal Firefox history, bookmarks and open tabs on their iPhones, giving them another reason to keep loving Firefox on their desktops.

I don’t know about you, but I am actually super excited to try out this app as soon as it become available on the iPhone store.

This is more about the connections than it is the money, but mobile payments company Boku has raised even more money following its $25 million round in January.

The mobile payments space is hot right now with lots of start-ups looking to be the PayPal of mobile. Of course, they’ll have to compete against not only PayPal, but other financial behemoths, like MasterCard. Consider this funding event a combination of both money and brain power to fight that battle.

The undisclosed round is coming from Andreessen Horowitz, the firm founded by Netscape-Co-Founders Marc Andreesen and Ben Horowitz. The two investors, who have also placed bets in such companies as Zynga and Skype, will become strategic advisors to the San Francisco company. In addition, Boku has appointed two new executives to the team, including David Yoo, the former SVP and Chief Product Officer at AT&T (NYSE: T) Interactive, and Kevin Grant, former VP of Sales for Mobi TV. Yoo will become the SVP of Strategy and Grant will be the SVP of Sales.

Boku, which launched in June 2009, had previously raised $38 million and has been focusing on helping game and application developers charge for virtual goods on social networks. It claims that its payment service, called Paymo, accounted for nearly 100 percent of the top applications for virtual goods and currencies purchased on Facebook.

Boku said that the two new executives have been brought on board to tackle one of the biggest hurdles in the mobile payments space: reducing fees charged by carriers to make selling physical goods more feasible. In a release, Yoo said: “Mobile payments for goods and services, be they virtual, digital or physical are still in the early stages of growth. Carriers have a tremendous opportunity to generate revenue and increase ARPU as fees come down.”

Related

• Cellphones Still Not A Practical Replacement For Cash
• MasterCard Is Making It Easier To Pay By Mobile Phone
• Boku Raises $25 Million To Expand Mobile Payments Services
• Paris-Based Hi-media Expands Micropayments Business To U.S.
• Mobile Payment Provider Zong Raises $15 Million Following Spin-Off

It’s not called Hulu mobile, but it probably should be. Fox’s Mobile Group has launched a mobile beta application that provides free access to full-length TV shows on your phone.

The strangely named application is called Bitbop, and quietly became available in beta as recently as today, a spokesperson confirmed. The service was expected to launch this spring, and since it’s being called a beta, things are still likely to change.  For now, users can sign-up for a trial on its web site and the application is free and compatible on four BlackBerry phones.

It is practically a Hulu look-alike because it comes loaded with TV shows from 25 content partners, including Hulu’s joint venture partners News Corp (NYSE: NWS). and NBC Universal (NYSE: GE). While the catalog is not quite as extensive, other networks involved include: The Food Network, A&E, CBS (NYSE: CBS), TLC, USA and MTV.

Previously, Fox Mobile’s EVP of Global Products Joe Bilman told mocoNews that the application will be free, but in order to access to the whole catalog, a subscription will cost $10 a month. he said the service is expected to work over WiFi and 3G, and to support a variety of handsets, including the iPhone and Android-based smartphones. The web site only lists TV shows for now, but says movies will be coming soon.

The line-up of TV shows is includes some of the best from the TV networks’ current line-up, including episodes from “The Office,” “30 Rock,” “Glee,” “24,” but also older stuff, like the first episode of “Arrested Development.”

It’s not entirely fair to say the service should be called Hulu Mobile. The big difference is that Bitbop is being produced by the Fox Mobile team, and not being co-developed by the partners that form Hulu’s independent management team. The other two obvious points is that it is a mobile service, and has a subscription service model from the start. The content owners are probably pleased to be able to try charging, rather than attempting an ad-supported model from the start and trying to charge later.

Related

• Fox Mobile Group Unveils Hulu-Like Video Streaming Service For The Phone

Sony’s announcement today that it’s developed a thin OLED display flexible enough to roll around a pencil (or any other 4 mm object) got me thinking about screens. The screen is quite literally our window to the web for computers, mobile phones, tablets and whatever other device we may have in our pockets, and anyone who walks outside with a Nexus One will quickly tell you that having a fast phone with neat apps doesn’t help when it’s a sunny day and your OLED touchscreen is subsequently so washed out that you can’t see anything.

Flexible screens are pretty cool, as are those you can see in the daylight. But when considering the use cases for mobile phones, laptops, e-readers or tablets, what screen functionality do we need? When it comes to e-readers in particular, some argue that screens that don’t emit a lot of light make reading more comfortable. But then again, e-Ink devices like the Kindle don’t have color, which most people consider pretty darn essential. Humans, barring an accident, disease or genetic defect, are visual creatures, and so as we take computing on the go and embed both connectivity and electronics into our tasks, the right screen is essential.

As I’ve noted previously, a greater emphasis on screen technology (and size) may change the dynamics in the semiconductor industry, in that beauty (nice screens) could soon cost twice as much as the brains (fast processors). But as Sony offers us an opportunity to add flexibility to our displays, the issue of figuring out what devices need in a display becomes that much more difficult. We may have a one-size-fits- all devices, but will we ever make a one-size-fits-all screen? Readers, is a single screen (or device) really appropriate for our needs? If so, what features should that display have?

Related posts from GigaOM Pro (subscription required):

• The Evolution of the E-Book Market
• Irrational Exuberance Over E-Books

As we’ve reported earlier, Mercedes is busy overhauling its engine lineup, and we now have information about which engines are ending up where in 2011 models.

The CL550 moves to one of Mercedes’ new V-8 powerplants, a 4.6-liter twin-turbo unit making 429 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque. That’s versus 382 hp and 391 lb-ft from the outgoing 5.5-liter V-8. All 2011 CLs get a face lift with new front and rear styling; they will retain their names instead of switching to S-class coupe nomenclature as had been previously rumored.

The CL63 and S63 AMG receive another new Mercedes engine, a twin-turbo 5.5-liter V-8. Output ratings are 536 hp ad 590 lb-ft, increases of 18 hp and 45 lb-ft over the old naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V-8. Both models also get an engine stop/start feature and M-B’s multi-clutch automatic transmission (MCT), which uses a clutch in place of the traditional torque converter.

Finally, the V-12–powered CL65 and S65 keep their engine but score an additional 17 hp, for a total of 621.

Related posts:

1. 2009 Mercedes-Benz C-class / C300 / C350 / C63 AMG – Review
2. 2010 Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG / S65 AMG Revealed – Car News
3. 2009 Mercedes-Benz G550 / G55 AMG / G-Wagen / G-Class Get a Facelift and the 382-hp V-8 – Car News

»  Android is getting more traction in the U.S., whereas the iPhone is more global, according to AdMob, which will soon be acquired by Google (NSDQ: GOOG). [GigaOm.]

»  Medialets has partnered with Mojiva to make its rich media ad formats for applications more widely available. It also has partnerships with Nexage and Jumptap. [Medialets blog.]

»  Foxconn, the Chinese manufacturer known for making the iPhone, says it is reviewing its policies after a ninth employee between the ages of 18 and 24 committed suicide. The company has about 420,000 employees. [The New York Times.]

»  In a survey conducted by the FCC, it found that one in six U.S. mobile phone users have been shocked by fees and charges in their monthly bills. [Reuters.]

»  iVdopia, a mobile advertising network, has launched a so-called “Viper ad.” Users swipe their fingertip across the screen to reveal a menu of options. So far, more than 15 percent of users tried out the action and more than 71 percent watched the ad to the end. [See image.]

When Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs takes the stage on June 7 in San Francisco, we pretty much know what we are going to get. Between the infamous misplacing of what is believed to be the next-generation iPhone in a Palo Alto bar, and a more obscure incident in Vietnam, Gene Munster with Piper Jaffray said Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) has “little room for surprise” at the Worldwide Developer Conference. Separately, Boy Genius reports that AT&T (NYSE: T) has confirmed to employees that a new iPhone launching in early June.

AppleInsider writes that Munster believes the new phone will have a front-facing camera for video conferencing, better battery life, an improved rear camera and a thinner design. He’s not expecting Apple to announce an iPhone for Verizon or any other U.S. carrier. “Bottom line: WWDC will likely be in-line with expectations, and a non-event for the stock,” Munster wrote, “but the new iPhone will likely drive unit sales beyond Street expectations, providing a positive catalyst for shares of AAPL in the coming months.”

Apple Sets Date For WWDC; Jobs To Also Appear A Week Before

The Federal Communications Commission, as part of its effort to boost competition by lowering the cost of switching providers, today released a survey showing that early termination fees (ETFs) keep consumers wedded to carriers even when they want a divorce. It also released data to support its effort to get carriers to notify consumers before their mobile phone bills get too expensive, known as bill shock regulations.

The survey notes that 83 percent of adults in this U.S. have a cell phone, and 80 percent have a personal cell phone that an employer doesn’t subsidize. And 58 percent of users are happy with their coverage. That being said, 30 million Americans (roughly 17 percent) were found to have received bills that were higher than they anticipated — of those, 21 percent had children under the age of 18.

It also found that 43 percent of customers with contracts said ETFs were a major reason they would stay with their current service (which may be why AT&T is following Verizon’s boost in ETFs with one of its own come June). The termination fees aren’t used as much in fixed-line broadband, with 21 percent of users saying that their contracts include an early termination fee. Of those users, however, fully 64 percent don’t know what the fee is — a higher level of confusion than for cell phone service.

On a call to discuss the survey, the FCC officials shied away from saying whether or not the agency would step in a regulate higher ETFs (so far it has questioned them, but hasn’t stepped in to change them). So for those who don’t want to be locked into a carrier, buying an unsubsidized handset (GigaOM Pro sub req’d) and paying (in some cases) higher monthly bills may be the way to go.

The latest company to tease wagon-lovers (that includes all members of the Car and Driver staff—it’s in our contracts) is, of all companies, Bentley. And no, we’re not talking about the Continental-based Flying Star wagonette (above) that debuted at this year’s Geneva show and was subsequently made available to interested parties by Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera. While chatting with Stuart McCullough, VW Board Member in charge of Bentley, at the launch of the company’s new 2011 Mulsanne flagship, the subject of new models came up. We discussed the possibility of even more derivatives of the Continental such as the Flying Star, and he stated that the idea of a shooting brake (car-speak for two-door wagon) Bentley is not at all out of the question.

“We have an idea in the back of our minds that we may yet bring to market,” McCullough said. Furthermore, he told us that the design that’s been kicking around for a little while goes “a lot further” than the Touring-built concept, and would be entirely Bentley from conception to assembly. Yeah, we like the idea too.

Don’t get too excited, though. The Continental is nearing the end of its life span and it is unlikely that Bentley would be able to make a business case to develop, verify, and source materials for a ninth Continental model (yes, there are currently no fewer than eight Conti models on the market). It is far more likely that Bentley would use its resources to develop more derivatives of the aforementioned Mulsanne, such as a convertible and a coupe. And even if they were to build a wagon, it would be a shock to see it offered here. As C/D executive online editor Erik Johnson said to me upon hearing of Mercedes-Benz’s decision to build the Shooting Break concept just as BMW stated that it would not offer the gorgeous new 2011 5-Series wagon in America, “It seems that whenever a new wagon appears, another one goes away.” In other words, we’re used to being disappointed and we expect that McCullough’s little morsel will never see the light of day on our side of the pond. But we’d be happy to be proven wrong.

No related posts.

Subaru and Cosworth have finally taken the wraps off their tuned WRX STI. If the CS400 looks like just another gray Subaru, consider these performance claims: 0–62 mph in 3.7 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 12.75 seconds at 107 mph. For reference, our long-term STI needed 5.1 seconds to clear 60 mph and 13.6 for the quarter.

To produce 395 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque, Cosworth fits the STI’s 2.5-liter flat-four with strengthened pistons, rods, head studs, gaskets, and a high-pressure oil pump. They bolt up a larger turbocharger, bigger manifolds, and larger-diameter, louder exhausts. A stronger clutch and short-throw shifter are fitted to the six-speed manual transmission.

The suspension is stiffened with Eibach springs and Bilstein dampers, and lowered 0.4 inch in front. The front brakes are upgraded to 13.9-inch AP Racing discs with six-piston calipers, while the rears remain stock. Michelin SP3 tires wrap lightweight 18-inch wheels finished in anthracite gray.

How to pick a CS400 out from other tuned Subies? Look for a new front fascia with fog lights and mesh grille inserts, a larger rear spoiler, and plenty of Cosworth badges inside and out. Individually numbered badges adorn the engine and door sills. Inside, the CS400 receives special black leather with Cosworth logos, piano-black interior trim, and tinted glass. Paint choices are limited to silver, gray, and red.

Cosworth is building just 75 copies, all right-hand drive and destined for U.K. buyers. At ₤49,995, the CS400 costs nearly twice as much as a regular STI.

Related posts:

1. Subaru Teases Cosworth Impreza WRX STI CS400
2. How to Throw a Subaru Impreza WRX STI into the Atmosphere – Feature
3. Subaru Impreza WRX STI Carbon – Auto Shows

More mobile phones are morphing into portable computers, leading to a dramatic shift in the way people consume content on the move. Instead of buying ringtones for $3.99 and playing Pong, mobile subscribers are watching HD video, updating their statuses and “checking in” to venues. They’re choosing from hundreds of thousands of applications, many of them free. The shift presents huge opportunities for mobile content companies—online veterans as well as traditional media conglomerates—but also some new perils.

We’ll be exploring both the opportunities and the potential pitfalls during paidContent 2010 Mobile: Leveraging the Smartphone Boom, our full-day mobile conference in New York on July 20 at the Columbia University Faculty House. Will users already shelling out for apps and access continue to pay for this content – and will enough new users follow suit? Can paid compete with free? Will mobile advertising finally take off with Apple’s iAds and Google’s purchase of AdMob?

Other big questions loom: Should content be “made for mobile” or imported from print, TV and the web? How will carriers, accustomed to owning customer relationships, survive when handset makers, mobile-platform companies, even content providers want to wrest that power away? And how will the tablet wave led by the iPad change the playing field?

We’ll bring together decision makers who straddle the online and mobile worlds every day—creators, distributors, investors, carriers, handset makers, and developers – for a robust discussion about how companies new and old to mobile content can make the most of the smartphone boom. For more detail on the day’s program, go here.

Register today to take advantage of the $495 early- bird rate.

If you have speaker suggestions, please contact us at pcmobile AT paidcontent.org—and if you’re interested in sponsoring paidContent 2010 Mobile: Leveraging the Smartphone Boom, contact our ad department at advertising AT contentnext.com.

Special thanks to our paidContent 2010 Mobile presenting sponsor, Gigya.

MasterCard said today it will let third-party developers tap into its payment systems, so they can be used for online or mobile applications. By opening up its services, the credit card company becomes more competitive in the next generation of platforms, which are the target of more than a dozen or so start-ups that have raised millions of dollars to make paying by cell phone more ubiquitous.

Through the program, developers will be able to bypass having to get a merchant agreement, setting up the system and making the consumer enter data each time. Instead, developers could use the new open platform to embed a payment feature in virtual games or in e-commerce apps on Twitter or Facebook, or to build an app that sends a text message to the card’s owner before a purchase is made, The New York Times reports.

Internally, MasterCard has been using the APIs in-house to create iPhone applications, such as MasterCard ATM Hunter and MasterCard Easy Savings, but Garry Lyons, MasterCard’s Group Executive of R&D, said: “Opening these and other APIs to the global development community developers will provide developers the opportunity to leverage MasterCard’s leading payment platforms and come up with new ideas that may not have been previously considered or thought possible.”

In the Times article, MasterCard says that while mobile payments for digital goods has started to take off, “it’s still really hard to buy a physical item from your phone.” Last week, we wrote about how phones are not a practical replacement for cash because of 40 to 50 percent cut a carrier demands if the charge appears on the cellphone bill. Other limitations have revolved around the hardware, and having compatible payment scanners in the store with chips in the phone.

MasterCard is not the only one shifting their approach. PayPal opened its platform late last year, and other start-ups like mopay, Zong, Boku and Paris-based Hi-media, are hopeful they can transition from mostly digital goods to physical goods over time. Interested developers should contact MasterCard at [email protected] in order to learn more on how to participate in the program.

Bruce V. Bigelow wrote:

When San Diego-based Cymer (NASDAQ: CYMI) announced its first-quarter financial results last month, the company noted almost parenthetically that it’s just beginning to roll out technology to manufacture OLED display screens.

In the 24 years since it was founded, Cymer’s business has been focused almost entirely on making advanced lasers that serve as the light sources in the photolithography process used in semiconductor manufacturing. The ability of Intel, AMD, and other semiconductor makers to produce chips with smaller and smaller microcircuit designs is due in part to Cymer’s ability to make lasers that produce light at ever-tighter wavelengths. The company now has about 3,300 lasers operating in semiconductor plants around the world; its most advanced lasers, which cost about $1.7 million apiece, are sold to ASML, Canon, and Nikon for integration into scanners—the big machines used to put microcircuits on silicon wafers.

Cymer’s success in keeping pace with chipmakers has given the company a commanding global market share, and Cymer spokesman Blake Miller says Japan’s Gigaphoton is its only remaining competitor. As a semiconductor tool supplier, however, Cymer has faced an extraordinarily volatile market. In the winter of 2008-09, for example, Cymer laid off at least a third of its worldwide workforce as the recession deepened. Cymer has long needed another business to dampen the vicious swings of its core semiconductor business.

So it was noteworthy, to say the least, when Cymer said its TCZ display division has installed its first system for making ultrathin OLED displays at the facilities of an unnamed customer in South Korea. While the first system undergoes integration and testing, Cymer says it plans to deliver its second OLED manufacturing system to another unnamed customer in China by the end of October.

OLED technology itself has been 20 years in the making, according to David Knowles, a 12-year Cymer veteran who now heads the company’s TCZ division.

Knowles says one of the key innovations underlying TCZ’s OLED technology is a process that creates a uniform grid of transistors on the semiconducting material that forms a …Next Page »

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UNDERWRITERS AND PARTNERS

With sales up 43 percent year-over-year in the first quarter of 2010, according to Gartner — the highest rate of growth in nearly eight years — the mobile PC market is flexing its muscle. And it’s no coincidence that of the top five vendors in terms of market share, the two showing the most growth — Acer and ASUS — were among the first to embrace the netbook market.

Netbook sales grew 71 percent from the prior year quarter after cresting 36.3 million units in 2009 — a figure expected to top 58 million in 2010, estimates ABI Research. So why isn’t the strong netbook market doing more to help sales growth of HP, Dell and Toshiba? Answers vary based on the company in question. I uncovered one of them yesterday, while attending the Netbook Summit.

Eric Tilton, manager of networks and engineering for the Fresno Unified School District, told me his organization helped refine early HP netbook designs to optimize them for the education market. He suggests that HP netbooks are poised to do well in this market — over the next four to five years. Schools commonly run though long budgetary cycles, so HP can’t reap rewards in this market any faster. Consumers don’t face such cyclical fiscal constraints, yet HP netbooks can be pricey for the general public — last time I checked, a fully decked-out HP netbook could run you $700, near the current average selling price ($732) of a full notebook.

Toshiba, meanwhile, only offers two netbook models to choose from — one of which, I should note, I bought last year and absolutely love it — the netbook has a trackpad larger than that of some notebooks I’ve used. But as computers become smaller, they also become more personal, a thesis presented in our GigaOM Pro report, “The Future of Netbooks” (subscription required). And with only two netbook models, Toshiba can’t compete on personal choice with Acer and ASUS, each of which offer scores of different models.

On the other hand, Dell netbooks do provide many customization options. The base netbooks typically start at under $300, which sounds like a good deal initially, but these often run on the Intel Atom Z-series processors, which are really intended for lower performing devices. To Dell’s credit, changing the specifications is an easy, though time-consuming, experience. Often, it results in a machine comparable in price or performance to a specific ASUS or Acer model that could be had without the configuration hoops.

While all the mobile computer vendors are enjoying growth, there’s something to be said when you’re first to a new market. Assuming you implement your product plan well, you’re likely in the best position to reap the largest rewards.

—Timeses’ apps: As the papers’ new pay-for sites launched, so, too, did iPhone apps, with no fanfare, ME spotted, though there’s confusion out of The Times on whether they’re really new. The deal – £2 a week for a hideous digital replica, better plain-text stories and weird text-to-speech audio.

—3UK’s iPad prices: The carrier is joining Orange, O2 and Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) with dedicated iPad tariffs – monthly only: £7.50 for 1Gb, £15 for 10Gb. T-Mobile and Virgin Mobile (NYSE: VM), the floor is yours.

—Orange ID: The telco is launching Orange ID Selector, some code that would see registration websites will let users login using their Orange usernames. The ID Selector also offers other popular sites and networks as login mechanisms.

—Publishers Weekly: Now under new ownership, the U.S. mag debuted an e-edition as an iPhone/iPad app, made by vendor Exact Editions – free to download with a taster selection, then $4.99 every 30 days.