| Today's Top Stories
1. HP reorganizes webOS leadership team
2. AT&T, Sprint receive subpoenas from states over T-Mobile deal
3. AT&T unveils its first two LTE devices, a USB modem and mobile hotspot
4. Pew study: 35% of U.S. adults own a smartphone
5. Rumor Mill: Nokia to launch $127M Windows Phone marketing campaign Also Noted: Spotlight On... Zaarly shakes up cost of doing business
Ballmer: Windows Phone not yet successful; Leap's Cricket launches Huawei Ascend II and much more...  Five mobile apps you should avoid like the plague
Since the start of 2011, our weekly feature Appealing/Appalling has spotlighted the most innovative and most infuriating apps available for download. With the first half the year now in the books, let's take a look back at the absolute worst of the worst--the most laughable and most frustrating applications lurking in the nooks and crannies of the app store ecosystem. Life is hectic enough, after all; you don't have time--or money--to waste on apps that don't make it a little more manageable, or at least a little more fun. Get started
News From Across the Wireless Industry:
1. Foursquare partners with LivingSocial, Gilt Groupe for daily deals
2. Android freelance development gigs up 20% in Q2, BlackBerry down 6%
3. Can Twitter salvage its relationship with developers?
| Sponsor: Mobile Ecosystem Events > The Muther! of all Hackathons + DevCon: Innovation trumps sleep. Always. Silicon Valley - June 24/25
> Mobile Forum on Backhaul - July 20 - Juniper Networks, Sunnyvale, CA
> TC3: Telecom Council Carrier Connections - Sept 15 - Mountain View, CA
> CTO Telecom Summit - September 18-21, 2011 - Montelucia Resort, Scottsdale, AZ
> BlackBerry DevCon Americas - Oct. 18-20 - San Francisco, CA
> The Open Mobile Summit: NEW DATES ANNOUNCED - November 2-4 2011 - San Francisco, CA
> Appcelerate: At the Open Mobile Summit - November 4, 2011 - San Francisco, CA
Marketplace > The workhorse of the WiMAX industry is finally available to the rest of the telecom world!
> eBook: Path to 4G
> New eBook: Building a Better Backhaul Network
> eBook: OTT Delivery: An Online Video Revolution That Changed TV Forever
> Turbo charge your apps with direct access to network API's from Sprint
> New Fierce eBook: Cashing in on the Cloud Services Opportunity
Jobs > Telecommunications Director, Experian Consumer Direct, Irvine, CA
> Sr. RF Engineer at SyChip, Inc. in Plano, TX
> Need a job? Need to hire? Visit FierceWirelessJobs
* Post a classified ad: Click here.
* General ad info: Click here | Today's Top News 1. HP reorganizes webOS leadership team
Hewlett-Packard will move some of its top executives around in an attempt to drive the growth of the webOS platform it acquired from Palm. Specifically, the company is moving former Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein away from direct control of webOS to work on broader product innovation.  | | DeWitt | As part of the shift, Stephen DeWitt, who led HP's Personal Systems Group Americas region and has been with HP since 2008, will lead the webOS global business unit as senior vice president and general manager. Rubinstein, who was the driving force behind webOS at Palm, will take charge of product innovation in the Personal Systems Group, which encompasses smartphones, tablets and PCs. Both will report to Todd Bradley, who remains the executive vice president of HP Personal Systems Group. In a blog post, HP said the changes are part of a "logical evolution" for webOS. HP said DeWitt will be responsible for all aspects of the webOS business, including engineering, research and development, sales, marketing and go-to-market support. The company said DeWitt will focus on creating a global developer and independent software vendor program to deliver new consumer and business applications as well as a dedicated mobility practice with HP's partners to focus on both consumer and enterprise solutions. Meanwhile, Rubinstein, while not being formally in charge of webOS anymore, will still be connected to the platform, since HP wants to put webOS on PCs in addition to mobile devices. "We're fortunate to have Jon doing that voodoo that he does," DeWitt told Bloomberg. "He's going to bring his knowledge, experience and passion for building products across the PSG portfolio." The shift comes shortly after the bumpy launch of HP's first webOS tablet, the TouchPad, which was met with mixed reviews. HP has said it plans to issue software updates to correct some of the flaws the launch exposed, including occasionally sluggish response times. The shakeup also comes after HP CEO Leo Apotheker acknowledged that the computing and printing giant is in talks with a number of companies to license webOS. For more:
- see this release
- see this HP blog post
- see this Bloomberg article
- see this PC Magazine article
Related Articles:
Will other companies license HP's webOS? And will this strategy work?
HP positions TouchPad as enterprise play, not iPad killer
HP confirms talks to license webOS, Samsung reportedly interested
HP partners with AT&T for TouchPad, Wi-Fi version coming July 1
AT&T launches HP's Veer webOS smartphone
HP's Apotheker: 100M webOS-enabled products per year in the future Read more about: Todd Bradley, webOS, Jon Rubinstein, Hewlett-Packard
back to top |
| This week's sponsor is Mobile Ecosystem. | | Ten Things That Will Be Different a Year From Now
A Special Report and Webinar
A period of profound change is coming. We call it the “post-iPhone,
post-data Tsunami era”, and believe it will result in
ten important changes across the ecosystem.
Click here for Mark Lowenstein’s
special report and accompanying Webinar, July 28, 2pm ET |
2. AT&T, Sprint receive subpoenas from states over T-Mobile deal
Both Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) and AT&T (NYSE:T) said they were served subpoenas for information from nine states in connection with AT&T's proposed $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile USA. Sprint disclosed the subpoena requests in a letter to the FCC dated June 28, and said it received subpoenas from attorneys general in Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington, as well as from the Department of Justice's antitrust division. In the letter Sprint said it also received "civil investigation demands," which are similar to subpoenas, requiring the carrier to hand over "full, unredacted copies of all materials that it has submitted to the commission regarding the proposed transaction." AT&T acknowledged it received the subpoenas from the same nine states. "Not unexpectedly, some state attorneys general offices have sought information about our merger, and we have responded in an appropriate and timely manner," AT&T spokesman Michael Balmoris told Bloomberg. The requests for information will not ultimately affect the regulatory approval process, which is being handled by the FCC and Justice Department, but state investigations could influence public opinion and add more pressure and scrutiny to the deal. AT&T said in June it supplied the Justice Department with a second round of information on the deal. Sprint, which has been the most outspoken critic of the deal, supplied a raft of competitive information to the FCC in June, along with other leading wireless carriers, including Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ), MetroPCS (NASDAQ:PCS) Leap Wireless (NASDAQ:LEAP), U.S. Cellular and Cellular South. The carriers were required to answer nine questions related to coverage maps, pricing, subscriber numbers, billing data, future network plans, cell site ownership, cell site and backhaul deals the carriers have with AT&T and T-Mobile, deals in general with AT&T and T-Mobile and concerns the carriers have about spectrum constraints and how they view their competitors. For more:
- see this FCC document (PDF)
- see this Reuters article
- see this Bloomberg article Related Articles:
DOJ's antitrust chief Varney resigns, raising questions on AT&T/T-Mobile deal
Sprint's Hesse plots against AT&T/T-Mobile deal in white board war room
AT&T confident T-Mobile deal will close by March 2012
Sprint: AT&T can solve capacity crunch without buying T-Mobile
FCC asks Verizon, Sprint, others for data on AT&T/T-Mobile deal Read more about: Sprint, AT&T, FCC, Department Of Justice
back to top |
3. AT&T unveils its first two LTE devices, a USB modem and mobile hotspot
AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) named its first two LTE devices ahead of the launch of its forthcoming LTE network. The carrier will provide both a USB modem and mobile hotspot device from Sierra Wireless.  | | AT&T Mobile Hotspot Elevate 4G | AT&T said it will sell the USB Connect Momentum 4G modem for $49.99 with a two-year contract after a $50 mail-in rebate. The carrier also will sell the Mobile Hotspot Elevate 4G for $69.99 with a two-year contract and after a $50 mail-in rebate. The hotspot includes a 1.77-inch display for information like signal strength and data usage and connects up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices to the Internet. AT&T said both devices offer an expandable memory slot that supports microSD cards up to 32 GB, and both offer global connectivity with data roaming in more than 200 countries. The company said the devices will be available this summer, but it did not give precise timing or disclose its LTE data pricing. AT&T said in late May that it will launch LTE service in its first five markets--Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio--as the summer gets underway, but has been relatively mum on details since then. The company expects to deploy LTE across 70 million POPs in 15 markets by year-end. While rival Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) has a large lead in LTE market deployments, AT&T has consistently said that its customers' ability to fall back to its HSPA+ 21 network will give it an advantage over Verizon. Verizon's customers fall back to EV-DO data support, which provides slower speeds than AT&T's HSPA 21 network. AT&T's LTE device launch roadmap is similar to Verizon's, which first offered USB modems before moving to smartphones and other devices. John Stankey, the president of AT&T's business solutions unit, said in late May that field trials of AT&T's LTE network on its 700 MHz spectrum show that it is delivering real-world speeds "consistent with those that have been given by the top competitors." Verizon has said its LTE network delivers real-world downlink speeds of 5-12 Mbps and uplink speeds of 2-5 Mbps. Stankey also said at the time that AT&T remains committed to deploying enhanced Ethernet backhaul to two-thirds of its cell sites by year-end, and will exit the second quarter with roughly half of those sites having enhanced backhaul. Verizon's LTE network is live in 77 markets right now and the carrier aims to reach 175 markets by year-end. Today, the company officially opened its LTE Innovation Center in Waltham, Mass., where Verizon will work with partners on an array of LTE solutions. For more:
- see this release
Related Articles:
AT&T names first five LTE markets for summer launch
Rumor Mill: AT&T to launch LTE in NYC on June 30
AT&T says T-Mobile buy will bring LTE coverage to 97% of population
Rumor Mill: AT&T may introduce speed tiers for LTE
AT&T accelerates LTE deployment, will launch 20 4G devices this year
AT&T to launch LTE by mid-2011 Read more about: Sierra Wireless, LTE, AT&T Mobility, Usb Modems
back to top |
4. Pew study: 35% of U.S. adults own a smartphone
More than one-third of all U.S. adults have a smartphone, according to a survey published by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, one of the clearest snapshots yet of how smartphones are changing the U.S. mobile landscape. The survey found that 89 percent of all U.S. adults have some kind of cell phone and that 42 percent of those are smartphone owners, which translates into 35 percent of all U.S. adults. Pew broke the survey results down by varying demographic groups, and found that Android devices are the most popular, and that smartphones are more popular among the affluent. Interestingly, the survey, which was based on a sampling of 2,277 adults, found that among smartphone owners, 87 percent said they used the Web or email on their device and 68 percent said they go online daily. A full quarter of smartphone users said they go online mostly via their device, though roughly one-third of those respondents do not have access to a broadband Internet connection at home. Of those who own a smartphone, the survey found, 35 percent have a device running Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android platform, followed by 24 percent each for Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS and Research In Motion's (NASDAQ:RIMM) BlackBerry. Those with a Palm device made up 6 percent and those with a Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows device made up 4 percent. The survey found that Android phones are especially common among young adults and African-Americans, while iPhones and BlackBerry devices are most popular among college graduates and the financially well-off. Not surprisingly, smartphones, which are often more expensive than non-smartphones, are most popular among the affluent. Among those making $150,000 a year and above, smartphone ownership came in at 73 percent. A full 59 percent of adults living in a household earning income of $75,000 or more are smartphone users, and 48 percent of those with a college degree own smartphones. Smartphone ownership also tended to trend younger and away from rural customers. The pew survey found that 58 percent of Americans between the ages of 25 and 34 now own a smartphone, as do 49 percent of those ages 18-24. For more:
- see this Pew release
- see this WSJ blog post (sub. req.)
Related Articles:
Pew survey: Over a third of U.S. adults now access the mobile web
Study: Americans' mobile Internet usage taking off
Pew survey: E-reader ownership doubled over last six months Read more about: RIM, Apple, mobile data, Palm
back to top |
5. Rumor Mill: Nokia to launch $127M Windows Phone marketing campaign
Nokia (NYSE:NOK) will embark on a $126.7 million global rebranding effort as part of its launch of Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows Phone 7 platform, according to the British publication Marketing Magazine. The report, which did not cite its sources, said that Nokia will roll out the six-month campaign in October in conjunction with the release of its first Windows Phone device. The report did not indicate what kinds of media Nokia will use to get the word out about its transition to Windows Phone, but said the handset maker is coordinating with several marketing and advertising agencies across the world. A Nokia spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, a Nokia spokesman told Marketing Magazine that while Nokia is excited about its Windows Phone partnership, "it's not our policy to comment on specific campaigns for unannounced products." The stakes for Nokia are incredibly high as its moves away from its legacy Symbian operating system as its primary smartphone platform. Nokia has said that it is confident it will deliver its first Windows Phone device in the fourth quarter, and that it will provide a steady stream of new smartphones in 2012, when it starts shipping Windows Phone devices in volume. Meanwhile, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer acknowledged at the company's Worldwide Partner Conference that Windows Phone hasn't exactly taken off since its global launch in October. "In a year, we've gone from very small to ... very small," he said, referring to the platform's market share. A report from The Nielsen Company last month found that Windows Phone commands just 1 percent of the U.S. smartphone market. Nonetheless, Microsoft and Nokia are working together on the partnership, which was announced in February and finalized in April. Teams from the two companies have been conducting video conferences five to 10 times per week, according to a report in AllThingsD. The report also noted that Nokia transferred a top executive, Waldemar Sakalus, the vice president of the Microsoft alliance, to Seattle to oversee the partnership. Nokia also hired Kevin Shields, a former member of Microsoft's Windows Phone engineering team, to oversee Nokia's efforts to build on top of the platform. For more:
- see this Marketing Magazine article
- see this AllThingsD article
- see this IDG News Service article
Related Articles:
Nokia unwraps N9 MeeGo phone, remains committed to Symbian, WP7
Nokia CTO Green takes leave of absence
Nokia's Elop dismisses Microsoft takeover rumors, expounds on WP7
Nokia's shares take beating following Q2 guidance cut
Nokia cuts Q2 forecast, says Windows Phone transition on track Read more about: Marketing, Smartphones, advertising, Steve Ballmer
back to top |
Also Noted SPOTLIGHT ON... Zaarly shakes up cost of doing business  Zaarly, a 2011 Fierce 15 winner that targets local buying, allows users to name something they want, the price they're willing to pay for it and how long the offer is available. Zaarly's app and business model, profiled in FierceDeveloper's latest Developer Workshop, is essentially a cross-platform, peer-to-peer digital marketplace. The hyper-local service automatically connects the request with fellow users who bid for the right to facilitate the transaction. Since launching in mid-May, Zaarly has already brought together thousands of buyers and sellers and generated $1 million in seed funding. Special feature
Quick news from across the Web @FierceWireless: RT @gigaom: Startup takes augmented reality to new heights. Article | follow@FierceWireless > Swype closed a $6 million funding round. Release > Qualcomm appointed Matt Grob as its new chief technology officer. Release > Clearwire expanded its WiMAX network in New York City. Release > Apple's chief patent lawyer is leaving the company. Article > Google is launching its Offers program in New York City and San Francisco. Post > Leap Wireless' subsidiary Cricket Communications launched the Huawei Ascend II for $179.99. Release > Analysts cited by Reuters believe the legal battle between Apple and Samsung could put their $5 billion relationship up for grabs. Article > Microsoft's Steve Ballmer conceded Windows Phone has not been successful yet. Article > Sprint Nextel's text messaging service suffered a brief outage. Article > Apple is the top smartphone OEM in the United States. Chart > The HTC Status, a "Facebook phone," will sell for $49.99 on AT&T Mobility starting July 17. Article Mobile Content News > A new survey shows that iOS games are not cutting into the market for console games. Article > Smart developers should write apps that are frugal with smartphone data. Commentary > Foursquare will team with partners including LivingSocial and Gilt Groupe to offer users location-targeted daily coupon offers. Article > Comcast updated its Xfinity iPad app for the Motorola Xoom. Article > Amazon Wireless is offering Android content to some phone buyers. Article Developer News > Apple's third beta release of its iOS 5 is available for download via the iOS Dev Center. Article > Freelance mobile software development jobs increased 12 percent in the second quarter of 2011. Article And finally... Turning the iPhone into a Game Boy. Article > The Muther! of all Hackathons + DevCon: Innovation trumps sleep. Always. Silicon Valley - June 24/25 The Muther! is coming and YOU don't want to miss it! A real mashup where Hackathon meets DevCon in a fun, informative format! The real world doesn't focus on a single technology, phone or solution, so neither will the Muther! Join hundreds of Developers, Tool companies, Carriers, Investors and other mobile fanatics for a two day adventure of Master Classes, UnPanels, Coding, New APIs, Prizes, a BBQ and more. Attend! > Mobile Forum on Backhaul - July 20 - Juniper Networks, Sunnyvale, CA As demand continues to increase, the backhaul operations becomes complex. Join Bridgewave Communications, Juniper Networks, Vantrix and more for this important discussion on how to manage this complexity. Save 30% by using "Fierce30off" when you register - http://telecomcouncil.cvent.com/event/MF_Backhaul > TC3: Telecom Council Carrier Connections - Sept 15 - Mountain View, CA Sponsored by Huawei, Blue Coat, and Qualcomm, TC3 connects you to what the carriers are thinking, what they are looking for, and how they find innovation and work with entrepreneurs. It's 15 carriers with 20 strategies in 1 day. Details at http://telecomcouncil.com/tc3 > CTO Telecom Summit - September 18-21, 2011 - Montelucia Resort, Scottsdale, AZ The CTO Telecom Summit, September 18-21, 2011, will bring together CTOs to discuss IT topics and trends currently affecting the industry. The 2011 agenda has been revamped to include focus groups, think tanks, and analyst Q&As, all of which encourage meaningful conversations between delegates, analysts and solution providers. Learn more. > BlackBerry DevCon Americas - Oct. 18-20 - San Francisco, CA The showcase event for mobile developers. Join thousands of BlackBerry enthusiasts & experts for sessions, hands-on labs, demos and much more. Learn how you can maximize your investment in mobile development for the BlackBerry platform. Register early & save at www.blackberrydevcon.com. > The Open Mobile Summit: NEW DATES ANNOUNCED - November 2-4 2011 - San Francisco, CA > Appcelerate: At the Open Mobile Summit - November 4, 2011 - San Francisco, CA Mark your calendar for the app economy event of the year. In its first year, Appcelerate brought 600 of the leading mobile innovators together to explore how to build and monetize a killer app business and featured CEOs Smule, BottleRocket, ngmoco, Shopkick, Disney Mobile and more. Don't miss 2011.. Click here for more info
| > The workhorse of the WiMAX industry is finally available to the rest of the telecom world! The OOD-54DX-GP-42 WiMAX enclosure from DDB Unlimited, Inc. is the superior design in 4G Telecomm cabinets, constructed of aluminum which is as rigid as steel. This enclosure is NEMA rated at class 250 type 4X and offers the protection needed for any severe outdoor environment. With a large stock and "best in the industry" pricing, this enclosure is top of the line in the 4G telecomm industry. For more info on our full product line click here > eBook: Path to 4G In this eBook we will explore the current state of 4G deployments in the U.S., the role of devices in attracting consumers and more. Download this new eBook brought to you by FierceWireless. > New eBook: Building a Better Backhaul Network This eBook from FierceWireless we will look at how operators are designing better backhaul networks and planning ahead for the next round of capacity constraints. Click here to download today. > eBook: OTT Delivery: An Online Video Revolution That Changed TV Forever This eBook from FierceOnlineVideo, will look at which segment stands to benefit the most from this new delivery vehicle, and which stands to lose, as the nascent video revolution marches forward.Click here to download today. > Turbo charge your apps with direct access to network API's from Sprint Network services such as LBS, SMS, MMS, geofencing, presence and more are available through the Sprint Services Framework via a simple Web 2.0 web service. These services can be used for any development interface including browsers, servers, embedded devices and mobile applications. Sign up today! > New Fierce eBook: Cashing in on the Cloud Services Opportunity This eBook from FierceTelecom we will explore the trends, benefits and challenges service providers have in building a profitable cloud service business.Click here to download today.
| > Telecommunications Director, Experian Consumer Direct, Irvine, CA The Telecommunications Director will be the primary point of contact for all voice related systems in the organization. This will include PBX systems, Voice Mail, Call Management Servers, CTI, Call Recording, IVR, Witness Call recording, VoIP technologies, Cell Phones, PDA's and Carrier Services. This role will support multiple Telephony systems in separate locations... Learn more. > Sr. RF Engineer at SyChip, Inc. in Plano, TX If you have RF Engineering experience in wireless technology – this is a great OPPORTUNITY to join an exciting company and to become a part of a winning team Murata Electronics North America, Inc., a leading international electronic component sales organization, is seeking a Senior RF Engineer for our Plano, Texas office. Learn More! > Need a job? Need to hire? Visit FierceWirelessJobs | |
No comments:
Post a Comment