204 HSDPA networks in 89 countries for 2008
3G just keeps getting stronger with networks worldwide constantly rolling out upgrades to keep competitive. The High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) upgrades to 3G networks increase the download and upload speeds considerably. Current implementations of High Speed Download Packet Access (HSDPA) are in excess of 3Mbs data rates.
The highly competitive nature of mobile networks worldwide mean that for consumers the data speeds are getting faster and their associated costs are dropping too. With a lot of countries worldwide enjoying capped mobile data plans, the development opportunities in these countries are flourishing.
Whilst many would argue this is yet another nail in the proverbial for WiMAX networks, the key here is that the rapid advancement in UMTS technologies ensures their strongholds of cities and suburbia will remain so. WiMAX’s strengths will continue to be more synergistic to UMTS and carriers deploying or partnering with both radio frequency technologies will provide a better overall customer solution.
All four major mobile carriers in Australia have either deployed, are planning to deploy this year, HSPA technologies.
Posted by Shane Williamson
CES 2008: New Alienware monitor that bends the other way
<picture from http://www.flickr.com/photos/lokialbertson/ >
What an incredible piece of I-want-this-now technology. Alienware & NEC have teamed up to create this curvy beastie that will give you the ultimate visual immersive gaming experience.
The rear projection monitor has a resolution of 2880 x 990 and will be available later this year for something like US$5000.
Anyone want to sponsor me for one !?!?! 🙂
Posted by Shane Williamson
Bill Gate’s CES 2008 keynote speech
This is Gates’s last regular keynote at CES that is held every year in the US. During this year’s keynote there was a very humorous video clip about Bill’s last day at Microsoft (Gates is stepping down his role to pursue his new passion of working with his charity foundation full time) with some amazing people starring in it from various industries such as movie, music, media & politics.
This is the best quality I’ve found of the comedy sketch on YouTube, if you have links to better ones let me know…
The full version on the Keynote is here http://www.microsoft.com/ces and is highly recommend.
Posted By Shane Williamson
iPhone popularity attracts the wrong type of attention
Oh dear it looks like iPhone’s popularity is attracting the wrong type of attention in that malware such as trojans and viruses are starting to worm their way to the surface of the little Apple prodigy.
According to a ZDNet Australia article, that whilst the code seems to be no more than a prank, the bad coding of the application looks like it deletes important files from the device, making parts of the iPhone unusable……. sort of like hacking it to work on other networks I guess!?!? :-p
MEGA has officially kicked off it’s national program for Sydney, Melbourne & Adelaide with a series of workshops to guide mobile innovators in planning, producing and if successful, launching their mobile brainchild to market.
The Mobile Enterprise Growth Alliance is an industry-led initiative developed to expand the capacity and capabilities of the Australian mobile industry.
There are four key objectives of the MEGA project:
1. New Business and Workforce Development Program
2. Industry Ready Graduates
3. Business Development Program
4. Export Development ProgramDuring the first half of 2008, in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, the MEGA project will see eight project teams develop concepts to culminate in a professional pitch day of innovative and commercially-viable intellectually property for potential investment and export.
With support from industry and the government the series of workshops, access to industry mentors and development guidance to create mobile applications and services is a winning combination that has it’s early foundations from within South Australia.
MEGA is currently looking for sponsors and candidates to participate for 2008. So head over to mega.org.au to register your interest in the initiative or to sign up for their February 2008 intake.
Posted by Shane Williamson
Another great evening at Mobile Monday Sydney last night with over 100 people turning up to a January time frame event that illuminates the underlying momentum 2008 has with the mobile industry. It is looking like this year will be a big one for mobile in Australia as the buzz on the ground is there is a lot of hope and potential in the local market seeing some big changes with further drops in mobile broadband data charges as well as larger growth in operating system based mobiles or smart-phones that allow a greater level of open flexibility in mobile development.
Forum Nokia sponsored the evening and Business Development Manager Gary Chan from Nokia Singapore presented an interesting session on what is happening about mobile development and Web 2.0.
Later in the evening there was a great panel session with different parts of the industry represented, that discussed some heated topics around current mobile development. These discussions uncovered a passionate group within the local mobile community that exists within Australia, but also uncovered some myopic views of what successful mobile development means. Having one individual specify that there would never be a better killer application than voice on mobile is a good example of this. These discussions reminded me strongly of the passionate industry we have here in Australia, all be it in some areas a bit misguided.
If you are developing in mobile it is imperative that you understand the market you are developing for more than the technology you are investing your time and money in. Not understanding how, what & why the market will acquire/need/use your mobile innovation could greatly jeapordise your company’s successful outcome.
I truly hope that 2008 is a smashing success for everyone in the mobile industry as it will drive the innovation to exciting new heights.
Posted by Shane Williamson
The rumours about Google sniffing around buying licences in the upcoming 700Mhz spectrum (698-806 MHz band inclusive) auctions in the US are now fact with Google officially stating their intention to participate.
This is either an investment in yet another new bold initiative by the online software giant, or a brilliant ploy to get their competitors to tie themselves up in technologies that Google deems a distraction. The fact that they are pre-announcing their involvement is interesting as it is barbed response to the market. Either driving the point home that they are playing so don’t bother competing against them, or a feint attack to the industry to be distracting and disruptive.
If Google’s foray into wireless is a serious bid, then carriers everywhere need to sit up and learn fast about why an upstart Internet company like Google is extending it’s reach into their traditional Telco territories. One only has to match up some other recent announcements from Google regarding their mobile device operating system to see an interesting trend here…
The spectrum being auctioned is old analogue TV spectrum and the FCC’s wireless website states that the 700Mhz spectrum may be used for…
The 700 MHz Band licenses may be used for flexible fixed, mobile, and broadcast uses, including fixed and mobile wireless commercial services (including FDD- and TDD-based services); fixed and mobile wireless uses for private, internal radio needs; and mobile and other digital new broadcast operations. These uses may include two-way interactive, cellular, and mobile television broadcasting services.
Whilst many would argue that bidding for licences and building the infrastructure of a national carrier are 2 completely different nuts to crack, Google does have one thing that can make it all possible…… liquid green assets…. and lots of it. Google’s cash reserves mean that they can bid and bid alone if necessary. They will be able to smash their way into voice and data infrastructures like the Allies smashed the German’s grip on France with Battle of Bulge style tactics (ok that may be a bit dramatic, but one does love the visualisation).
Telco 3.0 is about a service platform, not voice and data revenues. When large online services companies like Google starts to play ball this way, carriers must adopt a partnership strategy to create a Telco As A Service (TaaS) model to prevent themselves being marginalised in the long term. We should see this change in our own markets as possible announcements form carriers come out about partnering with traditional Internet and IT companies (that’s if they wake up of course)
There may still be some issues of Government regulation around US Monopoly laws that Google could face in the future as they become larger and more eclectic in their service offering for the US market, but as the Internet knows no boundaries, Google’s play is global and there is a much bigger market outside the US than in it.
Posted By Shane Williamson
Info:
QM Codes leading the charge with QR Codes in Australia
Great to see QM Codes get some press recently regarding their QR Code technology. If Telstra brings QR Codes functionality to market it will be a huge win for the technology in Australia as it will drive education of the use of the service as well as overall usage.
Hopefully we will see QM Codes expand their reach into the other Australian carriers so it doesn’t become an exclusive one carrier technology and go the way of the Dodo.
Well done to Anthony and his team for their great work so far!
Posted by Shane Williamson
Google fast tracking mobile development on their Android
ANDROID ARCHITECTURE
Great to see Google throwing their money at developers but as there are many discussions on the Internet about Google’s newly released Android operating system as to what it is, what it could be, and what it isn’t, will their cash prizes be enough to lure enough developers onto Android.
What we are seeing is a large shift (not a paradigm one yet….) in the way Internet companies are getting serious about dealing with mobile infrastructure. Whilst Google is flexing their web 2.0 muscles into mobile, others are keeping pace such as Apple with their recent me-too announcement and it will be very shortly before we hear from Microsoft to restate their mobile strategy again too.
Mobile device manufacturers play both sides of the carrier walled garden. Devices are either designed and locked down for the carrier’s environment with services and application access to the carrier’s core (such as the iPhone), or becoming their own development platform in their own right. The Nokia N-Series is a good example here of how these devices are offering a large amount of functionality and services that is agnostic of the carrier.
Google’s play into this space is good timing. They are pushing their application development framework from the Internet world into mobile. The question remains will they seamlessly integrate their Internet service platforms into Android or keep them independent.
For Google to succeed here they will hopefully make Android an extension of their existing Internet services, bringing the ability to create a holistic & unified user experience to the mobile world. Whilst Apple’s iPhone has accomplished this somewhat it is a proprietary and closed service that locks the user into 1 carrier per country only. Google has done well in some of their mobile application plays in the past such as their email service called Gmail, so the the real test will be if they can overcome siloed large company mentality that other organisations suffer from, to develop a converged service platform independent of access device.
The next battle for mobile will become an IP network development platform, not a specific mobile one. Let’s wait and see how the giants that are wading into mobile waters bring about these waves of change.
Posted by Shane Williamson
3 Australia in Denmark – It just works
I’m currently in Denmark and I’m finding 3’s International roaming on 3 Denmark’s network to be a great customer experience.
3 call their roaming service on other 3 networks "3 Like Home". So you don’t get charged for receiving a phone call and you have access to all your 3G services without doing any changes to your device.
3 Australia provide a self provisioning service via their website called "My3" that allows the user to change their international roaming and voicemail settings directly without talking to a help service rep.
Whilst using international roaming data and voice calls do not fall into my current plan with 3, the simple rates take away the guess work of exactly how much I will be on my bill when I return. For instance the mobile data rate is AUS50c per Mb and an SMS is the same price as at home.
For more information about "3 Like Home" click on "Going International on the top of 3 Australia’s home page.
Posted by Shane Williamson from Copenhagen, Denmark.
Universal Convergence 