Motorola's free Xoom 4G upgrade officially coming this September

By Ricardo Bilton | July 27, 2011, 8:43am PDT

Summary

Motorola will finally begin offering Xoom owners the free upgrade to 4G - five months after it promised.

Blogger Info

Ricardo Bilton

Gloria Sin

Vendor HotSpot

Well, it’s taken a while, but Motorola will finally begin offering Xoom owners that fre 4G upgrade the company promised a long, long time ago.

The upgrades begin this September, and until then Motorola suggests that users intending to upgrade start preparing now by backing up their Xoom’s data, encrypting it, or erasing the device altogether.

Of course, this program, which involves Xoom owners shipping their tablets to Motorola for a week, should have been started back in May. So, its a bit delayed, to say the least. But maybe Verizon’s boosted 4G speeds are worth it.

But for those looking to get in on the 4G tablet action a bit earlier, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be available on Verizon tomorrow. So that’s worth considering, too, if you are less inclined to wait.

[DroidLife]

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/gadgetreviews/motorolas-free-xoom-4g-upgrade-officially-coming-this-september/26564?alertspromo=&tag=nl.rSINGLE

AT&T preps for September iPhone 5 launch

By Ricardo Bilton | July 25, 2011, 9:19am PDT

Summary

AT&T is preparing for a September iPhone 5 release. Let’s hope they don’t come out disappointed.

Blogger Info

Ricardo Bilton

Gloria Sin

While the iPhone 5 has been an elusive thing, most recent speculation has pointed to a September release for the device. That speculation is gaining a bit of steam now, as BGR reports that AT&T is preparing internally for the iPhone 5’s September reveal.

That preparation so far consists largely of AT&T telling employees, especially those in retail, to finish employee training ahead of the expected September launch. AT&T, it seems, is going to need all the man power it can get.

Of course, it’s also likely that AT&T knows about as the rest of us regarding when, exactly, the iPhone 5 is coming. After all, Verizon itself was surprised to find that the iPhone 5 didn’t drop earlier this summer, a confusion that had some effects on its bottom line. Thus it’s certainly possible that AT&T knows very little about the iPhone 5 launch except for the all-too-certain fact that it is, at some point soon, happening. And it’s better to be safe than sorry.

[BGR]

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/gadgetreviews/at-t-preps-for-september-iphone-5-launch/26472?alertspromo=&tag=nl.rSINGLE

AT&T's Q2: 3.6 million iPhone activations; Android diversification effort underway

By Larry Dignan | July 21, 2011, 4:45am PDT

Summary

AT&T’s smartphone diversification effort appears to be paying off as the company added 331,000 net postpaid subscribers, activated 3.6 million iPhones and doubled Android device sales from a year ago.

Blogger Info

Larry Dignan

Andrew Nusca

Rachel King

Vendor HotSpot

Here to help you with your Document Management Needs

AT&T’s smartphone diversification effort appears to be paying off as the company added 331,000 net postpaid subscribers, activated 3.6 million iPhones and doubled Android device sales from a year ago.

The telecom giant reported second quarter earnings of $3.6 billion, or 60 cents a share, on revenue of $31.5 billion, up 2.2 percent from a year ago. Wall Street was expecting earnings of 59 cents a share. AT&T’s earnings were down from $4 billion, or 67 cents a share, in the second quarter a year ago.

Going into the earnings report, most analysts were focused on AT&T’s postpaid additions. On that front, AT&T had a respectable showing. The company added 1.1 million total wireless subscribers to reach the 98.6 million mark. Of that sum, AT&T added 331,000 postpaid additions. Excluding migrations of Alltel and Centennial, AT&T said net postpaid adds would have been 504,000. Barclays Capital analyst James Ratcliffe was expecting 200,000 postpaid subscriber additions and Morgan Stanley’s Simon Flannery was looking for 130,000.

Analysts are also going to focus on the T-Mobile purchase given that opposition is starting to emerge. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), who heads up the Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee, asked regulators to shoot down the deal.

The company, which indicated that its acquisition of T-Mobile was on track, said that it added 137,000 prepaid subscribers and 379,000 connected devices such as the Kindle and iPad. Overall, AT&T said the results indicate broad adoption of smartphones.

Indeed, smartphones were nearly 70 percent of AT&T’s postpaid sales. The company said it sold 5.6 million smartphones, up 43 percent from a year ago. Of those smartphone sales, Android and other devices were 40 percent of the mix.

AT&T didn’t offer a breakdown between the non-iPhone devices. Other devices include BlackBerry, Android and Windows Phone 7 smartphones.

By the numbers:

• Half of AT&T’s 68.4 million postpaid subscribers had smartphones up from 35.8 percent a year ago. Of those smartphones subscribers, 85 percent have FamilyTalk or business plans.
• Total wireless revenue for the second quarter was $15.6 billion. Data revenue was up 23.4 percent from a year ago to $5.4 billion.
• AT&T said total churn for the second quarter was 1.43 percent, up from 1.29 percent a year ago. Postpaid churn was 1.15 percent, up from 1.01 percent a year ago. That churn rate is stable, but does indicate AT&T is losing a few customers.
• Wireline revenue for the second quarter was $5.4 billion, up slightly from a year ago. AT&T added 202,000 U-verse TV customers and now has 3.4 million subscribers. Most of those customers have U-Verse Internet access too. Overall, AT&T added 439,000 U-Verse broadband subscribers in the second quarter.
• The company’s business revenue remains a challenge. Second quarter revenue was $9.3 billion, down 4.1 percent from a year ago. AT&T is losing out in its traditional voice and data accounts and trying to offset those losses with services such VPNs, hosting, IP conferencing and application services.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/at-ts-q2-36-million-iphone-activations-android-diversification-effort-underway/52925

Bring augmented reality to your road trip with Wikitude Drive app for Android

By Gloria Sin | July 19, 2011, 11:27am PDT

Summary

Augment the road with an overlay of your route, rather than just an abstract map, by using the Wikitude Drive GPS app for Android.

Blogger Info

Ricardo Bilton

Gloria Sin

Let’s face it: dedicated GPS systems are not perfect. From time to time the maps look nothing like the route you’re driving, the device doesn’t recognize newer roads (if you missed a software update), and it’s bulky to carry out of the car to prevent theft. Looking to making navigation more realistic and convenient, the mobile augmented reality shop Wikitude just released the AR navigation app Wikitude Drive for Android smartphones.

Rather than display a 2D map a line to show you where to go, the Wikitude Drive app uses your phone’s built-in camera to show a live view of the road you’re driving on and overlays your route on top. So when you are looking at the app, you’re technically still keeping your eyes on the road. It also comes with digital 3D maps from Navteq to help with trip planning and night driving, voice commands, as well as turn-by-turn navigation that traditional GPS systems have.

But unlike other GPS devices, the Wikitude Drive app is constantly updating its data so you won’t have to maintain the app, but the downside is that it sounds like a battery drain. It also has the convenience of existing on your phone, so when you bring your phone out of the car, the app will continue to navigate you by directing you to interested places on foot. Check out the video of the Wikitude app in action:

Before you rush to the Android Market to search for the app though, a couple of caveats. At the moment, Wikitude Drive only works on a limited number of Android phones, specifically: Samsung Galaxy Tab, Sony Xperia X8, HTC Desire, Nexus One and LG GT540 Optimus. You would probably need a car charger to go along with these phones as no smartphone battery can last an entire road trip.

The Wikitude Drive app is available now on Android Market for $9.99.

How do you navigate your road trips?

[Source: BusinessWire, Wikitude's website, Wikitude on Flickr, Wikitude's YouTube channel]

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/gadgetreviews/bring-augmented-reality-to-your-road-trip-with-wikitude-drive-app-for-android/26332

Microsoft vs Apple: The back-to-school battle

By Manan Kakkar July 19, 2011, 3:01am PDT
Summary

In August, a new academic year begins and many — like me — are looking for a new a personal computer. The Macs seem to be a popular choice, according to statistics; and until this year Apple had a very enticing Back to School offer: a free iPod Touch with the purchase of a Macbook. I expected the offer to continue and was waiting for a refresh to the 13″ Macbook Air. Apple announced their Back to School offer for this year and I was disappointed. It is a $100 iTunes Store credit that one can use to buy applications or media. Microsoft had announced their Back to School offer before Apple and it now seems like a better deal. An Xbox 360 free with a $700 PC is a bargain.

The base Xbox is available at $200 while the 8GB iPod Touch is $230. It is amusing how a game console is cheaper than a portable music player, but keeping that aside, the price difference between the devices isn’t huge to the end consumer. The choice is quite personal: a portable media player that can do free video calls and games vs. a gaming console that can be used with the hottest selling accessory, has the best gaming experience and access a huge portfolio of multimedia content.

This brings me to up-sell on these devices for both companies. In Apple’s case, apps, books, games and multimedia on the iTunes Store generated revenues of $1,782,000 in 2010 with 82.7% market share. (Asymco says the App Store generated $3 billion in sales.) Users download a lot of apps. Some numbers about the iPod Touch and iTunes store:

• Average iOS user will download 83 apps in 2011 compared to 51 in 2010 (Source)
• App downloads have overtaken song downloads on the iTunes Store (Source)
• More than 50% of the iPods sold were iPod Touch devices (Source)
• More than 15 Billion apps have been downloaded. (Source)

Comparing this to the revenues Xbox generates for Microsoft:

• Xbox LIVE has more than 30 Million members
• 53 Million Xbox 360 consoles
• 40% time spent on XBox is for non-gaming activity (Source)
• Xbox (console, Kinect and LIVE) were responsible for Microsoft’s strong Q3 results (SEC Filing)

Xbox offers Live TV, Hulu, Netflix and access to the Zune marketplace. Point being, both devices are not a onetime investment for the customer, they are gateways to revenues for the companies and partners through value added services.

While writing this piece I came across an article where analysts are predicting death of the iPod. A lot of users own iPhones, it offers the same features as the iPod Touch and more, so does the iPad. According to Apple’s numbers, Macs and iPhone or iPads make for the preferred combination and in such a scenario, a $100 store credit does make sense. However, I prefer to have a dedicated music player, primarily because I can survive with a media player with no battery but not a phone with no battery life.

Many consumers who buy the Macbook won’t be buying the iPod Touch. While the deal offered by Microsoft is more value for money for the consumer, unfortunately the PCs don’t compete with Macbooks. For example, the base Samsung Series 9 is $1650 and a similar Macbook Air is $1300 (minus i5 & backlit keyboards, both are expected as part of the refresh most likely at the same price). The Macbooks are good hardware but a $100 store credit doesn’t entice me. I would have spent that $100 even if I got the free iPod Touch, and herein lies my dilemma: Do I go for the better PC or the better Back to School deal?

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/microsoft-vs-apple-the-back-to-school-battle/52560?tag=nl.e539