By analyzing data from a live 3G network in a major city, the mobile network analytics and optimization specialist has found that only 5% of iPads are used outdoors and whilst iPads account for just 1% of data sessions, they use four times more data than an average 3G device. Key findings from the study were:

• iPads account for less than 1% of all data sessions but make up 5% of total traffic.
• 95% of iPad usage is indoors.
• 90% of traffic from the iPhone 4 and 80% from Blackberry devices is from indoor use.

This isn’t surprising. Apparently 9-out-of-10 iPads being sold are WiFi only. I use my iPad to watch Netflix and Vimeo, but not over 3G. The networks are pokey and bandwidth is expensive.

But I bet this changes with the availability of LTE-based iPads, despite the expensive price tag on the data plans. Thanks to better speeds on the networks and ease with which I can access data instantly, I have stopped carrying my MacBook Air and instead never leave home without the LTE-version of iPad and the Apple keyboard just in case I need to draft something longer.

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The study shows that in the U.S. 71 percent of iPhones and 32 percent of Android phones connect to Wi-Fi and cell networks. In the U.K., the divide was a little narrower: 87 percent of iPhones and 57 percent of Android phones connect to both types of networks.

ComScore points to increasingly scarce spectrum and, of course, carriers moving away from unlimited data plans as reasons for this behavior:

“The scarcity of unlimited data plans and higher incidence of smartphone pre-paid contracts with a pay-as-you-go data model likely contributes to data offloading among users wanting to economize their mobile usage. In addition, the current lack of high-speed data networks in the U.K. might also lead users to seek out higher bandwidth capacity on Wi-Fi networks. In the U.S., the increased availability of LTE, 4G and other high-speed data networks currently make it less necessary for smartphone users to offload, but it’s also possible that the diminishing availability of unlimited cellular data plans will eventually push more usage to Wi-Fi.”

Wi-Fi’s popularity among mobile devices isn’t limited to iPhones: Tablet users are overwhelmingly in favor of Wi-Fi use too. Two weeks ago mobile analyst Chetan Sharma released a report noting that in 2011, more than 90 percent of tablets in the U.S. connected to Wi-Fi instead of mobile broadband. While sales of tablets shot up last year, the percentage of 3G- and 4G-capable tablets stayed relatively low. And it’s safe to assume that the iPad is what we’re talking about when it comes to tablets: It accounted for roughly two-thirds of all tablets sold in the U.S. in 2011.

So while iPhone users are relying heavily on Wi-Fi, so are iPad users. It’s not clear what exactly accounts for the difference in behavior between iOS and Android users — it could be something as simple as that Wi-Fi is just easier to set up on iOS devices.

But it also may have something to do with the amount of content users are downloading. And with the new iPad, it’s likely that this reliance on Wi-Fi will only increase. Its shiny new high-definition display makes watching videos on it easier on the eyes than ever — and that can eat through monthly data plans pretty quickly.

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Patents blog FOSS Patents explains:

The judge explained that the court does not hold Apple to infringe claim 9 of EP1053613 on a ‘method and system for generating a complex pseudonoise sequence for processing a code division multiple access [CDMA] signal’. In the court’s opinion, MMI failed to present conclusive evidence for its infringement contention.

Motorola had argued that the patent named above was “essential,” meaning that someone — in this case, Apple — would have to use technology covered by the patent if they’re using an industry-standard practice. The problem is, the judge didn’t see it that way and says Motorola didn’t present a convincing case that the patent was essential.

Just a week ago, Motorola claimed victory on two separate rulings related to its ongoing intellectual property battle with Apple. In the first, an injunction was granted against older iPhone and iPad models that infringed on a GPRS-related patent. And in the second, Motorola won an injunction against Apple devices that receive push email notifications from its iCloud system in Germany. Apple said it would appeal both.

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Apple has been taking preparatory steps in advance of a launch with China Telecom, China’s third largest mobile network operator. Earlier in January, Apple secured regulatory approval to sell a device in China that operates using the CDMA2000 network standard, which is the technology China Telecom uses for its 3G network. At the time, the only step remaining for Apple was to get a license from China’s Telecommunications Equipment and Certification Center to begin selling the device, which it gained on Monday this week.

Earlier this week, Morgan Stanley’s Katy Huberty predicted Apple could grow its iPhone sales by as many as 57 million units in China over the next two years if it succeeds in securing partnerships with China Telecom and China Mobile. China Telecom will offer Apple a potential subscriber pool of roughly 15 million high-end subscribers according to Morgan Stanley’s numbers, approximately doubling its current reach through official partner China Unicom.

The deal hasn’t yet been confirmed by Beijing Telecom’s parent company beyond the report from China Daily, and no pricing details have been released, but the pieces are in place, and there’s little reason to suspect Apple wouldn’t want to expand its presence in China as quickly as possible. No doubt a partnership with China Mobile, which reaches 650 million subscribers and has around a 70-percent share of the Chinese mobile market, is also a priority, but technological factors likely precludes official iPhone support until Apple creates a version specifically for China Mobile’s network.

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A recent report at InformationWeek details the story of Level 3 Communications, which recently equipped its entire sales workforce with iPads loaded with apps that provide access to pricing information; presentation creation; and display, corporate email, customer records and inventory checks. The iPad proved more than up to the task of supplementing and mostly replacing laptops.

InformationWeek goes into much more detail about what the iPads meant for Level 3, but the advantages for salespeople on the ground can be boiled down to three main categories:

1. Instant on. The iPad’s ability to instantly wake from sleep and pick up right where a user left off exceed that of even the fastest SSD-equipped notebooks, and it only sips power in tiny amounts in order to provide that functionality. That, combined with its superior portability, makes it the perfect tool for doing “quick checks between meetings, at an airport, or in a taxi,” InformationWeek says. With a laptop, five minutes in a taxi might not seem like enough time to make powering up worth your while; with the iPad, that’s a nonissue.

2. Connectivity. The iPad (at least the 3G models) provides always-on cellular network access, as long as you are within coverage range. Some laptops can offer that, but the process is still often more complicated than just tapping the wake button and being ready to surf, email or chat. But it’s not just cellular radios that make the iPad great for sales; built-in GPS positioning means salespeople can get locally relevant information, like clients or potential clients in the immediate area, in only a few short steps via task-specific software.

3. On-device demo. A laptop is an ineffective replacement for a catalog, and presenting a slide show on one is awkward. Using an iPad as a presentation tool, on the other hand, is natural. The tablet is easily passed around, can be read like a magazine, and can also output to external displays with less hassle and fewer steps than a laptop. And apps like OnLive Desktop and Iongrid make it even easier for iPads to sub in for notebooks capable of running desktop presentation tools.

Level 3 isn’t the only company to realize the value of iPads in the hands of a sales force. Sears, of all companies, announced in October it would begin rolling out iPads in 450 stores that same month, and TUAW noted at the time that Lowes and Pacific Sun were also expanding iOS deployments.

InformationWeek thinks 2012 will be a breakout year in terms of actual iPad deployments, just as 2011 saw a huge uptick in pilot programs. If that indeed comes to pass, we should see Apple easily beat the 40.7 million iPads it sold in 2011.

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Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents was in attendance at the court’s announcement of the ruling on Friday and said that Judge Andreas Voss didn’t specify any particular reason for the decision. The first ruling against Samsung last week also didn’t include a reason. Mueller said at that time that the reasons could either be that Apple had been found not to infringe the patent or that Samsung’s rights in exerting the patent had been deemed exhausted, which would result in Apple’s being granted a license by default. The same reasons could also be applied to Friday’s ruling.

For Samsung, this is definitely a setback, but it isn’t the end of the road; the company still has three other 3G/UMTS patents at issue in separate complaints filed with the Mannheim court. As long as the reasons behind the dismissals of these two lawsuits aren’t somehow related to all the patents in question, it could still claim a victory on one or more of those remaining.

Samsung could also still appeal the decision, and given that it, like Apple, posted record earnings for its most recently completed quarter, there is no financial barrier preventing it from doing so. With two companies at the top of their game slugging it out in the legal arena, there is little incentive for either to stop.

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The price tag is the best part

Somehow, OnLive Desktop is free. It doesn’t cost a dime to download the app from the App Store, and there’s no subscription service to sign up for. The app also doesn’t require you to own a copy of Windows, as do Mac virtualization apps like Parallels and VMware. Windows 7 is already set up and running on OnLive’s remote servers. All you have to do is sign up for a free OnLive account (or use an existing one if you already signed up for OnLive’s gaming service) and connect.

Better than remote desktop apps, local virtualization software

Despite OnLive Desktop is working over an Internet connection talking to servers miles away (likely hundreds of miles in my case), it performs better than any remote desktop apps I’ve used on my own local Wi-Fi network. There’s very little lag; apps open and close speedily; and documents, spreadsheets and presentations are already setup by default to save to a synced folder, which auto-syncs at regular, frequent intervals.

In terms of setup time and ease of use, OnLive Desktop beats out both remote desktop apps and virtualization software running locally on Macs, in my opinion. This is especially true if your intended use is light editing of documents you need to access right away when away from home, since you can download from and upload to a web interface at files.onlive.com for your specific synced OnLive Documents folder.
 

Limited in scope, but should hit the right notes for most

OnLive Desktop has some limitations your own local installations of Windows won’t, however. Any changes you make to app or system settings won’t be there the next time you log in, for instance; OnLive does this to ensure speedy connections and easy jump-in, jump-out functionality for all users.

You also can’t install new programs or access anything beyond what OnLive provides, so this definitely isn’t a solution for Windows-based gaming. Still, those pre-installed apps include Word, Excel and PowerPoint 2010, as well as Windows Media Player and some basic utilities. You can’t access Internet Explorer, which would be a nice touch for people working remotely who have to access IE-only enterprise dashboards, for instance.

Finally, there’s the issue of not being able to use the iPad’s own software keyboard. Instead, you’ll get the Windows 7 on-screen keyboard. It pales in comparison to the Apple version, but it’s usable nonetheless. Also, know that if you exit the app mid-edit, you won’t be able to save your document when you jump back in, even if it resumes with the document open.

Despite those limitations, OnLive probably provides what the vast majority of its target audience requires: a quick and easy way to edit Office docs on the go. The extremely high-quality Windows Media Player streaming playback and other perks like the ability to use the touch-optimized Microsoft Surface Collage app, are just are icing on the cake.

Microsoft’s Office iPad apps are here

With Bluetooth keyboard support and the ability to connect over 3G (OnLive disconnects you after 10 minutes when connected this way, but that’s plenty of time to accomplish minor edits on the fly), I see little reason to go elsewhere for Office-compatible document editing. Plus, if this app eventually gets an upgrade to the tablet-optimized Windows 8, it should be even more touch-friendly.

Rumors occasionally crop up that Microsoft is working on dedicated Office apps for the iPad. With OnLive Desktop, I find myself happy to wait for Microsoft to take as long as it wants to get its act together.

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• 2012: Data, spectrum and the race to LTE
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It probably shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. After all, most expect Apple’s next iPhone to support 4G LTE technology, which runs at least in part on AWS spectrum. Verizon has especially invested heavily in AWS to enable its LTE network, planning to spend about $4 billionto buy airwaves from the cable providers. But Ray’s definite statements go a long way toward confirming Apple will at least have the building blocks of LTE support in place with its next-generation iPhone. Update: T-Mobile reached out to let us know that Ray in fact has not seen Apple’s specific roadmap, but that he believes “Apple has the option to move to AWS with the roadmap of chipsets on the market today.”

That isn’t a guarantee that T-Mobile will be an iPhone carrier with the next iPhone’s launch. Ray was careful to note in talking with Cnet that Apple could easily not take advantage of the device’s hardware compatibility and skip reaching an agreement with T-Mobile. Also, AWS antennas in an iPhone 5 might just be needed to support LTE, so there’s no guarantee that Apple will extend its use to 3G networks like the HSPA+ network that T-Mobile employs. But adding AWS compatibility has implications beyond just T-Mobile.

In the U.S., other big players that use AWS spectrum include Cricket and MetroPCS, both of which use the band for their CDMA networks. Cricket reaches around 7 million customers, while MetroPCS’s network covers 8.9 million subscribers. In Canada, the other major market where AWS spectrum is used, upstart low-cost alternatives to the big three, Wind Mobile and Mobility, have AWS networks, and major providers Bell and Rogers are using it to build out their own next-gen LTE networks.

Apple simplified its product offerings with the iPhone 4S by including world phone support, providing compatibility with a wide range of spectrums. Adding AWS support would not only put LTE support within reach, it could also potentially open up the iPhone to a whole new segment of customers, should Apple choose to explore 3G support on the AWS band as well.

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First, there’s a new feature in iOS 5.1 beta 3 for iPhone 4S users that will be familiar to many: You can once again toggle 3G on and off (via mobileburn), instead of only being able to disable data entirely. It’s a feature that was missed by many during its absence, especially since the ability to force a step down to 2G connections is a great way to help extend your battery just a little longer than usual. It’ll be found under the Settings app in the Network section when the 5.1 update goes live.

Another new tidbit which has less concrete implications is the presence of new references to Dictation services (via 9to5Mac) in a new section under the Keyboard menu in general settings. The section, called “About Dictation and Privacy,” opens a dialog box with legal and feature information related to using Siri Dictation on the iPhone 4S. The new section is reportedly appearing on both the iPad and iPod touches with Retina Displays.

While dictation still isn’t actually available from software keyboards on either of those devices, the presence of this new section indicates that Apple could be preparing them for its arrival. Since the same info relegated the Siri subsection of Settings on the iPhone 4S, it does seem like the iPad and iPod touch could be getting just the dictation, without the smart searching and other benefits of Siri. There’s also the possibility that these are just testing placeholders, ahead of the introduction of Siri features to next-gen devices also being used internally at Apple with pre-release iOS software builds.

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China Telecom would be the second iPhone carrier in China, joining the country’s second-largest network provider China Unicom. China Telecom would add a potential buying audience of 33.4 million mobile subscribers to China Unicom’s network of 36.5 million users. All that remains is that Apple secure a license from China’s Telecommunications Equipment and Certification Center prior to offering the device for sale.

Apple wouldn’t need to do much to offer the right hardware for the network; China Telecom uses a 3G CDMA2000 network, based on the same standard as Verizon’s mobile 3G network in the U.S. Adding the carrier officially would not only expand Apple’s reach, but also help it win back more legit channel sales from the gray market: Gartner analyst Sandy Shen told Bloomberg that as authorized sales outlets become more widely available, gray market sales dwindle.

Apple may soon face entirely different challenges in China, however, especially if it rapidly scales its potential iOS user base in the country. Recent reports indicate Apple is currently being sued by a group of Chinese writers over allegations that pirated books are being offered for sale on the App Store. The group has asked Apple to remove the books, but so far, the iPhone-maker has refused. The group plans to file another lawsuit on behalf of more authors soon, and says the problem has become rampant. The group is only seeking around $1.2 million USD in damages for this first suit, but in the long term, Apple could alienate content providers and invite continued legal trouble by ignoring the problem.

As China becomes more central to the future of Apple’s mobile market, the company will likely have to come up with new ways to address these and other unique challenges. We’ve seen that localization is key when it comes to making apps successful in Asian App Stores, so it would make sense that Apple may eventually want to set up more localized operations for dealing with Chinese App Store content as well, especially given the recent move to make the Chinese App Store open to payments using local currency.

It looks like we’ll soon see China’s iPhone use explode, above and beyond the impressive growth it’s already posting in that country. Don’t be surprised if Apple pumps up its local operations as well.

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