The popularity of new 3G devices such as the iPhone and BlackBerry 3G has increased the use of data, putting the backend networks under strain. And from that perspective, today’s 3G networks are like glittering skyscrapers built on a foundation of matchsticks. Read more »
Word just came in — the deal is official. eBay is selling Skype in a deal that values the Internet calling service at $2.75 billion. eBay will get $1.9 billion in cash, a $125 million note, and will give up 65 percent of the company to […] Read more »
MySpace, meet the new new MySpace. It’s called Twitter. According to Hitwise, a web traffic intelligence company, Twitter has overtaken MySpace in the UK. In August, Twitter.com became the 27th most-visited web site in the UK, one position ahead of MySpace. The Twitter service itself must […] Read more »
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According to the Chaos Theory, in a giant system that has lots of interconnections, even the smallest action can have a massive impact. It’s more simply described by the butterfly effect. This theory has taken its toll on the software business, thanks to the rise of […] Read more »
If you’re an eBay shareholder, it’s time for you to get mad about the sheer incompetency of the management. First they paid top dollar for Skype back in 2005, making billionaires out of Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis. And, now instead of waiting for an opportune […] Read more »
Freemium -– a business model that works by offering basic services for free but charging for premium features — is being viewed as the new way to do business in startup land. It has its champions and its detractors. But if you want to make it work for your startup, here are some tips. Read more »
[qi:gigaom_icon_google-android] In this new mobile platform world, app developers are the new kingmakers. Not a day goes by when someone doesn’t introduce their own app store, but the question of whether or not they’ll actually be able to profit from their efforts remains. (See our related […] Read more »
Take away India’s mobile miracle and you soon realize how much the country lags in terms of PC penetration and broadband adoption. According to recently released data from the Indian government, the total broadband subscriber base rose to 6.8 million in July from 6.62 million in […] Read more »
AdMob, a San Mateo, Calif.-based mobile advertising company, yesterday released a report that indicated Apple’s iPhone App Store generates about $200 million a month, or a run rate of some $2.4 billion a year. My post elicited some strong reactions from app developers and many commenters […] Read more »
Andy Rubin, the software guru who helped create Google’s Android operating system, is going to join me for a fireside chat at Mobilize 09, our mobile Internet conference being held on Sept. 10 in San Francisco. Rubin has helped shape Google’s mobile OS strategy overall and […] Read more »
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Despite the doubts raised by the backers of Long Term Evolution, such as Ericsson Chief Technology Officer Hakan Eriksson, as to whether or not WiMAX is truly 4G, the technology’s champions believe it has a future. Today their belief can be backed by numbers. According to […] Read more »
If I were to tell you that Apple’s app economy was worth more than $2.5 $2.4 billion a year, you would laugh hysterically, shake your head and walk out of the room, yes? Surf on over to some other web site? But here I am telling […] Read more »
Yahoo is now using Google search in the UK. Confused? So was I, when I first read this post on Connected Internet. After all, didn’t Yahoo just sign a comprehensive search deal with Microsoft? Actually Google has replaced Yahoo search on BT Yahoo, an online portal […] Read more »
Motorola sent out an invite (with an Android logo) to members of the media asking them to RSVP for a mystery event on Sept. 10, 2009, the same day we are hosting our Mobilize 09: The Mobile Internet conference. Read more »
[qi:105] Hey Comcast, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski has two words for you: network neutrality. Actually he has more than two words. In an interview with TheHill.com, Chairman Genachowski said, “One thing I would say so that there is no confusion out there is that […] Read more »
A price hike is coming for some, if not all, Skype customers. The company has quietly made it known on its web site that it will be increasing its connection fees to 7.9 cents from 3.9 cents per call. When a reader alerted us to the […] Read more »
It doesn’t matter how brilliant your mouse trap is if it doesn’t catch any mice. Same goes for technologies. Witness femtocells, those small, in-premise devices that help with spotty cell phone coverage by piggybacking on wired broadband connections. According to The Wall Street Journal, femtocells aren’t […] Read more »
Sprint’s $483 million purchase of prepaid phone services giant, Virgin USA, has been approved by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The deal still needs some minor clearances from the Federal Communications Commission. The megamillion-dollar purchase highlights the importance of the prepaid and budget segments of the […] Read more »
[qi:gigaom_icon_4G] WiMAX, the wireless broadband technology that is vying with Long Term Evolution to become the standard for the next generation of higher-speed wireless networks, draws either delight or derision, depending on whom you ask — its champions or detractors. Read more »
There are a lot of brave souls out there making mobile browsers, hoping to gain traction with the phone makers. But most of them are fighting a losing battle, for the mobile browser war is increasingly being fought between two camps — the Webkit-based browsers camp, […] Read more »
Right in front of our eyes, the web (and by extension, the Internet) is changing — specifically, the rise of social networking and the real-time web are changing the way information on the Internet is created and consumed. Indeed, the ability to disperse information through social […] Read more »
Looks like the much talked about Mac OS X, version 10.6, code-named Snow Leopard, will make its debut Friday, Aug. 28. It is a faster, smaller and supposedly smarter OS. OK, not smarter, but it looks like a worthy upgrade. Snow Leopard is half the size […] Read more »
Wi-Fi has become an indispensable part of our daily lives — at least for those of us who live in the United States, Decipher reported in a survey conducted on behalf of Devicescape, a San Bruno, Calif., networking software maker, San Jose, Calif.-based chipmaker Intel, and […] Read more »
Chalk up that headline as a hat tip to one of my favorite artists, Tracy Chapman, who is performing in San Francisco this weekend. In the slipstream of my post from earlier this month, The Evolution of Blogging, several folks have come up with their own […] Read more »
[qi:gigaom_icon_mobile] Wow…talk about a transformative and disruptive technology that has changed the way we live on a global scale. According to trade group 3G Americas, there will soon be 4 billion GSM mobile connections around the planet. We are a stone’s throw away from that milestone. […] Read more »
[qi:___3g] Updated: A tipster just pinged me to let us know that AT&T is having some real problems with its wireless network on the east coast of the United States. I have emailed the company. A company spokesman just emailed and let us know that that […] Read more »
Wow, time does really fly. It’s the first birthday of Gogo Inflight Internet, a service that is bringing broadband access to air travelers across the country. Gogo is offered by AirCell, an Itasca, Ill-based company. Anecdotally, many people I know enjoy this convenience and have chosen […] Read more »
[qi:gigaom_icon_routers] Following up on my previous post, “How Smartphones Are Making Wi-Fi Hot Again,” I’ve heard from different network providers that have shared their data with me. Today, folks from AT&T let us know that the traffic on their Wi-Fi network is going up pretty sharply. […] Read more »
A few years back, I wondered if broadband could predict economic shifts. As I noted back then, I believe that “what sea routes, air routes and highways were to the 20th century, broadband pipes are to the 21st century.” With the subsequent growth of Asia as […] Read more »
By now, you all are very aware of my decision to break up with my iPhone because of connectivity problems with AT&T’s network. Since then, others have complained and switched away from the iPhone as well. As expected, my breakup didn’t go down too well in […] Read more »
Microsoft is apparently going to counter the Android and iPhone offensives on the mobile market with a new strategy: confusion. The company will allegedly continue to sell its increasingly less relevant Windows Mobile 6.5 for a lower price when it launches version 7 in the fourth […] Read more »
As many of you know, I recently moved to a new neighborhood in San Francisco. The move came with its own share of ups and downs, but waiting for broadband was the most challenging for me. It took almost five days to get the connection hooked […] Read more »
With less than a month to go, we’re busy putting the final touches on Mobilize 09, our mobile Internet conference that will be held in San Francisco on Sept. 10. One feature of the event, the Startup LaunchPad, will see 10 mobile-focused startups get up on […] Read more »
Updated with correction: Qwest, the smallest of the Baby Bells, is shutting down its wireless service. It’s told its customers that they have 60 days to switch to other carriers. All Qwest Wireless services will be done by Oct. 31, 2009, the company said in a […] Read more »
[qi:gigaom_icon_voip] If you’re a regular reader of this blog, then you know that wireless phone companies have had little to no time for VoIP-based applications, especially those that cut into their precious voice and SMS revenues. A few years back, T-Mobile decided to play nasty with […] Read more »
After years of breakneck growth, U.S. broadband is in slowdown mode. During the second quarter of 2009, U.S. service providers added less than 650,000 new accounts, down more than 50 percent from 1.6 million additions in the first quarter. (Stats below the fold.) To be fair, […] Read more »
While a single swallow doesn’t make a summer, it is safe to say that 4G wireless broadband is making a shy appearance in the U.S. The increasing availability of Clearwire WiMAX (which some say isn’t quite 4G) has now been followed by the news that Verizon, […] Read more »
Updated: On August 17, Facebook let us know that it had submitted the 3.0 version of its app to the Apple store. Where is the newest version of Facebook’s iPhone 3.0 application? Being a fan of the app -– which I now use on my iPod […] Read more »
Blogging has evolved, becoming more than just a source of straight information or opinion, but of rich context. But that’s not enough. Blogs need to evolve further, to become open, more social — to reflect more accurately our dynamic, real-times lives. Read more »
The team behind LuckyCal, an events-focused startup, has discovered a unique bug that impacts iPhone applications that use Facebook Connect. The UID overflow bug could affect about 10 percent, or 25 million, Facebook users. The fix is pretty simple, according to LuckyCal founder Sanjay Vakil. The […] Read more »
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