A beta web browser is also added in this new version on the Nook to take advantage of the Wi-Fi capability. This browser is likely to be crude, such as that on the Kindle, but it enables the ability to use the Nook in hotspots that require a web browser login. Nook owners have been crying out for this ability since the device launch.

If the update doesn’t show up automatically on your Nook, go to My Library while on a Wi-Fi connection and check for new content. You should see a prompt to get the update.

This update leads to the question when iPad owners can expect a version of the B&N Reader app for the device. CNET was told by B&N that an iPad specific version of the reader should be out “sometime in May”, with an iPhone version out sometime after that. The iPad version is being totally rewritten to take advantage of the device, according to B&N.

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Irrational Exuberance Over E-Books?

Since the carriers are positioning themselves for the implementation of usage-based pricing schemes for mobile broadband, Sandvine is merely telling its future customers what they want to hear. But Sandvine’s data also paints a very clear picture (one we’ve been painting for at least a year) about the economics of mobile broadband demand and use (GigaOM Pro). From its report:

While significant, these numbers are dwarfed by projections suggesting between 1 billion and 2 billion users by 2014, and revenues well in excess of $100 billion. And therein is one of the points of concern for wireless providers – while the number of users is expected to triple or even quadruple in the next five years, revenue is predicted to only double.

Sandvine offers several charts showing why this is the case, starting with the quality of our phones in the U.S. (the report also covers Europe and Latin America, but I took only U.S. charts):

In other words, the proliferation of high-end phones that can handle bigger applications and deliver faster speeds when it comes to downloading photos or watching video changes the types of things one can do on the mobile network (even when folks aren’t on a computer). Check out the top applications that Sandvine sees being used during peak times on U.S. mobile networks:

So what does this mean for consumers? It means many of us will end up paying more for mobile broadband that we do under unlimited plans. Sandvine’s software offers carriers the ability to look at data usage on the network and set pricing tiers to ensure that, for example, only a certain percentage of users will fall into a basic tier (or be subject to overage charges). We’ve written about the downsides of having tiers as opposed to metering, but in the end we are going to pay for the convenience of being mobile. I can only hope that myriad hotspots and competition from Clearwire’s WiMAX network can keep the big cellular carriers competitive.

Of course, I noticed the bump in download capacity when I absentmindedly tried to download a podcast that exceeded both the old and new limits, so it’s hard to say as of yet how much of an improvement in user experience this actually represents. Likewise, so far every other article I’ve seen regarding the change has found out about it by trying to download something that’s far larger than 20MB.

So why the change? Well, presumably there actually are some apps, video or podcasts out there that are between 10 and 20MB in size, so there is that. Maybe it indicates that a milestone has been reached by AT&T in terms of its ability to handle greater bandwidth usage, but somehow I doubt that, too. I can’t help but think that the real reason has to do with the upcoming iPad.

Since half of the iPad models will sport 3G connectivity, it makes sense to expect users to want to be able to access more content using that connection, especially given that they won’t be using the cellular connection for making calls or doing anything phone-related. I’m just speculating, but I think it’s also possible that the sweet spot for Apple’s visually rich e-book and e-magazine content will fall somewhere in that 10 to 20MB range.

Pocket Gamer has another interesting take on why Apple upped the limit. According to them, many iPhone developers were tailoring their games and apps to fit just under the 10MB cap, so that it would be easier for customers to purchase the software on the go from anywhere. An impulse buy, after all, isn’t nearly as likely to be made when you’re at home in the comfort of your Wi-Fi network, where you have so many other diversions vying for your attention.

Accordingly, a cap increase should result in a corresponding increase in the level of App Store software releases. As Pocket Gamer’s Spanner Spencer puts it:

Double the available app size for remote users should therefore make for some doubly impressive products. In all likelyhood this is in preparation for the inherently larger size of iPad games and apps.

Let’s hope this analysis proves correct, because it should mean promising things are on the horizon for iPhone and iPad users alike.

Related GigaOM Pro Research: How AT&T Will Deal with iPad Data Traffic

Like ISP email addresses, how many people really will use such a service on a regular basis? Based on an admittedly unscientific poll of our readers a month ago, only 10 percent of readers wanted storage services from their ISP. Here is Comcast’s pricing for backup:

• 2 GB free with broadband subscription
• 50 GB for $4.99 a month or $49.99 per year
• 200 GB for$9.99 a month or $99.99 per year

Comcast helpfully tells people that with 2 GB of storage, a person could store one of the following: 200 high-resolution photos, 480 music files, one standard definition movie file or 10,000 average MS Word documents. Readers, what’s your take?

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Who Owns Your Data in the Cloud?

Image courtesy of Flickr User MarcinMoga

Essentially Comcast, which is about to finish laying the groundwork for a fast wired network, is focused on reaping the benefits of mobile broadband. Along the way it will also use Xfinity, the NBC-Universal deal and interactive advertising as a means to forestall becoming a dumb pipe for users. I have no idea if all of those efforts will succeed, but I applaud it for looking ahead and seeing the future of ubiquitous and fast broadband as a necessary platform in a way some of its rivals may not.

Its priorities reflect the growing awareness of a converged communications world. It’s attempting to provide the underlying infrastructure of fixed and mobile broadband as a bundle for the consumer as well as find ways to monetize and control the content running over those pipes in a way that won’t draw an outcry from consumers or regulators. However, regulators are already scrutinizing Comcast’s control of NBC-Universal and will likely spend some time on Xfinity as well.

But if we step back and look at the big picture, it’s clear that Comcast understands both the opportunity and the threat that ubiquitous broadband presents to its business. For Comcast, 2010 is when it will finish laying the groundwork for delivering ubiquitous broadband, and when it will build up the arsenal of tools to answer the threat that an all-IP network represents to its core video delivery business.

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Thumbnail image courtesy of Flickr user Tyler Yip

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WiFi takeoff will encourage additional investment in this technology, which is cheap to roll out, and will tilt the competitive balance back toward fixed. Looking at the broader picture, if a good urban Wi-Fi network is thrown in for free with a fixed network rental, it’s hard at this stage to tell whether this will represent substitutional or additional telecoms spend.

Last week, I asked our readers what they most wanted as a perk from their ISP, and the most popular answer by far was Wi-Fi access while on the go. Wi-Fi access has become popular with users and with certain Internet Services Providers both as a way to reduce the data deluge on wireless networks but also to reduce churn among subscribers, as smartphones with Wi-Fi become more commonplace (see chart). But signing onto Wi-Fi is kind of  a pain for a consumer who may be obliviously surfing along on a 3G network.

So will ISPs take the consumer love of ubiquitous broadband and carriers’ need for offload to the next level and create the equivalent of roaming agreements for Wi-Fi? Greg Williams, the new SVP of corporate development at Bel Air Networks, thinks they might. Williams, a founder of Wayport, the hotspot aggregator purchased in 2008 by AT&T, recently joined BelAir, a company that builds carrier-grade Wi-Fi equipment for customers including Cablevision, Comcast  and AT&T.

He wonders if carriers will negotiate with each other and fixed-line ISPs to get access for their wireless subscribers, especially in congested cities such as New York or San Francisco. I’m kind of skeptical, simply because I think most carriers are not experiencing enough pain to want to cut into their data revenue inside big cities, but it’s an intriguing idea. Regardless, BelAir, Meraki, Tropos and Cisco will all likely continue to benefit from the buildout of carrier-quality Wi-Fi networks.

Another beneficiary of the iPad/Wi-Fi buildout could be the MiFi personal hotspot from Novatel, which offers users a Wi-Fi signal while using the cellular network for backhaul. I have gotten excited about  personal hot spots before, and Sharma namechecks the MiFi in his article as well. Either way, fixed broadband isn’t in danger of being subjugated by fixed-line broadband anytime soon. Few people will dump their wired networks for wireless given the high cost of mobile data. Rather we’ll demand more seamless coverage without caring what technology we’re using or who provides it.

Image courtesy Flickr user Adventures in Librarianship.

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Cox has detailed plans to deploy a 3G networking using the same CDMA technology as both Verizon and Sprint, and in December tested that service in three markets, with Sprint as its partner providing nationwide 3G coverage. Cox plans to officially launch its 3G wireless network in March in those three markets and roll out coverage to the remaining markets over time.

However, as Cox embraces LTE as its fourth-generation wireless technology of choice (using gear from Alcatel-Lucent and Huawei), its fellow cable companies have invested billion in Clearwire and its WiMAX rollout. Which puts Cox in the same camp as most of the telecommunications providers, which are also betting on LTE.

Now WiMAX and LTE are actually not that far apart, and Clearwire could theoretically upgrade its WiMAX network to one that uses LTE after it gets out from under Intel’s thumb. But that’s a big if, especially since Clearwire is racing to roll out WiMAX before the major carriers get their LTE networks out in force.

What’s odd about Cox’s LTE moves is that it’s trialing the technology relatively early (its 3G network isn’t even deployed). Plus, since Cox has an agreement with Sprint for 3G roaming, it will have to find a partner for 4G roaming that’s using LTE. Spokesman David Grabert wouldn’t speculate on whether Cox would leapfrog 3G coverage in some markets and go straight to LTE, but the news of the 4G tests raises far more questions than provides real information about Cox’s wireless plans. As to Cox’s LTE plans, we need to wait a few weeks until Stephen Bye, the company’s VP of wireless, delivers a keynote at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. As for devices, pricing and 3G plans, we’ll have to wait until the March launch of the network.

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Thumbnail courtesy of Flickr user Stevendepolo

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Online storage, anitvirus, Wi-Fi, better upstream speeds and even special content — such as Verizon delivering ESPN360 — are now offered to customers with regularity. Of course, if your provider is still in the broadband dark ages like mine is, you’re not getting any of these options. Readers, please check out our poll, and tell us what do you expect from your provider, and what do you get?

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Despite the monthly decline, the year-over-year picture is a little brighter, with unique viewers, number of streams, and time spent watching online videos each up over 10 percent from the previous year. Unique viewers grew 10.3 percent, to 137.4 million in December, with total streams at about 10.7 billion. The amount of time spent watching videos online was also up year-over-year, to 193.2 minutes per month, on average.

Four of the top five video properties in November saw declines over the following month. YouTube‘s streams were down from 6.7 billion streams in November to 6.4 billion in December, while the number of streams also declined at Hulu (from 657 million to 635 million), MSN (from 147 million to 141 million), and Fox Interactive Media (from 137 million to 125 million).

No. 3-ranked Yahoo proved to be an exception among the top five, growing from 197 million streams to 244 million streams month-over-month. Meanwhile, Turner Sports bounded into the top 10 — and all the way into the top five — with 142 million streams during the month.

Of course, not everyone believes Nielsen’s estimates, and some video companies — like Hulu — have expressed frustration over the research firm’s methods for determining the unique users or streams viewed. Nielsen is trying to change that, with a new initiative to install “Internet meters” in homes that participate in its National Television Panel.

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