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Posted
Nov 05 2007, 07:22 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 Google might introduce its highly-awaited G-phone today, but don't get too excited. It's not some slick device like Apple's iPhone. In fact, it's not really a phone at all. And it probably won't be called the G-phone.
From what I've read, the phone itself is pretty irrelevant. The hardware could come from any company, really. It's the software inside the phone -- more specifically, the phone's operating system, that Google is concerned with.
According to USA Today, the operating system will heavily promote Google's mobile offerings -- it has tweaked search, Gmail, chat and other programs for the phone.
That's all pretty standard. But what's got the wireless world worked up is that Google also wants an open system on the phone that would let developers create different programs for it. So far, that's pretty unheard of. If you buy a Sprint phone, you only get to use the programs on the phone that Sprint has specifically approved. (Sprint, by the way, is reportedly supporting the G-phone but not to the point where it will offer the phone to subscribers).
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Posted
Nov 05 2007, 12:50 PM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
When Google came on the scene 10 years ago, the PC business was pretty much figured out. Lots of companies made computers, but Microsoft monopolized the operating systems that ran on them. It was Microsoft's world, and as a software developer Google had to learn to live in it.
Not so with cell phones. There are lots of handset makers, and several companies make operating systems and other software for the devices. Google either has to play ball with those companies or control the mobile environment on its own.
Enter today's announcement of a Google operating system that will prominently feature the company's applications -- mail, maps, search and so on. And Google is going to entice handset makers by giving them the system for free. The phones probably won't have the name Google anywhere on them, and the first ones won't be available until the second half of '08.
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Posted
Dec 04 2007, 04:53 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Apple's iPhone browser now claims 0.09% of the Web browser market, according to a November survey by Net Applications. Big whoop, right? Still, it's better than the 0.06% market share for Windows Mobile, and there are plenty of Windows Mobile devices out there. So while an 0.09% market share is small potatoes, the iPhone hit this mark in just five months. The phone's browser is easy to use, and owners seem to tolerate the slow network. It'll be interesting to see how the market figures change next year when AT&T debuts a faster 3G version of the iPhone.
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Posted
Dec 05 2007, 03:30 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Someone tell me why EchoStar Communications might bid for a chunk of the wireless spectrum the government is auctioning at the end of January. According to TheStreet.com, a Lehman Brothers research note said the satellite TV company filed plans to bid with the Federal Communications Commision on Monday. The FCC will reveal the full list of bidders later this month.
This is prime spectrum that can carry signals far, and has some powerful wireless broadband uses. See PCWorld's useful primer on the subject for more information. A bidder might want to build a massive high-speed data network that competes with cable and phone companies. The spectrum can be used for cellphone traffic, too.
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Posted
Dec 11 2007, 04:12 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 I ditched my landline telephone in June and don't miss it one bit. A federal study out yesterday shows that 14% of households in the U.S. are like mine -- with cell phones but no landline phones. (Read the study here.)
Citigroup analyst Michael Rollins estimates that wireless-only households will rise to 27% by 2010, and cable VoIP penetration will reach 25% by then. So is there a future in telco stock? Rollins thinks the industry is safe, because consumer telephony provides only 22% of telco revenue.
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Posted
Jan 09 2008, 12:57 PM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
A fairly obvious consequence of a troubled economy: People can't pay their bills. And AT&T shares are suffering as a result. The company said Tuesday it had to disconnect more broadband and landline phone customers for not paying their bills. AT&T stock got punished in the market, dropping 9.5% on the news. Shares were down slightly today to $38.96.
In an interesting sign of the times, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said the wireless side of the business was still OK. When the economy goes soft, people dump their landline phones first and hold on to their cell phones as long as possible, he said. In the old days, as News.com points out, people would never think about disconnecting their landline phone.
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Posted
Jan 10 2008, 01:07 PM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Wired has a thoroughly enjoyable read on Apple's development of the iPhone, and the impact the device has had on the wireless industry. My favorite part was Apple employees' reaction when CEO Steve Jobs reviewed a buggy iPhone prototype and calmly stated, "We don't have a product yet." "For those working on the iPhone, the next three months would be the most stressful of their careers. Screaming matches broke out routinely in the hallways. Engineers, frazzled from all-night coding sessions, quit, only to rejoin days later after catching up on their sleep. A product manager slammed the door to her office so hard that the handle bent and locked her in; it took colleagues more than an hour and some well-placed whacks with an aluminum bat to free her."
Lots of good details in the piece, which you can read here.
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Posted
Feb 05 2008, 12:46 PM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
AT&T just won federal approval to spend $2.5 billion on valuable wireless airwaves -- a major score. Separately, the company is jacking up high-speed Internet prices by $5 a month. Someone's got to pay for those airwaves. AT&T is already the biggest cell phone company in the country. And it's about to get a whole lot bigger with this purchase, sold by Aloha Spectrum. This chunk of spectrum covers 196 million people in 281 markets, including the top 10 markets in the country. The spectrum is in the 700-megahertz band and is particularly valuable because it passes through walls easily and carries signals farther than average. It's perfect for long-range broadband and wireless video. AT&T is planning to use it for broadcast video, probably on a mobile broadcast network with several channels.
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Posted
Feb 07 2008, 12:45 PM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Handset companies who do business in North America will be hit hard in a recession, Citi analyst Jim Suva said in a note this morning. Suva takes a close look at Brightpoint, Motorola, Palm and Research in Motion, and calls out the latter as the stock that could "see the greatest damage to share price." Suva writes that Research in Motion "faces double-barreled risk," according to Barron's, because of its strong presence in North America and its high P/E multiple (currently at 45.20). The stock could drop to $63 in a worst-case, global recession. RIMM shares closed today at $84.68. Embattled Palm is very exposed in North America, and Suva thinks a recession could push shares down to $3 or $4 a share. Palm closed today at $5.99.
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Posted
Feb 11 2008, 01:23 PM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
AT&T gets another win today. Starbucks is ditching T-Mobile and going with AT&T for its customer Wi-Fi service at 7,000 locations.
People who have a Starbucks prepaid gift card can get two hours of free Wi-Fi per day at Starbucks. Glenn Fleishman confirms that you can buy and activate a card, and then get free Wi-Fi from that day forward. Most of AT&T's broadband and U-verse customers will also have free access, but AT&T wireless customers (including iPhone users) won't get the same deal. Surprisingly, the per-hour Wi-Fi fees will drop under AT&T to $4 for two hours or $20 per month for unlimited access. (T-Mobile used to charge $6 an hour).
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