Mama don't take my Google Chrome OS

According to Sundar Pichai, VP Product Management and Linus (!) Upson, Engineering Director*, "Google Chrome OS is a new project, separate from Android. Android was designed from the beginning to work across a variety of devices from phones to set-top boxes to netbooks. Google Chrome OS is being created for people who spend most of their time on the web, and is being designed to power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems. While there are areas where Google Chrome OS and Android overlap, we believe choice will drive innovation for the benefit of everyone, including Google."

In other words, Google found the perfect way to celebrate Darwin's bicentennial : we couldn't euthanize one pet project, both are so young, imperfect, and cute... why not let nature decide for us ?

The other message is for Microsoft : we're taking a hit from Bing, take that on your own core business. You want war ? We are building a brand, with the whole shebang :

"Google Chrome OS will run on both x86 as well as ARM chips and we are working with multiple OEMs to bring a number of netbooks to market next year. The software architecture is simple — Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel. For application developers, the web is the platform. All web-based applications will automatically work and new applications can be written using your favorite web technologies. And of course, these apps will run not only on Google Chrome OS, but on any standards-based browser on Windows, Mac and Linux thereby giving developers the largest user base of any platform."

The third message is for Brussels and anti-trust authorities : we completely forgot you, sorry. Chrome browser was a black box, Chrome OS will be worse, and the branding confusion between a browser and a OS is a gift for Microsoft's lawyers.

Mountain View's eggheads didn't kill the pet : they simply shot their own feet.



*"Introducing Google Chrome OS"

UK 1 down, France 1 up ?

All options on the table for T-Mobile UK ? France Telecom - Orange officially not interested, Vodafone and Telefonica - O2 considering the case, 3 below the radar.

Considering the value suggested by DTAG's own finance czars (less than the fees paid for their 3G license nine years ago), one way of optimizing the garage sale could be to sell chunks of spectrum to North Korean investors (insisting on potential health hazards), infrastructure to Myanmar, and customers to, say, one or two M-VNOs. Or even Three.

T-Mobile UK boasts 16.7 M customers, including Virgin Mobile UK. Virgin Mobile France is still officially hot for France's fourth license, along with partner Numericable-Completel*. I think that just like Iliad-Free, they're even hotter for any deep pocket investor with a MNO background.

Whether France gets a fourth 3G MNO or not, UK will have to go down to a more reasonable level than the initial 5.

European incumbents will probably get a better ROI in India. Vodafone Essar didn't wait for the upcoming 3G auctions (more spectrum, more markets available), and invested with infrastructure partner Nokia in seven new regions.

You know the heyday of the Empire is over when a portion of India looks more exciting than UK as a whole.

* note that Numericable, a customer service laughing stock a few years ago, has been taking things seriously recently, particularly since Pierre Danon joined.

2nd Million for TU Media - 2nd country for SK Telecom - Citi JV

June 25, 2009 ? Apparently a good day for SK Telecom PR :
- subsidiary TU Media signs its 2,000,000 th customer
- JV with Citigroup launches mobile banking services in the Philippines, a few months after Hong Kong

The SK Telecom - Citibank Philippines JV (Mobile Money Ventures LLC) is definitely good news : in Hong-Kong, services were more about portfolio management than actual personal banking and transactions - what Citi Mobile Banking (CMB) is all about in the Philippines. These browser-based services shall soon be implemented in other countries, and confirm the operator's international ambitions in mobile finance (see recently "SK Telecom's Wild Hana Card").

But is TU Media really a success ?

Many European players would love to boast 2 M mobile TV paid users, but 2 M is not even equivalent to 10% of SK Telecom's customer base and for this operator, a 10% penetration after 4 years doesn't seem very impressive.

Besides, to claim its second million customers, SKT's S-DMB unit took more time than it did for the first : TU Media was launched in May 2005 and reached the 1 M mark in December 2006.

Indeed, TU Media was in a very poor condition last year, both financially (mounting debts) and commercially (it claimed only 1.3 M subs in June 2008, a gain of 300,000 in 1.5 years). The 700k customers gained over the past 12 months are the result of what appears to be a make or break move by the owner : SKT went up in the company, injected KRW 55 bn more, and offered massive discounts to its own mobile subscribers... to the point that an undisclosed proportion of its "paid subscribers" don't have to pay to enjoy the service* !

As a consequence :

=> TU Media becomes more competitive with terrestrial accesses (T-DMB), which have been free since the beginning (launched in December 2005) : as we saw ("3M DMB subs - SBSM on its way"), that's the reason why they are much more popular. T-DMB claims the bulk of Korea's 20M+ DMB-enabled devices (every other handset is OK for mobile TV).

=> At the corporate level, TU Media is now more a MNO's Business Unit than the initial stand alone operator. The very few people who didn't use SKT as their mobile phone operator are encouraged to join the leader, and for the rest, TU Media looks almost like an option among others.

=> TU Media has been burning a lot of cash, and a sustainable TU Media requires more differenciation, and even greater efforts :

- Technological differenciation is not necessarily positive : in covered areas, terrestrial has theoretically an edge over satellite for indoor. SKT does enjoy a truly nationwide coverage, and propose an in-car access offer (TU Rideon - KRW 11,000 / mo - 3 yrs offered for Basic) as well as a real time traffic service (TU TPEG - KRW 3,000 / mo), but T-DMB is very popular for buses and coaches.

- Content and added value services remain key, and SKT will not always surf on such events as the Beijing Olympics, a major boost for subscriptions last year (the whole population was hooked and literally always on one way / media or another)... but not very differentiating since several broadcasters offered the same images (SBS clinched the exclusive TV rights for the next Olympic Games). The only "paid service" operator could try and lock some key rights to pimp up its own premium channels TU Entertainment and TU Sports (both available through the TU Select service : 1 channel for KRW 2,000 / mo, 2 for 3,000, 3 for 4,000). Other premium services feature TUBOX (movies PPV for krw 1,000 or 1,500 apiece) and PREMIUM 19+ (adult for krw 3,000 / mo or 1,200 for 2 days).

Still now, SKT seems to be as much pushing the service as trying to pull it out of a ditch. The technological landscape keeps evolving and in 2012, fixed and mobile broadband will reach respectly 1 Gbps and 10 Mbps. Typically, SKT is investing massively in optic cabling (from 5,000 km to 88,000 km) through SK Networks.

But mobile TV has found a public anyway, and SK Telecom is not the kind of player to abandon leadership easily. Particularily in such a key vertical.

So it brought along TU Media in its trials in Thailand, so...

... not to be discontinued yet.

But stay tuned.


* With TU Media, you pay only for subscription charges. Neither for traffic nor for content, except for movies on demand (NB: these days, KRW 1,000 is about USD 0.78) :
- Basic rates are KRW 6,000 for TU Slim (9 TV channels + 16 audio), idem for TU English (10 TV + 16), and KRW 11,000 for TU Basic (unlimited 21 TV + 16 audio)
- SKT customers enjoy a 6,000 discount on basic rates, which sets Basic at 5,000... and Slim and English services at zero

Google Streetview : Beijing and Tehran want the Groningen killer app

Dutch twins stole a 14-year-old boy's mobile phone and 165 euros in cash last September in Groningen. The victim recognized himself and his assailants on a Google Streetview* taken seconds before the crime, which led to their arrest.

A Minority Report - style Precog / postcog crime unit ? Not yet, but a not so positive piece of news for this already controversial service (images taken and broadcasted without propper authorisations).

Lately, such social networking services as Facebook or Twitter have been censored in Iran following rigged presidential elections.

Tehran remains in damage control, but as we recently saw, Beijing is already one step ahead in the control of web usages. And Google already contributed to arrestations there... but not the kind to be proud of.

Chinese authorities don't need Google Streetview : the police already monitor unrests by systematically and openly filming people who dare demonstrate any kind of defiance to the regime.

But would be certainly interested in digging any large image database exposing "unhealthy" activities at home or abroad.

But mining can be dangerous, even in China, and particularily in China : when you go too far, things tend to collapse on you.


* "Dutch muggers caught on Google street view camera" (Reuters 20090619)

Samsung's power grip

I haven't been very kind to Samsung Electronics Co. recently for their "Samsung Crest Solar" : to me, solar panels are not necessarily the best solution for devices which may suffer from excessive heat.

But the same company announced today a new metallic material, easy to produce, which can turn temperature differences into electricity, improving efficiency by 80%.

Now this could be a disruptive technology for small devices as well as for construction and all industries. Provided it works at a relatively low temperature, naturally.

Find My iPhone for Apple MobileMe

Let's face it : for many people, losing one's mobile phone sounds scarier than say losing a kid. Heck - they may even have just found the NY toddler disappeared back in 1955!

iPhone 3.0 MobileMe subscribers can activate new features : Find My Phone to locate the missing treasure and activate the hunt, Remote Wipe to delete the content (previously secured in Apple vaults) in case it fell into the wrong hands. The culprit will then deal with an amnesic device unable to tell him his name, where his parents leave, nor their bank account numbers.

Who knows, you may recover your personal time capsule in the year 2063. Even in unchanged shape, a total stranger with a strange look, a strange brand, and probably an even stranger OS.

Now. We'll soon be able to tell if the application is a popular success : will Iranian authorities ban it ?

Virgin Media Universal Music Unlimited

UGC certainly boosted movie theater frequentation in France with their unlimited movie service. Back then, preventing piracy was less the issue but somehow, it hooked a new generation to the going-out-for-a-movie experience... and broadcasters to the idea that the movie industry was still able to produce blockbusters.

This time, mother company Vivendi is more directly coping with illegal music download. The answer : legal but unlimited music download for Virgin Media customers (for GBP 10 to 15 per month according to Reuters).

The innovation in the concept comes from the pledge made by the ISP : Virgin will fight piracy and even suspend temporarily the lines of offenders.

The partners can expect positive peer pressure : UMG rivals to join the Virgin initiative, and Virgin competitors to follow the scheme.

A win-win proposition which could - at last - help legal streams become mainstream.

The Green Damned of China - Learning Censorship The Hardware

Beijing's idea of fighting porn is to launch a "youth escort".

Announced last month, the Green Dam-Youth Escort system will be implemented starting July 1st, 2009.

Basically, all computers will come with a software preventing web surfers from coming across unhealthy content as defined by the regime. Potentially : pornography, violence, democracy, human rights, resistance against State propaganda and revisionism...

Theoretically, you can switch it off. But the moment this Government plants a troyan horse in every computer, all your own dams break loose.

This pushes the Golden Shield Project (A.K.A. the Great Firewall of China) up one notch on the totalitarian scale. Instead of just controlling the access to specific sites, Beijing may monitor all the traffic and beyond, all usages and every individual from every computer. It would just take a few transparent updates in the "service".

This is about tracking minds, preventing "negative" buzz from spreading, spotting "rebel" patterns, and anticipating potential disruptions. Zombie computers for a zombie people.

US manufacturers see the trap : they would join Google or Yahoo!, regularily blamed as collaborators by human rights groups.

I presume Chinese Authorities consider this as an inoffensive technology transfer from regular NSA partners...

---
Addendum 20090613
I mentioned "technology transfer" and it seems to be the entry point for a US counter attack : "Solid Oak Software Inc said it found pieces of its CyberSitter Internet-filtering software in the Chinese program, including a list of terms to be blocked and instructions for updating the software" (see "U.S. company accuses China of stealing software" - Reuters 20090613).
---
initially published on blogules (also in VF)

SK Telecom's Wild Hana Card

Since their coming out as an item on May 22, SK Telecom and Hana Bank have been advancing on their JV project (Korea's leading MNO taking 49% of Hana Card, the credit card unit of Korea's #4 financial group).

SKT seems to be seizing a great opportunity : Hana is lagging in the card business, and regulations were eased after the crash last autumn : big non financial groups, previously forced out, were ripe with cash. But even without Hana, SKT is not a small player in cards and financial services.

SKT's mother company, SK Group, boasts 30M OK Cashbag card members. The operator's own loyalty card is used by 40% of its 23M customers, and Moneta, its mobile finance / mobile payment platform, is already one of the most advanced on earth : wired and wireless, Mifare contactless payments for subway, hundreds of thousands of dongles across the country, 3G USIM / EMV Over-The-Air, T Cash / Mobile T-money - a partnership with T money... SK Telecom is the closest thing to a bank you can get in the MNO world.

Financially, the partnership could secure the MNO's business model in the long term at the national level, and facilitate the internationalization of its platforms.*

Hana doesn't bring much of a customer base, nor even disruptive solutions, but certainly new marketing opportunities. A more comprehensive understanding of customers would come handily for a mobile leader who tended to loose his fabled mojo.**


* see "SK Telecom's Semestrus Horribilis"
** see "KT-NTT Venture Forum". Well. The integration of Hanaro Telecom by SKT and KTF by KT didn't inspire much both leaders : triple and quad-play promotions badly lack imagination and appeal.

Samsung Crest Solar

If you leave your Samsung E1107 Crest Solar, turned off, under a sunlight of 80,000 Lux for one hour, the solar panel covering its back will charge it for the equivalent of a 5 to 10 minute conversation.

Much less if you use the torch light or FM radio features...

... or if the said phone is baked after a severe sunburn. There's a reason why $100 laptop projects chose the low-tech, man-powered, hand-crank system...

You may also use the airtime for a Fake Call. That's a killer no-killer application : say you are in a cab, and the driver gently caresses a necklace of human ears while staring a lunatic stare at you in the mirror... you can pretend to receive a call, forge a rescue, and live to see another sunrise.

You can even pretend to receive a call from God. That's probably the reason why they dubbed the device "Samsung Crest Guru" in India.

This dual band 900/1800 MHz GSM handset sells for INR 2,799 (about $60). A more advanced European version is expected later this year : touch screen and Bluetooth enabled, the gently curved Blue Earth is made with recycled plastic.

iPhone, Pre-Price War

From iPhone 3G to iPhone 3G S you get a yawn, from $199 iPhone to $99 iPhone more buzz.

When the main innovations come from pricing, you know commoditization is under way.

And commodities is not what Apple is into.

Apple is hurting Palm because this competitor will never reach the same volumes with its Tre. Apple is hurting Samsung and LG. Apple is hurting Nokia. Apple is hurting the iPod Touch but who cares.

Apple targets the feature phone market : Apple wants to smarten it up because that's the only way to increase volumes.

Smartphone penetration is bound to accelerate, and it's always better to start first in the race. Provided you're profiled to thrive in this kind of environment.

The industrial challenge requires the ability to deliver much bigger volumes (no problemo), but furthermore to become even more reactive, to cope with shorter product cycles and wider ranges, to innovate constantly...

You want to see how competition fares in the app stores arena.

Sony Aino, Satio, Yari : PlayNow, twist, tilt, turn, smash... buzz ?

May 28, 2009 : Sony Ericsson decides to wake up, launch a new campaign, and issue a series of emphatic press clips announcing 3 new devices and one proprietary movie download platform. The message : believe it or not, we've got some Sony in our DNA and we ain't gonna let competitors claim the entertainment arena for themselves.

PlayNow™ arena intends to do with movies what iTunes did for iPod and iPhone with music. The user experience does seem as un-seamless as with the Apple platform in its early stage... but with a very small and short-lived catalogue :

"- Download movies to your computer from www.playnow-arena.com/movies
- Transfer them to your Sony Ericsson phone by ‘side loading’ them from your computer to your phone using your USB device
- Watch them as often as you like for up to 90 days. The specially formatted movies are not playable on any other device
- Choose from a selection of around 15 movies at any one time, with approximately four additional titles being added to the catalogue each month to replace outgoing content
- A total of up to 60 movies can be downloaded during a twelve month period
- The available movie catalogue will be a country-specific mix of classics and newer titles" ("PlayNow™ arena with movies brings feature films to mobile phones" - SonyEricsson PR 20090528)

Kick off : this June across Europe (UK, Germany, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands) with the W995 Walkman™. Besides, two of the tree devices introduced the same day support the new platform : the Aino and the Satio.


The Sony Ericsson Satio replaces the Sony Ericsson Idou exposed in Barcelona (a doomed brand if I ever saw one). It focuses on image : a 12 M pixel camera and a big fat memory.("Visual communication like never before with the Sony Ericsson Satio" - SonyEricsson PR 20090528)



The Sony Ericsson Aino focuses on "sound and vision". Don't misinterpret the "Remote Play for PLAYSTATION®3" feature as a Nintendo Wii remote copycat : you can mostly pair it with your console. PSP next gen becomes PSP Go, and Media Go™ / Media Home "helps you transfer, play and organise all your music, photos, videos and podcasts from your PC simply and effortlessly to enjoy directly on Aino via Wi-Fi™. No more wires, no more searching – always the latest fun." ("Sound and vision set free with the Sony Ericsson Aino" - SonyEricsson PR 20090528)



The Sony Ericsson Yari goes beyond the Aino, more into Wii territory : "Yari debuts Gesture gaming – forget about pushing buttons, with Gesture gaming you make the moves in front of the screen to get right in the middle of the action!" ("Twist, tilt, turn, smash - gesture gaming is here with the Sony Ericsson Yari" - SonyEricsson PR 20090528)


I can't see much disruption there. Except maybe for my eardrums.

Tetris turning 25... now that's distressing.

New Money Search Engines : BING.com, Zune HD

When Microsoft talks innovation, it tends to sound like deja vu all over again.

BING is not the latest alarm notifying a blue screen but the name of Redmond's latest philosopher's stone / quest for the Holy Grail / shoot'em all kill app : a search engine meant to compete with Google. Not at the user experience level but at the announcer experience level, judging by the teaser (maybe "trailer" is more appropriate) released on bing.com, where contextual advertising stars from every angle. The actual URL where you can enjoy this short movie is decisionengine.com, which may lead you into thinking that you won't be looking at things you don't want to find, only at relevant bits of knowledge for sound decision making. Comparing prices, sorting URLs by categories... that kind of totally "unknown" features. The main news here : Live Search is still alive.

ZUNE goes HD. It remains a music / multimedia player, but now you can also play games, and even surf the internet. FM radio, which proved successful on the first version, becomes HD radio. The screen becomes a touch screen. And as if to prove Zune failed on the core promise (competing with iPod and other sexier devices), Microsoft added familiar and sure bets from its roster (Windows CE). Zune synchronizes with Xbox, and the brand could become Microsoft's central video and multimedia content platform to compete with more successful stores.

Zune is not the iPhone killer. Bing is not the Google killer. But Microsoft intends to remain a killer.



"Microsoft confirms Zune HD coming this fall"
"Zune HD will be a music player, not a super-device"

Nokia's Ovi Store - a follower-leader

Embarrassingly too late, Nokia decided to open its online Ovi Store globally. Or to revive the buzz around it.

About two years ago, I had some doubts about OVI's ability to counter Microsoft ("OVI, a Door facing Windows"). But since then, it also left Apple snatch the bulk of a market it was supposed to rule (the App Store recently celebrated 1 billion downloads). The mobile phone leader definitely lost his mojo a couple of years ago.

Yeah... I know there's this coopetition between the Scandinavian King and MNOs, who prefer a hyper hype partner taking a bigger cut, but on a pie customers want to pay for.

Luckily for Nokia, there's always AT&T, ever the enthusiast for MVNOs and other pipe-fillers. For a Texan, anything coming from Finland must be cool.

S60 does have a cool factor, after all. 50M users can't be totally wrong. What if they decide to turn what they saved by not chosing iPhone into more apps ?

Big Screen Kindles and Papyrus

Kindle DX joins Amazon's Kindle family. It's bigger (9.7 inch screen), smarter (screen rotation, 4 GB memory), and of course pricier ($ 489).

Comfier too, if you want to read magazines, newspapers, documents with images. But not that much if you intend to carry it everywhere. This one will probably remain at home most of the time, and may not even make it there if you already own a tablet PC.

I expected something more disruptive. Say a really big screen, for real newspapers... the foldable kind of Kindle. Technology is there, but short term marketability remains another story... Keep an eye on Amazon labs for that one.

Anyway, this newcomer will make such competitors as the Samsung Papyrus look smaller. But a no-frills, no-connectivity, A5, half a GB memory ebook reader can succeed if it comes at half the price.


The CNET video on Kindle DX :

Orange Hello, is it me you're looking for ?

Orange Hello is an internet computer for dummies, the word "dummies" covering the minority of techno- / PCphobes who never considered purchasing nor using a computer, and people ready to pay EUR 1 + EUR 39.9 per month for a simple play (internet access) instead of the standard EUR 29.9 per month for a full triple play... Ideally, seniors with a comfortable pension but lacking the courage to join their kids and grandkids in the internet age. Grandkids who mock at their absence of smart screens at home. Grandkids who may even not enjoy staying overnight simply because here, they can't browse the web on a bigger screen than their own smartphone.

Hello is expensive, granted, but delivers, installs, and maintains at your place a PC with an almost iMacish look : a thick 15 inch- screen connected to a keyboard and including a 120 Go hardrive, a webcam, and a broadband modem. Orange makes sure Kids can get their daily fix : features include messenging, video, music, games, web TV... (plus text to speech for their myopic dinosaur ancestors).

A little sexier than Jean-Louis Constanza's first device meant as an entry point to French households : a no-frills fixed phone that would automatically compose the 4 prefix for Tele2 France customers.

Now CEO of Orange Vallee, Constanza (who after the Swede category killer moved on to Ten MVNO) is still working on pedagogy and simplicity for new usages in daily communications, only with smarter technologies, and different budget constraints for the operator... and obviously the customer.

Hello can be considered as the big brother of another Orange Vallee device* : Tabbee, an always on, family friendly, stand alone web terminal featuring a 7 inch touch screen.

But Hello doesn't have a touch screen. So don't even dream about smearing your Hello screen while imitating John King with your greasy fingers. All you may ruin is the supposedly more intuitive and user friendly keyboard. Because believe it or not, even French dummies know how to use a keyboard.

Orange can thank mother company France Telecom for this miracle : most post Y2K seniors are former Minitel users.


* While I'm at it : "Orange Vallee"'s 2009 Summer Collection include mobile platforms (WorMee music platform, Application Shop, TV d'Orange for iPhone, Orange 24/24 news engine), entertainment accessories (Hi-Fi Adapter, Media Remote Control), business / messenging solutions (Instant Messenger for all, Visual Voicemail, Teleconference, Medical Office)... see Orange Innovation TV for details.

Gmarket vs Skype and Stumbleupon - e-business as usual for eBay

Losing ground at home vs Amazon, eBay decides to build a new fortress in Korea, combining over two thirds of Gmarket with its Internet Auction Company there. Almost gone the Skype hype, fumbled Stumbleupon... back to core business.

Inter Park, distant third behind Gmarket and IAC (8% vs 47% and 34%) owned 34% of Gmarket, which will operate separately from IAC. Besides, Korean authorities may ask some further concessions, but they already okayed the deal.

Beyond national marketing, technological, and logistical synergies, eBay intends to build an international platform from this new local giant in the long term. Nice way of putting things for a rather defensive move : Korea will neither open the gates to Japan, nor take over eBay's operations in China and Taiwan. Maybe strengthen some positions around LA and Orange counties.

The deal will be completed by the end of H1 2009, Skype will be IPOed H1 2010, eBay will keep non-technological bubbly start ups at bay until the recession itself recedes.

* "eBay to Expand Asian Operations Through Combination with Gmarket, Korea's Largest Online Marketplace" (eBay - 20090416)

Cisco Takes Over Songdo

Last February*, Cisco and Incheon government signed a MOU for the new Songdo city within IFEZ (Incheon Free Economic Zone). And yesterday, John Chambers met with Korean President Lee Myung-bak, disclosing some details on Cisco's $ 2 bn investment : Songdo will host a major R&D center, but furthermore become a testbed for Cisco's convergent solutions.

From the beginning, the self-proclaimed "U City" / "Ubiquitous City" was to promote new technologies up to a bigbrotherian point, claiming the ultimate convergence, merging all private and professional databases, monitoring everything via CCTVs, RFId, and other tracking systems**... so Cisco seemed the perfect pervasive partner.

Lee Myung-bak appears to open the gates even wider towards the rest of the country, and one cannot help but think about how dramatically times have changed : not so long ago, Korea was doing its best to claim its technological independence from other US Inc. giants (Intel, Microsoft).

But even if Korea Inc. is also investing massively in R&D by itself (ie SK Telecom just announced a 18% hike for 2009 to KRW 1.3 tn / USD 1 bn), the country needs foreign investments more than ever, and Songdo International Business District (a POSCO-Gale International JV) undoubtedly needed some good news following recent defections most damaging to its international ambitions (a few foreign investors cancelling their plans, the international school folding...). Up to now, appartment sales have been a success because individuals speculated on a high ROI. But real estate is a tricky bet these days, and most foreigners prefer to wait and see : OK, this land claimed on the Yellow Sea will soon be directly connected to Incheon Airport***, and the plans look impressive, but you just don't decree the presence of international companies and people.

In the long run, this partnership could prove a turning point for Songdo.

Cisco is making a reasonable bet. Its R&D center will at least draw many companies from the local ecosystem, and with or without foreign newcomers, putting a lock on such an entry point is priceless.


* "Cisco and Incheon Metropolitan City to Open New Chapter in Globalisation" (20090219)
** Latest "innovation" in home networking ? Samsung connects your automatic vacuum cleaner to your mobile phone : you just invited a friend home for tonight or need to check if grandma's flat is OK ? Open your vacuum's eyes and set it in motion if needed.
*** The bridge is almost completed. Besides, Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds Seoul and connects the Capital to Incheon, chose also yesterday to unveil its projected lines for the GTX (Great Train Express), a new underground commuting system : Ilsan-Suseo (46.3 km), Uijongbu-Geumjeong (49.3),... and Songdo-Seoul (Cheongnyangni - 49.9 km).

Google from Buzzing to Twitting - Keep It Smart and Simple

Everybody twits these days (except yours truly*). No wonder Big G tries to put a tag on the phenomenon. A me-too product wouldn't make sense but at last, Google can try to add sense to Twitter.

"ads by Google", that's already 13 characters. And the announcer hasn't started talking yet.

Twitter's success lies in shortness and simplicity, symbolized by a Haiku format. Google's success lies in simplicity, symbolized by a no-frills homepage. This partnership cannot succeed unless AdSense comes up with something really simple and smart.


* I got twitted by Barack, Gordon & co after the G20, though.

One Stop Selling

Sony and Samsung are showing us how major players are bracing up for tougher times. This could be the final call for big players to simplify market interfaces.

Sony Pictures Entertainment decided to organize itself around one global platform. The US and international divisions will merge to address more efficiently a market that demands swiftness and reactivity.

Samsung will regroup all its local mobile and nomadic brands around the samsungmobile.com hub. At home, the brand needed some taming : Samsung being ubiquitous from real estate to life insurance, most business units had to develop specific brands for each line of products (ie Hauzen for air-con, Raemian for appartments). And it was not only a matter of branding : Samsung Electronics managed specific CRMs for its mp3 players (Yepp), laptops (Zaigen), and mobile phones (Anycall). Synergies seem obvious, to the point of scaring competitors : getting a share of a Samsung customer will get even tougher.

But Korea has reached the point where choices had to be made in favor of convergence instead of competition. The country wasted too much time and money in sterile IPTV wars between telcos, cablecos, and broadcasters, threatening Korea Inc.'s overseas (see "IPTV in Korea", "IPTV wars and WiBro truce ?"). Korea could display its technological know-how in convergence, but no commercial offers.

A converged broadcasting-telecom regulator was created last year (the KCC - Korea Communications Commission), and a few months after mobile leader SKT wolfed down #2 fixed broadband operator Hanaro, landline leader KT is merging with #2 mobile operator KTF. At last, triple play offers and VoIP are taking off. Korea Telecom is advertising massively for QOOK, its new brand for convergence.

The current crisis will accelerate concentration, and a few ambitious players will emerge stronger in both size and R&D. Korean, Japanese, European, or American players cannot afford keeping a defensive profile for long : after stimulating R&D and investments (TD-SCDMA, stimulus plans), China will probably force mergers among telecom manufacturers the way it is pushing carmakers to join forces.

Google Voice : Next Stop GrandCentral Terminal

GrandCentral becomes Google Voice. It took less than two years for Big G to integrate this vocal hub into its maze. Eons in this kind of business, and the switch is not even completed yet : only GrandCentral commuters can enjoy Voice services for the moment.

Looks as if Google were preempting some vital territory either ahead of a major move by the competition, or to put some soft flesh on some hardware project to be released in a not so distant future.

The Gphone is already there. It can talk, it has the Latitude to follow you and your pals on the move, it can keep you connected. It can help you reconsider your fling with the likes of Skype.

But Skype appears to be ahead in many ways. And Google (except maybe when it goes 3D) has this tendency to look rather flat, lining up new applications without getting the most of each one, without optimizing the network effect, often turning potential killer apps and killer combos into if not dead ends at least major disappointments.

GV's main feature remains the unified number for voice and SMS : your "Google number". A rather meaningful branding for a key lifetime ID. Google Voicemail (Google Videomail should follow) could come as a booster for Gmail (at last, sonic eavesdropping !)... or even Orkut, if Mountain View hasn't abandoned all hope for its globalization. Google adds several apps generally provided by local loop operators. It's a deviceless device, a virtual PBX, and a potential entry point to the corporate world.

Google brains care less about hardware than about who you are, what you do, whom you know, where you meet, and most of all what you're looking for right now or what you may need sooner than later. Don't be surprised if they ask you to give them your number.

Kindle for iPhone (no iRead for iReader yet)

Kindle for iPhone* is a non-event.

From the beginning, the Kindle device was meant as a proof of concept for the Amazon platform (see "Kindle Kindle little star - take my Word" - 20071121**).

Amazon is into distribution, not hardware. Amazon v. Apple is more about coopetition than competition, Kindle v. iPhone more about complementalness than substitution.

Let's make both Jeff and Steve happy, and let's say you own both a Kindle and an iPhone : you don't carry your Kindle all the time, but now you are definitely more likely to purchase a new book, and if you can't wait you to have a peek, you can even read the first chapters on your way back home, before Whispersyncing it to your most comfortable reader.

I could bullpooh you for hours about other fascinating seamless user experiences, but I'll leave that to people who are paid for it.

Besides, Amazon is pushing hard Kindle the platform to set the standard, and the device comes only third after reach and speed. Even early adopters are feeling the pinch right now, so surfing on the iWave makes more sense to Bezos than waiting for the next Schumpeterian tsunami (if any).

And oh, within iPhone's reach, if your Kindle want to have a chat with your iPod Touch, that's perfectly okay, but they can't sing along yet (Kindle plays MP3, and poorly). Well, I guess neither of the two shopkeepers are minding right now...

This buddyship ain't no honeymoon, after all.

And who knows ? If tomorrow Apple happens to launch iRead for iReader...


* "Amazon Brings Kindle to iPhone" (20090404 PC World)

** and following episodes, including "Kindle 2 v. Print" (20090210). BTW, Amazon didn't go all the way in the fight for text-to-speech.

mot-bile posts - the full list

2009 - 2008 - 2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004

This list is manually updated - check the latest posts and the full montly archives on the right column

2009 (until June 10th, 2009)

June 2009 (...)
20090610 - iPhone, Pre-Price War
20090603 - Sony Aino, Satio, Yari : PlayNow, twist, tilt, turn, smash... buzz ?
...

May 2009 (3)
20090528 - New Money Search Engines : BING.com, Zune HD
20090526 - Nokia's Ovi Store - a follower-leader
20090505 - Big Screen Kindles and Papyrus

April 2009 (4)
20090430 - Orange Hello, is it me you're looking for ?
20090417 - Gmarket vs Skype and Stumbleupon - e-business as usual for eBay
20090415 - Cisco Takes Over Songdo
20090404 - Google from Buzzing to Twitting - Keep It Smart and Simple

March 2009 (3)
20090325 - One Stop Selling
20090313 - Google Voice : Next Stop GrandCentral Terminal
20090304 - Kindle for iPhone (no iRead for iReader yet)

February 2009 (5)
20090225 - mot-bile posts - the full list
20090213 - Amazon to Authors Guild : "Read My Lips - no new taxes" - Microsoft goes Intel
20090211 - Sekai, AirTag, AirFlag, AirBag and Social Net Walking
20090210 - Kindle 2 v. Print
20090204 - License IV

January 2009 (3)
20090115 - Reed Richards follows Sue in Korea
20090109 - CES 2009 Etiquette
20090105 - iLife '09 - no Jobs in sight

2008 (42)

December 2008 (4)
20081215 - TRRAM : don't miss this one !
20081211 - PlayStation Home, Sweet Home - Virtual Dissociative Identity Disorder
20081208 - Credo, loyalty and royalty
20081204 - Orange Money Live

November 2008 (3)
20081130 - 5 trends for 2009 ?
20081112 - Google found its voice
20081107 - Carrefour MVNO : Taiwan before China ?

October 2008 (1)
20081020 - Redmond heart Waterloo

September 2008 (4)
20080922 - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep ?
20080917 - Meet Al Gore's Granddaddy
20080908 - IPTV wars and WiBro truce ?
20080902 - Google Chrome : more open source, less open space ?

August 2008 (6)
20080822 - CREDO mobile vs Karl Rove
20080821 - From car jacking to home hacking
20080819 - Free the airwaves ? "Yes we can" says Google
20080813 - IKEA familymobile
20080805 - SK Telecom's Semestrus Horribilis
20080805 - A killer application indeed

July 2008 (4)
20080728 - cuil search, not so cool findings
20080711 - iPhone vs BIC Phone
20080705 - Viacom - vae victis, YouTube
20080702 - KT-NTT Venture Forum

June 2008 (2)
20080625 - Windows of opportunity
20080610 - Cool Summer

May 2008 (4)
20080528 - France files TMP
20080524 - Korea : 2G WiBro South, 3GSM North
20080509 - Helio lands on Virgin island
20080503 - IPTV in Korea

April 2008 (3)
20080425 - FT, Telia, Sonera - back to the nineties
20080422 - Hop-on - yes we can
20080408 - Hectic for hactic

March 2008 (4)
20080326 - All you can eat content
20080311 - Mobile TV for WIMAX, lingo-free
20080311 - Daily News
20080301 - Burning gates in Korea

February 2008 (4)
20080214 - Social networking for social networks
20080210 - Orange has its rights, Orange has it right
20080204 - The WiBro Affair
20080202 - Your personal safe haven

January 2008 (3)
20080131 - Sideloading live concerts
20080127 - Back To Square Auctions
20080107 - CES 2008 - the magic boredom

2007 (49)

December 2007 (3)
20071217 - Rock n' Knols
20071212 - Facebooked up
20071205 - VizaOzavi and other bull's eyes


November 2007 (4)
20071127 - Kindle Kindle little star - take my Word
20071112 - Android Paranoid takes a LiMo
20071111 - MLB's DRM fastball : too fast too furious
20071110 - Payez mobile, at last

October 2007 (4)
20071029 - Aloha's long goodbye, Standards Wars Episode 4G and the phantom menace
20071025 - Microsoft outpervasived by Facebook and RIM
20071019 - Femtocell Hotel
20071011 - Google Jaiku kentai ?

September 2007 (2)
20070925 - F-VNO : dead on AIRAVE all ?
20070905 - OVI - a door facing Windows

August 2007 (3)
20070823 - Google Sky : the limits ?
20070821 - SHOW time for KTF
20070816 - Nokia's summer heat waves and iPhone floods

July 2007 (4)
20070728 - M6 Mobile and Orange celebrate
20070720 - Super 3G trials
20070709 - 106.8% penetration rate for broadband
20070701 - iPhone is not my Oyster 3G

June 2007 (4)
20070626 - Saint Hubert Mobile, pray for customer hunters
20070621 - MySpace, My Yahoo!, My Sun
20070619 - Near Failed Communications
20070608 - Y-Combinator, OutCubator, Germinator

May 2007 (7)
20070526 - Vivendi Mobile Entertainment : Vizzavi's Second Life ?
20070525 - http://mot-bile.blogspot.com/2007/05/dell-wal-mart-everyday-low-profile.html
20070521 - Google too big to be true ? - discussion
20070519 - aQuantive, the ad fad and the virtual estate bubble
20070518 - Google's next moves
20070513 - MVNOs take off in France
20070509 - Bouygues not for sale ? How about TF1 ?

April 2007 (5)
20070424 - MVNO frenzy and extreme hangovers
20070417 - UNOMobile, COOP and TIM : mobile sells in Italia
20070405 - Just trying Frappr - feel like joining ?
20070404 - Helio to hit 100k subs, and to be hit by Earthlink's 10K
20070401 - Google TiSP - US Open at Flushing Windows

March 2007 (6)
20070330 - .XXX ? Sorry, ICANN'T - Not In My BitYard
20070328 - TDTV and femtosales
20070323 - mAdSense and Google Phonies (Google Phones ?)
20070313 - free without Boukobza
20070309 - 3G license part III - France's fourth wedding or a funeral ?
20070303 - 3G & 4G - WiMAX flirts with ITU

February 2007 (4)
20070226 - Pay-Buy Mobile - DoCoMo inside
20070223 - LiMo - stretching Linux Mobile
20070213 - 3GSM 2007 - A brave new World ? A new and improved Vodafone ?
20070202 - embedded 3G+ and better rates

January 2007 (3)
20070126 - "Green Taxi" - follow this cab
20070110 - iPhone, you Zune - soon on Apple TV
20070108 - CES 2007 - a cup of T before China-To-The-Home

2006 (97)

December 2006 (8)
20061226 - Year Of The Golden Pig - sorry, no golden geese
20061222 - Is SKT's MelOn-opoly MP3 game over ?
20061221 - Pandora's set top box
20061219 - Skype Web TV - Life is a Venice beach
20061215 - TF1 Sat bis with Bouygtel ?
20061212 - Crash Test Thumbies
20061207 - 888.com mobile and other crimes
20061201 - You are Commander of the T-World

November 2006 (3)
20061123 - 3M DMB subs - SBSM on its way
20061110 - MVNO commodities
20061102 - Geotagging and slipping like a log

October 2006 (6)
20061030 - Pervasive Korea in US, China, Vietnam...
20061019 - MSN, Mobile Centric, Mobisud
20061010 - DoCoMo beyond DoCoMo
20061010 - Wibree
20061007 - Google DIY - SketchUp before YouTube
20061005 - Broadcom - Qualcomm - chips and magnum

September 2006 (4)
20060927 - LocationFree TV by Sony - headaches for broadcasters
20060920 - T Login for HSDPA, EV-DO, WiBro and YouNameIt
20060905 - GSM rules in the Americas
20060901 - TD-SCDMA in Korea

August 2006 (4)
20060830 - MVNE and VMVNOs
20060828 - Record launch for Nokia
20060826 - Windows Lite live in Seoul - Special K fat (profits) free ?
20060811 - MySpace France : dial fr for Murdoch

July 2006 (7)
20060730 - Cyworld vs MySpace... SKT has it both ways
20060725 - Zune - comin' down next ?
20060721 - La3 Live - Berlin or Bust - Aussie Yield Management
20060720 - From Couch Potatoes to French Fries - World Cup and Giant Screens - the new mass media
20060717 - RFID shopping and 3G shutting
20060711 - Long Term Evolution and short term profits
20060703 - AT&T U-Verse 1 - better than chapter 11

June 2006 (5)
20060626 - Wanted : a stronger Asian CDMA alliance
20060621 - Belle Labs and niche marketing
20060619 - Virgin SugarMama and the mother of all mergers
20060610 - World Cup Train - coverage and cover up
20060604 - Watcha sure, but who's gonna paya

May 2006 (12)
20060530 - Voda results and a DVB-H Kartel
20060525 - Free broadband for broadwallets
20060521 - Being intelligent - on your to do list
20060521 - HBO Mobile highlights, teasers and tasers
20060520 - A new Vodafone vis-a-vis Japan
20060519 - A fine slap on the wrist
20060517 - Commercial HSDPA live in Korea
20060517 - Wanadoo wannabe Orange
20060510 - Jeju Telematics celebrates the wedding of GPS and DMB
20060507 - Helio live at last
20060503 - Internet Explorer 007 - licence to kill
20060502 - Hiwire - Aloha Partners, Goodbye Stranger

April 2006 (8)
20060424 - Far and Middle East predators
20060422 - Subsidies - 2nd Korean Wave
20060415 - Another good fairy over Helio's cradle
20060413 - Excuse my French
20060412 - SlingPlayer Mobile - placeshifting or shoplifting ?
20060410 - Nano vs Micro - The Other Yellow Peril
20060409 - Qualcomm and Microsoft - the unusual fees plus expenses
20060407 - Digital rights and sports wrongs

March 2006 (11)
20060326 - Saving private Korea Inc - back to subsidies, but no way back
20060324 - Alcatel - Lucent : the swiftness of paper
20060322 - Apple - something rotten beyond the Kingdom of France
20060318 - Master Voda should gather force instead of pleasing the audience
20060315 - NTT - DoCoMo : remerge, split-up, disrupt ?
20060312 - CeBIT unnovations
20060309 - Mobile TV between a ROK and a hard pace
20060306 - Bells ringing - Vivendeals ahead
20060304 - BlackBerry and Chinese 3G to live another day
20060302 - Origami Project - a crush for paper tigers ?
20060301 - iPub by O2 - boozer friendly

February 2006 (10)
20060228 - DoCoMo 4G The Wizard of Hz - Orange Landline Landmines - BT's FRED for free - Swisscom's 5in1 for 99
20060220 - MySpace Mobile On Helio with Hero and Kickflip
20060219 - Tele2 - the end of the affair ?
20060216 - Play it again, Samsung ?
20060215 - Barcelona 2006 Mega SIM city
20060213 - TDtv and IP fews
20060210 - J:COM's quadruple play - within the fence
20060208 - Chindias Regal
20060206 - Reinventing leadership or supersizing Nokia ?
20060201 - SK Telecom - the year of the milking cow

January 2006 (7)
20060120 - You look WonderPhone tonight
20060117 - Cloned cell... phones in Korea
20060110 - Movio Modio Modeo
20060110 - The ultimate wireless killer app ? Ask Stephen King
20060108 - At the count of 3, Hutch disappears and FOMA turns 20
20060106 - CES2006 - beyond Gates, real openings
20060103 - Happy birthday, happy new year of the foxy dragon

2005 (105)

December 2005 (8)
20051230 - Wetband-CDMA and Season's Greetings
20051228 - IPTV and happy TV
20051226 - Free WIMAX and quadruple play
20051222 - DoCoMo's Xmas : Fuji and KT Freetel
20051212 - Eurasia Inc - Linux with China, DMB and WiBro with Korea
20051207 - CAPEX and the city - curb your enthousiasm or six feet under
20051205 - Branson vs Murdoch : Virgin Mobile + NTL in the UK, and more to come
20051201 - Blockberry ? RIM vs NTP, to be continued

November 2005 (8)
20051129 - BeautifulPhones, cheesecakes, greenfees
20051122 - TiVocasting on iPod and PSP - from TVNO to M-TVNO
20051118 - Hello HELIO - here comes the sun
20051118 - Bridging T-DMB & DAB, Hallyuwood & Bollywood, Korea and the UK
20051113 - CDG : you can't beat demographics
20051113 - 3Greenfield Japan
20051108 - http ftth pfft
20051103 - Li cashing : it's now or never

October 2005 (12)
20051031 - Telefonica's Northern Exposure
20051026 - Subsidies : boosting subscriptions or exports ?
20051024 - Virgin Mobile - Carphone Warehouse : joint adventure ?
20051023 - Super-fast me, O2
20051022 - Endemobile reality check : mobile soaps and bubbles
20051021 - SK-Earthlink - postponing and smartcasting
20051018 - NRJ mobile and bank robberies
20051013 - A bridge on a bluetooth ?
20051011 - IEEE 802.11number and number - I'm waiting for the LAN
20051009 - Galileo Positioning System
20051007 - Treaty of Roam - October the 5th, 2005
20051005 - Handle with e-care - China-aware pro gaming

September 2005 (14)
20050926 - ColorZip unzipped
20050924 - Voice Discounted, data embedded, TV Finnished
20050923 - IPWireless eurostars in Speed 3
20050921 - Mevangelists, Chief Internet Evangelists and Intelligent Designers
20050921 - easyMobile sees Northern Light - a Greek tragedy
20050920 - Smells like tin can spirit
20050915 - Count your beams
20050913 - PayPal m-pilots and 90s revivals
20050912 - Skype scrapers - continued
20050911 - TDD & TDMB, not so TDous
20050909 - RockR's mTunes and the March of the Emperor
20050906 - Mobile Real TV - LG and the H-free handset
20050904 - Skype Scrapers
20050901 - Brand new KPN - Brand new USA - Same old standards

August 2005 (11)
20050831 - Prime time and fare play
20050830 - Saturday night Feeva - gloocalization
20050829 - Slomo mobile TV
20050827 - One month oxygen supply
20050826 - NYC sub subs
20050823 - Google Mob... (pay $.99 for the unshortened version)
20050823 - Raising Son in Morning Calm - intel inside
20050818 - Cyworld and Nespot, WMD and WWF
20050808 - Hardcore Gaming
20050808 - Row vs Wide(band)
20050803 - Crossing the i-channel

July 2005 (7)
20050730 - Zero noodle. Korea goes South.
20050725 - Livedoor to incumbents : you've got mail
20050716 - madult content : follow the .$$$
20050715 - Humble pies and compulsive eaters
20050714 - Scott Summers and French Blockbuster Seasons
20050709 - London Videophones vs CCTV : 1 - 0
20050707 - From Hallyuwood to Hollywood

June 2005 (7)
20050628 - The past was bright, the future is Orange Telecom
20050626 - 4G take-offs and SOFT landings
20050621 - Flux your muscles, watch your wallet - music for a song ?
20050615 - At the edges of the middle
20050611 - License to bill
20050609 - Outlook To Hook, TiVo To Go, Apple To Intel
20050601 - MelOn with a slice of pie

May 2005 (3)
20050520 - Open Spheres, Personal Spheres, Shared Spheres and Safe Heavens
20050515 - Dell VNO - Virtual Nosweat Operator
20050504 - Hardware behind, hard work ahead

April 2005 (11)
20050426 - WiBroken hearts
20050422 - Finding MIMO ? after MoMu and MoMa
20050422 - Korea's W-CDMA : all paths lead to roam
20050418 - I want my m-TV
20050414 - Satellite of love
20050412 - "Protect Dokdo !" but save your soul
20050409 - Over the air
20050408 - Wal-Mart : a Korean Wave after la Movida ?
20050406 - Radio killed the video stars
20050404 - Zero paper zero tolerance
20050403 - Quadruple play : all bases loaded

March 2005 (9)
20050331 - Tadaa, TDD data updated
20050329 - Triple play and the extension of local spheres : time for mobile-fixed substitution ?
20050328 - http://mot-bile.blogspot.com/2005/03/dmb-dmz-earth-wind-fire.html
20050326 - Folly came from Miami F.l.a., HIJACKED her way across USA
20050324 - Friend or Foe (debate on Microsoft in the mobile world)
20050324 - Bad Boys over the Finnish line
20050316 - Bluephone : a 2,005 pound gorilla or a GNOME ?
20050311 - Movida : the Generation Ñ M-VÑO ?
20050305 - Neil Gershenfeld - Potent pending

February 2005 (6)
20050226 - mobile payment : hibernation is over for the Near Field Communications forum
20050219 - The times they are a-changin'
20050217 - Movida
20050203 - Report bad link - Meshed Potatoes.org
20050202 - RFID - you're in the Army now
20050201 - Mavericks and Spurs

January 2005 (9)
20050128 - 2005 : how about Europe ?
20050118 - Wake up you should
20050117 - Neck plus ultra
20050113 - mobile taichi
20050112 - Spamy sauce
20050111 - Wireless*Mart - everyday lo-carb 3G
20050110 - Chips and cheats
20050107 - Mantra
20050104 - Why, bro ? WiBro !

2004 (2)

December 2004 (2)
20041215 - m-blue screen
20041214 - Welcome

Amazon to Authors Guild : "Read My Lips - no new taxes" - Microsoft goes Intel

The WSJ pointed out a potential legal battle around the Kindle ("New Kindle Audio Feature Causes a Stir" - 20090210) : Authors Guild's Paul Aiken denounces the new text-to-speech feature (see "Kindle 2 v. Print") as a copyright law infringement : "They don't have the right to read a book out loud. That's an audio right, which is derivative under copyright law."

Amazon should know : it owns Audible.com, an audiobook shop which allows downloads for every platform. But today on Amazon.com, the link to downloads on the Audible FAQ page leads to the Kindle homepage. Business is business.

Where does audio book start and audio enabler end ?

The computerized reading of an article cannot be compared to a well edited audiobook. The user experience is generally painful, and if you can get the idea of a text, it is not as if someone actually read it to you*. Text-to-speech media only makes sense for practical reasons (ie you are visually impaired, or you don't have a divergent strabismus bad enough to drive and read your e-mail at the same time).

Let's consider an article you downloaded for 10c on Kindle. You shouldn't have to pay more if you listen to it through the device's text-to-speech enabler, a mere alternative way of accessing the information you paid for. But if the text-to-speech version of the article is say a mp3 file with a life of its own, then there is a DRM issue.

No DRM issue for Stephen King : ever the early adopter for innovative distribution channels, the author proposed "Ur" exclusively on Kindle.

Meanwhile, another champion of the late XXth century seems less successful in embracing the new millenium : Microsoft's lack of vision is clearly becoming an embarrassment, and its latest move in retailing echoes more Intel's admission of failure than Apple's (over)hyped extravaganzas.


* the only case where text-to-speech beats the real thing is for my articles : some can be downloaded in text-to-speech version, and they are as nonsensical to the ear as to the eye, but at least the computerized female voice sounds much sexier than my own (not exactly your James Earl Jones, Barack Obama, or Morgan Freeman... rather inaudible dot com).

Sekai, AirTag, AirFlag, AirBag and Social Net Walking

I just read an article by Joel de Rosnay about "clickable environments"*, which may introduce some confusion between Tonchidot's "air tagging" concept (the Sekai Camera / "world camera" application for iPhone, quite popular in Japan since last autumn, marketed as a "social tagging device") and the AIRTAG brand (a French NFC enabler targeting retailers and service companies).
Mentioning the risks of such intrusive technologies, Rosnay made a pun on "clickable" and "flicable" : in French, "flic" means "cop" and "fliquer" could be translated as "to control, watch and monitor the Big Brother way".

As a matter of fact, we are bound to see at least two killer apps beyond the usual location based cloud marketing fantasies :

- I want to remain as far as I can from this person / kind or people / person in this kind of mood / friend with "leave me alone" Facebook status... (variations : I'll never set foot in this restaurant again / don't even think about dropping your car at the following places / Celtic fans are not welcome in this Rangers joint...) : let's call that an "AirFlag".

- Leave me alone. When I'm roaming IRL, I don't feel like drowning in a syrupy cloud. I am not only opting out but building a protective sphere up around myself : that should be your "AirBag".

Safer social netwalking ?




* "L’environnement cliquable : une virtualité bien réelle"

Kindle 2 v. Print

Kindle has grown up since November 2007 (see "Kindle Kindle little star - take my Word"), carving itself not only a sweet spot in the e-book market, but a new market altogether.

Oprah provided a major boost last autumn but unlike Obama, Amazon couldn't deliver the goods all the way, missing a major holiday season. Jeff Bezos introduced yesterday the much anticipated 2.0 version : same buckled-up business model, same price ($359), but Kindle is now slenderer than an iPhone, it can synchronize with other devices, and it can read (text-to-speech features).

There's much talk about competition with other devices (from Apple to Sony, from handsets to notebooks...), or multidevice text delivery platforms (ie shortcovers, launching later this month), but less about coopetition with content providers at a time when most newspapers are struggling. Many closed shops, others give up printing (ie The Christian Science Monitor didn't even wait for Election Day), others try repositioning while downsizing (ie Newsweek). Did I notice that Kindle added more shades of grey, to enhance the reading experience when you come across a picture or say an ad ?

Amazon is revisiting its relationships with key partners as well as with prosumers, inviting users to submit video comments, joining the self-publishing wave with an improved Digital Text Platform that will benefit both the company beyond the Kindle...

Like Google, Amazon can leverage on a killer combo of comprehensive customer knowledge management and key monetizing tools (AdSense, online sales).

License IV

France went for a hybrid or double-stage solution to their 3G dilemma : since no 4th operator could enter the market without a ticket discount for all players (see "3G license part III - France's fourth wedding or a funeral ?"), the Government and NRA ARCEP decided to split the remaining spectrum.

The potential new entrant will get 5 MHz of 2.1 GHz + 5 MHz of 900 MHz (call for tender expected by EOY 2009), and lawmakers will discuss about what to do of the last 10 MHz of 2.1 GHz, probably putting back incumbents in the loop (friendly auction ?), and about how much this license will cost. I guess a little bit more than the EUR 10,000 a year needed for a Licence IV, which allows bars to sell alcohol without dishes (I mean dishes for food, not for satellite access).

The almost concomitant consultation about 4G allows incumbents to fry some fish or remain one step ahead. Analogic TV spectrum (the 2.6 GHz and 790-862 MHz bands favored by LTE) will be freed in November 2011.

An ambitious new entrant should position itself on both 3G and 4G, as well as on the fixed broadband last mile, where ARCEP is carefully monitoring the development of FTTH / FTTO : trials are under way (until March 31st), and a precise regulatory framework will be published before this summer.

Without a claim by Iliad/Free, the Regulator wouldn't have reserved 3M numbers starting with 06 for the new entrant, who would then have mostly to rely on 07 numbers, soon to be devoted to the same purpose.

Strong of more than 4M subscribers and on the way to 5M by EOY 2011, Iliad-Free remains the front runner and main lobbyist for the 4th license. The company already brought major disruptions to the French market, starting with their ISP business model as none Networks, and most dramatically by introducing the successful home "box" concept, now implemented by all incumbents (Orange Livebox, SFR Box, Bouygues Bbox). In an agressive lobbying campaign, Free announced 1,000 euros savings per year per household with 3 mobile subscriptions. With brand new pipes to fill, unlimited offers seem likely.

But it may take a new and wealthy partner (not a commodity nowadays) to build the said pipes : optic fibers were already a major challenge on the fixed access with a EUR 1bn CAPEX planned by 2012, but covering a country as geographically challenging as France with a 3G network is quite another.

That, or another disruptive "none Networks" model... not to mention "other networks" : Free already holds the only national WiMAX license*.

Or "another player", or course. Foreign (ie Orascom and the usual suspect...), national (some day, Carlyle will have to monetize Numericable's 4M subs), or more probably a combo of the two. But the deepest pockets could hesitate between player #4 and player #3, should Martin Bouygues seize the opportunity of this reshuffle to sell its mobile arm.

Yet another scenario ? No one goes for the network. Incumbents won't accept too cheap a price tag nor too loose coverage obligations for the new entrant... even if Bouygues Telecom was not precisely crushed for being behind schedule.

---
addendum 20090205

The price tag is eventually EUR 206M per 5MHz, similar to the 619M paid by each incumbent for their 15MHz load. Free may only take 5MHz, but the Government reminded the audience the existence of coverage obligations, insisting on a contribution for rural areas...

Reed Richards follows Sue in Korea

Korean researchers are not only making giant leaps towards invisibility¹: they're also going for thinness and flexibility.

A Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT) - Sungkyunkwan University (Pr. Hong Byung-hee) team found a way of mass producing graphene nanofilms via Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD).

I know, this doesn't sound like the sexiest piece of news ever, and it isn't.

But it could mean the end of the silicon, and major disruptions in micro-electronics as we know them.

Not to mention endless applications for silicon semicon giant Samsung (the S in SAIT) : "the wafer-scale graphene is expected to be used in flexible displays, wearable computers and advanced transistors and electrodes. It can also replace indium tin oxide, used extensively in the production of touch-screen panels and solar cells". And as one could have guessed, this team intends "to develop next-generation ultra high-speed nano memory chips, transparent flexible displays and solar cells." (AsiaPulse / COMTEX).

Of course, Invisible Woman and Mr Fantastic will not be available right away. And nowadays, IT are under the spell of other members of the Fantastic Four... The Bear Market Thing and The Bottomline Human Torch ?

But now is the time for leaders to make the difference. Now is the time to invest in R&D. We all know major innovations will come out of this Not-So-Great Depression. And the so called "new technologies" need Change as badly as the rest of us.

Live from Korea's Graphene Valley...



1 - I already mentioned the KAIST and its Transparent Resistive Random Access Memory ("TRRAM : don't miss this one !" - 20081215) but last autumn, the SAIT developped "a fully transparent non-volatile memory with a conventional sandwich gate insulators structure based on a wide band gap semi-conductive oxide of amorphous gallium indium zinc oxide", a.k.a. amorphous GaInZnO or a-GIZO. Even if it's closer to 80% than actually "fully" transparent, that's something. The beauty of it : whether it works or not, a-GIZO GIZMOs are not to be seen.

CES 2009 Etiquette

Tips of the day :

- don't leave your keys near a Real View 360° 3D Desktop 3D Scanner
- if you drink while watching a Panasonic 3D TV, use special glasses

and first of all

- never forget to deactivate your LG GD910 3G watchphone's video before taking a leak.

E.T. award of the day :

Novo Minoru 3D webcam (year of 3D indeed)

Deep Thoughts of the day without Jack Handey :

"Many posts about Pre, and Palm springs"

Sergeant General's Warning of the day :

Windows 7 is not the latest shoot-em-all video game, and the big hulk giving the lecture was not a former Marine treated for PTSD.

iLife '09 - no Jobs in sight

Steve Jobs uploaded "Hormone Imbalance" and some wonder whether it's a Wii Fit bug or the Apple Store's next killer application. Looking for clues ? SJ was not there to talk about iLife '09.

A new ultra flat TV screen for Samsung, a web enabled Broadband HDTV for LG (forget about browsing but you can enjoy VOD with Netflix Watch Instantly) : Korea Inc opened its IPTV services ahead of the 2009 CES and it shows. Or kinda.

China ignited its 3G cube revolution too late or at the best possible moment... on time to bail out TD-SCDMA and China Inc anyway. About 53% of Chinese citizens don't have a mobile phone and we'll keep an eye on market shares :
- TD-SCDMA goes to leader China Mobile (over 450M customers - about 70% MS). Chinese manufacturers will have to make an effort to make competitive TD-SCDMA handsets (commercial trials only started last April)
- China Unicom inherits W-CDMA - an interesting window of opportunity, too late ?
- to China Telecom the LG Telecom curse (a CDMA2000 license)

Expect some action in Europe too. Let us see who the true survivors are.