You are here: Home / Archives for AT&T

Mobile Sports Report TechWatch: No Kodak Patents, iPhone 5 Sales Soar

September 17, 2012 by

Kodak has indefinitely postponed the auction of its imaging patents with the move coming after the company has already postponed the auction more than once. In the works since August the company, currently in bankruptcy protection, has been seeking to sell approximately 1,000 imaging patents.

Now it looks like the company is looking at alternatives to auctioning the patents off and that includes keeping the patents in house.

Will existing patent law seriously harm Android?
An interesting piece at ZDNet brings up the point that under current patent law there is the possibility that the Android ecosystem could wither and die if Apple wins additional rounds versus Samsung on Apple’s patent claims.

Part of the issue is that the utility patents which govern the way things work are harder to develop work arounds than the look and feel issue, which simply requires a new design paradigm. Head over here to read the piece.

AMD targeting tablets with Hondo
Advanced Micro Devices is looking at entering the rapidly growing market for tablets with its Hondo microprocessor, a chip that was designed for the market. The chip will be initially only support Windows 8 when AMD launches it, but unlike the Clover Trail family of chips from Intel, AMD’s processor will also support Linux at the same time.

Apple wins a round in Germany vs. Motorola
In the ongoing patent wars between Apple and Motorola/Google, chalk one up for Apple. It has won a judgment against Motorola in Germany that calls for the banning of select Motorola products that use its ‘rubber band’ technology.

The court ruled that Motorola must recall all Android tablet and smartphones that infringe on a select Apple patent, one that was also part of Apple’s victory over Samsung in its case in the US. Apple will be required to post a bond to cover enforcement.

Speaking of Samsung the company took another loss in the U.S. court system as a judge has denied the company’s request for a ban on imports of Apple’s iPad, iPhone and iPod devices due to their supposed infringement on Samsung patents.

iPhone sales break records over weekend
According to AT&T the iPhone 5, which went on sale last Friday, broke all previous sales records for iPhones at the carrier. Records were set both on Friday and for the overall weekend. The company said that the preorders will start to be filled on Friday, Sept. 21.

Hewlett-Packard to eventually enter smartphone space
HP CEO Meg Whitman has said that the company will enter the smartphone space; it is just a matter of when the company will do so that is at issue now. During an interview on Fox Business Network.she said that the company is already working on the development of a smartphone.

Tablets and smartphones now top memory consumers
The PC has been dethroned, at least as the top consumer of DRAM memory chips. The chips, which are a key technology for all computing devices has seen their demand shift from the PC space, the long term top consumer of the technology since the 1980s, to the merging tablet and smartphone space.

According to a report from research companyiSuppli showed that in the second quarter of 2012 PC consumption dropped to 49%. However it is not just tablets and smartphones that comprise the remaining 51% as a host of other devices also use DRAM.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, AT&T, Intel, iOS, iPhone, Lawsuit, Microsoft, Motorola, PCWorld, Samsung, Smartphone Tagged With: , , , ,

NASCAR, Sprint, Turner Sports Collaborate For iPhone App

September 14, 2012 by

The most prominent racing series in the United States has joined the iPhone sports world.

NASCAR, Sprint and Turner Sports have launched the sport’s first official app for iPhone and iPod Touch. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile App allows fans to follow their favorite drivers and keep informed on Chase for the Sprint Cup race action, including access to race day content, schedules, standings, breaking news and more.

iPhone customers with a Sprint Unlimited Data Plan will have access to a vast collection of additional live features:

MRN and PRN race radio broadcasts; in-car audio for all 43 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers; RaceBuddy in-car video and track camera views; NASCAR on SPEED broadcasts including live Qualifying, Practice and favorite trackside shows such as NASCAR RaceDay; In-race highlights and alerts, Post-race press conferences; Real-time leaderboards and Pit Pass telemetry data.

“Fan engagement during the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup is significantly elevated each and every season as the championship battle unfolds and ultimately culminates at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November,” said Marc Jenkins, NASCAR vice president of digital media. “With NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile now available for the iPhone for the first time ever, fans will get a customized experience, bringing them closer to the racing action than ever before.”

The popular NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile App provides fans with 24/7 access to all things NASCAR. Though Sprint had previously offered a NASCAR app for Android platforms, the nation’s third-largest carrier didn’t start offering Apple’s iPhone until late last year. Sprint will also be selling the new iPhone 5, which was announced earlier this week.

NASCAR’s digital rights including NASCAR.COM, the official online destination of NASCAR which provides racing enthusiasts with an all-inclusive offering of engaging content including fantasy games, video highlights, social elements and in-depth editorial content, are currently managed by Turner Sports.

As part of a restructured partnership announced earlier this year, Turner Sports remains the exclusive sales agent across the NASCAR Digital Media platform through 2016 while NASCAR assumes operational control on Jan. 1, 2013 of its interactive, digital and social media rights and all related platforms.

This is a boon for mobile customers that might not be able to catch a race live, or are watching but want different information that that which is provided by the broadcast. Many of the features of the mobile app are ones that a television viewer would get but they now have increased flexibility to hone the information that they are getting.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile App is available free from the App Store on iPhone and iPod Touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore. NASCAR has been increasingly aggressive in pushing its brand into new areas. It launched a major Twitter push earlier this summer and has been very proactive in having drivers participate with fans via social media.

James Raia is an editor and publisher in Sacramento, California. Visit his site: www.tourdefrancelife.com

Filed Under: AT&T, iPad, iPhone, Live sports via mobile, NASCAR, Sprint Cup Series, Turner Sports

As Expected Apple Unveils iPhone 5 in a More Mature Smartphone Market

September 12, 2012 by

Almost a year after it delivered the iPhone 4S, Apple is back on stage with its next generation iPhone, the iPhone 5 and the question that many have is not how good will it be but rather how fast will it sell.

That aside there are a lot of interesting features in the new phone and now we can finally separate the facts from the rumors, which have been bouncing around the Internet almost since they finished the iPhone 4S press conference.

Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, vowed that the new phone would once again change phones forever, something that Time Magazine said about the first iPhone. From what he showed on stage it does appear that the company has once again raised the bar for rivals to match.

The new iPhone 5 is an all glass and aluminum device that features a 4-inch display and yet is 18% thinner than an iPhone 4S and 20% lighter and is powered by a new Apple A6 processor that is 2x faster than the previous chip and runs graphics at twice the rate as the older processor.

Phil Schiller

The display features has integrated touch technology with sensors built into the screen for faster response and the 4-inch screen has the same 326 ppi as the old one with an 1136 x 640 4-inch retina display. It now sports five rows of icons on-screen.

A number of features show that Apple has developed the knack of tightly integrating features in its components. It has a single chip radio that supports HSPA+, DC-HSDPA and LTE as well as new Wi-Fi with 2.4GHz, and 5GHz 802.11n.

As has long been rumored it has a new connector, called Lightning, that is an all digital, 8-signal design, adaptive interface that has improved durability and just as good for people that attach them in the dark, it is reversible. The company is developing an adapter for the older 30 pin accessories.

The camera, called iSight, was also a major rebuild. With an 8 mp sensor the camera has a range of new features including dynamic low light settings, precision lens adjustments, 40% faster photo taking, a panorama feature and the ability to use 720p HD video in FaceTime.

Siri, its voice command technology has been updated and made faster and now has the ability to post to Facebook directly from Siri. With all of the new features Apple has also extended the battery life in many usage models.

The iPhone 5 will be available in a black or white model with the same price for the iPhone 4S. Prices are $199 for a 16GB model, $299 for a 32GB model and $399 for a 64GB model while on a 2-year contract. Sept. 14 can preorder and they will start shipping on Sept. 21 in 9 countries including the U.S., with expanded availability a week later. In the U.S. the phone will be availabe from AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. The new lineup is iPhone 4, 4S, 5 with Apple eliminating the 3GS. The company also upgraded iTunes and the iPod and iOS 6 is expected to be available within a week.

Apple started the show by highlighting some of the successes its other products are currently enjoying. The recently introduced MacBook Air is tops in U.S. market the last three months, according to CEO Tim Cook, with a 27% share in July.

There were 17 million iPads sold in last quarter, which was more than any other PC manufacturer sold in its entire lineup, Cook said, adding that the company has now sold 84 million in just two and a half years and owns a 68% worldwide market share. There are now 700,000 apps in the app store with 250,000 designed for iPad. 90% of all apps downloaded at least once a month average customer has over 100 apps.

Google, which has recently released its own tablet, seems to be one of the losers with the new iPhone 5 as Apple has replaced Google Maps with its own technology, one that will be open to third party developers who can add transit and other information to the program, according to Apple Insider.

Apple will be using vector graphics in an attempt to provide a superior viewing experience and will be including a 3D Flyover feature that will be its alternative to Google’s Streetview.

In the past iPhone rollouts each successive generation has greatly outsold the previous one, even with the relatively minor updates that were included in the iPhone 4S. However not everyone is predicting a massive outpouring of the Apple faithful to buy the phones.

Steve Baker at The NPD Group said earlier this week in a blog post that the market the latest phone is being introduced into is greatly different that the market of just one year ago. He points out that the market is maturing and so demand, no matter how great the product is, could be lessened by the slowing overall growth of the market. According to NPD in the second quarter of 2012 the smartphone space in the IS grew 9% with the bulk of the sales being in pre-paid devices.

One group watching the potential sales of the new iPhone will be app developers. Over the past year almost every major app that we have looked at came out first for the iPhone, and strong initial sales will ensure that will continue.

The ability to have the app developers’ focus first on Apple’s iOS and the iPhone is a big advantage in keeping sports fans interesting. MLB’s apps come out first on the iPhone and often second on the iPad tablet. Apple is facing increasingly stiff competition in the smartphone business from the Android platform, with Microsoft starting to try and heat things up with its operating system via partner Nokia and others.

According to Google, there are currently 1.3 million Android devices added every day, up from 700,00 daily at the end of last year. Android sales surpassed Apple’s iOS in 2010 and could with products like Samsung’s Galaxy S III selling 20 million in two weeks the pressure is not likely to abate any time soon.

However from the initial look at the iPhone 5 Apple has delivered a product that will keep the pressure on its rivals to innovate and continue advancing their own platforms and do so in a manner that is unique to them, and not imitative of Apple.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, Apple, Apps, AT&T, Facebook, Google, iOS, iPhone, Microsoft, Samsung, Smartphone, Tablets, Windows 8 Tagged With: , , ,

Wednesday Wi-Fi Whispers: DAS, but no Wi-Fi, for Niners at Candlestick

August 22, 2012 by

There’s already buzz building in Silicon Valley for the new Niners stadium being constructed in Santa Clara, as the team is already out front saying the facility will be an example of how to do stadium technology right.

Unfortunately for Niners fans, the next two home seasons will still be played in San Francisco’s Candlestick Park, which has historically been one of the worst places to try to get a cellular signal. Though a new Distributed Antenna System (DAS) deployment should help matters some this season, there is no stadium-wide Wi-Fi in the cards, a bit of a bummer since the team’s new game-day app features lots of video — which you need Wi-Fi to watch.

With an edict from the commish Roger Goodell to put Wi-Fi into every stadium, teams across the league are moving quickly to figure out how to get that done (see the second part of this post about Carolina’s new spiffy network). Caught in the middle of this deployment strategy is Candlestick, which has to be one of the worst geographic locations for wireless traffic. Not only is the stadium hidden by a small hill directly to the west (which can block signals from nearby cell towers), it is surrounded on its three other sides by the San Francisco Bay — in case you weren’t aware, wide open spaces of water also play havoc with wireless signals, and you don’t see too many antenna towers floating around.

The historically terrible cellular situation at Candlestick was brought even more to light by last year’s “blackout” game, a Monday night tilt against the Steelers that saw the stadium lose power not once but twice. Though we didn’t hear any reports of fan panic (no shaking) we did hear from a lot of folks about how nobody knew what was going on because nobody could get a cell signal to check Twitter.

To help alleivate the problem the Niners and the top three wireless carriers — Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility and Sprint Nextel — collaborated on the installment of a DAS system at Candlestick, essentially a bunch of small cellular antennas mounted inside the stadium to make it easier for fans to connect. Apparently there is also a day-of-game Wi-Fi network in service at Niners games, though we haven’t been able to find any press material telling us where the service can be accessed. While we wait for the Niners’ reps to get back to us we will take a wild guess and post that it is a parking-lot or concession-area only network, and not something you can use at your seat.

So, Niners fans — even though there is a spiffy new game-day app, you probably aren’t going to get much use out of the video component at Candlestick. And since it doesn’t make sense to drop a few million bucks on a Wi-Fi network that will only be used less than a couple dozen times before the team moves south, unless the Niners can figure out how to bring in a portable Wi-Fi network the Candlestick fans are probably stuck with the DAS deployment as their best connection. Though DAS deployments are better than nothing, they simply don’t have the bandwidth that a robust Wi-Fi network can bring to the table.

Carolina Gets Stadium-Wide Wi-Fi, Courtesy of AT&T

In stark contrast to the situation at Candlestick is the news from the Carolina Panthers, who will have a powerful new Wi-Fi network at Bank of America stadium in Charlotte this year, courtesy of Ma Bell.

You can read the press release and from it what jumps out at us is the 460 Wi-Fi access points, a huge number that should keep everyone there connected. According to the release the Wi-Fi access is free and easy for AT&T customers, with users of other carrier systems having to connect via a “simple login.” Anyone out there in Panther land sample the new network yet? If so give us some SpeedTest results in the comments.

NFL’s Mobile Device Stadium Strategy Slowly Coming into View

There is no official announcement we have seen but if you peruse any NFL team web page you will see a bunch of little widgets popping up saying things like “Watch 49ers games online” with a link to the new preseason and rewind tablet apps that Greg Quick wrote about last week. There are also several teams, like the Niners, who apparently have some kind of GameDay Live-branded app — if this reminds you at all of MLB.com and its AtBat app strategy, it’s not a coincidence. You don’t need a press release to see what is happening, albeit a bit slowly — the NFL, like baseball, is moving to a single app for live mobile-device action, and it will cost you a bunch of extra dollars to watch it.

I think the fly in the ointment right now is the NFL’s current exclusive deal with Verizon for the NFL Mobile app, but I think that contract is up soon and I would be surprised if the NFL renews it. More likely we will see an MLB.com strategy emerge, where you purchase mobile-device access on a monthly or season-long basis. For the current year the NFL will take baby steps as it tries to help teams get networks put into stadiums. But I bet by next year there is a cohesive digital device content strategy that will cost fans a few more bucks. Might be worth it though, to get other games and RedZone while you are tailgating or waiting through halftime.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, Apps, AT&T, DAS, iPad, iPhone, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, Major League Baseball, NFL, NFL Mobile, Sprint, Verizon Wireless, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Video Streaming Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

New Antenna Design Helps AT&T Improve Stadium, Event Cell Coverage

August 7, 2012 by

When it comes to cellular phone innovation, the things that immediately come to mind are the highly advertised advancements, like 4G networks and the latest handsets. But AT&T has turned to the often overlooked cell-tower antenna to find an innovative way to help improve cellular reception in crowded public places, like big outdoor events and sports stadiums.

According to an AT&T blog post as well as an interview with some of the team members behind the innovation, Ma Bell has found a way to significantly improve cellular reception in crowded spaces by by building a new antenna that splits a regular signal into five separate “beams.” By splitting one spectral signal into several smaller but more focused ones, AT&T says it can gain approximately a 5x increase throughput from each antenna, a big necessary jump when confronted by crowds of tens of thousands of smartphone users.

Without getting too deep into the physics, the multi-beam approach is roughly the equivalent of adding four new cell towers, without the added expense of having to site, install and maintain new antenna placements. Though there is a tradeoff of having a narrower range of coverage (since the multi-beam signals are smaller in geographic footprint than those from traditional antennas) that isn’t a problem inside stadiums or at events, where phone users don’t move too much. AT&T has produced a cartoony video that kind of explains the advancements, albeit in a great-for-AT&T way (see end of post for the video).

According to AT&T folks we talked to the antenna was developed jointly by AT&T and a “boutique” antenna manufacturer AT&T declined to identify. The need for a better-performing antenna came out of AT&T’s challenges of bringing cellular service to the crowds at the Coachella music festival in Southern California, an event that can attract up to 85,000 fans each day.

Though we don’t have a geekout photo to share with you, the AT&T folks we talked to said the antennas are already being rolled out to numerous big-event venues, including NFL stadiums in Nashville and Minneapolis, collegiate stadiums in Hawaii and North Carolina, as well as golf and tennis events. The antenna seems to be a valuable part of AT&T’s ongoing arsenal of tricks to improve wireless coverage overall, which includes DAS installations as well as expanded Wi-Fi. For cell users at big events, any and all advancements are welcome.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, AT&T, NFL, Wi-Fi Tagged With: , , , ,

Mobile Sports Report TechWatch: Windows 8 nears, Apple vs Samsung Rd 2 this Week

August 6, 2012 by

The Apple vs. Samsung lawsuit currently ongoing in a San Jose, Calif. Federal courthouse has a little for everybody, taunting, name calling, and a look into the past as the two tech rivals fight it out over the look and feel of Samsung’s smartphones and tablets and if it infringed on Apple’s designs.

The case, which started last week, provided a snapshot of how intertwined the people of Silicon Valley are during jury selection when it appeared that most potential jurors seemed to work for rivals high tech companies, but finally the jury was filled.

Apple opened predictably claiming that Samsung simply found it easier to copy than innovate and Samsung retorted that it was simply developing products along the same lines. Images of product development and prototypes have been submitted to show similarities in both companies’ offerings.

Samsung has leaked evidence that was excluded by the judge and Apple requested that the judge award it victory in the case-its request was denied. The case continues this week.

Microsoft Windows hits OEMs, on Street Oct 26
Microsoft’s tablet OEMs and other now have the final software code of Windows 8 to its hardware OEMs so that they can now start preloading the OS into their next generation products ranging from desktop and notebook computers to tablets.

The hardware OEMs, among which are Dell, Acer, Hewlett-Packard, Samsung and Lenovo are expected to have products available at the official public launch of the operating system that has been pegged as Oct. 26. I expect that for a good deal of the products we will see a lot of ‘unoffical’ leaks prior to that day.

Intel bets on motion sensing as future interface
Intel Capital, along with iSource and GIMV has invested 6.5 million Euros in Movea in a Series C funding round. The company develops motion sensing and data fusion technology that will be incorporated in a wide range of devices ranging from set top boxes, tablets, smartphones and even car infotainment units.

Samsung’s next-gen Galaxy Note due later this month
Samsung has told Reuters that the next generation Galaxy Note, its smartphone with the 5.5-inch display. According to the report the device will be first shown to the public at the company’s Samsung Mobile Unpacked event that is scheduled for August 29th in Berlin. It is interesting to note that the date is about two weeks prior to when Apple is expected to unveil its next smartphone and tablet offerings.

Apple rules the tablet space, market research shows
Market research company International Data Corp. (IDC) has released preliminary data on the the world wide tablet market for the second quarter has found that, to the surprise of no one, Apple continues to dominate this space.

The company found that the overall market shipped 25 million units in the quarter, a 33.6% quarter over quarter increase from the first quarter’s 18.7 million units, and 66.2% over the same period a year before. Of that 25 million Apple shipped 17 million of them, up from 11.8 million the previous quarter.

Its rivals do not compare well to Apple’s numbers. Top foe Samsung managed 2.4 million units, good for a 9.6% market share followed by Amazon with 1.2 million units, good for a 5% share. No other rival broke 1 million units. I will be interested to see how Google’s Nexus 7 does in the next quarters’ results.

Google and Rovi ink deal
Google has signed an agreement with Rovi that will enable Google to use Rovi’s interactive program guide technology for set top boxes, tablets and other mobile products. It is expected that the technology will be used in Google’s rollout of Google Fiber.

Google adds handwriting recognition to search
Speaking of Google, back in its core search business it is adding a new feature for mobile users, handwriting recognition. The technology will first roll out for Android smartphones and tablets and then move over to Apple’s iOS platform as well. It will have support for 27 different languages.

AT&T to shut down 2G-in 5 years
AT&T has said that the end is in sight for its 2G network as the carrier plans to discontinue support for the wireless network in five years. The company will redeploy that spectrum as part of its effort to focus on its 3G and 4G networks, which it said are facing capacity issues due to the increasing popularity of smartphones. Currently 12% of its customers use a 2G network.


Digg is back already
Digg, the once high flying news social news site has already relaunched itself just six weeks after it was sold to Betaworks. The service now has a reworked web site and has refreshed its mobile app for the iPhone. Its main page is broken into three categories: Top stories, popular and upcoming.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, Android, Apple, AT&T, Intel Capital, iOS, iPad, Lawsuit, Lenovo, Mashable, Microsoft, Samsung, Smartphone, Tablets Tagged With: , , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »