“But I am looking forward to 2009 on this new year’s eve and so I am going to list some things I am hopeful for in 2009. These are in no particular order, they are listed as they came to me.”
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Fred Wilson has a terrific list of wishes for 2009
December 2008
13 posts
“While Skyterra will still provide service to governments and people in remote locations — the traditional market — it will also seek to sell satellite coverage to cellular network operators as a service differentiator. The approach would essentially gives cellular carriers the ability to offer satellite coverage to customers for a fee.”
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Satellite Player Skyterra Ready to Try Again
I haven’t looked at the cell-phone-by-satellite business in a few years, but I’m still both intrigued and completely skeptical. Intrigued because complete coverage of the US is clearly valuable to some segment of the population (including rural public-service folks). But odds are the service will be pricey and the handsets will be ugly, and the combination will be too tough to overcome.
I hope I’m wrong. A little more competition in voice and data services can only be a good thing.
“As a prank, students from local high schools have been taking advantage of the county’s Speed Camera Program in order to exact revenge on people who they believe have wronged them in the past, including other students and even teachers.
Students from Richard Montgomery High School dubbed the prank the Speed Camera “Pimping” game, according to a parent of a student enrolled at one of the high schools.
Originating from Wootton High School, the parent said, students duplicate the license plates by printing plate numbers on glossy photo paper, using fonts from certain websites that “mimic” those on Maryland license plates. They tape the duplicate plate over the existing plate on the back of their car and purposefully speed through a speed camera, the parent said. The victim then receives a citation in the mail days later.” —
Students from Richard Montgomery High School dubbed the prank the Speed Camera “Pimping” game, according to a parent of a student enrolled at one of the high schools.
Originating from Wootton High School, the parent said, students duplicate the license plates by printing plate numbers on glossy photo paper, using fonts from certain websites that “mimic” those on Maryland license plates. They tape the duplicate plate over the existing plate on the back of their car and purposefully speed through a speed camera, the parent said. The victim then receives a citation in the mail days later.” —
Ah, teens and technology!
“Besides proving that Sprint is a serious contender in almost any location—and should be taken seriously as a 3G and 4G data service provider, no matter what your feelings are about its basic phone service—we have confirmed what we thought, that the regional Bell heavies (and the former GTE) hold their own where their real estate holdings are most vast.”
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Review: The Definitive Coast-to-Coast 3G Data Test
Gizmodo has a pretty comprehensive comparison of 3G speeds by carrier in 8 cities, and Sprint does very well. If only its stock price were performing that well also…
“Now, barely a year out of the gate, RED is about to change the paradigm again. The company recently announced the Fall 2009 release of its new DSMC (Digital Stills and Motion Camera) system, a collection of interchangeable, upgradable camera components that include lenses and camera “brains” (camera bodies and the image capture sensors inside them). Because they can be configured as either still or motion picture cameras, RED is billing the DSMC cameras as “DSLR Killers.”
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RED Revolutionizing Cinematography Again, But Not Till Next Fall « NewTeeVee
Just in case you’re shopping for a $4,000 gift for me next fall: I want one of these.
“Sprint Nextel will be serving up its own mobile WiMAX products and services, branded “Sprint 4G,” in its retail stores, the carrier said. And the first dual-mode, CDMA/mobile WiMAX modems will be commercially available as early as the end of this year. The move marks the end of the Xohm brand, which the carrier launched in August, 2007.”
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‘Sprint 4G’ on tap: CDMA/WiMAX modems to hit store shelves this year - RCR Wireless News
A few obvious observations on my part:
1. “Sprint 4G” is a far better name than “Xohm”!
2. A combined WiMax / EVDO modem will be an appealing product
3. The competition between Sprint 4G and Clearwire at retail, with Sprint owning 51% of Clearwire, will be strange and interesting
“GigaOM: What kind of services can Clear deliver using WiMAX?
Wolff: The suite of services people will eventually be able to buy are residential broadband, mobile broadband for each individual in the house, residential voice, and ultimately, mobile voice.
” —GigaOM Interview With Clearwire CEO Ben Wolff - GigaOM
While there’s great potential for cooperation in mobile, I’ll be interested to see how the cable companies support (or undermine) Clear’s efforts to sell residential broadband and residential voice, both of which compete direct with the MSOs’ own offerings.
“Clearwire’s open all-IP network utilizes mobile WiMAX technology, providing customers with average download speeds initially of 2-4 megabits per second and peak rates that are considerably faster. However, the company noted that its spectrum holdings are what provide Clearwire with real differentiation in that it enables the company to provide true, mobile broadband services. At the closing, Sprint contributed its entire 2.5 GHz spectrum holdings to Clearwire. With this combined spectrum portfolio, Clearwire now has 100 MHz or more of optimal 4G spectrum in most markets across the U.S.”
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Clearwire / Sprint close the deal
The 100 MHz figure is impressive. It’s not top-quality spectrum— the 2.5 GHz band has poorer propagation compared to the spectrum sold in the recent AWS and 700 MHz auctions. But the 100 MHz certainly gives Clearwire a lot to work with. Now comes the (next) expensive part, the build-out…
