mocoNews news watch | Qualcomm

Apple v. Moto In Germany: One iPhone Injunction Ordered, Another One Lifted

2012-02-03T10:16:54Z

Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) in the last 24 hours has been dealt not one but two blows in court cases involving Motorola (NYSE: MMI) and patents in Germany, one involving IP licensing on older iPhone models (not the 4S) and one involving iCloud. However, as the day progressed, an injunction on the sale of the older iPhone models was lifted as the cases continue to develop.

Today’s ruling in a Mannheim court granted Motorola a permanent injunction on Apple products that use its iCloud technology, specifically around push email services, and, like many patent cases, is not based on a recent patent but an older one—in this case, one that Motorola holds around paging devices (one of the company’s earliest wireless products).

Update: Motorola has issued a formal response to the decision:

“We are pleased that the Mannheim court has recognized the importance of our intellectual property and granted an enforceable injunction in Germany against Apple Sales International,” it said in an emailed statement.

[original article continues below]

Apple, meanwhile, said that it is already appealing in this case:

“Apple believes this old pager patent is invalid and we’re appealing the court’s decision,” Apple told paidContent in an emailed statement.

But before you start thinking that this might mean that various new, iCloud-enabled Apple products will be disappearing from German retailers, think again. PaidContent understands that the injunction applies only to a specific function: the instant, push email service that Apple offers via MobileMe/iCloud, and there are only a limited number of users in Germany actually taking that service. Plus, there are already at least two workarounds available: for customers to either download the email manually; or to set up a script to check email regularly anyway.

The case is still developing so it remains to be seen how the injunction will play out.

More pressing, it seems, is the outcome of another Motorola court case that dates back from December, and which has been in the works for even longer, which has resulted in Apple pulling some older models of the iPad and iPhone from its online store in Germany.

~~These products were pulled overnight and are indeed absent when paidContent visited the online store this morning. They are, however, still being sold offline through Apple stores and other retailers.~~

Update: The temporary injunction has now been lifted, but Motorola says the case continues:

“We are pleased that the Mannheim court has recognized the importance of our intellectual property and granted an enforceable injunction in Germany against Apple Sales International. Although the enforcement of the injunction has been temporarily suspended, Motorola Mobility will continue to pursue its claims against Apple.”

Earlier, Apple said it would appeal the decision:

“While some iPad and iPhone models are not available through Apple’s online store in Germany right now, customers should have no problem finding them at one of our retail stores or an authorised reseller. Apple is appealing this ruling because Motorola repeatedly refuses to license this patent to Apple on reasonable terms, despite having declared it an industry standard patent seven years ago.”

This case, essentially, is another chapter in Apple’s European battle over FRAND patents, which fall under rules that require equipment makers to license IP on “Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory” terms, in order to make sure that IP that has been declared industry standard is not intentionally made more expensive for competitors than non-competitors in a field like smartphones.

Apple has been facing other issues over FRAND terms in Europe, specifically with Samsung. That case looks like it may have taken a turn in Apple’s favor: this week the European Commission said that it would start an antitrust investigation into Samsung and whether it has violated FRAND rules in its dealings with Apple. The EC cautions that it has not yet declared a judgement in this investigation so it could still go either way.

In this Motorola FRAND case, Motorola Mobility says that it approached Apple in 2007 with its FRAND licensing terms and attempted to negotiate a license with Apple for over three years.

“Apple’s refusal to negotiate in good faith, as well as their aggressive litigation campaign against Android, left Motorola Mobility with no option other than to seek to enforce the Company’s rights and patent portfolio. Motorola Mobility remains committed to licensing rather than litigation as the proper vehicle for resolving intellectual property disputes,” Motorola told paidContent in an emailed statement.

You might recall that disputes over FRAND licensing was the issue in the FRAND dispute with Samsung—the case that spurred the EC investigation

Whether this will result in a FRAND investigation of Motorola by the EC remains to be seen, but if it does that could have wider implications since the Commission is already investigating antitrust issues regarding the proposed merger between Motorola and Google.

Given that this is all really about stabbing at your competition on a legal level, one possible outcome might be particularly ironic: if what people want are Apple products, by not being able to buy the less expensive, older models, they may end up opting for the 4S in the end and boost sales of the company’s highest margin, priciest device. A Win-Win in that case?

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Videoplaza Raises $12 Million For Its Multiscreen Video Ad Platform

2012-02-01T08:00:19Z

The rising popularity of streaming video services is causing a knock-on effect for companies serving ads around that content. And here’s another example of that in action: today UK-based video ad platform Videoplaza is announcing a new $12 million round of funding.

Leading the second round of investment were Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM) Ventures and Innovacom, along with participation from prior investors Creandum and Northzone; and takes the total amount of funding in the company to almost $18 million.

Videoplaza says that it will be using the investment to help fund its international growth and product development. Those two areas appear to be running fast at the moment anyway: the company says that its client base already spreads across 17 markets, and in the past year its ad serving volumes grew five-fold. Some of its clients include the publisher Dennis, French commercial broadcaster M6 and Spanish newspaper group La Vanguardia and the France-Telecom-owned interactive ad network Unanimis, and it partners with other established names in the business, like Brightcove, to help monetize their video ad traffic.

Videoplaza’s target is to tap into some of the $160 billion that is estimated to be spent on TV advertising annually at the moment, and following those ad budgets as media buyers try to chase down viewers as they start watch more and more of that TV content on an ever-growing variety of screens, from IP-enabled TVs to smartphones, tablets, cars and desktop computers—and who knows what else. Videoplaza projects that by 2020 there will be more than 10 billion connected devices in consumers’ hands that could be used for consuming streamed video.

It is not the only one: companies like YuMe, spotXchange, BrightRoll (a Videoplaza partner), Hulu, CBS (NYSE: CBS) and many, many others are also scrambling for substantial market share in this space. It’s still a fast-growing area, with the amount of ad-funded, streamed video content still very much on the rise—both in terms of volumes and consumption—but there is bound to be some consolidation on the cards among these ad players, too.

A stake from a company like Qualcomm—which plays a central role in making processors and other parts and software for mobile devices—could potentially give Videoplaza a leg up in that respect. At the moment the vast majority of video ad consumption for Videoplaza is still coming from PCs: only eight percent came from other devices. But the company believes that by 2013 (that is, in a year) that will shift to a 50-50 balance.

@ CES: Qualcomm Reminds Intel That It Is A Force In Mobile

2012-01-10T18:26:10Z

Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM) didn’t have a lot of news to share during its keynote Tuesday morning at CES 2012, but it did illustrate just how much things have changed in the worlds of consumer electronics and computing by setting up comparisons to rival chip maker Intel’s keynote later in the day.

Paul Jacobs, CEO of the mobile chip maker, showed off a concept tablet running Microsoft’s Windows 8, the first version of Windows that will work on the ARM instruction set used by Qualcomm and others to build chips for smartphones and tablets. Such tablets have been promised since last CES, so it’s not like the demonstration was a surprise (although it was an LTE tablet for AT&T’s network).

However, the marriage of Windows and ARM is definitely a problem for Intel: Jacobs called it “a game changer.” Intel (NSDQ: INTC) has famously struggled to shift its PC processor expertise into the mobile world, and while CEO Paul Otellini will likely show off the company’s newest and best smartphone chip to date later on Tuesday, Qualcomm actually has the inside track on a new generation of Windows devices that could be more interesting than the ultrabooks Intel talked up Monday at its press conference or traditional PCs.

Qualcomm did announce the creation of a new X Prize with the organization behind the famous private spaceflight contest. The group plans to award $10 million to whoever can design and develop a handheld medical device that would allow people to diagnose themselves, drawing inspiration from the “tricorder” in the Star Trek series.

And it also announced that Hanvon will produce an e-reader for consumers in China using Qualcomm’s Mirasol display technology. The companies did not commit to a release date.

But for the most part, Jacobs’ address was like many other CES keynotes: designed more as an infomercial for Qualcomm’s range of businesses as opposed to a launching platform for any new products or strategies.

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SEC Watch: Apple's CEO Cook Got $378M In 2011 As He Took On Jobs' Reins

2012-01-10T00:45:01Z

The late Steve Jobs famously drew a $1 salary when he was CEO of Apple (NSDQ: AAPL), with other compensation coming in the form of millions of shares in stock instead. His successor Tim Cook has so far been taking a different route, according to SEC documents filed yesterday.

The current CEO of Apple received a base salary of $900,000 as CEO, and on top of that received stock awards that brought his total 2011 compensation package to just under $378 million, according to Apple’s proxy statement filed with the SEC. As one wag put it, that’s equivalent to just over 757,500 iPads (priced at $499). In 2010, Cook received just over $59 million.

Apple compares its executive compensation with that of several other benchmark companies, which include Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN), Google (NSDQ: GOOG), HP (NYSE: HPQ), Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) and Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM).

But in the case of Cook, “no formula or peer group ‘benchmark’ used in determining the award amount,” the statement notes. The board, consulting with Jobs, determined the amount themselves—a sign that it is outside (higher than?) the norms established by companies similar to Apple.

As my colleague Tom pointed out in his 2012 “look ahead”, Cook will likely be under intense scrutiny in the year ahead as people inevitably ask the question, “Is that what Steve Jobs would have done?” regarding every business decision he makes. However, it bears repeating here that it’s likely Apple’s product roadmap and strategy is likely laid out years ahead of time—meaning 2011 is not on auto-pilot, but neither as freeform as one might assume.

Other executives’ compensation packages were also detailed in the filing. Peter Oppenheimer, the CFO, received $1.4 million in 2011, compared to a bumper year of $29.8 million in 2010. Eddy Cue, SVP of Internet software and services, received just under $53 million. Scott Forstall, SVP of iOS software, got $1.4 million in 2010 (and similar to Oppenheimer, had $29.6 million in 2010). Ronald Johnson, the retail head, had total compensation of $1.4 million ($29.8 million in 2010).

The company also disclosed that it would have its annual shareholder meeting on February 23. At that time, it will vote on its board of directors. The nominees are William V. Campbell, Timothy D. Cook, Millard S. Drexler, Al Gore, Robert A. Iger, Andrea Jung, Arthur D. Levinson, and Ronald D. Sugar. Other items on the agenda include approving the appointment of Ernst & Young as the company’s accountants; an advisory vote on executive compensation; and several shareholder proposals including a “Conflict of Interest Report”, “Shareholder Say on Director Pay”, “Report on Political Contributions and Expenditures”, and “Adopt a Majority Voting Standard for Director Elections”.

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What To Expect At CES: Tablets, TVs, And Transition

2012-01-07T10:00:18Z

The biggest spectacle in the tech industry kicks off Sunday evening, when an estimated 150,000 people will flood into Las Vegas not to place a wager on Monday night’s national championship game between LSU and Alabama (I’m taking LSU +1) but to gear up for the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show. Next week’s show will set expectations for 2012: can anyone catch the iPad? Are Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) and Nokia (NYSE: NOK) capable of providing the third leg of the mobile operating system stool? And are we finally ready to embrace Internet TVs en masse? Here’s a look what we expect will be the major themes of the week:

—Android Tablets, Take 3: A year after several Android tablets which appeared to be strong contenders against Apple’s iPad were introduced at CES, expect the hype to be much more subdued following the dismal year suffered by Android tablet makers. Several companies will likely showcase tablets based on Google’s Android 4.0 software, which unifies the smartphone and tablet versions in one operating system. But it’s the success of other takes on Android, such as Amazon’s Kindle Fire, that will have the mobile folks wondering how committed Android tablet makers are to Google’s vision.

—WinNok: Nokia hasn’t had much success selling its wares in the U.S., but it will likely make a splash next week with new Windows Phone 7 phones designed for U.S. networks, such as AT&T (NYSE: T). T-Mobile’s version of the Lumia 710 will start shipping on Wednesday, and Bloomberg reported Friday that it will introduce a version for AT&T’s 4G LTE network at the show.

Despite app fatigue, there’s a sense that the mobile market can accommodate a third mobile operating system that would replace the declining BlackBerry brand. Microsoft and Nokia are perhaps best positioned to do so, but will have to generate demand beyond bribing carrier sales people to recommend Windows Phone 7 handsets.

—Internet In The TV: Heard this one before? Google (NSDQ: GOOG) TV hasn’t exactly made a splash, Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) continues to slow-play its television hand, and a host of other companies haven’t really succeeded in marrying Internet content to the television. However, this is going to happen one of the these days, and so expect to hear a whole new round of reasons why Vendor X’s approach to this market will win.

With so much money invested to this point, the TV industry also can’t ignore an opportunity to promote 3D television. Toshiba will introduce a 3D television that doesn’t require glasses, according to CNET, although if it’s as expensive as versions that sell in Europe and Asia, don’t hold your breath.

—Ultrabook: NetBook 2.0: The venerable PC industry would love to steal back some of the thunder from Apple and the mobile companies, and led by Grandpa Intel (NSDQ: INTC) they’ll be promoting Ultrabooks left and right during the show. They’ll conveniently ignore that the Ultrabook is basically just a Windows take on the MacBook Air and promote the virtues of mobility.

All jokes aside, this is a smart idea: make affordable notebook-style PCs that have more horsepower than netbook without weighing as much as much as traditional notebooks. People are enamored with smartphones and tablets but only a brave few have taken the talk of “post-PC era” literally enough to ditch their personal computers, and Windows 8 seems like it will take more than a few cues from mobile design principles focused on simplicity.

—End of an era?: CES has come to represent the best and worst of the tech industry in the years since the demise of Comdex and the rise of the “consumerization of IT,” a shift where consumers, not executives in Fortune 500 tech departments, became the people who drove industry trends. It brings an industry together for the types of invaluable personal meetings that are harder and harder to schedule each year, but is usually long on style and short on substance: Samsung used an extremely valuable evening keynote slot last year to put on some sort of weird furry convention, and the celebrity list this year includes Justin Bieber and Snooki.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will deliver his company’s last CES keynote show this year, ending a years-long tradition in which Microsoft has kicked off the festivities. CES is simply too big at the moment to go downhill all that quickly, but the 2012 edition could be a high-water mark.

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South Korean Bookstore Chain Launches Qualcomm E-Reader

2011-11-22T15:12:54Z

Kyobo, South Korea’s largest bookstore chain, is launching the first e-reader to use Qualcomm’s Mirasol technology. It has a color screen that can apparently be read even in bright sunlight, with a long battery life. E-books make up around 15 percent of trade book sales in South Korea, second only to the United States.

Kyobo’s touchscreen Android e-reader will sell for 349,000 South Korean won (U.S. $310). It “includes access to Kyobo’s 90,000 ebook library, notably including early rights from Korean publisher Minumsa for the much-anticipated Steve Jobs’ exclusive biography, a full one-month before any other Korean digital outlet,” according to the press release.

Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM), which is based in San Diego and is best known for mobile phone chips, does not yet have a U.S. partner for Mirasol displays. Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs

*Market share stats are from A.T. Kearney/Bookrepublic, cited yesterday in the WSJ.

Mobile Lowdown 9-14-11: Google/Motorola; Apple/China; Intel; Walmart

2011-09-14T10:41:10Z

A look at some of the big stories in mobile today:

» Google agreed to pay 33 percent more—$3 billion—than it originally offered for Motorola (NYSE: MMI) Mobility to get the deal done at $12.5 billlion: were patents the driver? (Motorola Mobility’s SEC Filing)

» China Telecom, the world’s largest CDMA operator, is getting ready to launch the iPhone 5 in October, according to a story in the Southern Metropolis Daily newspaper. Meanwhile, another source claims Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) is gearing up to release a final beta version of iOS 5 to developers this Friday, with the “gold master” ready by September 23—to be loaded on to already-manufactured iPhone 5s. (CapitalVue, BGR)

» Intel will develop a phone with Google (NSDQ: GOOG) for 2014. (more here)

» Walmart has bought the social-media-focused mobile advertising outfit OneRiot. (OneRiot blog)

» Some largely favorable reviews of Windows 8, the cross-device OS for PCs and tablets being shown off by Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) at its Build conference. Some nay-sayers, too. (Digits video; Daring Fireball)

» Qualcomm unveils new 2.5Ghz processors for smartphones. (Pocket Lint)

» Twitter, BlackBerry and Facebook face more questions from MPs over riots in the UK this past summer. (via FT)

» Nokia shows off a new “car mode” that lets drivers use their navigation and other traveling apps. Are cars the next big device for wireless operating systems? (Nokia)

HTC has unveiled the Android-powered Sensation XE, the first device to feature the enhanced audio system, Beats by Dr Dre, that it announced in August. (via HTC)

Changes Ahead For Millennial Media? Tech Veteran Isaac Babbs Starts As SVP

2011-09-13T10:59:21Z

Millennial Media is one of the larger independent mobile ad companies around, and now there are signs that it could be looking to take its business in new directions for growth: the company has recruited Isaac Babbs, a 25-year veteran of companies like Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM) and Glu Mobile (NSDQ: GLUU), as its new SVP of business development.

Looking at the background of Babbs, the chief things he will be bringing to Millennial is not advertising expertise, but a focus on new mobile technology; know-how from the publisher’s perspective; and an eye to building acquisition-friendly startups.

Most recently, he was at Qualcomm—where as VP of Qualcomm Services Labs and VP of business development for the wider company, his job was to commercialize and launch mobile services developed internally.

Before that he was president of mobile gaming company Sorrent, which merged with Macrospace to become Glu Mobile. Before Glu, he co-founded shockwave.com at Macromedia, and then led the audio-video division that was later sold to Apple (NSDQ: AAPL). He also co-founded and led two other mobile gaming companies, Tapatap and Atlas Mobile, both also sold to bigger outfits.

Millennial serves ads—currently around 23 billion unique impressions per month—on smartphone platforms as well as those working on feature devices (eg Samsung’s bada).

The bread and butter of that business has been serving display ads to mobile web sites and apps, but you can see from the company’s latest monthly stat report that it’s trying to push different forms of engagement as well to drive its revenues per ad: that’s where new technology could fit in the future.

From last week’s Smart report:

» Millennial noted that video ads grew by 69 percent compared to the month before, now making up 30 percent of all campaigns.

» Social media “actions” in campaigns (eg, tweeting or liking a Facebook brand) went up 34 percent, and are now in 24 percent of all campaigns.

» Local market targeting was up 22 percent and now appears in 67 percent of all targeted campaigns on the network.

Babbs, who had been on Millennial’s advisory board for the last several years, will now be running Millennial’s office in San Francisco, and the company says it plans to hire another 15-20 software engineers in the coming months.

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Industry Moves: Appia; Qualcomm; SonyEricsson; mxData; Appitalism; GoldSpot

2011-09-12T17:00:25Z

» Appia has appointed Craig Forman as its executive chairman. He joins the white label app store company from his position as chairman at Where, the location-based media company acquired by Ebay earlier this year. Before Where, Forman has had a long career with senior roles at Earthlink (NSDQ: ELNK), Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) (where he started the company’s move into content portals), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), and the Wall Street Journal.

» Qualcomm has named Anastassia Lauterbach as its new SVP for global business operations in Europe. She was previously at Deutsche Telekom (NYSE: DT), where she held a number of senior roles, including SVP of business development and investments and EVP of strategy at T-Mobile International.

» Sony Ericsson has all but dropped out of the top rankings for handset market share worldwide, but it may be trying to reverse that course, with several new appointments and one internal promotion. Paul Hamnett has been appointed as the new head of the North American Region, the latest of several roles he has held with the handset maker. Jorge Juarez is the new head for Mexico. Jorge Aguiar is the new man in charge in South America. And Ricardo Gaibor is the new head of distribution and retail for Latin America.

» mxData, the mobile content aggregation and delivery company, has appointed Brian McBride as its new chairman. McBride has held a number of roles in the tech and mobile industries—most recently as MD for Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) in the UK and before that MD of T-Mobile UK.

» Appitalism, the cross-platform app store that claims to have 700,000 apps in its catalogue, has appointed three new people in the U.S. Geni Piciullo is the new VP for North America; Tim Hsia is the new global marketing director; and Doo Kim is a new marketing and advertising executive with the company.

» Gold Spot Media, the rich media mobile advertising company, has appointed Matthew Bryant to the company’s board of directors. He is the former president of Media Buying Services International.

T-Mobile, Orange Reboot Their Mobile TV Services In UK

2011-09-07T11:06:34Z

Mobile TV has for years been one of the great white hopes for mobile operators looking for new lines of revenue from their data networks—a sentiment that they have held on to despite some high-profile services having failed to meet expectations.

Now Everything Everywhere—the JV of Orange and T-Mobile in the UK—is looking to take another stab at the medium.

It has announced plans to launch a new live mobile TV platform that its hopes will increase the number of its customers using mobile TV six-fold over the next three years.

The as-yet unbranded service will be produced in conjunction with Red Bee Media, the digital entertainment technology company that was spun off from the BBC. Red Bee will be powering the service using its RedPlayer digital TV delivery platform. Before today, the operators were using in-house solutions for their video services.

This is only the announcement of the changeover: no date yet on when services using the platform will come online.

One of the big gating factors in mobile TV services up to now has been the quality of the broadcasts: they have been too dependent on shoddy network connections, have only worked on a limited range of devices, and don’t necessarily give consumers the choice of content they want to justify the price for the service.

Everything Everywhere looks like it is trying to address that issue head on: it says that the new platform will be able to deliver mobile TV services to a much bigger range of devices than ever before, including tablets, and content will be automatically optimized for the device that is being used. The service will automatically seek out the best network connection for the service, whether it is WiFi or 3G.

Will a redoubled effort on improving quality be enough to drive customer usage? It’s not clear yet—but since those early days of mobile TV a lot has changed, including the rise of apps and the mobile web and how they get used by consumers on their smartphones and tablets. Today, a user can get a range of apps for iOS, Android and other devices—or go right online—to not only view live television but also get on-demand video content.

In terms of actual content, the focus of Everything Everywhere’s service looks like it will be live broadcasts: covering more than 40 channels, including premium channels like Sky Sports and National Geographic. The company says it is also looking at how to implement new TV technologies, such as 3D content.

This is not Everything Everywhere’s first foray into mobile TV: Orange was the first operator in the UK to offer these services, in a partnership with the US-based MobiTV, back in 2005. In those days before the smartphone boom and limited 3G access, though, the service failed to attract a critical mass of users. T-Mobile has been offering mobile TV since 2007.

Everything Everywhere declined to give mocoNews any numbers on how those current services are faring: no details on subscribers nor on how much they actually get used.

The announcement from Everything Everywhere comes on the heels of several other news developments in the realm of mobile TV and mobile entertainment offerings from operators:

Last week, MobiTV last week filed documents with the SEC to announce its intent for an IPO, from which it hopes to raise some $75 million.

Virgin Media inked a £100 million ($160 million) with the Mobile Broadband Network Consortium (Everything Everywhere and Three’s network joint venture) to beef up mobile data backhaul, aimed specifically at improving the delivery of data-intensive services like mobile video.

And just yesterday Orange announced that it would be launching a new mobile music service in partnership with Deezer.

But it also comes after some high-profile closures, such as Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM) deciding to ditch its FLO-TV mobile TV service after finally admitting low subscriber takeup.

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Mobile Lowdown 8-30-11: Apple; Qualcomm LTE; Android/HP; Amazon Tablet

2011-08-30T11:07:41Z

A look at some of the big stories in mobile today:

» Apple and five warning signs to watch for at the company in the next stage of its growth. (via Bob Sutton)

» Apple’s counterfeit problem in China and how it was slow to react, courtesy of Wikileaks. (via CNN)

» Qualcomm is working with Huawei, ZTE, Quanta and BandRich to develop TDD-LTE handsets for the Indian market, a sign of how it will transition from WiMAX in the years ahead. (via Qualcomm)

» China now has over 929 million mobile users, according to the Ministry of Information Industry. Advanced mobile data services on 3G networks account for 87.2 million of those subscribers. (via Xinhuanet)

» Libya looks like it might be using geolocation data provided by France to track people it wants to target. (via GoMoNews)

» Lodsys, the patent-holding company suing Android and iOS developers for infringing on its patents, is in a “panic” too keep Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) out of the suit. (via Groklaw)

» RIM is now challenging Apple over its WebKit trademark. (via Patently Apple)

» Android is now working on an HP (NYSE: HPQ) TouchPad, courtesy of the CyanogenMod hacking team that make aftermarket firmware for the Android platform. (via CyanogenMod)

» Nokia‘s comeback plan: design over software. (via WSJ)

» Apple vs. Samsung, a primer on all the cases worldwide up to today. (via Ars Technica)

» Amazon‘s “tablet launch” (still unconfirmed) and more on how pricing, ideally under $250, could help it “own” the market. (via TechPinions)

FCC To Review AT&T's Qualcomm Spectrum Deal Alongside T-Mobile Purchase

2011-08-09T16:41:42Z

AT&T (NYSE: T) has defended its $39 billion proposed acquisition of T-Mobile by claiming that it needs T-Mobile’s wireless spectrum in order to build a truly national 4G wireless network. The Federal Communications Commission has decided that if that’s the case, that it better review AT&T’s proposed acquisition of wireless spectrum from Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM) in concert with the merger proposal.

In a letter to AT&T and Qualcomm that was posted on the FCC’s site (PDF), the FCC’s Rick Kaplan informs the two companies that their deal will be attached to the T-Mobile question because of the role spectrum (or supposed lack thereof) plays in the merger proposal. “The Commission’s ongoing review has confirmed that the proposed transactions raise a number of related issues, including, but not limited to, questions regarding AT&T’s aggregation of spectrum throughout the nation, particularly in overlapping areas,” Kaplan wrote.

The move means that the FCC has stopped the “180-day informal clock” that it uses to put a general timeframe on regulatory decisions. AT&T and Qualcomm first reached a deal last December to swap the wireless spectrum Qualcomm was hoping to use for the ill-fated Flo TV project in exchange for $1.93 billion of AT&T’s pocket change, but that obviously has yet to happen.

And with the T-Mobile review expected to stretch out into 2012, it’s clear that AT&T is going to have to wait quite a while should it want to see either of these deals become reality.

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Mobile Lowdown 7-22-11: Vodafone; iPhone Bluetooth; Twitter Mobile Payments

2011-07-22T12:24:50Z

A look at some of the big stories in mobile today:

Earnings: Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) reported better-than-expected, if small, growth in service revenues for the quarter ended June 30. Verizon is set to report later today. (Our story, Verizon)

—iPhone: Will the next-generation iPhone opt for Bluetooth instead of NFC for short-range, wireless transactions? (via ITProPortal)

—Twitter: Will Twitter consider mobile payments as one direction for development? This article raises the question, but is near-absent on details for how it could be done. (via SquareBerry)

—Oracle: Oracle has bought Ksplice, a technology developer that has created a way to update Linux-based systems remotely and without rebooting—something that fits with Oracle’s existing mobile portfolio. (via Oracle)

—TruePosition: The mobile location-tracking company owned by Liberty Media (NSDQ: LINTA) is suing Alcatel-Lucent, Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM) and LM Ericsson (NSDQ: ERIC) over antitrust allegations. (via Bloomberg)

Who Says No To AT&T/T-Mo? Facebook, Microsoft, Six Others Say Yes

2011-06-07T15:57:28Z

As AT&T (NYSE: T) and T-Mobile USA continue to work their way through regulatory approval of their proposed $39 billion merger, it looks like some of the world’s biggest tech companies have already been won over. Yesterday, eight companies—including Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT), Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) and Facebook—have now been in touch with the Federal Communications Commission in support of the deal.

According to the blog GeekWire, six tech companies—Microsoft, Facebook, Oracle, Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM), RIM (NSDQ: RIMM), and Yahoo—signed a single letter to the FCC chairman Julius Genachowski. The New York Times writes that in all there were eight tech companies, along with 10 leading VC firms, coming out in support of the merged operator.

The basic premise of the letter that has been made public (a full copy of it follows) is that consumer demand for mobile data is outstripping network capacity today, and a combined entity would be better placed to rise to the challenge. It notes AT&T’s stated commitment to migrate all of T-Mobile’s existing data network to LTE, which would give the U.S. over 97 percent broadband coverage. Pre-merger news, T-Mobile has been committed to upgrading its 3G network, but never committed to rolling out LTE. Ironically, before the merger, T-Mobile was also very outspoken on how 3G upgrades were actually just as effective in terms of handling more data as a costly buildout of LTE.

What’s in it for these companies? All of them have strong relationships with both carriers, not just as partners for services (eg Facebook) but also as customers for things like IT equipment, mobile devices and search services.

The endorsement from the tech giants comes as a riposte to the chief line of opposition voice by many competing mobile operators—led by the number-three provider in the U.S., Sprint (NYSE: S). They have argued that rather than enabling widespread 4G, the consolidation will result in stifled innovation.

The full text of the letter (via) below:

Julius Genachowski, Chairman
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20554

June 6, 2011

WT 11-65: In the Matter of applications of AT&T Inc. and Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE: DT) for consent to assign or Transfer Control of licenses and Authorizations

Dear Mr. Chairman,

Today, consumers are increasingly using smart phones, tablets, laptops and other mobile devices to wirelessly connect to the Internet and to each other. We expect access to our content, information and services wherever we are. As a result, consumer demand for wireless broadband is dramatically increasing and our wireless networks are struggling to keep pace with the demand. Given the network capacity challenges, policymakers must give meaningful consideration to AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile as a means of addressing their near term wireless broadband capacity needs.

Despite the network challenges presented by the surging consumer demand, the United States must continue to lead in wireless broadband technologies. U.S. companies are at the forefront of driving innovations in devices, applications and services and an ever evolving wireless network is essential to realizing new and innovative offerings. An increasingly robust and efficient wireless network is part of a virtuous innovation cycle and a healthy wireless ecosystem is an important part of our global competitiveness.

AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile represents a near term means of addressing the rising consumer demand. For example, the merged company will be able to leverage a larger network of cell sites allowing greater reuse of spectrum and increasing the wireless broadband capacity of the network. Furthermore, AT&T has indicated that it will migrate the T-Mobile network to LTE technology and offer LTE-based wireless broadband to 97.3 percent of the U.S. population. AT&T has stated that its LTE deployment will bring significant benefits to residents of rural areas and smaller communities, where the benefits of real-time video and similar capabilities are most urgently needed to fill gaps in physical infrastructure for healthcare, education, and other social needs.

The challenge of keeping pace with consumer demand and continuing to lead globally in wireless broadband services and products requires that we tackle the issue on multiple fronts. Many policy related efforts will not be able to quickly address near term capacity needs. The FCC must seriously weigh the benefits of this merger and approve it. Such action will help to meet the near term wireless broadband needs of consumers and ensure that we are globally competitive as the world increasingly embraces wireless broadband connectivity.

Related

Mobile Lowdown 04-28-11: AT&T/T-Mobile; Apple iCloud; Buongiorno

2011-04-28T13:10:52Z

Our look at some of the big stories in mobile today: Small mobile operators band together against the AT&T (NYSE: T) proposed purchase of T-Mobile USA; the question over iCloud.com and Apple; (NSDQ: AAPL) and a new mobile payments service from Buongiorno.

—AT&T/T-Mobile USA: More competitors are stepping up in their objections to the proposed acquisition of T-Mobile USA by AT&T. Cincinnati Bell Wireless, MetroPCS, NTELOS, Rural Cellular Association and the Rural Telecommunications Group have joined forces with Sprint (NYSE: S) in a filing to the Federal Communications Commission, which not only objects to the merger but also asks that the FCC consolidate its review of the deal with a separate assessment it is making of AT&T’s proposal to buy 700 MHz FLO TV spectrum from Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM), arguing that taken together, the two give AT&T enormous mobile power in the country. (via Cellular News)

—Apple’s cloud services: Still no word from Apple about whether, when, and how it plans to make a big move into a cloud-based media offering, so that’s leaving lots of room for speculators and tipsters. The latest news is that apparently Apple has bought a domain name, iCloud.com, from its Swedish owners for $4.5 million. That company, meanwhile has rebranded its own cloud-based offering to “CloudMe.” (via TechCrunch and GigaOm)

—Buongiorno: On the heels of Visa announcing an investment in mobile payments company Square, another mobile payments launch, this time from casual mobile content company Buongiorno. Cashlog, as the product is known, lets users make charges for content, typically priced at around $20 and under, by using their mobile phone numbers, rather than any credit card details. As the transaction passes via the SMS channel, a smartphone is not required to use the service. Buongiorno (BIT: BNG) says Cashlog is available in 50 countries, but will require mobile operators to have signed deals with Buongiorno to enable the service beforehand.

@ MWC, Intel CEO Otellini On Nokia And Intel's Smartphone Out 'This Year'

2011-02-16T10:48:19Z

Intel’s CEO, Paul Otellini, made no secret of his reaction when Stephen Elop called him last week to break the news about Nokia (NYSE: NOK) going with Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) instead of MeeGo for its smartphone strategy: “I used the same [four-letter] word that Carol Bartz often uses,” he said, speaking on a panel with Bartz at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona today. Nevertheless, Intel (NSDQ: INTC) has more than one iron in the fire: Otellini confirmed that we would be seeing an Intel-powered smartphone “this year.”

What does that mean, exactly? This is not about MeeGo, we think, although at this show Intel is demonstrating MeeGo tablets and other devices (to be reviewed in a separate post). Intel’s main interest is in chipsets, where it competes against Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM), Texas Instruments and more recently Nvidia, which we have heard from sources is getting ready to launch a 3GHz chip.

Intel has yet to get a deal in the smartphone chip race. Otellini said he would not announce the handset makers in advance.

In his remarks this morning, Otellini also spoke out on a number of other big issues for the mobile industry:

Open versus closed platforms: “Computing is always a technology that starts out closed. But over time people evolve, create standards that have millions of people developing and taking advantage of them. Some closed models will certainly survive beause you can optimse the experience, but in general, open wins.”

On native apps versus the web: “The concept of apps is archaic in some ways. What Carol showed [with Livestand] is a platform that’s not an app anymore but a vehicle to deliver what you want and how you want. I think the notion of selecting an app will be foreign to our kids.” [ed. note: not mine, but maybe my kids’ kids]

What’s next: “In our labs, we’ve got wireless electricity running. There won’t be any plugs. We’re up to the point where we can do a lamp, but we have to think of safety too.”

And on Nokia: “When Elop called me last week, I used the same [four-letter] word that Carol often uses.” [cue lots of laughter from the audience and Carol Bartz herself, known for her swearing.] “You change your company and people’s lives when you do these things.

“One shouldn’t do these things quickly and capriciously, but if they go in that direction you are seeing the last fully-integrated phone manufacturer [what about RIM? (NSDQ: RIMM) or Apple?] become horizontal. It is happenng very rapidly in the handset market, but that also means that you will see more innovation and competition over time.”

New Mobile App Initiatives: Conduit Mobile And Creative Mobile Labs

2011-02-07T18:07:38Z

Too many apps on the market today? Looks like we may be seeing a lot more soon. On the heels of reports that Yahoo is planning to launch a new personalization platform next week at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, two other new mobile app initiatives are launching that point to big brands increasingly looking to capitalise on the smartphone app explosion: the web apps giant Conduit is launching a new mobile publishing portal; and the talent agency CAA and Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM) are backing a new mobile app factory.

Conduit, which has built a business developing web apps and widgets for websites, is now launching a new mobile service that lets publishers build apps that can be deployed across different devices running iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows and Nokia (NYSE: NOK) platforms—tackling the fragmentation that we are already seeing in the mobile marketplace today. In addition to being able to create and publish apps, users are able to use the platform’s tools to promote the app, manage updates and analyse how it gets used.

This is not the first time a developer has tried to capitalise on fragmentation in the market by offering a “build once, deploy everywhere” solution—appMobi is a recent one that picked up $6 million in funding.

But what Conduit does potentially have to its advantage is that it has a sizeable user base from which to start its business: it claims that “260,000 publishers & 230 million end users” are already using its web apps, toolbars and widgets. Given that smartphone penetration is still only at 50 percent in the U.S. alone, and much lower in other markets, there is still a lot of opportunity.

Conduit says that it will formally launch the service next week during MWC in Barcelona.

—Meanwhile, Qualcomm’s mobile services incubator Qualcomm Services Labs and the megawatt talent agency Creative Artists Agency are backing a new content enterprise that looks to link up talent represented by CAA with mobile developers, to develop a new wave of mobile entertainment apps.

Creative Mobile Labs is not yet open for business: the website is a holding page, and it is in the process of hiring a CEO, other executives and engineers, writes TechCrunch.

The idea, it seems, is to use mobile to create new franchises, as well as use the platform to experiment with new characters that can be developed for other screens eventually, too.

Looking to “professional” talent already on CAA’s books does sound encouraging, but even so, mobile-first entertainment has had some definite ups and downs: At best, the Labs will build on the success of mobile-first entertainment brands like Angry Birds. At worst, more mediocre mobisodes that no one cares about, much less watches.

Vendor Earnings Roundup: Moto, Qualcomm, LG

2011-01-27T15:25:45Z

—Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Mobility: In its first results since spinning off from the Solutions part of its business, the mobile device and home networking division, now known as Motorola Mobility, reported Q4 revenue of $3.4 billion an increase of 21.3 percent over the same quarter last year. Net profit was $80 million versus a loss of $204 million a year ago. But although it will be launching a number of new products this quarter, including the much-anticipated Xoom Android tablet (pictured), the company said it expects Q1 to see a net loss between $26 million and $62 million, largely because of a slowdown in sales. The company has been heavily dependent on Verizon Wireless to sell its Android smartphones, but the carrier is due to start selling the iPhone next month, and that will eat into Moto’s market share. It shipped 4.9 million smartphones in the last quarter. (Release)

—Qualcomm: Strong Q4 results for the chipmaker on the back of increased smartphone demand worldwide. Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM) reported a profit of $1.17 billion versus $841 million for the same quarter a year ago. Revenue was $3.35 billion, an increase of 25 percent year-on-year. Qualcomm shipped 118 million mobile station modem chips in the first quarter, a record for the company and a growth of 28 percent compared to the year before. (Release)

—LG: A net loss for the Korean mobile and electronics giant on the back of slow sales in handsets and TVs. LG (SEO: 066570) posted a net loss of 256.4 billion Korean won ($229.3 million), compared to a net profit of 361.9 billion won for the same period a year ago. Revenues were up 1.8 percent to 14.70 trillion won. Revenue from handsets was 3.328 trillion won, a drop of about 15 percent on the same quarter a year before.The company sold 116.6 million handsets in 2010, with 30.6 million in the last quarter, and is aiming to sell 120 million in 2011. (Release)

Qualcomm Invests In Mobile Search Firm ChaCha

2011-01-19T23:21:59Z

Wireless firm Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM) is joining a growing list of investors that are betting on ChaCha, a service that lets users call or text message a query and receive an answer shortly afterwards. The company is investing $3 million in the company as part of an add-on to the $20 million round of funding that it raised just three months ago. The round was led by new investors VantagePoint Venture Partners and Rho Ventures.

ChaCha says it is growing incredibly rapidly. In its announcement today it says it now reaches 32 million unique users a month. Only three months ago it said it was reaching 21 million unique users a month via its mobile service and website. This latest funding brings the company’s total backing to $75 million. ChaCha initially let people communicate with a human guide while searching online but switched strategies in early 2008, successfully moving into the mobile space.

Related

Patent Grants Rose Last Year—Are We About To See More Smartphone Lawsuits?

2011-01-19T20:44:24Z

Makers of smartphones and the chips that power them are grabbing patents faster than ever. That suggests that a few major participants in the smartphone patent wars, where more than 20 companies are now doing battle, expect those disputes to continue for at least another year or two. The number of patents granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office reached an all-time high last year at 219,614, according to a recently released study. The two biggest gainers? Cellphone chipmaker Qualcomm—which relies on patent-licensing for a big chunk of its profits—and Apple (NSDQ: AAPL), which got almost twice the number of patents in 2010 that it did in 2009. Another handset maker, LG Electronics (SEO: 066570), was also in the top 10.

There are other signs that no one’s backing down in the smartphone wars. Just yesterday, Apple fired off another shot against rival Nokia (NYSE: NOK), filing a lawsuit in a London court claiming that one of Nokia’s user-interface patents is invalid. Nokia responded by saying it’s sure that all 37 of the patents it’s using to sue Apple in various venues are valid. (No, that number is not a typo.)

All of this has some concerned that expensive patent battles over small smartphone features could create a “patent thicket” that will be a drag on innovation in the sector. (See below for Techdirt’s diagram of the smartphone patent thicket.)

Overall, the number of patent grants in 2010 was higher than any other year in history, as a graph on Patently-O, a popular patent law blog, shows. The runner-up is 2006, which saw about 173,000 patents granted. The top recipient of U.S. patents was IBM, which takes great care to make sure its research labs are the perennial top winner of new patents. The top 10 patent grantees were, in order of patents granted : IBM, Samsung (4551), Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) (3094), Canon (2552), Panasonic (2482), Toshiba (2246), Sony (NYSE: SNE) (2150), Intel (NSDQ: INTC) (1653), LG Electronics (1490), and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) (1480).

The full list is available at ifi CLAIMS Patent Services, the patent analysis firm that published the study.

Image courtesy Mike Masnick / Techdirt

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