Samsung’s 5.5-inch Galaxy Note 2 smartphone arrives on the Sprint network Oct. 25 for $299 with contract. The phone supports unlimited data on Sprint’s LTE network and will ship with Android 4.1.1 plus Samsung’s own software that takes advantage of the included digital S-Pen.
Sprint’s strategy to curb subscriber losses by converting Nextel customers is working but what will help the operator’s cause more is the addition of hot smartphones. With the Photon Q 4G LTE, Sprint is gambling that people still want physical keyboards on their handset.
The number of new LTE devices is up 76 percent in the past three months but tablets, not smartphones, are driving more of this growth. Carriers are mistakenly feeling the strong need to fight back against lower-priced, no contract Wi-Fi slates as tablet sales rise.
Sprint’s EVO 3D built by HTC arrives in stores next week, but we have an early look at that Android 2.3.3 smartphone. While it’s similar to the Sensation 4G, a few features standout: glasses-free 3-D video and still images and support for Sprint’s WiMAX network.
Between the four major U.S. cellular carriers and Clearwire, mobile broadband in this country is undergoing a fundamental transition to faster networks. But who’s doing what and when with their offerings? Here’s a summary of next-generation plans from the major U.S. carriers and Clearwire through 2013.
China Telecom is going forward with a plan to upgrade its existing mobile network to EVDO Rev. B. With 56 million subscribers on the China Telecom network, Qualcomm’s 3G royalty stream will keep earning checks for now, just as the COO had hoped last year.
Yesterday, I looked at QuickBooks 2009 for Mac and while the new version is an improvement in many areas, it does not replace the Windows version in all situations. In fact, there are a number of good reasons to continue to use the Windows version of QuickBooks despite your desire to switch completely over to the Mac. Here are the major reasons to stick with QuickBooks for Windows.
If you have multiple people in your company that need access to QuickBooks (maybe AR, AP, controller, CFO or CEO) then you have to use the Windows version. The Mac version simply does not support multiple users. Period. You could also consider using the online version of QuickBooks, as long as you can live with the limited feature set.
QuickBooks Premier is really five industry-specific flavors of QuickBooks: Contractor, Manufacturing & Wholesale, Nonprofit, Professional Services, and Retail. If you need the extra features to support these industries, then you will only find them on Windows. Some of the features are pretty compelling, so I would recommend you take a hard, long look at the product description before you pass on Premier.
Read More about Reasons to Stick With QuickBooks for Windows
In anticipation of the growing footprint of its WiMAX (4G) service, the beleaguered mobile operator Sprint (s S) launched a 3G/4G dual-mode device, likely to go on sale on Dec. 21. The Sprint 3G/4G USB Modem U300, made by Franklin Wireless will cost $150 and will work with Sprint’s EVDO network and on Sprint’s Baltimore WiMAX network. The service will launch in Portland very soon. Other cities are likely to follow next year as Clearwire (the combo company that includes Clearwire (s CLWR) & Sprint’s 4G efforts and has liberal funding from others) will roll out its Clear service next year. Sprint claims that folks can get average downlink speeds of 2-4 Mbps within Baltimore 4G service areas and 600 Kbps – 1.4 Mbps on their EVDO network.
Bottomline: Just because the device is available doesn’t mean you need to buy it. As Stacey pointed out earlier that the credit crunch can slow down the Clear rollout and the device well might not be useful in many places. You are better off going for a cheaper 3G-only card for now.
OK, that is a bit over the top! Nielsen Mobile came out with a report that points out that there were 13 million mobile data cards in the U.S. at the end of June 2008. Not a big surprise, since wireless carriers in the U.S. are having a blockbuster year as far as mobile Internet revenues are concerned. The GigaOM Team has about seven of them and uses them for business and filing stuff when on the road. Apparently, so do a lot of people. However, Nielsen points out that there is a change in the making.
….Nielsen’s research reveals that the cards are beginning to play an important role in home and personal Internet access, as well. In fact, 43 percent of mobile data card users report they most often use their data card at home, while 15 percent say they typically use the card at work. Additionally, one in five (21 percent) data card subscribers take advantage of ubiquitous access by heading outdoors and 9 percent use their card while commuting.
An easy explanation would be better price packages and higher speed tiers, thanks to newer 3G technologies. Of the nearly 1,300 mobile data card users Nielsen surveyed, more than 99 percent still kept their wired broadband service: 40 percent of card users also have cable broadband and 34 percent also have DSL in their home. That number can jump to 59 percent, giving wired carriers something to think about.
Maybe the wireless guys need to rethink their wireless broadband plans and bring them forward. For phone companies the prospect of being cannibalized by wireless data connections must be scarier than losing them to voice connections. No wonder they started to limit bandwidth transfers on their connections. (Photo courtesy: Novatel Wireless.)
The introduction of the new iPhone 3G is going to jump start the 3G wireless broadband and is going to spawn a new ecosystem, much like how rise of wired broadband gave us Napster, Skype & YouTube. From that perspective, July 11 will go down as a red letter day for 3G wireless. Continue Reading the story.
