May 2012

iPhone 3GS could get second life in developing markets: report

Later this year, Apple will almost certainly release a successor to the iPhone 4S – possibly even an iPhone with a big new display and a rejiggered chassis. But hey, when the iPhone 5 finally hits, what will happen to all the iPhones of yore? Well, according to the team at tech blog Apple Insider, at least one old iPhone could get a second life in developing countries around the globe. Jeffries analyst Peter Misek tells Apple Insider that Apple has signed a contract with "a leading distribution and logistics company," which would help Apple sell the iPhone 3GS as a prepaid device. The 3GS currently costs $375 without a contract, Apple notes. But Apple would mark down the device to between $250 and $300, potentially putting it within reach of a whole new market of consumers.

Tiny Georgia telco files first network neutrality complaint

A tiny Georgia telecommunications firm has filed the first formal complaint under the Federal Communications Commission's new network neutrality rules.

L2Networks charges that the Albany Water, Gas, and Light Commission (WG&L) has violated network neutrality principles by interfering with L2Networks's efforts to provide customers with VoIP service over Albany WG&L's fiber optic network. L2Networks did not make its filing available to Ars Technica, but in a press release the telecom firm stated that Albany WG&L initially filed a criminal complaint against L2Networks alleging theft of service. Albany WG&L reportedly believes that L2Networks "should have compensated the utility for use of their fiber-optic internet infrastructure whilst delivering Voice over IP (VoIP) services over the utilities' 'internet backbone' to existing internet customers of the utility." But according to L2Networks, the customer whose VoIP service gave rise to the criminal complaint "currently compensates The City of Albany Water, Gas, & Light Commission's telecommunications department for use of their fiber-optic based Internet access." L2Networks believes it is entitled to provide VoIP service to this customer without additional payments to Albany WG&L.

FCC Chairman supports broadband data caps amid Netflix protests

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said that he supports tiered broadband Internet plans, a growing trend that has drawn criticism from Netflix.

He said during a cable industry trade show in Boston that “usage-based pricing could be healthy and beneficial” for broadband and high-tech industries. Cable service providers and wireless carriers have changed billing practices to charge users by how much data they use. They say they are moving away from unlimited data plans as users — particularly on wireless networks — congest networks with their heavy use of Internet services. The issue was brought up by Michael Powell, a former FCC chairman and current chief executive of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association. Powell said cable providers want to be able to experiment with pricing plans based on tiers.

The questions Genachowski should be asking about data caps

[Commentary] Does Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski agree to business practices that would exempt an Internet service provider’s traffic from their own broadband cap, as Comcast is doing with its Xfinity service over the Xbox? And from a consumer point of view, a cap isn’t terrible in and of itself, but it can be a tool used to protect an ISP’s pay TV business or their profits absent robust competition in the market. So even though Chairman Genachowski is in favor of new pricing models for broadband, it would be awesome if he started asking questions about how those caps are set and what impact they have on consumer behavior. Because it’s not like consumers have that much choice in their broadband provider.

Public interest groups slam FCC chief on bandwidth caps

Consumer and public interest groups are up in arms over Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski’s apparent endorsement of bandwidth caps as a legitimate business practice.

Public Knowledge legal director Harold Feld says Genachowski's statement presents a "false picture." Feld said the question isn't whether or not there is one pricing model. The question, he said, is "will all the benefits of broadband Chairman Genachowski has articulated in the past ever happen in a world where broadband providers get a free pass on any pricing scheme or restriction if they use the magic words 'bandwidth cap?'" "If we really want to see students downloading textbooks or watching Harvard lectures online, it would be nice to know if they will ever have the bandwidth capacity to do so," he said.

Free Press policy director Matt Wood said "the data caps being pushed by the biggest cable companies are bad for consumers — and the FCC should be investigating these caps, not endorsing them."

AT&T senior vice president for external affairs Jim Cicconi said, “This isn’t the first time the chairman has recognized the need for flexibility in broadband pricing, but his words today come at a time when one company has been pushing the FCC to impose a particular pricing model on Internet service providers. Under that company’s proposal, the costs of providing their service would be borne by all consumers, not just those who choose to use their service. This would be fundamentally unfair, and that’s why Chairman Genachowski’s pushback is significant. “

Google: We’ve acquired Motorola Mobility

The phones in our pockets have become supercomputers that are changing the way we live. It’s now possible to do things we used to think were magic, or only possible on Star Trek--like get directions right from where we are standing; watch a video on YouTube; or take a picture and share the moment instantly with friends. It’s why I’m excited to announce today that our Motorola Mobility deal has closed.

Motorola is a great American tech company that has driven the mobile revolution, with a track record of over 80 years of innovation, including the creation of the first cell phone. We all remember Motorola’s StarTAC, which at the time seemed tiny and showed the real potential of these devices. And as a company who made a big, early bet on Android, Motorola has become an incredibly valuable partner to Google. Sanjay Jha, who was responsible for building the company and placing that big bet on Android, has stepped down as CEO. I would like to thank him for his efforts and am tremendously pleased that he will be working to ensure a smooth transition as long-time Googler Dennis Woodside takes over as CEO of Motorola Mobility. I’ve known Dennis for nearly a decade, and he’s been phenomenal at building teams and delivering on some of Google’s biggest bets. One of his first jobs at Google was to put on his backpack and build our businesses across the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe and Russia. More recently he helped increase our revenue in the U.S. from $10.8 billion to $17.5 billion in under three years as President of the Americas region. Dennis has always been a committed partner to our customers and I know he will be an outstanding leader of Motorola. As an Ironman triathlete, he’s got plenty of energy for the journey ahead--and he’s already off to great start with some very strong new hires for the Motorola team. It’s a well-known fact that people tend to overestimate the impact technology will have in the short term, but underestimate its significance in the longer term. Many users coming online today may never use a desktop machine, and the impact of that transition will be profound--as will the ability to just tap and pay with your phone. That’s why it’s a great time to be in the mobile business, and why I’m confident Dennis and the team at Motorola will be creating the next generation of mobile devices that will improve lives for years to come.

So Google owns Motorola. What’s happens now?

So what happens next for the Google-owned Motorola group?

According to a blog post announcing the closing of the purchase, Google CEO, Larry Page, says “[New Motorola CEO] Dennis [Woodside ] and the team at Motorola will be creating the next generation of mobile devices that will improve lives for years to come.” There’s no mention of using Motorola’s patents to protect Google and its Android hardware partners although we’ll likely see just that in future litigation efforts. Page’s remark likely squashes one prediction I made last year about the deal when I said Google would likely spin off the Motorola hardware assets and retain the patent portfolio. Why the perceived change in focus from patents to hardware production then? Because, to a varying degree, depending on your perspective, Android is still a bit of a mess. Folks will argue that few consumers actually care if their Android device has the latest software version, but I see more and more customer comments showing the contrary. Ironically it was just yesterday that Motorola communicated why some devices won’t see Android 4.0 and the comment stream lit up a bonfire of jeers. One such device not getting Android 4.0 is the Droid 3, which launched two months after Google said new phones would see software updates for 18 months after release.

Several Other Motorola Executives Join Sanjay Jha in Heading For the Exits

The first day as part of Google was greeted largely with a sigh of relief by Motorola Mobility employees, who have been waiting in limbo for months as the deal made its way through regulatory processes throughout the globe. The biggest changes made on May 22 were at the top of Motorola’s organizational chart.

In addition to the exit of CEO Sanjay Jha, several other Motorola executives are leaving the company. Among those on the way out, we’re told, are strategy chief John Bucher, Senior VP Alain Mutricy, supply chain head Mike Fleming, chief marketer Bill Ogle, HR head Scott Crum, operating chief Juergen Stark and CFO Marc Rothman. Also leaving is well-regarded enterprise unit head Christy Wyatt, a former Apple and Palm executive. Responsibility for the corporate push will shift to Mahesh Veerina, the senior VP of software and services. Google is making its presence felt in other ways. In addition to new CEO Dennis Woodside, Google has brought in a new HR head, financial chief and marketing lead. Google also said that Regina Dugan, the recently recruited former DARPA head, will lead a new advanced research unit within Motorola — a move that some employees are taking as a sign that Google is committed to serious R&D at its newest unit. Google did hint that Motorola’s future could be more narrow than the broad array of devices it makes today.

Motorola Mobility's new CEO: who is Dennis Woodside?

Dennis Woodside is the new CEO of Motorola Mobility.

While Woodside may have kept things quiet in the public sphere, he's certainly been making waves in Silicon Valley. In fact, Apple CEO Tim Cook attempted to poach him from Google by offering him the position to become the Cupertino-based company's head of sales — a role that Woodside turned down thanks to assurances from Google that he'd be given "greater responsibilities." It looks like the search company has made good on its promise. 43-year-old Dennis Woodside got his start at Google back in 2003, and ever since he's been heavily involved in the company's core business: advertising. He doesn't have much of an online presence (he's without a publicly-active Google+ profile, and his LinkedIn account was recently taken offline), but he has managed Google's relationships with major partners and advertisers, and for a long time he was instrumental in getting international advertisers to get online and spend money with Google to promote their products. Unlike many of his Google colleagues, Woodside doesn't have much knowledge of the technical side of hardware and software, and, unlike most in his position, he doesn't have a business degree, either. Instead, Woodside graduated from Cornell University in 1991 with a degree in Industrial Relations (he was also a triathlete), and he went on from there to Stanford University — a Google favorite — to get a law degree in 1995. Fresh out of law school, Woodside worked as a law clerk for the US Court of Appeals in New York City.

Will Microsoft Benefit From the Google-Motorola Deal?

Could Microsoft be a winner in the Google-Motorola deal?

Its Windows Phone software may gain traction among phone makers if they start to become wary of Android because Google now owns a competing phone maker.

“Generally, when a partner owns a supplier, it doesn’t work out too well in the end for the other partners,” said Roger Entner, a telecommunications industry analyst and founder of Recon Analytics, a market research firm. Many have wondered whether Motorola would become a kind of test for Google to perfect its recipe for Android and figure out the best way to meld its software ventures with hardware. Last August, when Google first announced its plans to buy Motorola Mobility, which builds smartphones, tablets and set-top boxes, Google stressed that it was primarily interested in the hardware maker’s trophy case of patents to help it fend off rivals like Apple and Microsoft in the legal arena. But Entner isn’t convinced that this is the only plan in Google’s playbook. “Google is handicapping the game in their favor,” he said. “If they aren’t, why did they buy Motorola?” While that tactic may help Google gain on its competitors, it also runs the risk of upsetting other device makers like HTC and Samsung who build some of the most popular smartphones and tablets running Google’s Android software. It could upset those partners enough to prompt them to take a closer look at Windows Phone, Microsoft’s fledgling mobile software platform, which it hopes will compete with Apple and Android. “There’s no doubt that is what Microsoft is hoping for,” said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst with Gartner Research, who closely follows the mobile industry. “If it’s perceived that Motorola gets newer versions of Android before everyone else, and if handset makers feel that they are competing with Google instead of partnering directly with Google, there could be a lot of implications here.”

Benton

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