Telematique, water and fire.

iPhone Activation and the First Words from the Wise

This afternoon I took a spin through my feed reader and discovered that Apple (and AT&T) have revealed the various plans to be made available for the iPhone.  But, what really knocked my socks off was the activation procedure.  I know that numerous rumors have been circulating about activation through the iTunes store, but I admit that I'd written them off to just that -- rumors.  Then I took a look at the video tutorial.  This, folks, is really impressive.  

Dan Farber has posted a collection of the initial public reactions from the "independent" pundits.  I think it's very instructive.  The verdict: at one and the same time, it's got flaws and failings, and it's also astounding and worthy of the hype.

» iPhone reviews: Not perfect, but worthy of the hype | Between the Lines | ZDNet.com

Yesterday I wrote about Steve Jobs making an all-in bet on the iPhone. Now the first reviews are in from those seeded by Jobs with the device. The verdict was universal, at least among the three reviewers (who don’t want to be viewed as contributing to the hype, but were clearly enamored of Jobs’ latest creation)–not perfect, but a breakthrough product. It now looks like Jobs’ bet will pay off.

Technorati Tags: iPhone, AT&T, activation

Amp'd: More MVNO bad news

Amp'd, one of the edgier and "cooler" MVNOs, has taken a pretty serious hit.  The article in the WSJ points out the difficulties of bringing predominantly "web" content to the third screen.  As the article points out, "While the number of U.S. cellphone users has been steadily growing, relatively few of them regularly use cellphones to watch TV and listen to music."  Thus, the high spend on marketing and customer acquisition. 

The questions here are:  Does "getting out of the wireless business" and into developing original content for cellphone users make sense?  Is the company's core competence creating original content, presumably for the mobile handset user?


Amp'd Mobile Files Chapter 11 - WSJ.com

Start-up wireless carrier Amp'd Mobile Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Friday night after it ran out of cash and failed to raise additional funding in time to meet debt payments. With its filing, Amp'd Mobile becomes the latest of several wireless ventures to stumble in the effort to bring video, music and other content to cellphones.

Amp'd Mobile offers a wide range of videos, music and games to distinguish itself from other wireless carriers. But it is fighting over a relatively thin slice of the wireless market. While the number of U.S. cellphone users has been steadily growing, relatively few of them regularly use cellphones to watch TV and listen to music.
...

Amp'd Mobile's Chapter 11 filing also came after a protracted board fight over the company's direction and additional funding, according to a person familiar with the situation.

It has attracted $360 million in funding from some of the largest media and technology companies and well-known venture-capital firms, as well as hedge funds and private-equity firms.

While Amp'd Mobile is growing fast, it requires significant capital for marketing and customer acquisition. A few investors questioned if the company should get out of the wireless-service business and focus on developing original content for cellphone users instead.

Technorati Tags: MVNO, Amp'd

Healthcare MVNO ?

What are Qualcomm and (unnamed partners) thinking?  An MVNO!!

Health Care MVNO Planned

Qualcomm is preparing to launch a standalone mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) company focused on healthcare, although designed to have a broad consumer appeal.

The new company, which was incorporated recently under the name LifeComm, was created by Qualcomm and several other, unnamed, partners. Don Jones, who is vice president of business development for QUALCOMM's' health and life sciences unit, says the MVNO likely will launch commercially sometime in the second half of 2008.

Although the MVNO will have a healthcare focus, Jones says it plans to have applications and services designed to help consumers maintain their personal health as well as more specialized medical uses.

"We don't see it as just health care," he says, because the MVNO also will offer services for wellness, fitness, and health maintenance.

The specific applications and services the MVNO will offer have not been determined, but Jones says the company wants to establish a brand known to provide services for anyone interested in his or her health. The target audience, he says, is predominantly going to be women ages 40 to 65 because they are "influencers" when it comes to health. ...

Technorati Tags: MVNO

Joey and the mobile browser

I'd request that, in concert with Joey, someone provide a Firefox extension that allows me to both bookmark (or tag) content for use with my regular browser as well as for use with my phone browser.  If that can be accomplished without major acrobatic feats, it would be very useful.

Mozilla Labs Blog » Blog Archive » Introducing Joey

Project Joey brings the Web content you need most to your mobile phone by allowing you to easily send it to your device. You can quickly mark content that is important to you and have that content always available while using your mobile phone.

The premise is this: you can use Firefox to send text clippings, pictures, videos, RSS content, and Live Bookmarks to your phone through the Joey Server. The Joey Server transcodes and keeps all of the content up-to-date. You can then use your phone’s browser or the Joey application on your phone to view and manage what you have uploaded.

Technorati Tags: joey, mobile