Editor’s Note: RCR Wireless News goes all in for “Throwback Thursdays,” tapping into our archives to resuscitate the top headlines from the past. Fire up the time machine, put on the sepia-tinted shades, set the date for #TBT and enjoy the memories!
What’s bigger than venti? Unlimited Wi-Fi at Starbucks
Starbucks will offer unlimited free Wi-Fi at 6700 US locations starting July 1, announced CEO Howard Schultz today in New York at Wired’s Business Conference “Disruptive by Design.” Currently, AT&T mobile and DSL customers already get free access, as do patrons with a registered Starbucks Loyalty Card who receive the first two hours of their internet infusion free daily – everyone else pays $3.99 for every two hours. The new service allows unrestricted access with a simplified one-step login. “People increasingly use Starbucks as a home office,” explains Buckingham Research Group restaurant analyst Mitchell Speiser. “Anything to encourage more people to come into the stores and buy drinks and food is good for consumers and the company.” … Read more
Android’s mobile web presence picks up
Android’s share of mobile Web consumption has hit overdrive in the past few months, according to a new report from Quantcast Corp. While other operating systems are losing share to Android as well, the biggest loser appears to be Apple Inc. Shares for Google Inc.’s Android operating system of mobile Web traffic jumped 12.2% in the 12-month period ending in May while Apple’s iOS share dropped 8.1% in the same period. According to Quantcast’s data, Android’s been on a particularly impressive tear in the last three months when its share rose 4.6% as iOS dropped 4.7%. At least some of that growth can be attributed to the incredibly fast growing arsenal of Android devices hitting the market, most recently HTC Corp.’s Evo 4G at Sprint Nextel Corp. Later this summer we’ll see if Android’s upward trend can hold as Apple’s iPad and new iPhone 4 gain momentum. … Read more
Twitter launches geolocation service that promptly crashes
Twitter Inc. just did the inevitable. Twice. First it launched a geolocation-based service called Places. Then a few hours later, the entire service crashed and stayed down into the late hours of Monday night out on the West Coast. The fourth day of matches at the World Cup was still hours away when the infamous fail whale appeared, so it would be hard to blame the world’s most unifying event for Twitter’s downtime. It’s also worth noting that Apple Inc. could take some of the blame since the impending onslaught of iPhone 4 pre-orders was due to begin any minute (or hour) when the site’s servers overloaded. Nonetheless, when Twitter is up and running on all cylinders, the new feature could perhaps do more to drive location-based services on mobile than any of its closest competitors and copycats on the venue-based location front. To be sure, Twitter isn’t exactly moving into new turf. Foursquare, Yelp Inc. and Gowalla Inc. already take the task of venue check-ins to a different level with badges, awards and other virtual novelties. … Read more
Get your WiMAX devices while they’re hot!
Clearwire Corp. announced three new devices today for its expanding WiMAX network while reiterating its unlimited wireless data offering. First up from the sole WiMAX torchbearer in the United States is the Clear Spot 4G, a mobile hotspot that can share Internet connectivity with up to eight Wi-Fi-enabled devices. The company is also offering a dual-mode mobile hotspot called Clear Spot 4G+, which enables users to automatically switch between Clearwire’s WiMAX network and Sprint Nextel Corp.’s network. Finally, the company announced Clear 4G+ Mobile USB, a WiMAX-only USB modem that’s compatible on Mac and Windows. Clearwire is offering all three devices for purchase or a monthly lease of $5 to $6. … Read more
iPhone 4 pre-sales: Too hot to handle
Pre-orders for Apple Inc.’s iPhone 4 have been temporarily suspended, according to AT&T Mobility’s website. It appears that demand for the device once again is outpacing supply. Glitches also happened when the device was first introduced in 2007 and servers couldn’t handle the volume buys, and the first day the iPhone 3G was available in 2008. On its website, AT&T says pre-orders are temporarily suspended and gives no indication on when they will resume; on the Apple website, people trying to pre-order the device are told the shipping date will be July 2, which is eight days after the device is expected to be available at retail stores. AT&T later said that pre-orders were 10 times higher than they were the first day pre-orders could be taken for the 3G iPhone so the carrier stopped taking orders so it can fill the orders it already has … Read more
Skype calls itself a “well-behaved disruptor”
Skype believes we are all living in a web of connected devices in an app-centric world where phones are no longer phones, but little computers in our pockets. Speaking at the CommunicAsia show in Singapore, Skype’s GM for EMEA and GM of Mobile Skype, Russ Shaw, told the audience that while apps were a disruptor in terms of telecom, Skype was a “well-behaved disruptor,” which actually brought telcos more advantages than it took away. Consumers, said Shaw, had spoken, and the message was clear: devices and good devices are important. Shaw said that while smartphones were already crowning themselves king in 2008 with just 15% of the market, by 2013 they will truly have earned their royal status in consumer hearts, with predictions they will make up some 40% of the market. By 2015, posited Shaw, virtually all phones shipped will be smartphones … Read more
ECG handsets, eco-handsets and the Galaxy S at CommunicAsia
We take a look at some of the weird and wonderful devices on display at this year’s CommunicAsia in Singapore:While some people might feel dead without their mobile phones, some mobile phones are actually in the life saving business. Literally. The EPI Life phone by Singaporean firm Ephone being showcased at CommunicAsia, for instance, is a handset with built-in electrocardiogram (ECG) measurement, hooked up to a 24 hour ‘health concierge service.’ Reading a user’s heart rate takes 30 seconds and the results are beamed back to the firm over GPRS from anywhere in the world. The results are then pored over by no less than 10 cardiologists to determine whether or not the patient is in need of immediate medical attention. … Not to be outdone, Korean firm Samsung was flooding the CommunicAsia show floor with handsets, launching no less than six new models. The firm is showing off its Windows Mobile based Omnia 4 and 5, an entry level Android with the Galaxy 3, the Wave 2 and Wave 2Pro running Samsung’s own Bada and the much hyped Galaxy S … Read more
Check out RCR Wireless News’ Archives for more stories from the past.
