Think of the iPad as one big iPod Touch or iPhone. Once you've entered the password, you're in. And I mean in! You have complete access to all emails, instant messages, the address book and calendar. Contrast this with a laptop: On a PC, you may have, say, four different user logins (father, mother, son and daughter) and one generic "Guest" login. This means you can't see others' emails, instant messages, address books, calendars and any other documents created. Privacy is protected.

So why is the lack of multiple user login or a guest account such a critical flaw on the iPad, when the world of smartphones doesn't seem to have crumbled in the wake of a similar deficiency? The answer should be obvious, but I will spell it out anyway: Unlike an in-pocket smartphone, the iPad is almost naturally a somewhat communal device.

Where will you find the iPad most times? On the table, not in the pocket. What is its main purpose? To surf the Web, among many other things, of course. There is almost an expectation that anyone should be able to pick it up and use it. Just imagine the regular family of four: Residing on the dining table, kitchen counter or coffee table, the kids in the family will be jumping for the iPad at every moment. Will you tell them, "No?" Can you imagine their loud screams?

For the iPad to have meaningful utility to a productive adult, it needs to be synchronized with your personalized data using iTunes and Apple's MobileMe. But wait. By containing all this personalized data, including your emails, address book and instant messages, just for starters, the kids will be only seconds away from destroying your most valuable information -- often work-related -- on the iPad. You can see the headlines right now: "Kid Gets Password to iPad ...." Fill in the humiliating blank.

The fact of the matter is that the iPad is a lot more like a laptop than a smartphone in terms of how you need to protect your information. You wouldn't let your kids use your laptop under your personal login, with access to your emails, address book, documents, and instant messages. This will force parents and others to not sync their personal information -- through iTunes and  MobileMe -- with the iPad, at which point the iPad has immediately lost a material portion of its intended utility.

It should be very easy for Apple to fix this critical flaw. In fact, Apple needs to do the same for the iPhone and the iPod Touch as well. You want to be able to lend your iPhone and iPod Touch to someone -- no matter how temporarily -- knowing that all this person can do is to surf the Web, depending on how limited you have set the permissions. The same goes for all the other  smartphone systems - Blackberry from Research in Motion, Google's Android, Palm, Nokia and so forth.

Until such time that Apple fixes this critical flaw, however, this gives rise to what I predict will be the biggest complaint about the device, with the possible exception of the much-feared lack of   ubiquitous multitasking. As it stands, no user in his or her right mind will dare to synch the iPad with iTunes and MobileMe. And there goes much of the utility of the device. And for those who dare, they have just signed their own personal information death warrant courtesy of their kids.

Someone told me that the solution will be for that family of four to simply buy four iPads. That may even be Apple's secret plan to beat all of its revenue estimates! Please. If there was a more obvious way to upset your new iPad owners, I can't think of one. You have just spent $500 to $830 on a device that's fundamentally less capable than a $300 laptop and immediately you're told that you need to buy four of them in order to protect your personal information. Please!

In the movie "Armageddon", one astronomer declares "We have 18 days!" until an asteroid hits Earth. Indeed, Apple, you have a April 3 deadline to fix this. You can do it. I hope. Or else the reviews won't read so well.

iPad Has User Log-In Flaw is a post from: SiliconANGLE Subcribe to our RSS feed or follow us on Twitter.

4 Comments

SiliconANGLE says: March 15, 2010 9:10 am SA>: iPad Has User Log-In Flaw http://j.mp/9XmF4a This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

furrier says: March 15, 2010 9:16 am possible big IPad flaw pointed out by SiliconAngle contributor Anton Wahlman http://bit.ly/bifWV4 – he’s right This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

rizzn says: March 15, 2010 9:21 am SA> iPad Has User Log-In Flaw http://dlvr.it/DBtj This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

sldfjd says: March 15, 2010 9:26 am [ff] John Furrier: SA>: iPad Has User Log-In Flaw http://j.mp/9XmF4a: http://url4.eu/1nnm4 This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

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Data revenues, in contrast, are expected to continue their explosive growth, more than doubling by 2013 according to a recent Telecommunications Industry Association report. It’s no coincidence that over the same period smartphone sales are projected to account for more than 40% of all wireless devices sold domestically as the underlying mobile operating systems on these devices are providing the necessary functionality and services that are enabling greater data consumption by mobile subscribers.

At the recently concluded Mobile World Congress, Microsoft made the mobile OS market a lot more interesting with its unveiling of Windows Phone 7 Series, a completely rethought and overhauled, mobile operating system. Having met with glowing first impressions, the largest software company in the world has positioned itself to compete across the entire smartphone OS spectrum- from Research in Motion's productivity devices to mass market offerings leveraging Google’s Android platform to feature-rich iPhones from Apple. However, without the ability for manufacturers to upgrade their handsets from Microsoft’s current operating system, Windows Mobile 6.x, to Windows Phone 7, Microsoft will need to build adoption for its new platform from scratch. Microsoft, like the entire mobile OS market, has to successfully address three key relationships in the mobile ecosystem, and not just build a great technology platform, in order to win market share.

1. Device manufacturer access. To get an operating system into consumer hands, most mobile software providers need to partner with device manufacturers. Google has attempted to remove any potential barrier for these OEMs to adopt its Android platform by making it free to use, open source and fully customizable. Microsoft on the other hand is continuing with its licensing model for the Windows Phone 7 operating system as well as imposing stringent hardware requirements on its device partners going forward.

It is these requirements, in conjunction with recent events, that make it unlikely that HTC will continue as Microsoft's primary device partner. First, HTC, which built the Nexus One for Google, just launched its own version of the Android device at the Mobile World Congress. Dubbed the Desire, this handset incorporates HTC’s Sense, a design experience the company is implementing across all of its future devices, regardless of the underlying operating system, which could run afoul of Microsoft’s new partner standards. Secondly, HTC’s soon to launch HD2, the most feature-rich smartphone running the Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system, does not meet Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 requirements to qualify for an OS upgrade. Considering the close relationship HTC fostered with Google in developing the Nexus One, Microsoft would be prudent to look elsewhere for access to consumers.

Fortunately for Microsoft, LG, the third largest mobile handset manufacturer in the world, and second in the U.S., has announced its intention to be the first OEM to launch a Windows Phone 7 handset this fall. This could result in faster adoption for Microsoft’s new mobile OS especially if other OEMs decide to diversify their operating system portfolio due to Google's directly competitive Nexus One mobile offering.

Unlike Google and Microsoft, Apple and Research In Motion view their primary businesses as being mobile. Due to this both have vertically integrated the development of handsets and the underlying operating system. This has enabled both companies to enjoy a more direct relationship with consumers and helps ensure a more consistent user experience across their respective handsets. It's no surprise that combined, Apple and RIM control two-thirds of the U.S. smartphone market.

2. Retail outlet distribution. As Google learned in launching the Nexus One device, working with the network carrier on distribution and marketing is essential for driving sales and adoption. Google’s internet-only, direct-to-consumer approach to selling the Nexus One on T-Mobile’s network resulted in less than 100,000 of these devices being sold in the first month. Contrast that with the launch of Motorola’s Android-based Droid which resulted in over 500,000 units being sold in its initial month. The Droid’s relative success to the Nexus One can be attributed to the coordinated support from Verizon Wireless which (a) has the largest subscriber base and arguably the best wireless network in the U.S. (b) provided distribution for the device through its retail outlets and (c) was backed by a $100 million marketing campaign.

More than any other mobile OS provider, Research In Motion has benefitted from its wireless carrier relationships. With BlackBerry devices available on every major carrier’s network in the U.S., and thus distribution provided through every wireless retail outlet imaginable, RIM has reached over 40% share of the domestic smartphone market.

Apple on the other hand has succeeded in spite of its exclusive relationship with AT&T Mobility in the U.S., primarily because it revolutionized the smartphone experience with the iPhone, but also because it has been able to drive distribution for its device through its own Apple stores.

3. Developer retention. While device manufacturers and wireless carriers are the critical factors in driving smartphone OS adoption, the iPhone exemplifies why developers are the key to retention. In spite of all the grief and anger directed at AT&T by iPhone users, most customers are unwilling to switch wireless carriers due to the personalization functionality provided by the iPhone through its app store. Even with Apple’s frustrating application approval process, developers continue to focus on building for the iPhone platform because it offers the most lucrative revenue opportunity, according to interviews conducted by Gizmodo at the Mobile World Congress, with interest in Android a distant second but growing due to its potential reach now that 60,000 Android-enabled devices are shipping daily.

Microsoft will need to create the same enthusiasm with developers for its new operating system in order to get these individuals to allocate some of their development time and efforts to learn yet another platform. Unfortunately Microsoft lost a chance to jumpstart its efforts by not having a path for them to port their current Windows Mobile apps to Windows Phone 7.

…and the winner is? I agree with Accel Partner’s Richard Wong that fragmentation in the mobile space is here to stay due to technology but also because of varying business models.

Domestically, Apple will determine how the mobile OS market plays out. If it were to end its exclusive arrangement with AT&T and go with a multi-carrier approach, which has proven to be successful from a market share and financial perspective overseas, Apple would control the most lucrative smartphone market in the world due to its strong relationships within the mobile ecosystem versus its competitors.

Worldwide, Gartner Inc.’s prediction that Google’s Android platform will surpass BlackBerry, the iPhone and Windows Mobile in market share in 2012 is fairly safe due to Google’s approach and the economics of its operating system. Google’s interests in the mobile space are squarely focused on search and location-based advertising. As such, giving away its platform makes complete sense. The biggest risk Google faces is getting into its own way by pushing corporate agendas that come at the expense of partner relationships. Developing its own mobile handset, acting like a telecom company by acquiring wireless spectrum or building its own broadband network, and allowing the fragmentation of the Android operating system are all examples of how Google could quickly lose favor with each of the three key relationships in the mobile ecosystem.

Through sheer size alone Microsoft should be able to rebuild most of the market share it has captured with previous iterations of its mobile operating system with Windows Phone 7, but not to the point that will make it a market leader. Microsoft's continued reliance on a licensing model for its mobile OS and restrictive design parameters will hurt adoption as it competes against a free and open Android platform. While integrating the Xbox experience directly into the Windows Phone 7's capabilities might be enough to convert some iPhone gaming enthusiasts, Microsoft’s Zune is a distant second to iTunes' content portfolio, making it difficult to compete with Apple's overall smartphone offering.

With Microsoft committing $1 billion to develop its new mobile operating system, Research In Motion faces the greatest market share risk. Not only is an acquisition of RIM by Microsoft highly unlikely now, but Windows Phone 7 Series OS is best positioned to compete with BlackBerry’s biggest strength- mobile enterprise email. By bringing Outlook to its mobile operating system, Microsoft can woo traditional BlackBerry users with native email capabilities and additional functionality through its Office productivity suite. Research In Motion has not only taken a preemptive strike against Microsoft but Google as well, which has integrated Google Apps into Android devices, by releasing a free version of its enterprise server for small businesses. With a relatively small application store, RIM will have an even greater difficulty in retaining its mobile OS market share lead in the U.S. over the next few years.

Whatever the outcome the consumer wins, as the competition will continue to breed innovation and enable smartphones to further evolve from productivity devices into personalized mobile experiences- courtesy of the mobile operating system.

How the Mobile OS Wars Will Be Won is a post from: SiliconANGLE Subcribe to our RSS feed or follow us on Twitter.

6 Comments

SiliconANGLE says: March 11, 2010 8:39 am SA>: How the Mobile OS Wars Will Be Won http://siliconangle.com/blog/2010/03/11/how-the-mobile-os-wars-will-be-won/ This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

rizzn says: March 11, 2010 8:55 am SA> How the Mobile OS Wars Will Be Won http://dlvr.it/9r1q This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

sherylbreuker says: March 11, 2010 9:04 am RT @rizzn: SA; How the Mobile OS Wars Will Be Won http://dlvr.it/9r1q This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

furrier says: March 11, 2010 10:44 am RT @siliconangle SiliconANGLE — Blog — How the Mobile OS Wars Will Be Won http://ow.ly/1q9CPB This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

sldfjd says: March 11, 2010 10:47 am [ff] John Furrier: RT @siliconangle SiliconANGLE — Blog — How the Mobile OS Wars Will Be Won http://ow.ly/1q9CPB: http://url4.eu/1kdG0 This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

withinsight_LLC says: March 11, 2010 11:00 am John Furrier: RT @siliconangle SiliconANGLE — Blog — How the Mobile OS Wars Will Be Won http://ow.ly/1q9CPB: http://bit.ly/bxKjCc This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

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It feels like it’s been more than two months since the iPad was announced. The masterful PR craze that preceded it was only matched by the public backlash. Now that the waters are quieter, I would like to ponder a little about our upcoming iLife.

Do we really need a tablet? Tablets are nothing new. Back in 2004, when I was still studying, I was the proud owner of a convertible Acer Tablet PC. I took notes, read comics, ebooks and watched series during class(muted and with subtitles of course!).

In 2006, Intel introduced the Viiv, which was another attempt at introducing the tablets to the mainstream consumer. It failed. Yet, none of the features introduced by the iPad are groundbreaking.  I believe the jokes that the device is nothing more than a large iPhone are off the mark. After all, the iPad does not make phone calls.

In that sense, the iPad and the new tablet market are nothing more than 6 year old technology, in a different package.

The make or break question is: do tablets have a place in our lives? They’re difficult to use on the bus or at the office. They’re unpractical as personal computer replacements. Maybe while traveling, or in the living room. Is there a demand for this? Will the lack of an integrated keyboard harm adoption, now that many phones come with equipped with one? Would people not simply use a laptop or an advanced phone such as the N900? These are questions that cannot be answered yet.

I believe the iPad craze has led many to overlook Apple’s future plans.

During its presentation, Apple introduced the Apple A4, a system-on-a-chip 1GHz CPU/GPU. This is an move worth taking notice of, as it is the first Apple-branded CPU ever. In practice, the chip can achieve impressive performance: play HD video, 10 hour battery life, 1 month on standby. All this, on a screen roughly 4 times the size of an iPhone. This means that with equivalent battery, the next iPhone would be able to be both faster and last significantly longer than the 3GS.

This also means more advanced 3D applications. If you consider that the Unreal Engine 3 has been ported to the platform, making it a very serious contender to Nintendo and Sony.

Pile onto this the sustained rumors that the Apple TV may soon support the iPhone OS. This would give it the ability to play state of the art games, as well as HD movies and music, making Apple an entrant in the console wars.

Very soon, all your entertainment devices might be Apple products.

Your laptop, desktop, phone, tv and tablet, all sync’ed with MobileMe. Whether the public will respond to that idea remains uncertain, but it is a compelling offer.

Why I’m More Interested in the Next iPhone than the iPad [Console Wars] is a post from: SiliconANGLE Subcribe to our RSS feed or follow us on Twitter.

11 Comments

SiliconANGLE says: March 11, 2010 11:09 am SA>: Why I’m More Interested in the Next iPhone than the iPad [Console Wars] http://j.mp/97VXzl This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

rizzn says: March 11, 2010 11:22 am RT @siliconangle SiliconANGLE — Blog — Why I’m More Interested in the Next iPhone than the iPad [Con.. http://j.mp/97VXzl This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

furrier says: March 11, 2010 11:22 am RT @siliconangle SiliconANGLE — Blog — Why I’m More Interested in the Next iPhone than the iPad [Con.. http://j.mp/97VXzl This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

jsinkeywest says: March 11, 2010 11:29 am RT @rizzn: RT @siliconangle SiliconANGLE — Blog — Why I’m More Interested in the Next iPhone than the iPad [Con.. http://j.mp/97VXzl This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

withinsight_LLC says: March 11, 2010 11:32 am John Furrier: SA>: Why I’m More Interested in the Next iPhone than the iPad [Console Wars] http://j.mp/97VXzl: http://bit.ly/cxX6X6 This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

rizzn says: March 11, 2010 12:26 pm SA> Why I’m More Interested in the Next iPhone than the iPad [Console Wars] http://dlvr.it/9y6G This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

tecadic says: March 11, 2010 12:29 pm RT @rizzn SA> Why I’m More Interested in the Next iPhone than the iPad [Console Wars] http://dlvr.it/9y6G This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

9rd says: March 11, 2010 12:56 pm My 2nd post! RT @siliconangle SiliconANGLE — Why I’m More Interested in the Next iPhone than the iPad http://j.mp/97VXzl This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

rizzn says: March 11, 2010 1:11 pm You need to read this, if you haven’t yet. RT @9rd: My 2nd post! Why I’m More Interested in the Next iPhone than the iPad http://j.mp/97VXzl This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

jithinm says: March 11, 2010 1:23 pm SiliconANGLE — Why I’m More Interested in the Next iPhone than the iPad http://j.mp/97VXzl RT @furrier #fb This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

9rd says: March 11, 2010 4:30 pm SiliconANGLE — Blog — Why I’m More Interested in the Next iPhone than the iPad [Console Wars] http://ff.im/-hlzZX This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

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I reported five major elements that Cisco was going to announce an end-to-end network play which would either will be announced individually or collectively as one big “grand” vision.

Here is what I heard and posted last Friday

Here is what appears to be breaking next week:

1) An “AppleTV” style cable set top or edge consumer box based on their Scientific Atlanta technology

2) Partnerships with service providers for ultra high speed access to the home

3) 100 Gigabit Ethernet on their Routers (upgrade to CRS-1)

4) Content and content delivery offering including lower end telepresence integration with possible content deals

5) A new vision that integrates the pieces above as owning the vision of the Internet touted as a “grand vision.”

It’s mainly a consumer play for Cisco, but it seems to touch on other markets: 1) consumer, 2) access, 3) edge, 4) core network, and 4) content provider and possibly low end telepresence.

Cisco will be touting the combination or all of the above to be a “complete overhaul” of the existing Internet in a broad “end to end” announcement that would “forever change” its shape and purpose.

Three Out Of Five - Not Bad

Three out of my five predictions were correct. Two big missing pieces from my report: No killer AppleTV style set top box and no content delivery offering with telepresence. Not sure if they got pulled from the announcement given how underwhelming the actual presentation was from the hype.

I guess my idea of changing the Internet forever was different than what was announced by Cisco.

Here is the summary of the announcement

- CRS-1 Product Announcement
- Service Provider endorsement with AT&T
- Grand vision and architecture play for end-to-end Cisco solution

Cisco did not announce a set top box or content distribution solution with telepresence. However, John Chambers did push on multiple occasions the notion that video is the killer app and highlighted rich media examples through his pitch.

For example, Chambers briefly hand waved over some key areas that we were hearing: media streams, 3dTV/HD, smartphones, tablets, telepresence, and gaming.

Reactions from around the web

Engadget thought it was not worthy of the hype and that was the general consensus on Twitter.

Engadget writes:

Cisco promised us a significant announcement this morning, one that would "forever change the Internet and its impact on consumers, businesses and governments," ....

We were instantly bowled over with the shocking news that video is the killer app of the future internet, before getting it drilled into our heads that we really need, like and want more bandwidth. No kidding -- so what, Cisco, what is your revolutionary next step? Is it the space-based IP router? Some killer alternative 4G connectivity?

Well, it turns out it was the CRS3. The what? Cisco is bringing out a new Carrier Routing System, which Pantaj Patel describes as "this is huge" in a perfect monotone. We couldn't agree more....

the sum of the whole thing is that Cisco is just refreshing its backhaul hardware and regurgitating promises about 100Gbps bandwidth and whatnot.

The internet remains safe and un-revolutionized for another day.

The New York Times felt the same way and Ashlee Vance points out an angle that highlights that Cisco was marketing directly to Joe stockholder and big carriers. So true Ashlee hence the overhype.

NYTimes highlights this point in writing:

On Tuesday morning, as most of us in Silicon Valley ate breakfast, the Internet changed. The shift happened so quickly that it felt both jarring and stupendous at the same time.

O.K., the Internet didn’t really change in any discernible way. Rather, Cisco released a new router – sorry, make that a new routing system – called the CRS-3 that the company has spent weeks hyping as the gateway to a new era of Internet wonders, that it “will forever change the Internet.”

(Even my dad, who has zero interest in networking, heard about this event and wanted to know what Cisco had in store.)

The general tech blogs were enamored by the examples that showed the speed that Cisco was touting.

Comments from the hardcore experts in the networking community was that the announcement underwhelmed them.

Here is some quotes from some of those networking experts:

so how do they calculate 322TeraBytes / second ? Whats the ports x
cards x chassis maths.. ?

It's just the same old CRS-1 with new linecards and fabric chassis. I
am eagerly waiting to find out if there is a product code for a
sticker with the number "3" to affix over the "1" on the existing
chassis.

Whats sad is Cisco continues their marketing spew of X number of Tbps,
assuming you could actually multi-chassis that many systems. I love
some of the marketing in it though: "Over a year, it can save over 300
acres of rainforest".

I want to know what happened to the CRS-2.

"We are going to revolutionize the Internet.  <wait a few days>  "We have this new router we have that is pretty much a minor evolutionary step from our old router, that is not even as kewl & awesome as our competitors are -already-shipping-."  I'm not even going to mention the startups pushing 4-5 times as many Gbps per slot in per-release versions -today-.  Yeah, some revolution.  Not.

Whatever math they use, remember it´s cisco math, so whatever number you end up with, double it

I´m not really a cisco basher, I thnk they do good stuff and deserve a lot of respect for a lot of great work. This particular release has lots of fishy marketing smell.

On a slightly related topic, I was told by someone that Cisco was becoming an ASP and providing a service for virtual machines.  I was told this third or fourth hand and it was all hush hush secret.

Finally a great angle by Scott Raynovich at the Rayno Report. He nails it. Worth reading.

Scott writes

There was an incredible amount of hype leading up to Cisco’s announcement of a new core router, the CRS-3. Typically, router announcements are not covered in detail by the mainstream press, but with Cisco’s marketing acumen, they were able to raise the level of interest to a crescendo.

Big deal? sure. Was it the revolutionary thing that will change the Internet? No. A revolutionary innovation would be if somebody suddenly announced an entirely new technology, like optical routing. Or that routers weren’t even necessary anymore. A true innovation is unfathomable, such as trying to imagine the World Wide Web in 1982.

This is an incremental upgrade of the traditional routing technology. It is, in fact, a crucial and necessary upgrade in capacity to an existing product that helps Cisco keep their edge in the core router market, but not an entirely new technology.

Here are the pertinent facts of the announcement:

* The CRS-3 will triple the capacity of its predecessor, CRS-1. Cisco says the new router will have a capacity of 322Tbps (terabits per second)

* Cisco said it spent $1.6 billion developing the router

* The product is in field trials and will ship toward the third quarter of this year. The price will start at $90,000

* So far, AT&T is the only service provider that has announced that it is testing the product in field trials.

Cisco Highlights Presented

Here are some good posts and some highlights from the presentation:

CRS-3 Performance

- 12x performance over the competitors
- Over a billion videos at one time
- The required architecture in how to move forward in the future Internet
- Video is the killer app
- Scale: 322 Tbps - 3x the scale of CRS-1
- Service Attribrutes: 2x intelligence (core ipv6 + data center cloud)
- Savings: 1x CRS Family protection investments

Router Speeds - 322 Tbps - In Theory What That Might Do

- Enables everyone in China to make a video call simultaneously
- Delivers all the movies every made in just four (4) minutes
- Can deliver 1Gb to nearly every household in San Francisco
- Download entire printed collection of the library of congress in one (1) second

I have been very critical of Cisco mainly because I just don't see their vision playing out in the way that they think it will. I do agree with their vision of the Internet in terms of more speed, video, collaboration, services, etc.

As I said in my previous post, we all want high-speed networks that do bazillion/Gbps, low cost cloud computing and storage, tons of on demand rich media, video telepresence, and smaller faster cheaper mobile devices. I just don’t see it happening from one vendor.

I hope that Cisco will have more than what appears to be a "me too" set of individual announcements bundled as a message saying "Cisco is the future and cross the bridge with us to that future".

More of my angle on this is coming in a followup post. Meanwhile here is Cisco's core router and grand vision announcement.

With more than 12 times the traffic capacity of the nearest competing system, the Cisco CRS-3 is designed to transform the broadband communication and entertainment industry by accelerating the delivery of compelling new experiences for consumers, new revenue opportunities for service providers, and new ways to collaborate in the workplace.

Overview:

* The Cisco CRS-3 triples the capacity of its predecessor, the Cisco CRS-1 Carrier Routing System, with up to 322 Terabits per second, which enables the entire printed collection of the Library of Congress to be downloaded in just over one second; every man, woman and child in China to make a video call, simultaneously; and every motion picture ever created to be streamed in less than four minutes.

* The Cisco CRS-3 enables unified service delivery of Internet and cloud services with service intelligence spanning service provider Internet Protocol Next-Generation Networks (IP NGNs) and data center. The Cisco CRS-3 also provides unprecedented savings with investment protection for the nearly 5,000 Cisco CRS-1 deployed worldwide. Cisco's cumulative investment in the Cisco CRS family is $1.6 billion, further underscoring the company's commitment.

* AT&T, one of the world's largest telecommunications companies, recently tested the Cisco CRS-3 in a successful completion of the world's first field trial of 100-Gigabit backbone network technology, which took place in AT&T's live network between New Orleans and Miami. The trial advances AT&T's development of the next generation of backbone network technology that will support the network requirements for the growing number of advanced services offered by AT&T to consumer and business customers, both fixed and mobile.

* The Cisco CRS-3 is currently in field trials, and its pricing starts at $90,000 U.S.

Cisco Announced Router Upgrade – No New SetTop Box or Telepresence is a post from: SiliconANGLE Subcribe to our RSS feed or follow us on Twitter.

6 Comments

SiliconANGLE says: March 9, 2010 1:26 pm SA>: Cisco Announced Router Upgrade – No New SetTop Box or Telepresence http://j.mp/chooc5 This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

rizzn says: March 9, 2010 1:29 pm SA> Cisco Announced Router Upgrade – No New SetTop Box or Telepresence http://dlvr.it/8WMy This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

sldfjd says: March 9, 2010 1:30 pm [ff] John Furrier: SA>: Cisco Announced Router Upgrade – No New SetTop Box or Telepresence http://j.mp/chooc5: http://url4.eu/1j7RF This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

zack says: March 12, 2010 9:42 am hye there...good stuf Reply

Friday Recap: Pop-Up Video Edition | seo cloak says: March 12, 2010 9:45 pm [...] of hyping an upcoming product that would revolutionize the Internet forever, Cisco announced it was upgrading its routing system to “CRS-3″. SiliconANGLE gives us a recap of industry analysis, and from the look of it, no one’s all [...] Reply

Friday Recap: Pop-Up Video Edition | webmarketingexperts.com.au says: March 13, 2010 2:42 am [...] of hyping an upcoming product that would revolutionize the Internet forever, Cisco announced it was upgrading its routing system to “CRS-3″. SiliconANGLE gives us a recap of industry analysis, and from the look of it, no one’s all [...] Reply

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Before I get into details, I’d just like to point out that a lot of this data comes from the Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI) Global Mobile Data Forecast. A great summary of Cisco VNI research is here, along with a helpful mobile data forecast whitepaper, can be found here.

Video is, well, huge, and getting ginormous

So, what’s going on? Let’s take a look at a key driver of the pending data deluge: Video.

Video is becoming more social and, as a result, getting more use. But, more importantly, it is easier to discover and access than ever. Not just to users with high-speed Internet access, but specifically to users in developing nations without computers but smartphones instead. Not only is the smartphone business booming – as much as a 20.9 compound annual growth rate (CAGR) percent in the years leading up to 2013 (according to a report, “Worldwide Mobile OS 2009-2013 Forecast and Analysis”, by IDC), but consider that, in 2009, one smartphone generated the data equivalent of at least 10 basic phones. By 2014, one smartphone will generate the equivalent of more than 100 basic phones.

Beyond mobile, consider traffic generated in machine-to-machine communications (M2M). How much data will the fridge (and other appliances) of 2014 process and deliver wirelessly? What about asset tracking systems in shipping and manufacturing sectors, medical patient record storage and retrieval, and so on? The latest Cisco VNI figures predict that, by 2014, there will be five billion mobile consumer devices in use and billions more M2M nodes in all sorts of consumer and business/enterprise applications.

Another factor is our changing lifestyle

It wasn’t too long ago that humans would just go to sleep when the sun went down. With the advent of television, a few of us decided to stay up late watching Johnny Carson or Conan O’Brien. But now, with the Internet becoming the dominant medium for consuming everything other than your meals – and its ubiquity, and its ease-of-access, humans are changing the way they behave. Research into the habits of information workers indicates that multitasking will add six “network hours” to every day.

Instead of just watching TV, people will browse the Web to learn about a new product they just saw. While paying bills they will watch videos on demand – hopefully educational information helping them to balance their budget, instead of just a cute kitten video. Even while watching a video, users will keep an eye on their RSS feeds to keep abreast of the latest trends…and latest popular videos.

All of this extra network time is compounding the strain service providers will be under in the coming years.

Around the world

Let’s take a deep breath now and ask ourselves: Is my network capable of handling all of that? Is my mobile infrastructure going to crumble under the weight of quintillions of packets? Let’s look at how the various regions of the world will fare in the coming storm. For maximum effect, read the next section in the voice of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator. For the forecast period 2009 to 2014:

- The Middle East and Africa are expected to lead the world with the fastest mobile data growth rate (for regions) at a CAGR of 133% percent. The regional will be followed closely by Asia-Pacific, with a 119% CAGR, followed by North America with a 117% CAGR.

- Western Europe will account for nearly 1/3 (30%) of all mobile data traffic by 2014. Asia-Pac will contribute 26% and North America will contribute 22% of global mobile traffic by 2014.

- India will blow the rest of the world away with the highest mobile traffic growth rate of 222% CAGR. China will trail with 72% CAGR and South Africa will have a 156% CAGR.

What’s a service provider to do?

Run, hide? Build a fortified compound and wait out the storm? Those are valid courses of action, certainly. There are a multitude of answers available. I’d love to know how you plan to cope, though – what’s your strategy? I’d love to have you sound off in the comments. We’re also talking about this (and other topics) in our community forum on a regular basis, and I’d like to invite you all to join us there sometime, too.

Are you prepared for the Inevitable Mobile Mania Magnification? is a post from: SiliconANGLE Subcribe to our RSS feed or follow us on Twitter.

4 Comments

SiliconANGLE says: March 8, 2010 5:31 pm SA>: Are you prepared for the Inevitable Mobile Mania Magnification? http://bit.ly/9feAJC This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

sldfjd says: March 8, 2010 5:32 pm [ff] John Furrier: SA>: Are you prepared for the Inevitable Mobile Mania Magnification? http://bit.ly/9feAJC: http://url4.eu/1iLip This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

rizzn says: March 8, 2010 6:26 pm SA> Are you prepared for the Inevitable Mobile Mania Magnification? http://dlvr.it/7y2j This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

"Pakistan Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare Report Q2 2010" Published | Male Liposuction says: March 9, 2010 5:55 am [...] SiliconANGLE — Blog — Are you prepared for the Inevitable Mobile Mania Magnification? [...] Reply

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Update (March 8 2010): Cisco's Future Is Already Here -- Looks like Verizon, Juniper Networks, NEC, and Finistar are demonstrating trials on the eve of Cisco's big announcement reported by FierceTelcom, Information Week, and released by Verizon today. The announcement came as Cisco was preparing a major announcement for Tuesday, believed to be its entry in the 100G race. Google has already said it plans to test 100G networks in selected regions.

You can take the 100G piece out of the Cisco equation and the notion that Verizon will be standing with Cisco at their podium.

{Editor's note: We changed the original title to shorten it down a bit based upon some other sites editors who wanted to link to it.. feedback taken. -Cheers John @Furrier}

Old Headline:  Cisco To Announce Apple, Tivi Google So Called Killer SetTop Box Plus A New High Speed Network - Are They Now Competing with Google, Apple, Skype, and Everyone.

According to multiple sources Cisco is preparing to announce on March 9^th a massive vision for a land grab dubbed “changing the future of the Internet”.

Future High Speed Network Featuring a New Set Top Consumer Box

Rumors on Cisco’s announcement from many industry sources are all driving in the same direction.  Cisco appears to be announcing an end-to-end network play.  I’ve heard several different things either will be announced individually or collectively as one big “grand” vision.

Here is what appears to be breaking next week:

1)    An “AppleTV” style cable set top or edge consumer box based on their Scientific Atlanta technology

2)    Partnerships with service providers for ultra high speed access to the home

3)    100 Gigabit Ethernet on their Routers

4)    Content and content delivery offering including lower end telepresence integration with possible content deals

5)    A new vision that integrates the pieces above as owning the vision of the Internet touted as a “grand vision.”

It’s mainly a consumer play for Cisco, but it seems to touch on other markets: 1) consumer, 2) access, 3) edge, 4) core network, and 4) content provider and possibly low end telepresence.

Cisco will be touting the combination or all of the above to be a “complete overhaul” of the existing Internet in a broad “end to end” announcement that would “forever change” its shape and purpose.

Two core messages seem to be coming:

1) Cisco is the future of the internet and that they have support from service providers for high speed networking and web 2.0 apps

and

2) Complete rip and replace all their old gear for new Cisco end to end hardware.

Cisco's Big Tease for March 9th

A few weeks a go Cisco has mailed out press invitations for a March 9 press and media webcast to “make a significant announcement that will forever change the Internet and its impact on consumers, business and governments.” I never got an invite but I did sign up for the webcast.

The site, has a header that reads “See What’s Possible When Networking Gets an Adrenaline Boost,” and which includes a countdown clock to the March event, says:

Change is about to set your network’s pulse racing in 3… 2… 1…”

Cisco’s next innovation will help service providers prepare for the future by delivering anywhere to anywhere experiences

On March 9, “what’s next” arrives

Check back to see what’s possible

Other than advertising these broad strokes, Cisco has been very tight-lipped about what the March 9 event is about.  Normally it doesn’t take me long to dig around to find out the directions these announcement take, but in this case it took 4 days of hard digging.

According to multiple sources on both east and west coast these are some of the announcement specifics along with my commentary.

IPTV Multifunction SetTop Consumer Box

It seems that Cisco thru Scientific Atlanta, will be introducing a new kind of SetTop or consumer  box product that purports to “do it all”.   It will combine the functionality of TiVo, video streaming, Internet access, wireless, telepresence, and massive storage. I'm guessing that this is part of the trials that Cisco has been doing - their IPTV delivery with a few providers such as AT&T.  Still waiting to confirm if this is part of those trials.

Last week, I noticed a blog post by Julie Jacobson at CE-Pro that has some interesting comments that went into great detail about the kind of experience that might be expected. It seemed like an insider but not sure who wrote the comment.  That comment was telling:

What if your “cable box” was your content aggregator? What if you could watch 1500 channels at 1080p and have the ability to view shows on demand – i.e. no more DVR, no more recording. What if your home Internet connection was symmetric 1 Gbps and your service provider handed you quad play: TV, phone, Internet and video conferencing? What if your cable box was continually synced to your blackberry or iPhone - so you could watch anything, anywhere?

What’s more interesting is the content and video opportunity.  Additionally there is chatter that telepresence will be coming to the edge.  This is different than Cisco’s current telepresence that is proprietary, high-end functionality, and expensive.

I love telepresence and that is why I Skype video.  On interesting angle would be the notion of telepresence with the flipcamera.  Cisco has been criticized by Wall Street for that acquisition - the flip camera has been called "John Chamber's web 2.0 toy".

The idea of a network-based box that can work with consumer devices to provide all the content you need sounds futuristic and convenient. When you combine all this with quad play, content, telepresence, and synchronization with a mobile device or flipcamera, it has an exciting ring to it.

However in reality to pull this off seems off.  It sounds too good to be true not so realistic from one player.  There are issues of complexity both on the technical and business model sides.

A “new kind of box or in this case a “fat box” might have issues around implementation and performance thus consumer uptake.

High Speed Network To Counter Google

The major barrier to “forever changing the Internet” is still the last mile. Recently, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission plans to demand faster Internet speeds as part of its National Broadband Plan to be unveiled on March 17. The FCC wants minimum Internet data transmission speeds of 100 Mbps to 100 million homes within a decade, compared with current industry estimates of less than 4 Mbps.

The Financial Times reported on February 24 that Cisco is developing a new “ultra-high-speed system for internet access in partnership with a number of U.S. service providers, according to people close to the company.” Cisco stated that the US “needs high-speed, future-proof broadband networks that are accessible and affordable to all” and that it “looks forward to being part of this exciting transformation”.

Many folks in the blogosphere seems think this is response to Google’s recent announcement that they intend to be an ISP deploying 1Gbps fiber service to a limited number of consumers for testing purposes. If this is the case, it would mean that Cisco is partnering with key service provider and their customers to design a public relations to counter-punch Google's announcement.

One of the key partners could be Comcast.  I also heard that AT&T was involved.

Cisco Router Product Upgrades

Another key announcement is their anticipated upgrade to the CRS-1.  Specifically, an upgrade to 140 Gbps/slot capabilities to answer Juniper’s recent performance improvements announced last month.

Cisco has to do this because their competitors are moving fast with product upgrades themselves.  Huawei, Alcatel Lucent, and Juniper all with new products and trials happening.  I've blogged about Cisco verses Juniper in the past - Juniper appears to be more open - or as I said "the Google of Networking".  Also Network World editor Jim Duffy has documented (as did SiliconAngle) that Juniper has higher performance than Cisco.  Don't forget about Alcatel-Lucent or Huawei.

My Angle on Cisco Grand Vision

Cisco touting an announcement that will forever change the Internet sounds like marketing-speak to me.  Kinda like Al Gore saying he invented the Internet.

What can Cisco do to really implement what is already happening in the market today?  I am interested in what is game changing about one vendor owning the end-to-end infrastructure, when the world is going more open with horizontal open stacks verses vertical owned stack.

Cisco seems to be out of touch with the reality of the market place.  My take is that Cisco is trying to rollout many elements piecemeal and packaging it as an “end to end” solution type announcement.  Is this a rip and replace or continuous improvement to the already changing landscape.  That is my fundamental question.

If the rumors are true about some sort of IPTV “consumer box” with new routing products launched in conjunction with select service provider partners, is it viable?

Other attempts for edge boxes have had trouble like Apple TV.  Apple TV has not been a success, partly due to the access bandwidth problems.  Even Netflix had some issues in getting their consumer offering to a box solution.

Is there high bandwidth that will appear out of “thin air”? Can Cisco leverage an already growing developer community who already are building on top of standards that are realizing great success with the current Internet and the Apple’s app store?

It appears that Cisco’s announcement is an attempt to take several products and solutions and bundle them into a “vision” for the marketplace that they can say that they can own it.

Cisco wants to be a consumer company in a big way and are opening up another battle front – the end-to-end service provider consumer market.  In other words Cisco hopes to position itself as a “one stop shop” for a service provider market.  What will Apple, Google, Juniper, Alcatel, Microsoft, Skype, Polycom, Tivo, and thousands of others companies say about this?

Conflict With Market Forces – Betting The Ranch

Does Cisco’s approach innovate the best-of-breed solutions and is Cisco aligning with the consumer market that prefers open and choice?  Is Cisco's business strategy out of touch with the market?  Is it realistic?

Cisco biting off more than they can chew in creating lines of battle with Google, Apple, and now possibly Skype.  If this is the case then Cisco appears to be betting the ranch that they can own the Internet with a only a select number of partners.

Trying to land grab and competing on many fronts just doesn’t add up to me.  This is in dark contrast to all the good things happening in the market:  Apple, Google, Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Microsoft, and zillions of applications being built by entrepreneurs.

We all want high-speed networks that do bazillion/Gbps, low cost cloud computing and storage, tons of on demand rich media, video telepresence, and smaller faster cheaper mobile devices.  I just don’t see it happening from one vendor.

I hope that Cisco will have more than what appears to be a "me too" set of individual announcements bundled as a message saying "Cisco is the future and cross the bridge with us to that future".

[Editor's Note: We shortened the headline, because frankly we broke the bank paying for all those vowels (and a couple readers suggested it might be a good idea). -mrh]

Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room – Launching New High Speed Network With Set Top Box March 9 is a post from: SiliconANGLE Subcribe to our RSS feed or follow us on Twitter.

104 Comments

rizzn says: March 5, 2010 3:40 pm SA> Cisco To Announce Apple, Google, Tivo Killer – Set Top Box Plus A New High Speed Network – Are They Now Competing… http://dlvr.it/68R3 This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

Furrier says: March 5, 2010 3:41 pm Cisco pushing big news next week my angle is here http://bit.ly/cRGPBD – watch out Apple, Google, Tivo, networking boys This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

stu says: March 5, 2010 3:41 pm RT @Furrier: Cisco pushing big news next week my angle is here http://bit.ly/cRGPBD – watch out Apple, Google, Tivo, networking boys This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

Justyn says: March 5, 2010 3:42 pm RT @furrier: Cisco pushing big news next week my angle is here http://bit.ly/cRGPBD – watch out Apple, Google, Tivo, networking boys This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

rizzn says: March 5, 2010 3:42 pm RT @Furrier: Cisco pushing big news next week my angle is here http://bit.ly/cRGPBD – watch out Apple, Google, Tivo, networking boys This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

unixplayer says: March 5, 2010 3:44 pm RT @furrier: Cisco pushing big news next week my angle is here http://bit.ly/cRGPBD – watch out Apple, Google, Tivo, networking boys This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

cadazan says: March 5, 2010 4:22 pm RT @furrier Cisco pushing big news next week my angle is here http://bit.ly/cRGPBD – watch out Apple, Google, Tivo, networking boys This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

johnfurrier says: March 5, 2010 4:42 pm I think it’s a noble vision but stuck in the mud of the realities of the market. What does Boxee think? Tivo? Apple? Google?Cisco is competing with the world. This comment was originally posted on Digg Reply

DerekEdmond says: March 5, 2010 4:50 pm Reading: Cisco To Announce Apple, Google, Tivo Killer http://bit.ly/cRGPBD This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

mikeberkley says: March 5, 2010 4:53 pm RT @furrier Cisco To Announce Apple, Google, Tivo Killer Next Week http://tinyurl.com/ybdsscx My take: hyperbole central & bloat. This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

JenCapenito says: March 5, 2010 4:55 pm RT @DerekEdmond Reading: Cisco To Announce Apple, Google, Tivo Killer http://bit.ly/cRGPBD This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

Burgess_Gary says: March 5, 2010 5:14 pm RT @furrier: Cisco pushing big news next week my angle is here http://bit.ly/cRGPBD – watch out Apple, Google, Tivo, networking boys This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

tomforemski says: March 5, 2010 7:29 pm Interesting post about what Cisco is up to next week from @johnfurrier at SiliconAngle – http://bit.ly/90ZFLG This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

hntweets says: March 5, 2010 7:30 pm Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room: http://bit.ly/9QI56T Comments: http://bit.ly/c0y1Ca This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

hkrnws says: March 5, 2010 7:30 pm Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room http://bit.ly/cbPGCN This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

johnobeto says: March 5, 2010 7:34 pm RT @tomforemski: Interesting post about what Cisco is up to next week from @johnfurrier at SiliconAngle – http://bit.ly/90ZFLG This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

tm_interesting says: March 5, 2010 7:36 pm Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room http://bit.ly/98Z0gN This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

WebStartupGroup says: March 5, 2010 7:45 pm StartupNews: Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room http://bit.ly/cfJeJ3 This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

sfcomms says: March 5, 2010 7:49 pm RT @tomforemski: Interesting post about what Cisco is up to next week from @johnfurrier at SiliconAngle – http://bit.ly/90ZFLG This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

dvellante says: March 5, 2010 8:32 pm Scoop on Cisco’s new Living Room ‘God Box’ from @furrier http://bit.ly/cRGPBD This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

jesseslinks says: March 5, 2010 8:49 pm “Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room – Launching New Set Top Box March 9″ – http://j.mp/aKf6GB This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

Jesse says: March 5, 2010 8:49 pm “Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room – Launching New Set Top Box March 9″ – http://j.mp/aKf6GB This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

shashib says: March 5, 2010 8:50 pm RT @Jesse: “Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room – Launching New Set Top Box March 9″ – http://j.mp/aKf6GB This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

ciscodisco says: March 5, 2010 8:51 pm RT @RT @Jesse: “Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room – Launching New Set Top Box March 9″ – … http://tinyurl.com/y9oxpyy This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

iappville says: March 5, 2010 8:52 pm Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room Launching New Set Top Box March 9 | http://bit.ly/ba8jfU This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

tsurfs says: March 5, 2010 8:53 pm RT @Jesse: “Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room – Launching New Set Top Box March 9″ – http://j.mp/aKf6GB This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

jsz0 says: March 5, 2010 9:07 pm "Is there high bandwidth that will appear out of “thin air”? "Yes but it’s actually been there the whole time. You know it as broadcast analog TV channels and inefficient MPEG2 digital video. Even a modest cable system can pump a massive amount of data into your home with the right hardware. If Cisco wanted to get aggressive on pricing for infrastructure products we would see a huge increase in bandwidth very quickly. This comment was originally posted on Hacker News Reply

furrier says: March 5, 2010 9:33 pm @furrier iRT @tomforemski: Interesting post about what Cisco is up to next week from @furrier at SiliconAngle – http://bit.ly/90ZFLG This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

furrier says: March 5, 2010 9:41 pm thx for reading RT @dvellante: Scoop on Cisco’s new Living Room ‘God Box’ from @furrier http://bit.ly/cRGPBD This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

furrier says: March 5, 2010 9:42 pm thx Gary RT @Burgess_Gary: Cisco pushing big news next week my angle is here http://bit.ly/cRGPBD – watch out Apple, Tivo, networking boys This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

withinsight_LLC says: March 5, 2010 9:46 pm John Furrier: thx Gary RT @Burgess_Gary: Cisco pushing big news next week my angle is here http://bit.ly/cRGPBD – … http://bit.ly/dmVC8Y This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

prsng says: March 5, 2010 9:47 pm Cisco coming into the Living Room – http://bit.ly/cRGPBD – I knew this was going to happen! This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

AndrewMueller says: March 5, 2010 9:47 pm RT @dvellante: Scoop on Cisco’s new Living Room ‘God Box’ from @furrier http://bit.ly/cRGPBD This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

furrier says: March 5, 2010 10:03 pm thx story got buired on digg wtf conspiracy RT @AndrewMueller: Scoop on Cisco’s new Living Room ‘God Box’ @furrier http://bit.ly/cRGPBD This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

SolSie says: March 5, 2010 10:11 pm Cisco to make a BIG announcement on March 9th ★ http://3.ly/sGs This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

charlieanzman says: March 5, 2010 10:17 pm Cisco doing the TV content box (plus!) thing? This could be huge http://bit.ly/98i64Y @furrier @rizzn This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

home_internet says: March 5, 2010 10:19 pm SiliconANGLE — Blog — Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room …: What if your home Internet connection was symmetri… http://bit.ly/cJN0vA This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

virtualTodd says: March 5, 2010 10:31 pm I hope this is all true – Amazing RT @furrier: Cisco pushing big news next week my angle – http://bit.ly/cRGPBD – watch out AAPL, Google. This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

IPTelevision says: March 5, 2010 10:39 pm SiliconANGLE — Blog — Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room … http://bit.ly/9z0JYe This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

kicauan says: March 5, 2010 10:39 pm Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room – http://su.pr/29Hogr This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

andybeach says: March 5, 2010 10:43 pm Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room – Launching New High Speed Network With Set Top Box March 9 http://bit.ly/boj7nW This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

marketingbot says: March 5, 2010 11:03 pm “SiliconANGLE Blog Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room …” http://bit.ly/c78cOh This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

bonky says: March 6, 2010 1:27 am RT @Jesse “Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room – Launching New Set Top Box March 9″ – http://j.mp/aKf6GB This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

elleferrer says: March 6, 2010 2:59 am An Apple, Tivi Google Killer SetTop Box w/ New High Speed Network? Cisco To Announce It’s Massive Vision On March 9th http://bit.ly/cxooos This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

Beet_TV says: March 6, 2010 3:17 am John Furrier has published information about Cisco’s big announcement on Tuesday http://bit.ly/bQqwBA This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

skoerbitz says: March 6, 2010 5:31 am Can Cisco deliver its grand vision and ‘change the future of the internet’? I doubt it but it sounds promising. http://bit.ly/9MqL40 This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

BazzaK says: March 6, 2010 5:50 am SiliconANGLE — Blog — Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room … http://bit.ly/aT1gtf This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

Headphaze says: March 6, 2010 7:14 am “SiliconANGLE — Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room – Launching New High Speed Network With Set Top Box March 9″ ( http://bit.ly/ccsZ1d ) This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

Vogin says: March 6, 2010 7:21 am Whoever works for the internet, works for freedom and so has my thumbs up. This comment was originally posted on Digg Reply

Notes: Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room – Launching New High Speed Network With Set Top Box March 9 « The Mark Bao Journal says: March 6, 2010 8:49 am [...] Cisco calls “the future of the internet”—of consumer products, content, and delivery. Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room – Launching New High Speed Network With Set Top Box March 9 [...] Reply

tricksterball says: March 6, 2010 9:14 am Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room – Launching New High Speed Network With Set Top Box March 9: http://bit.ly/doHHN5 via @addthis This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

John Furrier says: March 6, 2010 9:50 am Cross Posted from Facebook News Feed - By My Friend Matt Weeks John, in my world -at least from an entertainment content and monetization/advertising standpoint- you are right on. Many of us have done the "why not?" fantasy architecture exercise, combining the WebEx backbone, Linksys + SA + Arroyo, and a bunch of other acquisitions (telepresence) and small component/household technologies that are in-house. This ends up looking like a private network with delivery and streaming & performance characteristics that are not so much a worry for TiVO as they are a big concern for the MSOs and the Telco incumbents. This is big time disruption and it will make many incumbents hopping mad. Will they run to HP? this is the risk Cisco has to calculate, among others. Just because you "can" do something, doesn't mean your bread-and-butter legacy customers will benefit from it or be able to embrace the changes on the chess board. Cisco may very well stop being infrastructure and enabling technology for entertainment content delivery, home networking and signal/data and begin the biggest "over the top" initiative ever conceived. ... See More We have just been waiting for the big thinkers to figure out how to do it without ruining their legacy businesses along the way... maybe now is the time for them to take their shot. Great drama, and should benefit us all. I'm game for the unlocked single gateway box that delivers local DVR, NAS connections and cloud DVR & storage, phone, VOIP, video conferencing, Data and home networking, along with a hybrid Web/network entertainment package and a lot of bells and whistles including smart grid monitoring, appliance gadgets, remote managed services, and a partridge in a pear tree. Oh and by the way, while we're at it... probably a nicely done Android phone and tablet just to fill-out the package. Would I ditch my MSO and/ or Telco for the chance to try it? What would you do? Reply

John Furrier says: March 6, 2010 9:56 am Matt: that was a most amazing comment - thanks !! I cross posted it to the site for all to see. I agree with you - we've all smoked the peace pipe and dreamed of that "fantasy scenario". We all want it to play out fast. My issue is that it's all peace, love, and tons of bandwidth/content but just look at the track record of many vendors. Look at the innovation in the "last mile" - duh slow and anti innovation. It took a decade of market pressure to get the ilecs off their ass. There are many more examples but from my seat - single vendor end to end is anti innovation as seen by the movement of last mile connectivity innovation... Wireless is the bright spot right now and they are being forced by pure market pressures - user demand and profit motives. Now that is what I like. Reply

daniel4847 says: March 6, 2010 9:57 am http://bit.ly/cRGPBD Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room – Launching New High Speed Network With Set Top Box March 9 This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

furrier says: March 6, 2010 9:57 am RT @dvellante: Scoop on Cisco’s new Living Room ‘God Box’ from @furrier http://bit.ly/cRGPBD This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

furrier says: March 6, 2010 9:58 am RT @siliconangle SiliconANGLE — Blog — Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room – Launching New .. http://tinyurl.com/y9bpzfe This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

brucemacv says: March 6, 2010 10:13 am RT @Furrier: Cisco pushing big news next week my angle is here http://bit.ly/cRGPBD – watch out Apple, Google, Tivo, networking boys This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

withinsight_LLC says: March 6, 2010 10:14 am John Furrier: RT @dvellante: Scoop on Cisco’s new Living Room ‘God Box’ from @furrier http://bit.ly/cRGPBD: http://bit.ly/bZka3A This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

JohnPaczkowski says: March 6, 2010 10:18 am Interesting post about what Cisco is up to next week from @johnfurrier at SiliconAngle – http://bit.ly/90ZFLG (via @tomforemski) This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

furrier says: March 6, 2010 10:23 am RT @JohnPaczkowski: Interesting post about what Cisco is up to next week from @johnfurrier at SiliconAngle – http://bit.ly/90ZFLG This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

cselland says: March 6, 2010 10:40 am RT @siliconangle SiliconANGLE — Blog — Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room – Launching New .. http://tinyurl.com/y9bpzfe This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

aaforse says: March 6, 2010 10:42 am RT @cselland: RT @siliconangle SiliconANGLE — Blog — Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room – Launching New .. http://tinyurl.com/y9bpzfe This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

crbazevedo says: March 6, 2010 10:59 am Rumors on Cisco aiming at “changing the future of the Internet” http://bit.ly/bN8mTQ via @JohnPaczkowski This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

golding says: March 6, 2010 11:02 am another box, and on the heels of the tivo announcement too. Cisco Launching New High Speed Network With Set Top Box http://bit.ly/aWbgu7 This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

tonyatmatc says: March 6, 2010 11:32 am Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room http://ff.im/-h3pxC This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

wbogan says: March 6, 2010 11:35 am Cisco after your home network. http://short.to/1a4o4 This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

wbogan says: March 6, 2010 11:43 am RT @indrayam: Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room – Launching New High Speed Network With Set Top Box March 9 http://ff.im/-h3hDv This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

pcalvin says: March 6, 2010 11:55 am RT @indrayam: Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room – Launching New High Speed Network With Set Top Box March 9 http://ff.im/-h3hDv This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

Steven_Heinsius says: March 6, 2010 12:34 pm Scoop on Cisco’s new Living Room ‘God Box’ http://bit.ly/cRGPBD: http://bit.ly/bZka3A This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

GoogleNews2K10 says: March 6, 2010 1:02 pm SiliconANGLE — Blog — Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room …: RT @Furrier: Cisco pushing big news next week my a… http://bit.ly/csWv0Z This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

Mark Keen says: March 6, 2010 1:13 pm I found this comment on John C Dovak post today - really gives perspective on Cisco ----- For quite some time there has been the convergence story on data center solutions as customers have seen more of their data and storage networks run over the same infrastructures. You could even go so far back as to call the Cisco internal development thing that was Andiamo the first real shot across the bow. Anyway, ever since Cisco formally rolled in Andiamo and created their Data Center organization, the world has been heading towards a converged, vertically integrated solution. Then the storage world started consolidating. McData bought high end Sanera and God-Box vendor who I can't remember, then got bought themselves along with Foundry by Brocade. It quickly became obvious that a vendor who had good server, storage, and interconnect would compete. So the natural players became IBM, HP and Cisco. IBM has server and storage but weak interconnect. HP has server and some storage and interconnect, and until recently Cisco had just the interconnect (though their server products are coming on strong, and the perpetual rumors of EMC/NTAP getting bought is certainly not out of the realm of possibilities). I second the sentiment about JNPR, I think they get bought by either HP or IBM. If its HP, then look for a major infrastructure war between CSCO and HPQ. If IBM, I think the battlefield is a little more interesting (though with IBM's divesting of HW divisions I have a hard time seeing them buy JNPR). Reply

» Cisco considera el mercado del consumidor NoticiasTech says: March 6, 2010 1:16 pm [...] Joh Furrier de la página SilliconAngle dice que Cisco también lanzara un media center para entrar en el mercado del consumidor, algo [...] Reply

edgunther says: March 6, 2010 1:40 pm RT @tomforemski: Interesting post about what Cisco is up to next week from @johnfurrier at SiliconAngle – http://bit.ly/90ZFLG This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

furrier says: March 6, 2010 2:41 pm RT @GoogleNews2K10: SiliconANGLE Blog Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room .RT @Furrier: Cisco big news next week … http://bit.ly/csWv0Z This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

androidville says: March 6, 2010 3:36 pm Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room Launching New High Speed Network With Set Top Box March 9 | http://bit.ly/ba8jfU This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

tabletville says: March 6, 2010 3:36 pm Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room Launching New High Speed Network With Set Top Box March 9 | http://bit.ly/ba8jfU This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

droidville says: March 6, 2010 3:36 pm Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room Launching New High Speed Network With Set Top Box March 9 | http://bit.ly/ba8jfU This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

rizzn says: March 6, 2010 4:05 pm Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room … (John Furrier/SiliconANGLE) http://bit.ly/bQqwBA (via @Techmeme) This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

jeffreyswise says: March 6, 2010 4:15 pm RT @siliconangle SiliconANGLE — Blog — Cisco To Announce Apple, Google, Tivo Killer – Set To.. http://tinyurl.com/ybdsscx This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

Family Budget Tips And Advice | Current Events: mySpot4news.com says: March 6, 2010 8:05 pm [...] SiliconANGLE — Blog — Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room – Launching New High Sp... [...] Reply

TelecomJake says: March 6, 2010 8:33 pm SiliconANGLE — Blog — Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room … http://bit.ly/9z0JYe This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

Cisco To Announce Apple, Google, Tivo Killer – Set Top Box Plus A New High Speed Network – Are They Now Competing with Google, Apple, and Skype? « Appchannel.com says: March 6, 2010 9:14 pm [...] Continue reading here: Cisco To Announce Apple, Google, Tivo Killer – Set Top Box Plus A New High Speed Network &#821... [...] Reply

dboyll says: March 7, 2010 12:25 am Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room – Launching New High Speed Network w/Set Top Box Mar 9 http://ow.ly/1faGM (via @Beet_TV) This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

bluenove says: March 7, 2010 8:49 am Rumor: Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room – Launching New High Speed Network With Set Top Box March 9 http://bit.ly/bCnVRd #bn This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

BetterBizIdeas says: March 7, 2010 8:28 pm BIG March 9th meeting for Cisco-They want to rule your living room? http://bit.ly/c8u8ST This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

alansebastian says: March 7, 2010 9:44 pm RT @BetterBizIdeas: BIG March 9th meeting for Cisco-They want to rule your living room? http://bit.ly/c8u8ST This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

furrier says: March 8, 2010 11:09 am @rwc101010 totally agree an edge box is the key hence my post on cisco big push tomorrow http://bit.ly/cRGPBD – consumer box This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

Cisco Set to Release New Products « SV411 says: March 8, 2010 11:36 am [...] Silicon Angle is suggesting that the company will release an AppleTV-style cable set top or edge consumer box and 100 gigabyte Ethernet on their routers. Could it be an effort to kill Tivo and Skype? [...] Reply

JDEbberly says: March 8, 2010 12:11 pm Reading: Cisco To Announce Apple, Google, Tivo Killer http://bit.ly/cRGPBD (via @DerekEdmond) This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

davidweinfeld says: March 8, 2010 12:14 pm RT @JDEbberly Cisco To Announce Apple, Google, Tivo Killer http://bit.ly/cRGPBD (via @DerekEdmond) This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

jacksonp2008 says: March 8, 2010 1:42 pm Hmm… Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room – Launching New High Speed Network With Set Top Box March 9 http://ow.ly/1fILf This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

mjmorris says: March 8, 2010 1:46 pm RT @jacksonp2008: Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room – Launching New High Speed Network With Set Top Box March 9 http://ow.ly/1fILf This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

denise_donohue says: March 8, 2010 2:00 pm @jmistichelli New High Speed Network With Set Top Box http://ow.ly/1fILf This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

travisollom says: March 8, 2010 2:56 pm RT @jacksonp2008: Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room – Launching New High Speed Network With Set Top Box March 9 http://ow.ly/1fILf This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

furrier says: March 8, 2010 3:45 pm @ldignan my speculation on cisco big announcement is here http://bit.ly/cRGPBD posted on friday.. This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

furrier says: March 8, 2010 4:05 pm thx RT @abnerg: Cisco wants To Rule Your Living Room – great post by @furrier Read the last two sections twice http://j.mp/9MLCx6 This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

rgruia says: March 8, 2010 4:18 pm #Cisco call tomorrow: Here’s a good insight from @furrier http://bit.ly/d9EqTE – I believe AT&T can also be part of the SP equation…$CSCO This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

chanc says: March 8, 2010 6:24 pm Speculations on what Cisco could be announcing tomorrow. http://bit.ly/bnzx6K This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

Could Cisco be announcing a killer set-top box? | Easybranches.com™ says: March 8, 2010 6:50 pm [...] is an AppleTV-like cable set top based on technology from Scientific Atlanta, according to the blog SiliconAngle. Cisco bought Scientific Atlanta four years ago and it has been selling the company’s set-top [...] Reply

Could Cisco be announcing a killer set-top box? | penlau software says: March 8, 2010 9:07 pm [...] is an AppleTV-like cable set top based on technology from Scientific Atlanta, according to the blog SiliconAngle. Cisco bought Scientific Atlanta four years ago and it has been selling the company’s set-top [...] Reply

What’s Cisco Got Tomorrow? Predictions All Over the Map and a Massive Hypefest says: March 8, 2010 9:55 pm [...] I’ve found is the TV “settop on steroids” being pushed by blogger-networking site SiliconAngle. The funny thing is, everybody else is all over the map. The major news organizations have been [...] Reply

eekygeeky says: March 9, 2010 9:31 am Oh look, @furrier broke #Cisco “change teh intertubes 4eva” Set top box + broadband enhancements: http://tinyurl.com/y9bpzfe kudos! This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

UBMStudios says: March 9, 2010 9:56 am #Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room – Launching New High Speed Network With Set Top Box – http://bit.ly/cRGPBD (via @siliconangle) This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

SKY_NERD says: March 9, 2010 9:56 am #Cisco Wants To Rule Your Living Room – Launching New High Speed Network With Set Top Box – http://bit.ly/cRGPBD (via @siliconangle) This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

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This morning it hit me. This is the browser war playing out in mobile but 14 years later. More on that below but back to the meeting last night.

From my perspective Charlie Kindel (@ckindel) delivered three big messages
1) Phone 7 is an absolute consumer product,

2) it's easy to develop on and will be great platform for developers to "thrive" on

3) Microsoft corporate gave the Windows Phone7 team carte blanche to do whatever it takes to build a great product - which means don't get hung up on legacy Microsoft stuff in building it.

I Love The Phrase "Carte Blanche"

Microsoft is serious in targeting developers, but they are racing into a market that is being "paced" by Apple and Google. It's like watching short track speed skating and they are at the end of the pack. They need to make some moves fast.

Charlie Kindel told me that Microsoft gave the Phone 7 team "carte blanche" to bring a winner of a consumer phone to the market.

When I hear words like "carte blanche" I love it because it is a mindset to compete and deliver value. It reminded of the browser wars like when on December 7, 1995, Pearl Harbor Day, Bill Gates declared war — writing an internal memo ordering Microsoft to throw all its resources into launching a “hardcore” attack on the Internet browser market. At the time, Netscape’s share of that market was close to 90%; by early 2000, Netscape’s share had plunged to 20% then died, and Microsoft’s browser won that war.

More recently a few years ago Andy Rubin has been given "carte blanche" at Google to bring Android and the GPhone to market. Look at the results. Finally we all know that Steve Jobs has "carte blanche" at Apple -enough said there.

Microsoft is planning on opening the kimono at MIX. So we'll see what they brings.

Like Browser Wars, But Now: SmartPhone Wars

This is a flat out Smartphone war for Microsoft. Like the browser war in 1996 when Microsoft came from virtually no market share to killing Netscape, we are seeing Smartphone wars and the big three are: Apple, Google, and Microsoft.

Is Microsoft Going Old School On This Smartphone War?

One outside the box observation and take away for me that was the positive take away is that Charlie Kindel and his boss Joe Belfoire (Joe B as he's know at Microsoft) are "old school" Microsoft guys.

When I say old school Microsoft I mean they are smart and know how to build products that compete and deliver value. These guys build and fought the browser war and won against Netscape and they are 14 years older.

To quote and "old school" Microsoft saying expect Joe B and Charlie to deliver something "cool and relevant". These guys are old school hardcore Microsoft. I don't expect them to be afraid of Google and Apple. It will be interesting to watch.

Details from Engadget:

For some of the details of the meeting see Engadget. They have a good post of some of the content as a preview to Microsoft's GDC and MIX.

The major points are that Silverlight, XNA, and .NET will figure prominently into the developer story -- not a surprise considering that Microsoft is heavily invested in both, gaming is central to the Windows Phone 7 Series story, XNA is a big deal on Zune HD already, and this all lines up with what we'd heard in the past. In fact, Kindel boldly proclaims that "If you are Silverlight or XNA developer today you're gonna be really happy." On the flipside, it's a bit ironic considering that Silverlight spends much of its existence going head-to-head with Flash, and all indications are that we won't see Flash support on 7 at initial availability (though it's sounding like a lock post-launch).

One final note at today's event is that Microsoft has now officially confirmed for the first time that 7 represents a clean break from Windows Mobile as we know it today; existing apps won't be compatible.

Market Share and Developer Traction Will Be Key

If Microsoft can win over developer by getting them distribution and monetization then it's will be a winner. This means that Microsoft needs market share immediately. I like the move with XBox in that it's an immediate addressable market for developers.

Microsoft has had success with developers in the past, but can they change the game coming this far behind? This Windows Phone 7 team has done it before when Netscape had 90% market share. I know the world is different now, but I have to give the team the benefit of the doubt.

Update:  Ina Fried of Cnet has a good post with a great candid video of Charlie Kindel of Micrsooft.  She shows a great demo.

SmartPhone Wars – Same As Browser War? Microsoft Windows Phone 7 "We Are A Consumer Product" is a post from: SiliconANGLE Subcribe to our RSS feed or follow us on Twitter.

5 Comments

SiliconANGLE says: March 5, 2010 11:43 am SA>: SmartPhone Wars – Same As Browser War? Microsoft Windows Phone 7 “We Are A Consumer Product” http://j.mp/9vE2EQ This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

rizzn says: March 5, 2010 11:45 am SA> SmartPhone Wars – Same As Browser War? Microsoft Windows Phone 7 “We Are A Consumer Product” http://dlvr.it/65Zd This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

furrier says: March 5, 2010 11:46 am @ckindel it’s great to see some old school microsoft browser war guys kicking it up in the smartphone wars http://bit.ly/9M43QQ This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

furrier says: March 5, 2010 11:50 am This is my angle on Windows Phone 7 future – expect some aggressive moves http://bit.ly/9M43QQ This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

SiliconANGLE — Blog — SmartPhone Wars – Same As Browser War … | the world cares.com says: March 5, 2010 6:04 pm [...] here: SiliconANGLE — Blog — SmartPhone Wars – Same As Browser War … Tags: browser, gates, internal-memo, internet, its-resources, microsoft, pearl, pearl-harbor, [...] Reply

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In 2010, AT&T plans the following enhancements to its wireless network:

- Pennsylvania: adding more than 60 cell sites, upgrading nearly 400 to 3G technology.
- New Jersey: adding nearly 10 cell sites, upgrading more than 5 to 3G technology.
- Delaware: adding of nearly half a dozen cell sites.
- AT&T employees more than 3,200 employees in the Commonwealth.

This looks very promising indeed. My Blackberry on AT&T does the oddest things sometimes and I had clients in Philadelphia say having reception underground on the train is cool, but, having clear reception at home would be awesome.

Press release, after the break.

Via email:

AT&T INVESTMENT IN PENNSYLVANIA NETWORK AIMED AT ENHANCING MOBILE BROADBAND SERVICE ACROSS THE STATE

Plans Call for Addition of More Than 60 New Cell Sites and the Expansion of Backhaul to Increase Wireless Network Capacity

HARRISBURG, Pa., March 4, 2010 — AT&T* today unveiled its Pennsylvania wireless network investment plans for 2010, which include the addition of more than 60 new cell sites statewide, and the upgrade of nearly 400 additional cell sites to 3G wireless broadband throughout the Commonwealth.

Today’s announcement builds on AT&T’s 2009 wireless investment, during which it added more than 60 new cell sites in Pennsylvania and upgraded more than 175 existing sites to 3G. From 2007 through 2009, AT&T’s total capital investment in its Pennsylvania wireless and wireline networks was more than $725 million.

“Now more than ever, Pennsylvanians rely on mobile broadband connectivity to give them a gateway to get online for work, learning, recreation and much more,” said Rich Hudic, president and CEO of the Team Pennsylvania Foundation, a statewide organization that works to improve Pennsylvania's competitiveness and economic prosperity. “AT&T’s network expansion is just one example of how the private sector helps support Pennsylvania’s ability to compete regionally, nationally and internationally.”

J. Michael Schweder, president, AT&T Pennsylvania said AT&T’s private investments will help drive growth and innovation in Pennsylvania.

“During the past several years, we’ve made substantial private investments to provide our customers – and our Commonwealth – with access to the kind of technology that will stimulate economic growth, inspire innovation and create jobs,” Schweder said. “We remain committed to working with our state and local leaders to help create a positive economic environment that provides opportunities for companies to continue to invest aggressively in Pennsylvania.”

Internet usage growth has brought tremendous benefits for consumers, but requires tremendous investments in infrastructure. This significant investment in infrastructure and jobs is possible due to policy that enables companies to compete and offer the innovative services that consumers are increasingly demanding. AT&T has been working with policy makers to support a national broadband plan that enables broadband adoption and ensures broadband access to every American by 2014.

Wireless data traffic on the AT&T network has grown more than 5,000 percent over the past three years, largely attributed to today’s advanced smartphones that are generating dramatically increasing volumes of network traffic. In fact, roughly 40 percent of AT&T’s postpaid customer base uses a smartphone today, representing twice the number of smartphone customers than any other U.S. provider.

“We’re seeing advanced smartphones driving up to 10 times the amount of usage of other devices on average,” said Dan Lafond, vice president and general manager for AT&T in the central and eastern Pennsylvania. “Despite these unprecedented increases in wireless data traffic, AT&T’s network investments and upgrades have enabled us to continue to deliver the nation’s fastest 3G network.”

AT&T recently completed a software upgrade at 3G cell sites nationwide that prepares the nation’s fastest 3G network for even faster speeds. The deployment of High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) 7.2 technology is the first of multiple initiatives in AT&T’s network enhancement strategy designed to provide customers with an enhanced mobile broadband experience, both today and well into the future.

Faster 3G speeds are scheduled to become available this year and in 2011 as AT&T combines the new technology with our second initiative to dramatically increase the number of high-speed backhaul connections to cell sites, primarily with fiber-optic connections, adding capacity from cell sites to the AT&T backbone network.

The backhaul upgrades are also a key step in the evolution toward next-generation LTE mobile broadband technology. AT&T is designing its new backhaul deployments to accommodate both faster 3G and future LTE deployments. AT&T currently plans to begin trials of LTE technology this year, and to begin LTE deployment in 2011, matching industry time lines for broader availability of compelling devices and supporting network equipment.

AT&T’s 3G mobile broadband network is based on the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) family of technologies that includes GSM and UMTS, the most open and widely used wireless network platforms in the world. AT&T offers 3G data roaming in more than 115 countries, as well as voice calling in more than 220 countries. The technology also provides customers the ability to talk and surf the Internet at the same time.

AT&T is also an industry leader in Wi-Fi with the nation’s largest Wi-Fi network, which complements its wired broadband and wireless 3G networks, offering Wi-Fi connectivity in more than 20,000 U.S. hotspots — including retail stores and restaurants from coast-to-coast. A full list of AT&T Wi-Fi locations is available at www.attwifi.com.

AT&T operates more than 90 AT&T-owned retail locations in Pennsylvania. AT&T’s products and services are also available at a number of other authorized dealers and national retail locations.

For more information about AT&T’s wireless coverage in Pennsylvania, or anywhere in the United States, consumers can go tohttp://www.wireless.att.com/coverageviewer/. The online tool can measure the quality of coverage based on a street address, intersection, ZIP code or even a landmark.

ATT Plans To Bulk Up Pennsylvania This Year is a post from: SiliconANGLE Subcribe to our RSS feed or follow us on Twitter.

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MsTechAngel says: March 5, 2010 7:14 pm SiliconANGLE — Blog — ATT Plans To Bulk Up Pennsylvania This Year: HARRISBURG, Pa., March 4, 2010 — AT&T* today un… http://bit.ly/dk8Klt This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

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It's a solid post worth reading. I agree with most of it except Ray's point about unifying force that he says will never come.

Mobile Innovation Cycle

I've talked about our mobile innovation cycle model in a previous post when Millennial Media bought a SF analytic startup.

There is a massive data opportunity in mobile.  Data drives innovation and as I've said before data is the new developer kit.

Here are my favorite quotes from his post:

Mobile data is on fire. Despite a few false starts, we are now in the midst of a transformative “Open Mobile 3rd Wave”.

The smartest entrepreneurs will not wait for these fragmentation issues to be solved but are figuring out now how to pick a use case, a core platform, and geography to bound their problem and get going. Once you have initial momentum, you can pick through these fragmentation landmines, and make a 2nd and 3rd step. Don’t wait for the unifying technology to solve these issues before diving in. Its going to be an exciting time to build great mobile companies this next 5-7 years.

Mobile Confusion is High

Here is the issue going on in mobile. There exists fragmentation because of the massive shift in the market.  This shift combined with massive growth has created tons of confusion.  This confusion is at an all time high.

Confusion leads to opportunities hence the entrepreneurial boom in mobile.  No debates there.

Many Will Fail - Only A Few Will Succeed

This will give rise to many new companies and hopefully funding for them.  However, there will be many failures in this marketplace.  This is why I think that Richard's quote above is so important for entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurs need to get in the market and figure out where they fit and deal with the fragmentation.  Otherwise it will be hard to strike success.  This also poses some problems for investors like Richard.  The bad news is that there will only be a few major platform like deals - aka the big ventures that are being sought by venture capitalists.  The good news is that there will be thousands of applications/tools/services deals.  This is what the market is bearing right now and to me the core of Richard's advice.

My advice using a baseball analogy - don't try for the homerun on the first swing - get on base and score then take another swing.  The key to this strategy - the product strategy and plan.

Product Strategy - Get Into The Market

Startups need to be smart about how to "vector" into the market. This is critical. This should be their core product strategy - build a good enough product to get into the market and then go from there. This is in dark contrast to building what I call "the super product".

Most companies fail because they build the "super product" in their mind then try to sell it. The product strategy should be to get into the market.

Unifying Factors - Yes It's Here Already
Where I disagree with Richard Wong is on his point that there will be no unifying factor in mobile. In most hyper growth market there always is a unifying force whether it's defacto or standard.

Depending upon how you define what needs to be unified it is already here - look at what the Apple iPhone has represented and its' disruption in the market.

Like MS did in the PC revolution Apple has already done in the mobile world. Apple has shown the way for all - hence the Apple iPhone envy now being displayed across the globe.

The user experience demand is far to great and this is forcing some incumbent vendors to really question their strategy and product roadmaps.

The carnage of vendors that have 'bet wrong' are starting to litter the "global Internet superhighway".

Lesson here for entrepreneurs and innovative companies: make sure you're on the right side of the street or in other words don't bet the wrong way - the user experience expectation has already unified the mobile market.

Focus for Developers and Entrepreneurs - The Unifying Equation -User 2.0

I spoke with a friend and mobile executive Doug Garland and he had a good angle on this topic.  Doug passed on the following to me over email:

Doug Garland's Angle is:

John, I understand the fragmentation issue; however, practically speaking, given the vastly more engaged user behavior on iPhone and Android, a start-up can go a long way by focusing only on those platforms.

Further, given current volumes, you can go a long way by starting with the iPhone, though I expect that to change with the upcoming proliferation of Android devices. After those two platforms, Blackberry does come into play, but they still significantly lag iPhone and Android on user engagement (with obvious exception of email).

Other platforms are less relevant, though there are certainly geographically-based exceptions, especially where Nokia is dominant. Btw, I'm rooting for Palm. They've got a great product, but volumes aren't there

Apple and Google are the unifying platforms and they are driven by the end user experience and expectations. Users are driving the change.

Mobile Product Strategy – Get To Market First As A Priority -Mobile Fragmentation Discussion is a post from: SiliconANGLE Subcribe to our RSS feed or follow us on Twitter.

7 Comments

SiliconANGLE says: March 4, 2010 12:49 pm SA>: Mobile Product Strategy – Get To Market First As A Priority -Mobile Fragmentation Discussion http://j.mp/bADMOD This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

sldfjd says: March 4, 2010 12:54 pm [ff] John Furrier: Mobile Product Strategy – Get To Market First As A Priority -Mobile Fragmentation Discussion: http://url4.eu/1ZB5A This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

rizzn says: March 4, 2010 1:03 pm SA> Mobile Product Strategy – Get To Market First As A Priority -Mobile Fragmentation Discussion http://dlvr.it/5Wk9 This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

sldfjd says: March 4, 2010 2:42 pm [ff] John Furrier: SiliconANGLE — Blog — Mobile Product Strategy – Get To Market First As A Priority -Mobile http://url4.eu/1ZIMr This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

Furrier says: March 4, 2010 3:00 pm updated my mobile post with text from mobile exec Doug Garland exGoogle and Yahoo http://bit.ly/cKuiEC good angle @douggarland This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

sound_deals says: March 5, 2010 1:41 am SiliconANGLE — Blog — Mobile Product Strategy – Get To Market …: The good news is that there will be thousands o… http://bit.ly/aC9pW3 This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

steeje01 says: March 5, 2010 2:05 pm #Mobile Product Strategy- Get to market first as a priority, see how: http://bit.ly/dvVn0e This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

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I'm all for discovering hidden communities, great eating establishments and tiny music stores when I'm on the road but I'm getting pulled in too many directions. If we're to see the wide adoption of floating geo communities we're going to need some OPEN standards here. Remember the great hope of OAuth? Now the folks at britekite are hinting that a 'Universal Check-In' is in their sites. I'm not alone in hoping this comes sooner rather than later. If I was a betting man, I'd lay some cash down on Google to get this off the launch pad first. Yes, I'm happy to share where I'm at, but not at the expense of checking into four, five or even six services.

SXSWi will be about our location, our current activities and the reduction of friction to share this info. We'll be streaming our conversations (full announcement coming soon!) and our focus will be on the here and now. We hope that if you're in Austin we'll sit down and explore what all of this means but if you're 'there' in your own space anywhere around the globe we invite you to pull up a seat and help us parse the impact of the 'here and now' world.

[Update: Just after I hit post on Michael’s post, MG Siegler posted on the “war” heating up between Gowalla and Foursquare. Bottom line? Both are rolling out new features this week, and the world of location based services is going to be a focal point for the agenda setting week of SxSWi. –mrh]

SXSWi 2010 IS About Location is a post from: SiliconANGLE Subcribe to our RSS feed or follow us on Twitter.

13 Comments

SiliconANGLE says: March 3, 2010 2:19 pm SA>: SXSWi 2010 IS About Location http://j.mp/cBNXp5 This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

Furrier says: March 3, 2010 2:22 pm RT @siliconangle SiliconANGLE — Blog — SXSWi 2010 IS About Location http://j.mp/cBNXp5 This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

furrier says: March 3, 2010 2:23 pm SXSW studio and siliconangle team will be there http://bit.ly/d59IeU some sponsor slots left if interested This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

withinsight_LLC says: March 3, 2010 2:29 pm John Furrier: SXSW studio and siliconangle team will be there http://bit.ly/d59IeU some sponsor slots left if inte… http://bit.ly/abP0R6 This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

withinsight_LLC says: March 3, 2010 2:29 pm John Furrier: RT @siliconangle SiliconANGLE — Blog — SXSWi 2010 IS About Location http://j.mp/cBNXp5: http://bit.ly/d743Sz This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

rizzn says: March 3, 2010 2:38 pm Tip @Techmeme http://bit.ly/cBNXp5 “SXSWi 2010 IS About Location” This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

sldfjd says: March 3, 2010 2:54 pm [ff] John Furrier: RT @siliconangle SiliconANGLE — Blog — SXSWi 2010 IS About Location http://j.mp/cBNXp5: http://url4.eu/1Y1fT This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

sldfjd says: March 3, 2010 2:54 pm [ff] John Furrier: SXSW studio and siliconangle team will be there http://bit.ly/d59IeU some sponsor slots left http://url4.eu/1Y1fU This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

nicefishfilms says: March 3, 2010 2:59 pm SiliconANGLE — Blog — SXSWi 2010 IS About Location http://bit.ly/avetEy by: me This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

rizzn says: March 3, 2010 3:30 pm SA> SXSWi 2010 IS About Location http://dlvr.it/56qm This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

Mike Fruchter says: March 3, 2010 4:38 pm If you’re going to sxswi – we want to talk. This comment was originally posted on FriendFeed Reply

michael sean wright says: March 3, 2010 4:38 pm If you’re going to sxswi – we want to talk. This comment was originally posted on FriendFeed Reply

nicefishfilms says: March 3, 2010 4:38 pm SXSWi 2010 IS About Location http://ff.im/-gTu8p This comment was originally posted on Twitter Reply

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