Digital sixth sense pokes a nose over the horizon 8 October 2009
Posted by Steve Blum in Tellus Venture Associates.Tags: CTIA, intermap technologies, iphone, qualcomm
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He didn’t invent it, but he might be the one who brings it to market. Paul Jacobs, CEO of Qualcomm, talked about a coming “digital sixth sense” at today’s CTIA keynote session. His father, Qualcomm co-founder Irwin Jacobs, mentioned that at his age he’d like his mobile device to help him recognize faces and remember names. Paul took the idea to the next level, putting it together with other augmented reality concepts.
It’s still a fuzzy notion. Generally though, augmented reality involves delivering instant information about the real world around you, more or less automatically. It could be a system for recognizing faces, telling you the person’s name and giving you some quick background info regarding, say, the last time you met. Or you could look at the street you’re on through your mobile phone’s camera, and have buildings visually tagged with information about the businesses inside. And the list goes on.
The information flow can go both ways. You could walk into a party, take a quick peep at your phone’s camera, and instantly know who’s there. At the same time you could broadcast your own tag, telling something about yourself to anyone checking you out with a mobile phone.
Augmented reality still has a long way to go before it makes the jump from lab to market. But companies are starting to edge in that direction. The CTIA show featured applications that link GPS data to information about a specific location, and displays the result on a map. Intermap Technologies demonstrated its Accuterra iPhone app that provides tourist maps and guides to national parks and other outdoor attractions. They’re taking a hard look at iPhone 3.1 platform, which was just released to developers and supports early stage augmented reality functionality.
Mobile phone cameras and screens are just the beginning. Utimately, it’ll involve dedicated sensors and wearable display devices (glasses, maybe contact lenses?) tied to cloud based data and processing power. The mobile phone will just be one element in the augmented reality ensemble of the near future.
Genchowski has an activist agenda for the FCC 7 October 2009
Posted by Steve Blum in Tellus Venture Associates.Tags: 4G, AT&T, CTIA, fcc, regulation, wireless broadband
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FCC chairman Julius Genachowski delivered the opening keynote at the CTIA IT and Entertainment conference today. He offered good of idea of what he has in store for the industry, and gave us a feeling for who he is.
If you take him at face value, the FCC is going to be the wireless industry’s best friend. And the consumer’s best friend. In fact, everybody’s best friend.
Genchowski unveiled what he called the FCC’s mobile broadband agenda:
1. “Unleashing spectrum” for 4G service. He said mobile broadband usage is exploding, and the FCC has to promote more efficient use of spectrum.
2. Remove obstacles to 4G deployment, for example by streamlining the tower siting process.
3. Develop fair rules of the road for the Internet. He said it’s important to ensure the Internet remains open, and that the FCC has to empower entrepreneurs, not lawyers.
4. Empowering consumers by supporting a transparent marketplace. He also said vibrant and competitive marketplace, but he focused on transparency — nominally more information for consumers — as the means to fostering greater competition.
He clearly intends to be an activist FCC chairman. His plans would create a bigger role for the FCC in regulating the telecommunications industry, wired and wireless, telephone, cable and broadband alike.
The better the available information, the better a free marketplace will work in theory. That’s fine. But it’s a short step from requiring better information to trying to actively manage the workings of the market, and then to dictating outcomes.
The point wasn’t lost on Ralph de la Vega, CEO of AT&T Mobility and the second keynote speaker. He thanked Genchowski for his stated good intentions, but quickly hit back, saying we (presumably meaning America if not the entire world) need an Internet free of “burdensome regulation”. He said the Internet is open now, and needs to stay that way.
In a genuine debate, it would have been difficult for de la Vega to make the case that the particular corner of the Internet that he is responsible for is open. Like all U.S. mobile carriers, AT&T manages what subscribers can do with their bandwidth, and what devices they can use.
On the other hand, Genchowski would have been equally hard pressed to explain how a more activist regulator will lead to greater market freedom. Creating “fair” rules and “empowering” particular market players is in fact the reverse of letting the market operate.
Even free market economists usually allow that natural monopolies, such as telecoms networks, need some degree of regulation, so there’s clearly a role for the FCC to play. If that role is limited to increasing transparency and improving the ability of consumers to make economically rational choices, Genchowski and de la Vega should have no argument between them.
Will Genchowski so limit himself and his colleagues? I did not leave with the feeling that he sees himself as a simple referee. Rather, his enthusiasm is palpable for the work he laid out. I expect he will lead an FCC that increasingly sees itself as an industry player, at the least co-equal with the private sector, and sitting on the opposing side of the table.
Maybe Genchowski really believes he can foster entrepreneurial growth through federal regulation, rather than creating a bull market for Washington lawyers, lobbyists and special interests. If he does, he needs to explain how.
Carriers can’t rock and roll 6 October 2009
Posted by Steve Blum in Tellus Venture Associates.Tags: apple computer, AT&T, CTIA, verizon
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AT&T’s Rob Hyatt and Verizon’s Ed Ruth spoke today about the music business at the Mobile Entertainment conference at the CTIA show in San Diego. Neither were upbeat about their success to date, and both seemed to be waiting for something to happen. They seemed to define that something as “innovation” in the market place, but what they really seemed to want are innovations that allow them to keep music downloads and streaming within their walled gardens.
Hyatt said that AT&T’s executives don’t find the business case for music to be compelling. While Ruth paid lip service to openness, or rather Verizon’s version of openness, he made it clear that Verizon intends to own the app and download stores on its network, and keep content revenue moving through their existing customer billing relationships.
More than anything, they seemed puzzled by the way the music industry itself works and the relationship that consumers have with it. A telling moment was when Ruth talked about their devices and download stores being on a par with Apple’s products and iTunes store. The point that he seemed to be trying to make was that it’s just a matter of time before they start eating into the iTunes market share.
Others attribute Apple’s dominance to its understanding of the app store ecosystem. It’s the combination of a developer community, the blessing and support of a major mobile carrier, compelling content and a pleasant, easily grasped user experience.
Apple is the application and content provider that has gone the furthest in busting out of the mobile carriers’ preferred business model. Money is more evenly divided amongst the players — developers, content owners, retail and carrier. More generous cash flow is an incentive for developers to put the iPhone at the top of the priority list, which means more applications are released for it, and more quickly. In turn, more apps lead to greater consumer interest, which translates into more sales. More sales means more money, and the cycle reinforces itself.
Meanwhile, the carriers wait for (there’s that word again) innovation. The content owners have to be innovative enough to accept the mobile carrier’s business model, and consumers have to be innovative enough to just do what they’re told. Success is just a matter of time. Could be a very long time.
Live from CTIA 2 April 2009: real time tweets 2 April 2009
Posted by Steve Blum in Tellus Venture Associates.Tags: beceem, Clearwire, CTIA, didmo, ims forum, isc, lte, magmito, multitech, sequans, virgin america, WiMAX
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Checking out ISC show at Sands, lots of vendors, buyers & energy. Bull market for security these days.
WiMAX vendors split between ISC & CTIA, focus is on 2.5 GHz for Clearwire, lots of competition at other frequencies.
Back at CTIA, LTE has the support of the big guns at this show. WiMAX US hopes are pinned on Clearwire, more happening internationally though.
Finally found disruption! Magmito.com is phone-top publishing, can do for mobile apps what Pagemaker did for newsletters.
Magmito has three revenue streams: ads, SMS, white label sites. Platform lets Grandma build a mobile phone app.
IMS/NGN Forum working on common mobile standards from within system. Is there middle ground between open source & walled gardens?
Multitech Systems started making modems 38 years ago in a Minneapolis basement, now building M2M radios.
Multitech puts chips in defibrillators to talk to ERs. And other apps. Could be key to Craig Barrett’s 1,000 radio per person vision.
Beceem makes Wimax 802.16e CPE (and mobile USB dongle) chips for Clearwire, others. Competes with Sequans, hope both win. Slick user hardware will make the WiMAX biz model.
Another happy hour on CTIA show floor with free drinks. Good vibe, good show, not a bad business to be in given the economy.
Leaving CTIA and Las Vegas with optimism. Looking forward to ride home on Virgin America. Disco balls & WiFi – the perfect airline.
Live from CTIA 1 April 2009: real time tweets 2 April 2009
Posted by Steve Blum in Tellus Venture Associates.Tags: CTIA, fierce wireless, kikkerland, newbay, omega mobile, oulu, rim, t-mobile, verizon
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CTIA head Steve Largent talking at keynote sez wireless a bright spot in dismal economy.
Tmobile-USA CEO Robert Dotson also upbeat, so far speech is bland banalities, invoking Obama, Charles Lindbergh.
Dotson showing video talking up open source, sez on indy devs to drive innovation.
Dotson links stimulus bill, wireless broadband, rural connectivity & tmobile, guess who’s lining up for government cash?
CTIA survey sez people don’t want more taxes or regulation or to pay higher mobile phone bills. No s*** Sherlock.
Ivan Seidenberg CEO Verizon up now, sez 6 hours TV & online use per day, only half hour wireless use means growth opportunity.
Seidenberg wants d-block spectrum assigned directly to locals, improve broadband for first responders he sez.
Mike Lazaridis co-CEO RIM on stage, talking about magnificent – magnificent! – convergence & opportunity.
Lazaridis selling Blackberries, not doing industry leader speech like Dotson & Seidenberg.
2 out of 3 good batting average for trade show keynotes, kudos to Verizon, Tmobile & CTIA.
Lazaridis just wasting my time, l8r dood.
Met with folks from Oulu Innovation, have turned a Finnish community into a test bed for wireless apps, services & hardware.
Oulu attracting R&D operations, offers a living laboratory for proving new hardware & software for all handset makers, not just Nokia.
Met with Newbay too, 6 year old company, 250 employees, sez it’s profitable. 100% of revenue comes from mobile carriers.
Newbay creates content cloud – “lifetime cloud services” – for mobile carriers, users can store photos, sms, address books for example.
Heading back out to CTIA show floor, looking for big news. Not a packed show – can call it comfortably well attended though.
Mood at CTIA not upbeat, not down either, more like “if this is as bad as it gets I can deal with it”.
Hot party tonight is Fierce Wireless‘ at Caesars, follows free drinks at on-floor happy hour, CTIA crowd feeling good.
Omega Mobile designs mobile apps, doing well, upgraded offices in Emeryville, @scgeeks: looking for iPhone devs.
Driinn is neat, low tech gadget by Kikkerland, turns charger into a wall mounted mobile phone cradle.
Cup holder technology for a mobile age
