All posts from jkOnTheRun

Apple today has relaxed development requirements for iOS devices, allowing programmers to use non-Apple tools to create mobile applications. This easing still prohibits iOS applications from downloading additional code, but should open the doors for iOS apps to be built from non-Apple frameworks and cross-platform tools.

ARM is introducing a new powerful chip architecture, Cortex-A15 which will target web servers and personal portable devices like the iPhones and iPads. The Cortex-A15 architecture is ideal for cloud clients connected via high speed wireless connections and is likely to give Intel some sleepless nights.

Samsung’s Galaxy S is headed to the big three carriers in China, which gives the company a realistic shot at selling 10 million Galaxy S handsets by the end of 2010. How is Samsung able to shoot for large sales numbers? It’s taking an Apple approach.

Kno, a California-based startup that plans to launch a two-screen “digital textbook” later this year, today announced that it has raised a $46-million financing round led by Andreessen Horowitz, with Silicon Valley Bank and TriplePoint Capital also participating in the debt and equity funding.

MasterCard has launched its MoneySend service on the BlackBerry, taking aim at PayPal in the growing mobile payment business. MoneySend is a virtual prepaid credit card that customers can link with existing bank accounts, debit and credit cards to send and receive personal payments on the BlackBerry. The MoneySend app is available as a free download on BlackBerry’s App World.

The MoneySend service can be used to pay for goods and services like any credit card, but is primarily aimed at person-to-person exchanges through a transaction on the BlackBerry. Say you want to pay your babysitter and you both use MoneySend — just tap a few keys on your phone and the money is instantly transferred. Payments can be received via a simple text message, and the MoneySend app can be used to request payments from those who owe the customer money. MasterCard will really be onto something when they can make folks pay customers back, not just request payments.

With 270 million smartphones expected to ship this year alone, mobile payments are a huge looming business opportunity as consumers look for easier ways to conduct business from the phone. The opportunity is large enough that even Apple is looking at getting into the mobile payment business. We’ll be hearing more from these competing services, as Geoff Iddison of MasterCard and Osama Bedier of PayPal will be speaking on the mobile payments space at our Mobilize conference taking place this month.

Related research on GigaOM Pro (sub. req’d): A Mobile Payments Glossary

New statistics by research firm In-stat show that mobile computing has won.  Mobile computers will chip away at the desktop PC market led by notebooks, which will be shipping 291 million units by 2014. The mobile computer segment — notebooks, netbooks and tablets combined — will be shipping over 400 million units in that same period. Notebooks will represent 52 percent of the computing market, even though the young tablet market will see a 123 percent growth between now and 2014.

The tablet segment was kick-started by the successful launch of the iPad (s aapl), and will continue to grow as companies bring models based on the Android platform to market. While notebooks will remain the computers purchased by most, the tablet will begin to rival the netbook/ smartbook according to these numbers. The rapid rise of the tablet will be a hot topic at our Mobilize conference later this month.

These numbers don’t address the rise of the smartphone as mobile computers, and recent figures from IDC have a whopping 270 million phones shipping this year. It is not unreasonable to believe that today’s high-powered smartphones can impact the sales of mobile computers, particularly the netbook/ smartbook segment. The mobile computer, no matter its form, has won the war with the lowly desktop.

Related research on GigaOM Pro (sub. req’d): Are You Empowering Your Mobile Work Force?

The HP Mini 5103 is the newest member of HP’s netbook product line aimed at the enterprise. The brushed aluminum casing, almost full-sized keyboard and long battery life is much like the previous model, with one notable improvement. HP has put an Intel Atom N550 dual-core processor to add a needed performance boost to the netbook. The processor bump definitely brings the netbook into the performance realm of regular notebooks, while retaining the long battery life of the Atom processor.

This video shows the Mini 5103 is more than a netbook thanks to the dual-core processor. The performance is good, and the video playback enabled by the Broadcom Crystal HD Video Accelerator is smooth and higher quality than is possible with the previous generation Atom processor alone.

The battery life of the Mini 5103 is over seven hours with the extended battery demonstrated in the video, and the high resolution (1366×768) touch display make this one of the most powerful 10-inch netbooks. The total package is less than 3 pounds, making this a portable workhorse that can tacke any job for the mobile professional.

Related research on GigaOM Pro (sub req’d): Report: The Future of Netbook

As we create more information on the web, how do we keep from drowning in the data deluge? “Digital intuition” software such as my6Sense can help — the free software arrives today for Android and aggregates information from multiple data source while surfacing important content

amsung today introduced Orion, the company's next-generation, dual-core smartphone chip based on the ARM Cortex-A9 architecture. Orion uses two 1 GHz processors and Samsung says Orion will offer up to five times the 3G graphics performance over its prior smartphone application processor.

Silicon Valley-China Wireless Conference 2010
Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif.
Sept. 24 & 25, 2010.

The world of the wireless ecosystem now connects not only everyone, but also everything. These connected “smart objects” generate opportunities for enterprises and entrepreneurs in areas including Internet of Things, Mobile Healthcare and Mobile Apps.

We are pleased to announce that Silicon Valley-China Wireless 2010 Annual Conference “Smart Connectivity” will be held at Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif. on Sept. 24 & 25, 2010.

Attend SVC Wireless Conference 2010 to become “smart” in the new era.

Agenda

Five keynotes
Four panel discussions
Mobile Application Contest
Mobile Boot Camp
Ten year anniversary Gala

http://www.svcwireless.org/svcw/ac2010-agenda

Speakers

Senior executives from IBM, Cisco, Huawei, Qualcomm, Stanford University and China Mobile Communication Association

http://www.svcwireless.org/svcw/ac2010-speakers

Registration

Seats are limited. Early registration is highly recommended due to high demand in previous events.

http://www.svcwireless.org/svcw/ac2010-registration

Inquiry Contacts

Tianbo Li,
tianbo.li@svcwireless.org

Jessica Xu,
jessica.xu@svcwireless.org

Ann Xin,
ann.xin@svcwirless.org

David Xu,
david.xu@svcwireless.org

Samsung is predicting an oversupply of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) used in computers, due to expectedly weak PC sales. The uncertain economic climate is cited as the primary cause for lower-than-expected PC sales in spite of the upcoming holiday season. DRAM is widely used in PCs, and the glut should result in lower prices, which should get passed on to consumers.

Lower PC sales may also partly be a result of the iPad and the coming glut of Android tablets, as netbook inventor ASUS has already warned investors. High sales of the iPad have resulted in lower PC sales, and as Android tablets are poised to appear on the market in great numbers the impact should be even greater. These tablets use less DRAM than conventional PCs, instead using Flash RAM for the primary memory.

Samsung is one of the largest suppliers of DRAM globally. Kwon Oh-hyun, head of Samsung’s chip business, gave the warning at a conference in Taipei. He did not indicate a long-term slowdown was expected, but did state the glut is a result of the expectation of lackluster end-of-year holiday PC sales.

Sales of servers had a strong second quarter according to Intel, and Samsung is no doubt hoping that segment continues to perform well through the end of the year to minimize the affect on the DRAM market due to lackluster PC sales. DRAM pricing is directly affected by supply and demand, and a glut of supply will result in lower prices.

Image credit: Samsung

Related research on GigaOM Pro (sub req’d): Better Battery Life Motivates Mobile Chipmakers

Tier-one carriers in the U.S. have built their businesses on one primary model: Subsidize handsets substantially to entice users to sign long-term contracts for voice and data service. As I discuss in my weekly column over at GigaOM Pro, that’s a model that should be also be used for consumer femtocells, which carriers should subsidize to drive up monthly revenues.

Sprint recently began giving away EVDO femtocells on a case-by-case basis to users complaining about coverage in their homes. Customers with coverage issues can get an Airave for no upfront cost and no monthly charge; all the voice, data and messaging use via the device is considered part of their monthly rate plans.

Compare that to Verizon Wireless’s Network Extender, which will set you back $150 even after a mail-in rebate. Even worse is AT&T’s 3G MicroCell, which costs $150 in addition to a $20 monthly charge for unlimited voice and data usage.

Femtocells enable carriers to ramp up usage while offloading traffic. By providing a better signal, femtocells pave the way for increased usage from customers with connectivity problems. That increased usage results in higher ARPU (average revenue per user), especially for carriers who — like AT&T — no longer support all-you-can-eat plans. Indeed, AT&T’s new plans are an ideal tool for monetizing femtocells, because increased usage results directly in increased monthly revenues. And the improved reception could also be enough to entice some users with in-home coverage problems to cut the cord and use the mobile exclusively.

Expectations for the femtocell market are huge, especially in the U.S. MarketsandMarkets predicts the American femtocell market will generate some $4.6 billion by 2014, seeing an estimated CAGR of 82.6 percent and accounting for nearly 41 percent of worldwide revenues by the time. For the consumer market to take off, carriers will need to take the hit on the front end and be satisfied with lucrative recurring monthly revenues.

Read the full post here.

Image courtesy Flickr user Elsie esq.