Mobiles

Recent economic hardships may have consumers scrambling even more to stay out of debt, but Americans won’t let the wireless payment slip. According to a recent Consumer Spending Behavior survey sponsored by LetsTalk.com, more than half of cell phone owners are willing to pay increased cell phone bills this year compared to last year. Surprisingly, over 75 percent of respondents report never being late on their wireless bill, but close to 90 percent admit delaying their utilities bill, ISP bill, landline telephone service bill, credit card payment, or rent/mortgage payment. When asked the primary motivation for prioritizing their wireless bill, over 63 percent agree that their mobile phone is essential to staying connected with families and friends.

“The cellphone is a lifeline that keeps people connected not only to friends and family but to employers and potential new employees. Today, even in the midst of our economic downturn, bills that were once seen as a priority take a backseat to our cell phone bills,” said Delly Tamer, CEO and Founder of LetsTalk.com. “The survey confirms to us what we’ve known for quite some time: cell phones, or more specifically, smartphones, have become an essential component of our everyday lives. We would rather risk our electricity shut off than our cell phones disconnected.”

Conducted last month, the LetsTalk Smartphone Consumer Spending Behavior survey canvassed over 500 LetsTalk customers, ages 18 and over. Additional survey highlights are detailed below.

Consumers are willing to spend more money on new cell phone features.

• Forty-five percent of respondents attribute an increase in their cell phone bill to additional services (needed on recently purchased phone).
• The third most popular response when asked why respondents’cell phone bills are higher is text message usage increase.
• Smartphones have become the norm

See full results: http://www.letstalk.com/CellPhoneBillSurvey.pdf

Motorola announced that the company has completed the industry’s first over-the-air Long-Term Evolution (LTE) data sessions in the 700MHz spectrum using its LTE Radio Access Test Network and LTE eNode-B platform with a prototype LTE device. This testing milestone, achieved in Motorola labs and at an outdoor location in central Illinois, demonstrates the progress Motorola is achieving toward bringing its LTE solutions to market in 2009.

The sessions included mobile video streaming and various high data rate applications. The demonstrations also included execution of applications priority which guarantees throughput using quality of service (QoS) aspects of the LTE standards.

“This field test shows the progress we’ve made in preparing to deliver a commercial LTE solution for testing and early limited deployments in 2009,” said Darren McQueen, vice president, Wireless Broadband Access Technologies, Motorola Home & Networks Mobility. “We are testing our 700MHz and 2.6GHz products, which are expected for first commercial release next year, in real-world environments to ensure our products will meet the needs of mobile carriers who want to be first to market with LTE.”

The lower frequency bands provide better coverage and in-building penetration, which is a requirement for many mobile operators. In North America, the 700MHz spectrum auctioned earlier this year is part of the worldwide “digital dividend” - spectrum in the 470-862MHz bands that has been freed by the switch from analog to digital TV. The digital dividend is viewed by mobile operators in the U.S., Europe, and much of the rest of the world as a valuable resource as existing and new mobile broadband networks quickly consume current spectrum allocations and operators are pushed towards providing connections to rural areas.

In Europe digital dividend spectrum encompasses the current TV broadcast 790-862MHz bands. It is expected to be auctioned between 2009-2012.

Rogers Wireless and Research In Motion (RIM) are launching the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 smartphone, the first BlackBerry phone to come in flip form factor. The BlackBerry Pearl Flip will be available in black finish from Rogers Wireless starting November 4, with the pink BlackBerry Pearl Flip coming soon.

The new BlackBerry Pearl Flip provides flip phone fans with all the power of a BlackBerry smartphone in a fun and familiar design. You can send a message to your friends or family, make a call, browse the web, snap a picture, watch a video or listen to your favorite song. It features two high-resolution, light-sensing color displays, including an external LCD that makes it easy to preview incoming emails, text messages and phone calls without opening the handset.

Other features including:

• SureType QWERTY keyboard
• 240 x 320 internal LCD
• Built-in Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) with support for Rogers TalkSpot service
• 2 megapixel camera
• microSD/SDHC memory card slot that supports up to 16GB for plenty of storage
• Enhanced HTML browser with RTSP support for online streaming video from sites like m.youtube.com
• BlackBerry Maps
• DataViz Documents To Go
• Bluetooth 2.0

The BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 smartphone will be available in black from Rogers starting November 4, from $49.99 with activation on any combination of 3 year voice and data plan with minimum combined monthly service fee of $35 per month from Rogers. Some conditions apply. The pink BlackBerry Pearl Flip will be available in the coming weeks.

Now that you have stepped up and purchased your first iPhone, you might be considering getting insurance for your new favorite device. Well, before you agree to pay AT&T their standard fees, you should first check out SquareTrade.com.

In business since 1999, SquareTrade is changing the warranty industry. According to their site, they are the largest independent warranty provider and the only warranty consistently rated 5-stars by consumers. Their prices average 40% less than most retailers. Every warranty comes with a 5-day service guarantee you won't find anywhere else.

Recently, SquareTrade added cellphone warranty plans that you can check out here, but the highlights are that they are superior to what you'd get from a wireless carrier for two reasons (see chart above):

1. It's cheaper -- just $2 to $4 a month, and you'll be covered against device malfunctions (for $2/month) or device malfunctions PLUS coverage for accidental damage from handling (for $4/month).

2. Their deductible is less.

They also state that their service is superior but since I've never used their products, it's hard to assess that claim although they have a number of favorable reviews on their site.

I have never purchased insurance for my phone but I know that it is a big (& profitable) business for the wireless carriers. As devices get more expensive and more important I can certainly see more consumers wanting protection and SquareTrade sure seems like a great option.

Microsoft isn't used to being number two and while Mac and Linux offer up a bit of competition in the operating system wars, the threat to Windows is much more heated in the mobile industry.

Microsoft and LG Electronics today said they had signed a preliminary agreement on strategic collaboration in mobile technology in the hopes of Windows Mobile continuing to challenge the Symbian platform (Nokia's OS that is currently installed on some two-thirds of all smartphones).

As if Symbian wasn't enough to worry the very competitive Microsoft, Research in Motion's Blackberry systems and Apple's iPhone are also proving threatening. Even more forthcoming is news that several manufacturers are planning (or have already developed) smartphones based on Google's open-sourced Android software. See full article.

Related Entries:

New Sidekick Revealed - 01 August 2008

New Blackberry, RIM's First Flip Phone - 10 September 2008

a-GPS Hits AT&T - 17 September 2008

Wal-Mart Bests T-Mobile on Google Phone By $30 - 29 October 2008

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Electronic Arts (NSDQ: ERTS) said wireless revenues jumped 24% to $47 million in its fiscal second quarter from $38 million in the year-ago period. The company claims it is the the No. 1 mobile game publisher worldwide.

EA Mobile said it is releasing 12 mobile games in the third quarter, including FIFA, Need for Speed and Trivial Pursuit. During the earnings call, John Pleasants, EA’s COO and president of global publishing, said wireless-related revenues are up 25% in the last six months: “This business is on track to generate over $185 million in revenue this year, consistent with our previous guidance.”

Bloomberg is reporting that Panasonic and Sanyo have reached an agreement that will see Panasonic acquiring Sanyo.
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