Clear's New Spot; WiMax Strong at 1 Billion Users

If you're new to the mobile scene, you should know that Clearwire, is a company partly owned by Sprint that provides the WiMax network in the United States.  It's not doing well.  But I'm hopeful.  And I'm hopeful that my iSpot will see a lot of milage for years to come.  I am expect another three, maybe four, years before the WiMax network in the US changes for good

Meanwhile, Clear is still trying to capture a piece of the lucrative wireless data market.  And even without my iSpot, which connects only to iOS devices for $25 a month, this new $99 Spot 4G from Clear is in its own right, a pretty compelling deal.  See, I went with my iSpot because I wanted to see if I can live off this $25 a month rate without owning a phone.  I did that for about seven months before I got reapplied for the iPhone and Triumph.

So, my question is you is whether anyone out there is running their home network off an WiMax hotspot like this.  Typically in my area, I am gettting between 4-5 Mbps downstream and about 1Mbps upstream.  

My only issue with these mobile hotspots is that their battery life is pretty limited.  During my iPod touch and iSpot experiment, I typically ration between whatever public hotspot I can find and the iSpot.  It would be terrific if these come with the option for a larger battery.  

I have on some occasion artificially increased the iSpot through external battery sources.  But it really beats the point about mobile if you're forced to carry an extra device.  

But then your mobile needs couple possibly be very different from mine.  You may need mobile connect only for a little while at a time.  Then any Spot from Clear could be what you're looking for.  And unlike the data plans from T-Mobile, Verizon, and ATT, Clear's "unlimited" still means unliimited while competitors are still looking to nickel and meter you to death.

Regardless of the portability issue, I think the death of Wimax chats are premature given the limited LTE rollout by Verizon Wireless in the US and ATT who have yet to even have one LTE market.  Furthermore, the complication in the wireless market generated by the ATT and T-Mobile merger could give Sprint and Clear's WiMax a second look by mobile warriors.  And Sprint is the only major carrier left that still offer truly unlimited data plans.

And to top all this off, there are currently 1 billion users connected to the Internet through WiMax (Wireless Week).  I think we're quite  away off from the WiMax network in the US being taken down for any reason whatsoever.  

Interesting Data on In-Game Payments That May Say A Lot About Who We Are As Gamers

Here is an interesting fact about gaming, free-to-play games and just how much we'll pay. And apparently, the average amount a dedicated player is going to expose their wallets to is $14 per game.

This is dramatically higher than "free" that these players were willing to pony up to start with.  However, there are not that many players with the willingness to pay that amount.  

What potential game developers should realize is that they need to understand as long as they can develop a large following with free to start and can retain a loyal following, they can expect to the revenue to start flowing in.  But just 3% are willing to spend the $14.  

I can't say if that's good or not.  Of course, there is the ad revenues that also come into play for most free games.

Source:  Toucharcade.

Reasons For Closing Fake Apple Stores In Kunming Shows China Is Not Serious About Interllectual Properties

The reason that the Chinese government in Kunming gave for closing the fake Apple stores was not over intellectual property rights or trademark issues but over the lack of permits to operate the stores.  

I know the Chinese government has a seriously need to save face, like all the time, but these kinds of double speak at home and saying something else entirely whenever a Chinese official visits a Western nation shows just Beijing either has no control over the situation or they are no serious whatsoever about enforcing international laws.

How bad is this?  Only two of five stores were shut down.  So, I am guess the other three has the backing of the local government through actual business licenses or has the local political boss' support.  

What's worse?  The people who work there actually thinks they work for Apple.

Source: Pulse, Reuters.

Retina Display Coming To the Macs - We Just Don't Know When

It looks like Retina display is coming to the Macs.  When?

it's anyone's guess but Arstechnica has a good detailed section on it within their Lion review article.  It's definitely must read on both accounts.

Again, the question is when will this happen?  I think Apple is likely trying to leverage this technology as soon as it can.  It'll be inconceivable that its competitors can move fast enough.  After all, Apple is probably going to update the iPad with the Retina display sooner rather than later.  This could mean that the economy of scales of the iPad screens can also help Apple absorb any increase in display prices for the Macs in the future.

That said, when Apple increase the  iPhone 4 due to it having the updated Retina display over the 3GS, it could be promising that the Macbooks, iMac, and the Cinema displays get Retina upgrades without much if a price increase if any.  I would not be shocked if Apple does provide the current LCD display with the Retina option in future Mac upgrades.

Such a move could potentially bring the new Retina displays faster to the market.  Let the customer chose if they want to pay a premium for better displays.  Therefore, I disagree with Arstechnica's assessment that we will have to wait quite a bit longer for it.

Source:  Macrumors, Arstechnica.

Amazon's Next Quarterly Earnings - Will Tax Collection Requirements In California Impact It's Earnings?

I'm a simple person when it comes to commerce taxes and whatnots.  So, when California, my home state asked for taxes to be collected by out-of-state online retailers, to me it made sense.  For too long, many residents, myself included, buy from Amazon because it was not only cheaper at some brick-and-mortar stores, you did not have to pay taxes upfront

Well, there is sales taxes on your online purchases which you're supposed to send to the state yourself during the course of the year or during tax filing times.  Billions of dollars of taxes were lost over the course of the last 12 to 13 years.  

I'm not here to debate that issue.  I'm wondering about the tax issues as it relates to Amazon's earnings.  California itself is the 9th biggest economy in the world even as we struggle through our own recession and employment problems but we continue constitute a large percentage of Amazon's online market.

Now for many online buyers, there may be no reason to buy from Amazon if they are forced to automatically pay the sales taxes.  They can go to local and home-grown retailers like Buy.com that could offer similar prices and, since the fulfillment centers are in California, we could also get our goods faster.  Or they can just go with local retailers' online sites like Costco, Target, and Walmart that often ship to the store for pick-up.  This is an option for Best Buy online purchases.  I reckon that those retailers could get a piece of Amazon's revenue should the affiliate embargo continues.  

At the end of the day, it all comes down to pricing as smart consumers continue to shop for the best prices around.  But I also expect a push by local retailers to fill any short-term gaps created by Amazon's exit.  

In the coming election cycle, Amazon is trying to put the issue to the voters.  Left of center Californians.  And they run the risk of permanently damaging relations with voters and the government.  And that could have a long-term impact on its ability to profit from California  

Note: I totally get the other side of the tax revenue issue as well.  Hundreds if not thousands of companies will be moving their operations to one situated out of California.  Just how this will play out is anyone's guess.  

Another Note:  I think there could have been some compromises that be worked out for a transitional period.  Amazon and etailers outside of California has had an advantage for years because they did not  have to collect taxes from Californians.  And they could also fold that into the pockets of shareholders and be able to pay affiliates.

Did WSJ's hit pieces on Apple Have to Do with the WSJ App Forced To Remove Subscription Link?

The Wall Street Journal along with a few other apps that sell books or subscriptions directly from the app.  

My guess is that WSJ tried to work with Apple on softening these rules, and they are not new, but has not been able to get Apple to bend.  

Hence, what Forbes (Onxo) believed were two hit pieces against Steve Jobs and Apple.  

Samsung Shipped More Smartphones Than Anyone Else In the World?

Apple has had a great third quarter but it looks like Samsun's second quarter has been even better than Apple and may have shopped about a million smartphones more than Apple.  Samsung's resilience to the iPhone assault seems to have legs.  After all, the Galaxy line has done very well in the marketplace and may have the kind of name recognition that the iPhone has. 

From a competitive standpoint, the Galaxy is the single most direct competition to Apple's iPhone than the Android platform as a whole.  When people talk about Android, it is just what it is, a platform.  With the Galaxy, Samsung has created an international brand that has appeal and come to represent quality and excellence.  Though not quite at the iPhone's level, its success could possibly be why Apple and Samsung have become bitter mobile enemies even as the two companies worked together to supply Apple with the parts for its mobile needs.

Samsung's quarter was helped by the release of the Galaxy S II that may have sold over six million units.  That is about two million a month since their release.  Not to be redundant here, but these are almost iPhone like numbers.  Of course, Samsung has not had to content with direct competition with Apple's next iPhone upgrade until this fall.  It's likely Apple can take this crown from Samsung in the third and fourth quarters of the regular financial calendar.

Only time will tell.  At play are also patent law suits around the world between Apple and Samsung as well as the recent preliminary victory the ITC handed Apple over HTC over the violation of two of Apple's patents that line at the heart of Android itself.  Should Apple win any kind of judgment against Samsung in this matter and/or other issues, it could have the potential of stunting any gains the Galaxy brand has made over the last couple of years.

Note:  Apple, unconventionally, ends their financial year in the September quarter rather than the December quarter.  So Apple's first quarter is everyone else's fourth quarter.  Second quarter for Apple is everyone else's first quarter and so one.  

Source:  Android Community.