On October 1, Venture Beat reported that Apple dropped NDA(Non-Disclosure Agreement) for iPhone application developers, which was rejoiced by application developers. Before that, iPhone application developers have to agree not to talk about Apple development kit or the work they did with it before they can download the iPhone SDK (Software Development Kit), which looks very restrictive (more restrictive than Microsoft Windows API?). I do not think it was a good decision, which hinders the healthy growth of iPhone as a platform. Making it open, iPhone should see a more healthy growth. Anyway, what is Apple afraid of? Same reason as they did for Macintosh?
Maybe the drop is related with the upcoming G1. Android, the operating system of G1, offers an open alternative to iPhone. I think an open platform will foster innovation and benefit cell phone users.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Who is manufacturer of iPhone? (Foxconn)
Apple designed iPhone and provided its operating system. But who is the manufacturer of iPhone? TEXYT has a nice article about it. There are many companies which contributed to iPhone components. For example, ARM CPU is from German Infineon, WiFi chip is from US Marvell, and touch screen is from Japan Sharp and Sanyo. But who is the final assembler of iPhone?
According to WSJ, it is Foxconn, Taiwan-based manufacturer. Foxconn has a huge factory in ShenZhen, China, which employs 270,000 workers.
It is reported that Apple has PA Semi ARM team to design a new CPU.
According to WSJ, it is Foxconn, Taiwan-based manufacturer. Foxconn has a huge factory in ShenZhen, China, which employs 270,000 workers.
It is reported that Apple has PA Semi ARM team to design a new CPU.
Is the future of smartphone industry like PC industry today?
It is rumored that HP will introduce Window Mobile, touchscreen, and QWERTY smart phone. Combined trail-blazing iPhone, Nokia touch-screen phone which debut this past Thursday, and upcoming G1, the smartphone industry competition is hot. Like high competitive PC industry, I think smartphone competition benefits consumer.
But unlikely PC, whose operating system is dominated by Windows, there is no dominant operating system for smartphone yet. There are Symbian OS, Windows Mobile, Linux Mobile, Access, and Android. Many of them are or will be open source. Hopefully it will boost application development on these open source platforms.
Also unlike PC industry, which is independent on ISP, cell phone industry is closely associated with wireless carriers.
But unlikely PC, whose operating system is dominated by Windows, there is no dominant operating system for smartphone yet. There are Symbian OS, Windows Mobile, Linux Mobile, Access, and Android. Many of them are or will be open source. Hopefully it will boost application development on these open source platforms.
Also unlike PC industry, which is independent on ISP, cell phone industry is closely associated with wireless carriers.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Who is inphonic? (online seller of wireless services who never pay rebate)
Inphonic, also under the camouflage of wirefly, a1wireless, and VMCsatellite.com, is an online seller of wireless services who never pays customers' rebate claims. Thus be careful when you are online shopping for a cell phone. Do not be trapped by the enticing rebate offer by inphonic.
The stock of inphonic, which delisted from nasdaq in November 2007, is worth $0.006 per share today. You can visit Google Finance and in particular an MSNBC article about inphonic rebate scam.
I could not get $350 rebate back from inphonic in 2005. My former officemate had same experience with inphonic.
The stock of inphonic, which delisted from nasdaq in November 2007, is worth $0.006 per share today. You can visit Google Finance and in particular an MSNBC article about inphonic rebate scam.
I could not get $350 rebate back from inphonic in 2005. My former officemate had same experience with inphonic.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
How long does it take to cancel an ATT cell phone plan? (22.41 minutes)
Today, I canceled my ATT cell phone plan. I have used it for 2.5 years. Overall the quality of service is pretty good. I made a cancellation call, which is the only way to cancel a plan, as far as I know. It took me 22.41 minutes to complete the call.
As always, I first receive automatic voice, make some number selections, talk with one representative, get transferred to another representative, wait for advertisement message, and finally get cancellation done. You need to say your names three times. Even that, I feel that my cancellation call went pretty smoothly. So if you want to cancel a phone plan, reserve 30 minutes for the call.
I wish I could cancel it on ATT website directly. ATT could save some customer service cost anyway .
As always, I first receive automatic voice, make some number selections, talk with one representative, get transferred to another representative, wait for advertisement message, and finally get cancellation done. You need to say your names three times. Even that, I feel that my cancellation call went pretty smoothly. So if you want to cancel a phone plan, reserve 30 minutes for the call.
I wish I could cancel it on ATT website directly. ATT could save some customer service cost anyway .
Monday, September 29, 2008
What is the bandwidth of transpacific undersea cable? (about 4Tbps now)
A new transpacific undersea fiber-optic cable called Trans-Pacific Express is completed. It's a 18,000 kilometer (11,000 miles) cable linking US, China, South Korea and Taiwan by six telecoms (US Verizon, South Korea Korea Telecom, Taiwan Chunghwa Telecom, China Telecom, China Unicom, and China Netcom). The cable stretches from Nedonna Beach, Oregon, to Qingdao and Chongming in China, and will have landings in Tanshui, Taiwan, and Keoje, South KoreaIt costs $500 million, evenly divided by six companies.
According to dailywireless.org, it is configured to handle 1.28 terabits per second (Tbps). But the design capacity of this cable is 5.12 Tbps. The customers can book individual connections running 10Gbps. It is designed to handle 62 million simultaneous phone conversations, 60 times overall capacity of China-US cable in December 2006, when the project was started.
US AT&T and Japan NTT also plan to invest in the project to extend the cable to Japan. It is amazing that the project completed in less than 2 years.
In a separate project, Google partners India Bharti Airtel, Malaysia Global Transit, Japan KDDI, Hongkong Pacnet, and Singapore Telecom to form a consortium, dubbed Unity. They are working a $300 million, 10,000 kilometer figer-optic submarine cable, connecting Asian and North America. This cable provides connectivity between Chikura, located off the coast near Tokyo, to Los Angeles and other West Coast network points of presence. According to Google news release , the capacity is up to 7.68Tbps. Is Unity cable more cost effective than Trans-Pacific Express?
Before Trans-pacific Express project, It was estimated by TeleGeography , transpacific bandwidth was 2.726 Tbps, 1/2 of transatlantic bandwidth is 5.547 Tbps.
According to dailywireless.org, it is configured to handle 1.28 terabits per second (Tbps). But the design capacity of this cable is 5.12 Tbps. The customers can book individual connections running 10Gbps. It is designed to handle 62 million simultaneous phone conversations, 60 times overall capacity of China-US cable in December 2006, when the project was started.
US AT&T and Japan NTT also plan to invest in the project to extend the cable to Japan. It is amazing that the project completed in less than 2 years.
In a separate project, Google partners India Bharti Airtel, Malaysia Global Transit, Japan KDDI, Hongkong Pacnet, and Singapore Telecom to form a consortium, dubbed Unity. They are working a $300 million, 10,000 kilometer figer-optic submarine cable, connecting Asian and North America. This cable provides connectivity between Chikura, located off the coast near Tokyo, to Los Angeles and other West Coast network points of presence. According to Google news release , the capacity is up to 7.68Tbps. Is Unity cable more cost effective than Trans-Pacific Express?
Before Trans-pacific Express project, It was estimated by TeleGeography , transpacific bandwidth was 2.726 Tbps, 1/2 of transatlantic bandwidth is 5.547 Tbps.
What is the WiMax network? (4G)
T-mobile is still expanding 3G networks in metropolitican areas of USA while Wall Street Journal reports that Sprint is rolling out WiMax network in Baltimore on September 29, 2008. What is WiMax network? In short, it is 4G!
Wikiepedia has a good introduction about WiMax. It should be mentioned that WiMax and Wi-Fi are different things. WiMax is a long-range system (several miles) and uses licensed spectrum, while Wi-Fi is a short-range system (in a single room, like Starbuck store) and uses unlicensed spectrum.
As Wall Street Journal said, it is a very risky business. There was a course offered in MIT in 2003 Competition in Telecommunications, discussing about economics of telecommunication industry.
Interestingly, Pakistan has the largest fully functional WiMax network in the world.
Wikiepedia has a good introduction about WiMax. It should be mentioned that WiMax and Wi-Fi are different things. WiMax is a long-range system (several miles) and uses licensed spectrum, while Wi-Fi is a short-range system (in a single room, like Starbuck store) and uses unlicensed spectrum.
As Wall Street Journal said, it is a very risky business. There was a course offered in MIT in 2003 Competition in Telecommunications, discussing about economics of telecommunication industry.
Interestingly, Pakistan has the largest fully functional WiMax network in the world.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
How much is an iPhone 3G with 8 Gigatbyte in Asia black market ? ($670 in China)
IPhone 3G can be hacked and sold in Asia black market. How much is a hacked/unlocked iPhone 3G with 8 Gigabyte in the black market? The price is dynamically changing according to demand and supply. It is also affected by official channels. For example, yesterday Apple announced that it will sell unlocked iPhone 3G in HongKong for $695.
According to Reuter on July 10, 2008, iPhone 3G was sold for $860 in Thailand and for $437 in Shanghai, China. It should be mentioned that 3G network (TD-SCDMA) is not available in China yet. Today, I visited taobao.com, China's ebay, iPhone 3G with 8G is sold on RMB 4592 on average, or $670. BTW, although GPhone is not available in China black market yet, you can preorder GPhone on taobao.com now, but you need to pay deposit RMB199, or $29.
There are also Chinese iPhone copycat, which is sold as 1/3 price of authentic iPhone.
According to Reuter on July 10, 2008, iPhone 3G was sold for $860 in Thailand and for $437 in Shanghai, China. It should be mentioned that 3G network (TD-SCDMA) is not available in China yet. Today, I visited taobao.com, China's ebay, iPhone 3G with 8G is sold on RMB 4592 on average, or $670. BTW, although GPhone is not available in China black market yet, you can preorder GPhone on taobao.com now, but you need to pay deposit RMB199, or $29.
There are also Chinese iPhone copycat, which is sold as 1/3 price of authentic iPhone.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
What is the cost for a iPhone 3G buyer? (minimal $1855 for two years)
Today, according to AP, Appled will offer unlocked iPhone 3G in HongKong market. iPhone 3G with 8 Gigabytes costs $695 and iPhone 3G with 16 Gigabytes costs $798.
In US, iPhone 3G with 8G is worth $199 and iPhone 3G is worth $299. But two-year contract is required. With cheapest voice plan ($39 for 450 minutes) and $30 data plan, it will cost a buyer $1855 in 2 years for an iPhone 3G with 8G. If you want SMS ( $5 for 200), additional $120. The early termination fee is $150~$175.
It is reported that AT&T pays $200 subsidy to Apple for each iPhone. Thus iPhone 3G with 8G should be sold by Apple for $399 for unlocked phone? But in Hongkong it is sold for $695, $296 difference! Actually you may make money as follows. 1) buy an iPhone from at&t and sign a two-year contract in US, 2) early terminate it and sold it to HongKong (unlocked iPhone is also available at black market with a cheaper price.)
In US, iPhone 3G with 8G is worth $199 and iPhone 3G is worth $299. But two-year contract is required. With cheapest voice plan ($39 for 450 minutes) and $30 data plan, it will cost a buyer $1855 in 2 years for an iPhone 3G with 8G. If you want SMS ( $5 for 200), additional $120. The early termination fee is $150~$175.
It is reported that AT&T pays $200 subsidy to Apple for each iPhone. Thus iPhone 3G with 8G should be sold by Apple for $399 for unlocked phone? But in Hongkong it is sold for $695, $296 difference! Actually you may make money as follows. 1) buy an iPhone from at&t and sign a two-year contract in US, 2) early terminate it and sold it to HongKong (unlocked iPhone is also available at black market with a cheaper price.)
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Who is HTC?
Today, NY Times has an article about HTC, a Taiwan handset manufacturer. The HTC chairwoman Cher Wang is the daughter of Yongqin Wang, the second richest guy in Taiwan.
According to that article, "The Windows Mobile operating system powers 12 percent of smartphones sold worldwide and 20 percent of smartphones sold in the United States. HTC accounts for roughly half of those devices."
But if you ask people in US or even graduate students from Asia, they may not know HTC. Why? Because it works as "a contract manufacturer for companies like Compaq, Palm and many cellphone carriers, who stamped their own brands on the products."
"About two years ago, HTC decided to come out of the shadows with an ambitious goal: establish a global consumer electronics brand that its executives hope will become synonymous with quality."
Just like PC components and other electronics, I expect that there will be more competition from manufacturers in Taiwan and China mainland in the smartphone market. US smartphone market is different from those in Europe and Asia. In Europe and Asia, Symbian OS has a great percentage of share while it has only a tiny share in US; in US, it is shared by RIM, Access, Microsoft, and Apple.
According to that article, "The Windows Mobile operating system powers 12 percent of smartphones sold worldwide and 20 percent of smartphones sold in the United States. HTC accounts for roughly half of those devices."
But if you ask people in US or even graduate students from Asia, they may not know HTC. Why? Because it works as "a contract manufacturer for companies like Compaq, Palm and many cellphone carriers, who stamped their own brands on the products."
"About two years ago, HTC decided to come out of the shadows with an ambitious goal: establish a global consumer electronics brand that its executives hope will become synonymous with quality."
Just like PC components and other electronics, I expect that there will be more competition from manufacturers in Taiwan and China mainland in the smartphone market. US smartphone market is different from those in Europe and Asia. In Europe and Asia, Symbian OS has a great percentage of share while it has only a tiny share in US; in US, it is shared by RIM, Access, Microsoft, and Apple.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
How to unlock Nokia cell phone
You can unlock your cell phone yourself, No phonecall, No tool, and No cost.
My AT&T Nokia phone got soaked and died. I do not want to order a new phone from AT&T since I do not two more years' contract. I had an old T-mobile Nokia 6010 phone and want to temporarily use my T-mobile Nokia phone in AT&T network. I knew I had to unlock the phone. Initially I thought T-mobile local store should do it for me for free. I visited 3 local stores and neither of them will do it for me. One employee of T-mobile asked me to try the luck at a third-party vendor called Mobile Kangaroo. Mobile Kangaroo indeed offers the unlock service, but asks $20 for it.
I decided to try to unlock it myself first. It turned out it is a very easy task, at least for Nokia phone. If you have the instruction, you can do it in 10 minutes, no phonecall, no tool, and no cost.
I got the instruction from http://www.unlock.it/nokia, which we should thank a lot! That website also has instruction about unlocking iphone, sony erricsson, samsung, LG, and siemens.
Here is the instruction.
0) Remove your inactive SIM card from the phone. In my case, I threw away my T-mobile SIM card.
1) Find your phone's IMEI number. You can get it using either of the following two methods. a) type *#06# on your cell phone. b) turn off your cell phone, take out the battery, and find IMEI number.
2) Input IMEI number on http://www.unlock.it/nokia.
3) Select the phone model. In my case, it is 6010.
4) Select the country. In my case, it is USA.
5) Select the network. In my case, it is T-mobile.
6) Input the website security code and you get unlock code.
7) Try code 1 first. If it does not work, try code 7. In my case, code 1 does not work for me. Code 7 works! A example code is #pw+797240627504446+4#
8) Input code in your phone. The tricky part is how to input some characters. Here is how to input some special characters (you find every other characters on keypad directly):
p: click * key 3 times quickly in less than 1 minute, you will get p
w: click * key 4 times quickly in less than 1 minute, you will get w
+: click * key 2 times quickly in less than 1 minute, you will get +
9) Then put your active SIM card (in my case, AT&T SIM card) in your unlocked phone (in my case, T-mobile phone) and turn it on. If you are not asked for restricted code, mission accomplished! Otherwise, go back to step 7 and try other unlock code.
My AT&T Nokia phone got soaked and died. I do not want to order a new phone from AT&T since I do not two more years' contract. I had an old T-mobile Nokia 6010 phone and want to temporarily use my T-mobile Nokia phone in AT&T network. I knew I had to unlock the phone. Initially I thought T-mobile local store should do it for me for free. I visited 3 local stores and neither of them will do it for me. One employee of T-mobile asked me to try the luck at a third-party vendor called Mobile Kangaroo. Mobile Kangaroo indeed offers the unlock service, but asks $20 for it.
I decided to try to unlock it myself first. It turned out it is a very easy task, at least for Nokia phone. If you have the instruction, you can do it in 10 minutes, no phonecall, no tool, and no cost.
I got the instruction from http://www.unlock.it/nokia, which we should thank a lot! That website also has instruction about unlocking iphone, sony erricsson, samsung, LG, and siemens.
Here is the instruction.
0) Remove your inactive SIM card from the phone. In my case, I threw away my T-mobile SIM card.
1) Find your phone's IMEI number. You can get it using either of the following two methods. a) type *#06# on your cell phone. b) turn off your cell phone, take out the battery, and find IMEI number.
2) Input IMEI number on http://www.unlock.it/nokia.
3) Select the phone model. In my case, it is 6010.
4) Select the country. In my case, it is USA.
5) Select the network. In my case, it is T-mobile.
6) Input the website security code and you get unlock code.
7) Try code 1 first. If it does not work, try code 7. In my case, code 1 does not work for me. Code 7 works! A example code is #pw+797240627504446+4#
8) Input code in your phone. The tricky part is how to input some characters. Here is how to input some special characters (you find every other characters on keypad directly):
p: click * key 3 times quickly in less than 1 minute, you will get p
w: click * key 4 times quickly in less than 1 minute, you will get w
+: click * key 2 times quickly in less than 1 minute, you will get +
9) Then put your active SIM card (in my case, AT&T SIM card) in your unlocked phone (in my case, T-mobile phone) and turn it on. If you are not asked for restricted code, mission accomplished! Otherwise, go back to step 7 and try other unlock code.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
How many mobile phones in the world?
It is estimated by 3.3 billion by November, 2007, according to http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINL2917209520071129?rpc=44m. The penetration rate is over 50%.
In China, there are 500 million active mobile accounts.
In China, there are 500 million active mobile accounts.
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