Hamm salutes a lack of ‘sexy’
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05Oct
Lack Of NFC In iPhone 4S Won’t Impact Market
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While not entirely surprising, yesterday’s announcement of the new iPhone 4S did not include a mention of NFC (near field communication). Although many hoped for the inclusion of the short-range wireless technology which serves as the backbone for current and planned mobile wallet systems, Apple still has plenty of time to integrate NFC into future handsets. It’s possible that NFC will even arrive in the upcoming iPhone 5.
But will Apple’s decision to skip NFC in the iPhone 4S have an impact on today’s market? Not likely, say analysts.
NFC forecasts, to date, have varied. ABI Research estimates there will be 35 million handsets shipped this year, and double that will ship next year. IHS iSuppli forecasts nearly 550 million handsets by 2015. Meanwhile, Berg Insight AB expects there to be 400 million handsets by 2015. Whatever the true number may be, the consensus is that the technology is years out from consumer adoption. Apple can wait.
Although nothing Apple does goes without notice, ABI analyst John Devlin says he doesn’t believe the news will have an effect on current market conditions or trends. ”Having Apple on-board would have been a great driver for NFC – even if only for competitive reasons,” Devlin tells us. “I don’t think it will negatively impact the market. [NFC] has been heating up, companies are now launching, and strategies are in place,” he says.
Charles Golvin, Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, agrees, noting that had Apple announced NFC, it would have jump-started the industry and accelerated competitors’ offerings, but the iPhone 4S’s lack of NFC is neither a death knell for the technology, or a statement about NFC’s long-term viability.
Apple’s skill is often in reinventing and polishing the end user experience, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be the first to launch a new technology itself. And in the case of NFC, the market just isn’t ready.
“Putting devices into customer’s hands is only one step towards adoption,” explains Golvin. There also need to be point-of-sale terminals that support NFC and customers have to be able to input all their credit card information into the mobile version of their wallet. “It doesn’t really fly until the mobile wallet is the same as your real wallet,” Golvin says.
Today, for example, only Citibank-branded MasterCards work in Google Wallet, and the carrier-led mobile wallet venture Isis has yet to launch.
Another factor influencing Apple’s delay with NFC, besides general market readiness that is, is Apple’s potential to be disruptive upon entering the competitive landscape. ”Apple likes to own the ecosystem, but the incumbent payment networks are too entrenched,” says Devlin. ”However, Apple is incredibly cash rich so the acquisition of a payments-related company would not be out of the question.”
“Similarly, in order to maximize NFC and the different user experiences that it could deliver,” he continues, “it would make sense to feature NFC in a range of products, such as the iPad, MacBooks, etc., and these upgrades are not yet ready.”
Meanwhile, other companies are now launching their own NFC-enabled payment systems. Google, as noted above, has Google Wallet. Isis, the joint venture between AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, recently announced support for its mobile wallet system from the majority of leading device makers, including HTC, LG, Motorola, RIM, Samsung and Sony Ericsson. NFC is progressing in other areas, too, such as Windows 8 tablets – something Apple is likely watching closely.
ABI says it’s not changing its position on NFC forecasts due to the iPhone 4S. It still expects 80 million NFC handsets in 2012, and believes Apple will enter a more developed ecosystem in a year or two’s time.
Forrester doesn’t have a specific handset forecast, but Golvin says that by year-end 2012 to mid-2013, the technology will be much more ubiquitous. By that point, says Golvin, “it will be difficult to find a smartphone that doesn’t include NFC functionality.”
Maybe the NFC-enabled 4G iPhone 5 will be there, too.
View full post on TechCrunch » Mobile
05Oct
Lack Of NFC In iPhone 4S Won’t Impact Market, Say Analysts
FILED IN gadgets No Comments
While not entirely surprising, yesterday’s announcement of the new iPhone 4S did not include a mention of NFC (near field communication). Although many hoped for the inclusion of the short-range wireless technology which serves as the backbone for current and planned mobile wallet systems, Apple still has plenty of time to integrate NFC into future handsets. It’s possible that NFC will even arrive in the upcoming iPhone 5.
But will Apple’s decision to skip NFC in the iPhone 4S have an impact on today’s market? Not likely, say analysts.
NFC forecasts, to date, have varied. ABI Research estimates there will be 35 million handsets shipped this year, and double that will ship next year. IHS iSuppli forecasts nearly 550 million handsets by 2015. Meanwhile, Berg Insight AB expects there to be 400 million handsets by 2015. Whatever the true number may be, the consensus is that the technology is years out from consumer adoption. Apple can wait.
Although nothing Apple does goes without notice, ABI analyst John Devlin says he doesn’t believe the news will have an effect on current market conditions or trends. ”Having Apple on-board would have been a great driver for NFC – even if only for competitive reasons,” Devlin tells us. “I don’t think it will negatively impact the market. [NFC] has been heating up, companies are now launching, and strategies are in place,” he says.
Charles Golvin, Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, agrees, noting that had Apple announced NFC, it would have jump-started the industry and accelerated competitors’ offerings, but the iPhone 4S’s lack of NFC is neither a death knell for the technology, or a statement about NFC’s long-term viability.
Apple’s skill is often in reinventing and polishing the end user experience, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be the first to launch a new technology itself. And in the case of NFC, the market just isn’t ready.
“Putting devices into customer’s hands is only one step towards adoption,” explains Golvin. There also need to be point-of-sale terminals that support NFC and customers have to be able to input all their credit card information into the mobile version of their wallet. “It doesn’t really fly until the mobile wallet is the same as your real wallet,” Golvin says.
Today, for example, only Citibank-branded MasterCards work in Google Wallet, and the carrier-led mobile wallet venture Isis has yet to launch.
Another factor influencing Apple’s delay with NFC, besides general market readiness that is, is Apple’s potential to be disruptive upon entering the competitive landscape. ”Apple likes to own the ecosystem, but the incumbent payment networks are too entrenched,” says Devlin. ”However, Apple is incredibly cash rich so the acquisition of a payments-related company would not be out of the question.”
“Similarly, in order to maximize NFC and the different user experiences that it could deliver,” he continues, “it would make sense to feature NFC in a range of products, such as the iPad, MacBooks, etc., and these upgrades are not yet ready.”
Meanwhile, other companies are now launching their own NFC-enabled payment systems. Google, as noted above, has Google Wallet. Isis, the joint venture between AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, recently announced support for its mobile wallet system from the majority of leading device makers, including HTC, LG, Motorola, RIM, Samsung and Sony Ericsson. NFC is progressing in other areas, too, such as Windows 8 tablets – something Apple is likely watching closely.
ABI says it’s not changing its position on NFC forecasts due to the iPhone 4S. It still expects 80 million NFC handsets in 2012, and believes Apple will enter a more developed ecosystem in a year or two’s time.
Forrester doesn’t have a specific handset forecast, but Golvin says that by year-end 2012 to mid-2013, the technology will be much more ubiquitous. By that point, says Golvin, “it will be difficult to find a smartphone that doesn’t include NFC functionality.”
Maybe the NFC-enabled 4G iPhone 5 will be there, too.
View full post on TechCrunch » Mobile
14Apr
FCC Pledges Extensive Review Of AT&T/T-Mobile Deal, Chairman Hints At Lack Of Competition
FILED IN gadgets 10 Comments
In a conference held just moments ago the FCC discussed the steps it would take to evaluate the proposed AT&T and T-Mobile acquisition. Paperwork has been filed by the FCC and the real fun begins for AT&T and T-Mobile to submit their own documentation which will be done under strict confidentiality.
According to todays call the FCC and DOJ will conduct a parallel review of the deal not unlike the approval process performed for the Comcast/NBC acquisition. In order to properly evaluate the deal, the FCC will take into consideration their own spectrum plans, affects of the merger for the competition in the short and long term and how or if the merger might advance technology.
Moreover, the FCC said that it will consider competition heavily and examine the number of carriers left and the portions of the market each of those carriers will control. The FCC will also perform a market-by-market spectrum analysis.
However, the FCC Chairman, Julie Genachowski has hinted albeit indirectly that he believes the state of the wireless market in the US would not be as “rosy” as AT&T suggests it would be post T-Mobile acquisition. Speaking to the Washington Post, Genachowski pointed to an FCC report from last May which indicated:
“There appears to be increasing concentration in the mobile wireless market. One widely-used measure of industry concentration indicates that concentration has increased 32 percent since 2003 and 6.5 percent in 2008.”
While AT&T has argued that a market-by-market analysis which will show that at least four carriers and sometimes five are available in most cities, consumer groups are taking issue with that notion. Their is a concern by such consumer watchdog groups that the two biggest wireless players, AT&T and Verizon are just getting bigger and smaller competitors aren’t able to keep up especially in light of specialized deals with companies like Apple that gives AT&T and Verizon a significant heads up.
Needless to say the wheels are now in motion for the deal to be pushed through, held up or killed altogether. One thing is for certain, AT&T will be doing all it can and use all of its lobbying muscle to push this through, publicly because they need they spectrum and privately because AT&T just doesn’t’ want to lose this deal or end up having to write T-Mobile a $3 billion dollar check.
PhoneScoop, WashingtonPost, FCC (1), FCC (2)
View full post on TmoNews
05Aug
Chicks ‘n Clicks: Is lack of an iPhone a dealbreaker?
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When I was younger I had a list of must-haves that my future husband Prince Charming, er… must have. He had to be tall, like mermaids, know how to cook and be okay with owning 11 dogs and a pony. That list has changed some what over the years. At 26, I’m less concerned about the mermaids and pony, and I’m really looking forward to the cooking. My list is still in the re-editing phase though.
As a blogger, I find it difficult to date other bloggers. But as an iPhone owner? I’m not sure I could date anyone else.
I spend a lot of time reading and writing about iPhones and its apps. I’ve turned into those annoying commercial personalities when I’m with friends. We were standing in line waiting for a movie and talking about banking. That’s when I say, as if on cue, “That’s why I love the Chase Mobile app for the iPhone. It lets me deposit checks right from my couch!” At that moment I felt like that obnoxious woman who, out of no where, bombards her girlfriends with birth control information. I don’t mean to be a walking advertisement for the gadget, but I can’t help it.
It’s not that I spend a lot of time talking about it; it’s that I don’t realize I am. It just seems like such a normal thing to do, whether it’s recommending an app, sharing frustration over early adopter woes (ahem proximity sensor!), or talking about mobile trends. I even recommend apps to my mom, who doesn’t have an iPhone! It’s either a gift or a problem.
Not only am I a walking infomercial, but I get defensive when someone tries to talk me out of loving the iPhone. I’m not completely brain-washed, I know the iPhone has its flaws. I know it can’t bring me waffles in bed or rub my back.
Can you see how this would be a problem if I dated someone with a Droid? Everything would turn into a Battle of the Phones. Road trips would become tests of GPS accuracy. (Droids have sweet turn-by-turn directions, and I’m jealous of it! Yeah, I’m a sore loser.) Self-taken pictures with each other would turn into a “My camera is better than yours” snap-off. (Obviously the iPhone 4 would win, thanks to its dual cameras.) Before you know it, “date night” turns into “who can tweet the fastest?”, and game night turns into swapping phones and trying each other’s game apps (say, Bejeweled or that bubble-popping game on the Droid?). Emails that should hold sweet nothings would carry links to Android Outsells iPhone articles instead. Where is the love?
Maybe I’m making too much out of it. Maybe “mixed” couples, like Android/iPhone or iPhone + anyone else, would complement each other — offering a collective set of droolworthy features that no single handset or platform can top. That is, as long as neither party tries too hard to convert the other. Hmmm. That could get annoying.
For me, I think it’s safe to say that my list now has “must have iPhone” on it. I’m willing to negotiate; healthy competition never hurt anyone. But it would probably be beneficial to my relationship’s longevity to date another iPhone user.
Are you in a happy state of couplehood with a Droid, Evo, Pre or BlackBerry user? Or do you let the phone wars into your relationship? (And have you dated a fellow iPhone user? Was it great or awful?) Share your stories in the comments below.
View full post on TodaysiPhone.com