Fair Broadband Pricing?

Some carriers want to limit internet usage/access --

Fair Broadband Pricing | NCTA: " . . . .Since Americans are accustomed to paying for what they use, some broadband providers are developing usage plans that promote fairness by asking high capacity Internet users to shoulder a greater proportionate share of network costs. But instead of applauding increased consumer choice and common sense pricing, some critics want to force average users to pay a flat fee akin to a “universal” service, no matter if they are an occasional visitor or frequent “super user.”

more news below

Follow @exprinet

iPhone 5S, what's the point?

iPhone 5C a flop, and the iPhone 5S -- $900 for what? --

Why I Returned My iPhone 5s - Mobility - Smartphones - Informationweek: " . . . The biggest reason I returned the iPhone 5s is because it didn't offer a different experience from the iPhone 5. Aside from the Touch ID fingerprint sensor, there was no obvious change in how the device performed. Sure, the 5s has a slightly better camera and faster processor, but the difference in performance is hardly noticeable. If you look at it from this angle, I spent $900 to get a fingerprint sensor. Let me tell you something: I don't need a fingerprint sensor on my smartphone. At least, not right now. . . ." (read more at link above)

And a new Android Nexus 5 phone is only $349!

more news below

  Follow @exprinet

Norway, Super Broadband for All

Google Translate: "Increased investment in ICT and broadband is a key to the future welfare and growth in Norway, writes Conservatives and FRP in its declaration and believes "the state must have an overall responsibility for the availability of broadband." So far, the market has had primary responsibility for broadband development in Norway. The Government will establish an infrastructure fund of 100 billion built up over up to 5 years. Return earmarked in the state budget for road, rail and public transport network as well as broadband and ICT infrastructure. It is said, however, nothing about the distribution key between the various measures." read more at link above

more news below

Follow @exprinet

ATT Says Kill Copper

AT&T Study: We Should Kill Copper Since You're Not Using It | DSLReports, ISP Information: "AT&T has been working hard to gut regulations governing traditional phone service so they can exit the landline (DSL & POTS) business in numerous areas and focus on the real money maker: wireless. To do this, they've been going state to state, promising locals a cornucopia of broadband upgrades -- if only locals agree to eliminate all pesky remaining regulations. In order to help them in the quest, AT&T has employed the use of an endless stream of folks who've been running editorials in major papers without clearly illustrating they're working for AT&T. . . ." read more at link above

more news below

Follow @exprinet

Hangouts 1.3, SMS, Android iMessage Equivalent

Hangouts 1.3 Will Reportedly Add SMS, Giving Android Its Own iMessage Equivalent | TechCrunch: " . . . It would also be potentially bad news for competitors like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. FB’s messaging app already offers SMS integration, but Google’s Hangouts version would ship on devices pre-installed, and could conceivably replace the Messaging app altogether, making it the default option for Android users. It could also eat away at more carrier business, as combining the two and favoring Google+ based messaging first would have a similar effect to iMessage, where carriers eventually derive less revenue from shuttling SMS content back and forth. . . ." (read more at link above)

more news below

Follow @exprinet

Romanian ISP, fastest wired Internet connections

RCS & RDS will introduce the fastest wired Internet connections: "The largest Internet provider in Romania, RCS & RDS will soon introduce the fastest data connection on the market. they will be available in November for residential customers in over 150 locations. speeds below have was possible due to the expansion of fiber networks. Future subscription Digi Net Fiberlink 500 allows a download speed of up to 500 Mbps and will have a monthly cost of £ 49 . Subscription Digi Net Fiberlink 1000 will provide a download speed of up to 1000 Mbps and will cost 59 lei , VAT is included." (more at link above)

more news below

Follow @exprinet

Internet Access, Costs, Google Wants To Help

The Internet Costs 30% Of Monthly Wages In Some Nations. Google Wants To Help. | TechCrunch: "Internet access is astonishingly expensive in some parts of the world. The International Telecommunications Union estimates that fixed broadband costs 30 percent of the average monthly wage within the developing world [PDF]. To address this, Google, Facebook, USAID and a host of top-tier tech companies have teamed up to make the Internet universally affordable. The newly launched Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) aims to achieve the UN development goals of keeping Internet access costs below 5 percent of monthly income worldwide." read more at link above

more news below

Follow @exprinet

Google+ Hangout app, group video chats

Google + Hangout app fun for group video chats: " . . . .In May, Google ditched its old Talk instant message service and renamed it Hangouts to mirror the Hangout feature in the Google+ social network, which lets up to 10 people stage a video chat. The app, introduced at the Google I/O conference, is unique in that 10 people can not only video chat for free, they can do it across multiple platforms — on Android and Apple devices, as well as Apple or Windows computers. . . . "

more news below

Follow @exprinet

Growth of prepaid smartphone plans threaten Apple

Investors and analysts have fretted that Apple's focus on selling pricey, heavily subsidized phones will hurt it in developing countries such as China and India, where unsubsidized phones and prepaid plans predominate. But few have paid attention to how the company is being hurt by the shift to prepaid plans closer to home. "There's no question that (Apple's) missing out," said Weston Henderek, a principal analyst at Current Analysis, a technology market research firm. "They're essentially ceding that market to Android."

Apple threatened by growth of prepaid smartphone plans - SiliconValley.com: "Although prepaid accounts still represent less than a quarter of all wireless service plans in the United States, they're gaining ground rapidly. Half of all new wireless accounts added between 2008 and last year were prepaid ones."

more news below

Follow @exprinet

BlackBerry, a Global Slide

A delayed regulatory filing said competition was robbing BlackBerry, the troubled smartphone maker, of customers in its final bright spot, the developing world -- The company attributed its slowdown in those markets to an increase in inexpensive phones based on Google’s Android operating system. But it also cited a factor behind its severe decline in the United States: the relative paucity of desirable software apps for its phones. (source infra)

BlackBerry Filing Describes a Global Slide - NYTimes.com: "The filing suggests that BlackBerry will still go ahead with its plans to lay off about 40 percent of its remaining staff, about 4,500 people, despite the Fairfax bid. The company indicated that it expected to post about $400 million in charges related to those layoffs during its current fiscal year, up from a previous estimate of $100 million."

more news below

Follow @exprinet

ATT, 300Mbps fiber internet to Austin in December, gigabit by mid-2014

AT&T brings 300Mbps fiber internet to Austin in December, gigabit by 'mid-2014': "Now that AT&T is actually laying down fiber-optic line in Austin, we have yet another reason to be jealous of Texas' weird city. According to Ma Bell, "tens of thousands" will be getting 300Mbps downloads (and uploads), the "fastest internet speeds available" in town to the general public, come December. Those subscribers can snag a free upgrade to gigabit service -- GigaPower, as the company calls it -- when it's available in the middle of next year. . . ."

more news below

Follow @exprinet

Motorola Updates

Motorola DVX rumoured to be a budget Moto X
CNET UK
Google is rumoured to be readying a budget follow-up to its Moto X customisable handset. It's named the Motorola DVX, and as you can see, it looks pretty colourful. This leaked pic came from Weibo, the Chinese equivalent to Twitter, The Verge reports.

Motorola Droid Bionic, Atrix 4G and Samsung Galaxy S4 top list of most ...
News Tribe
Motorola's Droid Bionic and Atrix 4G and Samsung Galaxy S4 are the most repairable smartphones, a report said. According to a list released by iFixit the Motorola Droid Bionic is the most repair friendly, scoring a 9 out of a possible 10. The Motorola ...

Proposed Motorola Tablet to be Inspired by Google's Moto X SmartPhone
IBTimes India
"That's something we are working on, but [there's] nothing specific to talk about right now," Dennis Woodside, CEO of Motorola told Engadget when asked about plans to manufacture the Motorola tablets. It is said that the rumored tablet will be ...

Moto X Born of New Attitudes at Motorola Mobility
CIO Today
The team behind the Moto X wants to show that Google didn't just buy a lucrative patent portfolio with a money-losing hardware manufacturer attached to it, but rather a company capable of producing cutting-edge tech that appeals to consumers worldwide.

Google looks for talent in BlackBerry's backyard
The Australian Financial Review
With BlackBerry shedding staff in its hometown of Waterloo, Ontario, other tech companies, including Google's Motorola Mobility unit, are moving to take advantage of a growing pool of local talent. Motorola Mobility said on Thursday it plans to set up ...

Motorola Has a Fix On the Way for the Moto X's Crappy Camera
We love the Motorola Moto X's well-designed approach to a near-stock Android experience. But one of the handset's biggest weaknesses is its camera, which ...
gizmodo.com/motorola-has-a-fix-on-the-wau-for-the-moto-xs...

more news below

Follow @exprinet

Android Surpasses Apple in Tablets

First phones, now tablets --

Android overtakes Apple's iPad in tablet marketshare, approaches in revenue ...
Apple Insider
Apple's iPad and iPad mini are still the most popular tablets in the world, but Android-powered tablets are grabbing an increasing share of the market and are collectively approaching the iPad in terms of revenue, according to a new study from ABI ...

Android Tablets Giving The iPad A Run For Its Money [Research]
Ubergizmo
Apple's iPad has long dominated the tablet market. It is by far one of the most insanely popular tablets available in the market, demand for Apple's slate has skyrocketed since 2010 when the original iPad came out. However, according to ABI Research, ...

Tesco's Hudl Android Tablet Could See The Retailer Define The Winning ...
Forbes
UK supermarket retailer Tesco announced their own brand Android tablet at the start of this week. The Hudl is a seven inch device with 16 GB of memory, a 1.5 GHz quad core CPU, and runs Android 4.2.2. For a 7 inch tablet, those are relatively middle of ...

more news below

Follow @exprinet

New Google Wallet App

New Google Wallet App Moves Past NFC and to All Major Carriers - Jason Del Rey - Commerce - AllThingsD: "those with any new Android phone will be able to use the app for several other tasks, many of which weren’t available on Google Wallet in the past. First, users of the new app will be able to send money for free to any adult in the U.S. with an email address by linking their bank account with the app or by using their Google Wallet balance. With this move, Google Wallet will now compete with similar offerings from PayPal and Braintree’s Venmo. Money transfers funded by credit card or debit card will also be possible, for a fee. Those who use this peer-to-peer pay will get early access to a similar money-transfer product being rolled out on Gmail." (read more at link above)

more news below

Follow @exprinet