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hwy120 Wireless & Business Solution Technologies News

Nice Problem: Customers Clog Panera's Free Wi-Fi

Panera has a gold-plated problem: Customers' use of its Wi-Fi is way up, but the downside is slow Internet service. With free Wi-Fi at national chains such as Starbucks and McDonald's, and becoming more accessible without charge at hotels or airports, Panera is grappling with how to keep its Wi-Fi customers happy amid heated rivalry.

Phones in the Sky: Virgin Atlantic Allows Calls

A new cell phone service that utilizes a satellite connection has debuted on British airline Virgin Atlantic. The new sky-high cell-phone service could be a blessing for business travelers who want to stay connected during eight-hour flights across the ocean. But the service could also be a nightmare for the passenger sitting next to them.

Verizon CFO: 3G Is Unlimited, 4G Not So Much

"As we have stated publicly, Verizon Wireless has been evaluating its data pricing structure for some time," a Verizon Wireless spokeswoman said. "Customers have told us that they want to share data, similar to how they share minutes today. We are working on plans to provide customers with that option later this year."

How Fragmented Is Android? Um, Very

Google plans to change its rollout of new Android versions so that as many as five manufacturers would get the new version and "lead devices" at once, followed later with a rollout to others. In the current set-up Google works with one Android manufacturer first. Google's change may reduce Android fragmentation.

Samsung Tops Mobile Market In First Quarter, Gartner Says

Google's Android OS saw substantial growth year over year, from 36.4 percent to 56.1 percent, while Apple's iOS also grew from 16.9 percent to 22.9 percent, according to Gartner. Nokia's fading Symbian platform dropped significantly as the company switches to Microsoft's Windows Phone 7, dropping from 27.7 percent to just 8.6 percent.

Soaring Mobile App Adoption No Cakewalk for Developers

"Developers will continue to chase ever narrower opportunities" while hoping to "hit areas that have not transitioned fully from Web to mobile, or aspects of life not digitized fully yet," said analyst Al Hilwa. "But at some point this pace of growth will slow down." Nielsen reports the apps per smartphone rose in 2011, but usage time is about the same.

Google's Grand Plan for New Android Devices

The amount of involvement that wireless carriers would have in marketing and selling a new wave of Google Nexus Android products is not yet clear. One might assume that Nexus Android phones or tablets sold directly to consumers by Google would not be subsidized by carriers, so prices for the Android devices might be considerably higher.

Find out the best carrier for each of 26 American cities

Verizon vs. AT&T vs. Sprint vs. T-Mobile: Who's best in your city? Find out the best carrier for each of 26 American cities. Who really has America's best network? Verizon? AT&T? Sprint? T-Mobile?

Sprint Says 3G Still Important as It Builds Out LTE

Sprint's vision for the future holds appeal for consumers, said analyst Rob Enderle. "It is a pretty complex plan that basically means that Sprint customers will get phone services and data better, faster, and cheaper (both from a Sprint cost and user cost) than any other network," Enderle said.

Cloud Has a Silver Lining for Interop Conference

Interop, though smaller than it once was, still provides a venue for networking, seminars, and seeing the latest technology. The show "is still a big draw," says Laura DiDio, "although the era when legions of reporters and half of a company's IT staff would take a week off to attend Interop -- or any of the other major trade shows -- is long over."

T-Mobile Picks Ericsson, Nokia Siemens for Network

LM Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Networks have secured a major contract from T-Mobile to provide equipment for its planned high-speed mobile broadband network. T-Mobile is commissioning a "4G LTE" network using in part radio frequencies handed over by AT&T after the company backed off its deal to buy T-Mobile due to regulator opposition.

Vacuum Robot Is Trilingual, Knows Witty Dialect

Japanese electronics maker Sharp has unveiled Cocorobo, a robotic vacuum cleaner that speaks Japanese, English and Chinese. Cocorobo can also send photos taken from your home to your cell phone. The dinner-plate size robot purifies the air while moving about a room, and is handy in finding lost items under furniture because of its built-in camera.

Selling a Business

After you have built up your business, you might decide -- at some point -- that it's time to sell. Indeed, if you are getting close to a major life transition, selling can seem attractive.

IBM Report Sees Evolution of Security Executives

IBM's security executives report described Responders as those who are more concentrated on a tactical focus. The IBM security report recommended that Responders can move beyond this by establishing a dedicated security role like a chief information security officer. The IBM report also identified executives as Influencers or Protectors.

Tablet Sales Will Overtake Notebooks, as iPad Drops

Apple's iPad platform,iOS, which has overwhelmingly dominated the picture, is expected to drop from 72.1 percent market share this year to just slightly above 50 percent by 2017. One reason for the drop will be Android's continued rise, from 22.5 percent now to 40.5 percent in five years. Windows 8 RT, is expected to grow to 7.5 percent.

Target Phasing Out Amazon's Kindle

Looking for a Kindle e-reader? You won't be able to find them at Target anymore. The discount retailer has announced that it will be phasing out the Kindle -- a move that coincides with reports of mini Apple shops being created in some stores. The decision also comes amid unhappiness with the consumer practice called "showrooming."

Using Files Made Easy with Online Storage

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Google Drive, Dropbox and Microsoft's SkyDrive all aim to help you leave your files on their computers, so that you can access them from any Internet-connected device, wherever you are. That means you can stop emailing big files to yourself, and you can stop carrying those USB thumb drives that fill up quickly when moving photos and video.

Look Out, iPhone -- Samsung Galaxy S III Is Calling

Samsung's new Galaxy S III smartphone runs Android 4.0 and features a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED display with 1280x720 resolution, an 8-megapixel camera on the back and a 1.9 megapixel camera on the front. An HSPA+ Samsung Galaxy S III goes on sale in Europe May 29, with a 4G LTE version of the Galaxy S III going on sale this summer in the U.S.

iPad Floats Tablet Market; Kindle Fire Hosed, IDC Says

Amazon.com saw declining post-holiday interest in its Kindle Fire devices, dropping from 16.8 percent of the market at the end of 2011 with 4.8 million shipments to "just over 4 percent" and third place in the market behind Samsung, maker of the Galaxy Tab, IDC said. Filling in the No. 4 and 5 tablet spots were Lenovo and Barnes & Noble.

RIM Guarantees BlackBerry 10 Devs $10,000 in First Year

Developers working on enterprise apps might already be considering RIM's BlackBerry 10 platform. A $10,000 guarantee, then, could give those BlackBerry developers more confidence. Developers targeting apps at emerging markets where RIM's BlackBerry is extremely strong could find the guarantee an attractive proposition.

Attention, BlackBerry Fans -- Physical Keyboards Will Stay

RIM CEO Thorsten Heins said the new BB10 product line of smartphones will include models with physical keyboards, as well as virtual ones. In his words to news media at RIM's Orlando conference, Heins said "it would be wrong -- just plain wrong" to drop actual keyboards, since a real keyboard has been part of RIM's BlackBerry brand.

Intel Bets Big on Ultrabook Future

Ultrabook technology is a huge part of Intel's future and the microprocessor giant is creating a a $300 million fund to invest in Ultrabook technologies. Some industry observers have high expectations for the gadgets, but if Ultrabooks flop, it may raise major doubts about Intel's ability to promote its chips for other mobile products.

Top 5 Email Marketing Platforms for Small Businesses

Which Email Marketing Platform Is Right for Your Small Business?

Forget all of the hoopla around social media and keywords, experts agree that the most effective way to build sales for a small business is still email marketing. It doesn't cost much,

T-Mobile Touts Speed with HTC One S

In the hotly contested Android smartphone space, the HTC One S represents a substantial entry. It's the first in HTC's new flagship line of premium smartphones, sporting appealing aesthetics and functionality. New ads featuring the wholesome T-Mobile Girl reimagined as a rebel aim to send a message about T-Mobile's speedy 4G network.

Monthly Smartphone Bills Down at AT&T

The average monthly bill for AT&T's smartphone subscribers has fallen from $88 to $80 in the space of a year -- a number that should be of great concern. AT&T, the country's largest telecommunications company, reported first-quarter results showing that it essentially gained no phone subscribers on contract-based plans in the first quarter.

Apple's CEO on Tablet-Laptop Hybrids -- Really?

Microsoft has optimized its new Windows 8 OS for touch-screen tablets, including the Metro, live-tile interface. But users can still choose a traditional Windows interface in a "classic" mode. Many industry observers have wondered how the two dramatically different ways of user interaction in Windows 8 might be merged into a single device.

Sprint Commits to iPhone Unlimited Data Plan

Sprint's Simply Everything plan for the iPhone is $109 for unlimited voice on Sprint's network, unlimited text messaging and unlimited data, with six other iPhone plans available based on the amount of minutes. Sprint also charges a $10 premium data charge for smartphones like the iPhone, however.

Cloud Computing Eases Backup Pains

Nobody likes to back up their business data and applications. Even at its best, the process is slow, often balky, and generally annoying. Sort of like flossing your teeth.

AT&T Reports 1.8% Earnings Rise; Data Revenue Up 19.9%

Sales of Apple's iPhone were down for both AT&T and Verizon. AT&T sold 4.3 million iPhones, the bulk of its 5.5 million smartphones, though down from 7.6 million iPhones in the previous quarter. Verizon sold 3.2 million iPhones in the first quarter, down from 4.2 million in the last quarter of 2011. AT&T's earnings overall rose 1.8 percent.

AT&T now has 40 million smartphone subscribers, who helped generate an additional $1 billion in data -

Windows 8 Release Candidate Coming in Early June

The Microsoft Windows 8 release preview will arrive in plenty of time for manufacturers to have Windows 8 devices "out in the fall well ahead of the holiday buying season," said analyst Al Hilwa. "Shipping early means an even bigger variety of devices by the holidays" that will be running Microsoft Windows 8.

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