MuniWireless

After months of rumor and speculation, Apple has launched a tablet computer called the iPad, which looks like a larger version of the iPod Touch and the iPhone. I watched the demo today and came away impressed. It looks gorgeous. The price is reasonable, starting at $499 for the Wi-Fi only version ($629 for the 3G + Wi-Fi model). At around $500, having an awesome portable computer just got a lot more affordable for everyone. The digital divide is shrinking…

AdMob (the mobile advertising network) says that in 2008, AdMob’s iPod touch traffic doubled on Christmas day and that the same happened in 2009, with iPod touch ad requests jumping 96% the day after Christmas: “AdMob’s usage data suggests that new iPod touch devices were responsible for a majority of the increase in App Store activity the day after Christmas.  Ad requests from iPod touches increased 96% on December 26 compared to the average from the week prior, while requests…

Fake Steve Jobs (aka The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs) lets AT&T’s Randall Stephenson know exactly what he thinks about AT&T and its crappy network. Here is an excerpt:

And now here we are. Right here in your own backyard, an American company creates a brilliant phone, and that company hands it to you, and gives you an exclusive deal to carry it — and all you guys can do is complain about how much people want to use it. You, Randall…

Three articles I want to point out to you that should get you thinking about the future of Wi-Fi:

(1) Andy Abramson’s long and thoughtful piece about sponsored Wi-Fi, sending party pays and the future of media in which he argues:

“Public Wireless” really takes hold, not from the telcos, or even the cable companies, but from the likes of Google, who understand how to monetize “free” better than anyone, and who also have the delivery billing system in place to bill…

Which would you rather be: the most profitable handset manufacturer or the one with the biggest market share? Apple has just passed Nokia as the most profitable handset maker in the world (according to Strategy Analytics) even though IDC reports that in Q3 2009, Nokia’s share of the worldwide market for smartphones was about 38 percent with Apple taking 17.1 percent. RIM’s market share in Q3 2009 was 19 percent.

Nokia has never been strong in the US, but its dominance…

Steve Kimatian, a Republican candidate for mayor in Syracuse, NY, wants the city to have Wi-Fi everywhere for free or a very low price. According to Kimatian, the city can fund the costs of deployment partially through federal funds. While the article discussing Kimatian’s plan does point out that there have been some successes and some failures among municipal wireless deployments, it cites Thomas Hazlett’s argument against muni Wi-Fi:

Municipal Wi-Fi projects often run into problems because the unlicensed radio frequencies…