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Charlotte Wolter Joins TMCnet

January 31, 2008

I am proud to announce that Charlotte Wolter is joining our roster of TMCnet contributors and she  will be writing about the service provider space. I have been a huge fan of Charlotte -- her insight and writing and am thrilled to have her join us.

Earlier this week, we announced Gary Kim is joining the TMCnet team and just about a week earlier it was Jon Arnold joining us. The TMC team keeps growing and it is thanks to all of our loyal readers like you as well as our sponsors and advertisers.

We will never forget that your loyalty provides us with unheard of readership and we pledge to continue to hire the best talent and cultivate our current team of writers to provide you with the ultimate and most complete communications and technology news, opinion and analysis.

Here is some background information on Charlotte:

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Charlotte Wolter has been a technology journalist and analyst for 20 years, managing publications, writing articles and reports, and providing consultation about market trends.

She is a principal in The IP Voice, a consulting firm working with businesses and industry organizations to develop and execute business and communication plans and materials. She assists companies with a wide variety of business issues including the development of business plans, and provide strategic guidance about market trends, funding and business structure.

She founded and was editor-in-chief of New Telephony, a weekly newsletter about voice over IP. Since 2002 New Telephony has been an authoritative voice about the new developments and trends in multimedia IP communication.

In the past, she has been editor-in-chief of Sounding Board, a monthly magazine about next-generation communication, editor-in-chief of New Media Strategist, a newsletter about the convergence of multimedia and entertainment, and TeleTechnology newsletter, a biweekly newsletter about cutting-edge technology in telecommunications for Baskerville Communications. Before that, she was editor-in-chief of Video Technology News, a technology report on new digital technologies in video.

Ms. Wolter also has produced numerous reports video and telecommunications technologies and business trends, including a quarterly report on new technologies in the satellite industry, titled “The Digital Revolution.”

Charlotte Wolter has been a member of several industry organizations, including the SIP Forum, an industry organization for the development of the dominant technology in Internet communication. She is a frequent contributor to industry forums and conferences as both as a speaker and moderator of panels and seminars.

Miami Beach Apple Store Packed

January 31, 2008

It's 8:40 pm on a Thursday night and the Apple store has about 100 people in it. This is truly amazing. Do these stores ever empty out?

Get this... A salesperson told me this is a slow night. Incredible.

Blogged via wireless handheld

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Garmin and Dell in Cells

January 31, 2008
As I just mentioned moments ago... Everyone seems to think the cell phone business is a great one to be in. Apple, Google and now Garmin and Dell. A strange time indeed for Motorola to be getting out.

Then again, if they haven't been able to make it so far, perhaps another company will do a better job with their team of employees.

Motorola Explores Spinning off Handset Business

January 31, 2008
Word is according to CNBC is that Motorola is looking for strategic alternatives for its mobile phone business. I wonder if this move makes sense for the company as this product line is where everyone seems to want to be. Apple, Google, Microsoft and others.

It seems the company just needs to figure out how do get their mobile house in order. It will be interesting to see who wants this business and if it can return to its former glory with other leadership.

At a time when consumer electronics products are literally on fire it is still surprising to me that Motorola has not been able to grow this business and make it the leader in mobile phones that it really should be.

Let's see what the next chapter holds.

See also Greg Galitzine's blog, Is Motorola Finished with Handsets?

Obsolete Wireless Outlets

January 31, 2008
Is the era of the wireless retailer dedicated to a single brand coming to an end? Is the recent news that Sprint is closing stores something unique to the troubled phone company or is it a sign of things to come? Should wireless companies embrace the rental car model in airports where costs are lower due to shared overhead?

Tom Wheeler has some fascinating points about this issue.