January 2012

You are browsing the archive for January 2012.

Notification if in Bluetooth Range

January 31, 2012

A great idea was just shared here at the Avaya Tech on Tap Event at

ITEXPO East 2012 in Miami. Imagine an app which notifies you if someone you met is within bluetooth range. This could be very helpful for a salesperson at an event like ITEXPO for example.

It would also be useful at a retail store - a gym, department store, restaurant, etc. Lots of possibilities and like with just about everything else - privacy issues.

Take it to the next level - this could be hooked in with Chemistry.com or eHarmony so if a compatible person is nearby you can both be notified.

Posted in ITEXPO

Tagged: avaya, bluetooth, dialogic, itexpo, sales, uc : Related Tags: bluetooth range, event itexpo, bluetooth

Seriously? A Moon Base?

January 31, 2012

Like most fans of Newt Gingrich – I believe he can effectively articulate the conservative vision for America which someone will need to do in contrast to President Obama’s vision of a redistributive utopia. Obama fans I mean no disrespect – just that he will continue to take from some groups and give to others like what is being done with food stamps, healthcare, etc.

But when Newt said we need a moon base I almost fell off the bed – and I was lying in the middle of it so you can imagine the acrobatic positions my body involuntarily contorted into as a result of this bizarre utterance.

I am still trying to wrap my head around how any candidate who says he or she is conservative can be for building moon bases. Unless of course there are diamonds or gold up there – which frankly the US government can use.

To learn more check out this article from Doug Mohney on TMCnet titled: Moonbase Newt vs. Republican Pragmatics .

Posted in Science

Tagged: gingrich, moon, newt, science, space : Related Tags:

Enjoying New E-Mail to Blog Capability

January 31, 2012

Hats off to TMC’s Tom Keating – in addition to his successful blogging and CTO duties at TMC he found time to program a more sophisticated email to blog script which supports categories and tags. The benefit for readers is that TMC bloggers will now be able to post more easily without needing to deal with cumbersome web forms. There may be many more short posts which based on the success of Twitter should make TMC blogs even more helpful for you.

Posted in ITEXPO

Tagged: blog, email , keating, script, technology : Related Tags:

Vertical Communications Speaks Up

January 31, 2012

Vertical communications has been pretty quiet for a long while so I am happy they will be at ITEXPO in Miami this week. I am looking forward to catching up with the IP-PBX company which picked up Comdial, Vodavi and other big names from the past. Check out Vertical Communications at ITEXPO This Week for more.

Posted in ITEXPO

Tagged: expo, communications, conference, ip-pbx, itexpo, vertical : Related Tags: vertical communications, vertical, communications

We have no Future Plan for SMS in a post SS7 World

January 31, 2012

How do we deal with SMS if POTS goes away? After all SS7 is needed for SMS propagation and if there is no intelligent network then how do short messages get sent? The SIP Forum’s Richard Shockey here at the “Going from POTs to PANs” session says he believes that wireless carriers don’t have a plan at the moment to deal with SMS in a post-SS7 world. And as he reminds us – SMS is a very profitable service.

Posted in ITEXPO

Tagged: itexpo, shockey, ss7 : Related Tags:

ITEXPO Interviews Tell me a Positive 2012 for Tech

January 31, 2012

So far at ITEXPO I’ve had conversations with seven companies and the verdict is that 2012 will be a stronger year than 2011 based upon speaking with cloud companies, analysts in video as well as companies focusing on communications in South America as well as Miami. Obviously this doesn’t take into account possible issues with the global economy like a military conflict with Iran, etc. It seems the reality is that customers are more confident in spending and making long-term commitments. All good news. I will keep you posted on others things I hear.

Posted in ITEXPO

Tagged: communications, ip communications, itexpo, video : Related Tags: companies

From POTS to PANS Conference at ITEXPO

January 31, 2012

ITEXPO will start tomorrow – today I am in a session regarding the move from plain old telephone service or POTS to PANS – which may be the acronym for the new phone network which is IP communications based. Right now Carl Ford who spent his life in the world of legacy as well as new communications networks is giving an overview of the past as well as setting up the session for the move into the future.

Posted in ITEXPO

Tagged: at&t, att, de, itexpo, pans, pots, ss7, voip : Related Tags:

ITEXPO East Miami 2012 Asterisk 123

January 31, 2012

ITEXPO hasn't officially started but all signs are that it will be very well attended as this Asterisk 123 session was overflowing and had to be moved to a larger room.

Posted in ITEXPO

ITEXPO Miami 2012 Room Keys

January 28, 2012

Very cool room keys at one of the ITEXPO Miami show hotels I am staying at. Everyone at the registration desk apparently had Blackberrys or other phones incapable of scanning this code. They were waiting for me to come enlighten them as to who it was sponsoring them and what it "meant."

The orange color and the fact that the company with this color logo has sponsored room keys at ITEXPO tipped me off. Yes, believe it or not I don't know all the sponsors and what they purchase before I come to the show.

Posted in Technology

La Carreta, one of my Favorites

January 28, 2012

Miami may be the only city where one of my favorite restaurants is in the airport. You should give La Carreta a try and eat the Yucca fries with the green sauce. See you in Miami for ITEXPO this week.

Posted in Technology

Startup Camp at ITEXPO Draws Praise

January 27, 2012

One of the more exciting portions of ITEXPO is the collocated StartupCamp5 Comms Edition which is an event which brings together some of the hottest startups around and allows the audience to help pick the one which should get funding. Last year, there were investors in the audience who pledged funds on the spot!

Very exciting – this is where the next generation of innovators will be discovered.

For more on this event-within-an-event check out these articles from Dave Michaels and Andy Abramson.

Posted in ITEXPO, Technology

Tagged: conference, expo, itexpo, miami, startupcamp : Related Tags: event, startup, startupcamp, itexpo, audience

ITEXPO is Everywhere - Even Newspapers

January 27, 2012

In TMC’s never-ending quest to bring in the largest global community of tech and communications decision-makers from around the globe to ITEXPO we do virtually everything we can to ensure we reach the largest audience we can online and via our multiple print publications and social networks. But what you may not be aware of is we also spend money in newspapers such as the Miami Herald to ensure everyone in Miami is aware of the show.

And yes, people still read newspapers. I hope you like the ad – let me know if you have any comments on it or room for improvement thanks.

Oh and yes, the show is next week in Miami - see you there.

Posted in ITEXPO, Technology, Unified Communications, VoIP

Tagged: communications, conference, convention center, itexpo, miami herald, technology : Related Tags: newspapers, miami

Google: Can it be Everything to Everyone?

January 27, 2012

Google is the new Microsoft but boy are they faster than Redmond ever was. Part of the reason has to do with the search engine leader’s access to the eyeballs of almost every human on earth via its home page but another reason for the blistering speed of the company has to do with the speed of innovation – which I recently described as (Moore’s Law*Metcalfe’s Law)/Patent Lawsuit Activity.

What we saw happen to Microsoft is telling. As they expanded into market after market like IPTV products like Internet Explorer and their mobile strategy seemed ever changing as did the name of their mobile operating systems.

Posted in Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Social Networking, Technology, Twitter

Tagged: antitrust, danny sullivan, facebook, google, google+, microsoft, search, search engine land, social network, twitter : Related Tags: worth noting, google search, cartoon video, search engine, business practices, google

Need a New Car? Win a Mustang at ITEXPO in Miami Next Week

January 27, 2012

I think I may have one of the best jobs in the world. I admit it is a bit ADHD-inducing as I get involved in lots of areas from new media to the latest technologies in the market as I run this major media company which is TMC. Not only do I get help influence tens of millions of people online I also get to host live events where I meet many of the readers who frequent my blog and TMCnet - the main web portal of TMC where I am CEO.

But the most exciting part of my job comes twice a year when I give away a car to an unsuspecting attendee at ITEXPO. Next week - Friday Feb 3rd at 1:45 pm at the Miami Beach Convention Center, I get to give the next car away and it will be a Ford Mustang.

Posted in 4G, 4GWE, AT&T, Amazon, Android, Apple, Avaya, Blackberry, Broadband, CRM, Call Center, Cisco, Cloud Computing, Communications Developer, Conference, Conferencing, Consumer Electronics, E-Commerce, FCC, Fax, HD Voice, IP Communications, ITEXPO, M2M, MSP, Microsoft, Open Source, SIP, Skype, Speech Technologies, Super WiFi, TMC Team, Technology, Unified Communications, Verizon, Video, VoIP, Wireless

Tagged: 4g, asterisk, cloud computing, collaboration, communications, conference, digium, ip communications, itexpo, m2m, miami, mobility, msp, patents, super wifi, technology, trade show, video, voip : Related Tags: trunking workshop, itexpo, events, miami, workshop

Alternion: Manage 220+ Social Connections From one Dashboard

January 26, 2012

Let’s face it – social networking is time consuming. I believe part of the reason for the meteoric rise in social networking these past few years has to do with a miserable job market coupled with the fact that social is free and people are cutting the cable cord. But even with unlimited tim,e managing video sites like YouTube and Vimeo as well as Flickr, a blog, Twitter, Facebook, email and other networks is a herculean task requiring you to take your mental vitamins.

Posted in Facebook, Social Networking, Twitter

Tagged: alternion, exchange, facebook, flipboard, gmail, imap, linkedin, pop3, social networking, twitter, zite : Related Tags: social networking, manage social, social, alternion, networks, service

A Dream for Alan Harper - iPads Do Increase Chiropractor Visits

January 26, 2012

When the iPad was released I penned a piece titled iPad Neck – Ouch! Because I had such a neck ache, I had to see a chiropractor. Just over a year and a half later I came across a report on TMCnet which explains that yes, indeed, I am not alone. Researchers have found that prolonged use of tablets as opposed to desktop computers has led to not only pain in people’s necks but their shoulders as well.

Posted in AT&T, Amazon, Apple, Blackberry, Broadband, Cisco, Consumer Electronics, Gadget, Microsoft, Technology, Ultrabook, Verizon, Wireless, iPad

Tagged: alan harper, chiropractor, ergonomics, ipad, ipad neck, two and a half men : Related Tags: harper, tablet, chiropractor

ITEXPO East 2012 Miami Schedule

January 25, 2012

One of the most frequent question I get regarding TMC’s ITEXPO which takes place next week in Miami – is with all that is going on – how do you make a decision as to which parts of the show to attend. Truth be told I believe the event and its collocated conferences and educational sessions rivals just about any other tech show in terms of education.

Some of the hot topics to be discussed include not only general communications and technology but 4G wireless, mobility, Asterisk, open source, business video, the channel, cloud computing and communications, HTML5, Mobile Latin America communications, M2M, technology patents, the MSP market, Super WiFi/white spaces and much more.

The following is a list of important details you will need to help navigate ITEXPO East 2012 Miami.

Posted in 4G, Avaya, Blackberry, Broadband, Call Center, Cisco, Cloud Computing, Communications Developer, FCC, Google, IP Communications, ITEXPO, M2M, SIP, SaaS, Skype, Speech Technologies, Super WiFi, Technology, Twitter, Video, VoIP, Wireless

Tagged: asterisk, audiocodes, business video, channel, cloud communications, cloud computing, conference, dialogic, digium, expo, html5, interactive intelligence, itexpo, m2m, mobile latin america communications, msp, netxusa, open source, sansay, sonus networks, super wifi, technology patents, uc, unified communications, video, voip, white spaces : Related Tags: tuesday january, wednesday february, networking reception, terry matthews, sessions begin, february

Innovation Speed = (Moore's Law*Metcalfe's Law)/Patent Lawsuit Activity

January 25, 2012

Yesterday I was engaged in a conversation with TMC senior editor Peter Bernstein and we were discussing the pace of innovation and whether there is some formula which can explain how much more quickly things are happening today. Interestingly I also had a conversation today with TMC webmaster and author Robert Hashemian where we were going over Apple’s earnings and how fast mobile leadership has changed – from Motorola to Nokia to Motorola to Microsoft to RIM to Apple to Google. And all these massive marketshare swings took place more or less in the last decade.

Back to the discussion with Peter – my takeaway from the conversation (I feel he has a slightly different opinion which hopefully he will expound upon in the future) is that Moore’s Law and Metcalfe’s Law working together are accelerating innovation and lubricating new business models. Obviously email is just one tool which has benefitted from these laws – think about how you can now create and respond to virtually all your email from a smartphone now.

Posted in Android, Apple, Cisco, E-Commerce, Facebook, Google, IP Communications, ITEXPO, Microsoft, Patent, Social Networking, Technology, Wireless

Tagged: apple, conference, court, google, itexpo, lawsuit, metcalfe's law, moore's law, oracle, patent, patent troll, patents, suits : Related Tags: patent lawsuit, lawsuit activity, speed moore, innovation speed, patent, innovation

Trends and Surprises Regarding Google's 2011 Advertisers

January 25, 2012

Google’s 2011 revenues were $37.9 billion last year and 96% of that money came from ads. Now I know what you are thinking. Where is all that money coming from? Well thankfully, the people at Wired put together an infographic that explains it all.

Posted in AT&T, Amazon, Cisco, E-Commerce, Google, Marketing, Search, Skype, Technology, Verizon, Wireless

Tagged: advertising, amazon, at&t, att, ebay, godaddy, google, search, verizon : Related Tags: business cards, google, click, costs, money, company

Siri Humble Regarding Record Apple Profits

January 24, 2012

As an Apple shareholder (thankfully) I am pretty happy about the record profits the company just reported, propelling the stock to $460 briefly after hours. So I figured I would thank Siri – after all she apparently is the reason for the massive increase in iPhone sales – over 37 million were sold!

This is more than double the year ago period.

To be honest, other “set timer for one hour” which I say whenever I use a parking meter, Siri hasn’t worked too well for me. But I must admit when it comes to being thanked, she is quite gracious.

Tagged: apple, iphone, iphone 4s, siri : Related Tags:

ITEXPO East 2012 Miami Out of Office Message

January 24, 2012

While I digest the super-strong, mind-numbing Apple growth numbers which propelled the stock to a high of $460 per share after hours I have just set my out of office message for next week when I will be at ITEXPO. The message is below in case you want to use something similar. And for your convenience here is the first show daily from the event – which covers news from Sprint, AT&T, Whitespace Alliance, Panasonic, Accedian Networks, Cycle30, FaxSIPit, Phone.com and Polar Media.

---

Posted in 4G, AT&T, Amazon, Apple, Avaya, Blackberry, Broadband, Cisco, Cloud Computing, Communications Developer, Conference, E-Commerce, FCC, Fax, HTML5, IP Communications, ITEXPO, Networking, Nortel, SIP, Social Networking, Super WiFi, Technology, Unified Communications, Verizon, Video, VoIP, Wireless

Tagged: at&t, convention, expo, google, itexpo, mustang, samsung, sprint, trade show : Related Tags: office message, itexpo, message

Despite Outages, Verizon Has Record Quarter

January 24, 2012

Months back Verizon sent me a 4G personal hotspot to review and I confess it is one of the most important pieces of technology I have. For example just yesterday I was at a lunch meeting for an extended period of time – and I had an iPad and keyboard with me. The Optimum WiFi network was not working well. AT&T was also having problems for whatever reason – it was very slow.

Posted in 4G, AT&T, Amazon, Android, Apple, Blackberry, Broadband, Consumer Electronics, FCC, Facebook, IMS, IP Communications, Microsoft, Networking, Skype, Technology, Unified Communications, Verizon, Video, Wireless

Tagged: 4g, apple, at&t, att, aws, bandwidth, bright house networks, comcast, cox tmi wireless, droid, droid razr, galaxy nexus, htc, iphone, jetpacks, lg, lte, maxx, mobile hotspots, motorola, netflix, novatel, razr, rezound, samsung, samsung galaxy tab, specrumco, time warner, verizon, verizon wireless, vzw, wirelss, xyboard, zte : Related Tags: verizon wireless, company, verizon, wireless, network, growth

RIM Quietly Shifting Strategy to HTML5

January 23, 2012

While it does seem that every company is working on an HTML5 strategy, one of the more aggressive in the space has been RIM. And while the news of the day has to do with the company replacing its Co-CEOs for a single CEO, to me what is interesting is how the company has been promoting its HTML5 strategy.

As a disclosure, my company TMC is co-producer of the DevCon5 HTML5 developer event and RIM has made a sponsoring commitment to the show for a few events in a row – where they give away Blackberry Playbook’s to developers who successfully package mobile HTML5 apps and test them on a device simulator.

Posted in Blackberry, HTML5, Technology, Wireless

Tagged: blackberry, devcon5, html5, playbook, rim, tablet : Related Tags: company, platform, developers, event, strategy

Bain Capital, Romney, Vulture Investing and 15% Tax Rates

January 23, 2012

A shout out to investors everywhere

I haven’t seen this level of funding in the tech space in years – I would go so far as to say the amount of funding is the greatest I’ve seen since 2000. I don’t believe we are exceeding 2000 levels but it is encouraging to see that investors believe that tech makes a solid investment.

Before I begin with which markets have gotten money, let me make a shout out to the investors in the world.

Posted in Amazon, Broadband, Facebook, Financial, Google, HTML5, SaaS, Social Networking, Technology, Twitter

Tagged: cloud computing, html5, investment, investors, itexpo, joyent, mitt romney, newt gingrich, obama, polar mobile, technology, truste, venture capital, vulture capital : Related Tags: shout investors, distressed companies, products services, cloud computing, investors, company

How Megaupload Takedown Hurts Cloud Computing

January 22, 2012

How self-destructive US policies are hurting hiring and industry
One of the biggest concerns regarding the passage of SOPA is that entire domain names could be blocked by federal authorities due to a single offending blog or web page. In this past week, major websites such as Wikipedia and Google engaged in an education campaign in order to have consumers put pressure on politicians who eventually reversed course on their support of the bill.

On a side note – as a conservative – the fact that a Republican, Representative Lamar Smith was the biggest proponent of this bill is horrifying. He should be thrown out of office by his constituents at the first possible chance.

Moreover, any politician who ever supported the bill should suffer the same fate.

But what is even scarier than theoretical web takedowns is actual ones and this week we saw Megaupload removed from the web because it allegedly engaged in activities which promoted pirating copyrighted material. Now if you aren’t a user of the site – and I never have been to my knowledge, you may be led to believe the US government was in its rights to take down a site designed solely to break the law.

But the challenge here is there are many users who used Megaupload for legitimate uses like sharing and storing files.

Posted in AT&T, Amazon, Apple, Broadband, Cloud Computing, Google, Microsoft, SaaS, Social Networking, Technology, Twitter, Verizon, Wireless, Yahoo

Tagged: amazon, cloud computing, dropbox, google, lamar smith, Megaupload, megaupload, microsoft, mpa, republican, s3, sopa, yahoo, yousendit : Related Tags: cloud computing, megaupload legitimate, storing files, megaupload, cloud, files

The Worst News Day so far for Google and Apple

January 20, 2012

This has been a rough news day for Apple and Google – it started with information regarding a class-action lawsuit pertaining to handshake no-poaching agreements and from there we have news of just how onerous the iBooks 2 policies are for new authors. Now it’s back to Google where the company seems to be “tying” a term used to describe a company with a dominant position in one space used to force users to purchase a product or service they do not want.

It turns out the search engine leader – many would call a monopoly is forcing account users to join Google+. MSNBC details a work-around but who knows if it will last.

Posted in Apple, Google, Technology, Wireless

Tagged: antitrust, facebook, ftc, google, google news, google+, monopoly, social networking, sopa, tying : Related Tags: google, advertisers, facebook, consumers, company, tying

Apple's Great Products Allow Legal Gouging

January 20, 2012

Cupertino, you seem to be becoming more driven by lawyers than product designers

A dizzying number of lawsuits related to patents is a fact of life at Apple. Steve Jobs himself mentioned that Google’s Android represents betrayal and the company has made no secret of the fact that they want to take this free OS out at the knees.

But what doesn’t get as much press is the legal requirements you must deal with if you want to be part of the Apple ecosystem. Case in point is the company’s recent foray into educational books. Apple allows anyone to use an app to become part of the Apple iBooks 2 book store.

Posted in Amazon, Apple, Consumer Electronics, Gadget, Google, Technology, Wireless

Tagged: apple, ed bott, ibooks, ios, zdnet : Related Tags: apple shares, apple, legal, books, doesn

Google-Apple No-Poach Antitrust Lawsuit Expands

January 20, 2012

You remember a few years back when Apple and Google were exposed as having an agreement not to poach each other’s employees? Well it seems there are some new companies which also took part in this handshake agreement not to steal employees. They are Pixar, Lucasfilm, Adobe, Intel, and Intuit. Next week a class-action civil lawsuit will be heard in San Jose regarding the matter.

Posted in Apple, Google, Microsoft, Technology

Tagged: adobe, apple, class-action, engadget, google, intel, intuit, ipo, lucasfilm, pixar, poaching, sarbanes oxley, techcrunch : Related Tags: google apple, management conference, conference statement, apple google, exhibit joint, companies

American Airlines Advertises in-flight WiFi as Differentiator

January 19, 2012

American Airlines has begun a new marketing campaign targeted at travelers who want to keep in touch while in the air. The TV ad which you may have caught on CNBC features a mother and daughter having a conversation but the conversation fades into a chat session between mother and daughter as the mother is sitting in a coach seat which seems to have more legroom than I remember on my last American Airlines flight from a few days ago.

Ironically the last flight I was on – which went from Las Vegas to Chicago to LGA had WiFi which didn’t work. Not that I am complaining about the airline as they were able to rapidly get me on another flight after I missed my original one and moreover, they got me home safely.

Posted in Broadband, Technology, Wireless

Tagged: aa, advertising, american airlines, boingo, marketing, wifi : Related Tags: american airlines, email address, mother daughter, flight, airlines, while

11 Things Yahoo Must Do Now That Yang Has Stepped Down

January 18, 2012

As reported on TMCnet yesterday, Jerry Yang, co-founder of Yahoo! has stepped down from the board to pursue other interests. We have a great deal to thank Yang for – as the first company to categorize the web and build out many free services, society has benefit greatly from what Yahoo has more or less given away for free. That is the positive – the negative is the company has eroded top management and investor confidence for many years. Not to mention the botched Microsoft acquisition some years back at a valuation more than double what the company is worth now.

Posted in Android, Cloud Computing, Consumer Electronics, Facebook, Merger/Acquisition, Microsoft, SaaS, Social Networking, Technology, Video, Yahoo, iPad

Tagged: advertising, alexa, behavioural analytics, doubleclik, facebook, google, intonow, jerry yang, mark zuckerberg, scott thompson, social networking, twitter, yahoo : Related Tags: company needs, things yahoo, yahoo, company, google, needs

Paget Alves, Sprint CSO keynotes ITEXPO in Miami

January 17, 2012

Dear readers – thanks for registering for ITEXPO – our conference registration numbers show there is solid attendance already and the scope of attendees as always will be international with people coming from as far away as China. What I love about running conferences is the ability to experiment with the leading edge of technology to help attendees stay up to date on the latest happenings in hot spaces like super WiFi, UC, IP collaboration, mobility, 4G, M2M, etc.

On Wednesday, February 1, at 3:30 PM, Sprint’s Chief Sales Officer Paget Alves will help tie many of the themes at ITEXPO and related show as he discuss the power of ingenuity in the business-to-business space and its influence on wireless technologies – both current and future.

If you want to stay up to date on the latest in technology and communications including cloud computing, asterisk, the opportunity for channel partners, HTML5, the MSP space, startups, etc you should think about attending.

Posted in 4G, AT&T, Android, Apple, Broadband, Cisco, Cloud Computing, Communications Developer, Consumer Electronics, FCC, IP Communications, ITEXPO, Technology, Unified Communications, Video, VoIP, Wireless

Tagged: 4g, conference, expo, html5, itexpo, m2m, miami, msp, paget alves, sprint, wifi, wireless : Related Tags: paget alves, itexpo

Woz, I Agree. Now What if the Samsung Galaxy Note Ran iOS?

January 17, 2012

In July of 2010 I penned a piece about the ensuing marketshare loss Apple could face as a result of repeating the same mistake from the eighties in which it tightly coupled hardware and software while other companies were free to innovate on hardware alone. In a post titled Is Is Apple Repeating its Mistake from the Eighties? I explained how the thinness and lightness of the Motorola Droid X won me over in a few minutes. In December of 2010 I followed up with And Then it Hit Me, Open Always Wins and a few months back with Apple Screwed Again?

I witnessed firsthand how in the eighties the price/power curve of the PC clones helped make PCs much cheaper than Macs of equivalent power and over time as a result, software developers once loyal to Apple switched over to the PC.

Posted in 4G, Amazon, Android, Apple, Avaya, Broadband, FCC, Microsoft, Smart Ecosystem, Technology, Ultrabook, Unified Communications, Verizon, Wireless, iPad

Tagged: aapl, android, apple, ces, galaxy, galaxy note, google, intel, ios, ipad, ipad touch, iphone, oz, Samsung, steve wozniak, tablet, ultrabook, windows : Related Tags: samsung galaxy, mistake eighties, shirt pocket, hardware makers, operating system, apple

Can Incumbent Companies be Disruptors?

January 14, 2012

Business disruption through technologies they never saw coming is fascinating to me. I have been fortunate enough to be in the technology and communications spaces at a time when the pace of change has been breathtaking.

Consider for example in the 1980s when Rockwell one of the leading ACD manufacturers collaborated with IBM to enable computer-telephony integration or CTI. As a point of reference an ACD is an automatic call distributor and is the machine that asks you to press one if you are calling about domestic travel and so on.

Posted in Amazon, Android, Broadband, Communications Developer, Consumer Electronics, E-Commerce, Gadget, Google, Merger/Acquisition, Microsoft, Networking, Skype, Technology, VoIP, Wireless

Tagged: acd, amazon, android, bing, computer telephony, cti, dialogic, disruption, google, ipad, kindle, kodak, novell, screen pop, tablet, tapi, tsapi, vocaltec : Related Tags: resource boards, social network, benefitted moore, incumbent companies, computer telephony, market

CES 2012 Overview

January 13, 2012

TMC's Peter Bernstein has an excellent piece on CES and the macro trends which have emanated from this massive tech show here in Las Vegas. One point worth reiterating is the show is far more than just about gadgets... There are ecosystem considerations and competitive pressures at virtually every important point in the market from TV to cameras to music. As Peter points out - at this rate the show will be an important industry gathering place for many years to come - and it really is more than just a show about consumer electronics - there are broad implications emanating from this event that will affect every aspect of tech - all the way up into the corporate world.

Posted in Consumer Electronics, Gadget, Technology, Wireless

Tagged: ces, gadgets, peter bernstein, wireless : Related Tags:

Going Postal at CES

January 12, 2012

The US Postal Service is here at CES 2012 and they have a promotion which is designed to help you make your company more efficient using their services. But when "going postal" is an expression relating to postal workers going crazy and shooting up an office, perhaps "Fast & Furious" isn't the best choice from a messaging perspective.

At least that's my take. You be the judge.

Posted in Technology

Amazon Looks for Talent at CES

January 12, 2012

Interesting requirements. Great details on the corporate culture.

Posted in Technology

Immersive Tech Chair at CES

January 12, 2012

I got to CES 2012 before it officially opened and in South Hall 1 I spied this interesting immersive computing chair. It's tough to figure out what booth this is. From the picture below it could be Lab WWE or Emperor or Steel Space. The chair has an Emperor logo on it. Somehow this thing reminds me of the pods in the movie Matrix.

Posted in Technology

The Real Trend at CES - No Connectivity

January 11, 2012

I have been in about 30 product briefings so far at CES so far and the trend is the same. No mater where I go exhibitors and sponsors tell me the connectivity is not good in this room or in this booth or in this part of the hotel or this part of the convention center. Yesterday I was at the Las Vegas Convention Center and today in the Venetian and Palazzo hotels and the connectivity in all locations was terrible.

That leaves the wireless carriers...

Posted in Technology

OLogic at CES is Showing the First Self-Balancing Robot Music Player

January 11, 2012

Very interesting demo. Has a smartphone app for control and can follow you around holding your beer.

Posted in Technology

Polk Audio Acrobatics at CES

January 10, 2012

At CES 2012 This booth with male and female acrobats caught the attention of much of the crowd. The promotion was designed to draw your attention to the Polk Audio Ultra Fit Sports Headphones they were wearing while performing.

Posted in Technology

Alan Mulally CEO of Ford Unveils Fusion Energi 2013

January 10, 2012

He says it gets the equivalent of 100 MPG. The company is also working on an ecosystem with apps - smart devices will be the enablers.

Sincerely,
Rich
------------------------------------------------------
Rich Tehrani 203-295-0200
CEO
TMC: Building Global Communities
www.tmcnet.com - Serving Nearly 3,000,000 Monthly Unique Visitors

ITEXPO - www.itexpo.com
East 2012: February, 1-3, 2012 â Miami, FL
West 2012: October 2-4, 2012 â Austin, Texas

Posted in Technology

Scoop - Ford Fusion Energi to have Evos 2013 Design Cues

January 10, 2012

Heard at CES from a reliable source.

The Energi is to be unveiled in a few minutes.

Stay tuned.

Posted in Technology

More Cars this time for Ford at CES

January 10, 2012

Ford had its Evos concept car on display at CES 2012 turning a bunch of heads.

Posted in Technology

CES where Lamborghinis are Chopped Liver

January 10, 2012

Spotted at the Concept booth here at CES 2012 this Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 (or 670) is drawing precious few gawkers. Other than me that is. Btw Concept provides mobile video systems for vehicles.

This is the second lambo sighting of the day here at CES.

Posted in Technology

IWave CES Booth has a DJ

January 10, 2012

Interesting trend I first noticed in Miami a few ITEXPOs ago is the DJs are everywhere. Retail stores, restaurants, you name it. They are fairly uncommon at US shows. At least the ones I go to. Great idea and the company behind the music iWave makes headphones and cases as you can see below.

Posted in Technology

Awesome Executive IP Phone from Invoxia

January 10, 2012

This Invoxia phone has it all. It works with SIP and Skype does IP communications, integrates with your iPhone and iPad and more. It also has 8 speakers and microphones so really competes with high-end speakerphones. And its gorgeous. Very cool seeing it here at CES 2012. Invoxia is a Paris based startup of ex-Thompson workers BTW.

Posted in Technology

Cool Lamborghini Display at Cobra Booth

January 10, 2012

Check out the cool booth shot from Cobra Electronics at 2012 CES.

Posted in Technology

Motorola Focuses on Fusion of Fitness and Music at CES

January 10, 2012

At CES 2012 a large focus for Motorola was the intersection of fitness and music touting products allowing for better workouts through monitoring of performance based on music type to sharing achievements with others via Facebook and Twitter.

Posted in Technology

AT&T Wifi Out here at CES but Back Now

January 10, 2012

Here at CES 2012 AT&T wifi grabbed the broadband wireless traffic from my devices but was down making work tough between interviews. It is back now thankfully.

Posted in Technology

Samsung Galaxy Note at CES

January 10, 2012

Lots to see at Samsung booth at CES 2012 including the Galaxy Note a cross between a pocket sized paper notebook and a tablet.

Posted in Technology

Smart Home and Electric Vehicle Charging a Theme at Toshiba CES Booth

January 10, 2012

Toshiba showed off a wealth of smart home and electric vehicle innovations at CES 2012 here in Las Vegas.

Posted in Technology

LG Booth at CES Mobbed

January 10, 2012

CES is a madhouse and the LG booth is the size of a village and sports a giant 3D screen of about 100 feet or more in width.

Posted in Technology

Made it to CES 2012

January 10, 2012

So far it has been mass chaos, traffic and lines. A great sign for the industry but not great for anyone's stress level.

Posted in Technology

Calling all Women in Tech and Telecom

January 9, 2012

At ITEXPO in Miami on February 2nd, 2012 there will be a breakfast from 8-9:30 am for successful women in tech and telecom. Led by Suzanne Bowen the renowned IP Communications and Social Networking Evangelist, this event is an evolution of other successful networking functions she has posted in the past. Here is a great opportunity to network with your peers and advance your career and business.

Here are the details.

Posted in ITEXPO

Tagged: 4gwe, conference, itexpo, miami, suzanne bowen, tmc, trade show : Related Tags:

Analysis of FT and NYT Paywall Success

January 9, 2012

For newspapers looking to offset falling advertising revenues via increased paid subscriptions one solution is to raise prices of the printed versions of your product in order to gently nudge loyal readers online. A great analysis of how two newspapers the Financial Times and New York Times have been successful in doing so comes from Frédéric Filloux of The Guardian who explains that the NYT has increased their print prices by 25% in the UK and the FT has had a whopping 40% increase over a similar time period.

The article goes on to explain how the FT has a simple strategy when it comes to paywalls – you get less and less free articles per month unless you pay. The NYT has a more convoluted strategy which has a few tiers – and the article says both newspapers have models which work.

Posted in HTML5, Marketing, Technology

Tagged: advertising, android, apple, financial times, freemium, ft, google, ios, new york times, nyt : Related Tags: newspapers, readers, analysis, online, comes, content

LodgeNet iPhone App a Germaphobe Dream

January 8, 2012

For those people horrified by the concept of using the hotel room remote due to germs – you know who you are, I have great news. LodgeNet has a new App I discovered recently on a New Year’s trip to Boston which can reduce anxiety related to uncleanliness and moreover make your TV viewing experience better.

It works simply.

Posted in Apple, Consumer Electronics, Gadget, Technology, Wireless

Tagged: apple, hotel, iphone, lodgenet, remote control : Related Tags: using hotel, hotel remote, remote, using, iphone, hotel

CES, Ultrabooks and Lowered Expectations

January 8, 2012

It has been a few years since I have been to CES and I have to be honest, I have never seen the kind of lowered expectations for an event. There have been numerous stories from mainstream publications this past week telling us not to judge the future of the industry based on what the hot product at the show happens to be. For more see the end of this article.

While on the one hand this is good advice backed up by lots of flops like the Microsoft and HP tablet of a few years back that was supposed to be an iPad killer but was never released.

Posted in Amazon, Android, Apple, Blackberry, Consumer Electronics, Gadget, Microsoft, Open Source, Skype, Smart Ecosystem, Technology, Ultrabook, VoIP, Wireless

Tagged: android, app store, apple, ces, googl, ipad, macbook, macbook air, netbooks, pc, tablet, ultrabook : Related Tags: lowered expectations, ultrabooks, technology, tablet, macbook, power

Some iCloud Users Seeing Connection Errors

January 5, 2012

iCloud has been frustrating some users - giving them connection errors and other problems. I have been able to duplicate the error from computers on multiple computers but the problem is intermittent. One other user on the east coast has confirmed the outage while another user confirmed there is no problem.

The message below is what I have seen a few times this evening. If you are having problems comment below and be sure to let us know where you are surfing from thanks.

Posted in Apple, Broadband, Cloud Computing, Technology

Tagged: apple, icloud, itunes : Related Tags: connection errors

Positive LifeLock Experience

January 4, 2012

Being on the front lines of tech and communications news I am aware of so many data breaches that identity theft scares me. As a result I subscribed to LifeLock over a year ago and have questioned the investment a few times as they really don't provide a service I see.

Truth be told I do recall the system alerting me to a bunch of sex offenders who have moved into my city and/or the surrounding area. Another part of the service they provide.

I'm never quite sure what to do with this information though. I suppose you don't want to hire any of the people on the list as a babysitter so that is one way in which this information could be useful.

Well today my bank convinced me I needed one of their shiny new credit cards and I relented.

Posted in Security, Technology

Tagged: credit card, fraud, lifelock, security : Related Tags: lifelock, service, credit, information

Is That a Personal Assistant in Your Ear?

January 4, 2012

I really like loud music and while I believe my hearing is good now, I imagine at some point in the future the collective damage of music played on various gadgets coupled with concerts by the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Def Leppard, Rush, The Police, Joan Jett and others have done some damage which I will have to overcome with – I can’t bring myself to write it… A hearing aid. Ouch… Does that hurt. Did I mention I refuse to acknowledge the aging process is taking place?

So I have this hope that if the time comes when – ehhh, what did you say???

Posted in Consumer Electronics, Gadget, Speech Technologies, Technology, Wireless

Tagged: bluetooth, hearing aid, panasonic, r1-w, smartphone, wireless : Related Tags: personal assistant, hearing, phone, personal, device, assistant

Imagining a World with Electronic Passports

January 4, 2012

There is something – Oh I don’t know – let’s say backwards when it comes to traveling on an airplane. In an age of state-of-the-art electronics – smartphones with dual-core processors and amazing screens, why do we need paper passports and other forms of paper identification when we travel? We all know eventually the systems will become automated and recent news at the border of US and Canada may point to a trend which will make travel a bit less stressful.

Canadian Martin Reisch recently used a scanned photo of his passport as his identification when crossing from Canada into the US.

Posted in Consumer Electronics, Gadget, Security, Technology

Tagged: airline, airport, dhs, passport, security, travel : Related Tags: paper identification, travel, canada, paper, identification, border

Kindle Fire Costs Apple Perhaps a Billion Dollars in December

January 3, 2012

Remember when I told you this past December 27th that none of my friends were buying Apple gadgets this holiday season? Well it turns out that across the industry the trend towards avoiding Apple has turned into 3 million or more lost iPad unit sales or over a billion dollars in revenue according to Morgan Keegan analyst Travis McCourt.

Based on the success of the Amazon Kindle Fire an Amazon phone is all but guaranteed to emerge perhaps this year.

Posted in Amazon, Android, Apple, Broadband, Consumer Electronics, Gadget, Google, Technology, Wireless, iPad

Tagged: amazon, apple, consumer electronics, gadget, ipad, kindle, kindle fire, kindle phone, tablet, wireless : Related Tags: billion dollars, apple

Asus Zenbook Ultrabook Impresses

January 3, 2012

I haven’t been afraid to share with my readers that the Ultrabook has the ability to breathe tremendous life into the PC market and moreover reduce the enthusiasm for Apple products which tend to be sleeker and seem to look more like art than they do traditional computing devices.

There are a number of Ultrabooks on the market but I believe one of the best has to be the Asus Zenbook because the computer not only look better than the others on the market, the specs are quite solid and better than most.

Posted in Consumer Electronics, Gadget, Microsoft, Technology, Ultrabook

Tagged: apple, asus, intel, ipad, pc, ultrabook, zenbook : Related Tags: extra battery, experience index, screen resolution, screen setting, really solid, laptop

Google Keynote at ITEXPO Feb 1st, 2012 in Miami

January 3, 2012

I am really thrilled to let my readers know that Rick Whitt, Washington Telecom and Media Counsel at Google will be the keynote presenter at Super WiFi Summit which is a collocated event at ITEXPO. ITEXPO kicks off this January 31st and continues until February 3rd and we expect this show to be very well-attended and one of the best places in the technology world for networking and choosing products and services for purchase.

Now getting back to Super WiFi – it is the concept of using white spaces – radio spectrum which for the most part isn’t in use to allow a super high-speed network to be developed. Think of it as WiFi but with far greater range and consider what happens when equipment can routinely communicate with other devices many miles away without the need for wireless service provider or 4G network.

Posted in 4G, 4GWE, AT&T, Amazon, Apple, Broadband, Cloud Computing, Conference, Consumer Electronics, Gadget, Google, Social Networking, Super WiFi, Technology, Verizon, Wireless

Tagged: 3g, 4g, fcc, google, rick whitt, super wifi, white spaces, wifi, wireless : Related Tags: telecom media, white spaces, google, whitt, super, media

Blackberry Playbook Price Drop to $299 Crashes Servers

January 3, 2012

Blackberry has just reduced the price the Playbook to $299 regardless of model – meaning you can get a fully functional tablet which allows you to see Adobe Flash and HTML5 as well as cameras on the front and back and up to 64GB of memory for a great price. I have reviewed the Playbook and think it is a solid tablet. New apps come out for it all the time but compared to Android or iOS there will always be less variety. Moreover the lack of a native email app is a drawback which has taken a long while to fix.

Posted in 4G, Amazon, Android, Apple, Blackberry, Broadband, Consumer Electronics, E-Commerce, Gadget, Google, Technology, Wireless, iPad

Tagged: blackberry, consumer electronics, flashg, gadget, html5, playbook, rim : Related Tags: price, tablet, moreover, playbook, blackberry

Zennstrom Onto Next Big Thing: Wrapp

January 3, 2012

Niklas Zennstron is on to the next big thing – the intersection of mobile, social and local – by investing in a new company called Wrapp which allows users to send gift cards via social networks. In a nutshell, you see it’s a friend’s birthday on Facebook and then send a gift card. They receive an email and the store scans it.

The twist here is companies could potentially offer free gift cards for sending, allowing you for example to send someone $10 which the store would in theory book as a referral fee/coupon meaning this fee becomes a marketing/customer acquisition cost.

Posted in E-Commerce, Facebook, Skype, Social Networking, Technology, VoIP

Tagged: ebay, kazaa, local, mobile, niklas zennstrom, p2p, skype, social, voip, wrap : Related Tags: thing, store

Communications and Technology Blog - Tehrani.com

January 2012