Australia’s Exetel CEO John Linton now reveals that 35% of his customers use 5G or less per month and that their new 3G plans of $25 for 5G without a land line through Optus is now on par with many of it’s DSL offerings but are unique in that it is inherently portable. This means that for approximately the same price as a fixed line DSL connection, you can take your internet with you wherever you go and it will still seem like you are home.

Vividwireless, after operating for a time in and around Perth, are now trialling their LTE offerings in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Vividwireless were one of the few wireless providers to introduce and unlimited downloads plan last year.

Of course, many users will have to purchase or upgrade existing wireless modems, access stations and routers to take advantage of the difference frequencies that the various systems use. Current 2G and 3G use 850,900,1900 and 2100Mhz, but with the freeing up of existing frequencies from old analogue television, a whole lot more room is now at our disposal for more carefree and portable internet solutions.

Is the future of internet access all wireless or physical connection via fibre? Perhaps it is a mixture of both. One idea is to connect all the back-end infrastructure via cables and convert most areas into wifi hotspots, therefore still providing convenient wireless access, at cheap bulk data prices via fibre/xDSL.

Whatever the answer is, one thing is sure; we as consumers win this challenge for finding the best internet access.

Sony plans to open a competitor to iTunes, a music streaming service called Music Unlimited, in Australia soon.

Another service launching later this year will enable mobile phone users to pay and play first generation PlayStation games on their handsets. The head of Sony’s games unit in Australia said it was unlikely to be available on the iPhone or through iTunes.

Two weeks ago Apple blocked Sony’s electronic book application from the iPhone because it would have bypassed Apple’s system for buying content.

The new Sony music service, which opened in Europe last year, will have a library of 6 million tracks and users will be able to stream songs to Sony TVs, PlayStation3 consoles, PSP portable game players and Blu-Ray players.

The chief executive officer of Sony Computer Entertainment, Michael Ephraim, said music streaming was a ”new technology” that gave consumers greater freedom to play their music on a variety of devices.

Because Sony’s service will be stored on servers, users will be able to more freely access songs from any device, which Mr Ephraim said was in contrast to Apple’s system, which relies on users to transfer their library across devices such as the iPod or iPhone.

If Music Unlimited becomes popular it will provide a credible alternative to iTunes for music publishers, including Sony Music Entertainment, which includes Bob Dylan, Beyonce, Guy Sebastian and Delta Goodrem in its stable of artists.

”If we do [get mass take up] then does Sony Music need to provide content to iTunes?” Mr Ephraim asked. ”Currently we do. We have to provide it to iTunes as that’s the format right now.

”Publishers are being held to ransom by Apple and they are looking for other delivery systems, and we are waiting to see what the next three to five years will hold.”

Music Unlimited would eventually move to portable devices such as Sony’s PlayStation Portable and Sony Ericsson phones, Mr Ephraim said, but the company is not saying whether that will include devices made by competing manufacturers.

Later this year Sony will launch PlayStation Suite, which brings early games such as Crash Bandicoot to portable devices and phones such as Samsung’s Galaxy and Motorola’s Defy powered by Google’s Android operating system.

Mr Ephraim said it was another example of Sony ”opening up” its content to other platforms. In 2009 it opened up PlayStation 3 to allow users to watch the ABC’s iView.

Mr Ephraim said PlayStation Suite was unlikely to operate on Apple’s iPhone. ”We are not as closed as Apple is. It’s the first time in the gaming industry it’s non-proprietary. With the proliferation of devices [PlayStation Suite] could be an indication of where things are going.”

Information Source smh.com.au

Jobs has been staying closely attuned to the company’s day-to-day workings, said the Journal, citing people close to situation, with the 55-year-old chief executive taking meetings at home, keeping in contact by phone and even visiting Apple’s campus in Cupertino, California.

Last month Jobs announced he was to step aside, his third medical leave since 2004, but did not say how long he expected to be away or provide any details about his latest health issues.

He underwent an operation for pancreatic cancer in 2004 and received a liver transplant in early 2009. He has appeared gaunt but relatively healthy at recent Apple public events.

He turned over the helm to chief operating officer Timothy Cook on January 17, but kept his chief executive title and said at the time he would still participate in “major strategic decisions” at Apple.

Among the products in the works are the new version of the iPad tablet computer, due in the coming months, and a new iPhone later this year.

Apple’s fortunes have been uniquely linked to Jobs, who returned to the then flagging company in 1997 after a 12-year absence and introduced innovative and wildly successful products like the iPod, iPhone and iPad.

Apple has sold approximately 14.79 million iPads since the tablet hit the market last April, according to a tally of figures made public in earnings releases.

Last month the company reported a record quarterly net profit of $US6 billion as revenue soared to an unprecedented $US26.74 billion during the year-end holiday shopping season.

Information Source smh.com.au

Android has been gaining rapidly on iPhone and a slew of new Android phones and tablets are due out in Australia this year from vendors including Motorola, Samsung, HTC and LG.

IDC telecommunications analyst Mark Novosel predicts Android will overtake Apple’s iOS to become the No.1 smartphone platform in Australia by the middle of this year. From preliminary IDC findings, by the end of last year Android accounted for about a quarter of all new smart phones shipped.

Apple is now strictly enforcing rules stipulating that all newspapers and magazine subscriptions for the iPad be offered through the iTunes store, ensuring its 30 per cent cut of all subscription sales, as well as that of the app’s initial purchase price.

Apple is also asking subscribers if they want their information to be shared with publishers, which could lead to publishers losing access to important data.

In Australia, publishers have had their apps rejected for exploiting loopholes that allow them to sell subscriptions and accept payments without giving a share to Apple. Sometimes apps are rejected without an explanation.

With Android, publishers have far more control over their apps and do not have to give a cut of revenue to anyone. But until Android cements its lead, publishers have no choice but to dance to Apple’s tune if they want a share of the App Store’s spoils – more than $1 billion was spent there last year, according to investment bank Gleicher & Co.

Some publishers around the world have said they feel betrayed by Apple’s hardline approach as their support for the iPad helped ensure its success. The European Newspaper Publishers’ Association was among the first to complain, saying it feared newspaper publishers would lose access to critical information about readers of their digital editions.

Media companies are busily developing apps for Android-powered phones and tablets to ensure their content gets out on to other devices.

But despite their desire for strong competition to Apple, local executives have stopped short of publicly criticising the company, which they rely on to approve their apps.

“Both publishers and consumers will benefit from a competitive tablet market. That will stimulate innovation and pricing competition,” Fairfax Digital chief executive Jack Matthews said.

“We want to make sure we are developing for multiple platforms so that we can encourage that competitive environment.”

News Ltd declined to comment.

Patrick Lo, global chief executive of home networking giant Netgear, encapsulated the private fears of many media executives at a small lunch gathering in Sydney last month.

He said content providers were very “wary” of Apple as the closed model of iTunes meant they were forced to pay a “ransom” to the company for selling their content on the service.

“[Apple chief executive] Steve Jobs wants to suffocate the distribution so even though he doesn’t own the content he could basically demand a ransom,” Mr Lo said.

However, Graham Clarke, chief executive of Australian app developer Glasshouse Apps, said Apple was within its rights to impose strict rules over iTunes as it built the mall, so to speak.

“I’ve never had a qualm with Apple’s 30 per cent [share] – I think they earn it a few times over,” said Clarke, pointing to the millions of potential customers Apple opens up for app makers.

“The opportunity would just never have been there without the App Store … they handle so much of the process so all that developers have to do is create a great app and put it on the App Store and Apple handles the rest.”

Information Source smh.com.au

Current examples of everyday web-based services that are now finding themselves in the envelope of the cloud computing description are services such as GMail.

Now with virtualisation overtaking the workplace, the hardware idea from the past becomes software, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) and platform-as-a-service (PaaS) seems like the logical next step: desktop machines, laptops, netbooks and other dedicated remote access clients such as smartphones provide access to the data externally, but everything else is in the server room and data center. Sounds like every network and system administrator’s maintenance dream right? But some are a little critical of the purported promised land of networked computing.

Richard Stallman, Founder of the Free Software Foundation, said recently likened cloud computing to a trap and that users are leaving their data and privacy in the hands of companies they do not control and they cannot be guaranteed data integrity or user privacy. “Do your own computing on your own computer with your copy of a freedom-respecting program. If you use a proprietary program or somebody else’s Web server, you’re defenseless. You’re putty in the hands of whoever developed that software,” he said.

Proponents of cloud computing, such as Google, say that cloud computing has many benefits. They believe that netbooks used for cloud computing are secure as third-party programs cannot be installed, which means viruses and spyware will have more difficulty in making life difficult for users.

However the path to future computing runs one thing is for sure, aspects of cloud computing today are here to stay.

One version would be cheaper and smaller than the most recent iPhone, said a person who has seen a prototype and asked not to be identified because the plans haven’t been made public. Apple also is developing technology that makes it easier to use the iPhone on multiple wireless networks, two people said.

Chief executive officer Steve Jobs, who remains involved in strategic decisions while on medical leave, aims to narrow the price gap that has made phones running Android more popular than iPhones. Google’s share of the global smartphone market more than tripled to 32.9 per cent in the fourth quarter, eclipsing Apple’s 16 per cent, according to Canalys.

Apple has considered selling the new iPhone for about $US200 in the US, without obligating users to sign a two-year service contract, said the person who has seen it. Android phones sell for a range of prices at AT&T, Verizon Wireless and other US carriers, and typically come with agreements that include a fee for broken contracts. The iPhone 4, sold in the U.S. by AT&T and Verizon Wireless, costs $US200 to $US300 with a contract.

Natalie Kerris, a spokeswoman for Apple, declined to comment.

While Apple has aimed to unveil the device near mid-year, the introduction may be delayed or scrapped, the person said. Few Apple employees know the details of the project, the person said. Apple often works on products that don’t get released.

The prototype was about one-third smaller than the iPhone 4, said the person, who saw it last year.

Apple can sell it at a low price mainly because the smartphone will use a processor, display and other components similar to those used in the current model, rather than pricier, more advanced parts that will be in the next iPhone, the person said. Component prices typically drop over time.

Apple is also working on a so-called dual-mode phone, two people said. This device would be able to work with the world’s two main wireless standards – the global system for mobile communications, used by AT&T and carriers such as Vodafone, and code division multiple access, used by Verizon Wireless. It isn’t known whether Apple intended to include this capability in the cheaper iPhone.

Universal SIM

Apple is working on a technology called a Universal SIM, which would let iPhone users toggle between GSM networks without having to switch the so-called SIM cards that associate a phone with a network, according to one person. This would help cut the cost of distributing and managing millions of SIM cards.

The new features could also give Apple an advantage over mobile carriers in influencing customers. The device would be affordable without a carrier subsidy, so buyers wouldn’t need to agree to terms, such as termination fees, that carriers demand in exchange for subsidising the cost of the phone.

Apple has also worked on redesigned iPhone software that would let customers choose a network and configure their device on their own, without relying on a store clerk or representative of a carrier, according to the person.

Information Source smh.com.au

HP senior vice president Jon Rubinstein, who was part of the Apple team that brought the world the iPod, unveiled the TouchPad to applause in a pavilion on the San Francisco shoreline within sight of the Golden Gate Bridge.

“TouchPad is more than just a pretty face,” Rubinstein said as he caressed one on stage. “The TouchPad is all about you; how you work, play, and connect with the things you value most.”

TouchPad will be the first tablet in a family of products based on a webOS software platform Palm began building from the ground up about five years ago.

HP last year bought Palm in a $US1.2-billion deal in what analysts believe was a move to get its hands on the platform that could make it a player in the fast-growing market for smartphones and tablet computers.

“No one has come close to replicating our webOS experience,” said Rubinstein, who was chief executive of Palm when it was acquired by HP.

TouchPad weighs about 1.5 pounds (0.7 kilograms) and has a 9.7-inch (24.6 centimeter) display – the same weight and screen size as the iPad.

The tablet is built with a Qualcomm processor that is “screaming fast”, according to Rubinstein. HP did not disclose the price.

TouchPad software is crafted for easy multi-tasking and supports Adobe Flash software commonly used in online video. The tablet also features a camera for video calling.

“This product has a chance to beat RIM (BlackBerry maker Research In Motion) and any individual Android tablet, but not Apple,” Forrester Research analyst Sarah Rotman Epps said of the TouchPad.

“Consumers will consider the TouchPad, and then buy an iPad.”

The TouchPad is likely to win over application developers because it should be relatively easy to convert software crafted for iPads and HP will allow freedom when it comes to making money from “apps”, the analyst added.

Forrester predicted that more than 24 million tablets, most of them iPads, will be sold in the United States this year.

HP plans to use its global resources to back the TouchPad along with an entire webOS “ecosystem” consisting of two new smartphones and a line of personal computers built on the platform.

The California-based computer titan is putting “meaningful talent and significant resources” into webOS, according to Todd Bradley, executive vice president of the personal systems group at HP.

Information Source smh.com.au

The new iPad will be thinner and lighter than the first model and sport a more powerful graphics processor, the Journal said.

It will have at least one camera on its front for features such as video conferencing, and will also have more memory, according to the paper, adding Apple plans to unveil the new iPad through telcos Verizon Wireless and AT&T in the US.

Early in February, a Reuters eyewitness saw what appeared to be a working model of the next iPad with a front-facing camera at the top edge of the glass screen at a press conference to mark the debut of News Corp’s Daily online paper in New York.

Apple was not available for comment.

Information Source smh.com.au

A Reuters eyewitness saw what appeared to be a working model of the next iPad with a front-facing camera at the top edge of the glass screen at a press conference to mark the debut of News Corp’s Daily online paper in New York.

A source with knowledge of the device confirmed its existence, adding that the final release model could have other features. News Corp and Apple declined to comment.

The next version of Apple’s popular tablet computer is expected to be announced in the next few months.

Manufacturing sources have said it will sport two cameras – one in the front and one in the back – enabling users to make video calls.

News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch along with Apple executive Eddy Cue unveiled the Daily, a digital newspaper created from scratch for the iPad at a press conference in New York’s Solomon R. Guggenheim museum.

The Daily is Apple’s first foray into subscription sales through its iTunes store after having spent a year in talks with publishers with little progress.

The iPad was released in April 2010 and became one the hottest gadgets of the year.

The company sold 14.8 million iPads in 2010, and could double that this year, analysts estimated.

The 10-inch touchscreen device proved to be hugely popular as a media consumption device, good for games, video and Web browsing.

The iPad, which starts at $629 in Australia, added more than $US8 billion in sales for Apple last year and helped touch off a tablet-mania that is sweeping the technology business.

Nearly all of Apple’s rivals are working on tablets, with dozens of models expected to hit the market this year, providing the iPad with its first real competition.

Companies such as Samsung Electronics, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Acer are attacking the tablet market, with global sales expected to surge to more than 50 million units in 2011.

Information Source smh.com.au

The speed is significantly faster than the maximum speeds promised by the opposition in its broadband policy, and highlights the growing gap between what a fibre-based broadband network can offer compared with existing technology.

It has also emerged that NBN Co told staff to ignore political attacks on the company by the opposition, after its finance spokesman, Andrew Robb, called it a ”stodgy” bureaucracy, labelled its staff ”talentless” and promised to close it down if elected to government.

One gigabit per second is 17,500 times faster than a dial-up connection and 167 times faster than the average ADSL broadband connection. ”I am trying to make sure people understand what it is that NBN Co is going to deliver,” its chief executive, Mike Quigley, said.

Increasing the speed would not add to the $43 billion construction price tag and the fibre could be upgraded to provide even faster speeds in coming years, Mr Quigley said.

The faster capability was already built into the equipment which the company was installing in homes and Mr Quigley said he decided to enable it after discussions with internet providers and the competition watchdog.

Telecommunications industry figures have given support to parts of the Coalition’s policy even as others decry the lack of investment and ”vision” in Tuesday’s $6 billion announcement.

The opposition communications spokesman, Tony Smith, announced the Coalition would spend $750 million on a fixed broadband optimisation grants program to overcome technical restrictions that stop 1 million households from using ADSL, the most common technology for broadband services.

The decision received praise from industry figures, who said it was a cost effective way to offer timely broadband to significant numbers of people using existing infrastructure.

”If you’re looking at an incremental approach to getting towards high-speed broadband, that’s the way to do it,” said an industry consultant, Kevin Morgan.

An Ovum broadband consultant and former Liberal policy adviser, David Kennedy, said mobile phone carriers, in particular Vodafone Hutchison Australia, had spare spectrum capacity in regional areas and could offer wireless broadband.

Ian Birks, the chief executive of the Australian Information Industry Association, said the Coalition’s plan showed a lack of commitment to broadband, but was ”reasonable” within the fiscal restraints imposed.

”I don’t think the Coalition policy recognises the vision for a digital future in Australia, that’s what makes it disappointing,” he said.

NBN Co has been instructed to replace Australia’s copper telephone network with fibre optic cable to 93 per cent of the population and high-speed wireless and satellite to remote areas.

NBN Co would offer unlimited download capacity at one gigabit per second wholesale rates to retail internet providers, but service provider Internode said it was not reasonable to give consumers unlimited downloads.

Information Source smh.com.au