Telecom Providers and Data - Verizon gets their wish

Go and catch a falling star,

Get with child a mandrake root,

Tell me, where all past years are,

Or who cleft the Devil’s foot

John Donne, Song

It is now becoming abundantly clear that someone is not telling the truth about their Data usage. Telecom Provider AT&T, which touted itself as being under pressure ever since their record breaking sale of the Apple iPhone 3GS in July 2009 AD as stated in the article “AT&T breaks sales records with iPhone 3GS launch”, published July 2, 2009 1:12 PM PDT by Marguerite Reardon, CNET News - Signal Strength.

They were oversubscribed to the hilt and they knew it. Faced with heavy losses in POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service), the welcome boost of 1.2 million customers in the Second Quarter of 2009, a 29% boost over the corresponding Second Quarter in 2008 on the face of losses of 921,000 POTS customers!

All due to Apple magical Apple iPhone 3GS! Despite the huge US$300 subsidy they had to endure to make the device affordable to the masses as opposed to the very first Apple iPhone launched in 2007, it appears well worth it as stated in the article “iPhone buoys AT&T subscriptions - but hurts profit”, published July 23, 2009 7:34 AM PDT, by Marguerite Reardon, CNET News – Wireless.

Telecom Provider AT&T saw their profit drop by 15% for that Second Quarter of 2009 from a high of US$3.77 billion in the Second Quarter of 2008 to US$3.2 billion in the Second Quarter of 2009 even on the back of a gain of 2.4 million (2,400,000) Apple iPhone 3GS. But the clincher was the mass adoption of Telecom Provider AT&T’s all-you-can-eat US$30 Data Plan. That is where it all began to fall apart.

Suddenly, the blessing windfall became a curse, as Telecom Provider AT&T began to face increases in Data traffic due to the very same Apple iPhone users, effectively 3% of users using up 40% of the Data Network Resources on their Network in the delightful narrative by Ralph De La Vega, Head of AT&T Wireless as stated in the article “AT&T considers incentives to curb heavy Data usage”, published December 9, 2009 3:08 PM PST by Marguerite Reardon CNET News - Signal Strength.

Statements which are pointless, as common sense based on anecdotal information speak to an increasing insatiable demand for Data at higher and faster speeds. All due to the Apple iPhone Effect in 2007, ironically its API originally based on my suggestions in 2003. Who would have thought it would become so big?

Then Cisco made a startling revelation. They predicted a wireless explosion that would culminate in a Data traffic rate of 3.6 exabytes per month by 2014 (that is the year before Peak Oil!) or a yearly increase of 40 exabytes, representing a thirty nine (39) times increase on Data rates in 2009, effectively a yearly compound increase of 108% per annum as predicted in the article “Cisco predicts wireless-Data explosion”, published February 9, 2010 5:00 AM PST by Marguerite Reardon, CNET News - Signal Strength.

John Public is not sure if this is a Moore’s Law for Data Usage globally, but if Telecom Provider AT&T experiences are anything to go by, then the plans of the Telecom Providers to upgrade their backhaul need to be SERIOUSLY accelerated not just to meet the demand of the current 3G and 4G Network build-outs as stated in the article “Wireless operators accelerate upgrade plans”, published January 26, 2010 4:00 AM PST by Marguerite Reardon, CNET News - Signal Strength.

Telecom Provider AT&T eventually announced Data Plans on Wednesday 2^nd 2010 AD, which was considered a major shift for a Telecoms Provider and a date that will live in infamy in the minds of many.

It signaled a return to capped, cheaper Data Plans.  Telecom Provider AT&T’s had two (2) plans:

1.      DataPlus Data Plan which has a 200MB cap and charges US$15 per thirty (30) day billing cycle with an overage charge of US$10 per additional 200 MB

2.      DataPro Data Plan which has a 2GB cap and charges US$25 per thirty (30) day billing cycle with an overage charge of US$15 per additional 1GB

This as stated in the article “For New AT&T users, no more "all you can eat" Data”, published June 2 2010 By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer, Yahoo News were launched, all of which are changes that local Telecom Providers in Jamaica, specifically the Big Three (3) Digicel, LIME and CLARO have implemented, with the exception of advising customers of approaching their Data Cap, a rather disingenuous situation which is deserving of complaint. 

Now it appears to be Telecom Provider Verizon’s turn at figuring out why the Devil has a cleft foot [a sign of lying]. Telecom Provider Verizon is now seeing an exponential increase in its Data usage as well as stated in the article “Verizon users outpace iPhone users in Data” published July 29, 2010 4:00 AM PDT by Marguerite Reardon, CNET News - Signal Strength.

Validas, a phone bill analyst that made this observation, has one if its principal spokespersons Finegold put it in context: “The iPhone makes much more of a lifestyle and social statement than an Android phone makes.

People interested in an Android are looking for horsepower.” Thus Telecom Provider Verizon, in getting its wish to have a phone that is on the same level as the Apple iPhone 4.0 in terms of popularity but with a mean streak and a penchant for attracting Data hogs, even though Telecom Provider Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg pleaded to have the Apple iPhone 4.0 on their Network as stated in the article “Verizon CEO has told Apple of iPhone interest”, published Tuesday April 6, 10:28 am ET, Yahoo News.

This was later confirmed to be possibly coming in January 2011 by none other than BloomBerg as stated in the article “Bloomberg: Verizon iPhone coming in January?”, published June 29, 2010 1:17 PM PDT by Marguerite Reardon CNET News - Signal Strength.

Telecom Provider Verizon even began testing Apple iPads at least according to BGR (Boy Genius Report) usually reliable confidential informant as stated in the article “Verizon testing iPads?”, published June 2, 2010 2:30 PM PDT by Erica Ogg, CNET News - Circuit Breaker.

This stands in stark contrast to their advertising attacks on the Apple iPhone 4.0 and its perceived shortcomings as it relates to its antenna as stated in the article “New Droid X ad laughs at Apple's bumpers”, published July 28, 2010 11:20 PM PDT by Chris Matyszczyk, CNET News - Technically Incorrect.

Ironic, since it is all this media attention that is driving the phenomenal sales of Apple latest toys,  and thus the heavier than expected demand affecting both the Apple iPhone and the Apple iPad since Apple debut the Apple iPad on the weekend of Saturday April 3^rd and Sunday April 4^th 2010 AD. Then the Apple iPhone 4 on Thursday June 24^th 2010 AD and Tuesday June 29^th 2010 AD!

Thus the resulting component shortage of 2010 as stated in the article “White iPhone 4 faces manufacturing woes; iPad too”, published Friday July 24 2010 by  Ben Patterson, Technology Writer, Yahoo News and confirmed by the article “LG overwhelmed by iPad display orders”, published by July 23, 2010 9:56 AM PDT by Erica Ogg, CNET News - Circuit Breaker, selling at a rate of nearly one million (1,000,000) units per week.

This unexpected windfall for Telecom Provider Verizon is a follow-on from the recent report of larger than normal sales of the other Apple iPhone Killer aside from the now famous Blackberry 9800 Torch, that being the Motorola Droid X, which is spurring their success and is possibly behind the huge increase in Data Usage on Telecom Provider Verizon’s Network as stated in the article “Verizon signs up more new subscriber than AT&T”, published July 23, 2010 1:48 PM PDT by Erica Ogg, CNET News - Circuit Breaker.

Telecom Provider Verizon announced no plans to go the tiered route, but this is inevitable. Thus in light of the similar scenario now about to play out on Telecom Provider Verizon Network, it is being highly recommended that Telecom Provider start considering Fiber optic for all of its backhaul, as they have yet to see the end of this upsurge in Data Usage, addictive as it is like crack, the Devil be damned.

Blackberry Torch 9800 and RIM - Its clobbering time

If I have freedom in my love

And in my soul am free

Angels alone that soar above

Enjoy such liberty

Lovelace, To Althea from Prison

Blackberry is in trouble. Or rather RIM (Research in Motion). Their market share is slowly taking a battering from the more advanced smart phones on the market with tough Gorilla Glass touch screens and processors capable of handling multimedia and augmentable with downloaded apps, by now a well known song sung by Apple since its launch in 2007 and now swelling to a chorus with its latest controversial baby, the Apple iPhone 4.0 and its line of Fanboys and would be assassins.

According to research strategy firm Strategy Analytics as stated in the article “Smartphone shipments jump 43 percent”, published July 22, 2010 12:34 PM PDT by Lance Whitney, CNET News - Wireless, Nokia is the Global Market Leader, accounting for 40% of the global smart phone market. Sixty million (60,000,000) smart phones have thus far being sold this Second Quarter alone. RIM is Second and third place respectively is for Apple, with Google Android nowhere on the scene.

The reality is rather stark. RIM is only number one in the United States of America, with Nokia still the global smart phone leader, shipping twenty four (24,000,000) million smart phones in the Second Quarter of 2010 as opposed to RIM eleven million, two hundred thousand (11,200,000) smart phones and Apple’s eight million four hundred thousand (8,400,000) smart phones.

RIM Global Market share dipped by some 0.5% from 19.3% in the Second Quarter of 2009 to some 18.8% in the Second Quarter of 2010 while Apple iPhone Global Market share gained by some 1.6% from 12.5% in the Second Quarter of 2009 to some 14.1% in the Second Quarter of 2010.

Albeit not statistically significant, the trend is a follow-on on a recorded dip in Global Market share for RIM and a gain in Global Market share for Apple when the First Quarter of 2009 and 2010 are compared, as based on statistical data from IDC, RIM Global Market share dipped by some 1.5% from 20.9% in the First Quarter of 2009 to some 19.4% in the First Quarter of 2010.

While Apple iPhone Global Market share gained by some 5.2% from 10.9% in the First Quarter of 2009 to some 16.1.1% in the First Quarter of 2010 as stated in the article “RIM BlackPad Expected to Compete with Apple's iPad”, published Friday July 30th 2010 by Mike Kent, newsfactor.com, Yahoo! News.

Facing these economic pressures, Blackberry has finally stepped into the 20^th Century with the spanking new Blackberry 9800 Torch, a capacitive touch screen slider with the traditional QWERTY keyboard and a SENSE UI Google Android-esque interface on a two (2) year contract on Telecom Provider AT&T Network for the low, low price of US$199 as stated in the article “RIM looks to make a splash with US$199 touchscreen Blackberry Torch”, published Tuesday August 3 2010 by Ben Patterson, Technology Writer, Yahoo! News and confirmed by the article “RIM unveils new Blackberry to counter iPhone”, published Tuesday August 3 2010 by Sinead Carew, Associated Press, Yahoo! News.

RIM hinted at its intentions of producing a Tablet PC to compete with the Apple iPad rumoured to be called the BlackPad as stated in the article “RIM BlackPad Expected to Compete with Apple's iPad”, published Friday July 30th 2010 by Mike Kent, newsfactor.com, Yahoo! News, which if the reports are to be believed, is a boon for Developers, as RIM Apps Store is threadbare, with only approximately six thousand seven hundred apps (6700) at last count.

Most people are skeptical if these new offerings will make a dent in a market now going nuts over the Apple iPhone 4.0, the HTC Droid Incredible and the Motorola Droid X, both Apple iPhone killers, evident from its growing popularity based on news of component shortage as stated in the article “The summer of the smart phone shortage”, published July 13, 2010 4:00 AM PDT by Marguerite Reardon, CNET News - Signal Strength and confirmed by the article “HTC Evo 4G, Incredible shortages make room for Droid X”, published Monday July 12 2010 by Jared Newman, Yahoo! News.

As for the Tablet market, the prediction that the Apple iPad would cannibalize the Netbook market as stated in the article “ Netbook Sales Sag as the iPad Arrives” published April 7, 2010, 12:27AM EST By Cliff Edwards, CNET News – COMPUTERS seem to be bearing fruit.

Apple jumped from being the number seven (7) when placed in the same lumpen proletariat category along with makers of portable computers inclusive of Netbooks and notebook computers to number three (3) in the world  based on the utterances of Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore, a Blogger for Fortune Magazine on the Apple 2.0 Blog as stated in the article “iPad pushes Apple into the top mobile ranks”, published August 2, 2010 9:20 PM PDT by Brooke Crothers, CNET News Nanotech - The Circuits Blog buoyed into this position by its three million, three hundred thousand (3,300,000) plus sales since the debut of the Apple iPad on the weekend of Saturday April 3^rd and Sunday April 4^th 2010 AD.

News of Hulu on the Apple iPad as stated in the article “Hulu launches US$10 video subscription service”, published Tuesday June 29 2010 by RYAN NAKASHIMA, AP Business Writer, Yahoo! News and the coming front facing camera for FaceTime Video Calling as hinted in the article “Report: Next iPad likely to include camera”, published August 3, 2010 10:47 AM PDT by Lance Whitney, CNET News – Apple.

John Public surmises, is possibly what is surging the sales of this device, leading Molly Wood, Executive Editor to declare that Comcast and DirectTV are effectively staring death in the face as per video CNET Buzz Report, aired Thursday July 1^st 2010 by Molly Wood, Executive Editor, CNET News.

Granted there is some concern about the potential ban of the RIM Blackberry phones use of Messenger and email in UAE (United Arab Emirates) as stated in the article “Two MidEast countries to ban Blackberry functions” , published August 1, 2010 11:05 AM PDT, by Steven Musil, CNET News – Wireless.

Ditto too for Saudi Arabia as of Friday August 6^th 2010 as stated in the article “Saudi Arabia orders Blackberry ban starting Friday”, published Tuesday August 3^rd 2010 by ADAM SCHRECK and ERIKA KINETZ, AP Business Writers, Yahoo! News.

Now in the EU (European Union) for the same reasons: the security encryption on these phones Messenger and email features is so high that it makes it impossible for foreign governments to listen in on the conversations of terrorists and drug barons, who may use these phones to organize their criminal activities unhindered and unmonitored, even when a warrant is served to have their mobile phones monitored.

Despite the negative news, this heightened level of concern over the phones security may be turned to the advantage of RIM, highlighting the level of security and its protection of its business client’s privacy especially in light of privacy concerns over Facebook and Google StreetView.

I guess it is not all gloom and doom for RIM, as this could be just be the wave that they can ride on and push the new Blackberry 6.0 on the improved Blackberry 9800 Torch and the soon to be launched RIM BlackPad………..albeit I would change the name of the Tablet, as the 70’s “black exploitation” films like Isaac Hayes Shaft (1971) are like so over.

RIM, enjoy you liberty as my grudge borne against you is fed fat, al la Shakespeare.

RIM and the BlackPad - to Infinity and Beyond

If I can catch him once upon the hip,

I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him.

Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice, I, 3

It seems the old grudge that I bore against RIM and their not-so-“smart” phone for trouncing the Palm Pilot, developer of the first touch screen PDA (Personal Data Assistant) the forerunner of the Apple iPhone back in the 90’s is finally bearing fruit. RIM is not only committing a full line of its Blackberry smart phone to utilize touch screen technology as stated in the article “BlackBerry revamp to take on iPhone?”, published July 28, 2010 1:39 PM PDT by Marguerite Reardon, CNET News - Signal Strength.

The introduction of the Blackberry 9800 a touch screen continuation of the Blackberry Storm 9500 (Apple iPhone imitator, its flattery most sincere!!) but with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard similar to the Motorola Droid and its petulant cousin the Motorola Droid X, the soon-to-be-crowned Apple iPhone killer as was predicted in the article “iPhone feels the heat from the Droid X factor”, published Thursday July 1, 2010 12:23 pm ET, Yahoo! News and now being strongly hinted as being so as stated in the article “Out-of-Stock Droid X is Best-Selling Android Phone”, published Tuesday July 27 2010 by Adam Dickter, newsfactor.com, Yahoo! News.

They have finally awoken and realized that they are in the 21^st Century. RIM, in keeping with the new trend, like Old Man Time awakening from his slumber, is thus launching a device that fits into the period and is a major departure from their two (2) decade long 90’s style QWERTY phone that originally killed the Palm Pilot – and hence my grudge.

Folks, just as it was last week, history is being made again this week with the much rumored RIM BlackPad as stated in the article “RIM said to land Tablet for November to Take on Apple's iPad”, published Friday July 30 2010 by Hugo Miller, the BloomBerg Report set to debut in August of 2010 and possibly in November of 2010 in time for Christmas. John Public is now convinced of one thing: the Gods [white people] must be crazy!!

RIM’s progression after months of speculation by technology pundits worldwide seem to be finally about to bear fruit in the Summer of 2010, August to be specific, if the buzz is to be believed. A bit of a back story is required. RIM threw its ring into the Social Network game as bait for a younger crowd stated in the article “Report: RIM to launch Blackberry Social Network”, published July 13, 2009 2:35 PM PDT by Marguerite Reardon, CNET News – Wireless.

A RIM Blackberry Messenger Platform could have been revamped into a Social Network in a move mimicking Google in forming Google Buzz using its Gmail Platform to interconnect users already using Google Apps as stated in the article " Buzz Backfire: How Google pushed me to Facebook" published March 5, 2010 4:00 AM PST by Stephen Shankland, CNET News - Deep Tech, CNET News.

RIM has also made the Blackberry Enterprise Server free in a move to counteract the free Google Android Marketplace Platform as stated in “RIM to give away server software”, published February 16, 2010 4:32 AM PST by Marguerite Reardon, CNET News - 3GSM blog, CNET News.

Thus RIM’s upgrade to their much anticipated touchscreen phone line is now envisaged in the form of the Blackberry 9800 using the more media savvy and browser improved Blackberry OS 6.0, which I might add, also support apps from a Blackberry Apps Store (good news for us Developers!!) as long speculated some time ago in the video CNET Loaded aired April 27^th 2010 by Natalie Del Conte, Senior Editor, CNET News.

So the announcement of the Blackberry 9800 with touchscreen and a slide out QWERTY keyboard fits with their overall gradual push. However, the writing was on the wall for RIM, with many being concerned over its lack of new products in light of the Apple iPhone sudden appearance on the Telecom Scene in 2007. As far back as January 2010 globally Blackberry was still going strong, being cheaper (typical Apple iPhone unlocked is US$599.99) and requires no qualified Apple Technicians (read “expensive”).

Then Google began to take its toll as stated in the article  “Analysts predict bold growth for Google Android”, published January 25, 2010 2:18 PM PST by Marguerite Reardon, CNET News - Signal Strength, confirmed by a scientifically conducted statistical review by ComScore that upheld the truthfulness of this statement as proclaimed in the article “Google Android growth outpacing the industry”, published April 5, 2010 2:36 PM PDT by Tom Krazit, CNET News – Relevant.

This despite reports of fragmentation or splintering of the source code of the Android OS, resulting from too many frequent updates by Google of its Android SDK (Software Developer Kit as state in the article “Report: Android fragmentation could harm growth”, published April 8, 2010 8:50 AM PDT by Marguerite Reardon, CNET News - Signal Strength, a problem now fixed by over-the-air updates.

These factors, which make these excellent yet pricey alternatives to the Blackberry appear to be an expensive gamble, are currently the Blackberry’s competitors Achilles Heel, which would explain in part the slow adoption of the Apple iPhone being sold exclusively by Telecom Provider CLARO and the lackluster interest in acquiring Google Android phones by local Telecoms Providers.

This is especially as they are associated with low cost smart Taiwanese Mobile Equipment Handset Vendor HTC, despite high profile EU (European Union) companies such as Nokia who recently sent Symbian into Open Source heaven as stated in the article “Symbian now fully open-sourced”, published shed February 4, 2010 6:25 AM PST by David Meyer, CNET News - Wireless and now confirmed with the launch of their first Open-sourced phone as stated in the article “Nokia launched Open Source phone” published Wednesday April 28 2010, BBC News.

But now RIM’s armour is beginning to show chinks and cracks. International Smart phone shipment for the second quarter of 2010 have jumped globally by 43% compared to the corresponding period for the same period from 2009, according to research strategy firm Strategy Analytics as stated in the article “Smartphone shipments jump 43 percent”, published July 22, 2010 12:34 PM PDT by Lance Whitney, CNET News - Wireless,(http://www.cnet.com), with nearly sixty million (60,000,000) smart phones being sold. Nokia is leading the charge with nearly 40% of the smart phone market, leaving second and third place respectively to RIM and Apple, with Google Android nowhere on the scene.

But wait!! This just in! RIM Global Market share dipped by some 0.5% from 19.3% in the second quarter of 2009 to some 18.8% in the second quarter of 2010 while Apple iPhone Global Market share gained by some 1.6% from 12.5% in the second quarter of 2009 to some 14.1% in the second quarter of 2010.

Albeit not statistically significant, the trend is a follow-on on a recorded dip in Global Market share for RIM and a gain in Global Market share for Apple when the First Quarter of 2009 and 2010 are compared, as based on statistical data from IDC, RIM Global Market share dipped by some 1.5% from 20.9% in the First Quarter of 2009 to some 19.4% in the First Quarter of 2010 while Apple iPhone Global Market share gained by some 5.2% from 10.9% in the First Quarter of 2009 to some 16.1.1% in the First Quarter of 2010 as stated in the article “RIM BlackPad Expected to Compete with Apple's iPad”, published Friday July 30th 2010 by Mike Kent, newsfactor.com, Yahoo! News.

Albeit one cannot compare statistical data from two different Statistical Analysts, it is nonetheless the same trend. RIM realizes that they are in trouble and hence the ramping up of activity, especially in light of component shortages due to heavier than expected demand affecting both the Apple iPhone and the Apple iPad since Apple debut the Apple iPad on the weekend of Saturday April 3^rd and Sunday April 4^th 2010 AD and the Apple iPhone 4.0 on Thursday June 24^th 2010 AD and Tuesday June 29^th 2010 AD as stated in the article “White iPhone 4 faces manufacturing woes; iPad too”, published Friday July 24 2010 by  Ben Patterson, Technology Writer, Yahoo! News.

This was confirmed by the article “LG overwhelmed by iPad display orders”, published by July 23, 2010 9:56 AM PDT by Erica Ogg, CNET News - Circuit Breaker selling at a rate of nearly one million (1,000,000) units per week. Component shortages are even affecting the competition as stated in the article “The Summer of smartphone shortages”, published July 13, 2010 4:00 AM PDT by Marguerite Reardon, CNET News - Signal Strength and confirmed by the article “HTC Evo 4G, Incredible shortages make room for Droid X”, published Monday July 12 2010 by Jared Newman, Yahoo! News.

Thus Blackberry has gotten bullish about their new Blackberry OS 6.0 and its new take on touch screen via its RIM Blackberry 9800 and the RIM BlackPad, rumoured to also be debuting in November of 2010 as stated in the article “RIM's rumoured 'BlackPad' tablet due in November?”, published Friday July 30, 3:54 pm ET by Ben Patterson, Technology Writer, Yahoo! News possibly hoping to make consumer Christmas of 2010 gadget wish list.

Mike Kent, possibly a sibling of Clarke Kent from the Daily Planet, Superman’s Alter-Ego, is spot on in his analysis, pointing out the above mentioned BloomBerg Report in his article “RIM BlackPad Expected to Compete with Apple's iPad”, published Friday July 30th 2010 by Mike Kent, newsfactor.com, Yahoo! News, which one of course must take with the usual large grain of salt.

But salt may be bad for your blood pressure this time around, as this looks a bit TOO real to be the wild imaginings of Bloomberg. Despite RIM purchase the rights to the BlackPad.com domain, I will wait until analyst iSuppli, an analyst that tracks and predicts with a fairly high level of accuracy new up and coming devices based on pre-orders by electronics manufacturers for components, before I get too giddy about this particular rumour.

The tasty tidbit about the specs, an obvious clone of the Apple iPad but with support for Video Calling and the tethering option to the Blackberry should get most people in an anticipatory mood for this device.

The good news, however, is for us Developers as after being disappointed by the ruling from the Copyright Office in the United States of America in favor of the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) that legalizes “jail breaking” your Apple iPhone or any smart phone for that matter as stated in the article “Apple: Jailbreaking an iPhone will (still) violate your warranty”, published Tuesday 27 July 2010 by Ben Patterson, Technology Writer, Yahoo! News and further elucidate in the article “On Call: Go ahead an jailbreak, its legal now”, published July 27, 2010 2:20 PM PDT by Kent German, CNET News - Dialed In would open up the Apple iPad and the Apple iPhone to Third Party Developers who do not live by the Rules of Apple Developers.

Thus., it is rather heartening to know that with the sudden frenzied interest in tablet computers from Google, LG Electronics, Hewlett-Packard, Dell and their currently popular Dell Streak and now Microsoft and COO Steve Ballmer’s announcement of a tablet PC as stated in the article “Microsoft takes aim at Tablet market”, published Friday July 30th 2010 by Christopher Null, Technology Writer, Yahoo! News indicates that we will have a whole Alternate Dimension, Big Bang Theory style of devices for which we can develop apps instead of the soon-to-be invaded Apple Universe that CEO Steve Jobs built.

But most interestingly to us Jamaicans Developers for Apple and Google Android is Telecom Provider Digicel’s recent adoption of Telecom Provider Verizon’s hit phone and potential Apple iPhone killer, the Motorola Droid, re-christened as the Motorola Milestone and the HTC Google Nexus One, both Google Android powered phones, opens a new market of potential customers for Developers to sell their apps.

Telecom Provider LIME’s support of the Apple iPad, even though it is for their 100 Days of Summer Promotion, is a shade better than Telecom Provider CLARO non-support or lack of confirmed support for the Apple iPhone 3GS or announcements of the upcoming Apple iPhone 4.0 or even the Apple iPad Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11n) or the Apple iPad 3G + Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11n).

Not even a teased advert stating a future possible intention. Instead, they mainly seemed to be focused on beating Telecom Provider Digicel in the Voice Telecom market, despite the coming of Telecom Provider Dekal Wireless on the scene with their Island wide Municipal Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11n) Network, ironically owned by one of the principals shareholders in FLOW, Wayne Chen, in partnership with other Chinese Dragons, the term used for wealthy Chinese Business owners as stated in the article “Wayne Chen, Lees enter wireless Broadband Market”, published Friday July 30^th 2010 by Mark Titus, Business Reporter, The Financial Gleaner.

But that is another story. Until then, using my idea that I gave to Apple, I can now proclaim that RIM is being fed fat with the ancient grudge I still bear against them because of the unfair defeat of Palm Pilot, whose fortunes are being reborn like the phoenix after their purchase by Hewlett Packard………with dividends for the Christmas of 2010 for us Developers!

Apple iPad and Amazon Kindle - Publishers, Developers and Piracy

Every cloud has its silver lining but it is sometimes a little difficult to get it to the mint

Don Marquis, Certain Maxims of Archie

Today is my birthday, but nothing has changed in the world of Newspapers, Periodicals and Books, my usual preferred gift whenever I had birthdays. The dilemma of decreasing readership still bedevils my world of printed media, despite its modern accents of Websites, Newsletters, embedded video content and RSS (Remote Syndication Subscription) feeds.

In the early 1900’s at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, this as not the case, as people were just beginning to have leisure time on their hands and as such Newspapers, Radio and Television co-existed, as albeit stretching into each others territory, they could never full supplant or replace the other and as such moved instead from being potential killers to being co-complementary as it relates to News, Sports and Entertainment.

The world of Newspapers has long been the bastion of privileged Upper Classes with education and fine English and the Robber Barons that in their heyday saw reading and even owning a Newspaper as a sign of power, as Newspapers furthered one’s interests and allowed the owner as well as the reader a platform for increased profitability from advertising sales and circulation, such as is the case with Gordon ‘Butch” Stewart, owner of local Tabloid Newspaper, the Jamaica Observer.

Thus when Newspaper readership began declining in the early 2000’s, alarm bells began ringing not only in the Newspaper industry but also for Publishers of anything read from paper in general as the laughable play toy of the Venture Capitalists during the busting of the Dot.com Bubble of the early 90’s, the Internet, was taking its revenge.

Much as I waxed reminiscent of my grudge against RIM Blackberry for their defeat of the Palm Pilot finally bearing fruit with RIM’s recent announcement of its touch-screen Blackberry 9800 and its much rumoured BlackPad, also touch-screen and also competing against the Apple iPhone.

The once might Newspaper Robber Barons were being pilloried and by 2007 had to bow to the might of the Silicon Valleys playtoy, namely the internet as per the article “US Newspapers look to online editions as possible saviours”, published Wednesday March 28 2007 by Catherine Hours, AFP, Yahoo! News with many folding and only existing as online versions.

The Internet appears to be the media outlet of choice for the next Generation Y [read 14 to 28 years old], with Generation X catching on [read 29 to 45 years old], mainly of course because so much of their favourite content, from music, comic books, magazines, games to news of concern to their little lives, comes from this now almost everywhere portal originally on Desktop PC via Wired Broadband (Broadband: the ONLY type of Internet they know!!)

Now on Laptops, Netbooks and mobile phones via Wireless Broadband on demand, wherever and whenever, served just how you like it, according to the prognostications of fifteen (15) year old Morgan Stanley Intern, Matthew Robson in the article which he wrote in 2009, entitled  “How Teenagers Consume Media: the report that shook the City”, printed by the Guardian Newspaper, Monday 13 July 2009 10.23 BST, The Guardian.

Alas, I guess grown-ups do not believe the ramblings of a fifteen (15) year old. And. Oh Yes, their content is free!………albeit not legally so. John Public knows that the evil smirk of Piracy is what makes the Internet so appealing to the Younger Crowd, as no-one feels guilty stealing content from apparently wealthy faceless corporations. Yet there is a Silver Lining in the form of the Amazon Kindle and the Apple iPad.

Granted the Amazon Kindle is now currently highly successful, despite not meeting shareholder expectations for profitability on Wall Street as stated in the article “Wasn't the Kindle supposed to be firewood?”, published July 22, 2010 2:45 PM PDT by Caroline McCarthy CNET News - The Social.

Even surprising Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos as stated in the article “Soaring e-book sales speak volumes”, published Sunday August 1, 1:54 am ET by Peter Brieger, Yahoo! News who sums up what I have long suspected best in these simple statistics laden words spoken in July 2010: “Amazon.com customers now purchase more Kindle books than hardcover books - astonishing when you consider that we've been selling hardcover books for 15 years, and Kindle books for 33 months”.

Yep, e-books, long being the dark stepchild of publishing, are back, so at least novels, periodicals and Newspapers to some extent are saved by this device, now with a GSM and Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11n) version as stated in the article “Amazon unveils 3rd-generation Kindle e-book reader”, published Sunday August 1^st 2010 by Edward C. Baig, USA TODAY.

This makes support for its adoption by a local Telecom Provider in Jamaica a snap.

The same trend of a younger generation not reading books but getting their content on Wired and Wireless Broadband enabled devices also exists, ironically, in the same markets that Apple, Google, Facebook and Twitter are yet to make significant headway: The People’s Republic of China, Russia, Korea and Japan, hence Amazon is also interested in getting into these markets as well.

Need I say more, as it appears the young Mr. Matthew Robson research note is spot on. The Barbarians at the Gate are in the form of the Barnes and Noble Nook, the Sony Readers and the multi-purpose cure all, the Apple iPad and all of its iPad-esque knockoffs in the skunk works from Google, LG Electronics, Hewlett-Packard, Dell.

Not to mention the currently popular Dell Streak and now Microsoft and CEO Steve Ballmer’s announcement of a tablet PC as stated in the article “Microsoft takes aim at the Tablet Market”, published Friday July 30th 2010 by Christopher Null, Technology Writer, Yahoo! News.

Not to mention recently announced news of a potential Apple iPad killer in the form of the RIM BlackPad as stated in the article “RIM said to Plan Tablert for November to take on Apple's iPad”, published Friday July 30 2010 by Hugo Miller, the BloomBerg Report.

Already Amazon, feeling the heat from the Apple iPad and its Devotees of all things and has dropped its prices from a high of US$259 to US$189 to be cost competitive and has made available apps for Blackberry, Apple and Google Android thereby making Amazon Kindle content available on all computers.

A suggestion to Amazon I had made based on emails received in 2009 from a young female friend of mine who works at MonaGIS (Mona GeoInfomatics Institute) in Jamaica as it relates to her habits on reading news articles on smart phones, now plainly the proud owned of a Blackberry based on her recent postings on FaceBook.

So it was believed that the Apple iPad, which launched with an earsplitting thunderclap on the weekend of Saturday April 3^rd and Sunday April 4^th 2010 AD, the wonder device which I, John Public, had suggested and hoped would save the day for the Publishers, being as it conforms to the desires of the younger generation as per research note in being touch-screen and being created by making an already popular device bigger, is not doing its job.

Apple is showing reluctance to support subscriptions for magazines due to the low level of turnaround for the subscriptions, as Time Magazine, one such magazine published in its full video advertisement supported glory, complete with Apple iAds, is facing problems with its champion Apple

This as Time charges only US$20 for its paperback edition for a year subscription, forcing Apple to require subscribers using the Time Magazine App to subscribe each month for US$4.99 to make profit, effectively a US$260.00 value, as Time Magazine is a weekly printed glossy of International News as stated in the article “Why won't Apple sell magazine subscriptions for the iPad?”, published Wednesday July 28, 2:53 pm ET by Christopher Null, Technology Writer Yahoo! News.

Apple cannot apply the same business model it does in paying its Developers to publications and would do best to follow the business model of Amazon and other large Publishers of content in terms of its pricing of Newspaper, magazine, periodical and other content or faced being squeezed out of the e-publication market, as other, cheaper e-reader enabled Tablet PC devices are sure as rain in on their parade like the sudden showers as Amazon Rain Forest is famous.

Even worse, the popularity of e-readers since the debut of the Amazon Kindle and the e-Reader cum Tablet PC since the debut of the Apple iPad may be creating a vortex for e-book Piracy, much in the same way the Apple iPod was an accelerant for the adoption of MP3 formats for music and later MP3 Piracy’s alleged explosion, albeit that is a debate for another article.

Like music, e-books are easily available on torrent sites such as the infamous The Pirate Bay file sharing website, know only too well to John Public as I had used it to obtain books for free online while a Student at the University of the West Indies in 2005 to 2009, as I am not crazy enough to spend JA$8000 on an Organic Chemistry textbook that hardly changes from year to year.

Thus an irony is now obvious. The Amazon Kindle and its imitators and the Apple iPad and its line of would-be imitators is achieving the aim, despite some difficulties, of getting more people to read books, be they Periodicals, Magazines, Comics, Novels and even Newspapers.

The problem now is that thanks to the silver lining of good fortune related to the massive adoption of these e-Reader and Tablet PC devices, it is also has the potential to increase Piracy of content to be utilized on these devices, now being potentially accelerated by the ruling being handed down by the Copyright Office in the United States of America in favor of the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) that reinterprets the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

This and makes it perfectly legal to “jailbreak” your Apple iPhone or any smart phone for that matter as stated in the article “Apple: Jailbreaking an iPhone will (still) violate your warranty”, published Tuesday 27 July 2010 by Ben Patterson, Technology Writer, Yahoo! News and further elucidate in the article “On Call: Go ahead an jailbreak, its legal now”, published July 27, 2010 2:20 PM PDT by Kent German, CNET News - Dialed In.

Limitations exist, such as you have to jailbreak the Apple iPhone or Apple iPad yourself without assistance and once “jailbroken”, if your device becomes “bricked” or inoperable expensive paperweight in the process and you are unable to revert, you are still in breach of the Apple iPhone Software License Agreement between the customer and Apple.

Thus voiding the contract and absolving Apple of any obligation to fix what clearly is your fault as stated in the article “The jailbreaking exemption has its limits”, published July 29, 2010 11:45 AM PDT by Larry Downes, CNET News - Politics and Law!

Thus the problem of Piracy that has bedeviled the Music Industry and is now barking at the Door of Apple Developers, even forcing Google to address it in recent security update to Google Android as stated in the article “Google Licensing changes could cap Android Piracy”, published July 28, 2010 1:31 PM PDT by Jessica Dolcourt, CNET News - Android Atlas, is going to make it difficult for Newspapers and Publishers to collect the silver lining owed to them…………a prediction spoken here first by the eagle-eyed John Public.

Agriculture and Technology - Where worlds collide

All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind

Joseph Conrad, A Personal Record

Today is the second day of the Denbigh Agricultural Show in Denbigh, Clarendon. Most likely with calls for a State of Emergency for Agriculture as stated by contributor Jeffrey Hall, Managing Director of Jamaica Producers Group in the article “Rescue the Perishing”, published Sunday August 1^st 2010 by Jeffrey Hall, The Sunday Gleaner.

This coincides with the Denbigh Agricultural Show to boost public interest in the Agriculture Sector, more people from the snobbish Uptown parts of Kingston will be on hand, especially as there are indications that many of these well-to-do investors have cash on hand.

This after pulling their money out of Government of Jamaica Debt Instruments and are looking to invest in Agriculture for export as suggested by the Jamaica Exporters Association (JEA) president Titus Evans in the article “JDX Makes exporting more attractive”, published Wednesday, April 21, 2010, The Jamaica Observer.

NCB (National Commercial Bank) lowering of their base lending rates by three (3) percentage points from 20.75% to 17.75% as stated on Prime Time News, aired Thursday July 25^th 2010, Television Jamaica and confirmed in the article “NCB cuts as loan portflio declines”, published Sunday July25 2010, The Sunday Gleaner, Business Section is spurring that interest, no doubt.

And as per usual, this article is accompanied by a bevy of other articles in the same issue of The Sunday Gleaner complaining of all the ills of Jamaican Agricultural Sector, from praedial larceny, allocating land resources for Private Sector, suggestions on how to improve the water resources available to farmers, too numerous and annoyingly repetitive as the Denbigh Agricultural Show is boring and complaint laden with no concrete technology based solutions to solve these problems and chart a path towards sustainable productivity from the land.

Most of us Tertiary graduates are well aware that Agriculture is severely undervalued by the Upper Classes in society and poorly managed and is in serious need of investment and a change of image from its slavery-esque upbringing to a more modern Tertiary educated visage, albeit attracting Tertiary students to Agriculture is necessary as the Editor posits in his Editorial entitled “EDITORIAL: Declare a State of Emergency for Agriculture”, published Sunday August 1^st 2010 by the Editor, The Sunday Gleaner.

This is an interesting and very well balanced idea, albeit it has no legal backing whatsoever, both locally and internationally, and is only good for the usual pontification around Denbigh Agricultural Show time, when all of Jamaica and John Public become once again concerned about Agriculture.

We do have unique products, such as Sea Island Cotton, the quality of which grows in Jamaica and is handpicked, like our unique Blue Mountain Coffee, which says much for Organically Grown Produce as stated in the article “Geographical Miracle - World's best cotton unique to the Caribbean” published Sunday July 18 2010 by Christopher Serju, Gleaner Writer, The Sunday Gleaner.

However, this time around it feels a little different, as Dr. Christopher Tufton, Minister of Agriculture, has something to crow about in the form of securing the John Hancock of COMPLANT, a Venture Capitalists responsible for the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium based on limited information about them from the People’s Republic of China in a lucrative deal to purchase the remaining unproductive sugar estates to the tune of US$10 million as stated in the article “Gov't seals sugar deal with Chinese firm”, published Saturday, July 31, 2010 BY PATRICK FOSTER, Observer writer, The Jamaica Observer.

A follow-on, pardon the cricket pun if you will, from a previous newspaper article “Sugar Rush”, published Wednesday July 4^th 2010, The Sunday Gleaner and confirmed by the article “Sweet China Deal”, published Wednesday July 4^th 2010, , by Alicia Dunkley, Senior Staff Reporter, The Jamaica Observer.

With Coffee as stated in the article “Gov’t signs US$148-m coffee deal with Chinese entities”, published Wednesday July 4^th 2010, by Patrick Foster, Observer Writer, The Jamaica Observer and confirmed by the article “A Coffee Break for Ja”, published Wednesday July 4^th 2010, The Sunday Gleaner

Rice too as stated in the article “Doing it the Rice Way”, published Wednesday July 4^th 2010, The Sunday Gleaner and confirmed by the article “Jamaica signs coffee supply deal with Chinese Firm”, published Wednesday July 4^th 2010, The Jamaica Observer are also on the list for divestment to the Government of the People’s Republic of China interests

The Agriculture Sector may finally be getting the kind of funding on a level similar to Senator Barack Obama, President of the United States of America and his commitment of US$1 billion worth of Venture Capital money to Silicon Valley to aid in the development of economy-of-scale Solar Power Technologies as stated in the article “Obama commits billions to solar firms”, published July 4, 2010 11:34 AM PDT by Reuters, CNET News - Green Tech.

Now it seems Senator Audley Shaw, Minister of Finance, after pleading for the Big Three (3) Banks to lower their base interest rates and thereby their interest rate spreads as stated in the article “Come on, commercial Banks!”, published Friday, July 16, 2010, BY PAT ROXBOROUGH-WRIGHT, The Jamaica Observer has finally gotten his wish

Albeit due to external market forces as opposed to his own words, a clever politician’s sleight of hand as stated on Prime Time News, aired Thursday July 25^th 2010, Television Jamaica and confirmed in the article “NCB cuts as loan portflio declines”, published Sunday July25 2010, The Sunday Gleaner, Business Section

Further cementing his wish for economic stability yet denying his ambition of growth to trounce the naysayers of the JDX (Jamaica Debt Exchange) as stated in the article “Stability in the bag, investment now the target - Shaw”, published Sunday August 1 2010, The Jamaica Observer.

This is possibly the most interesting Emancipation and Independence staging of the Denbigh Agricultural Show to date, as for once the politicians and their ambitions appear lawful and beneficial both in terms of earning foreign exchange but also providing employment to a new generation of farmers.

Albeit part of their strategies, like the State of Emergency, appear on the face of it geared to secure a Second Term, it is nonetheless in the interest of the Jamaica People to support these drives for growth in a sector that, like Wireless Broadband in Telecoms and All-Electric Cars in 2011, is set to explode as the threat of a Double Dip Recession looms and Food will be short in supply………seedlings to be planted for another article.

My only grouse……….. I still hear no mention of Spring Plains, Clarendon……………….