Palace Amusement's Profits soar on 3D in 2011AD - Live Entertainment heralds Return of the Sunday Matinee

It appears that the plans by Palace Amusement Company to go 3D HDTV at all their four (4) cinemas namely Carib Cinema at Cross Roads in Kingston, Palace Cineplex at Sovereign Centre in St Andrew, Palace Multiplex in Montego Bay and the Odeon Cineplex in Mandeville as first reported in my blog article entitled “Palace Amusement and the 3D Movies - Lady Gaga's 3D Mui Mui and Dolche & Gabbana” is beginning to reap rewards.

This as recent statistics released by the Palace Amusement Company in their Annual Report in December 2011AD indicates that going 3D HDTV at all four (4) Cinemas for a cool US$2 million (JA$172 million) was indeed money well spent as reported in the article “Palace Amusement to show live sports, concerts”, published Wednesday December 7, 2011AD, by Steven Jackson, The Jamaica Gleaner.

This after the Palace Amusement Company was facing losses of JA$7.8 million between January 2010AD to March 31 2011AD. Their newly audited financials indicate the following and are an update to the above story that first broke on my blog:

1.         Palace Amusement Company spent some J$76.6 million in upgrading all four (4) of its cinemas, an increase of 233% over 2010AD expenditures

2.         Jamaicans J$614.5 million at the movies in 2011AD, a new record for the Cinema Company whose fortunes were sagging

3.         J$431.5 million was in Movie Ticket sales

4.         J$183 million on confectioneries i.e. including popcorn, candy and sodas

5.         6.6% increase in the Palace Amusement Company’s pushed audited Net Profits to J$10.9 million in the year ending June 30, 2011AD

Broken down in terms of each of the cinemas owned by Palace Amusement Company or the period 2010AD to 2011AD, the 6.6% uptick in profits can be seen across all of their cinemas as follows:

1.      Carib5 earned the bulk of box office receipts at J$223 million with food sales at a decent J$97.7 million

2.      Palace Multiplex  is second at J$100.3 million with food receipts at J$38.1 million

3.      Palace Cineplex at comes in third with J$77.9 million with food receipts at J$34.6 million

4.      Odeon Cineplex at J$30.2 million with food sales at J$12.5 million

Clearly the future of cinema is 3D HDTV, being as it affords a very simple way to protect content from copying by Video Pirates as noted in my blog article entitled “3-D anti-piracy technology to thwart Digital Video Piracy”, as to watch movies in 3D HDTV Movies requires active shutter glasses.  Its popularity can be seen in the fact that, quote: “During the year, we exhibited 29 3D pictures, and it is becoming patently obvious that the industry is set to phase out and discontinue its analogue distribution within two years. Locations without [digitized] screens will by then have no option but to close”.

Buoyed by these results, Palace Amusement is now laying the groundwork to push into yet another arena: Live Entertainment. This as mentioned in their 2011Annual Report, quote:  “Alternative content has been on the horizon for some time, but during the year we were not able to make it a reality. It is still uppermost in our minds as we look forward to showing live events such as concerts - pop, classical and opera, as well as sporting events”.

Conceivably, highlights of the London Olympics 2012AD as well as other sports events such as UEFA Cup football matches and even CARIFTA Games may be conceivably shown in the cinemas. Being as they are live exclusive events, sponsorship tie-ins are required to ensure that Palace Amusement Company is not encroaching on the Broadcasting rights for these various content.

In addition, the Palace Amusement Company may also consider my idea of using their cinemas to stage the J’Anime Competition as described in my blog article entitled “J'Anime Competition  - An Avenue to Fame for Animators”.

Live Entertainment, specifically in 3D HDTV, especially events that may be abroad, would make Palace Amusement Company a viable competitor to Triple Play Provider FLOW which has ramped up its investment in the region by some US$30 billion over the next five (5) years in Jamaica as mentioned in the article “Flow to invest another J$30b in five years”, published Friday February 3, 2012AD by Steven Jackson, Business Reporter, The Jamaica Gleaner.

Like Palace Amusement Company, they too are facing problems for which a push towards 3D HDTV and 300MBps speeds remain as their main savior as prognosticated in my blog article entitled “FLOW goes 3D HDTV as Netflix cometh - XFinity follow-on indicates Streaming's Deep Impact” and the Geezam Blog article entitled “FLOW goes 3D HDTV et al – Netflix to make FLOW Extinct”.

And although not having the mobility of LIME TV or Telecom Provider LIME’s coming foray into IPTV Streaming in partnership with Avail-TVN and Juniper Networks as build-out partners as stated in my blog article entitled “LIME parent CWC partners with Avail-TVN to provide IPTV Streaming Service - War of The Worlds against Netflix ” and “LIME chooses Juniper Networks to rebroadcast Avail-TVN's Content - Pepita Little's Ghostbusters to capture Media Personalities”, they do have a bigger advantage, literally.

This as with a partnership with eMedia Interactive’s founder and CEO Tyrone Wilson as described in my blog article entitled “e-Media Interactive launches  the First Caribbean IPTV Network - IPTV Venture Capitalism in the Year of the Dragon”, they can use their bigger venues and screens to deliver content streamed by the Caribbean first indigenous IPTV Streaming Platform, kick starting Palace Amusement Company into the 21^st Century. 

Broadcasting is definitely set to be dominated by IPTV Streaming as Wired and Wireless Broadband Internet from the Telecom Providers begins to nibble at the Free-to-Air Broadcasters now slowly crumbling empire, as Palace Amusement Company’s Direction for 2012AD effectively heralds the triumphant return of the Sunday Matinee.

JCCUL JCUES is put on hold by the BOJ - ePayment setback means Mozido has been Bewitched

The recent much publicized about-face by the BOJ (Bank of Jamaica) with regards to JCCUL  (Jamaica Cooperative Credit Union League) application to launch their new e-payment services aptly titled JCUES (Jamaica Credit Union e-Payment Services) as stated in the article “BOJ aborts JCCUL e-payment launch” published Friday  March 16, 2012, The Jamaica Gleaner is an indication of how sensitive the Government of Jamaica is about money laundering and more particularly, Tax evasion.

So sudden was the BOJ’s decision to halt the JCCUL’s launch of JCUES that the announcement came a mere 24 hours before its official launch on Thursday March 15^th 2012AD! Worse, no date has been set for when the BOJ will allow the JCCUL to go ahead with the launch of their service as stated in the article “No date set for JCCUL's e-payment system”, published Friday, March 16, 2012 by Y JULIAN RICHARDSON, The Jamaica Observer.

The obvious dejection could be seen on the faces of the delegates representing the Credit Unions of Jamaica as noted in the launch now turned sensitization launch on as stated in the article “JCCUL Converts Epayment Launch To Product Sensitization”, published Sunday March 18, 2012, The Jamaica Gleaner.

Had their launch been successful, they could have gotten a jump on the Commercial Banks, now waxing fat from the surge in interest in VISA Debit Cards as noted in my Geezam Blog article entitled “ScotiaBank’s VISA Debit Card – Jamaica’s Online E-Commerce Renaissance”.

Not only that, had the JCUES been approved and launched on Thursday, a technology similar to Google Wallet with an equally similar name Genius Wallet, would have made paying for goods and services with your mobile phone a reality as described in my blog article entitled “Mozido Jamaica Limited and Mobile Payments - Plants and Zombies say the Gods must be Crazy”.

This development would also have effectively marked the coming of a Cashless Society in Jamaica sans Credit and Debit Cards, much as already exists in Sweden as stated in the article “In Sweden, Cash Is King No More In Sweden, Cash Is King No More” Published Monday  March 19, 2012, The Jamaica Gleaner.

The BOJ’s statement on the matter, which was heavily guided by the Payment, Clearing and Settlement Act 2010, is quite blunt, obvious and clear, quote: “The public is asked to note that Bank of Jamaica has not received, assessed or signed off on the documentation and systems supporting the services proposed to be offered via JCUES. This would be necessary to ascertain whether any underlying risks are appropriately addressed. The bank has directed that the participants not proceed with the launch or offer of these products.”

As a bit of background, the JCCUL, which represents the more than forty two (42) in the thus far JA$66-billion unregulated Sector, does not necessarily answer to the BOJ. That’s the Commercial Banks, if you want to get technical.

Plus, their service, JCUES, was set up in partnership with Austin, Texas-based company, Mozido Jamaica Limited as mentioned in article “Mobile Money Provider Sets Up Shop In New Kingston”, published Wednesday June 8, 2011 by Avia Ustanny, Gleaner Reporter, The Jamaica Gleaner.

Mozido Jamaica was set to be the contractor for the new service, using their technology to provide e-payment services to the many unbanked Jamaicans i.e. Jamaican receiving remittances but not saving them in a traditional Commercial Bank or Credit Union.

A recently completed study on their number as announced by Director of the Centre of Excellence of the Mona School of Business (MSB) Dr Maurice McNaughton as noted in the article “Jamaica Counting On its Unbanked”, published Friday, September 30, 2011, The Jamaica Observer only adds more fur to the desire that the JCCUL and Mozido Jamaica Limited have in accessing this untapped potential money making market.

Mozido’s original intention was to make money from the lucrative US$2 billion estimated remittance market in Jamaica. Their apparent partnership with the JCCUL as stated in the article “JCCUL launches mobile e-payment system” Published Wednesday March 14, 2012, The Jamaica Gleaner is therefore a means to an end, using their phone-to-phone e-payment technology to power the JCUES as a kind of Test sandbox for their real service: Remittances. 

Effectively, the members of the Credit Unions of Jamaica would have been the first guinea pigs for mobile e-payment in Jamaica using the following set of mobile phones:

• BlackBerrys
• Smartphones running Google Android
• Feature Phone running Google Android
• WAP or web-enabled Feature phones

According to General Manager of JCCUL Glenworth Francis, their services are to include:

• Bill payment
• Mobile Phone Top-Up
• Commercial Bank and Credit Union Balance enquiry

They do clearly have Remittances in their sights, as General Manager of JCCUL Glenworth Francis is also quoted as saying: “Other services planned include remittances but this is subject to the approval of the regulator”

It was slated to be rolled out at the following twenty (20) Credit Unions in an initial Pilot launch on Friday March 23^rd 2012AD:

• Jamaica Police Credit Unions
• C&WJ Credit Unions
• St Catherine Credit Unions
• Montego Bay Credit Unions
• Churches Credit Unions

General Manager of JCCUL Glenworth Francis points out that, quote: “Only five credit unions were chosen as the pilot. This was done to ensure the system was compatible to the various financial platforms which credit unions use”

How does their service work? Again the horses mouth speaks best, quote: “Once registered, an activation code will be sent to either the mobile number or the email address provided. After the activation code is received members will set up the service on their mobile phone or the Internet by creating a password, four-digit pin as well as a secret word which gives access to the account”.

For an initial launch, their service prices were not too shabby:

• JA$35.25 for bill-payment
• JA$5.00 for balance enquiry
• No charge for Mobile Top-up Services

Interesting things to note, security-wise:

• Debit Card holders can register for the JCUES service at their respective Credit Unions
• No data is stored on the phone, thereby making theft of mobile phones to gain access to people’s accounts pointless
• All transactions are done using the four (4) digit pin and password over the customer mobile phone, both of which are encrypted

Thus, they can still challenge the BOJ’s ruling in court and in that light could have gone ahead with the launch of their JCUES as they had intended on Wednesday March 14^th 2012AD as stated in the article “JCCUL launches mobile e-payment system” Published Wednesday March 14, 2012, The Jamaica Gleaner.

But security for local transactions is not the main reason for the BOJ blockade. It mainly has to do with the ease with which this service can be used for money laundering as pointed out in my blog article entitled “Jamaican Music Industry 2 Years post-Ban - How Artiste and Booking Agents Launder Money”.

Very easy for someone [read drug don or politician] to basically convert money obtained from an unaudited, unapproved source into a spendable form of currency, and worse, powered by a part of the Banking system that the BOJ really has no control over. Hence the BOJ has every right to be cautious.

Still, the potential draw of Banking remittances from Jamaicans is too hard for JCCUL and their partner Mozido Jamaica Limited to ignore as noted in the article “Battle of the digital wallets” Published Sunday March 18, 2012, The Jamaica Gleaner.

This as both of them have been Bewitched (2005) by the coming boom in Remittances as noted in the article “Remittance Companies Bullish As Transfers Hit New Record” published Sunday March 4, 2012 by Avia Colander, The Jamaica Gleaner.

More articles coming on this topic in the Geezam Blog as this story develops….

OUR Records Voice Decline for the Fourth Quarter of 2010 - Postpaid, Data Services and Fixed Line Mobile and Landline Saturday Night Fever for Telecom Providers

Telecom Providers are and still may be losing money from Voice Services since the Fourth Quarter of 2010AD. This despite Jamaica having a very high Mobile phone penetration with nearly three million (3,000,000) Mobile phones, way more than there are people in Jamaica, which is estimated to be about 2.7 million, effectively 17% more Mobile phones than there are people in Jamaica.

According to the OUR (Office of Utilities Regulation) report, Telecom Provider revenue declined by 26% during the Fourth Quarter of 2010AD from $7.3 billion from $9.9 billion for the Fourth Quarter of 2009AD!

Interestingly, Data Services are faring far better with the growing popularity of Wireless Broadband offerings such as those from Telecom Provider Digicel as noted in my blog article entitled “Digicel and WiMax 4G Mobile - Back to the Future as NetFlix Expands”. But more surprisingly, the OUR also records growth in:

• Data Services, particularly Mobile Data Services
• Postpaid as well as in Fixed Line Services, both traditional Fixed Line Landline from Telecom Provider LIME based on outdated copper-wire twisted pair technology
• Fixed Line Mobile based on sector-locked GSM (Global System Mobile) or CDMA (Code Division Multiple access), in some cases using the EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution) Layer to deliver VoIP services such as HomeFone Xpress as described in my blog article entitled “LIME Landline Rental Increase and HomeFone XPress - The Dead Zone is the Sum of All Fears ”

This stark revelation was made in a Jamaica Gleaner article entitled “More cells, but telecoms earn less”, published Wednesday March 21, 2012 by Steven Jackson, Business Writer, The Jamaica Gleaner. Apparently out of respect for the Telecoms Providers and a desire not to stoke the competition among these bitter rivals, this info had not been made public by the Regulator earlier

Good thing a New Telecom Regulator as well as a New Telecoms Act are in the pipeline as noted hopefully in my article entitled “Phillip Paulwell broker's Telecom Deal - Telecom Regulator and Mobile Number Portability Coming”, as this should have been well publicized before.

But the statistics, if you care to read them, confirm what I already knew: Switched Voice Services are dying as Data Services gains a foothold as I had opined in a more recent Geezam blog article entitled “Digicel Cloud Telephony to Make Switched Voice Extinct”.

Generally the overall view of the Telecom Providers is as follows:

• 17% more Mobile phones than there are people in Jamaica, effectively 3,000,000 Mobile phones, to 2.7 million Jamaicans
• 26% decline in overall revenues for all three (3) Telecom Providers LIME, Digicel and CLARO during the Fourth Quarter of 2010AD to $7.3 billion from $9.9 billion for the Fourth Quarter of 2009AD!
• 16% decline in revenue for Mobile, fixed and Internet service providers in Fourth Quarter of 2010AD JA$11.3 billion, when compared to the Fourth Quarter of 2009AD
• Mobile Calls within each Telecoms Providers Network (On-Net Calls) accounted for 70.9% of revenues compared to 29.1% for Cross Network Calls
• Mobile customer spent $340 less per month for calls within each Telecoms Providers Network in the Fourth Quarter of 2010AD when compared to the Fourth Quarter of 2009AD
• The ARPU (Average Revenue Per USER) declined from JA$2,245 in the Fourth Quarter of 2010AD when compared to the JA$1,904 in the Fourth Quarter of 2009AD

Prepaid Mobile

• 95% of the estimated 3.049 million Mobile phone users are Prepaid, with the  other 5% being Postpaid

Postpaid Mobile

• 35% increase in Post-paid customer in the Fourth Quarter of 2010AD to 133,000 from 98,519 in the Fourth Quarter of 2009AD

Fixed Line Mobile and Landline

• 12% increase year-on-year in Fixed Line, both Mobile and Landline revenues to $3.4 billion
• 7,000% rise in outbound international calls, representing 1.1 billion for the Fourth Quarter of 2010AD when compared to the Fourth Quarter of 2009AD
• 6.3% decline year-on-year for Fixed Line Mobile and Landline services for Triple Play Provider FLOW and Telecom Provider LIME, representing 283,100 customers.

Mobile (Wireless) and Wired Data

• 100% increase in Mobile Data revenue in the Fourth Quarter of 2010AD to JA$609 million from JA304.5 million in the Fourth Quarter of 2009AD thanks to Mobile internet usage attributed to  Android and BlackBerry phones
• 1.9% increase in revenue for Wired Broadband Internet services for Triple Play Provider FLOW, Telecom Provider LIME, Telecom Provider Digicel and Internet Service Provider Infochannel to $641 million in the Fourth Quarter of 2010AD when compared to in the Fourth Quarter of 2009AD
• 33.3% declined in Data subscriptions in the Fourth Quarter of 2010AD to 76,300 subscribers from 57,368 subscribers in the Fourth Quarter of 2009AD

The problem Telecom Providers are faced with is that Data Services use up more T1 capacity and Bandwidth than Voice Services, and being that such services are metered i.e. charged by the Megabyte and not the minute, the APRU is smaller. Thus the above increase in Data Services is to be taken with a large grain of salt

This lower level of efficiency for Data Services when compared to Voice Services despite the growing popularity of Mobile Internet as the Apple iPad 3’s popularity as noted in my blog article entitled “Apple iPad 3 sports Retina Display, LTE and Bluetooth - Internet of Things heralds Pointer Sisters Automatic” heralds grave concern for the local Telecom Providers here in Jamaica.

But interestingly, the gradual slow rise in Postpaid as well as Fixed Line Mobile and Landline Services, especially the increased International Calling associated Fixed Line Mobile and Landline Services indicates a growing trend: Jamaicans are trying to save money by going for Monthly Paid Voice Services.

This as Fixed Line Mobile and Landline Services and Postpaid, long been the poor stepchildren of the Telecom Providers in Jamaica, is now seeing increase resurgence in the review period of the Fourth Quarter of 2010AD, as customer now realize that Postpaid services provide reliable services and are cheaper that Prepaid Services if you are a heavy Voice Services user.

Also, the “Fixed” nature of Fixed Line means that convenience for people and businesses who still like the idea of having a traditional House phone and its social implications, an indication of the maturity of the mobile phone market seeking convenience over cost savings.

Even more interesting, the increased adoption of Data Services, indicates that customers are beginning to realize that the can save on Voice Calling via the use of texting on IM (Instant Messaging) and Social Networking Platforms which increasing have VoIP Services such as Skype, now heavily integrated into Facebook as stated in my blog article entitled “FaceBook deeply integrates Skype - Microsoft, the Ladykiller of Landline”.

Based on the above, the following conclusions can be easily drawn:

• Future grows in Telecoms Services in Jamaica is in Data Services, particularly Wireless Mobile Broadband Services as opined in my Geezam Blog entitled “CLARO’s Freeness ends 5th January 2012 – Digicel’s Bigger, Better with Data and Cloud”
• Voice Services is increasingly edging towards VoIP
• Postpaid is going to become increasingly popular as it is cheaper
• Fixed Line Services, be they Mobile or Landline, are also an area of growth that is currently neglected by Telecom Providers, who mainly focus on Voice and Data Services.
• Fixed Line Landline needs to be replaced by FTTH (Fiber To the House) as noted in my blog article entitled “LIME goes FTTH like Verizon's FiOS - Free ADSL after FTTH Mass Adoption” as it is cheaper to maintain Fiber Optic Lines than Copper-Based Twisted Pair
• Telecom Providers needs to develop Texting Bundles, as the trend is increasingly towards Texting as per my prognostication in my blog article entitled “Telecom Providers and SMS - The Dead Zone”
• Free GPRS (Global Packet Radio System), EDGE and SMS (Short Messaging Services) or Texting Services can serve to boost the interest among Jamaican in using Data Services as noted in my blog article entitled “Telecom Provider LIME and M2M Services - Free SMS and EDGE for the Caribbean to Foster Regional Integration”

Truly, Data Services, Postpaid and Fixed Line Mobile and Landline represent Saturday Night Fever (1977) for increased profitability for Telecom Provider in the future. I just wish that the New Telecom Regulator makes such reports known in a timelier manner.

Apple iPad 3 sports Retina Display, LTE and Bluetooth - Internet of Things heralds Pointer Sisters Automatic

The Apple iPad 3 has finally landed with an earsplitting roar, as chronicled in my Geezam blog article entitled “Three’s a Charm as Apple iPad 3 Looms Large”. The CEO Tim Cook co-hosted event on Wednesday March 7^th 2012AD at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in downtown San Francisco at 10 am

This as chronicled in the article “Apple iPad live blog (Wednesday, March 7)”, published March 7, 2012 4:20 AM PST by Josh Lowensohn, CNET News. How sweet it was, especially for me, as most of what I had predicted has come to pass!!

The month of March 2012AD was as predicted in my clairvoyant blog article entitled “Apple iPad 3 Launch on March 2012 - Amazon Kindle Fire is a Sweet Dream but a Beautiful Nightmare for Apple”.

So too were the specs of the Apple iPad 3 as slathered in the article “Apple Unveils New iPad”, published Mar 7, 2012 11:24 am By Lex Friedman, Macworld  and the article “Apple announces the new iPad: Retina display, 4G, and the iPhone 4S’ camera”, published MARCH 7, 2012BY MOLLY MCHUGH, DigitalTrends, which is now officially sporting the following significant specs:

• Support for LTE (Long Term Evolution)
• Retina Display Screen as had been suggested by Tiawanese blog DigiTimes in the article “iPad 3 screen production ramping up strongly”, report says by Josh Lowensohn January 17, 2012 9:54 AM PST, CNET News.
• Quad-Core A6 Processor, Apple’s answer to Nvidia Tegra 3 aka “Ka-lel” as stated in my Geezam blog article entitled “Nvidia and the Quad-Core Kal-El CPU – Android leaves A5 Dual-Core Processor in the Dust”

Sorry folks, but I can’t be on the ball all the time. I missed on two significant predictions this time around:

• 12 Megapixel camera as predicted in my blog article entitled “Sharp develops world's thinnest 12.1 Megapixel Camera”. Instead it a significantly improved 5 megapixel camera with HD (High Definition) recording capabilities
• Siri Voice Assistant is not on the Apple iPad 3. Instead they have Voice Dictation, which is based on similar technology as Siri sans the Cloud-Server support

All this as noted in the article “Apple's new iPad: Hands-on”, published March 7, 2012 11:12 AM PST by Donald Bell, CNET News. Bluetooth 4.0 is the most significant feature, as it actually heralds a trend towards the Apple iPad 3 and other Tablets talking to each other without your prompting as suggested in the article “Forget LTE — the real iPad wireless story is Bluetooth”, published Mar. 8, 2012, 7:46am PT By Kevin C. Tofel, GigaOM.

Even more interesting is that the consumers agree, as the Apple iPad 3 managed to rack up three million (3,000,000) served over the weekend starting from Friday March 16^th 2012AD with the usual traditional long lines “Apple: 3 million iPads sold since launch”, published by Josh Lowensohn March 19, 2012 1:43 PM PDT.

The words of Apple's Senior VP of Worldwide Marketing Philip Schiller, summed it up best after another profit making year, quote: “The new iPad is a blockbuster with three million sold--the strongest iPad launch yet”.

For those now finally catching the drift of Tablets but afraid of looking weird in public with a Capacitive Touch Screen Device but familiar with using a stylus as noted in “Here's who should buy the new iPad”, published March 13, 2012 5:45 PM PDT by Donald Bell, CNET News, you can either:

• Purchase a Wacom Bamboo stylus for US$30.00 as stated in the article “iPad as sketchbook: Hands-on with the Wacom Bamboo Stylus”, published April 18, 2011 1:34 PM PD by Scott Stein, CNET News.
• Make one yourself from everyday household stuff, DIY (Do-It-Yourself) style, as I have detailed in my Geezam blog article entitled “How to make a Stylus for your Apple iPad or Capacitive-Touch Device”

So aside from the possibility of a 7” Apple iPad coming up later in the year as speculated in the article “Is Apple eyeing a 7.1-inch iPad?”, published March 7, 2012 6:35 AM PST by Lance Whitney, CNET News and my blog article entitled “Apple iPad 3 Launch on March 2012 - Amazon Kindle Fire is a Sweet Dream but a Beautiful Nightmare for Apple”, Mobile Gaming has gotten a big boost with the introduction of Quad-Core.

Soon even Portable Gaming consoles will be made extinct by the Apple iPad 3 and its ilk as predicted by my Geezam blog article entitled “Nintendo and Sony vs Smartphones and Tablets: Post – Portable Gaming Era”, my first signpost of a coming Post-Portable Gaming Era brought about by Quad-Core Apple iPad and other Tablets sporting Quad-Core.

Believe it or not, but the popularity of the Apple iPad appears to be driven by the so-called App Economy made up of out-of-work Software Engineers turned App Writers and programmers as noted by analyst TechNet in my blog article entitled “Amazon set to launch smartphone in Fourth Quarter of 2012AD - The App Economy and the Increasing Importance of Digital Content”.

Throw in  the fact that Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman predicts that one third of US Adults will own a Tablet by 2016AD as stated in the article “One-third of U.S. adults will own a tablet by 2016, says report”, published March 7, 2012 9:58 AM PST by Lance Whitney, CNET News.

Mobile Computing is going to be VERY important to Telecoms Providers ramping up with their HSDPA+ (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) Release 7 Networks and pushing towards LTE (Long Term Evolution) Mobile Broadband in the next five (5) years moving forward.

This as noted in the article “7 charts that predict the future of mobile broadband” published Nov. 7, 2011, 5:00pm PT By Stacey Higginbotham, Gigaom and the article “Cisco sees the mobile future and it’s in streaming”, published Feb. 14, 2012, 5:00am PT By Stacey Higginbotham, Gigaom.

Already in Jamaica , Telecom Provider LIME is now publicly sandbox Testing their HSDPA+ Release 7 (???) 4G Networks as chronicled in my blog article entitled “LIME's 4G Experience Centers & Digicel's JA$8.99 One Rate Plan - Telecom Providers fear Municipal Wi-Fi SkyFall from Broadcasters DSO”. They are expecting much from Mobile Broadband.

Ditto to for Telecom Provider Digicel, also secretly testing their newly acquired 3G Network with plans to also ramp up to HSDPA+ relapse 7 Network and achieve 4G status.

Telecom Provider Digicel and Telecom Provider LIME are BOTH clearly afraid of the growing power of Municipal Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11n) Networks Dekal Wireless and Nubian-1 Tech Services in Jamaica as alluded in my Geezam blog article entitled “Digicel Introduces One Rate Calling for $8.99 in Jamaica”.

The Apple iPad 3 is merely riding on this coming wave of the popularity of Mobile computing, be it Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11n) of LTE. The Apple iPad 3 Retina Display, metaphorically speaking, is merely a reflection of the coming future of the Internet of Things.