Open Gardens

Carnival of the mobilists No 181 at the London calling blog ..

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:14:24 +0000

Carnival of the mobilists No 181 at the London calling blog. Andrew Grill does a nice Wimbledon themed carnival :) and the content is great as usual!

The dark side of open: (lack of) Privacy

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:06:07 +0000

I don't normally like podcasts since I have a hypertext mind and I tend to view content as a series of links and connections - and that helps to form new connections (as opposed to listening linearly which I find boring) - but occasionally I do listen to podcasts and this one from Tim O Reilly is worth listening inspite of it's meandering flow especially at the outset Open source is just the beginning In it, Tim raises some key points which I have been tracking for some time and which will increasingly become more important going forward. 1) The future of Open is 'Open enough' a term which he kind of struggles to explain - ex Twitter, facebook and iPhone are 'open enough' and that Open is not a binary discussion 2) Also, he believes that ultimately closed communication systems do not work(ex non interoperable IM systems) and the social graph is going to be open 3) Friend model will be replaced by the follow model 4) But then he comes to the most interesting point in my view: Going forward, Open is about data . Hence, the biggest databases are the most interesting and some of the biggest databases are Identity and Location. Now, here is my take on it (so from this point on, its my analysis) .. As everything becomes a platform i.e. the data can be opened up - there are huge opportunities to create new services. Of course these will be useful to users The basic idea seems to be: a) Open up a data source b) Allow developers to create applications based on it c) Allow users to enrich the data by adding metadata If that is done, then following the basic Web 2.0 tenets - here is potentially the dark side: a) The provider who controls the META DATA wins(not the data- but the meta data: Think book reviews on Amazon here: You own your customer reviews on Amazon but Amazon owns the collective rating from all the customers for a given book) b) The more 'open' we are - the more data we share. The more data we share, the more it can be co-related to enable behavioural targeting - something I discussed in Unharnessing collective intelligence: A business model for privacy on Mobile devices based on k-anonymity The biggest data sources being opened up today are: Government as a platform and the Smart Grid (See LTE and Smart Grids: A huge opportunity for Telecoms and the Cloud but with caveats for privacy ) And unless we are not careful .. We will risk giving control of Meta data to providers In itself that's not bad .. But certainly we need to raise awareness of the issues at stake Expect to see a lot more consumer benefit slogans re ownership of data etc etc .. Smartgrid news explains this as .. Google's reasons for launching PowerMeter are neither as altruistic as the company will imply, nor as nefarious as their competitors will claim. In the early days, Google will try to position this as a consumer benefit with slogans such as "consumers should own their own energy information." But Google will get push back from several groups. Consumer watchdogs will sound the alarm on privacy concerns and on Google as Big Brother. So, in my view - the (lack of) privacy is the dark side of Open. Image source: The Dark side of the Moon - By Pink Floyd. Not exactly related to the topic on hand except the name and that I like it :)

LTE and Smart Grids: A huge opportunity for Telecoms and the Cloud but with caveats for privacy

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 11:46:18 +0000

LTE and Smart Grids are a huge opportunity for Telecoms and the Cloud (but with caveats for privacy) While Telcos have historically rebelled against 'opening up', the US administration's emphasis on Open is creating huge opportunities for Telecoms and the Cloud Broadband stimulus grants are tied to net neutrality rules, which means networks have to allow users to connect any device to the network But this also leads to a huge opportunity because now Telecoms can extend their reach into the Smart Grid through MTM (machine to machine) applications which will generate a much higher number of network connections. These may have less ARPU (i.e. average revenue per user) but a greater number of actual connections with no need to subsidise devices. Hence, they could be profitable. A smart grid starts with a 'smart meter' which is capable of two way communications and lets the user and provider manage electricity consumption in a more granular way. If the customer's power consumption can be captured in a granular manner, the provider can offer specials/ discounts to the customer. The added potential of smart grids arises from knowing data trends and also extend power management to other devices. These synergies fit well into LTE and home gateways and this explains with LTE and also explains Verizon's emphasis on Ipv6 The Verizon Itron partnership is an example of such a service and this service will be a part of Verizon's LTE deployment in the 700 MHz band for M2M apps. The Zigbe alliance is also gaining traction as a result of this move by building wireless intelligence and capabilities into everyday devices and all this will lead to the 50 billion devices mark which suddenly does not sound so far away On the services side, initiatives like Microsoft Hohm are being deployed and even if a utility isn't a part of Hohm, users can enter data directly which means that they can get more benefits the more they contribute to it. Google power meter is a similar initiative from Google. The wider potential of this trend is discussed in an excellent article from Andrew Gesmer Energy Conservation From Zero to Sixty >>> One way to grasp what a transition to a Smart Grid can do for energy is by way of analogy: In many ways, the Smart Grid would be to the existing utility network what the Internet and the Web have become to the traditional telecommunications system. Before the Internet, that system was a privately owned, government regulated technology backbone that delivered and accepted a limited range of transmissions (largely voice and fax data) from homes and businesses that could create and accept those signals, and nothing more. In other words, although the network was smart, the nodes (us) were dumb. Today, of course, the telecommunications backbone comprises the connective tissue between that links an exploding cloud of very smart nodes that feed many data formats (voice, graphic, video) into the system in order to serve virtually all of society's needs, from supporting financial transactions to delivering content of all kinds to supporting global supply chains. Even a humble laptop can play a vital role in creating, managing and utilizing many of the most complex functions that the Internet now supports. The result is that the telecommunications system has become a vastly more valuable network than it ever was before -- not one, but several orders of magnitude more valuable and essential to the moment by moment existence and operation of society, commerce, science, education and government. To close the analogy, as every home WiFi enabled network can become an intelligent node in the global telecommunications network, so can the electrical system of every home or business become an intelligent, interactive node in the national electric grid network. Much as a home or business router can tie a host of two-way services and capabilities into the telephone and cable system, so can a home or business electrical network become an interactive part of the power grid in ways that can dramatically lower costs to the user and demand on utilities, thereby helping achieve all of the environmental, social, and national benefits noted above. <<< Thus, Smart grids, LTE and the Cloud are a huge opportunity for the industry - but the privacy concerns with sensor networks and the Cloud will play an important part here. Smartgrid news says .. Google's reasons for launching PowerMeter are neither as altruistic as the company will imply, nor as nefarious as their competitors will claim. In the early days, Google will try to position this as a consumer benefit with slogans such as "consumers should own their own energy information." But Google will get push back from several groups. Consumer watchdogs will sound the alarm on privacy concerns and on Google as Big Brother. In other words, if the Electricity grid becomes a 'platform' then we have the same issues and opportunities as the 'web as a platform'. The opportunity lies in creating new services through information technology - the risk lies in preventing an organization from harnessing our collective intelligence! PS: Privacy, sensor networks and mobility are related to my PhD research and I am happy to work with companies and providers in this space. Image source: http://www.usyscom.com/Portals/0/smartgrids.jpg

Carnival of the mobilists no 180 at m-trends blog

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:57:31 +0000

Carnival of the mobilists no 180 at m-trends blog Rudy probably resting after Mobile 2.0! /great job as usual.

Factors impacting smartphone market shares in 2009(and beyond)

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:58:14 +0000

@Tomi ahonen has a thread in forumoxford about the evolution of the smartphone market. Some excellent insights and here is my top factors that I think will impact the evolution of the smartphone market in the near future For starters, I am not clear what exactly is a 'smartphone'. Originally, with a Nokia hat on, it was S60 vs. S40 classification. Now it's more complex. - but even with that caveat and considering the iPhone as an example of a smartphone, here are the key factors that will impact the uptake of smarphones in my view 1) LTE deployment - Samsung and LG have learnt from working with the US market. US CDMA operators are deploying LTE more rapidly. Samsung and LG will benefit from that experience and could translate it to other markets 2) Will the open source trend on mobile device lead to more device manufacturers? Giving customers more choice? 3) Supply chain - In 2007 Nokia was the leading supply chain manufacturer for devices . Not so in 2009(its apple) Supply chain leadership is critical as this article explains 4) Will Android come up with really compelling devices? The ad model will have limited appeal and ultimately will need more in terms of the device 5) Will appstores and apps drive devices? This is critical. Will people buy apps first and then devices? We could extend the same argument to services in general 6) Will Nokia be a brand which shakeup the ecosystem(like the iPhone) 7) What will be the impact of smartphones in emerging markets like India? 8) Will phones continue to be subsidised? Will people pay more for phones when they have recently paid a full price (as happened with the iPhone) 9) The full impact of Microsoft on the smartphone market is still to be fully felt. Windows 7, Azure and Cloud computing in general has the potential to make a difference to the smartphone market by leveraging data in a cloud across the PC and the desktop 10) Will Operators continue to deploy a suite of phones for different customer segments or will they focus on a few phones? 11) Conversely will device manufacturers choose Operators (like the iPhone and the Palm PRE have done) instead of deploying across all Operators.

LTE focus event in Amsterdam ..

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 05:15:58 +0000

LTE focus in Amsterdam is an interesting, niche event which I will be speaking as a panel/analyst. Draft agenda below. Some interesting names and themes(spectrum, wimax etc). Should be interesting to attend and if you are attending we can meet LTE Focus Amsterdam, 10 September 2009 Draft Programme Track 1 The LTE business environment Chaired by Stephen Lowe, Digital Communications KTN and Chairman, Broadband Wireless Association 09:30 LTE Regulatory Challenges Val Jervis, Aegis Systems Ltd 09:55 Making the most of the LTE spectrum Nick Anderson, Technical Manager, Standards, IPWireless 10:20 The 3GPP standards roadmap Speaker TBA, 3GPP 10:45 Implications of the growth in complexity of the wireless ecosystem Moray Rumney, Lead Technologist, Agilent Technologies 11:10 COFFEE Track 2 Technology challenges for LTE 09:30 Migration to LTE and its cost-effective deployment Ljupco Jorguseski, TNO 09:55 Gathering intelligence in the LTE network Keith Cobler, Marketing Manager, Tektronix Communications 10:20 Study case WiMAX & LTE in Indonesia: convergence, cooperation or conflict Gunadi Dwi Hantoro, Telkom Indonesia 10:45 Cost-effectively increasing network efficiency and capacity Adrian Hall, Chief Marketing Officer, Bytemobile 11:10 COFFEE PLENARY SESSION Strategies for LTE deployment 11:30 OPERATOR KEYNOTE: Meeting the challenges of migration to LTE Speaker TBA 12:00 ANALYST PANEL SESSION: Strategies, opportunities and threats towards evolving LTE networks  Caroline Gabriel, Rethink Associates (Moderator)  Richard Kramer, Arete  Frank Bernhard, OMNI  Randall Schwartz, Wireless2020 13:00 LUNCH Track 1: Realising a profitable LTE network Chaired by Caroline Gabriel, Rethink Associates 14:15 The role of deep network sharing Hans Kuropatwa, Ventura (former CEO Telenor Sweden) 14:40 LTE: how to transform a promising technology into a real business Andrea Calcagno, CEO & EVP, WiTech 15:05 Maximizing services to ensure the lowest total cost of ownership for migration to LTE Bob Smith, Director Services Portfolio Development & Strategy, Motorola 15:30 COFFEE 15:50 Why LTE needs small cells Rupert Baines, VP Marketing, picoChip 16:15 Leveraging Wi-Fi in the LTE network Stephen Rayment, CTO, BelAir Networks 16:40 Building a 4G Wireless Ecosystem: The ng Connect Initiative's benefits for service provider partners Derek Kuhn, VP, Emerging Technology & Media, Alcatel-Lucent Track 2: Enabling technology for LTE Chair TBA 14:15 PANEL DISCUSSION: Chipsets and front ends for multi-standard wireless broadband integration  Raj Singh, President and CEO, Wavesat  Eran Eshed, VP of Business Development, Altair  Avi Sharon, Director of LTE Marketing, Comsys Mobile  Ebrahim Bushieri, CEO, Lime Microsystems 15:05 The role of microwave packet radio in the evolution to 4G mobile networks Giacomo Mirelli, Director, Optics CTO for Mobile Evolution Transport Architecture, Alcatel-Lucent 15:30 COFFEE 15:50 Bringing LTE to life: Field trials and deployment scenarios Alexander Wörner, Operational Marketing Manager, Rohde and Schwarz 16:15 LTE transmitter PHY measurements in the field Andy Standen, Product Manager, Anritsu 16:40 Speaker TBA 17:05 Conference ends

Excellent paper - The Economics of Privacy in Social Networks

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:39:58 +0000

Dont miss this: The Economics of Privacy in Social Networks This is a PhD interest for me .. so some of it a bit technical and analytical but overall there is something for everyone even if you dont like the data analysis .. Must read ..

Privacy seems to be the main differentiator for sense networks and I like that ..

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:53:23 +0000

Thanks to @FredMartinent for pointing me to sense networks. When I first saw Sense networks, I thought that it is similar to Google Location aware applications But then I noticed the privacy principles of sense networks and their emphasis on ownership of data Privacy seems to be the main differentiator for sense networks and I like that .. I highlighted a growing value of privacy in the blog Of Opera Unite, Femtocells Mickey Mouse and the Art of war ... Empowering the user could be a good business model As RFID and NFC get deployed in mobile devices, this model will become even more interesting As I mentioned, it is also a PhD research interest for me.. so maybe more blogs on this topic

Update this is an excellent link

Dont miss Some of it may be a bit too research oriented, but the ideas are excellent. The Economics of Privacy in Social Networks

N97 on Skype - Three questions to Three before I upgrade ..

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:05:33 +0000

N97 - skype priceplans are out Three key questions for three re the N97 a) It has address book integration with skype? yes? b) Does it allow SMS messages from Skype? ex: I can use skype to send a text message to most countries. Can I do so from the N97(including within the UK) c) Does it allow skypeout? ex - I am in switzerland. I want to make a call from skype to USA. (thats skypeout). Is that possible? Presumably if (b) and (c) are possible I pay skype rates(since I use my skype account) If so, then do I pay anything extra?

Seeking beta launch members for Mobile World Live

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:49:35 +0000

Mobile World Live contacted me about their beta launch(full launch in July). I know the people behind this venture and trust them and I have no hesitation in recommending them. I may also be contributing to this site Would be great if you can sign up to this Mobile World Live

Michael Jackson's death and the problem of contextual advertising ..

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:46:42 +0000

The above screenshot comes from a footage of Michael Jackson's death as he was being rushed to hospital from his home. Against this sad news is the surreal advertising of 'Great seats for Michael Jackson at O2 Arena' You could call such advertising bizarre or callous or sad or stupid.. But it reveals a larger problem which advertisers never acknowledge .. That it is simply not possible to capture context accurately and dynamically A lesson for so many in the mobile industry who strive to capture context with the goal of monetizing it from advertisements. While advertisers may want to make us believe otherwise .. The world does not need such advertisements and no one REALLY knows the context in real time! PS: This is very sad news. I grew up in India where Micheal Jackson was (and is) very popular. This was very unexpected.

Update

As we see large parts of the world unite to pay tribute to Michael Jackson, it is apt to read the news of the world's oldest musical instrument (35,000 years ago) Makes you think .. we see the same beliefs from 35,000 years ago even today "Music was used in many kinds of social contexts: possibly religious, possibly recreational - much like we use music today in many kinds of settings." These flutes provide yet more evidence of the sophistication of the people that lived at that time Professor Chris Stringer The researchers also suggest that not only was music widespread much earlier than previously thought, but so was humanity's creative spirit. "The modern humans that came into our area already had a whole range of symbolic artifacts, figurative art, depictions of mythological creatures, many kinds of personal ornaments and also a well-developed musical tradition," Professor Conard explained. The team argues that the emergence of art and culture so early might explain why early modern humans survived and Neanderthals, with whom they co-existed at the time, became extinct. "Music could have contributed to the maintenance of larger social networks, and thereby perhaps have helped facilitate the demographic and territorial expansion of modern humans relative to a culturally more conservative and demographically more isolated Neanderthal populations," they wrote.

50 Disruptive trends I am tracking at the moment ..

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 06:46:46 +0000

These are the disruptive developments I am tracking(In no particular order!). These are mainly 'cross stack' and they range from companies (Skype) to specific products(Palm Pre) to specifics(Android based netbooks). They dont include general themes like 'Open' and the 'Mobile Web' which I have historically tracked through this blog and my books Can you suggest more? Am I missing any? 1) Can device mnufacturers who have no previous history be at an advantage?(Ex Palm v.s. Nokia) 2) How many appstores will an operator support? 3) How will Operators try to influence appstores?(ex provide APIs to specific appstores?, to specific APPs within the appstores etc?) 4) Will RCS have a role to play in LTE?(ex in managing a session that spans cellular and femto?) 5) Verizon is mandating Ipv6 - what are the implications? 6) What does Intel's acquisition of wind river mean? 7) What does Intel's emphasis on 3D mean? 8) What is the implication for video for Cisco's acquisition of pure digital? http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2009/mar/20/digitalvideo-apple 9) Facebook user names and verified twitter accounts are defacto identity systems. Through facebook connect - it is already possible for iPhone apps to have a facebook identity. Will this trend be extended? 10) Qualcomm talks of Smartbook (sub-notebooks which are connected and have a high battery life). This is a new category. Will we see more of this? 11) What about Android netbooks?(ex from Acer) 12) What innovation can emerge from emerging markets and could be deployed globally? http://www.fastcompany.com/fast50_09/lists/the-most-innovative-companies-in-india.html http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/133/as-the-world-turns.html 13) Operators will find it difficult to charge for IP. But will they be able to charge for a different format(ex 3D) which will need some greater IP management? 14) Will we see an EU/Japan cloud? http://news.cnet.com/8301-13846_3-10241081-62.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 15) Will smaller operators behave differently in a recession? Will they want to differentiate and innovate more? 16) IBM's 100million $ investment in mobile and what it means 17) The rise of Huawei 18) Opera Unite 19) Google Wave 20) Augmented reality browsers 21) Mobile payments http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10265243-36.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 22) Verizon's cloud computing ambitions 23) Microblog search http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10264633-2.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 24) Browser extensions http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10263598-16.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 25) Will Flash be used as an 'anti' iPhone? 26) The impact of Intel Wind river acquisition 27) The impact of the Intel-Nokia partnership 28) Microsoft Hohm - Google power meter etc http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/hohm_microsofts_answer_to_googles_powermeter.php 29) Palm Pre 30) Microsoft Cloud strategy and Azure 31) The tendency towards 'Green' phones and will that be a growing trend 32) The death of the feature phone market and the emergence of the smart phone market especially in emerging economies 33) Will smaller Operators and a consortium of smaller Operators act different? Ie be more innovative? 34) How many Operators will leapfrog to LTE? 35) The tendency of CDMA Operators to adopt LTE 36) Appstores 37) Microsoft Bing 38) HTML5 39) Opensorce uptake within micosoft 40) Femtocells 41) Google Flipper 42) VOLGA 43) Twitter search and APIs 44) Intel ATOM 45) Google voice 46) Skype 47) OMTP BONDI 48) Privacy, Identity and Reputation(PhD interest) The dark side of open: (lack of) Privacy 49) Nokia 50) Integrated design(beyond the UI - http://opengardensblog.futuretext.com/archives/2009/05/the_myth_of_mob.html) 51) (Future and impact of) Internet of things. Thanks @Enrique Ortiz 52) Regional trends Thanks @Tomiahonen m-wallets/m-payments in Africa(ex MPESA), MVNOs(in some markets), Dual-SIM phones, machine to machine communications 53) Ribbit and Google Voice http://radar.oreilly.com/2009/06/silicon-valleys-first-phone-co.html 54) Smart grids and LTE LTE and Smart Grids: A huge opportunity for Telecoms and the Cloud but with caveats for privacy

Of Opera Unite, Femtocells Mickey Mouse and the Art of war ...

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 21:34:06 +0000

Update

You can follow me on Twitter @AjitJaokar a) Many thanks for the comments and feedback on this article. This is a conceptual article - hence the ideas are more a Gedankenexperiment(Thought experiment) as I often do on the OpenGardens blog b) UPDATE ON OPERA STATS >>>> This may need a seperate blog .. but it seems Opera browser figures are a lot higher especially considering the global perspective The newest State of the Mobile Web report: from Opera Q1 report from Opera (slides 4, 19, 34): StatCounter numbers: I will probably do a seperate blog on this.. <<<< c) I have been historically supportive of Opera's innovation in the mobile space such as with Mobile Widgets but not of it's stand in the EU over Web standards Microsoft vs. the EU: Can we legislate to force a company to use Web standards .. d) Having said that, Opera Unite is true innovation and should be encouraged since it could be disruptive(like any peer to peer service) and needs radical thinking e) In general, I am NOT a big fan of bearer aware applications, differential charging of IP, tying services to network types etc. However, I AM a big believer in femtocells and their potential for Operators because femtocells benefit the customer - and in doing so, if femtocells are adopted widely - could also be used for unique services which are bearer aware(ie tied to femtocells/home gateways. These will benefit the Operator. As a general theme, bearer aware mobile applications are still emerging f) While I use Google as an example(since it is often a real question Operators ask - even if it is framed in context of the 'Web'), the concept is generic to web search as it works today. g) Every new computing paradigm has a new market leader because the strengths of the existing one are tied to the current paradigm

Introduction

Last week, Opera unite was launched. The pre-announcement said that 'Opera will re-invent the Web'. A statement like that makes you sceptical, but in this case - from an innovation perspective, we were not disappointed. Opera Unite is significant and Opera deserves kudos for taking a truly innovative step even within a recession. The basics of Opera Unite have already been discussed before- but not how it could be used. Hence, I will cover a potential application of Opera Unite as I see it. Opera Unite is a classic disruptive application (in the tradition of crossing the chasm by Geoffrey Moore ) which says that a new class of customer will often take up a disruptive application and will sustain it till it potentially becomes mainstream. The attempt here is to find that new class of application/user. Specifically, I am going to co-relate P2P with the network/femtocell layer(i.e. a bearer aware peer-to-peer service) and in doing so - I see a potential reason for converged network Operators to consider Opera Unite. The intersection of Privacy,P2P, mobility/convergence is of research interest to me with my PhD work - hence I am interested in this topic from a broader perspective(and also this article will refer to some research papers). As I see it, there are two (sometimes contradictory) trends: On one level, we want to put information in the Cloud. At another level, we want some privacy for our data. We want to be 'Open' but we also worry about the power of providers to 'harness' the metadata and to co-relate data elements for 'advertising' and behavioural targeting. Couple this with developments on the network layer where networks are evolving 'beyond 3G' to LTE and we could have interesting applications. (Femtocells/ home gateways are an important part of LTE). Increasingly, we are seeing bearer aware applications i.e. services which will be able to leverage the power of the underlying network. Rather than trying to consider universal convergence, network operators may consider convergence between the 'home' (through home gateways and femtocells) and 'outside the home' (through the cellular network) Consequently, Opera unite could co-relate these network layer developments to the service layer through P2P and at the same time mitigate the privacy concerns of people

What is Opera Unite

Opera Unite transforms the browser into a server and it makes your browser a potential node in a peer-to-peer network. Thus, any content can be posted on your Opera Unite instance and it becomes available to others within the network. Peer to Peer is opposite to the 'Cloud' philosophy. Peer-to-peer (P2P) networking is a method of delivering computer network services in which the participants share a portion of their own resources, such as processing power, disk storage, network bandwidth, printing facilities. Such resources are provided directly to other participants without intermediary network hosts or servers. Peer-to-peer network participants are providers and consumers of network services simultaneously, which contrasts with other service models, such as traditional client-server computing. The Web (in it's original Tim Berners Lee version) was always meant to be a 'Network of peers' the 'Client server' paradigm was added later since it made practical sense from an implementation standpoint. Thus, a return to a Peer to Peer mode would be indeed 're-inventing' the Web and bringing it to its grassroots. Centralization overcomes two problems of Peer to Peer: Availability and security. Availability implies that the content is accessible only as long as your node is on - and when your computer is shut down, the content disappears from the network as well. Hence, centralization was needed to overcome these issues. However, with centralization came the issues of data ownership and unintended use of data. By extension, decentralised Online social networks(Peer to Peer) could offer a solution to the problem by bypassing the current client server paradigm of the Web.

Who could use this and why?

Who could use Peer to Peer and why? Mobile network Operators are paranoid of Google.. and about a year ago when an Operator asked me the question: 'How can we(Operators) overcome the Google threat?' - I mentioned that Peer-to-Peer is a potential solution. Specifically as I said then in P2P may be Google's biggest weakness and an Operator's biggest asset: >>> And what has this(Peer-to-Peer) got to do with the Web and Google? Think server farms .. Google is client server .. It has to be .. if it needs to store, manage and index the Web. Indexing the Web, as we know it, has to be centralised .. Consequently, if a decentralised - P2P architecture takes off - then Google cannot match it because it is not in Google's DNA to do so(just as the Web was never in Micosoft's DNA) .. And furthermore .. it will be a service which people will want(Doubt that? - My Skype account shows 8,663,106 online at the moment!) This is classic Sun Tzu .. Unfortunately, more strategies are driven by Mickey Mouse than by Sun Tzu .. And I mean that quite literally .. in the sense that it is driven by the content industry aka the Disney's and the Warners of the world. The telecoms industry sadly does not realise that it is in the communication business - and not the content business. <<< So, if an Operator were to really think like Sun Tzu(strategic and disruptive) as per the ancient Chinese classic Art of War and not worry about Mickey Mouse(the content industry) - they could have a unique competitive advantage

LTE - femtocells, bearer aware applications and P2P

Much has happened since I made that comment in late 2007 Firstly, there is a clear move towards LTE and specifically femtocells I have been following bearer aware femtocell applications for some time. and as I said in Femtocell(bearer) aware web services >>>> My overall vision is: It is hard to sell capabilities of networks themselves(or for that matter to charge for networks). However, Operators can sell services. Customers understand services. They are used to paying for them. The basic version of the service could be free followed by some premium features. From a mobile perspective, services could be: a) Long tail i.e. completely decoupled from the device or the network(this is mainly in appstores) b) Coupled to the device - ex deep integration of a web service to the device(ex address book integration of facebook(INQ1) or Skype(N97) c) Coupled to the network Learning from Amazon (and the Web 2.0 in general), the more the customer interacts with the provider, the better the service could be because the provider captures insights and preferences from the customer and can use them to enhance the service. I have covered (a) and (b) extensively before. There were not many examples of (c) i.e. services coupled to networks. In one sense, services should not be coupled to networks. However, femtocells could provide an exception to this model by creating services which could be useful to the customer. From an Operator standpoint, they provide an opportunity for customers to stay on their network longer and to provide services that can be improved by usage. <<<<

The co-relation

a) Femtocells/home gateways couple services to the network b) Such services empower the user by making applications and meta-data resident in the home gateway(and with the Operator) c) Opera unite also empowers the user by being 'anti-cloud' d) The femtocell applications need a service layer which could be provided by Opera unite.

The privacy paradox

Anyone who researches privacy knows of the privacy paradox l aka while we are concerned about privacy - our behaviour does not reflect that trend(including mine I must admit). For instance, A Pew Internet Study from 2005 showed that 54% believe that Web sites that track their behaviour invade their privacy. But the same study showed that 64% would give up personal information to get access to a Web site. In other words as the Forbes article says: Users talk the talk about privacy, but they don't change their behaviour. Privacy alone is not enough .. We need more. So, bearer aware services could provide more especially if you extend the 'home gateway' to devices .. Probably a topic for a subsequent blog i.e. I am saying that the home gateway/femtocell may capture a lot of data about devices at home and users will be DEFINITELY very reluctant to let that data fall into the hands of search engines

To conclude

I make the co-relation between LTE/femtocells and Opera Unite where I propose that a Peer-to-Peer network is philosophically compatible with femtocells and home gateways. Both of which could potentially empower the user and a bearer aware P2P application may be a unique competitive advantage to a Telecom Operator in an converged LTE scenario Update: See this blog from Martin Sauter which also explains the same concept Opera Unite and the Anti-Cloud Image source: wikipedia he beginning of The Art of War, in a "classical" bamboo book from the reign of the Qianlong Emperor.

Latest phones/devices roadmap sites - device announcemenets

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 07:16:55 +0000

I asked this question at forumoxford - What is the best place(places) to track new devicesroadmaps of devices I got the following responses to find best places to know about new/upcoming phones www.phonescoop.com http://www.reghardware.co.uk/ http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/0,139102091,1,00.htm www.engadget.com mobileburn.com gsmarena.com mobilecrunch.com phonearena.com http://www.cellular-news.com/archive/Handsets.php http://wwww.gizmodo.com/ http://www.gsacom.com/ also thanks to @chetanSharma @telhajomar Moray Rumney(Agilent)

Layar - an augmented reality browser launches ..

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 21:42:21 +0000

Twice in a row (after Opera Unite) today we see cool developments for the browser. Layar - an augmented reality browser launches today. Claire, Raimo and Maarten founders of SPRXmobile are good friends since I spoke at MoMo Amsterdam last year and its great to see this(and also a European company launch such a cutting edge product) Great stuff guys and keep up the good work. Web site for Layar augmented reality browswer from their Press release - it's cool stuff :) The first mobile Augmented Reality browser premiers in the Netherlands How it works Layar is derived from location based services and works on mobile phones that include a camera, GPS and a compass. Layar is first avaliable for handsets with the Android operating system (the G1 and HTC Magic). It works as follows: Starting up the Layar application automatically activates the camera. The embedded GPS automatically knows the location of the phone and the compass determines in which direction the phone is facing. Each partner provides a set of location coordinates with relevant information which forms a digital layer. By tapping the side of the screen the user easily switches between layers. This makes Layar a new type of browser which combines digital and reality, which offers an augmented view of the world. Dutch launch The premier launch is for the Dutch market. Launching content partners are ING (ATM's), Funda (houses for sale), Hyves (social network hot spots) Tempo-team (jobs) and Zekur.nl (healthcare providers). Layar will be launched per country with local content partners in order to guarantee relevent results for the end user. SPRXmobile is planning further roll-outs, together with local partners, in Germany, the UK and the United States this year. SPRXmobile wil continue with regular releases of new layers after each local launch. The Layar application will be available via the Android Market. Other handsets and operating systems are in development with a prime focus on the iPhone 3G S.

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Layar - an augmented reality browser launches ..