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11/16 WEBINAR: Delivering the 'Optimal Mobile Backhaul' Experience

2011-11-08T08:29:00.000-08:00

Delivering the 'optimal mobile backhaul' experience
Wednesday November, 16, 2011 11:00 AM ET/ 8:00 AM PT
The insatiable demand for network bandwidth by today's smart phone users is driving telecom operators to increasingly deploy IP-based backhaul networks. In order to deliver the most optimal subscriber experience, equipment manufacturers and network architects must judiciously select the most suitable packet-based technologies and physical media for different network segments. But migrating today's networks, that implement multiple technologies (Ethernet, SDH/SONET, DSL, Microwave, and traditional E1/T1), to a high performance packet backhaul architecture becomes increasingly complex. Further, successfully delivering TDM-like performance on end-to-end IP-based backhaul networks presents a new set of challenges.

In this webinar, experts from Aricent will identify operator requirements and discuss the various technology options available for migrating to a packet-based network. They will investigate the latest developments in IEEE 1588, Protection Switching, and more, that make technologies like packet microwave and MPLS-TP even stronger candidates to address the metro and core networking requirements. The speakers will discuss the best possible backhaul solutions to address consumer demand that ranges from sparsely populated remote/rural areas to densely populated urban areas. They will also highlight how Aricent's industry leading ISS has evolved to become the platform of choice for delivering high performance IP backhaul solutions.

What Attendees will learn:

What packet-based backhaul technology solutions are available to deliver high performance mobile broadband solutions
How technologies like packet microwave and MPLS-TP can address today's metro and core network challenges
How to choose the best option to address the IP-backhaul requirements
How to deliver TDM-like performance on an IP-backhaul network

Who Should attend:

Product line managers
Product marketing managers
Technology consultants
Software engineers
Hardware engineers
Network architects

Presenters:

Rajesh Kumar Sundararajan
Assistant Vice President, Product Management, Aricent

Rajesh Kumar Sundararajan is the Assistant Vice President for Data Communication products at Aricent, focusing on routing and switching solutions including Aricent's widely deployed Intelligent Switching Solution (ISS). He has over 16 years of industry experience in strategizing, managing and developing software for communications and network applications across multiple technologies which include ATM, LAN switching, Carrier and Metro Ethernet. He holds a bachelor's in electrical engineering from Bangalore University, India and a master's in telecommunications systems engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India.

Rajkumar Paulraj
Director, Technology, Aricent

Rajkumar Paulraj is the Technology Director for Data Communication products at Aricent, focusing on routing and switching solutions including Aricent's widely deployed Intelligent Switching Solution (ISS). He has over 15 years of industry experience in architecting, designing, and implementing routing and switching products for enterprise, mobile backhaul, broadband, and datacenter markets. He holds a bachelor's in computer science from NIT, Trichy and a master's in computer science from Texas A&M University, College Station, USA.

Peter Bernstein
Senior Editor, TMCnet

Peter Bernstein is a seasoned writer and professional with deep experience in the communications and IT industries. As a top-level industry analyst, Peter has keynoted major technology events and has been cited numerous times by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, Business Week, Fortune Magazine, ComputerWorld, NetworkWorld, Communications Week, among other publications.

Bernstein has authored or co-authored market research studies, CEO speeches, white papers, articles, and other content for major companies in the technology markets. His experience includes work with Alcatel-Lucent, Avaya, Equant, France Telecom, HP, Siemens, Verizon, Nortel, Wave Systems, and many more. He held the position of director of global marketing and communications at Telcordia.

Sponsors:

THURSDAY: Analyzing the Economics of Cloud Computing In Contact Centers

2011-11-08T08:28:00.001-08:00

Analyzing the Economics of Cloud Computing
In Contact Centers
Thursday November 10, 2011 1:00 PM ET 10:00 AM PT

Cloud computing solutions continue to gain adoption in contact centers of all sizes. As more companies evaluate these solutions as a realistic alternative to a premise-based solution, it is logical to develop a financial comparison to aid in the decision process. Because of the difference in the licensing and capital investments of these models, many companies still struggle on how to develop a true economic comparison.

In this webinar, featured industry expert Drew Kraus, Research Vice President, Worldwide Enterprise Communications Applications, Gartner, and Ken Osborn, Vice President Marketing, Five9 will discuss some of the key considerations for creating a Total Cost of Ownership comparison.

What Attendees Will Learn

	What criteria their peers are using to evaluate new contact center solutions
	What benefits cloud-based contact center solutions are delivering to businesses of all sizes
	How to quantify the benefits of a cloud-based contact center software
	How to leverage existing investments in technology

Who Should Attend

	Contact Center leaders looking to improve their overall business metrics
	Company leaders evaluating new contact center solutions
	Contact Center Managers looking to develop a Total Cost of Ownership model

Presenters:

Ken Osborn

Vice President Marketing Five9

Ken is responsible for all facets of marketing at Five9, including demand generation, product marketing, marketing communications, and public relations. He has more than fifteen years of experience in cloud computing, CRM and Enterprise software. Ken was previously at salesforce.com, where he led marketing efforts for the Service Cloud, the next billion dollar product line for salesforce.com, substantially growing the market awareness of the advantages of cloud computing for Customer Service and Support organizations. Ken also spent a number of years at SAP in Product Marketing and Product Management leadership roles, working on flagship products such as Business ByDesign and CRM. He holds a BSME from the University of Vermont.

Drew Kraus
Research Vice President, Worldwide Enterprise Communications Applications Gartner
Drew Kraus is a research vice president for the worldwide enterprise communications applications team of Gartner's Technology & Service Provider Research group. His research covers contact centers, unified communications, and various contact center and converged technologies. Before joining Gartner, Mr. Kraus spent more than 10 years in marketing voice-related technologies, focusing on market analysis and competitive positioning. His experience includes positions at Aspect Telecommunications and Octel Communications.
	Moderator:

Chris DiMarco

Web Editor, TMCnet

Chris DiMarco is a Web Editor for TMCnet. He holds a master's degree in journalism from Quinnipiac University. Prior to joining TMC Chris worked with e-commerce provider Suresource as a contact center representative and development analyst..

Sponsors:

Google Chairman Eric tells US senators Apple's Siri could pose 'competitive threat'

2011-11-06T21:16:00.001-08:00

Eric Schmidt, Google's chairman and former chief executive, admitted to the U.S. Senate antitrust subcommittee that Apple's new Siri personal assistant technology is a "significant development" in search and could pose a threat to his company's core business.

The comments came in the form of a statement to the subcommittee in response to questions from the senators after a hearing in September, as noted by Neowin.net. Schmidt's remarks, however, may be best taken with a grain of salt, as letter's objective is clearly to downplay Google's prominence, while highlighting its competitors.

The executive took special care to call out Siri as a new development that might supplant Google's search engine.

"Even in the few weeks since the hearing, Apple has launched an entirely new approach to search technology with Siri, its voice-activated search and task-completion service built into the iPhone 4S," he wrote.

Schmidt even went so far as to cite two publications for calling Siri a "Google killer" and Apple's "entry point" into the search engine business.

In the letter, Schmidt backpedaled from a previous statement in September 2010 where he had denied that Apple and Facebook were a "competitive threat."

"My statement was clearly wrong," he said. "Apple’s Siri is a significant development—a voice-activated means of accessing answers through iPhones that demonstrates the innovations in search."

"Google has many strong competitors and we sometimes fail to anticipate the competitive threat posed by new methods of accessing information," Schmidt added, noting that Google competes against search engines (Microsoft's Bing, Yahoo!), specialized search engines (Kayak, Amazon, WebMD, eBay), social networks (Facebook, Twitter), commercial software companies (Apple, Microsoft), mobile apps and direct navigation.

Apple unveiled Siri in October as a prominent new feature of the iPhone 4S. The software, which Apple originally purchased in 2010, is currently in beta, though, and has experienced some embarrassing outages in the first weeks of usage.

In what could be considered a confusing mixed message from Google executives, Android chief Andy Rubin dismissed Siri last month. He said he doesn't believe that phones should be assistants and doubted whether people should communicate with their phones.

To the disappointment of those who readily declare Android as a dominant winner, Schmidt denied in his letter that Google has a "dominant position in the smartphone market." He cited a recent study from research group comScore as saying that "Android operates on only 34.1 percent while Apple’s iOS runs on 43.1 percent."

In fact, his comment is misleading, as comScore's figures relate to the whole mobile and connected device market. The actual report noted that Android does have the highest share in the smartphone market, with 43.7 percent in August. That difference is largely due to the fact that Apple has an unchallenged lead in the tablet market, as Android tablets have failed to gain much traction.

Schmidt also downplayed Google's role in the search engine market, instead attributing it to hard work and luck.

"I would disagree that Google is dominant," he said after senators asserted that Google is approaching a monopoly. "By investing smartly, hiring extremely talented engineers, and working very, very hard (and with some good luck), Google has been blessed with a great deal of success."

For their part, senators maintain that Google's 65 percent market share of all U.S. Internet searches, 94 percent share of the European market, and 97 percent share of all smartphone searches give it substantial market power that approaches a monopoly.

Microsoft puts up big Windows Phone display in New York City

2011-11-06T21:15:00.001-08:00

For weeks, Microsoft has been touting some "big" events in New York City happening Monday.
The invitation, sent to press, includes a "backstage" event featuring Windows Phone President Andy Lees and Joe Belfiore, corporate vice president for Windows Phone program management. Then there's a public event at noon (Eastern time, 9 a.m. Seattle time) at NYC's Herald Square.
Apparently, at least part of what will be happening is the unveiling of a giant Windows Phone display near Macy's in Herald Square. WinRumors has a report, as well as photos of the display -- both covered and uncovered (from a Neowin member).
Microsoft has not said what it will be announcing at these events, though the expectation is it will be presenting the new Windows Phone 7.5 "Mango" handsets that have just hit U.S. store shelves. There's speculation, as well, that Microsoft will be announcing the price and availability in the U.S. of the HTC Titan, the big (that word again) 4.7-inch handset running Windows Phone Mango.
Microsoft, which currently holds about 2 percent of the global smartphone market and less than 6 percent of the U.S. market, has been pushing lately to make more people aware of Windows Phone. It's been holding Windows Phone parties featuring indie bands and Windows Phone Inner Circle events, where company reps provide hands-on opportunities with handsets. A Seattle Inner Circle event is scheduled for Nov. 21 at Pnk Ultra Lounge.

List of free Prime eligible Kindle e-books

2011-11-06T21:13:00.000-08:00

Prime members can now borrow certain e-books for free (one a month).

(Credit: Amazon)

There's now an easy way to see the full list of free e-book titles available to Kindle owners with Amazon Prime.
In case you missed it, Amazon recently launched the Kindle Owners' Lending Library, which allows Amazon Prime members to check out up to one e-book a month for free with no due date.
The only problem is that it wasn't so easy to find all the more than 5,000 titles in the Kindle Store that qualify for free borrowing. However, as one might expect, a somewhat helpful link has cropped up in the blogosphere.
Click on this link to get to the list.
The shortcut comes courtesy of Publishers Marketplace Automat, which I found via a Pubisher's Lunch tweet yesterday.
Curiously, the Publishers Marketplace Automat link misstates the number of titles--it says it "[l]ets You Browse 2,700 Prime Lending Titles Right On Their Site," when the actual number is currently showing as 5,377. Their Amazon link also directs you to the list of print books that are eligible for free Prime shipment--you need to click on the Kindle-specific link that I supplied above.
The default sort on the list is by popularity, but you can use the genre list on the left-hand side to filter accordingly.
It's important to remember that Prime-eligible loaners can only be read on Kindle hardware devices--you can't read them with Kindle apps on devices such as the iPad or Android smartphones and tablets, nor can you read them on your computer in the browser-based Kindle Cloud Reader. Likewise, you can't "send" loaners to Kindle devices from your Web browser, as you can with e-book purchases; you'll have to look up the book on the Kindle itself to download it.
That said, the link lets you browse Prime-eligible titles, so you can be sure that you won't be buying (or wish-listing) a title that you can otherwise read for free.
In other Kindle Owners' Lending Library news, not everybody is happy about Amazon's latest move. As expected, there's been some chatter from wary publishers as well as agents and authors wondering how authors will be properly compensated.
The compensation issue is full of questions because it's currently unclear how Amazon is stocking the titles in its Lending Library. Paid Content reports that Amazon is paying a lump sum to publishers that agreed to be part of the new program. But in other cases--according to Publishers Marketplace (registration required for full article)--Amazon isn't asking for consent and is simply paying the wholesale rate for the "free" book (about 50 percent off the list price) and taking the loss. (CNET hasn't independently verified any of the publishers' deals--or lack thereof--with Amazon Prime.) As this is new territory for publishers, it's unclear how all this plays out with authors' contracts.
In the meantime, though, it makes that $79 that many of us spend on Amazon Prime membership a better and better deal.

Quick Takes: Steve Jobs' bio tops sales charts

2011-11-06T21:10:00.000-08:00

Walter Isaacson's biography of Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs leaped to the top of bestseller lists in its first week in book stores, flying off shelves to the tune of 379,000 copies, according to Nielsen's BookScan.
"Steve Jobs," which came out on Oct. 24 from publisher Simon & Schuster, sold three times more copies than the next-bestselling book, John Grisham's "The Litigators."
In its first week alone the book became one of the year's 20 bestsellers.
It has been a year since any book has sold more copies in its first week. Both former President George W. Bush's autobiography, "Decision Points," and Jeff Kinney's "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth," sold more than 400,000 copies in their first week last November.
—reuters
Urban to have throat surgery
Keith Urban will undergo throat surgery this month to remove a polyp on his vocal chord, a spokesman for the country singer said.
Publicist Paul Freundlich said the surgery is a minor outpatient procedure. It will require complete vocal rest followed by an indefinite period of recuperation.
Urban has postponed his Jan. 18 "All For the Hall" concert to benefit the Country Music Hall of Fame and is substantially scaling back appearances that require him to sing multiple songs. They will be rescheduled in 2012.
—Associated Press
Painting with Nazi ties seized
U.S. authorities on Friday seized a nearly 500-year-old Italian painting that has been on display at a Florida museum, saying it was stolen by the Nazis from a Jewish family during World War II and should be returned to the family's heirs.
U.S. Atty. Pamela Marsh announced Friday that the federal government will hold on to the painting until a federal judge can determine the rightful owners.
The painting, "Christ Carrying the Cross Dragged by a Rogue" by Girolamo Romano, was one of 50 lent to the Mary Brogan Museum of Art & Science in Tallahassee by a Milan museum for an exhibit that closed earlier this year.
—Associated Press
Met conductor is sidelined
James Levine has canceled conducting the Metropolitan Opera's new production of Wagner's "Goetterdaemmerung" and is in danger of missing an entire season at the company for the first time since he made his debut in 1971.
The Met said Friday that new principal conductor Fabio Luisi will replace Levine in the final installment of Robert Lepage's staging of the Ring Cycle, which opens Jan. 27. Luisi also will replace Levine in an orchestra concert at Carnegie Hall on Jan. 15.
The 67-year-old Levine, who made his Met debut in June 1971, has led the most performances of any conductor in the company's history (2,442) but has not appeared since May 14, the final day of last season.
He canceled his participation in a tour of Japan that had been scheduled
to mark his 40th anniversary with the Met, and he
had operations to address spinal stenosis on May 31 and July 20.
He had another surgery on Sept. 1 after falling and damaging a vertebrae.
"He's feeling good. He's in rehab, and he continues to make improvements. He agrees and feels strongly that he wouldn't want to return until he's fully recovered," Met general manager Peter Gelb said in an interview. "I know that his doctors are optimistic that he will be able to eventually return, but there is no specific timetable."
—Associated Press
Lip syncing on 'X Factor'
Is "The X Factor" really about finding the next great Milli Vanilli? Simon Cowell's flashy singing competition series is catching some heat for lip syncing.
The scrutiny came after Thursday's episode when contestant Leroy Bell was heard singing before the microphone reached his mouth during an opening group medley.
An "X Factor" spokesperson said that such a practice is a common occurrence with ensemble performances.
"All survival songs are performed live, with just a backing track," the spokesperson said. "For the group ensemble performance, the vocals are prerecorded to allow acts to concentrate on preparing for their own live competitive performances on Wednesdays."
"American Idol" has also copped to using recorded vocals for group numbers.
—Yvonne Villarreal
N.Y. event raises money for AIDS
The annual Black Ball benefit concert in New York raised more than $3 million for children and families in Africa and India who are affected by HIV/AIDS.
The eighth Keep a Child Alive event included performances by Black Ball co-founder Alicia Keys and guests Usher, Norah Jones, will.i.am and others singing songs by former Beatle George Harrison, who was saluted on the 40th anniversary of the Concert for Bangladesh, the first rock music superstar benefit concert.

AT&T dials Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket, HTC Vivid LTE phones

2011-11-06T21:07:00.000-08:00

AT&T Inc. this week released the first LTE capable smartphones for AT&T customers nationwide.
Devices include HTC Corp.’s HTC Vivid and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.’s Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket.
The HTC Vivid includes a 4.5-inch qHD display, 1.2Ghz Dual-Core CPU, 8MP camera with 1080p video recording at 60 frames-per-second, 16GB memory, and Google Inc.’s Android OS with HTC Sense at $199.99 with two-year contract.
The Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket includes a 4.5-inch SuperAMOLED Plus display, 1.5Ghz Dual-Core CPU, 8MP camera, 2MP front-facing camera, 1080p HD recording, 16GB memory, and Google Inc.’s Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread OS at $249.99 with two-year contract.
4G LTE service launched Nov. 6 in Boston, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Athens, Ga. It plans to reach 15 markets and 70 million Americans by the end of 2011.
AT&T in Oct. said it will release five new smartphones that include Google Inc.’s Android OS.
New devices include Motorola Mobility Inc.’s Atrix 2, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.’s Captivate Glide and Doubletime, Pantech Curitel’s Pantech Pocket, and ZTE Corp.’s AT&T Avail.
AT&T Oct. 14 began sale of Apple Inc.’s iPhone 4S.
It currently holds 96 million subscribers in the U.S.

Not a CEO's Toy Anymore: Video Conferencing for every Organization

2011-11-02T22:27:00.001-07:00

Not a CEO's Toy Anymore:
Video Conferencing for every Organization
Tuesday November 29th, 2011 TIME: 2:00 PM ET/ 11:00 AM PT

With the wide adoption of front facing cameras on tablets, smart phones and laptops by consumers, video communication is becoming a standard for communication. Organizations of all sizes today need to take advantage of this growing trend which can significantly cut costs and increase productivity. To provide high quality, interoperable video communication in the enterprise is still perceived as a high cost, complex endeavor.

Join us as we unravel video conferencing for organization of every size and provide information on how to deploy, integrate and overcome video communication challenges today!

What Attendees will learn:

The video conferencing ecosystem within the enterprise
How to overcome video connectivity challenges
How to integrate video conferencing in the organization as a standalone device or integrated into voice-centrix pbx's.

Who should attend:

IT managers evaluating the move to video communication
System Integrators and Value Added Resellers
Manufacturers of PBX's seeking to upgrade their offering to video support.

Presenters:

Avi Fisher

CTO, SURF Communication Solutions

Avi Fisher co-founded SURF in 1996. Since then, he held the roles of CTO, VP R&D and VP Marketing of SURF and is a member of the current Board of Directors. An industry veteran, Avi has a rich experienced with multimedia networks and protocols. Avi's expertise is in Digital Signal Processing, Embedded Software and System Architecture. He issued several patents and was the first contributor to the ITU V.150 standard for the relay of modem signals over the IP.

Niv Kagan

VP Marketing, SURF Communication Solutions

Niv Kagan is responsible for Product Management and Marketing at SURF Communication Solutions. With a rich knowledge of multimedia communication networks, Niv has been involved in the design, implementation and deployment of multimedia projects and products including Next-Generation voice systems, IMS multimedia services, and Session Border Controller.

Peter Bernstein

Senior Editor, TMCnet

Sponsors:

Using Interactive Notifications to Improve Patient Care and Business Operations in the Healthcare Industry

2011-11-02T22:26:00.001-07:00

Tuesday, December 6, 2011 2:00 PM EST/ 11:00 AM PST

Using Interactive Notifications to Improve Patient Care and Business Operations in the Healthcare Industry

Healthcare organizations across the spectrum face the challenge of adopting business solutions that increase operational efficiency, reduce spending, and create faster time-to-revenue - all while improving the quality of care for patients.

Implementing an integrated notifications system increases productivity and improves efficiency - while placing a greater emphasis on the patient experience. By utilizing multi-modal, event-triggered SMS, voice and email notifications, you can proactively communicate with your patients, partners, and other stakeholders at any time throughout the care cycle. These automated communication paths drive information distribution at the appropriate times, using the recipients' preferred method of communication, and eliminates the cost of maintaining disparate, manual systems.

This webinar will demonstrate how EasyLink Notifications Service provides a range of medical practices (hospitals, clinical research, blood banks, pharmacies, home care, and others) with cloud-based, proactive notifications strategies. Presenters will use real use case studies that highlight how healthcare companies have improved retention, growth, and profitability by placing a greater focus on the patient experience with automated communications.

Attendees will learn:

About Interactive Notifications
How to integrate messaging into your business systems
Applications for:

Business communications
Clinical automation
Operational efficiencies
Evaluating, analyzing and improving customer care
Patient/constituent outreach

HIPAA compliance implications for specific applications

Who should attend:

Administrators
CIOs
CTOs
VPs and Directors, Information Technology and Services
VPs and Directors, Accounting and Finance
VPs and Directors, Donor Programs
VPs and Directors, Marketing and Community Relations
Other executives responsible for patient and stakeholder communications/li>

Presenters:

Dewey Anderson
Product Manager, Notifications Service
EasyLink Services International Corporation

Dewey Anderson has over 30 years experience in the technical management field across a number of industries including banking, publishing, telephony, frequency marketing, and software development. As the Product Manager of Notifications Service at EasyLink Services, Mr. Anderson oversees the conceptualization, evaluation, and development of notifications from both a marketing and financial standpoint. In addition, Mr. Anderson oversees the implementation and ongoing operations of all notifications services. Prior to joining EasyLink Services, Mr. Anderson was CTO of NetByTel, a speech recognition technology company. Mr. Anderson developed the first commercially available voice portal as well as the RealPages.com website. In 1997, BellSouth recognized Mr. Anderson as its Innovator of the Year. Mr. Anderson has provided consulting to a number of companies within the directory publishing and speech recognition industries, and has been a speaker and subject matter expert on a number of industry panels. Mr. Anderson currently holds seven patents.

Jon Crisler
Senior Sales Director, Notifications Service
EasyLink Services International Corporation
Jon Crisler is the Senior Sales Director of Notifications Service for EasyLink Services. Mr. Crisler leads all aspects of the sales and business development efforts of the Notifications Service platform for the EasyLink sales organization. As Senior Sales Director of Notifications Service, he is responsible for acting as the subject matter expert for sales of the Notifications Service platform including both Voice and SMS. Mr. Crisler works closely with EasyLink's sales channels to expand the adoption of EasyLink's Notifications Service. Mr. Crisler brings over three decades of sales, sales management and business development experience with the software, telecommunications and mobility industries to his role. Prior to EasyLink, Mr. Crisler held various sales and management roles at PGi, Air2Web and Sybase365. Mr. Crisler earned his degree in Computer Science from the University of Georgia.

Erik K. Linask
Group Editorial Director TMCnet
Erik oversees the daily operation of TMCnet, which delivers news, information, videos, white papers, podcasts, and more to three million visitors each month. He is also a contributor to TMCnet as well as TMC's IP Communications publications. Prior to joining the TMC team, several years ago, he was Managing Editor at Global Custodian, a global securities services publication, where he also managed the magazine's survey research. Erik began his professional career at management consulting firm Leadership Research Institute.

Register Now!

Webinar
Using Interactive Notifications to Improve Patient Care and Business Operations in the Healthcare Industry

Date & Time
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
2:00 PM EST/ 11:00 AM PST

Duration
60 Minutes

Location
Your Desktop

Sponsors:

iPhones and Androids and IVRs: Customer Self-Service in the Smart Phone Age

2011-11-01T08:47:00.001-07:00

iPhones and Androids and IVRs: Customer Self-Service in the Smart Phone Age
Thursday November 3, 2011
12:00pm EDT/ 9:00am PDT/ 5:00pm London

Interactive Voice Response and Voice Portals have long been the mainstay customer self-service solutions used to front-end and off-load contact center agents. As more and more people trade-up to smart phones, what is the impact on these traditional customer self-service solutions? Where does the lowly audio menu and touchtone interface fit into a communications continuum that now puts the broadband multimedia web in customer pockets? What are the new end user expectations for customer service and how can IVR solution providers enable their customers to meet them?

Join this webinar and learn about today's consumer preferences for customer service based on recent surveys by market research firm OVUM, and the implications for innovating self-service solutions such as IVR.

Speakers:
Daniel Hong
Lead Analyst, Customer Interaction OVUM
Daniel Hong is part of Ovum Telecom group's enterprise team where he heads the firm's global Customer Interaction research and consulting practice. As the program manager and lead analyst for Customer Interaction, Daniel is responsible for the direction of contact center, self-service and customer experience research. His work focuses on analyzing trends, strategies and practices for customer service technologies across CRM, enterprise, social media, mobile and ubiquitous computing environments. He has been quoted numerous times in Business 2.0, DestinationCRM, The Economist, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and NPR and regularly contributes articles to Speech Technology Magazine and other publications.

Bud Walder
Marketing Director Dialogic Corporation
As marketing director for Dialogic, Bud Walder is responsible for unified communications and contact center market segment strategy and supporting activities. Dialogic is a leading provider of media and signaling platforms for the unified communications and contact center markets. The platforms enable service providers, developers and system integrators to create and deliver innovative and efficient communications services, content and applications.

Before joining Dialogic in 2006, Walder spent 20 years in enterprise communications systems sales and product management at Intel Corporation, Brother International Corp and Office Business Systems, Inc. Walder holds a BA degree in economics from Rutgers University.

Erik K Linask
Group Editorial Director TMCnet
Erik oversees the daily operation of TMCnet, which delivers news, information, videos, white papers, podcasts, and more to three million visitors each month. He is also a contributor to TMCnet as well as TMC’s IP Communications publications. Prior to joining the TMC team, several years ago, he was Managing Editor at Global Custodian, a global securities services publication, where he also managed the magazine’s survey research. Erik began his professional career at management consulting firm Leadership Research Institute.

Register Now!
Sponsors:

AT&T Launches Skyrocket for LTE; Vivid, too

2011-11-01T01:32:00.001-07:00

"The two LTE-powered superphones will be our 20th and 21st Android devices in 2011, adding to an outstanding year of Android success," said AT&T executive David Christopher. "We've far exceeded our commitment to offer 12 new Android devices this year -- now including our first 4G LTE smartphones."

Sunday, Nov. 6, will be the date of AT&T 's leap into LTE smartphone coverage as the carrier launches two new 4G , dual-core Android smartphones, one of which is cleverly dubbed the Skyrocket.
That phone by Samsung, part of its Galaxy family of devices, as well as HTC's Vivid, will put the network AT&T launched in September to its biggest test, after weeks of long-term evolution coverage for mobile computer users.
But with its reputation for weak connectivity for Apple's iPhone, the company has a lot riding on smooth, high-speed data operation. The company must also strive to avoid the kind of problem that beset Verizon Wireless when it faced a large-scale outage of its LTE network just five months after it launched, and as it prepared to add more smartphones.
Coverage Is Key
AT&T has insisted its network is better because it is backed up by a faster 3G system, HSPA+, so that users who go in and out of an LTE coverage area won't face jarring differences in speed. The Skyrocket and Vivid are "the only smartphones able to utilize both LTE and HSPA+ 4G speeds, for a consistently fast connection in and out of LTE areas," said AT&T in marketing the devices. (When Verizon's network was down its HTC Thunderbolt used a slower 1XRTT connection.)
"The idea is that the LTE network will be more reliable, however coverage will be key as the hand-off from LTE to 3G coverage could impact data speeds," said analyst Kirk Parsons of J.D. Power and Associates. "Early indications from the Verizon LTE experience has been positive but AT&T's coverage is not as robust as Verizon is now. That will change over time."
Along with the new phones AT&T is rolling out five new LTE coverage areas Sunday: Boston; Baltimore; Washington, D.C.; and Athens, Ga. The network is already active in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio. With two months left of the year, AT&T aims to reach 15 markets and 70 million Americans by the start of 2012.
The new devices highlight AT&T's growing commitment to phones running Google's Android operating system, growing worldwide in popularity, after losing its exclusive right to sell the iPhone earlier this year.
Plenty of Androids
"The two LTE-powered superphones will be our 20th and 21st Android devices in 2011, adding to an outstanding year of Android success," said David Christopher, chief marketing officer for AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. "We've far exceeded our commitment to offer 12 new Android devices this year -- now including our first 4G LTE smartphones."
Both the Vivid and the Skyrocket (full name: Galaxy S II Skyrocket) have dual-core processors, with the latter slightly more powerful at 1.5 gigahertz compared with the former's 1.2 GHz. Both run Android 2.3.5, Gingerbread, and have 4.5-inch displays and 8-megapixel cameras. The Skyrocket also has a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.
The Skyrocket carries a premium price tag of $249 with a two-year voice and data contract, while the Vivid is $50 cheaper.

Google TV reboots, but is anyone watching? Analysis: New version is supposed to be more intuitive, easier to use

2011-11-01T01:31:00.001-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — It’s no secret that Google Inc. likes to have fun with its “Google doodle,” recasting its home-page logo to recognize birthdays of historical figures, holidays and other occasions.

So perhaps it was no surprise that on Monday, for Halloween, Google GOOG -0.35% posted a time-lapse video of people on the Google campus carving six giant pumpkins into jack-o’-lanterns that, when lit up at night, spell out the word “Google.” See more Google doodles.

But if Google really wanted to make a notable doodle, the company could have added two more pumpkins and spelled out “Google TV” — since the search giant used Halloween to roll out a new update to its TV service that has yet to catch on with consumers since it was released more than a year ago.

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If you have drawn a blank on Google TV, you’re not alone. “I don’t think the average person cares [about Google TV] or should care,” said Michael Pachter, an Internet and media industry analyst with Wedbush Securities. “My guess is that fewer than 10% of consumers could explain what Google TV is.”

Let’s start at the beginning: Just what is Google TV?

Simply put, it’s is an Internet-based platform that uses the Android operating system to provide TV viewers with a user interface allows them to watch TV offerings and services, such as Netflix Inc. NFLX -2.45% and HBO Go from Time Warner Inc. TWX -1.35% The service is built into certain TVs from Sony Corp. SNE -0.43% , or you can get it by spending $100 on a set-top box from either Sony Corp. SNE -0.43% or Logitech International SA LOGI +0.50% .

So one of the biggest problems with Google TV, according to Pachter, is that you really have to seek it out.

“Until Google TV appears as a native application on the living-room television, it’s not going to be relevant to most people,” he said. “Netflix won the living room by being native on Blu-ray players and game consoles, and when Google TV does the same, people will begin to care.”

Google hasn’t released figures on Google TV’s market penetration, and with competition from set-top box makers, such as Roku, to the cable companies and satellite providers with on-demand content of their own, the feeling in the marketplace is that Google TV hasn’t been compelling enough for someone to buy one of the few televisions that offer it or hook up yet another set-top box.

The new version of Google TV, which started rolling out on Monday, is supposed to be more intuitive and easier to use, and also may benefit from Google’s (eventual) plans to launch about 100 new video channels on YouTube. Those channels are to be fed by original content from media outlets and celebrities, such as Madonna and Jay-Z.

Van Baker, a consumer-technologies retail analyst with Gartner Inc., said Google might be headed in the right direction. “They now realize that it takes more than search to make Google TV successful, and they have begun to facilitate curation of content such as the channel that features live concerts for music lovers,” he added.

However, even Baker says that despite Google’s dominance elsewhere, there’s no guarantee Google TV will take off. “It’s not enough to change its impact in the market significantly. For Google TV to succeed to any degree, they need to make a relationship work with the networks. It’s about the business models and the stakeholders.”

Maybe then Google TV will be something more than the set-top equivalent of an online doodle.

Barnes & Noble expected to launch new Nook tablet on Nov. 7

2011-11-01T01:30:00.001-07:00

Book seller Barnes & Noble is expected to unveil a new tablet to compete with Amazon's Kindle line and Apple's iPad through a "very special announcement" at an event on Monday, Nov. 7.

The Nook maker sent out invitations for the event on Monday, as noted by The L.A. Times. The launch will take place at 10:00 AM Eastern in New York.

"Please join us for a very special announcement," the invite read, while also displaying the "N" logo for its line of Nook e-readers and tablets. The report noted that the event will probably see an update to the company's Nook Color tablet.

The Nook Color received a software update in April that enabled new apps beyond just reading, such as email, a web browser and games. Currently the e-reader is based on Google's Android mobile operating system.

Barnes & Noble released a new Nook black-and-white e-reader with a touchscreen e-ink display in May.

The company revealed earlier this year that it expects Nook and e-book sales to double during its fiscal year, which ends next April, to $1.8 billion. The Nook is currently the No. 2 e-reader behind only Amazon's Kindle.

The book seller is in the midst of fierce competition with Amazon and Apple for control of the tablet and e-reader market. Rival Amazon took the wraps of its much-anticipated Kindle Fire tablet and new e-reader models, in September.

Though some have pointed to the Kindle Fire's low $199 price as a threat to Apple, several analysts have dismissed the Fire as targeting a different market than the iPad. J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz called claims that the Fire will quickly propel Amazon to become the No. 2 tablet maker as mere "noise."

The online retailer's strategy appears to be to sell its hardware at a low profit margin or a loss in hopes of making money off of content and special offers on the device. Even as Amazon is building "millions more" Kindle Fire units than originally expected, the company projected its fourth quarter earnings to fall to as much as a $200 million loss.

Recent rumors have suggested that Apple may seek to counter 7-inch devices such as the Amazon Kindle Fire and the Nook Color with a so-called "iPad mini" in 2012. Last month, one report claimed LG Display and AU Optronics are supplying Apple with 7.85-inch screens for the iPad.

Apple continues to be on a tear with the iPad, selling a record 11.12 million tablets during the most recent September quarter.

4 Fixes For iPhone 4S Battery Woes

2011-11-01T01:29:00.000-07:00

Concern continues to grow that a possible flaw in Apple's iOS 5 may be negatively affecting iPhone battery performance.
Posts about poor battery life by Apple iPhone owners in Apple's support forum have risen from 1,327 on Friday afternoon to 2,420 on Monday morning, with no word from Apple about the cause of the issue or when it might be resolved.

For Google searches with the keyword "battery" in the last 90 days, "iPhone battery" tops the list of rising searches. And for "iPhone battery," the search "battery life" is the second fastest rising search.

Apple is not the only mobile handset maker to wrestle with unsatisfactory battery performance. Android users have been grousing about poor battery life for years. But a comparison of the terms "iPhone battery" and "Android battery" in Google Insights for Search suggests a spike in iPhone-related battery queries, as does a comparison of the same terms in Google Trends.
Battery life is a new issue for Apple. The company set up a battery page in 2007 when the iPhone first came out to help people manage battery usage. Apple was also sued several times over its iPhone batteries because they could not be easily replaced by consumers. Poor battery performance over time was cited as a reason that iPhone batteries would need to be replaced. Apple says that a properly maintained iPhone battery "is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at 400 full charge and discharge cycles." One of the lawsuits alleged that the number of charges an iPhone could accept before being degraded to the point of replacement was more like 300.

Battery problems have become particularly noticeable in recent years because battery technology has not advanced as perceptibly as other consumer electronics technologies and because promised breakthrough technologies like fuel cells for portable devices have yet to arrive in the market.
Short battery life is affecting users of the new iPhone 4S as well as older models that have been upgraded to iOS 5, suggesting that the issue is a software problem.
Though Apple has not responded to a request for comment, there's no shortage of suggestions among iPhone users for improving battery performance. Here are a few worth trying:
Disable iOS 5-Style Calendar Notifications
One person posting in Apple's support forum claims that disabling the iOS 5 Notification Center, via the Calendar app settings menu (Settings > Notifications > Calendar > Notification Center-Off), resolves the battery problem. This supposedly fixes a bug that causes excessive notification polling. You should still be able to receive older style Alerts.
Disable "Setting Time Zone"
Other users report resolving their battery problems by disabling their iPhone's ability to automatically reset the time zone upon entering a new time zone. This is part of the iPhone's Location Services menu (Settings > Location Services > Setting Time Zone). Some users speculate that a bug in iOS location tracking causes the software to check the phone's location too frequently.
Disable Location Services For Reminders
Apple's new Reminders app can issue reminders based on proximity to places. While it can be tremendously helpful to be reminded to pick up some coffee when passing the local coffee shop, it's also a burden on the battery to keep checking whether you're near the coffee shop. If you haven't used Reminders yet, it won't yet be registered in Location Services. A more extreme step is disabling Location Services entirely.
Disable Mail Push
When iOS 3 came out in mid-2009, there were complaints about battery life. GigaOm writer Clayton Lai at the time recommended disabling push notifications for Apple's Mail app. A few of those dealing with iOS 5 battery life issues have also suggested turning off Mail push. This can be done through Settings > Mail, Contacts & Calendar > Fetch New Data > Push (off). This makes new email arrive based on your Fetch schedule setting rather than when pushed by the server.
Beyond that, users should at least be aware of other settings and preferences that may affect battery life. To conserve power, Apple advises users to: minimize use of location services; turn off push notifications; fetch new data less frequently, if the fetch frequency is not already set to "manually"; auto-check fewer email accounts; turn off WiFi and Bluetooth; use Airplane Mode in areas with little or no cellular coverage; enable Auto-Brightness, via Settings > Brightness and make sure brightness isn't maxed unnecessarily; and turn off audio equalization under Settings > iPod > EQ.

Appraising Call Center Performance and Leveraging the Cloud

2011-10-31T22:25:00.001-07:00

Appraising Call Center Performance and Leveraging the Cloud

Tuesday November 8 2011 TIME: 2:00 PM EST/ 11:00 AM PST

James Dunn has conducted enterprise performance appraisals on behalf of investors and business owners for call center businesses in multiple industries, and is now CEO of a cloud-based call center service provider, TelStar Hosted Services, Inc.

James will provide call center managers with a method to conduct an objective, pragmatic analysis of the operating and financial realities of their business, and how to obtain the necessary information to improve a business's performance and/or to mitigate its risks; a prioritized set of strategic and tactical action items designed to meet key business goals in areas such as profitability, cost control, sales effectiveness and operational efficiency; and suggestions on how to develop a near-term implementation plan with measurable performance targets and accountability.

In addition, James will provide an overview of how cloud-based call center services can help call center managers to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their call center services, be they inbound customer care or help desks, or outbound telemarketing and sales. Lastly, James will provide information on how to evaluate a call center service provider.

What Will Attendees Learn?

How to assess your call center's operating and financial efficiency
How to set goals to improve profitability, cost control and effectiveness
How to set performance targets and measure accountability
Advantages of cloud based call center solutions
What you should look for in a call center service provider

Who Should Attend:

Call center managers facing hardware/software issues and rising maintenance costs in their call center
Managers responsible for improving the customer experience
COO, CIO, CTO, Operations Management, Contact Center Director
Managers and Directors of business units that rely on call center technology
IT leadership interested in learning more about call center management and cloud-based technology options
Small business owners that run an operation with high volumes of phone calls
CEOs trying to get call center issues out of the boardroom

Presenters:

James P. Dunn

CEO, TelStar Hosted Services, Inc.

James P. Dunn led the acquisition of Telstar Hosted Services, Inc. in 2009. Jim has spent over 30 years in the information and telecommunications industries in executive management roles. Prior to joining TelStar Hosted, Jim was a founding member and managing partner for D Partners, a boutique consulting firm focused on transforming tough business situations into profitable business ventures in the High Tech, Financial, BPO and Customer Care industries. Jim has operated as executive management for publicly and privately held companies like GE ITS, SITEL, Stream International, Access Graphics, Oppenheimer Funds, and Kemper. Jim serves (or has served) on various boards including Capstone Strategic, Remote Power, and CLBL. Jim holds a BSBA and MBA from the University of Denver.

Erik K Linask

Group Editorial Director TMCnet

Erik oversees the daily operation of TMCnet, which delivers news, information, videos, white papers, podcasts, and more to three million visitors each month. He is also a contributor to TMCnet as well as TMC's IP Communications publications. Prior to joining the TMC team, several years ago, he was Managing Editor at Global Custodian, a global securities services publication, where he also managed the magazine's survey research. Erik began his professional career at management consulting firm Leadership Research Institute.

Sponsors:

Real World SIP Success in the SMB Marketplace with Allworx

2011-10-31T22:24:00.001-07:00

Real World SIP Success in the SMB Marketplace with Allworx
Wednesday November 2, 2011 2:00 PM ET/ 11:00 AM PT

SIP services continue to be adopted by small to medium size businesses. Sometimes these services are stand-alone and sometimes they are in conjunction with planned upgrades to aging phone systems. No one has had more experience with SIP and deploying SIP onto IP PBX's in this marketplace than Allworx. Join us in this discussion on how small to mid size businesses have leveraged these technologies into real-world productivity enhancements while lowering their overall telecommunications spend.

What Attendees will learn:

The different flavors of SIP Services for businesses and which are best.
How to leverage SIP and IP based phone systems for maximum impact.
What the evolution of SIP will do for businesses in the foreseeable future.

Who should attend:

End Users engaged in evaluating the move to SIP
Value Added Resellers evaluating new technologies for their customers

Presenters:

Jason Beckett

Director of Sales Allworx

Jason has over 25 years of industry experience with a rich diversity of management roles in various phone manufacturing companies. For over 5 years Jason has been responsible for managing the sales and marketing of Allworx products across the US to its large base of Authorized Partners, and he has overseen most of the meteoric growth that has catapulted Allworx into the leading provider of pure IP-based PBX systems. Jason has also been actively involved in developing unique product offerings for Allworx's parent company, PAETEC, which combine SIP with Allworx in a bundled solution for their large base of customers. Prior to Allworx he has held a diverse range of management positions at Estech Systems, Inc, Samsung Telecommunications America, and Comdial Corporation.

Erik K. Linask

Group Editorial Director TMCnet

Sponsors:

SaaS-Based Clientless Remote Support: A New Advantage for Managed Service Providers

2011-10-31T22:23:00.000-07:00

SaaS-Based Clientless Remote Support:
A New Advantage for Managed Service Providers
Thursday November 3, 2011 TIME: 2:00pm ET/ 11:00am PT

For Managed Service Providers, differentiation of services continues to be the strategic necessity, particularly as mobility and competition continue to breed change. Faced with a variety of challenges, including the expanding mobility of client workforces, increasingly complex support environments, and the commoditization of standard support services, Managed Service Providers need a silver bullet.

Elaina Stergiades from IDC will be a featured guest on this LogMeIn-hosted webinar on the advantages that SaaS offers in the Enterprise. Elaina will talk about why clientless remote support is a critical part of today’s support tool-set. She'll also discuss how SaaS is alleviating the pain of high acquisition costs, frequent upgrades, and low technology adoption. To support this discussion, Elaina will share highlights from a new IDC review of how SaaS-based remote support tools provide a new advantage for Managed Service Providers.

Presenters:

Elaina Stergiades

Research Manager, Software and Hardware Support Services, IDC

Elaina Stergiades is the Research Manager for IDC's Software Support Services program. In this position, she provides insight and analysis of industry trends and market strategies for software vendors supporting applications, development environment and systems software. Elaina is also responsible for research, writing and program development of the software support services market.

Eric Bisceglia

Product Marketing Manager LogMeIn

Eric Bisceglia is responsible for LogMeIn Rescue’s enterprise business. Prior to joining LogMeIn, he managed go-to-market activities for EMC Corporation’s Storage Division. Eric holds a B.A. in International Business and Economics from Boston University.

Charles Weaver

CEO and Co-Founder MSPAlliance

Charles Weaver is the CEO and co-founder of the MSPAlliance (the International Association of Managed Service Providers). Since its founding in 2000, the organization has grown from less than 5 founding members to well over 14,000 members worldwide. Under Mr. Weaver’s management the MSPAlliance has expanded its reach and influence to include education, standards of conduct, and certifications for managed services professionals and companies.

Sponsors:

Ubuntu Linux eyes tablet territory

2011-10-31T08:53:00.000-07:00

With the Ubuntu Software Center in Ubuntu version 11.10, Canonical shows that it knows the appeal of apps.
(Credit: Ubuntu)
Canonical wants to get its Ubuntu Linux operating system onto tablets and smartphones.
The company plans to make an announcement to that effect at the Ubuntu Developer Summit taking place this week, according to Stephen J. Vaughan-Nichols, a blogger for CNET sister site ZDNet. The platforms beyond the desktop that Canonical is targeting include not only those mobile devices but also smart TVs.
"It's important for us to reach out to our community on these platforms," Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth told Vaughan-Nichols. "So, we'll embrace the challenge of how to use Ubuntu on smartphones, tablets, and smart screens."
But don't expect deliverables to hit the market right away. First Canonical wants to make sure that the upcoming Ubuntu 12.04 LTS for desktops is as stable as can be and to spiff up the Unity desktop interface. Vaughan-Nichols speculates that developer tablets and smartphones with ARM processors could debut in the second quarter of 2012.
There will be formidable competition, to be sure, in Apple's iOS and Google's Android OS, and perhaps even from the likes of Microsoft's Windows Phone and the upcoming Windows 8, which will feature both a desktop interface and the company's mobile Metro UI. Shuttleworth said Canonical's offering will be ready to take advantages of the opportunities that present themselves--such as fallout from Google's pending acquisition of Motorola Mobility.
"The device world is highly competitive and highly dynamic, while Android and iOS dominate handheld devices, disruptive elements could still establish themselves," he told Vaughan-Nichols. "Ubuntu and Windows can still be a real force."
Device makers, Shuttleworth said, would welcome Ubuntu "as a disruptive element. A strong Ubuntu can be both more cooperative with OEMs than a larger company and give them leverage with Google and Microsoft."
Canonical's efforts with Ubuntu Linux in the mobile arena date back four years or more, to the short-lived pre-iPad era when Intel was touting its Mobile Internet Device platform for mini tablets.

iPhone battery woes linked to iOS 5 update

2011-10-31T08:52:00.000-07:00

A flaw in Apple's iOS operating system could be causing iPhone battery life to drain more quickly than normal for some users, it has been claimed.

Mathew Kelly, 19 from Swansea, shows off his new iPhone 4S as he is one of the first to buy the product, as it goes on sale at the Apple store in Covent Garden, London

Since Apple launched the new iPhone 4S two weeks ago, some users have complained online that the battery drains much more quickly than is normal, often lasting less than half a day.

It seems that the problem is not confined to iPhone 4S users, with some users of the iPhone 4 also noticing poorer battery performance since they upgraded to iOS 5, the latest version of the operating system that runs Apple's iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Oliver Haslam, of iDownloadblog, has suggested that the problem is related to the location settings of the iPhone. He says that a bug in iOS 5 has caused the device to continually check the time zone it is in.

He writes: "Switching it off may mean that your iPhone will no longer set its own time zone when you travel, but that’s a small price to pay for having your iPhone last more than 12 hours on a full charge."

It's not clear how many people are affected. More than 2,000 people have commented on the battery life thread on Apple's support website, though not all of those are claiming to have the problem.

The iPhone 4S that I've been using for the last three weeks has no battery life problems at all.

Apple declined to comment.

Some users report that Haslam's suggestion but others say they have not seen an improvement.

Never Be Lost Again With ‘Send My Location’ For iPhone [Cydia Tweak]

2011-10-31T08:50:00.000-07:00

The jailbreak community presents the perfect opportunity for developers to plug the holes which exist with each and every iOS release. Apple’s fifth iteration of its mobile operatingsystem has brought forth some great new features, but there is, and always will be, room for improvement.

We feature a lot of Cydia apps at Redmond Pie, and we try and select the most useful, productive, and sometimes just downright quirky for your attention. In this case, we bring youSend My Location, a tweak which allows you to send your current location via SMS to others, who can then open the url created to ascertain your whereabouts via the Maps app. Find My Friends, a new feature of iOS 5, covers this niche, however, it is ‘opt-in’, so users have to grant access to be found. Send My Location requires no such permissions, and is certainly a useful tool to have in your inventory in the battle against getting lost!

The app is said to work on iOS 4 and iOS 5, and having tested it out on both 4.3.3 and 5.0, we are pleased to report that we’ve found no reason to refute those claims. There are no adjustable settings, but truthfully speaking, they aren’t really necessary, although it would be a nice touch to be able to change the automated "hi i’m at" to something that sounds a little less hastily written.

It’s ideal for those who can seldom navigate to new locations and have a somewhat unfortunate sense of direction. It’s free over at the BigBoss repository (which will be on your source list, unless you’ve decided to delete it) and at 19KB, it’s one of those tweaks worth installing, just incase. You can also download the .deb file here and SSH the file directly to your device.

As usual, you will need to be jailbroken in order to install this handy tweak. You can follow ourstep by step guide posted here to jailbreak your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch on iOS 4.3.5 using Redsn0w (or PwnageTool). For jailbreaking iOS 5 tethered using Redsn0w, you can follow our complete step by step guide posted here, or here if you want to use Sn0wbreeze on Windows. Since jailbreak on iOS 5 is currently limited to tethered boot only, you can install ‘SemiTether’ patch (instructions here) from Cydia to make your jailbreak semi-tethered on iOS 5.

Be sure to check out our iPhone Apps Gallery and iPad Apps Gallery to explore more apps for your iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

iPhone 4S Launch Spikes Record Number Of BlackBerry Trade-ins

2011-10-31T08:49:00.001-07:00

It’s really not a great time to be involved with Research In Motion. Take the company’s tablet, for instance, the PlayBook was announced to much fanfare not that long ago, and after its release, some people went and bought one, not a lot, but some. Now the Canadian firm has had to delay the next big software update for the PlayBook, and things are getting worse for the beleaguered company.

There’s the debacle we’ve just experienced with half of the planet losing BlackBerryconnectivity because of a hardware failure somewhere deep down in the bowels of RIM’s inner workings. It lasted for days, days where BlackBerry users found their smartphones all but useless – yes, even more useless than usual – and seemingly with no end in sight.

Now RIM has finally managed to stabilize its infrastructure, it has begun counting the cost of its latest catastrophe. A cost that could be considerable, according to trade-in companyGazelle, who claims to have received a record number of BlackBerry handsets this week.

A coincidence? Probably not.

Following the outage to its network, RIM offered customers a sweetener in the form of $100-worth of free ‘premium apps,’ whatever they are.

The problem is, the hiccup, nay, meltdown, happened just as Apple’s hype machine was in full gear for the iPhone 4S launch. The media was going mental for Apple’s next iPhone, and BlackBerry owners instantly turned into potential iPhone owners as soon as RIM’s network fell over and started crying. In the space of a few days, RIM’s strength became its weakness – its own secure network was down, and everything else had gone with it.

Image source: garywhitta

Gazelle’s Chief Gadget Office – and yes, we all want to be one of those when we grow up – has no doubts as to the reason for the influx of BlackBerry trade-ins.

Gazelle’s "Chief Gadget Officer’ Anthony Scarsella told CNET that this is "easily the highest volume of BlackBerry trades ever seen period." That includes a "spike" following this month’s outage. "In the grand scheme of BlackBerry growth over the past month, it can be pretty much entirely attributed to the launch of the iPhone 4S," Scarsella said.

It’s safe to say it isn’t rocket science.

Whether RIM can recover from such a massive outage remains to be seen, but with customers leaving the platform in droves, how long will it be before select business customers are all it has left?

(via CNet)

InstaTweet For iPhone And iPad Lets You Send Out Tweets In A Snap – Download Now!

2011-10-31T08:48:00.002-07:00

Social networking is an integral part of many of our lives. From Facebook to Flickr, most smartphone users are logging in, posting content and interacting with each other.

There is certainly not a shortage of apps ready to take the social experience to the next level, either. Besides the official apps, there hare dozens of third party vendors bringing a different perspective to the social sphere. Some are highly recommended, delivering superb functionality (I’m looking at you, TweetBot), whilst others can make social network time consuming, often sapping the fun from interacting with friends, colleagues and relatives.

None, though, have managed to achieve the spectacular simplicity of InstaTweet, a new appfor iOS 5 devices. It’s a no-frills, no-fuss app which concentrates on one thing and one thing alone – tweeting. When on the go, often is the case that users wish to broadcast a quick message or thoughts without the fuss of having to open an app and locate the necessary function to do so. InstaTweet takes advantage of iOS5‘s Twitter integration, allowing users to initiate the Twitter pane, click the button and tweet away, as depicted below:

Ok, so it’s rather bland, and there are no extra bells and whistles such as animations. Moreover, you can’t check any part of your Twitter account such as direct messages, timeline or mentions. Then again, there’s an official twitter app for that, and although a pretty UI is often a deal make-or-breaker to many, perfect functionality is the key to productivity (although spending copious amounts of time on Twitter, is perhaps not).

Obviously, to enjoy instantaneous tweets via InstaTweet, you will need an iOS 5 device, as well as $0.99 to spare in your back pocket. If you’re an incessant tweeter, spending an unhealthy amount of time sharing your thoughts with the world, this app could turn out to be your perfect companion. It works for both iPhone and iPad, so whether you’re using tablet or smartphone, you can swiftly broadcast your thoughts, provided you can keep within the 140 character limit!

Download the app straight from Apple’s App Store via the following link, or just by launching the App Store app on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.

Check out our iPhone Apps Gallery and iPad Apps Gallery to explore more apps for your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Apple’s ‘Ship To Store’ Goes Live In Select Locations – Order Online, Pickup At Your Local Apple Store

2011-10-31T08:48:00.000-07:00

A large portion of retailers allow you to order products on their websites and subsequently collect the items at your convenience from your local store. Not only does it often shorten the waiting time from purchase to usage, but you can usually save a few dollars in the process.

Apple operates a little differently. If you wish to purchase a Mac, iPad or iPhone directly from the Cupertino company, there are two ways of doing so. The first is by logging on to Apple.com, initiating your chosen purchase, and playing the waiting game which can often be tantalizing and inconvenient if you work often or cannot be at home to receive at the designated times. Alternatively, you can make the the trip down to your local store bearing the iconic Apple logo and buy the old-fashioned way. If the item isn’t in stock, though, you’ve to suffer the double-whammy of an extended wait allied to a wasted journey.

Not for much longer though, it seems. For the fruit company is currently undergoing a trialscheme known as Ship To Store, which will enable consumers to order products online and later on; collect in-store. The San Francisco Apple Store is the first of hopefully many to test the scheme and analyze its value going forward. Word on the street is that the trial scheme will spread to other parts of the Bay Area within the coming days, gradually spreading throughout the United States over the next few moths.

So those of you residing in and around San Francisco can take advantage of Ship to Store by heading over to this page of Apple’s website. Once there, add a product to your cart and head for the checkout. Before the process is complete, Apple will provide the options of In Stock, andSelect a Store In San Francisco. Opting for In Stock will see the item delivered to your door, as usual. However, if you Select a Store In San Francisco, you will be able to collect from Apple’s Flagship San Francisco Store once it has been shipped over.

The scheme seems like a PR win – allowing consumers more options regarding purchase can only but increase customer satisfaction. With the holiday season beckoning, Ship To Store will hopefully help to alleviate the rush.

Microsoft Showcases Windows Phone Xbox Kinect Integration [VIDEO]

2011-10-31T08:46:00.000-07:00

Microsoft has seemed a great deal more focused on improving its product range and market influence in 2011, with Windows 8, Windows Phone Mango 7.5 and of course the acquisition of Skype for a small fortune back in May for a tidy 8.5 billion making up what has been a busy year for Steve Ballmer’s company.

In addition, the Redmond-based company has sought to further integrate elements of Xbox throughout its product line, extending parts of its successful games console through to both mobile and PC. Moving forward, Windows Phones will tie in with the company’s flagship Xbox 360 console in an unprecedented way, and at an event to showcase the upcoming Nokia Lumia phone, there was an opportunity to grab a peek at what Microsoft has in store.

An Xbox Companion app, a free download, will allow Windows Phone users to find and control content from the Xbox LIVE Marketplace on the Xbox 360. Users will be able to view thumbnails of content on their phone, enabling chosen media to be selected for viewing on their Xbox 360. The purported idea is for the Xbox 360 to become a one-stop entertainment hub, catering for gaming, music and video; with the mobile device as the omni-present remote control. As well as Marketplace controls, there was also a glimpse of Kinectimals - an app which allows Windows Phone disciples to create characters and transfer them straight to their Xbox 360 console. The whole system functions over Wi-Fi, so both Xbox and Windows Phone will need to be connected to the same network.

Conceptually, Kinectimals could also tie in with another feature known as Kinectivity, whereby the app capitalizes on the Kinect’s camera for increased interaction. For example, a gamer may have created a pet on their phone, and wish to continue the caring process on their Xbox. Users can subsequently hold their device’s screen up to the camera of the Kinect, which will automatically detect the pet’s traits.

The software giant has claimed that controlling Xbox features remotely is “virtually instantaneous,” and although smartphones are considered more than just phones in this digital age, such features will undoubtedly render the Windows Phones a peripheral to the Xbox as well. With Microsoft evidently working tirelessly to develop new interactions for consumers, the these snippets of the future paint an exciting picture for gaming fanatics.

(Source Winrumors)

How To Jailbreak Apple TV 4.4.2 With Seas0nPass [Guide]

2011-10-31T08:45:00.000-07:00

The final build of iOS 5 was jailbroken in a matter of hours after its release, it happened majorly due to the fact that the final and the Gold Master candidate builds were exactly the same, hence the tools which were already available for jailbreaking iOS 5 GM could jailbreak the final build of iOS 5 as well.

And today, the FireCore team has released updated version of Seas0nPass jailbreak toolwhich supports the second-gen Apple TV jailbreak on the latest firmware 4.4.2 build 9A336a.

Before we move forward, keep in mind that this is a tethered jailbreak like any other jailbreak for the latest firmware out there, which means; if you want to restart your device, you will have to boot it into the jailbroken state again whilst hooking it up with your PC or Mac. It’s a small price you have to pay, but hey, you get your jailbreak fix don’t you? All set? Let’s begin!

Things you will need:

iTunes 10.5 [Download link]
Seas0nPass [Windows, Mac]
Micro-USB cable
Apple TV 4.4.2 firmware [Download link]

Assuming you have all the things required for the process, let’s get to it:

Step 1: Download, install and then launch Seas0nPass for Windows or Mac.

Step 2: Once you’ve launched Seas0nPass, click “Create IPSW” while holding down the Optionkey on your Mac, as shown in the screenshot below:

Step 3: This step is automated, Seas0nPass will download all the files necessary to create the custom jailbroken firmware for your Apple TV.

Step 4: Seas0nPass will now ask you to connect your Apple TV to your PC/Mac with the provided micro-USB cable, but keep the power cable disconnected! Once you’re connected, you’ll put your Apple TV in DFU mode, follow the on screen instructions on how to do so:

hold the ‘MENU’ and ‘PLAY/PAUSE’ buttons for 7 seconds simultaneously from your Apple TV’s remote.

Step 5: If you performed Step 4 correctly, iTunes will start automatically, Seas0nPass will do its thing and go ahead with the restore in iTunes.

Step 6: Once the process is complete, iTunes will confirm that the restoration process was successful and you’ll be jailbroken on firmware 4.4.2.

Booting Tethered:

As we mentioned in the beginning of this guide; this jailbreak is tethered, so in case your Apple TV loses power or you wish to restart, you will have to boot it into the jailbroken state again.

Step 1: Launch Seas0nPass and click on the ‘Boot Tethered’ option.

Step 2: When asked to, connect your Apple TV to your PC/Mac using the micro-USB cable, but keep the power cable disconnected. You should now see a rapid flashing light on your Apple TV, connect the power cable this time. Now put your Apple TV in DFU mode when both the micro-USB and power cables are connected by holding down the ‘MENU’ and ‘PLAY/PAUSE’ buttons for 7 seconds simultaneously on your Apple TV’s remote.

Step 3: Rest of the process is automated; Seas0nPass will do its thing and you’ll boot into the jailbroken state in a short period of time. Simply disconnect the micro-USB cable when done and plug the HDMI cable back in.