Google Wave Invitations

Hello, fellow mobile warriors.

I got my official invitations to Google Wave just today but a friend invited me a couple of weeks ago.

I've got 5 free if anyone wants it. You can email me at: paul.public.use@gmail.com. As for come, I'll let folks know.

Update: I've got 15 more, so that makes twenty invitations. I'm just giving them out to Onxo readers you guys are awesome! No strings attached!

Free Wi-Fi At Airports Courtesy of Some Rich Tech Companies

Free is good.  And even better is free Wi-Fi.  That's right.  This Holiday Season, Google will be offering free wireless Internet access via Wi-Fi

This will bring a whole lot of goodwill for Google as delays and other airport-related issues are likely to crop up.  So from now until January 11, 2010, you'll have wireless Internet access with your smartphones, mobile devices, and laptops.  And for Seattle and Burbank, your free Wi-Fi will remain free forever!

Why is Google doing this?  Love?  Because they want mobile warriors to get used to the fact that wireless access is here to stay and that we better get used to it!  Well, sort of.  I'm sure they have bigger mobile plans in mind and this is just a started.

In their press release, they're doing this because they know things'll go bad at the airport so this is to help folks stay connected and pass the time.  Here are some details upfront:

• Google has googles of money to be doing this.  The goodwill will be enormous.
• 100 Million folks will travel between the 47 participating airports.
• Boingo Wireless, Advanced Wireless Group, Airport Marketing Income and others are involved. 
•  Also, "once users log on to networks in any of the participating airports, travelers will have the option make a donation to Engineers Without Borders, the One Economy Corporation or the Climate Savers Computing Initiative. Google will match the donations made across all the networks up to $250,000, and the airport network that generates the highest amount per passenger by January 1, 2010 will receive $15,000 to donate to the local nonprofit of their choice."
• Here is a list of the 47 airports:

Not to be outdone, Yahoo is offering free Wi-Fi for Time Square starting today.  And for a whole year!  And where is Redmond is all this?  Well, Redmond is working with JiWire to provide free Wi-Fi for folks who use Bing.  Not a bad deal since I already use Bing from time to time.

Oh, and Macworld mentioned a few airports missing from the list that I thought would have jumped at this opportunity - LAX, SFO, and JFK quickly comes to mind.  Some wireless airport outfits charge $10 for a mere 20 minutes of access.  The shame.

One more thing.  Toyota also offers solar-powered Wi-Fi as a part of their Prius promotion using solar trees. You've got to see it.

More at info:

• Google Press Release
• Free Holiday Wifi
• Macworld
• Unwired View
• Muni Wireless -Yahoo provides free Wi-Fi for Time Square
• Daily Wireless
• Daily Wireless - Microsoft and JiWire offers free Wi-Fi for using Bing
• JiWire and Microsoft
• Wireless Week
• Popular Science
• Muni Wireless - editorial on free Wi-Fi
• Gotta Be Mobile
• Onxo - Toyota Solar Trees with Wi-Fi

Google Map Shows Where To Get Flu And H1N1 Shots

Here is the link to Google's map that allows you to input your zip or city and state to find out where you can get flu and H1N1 shots.

The link is here.  I think it's prudent for folks to get it.  Of course, I think you should use your personal judgment when it comes to getting the shots.  No, no.  I'm not talking about the voodoo science that's being spread about vaccines.

What I mean is if you're in the priority category, get it.  Pregnant folks (women) and children.  Here are some critical information I ripped from a health site in Orange County, CA.

• people who live with or care for children younger than 6 months of age,
• healthcare and emergency medical services personnel,
• persons between the ages of 6 months through 24 years of age, and
• people from ages 25 through 64 years who are at higher risk for Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza complications because of chronic health disorders or compromised immune systems
• Approximately 10% of the vaccine supply will be available through Kaiser Permanente to its members (NOW AVAILABLE)
• More than 1,000 private health care providers will receive vaccine, so check with your provider
• Many schools, colleges and universities will be offering onsite vaccinations for school children
• Many Community Clinics will have vaccinations available to the public
• Several hospitals, cities, community service centers, and the Health Care Agency will be offering public vaccination clinics.

Anyway, there are lines for a lot of the public venue where shots are provided.  Charge up your iPhones, smartphones, and Kindles and be prepared to wait a bit.  And it could save your life as well as those of your love ones.

Source:  Google Map For Flu And H1N1 Vaccination, OC Health

App For That Term Abused

Last week, I was discuss with some friends in the tech sector about mobile news.  Apple this, Microsoft that, Google and Verizon does Droid, etc.

One of the topic was something that I had a feeling was about to get out of control.  Well, it did today.  You know those Apple iPhone commercials.  The term used often was "there's an app for that".  Well, along that line, bloggers started using it and abusing it.  Then it was used by the Droid campaign from Verizon Wireless (though some said it's Motorola).

Now the great state of Florida is getting into it.  I'll let you watch the video and you'll see how they've even outdone VW and the bloggers.



Pretty cool, eh?  Swipes and pinches included too.

More on this at CNet.

Breaking: Google Just Bought AdMob for $$$

Via CBS Marketwatch, I just found out Google bought AdMob for $750
million in stocks. That's a lot of confidence in the market place for
mobile ads.

AdMob has grown quite a bit with increase in mobile Internet use over
the last couple of years, specifically, with iPhone ads served.

This is certainly a very interest move by Google. There is no more
information at this time. How will this affect the marketplace? Not
much but it certainly gives Google a legs up as it tries to dominate
mobile ad and search.

That's right, my fellow mobile warriors. Mobility is here to stay and
given the vote of confidence Google just placed in mobile, we're sure
to see a lot of interesting developments.

Note: No cash was involved so I wonder if it also means the AdMob
folks also think Google's value will continue to rise.

T-Mobile Outage A Valuable Lesson For Health And Security Reasons

According to T-Mobile, only 5% of its 40 million-ish subscribers suffered yesterday's outage.  Oh wait, that's 2 million of our fellow mobile warriors.  Anyway, I hope no Onxo readers had to go through that.  I was fine on my G1 and I kept testing it once I found about this little hiccup.

And 2 million of more than 250 million mobile users in the United States is a small hiccup but it is a blip.  According to T-Mobile, the hours-long outage was caused by bad programming.  Or something that to effect.

Over at On Android, I mentioned that I believe it is what it is as T-Mobile said it was.  But because it only affected less than 1% of the mobile market (and most of them might not have known unless they were using their phones at the time), it will quickly be forgotten.  But that's unfortunate as there is much we can learn from this.

It's not a terrorism situation but what if it was?  Everyone talks about how vulnerable our docks, water, electrical grid, and transportation systems are but no one has said anything about our wireless networks.

Sure, we hear stories now and again about cyber threats.  Sometimes it's the Russian mobsters or freelance hackers with ties to the Chinese military.  And we hear about identity threats.  What about attacks against the wireless networks?

After all, these towers are just sitting out in the open.  And forget about the physical attacks on the wireless infrastructure.  I'm wondering about the security of the servers that run these wireless networks.  We don't hear anything about it but I wonder how secured they are against outside attacks?

Further more, as we head into the cold season in the Northern Hemisphere, traditional flu has taken a backseat to H1N1 with even the Department of Homeland Security being asked to help out by issuing federal guidelines for businesses.  One of the recommendations is for workers to use wireless networks should the need arise to work from home.

There's two reasons why mobile warriors need to pay attention.  First, the wireless networks is congested as it is with the FCC trying to figure out what to do about spectrums.  Second, more and more mobile users rely exclusively on their mobile phones or smartphones by forgoing their landlines. that means more people will be using their phones to make calls or tethering the laptops for Internet access.

I just hope that T-Mobile's outage is something the wireless providers pay a lot of close attention to.

Personally, I've got my landline for DSL access as well as my G1 services.

Rooting For WiMax

I'm rooting for WiMax. That means rooting for Sprint, Google-Intel-backed Clearwire, and anyone else involved in making equipment and gears to support the 4G network. And that's fine with me. I use Intel chips in my Macbook, I'm recently inducted into the exclusive club of Google Wave, and my first mobile service was with Sprint.

A lot has been said about LTE but WiMax for the moment seems to be taking the lead in global deployment while LTE networks are just beginning to come online. Where WiMax seems to be doing well is in Asia. Why is that significant?

While Western economies try to find their way out of the dark, even with signs of stabilization in the financial market, will still take years before the job market recovers and the masses feel good about their future. As an American, I like to think we're a scrappy bunch and we'll be alright. Still, it'll take time.

Meanwhile, Asian tigers continue to go gangbusters as they rely increasingly on the Chinese economy and less so on an US recovery. And as recovery takes place half way around the world from where I'm sitting, and WiMax is being deployed and demanded, I don't see how WiMax will go easily into the night once LTE networks come online.

Here are some statistics that point to the strength of WiMax and why investments by Sprint and Clearwire could pay off in the US:

• Motorola shipped its 10,000th WiMax access point (Wireless Weekly). That includes 35 contracts all over the world.
• WiMax equipment accounts for 40% of growth form the previous year (Daily Wireless).
• 4 Million customers worldwide with 45 new devices to support them.
• Android. Yes, not the iPhone. Android's flexibility could be WiMax's salvation and the Google backed OS could allow it to become the number one mobile OS in 5 years. Certainly, early support for WiMax could be a marriage made in heaven for the 4G network and the mobile platform.
• WiMax now available in Philly and Chicago. Previously, I had complained but understood why Sprint hasn't brought the network to bigger markets. Will, they have and will continue to surge forward, just ahead of Verizon Wireless' own 4G network.
• WiMax investment now pays off later in more ways than one. Aside from revenue, a software upgrade can turn the whole WiMax network to support LTE protocol.
• Tech island, Taiwan, will show off WiMax-enabled Taxi.
• Smartphones are beginning to appear on the market support the WiMax network. For instance, The Samsung Moment sports a 3.2 AMOLED touchscreen, full keyboard, 800Mhz CPU (that means fast!), and all for $179 (IntoMobile). Oh, and it's Android-based.

For folks reading Onxo for a while now, you might notice that I am high on T-Mobile and the iPhone (though I own just about every other mobile devices as well). One, T-Mobile isn't ATT, and iPhone, you have to admit (for those of you who can get pass the Apple biases), is second to none on the market right now. Still, I am not married to the network or platform. As a true mobile user, I'll gravitate towards the gears and tools that can best help me do my work.

And this is why I'm pulling for WiMax. It's likely to have a greater impact than pundits out there are willing to admit (because then they'll have to say they're wrong). Plus, having a competitive network in the world is good for the hundreds of millions of mobile warriors worldwide. And just maybe, we'll also see it in other major US markets even before LTE testing is completed.

And for all that I've said above about WiMax living off Asian nations, the US broadband is still one of the largest in the world and what happens here will matter as it is one large pie for developers, device makers, and platforms to support.

So, root for WiMax even if you're not Sprint customer. And who knows, if WiMax comes to your street, seriously, take a 2nd and 3rd look at it. VW is pushing hard for LTE but that's like a year away. And ATT? Right, 3G is still where they're sitting on right now. As for T-Mobile, well, we all know about the rumors of a Sprint buyout (which would be good because that means more cash for WiMax deployment) or cooperation with Sprint on 4G (which is also just as good because it also means more cash for WiMax depolyment).

Pandemics And Mobility

Pandemics and mobile warriors.  It doesn't seem like it has a lot to do with regular mobile users or any folks who rely much on Internet.  We're probably thinking about those CDC agents in bio-suits in staging areas working on their laptops in the field, much like what we see in movies.  However, I'm talking about every mobile users like you and me. 

Macworld posed an interesting piece asking if an H1N1 pandemic could slow the Internet to a crawl.  I think it's an issue we need to think about in depth.  And if there was ever a time for the government to prepare for it, now is likely the time.  As far as pandemics and the modern age, we're kind of new at this.  

The United States Government Accountability Office, or GOA, has looked into this matter and given it an enough consideration for it to issue a report.  I'll sort through it and come back later today or this weekend to summarize it for ya and consider a few options on how we can protect ourselves or at least make any potential problems that may arise less of a pain.

More at Macworld.  It's a must read.

Meanwhile, any recommendations our worldwide mobile warriors can offer would be terrific.  

Microsoft Needs To Say "Enough!"

Microsoft Needs To Say "Enough!"  No more screwing around.

It's time for Redmond to start changing rules and find another way to become relevant in the mobile sphere.  If you spend any amount of time on the Internet going through tech and gadget blogs, virtually everything you've read about is Android, Apple, Google, more Android, and iPhone.

I've read a few Windows Mobile mentions but mostly about how irrelevant WM has become in light of the surge of iPhone and the Android platform.

That's not to say that RIM should be fine with it.  Two main topics regarding the No. 1 smartphone maker in North America did not put the Canadian company in a positive light.   One was about how Storm 2 has failed even before it is out as Verizon Wireless concentrated on the Droid launch with Motorola.  And what's the other one?  Oh, it's just that the Apple is within striking distance of overtaking RIM as the number one device maker in the US.  Both negative and competing platforms still manage to get attention in the posts.

But back to Microsoft.  What's Redmond to do?  I don't have a solution but I do know that this cannot continue or else, desktop or office suite dominance, it will not matter in a few years as more folks rely on their mobile devices to conduct their personal and business affairs and continue the march away from desktops, laptops, and even netbooks.  (Chrome OS will likely gain a lot of attention in the netback segment even as Microsoft is trying to get folks to upgrade to Windows 7).

One example to look at is what Palm has done with Pre. While Palm came out with a good competitor to just about anything that was on the market.  But it lacked many things that others on the market had like its own music and app store.  At least at the time when it debuted in June, the app store was virtually nonexistent.

For Microsoft, Zune HD was a move in the right direction but it was mere a piece of a complicated puzzle.  With Danger, Zune, and the forthcoming WM 7 in the right mix, it can be a force to be reckon with in the mobile landscape.

However, Microsoft cannot afford to simply copy of what Apple has done with the iPhone ecosystem.  The fact that Apple can create a walled garden is uniquely an Apple experience.  Microsoft will likely be looking to partners to help flesh out the hardware as it offers the software (including games) portion.

I think this debate has not be settled and continues at Microsoft.  Can they continue to rely on partners or go at it alone, at least, in the initial part of their roadmap to reclaim relevancy in the mobile market?  It has demonstrated that it can make a first rate mobile device with Zune HD.  So don't be surprise when Zune HD continue to evolve with more functions and software.

And don't be surprised if Zune component of the mobile strategy gains a more robust gaming ability.  With the Tegra chip power the ZHD, it is a powerful system that so far is largely under utilized.

At the end of the day, Microsoft needs to provide an unique experience only Microsoft can provide.  It has an arsenal of impressive technologies and a very deep pocket.  But the window of opportunity is closing and it better hit it out of the park with when Windows Mobile 7  is launched.

WM 7 has been delayed more than a year.  I am hoping it was a year well spent.  I simply sensed that the old thinking about mobility at Microsoft has to be thrown out and something new be reborn.  Maybe Microsoft needs to let something go or break any mold they've been using so that something new can be reborn.  

Note:  Something new at Microsoft.  Hmm...here's my honest opinion about Steve Balmer.  Get rid of him.  He's no good for Microsoft and as a shareholder, I cringed every time he speak and then proven wrong weeks or months later about competitors or prospectives of Microsoft's own product.  Dude has got to go.  He's still living in the Windows 95 era.  

Verizon Needs The iPhone (As Well As Other Providers) Now

ATT is the exclusive partner to sell the iPhone in the US.  To give some perspective, 1.2 million new subscribers were added by Verizon Wireless (VW).  It's a good feat.  That is 200,000 more users than the 1 million expected;  20% MORE THAN ANYONE EXPECTED.  

Now, think 1.3 million.  That is the number of new iPhone subscribers that ATT gained and ATT gained 3.2 million new users in the last quarter.  someone smarter than I am ought to look into the non-iPhone users and see what kind of halo-effect Apple's mobile device had in helping ATT achieve this feat in the midst of a recession.

Imagine the effect it would have had on VW's numbers had VW had the iPhone in its arsenal.  For that matter, Sprint and T-Mobile as well.  

Plus, time and time again, I've expected new products from Apple's rivals to dethrone the iPhone.  First it was the new Blackberries from RIM.  You know, the whole thing about the iPhone not having a physical keyboard and all.  I kind of bought that argument.  Well, that didn't work out.  RIM is still the top dog in the smartphone market but the iPhone is cleaning RIM's clock.

Then the Storm came out.  What a disaster that was.  And now, Storm 2, which VW isn't giving a lot of hoopla it did last year, will be out this Wednesday.  Does it looking promising?  It might keep Apple on its toes but nothing more.  

And then there was the Pre.  I thought "this is the one".  Well, it went from $299 to $99 at Best Buy (at times) and while it has helped Palm's bottomline, it didn't not solidify Palm's comeback in the mobile arena as I had hoped.  

Then there's Microsoft's Windows Mobi...ah, I'm not going to be there.  

How about the G1?  Right.  There was a report out last week that collectively, Android will be the number two mobile platform in a few years.  I think it'll be more like number one eventually.  But so far, Android devices have been great but they're still no iPhones.

Now, VW is teaming up with Motorola with the Droid.  Can this stunt the iPhone momentum?  A year ago, six months ago, I might have said it has a good chance of doing just that.  Today?  I am not so sure.

While many smartphones and mobile devices can do more than the iPhone (such as apps running in the background) the iPhone ecosystem is something that has yet to be duplicated and Apple competitors will have issues dealing with it.

Collectively, the Symbian, Blackberry OS, and Android will likely be at the top in terms of market-share but the iPhone will continue to be the disrupting factor in the mobile market.  And this is why VW needs the iPhone.  

And for the same reason, last week, ATT CEO prepared analysts for the day when ATT will cease to become the exclusive iPhone seller.