Tech Lover

China’s second-largest mobile phone carrier, China Unicom, announced that is willing to hold talks to make Apple’s popular iPhone device available in the Chinese market. Initially, they refused to sell iPhone in China (read this article).

But seeing how popular it is, they are willing to give it a shot. “It seems that iPhone is hot in some markets. We are willing to discuss with Apple,” said China Unicom executive, Li Zhengmao, at the GSMA Mobile Asia Congress in Macau.

Zhengmao cautioned, however, that China Unicom hadn’t yet talked with Apple about the device, and that its main rival, China Mobile Ltd. is already negotiating with the American hardware giant. It is not yet clear whether a possible deal between Apple and China Mobile would be exclusive.

So far, the Apple iPhone has been made available in the United States, Britain, and Germany, and will make its debut in France later this month.

Source: www.teleclick.ca/2007/11/china-unicom-open-to-selling-apple-iphone-in-china/

Worldwide video downloads will grow from 215 million in 2008 to more than 2.4 billion in 2012, with online movie rentals accounting for more than half of these, according to a recent study by ABI Research.

ABI predicts that rental, downloadtoown, and subscriptionbased distribution models will gain significant traction as new technology linking the internet and TV becomes commonplace. Internet movie rentals will likely begin to cut into the traditional video store market, accounting for about half of all online video downloads.

“The opening up of rental for video on iTunes is not surprising, given that is how most consumers looking for legal paid movie downloads will choose to acquire them,” commented ABI researcher, Michael Wolf, on Apple’s recent decision to enter the online video market. “Distribution offerings for movies that are in attractive release windows and that offer easy viewing on a TV or portable screen will see the greatest success.”

But challenges remain for online video services, according to ABI, especially as cable and telecom operators move to dominate the market with legacy Video On Demand offerings. Unattractive online ownership and rental terms offered by movie studios may also pose obstacles.

“Studios are locked into the same 24hour ‘oncestarted’ viewing window and similar pricing for all online rental partners,” Wolf explained. “We believe that over time they will begin to offer greater flexibility, in particular as DVD and other physical media continue to mature and new consumer InternettoTV hardware expands their audience of consumers.”

Source:
www.teleclick.ca/2008/01/onlinevideodownloadstoincreasetenfoldby2012abipredicts/

Many telecom industry observers believe Google will have a hard time making the transition from search engine giant to network operator. Could the transition to equipment maker be any easier? Nyquist Capital analyst Andrew Schmitt thinks Google is doing just that, using offtheshelf chips to build 10 Gbps Ethernet switches because commercial options available allegedly didnt fit its needs.

If thats true, it could shake up the market for 10 Gig E gear, or at least give equipment makers in that market a good scare. It could also give everyone questioning Googles telecom moxie further food for thought. Maybe Google is ready to take the telecom leap.

Source:
http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/spotlightgooglebuilding10gigegear/20071119