Technology.NewsDoggy.info - Mobile Phones

Yahoo CEO and co-founder Jerry Yang probably spoke for more people than he could possibly imagine when he said, "Clearly it is time to move on," at a news conference after the company announced talks with Microsoft have ended and there's no acquisition deal in the making. His remarks came after Yahoo and Google said they've entered an online ad deal, which wound up being the big IT news of the week. Until that point, Apple's new iPhone 3G was getting the bulk of attention. Meanwhile, MySpace and Mozilla offered up advance notice on news for next week.

[ Video: Catch up on the top tech news stories with the World Tech update ]

1. Google, Yahoo strike ad deal: A few hours after Yahoo announced that it had ended talks with Microsoft without an acquisition of all or part of Yahoo in the offing, the company said it will run Google ads along with its search results. The deal linking the online advertising businesses of the companies will bring in $250 million to $450 million in operating cash flow in the first 12 months and has the potential to generate $800 million in revenue for Yahoo. The nonexclusive deal is set for an initial stretch of four years, with a Yahoo option to extend it for six more years after that. Although we wouldn't place any bets that this whole saga is over, the latest news knocked this week's round of public sparring between investor Carl Icahn and Yahoo chairman Roy Bostock out of the headlines.

2. WWDC: Jobs introduces iPhone 3G to much fanfare and Hands on with iPhone 3G: Apple's iPhone 3G will be out in July, CEO Steve Jobs announced to open the company's Worldwide Developer Conference. Better yet, the price has been slashed $200 to $199 for the 8GB model and to $299 for the 16GB version. The new iPhones will initially be available in 21 countries with rollout to more than 70 by year's end.

[ Special reports: Apple launches the iPhone 3G | IT's guide to the iPhone ]

3. A deep dive into Apple's mobile empire: The iPhone 3G grabbed most of the headlines at Apple's WWDC, but the other big news is the iPhone 2.0 software. The SDK will allow third-party developers to create apps that will run natively on the iPhone and iPod Touch, and the AppStore will allow them to sell their wares through an iTunes-like market. Apple is clearly making a big play for the mobile market and could be making inroads into the enterprise space as well.

4. Mozilla to release Firefox 3 on July 17: And more advance notice, this time from Mozilla, which set Tuesday as "Download Day" for Firefox 3. The company is spreading the word with the hope that Firefox aficionados will download the new version of the Web browser on the first day of its release with the aim of setting a new record in geekdom for the largest number of downloads in 24 hours.

5. US congressmen accuse China of hacking their computers and Weak evidence links congressmen's cyberattacks to China: U.S. Representatives Frank Wolf of Virginia and Christopher Smith of New Jersey accused China of hacking into their office computers, although by week's end, security experts said that little evidence had been provided to back up those claims. The FBI told Wolf the hackers who infiltrated his computer were in China, and Smith said that IT pros who fixed his compromised computers told his staff the hackers used Chinese IP addresses and got into files about China. The Chinese Foreign Ministry denied any connection to the incidents. Meanwhile IT security pros say that the IP address itself doesn't provide enough information to assume that the hacker is of a particular nationality or government.

6. IBM breaks petaflop barrier: A supercomputer named Roadrunner is the world's first petaflop computer, built to keep tabs on the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile without the need for live tests, IBM and the Los Alamos National Laboratory said. It took 21 tractor-trailer trucks to ship Roadrunner from New York to Los Alamos in New Mexico. It would take 100,000 laptops combined to equal Roadrunner's speed, and if everyone in the world did one calculation per second on a handheld computer it would take 46 years to do all that Roadrunner can handle in a day, IBM said.

7. Groups ask court to review laptop searches: The Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Association of Corporate Travel Executives filed an amicus brief with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals because they want the full court to consider and reverse a decision made by a three-judge panel that allows border agents to seize and search electronic devices without reasonable suspicion. Travelers are having their electronic devices seized and searched more often and border and customs officials have at times been slow to return the devices, if they get returned at all.

8. IDC raises global PC shipment forecast: Usually, a research firm's forecast for a market segment wouldn't make a dent in the Top 10, but these aren't quite usual times lately, what with economic jitters continuing. So it's noteworthy that IDC raised its forecast for worldwide PC shipments this year and now expects growth of 15.2 percent, or 310 million units, compared to its previous prediction of 12.8 percent growth. Robust demand for portable computers spurred the updated forecast. PC prices also shouldn't be hit too hard by the inflation that is being found elsewhere, notably at grocery stores and gas pumps.

9. In Congress, H-1B issue pits tech workers against farm groups: This argument encapsulates the ongoing debate about who gets a visa to work in the U.S. Representative Luis Gutierrez, an Illinois Democrat: "I think we should give the high-tech industry the innovators they need. But what do lawmakers tell foreign workers who labor on farms and apply pesticides — that 'you're not really smart?'" Farm workers are "just as critical and relevant to the innovation of that industry" as tech workers are to IT, he said, while urging the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship and Refugees, Border Security and International Law to take a "holistic approach" to immigration that won't leave people "stigmatized." That subcommittee is debating bills related to immigration and the call for an increase in the cap on H-1B visas for skilled workers.

10. Microsoft site link hints at 2009 release for Office 14: A Microsoft podcasting kit for Office SharePoint Server, which is the portal product in the Office suite, included a question-and-answer article that referred to Office SharePoint 2009, which seems like a hint that the next version of Office is expected out next year. Microsoft is still calling the product Office 14 and hasn't said when it will be released. Once the reference was noticed and reported about, Microsoft got rid of that wording at the site.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission should abolish early-termination fees because they're unfair to customers, two mobile phone customers and a state regulator said Thursday.

Early-termination fees, or ETFs, charged by wireless carriers are "unique and frankly predatory," Molly White, a corporate consultant from Portland, Ore., told the FCC.

"I do not sign time-sensitive contracts and agree to early termination fees with any other utility with whom I do business," said White, who had to pay an ETF for her personal phone service when former employer Nike provided a mobile phone to her. "The cellular industry appears to have built an elaborate system of additional fees, early termination clauses, and hardware purchase requirements, all with the intentional appearance of offering the consumer, me, a deal, while ultimately locking me into a long-term service agreement."

A second mobile phone customer, Harold Schroer, asked the FCC to take action on ETFs, but also requested that the agency not end class-action lawsuits against the carriers in exchange for abolishing ETFs, as has been proposed by FCC chairman Kevin Martin. In late 2007, after two senators introduced legislation that would regulate ETFs, Martin said he wanted to examine ETFs charged by mobile carriers and broadband providers.

Schroer, part of a class-action lawsuit against Verizon Wireless, told the FCC that the 4 million Verizon customers represented in the lawsuit paid about $500 million in ETFs.

"We are seeking a refund of every penny of that money," said Schroer, a resident of New York state. "I never signed a contract [with Verizon], nor was I ever requested to sign a contract."

In 2003, Schroer cancelled a Verizon contract extension that was recommended by a sales representative, and he refused to pay the $175 ETF. Verizon then reported him to credit agencies, resulting in higher interest rates on credit cards and in him being turned down for new credit, he said. Bill collectors harassed him, he added.

Schroer complained to the FCC, but staffers there told him the agency had no authority over New York contract law, he said. "When I came to this commission for help, you sent me away," he said. "When I'm now about to get my day in court somewhere else, the commission purposes to step in and prevent me from doing that."

The FCC shouldn't take half steps such as requiring that ETFs be prorated based on how long the customer has had service or requiring that wireless carriers give customers more information about pricing plans and fees, said Anne Boyle, the chairwoman of the Nebraska Public Service Commission. Instead, the FCC should prohibit wireless carriers from offering plans with ETFs, she said.

Wireless carriers would benefit from the elimination of ETFs, Boyle said. "For some time, the wireless industry has ranked among the highest in the nation for consumer complaints," she said. "Many [complaints] are related to misunderstandings, misstatements, and confusing, non-negotiable contracts."

Other witnesses at the hearing said ETFs help subsidize the cost of mobile handsets and allow customers to get cheaper rates than pay-as-you-go plans. "Term contracts allow the consumer to take advantage of bundled services at competitive prices and the latest devices they choose in exchange for a commitment to keep the service for usually one or two years," said Tom Tauke, Verizon's executive vice president of public affairs policy and communication.

Verizon would support an FCC policy governing ETFs as long as the agency also took away the "patchwork" of state regulation on the fees, Tauke added.

Verizon would support an FCC policy that set reasonable ETFs, required more information be provided about ETFs, that they be prorated, and have test-drive periods, Tauke said. "While we continue to question the necessity of some of these provisions, we nevertheless believe that an FCC-adopted national policy … is workable for the wireless industry," he said.

Verizon has listened to customer demand and began prorating ETFs in November 2006, Tauke said. The carrier also allows customers a test-drive period for new service, usually 30 days, and customers who cancel service within that time period are not charged an ETF, he added.

But one witness questioned the assertion from some wireless carriers that ETFs cover the costs of subsidizing mobile handsets. Lee Selwyn, president of the Economics and Technology consulting firm, said his calculations show that mobile carriers subsidized an average of $14.33 per handset in 2006, while ETFs were in the $150 to $200 range.

Selwyn, who testified last month on behalf of customers in a class-action lawsuit against Sprint Nextel in California, said Sprint lost less than $10 per customer when customers ended their contracts early.

Wireless providers have long used handset subsidies as a marketing tool, Selwyn added. "Over time, as the volume of handsets being manufactured mushroomed and the product costs plummeted, the magnitude of such subsides diminished to the point where it has all but disappeared," he said.