Cecil Taylor

Beyond the Dongle: Device Innovation for 4G

Cecil Taylor on March 30, 2010 | 2 comments

For years, I’ve thought that WiMAX offered a great opportunity for devices to bust out of the most popular modes of phones and dongles to more innovative devices. My thoughts were confirmed at the “Path to 4G” series of seminars at CTIA Wireless 2010, at a panel session called “Beyond the USB Dongle – Innovative Devices for 4G Networks.”

Mobile broadband networks will carry broadband expectations. And what is hot right now, beyond question, in the Internet realm? Video. As panelist Bill Henry, Director of Tegra Product Management at NVIDIA, said, “The Internet is more visual…It requires huge network bandwidth.”

What this means is more devices with a full display. As pointed out by several members of the panel, a phone just isn’t large enough to give a rich video experience. It follows that if a full display is optimal for video viewing, mobile users will want more than one device: a phone plus a specialized device. The full display could either hook up via the phone or have standalone transmit/receive capabilities.

Obviously, the new iPad comes to mind as one form factor. But there will surely be others.

One exciting development is the idea of gaming-specific mobile devices, which I feel are natural evolutions for 4G networks. Henry said that NVIDIA is already working with game developers who are learning the mobile environment and are designing games that would work well for mobile users with specialized devices. To a comment that the touch screen model would be annoying for gaming, Henry said the opposite is true: Game developers see touch screen technology as an intuitive interface for controlling the game. As an example, Henry pointed to a football game where the user could control a player by swiping a finger along a touch screen.

Another intriguing area is the use of advanced sensor technology and other gadgets as part of specialized mobile devices. A basic example is a sensor that could detect and interpret location or surroundings for location-based services, such as the classic idea of location-based advertising. Built-in device cameras might be used for the same purpose. Of course, GPS or compass capabilities fit into the same category.

More advanced is the idea of biometrics. As heard also in the “Everywhere Healthcare” seminar series at CTIA, there are already devices that can provide health and fitness information back to a health care provider or fitness center. Specialized … Read the rest

One Man's Search For A WiMax-GSM Phone

Cecil Taylor on February 24, 2010

The clock is ticking in the Taylor household – ticking away toward the time when the family finds a new wireless family plan.

Trapped by a cellular contract that seemingly extends every time you make a change, we’re ready to make big changes. The oldest is going off to college and wants to get a serious, hotter phone (I won’t let him change his worn-out model that has been beaten down by 9,000 texts per month because it would extend our agreement or cost too much right now). The youngest is about to come online and join the rest of the family in the mobile age. The middle child is starting to become enamored with the smartphones his friends are displaying. And my wife – well, she’s of the generation that is still figuring out all the features of the phone she got two years ago.

What does Dad want? I’m in the tech business and have been helping in one way or another to build WiMAX for four years. I’m ready for some serious speed in the palm of my hand.

There’s a second requirement. I can get WiMAX in my area, but since I travel, I want to ensure coverage, so I’m really looking for a WiMAX-GSM dual mode handset.

I’m starting the research now as we near the end of July when we are finally freed from the shackles of our current contract. If my recent research is any indication, it’s going to be tougher than I hoped to land what I want.

Let’s start first with my area’s WiMAX service providers, Clearwire and Sprint (which, of course, is really Clearwire with a Sprint wrapper). In short, the only alternatives are 4G modems and dongles. A great way to get started, but not what I’m looking for.

Unfortunately, I don’t live in one place I know offers a WiMAX-GSM dual mode handset. That would be Russia, where WiMAX pioneer operator Yota will sell you the HTC Max 4G. It would be great to have the desired phone with some real-life experience behind it, but I’m not looking to move to Russia.

I’ve been scouring the news from the recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, looking for signs of WiMAX-GSM duality, and I’ve found a couple of choices. Ixi Mobile and Runcom have announced their partnership to develop the Ogo CC-10 GSM-WiMAX handset. According to

… Read the rest

Surveillance Processing Will Eventually Help WiMax

Cecil Taylor on January 25, 2010 | 2 comments

When GoingWiMAX.com recently asked its bloggers to forecast WiMAX developments in 2010, I was reminded of the old marketing adage, “Forecasting is difficult, especially of the future.” But expand the horizon from 2010 to the remainder of the decade, and I can spot a WiMAX development that looks sure-fire to me. And I start by looking at the past.

It’s been a trend since the Romans started building roads to move their troops across the Roman Empire: Products invented for war-making purposes eventually find application in commercial civilian use.

As a result of the United States’ lengthy involvement in Iran and Afghanistan, a number of military technologies have begun the trek into commercialization in recent years. Thermal imaging devices are now implanted in luxury automobiles. Virtual training platforms now help train workers in fields as diverse as emergency operations and taxi driving. A new generation of prosthetic devices, whose research was underfunded until unfortunate bomb incidents in Iraq and Afghanistan created waves of veteran amputees, is now being developed.

So it must pique the interest of those advocating WiMAX in surveillance applications to see new video processing technology being developed to analyze the flood of information cascading from drone aircraft in Afghanistan in particular. Within the next five to ten years, the analytical software being developed for the military could propagate into commercial use, launching a wider adoption of broadband surveillance video in police and security settings –and probably in other heretofore unconsidered areas as well.

Recently the New York Times characterized the military surveillance problem. Video collected by drones rose 300% from 2007 to 2009. New Reaper drones have more video capability than the Predator drones they’re replacing, with 10 cameras aiming in different directions, and an upgrade to 30 cameras scheduled for next year. Meanwhile, the military must devote increasing numbers of soldiers to analyzing the video as it arrives. In a military being enhanced to do more with fewer troops, it makes sense to not only automate but to speed up the analysis process.
Other requirements include sharing more data between branches and agencies such as the CIA, and annotating the raw video with graphics, text and other data.

Can you imagine Homeland Security wanting this technology? Police departments? Security details? Paparazzi? OK, I’m joking (a little) on the last one, but the point is that if the technology is available, there will … Read the rest

Clearwire’s Vertical Market Strategy Becoming Clearer

Cecil Taylor on January 5, 2010

checklist

Here’s a checklist for Clearwire as it rolls out its WiMAX service branded as “Clear”:

Build on its 16-market start? Check – Clear plans to have a total of 83 markets enabled in the next 14-16 months.
Sign up customers? Check – with a guerilla strategy of primarily using field service reps, Clear is building its end customer base.
Establish itself as a carrier for vertical markets? Well, that’s not as far along, but that plan is being developed, too, by people like Bill Hadala.

Hadala is in business development for Clearwire, currently focused on the Las Vegas market. He’s out to make people realize that Clear’s WiMAX service has more capabilities than one might expect. “It’s a revolution,” said Hadala. “A huge revolution.

“People hear ‘4G’ and think it’s along the same line as 3G,” continued Hadala. “From a branding perspective, it’s important to show that WiMAX was built for data.”

High-speed data is the core of Clear’s business-to-business offering. Clearwire is targeting a number of vertical markets: health, financial and banking, legal, real estate, hospitality and gaming, business services, retail and wholesale, and transportation. Hadala says Smart Grid and utility needs are also a consideration.

But Hadala’s primary focus is on education. “The natural lead is education,” said Hadala. “WiMAX has the ability to revolutionize the ways that students learn.”

For example, “Students can untether from the classroom,” said Hadala. A possible application is creating reports during field trips on handheld WiMAX-enabled devices.

Hadala wants to build a coalition to bring such ideas to reality. He envisions Clear being the focal point of a partnership between schools and corporations that could provide schools with 4G equipment. The coalition would include entrepreneurs and forward-thinking companies from around the country that can foresee and develop new education applications based on the use of high-speed data.

“At the end of the day, we’re the carrier, promoting connectivity,” said Hadala. “We’re open to working with others to provide value-added services to customers, whether it’s in education or in other areas such as security, web hosting or phone services.” Hadala goes on to say that “Clear is focused on the good old U.S.A,” and that enhancing national education dovetails with Clearwire’s goal to service the United States wireless broadband data market.

Clearwire is onto something. The essence of promoting any new technology is making it relevant to users. Much as the … Read the rest

Cecil Taylor

Beyond the Dongle: Device Innovation for 4G

One Man's Search For A WiMax-GSM Phone

Surveillance Processing Will Eventually Help WiMax

Clearwire’s Vertical Market Strategy Becoming Clearer

Blogroll