July 23, 2007

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Editor’s note:
From phones to people

What's New:
• Bargain-basement mayhem
• Find your friend with Sprint

Executive Analysis:
• Get ready for Google wireless
• Phones finding phones

Also Noted:
Google makes femtocell investment; iPhone activation cracked;
And much more...

Hands-On Wireless:
• Strike an open access balance
• iPhone reality sets in

There's something odd about the latest development in mobile phones--technology that helps people find people. Phones have always been the "next best thing to being there," but new developments in mobile technology promise to help people get together face-to-face as well voice-to-voice. These new products and services bring GPS, SMS, and voice technologies together to facilitate meetings. Wireless communications proponents have long spoken of smart phones changing the way that companies work, and handheld devices have done just that. The changes to this point are likely to pale in comparison to the shift that will occur as all the communications types--including face-to-face--come together to build and strengthen enterprise teams. The brave new world is finally here--now, we will see what that means for business. -Curtis

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What’s New

1. Bargain-basement mayhem

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Wireless security is challenging enough when dealing with assaults developed one at a time by enterprising criminals. Now, though, PandaLabs has found a do-it-yourself Trojan kit for sale at cut-rate prices on a number of different websites. While coping with new security problems resulting from higher speeds adds one layer of difficulty to the security staff's job, a tool like Pinch, placed into the hands of hundreds of potential attackers, adds an added level of complexity to the dangerous mix.

For more on Pinch:
- read the news article at eWeek

2. Find your friend with Sprint

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Sprint continues to add new services to its mobile portfolio; the latest is an offering that promises to make "Where are you?" an irrelevant question. In partnership with loopt (a social-networking company), Sprint is using the GPS capability of current-generation smartphones to let you know where individuals are. You can see their location on a map, or can be notified if they get within a specified distance. Marketed as a consumer option, this location-based service could have significant business applications in the service and fleet-management industries.

For more on finding your friends with Sprint:
- see this press release
- read the complete article at CIO-Today

Executive Analysis

1. Get ready for Google wireless

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Google has made no secret of its desire to get into the wireless communications market. With the concept of a small-capitalization spectrum auction put forward by the search-engine giant, the pieces are starting to come together with Google's announcement that it has set aside $4.6 billion for the FCC auction of the 700 MHz spectrum. If Google gets spectrum, will it bring out its own Google phone or act as a broker for scores or hundreds of small companies with innovative ideas? For that answer, we will have to wait.

For more on Google's $4.6 billion spectrum plans:
- read this story at DailyTechRag and this Editor's Corner
- see this press release
- read the news story at CIO-Today

2. Phones finding phones

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A new service for GPS-enabled phones will allow registered phones to find one another via SMS-based functionality and a free application. Vito FindMe, the no-cost application for Windows Mobile devices with GPS built in, allows registered users to alert one another with location information when queried. Vito FindMe doesn't have all of the features of the Sprint/loopt service, but it's free and doesn't require service from any particular provider.

For more on FindMe:
- see this press release
- read the whole story at eWeek

> Google gets femtocell investment. Article

> iPhone activation cracked. Article

> Vodafone wants 3G iPhone. Article

> Duke solves iPhone mystery. Article

Hands-On Wireless

1. Strike an open access balance

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Stories about what the telecom industry wants and needs when it comes to open access to the RF spectrum have been all over the news in recent weeks. Many consumers seem to think it's a straight-forward question of consumer needs versus provider needs, but the truth is more complex. The need to manage a finite resource might well make an absolutely open wireless space unusable--do you remember CB radio in the 1970s? This editorial makes the case for carefully considering what you ask for in open access--getting what you're asking for could be a major problem for you and your users.

For more on the open-access balance:
- read the newsletter at NetworkWorld

2. iPhone reality sets in

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Now that the initial iPhone hysteria has died down, analysts and IT professionals can take a more measured look at the Apple phone, and can think about the long-term impact of the newest smartphone. One of the things that is becoming increasingly clear is that the impact that the iPhone will have on the telecom industry is very real. Other questions have yet to be answered: Is the iPhone a legitimate enterprise device? The rapid release of mobile clients for NetSuite and Exchange seem to argue that it is. How will the iPhone drive the development of alternative devices? As those devices are developed, will they include Microsoft's Windows Mobile or another operating system? Regardless of the direction the answers to these questions take, it's quite clear that the iPhone's introduction will be considered a pivotal event in the history of the wireless industry.

For more on the iPhone's impact:
- read the analysis at Wireless Week

©2007 FierceMarkets, Inc. This email was sent to tayllorcriss@gmail.com as part of the IT-Wireless email list which is administered by FierceMarkets, 1319 F Street NW, 6th Floor, Washington, DC 20004, (202) 628-8778.

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