Guest Blogger: Jeff Brown, Kineto Wireless

Thankful

During a long Thanksgiving weekend here in the US, I had time to reflect on Kineto's opportunity. I spent the previous three weeks in Europe and Asia visiting mobile operators of all shapes and sizes, and I realize Kineto has a lot to be thankful for.

To begin with, everywhere I went smartphones dominated the discussion. Product plans for 2011 were heavily weighted to smartphones, with feature phones quickly playing a marginalized role. Smartphones for the high-end; the mid-tier; even entry level; plus post and pre-paid…it seemed like everyone wanted to talk smartphones.

Of the platforms, Android continues to have an outsized share. I often refer to a Gartner report from November 2010 which shows Android growing from 3% to 25% of the total smartphone market share in just one year. This is staggering growth, made even more impressive because the overall market doubled in the same timeframe.

And finally, mobile operators have fully embraced Wi-Fi. It seemed that any discussion about smartphones and/or Android included Wi-Fi. It isn't a question of whether Wi-Fi technology will play a role in the mobile internet, it's just a question of how big the role will be.

With this foundation, Kineto's Smart Wi-Fi products are being embraced with open arms. Smart Wi-Fi takes the benefits of Wi-Fi to the next level, enabling operators to deliver improved coverage to their subscribers -- something that isn't available with basic Wi-Fi.

Kineto's Smart Wi-Fi Application is now available on 10 different handsets from operators in North America and Europe. Smart Wi-Fi is the right product at the right time, and Kineto has plenty to be thankful for.

Android gobbling up market share

Here's an abosolutely staggering chart based on data from Gartner Research released in November 2010.

The chart shows the year over year growth of the smartphone market, which nearly doubled (96%).  By itself, that is truly impressive.  But more astounding is the growth of Android market share, coming from 3% to 25% in just one year.

In a market that is doubling every year, Android was able to grow significantly faster than all other platforms.

Apple basically held it's own, growing at the same rate as the market (roughly double).  Of course the real tragities are the sub-market growth of RIM and MSFT.

With Android devices now covering the high-end, mid-tier and entry-level market segments, it's growth potential looks unstoppable.

Nov. 30 Deadline for Video, Twitter Contests

Have you submitted your video yet for our WiFiCalling contest? If not, you better hurry. The final deadline for submissions is TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 30! There are three chances to win a brand new Android smartphone, so the odds are in your favor.

If creativity is holding you back, just take a look at the fan videos posted on the site today - they may provide just the inspiration you are looking for.

And remember, you don't have to have a Wi-Fi Calling / UMA service to enter. Tell us how much you wish you had it. The contest is open worldwide.

If videos really aren't your thing, but you want some chance at winning a new Android smartphone, you can also enter our Twitter contest. Between now and November 30, simply tweet this message for a chance to win:

RT for a chance to win latest #Android Smartphone from @kinetowireless http://bit.ly/bZVUPA with our #wificallingcomp

Visit WiFiCalling.net for contest details and rules (there aren't many) and to submit your video.

Follow @kinetowireless on Twitter for more updates and winner announcements in December.  Good luck!

Battery Life - Keeps getting better

Engadget editor Chris Ziegler recently reviewed Motorola's new Defy.  In case you forgot, this is Motorola's new 'party phone', water resistant, scratch-proof screen, something about rolling around in the sand (watch the commercial...).  This is also the Oprah phone... the phone given to the audience members of Oprah's first show of her last season.

But I don't want to talk about all that.  The Defy comes with Wi-Fi Calling.  Some industry commentators continue to propagate the rumor that excessive Wi-Fi use drains a smartphone's battery.  That may be the case, unless that phone has Smart Wi-Fi technology.

In Chris' review, he actually credits Wi-Fi, and Wi-Fi Calling (aka Smart Wi-Fi), as the reason why the battery performance was "stellar."

"In our experience, the Defy seems to have stellar battery life, which is relatively hard to come by among Android phones. Not only we were able to consistently make it comfortably through an entire day on a charge, but we were surprised to find that after putting the phone away with about 75 percent charge, it was still on with 21 percent remaining two days later. Granted, it spent most of that time in WiFi calling range (which disables the cellular radio), but many smartphones give up the ghost from 100 percent charge in less time, so we were pleased to see that." 

Smart Wi-Fi... actually making Wi-Fi on Smartphones 'smarter'.

Orange UK launches LG Optimus with Signal Booster

Yesterday the LG Optimus appeared on the Orange UK website.  It's the first Android phone which supports Orange UK's "Signal Boost" feature which is based on UMA Technonology.

At press time, the phone was listed as having a talk time of 29.1 days... I'm sure that's supposed to be standby time, and I'm pretty sure it's not 29 days... but hey - there's no doubt that UMA powerful stuff.

The LG Optimus was released at T-Mobile US a couple weeks ago with the same UMA technology, albeit under the commercial name Wi-Fi Calling.

The Optimus is part of a new category of low-cost Android-powered smartphones.  The phone is free with a two year commitment at both Orange and T-Mobile.

Wi-Fi Calling Comes to T-Mobile Android

Today's the day...T-Mobile is now selling four phones with Wi-Fi Calling. Finally.

With today's big push is around '4G', it turns out that T-Mobile's two flagship 4G phones both support Wi-Fi Calling.

The MyTouch 4G comes with Wi-Fi Calling pre-loaded on the handset.

The G2, the other phone in the '4G' launch, gets Wi-Fi Calling added as an 'over the air' update occuring over the next week.

In addition, two of T-Mobile's entry level Android phones are available with Wi-Fi Calling.

The LG Optimus (free with 2 year contract) and the Motorola Defy ($99 with 2 year contract) are both available with Wi-Fi Calling.

Today's the day - taking Wi-Fi and Android to the next level.

Wi-Fi Playing a More Crucial Role in US Mobile Carrier Growth

…and femtocells don’t appear to be.

I was reading Roger Cheng’s latest piece covering AT&T’s use Wi-Fi. The company announced they supported 106.9 million Wi-Fi connections in Q2 2010. It’s certainly impressive.

But was struck me more was the utter lack of discussion about femtocells. Recall that just a year or two ago, AT&T’s femtocell launch was eagerly anticipated by the company, along with the mobile (and femtocell) industry.

Yet skip ahead, and AT&T continues to laud its use of Wi-Fi with nary a word on its femtocell deployment. It's like they have fallen to the side of the road.

Perhaps it’s reflected in a release the Femto Forum put out the other day. The Forum announced that there were “more femtocells deployed that macrocells” in the US.

At first blush, that sound like good news… until the details come out.

According to the announcement, there are ‘conservatively’ 350,000 femtocells deployed by Sprint, Verizon and AT&T in the US, versus 256,000 macro cells. But with the ‘big three’ serving about 230 million subscribers, 350k femtocells deployed isn’t very impressive.

Even converting to households, it isn’t much. I found another study which says 75.8m homes in the US have broadband, a pre-requisite for a femtocell, so we're at 0.4% penetration. (versus 62% for Wi-Fi).

I know, femtocells are just getting started, and there’s plenty of room for growth. But at the end of the day, ATT is touting it’s Wi-Fi connection numbers, not it’s femtocell deployments.

Video Contest for UMA, Wi-Fi Calling Fans

If you read this blog, chances are you're a fan of Smart Wi-Fi, powered by UMA. We're trying to harness the power of the excitement of people like you with a new video contest for anyone who loves, needs or craves being able to make calls over Wi-Fi on their smartphones.

Submit your story in a short video to WiFiCalling.net, and you could win one of three new Android smartphones. 



The contest is open to participants worldwide, especially those who use T-Mobile USA’s Wi-Fi Calling, Orange’s Unik or Unique, Rogers’ Talkspot, Cincinnati Bell’s Home Run as well as people who don’t have such a service but wish they did.

We're accepting video submissions at WiFiCalling.net through November 30. On December 15, we'll announce three winners, and each will get a new Android smartphone (exact phone to be determined at time of announcement).

We can't wait to see what you come up with!

Everything Everywhere talks Smart Wi-Fi

Everything Everywhere, the new powerhouse operator in the UK created by the merger of Orange and T-Mobile, held an investor conference on September 28th.
In laying out their strategy for market domination, we happened to notice that UMA (aka Smart Wi-Fi) was to play a role.
This isn't that much of a surprise, given Orange UK has been quietly selling a UMA service for some time.  But Orange has been mum on the service...until now.  They are seeing how smart Wi-Fi can be used to help them provide everything to everyone everywhere their customers spend the most time -- the home and office.

Rogers adds UMA to new Blackberries

Rogers Wireless in Canada has offered "TalkSpot", a UMA-based service, to their subscribers for some time.  Just this week, they added two new Blackberry phones to the line-up, including the Bold (9700), Curve (9300) and Pearl (9100).  Check out the post here.  I think the upgrades were specifically to support 3G devices.

Shouting from the rooftops... with great coverage!

The CTIA show last week was very exciting. T-Mobile USA announced it's new built-in Wi-Fi Calling solution, based on Kineto's Smart Wi-Fi technology. It will be available in "a wide selection of Android™-powered smartphones, including the recently announced new T-Mobile® myTouch® and Motorola DEFY™ with MOTOBLUR™." Both smartphones are expected to be available in time for the holidays.

T-Mobile has offered Wi-Fi Calling for a few years, but this announcement is about expanding the service and committing to the Android OS. T-Mo stated in its announcement Wi-Fi Calling for Android is anticipated to be available on a growing selection of T-Mobile’s Android-powered smartphones in the coming months.

Per the press release: "T-Mobile’s expansion of Wi-Fi Calling to Android smartphones is an excellent innovation, and part of our ongoing initiatives on behalf of our customers to enhance indoor coverage,” said Torrie Dorrell, vice president, connected family products and services, T-Mobile USA.

The UMA and Smart Wi-Fi fans have come out of the woodwork recently and are making this busy time very exciting. Fans of the T-Mobile UMA Facebook page celebrated the news and other sites, such as TMoNews.com and GigaOm, wrote about it.

Follow the Kineto Twitter stream to receive up-to-the-minute news and read other coverage of these announcements.

What do you think about T-Mobile's commitment to Wi-Fi Calling on Android smartphones...will you run out and buy one?

Smart Wi-Fi for Froyo

This week, Kineto announced availability of its Smart Wi-Fi Application (aka UMA) for Android 2.2 (aka Froyo).

The response was overwhelming. 

There was coverage all around TMonews, TelecomTV, even Facebook.

Personally I’ve received hundreds of emails from people asking about the App.  When will it be available, how can they get it.  Clearly there is pent up demand for Smart Wi-Fi on Android.  

Frankly, I think it was less about the actual announcement, and more related to the video we released showing the App in action (sort of… actually watching someone make a phone call is pretty dull… until you have no coverage).  

Don’t worry, as commercial details become available, we’ll keep you posted.  But for now, keep telling the world “I WANT MY UMA!”

Loyalty is a three letter acronym

Kevin Tofel wrote a piece for GigaOm today titled "With Today's Smartphones, Carrier Loyalty is Fleeting". He covers a survey by NSN which showed that smartphone owners are least likely to stick with their current  carrier.

That got me thinking... what things drive loyalty?

In the US, the iPhone has an outsized impact. It is a highly coveted device, exclusive to a single operator. In the article, Kevin offers his own insight, saying to generate loyalty, operators should strive to provide great coverage at a reasoable price. And if they can supplement their network with some desirable value-add service, all the better.

With that said, how about Smart Wi-Fi (aka UMA)?

In a Sept 13th post, Om Malik said the reason he sticks with T-Mobile is because of UMA technology on his  Blackberry Bold.

Wow. Here's a tech trendsetter who eschewed iOS and Android because of a feature on a phone provided by his carrier. Powerful.

But dig deeper, and read the comments posted to Om's article. You can immediately get a feel for the passion and emotion people have about UMA and T-Mobile:
- "UMA for us is a godsend."
- "I agree that [UMA] is a great differentiator…"
- "I rely on UMA to keep me connected…"
- "I love UMA on my Nokia phone…"

It goes on and on.

So mobile operators, the next time you're thinking "What can I do to increase loyalty?"  I would check out Smart Wi-Fi (aka UMA).

Guest Blogger: Jeff Brown, Kineto Wireless

Wi-Fi for Mobile TV

If there was one thing (aside from the great competition) that those of us in the mobile industry took away from the World Cup earlier this year, it was that consumers want their mobile TV. Unfortunately for operators, this is yet another burden on their already overworked networks. I can only imagine what's going on this week with the US Open final delayed until Monday.

Once again, it is so clear to me that Wi-Fi, more specifically, Smart Wi-Fi, is the ideal solution.

Ericsson reported in March 2010 that data traffic had overtaken voice traffic for the first time in the mobile industry's 25-year history. In June 2010, UK operators O2, Orange and Vodafone teamed up to test a TV broadcast service which would enable consumers to view television channels on their handsets. IMB, the selected broadcast medium, requires costly transmitters that must be added to base stations. Moreover, new handsets need to be developed that have integrated IMB chips. This is a costly and complex undertaking.

There is a better solution. With Smart Wi-Fi, all mobile services are securely delivered to the smartphone over the Wi-Fi connection. Operators achieve complete network offload, as all voice, data and internet traffic, and not just internet/web services, can be routed over wi-fi.

Read the article I wrote recently published in Mobile Marketing Magazine for more on this topic.

Can you blame people for not wanting to miss a minute of those compelling games? With Smart Wi-Fi, operators can give the people what they want, for a fraction of the price.

T-Mobile remains quiet on Android/UMA

Yesterday Om Malik, a committed UMA enthusiast, wrote that T-Mobile has not made any direct statements about support for UMA on its burgeoning line of Android devices.

T-Mobile's true plans for UMA remain locked in Seattle, where hopefully we'll get some clarity in the coming months.

Meanwhile, read the comments posted to Om's article by other UMA fans. There is a LOT of pent up demand for UMA on Android. Or check out the new T-Mobile/UMA Facebook fan page created by T-Mobile customers hungry for UMA on Android.

It should be noted that Kineto, purveyor of UMA/GAN technology, announced availability of its "Smart Wi-Fi Application" for Android back in March 2010. Smart Wi-Fi is their UMA/GAN-based client.

In US, 62% of Internet connected homes have Wi-Fi

A while back there was an EU study which showed that 50% of internet connected homes in the EU had Wi-Fi. I found that number very impressive.

Here's a newer study which shows Wi-Fi in a 'staggering' 62% of US internet connected homes (page 9).

For those interested in the US market, this is an informative report. It was sponsored by Arbitron, a company which tracks radio usage. Therefore there is quite a bit on how consumers listen to traditional radio along with internet radio. But it also looks at overall trends in the population with respect to social media and traditional mass communications mediums. Check out the bit about FM radios in cell phones.

However, one thing is clear, in developed markets (the US, EU,…), Wi-Fi is the preferred method for service delivery within the home.

Walt reviews femtocells

Walt Mossberg, the venerable consumer technology editor for the Wall Street Journal, reviewed femtocells today.  Specifically, he reviewed the AT&T microcell.

The interested reader can check out the whole article here.

Be sure to read to the end, when Walt describes what it took to make the femtocell work in his son’s basement apartment.  In the end, they needed to use Wi-Fi to extend an Ethernet connection into the basement.

It took Wi-Fi to make the Femtocell work.  Ironic.

Of course, with a Smart Wi-Fi App on the phone, Walt and his son could have gotten the coverage boost of a femtocell, using the Wi-Fi which was already in the apartment.

Become a Fan on Facebook

Looks like there is a new fan page for T-Mobile's Wi-Fi Calling service on Facebook.

Take a moment, become a fan.

Wishlist for Droid X: Smart Wi-Fi (UMA) Support

Motorola's Droid X, the newest high-end Android device from Moto for Verizon, was recently reviewed by Hubert Nguyen at Ubergizmo. Hubert's only wishlist item for the phone: Smart Wi-Fi (UMA) support:

Wishlist

UMA: given that Verizon's CDMA isn't compatible in most international networks, it would be very nice if the Droid X could have UMA support. UMA would let users reach the carrier's network over WIFI. Unfortunately, T-Mobile is the only US carrier to support UMA at this point.

We understand, we wish for it too.

Rogers Adds Wi-Fi-Based Services for Subscribers

Rogers Wireless in Canada has announced new a host of new services, including a BlackBerry Rogers student plan for those with smartphones which support UMA or Wi-Fi - these subscribers can now get unlimited Wi-Fi calling. Plus, calls made from Wi-Fi access point don't count towards monthly minute allowances, which is perfect for students on Wi-Fi enabled campuses.

These improved unlimited family and student plans make it easier for students and their families to stay connected during the school year.

The Unlimited Student Plan also delivers an extensive list of unlimited features for students, such as unlimited messaging, unlimited social networking and unlimited evenings and weekends.

This was reported first on RedBoard, the official blog of Rogers Communications, and we read about it on Phones Review UK.

Recent Wi-Fi survey results tell us that 78 percent of people in the United States and 74 percent of people in the United Kingdom who own smartphones with Wi-Fi capabilities would be interested in an application that would use Wi-Fi to deliver 'five bars' of coverage at home or in the office.

It's great to see Rogers, a long-time proponent of UMA and using Wi-Fi to improve coverage, offer discounted calling and keep subscribers happy, once again lead the marketplace with new Wi-Fi-based service offerings.