HP Buys 3Com

HP is acquiring 3Com for $2.7 billion and there are a number of reasons for this move. First of all, it is obvious the tech market is hot and Cisco and other companies are optimistic about the future as evidenced by the pace of tech acquisitions which is reaching the pace of the glory dotcom days. Moreover, large companies with strong balance sheets are able to access capital if they need it, allowing them to more easily acquire.

3Com for its part is a company with a broad range of networking gear which HP needs to go head-to-head with Cisco. Specifically, 3Com focuses on the SMB space while the TippingPoint division focuses on Security and H3C focuses on large enterprise and is very strong in Asia. I was at 3Com's headquarters about five weeks ago and spoke with Anna Dorcey and John Vincenzo who were very high on the company's future.

You may not know this but 3Com has about 35% marketshare in China and a strong manufacturing base there, meaning their costs are low. Their go to market strategy is customer focus and value. 3Com has been a networking and communications value player for years but at the beginning of the decade, the company left enterprises hanging with a shifting strategy which enraged many resellers and customers.

Over the last few years, the company has improved its management and it seems unclear as why now was the time to sell. Perhaps HP gave an offer which was too good to refuse? Or perhaps company execs realize with the HP brand behind them, the company can raise prices and compete with Cisco and have fatter margins.

The worst part of this deal for Cisco is that we can expect the EDS division of HP to really push 3Com products at the expense of Cisco.

Also, if you are playing chess, you would imagine Dell and IBM are picking up the phone and having conference calls about purchasing Adtran and or Brocade as they are similar in product-line to Cisco and 3Com. Remember Dell just picked up a systems integration firm Perot Systems and the next step for them would be to add more products to their mix.

Other targets with substantial integration value worth watching are Plantronics, Polycom and Avaya.

While I am in the predicting mood, expect Cisco to pick up wireless backhaul vendor DragonWave or Ceragon in the near future as they build out their wireless networking strategy focused on wireless carriers.

But in the end, there are only a handful of tech companies who have shown they can acquire well. Oracle is best, Cisco is second best and IBM is good. HP is also doing pretty well in their area. It is early to predict how Dell will fare.

I am frankly surprised at the absolute pace of M&A activity but I should point out that this is great news for tech and telecom as it is a signal that companies feel confident about the future of the market and the growth in spending they anticipate in the future.

Verizon's Rising Fees Still Makes Sense

Recently I commented about how Verizon's doubling of its early termination fee to $350 makes sense as the company needs to keep investing in ensuring its network is the best in the US. I may be the only person who appreciates having a fee go up as evidenced by the noise from journalists which is not subsiding. One of my favorite writers and video producers, David Pogue of The New York Times comments today that Verizon is gouging and has a plethora of ideas the company can implement to save consumers money.

Pogue has the following and very interesting comment to share:

Why wouldn't it be a hugely profitable move to start pitching yourself as the GOOD cell company, the one that actually LIKES its customers?

Verizon has some of the best customer service in the country. It has the best network by far. Everyone seems to want to switch to Verizon if they were to carry the iPhone for example. This is because the company has made absolutely massive investments where the competition has cut corners on a relative basis.

So perhaps the most succinct question to pose is what is the cost of being on the best network, having the fastest data download speeds and the least dropped calls? For many, there is no price tag too high to pay for these features and parting with an additional $5/month for phantom data charges and even more for high termination fees is fair.

I look at Verizon Wireless like I look at BMW. Both tout relatively low prices to start. But if you purchase a 328i, metallic paint will cost you $550. Cruise control costs $2,400! Navigation (which Google now gives away) is $2,100, and 19" wheels will cost you over $5,000!

If you think BMWs make some of the best cars around, you hold your nose and pay. Ditto for Verizon Wireless.

Verizon has always been the most restrictive carrier around and they locked down Bluetooth on their devices for many years except for pairing with a headset. Likewise, GPS has been locked down on most devices unless you purchased VZ Navigator for a minimum of $9.99/month or $2.99/day.

But as a customer, these annoyances and high fees were balanced by consistent spending of billions of dollars on wireless and now fiber networks.

Users should keep in mind they can always switch to AT&T, T-Mobile or Sprint if they think Verizon Wireless service isn't worth the extra money.

In fact the massive defection away from Sprint shows consumers consider more than price when it comes to making phone/network purchase decisions. In fact, I would say from a pricing perspective, Sprint may be the most customer friendly company around. I would posit that if AT&T Mobility didn't have the iPhone, consumers would be fleeing from them as well.

The iPhone threw Verizon for a loop and as predicted it is getting clobbered because it did not have the foresight to work with Apple when it had the chance.

So now, the enemy of its enemy is Google and Verizon is allowing a number of new Android phones on its network. They will get a cut of ad revenue by doing this but they are giving up virtually all services which they used to be able to charge for. Google just gave away turn-by-turn GPS for example meaning Verizon can no longer charge $10/month for the same service.

Moreover, Google will roll out dozens of new services which will be ad supported. Verizon will not be able to launch competing services as we all know a carrier can't compete with a software company.

In a moment, Verizon went from being the most closed network in the US to perhaps the most open and there is a cost associated with this move. Again, this is all pro-consumer behavior.

In fact, it seems at this point Verizon has leapfrogged AT&T in terms of openness. Especially when you consider the restrictive policing of the App Store by Apple/AT&T. Anyone who has seen the rich applications and joyous battery-sucking multitasking available on a jailbroken iPhone understands how users are being penalized by Big Brother Apple/AT&T.

So the full question to those upset with Verizon's fees should be, would you pay more for the best network and the most open ecosystem where you can take advantage of the best applications and service values around without the worry of a nanny telling you what you can and can't do?

The author switched from Verizon to AT&T because he wanted an iPhone. For about a year he carried around a Verizon phone for voice and an AT&T phone for data but that proved cumbersome and now he experiences dropped calls and other network snafus which he didn't deal with on Verizon Wireless. He not so secretly despises the App Store Nanny.

Wi-Fi Body Scale tweets your weight daily

You take a scale. You give it Wi-Fi. And then you let it log in to your Twitter account to tell the world how much you weigh each morning. That's what this is: the Wi-Fi Body Scale.
At first it sounds silly, but the more I think about it the more I like the idea. If I'm trying to lose weight, this is a good way to force me to watch what I eat lest I embarrass myself in front of my Twitter followers. If it shows me blowing up like a whale instead of dropping pounds then I don't just know I'm doing something wrong, my peers do, too. Shame can be a powerful tool.
The $159 scale already records the user's body weight, lean and fat mass, and calculated body mass index (BMI) to a secure Web site accessible by the user. The Twitter integration, though, is a new feature. The Twitter feature is being called "peer motivation" by Withings, the scale's maker, and they're right. I'd call it "weight loss by fear as motivation," but I'm just some blogger.

Dell releases world’s thinnest laptop, Adamo XPS

Dell releases world’s thinnest laptop, Adamo XPS

If there's one single trend that's appreciated by the vast majority of people affected by it, it would have to be the one that sees our gadgets getting smaller and smaller over time. There's of course limits, but if you take a look at notebook PCs, cell phones and other tech toys that were released just ten years ago, the differences arestaggering. Back then, a cell phone was almost the size of a brick, while today, people regularly misplace them due to their size.

The slimming down of notebooks in particular isn't only important, but necessary. After all, carrying around a 10 pound notebook all day in no way could be considered fun, while a 3 - 4lbs offering is far easier to deal with. When Apple first released its MacBook Air, it set a new standard where thin notebooks were concerned. This was so much the case, that stories emerged of complications that people ran into when trying to go through an airport. The notebook is so thin, that some people thought it was fake.

Well, as it stands today, the MacBook Air might look like a heavyweight when compared to Dell's new Adamo XPS, a notebook that at its thickest point is just 9.99mm (0.4-inch). When I saw the press release for this, I didn't think too much of it. After all, thin notebooks come and go all the time. But this is far different. At 0.4-inch thick, the Adamo XPS is almost half as thick as the MacBook Air. It's even thinner than a standard 2.5-inch notebook hard drive, which are typically 0.50-inch thick.

Based off of the small image I've provided, it's hard to appreciate just how thin and good-looking this machine is, so I highly recommend heading over to Dell's Flickr page to see the notebook from various angles. It's a very unique design, but given the thickness goals, it has to be. The specs are fairly modest as you'd expect them to be, but aside from the ULV processor, nothing is really lacking. Included is 4GB of memory, Intel wireless a /g /n, Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit even!). As for screen size, that's a 13.4-inch WLED, which supports a resolution of 1280x720.

Ironically, the pricing of this thin notebook has the neat ability to thin out your wallet as well, with a price of $1,799. You can sign up for the notification list here if you are looking to purchase one upon release, which should be before the end of the year.

Samsung launches Bada mobile platform

Samsung hopes to extend its app store offering to a wider range of handsets, including less sophisticated feature phones and entry level smartphones.


The Korean technology giant said Bada -- which means "ocean" -- was a new addition to the company's mobile ecosystem and would give users a "fun and diverse mobile experience".
Samsung said it chose the name to "convey the limitless variety of potential applications" that can be created using the new platform, and to demonstrate the company's commitment to "a variety of open platforms in the mobile industry".

It also offers mobile operators an easy-to-integrate platform that can be used to provide "unique and differentiated services to their customers", said Samsung.
“By opening Samsung’s mobile platforms we will be able to provide rich mobile experiences on an increasing number of accessible smartphones,” said Dr Hosoo Lee, an executive vice president at Samsung. "Bada will be Samsung's landmark, iconic new platform that brings an unprecedented opportunity for operators, developers and Samsung mobile phone users around the world.”
Samsung's current smartphone range runs the open-source Symbian operating system and the Google-backed Android platform. Carolina Milanesi, a research director at Gartner, said Samsung's decision to develop and use its own platform for entry-level smartphones was its attempt to "differentiate its products from the competition."
But Geoff Blaber, an analyst with CCS Insight, questioned Samsung's thinking: "The big question is, does the mobile phone world need yet another operating system?," he said.

nokia N 900 brief walkthrough

Blackberry app to world

RIM is certainly on the offensive this year and its also taking the Indian market seriously. Many new handsets in GSM, CDMA and now another service is being launched. We first heard about Blackberry App world during the launch of the 8520 curve back in August and now App World is finally available to Blackberry users in India

App world is RIM’s answer to the App Store game. Its the official App Store for BB smartphones to download free apps to their handset and there are some india centric apps too ( we’ll try getting more details of that soon)

India-specific applications at launch include Hungama MyPlay, CNBC TV18 Moneycontrol, Mundu Radio and Arrowmatics.

Users can get Blackberry AppWorld on their BB but hitting mobile.blackberry.com or www.blackberry.com/appworld from the phone browser.

Users will be automatically presented with apps compatible with their BB. Good news is that the app store will work over Wi-Fi and Cellular networks.

“The BlackBerry platform provides a truly unparalleled mobile experience for millions of people and we are thrilled to enhance that experience with BlackBerry App World,” said Frenny Bawa, Vice President, India, Research In Motion. “Consumers in India can now easily discover and download a wide variety of applications, including a range of ‘made for India’ apps, directly from their BlackBerry smartphone.”

Requirements to run App World

• BlackBerry smartphone that includes a trackball, touch-sensitive trackpad or touch-screen
• BlackBerry OS version 4.2 or higher.
• Users require an active BlackBerry data service plan with Internet access to access BlackBerry App World. Data charges may apply for customers that have a limited data plan.