Crumbs
Rich T finds some tasty titbits you might have missed in the week's news
Tuesday 26 June 2007, 6:37 PM
Wimax rollout costs breed concern
Just as the prospects of wireless broadband were looking up, there's some bad news.
Recent news that Ofcom would allow increased power in Wi-Fi basestations and Vodafone's supposed Wimax testbed in Malta had increased the prospect of some decent networks being rolled out in the UK.
But it looks like it's not going to be a cheap business. Sprint, the US operator, is going to spend some $3bn, or £1.5bn, on its Wimax network. That's a lot of dough, and its investors are worried.
Some have started questionning its strategy, and Sprint may now have to seek an infusion of cash for the network.
Even if the full $3bn rollout goes ahead, Sprint still has to get this money back in revenues from someone.
And Sprint has the advantage of scale, which can't be harnessed to the same extent in the UK.
Pipex Wireless has made a brave first move this side of The Pond, following where many others have failed.
Let's hope our early optimism was justified.
Tuesday 26 June 2007, 6:14 PM
iPhone launch to fall flat?
It may be just three days till the launch of the iPhone, but many would-be buyers are going to shun the first version, according to Reuters.
As is the custom, our US cousins get to play with the new device first, but it appears many Americans have doubts over Apple's new plaything.
It sells for 500bucks by the way, and if recent currency conversions by US headquartered companies are anything to go by, that'll be 500quid over here.
The battery life's not looking great, and it doesn't even work on 3G.
Maybe we're not missing out after all. I think we'll wait and see.
Wednesday 20 June 2007, 4:13 PM
Gateway, Toshiba return to battery hell
Just as we thought all those battery scares were over, Gateway and Toshiba have found more problems.
It was just eight months ago that Gateway recalled 35,000 batteries and Toshiba many thousand more, amid fears that users' notebooks might catch fire.
Now Gateway says it is to recall 14,000 more batteries, noting that the batteries involved are Samsung this time, and not Sony. Fortunately for us Brits, the problems are constrained solely to machines sold in the US, but it's a bit concerning nonetheless.
Toshiba's also been playing with fire, finding certain battery packs sparking into flame. These ones are made by Sony, and the problems arose, apparently, because someone didn't follow the installation guidelines of both Toshiba and Sony.
Naughty naughty. In the meantime, if you've bought one of the affected products, tell Gateway/Toshiba pronto. And mind your fingers.
Tuesday 19 June 2007, 6:22 PM
Dell demands secrecy over its sales tactics
Dell has been forced into a rather amusing backtrack after a blogger released details of its sales tactics.
The blogger, who claims to be a former Dell sales manager, gave readers no fewer than 22 tips on how to get a better deal from the PC maker.
Dell wasn't amused, and its attorney wrote to the blogger to demand that the offending post was deleted.
Dell didn't expect the blogger to ignore its request. And it certainly didn't expect its request to be Dugg. Or Slashdotted.
Needless to say, Dell was formed into a rapid climbdown, and an apology for its wrongdoing.
My US colleague Declan McCullagh takes up the story.
Friday 15 June 2007, 5:06 PM
Sony's marketing madness
I'm finding the way Sony is marketing its Vaio laptops increasingly absurd. First it tells us that the design of some of its plainer looking Vaios is inspired by submerged stones in a Japanese water garden.
When I asked Sony to explain its design to me, it could offer no explanation for the Japanese claim.
Now Sony is pushing the boat out on claims surrounding the display on its Vaio CR series.
It doesn't just do the colours of the rainbow - according to the Japanese company, users will see the display illuminated by sangria, cosmopolitan and dove.
Can anyone take a product marketed like this seriously?
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