theBB
Aug 11, 07:28 PM
Confused.
Can somebody explain me the differences between the cellphone market between the US and Europe.
Will a 'iPhone' just be marketed to the US or worldwide (as the iPod does)?
Well, let's see, about 20 years ago, a lot of countries in Europe, Asia and elsewhere decided on a standard digital cell phone system and called it GSM. About 15 years ago GSM networks became quite widespread across these countries. In the meantime US kept on using analog cell phones. Motorola did not even believe that digital cell phone had much of a future, so it decided to stay away from this market, a decision which almost bankrupted the company.
US started rolling out digital service only about 10 years ago. As US government does not like to dictate private companies how to conduct their business, they sold the spectrum and put down some basic ground rules, but for the most part they let the service providers use any network they wished. For one reason or another, these providers decided go with about 4 different standards at first. Quite a few companies went with GSM, AT&T; picked a similar, but incompatible TDMA (IS=136?) standard, Nextel went with a proprietary standard they called iDEN and Sprint and Verizon went with CDMA, a radically different standard (IS-95) designed by Qualcomm. At the time, other big companies were very skeptical, so Qualcomm had to not only develop the underlying communication standards, but manufacture cell phones and the electronics for the cell towers. However, once the system proved itself, everybody started moving in that direction. Even the upcoming 3G system for these GSM networks, called UMTS, use a variant of CDMA technology.
CDMA is a more complicated standard compared to GSM, but it allows the providers to cram more users into each cell, it is supposedly cheaper to maintain and more flexible in some respects. However, anybody in that boat has to pay hefty royalties to Qualcomm, dampening its popularity. While creating UMTS, GSM standards bodies did everything they could to avoid using Qualcomm patents to avoid these payments. However, I don't know how successful they got in these efforts.
Even though Europeans here on these forums like to gloat that US did not join the worldwide standard, that we did not play along, that ours is a hodge podge of incompatible systems; without the freedom to try out different standards, CDMA would not have the opportunity to prove its feasibility and performance. In the end, the rest of the world is also reaping the benefits through UMTS/WCDMA.
Of course, not using the same standards as everybody else has its own price. The components of CDMA cell phones cost more and the system itself is more complicated, so CDMA versions of cell phones hit the market six months to a year after their GSM counterparts, if at all. The infrastructure cost of a rare system is higher as well, so AT&T; had to rip apart its network to replace it with GSM version about five years after rolling it out. Sprint is probably going to convert Nextel's system in the near future as well.
I hope this answers your question.
Can somebody explain me the differences between the cellphone market between the US and Europe.
Will a 'iPhone' just be marketed to the US or worldwide (as the iPod does)?
Well, let's see, about 20 years ago, a lot of countries in Europe, Asia and elsewhere decided on a standard digital cell phone system and called it GSM. About 15 years ago GSM networks became quite widespread across these countries. In the meantime US kept on using analog cell phones. Motorola did not even believe that digital cell phone had much of a future, so it decided to stay away from this market, a decision which almost bankrupted the company.
US started rolling out digital service only about 10 years ago. As US government does not like to dictate private companies how to conduct their business, they sold the spectrum and put down some basic ground rules, but for the most part they let the service providers use any network they wished. For one reason or another, these providers decided go with about 4 different standards at first. Quite a few companies went with GSM, AT&T; picked a similar, but incompatible TDMA (IS=136?) standard, Nextel went with a proprietary standard they called iDEN and Sprint and Verizon went with CDMA, a radically different standard (IS-95) designed by Qualcomm. At the time, other big companies were very skeptical, so Qualcomm had to not only develop the underlying communication standards, but manufacture cell phones and the electronics for the cell towers. However, once the system proved itself, everybody started moving in that direction. Even the upcoming 3G system for these GSM networks, called UMTS, use a variant of CDMA technology.
CDMA is a more complicated standard compared to GSM, but it allows the providers to cram more users into each cell, it is supposedly cheaper to maintain and more flexible in some respects. However, anybody in that boat has to pay hefty royalties to Qualcomm, dampening its popularity. While creating UMTS, GSM standards bodies did everything they could to avoid using Qualcomm patents to avoid these payments. However, I don't know how successful they got in these efforts.
Even though Europeans here on these forums like to gloat that US did not join the worldwide standard, that we did not play along, that ours is a hodge podge of incompatible systems; without the freedom to try out different standards, CDMA would not have the opportunity to prove its feasibility and performance. In the end, the rest of the world is also reaping the benefits through UMTS/WCDMA.
Of course, not using the same standards as everybody else has its own price. The components of CDMA cell phones cost more and the system itself is more complicated, so CDMA versions of cell phones hit the market six months to a year after their GSM counterparts, if at all. The infrastructure cost of a rare system is higher as well, so AT&T; had to rip apart its network to replace it with GSM version about five years after rolling it out. Sprint is probably going to convert Nextel's system in the near future as well.
I hope this answers your question.
dethmaShine
Apr 19, 03:05 PM
Well you can see that with the Mac. About 3% worldwide marketshare but Apple makes tons of money with it.
And eveybody crys tears here when some 5 year old Windows games finally get ported to MacOS. You want that to happen with the iPhone and iOS compared to Android? Fine. But I'm sure 99% of iPhone buyers don't want that scenario.
Not trying to defend poor gaming on the macintosh, but android is the one getting year old titles now.
Just to make it more clear, marketshare is one small factor considered for game development. There's much more than that. For e.g. people paying for actual games, ease of code for a single graphic card [a big hassle for windows gaming].
Just read through?
And eveybody crys tears here when some 5 year old Windows games finally get ported to MacOS. You want that to happen with the iPhone and iOS compared to Android? Fine. But I'm sure 99% of iPhone buyers don't want that scenario.
Not trying to defend poor gaming on the macintosh, but android is the one getting year old titles now.
Just to make it more clear, marketshare is one small factor considered for game development. There's much more than that. For e.g. people paying for actual games, ease of code for a single graphic card [a big hassle for windows gaming].
Just read through?
NJRonbo
Jun 14, 06:24 PM
You know what?
Third friggin' RS store I have called and ALL
say that even if you get a PIN tomorrow it is
no guarantee of a phone.
I think I am going to order directly from Apple.
Third friggin' RS store I have called and ALL
say that even if you get a PIN tomorrow it is
no guarantee of a phone.
I think I am going to order directly from Apple.
OzyOly
Apr 6, 11:43 AM
Can't wait. Shall be my new Work machine. :)
zedsdead
Apr 12, 05:10 AM
http://www.avid.com/US/specialoffers/fcppromotion?intcmp=AV-HP-S3
Avid is holding a great promotion to switch over to Media Composer if you are an FCP user. I am considering it based on what Apple shows us today.
Avid is holding a great promotion to switch over to Media Composer if you are an FCP user. I am considering it based on what Apple shows us today.
CrackedButter
Aug 26, 03:07 PM
One more update for .mac in Sept. If they don't give me a compelling reason to continue, next year I will not re-subscribe. There I made my mind. LOL
For some reason I watched this year's MacWorld Keynote again tonight and I didn't realise the amount of new features there are in the new iLife 06. A lot of them deal with .mac. I'm quite happy with those features if and when I get iLife 06 or even a new mac at some point.
I would say they are improving the service but it doesn't happen overnight.
For some reason I watched this year's MacWorld Keynote again tonight and I didn't realise the amount of new features there are in the new iLife 06. A lot of them deal with .mac. I'm quite happy with those features if and when I get iLife 06 or even a new mac at some point.
I would say they are improving the service but it doesn't happen overnight.
faroZ06
Apr 8, 12:52 AM
This.
I went to buy a Time Capsule 1TB from these goons one day and noticed the pricing. I pulled up Apple.com's prici
ng of the TC and asked the "mac specialist" WHY they are charging a $34.99 premium over Apple themselves. He instantly said "no problem, we'll price match." I told him I'd buy it now for instant gratification, and then order from Amazon for $285 w/no tax and free Prime shipping.
Then I'd return the overpriced "pricematched" one back to best buy. He said I can't do that.
I did it 48 hrs later.
I hate that place. If they just had the MSRP Apple price on the shelf without me having to catch them trying to make an extra few bucks, I would have bought it and walked out happy.
That stunt **** me off and I hope they had to resell it as an open box.
I hate Best Buy.
Yeah, get Apple stuff from Apple. However, Best Buy is good for getting video games. I used to get all of my GameCube games (before the Wii came out) from Best Buy for cheap.
Now I don't have much to buy from there since they stopped selling old games, and I have a GameCube and XBOX so they don't support me :(
Sorry, the Wiimote sucks too much, the PS3 is a ripoff with barely any good games and Bluray, and the XBOX360 is MS hardware which runs horribly and always breaks.
I went to buy a Time Capsule 1TB from these goons one day and noticed the pricing. I pulled up Apple.com's prici
ng of the TC and asked the "mac specialist" WHY they are charging a $34.99 premium over Apple themselves. He instantly said "no problem, we'll price match." I told him I'd buy it now for instant gratification, and then order from Amazon for $285 w/no tax and free Prime shipping.
Then I'd return the overpriced "pricematched" one back to best buy. He said I can't do that.
I did it 48 hrs later.
I hate that place. If they just had the MSRP Apple price on the shelf without me having to catch them trying to make an extra few bucks, I would have bought it and walked out happy.
That stunt **** me off and I hope they had to resell it as an open box.
I hate Best Buy.
Yeah, get Apple stuff from Apple. However, Best Buy is good for getting video games. I used to get all of my GameCube games (before the Wii came out) from Best Buy for cheap.
Now I don't have much to buy from there since they stopped selling old games, and I have a GameCube and XBOX so they don't support me :(
Sorry, the Wiimote sucks too much, the PS3 is a ripoff with barely any good games and Bluray, and the XBOX360 is MS hardware which runs horribly and always breaks.
cult hero
Mar 31, 09:58 PM
What he said was spot on. Gruber is the archetypical Apple sycophant, second only to Andy Ifatso from MacBreak Weekly.
No, what he said wasn't spot on. Gruber's a Mac fan and someone I would go so far as to call a "defender of the faith." That's pretty accurate. Saying Gruber would "eat Steve Job's ***** if he could" as just gross. I don't mind if someone says it, but when calling someone else biased, giving a raging response like that does make you look any better.
Of course, hating on virtually anything Apple does or anyone who likes/follows them appears to be the trendy thing to do around here.
No, what he said wasn't spot on. Gruber's a Mac fan and someone I would go so far as to call a "defender of the faith." That's pretty accurate. Saying Gruber would "eat Steve Job's ***** if he could" as just gross. I don't mind if someone says it, but when calling someone else biased, giving a raging response like that does make you look any better.
Of course, hating on virtually anything Apple does or anyone who likes/follows them appears to be the trendy thing to do around here.
Daremo
Apr 19, 01:28 PM
The sales numbers are impressive, but not surprising.
ChrisA
Sep 13, 10:54 AM
Arrays of cheap RAM on a PCIe card?
The RAM companies don't seem interested in making wodges of slow cheap hi-cap ram, only in bumping up the speed and upping the capacity. For the last 10 years, a stick of decent RAM has always been about �100/ $100 no matter what the capacity / flavour of the moment is.
Even slow RAM is still orders of magnitude faster than a HD, hence my point. There's various historical and technical factors as to why we have the current situation.
I've also looked at RAID implementations (I run a RAID5) but each RAID level has its own problems.
I've recently seen that single-user RAID3 might be one way forward for the desktop, but don't really know enough about it yet.
The reason for the RAM improvoments in speed and size are that RAM (not CPU) is the main bottle neck in preformance. A CPU can only execute instructions as fast as they can be pulled out of RAM. Now you go and put multiple cores inthe box and the demand on RAM doubles.
As for RAID. I think the way forward is Sun's "ZFS" file system. There was talk of that moving into Mac OSX and we know it is being ported to BSD Unix and Linux. Basically ZFS makes the RAID layer just go away
Read more here...
http://www.sun.com/2004-0914/feature/index.html
Sun has released this as Open Source. so it will get ported around to other OSes. I hear Sun's Dtrace is already in Leopard
The RAM companies don't seem interested in making wodges of slow cheap hi-cap ram, only in bumping up the speed and upping the capacity. For the last 10 years, a stick of decent RAM has always been about �100/ $100 no matter what the capacity / flavour of the moment is.
Even slow RAM is still orders of magnitude faster than a HD, hence my point. There's various historical and technical factors as to why we have the current situation.
I've also looked at RAID implementations (I run a RAID5) but each RAID level has its own problems.
I've recently seen that single-user RAID3 might be one way forward for the desktop, but don't really know enough about it yet.
The reason for the RAM improvoments in speed and size are that RAM (not CPU) is the main bottle neck in preformance. A CPU can only execute instructions as fast as they can be pulled out of RAM. Now you go and put multiple cores inthe box and the demand on RAM doubles.
As for RAID. I think the way forward is Sun's "ZFS" file system. There was talk of that moving into Mac OSX and we know it is being ported to BSD Unix and Linux. Basically ZFS makes the RAID layer just go away
Read more here...
http://www.sun.com/2004-0914/feature/index.html
Sun has released this as Open Source. so it will get ported around to other OSes. I hear Sun's Dtrace is already in Leopard
Unspeaked
Sep 19, 12:23 PM
Haha... no.
History has shown that having a product out sooner... doesn't mean you win the market. (Sega Dreamcast?) Sony will still kick due to the deluge of developers producing for the PS3. More software == more sales. In addition, the PS3 is completely backwards compatible (which is huge).
Nintendo will live as long as the 8 bit gen kids still are around. The Wii also promises me to play any old Nintendo game via some sort of download... It's cheap... Sign me up.
This is so right. Time and time again in the console wars, the first to market did not win in the end. It's ALWAYS been the system with the best game selection.
3rd Gen:
First to Market: Sega
Best Game Selection: Nintendo
Winner: Nintendo
4th Gen:
First to Market: TurboGraphics 16
Best Game Selection: SuperNintendo/SegaGensis (tie)
Winner: SuperNintendo/SegaGensis (tie)
5th Gen:
First to Market: Atari Jaguar
Best Game Selection: Sony Playstation
Winner: Sony Playstation
6th Gen:
First to Market: Sega Dreamcast
Best Game Selection: Sony PS2
Winner: Sony PS2
The same could be said for advanced hardware; the winners in the game consoles were always the systems with the best game selections, not the ones that were first to market NOR the ones that had the best hardware.
Of course, this has gotten WAY off topic now ;)
(But I must say I'm going to preorder a Wii for sure!)
History has shown that having a product out sooner... doesn't mean you win the market. (Sega Dreamcast?) Sony will still kick due to the deluge of developers producing for the PS3. More software == more sales. In addition, the PS3 is completely backwards compatible (which is huge).
Nintendo will live as long as the 8 bit gen kids still are around. The Wii also promises me to play any old Nintendo game via some sort of download... It's cheap... Sign me up.
This is so right. Time and time again in the console wars, the first to market did not win in the end. It's ALWAYS been the system with the best game selection.
3rd Gen:
First to Market: Sega
Best Game Selection: Nintendo
Winner: Nintendo
4th Gen:
First to Market: TurboGraphics 16
Best Game Selection: SuperNintendo/SegaGensis (tie)
Winner: SuperNintendo/SegaGensis (tie)
5th Gen:
First to Market: Atari Jaguar
Best Game Selection: Sony Playstation
Winner: Sony Playstation
6th Gen:
First to Market: Sega Dreamcast
Best Game Selection: Sony PS2
Winner: Sony PS2
The same could be said for advanced hardware; the winners in the game consoles were always the systems with the best game selections, not the ones that were first to market NOR the ones that had the best hardware.
Of course, this has gotten WAY off topic now ;)
(But I must say I'm going to preorder a Wii for sure!)
11thIndian
Apr 6, 08:05 AM
Yikes! Better offload my copy of the current version of FCS before it drops too low.
Any takers? :D
If you're planning on buying the new FCS at an "Upgrade" price, you can't sell your old version. You still need the serial # for installations.
Any takers? :D
If you're planning on buying the new FCS at an "Upgrade" price, you can't sell your old version. You still need the serial # for installations.
leekohler
Mar 3, 11:13 PM
no one is preventing you from living with the person you love or having sex with him
Nope, you just want to make sure that we can't have access to the same protections for our famili
es that you do. How silly of me to want that.
Invalid because it endorses something that could cause the collapse of society
Not at all. Gay people raise kids just as well as straight people- that's been proven. And we do have families. There is no risk of destroying society. The question is valid. Answer it.
Nope, you just want to make sure that we can't have access to the same protections for our famili
es that you do. How silly of me to want that.
Invalid because it endorses something that could cause the collapse of society
Not at all. Gay people raise kids just as well as straight people- that's been proven. And we do have families. There is no risk of destroying society. The question is valid. Answer it.
Homy
Aug 6, 07:24 AM
MBP owners don't need to worry yet. AnandTech (http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2808&p;=1)
"The biggest performance gains are associated with 3D rendering and media encoding tasks. While Core 2 Duo does look nice, as long as you've got a good notebook today you'll probably want to wait until Santa Rosa before upgrading (at the earliest). With Santa Rosa, clock speeds will go up slightly but more importantly we'll get access to a faster FSB. Unfortunately a side-effect of keeping Core 2 Duo fed with a faster FSB is that while performance may go up, battery life may go down. For Apple users this means that early adopters of the new MacBook or MacBook Pro won't be too pressured to upgrade again by the end of this year. Of course Apple has this way of making incremental changes irresistible."
"The biggest performance gains are associated with 3D rendering and media encoding tasks. While Core 2 Duo does look nice, as long as you've got a good notebook today you'll probably want to wait until Santa Rosa before upgrading (at the earliest). With Santa Rosa, clock speeds will go up slightly but more importantly we'll get access to a faster FSB. Unfortunately a side-effect of keeping Core 2 Duo fed with a faster FSB is that while performance may go up, battery life may go down. For Apple users this means that early adopters of the new MacBook or MacBook Pro won't be too pressured to upgrade again by the end of this year. Of course Apple has this way of making incremental changes irresistible."
steve knight
Mar 18, 12:50 AM
Ron Paul is a Christian nutjob. a squirrels wet dream.
He wants a small government small enough to fit in the bedroom and between a woman's legs. I love the small govement thing but then there are all these things government should control.
i love you man cast.
i love you man cast.
Review: I Love You, Man
i love you man cast. i love
![]()
He wants a small government small enough to fit in the bedroom and between a woman's legs. I love the small govement thing but then there are all these things government should control.
Al Coholic
Mar 26, 06:03 PM
Maybe not the worst, but definitely the most useless.
Spotlight does a so much better job.
Agreed. I keep my dock pretty sparse so if the app ain't there it's only a few keystrokes away.
The new Launcher is just one of those eye-candy apps. It'll be the first thing I delete.
Spotlight does a so much better job.
Agreed. I keep my dock pretty sparse so if the app ain't there it's only a few keystrokes away.
The new Launcher is just one of those eye-candy apps. It'll be the first thing I delete.
daneoni
Apr 6, 07:49 AM
Aperture 4?
bkj216
Apr 6, 10:10 AM
And THAT's why I didn't jump the gun on a MBA yet. Now give me the new processors, and a backlit keyboard, and Apple's got my $.
(Be nice if they could bump up the battery life on the 11 too)
(Be nice if they could bump up the battery life on the 11 too)
j26
Nov 29, 06:26 AM
My initial reservations about this story (the Zune/Universal payment) was much like eveybody's elses on these forums - very bad for us and screw 'em. But now that I've had time to think it through I actually think it's a fantastic idea.
Fantastic for the consumer and the artist, and potentially catastrophic for Universal Music.
Allow me to explain! Somebody buys a Zune or iPod that has had the 'Universal Tax' applied to it and then fills it with 30GB of stolen Universal music. It goes to court and the 'Pirate' successfully argues that he/she has already compensated UMG by buying the iPod/Zune. The judge agrees and piracy of Universal music becomes legal so long as it's for the 'UMG taxed' iPod or Zune. UMG collapses overnight and the artists get to release music on their terms and get more of the money that they deserve, not the faceless corporations and shareholders.
Why is this good for us? Because every entertainment company would become very wary of labelling us all 'pirates' and might actually realise that digital distribution at a fair price is their future.
D'oh somebody has already written something to this effect whilst I was typing!!
But do you really think a court will decide that way. Not likely, especially if it's a judge from the wealth maximisation school of thought.
Fantastic for the consumer and the artist, and potentially catastrophic for Universal Music.
Allow me to explain! Somebody buys a Zune or iPod that has had the 'Universal Tax' applied to it and then fills it with 30GB of stolen Universal music. It goes to court and the 'Pirate' successfully argues that he/she has already compensated UMG by buying the iPod/Zune. The judge agrees and piracy of Universal music becomes legal so long as it's for the 'UMG taxed' iPod or Zune. UMG collapses overnight and the artists get to release music on their terms and get more of the money that they deserve, not the faceless corporations and shareholders.
Why is this good for us? Because every entertainment company would become very wary of labelling us all 'pirates' and might actually realise that digital distribution at a fair price is their future.
D'oh somebody has already written something to this effect whilst I was typing!!
But do you really think a court will decide that way. Not likely, especially if it's a judge from the wealth maximisation school of thought.
Peace
Aug 5, 04:55 PM
Can someone confirm my calculations?
The keynote will start 8PM UK time?
6PM London time..
Use the dashboard clock widget if you're in the UK and open a clock then set it to Cupertino..
The keynote will start 8PM UK time?
6PM London time..
Use the dashboard clock widget if you're in the UK and open a clock then set it to Cupertino..
Roessnakhan
Mar 22, 12:57 PM
I agree.
But who in their right minds would want to own something called a Playbook? :o
The iPad isn't exactly a name to write home about either. Then, neither is TouchPad, Xoom, or Galaxy Tab.
But who in their right minds would want to own something called a Playbook? :o
The iPad isn't exactly a name to write home about either. Then, neither is TouchPad, Xoom, or Galaxy Tab.
epitaphic
Sep 13, 12:47 PM
Anyone seen this?
http://images.dailytech.com/nimage/1775_large_longtermroadmap.png
The real architecture changes are coming June then June then June 2012. With derivatives in the years between.
So Merom(Merom Santa Rosa)/Conroe/Woodcrest(Clovertown) are the end of the road of separate chips. No more mobile/desktop/sever chip... all are the same (should expect mobiles to have the lowest MHz, then desktop, then toping out with server)
And what's interesting is that each architecture change will be a leap in performance similar to Pentium D to Conroe transition. (source) (http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=2649)
Screw Tigerton, Penryn's next (probably June 2007)
http://images.dailytech.com/nimage/1775_large_longtermroadmap.png
The real architecture changes are coming June then June then June 2012. With derivatives in the years between.
So Merom(Merom Santa Rosa)/Conroe/Woodcrest(Clovertown) are the end of the road of separate chips. No more mobile/desktop/sever chip... all are the same (should expect mobiles to have the lowest MHz, then desktop, then toping out with server)
And what's interesting is that each architecture change will be a leap in performance similar to Pentium D to Conroe transition. (source) (http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=2649)
Screw Tigerton, Penryn's next (probably June 2007)
ShnikeJSB
Jul 14, 04:30 PM
ONLY DDR2-667?!? :confused:
Come on Apple, you'd BETTER use DDR2-800 or I'll be pissed! :mad:
Come on Apple, you'd BETTER use DDR2-800 or I'll be pissed! :mad:
seany916
Aug 27, 10:30 AM
Hecubus Pro,
I was distraught, and, as a huge gamer (not fat, just a video game fan )
Tha
t was funny! :D :p
I was distraught, and, as a huge gamer (not fat, just a video game fan )
Tha
t was funny! :D :p
