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At this point in the game, only time will tell. Sprint Nextel was supposed to have launched its Xohm WiMax service this month. But it now says it will launch the service later this year. And even though Nokia has announced one device to be used on a WiMax network, it will take awhile before more WiMax-enabled devices become available.

Coverage may not be everywhere, but it might just be enough to entice some subscribers to give it a second look.

In the meantime, T-Mobile will be expanding its Wi-Fi hot spots and cell phone manufacturers will be embedding inexpensive Wi-Fi chips into more devices. So at least for the near future, T-Mobile, the laggard in the wireless speed war, could be the only provider to offer true wireless broadband speeds to its subscribers.

“They are trying to turn a virtue out of necessity,” he said. “They’re forcing a technology to be used in a way that it was not designed to be used. Can they get to it to work? Yes, but it doesn’t work very elegantly.”

Now, as T-Mobile prepares to open its 3G network for business, the carrier has also begun offering a companion service using Wi-Fi that will provide even faster upload and download speeds for mobile-phone users. And while Sprint Nextel struggles to roll out WiMax and Verizon Wireless and AT&T talk about LTE (long-term evolution) deployments, T-Mobile will be able to offer its subscribers true mobile broadband service through Wi-Fi hot spots. The combination of its 3G network and Wi-Fi strategy could help the company compete more aggressively as mobile Internet and data become more important sources of revenue for wireless operators.

Using the Wi-Fi network instead of the cellular network benefits T-Mobile, as well as its customers. For T-Mobile, Wi-Fi helps reduce the amount of traffic that is running on T-Mobile’s own wireless network. And consumers get better in-home or in-building coverage. It also greatly improves the upload and download speeds for surfing the mobile Web. And at only $9.99 extra per month for subscribers who spend at least $40 a month on T-Mobile phone service, it’s not an expensive add-on for high-speed data access and better coverage.

Considering citywide Wi-Fi
He even admitted that the company has considered deploying Wi-Fi citywide. The movement to blanket cities with Wi-Fi was badly damaged last year when EarthLink, the largest Internet provider to offer such a service, decided to stop building these networks. Since then cities have been struggling to figure out ways to bring inexpensive Wi-Fi services to their communities.

Even without 3G services, T-Mobile has managed to become a formidable competitor. And even though it doesn’t offer specific e-mail or Internet surfing service over its cellular network, T-Mobile has still managed to become a leader in messaging with its popular Sidekick device that’s used for SMS text messaging.

The company has expanded the service to also include its more than 9,000 public Wi-Fi hot spots in the U.S., giving its customers even more places where they can use Wi-Fi. I must admit, I have never used the service myself, but T-Mobile’s Sims says the handoff between the Wi-Fi and the cellular is seamless, and subscribers can walk in and out of either network as many times as they like without ever noticing they have hopped onto another network.

Then there’s the other 4G technology, LTE. Verizon Wireless and AT&T have each said they plan to use wireless spectrum newly won in the 700MHz auction to build these networks, but it will be years before either provider offers a service on these proposed networks.

He admitted that the new service is an attempt to take on companies such as AT&T and Verizon, which offer wireless as well as home phone service.

“Over half of the @Home customers are new subscribers to T-Mobile,” he said. “And most of them seem to be coming on for the faster speeds and the increased coverage proposition.”

“Wi-Fi networks are very hard to manage in dense environments,” he said. “And it’s very hard for a city to deploy a network such as ours. We already own the fiber and all the rights of way.”

T-Mobile also recently announced a home phone replacement service called Hotspot @Home Talk Forever that also uses Wi-Fi. The service is currently available in Seattle and Dallas. Essentially, it is a voice over IP service, much like services offered by cable providers and companies such as Vonage. It allows people to use their regular phones to make and receive calls over a broadband connection. The service only costs $9.99 more a month on top of the regular calling plan and Hotspot @Home charge.

There’s no question Wi-Fi is far from perfect. Its use of unlicensed bandwidth can mean signal interference. And it’s a short-range radio technology that will never be able to provide ubiquitous coverage. But when Wi-Fi is combined with a new 3G wireless network using phones that T-Mobile claims switch seamlessly between the two networks, it becomes an interesting story.

“We are absolutely going after the traditional phone companies with these offerings,” he said. “And we’re doing it in a way that is relevant to our brand.”

The main reason the university is interested in allowing the T-Mobile service to be used with its Wi-Fi network is to provide better in-building coverage. The university currently is working with all the major cell phone carriers to improve cellular coverage on campus, but even with these efforts faculty and students complain of poor service inside many buildings.

T-Mobile could be the perfect candidate to build such a network. Not only does the company already have its own Wi-Fi networks, but the use of dual-mode devices that can switch between cellular and Wi-Fi networks would make the service more useful and appealing to nomadic city workers or even consumer subscribers looking for faster mobile Internet surfing.

Instead of investing in expensive femtocell technology, which uses a router-like device to boost cellular radio signals indoors, William Green, director of networking for the University of Texas at Austin, sees Wi-Fi as an inexpensive way to provide better coverage. At the same time, people in the university community with dual-mode phones can also benefit from the higher-speed network access using Wi-Fi.

“We’ve looked at citywide Wi-Fi,” Sims said. “There’s no real reason why it couldn’t work from a technology standpoint. But there are different business models around using the technology in that way.”

“Hotspot @Home is great for one device and great for improving in-home coverage,” Sims said. “But there’s another demographic that wants one permanent line in the home.”

T-Mobile USA is late to the high-speed wireless party, but it’s going low-cost to catch up.

As the smallest nationwide carrier in the U.S. market, T-Mobile is using $4.2 billion worth of spectrum it bought in the Federal Communications Commission’s 2006 Advanced Wireless Auction to build a 3G wireless network that operates in the nation’s top markets. The service, expected to launch this summer, will be up and running in 80 percent of the top 20 markets by the end of the year, according to Joe Sims, vice president and general manager of broadband products and services for T-Mobile USA.

While rivals such as AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and Sprint Nextel have been talking recently about building new 4G wireless networks, T-Mobile–which will begin offering 3G wireless service this summer–is leveraging cheap, unlicensed Wi-Fi technology to bring true broadband speed over wireless networks to some of its subscribers today.

Skepticism over Wi-Fi strategy
Indeed, other experts are also skeptical that T-Mobile’s Wi-Fi strategy will find much traction beyond some niche applications. Roger Entner, vice president of communications for IAG Research, said T-Mobile has had little choice but to use Wi-Fi since it is so late to the 3G cellular game.

T-Mobile’s service is already being used on some Wi-Fi-blanketed college campuses. The University of Texas at Austin launched a pilot program last month that will run through August and is allowing T-Mobile subscribers to use the university Wi-Fi network as part of their Hotspot @Home service. This means that in addition to using the @Home service in a dorm room, residents and faculty who subscribe to the T-Mobile service will be able to use it anywhere they can find the university Wi-Fi network, such as in the library, in classroom buildings, and in outdoor public hot spots.

That said, Green is skeptical that T-Mobile’s Wi-Fi service could be as effective in a citywide deployment.

Since the Hotspot @Home service launched nationwide last summer, T-Mobile has assembled an impressive list of devices that can be used with the service. Earlier this month at the CTIA trade show in Las Vegas, the company introduced the BlackBerry Pearl 8120 with Wi-Fi. T-Mobile also offers two other Hotspot@Home-enabled BlackBerrys, the popular Curve 8320, and the business-centric BlackBerry 8820.

The service, which began selling nationwide last year, has been a big success, Sims says. It’s even helped the company entice some customers to switch providers for T-Mobile.

Last summer, T-Mobile launched the Hotspot @Home service, which allows people using any of T-Mobile’s dual-mode Wi-Fi/cellular phones to use their home Wi-Fi networks instead of the T-Mobile cellular network to make phone calls or access the Internet from their phones.

But Sims also says that T-Mobile’s ambitions for Wi-Fi go beyond simply using it in the home. The service can also be used in conjunction with thousands of T-Mobile public Wi-Fi hot spots. The company currently has more than 21,000 public hot spots around the globe, with more than 9,000 of them in the U.S. While these hot spots by no means provide ubiquitous coverage, Sims said the company is evaluating how to expand its hot spot footprint to bring more Wi-Fi access to its subscribers.

“WiMax and LTE are a ways off from becoming reality,” Sims said. “There isn’t anything faster than Wi-Fi right now. And with the seamless handoff to a 3G network, we can get much wider coverage.”

Currently, most of T-Mobile’s hot spots are in places like airports or cafes where people typically use laptops. But as more dual-mode phones come online, he said the company will evaluate where it might be useful to deploy hot spots for “nomadic” use.

In its tradition of affordable prepaid phones, Virgin Mobile has just launched the Flare (otherwise known as the LG LX175), a simple flip phone without a lot of bells and whistles. Features are predictably bare bones, like a speakerphone, mobile web browser, and Bluetooth — there isn’t even a camera on this thing. But for something as low as $29.99 without a contract, it’s not too shabby. You can pick it up now via Virgin’s website or any of their retail partners.

(Credit:
Virgin Mobile)

LG Flare

Executives from MySpace officially announced the creation of MySpace Music, a service that will be jointly operated by News Corp.’s MySpace and, at least initially, three out of the four top record labels.

For more on this breaking story, see News.com’s coverage.

The Thursday morning teleconference MySpace held with the press was anticlimactic since details about the service have been leaking for weeks.

The service will roll out gradually over the next three to four months and offer free streaming music, unprotected MP3 downloads, ringtones, and e-commerce offerings such as merchandise and ticket sales, said MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe. Among the top four music companies, EMI was the lone holdout. A source with knowledge of the negotiations said that MySpace and EMI continue to seek a deal.

“Consumers will be happy to hear the FCC is taking control of the fund’s growth,” Tom Tauke, Verizon’s executive vice president of public affairs, said in a statement. “This is a responsible first step. The next step is comprehensive reform of the universal service high-cost fund to make it more efficient and targeted to consumers who need it.”

While AT&T’s customers, like Verizon’s subscribers, pay a huge chunk of the USF, it also happens to be a major recipient of these wireless subsidies, according to a story by the Associated Press. But the company had already agreed to a cap as a condition of its acquisition of Dobson Communications last year. Alltel, another major wireless operator that relies on USF funds, also agreed to a cap on the fund as a condition of its deal to be bought out by a private investment group.

The Federal Communications Commission capped a subsidy program that helps fund cell phone coverage in rural areas.

But in order to achieve this goal, funds had to be made available to subsidize service in rural parts of the country.

In many ways, the USF has been a great success. Over 80 percent of the U.S. population subscribes to a cell phone service. But there are still significant gaps in coverage, where service is not available, because it is simply too expensive for operators to put up cell towers.

While only a quarter of the U.S. population lives in a rural area, roughly 75 percent of our country’s geography is rural. And the mobile nature of cell phones means that improving rural cell phone coverage is not just important for people living in remote areas of the country, but for anyone traveling through those areas as well. There have been many stories over the past several years where people have gotten lost or stranded in remote parts of the country and were not able to get help because their cell phones couldn’t get a signal.

In a 3-2 vote on Thursday, the FCC said it would limit payments to wireless carriers seeking funds from the Universal Service Fund to help subsidize the cost of providing cell phone service in rural areas. The USF, which is supported by a tax on long-distance and regular subscriber line charges paid by wireless, Internet, and traditional phone customers, has been temporarily capped after the program paid nearly $1.12 billion last year to phone companies operating in rural areas. In 2001, the fund paid out only $15 million. The increase in funding has led to higher taxes on phone bills for consumers.

Regulators hope capping the fund now will help slow the increase of charges being added to consumers’ phone bills. The fund was created by Congress as part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which essentially overhauled telecommunication law and regulations. The purpose of the fund was to ensure that all Americans had access to telecommunications services at comparable rates.

Congress is currently working on reforming the USF. And the cap ensures that rates remain at March 2008 levels until the reform package is complete.

Still, regulators and large phone companies complain that the burden to fund USF has gotten too great as too many consumers have seen dramatic increases in fees tacked onto their cell phone bills. And they say that the money is not always spent on carriers that are in the most need of subsidy. Phone companies such Verizon Communications, whose customers contribute to the bulk of the fund, were pleased to see the cap in place.

According to Samsung each display uses half the normal power of other dipslays by redeucing the number of backlight lamps and keeping them confined along the edges. Samsung says they compensate for the reduced backlights by focusing the light that is there and increasing the overall efficiency of the display. We at CNET Labs should probably start looking into power consumption testing for computer displays, since this issue is cropping up more and more. Hmmm, we’ll get back to you on when that’ll be…

The T260. The other two look just like it only smaller

T220HD: $429
T240HD: $549
T260HD: $599

The displays are currently available for the MSRP’s of:

In late July Samsung released three new computer displays that might as well be HDTV’s. The 25.5″ T260HD, the 24″ T240HD and the 22″ T220HD. All three displays have the same basic design with the only difference in appearance between them being their relative size. The T220HD does not have a screen swiveling mechanism built in, though this is included in the other two. All three models inherit Samsung’s Touch of Color (TOC) design detail which we discuss in our review of the T220. While TOC suceeds in enhancing the aesthetics of each display, it’s the ATSC/QAM tuner that makes these stand out. The tuner turns these three computer displays into full-fledged HDTV’s. Able to receive over the air and cable HD signals.

All three displays are available now from e-tailers and will be in brick and mortars by the end of August.

1920×1200 native resolution (the T220HD tops out at 1680×1050)
2 HDMI ports (one in the back and one on the left side)
Component ports
DVI
VGA
Headphone jack
Optical digital audio out
Dolby Digital Surround speakers

(Credit:
Samsung Electronics America Inc. )

We’ll have a review of the T240HD along with the Samsung 2443BW in the next few weeks so check back then to see which is the best 24″ Samsung.

The line between HDTV’s and computer displays is continually blurring. The latest case (or cases) in point are three new computer displays from Samsung.

The following product is available:

On Sale Now: $347.00
View the latest prices for Samsung SyncMaster T220

Each display also include the following features:

Craigslist had already stated in these comment pages: “There appears to be a psycho on the loose around Boston. We always help the cops out fast with the help they need from us, but they tell us not to comment on current investigations.”

The Boston Herald quoted Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis as saying: “We are very, very happy to have this man off the street in such a timely way.”

On an unnamed social networking site, the Herald reported that she wrote: “Philip is a beautiful man inside and out (…) He is intelligent, loyal, and the best fiance a woman could ask for. He would not hurt a fly!”

On Friday, I wrote about the killer who appeared to be using Craigslist to meet masseuses.

Markoff has been charged with murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, and kidnapping.

(Updated 08.20 PST with quotes from the accused’s fiancee)

(Credit: CC BL Murch/Flickr)

Markoff’s fiancee, 25-year-old Megan McAllister, told the Herald on Tuesday: “I will stand by Philip as I know he is innocent.”

Police said they believe he is responsible for the murder of Julissa Brisman, at the Marriott Copley Place in Boston, as well as several other incidents at Boston hotels.

She has also been e-mailing ABC News. Ms. McAllister is due to marry Markoff on August 14.

On Monday, police announced that they have arrested Philip H. Markoff, 22, in connection with the murder. He is a premed student at Boston University, a school spokesman confirmed to the Boston Herald.

It appears that computer experts were among those police turned to in order to track down the suspect.

For the segment of French-speaking Canadians, the announcement also says an updated version of the service with support for localized French is coming soon, which might lead to international variations for large markets in Europe.

Although English is spoken in both the U.S. and Canada, there are enough differences between the way it’s spoken in the two countries that we engineered GOOG-411 especially for Canadian English. We incorporated some Canadianisms [sic] such as “eh,” “Traw-na,” “Cal-gry,” and, of course, “aboot.” We also took into account geographical differences. Whereas users in the U.S. are prompted for “city and state,” Canadians are asked for your “city and province.”

Google’s popular free 411 service GOOG-411 (1-800-4664-411) is now available in Canada. The toll-free directory service that uses Google results to give people phone numbers and addresses of local businesses launched in the States back in April of last year. Since then it’s added an SMS maps service that will send you a link to the WAP-friendly map. The computerized operator has also since been enhanced, and now has a voice closer to the all-seeing HAL 9000 seen in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 instead of the Microsoft Sam-like one from before.

With the updated version the real work is not just in the sound of the voice, it’s also in the service’s capability to understand what people are saying. To that end, Google’s official blog post on it says the voice recognition engine was tuned to better understand some of the Canadian dialects:

Google is close to inking a deal with Verizon that would build its search interface into the mobile phone service provider’s products, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

Mobile phones, increasingly powerful and ubiquitous, are a major battleground for technology companies seeking to consolidate a fragmented market. Google rival Yahoo already has mobile phone software deals with several mobile operators.

The deal, still not final, would make Google’s search service central to a one-stop search mechanism for Verizon devices, and Google will share revenue from the service, the newspaper reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. Still under negotiation are issues such as whether Google would be allowed to save information from users’ searches, the paper said.

Revenue-sharing terms had held up the partnership, which Google has sought for a year, the Journal reported.

But without Sirius-XM competition how long will the merged company wait before they stick it to the subscribers and jack up the rates? Yes, some say the merged company will still be competing with broadcast radio, but isn’t that like saying movie theater ticket prices are somehow kept in check by DVD prices? Somebody’s gotta pay for the Sirius-XM merger, and I have a feeling that somebody is us.

They still need approval from the Federal Communications Commission before the deal is done. If you ask me, it seems anticompetitive to let the only two satellite-radio companies in the U.S. merge. Both companies’ subscriber bases are at record highs, but both claim they need the merger to survive. They’ve both far exceeded the numbers they claimed they needed to be profitable when they started.

It seems like the Sirius-XM merger been dragging on for years, and both sides are eager to get it done, but what would I get out of it? I’ve been a happy Sirius subscriber for years. I love the commercial-free music channels, and the uninhibited talk channels are hugely entertaining. At least maybe Sirius’ sound quality will get closer to XM’s–it’s always sounded a little better.

Sirius must be overpaying Howard Stern–because even with all the new subscribers he brought them, they’re still losing money. He’s sucking the profits out of Sirius–perhaps Stern should consider a pay cut to help them out? He can afford it more than his listeners.

What does the merger mean for satellite radio subscribers? There’s a lot of duplication between Sirius and XM’s programming so we’ll surely lose some of our favorite programs or channels. There will no doubt be winners and losers in the reshuffle.

Apple, which has come under fire for the use of toxic materials, scored at the bottom of the electronics sector list with an 11.

IBM, Google, and Microsoft apparently are model citizens when it comes to reducing their carbon footprint, while Apple has a long way to go.

Climate Counts, a nonprofit funded by yogurt maker Stonyfield Farm, released on Wednesday its annual assessment of corporations’ actions related to addressing climate change and whether they live up to their “green” marketing claims.

The industry does well because most vendors have done a lifecycle analysis of their carbon emissions, examining energy and consumption of its supply chain partners, and the impact of waste from their products.

Correction at 8:10 a.m. PDT: Nike’s score has been fixed.

The electronics and IT industry had the best industry ranking with a score of 56 on average out of a possible 100 points, led by a score of 77 from IBM, which edged out consistently high performer Canon.

In the area of Internet/software, Google has become the new standard-bearer. Google got the top spot because it has a program to measure its carbon emissions and because of its program through Google.org to invest in clean-energy ventures.

According to its individual scorecard, Apple’s ranking was hurt by incomplete reporting and because it hasn’t set goals to reduce its own or its partners’ greenhouse gases.

Climate Counts uses public information to rank companies in all industries.

(Credit:
Climate Counts)

(Credit:
Climate Counts)

The overall leader across all industries was Nike, which scored 82. Click here for PDFs of the results and the press release.