Greg's Bite: Sprint, hot iPads, Google's 1 Gig fiber 
TweetFollow Us on Twitter

Greg's Bite: Sprint, hot iPads, Google's 1 Gig fiber 

By Greg Mills

Dear readers, I have been busy writing a textbook on the process of invention using the new Apple App "iBooks Author" and have been spreading my tech articles around with various publishers.  When I read things about Apple that bug me, I sit down a write about it ... therapy of sorts. When that happens, my friends at MacNews and MacTech lend me a soap box to express my views.

Recently Sprint, the ugly duckling of the US cell phone industry,  has come under fire from the market due to Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett cutting Sprint's stock potential due to the high risk of bankruptcy. Moffett figures there is a 50-50 chance the iPhone deal with Apple will actually be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Sprint admitted they were betting the farm on the iPhone deal. The more iPhones they sell, the more financing they need until the new accounts go into the black.

Moffitt recounts the long laundry list of major mistakes Sprint management has made over the last few years. From the poorly conceived Nextel merger to the LightSquared and ClearWire WiMAX disasters. The price of Sprint stock has been stuck in the US$2 to $3 range for the last six months. At current valuation of the stock on the New York Exchange, Sprint's market cap is valued at about $8 billion.

That is less than half the value of the iPhone deal Sprint made with Apple. Ironically, if Sprint goes under, Apple might be the single biggest creditor. What if Apple got Sprint outright in a bankruptcy proceeding? Remember the profit alone, on all those iPhone Apple sold Sprint, is greater than the entire market cap for the Sprint Corporation.

I have been advocating since last fall that Apple ought to buy Sprint outright, kill the Sprint brand name and launch "Apple Mobility."  Sprint's wireless network needs work and a major investment in 4G technology, but they own spectrum and assets that would allow Apple to put a world class cell phone company together.  That would support the broad range of Apple's ever more mobile devices. AT&T and Verizon would cry foul, but they are always crying the blues about something anyway.

If Apple gets Sprint at the $2.50 a share range, that the stock would double to $5 overnight is not inconceivable. That overnight investment would effectively give Apple a national cellular carrier for free. Apple has long envisioned various forms of marketing cellular services. What better way to invest some of that cash?

The problems at Sprint are mostly located in the boardroom of the company. I strongly advise Apple to fire everyone but the janitors and to take a hard look at them. I would suggest Apple bribe Tony Fadell to take over Sprint and make it a fitting company asset within the Apple business culture.  

Hot iPads? Give Apple a break. When you pack twice the battery and have twice the power consumption as the iPad 2 in the same form factor, any idiot would expect the new iPad to run a bit hotter.  I do think the new iPad takes a bit longer to charge due to the greater capacity of the larger battery. It is being charged with the same wattage brick as the iPad 1 and 2. That ,also, is basic physics. The USB format power supply maxes out at 10 Watts.  

The new iPad is nothing short of amazing, so don't let some Microsoft or Android fan steer you wrong. Apple sold three million of the new iPads in four days. Even PC fans are admitting that there is nothing even close to matching Apple's new tablet. I think Apple CEO Tim Cook is being very conservative in projecting the soon coming eclipse of the PC. The PC age is over, except for the crying at Microsoft, HP and Dell's campuses.  

I got my new iPad last Friday from a haggard and bewildered UPS driver who told me his division had 20 iPads per truck going out that one day, with 300 trucks in the fleet. Do the math. Kansas City has a quite a few Apple fans who bought iPads on line for first day delivery.  

My new iPad is absolutely stunning and is a big step up from iPad 1, which my daughter has claimed as her birthright. The screen resolution is breathtaking. It is like going from regular TV to full HDTV. The Verizon 4G network iPad is very fast compared to my MacBook Pro running on cable modem/WiFi.  

The Google 1 Gig Fiber Internet project seems to be slowly developing here in Kansas City, Kansas. Interestingly, Chattanooga, Tennessee, is the only other existing 1 Gig fiber Onternet service in the whole country. Their 1 Gig Internet business  has floundered fiscally due to the $350 per month they charge for full speed service. While a lot of people opted for the slower, dumbed down speeds sold at a lower price point, the full 1 Gig service has been sold to only nine residents and 18 businesses, according to my research. Adoption of the state-of-the-art service has been very limited due to pricing. Also, the lack of apps that actually require 1 Gig can be counted on one hand.

The business model of tiered service plans with various price points and speeds is not the approach Google is planning to offer. Google plans to give everyone access to the full 1 Gig internet, instead of slowing down connections for cheaper service.   

Working out access to telephone poles to actually string the fiber has been reported as the most recent cause of delay in implementing Google's new high speed service here in Kansas City.  It has also leaked out that Goole plans to offer bundled cable TV and phone service as well as Internet.  

The other utilities are forcing their way onto Google's fiber network in exchange for access to their utility poles. This all promises to offer residents of Kansas City access to a broad array of state-of-the-art digital services at competitive prices.  Google is the deep pocket that can make all this happen.

Perhaps in light of the recent privacy breeches Google ought to consider a new ethical mantra: "don't be completely evil."  

That is Greg's Bite.

 

Community Search:
MacTech Search:

Software Updates via MacUpdate

Latest Forum Discussions

See All

Tokkun Studio unveils alpha trailer for...
We are back on the MMORPG news train, and this time it comes from the sort of international developers Tokkun Studio. They are based in France and Japan, so it counts. Anyway, semantics aside, they have released an alpha trailer for the upcoming... | Read more »
Win a host of exclusive in-game Honor of...
To celebrate its latest Jujutsu Kaisen crossover event, Honor of Kings is offering a bounty of login and achievement rewards kicking off the holiday season early. [Read more] | Read more »
Miraibo GO comes out swinging hard as it...
Having just launched what feels like yesterday, Dreamcube Studio is wasting no time adding events to their open-world survival Miraibo GO. Abyssal Souls arrives relatively in time for the spooky season and brings with it horrifying new partners to... | Read more »
Ditch the heavy binders and high price t...
As fun as the real-world equivalent and the very old Game Boy version are, the Pokemon Trading Card games have historically been received poorly on mobile. It is a very strange and confusing trend, but one that The Pokemon Company is determined to... | Read more »
Peace amongst mobile gamers is now shatt...
Some of the crazy folk tales from gaming have undoubtedly come from the EVE universe. Stories of spying, betrayal, and epic battles have entered history, and now the franchise expands as CCP Games launches EVE Galaxy Conquest, a free-to-play 4x... | Read more »
Lord of Nazarick, the turn-based RPG bas...
Crunchyroll and A PLUS JAPAN have just confirmed that Lord of Nazarick, their turn-based RPG based on the popular OVERLORD anime, is now available for iOS and Android. Starting today at 2PM CET, fans can download the game from Google Play and the... | Read more »
Digital Extremes' recent Devstream...
If you are anything like me you are impatiently waiting for Warframe: 1999 whilst simultaneously cursing the fact Excalibur Prime is permanently Vault locked. To keep us fed during our wait, Digital Extremes hosted a Double Devstream to dish out a... | Read more »
The Frozen Canvas adds a splash of colou...
It is time to grab your gloves and layer up, as Torchlight: Infinite is diving into the frozen tundra in its sixth season. The Frozen Canvas is a colourful new update that brings a stylish flair to the Netherrealm and puts creativity in the... | Read more »
Back When AOL WAS the Internet – The Tou...
In Episode 606 of The TouchArcade Show we kick things off talking about my plans for this weekend, which has resulted in this week’s show being a bit shorter than normal. We also go over some more updates on our Patreon situation, which has been... | Read more »
Creative Assembly's latest mobile p...
The Total War series has been slowly trickling onto mobile, which is a fantastic thing because most, if not all, of them are incredibly great fun. Creative Assembly's latest to get the Feral Interactive treatment into portable form is Total War:... | Read more »

Price Scanner via MacPrices.net

Early Black Friday Deal: Apple’s newly upgrad...
Amazon has Apple 13″ MacBook Airs with M2 CPUs and 16GB of RAM on early Black Friday sale for $200 off MSRP, only $799. Their prices are the lowest currently available for these newly upgraded 13″ M2... Read more
13-inch 8GB M2 MacBook Airs for $749, $250 of...
Best Buy has Apple 13″ MacBook Airs with M2 CPUs and 8GB of RAM in stock and on sale on their online store for $250 off MSRP. Prices start at $749. Their prices are the lowest currently available for... Read more
Amazon is offering an early Black Friday $100...
Amazon is offering early Black Friday discounts on Apple’s new 2024 WiFi iPad minis ranging up to $100 off MSRP, each with free shipping. These are the lowest prices available for new minis anywhere... Read more
Price Drop! Clearance 14-inch M3 MacBook Pros...
Best Buy is offering a $500 discount on clearance 14″ M3 MacBook Pros on their online store this week with prices available starting at only $1099. Prices valid for online orders only, in-store... Read more
Apple AirPods Pro with USB-C on early Black F...
A couple of Apple retailers are offering $70 (28%) discounts on Apple’s AirPods Pro with USB-C (and hearing aid capabilities) this weekend. These are early AirPods Black Friday discounts if you’re... Read more
Price drop! 13-inch M3 MacBook Airs now avail...
With yesterday’s across-the-board MacBook Air upgrade to 16GB of RAM standard, Apple has dropped prices on clearance 13″ 8GB M3 MacBook Airs, Certified Refurbished, to a new low starting at only $829... Read more
Price drop! Apple 15-inch M3 MacBook Airs now...
With yesterday’s release of 15-inch M3 MacBook Airs with 16GB of RAM standard, Apple has dropped prices on clearance Certified Refurbished 15″ 8GB M3 MacBook Airs to a new low starting at only $999.... Read more
Apple has clearance 15-inch M2 MacBook Airs a...
Apple has clearance, Certified Refurbished, 15″ M2 MacBook Airs now available starting at $929 and ranging up to $410 off original MSRP. These are the cheapest 15″ MacBook Airs for sale today at... Read more
Apple drops prices on 13-inch M2 MacBook Airs...
Apple has dropped prices on 13″ M2 MacBook Airs to a new low of only $749 in their Certified Refurbished store. These are the cheapest M2-powered MacBooks for sale at Apple. Apple’s one-year warranty... Read more
Clearance 13-inch M1 MacBook Airs available a...
Apple has clearance 13″ M1 MacBook Airs, Certified Refurbished, now available for $679 for 8-Core CPU/7-Core GPU/256GB models. Apple’s one-year warranty is included, shipping is free, and each... Read more

Jobs Board

Seasonal Cashier - *Apple* Blossom Mall - J...
Seasonal Cashier - Apple Blossom Mall Location:Winchester, VA, United States (https://jobs.jcp.com/jobs/location/191170/winchester-va-united-states) - Apple Read more
Seasonal Fine Jewelry Commission Associate -...
…Fine Jewelry Commission Associate - Apple Blossom Mall Location:Winchester, VA, United States (https://jobs.jcp.com/jobs/location/191170/winchester-va-united-states) Read more
Seasonal Operations Associate - *Apple* Blo...
Seasonal Operations Associate - Apple Blossom Mall Location:Winchester, VA, United States (https://jobs.jcp.com/jobs/location/191170/winchester-va-united-states) - Read more
Hair Stylist - *Apple* Blossom Mall - JCPen...
Hair Stylist - Apple Blossom Mall Location:Winchester, VA, United States (https://jobs.jcp.com/jobs/location/191170/winchester-va-united-states) - Apple Blossom Read more
Cashier - *Apple* Blossom Mall - JCPenney (...
Cashier - Apple Blossom Mall Location:Winchester, VA, United States (https://jobs.jcp.com/jobs/location/191170/winchester-va-united-states) - Apple Blossom Mall Read more
All contents are Copyright 1984-2011 by Xplain Corporation. All rights reserved. Theme designed by Icreon.