Category: gadgets

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Prepaid cell phone getting popular in the US?

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Did a google news search on this. From my own experience, prepaid phone card is very popular in China. I have used those from time to time when I visit China. I believe most of China Mobile (NYSE: CHL) subscribers are prepaid customers, which is opposite to the AT&T and Verizon Wireless customers in the US (where most customers have a calling plan and pay monthly).

T-mobile is doing a $25 prepaid card promotion on its prepaid phone. T-mobile is a distant 4th wireless carrier in the US, and it’s trying to take advantage of the recession to get more customers. Sprint is doing similar things with its boostmobile subsidiary.

Video below: one of the prepaid phone at T-mobile web site; source: YouTube.

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gadgets

Simple phone, not smart phone

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I found I just need a simple phone for my own use. Like this T-mobile Nokia 1661.

Yesterday I received my Nokia 1661 (ordered in the weekend, the modern logistics by UPS/Fedex is amazing), and I like its FM radio feature !!!

Blackberry is for people who needs to check email after regular work hour, yours truely is one of those people. I hope I can get away from BB one day.

A lot of times “simple is good”. I know my wife only uses her iPhone as dictionary, in addtion to “email checker”. Guess those iPhone App ads. on CNBC, WSJ and Economist magazine are not effective for her.

Why we need Blackberry and iPhone?

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Fun gadgets

Returning TARP

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It’s payback time. Now that “green shoots” are everywhere, many banks, big or small, want to return the TARP money. It seems to me this government effort rescuing the financial system is pretty much like miracle, only 6 months ago, I remember it was like the sky was falling. Now everyone is healthy, at least healthy enough to get government out of the board room. But there are a few twists on returning TARP money.

1) Returning money is not as easy as getting it (AP news). Paulson pretty much forced the big banks to take the money. As to return, the banks have to prove they can stand alone (without the help from government). One example of standalone means they can issue debt without FDIC gurantee.

2) Also, the government faces a choice of how to deal with the money being returned? I have not read the original bill, but I can fully understand the congress, and Paulson & associates did not expect the money being returned that fast, they probably did not expect the money being returned at the time. Now Mr. Geithner is act in ad hoc way again, he is saying the money can go back to community bank (AP news again). But, with the recent stigma attached to the TARP, and pending government intervention on executive compensation, who would want to take money from the Uncle Sam???

PS, the T-mobile Nokia 1661 arrived. I immediately slip my current T-mobile SIM card, and it worked. More interestingly, the FM radio works.

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gadgets

T-mobile Nokia 1661 phone

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(Update) The phone sold by T-mobile USA appears only works in the US. See the spec at Nokia USA web site here. Quote the spec “Operating frequency Dual-band GSM 850/1900 MHz”.

(Original) Saw the deal from dealsea. Here is the link to T-mobile. Nokia European site has more details spec for the phone. It looks can be used in the US and China besides Europe. Quote the spec “Operating frequency Dual-band EGSM 900/1800, GSM 850/1900”.

Nokia 1661 pic

I hope I can use my current T-mobile SIM card with the phone. I always like Nokia phone, for this phone one cool feature I like is its FM radio. Now I can not wait for the arrival of the phone. Got a little tired of my SamSung A437 phone (used a little more than 1 year).

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gadgets

Tough times ahead for China Mobile: I

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Sunmmary: the issue of 3G license (news here), the immature domestic standard being assigned to CHL, and no cool handset. All the above combined with the slowdown of Chinese economy is creating a headwind for China Mobile near term growth.

China Telecom (NYSE:CHA, the landline operator recently acquired CDMA business from China Unicom) is ramping up the new CDMA + WiFi strategy, the sky wing (tian yi) plan (English:labbrand; Chinese: Hu Langlang Sina blog); I also saw the sking wing 189 promotion when I was in China. Service wise, CHA is giving the customers both broadband internet and mobile service in one package. The price is quite competitive.

China Telecom CHA sky wing esurf

To be fair, China Mobile (NYSE:CHL) is not standing still, it’s launching the 188 number with TDMA very soon. But I am seeing at least two problems: 1) Lack of WOW handset (e.g., iPhone) to attract Chinese consumers (Chinese: asun0104 blog); 2) The lag of TDMA compared to mature 3G standard WCDMA. More importantly, the existing GSM business will slowdown quite a bit as the Chinese economy in the coastal areas cools, due to slowdown in exports. As many migrant workers go back home (factories shut), there are less need for them to talk/text to family back home. Similar thing can be said to business communications.

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CFA gadgets

Got RIM, booked Chicago trip

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Got some RIM stock (Nasdaq: RIMM) yesterday, as I saw some weakness have already priced into its current price. At P/E (ttm) of about 12, and projected single digit growth in 2009 (after serveral years hyper growth), the expectation on the stock is really low these days. At the same time, the newly released Bold (AT&T) and Storm (Verizon) should give them some boost, to counter the attack from 3G Apple iPhone (AT&T) and G Phone (T-Mobile). RIM released its preliminary 3Q results and here is an analyst view (Canaccord).

My Blackberry 8820
I have owned it for almost a month now, and I liked it. I took some advice form Jeremy (blog), and intalled Google Mobile App including GMail Mobile and Google Maps Mobile. Had I have this Google Map, I would not have lost my directions last Friday evening (after a party at friend’s place, and I did not want to ask police because I had a little beer).

Chicago trip
I also booked the Chicago trip for CFA. Since the test will be hold in McCormick Place and I don’t want to drive much, I booked the Hyatt at McCormick Place. To offset the hotel cost, I decided to take the public transportation from Midway airport to the hotel. Seriously I did check the airport shuttle but upon further examination, the travelling time is not as short as public transportation.

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gadgets

Got my first Black Berry

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Today I picked up my first Black Berry: not the new fancy 3G Bold, but the good old 8820 from AT&T. My first impression with Blackberry is it’s decent, note I only played with the browser (Yahoo, Google), Goolge Mobile App, and web browse using Wi-Fi. Because I have tried out the Apple iPhone (at local Apple store) before, I had to admit the experience from BB and iPhone is different: iPhone web browsing is full fledged or desktop-like, while BB is more like WAP (text based, reminds me good old palm). To be fair comparing their web browsing is unfair to BB, because thats like asking Michael Jordan play baseball, not his strong suit.

Blackberry 8820 AT&T pic

Of course the main use of BB, is the email and phone capability, both of which I will have plenty opportunity to use later on.

On a side note, both Apple (Naqdaq: APPL) and Research in Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM) stocks took big hit lately, as the broad market dived in this global financial crisis. Personally I think both AAPL and RIMM should emerge from the downturn stronger, along with Google, the new player in this mobile space with its G1 phone.

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Business gadgets

GM, China 3G standard

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We all know GM is in trouble financially. Its stock (NYSE:GM) is around $6, a 50 years low. A lot pundits made fun of GM and its stock on TV or the web space. But I have a different feeling for GM. Among many reasons, I think of two:

1) In graduate school I worked in project for an automotive supplier (supplier for the Detroit big three GM, Ford and Chrysler). I went to Detroit and the Renaissance center twice because of the project. I still remember the GM engineer always asks tough technical questions.

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gadgets

GPhone is here

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To be precise, it’s the G1 phone from T-Mobile, with the “G” software provided by Google. I did not visit the nearest T-mobile store by Panera, but I saw it from T-mobile web site.

T-mobile G1 phone GPhone

The paradigm shift in Smartphone market
About 3 months ago we have seen the debut of iPhone 3G, now with the GPhone from T-Mobile/Google, suddently the smartphone market in the US became crowded, esp. considering we are entering a recession.

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gadgets

China Telecom Revamp

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Players: foreign investment bankers, Chinese goverment

The motivation of Foreign investment bankers: pump and dump, make money from the warrants (options) in Hongkong market.

Chinese goverment
Goverment usually does not know economy or business, just look at Bush admin you will know. In China goverment plays two roles in telecom revamp: as regulator and as majority owner. This makes the matter more complicated, and it seems to me goverment revamp effort is half-baked, also widely expected. It did not give big surprise to the market and the consumers.

Effectiveness of Chinese goverment policy in the past: telecom revamp in the past; regulatory effort on real estate (so far so failed). Of course we can not read the history book and do the investing. Otherwise all the greater investors will be history major.

Note: I wrote the above a while ago right after China offically started telecom re-org (May 23). I did write about the telecom re-org shortly after May 23, here are some.

New developments

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