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Posted Tuesday, 29 April 2008
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According to Fortune, AT&T will sell the 2nd generation iPhone with a US$200 subsidy when it goes on sale on or around 27 June 2008. I’ve compiled a list of my billso.com iPhone articles below, as they contain hints or information about iPhone 2.0
It’s an Interesting way to mark the first year of the iPhone, and it’s unlikely that AT&T will lose money, given the costs of data plans for the iPhone. The subsidy may or may not be available at Apple’s retail stores.
Those discounts would make the 8GB model US$199 with a new 2-year contract, and the 16GB model US$299. Those prices make the iPhone more attractive for consumers. Expect to see more iPhones in Starbucks stores around July, as customers use AT&T WiFi access points to download songs and videos from iTunes.
The new model iPhone will be 2.5 mm thinner than the original model, and will also have 3G, GPS and 802.11n chipsets. Current models support the slower EDGE protocol, a simulated GPS system and 802.11 b/g WiFi connections
It will also include version 2.0 firmware, which will support Microsoft Exchange servers. It will be interesting to see what AT&T charges its corporate customers for iPhones.
Many of these items will help some CIOs justify the iPhone as a corporate device. RIM is preparing its own “iPhone killer” model to support its Blackberry line, according to this New York Times article.
The new firmware will also support true applications for the iPhone, instead of web-based apps.
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Posted Tuesday, 29 April 2008
From the Honolulu Advertiser and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin: Aloha Airlines shut down its air cargo unit yesterday. Aloha carried 85 percent of the state’s air cargo. I mentioned that this might happen in my billso.com articles of 2 April 2008 and 8 April 2008. Aloha’s passenger business shut down last month, as I discussed in this billso.com article on 30 March 2008.
Hawaii consumers will start felling the pinch shortly, especially on the neighbor islands. Love’s Bakery had to ship 22,000 pounds of bread and other products to Kauai and the island of Hawaii through Los Angeles. Perhaps their Maui shipments used the Superferry, which can handle cargo? Kauai residents who helped stop the Superferry last August may come to regret their decision in the next few days.
Other shippers were turned away at Aloha offices when they tried to drop off fruit and leis. That’s very bad news, as Lei Day is coming on 1 May, and neighbor island businesses planned to ship several thousand leis to Oahu for the event. One large florist had already made contingency plans to ship with United Airlines, but other businesses hadn’t thought ahead.
The value chain
Aloha’s cargo shutdown forces many time-sensitive shippers to find alternate means of supporting their value chain. Newspapers, auto parts and prescription drug shipments to the neighbor islands will also be affected. This Honolulu Advertiser article has more details.
The US Postal Service has made arrangements with Corporate Air to ship interisland mail, but there may be delays.
The Advertiser’s lead article describes how Saltchuk Resources, the Seattle-based holding company that owns Young Brothers/Hawaiian Tug & Barge had signed a letter of intent to purchase Aloha’s air cargo business for $13 million on 27 March. Another company, bid Jupiter Holdings Group bid $13.65 million.
Now the auction process may have to start again, and 400 Aloha employees have been laid off.
James Wagner, Jupiter’s attorney, said the company was prepared to go through with its purchase as recently as yesterday afternoon. But GMAC unexpectedly upped the price to $15 million and required a higher deposit, he said
Saltchuk, meanwhile, pulled its bid last week after Aloha and GMAC changed the terms of the bidding.
“This all has to do with other parties changing the deal without any warning,” Wagner said. “I’ve been in practice over 30 years and I’ve never seen a case end like this.
Related articles on billso.com
- 30 April 2008: Will Aloha Airlines’ contract services unit shut down?
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Posted Tuesday, 29 April 2008
Reuters reports that Netflix has teamed up with LG and three other manufacturers to offer set-top boxes for online movie delivery. If this new service is implemented properly, Netflix could sell subscriptions to millions of potential customers who do not use a computer at home.
Netflix already offers online movie viewing, but the feature requires a computer that runs Windows Media Player 11 or better. A set top box would eliminate the computer requirement. No word on whether the boxes will let users browse and order movies through the television, but Apple already supports these features with its set top box.
The new boxes will arrive in stores by the end of 2008. Consumers will need a Netflix account and a high-speed Internet connection. Cable and telecom companies might see new broadband subscribers who don’t have a computer, but some customers might drop their premium TV channels to afford Netflix.
The biggest losers will be the US Postal Service and Netflix depot employees. USPS gets a nice chunk of revenue from Netflix mailers, and the depot employees receive, sort and stuff mailers in over 30 locations, including Honolulu. Online movie delivery would make the mailers obsolete.
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