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The Telecom Digest for Fri, 11 Mar 2016
Volume 35 : Issue 44 : "text" format

Table of contents
Re: Google AMP Is Also A Mobile Ads RevolutionDavid Clayton
Typical service life of cell phones?HAncock4
Re: Typical service life of cell phones?Doug McIntyre
Re: Typical service life of cell phones?Rob Warnock
Re: Typical service life of cell phones?John Levine
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <nbrbo9$qn3$1@dont-email.me> Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2016 08:37:29 -0000 (UTC) From: David Clayton <dc33box-cdt@yahoo.com.au> Subject: Re: Google AMP Is Also A Mobile Ads Revolution On Tue, 08 Mar 2016 09:03:45 -0500, Monty Solomon wrote: > Google AMP Is Also A Mobile Ads Revolution > > by Frederic Filloux > > Beyond contents, Google's Accelerated Mobile Pages also impact mobile > advertising. Next summer, we might see the first "AMPlified" adver- > tising campaigns. For ads, converting to the new AMP system is > complicated task given the ecosystem's diversity and conservatism. > This is an opportunity for startups to play a key role in spreading AMP. > > For the digital a content industry, the rampant mediocrity of mobile ads > has become an embarrassment: poorly designed ads whose resolution is not > adjusted to the phone screen; painfully heavy banners; failing to load > properly and thus leaving a blank space in the scroll - As another > example, see repeated interstitials on Politico's mobile site, > they eat half of the screen, over and over, at every single page, with > the same advertiser. (The mobile app is fine and features branded > content.): > > https://www.google.com/amp/www.mondaynote.com/2016/03/06/google-amp- also-a-mobile-ads-revolution/amp/ > > ***** Moderator's Note ***** > > Eyeballs to Advertisers. (Repeat several times) > > I don't usually approve posts related to a specific vendor, but this > subject gives an unusually clear picture of what the Cellular vendors > and their allies are all about: delivering eyeballs to advertisers. > > I've been criticized for being a luddite when it comes to "smart" > phones, but here's a good example of why it's important to be cautious > with mobile technologies: we can talk endlessly about the benefits of > "3G" vs. "4G" vs. whatever-buzzword-comes-next — but it's important for > all of us to realize that those technologies are being put in place for > the benefit of salesmen, not for the benefit of users. > > They are delivering eyeballs to advertisers, and not just any > eyeballs, but those of young, impressionable, and gullible consumers who > haven't formed brand loyalties yet. > > And, no, before you ask: I'm not the massa of the cellular plantation > and I don't know what is best for the natives. I just try to get people > to think, which is probably the definition of "Quixotic". > > Bill Horne Moderator It is classic human manipulation, create an addiction and then ruthlessly exploit it. The biggest tragedy is that there is now at least one generation who will consider this "normal" and basically accept it as those of us who lived in less intrusive times die off and the voices of dissent steadily diminish. Give it 10 or 20 years and it won't be an external device that you can walk away from delivering the ads, it will be the cyber implant in the skull bypassing any "Off" switch. -- Regards, David. David Clayton, e-mail: dc33box-cdt@yahoo.com.au Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Knowledge is a measure of how many answers you have, intelligence is a measure of how many questions you have. ------------------------------ Message-ID: <0ce160a9-2e9c-496f-bbc5-7e5322c375d1@googlegroups.com> Date: Wed, 9 Mar 2016 16:12:24 -0800 (PST) From: HAncock4 <withheld@invalid.telecom-digest.org> Subject: Typical service life of cell phones? I was curious what is the typical service life of cell phones1. Would anyone know? When my cell phone died, it was six years old. I didn't think that was very old, but the phone company said that was ancient. Also, they used to give free basic models free in exchange for a two year contract commitment, they were hesitant to do that. Smart phones seem rather expensive, especially with a data plan. Thanks. [public replies, please] 1. Not counting accidently physically broken, stolen, or lost units. Are those major reasons for replacement, or do people just want a more modern phone? ------------------------------ Message-ID: <O5-dnezpEtePEHzLnZ2dnUU7-U_NnZ2d@giganews.com> Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2016 09:04:50 -0600 From: Doug McIntyre <merlyn@dork.geeks.org> Subject: Re: Typical service life of cell phones? HAncock4 <withheld@invalid.telecom-digest.org> writes: >I was curious what is the typical service life of cell phones ... >Would anyone know? >When my cell phone died, it was six years old. I didn't think >that was very old, but the phone company said that was ancient. >Also, they used to give free basic models free in exchange for >a two year contract commitment, they were hesitant to do that. >Smart phones seem rather expensive, especially with a data plan. I guess the industry has got people expecting a new phone every 2-3 years or so. Since the majority of cell phones are smartphones now, I could go based on that. For Apple, the latest iOS (which is semi-important to be on, as other security issues crop up for older non-supported versions, and you'll soon find you can't run software from the App store unless you are semi-current somewhere on iOS 9.x) supporting the oldest phone, the iPhone4S released in October 2011. Even then, this amazed some people who expected it to roll off the supported lists by now. Android is a bit more difficult, but we can go by seen usage (ie. the Wikipedia article on Android). Which goes from about 20% of users are on Jelly Bean, first released July 2012, 34% on KitKat for Oct 2013, 37% on Lolipop (Nov 2014), and a very few on the latest. So, generally 5 years looks to be the trailing edge, but users are trained to get itchy fingers after 2-3 years to look for a new one. -- Doug McIntyre doug@themcintyres.us ------------------------------ Message-ID: <56e184fb$0$32893$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net> Date: 10 Mar 2016 14:30:19 GMT From: rpw3@rpw3.org (Rob Warnock) Subject: Re: Typical service life of cell phones? HAncock4 <withheld@invalid.telecom-digest.org> wrote: +--------------- | I was curious what is the typical service life of cell phones1. | Would anyone know? | | When my cell phone died, it was six years old. I didn't think | that was very old, but the phone company said that was ancient. ... | 1. Not counting accidently physically broken, stolen, or lost units. +--------------- I don't know what's "typical", but I'm still using a Samsung "Captivate" that I bought from AT&T in 2010. But then, I'm often considered to be a bit of a technotroglodyte. ;-} ["If it ain't broke..."] +--------------- | Are those major reasons for replacement, or do people | just want a more modern phone? +--------------- Often the latter, for sure. I confess that lately even I have been thinking about maybe replacing that Captivate with, oh, maybe a Nexus 5X [a Googlephone made by LG], since I'm a bit grumpf'd by the fact that my Captivate is still stuck on Android 2.1, with no way to update it -- Samsung+AT&T only ever made one update available. On the other hand, Google only promises Android updates for 18 months after a device is first available for sale, which might leave me stuck without further updates in as little as a year from now. [But at least I'd have a newer phone... ;-} ] -Rob +--------------------------------------------------------------+ Rob Warnock <rpw3@rpw3.org> 627 26th Avenue <http://rpw3.org/> San Mateo, CA 94403 ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20160310160634.10119.qmail@ary.lan> Date: 10 Mar 2016 16:06:34 -0000 From: "John Levine" <johnl@iecc.com> Subject: Re: Typical service life of cell phones? >When my cell phone died, it was six years old. I didn't think >that was very old, but the phone company said that was ancient. That's pretty old. On copper landlines the signalling never changes so a 1930s phone will work today, give or take pulse dialing, but cell phones signalling seems to change every three years or so. Your phone is probably TDMA (AT&T) or CDMA (VZ or Sprint) both of which are being phased out in favor of LTE. >Also, they used to give free basic models free in exchange for >a two year contract commitment, they were hesitant to do that. >Smart phones seem rather expensive, especially with a data plan. If you want a dumb cheap phone, get a prepaid Tracfone either on their web site or at stores like Staples or Best Buy. Non-contract prepaid plans start at $20 for 90 days. I bought a used Moto X for about $100 online and use it on Tracfone with a larger but still fairly cheap prepaid bundle. R's, John ***** Moderator's Note ***** LTE (Long-Term Evolution , commonly marketed as 4G LTE) is a standard for wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals. It is based on the GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA network technologies, increasing the capacity and speed using a different radio interface together with core network improvements.[1][2] The standard is developed by the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) and is specified in its Release 8 document series, with minor enhancements described in Release 9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LTE_(telecommunication) Bill Horne Moderator ------------------------------ ********************************************* End of telecom Digest Fri, 11 Mar 2016

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