A major opportunity for wireless operators is to position mobile devices as “payment engines” — especially in areas of the world where credit cards are not widely used. Which makes the move by PayPal to enable in-app purchasing on iPhone and Android devices a bit of a hit to operator ambitions in this area. It’s somewhat surprising that Apple and Google are OK with this as well because they both have their own payment systems in iTunes and Google Checkout, respectively.
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PayPal in-app purchasing a carrier payment route-around
Despite bumps, Google claims Nexus One direct distribution ‘profitable’
As part of an overall stellar Q1 earnings report last week, Google had a few details on the launch of its Nexus One Android-based device, which it opted to sell direct to the consumer via its Web site, bypassing the typical mobile operator channel (and in some cases subsidy). Most reports (including our own) following the launch of the device reported lower-than-expected sales, largely due to the difficulty in supporting Nexus One sales in Web-only mode. At last count (a mid-March count by analytics firm Flurry) Google had sold about 135,000 Nexus One devices directly, a very small drop in the bucket compared to the 60,000 Android devices (all hardware flavors) it claims to be selling now every day.
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Google-Pad coming, ad war looming
For observers watching the evolution of telco business models, one key side-battle is starting to gain attention and influence: Apple v. Google. For now, telecom service providers can happily play both sides of the fence, with operators such as AT&T (and soon, it’s rumored, Verizon) teaming with Apple on the iPhone and iPad, while a multitude of operators are making big Google bets on Android and other technologies. But with Google and Apple seemingly coming to loggerheads themselves, the day may come when telcos need to take sides, too. The latest: Google has been dropping rumors it will soon be getting into the tablet business, competing with the Apple iPad; meanwhile Apple’s move into mobile advertising with the iAd launch has clearly set up the two companies as the competitors to beat in mobile advertising.
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Malaysian mobile operator tackles OSS for mobile data
OSS vendor NetCracker today announced a new customer, Malaysiai’s DiGi Telecommunications, for its network inventory system. The application: automating processes and providing a more integrated view of network operations as the operator rolls out its 3G HSPA-based mobile data network. While the rush to deliver broadband mobile data has focused largely on the radio — and sometimes core IP — networks, look for operators to increasingly focus as much attention on the back office, a necessity for delivering mobile data services affordably and scalably.
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