Sidecut Reports

Some of the same thoughts had been forming in my head lately, but pal Andy Abramson puts it all out in makes-sense order, seeing a WiMax-enabled offering from Apple in the near future, perhaps as soon as next month’s Apple developers’ conference.

Seeing rumors floating around about an Apple tablet also makes me think of WiMax, since such a device would be perfect for a Kindle-like iTunes experience — bundling in the cost of connectivity would appeal to the simplicity of Apple consumer gear, and such contracts were talked about repeatedly in research we did for our initial WiMax report. All of this is guessing, but wouldn’t it make sense to use the higher speeds of WiMax to power an instant-on iTunes video experience?

Two factors (one which Andy mentions also) seem to point to more WiMax inside Apple: The increasingly close relationship between Apple and Intel, the latter of which wants to push WiMax everywhere and is talking loudly about “mobile Internet devices,” of which there is really only one right now — the Apple iPhone. Second is the Google connection, as in Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who sits on Apple’s board. Since his company just poured a half-billion into the Clearwire WiMax deal, Schmidt would no doubt be in favor of getting Apple to help popularize the technology.

If you want more background on why WiMax makes sense for mobile platforms, order our inaugural WiMax report, which covers all the technology basics. We are in the process of adding our analysis of the recent Clearwire deal, and promise to ship the revised version before Apple’s conference starts.
Anyone who orders now will get both versions for the same price.

Good stuff from pal Andy Abramson about what the new Clearwire might do differently, instead of just acting like another DSL or mobile-phone option: Go deep with video, says Andy:

Instead of simply being another voice play to battle Skype or the mobile operators, the WiMax companies and the cable operators, and heck, even Ma Telco may all may find that they may be better off looking in another direction. That direction is real-time video communications bundled up along with other IP related services like voice and text, all in one neat little package.

There’s lots of meat to dig into here, including conjecture about how Skype has changed the game of communications forever, and why video and rich communications matter. So read the post. It’s worth your time.

As of this writing, we are projecting four Sidecut Reports will be completed in this calendar year, with the first one, “Xohm or Go Home: Why 2008 Is WiMax’s Breakout Year in the U.S. — Or Else!” all ready for your credit card on our ordering page.

The WiMax report is the first in our “Wireless Broadband” coverage category. For the purchase price of $149.95, you not only get the full report PDF, you also get a yearly subscription for report updates and news flashes on that topic area for the full calendar year.

Reports will be issued in the following categories as they are completed:

PUBLIC POLICY — Report on “Network Neutrality,” due out by early June, 2008.

INTERNET VIDEO INFRASTRUCTURE — Report due out late Q2 2008.

ADVANCED TELEPHONY — Report due out Q3 2008.

For editorial calendar information or report structure, send me an email to kaps at sidecutreports.com.