Tag: Verizon

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AOL in 1998 and 2015

AOL Acquires Netscape 4.2 Billions 19981124

May 12, 2015
Verizon Press Release:

Verizon to acquire AOL

NEW YORK – Taking another significant step in building digital and video platforms to drive future growth, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) today announced the signing of an agreement to purchase AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) for $50 per share — an estimated total value of approximately $4.4 billion.

This was the Tech news of the day.

——-

November 24, 1998

AOL acquired Netscape Communications in a $4.2 billion deal.

Sources: CNN, Wikipedia

After inflation adjustment, the $4.2 billion AOL spent to acquire Netscape equals roughly $6.05 billion in 2015. (per Bureau of Labor Statistic CPI Inflation Calculator)

Inflation Calculator 1998-2015

Where have all AOL’s value gone?

Related:
By the numbers: AOL then and now (Quartz)

John Gruber’s Daring Fireball:

Consider how far AOL has fallen, and how much the media world has changed: in 2000 AOL acquired Time Warner for $182 billion, creating a post-merger company then valued at over $350 billion.

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Wrong Analogy

CurrentC-960x540

MCX CEO Dekkers Davidson told The Verge regarding CurrentC exclusivity:

I would observe parenthetically that I don’t think too many people complained when Apple went to market with the exclusive that you could only buy it at AT&T, which was the case for a while, and I think that was a reasonable business decision that Apple made, and they did what was in their best interest, and while Verizon customers may have been disappointed, they has made a choice as well.

That’s a wrong analogy, Dek!

Sure, when iPhone was first launched, it became an AT&T exclusive in the United States until January 2011. But AT&T did not stop selling other phones.

At this point, it is hard to believe any statements from MCX.

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T-Mobile Test Drive: Day One

Received T-Mobile Test Drive kit on Wednesday afternoon, June 25, 2014.

T-Mobile Test Drive kit

The Test Drive Kit includes:

  • Gold 64GB iPhone 5s with nano-SIM pre-installed
  • Apple EarPod with mic and remote
  • Apple 5 Watt USB Charger
  • Apple Lightning Cable
  • Manual
  • Terms & Conditions booklet

T-Mobile Test Drive kit, iPhone 5s

I wonder what T-Mobile / Apple would do with the EarPod after it is being used. Remember, I have to return the Test Drive kit at after the seventh day.

T-Mobile Test Drive is free with no obligation to buy, but if the iPhone 5s comes back with a cracked screen, damaged screen display, water damage, active Find My iPhone feature, or can’t be powered on we have to charge a $100 damage fee. If you don’t return the device, we have to charge $699.99 plus applicable taxes.

A hold for $699.99 + taxes will be placed on your credit or debit card. The timing of releasing that hold will vary by credit card company. We won’t charge your card unless you fail to return the device.

Here’s the interesting part: a 64GB unlocked iPhone 5s retails for $849 + taxes at Apple Store. Should I choose to keep the 64GB iPhone 5s from the Test Drive kit, it would have cost me $699 + taxes. That is $150 cheaper than Apple Store price.

I already have an unlocked 64GB iPhone 5s, courtesy of firstnameatappledotcom. I don’t think I would want to buy one anytime soon.

Gold Unlocked 64GB iPhone 5s

For 24-hour period I used the iPhone 5s on T-Mobile network and performed Speed Test using Ookla SpeedTest.net app. Bear in mind, these tests were not done scientifically. In that 24-hour period I spent some times at the following locations in Southern California:

  • Long Beach, Downtown and 2nd Street
  • Fullerton and Placentia
  • Costa Mesa and Newport Beach

I noticed that T-Mobile network performed exceptionally well in the Costa Mesa and Newport Beach area; 74.99 Mbps download and 25.43 Mbps upload peak test result. T-Mobile has the best network around my office desk, beating out AT&T, Sprint and Verizon. T-Mobile might have secretly installed a cell tower a few feet from me.

SpeedTest,net T-Mobile Costa Mesa, Newport Beach

Somewhere in the Fullerton / Placentia area, Verizon seems to have the best network; beating T-Mobile and AT&T. Sorry for the slightly blurry picture, it’s the only one I have.

iPhone 5s on Verizon LTE network has an impressive 40.77 Mbps download speed compared to 13.48 Mbps and 9.92 Mbps for T-Mobile and AT&T, respectively.

iPhone 5s on T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon

In the Downtown Long Beach area, AT&T hits 8.88 Mbps download speed while T-Mobile hits 20.55 Mbps.

Speed Test Long Beach Downtown AT&T

Speed Test Long Beach Downtown T-Mobile

What do these all mean?

I can certainly say that I would not mind switching carrier. Six more days to go.

p.s. Here’s a 37-second video of one of the speed test I did.

Speed-Test-poster

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Netflix Signs Peering Deal with Verizon

Netflix and Verizon

Gigaom:

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings may really hate the peering deal he signed with Comcast, but that didn’t stop him from entering a similar partnership with another ISP: Verizon and Netflix have also agreed on a paid peering relationship.

News of that pact was first broken Monday afternoon on by BTIG Research’s Walter Piecyk, who tweeted Monday afternoon that Verizon CEO Lowell C. McAdam had confirmed the commercial relationship between the two companies.

As a customer of both Netflix and Verizon I should welcome this. As a technologist, I am not so sure if this is a good thing in the long run for consumers in general.

Netflix House of Cards Unwatchable on Verizon FiOS

There are more dominoes to fall following Netflix deal with Comcast and Verizon. It would affect more companies other than Netflix and ultimately consumers.

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The need for bandwidth diet.

How can I survive for the next 27 days with 344 MB of cellular data? This is what happened to me for watching the Mars Rover Curiosity landing broadcast on the cellular data instead of Wi-Fi.

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Galaxy Nexus Billboard

I was in Long beach, California earlier today and spotted a Galaxy Nexus billboard. I’m not sure how long the billboard has been there. Google is selling Galaxy Nexus in two main flavors, CDMA and GSM. The billboard features Verizon Wireless logo while Google is directly selling GSM Galaxy Nexus on Google Play.