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France's Iliad calls it quits on trying to buy T-Mobile USA
AT&T wanted to buy T-Mobile USA. That fell apart. Then, Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son wanted Sprint to merge with it. No dice. Most recently, Iliad (the owners of a French wireless carrier called Free) wanted to acquire a 67% stake in it. You can probably guess what happened: Iliad announced that it's officially dropping its bid for T-Mobile, despite repeatedly claiming it'd "accelerate T-Mobile US' transformation". If we're being honest, Iliad never had the cash on hand to counter Sprint's coffers -- that may explain why neither T-Mobile's board nor folks at Deutsche Telekom didn't really give them the time of day. The Ilium team must be bummed, but no matter: T-Mobile's on the upswing now as it is. At last count, the magenta-hued carrier picked up over 2.5 million subscribers over the first half of the year, enough to let it crow about being the country's fastest growing carrier. Thought's not to say that Deutsche Telekom won't still try to offload it, though -- now it's going to wait for a spectrum auction later this fall before it decides what to do next.
Sprint's proposed T-Mobile buyout now faces a competing offer from Iliad
Sprint isn't the only company hoping to shell out billions for the privilege of scooping up T-Mobile's US branch; according to the Wall Street Journal, a French company called Iliad wants in on the action as well. Iliad, which owns a mobile operator in France known as Free, recently made a bid to counter the reported $32 billion offer T-Mobile is already entertaining with Sprint's parent company Softbank. The terms of the deal are unknown, and it's unclear how Iliad can pay for such a transaction, since its market value of $16 billion is merely half of what Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son is putting on the table.
France to auction off 4G spectrum, carriers ready to get their bid on
If you have a few billion euros hiding in your couch cushion and you've always dreamed of owning a coveted sect of airspace, might we suggest a 4G auction? France has some 18 blocks of high-speed spectrum up for grabs this September in the 800MHz and 2.6GHz bands, and wants at least 2.5 billion euros ($3.6b) in exchange for the whole enchilada. Expensive as it may seem, there's no reason to believe it shouldn't easily surpass that amount; the biggest competitors are definitely not lightweights by any stretch of the imagination, and -- as this will be the last of such spectrum to be sold for at least ten years -- we know each contender will be on its A-game. Fortunately the government has regulated the whole affair to keep spectrum-hogging to a minimum: no company can buy more than half of the "beachfront" 800MHz band, and no more than 15MHz of the 2.6GHz (out of 70MHz available). The most awe-inspiring regulation, however, is that victors will be required to build out their 4G networks in rural zones, ensuring that 90 percent of the population will have access to high-speed mobile broadband within 12 years. Could the US government learn a few things from this process?
Freebox v6 Revolution set-top box brings calling, TV and gaming together
Pay-TV operators have been tossing out "quadruple play" bundles for the better part of three years now, but we dare say that none of 'em have come close to nailing it like this. France's own Free, a well-known ISP in the nation, has just introduced the Freebox v6 Revolution, a newfangled set-top box designed by Philippe Starck and engineered to handle just about all of your home entertainment needs. It's stuffed with 250GB of hard drive space, an internal 802.11n WiFi module, Blu-ray drive, inbuilt web browser and Intel's Atom CE4100 media processor. It also ships with a motion-sensing remote, and in short, it's designed to provide live / streaming television options, internet (fiber or DSL is supported), gaming (via a streaming service similar to OnLive) and at-home calling to boot. Free's also planning to dabble in mobile telephony starting in 2012, hence the plans for a quadruple play offering in the not-too-distant future. We're told that a joystick (presumably for getting your game on) is thrown in, as are a pair of powerline adapters in order to easily network it through your abode's power network. The Revolution is up for pre-order now, and depending on how long you've had your current Free STB, it could cost as little as €59.99 or as much as €119.99. The "basic" Freebox service will run €29.99, and once Free goes mobile in 2012, you can add a mobile line for another €29.99. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Forbes: iRex to introduce 10.2-inch E-Ink Reader 1000 on Monday
If you don't like spoilers then look away, now -- seems Forbes has all the details related to iRex's 22 September announcement. The Netherlands-based group is set to release an evolved iLiad e-reader called the iRex Reader 1000. Like Plastic Logic, iRex is targeting business users with its new 10.2-inch E-Ink e-reader able to display "any file format" including PDF, Word, and HTML-rendered documents -- sorry, no video, no color. The Reader 1000 brings a stylus with touch-screen for making notes and markups for up to 80 hours on a single charge. The base Reader 1000 is boldly expected to start at $650 (compared to the $359, 6-inch Kindle). It then ramps to $750 for the writable screen version before topping out at $850 to add WiFi, Bluetooth, and 3G data connection. Now get to it CIOs, we suspect you'll need some time to argue the case why some personnel require a laptop, smartphone, and e-reader to get through the day.[Via mobileread, Thanks Spencer H.]
iRex: something awesome this way comes
All we have right now is an ominous, glowing shape that might represent an e-reader of some sort and the promise (threat?) that "Seeing Is Believing." Following on the heels of Sony's vague e-book announcement, it seems that the folks at iRex also have something big planned. Sony will be keeping quiet until October 2, but over at iRex the bomb drops Monday.[Via Electronista; Thanks, Laura]
Author Nick Hornby not feeling the fever pitch over e-books
This won't come as a massive surprise to most, but author Nick Hornby isn't so into e-books. After walking into a British Borders book store to find the £399 ($790) Iliad for sale next to some £4 paperbacks, he poo-poo'd the platform in a guest column on the Penguin Blog. So here we have a book author blogging on a book publisher's site about the downfalls of a technology that could supplant his industry. To be fair, he does make some salient points about the unlikelihood that e-books will replace print in the same way iPods have undermined CD sales. He points out that people, on average, only buy seven books a year compared to the number of CDs they used to buy. In addition, book readers just like books and tend to be suspicious of new technology. Finally, he goes back to the iPod: the popularity of portable entertainment devices, what with their TV shows, games, movies, and other fancy schmancy doohickeys will continue to make the notion of reading a book -- even in electronic format -- not so tempting.[Via Shiny Shiny]
iRex launches new iLiad Book Edition e-book reader
iRex has a new consumer e-book reader out today, which incorporates some of the company's higher end specs and makes them available in something a little more palatable for end users. Although it doesn't have the Kindle's pervasive connection, it can still sync RSS feeds, as well as take notes with its touchscreen. Check out the specs: 8.1-inch XGA display, 16 grayscale 400MHZ XScale CPU, 64MB RAM Wacom-based touch input 256MB flash memory, USB, MMC, and CF slots Reads PDF, HTML, TXT, Mobipocket, JPG, BMP, and PNG 3.5mm audio out Travel-hub add-on with... Ethernet! Oookay. 8.5 x 6.1 x 0.63-inches, 15.3 ounces It launches May 9th in Europe, and will sell for a very hefty sum of €499 ($770 US). But hey, it does come bundled with 50 public domain classics, so, um, that's something. Some more shots after the break.[Via MobileRead, thanks Adam]
iRex iLiad e-book reader gets reviewed
iRex's iLiad e-book reader has been available to order for some time now, but just in case you haven't yet made up your mind about dropping all those Euros, the folks at Ars Technica have now delivered an expectedly thorough review of the device. As you might have guessed, however, they found the iLiad to be a bit of a mixed bag, with the device's annotation capabilities the real stand-out feature, although most likely won't find that alone enough to justify the $876 or $950 price tag (depending on the configuration). Still, you will apparently get an "excellent" screen for all that cash, and plenty of connectivity options -- even including a few unofficial ones.
iLiad e-book reader hacked for use with HSDPA modem
iRex's iLiad e-book reader already boasts some built-in WiFi capabilities, but if that's not enough to whet your wireless appetite you may want to take after MobileRead forum member "drazvan," who managed to get the device to play nice with a Vodafone USB HSDPA modem. The whole process appears to be relatively straightforward, simply requiring you to run a few scripts on the iLiad, which drazvan has kindly provided. While he's only tested it with the Vodafone modem, he seems confident that it'll also work with other modems providing you make the necessary adjustments, which you'll unfortunately have to figure out how to do yourself.[Via jkOnTheRun]
University professor uses Halo to teach Homer
UConn associate professor Roger Travis thinks that video games can be an important learning tool -- and not just lame-ass edutainment, but real video games. Like Halo. Travis draws parallels between the legendary FPS and epic literature like the Aeneid: "Both Halo and the Aeneid tell a story about a more-than-human hero defeating enemies who would be too much for ordinary people like us – enemies who nevertheless bear an important resemblance to the ones we and the Romans face in our respective presents."Uh-huh. UConn students, if this guy starts saying the Konami Code was inspired by The Hero With A Thousand Faces, you should probably consider transferring to a more academically demanding school.
Orange to offer DSL and a MacBook for two euros per day
We'll go ahead and spare you the blatantly obvious "apples to oranges" remark, as the two fruitful companies actually do seem to have something in common based on a recent report from French newspaper Le Figaro. While we've seen a plethora of wireless broadband providers hook up with laptop manufacturers, Orange is apparently getting set to offer 1Mbps DSL service for (an apparently attractive) €60 ($79) per month, or "around €2 ($2.65) per day," and you even get a shiny new Apple MacBook to use with it starting in January. Additionally, those looking to make the most of their high-speed missions can upgrade to an 8Mbps connection for an additional €5 ($6.62) per day. While contractual terms aren't crystal clear just yet, it looks like some sort of "three-year agreement" would be in order, and Orange hopes the deal will lure enough folks in to move "1,000 units per month" for the first six months, which would certainly help its consumer base grow right alongside the competitive pressures it's feeling from the Iliad Group. Plus, if you're one of the first 200 to sign up, Orange will throw in a new iPod shuffle for an additional single euro. Purportedly, the whole deal will only be available to Frenchmen (and women) at first, but could spread to other parts of Europe if it catches on.[Via MuniWireless]
Hands on with ARINC's iLiad-based eFlyBook
We had a chance to spend some quality time this week with ARINC's eFlyBook, essentially an iRex iLiad all gussied up in aviation trim. True, we know the subject matter may not interest the lion's share of our readers, but finding appropriate vertical markets may prove crucial to the short-term success of the iLiad and products like it -- besides, the eFlyBook is a dead ringer for its unbranded sibling, so if you're in the eBook market, do read on.
eFlyBook loads iRex's iLiad with aviation docs
If you've had your eye on the iLiad eBook reader from Philips spin-off iRex -- and also have a need for a lot of boring aviation-related documents -- then you may be interested in a new product called the eFlyBook from ARINC that combines both of your passions. Little more than an iLiad pre-loaded with such exciting fare as the US Terminal Procedures Publication, US IFR High & Low Enroute Charts, and an Airport Facility Directory, among others, the eFlyBook is one of the only ways Americans can curently get their hands on iRex's debut product, pilot or no pilot. You'll recall that the iLiad is a 400MHz device with an 8-inch, 1,024 x 768 screen that sports both a CF and SD slot for user-supplied content, so besides all the flight documentation, flyboys can also load up the eBook with their own novels and magazines to read while letting auto-pilot do all the hard work. Available to order immediately, this rebadged version of the iLiad will set you back a cool $900, plus whatever it costs to update the aviation docs once the included six-month Charts & Data subscription expires. Not the cheapest way to get your eBook on, but until Sony rolls out its own proprietary reader, your options here are still few and far between.
iRex's iLiad e-reader goes on sale online
The alpha to Sony's e-ink omega, iRex's iLiad e-reader, hasn't only looked like a viable alternative to Sony's device, it's threatened to come in first (and cheaper). Well, cheaper may no longer be the case, but it looks like the iRex is set to ship this month in Europe for a princely €649 ($820 US). That's a pretty spicy meatball, we know, but we ain't never said early adoption was for the destitute or faint of heart.[Thanks, PanMan and Oliver]
iRex poised to take B2B orders for iLiad e-book reader
We've had our eye on Philips (that's Royal Philips Electronics to you) spinoff iRex Technologies ever since we heard that the company was developing a Sony Reader-like e-book device with some pretty compelling features, but there's been no word on the so-called iLiad since it failed to ship last month as we were expecting. Well now iRex has finally updated its website with some new information about the 400MHz, multi-format reader, and the news is not so good if you're hoping to get your hands on one of these any time soon -- consumers will have to wait until at least September to order a model with "extended functionality" being designed for the general public. Businesses, on the other hand, can start placing their orders for the regular, "less-functional" models within the next month, with Europeans getting a shot at the e-ink-based 'books a month ahead of the rest of the world. We're hoping that along with the new features promised in the consumer version, iRex also manages to shave a few bucks off of the cost, as that $800+ pricetag we previously reported is pretty steep no matter how much you like to read.[Thanks, Alex]
Hitachi introduces Albirey eBook in Japan
From what we can tell (machine translation often thwarts our best attempts at fact checking), Hitachi will be joining the likes of display manufacturers iRex and Sony when they release a commercial eBook reader in Japan tomorrow. The black-and-white e-ink model, supposedly called the "Albirey" and developed with technology from Bridgestone, seems to sport a WiFi connection with "the possibility to modify making use of radio communication," whatever that means, and comes in a package with standard A4 paper-size dimensions. The Albirey should be available tomorrow starting at what Nikkei Net is claiming to be 4,000,000 yen, which is probably the result of some Google Language shenanigans, 'cause that's like $36,000.Update: Once again, our readers have stepped in and succeeded where machine translation has failed: apparently the price quoted is for a batch of 10 units, which indicates that this unit probably intended for commercial displays and not consumer eBook consumption. Also, make sure to check out the comments for the full specs.
Moving newspapers to e-ink has already begun
William Gibson was certainly right when he said "The future is here. It's just not widely distributed yet." But not for long. The New York Times has a very interesting piece on newspapers going e-paper -- and we aren't talking Internet editions. Besides the obvious discussion of dynamic ads, how much e-papers will cost, and the when, where, and how, we're presented with something interesting: De Tijd, a Belgian financial newspaper, has already put their paper on iLiad e-ink eBook readers; Les Echos in Paris, the IFRA group in Germany, The New York Times, as well as the International Herald Tribune are all in discussions to roll out e-newspaper subscriptions for devices like Sony's Reader later this year. Sure, for now it's still in monochrome, but that won't be for long; besides, it was Earth Day this weekend, people, time to make some sacrifices. Think of the trees, won't you?
