My reasons for why MS bought Skype and why it might be interested in Nokia – White-fi

Nokia denies $19B Microsoft purchase, but rumored deal viewed as boon for Apple
[Via AppleInsider]

Nokia reacted quickly on Wednesday to a report claiming its phone business was acquired by Microsoft for $19 billion, calling it “baseless.” But one Wall Street analyst had another word to describe a hypothetical deal between the two companies, at least for Apple investors: “heaven.”

[More]

I’ve written about White-fi technology and how Apple may use it to get around the very need for wireless carriers at all. Steve Jobs hates it when other companies control the destiny of Apple. see adobe and Flash.

He has to really hate what the wireless carriers can do to hamper Apple’s plans.That is why I think Apple is looking at White-fi so much. It explains why Apple developed Facetime as Wifi only. It cuts out the carriers and displays the ability of Apple to work around their barriers.

Apple has the OS, the handset and the apps to create a telephonic ecosystem that does not need the carriers. Google too could harness the handset makers to do something similar.

So, if MS wants to compete, it needs the software, the hardware and the apps to compete in the White-fi space. It has the OS, it now has the app – Skype to compete with FaceTime for VoIP. It can get the hardware through Nokia, whether it buys them or not.

White-fi, and other approaches, can penetrate buildings easier and broadcast over larger areas than Wi-Fi. Rice University is actively working on developing this technology.

What would happen if Apple, MS, Google and others formed a consortium to push this technology out? Could we see unlimited data downloads return?

Maybe White-fi is not the final answer but I do think the high tech companies are working to route around wireless carriers. It will be interesting.

Dropping flash prices may be good for Apple

NAND flash prices drop 20% following lackluster demand from Apple, others
[Via AppleInsider]

Contract prices for NAND flash — the solid-state memory found in devices like the iPhone and iPad — is said to have fallen “rapidly” in May following lackluster demand from major purchasers like Apple.

[More]

These prices are dropping on the spot market. But Apple does not buy on the spot market. It holds long term contrast to get its flash memory.

What this more likely represents is the fact that all the fab plants that cranked up their output because they believe that the non-iPad tablet market was about to take off are meeting reality. There simply is little or no non-iPad tablet market.

So, all those great plans because they thought Motorola, RIM, etc. would be producing millions of devices that need flash memory have been dashed, leading to a glut on the spot market. Thus the drop in price.

If the non-iPad market had materialized, there would most likely not be such a glut.