penetration

Defcon vending room showcases tech of all ages

LAS VEGAS -- While ninjas inhaled much of the available oxygen in the vendors room, with its truck-based Ninja Tel mobile network, other vendors offered a more esoteric menu of hackables at Defcon this year.

Vendors at the hackers conference came in all sizes. Some signed up hackers to donate their skills to impoverished communities. Others appealed to sartorially minded hackers, with unofficial Defcon 20 T-shirts and other wearables.

In this gallery, CNET showcases three vendors who were offering something interesting or unexpected: Hak5's Darren Kitchen and his penetration-testing tools; Meco proprietor Ira Moser and his collection of antiquated … Read more

Analyst reports 67 percent of Asian iPhone market untapped by Apple

According to a new analysis from Morgan Stanley's Katy Huberty, Apple has yet to explore nearly 67 percent of the potential iPhone market in Asia.

The analysis, presented in a note to investors, suggests that only 22 percent of Asian carriers are selling Apple's iPhone. Asian carriers represent nearly 10 percent of world's highest smartphone penetration demographic (25- to 34-year-olds), about 655 million people. Africa represents the second highest amount at 153 million people.

The 78 percent of Asian carriers that are yet to offer the iPhone represent about 67 percent of that area's subscribers. A … Read more

E-readers seek frame and fortune

Before the iPad, it was often said that there has never been a successful electronics device in a screen size between the cell phone and the laptop. Indeed, the form factor and functionality of such devices have been tough nuts to crack, but there have been a few successes.

While the most widely adopted of these was the so-called "portable" DVD player embraced by many top-tier consumer electronics brands, a more modest success story has been the digital picture frame.

Cleverly branded, overgrown multimedia players that had undergone battery removal surgery, the digital picture frame was a star … Read more

Mobile carriers see opportunity in 'tween' market

SAN FRANCISCO--Nearly half of kids age 8 to 12 years old own cell phones in the U.S., in what could be the next big cell phone demographic for the mobile industry, according to a Nielsen report released here Wednesday at the CTIA Fall 2008 trade show.

Nielsen says that 46 percent of the 20 million young consumers known as "tweens" are using mobile phones. On average kids get their first cell phone between the ages of 10 and 11 years old. About 55 percent of tweens, who own cell phones, send text messages and 21 percent download … Read more

U.S. catches up with Western Europe in 3G adoption

ComScore, a global company that measures the world's digital usage, reported on Thursday that the U.S. is no longer trailing behind Western Europe in the adoption of 3G mobile devices.

3G is the third generation of mobile standards, used primarily in cell phones, that allows for fast cellular data speed and simultaneous data and voice connections.

After a slower start, 28.4 percent of American mobile subscribers now have 3G devices versus 28.3 percent in the largest countries in Europe. The report is based on the changes in 3G device penetration between June 2007 and June 2008. … Read more

Why blogging isn't big in Ireland

DUBLIN--Ireland might be one of Europe's more active technology hubs, but blogging still isn't big there.

That's the opinion of Tom Raftery, a longtime member of the tech community here and author of a blog on social media. (He's one of the bigger ones, and he starts his day by getting on Twitter.)

Part of the reason is that broadband penetration stinks. A survey published last June by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development pegged Ireland at No. 22 in terms of national broadband penetration by inhabitants, sandwiched between Italy and Portugal, but below the … Read more

Cisco's CEO: Telecom was never dead.

CHICAGO--Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers disagrees with BusinessWeek's recent article that claims the telecommunications industry has risen from the dead.

In Chambers' view, the telecom market is simply entering the second phase of its life cycle--a cycle he claims to have envisioned some 15 years ago when Cisco pledged to change the way people work, live and play.

"BusinessWeek got it wrong," he said. "Telecom is not back from the dead. It's merely in phase 2 of its development. In this second phase, collaboration or sharing with a large group will change the service model … Read more