VOIP

Six months after launching trials of its new 4G Long Term Evolution network, Verizon Wireless has reported wireless data speeds faster than its own and competitors' existing networks. The recorded speeds are also faster than any competitors' promised 3G network speeds.

Trials in Boston and Seattle show the LTE network is able to hold peak download speeds of 40 to 50 megabits per second and peak upload speeds of 20 to 25 megabits per second, the New Jersey-based wireless carrier announced Monday.

Nokia is making Skype available for the Symbian platform. A joint announcement Wednesday by the world's largest handset maker and the maker of the most popular VoIP calling software means that owners of select Nokia devices will be able to make phone calls over Wi-Fi or a mobile data connection at a fraction of the cost for normal calls.

Google's announcement Wednesday that it will roll out a high-speed fiber trial in select U.S. locations unleashed a flurry of comments ranging from Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski to the telecoms and cable industries to network-neutrality advocates.

Google is asking cities, counties and states to indicate interest in having Google-built one-gigabit-per-second fiber service. The company emphasized it is not entering the Internet service provider business but rather is conducting an experiment to see what happens when truly high bandwidth is available.

Opera announced it has developed a version of its Opera Mini web browser for Apple's iPhone. The Norwegian company said it will demonstrate the new browser at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona, Spain.

Jon von Tetzchner, cofounder of Opera Software, said he is "thrilled" to offer the preview and added that the software provides a "fast, feature-rich" experience for iPhone users. Opera on the iPhone brings the company "one step closer" to its mission of "bringing the web to the world," he said.

Will Apple Approve?

AT&T is joining Verizon Wireless in an effort to even out the costs of wireless and landline services. AT&T has requested that the Federal Communications Commission approve replacing legacy circuit-switched or public-switched telephone networks (PSTN) with broadband and IP-based connections.

AT&T's request comes after the FCC issued a public notice on Dec. 1 asking for input on what it would take to move from the legacy system to Internet protocols.

The 3G version of Apple's iPhone was the single top-selling mobile device in 2009, according to a new study by Nielsenwire. Since Apple only makes one smartphone, the top ranking is impressive. But the company still falls behind Research In Motion and LG in overall market share.

Three RIM devices made the top 10, amounting to 6.3 percent of all phone usage from January through October, while four LG devices amounted to 6.4 percent of the market.

Customer attraction and retention at less cost is the single largest challenge firms are facing today: There are fewer customers, and many of them have less to spend. Customers know this and can afford to be picky and prickly.

Challenging markets require deploying innovative methods and the enabling tools to succeed in them. One of these is social network analysis, or SNA. This is the understanding of informal social networks.

Many people today rely as much on their smartphones as they do on their computers. So questions about how best to use smartphones, how to make them last longer on a charge, and how to protect them are common. Read on for some answers.

Q: My smartphone has Wi-Fi, but I never use it. When should I use it?

A: More phones today offer Wi-Fi connectivity, which essentially allows you to use local Wi-Fi hotspots -- either public or private -- to wirelessly connect to the Internet.

Social networking has been the face of Web 2.0 for many years now. But until now the phrase has been synonymous with Facebook, MySpace and YouTube. Despite the efforts of companies like LinkedIn to bring social networking into the business world, in many ways organizations have been slow to adapt to the new technology.

Salesforce.com wants to change that. Speaking to 19,000 attendees at the company's Dreamforce conference, CEO Marc Benioff announced Salesforce Chatter, a social-networking product for Salesforce customers.

Katy Leakey rises early in the morning, has breakfast with her husband, Philip, and heads to the 12-foot-by-12-foot office where she spends much of her workday.

Like many other entrepreneurs, she keeps her jewelry and home accessories business running smoothly by checking in with customers and distributors through phone calls, e-mail and the VoIP service Skype.

Unlike many entrepreneurs, she works out of a tent in Kenya.