The wireless telecom industry is very intriguing to me.  I’ve written about AT&T and Verizon before, and more specifically about the battle for subscribers and the expansion of wireless data network infrastructure.

AT&T has been growing fairly extensively over the last several years primarily due to the cult like popularity of the iPhone, which AT&T has had exclusive rights to from the initial iPhone release.

Verizon is on the verge of releasing the “Droid” Android phone which I hear is garnering great pre-release reviews.

As I’ve mentioned in my previous posts, wireless providers are running out of marketing gimmicks to attract new subscribers, at least as it pertains to phone costs.  Carriers are practically giving away high tech and very capable smart phones a la the Blackberry and make their money on the monthly plans.  So with the cost of the hardware already at zero, the only other front to wage war is on the plans themselves.

This is where Verizon, specifically, is starting to reveal it’s elitist mentality.

In an article over at The Wall Street Journal, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg said that while T-Mobile rolled out new low cost plans over the last weekend, his company had no intentions of doing so.

Verizon does have great coverage, and for those who need to be connected anytime all the time, they may be willing to pay a premium for the service.  The average Joe I suspect, will still go with the low cost provider.  Coverage at the big carriers is so widespread and evolving so quickly that service and coverage are starting to come to parity.  With that in mind, the last competitive advantage is coming down to price.

And Verizon is losing.

To me, it seems a bit arrogant that Verizon doesn’t want to respond to T-Mobile’s new pricing plans.  They’re losing the market to AT&T through the iPhone popularity, and while the Droid may be great, it’s going to come at a hefty price.

And I don’t mean for the phone.

Technology AT&T, cell phone, connectivity, iPhone, Verizon, wireless plan

Last week Cree (CREE: chart, web, Y!) reported their fiscal Q1 earnings that were well beyond Wall Street expectations.

Revenue came in at $169.1 million for the quarter which translates into 30 cents per share in earnings, beating The Street’s expectations of 22 cents per share.

For Q2, the company is expecting 28 to 30 cents per share (excluding special items) on revenue of $180 to $190 million.

Aside for being a short term boon on my Cree shares, I think this quarterly report reaffirms my position that Cree’s LED products will continue to do well in the market and have yet to see widespread uptake, but the market is starting to evolve and companies, including major cities are starting to see the cost-benefit of LED technology.

I’m continuing to buy Cree shares on pull backs and my average cost is starting to creep up to around $29 per share.

Investing CREE

I admit that I’m a Windows guy, mostly because I’m not willing to make the transition to Mac.  Although I do hear it’s becoming easier and easier to cross into the dark side…

I love these commercials from Mac, very witty…

Marketing commercials, Mac, Windows 7