4G is a hot topic here on BGR and as such, we’ve likely become more numb than we should when it comes to advertised data speeds. We’re so used to seeing “theoretical limits” that are so far from reality we just chuckle and move along. The wireline broadband industry, however, is a different beast. According to a study recently conducted by the Federal Communications Commission, major broadband Internet service provides in the U.S. deliver data speeds that are generally between 80% and 90% of the speeds they advertise. The Associated Press reports that the FCC’s study measured data speeds delivered to thousands of U.S. broadband subscribers this past March from 13 of the nation’s top ISPs including Time Warner, Comcast, AT&T and Verizon. The three most popular wired broadband technologies were covered by the study — DSL, cable and fiber — and data rates were said to have been close to the advertised speeds during both peak and off-peak times. The AP notes that the FCC’s study didn’t delve into speeds delivered by wireless data services, which is a study we would love to see.

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When Apple’s iPad was first introduced earlier this year, magazine publishers saw a great opportunity to combat declining subscriptions with a new distribution channel. The iOS-powered iPad would also allow publishers to get creative and introduce enhanced, interactive features that could not be achieved with traditional print. According to numbers available from the Audit Bureau of Circulations, however, magazine publishers’ hopes of having found a savior in the iPad are all but dashed. Every big name magazine title available on the iPad has seen its purchase rate decline since introduction, and most didn’t find much success to begin with.

Glamour, for example, sold only 4,301 copies in its debut month. Sales then dropped 20% in October and another 20% in November, landing at 2,775. GQ sold 11,000 copies in November, down from an average of 13,000 per month between May and October. Sales of Vanity Fair slid to 8,700 copies in November from an average of 10,500 from August through October. Men’s Health, which averaged sales of just 2,800 copies over the spring, sold 2,000 copies each month in September and October. Wired, which had a monster month when it debuted in June with over 100,000 downloads, dropped to an average of 31,000 between July and September and an average of 21,500 between October and November.

Many share the opinion that magazine publishers have failed to take full advantage of the iOS platform thus far, having simply transfered print versions of their magazines to the iPad with a minimal amount of bells and whistles. The tools to create content that is original, interactive and truly unique are clearly available, and the iPad may be the ideal vehicle with which to deliver this great new content — but the vision still appears to be seriously lacking.

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The Federal Communications Commission put in place a limited set of net neutrality rules today, and early reports suggest people are not overly pleased. The “Open Internet” order was approved 3-2 in a vote that took place on Tuesday, with FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and two more Democrats voting in support of the new rules. While the full details of the order are not yet available, the intended purpose of these rules is theoretically to ensure consumers are protected while not imposing too much control over ISPs and content providers. Preliminary reports suggest the rules are more stringent for wired Internet service providers, with wireless ISPs granted more space to work the system.

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In the immortal words of Johnny 5… “Does not compute.” Back when WildCharge first came out on the scene, the ambitious company definitely made some waves. Yes, its charging pad accessory looked a bit odd, but cell phone manufacturers were sure to jump on board and crank out some WildCharge-ready handsets because the product was just so damn cool! Right? Right? Not so much. Here we are several years later and the company has yet to produce the breakthrough wireless charging solution we were all hoping for. This latest effort, the WildCharge PowerDisc, is probably the most inexplicable solution yet. It involves carrying around a small disc on a loop along with a connector cable that joins the disc with your portable device. You then place the disc on the WildCharge pad and viola! You’re charging. In other words, they’ve taken one part — a charger — and replaced it with four parts: the PowerDisc, the connector cable, the charging pad and the adapter that connects the pad to a wall outlet. Riiiiiight. The bottom line it that people just don’t want it. They don’t want the strange eye sore that is a WildCharge skin, they don’t want a hideous WildCharge universal adapter and, if we were betting folks, we would wager that people don’t want a wired wireless charger either. It really is a shame — if OEMs had jumped on board we could have had cool wireless charging products like the Touchstone a long, long time ago. Instead, we have a PowerDisc.

[Via Gizmodo]

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