Since a while are speculations that the iPhone will come to Verizon and ATT loses exclusivity here in the US.
Assuming this is correct (at this point fair to do so, everybody has no doubt), then i am wondering what is the whole deal behind. We know ATT paid a lot to be the only iPhone partner for the first 3 years.
But to get iPhone running on Verizon, Apple has to build a new iPhone which supports CDMA. T- mobile as an example has GSM like ATT, would it not easier to sell the iPhone at T-Mobile without the need to produce a new iPhone?
ATT and t-mobile are both on GSM and both using 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) for their 3G.
Verizon and Sprint are both CDMA for calls and 3GPP2 for data. This means Apple could already sell to t-mobile and when the Verizon iPhone is released they could sell it through Sprint.
I am, by no mean, a techie, and maybe to get 3G running on t-mobile, Apple would need to produce a new iPhone, and maybe the same if it should work on Sprint.
But if not, why only Verizon?
It looks very likely that Verizon did pay a big $$$ amount to block Sprint and T-Mobile. Or in nicer words: Verizon paid a premium which limits the rights to Verizon and ATT, for now.
Or maybe Apple is speculating to offer on Verizon only the 4G iPhone (which does not yet exist, the iPhone 4 is still only 3G). The good part is that Verizon will switch sometimes to 4G LTE like all other big providers, which means very good times for us consumers.
We will see soon. Maybe only ATT and Verizon will offer The iPhone in the coming year, maybe it is still only ATT or maybe all four providers will carry the iPhone.
What I don't understand is, that it is only 4 weeks left till Christmas and still no iPhone at Verizon. All and everybody it reporting that the number one and two Christmas gift will be the iPad and smartphone, and that 35% of Android users would switch to the iPhone if it would be not only at ATT.
Is Apple not losing a lot of money by waiting too long, should they not try to get the Christmas rush? Or can't Apple produce fast enough? We are still waiting on the white iPhone 4. Which is now over six months delayed.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad.
Please visit my blog http://www.new-kid-on-the-blog.com
Showing posts with label 3G. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 3G. Show all posts
Monday, December 6, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Ipone 3G and iOS4
In an older post, i talked about how we should not upgrade the iPhone 3G with iOS4 because the performance will be so slow that it is almost not usable anymore. Unfortunately there is not an easy way to go back, after the latest version is installed.
http://justhiswords.blogspot.com/2010/06/don-upgrade-iphone-3g-or-3gs-if-you-don.html
A friend of mine did send me this funny video which does exactly show what i was talking about. It is a parody of Apple iPhone commercial.
http://justhiswords.blogspot.com/2010/06/don-upgrade-iphone-3g-or-3gs-if-you-don.html
A friend of mine did send me this funny video which does exactly show what i was talking about. It is a parody of Apple iPhone commercial.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Perfect life for a geek
Before the iPad came out there were many speculations what the new Apple device will be. I did speculate too and said it will be a thin touch pad (slate) where you can slide your iPhone in to use. I thought this would be perfect. I have been wrong the iPad is better.
However an Israeli startup has made a modular mobile phone that can work on its own or slip into other electronic devices. But do we need it?
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/08/14/apple-manager-arrested/?source=yahoo_quote
Instead of the need to slide a device into another device, every device should have Internet connection without paying extra fees.
Here is my dream as a geek (I don't see me as a geek, but my friends).
Any camera, notebook, phone, touch pad etc has a build in 3G card or Wimax. Carriers like ATT and Verizon will have a new model. They will not charge multiple data plans. Just a one time fee for each device to set it up with your main account. It does not matter how many devices you have, you have one contract and one phone number.
A geek's day in 2013
During breakfast we tape a video of our son with our camera and send with the camera the video to Facebook.
When we arrive in the office, we put our smartphone into the docking station which is connected to two 21inch screens, mouse and keyboard. All apps are in the cloud and the smart phone serves as browser and file storage if necessary.
When we go to a meeting we take our iPad to take notes which are synced with the cloud. When we are back at the desk all things we did capture on the iPad are already on the phone.
On the way home we take the train and write our blog on the iPad.
The devices will be smart, that whenever 3G is weak it will switch to wifi, if both is not available all devices in proximity will build a private network, till one devices is found with enough Internet connection. Being not connected is almost not possible.
And nobody can hack into your devices because any transaction of a data package is encrypted with a code assigned to main account number. The only way to hack the data transfer would be direct on the account level which is guarded by the best security experts in the world.
When leaving the train, we take our car for the last mile home. As soon we start our car, the build in phone gets activated and all calls get routed to there.
We switched our GPS on which is projected to the windshield as annotated reality. We see the real street through the window with an overlay of information. An arrow in the middle of the screen as sign we have to go straight. With points of interests showing where we could have dinner.
Twitter and FB messages are running as audio through the Bose speaker system. We tweet a friend back by saying "tweet @Hans, the new car is awesome. I am here. Car position". The car computer translates "car position" into a link to google maps with a dot of my car position.
Finally at home, we have dinner and decided to go out for a beer. The only thing we take with us is our smart phone. House keys? No. The locks are connected to our phone with a security key. Wallet? No. The bar accepts phone payments. ID? No. The phone is your ID.
Having too much drinks, we decided to take the taxi. Arriving at home we type the tip amount onto our phone and shake it. The taxi is paid and a green light goes on at the driver seat as a sign that the payment worked.
At home we switch our lights on and off with our smart phone, the smart phone is the only remote for TV, radio, lights etc.
Browsing through channels we decided to watch a recorded movie which we did record remotely when we have been in the bar.
A few minutes in the movie we get a Facebook entry that there is a new cool device (shown on TV screen, with messages showing what our friends are watching).
We open on the TV the website of this cool device. It sounds promising, it is extremely social, can handle emotions and has better communication accessories than anything else. The storage memory seems to be almost endless. And everybody wants to have it. But the demand is so high that there is a big waiting list.
We believe this must be a hoax. They call it girl friend. They say it costs nothing but the invest of social interaction in a real life.
Note:
all devices And functions I talked in this blog are already more or less developed. Sone are still in testing some are on the market. It is just a matter to put them together.
Examples:
Dish network has an iPhone app which allows you to program your TVR
Verizon Fios shows tweeter and Facebook on your TV screen.
Annotated browser can be found on android and iPhone as download.
The US air force is using projected screens in their jet fighters
Schlage link logs can be monitored over the Internet.
Some European countries are allowing grocery shoppers to pay with their phone.
- Posted using My iPad
However an Israeli startup has made a modular mobile phone that can work on its own or slip into other electronic devices. But do we need it?
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/08/14/apple-manager-arrested/?source=yahoo_quote
Instead of the need to slide a device into another device, every device should have Internet connection without paying extra fees.
Here is my dream as a geek (I don't see me as a geek, but my friends).
Any camera, notebook, phone, touch pad etc has a build in 3G card or Wimax. Carriers like ATT and Verizon will have a new model. They will not charge multiple data plans. Just a one time fee for each device to set it up with your main account. It does not matter how many devices you have, you have one contract and one phone number.
A geek's day in 2013
During breakfast we tape a video of our son with our camera and send with the camera the video to Facebook.
When we arrive in the office, we put our smartphone into the docking station which is connected to two 21inch screens, mouse and keyboard. All apps are in the cloud and the smart phone serves as browser and file storage if necessary.
When we go to a meeting we take our iPad to take notes which are synced with the cloud. When we are back at the desk all things we did capture on the iPad are already on the phone.
On the way home we take the train and write our blog on the iPad.
The devices will be smart, that whenever 3G is weak it will switch to wifi, if both is not available all devices in proximity will build a private network, till one devices is found with enough Internet connection. Being not connected is almost not possible.
And nobody can hack into your devices because any transaction of a data package is encrypted with a code assigned to main account number. The only way to hack the data transfer would be direct on the account level which is guarded by the best security experts in the world.
When leaving the train, we take our car for the last mile home. As soon we start our car, the build in phone gets activated and all calls get routed to there.
We switched our GPS on which is projected to the windshield as annotated reality. We see the real street through the window with an overlay of information. An arrow in the middle of the screen as sign we have to go straight. With points of interests showing where we could have dinner.
Twitter and FB messages are running as audio through the Bose speaker system. We tweet a friend back by saying "tweet @Hans, the new car is awesome. I am here. Car position". The car computer translates "car position" into a link to google maps with a dot of my car position.
Finally at home, we have dinner and decided to go out for a beer. The only thing we take with us is our smart phone. House keys? No. The locks are connected to our phone with a security key. Wallet? No. The bar accepts phone payments. ID? No. The phone is your ID.
Having too much drinks, we decided to take the taxi. Arriving at home we type the tip amount onto our phone and shake it. The taxi is paid and a green light goes on at the driver seat as a sign that the payment worked.
At home we switch our lights on and off with our smart phone, the smart phone is the only remote for TV, radio, lights etc.
Browsing through channels we decided to watch a recorded movie which we did record remotely when we have been in the bar.
A few minutes in the movie we get a Facebook entry that there is a new cool device (shown on TV screen, with messages showing what our friends are watching).
We open on the TV the website of this cool device. It sounds promising, it is extremely social, can handle emotions and has better communication accessories than anything else. The storage memory seems to be almost endless. And everybody wants to have it. But the demand is so high that there is a big waiting list.
We believe this must be a hoax. They call it girl friend. They say it costs nothing but the invest of social interaction in a real life.
Note:
all devices And functions I talked in this blog are already more or less developed. Sone are still in testing some are on the market. It is just a matter to put them together.
Examples:
Dish network has an iPhone app which allows you to program your TVR
Verizon Fios shows tweeter and Facebook on your TV screen.
Annotated browser can be found on android and iPhone as download.
The US air force is using projected screens in their jet fighters
Schlage link logs can be monitored over the Internet.
Some European countries are allowing grocery shoppers to pay with their phone.
- Posted using My iPad
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Hurry, get fast 4G internet for iPad for just $29
Clear (http://www.clear.com/ ) has a WiMax network solution for the iPad which is much cheaper than the solution from sprint. For $99, iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch owners can access wireless broadband through Clear's new iSpot mobile hotspot.
And it is much cheaper a month than the solution from verizon.
As found on yahoo news:
The iSpot has a WiMax modem inside and the proper Wi-Fi equipment to permit up to eight other devices to access the Internet at 4G speeds. Clear says that typical users will see downloads between 3Mbps and 6Mbps, though bursts up to 10Mbps are possible. The service costs $25 per month for unlimited access to data, though the Clear press release says this is "an initial low monthly service offering." The company doesn't clarify if that means the price will go up in three or six months for customers.
The iSpot even pretends to be an Apple accessory, as it is colored white, as many of Apple's products are. Speaking of Apple's products, the iSpot only (only!!!) works with iOS devices. That means you can't use your laptop or other Wi-Fi devices with the iSpot. No, not even an Apple laptop. According to iSpot, the device uses MAC address filtering to make sure only iOS devices connect to it. (No word yet if MAC address spoofing will work, but it probably will.)
If that's not a significant enough limitation for you, here's another: it doesn't have a 3G modem to fall back on. Clear says that its WiMax network is in 48 markets and covers some 51 million Americans. That's still only one in every six of us, and significant portions of the country have no WiMax coverage.
If the iSpot had an EVDO 3G modem inside (as many of Sprint's WiMax modems do), it could at least fall back on Sprint's 3G network and provide Internet access that way. Alas, if there's no WiMax, the iSpot won't work.
The good news is, Clear is practically giving the iSpot away. If you order Wednesday, August 4, or Thursday, August 5, Clear will sell you the iSpot for $29 with no contract obligation. That's right, you'll own it free and clear (pun intended) for just $29. According to Clear, users can suspend service at will, and the resume it with no activation fees or penalties.
Unlimited WiMax data for $25 per month is a bargain, despite the iSpot's limitations
- Posted using My iPad
And it is much cheaper a month than the solution from verizon.
As found on yahoo news:
The iSpot has a WiMax modem inside and the proper Wi-Fi equipment to permit up to eight other devices to access the Internet at 4G speeds. Clear says that typical users will see downloads between 3Mbps and 6Mbps, though bursts up to 10Mbps are possible. The service costs $25 per month for unlimited access to data, though the Clear press release says this is "an initial low monthly service offering." The company doesn't clarify if that means the price will go up in three or six months for customers.
The iSpot even pretends to be an Apple accessory, as it is colored white, as many of Apple's products are. Speaking of Apple's products, the iSpot only (only!!!) works with iOS devices. That means you can't use your laptop or other Wi-Fi devices with the iSpot. No, not even an Apple laptop. According to iSpot, the device uses MAC address filtering to make sure only iOS devices connect to it. (No word yet if MAC address spoofing will work, but it probably will.)
If that's not a significant enough limitation for you, here's another: it doesn't have a 3G modem to fall back on. Clear says that its WiMax network is in 48 markets and covers some 51 million Americans. That's still only one in every six of us, and significant portions of the country have no WiMax coverage.
If the iSpot had an EVDO 3G modem inside (as many of Sprint's WiMax modems do), it could at least fall back on Sprint's 3G network and provide Internet access that way. Alas, if there's no WiMax, the iSpot won't work.
The good news is, Clear is practically giving the iSpot away. If you order Wednesday, August 4, or Thursday, August 5, Clear will sell you the iSpot for $29 with no contract obligation. That's right, you'll own it free and clear (pun intended) for just $29. According to Clear, users can suspend service at will, and the resume it with no activation fees or penalties.
Unlimited WiMax data for $25 per month is a bargain, despite the iSpot's limitations
- Posted using My iPad
Location:W Laurel St,Tampa,United States
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Why spending more money to ATT as necessary
Originally I did want to talk about the possibility to buy an iPad with Wifi only and then to buy a 3G/4G router from another provider. The idea came to me when a good old friend told me about his 3G router he bought in England and chose a cheap provider for 3G. Unfortunately here in the States are only a few providers who are offering data plans besides ATT and they are all similar. The best choice is T-Mobile. 500 minutes with unlimited Data transfer is $59.99 a month.
All other big providers have a limit to 5GB a month, which are just 3 movies in HD. But with T-mobile you need to get an unlocked 3G router. The only router right now available is the HUAWEI E5830 WiFi USB ROUTER/MODEM/DONGLE for around $120.
Huawei E5830 image:
Sprint and Verizon offer the Mifi 2200 (see description below), which costs $200 but user gets a $200 instant savings. Then there is the ultimative Sprint Overdrive 3G/4G which costs $99.99 after instant savings and for $40 you can buy a iPad cover which holds the overdrive.
The problem with all these extra devices is, that their battery life is shorter than the iPad battery life and they take between 15 and 45 seconds to boot. You will lose a lot of convenience.
I would have written more about this, but I changed my mind after I read (and posted the article yesterday) that the federal ruling allows to jailbreak the iPhone. This is awesome, if you don’t care to lose your warranty, you should jailbreak, and the cool part is you are not violating any law.
Why is this good?
We don’t need any 3rd party router to avoid the 3G charging for our iPad. We only need to jailbreak our iPhone and download from Cydia small software to make our iPhone to a Wifi hotspot.
A jailbroken iPhone allows us as well to sync with iTunes without cable over Wifi.
Therefore no long story how and why to buy a 3G router. Just jailbreak your iPhone, I allow it and I feel good that I can say this official without getting trouble from Apple.
But for the people who want to go through the process NOT to jailbreak their iPhone and don’t want to give ATT more money, then I recommend to get the Mifi 2200 as the only official 3G router in pocket size here in the US (besides the Overdrive 3G/4G) .
Here some facts about the Mifi 2200
Form Factors: Self contained router with embedded mobile broadband radio/module (essentially an aircard and router in one unit).
Wireless Range: Operates on Wireless "G". Range is approximately 30 feet, depending upon factors such as interference from other electronics and physical interference such as thick walls. Range CANNOT be improved (no port for WiFi antenna). Limited to FIVE connected computers/devices.
Ethernet Ports: None but you can tether one Mac/Windows computer via USB port
Load Balancing: NO
Portability: This router is tinier than anything you want to provide internet connectivity to. Very compact and light - smallest 3G router available; cigarette lighter adapter available soon.
Manufacturer Support: Novatel makes the MiFi, and we have a great relationship with them. The MiFi is the first product of its kind, so the jury is still out on how well it will be supported/maintained.
PROs: Most portable 3G router. When bought with 2yr contract, it is also the most affordable way to share connectivity with up to five computers or wifi enabled devices.
CONs: Locked to ONE carrier. Cannot be used with any other carrier. NO cellular antenna jack! Wireless G radio with no option to add a WiFi antenna, signal strength can be seen only via web admin.
All other big providers have a limit to 5GB a month, which are just 3 movies in HD. But with T-mobile you need to get an unlocked 3G router. The only router right now available is the HUAWEI E5830 WiFi USB ROUTER/MODEM/DONGLE for around $120.
Huawei E5830 image:
The problem with all these extra devices is, that their battery life is shorter than the iPad battery life and they take between 15 and 45 seconds to boot. You will lose a lot of convenience.
I would have written more about this, but I changed my mind after I read (and posted the article yesterday) that the federal ruling allows to jailbreak the iPhone. This is awesome, if you don’t care to lose your warranty, you should jailbreak, and the cool part is you are not violating any law.
Why is this good?
We don’t need any 3rd party router to avoid the 3G charging for our iPad. We only need to jailbreak our iPhone and download from Cydia small software to make our iPhone to a Wifi hotspot.
A jailbroken iPhone allows us as well to sync with iTunes without cable over Wifi.
Therefore no long story how and why to buy a 3G router. Just jailbreak your iPhone, I allow it and I feel good that I can say this official without getting trouble from Apple.
But for the people who want to go through the process NOT to jailbreak their iPhone and don’t want to give ATT more money, then I recommend to get the Mifi 2200 as the only official 3G router in pocket size here in the US (besides the Overdrive 3G/4G) .
Here some facts about the Mifi 2200
Form Factors: Self contained router with embedded mobile broadband radio/module (essentially an aircard and router in one unit).
Wireless Range: Operates on Wireless "G". Range is approximately 30 feet, depending upon factors such as interference from other electronics and physical interference such as thick walls. Range CANNOT be improved (no port for WiFi antenna). Limited to FIVE connected computers/devices.
Ethernet Ports: None but you can tether one Mac/Windows computer via USB port
Load Balancing: NO
Portability: This router is tinier than anything you want to provide internet connectivity to. Very compact and light - smallest 3G router available; cigarette lighter adapter available soon.
Manufacturer Support: Novatel makes the MiFi, and we have a great relationship with them. The MiFi is the first product of its kind, so the jury is still out on how well it will be supported/maintained.
PROs: Most portable 3G router. When bought with 2yr contract, it is also the most affordable way to share connectivity with up to five computers or wifi enabled devices.
CONs: Locked to ONE carrier. Cannot be used with any other carrier. NO cellular antenna jack! Wireless G radio with no option to add a WiFi antenna, signal strength can be seen only via web admin.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
ATT is changing data plan - what is the real deal?
ATT announced that they are changing the data plan for iphone and ipad. From unlimited to 2 GB a month or 250 MB a month. The latter one does already exist. Their official announced reason is that only 2% of iphone or ipad users are using more than 2GB of data a month.
That sounds really great to have a cheaper plan, however i believe there are two other reasons ATT did not tell us.
1. Ipad users
Ipad users will serve download movies and play online games much more than iphone users and not always is a wifi connection available. ATT is suspecting that the usage of 3G will go up much more and they would like to have a bigger piece of the pie. Because each usage over 2GB gets expensive.
2. iphone users
I believe the much bigger reason is the ability to make 3G calls through skype. As soon this service works very well, a lot of people will buy less minutes from ATT and use more the 3G IP based calling function. We will use it no doubt. Especially people like me who make often international calls. This means my bill will be much higher than before.
From the ATT point of view a smart move to keep revenue up or to get it higher. As i said in an earlier post, phones will be more and more IP phones and not use anymore expensive call minutes.However if the other carriers are not following the same approach and the consumer get used to IP calls and IP messages, ATT might lose a lot of customers to other carriers, which have no iphone but other good and smart phones like the Droid.
But i think all carriers will follow this approach, because is their only chance to keep their average consumer bills as high as they are.
Good thing for now is that a NY or CA iphone user does not need to worry. 3G is still very bad in these regions (because of the amount of users) that they would never reach more than 250MB of 3G usage anyway. But Steve Jobs mentioned in his interview a few days back that this problem will be solved in a few months.
My tip to all iphone users
Go ahead and google cheap calling plans with full 3G access. Cancel your plan with 3G, but before get a new number from skype and inform all your friends about your new phone number. Then unlock your iphone (Software easy to find and download through bing or google - what would we do without search engines). Insert your new sim card and go. If you need to make or receive calls, use Skype (of course with iphone 4G that skype can run all the time).
BTW i would never unlock my iphone, because it might be unlawful to unlock an iphone.
My tip to ATT:
Offer unlimited 3G usage for new users (old 3G plans will be grandfathered) for a acceptable price and offer iphone users or other smart phone users to use 3G without a calling plan. Or at least offer a very cheap calling plan and please don't continue to charge for receiving and sending calls / SMS. Fly to Europe and talk with other carriers there, you might learn that America is one of the few countries which are charging for receiving SMS. This is old school, there is no reason to do so and your customers are smarter than you think, they know it is just a money producing machine for your company.
And if you need to make more money per customer, then come up with new cool products which you can charge for. Example:
Make deals with NY Times and other press companies to include the access to their online data through your network for a special flat fee, which apple etc can't compete. I would pay for it, others too. It is a win win win situation. Your customers are buying more service from you, the press will get much more readers again (which means more ads for them to sell), and we customer pay only one monthly bill to one company.
I am not against or pro ATT or other carriers. I have been with all of them and all are good and not so good. But I think carrier should rethink their business to allow lower costs for consumers especially for international calls or SMS/MMS.
That sounds really great to have a cheaper plan, however i believe there are two other reasons ATT did not tell us.
1. Ipad users
Ipad users will serve download movies and play online games much more than iphone users and not always is a wifi connection available. ATT is suspecting that the usage of 3G will go up much more and they would like to have a bigger piece of the pie. Because each usage over 2GB gets expensive.
2. iphone users
I believe the much bigger reason is the ability to make 3G calls through skype. As soon this service works very well, a lot of people will buy less minutes from ATT and use more the 3G IP based calling function. We will use it no doubt. Especially people like me who make often international calls. This means my bill will be much higher than before.
From the ATT point of view a smart move to keep revenue up or to get it higher. As i said in an earlier post, phones will be more and more IP phones and not use anymore expensive call minutes.However if the other carriers are not following the same approach and the consumer get used to IP calls and IP messages, ATT might lose a lot of customers to other carriers, which have no iphone but other good and smart phones like the Droid.
But i think all carriers will follow this approach, because is their only chance to keep their average consumer bills as high as they are.
Good thing for now is that a NY or CA iphone user does not need to worry. 3G is still very bad in these regions (because of the amount of users) that they would never reach more than 250MB of 3G usage anyway. But Steve Jobs mentioned in his interview a few days back that this problem will be solved in a few months.
My tip to all iphone users
Go ahead and google cheap calling plans with full 3G access. Cancel your plan with 3G, but before get a new number from skype and inform all your friends about your new phone number. Then unlock your iphone (Software easy to find and download through bing or google - what would we do without search engines). Insert your new sim card and go. If you need to make or receive calls, use Skype (of course with iphone 4G that skype can run all the time).
BTW i would never unlock my iphone, because it might be unlawful to unlock an iphone.
My tip to ATT:
Offer unlimited 3G usage for new users (old 3G plans will be grandfathered) for a acceptable price and offer iphone users or other smart phone users to use 3G without a calling plan. Or at least offer a very cheap calling plan and please don't continue to charge for receiving and sending calls / SMS. Fly to Europe and talk with other carriers there, you might learn that America is one of the few countries which are charging for receiving SMS. This is old school, there is no reason to do so and your customers are smarter than you think, they know it is just a money producing machine for your company.
And if you need to make more money per customer, then come up with new cool products which you can charge for. Example:
Make deals with NY Times and other press companies to include the access to their online data through your network for a special flat fee, which apple etc can't compete. I would pay for it, others too. It is a win win win situation. Your customers are buying more service from you, the press will get much more readers again (which means more ads for them to sell), and we customer pay only one monthly bill to one company.
I am not against or pro ATT or other carriers. I have been with all of them and all are good and not so good. But I think carrier should rethink their business to allow lower costs for consumers especially for international calls or SMS/MMS.
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