When Upgrading…Don’t Let Them Change Your Data Plan

One of the latest wireless carrier tricks is sneaking in new terms and conditions whenever they can.  Since this legally requires a new contract, that is when you will be most vulnerable. Beware, when upgrading equipment, make sure they your carrier is not changing your data plan without your knowledge. This seems to be happening with many carriers these days.

With data usage taking off, most carriers are trying to jettison their older  ”unlimited” smartphone and air card plans for limited ones with penalty overage charges. AT&T recently replaced their $29.99 Unlimited iPhone plan with a $25 2GB fixed plan with penalty overage charges. Several other carriers have done the same and may or may not be explaining this to their users. Once you get taken off one of these grandfathered plans, there is no way of going back, ever!

Don’t sign anything from your wireless carrier without reading the terms. Half the sales people in the stores either don’t know about any of thi, or are complicit in not pointing this out to protect the sale.  Let the buyer beware!

Android 2.2 OS is Here!

• Improved Web Browsing with new Adobe Flash Player 10.1
• New Security Options
• Easy Switch between 8 most recent Apps
• Bluetooth Voice Dialing
• Enhanced Audio
• View PDFs, MS Office Files, Yahoo and Outlook Express documents
• AND TONS MORE (to many to list here)

Software Update is NOT Automatic
The Android 2.2 must be manually downloaded. Easy instructions are available on http://support.vzw.com/how_to_use/droid_upgrade.html (or on www.verizonwireless.com/droidsupport).

Sprint will begin pushing out their Android 2.2 OS on August 3rd directly to EVO owners.

Unfortunately, the very first Android models like the G1, Hero, Moment and several others are not upgradeable to 2.2 OS Ask me for details.

The Wireless Platform Battle Has Just Begun

Well cats aren’t exactly mating with dogs yet but things have gotten very interesting. The device makers have pulled out all the stops to offer the latest, greatest technology. There are patent infringement suits all over the place.  Features are crazier than ever. I have a built-in 4G router for eight users in my phone and an 8mp camera. I also have an HD Video Recorder offering direct 720HD playback on any Flat Screen. If that wasn’t enough, I even have Adobe Flash Lite built-in.  If you haven’t guessed, my phone is not an iPhone, but an HTC EVO Android model. It gets even better.  Next week Sprint pushes out the new Android 2.2OS upgrade. This will add full Adobe Flash 10.1 and many other performance tweaks and improvements.  Sprint also has two new Samsung Android models, The Intercept and EPIC.

Here are the most popular platforms and their specialties…

RIM BlackBerry OS:

The Good…
This is the world standard for e-mail delivery and is used by most governments and big business.  RIM owns the enterprise space because they offer over 400 permissions (Administrative Policies), along with AES and DES Encryption technology. In English… Blackberry devices offer the fastest, most reliable and secure e-mail both domestically and internationally. All carriers love these devices because they are reliable, nearly bullet proof and extremely stingy when using carrier bandwidth. Apparently, the security is so good that the United Arab Emirates has banned them effective October. Apparently they are concerned that information can be sent out of the country without the government being able to decrypt and monitor it. Blackberry BES and BIS services are carrier agnostic. It’s easy to switch carriers without any negative repercussions, just a PIN number change.

The Bad…
Until recently, browsing was mediocre at best on these devices.  RIM’s first Touch Screen device, the Storm was horrible. Their 2nd attempt was only slightly better. RIM will be debuting their BlackBerry 6.0 OS in the next month or so. Improved browsing is one of several major improvements.

Apple iPhone OS 4:

The Good..
Everyone, regardless of carrier, can thank Apple for changing the way wireless was done. Apple believed that people would pay top dollar for a great product without carrier buydowns. They were obviously right.  Apple immediately took the consumer market and then aimed at enterprise. Their touchscreen technology and pinch and pull zooming revolutionized smartphones and reset the standard.

The Bad…
Proprietary! Apple bans many great APPS. Battery can not be changed by user. Memory cannot be changed by user. No chance of Adobe Flash ever being added. Unfortunately,  iPhones get mediocre battery life and they use bandwidth like the muscle cars of the 1960s used gasoline. Ironically, while Apple’s new OS 4 brings Multi Functioning and other cool benefits, it is also not as stable. My friends that upgraded their 3G iPhones to OS 4 are hating it. Many applications that ran smoothly with the 3G OS now bog down and are much slower. It looks like the larger processor in the new 4G iPhone may be needed to run OS 4 properly. Time will tell.

Google’s Android OS:

The Good…
This is definitely the fastest growing OS, bar none. While Apple has been extremely successful, their iPhone is only marketed by them, with AT&T as the sole US carrier. Compare that to HTC, Motorola, LG and Samsung making Android phones for all of the carriers. Android is based on linux and is open source and non proprietary.  Currently,  I see more of an immediate threat to Apple than RIM since the Android OS seems to appeal to the same demographic. RIM now sees the handwriting on the wall and is developing Touch Screen devices with pull down keypads and possibly even a Tablet. Android will eventually target enterprise and is a favorite among software developers and IT managers. Highlights of Android OS: Easy to personalize, pinch and pull browsing, Adobe Flash and tons of applications. This technology is embraced by all carriers and four of the major equipment makers. Google Calendar and Contacts will sync wireless on most handheld devices, even Blackberry devices. There are tens of thousands of great applications.

The Bad:
What’s great and free today, may end up costing tomorrow. There are very few cons other than the fact that first adopters get screwed once again. Those Android pioneers who bought T-Mobile’s G1, Sprint’s Hero and Moment and several other AT&T and Verizon models are not going to be happy when they find out their OS cannot be upgraded to Android 2.2. The other downsides are similar to Apple’s. When ever you offer amazing features like full screen browsing, GPS and Wifi, battery life will be mediocre in most cases. An extra battery, or car charger will remedy that.

Microsoft Windows for Mobile OS:

The Good…
Ironically, Microsoft started the SmartPhone revolution with models that worked just like their desktop computers. Long before HTC made Android models, they were churning out Windows models for all the major carriers. Obviously, most enterprise organizations have Microsoft Exchange Servers. Windows Service Pack II with ActivSync offered a FREE wireless Sync solution with Exchange. The last two versions of Windows, 6.2 and 6.5 were both excellent. They are still offered on T-Mobile’s HTC HD2 and the HTC Touch Pro2.

The Bad..
Until the last two versions, MS Smartphone OS would crash and need to be rebooted as much as their larger desktop counterparts. Now that Microsoft finally figured it out, they just abandoned both 6.2 and 6.5 with a completely new OS, Windows Mobile 7. What’s bad is this is not backwards compatible and is not compatible with any of the applications developed for the early OS versions. That being said, Android has taken Microsoft’s place at the table. Steve Ballmer will have to debut something pretty impressive to recapture their previous market share.  Ironically, it was Microsoft that made HTC a SmartPhone manufacturing power in the first place. I don’t see how HTC will have time to make anything for Microsoft’s new OS. They currently can’t make enough Android models for Sprint and Verizon.

Symbian

The Good…
Sony Ericsson and NOKIA pioneered this OS on some of the very first smartPhones. It continues to exist but barely. It was very open source-like and easy to work with in it’s day.

The Bad…
Neither NOKIA or SONY Ericsson sells many SmartPhones in the US, mostly just overseas. This format has never taken off in the US for that reason. Put a fork in it. It is done for all practical purposes.

MEEGO:

Good…
This is a brand new OS that is being launched by two small companies you may have heard of, IBM and NOKIA. It is still in it’s infancy but one to watch. NOKIA has announced that all of their newest high end smartphones will support MEEGO. They will continue offering Symbian on their low-to-medium models for the time being.

The Bad…
Other than getting in very late, it is too early to evaluate this format yet.

WebOS Formerly PALM (now owned by HP)

The Good…
This cloud based OS is actually quite good. It was introduced on the Palm PRE which I personally didn’t care for. PALM was not doing very well with their devices but did develop a great OS. HP recognized that and bought PALM to get their WEB OS. I expect to see HP Tablets and SmartPhones utilizintg WEB OS very soon.

The Bad…
Aside from the Palm PRE and PALM PIXI, this software will never take root unless it is licensed to other manufacturers. I don’t see HP making enough devices to make it competitive with the Androids and RIMS of the world.

The above comments are based on my experience and of those I work with. Please contact me if you have any further questions about any of the above.

Sprint Blowing Their 4G Lead

Sprint has the latest 4G network technology but is blowing it big time by not having enough devices available.  What should have been at least a one year deployment lead is now maybe a 4 month lead and rapidly diminishing. Furthermore, Sprint has intentionally withheld the HTC EVO from their Corporate Indirect Business Solution Partner Channel.

Verizon Wireless has a policy of traditionally giving their direct channel an 30 day exclusive, before introducing new products to their indirect channel. That used to bother me until I discovered that sometimes, it is better for their retail customers to be the guinea pigs rather than my clients.  The Motorola Q was a total piece of c**p as was RIM’s original BlackBerry Storm.  What’s happening today with Apple’s iPhone 4 illustrates why it doesn’t pay to be the first one on the block to get the latest technology.  At least Verizon gives the courtesy of providing a date of availability.  For all of those who are patiently waiting for our HTC EVO shipment, I apologize on behalf of Sprint’s management for the delay in getting these devices shipped out to our enterprise channel . The latest word is August 1.

Verizon had the brilliant foresight to order backup Droid OS 2.1 models from multiple manufacturers after their HTC Incredible immediately sold out. They just sold out of their Motorola DroidX, the same day it was released. Sprint and Verizon both have Samsung models coming in a few months. These new Samsung galaxy models have a 1Ghz processors and a super AMOLED screen said to rival the newest 4G iPhones display.

Verizon has indicated they will roll out 4G late this year and introduce new SmartPhones at the CES Wireless 2011 show in January. Wake up Sprint, time is running out…

“You’re holding it wrong”

While you are in line for that new “4G” iPhone, it might be a good idea to ask for a tutorial on how to properly hold the device.  Hours after the new iPhone went on sale, Apple was besieged with complaints regarding reception.  To create that 25% smaller, sleeker design,  Apple snaked their iPhone antenna around the device’s bezel.  Unfortunately,  CNN and other news outlets are reporting that the new model gets significantly worse reception than the older 3G models.

Steve Jobs, known to personally reply to some Apple e-mail, summed the problem up in four words, “You are holding it wrong.”  Apple’s official statement… “If you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band. The company also stated that putting a case on will reduce interference and possibly help.

Other than reception, the reviews have been pretty good overall.  I personally can’t see a standing in line for 10 hours,  or sleeping in a mall parking lot for any device but I’m funny that way.  I would recommend the HTC EVO (Sprint) or HTC Incredible (Verizon) but they are actually tougher to find than the 4G iPhone.

What Exactly is 4G

Whenever there is an exciting new technology, I think of that great Jessica Simpson Flat screen commercial line. You know,  the one where she says, ” I don’t know what 1080p is, but I know I want it!”  If you plan to use your PDA or Laptop for internet browsing, gaming, video conferencing or watching movies, you want 4G.

What exactly is 4G
When talking about the various data platforms, the wireless industry refers to “generations”. The first generation offered 56kbps dismal speeds and was generally billed by the minute, not kbps. The second generation,  produced two distinct technologies.  These increased speeds to 19.6mbps.

Shortly thereafter,  the universal GSM camp launched EDGE (Enhanced Data Global Evolution) boasting speeds up to 200kbps. The CDMA camp (Sprint and Verizon) utilized CDMA 1xrt technology developed by Qualcomm which boasted  similar speeds. With both technologies, web browsing was very limited.

The CDMA camp rolled out 3G over three years ago. The GSM camp (AT&T and T-Mobile) rolled out their HSDPA 3G networks about a year ago. These 3G technologies increased download speeds to up to 2mbps +.  This represented a major breakthrough in what applications became possible on mobile devices. Unfortunately, AT&T/iPhone users in San Francisco and NY City found out what happens when you run out of bandwidth. That is why 4G can’t come quick enough for some carriers.  4G service is going to make video chatting, internet gaming and movie downloading popular from your handheld.  I am already using an HTC EVO,  even though 4G has not been turned on in Los Angeles yet. When it is, my device will act like it is on steroids. It will become a wireless router for 8 simultaneous internet users (if I drop the extra $30 per month).  Upload speeds will increase to 350kbps+ and download speeds of up to 5mbps will be 5x faster than my current speeds.

Do you Need 4G?
Probably not. AT&T and T-Mobile are not even close to deploying their next generation LTE (Long Term Evolution) 4G platform. Both have elected to introduce 3.5G interim solutions for now known as HSDPA+. T-Mobile claims speeds will reach 20mbps which doubles that of 4G. In any case, if your phone is used for phone calls,  sms messaging and little else,  stay put. It’s the internet browsers that would like a laptop/office experience from their PDAs that need 4G.  If video chatting, watching movies and gaming against others on the internet sounds interesting, this is for you.  You may not know what 4G is, but you know you want it!

Sprint’s HTC EVO Launch Crashes their Activation Network

AT&T could certainly relate to what Sprint experienced yesterday. The much awaited HTC EVO 4G Android SmartPhone was released to their retail stores. What a three ring circus! Most stores had lines and sold out. I happened stopped by the Torrance store as they were getting a UPS shipment at lunch time to see what was happening.  They had a long line and their system crashed making a 20 minute process closer to 3 hours. If that wasn’t bad enough, there was a network provisioning problem.

Make no mistake, this device is far more impressive than my old 3G-8GB iPhone was. It’s much faster, the screen is much larger and the interface is friendlier.  I haven’t even tried it in 4G, or half the features, but can see that going back to my Blackberry Tour is no longer an option.  I actually watched a movie and a bunch of U-Tube videos with my daughter. The EVO has an accelerometer and will go into landscape mode when put in the horizontal position.  The pop out kick stand on the back makes it easy to prop the device up for watching video or video chatting.

The EVO is slimmer than my BlackBerry Tour but longer, wider and heavier at about 6oz. It doesn’t matter! This device is more powerful than many laptops and is the best web browsing experience I have had to date, bar none. The real deal closer for me was,  unlike the iPhone,  Sprint’s  EVO  offered 3G coverage nearly everywhere.  With 4G already in 35 markets and coming to LA later this year, things will get even cooler. I also like being able to change my battery if it goes dead, or add a new memory card, if needed.  Most importantly. I discovered that this device has a version of Flash that allows me to watch my surf camera feeds. This was something that I could only do in my office, or on my laptop with an air card – up until last night!

Yes, e-mail is a piece of cake. It works great as a phone and already has about 40 applications pre-loaded. It uses GPS to contantly display the current weather wherever you are.  Unlike my BlackBerry,  I don’t need my reading glasses when working on the internet or with e-mail. It also has the pinch and pull zoom feature the iPhone made famous.

Ask me for a demonstration!

The Early Bird Catches The Worm?

This morning, I called one of my buddies at the local retail Sprint store to see if he could put an HTC EVO aside. I stopped by around noon and there was a large line out the door.  He told me that he had secured one and got me moved up to the fourth appointment which should have gotten me in and out in 20 minutes.  Unforunately, the Dr Wireless Law of Relativity struck. After about 45 minutes, I noticed that I was still number four and number 1,2 and 3 hadn’t budged.  At this point, I was told that Sprint’s system crashed and they could do nothing until it went back up. After  another hour or so, my name got called and they told me they would hold a device for me and call me later when they were back up, if I wanted.

I was too close to having one of these bad boys to abandon ship. I explained that I didn’t care about doing the ESN change today or tomorrow. The sales clerk did the esn change anyway and said it should work in an hour. Three hours later and neither my BlackBerry or EVO worked.  At 5:00pm I called my support team who transferred me into the “EVO Support Team”.  After 10 minutes on hold, I was told that they were having a provisioning problem with the EVO and there was a 2-4 hour projected delay. I requested they put me back on my Blackberry Tour until tomorrow when I would try again.

The motto of this story is this…

It’s nice to be the first guy on the block to get a new toy. It’s not nice when you spend half your day in the process and walk out without an active device. Part of my job is evaluating new products and services before lending our endorsement.  I understand how all this works and  knew that I could always do another esn change to get me back online with my ‘Berry.  A normal consumer probably would have totally freaked out by losing service. That is the only reason that I would endure this kind of aggravation.

As far as the EVO, it looks awesome. I have only used it with wifi today but will hopefully get it running on the Sprint network by tomorrow. The above is the perfect argument for not jumping through hoops day one of a product launch. I am sure that Sprint got a small taste of what AT&T experienced with the iPhone.  I discovered that many of the people behind me in the line were coming from other Sprint stores that had sold out immediately. Many received a rain check and couldn’t even walk out with a device. For that, I feel fortunate.

Blurring the Lines…

Yes, Apple is coming out with a magnificent 4.0 upgrade that among many other things, will finally allow iPhone users the ability to Multi-Task. Don’t get me wrong, Apple set the bar for Smartphones and the new iPhone 4.0 will be impressive. Our friend Jason Chen at Gizmodo can attest to that.

My problem is how this new iPhone is being advertised. Let’s clear this confusion up. True, the iPhone is in it’s 4th software version. Calling it a 4G phone though is a blatant fib. While there have been 3 versions before this one, it is not 4G. There is only one operational 4G network to date in the Unites States. It is operated by Sprint and Clearwire.  Average speeds are about 3-4mbps which is about 10 x faster than AT&T’s current network.

Until AT&T and Verizon introduce their competing Long Term Evolution (LTE) platform, early next year,  there is nothing 4G about the data speeds of the new iPhone.

Apparently, Sprint was steamed enough at this to steal some thunder by introducing their 4G HTC EVO on June 4th, just days before Apple is scheduled to launch their newest 4.0 model. This is significant since Sprint’s  4G service won’t even launch here until the 4th quarter.

The real irony  is that the only way the iPhone and iPad will be 4G is in wifi mode utilizing  Sprint’s Overdrive 4G router.

Who Really Has The Best Wireless Deal?

Well, you probably correctly guess it isn’t AT&T or Verizon.  This is the question I get hit with more than any other. The answers are always either T-Mobile or Sprint, depending on several circumstances.  Sprint’s “Any Mobile, Anytime” is the game changer. This feature allows Sprint users to make and/or receive calls from over 280 million cellular users in the US for FREE. That means the real issue here is what % of calls do you make to landlines versus mobiles. Most people are well over 50% mobile-to-mobile.

If your calling pattern is mostly calling other cellphones, these Any Mobile, Anytime plans can save you money. You’ve seen the commercials. AT&T and Verizon both offer Unlimited voice calling only for $69.99.  Sprint includes everything else for what these guys charge an extra $50-$60 per month for.  If you are eligible for our public sector discount program, it gets even better with a 20-22% monthly discount.

T-Mobile’s Even More Plus Plans are possibly the smartest way to go. What makes these plans unique is that they are month-to-month and the lowest rates available. T-Mobile knows you are going to stay because these plans are actually $20-$30 per month lower than their 2 year contracted plans. The catch… In return for getting the lower rates, the phone prices are not discounted. That $50 Blackberry on a 2 year contract plan will now cost you $299.99.  Still, if you can save $20 per month over the typical 2 year contract period, that equals $480 less the additional $250 equipment costs.  You end up with an extra $230 in your pocket, not theirs!