Choosing The Right SmartPhone

The choice of devices are virtually the same between carriers with very few exceptions. One would be T-Mobile not officially having the Apple iPhone. I wish I had a dollar though for every unlocked AT&T iPhone  now operating on the T-Mobile network . Now that Verizon and Sprint have the iPhone, consumers can actually choose their carrier as well as device.

Choosing a carrier is far easier than choosing the most appropriate SmartPhone. That’s because, once you get beyond coverage, costs and the fine print, that’s it. When chosing a SmartPhone, one must put their priorities in order before being able to intelligently make a good choice. Today’s SmartPhone Operating systems by popularity are… 

Google’s Android Platform (Supported by equipment makers HTC, LG, Samsung, Kyocera, Pantech, Sanyo & Motorola)

Pros: Open Source Linux based platform makes this the choice of most APP developers . The Android platform boasts the largest screens, 4G Support, user replaceable battery, user replaceable MicroSD memory card and full Adobe Flash 10.1 Support. Google even pushes OS upgrades out over-the air along with major Applications. I actually went from Google Android 2.1 OS to 2.2 Froyo OS and was finally upgraded to 2.33 Gingerbread.  All by just pressing ok on my phone when notified of a new upgrade being available. It doesn’t get any easier and it’s nice not getting stuck with an old OS that cannot be easily upgraded. In summary, you get more bang for the buck with Androids. If you are looking to replace a Laptop with a Tablet or Smartphone, I believe the Android platform comes closest to emulating a desktop or laptop computer.

Cons: Battery life is the Achille’s heal for all manufacturers of Androids, as the screens are the largest and these devices have multiple radios (3G, 4G, Wifi, BlueTooth, GPS, FM and  Mobile). Obviously having a full version of Adobe Flash built-in (unlike iPhones) means using more video, which means using more battery. Since there are multiple device manufacturers, features can differ a bit from model to model making it trickier to move from one brand to another. That’s because, the equipment manufacturers usually incorporate their own interface. HTC Sense, Motorola’s MotoBlur etc…

Apple’s iPhone 5 iOS made exclusively by Apple
Pros:  Apple’s iPhone with proprietary iOS was a gamechanger. Their devices are the “Ferrari’s” of SmartPhones in terms of looks, feel, and moving between applications. One of the great things about Apple is everytime they introduce a new product, they ensure that it will seamlessly integrate with all other Apple products. The 4S model overcame most of Apple’s shortcomings on the iPhone 4. With a much better battery, bigger, dual core processor, and dual antenna system, this model is far more powerful than it’s predecessors. Add some cool new features like Siri, and the iCloud and you begin to understand why everyone wants an iPhone. I just moved over from an Android and am enjoying my 4S.

Cons: Very few compared with the iPhone 4. I still cannot believe Apple will not support Adobe Flash. Now that HTML5 is becoming more popular, it may not be as big an issue. Also, with improved battery life and products like the  aftermarket “Mophie Juice Pack” case with built-in backup battery, not having a removable battery is not the end of the world.  Strangely, there are far more negatives for the carriers to sell you an iPhone. That’s because Apple raked them all over the coals. Did you know the carriers are paying $650 for the same device we sell you for $199.99? That means they give up far more ($450) when selling an iPhone than Androids or BlackBerry devices. It gets even worse for them. Apple also gets all the revenue for iTunes music downloads, App downloads, Ringtones etc. These are all areas the carriers typically rely on for revenue. Did I mention that each carrier also has to right an enormous check to Apple? Sprint alone will be paying Apple a whopping 15.5 Billion for the right to sell the iPhone for the next four years.  Now consider that iPhones use more bandwidth than most devices and  each carrier is adding millions of these devices to their networks each month. If you don”t like your carrier, leave them, or buy an iPhone. It’s  going to cost them either way.

BlackBerry Platform (Research in Motion aka RIM)
Pros: This was the industry standard for about ten years. RIM management wrongly viewed the iPhone and Android’s as gimmick devices. As a result, they are now about two years behind on device design. Their latest 9900 series is very impressive though. BlackBerry has always been the choice of IT Managers because of their superior device security and IT permissions. IT managers can take control of a lost or stolen device and wipe it clean remotely. The RIM devices have always been super durable and with incredible battery life. BlackBerry wrote the book on qwerty keyboards and global roaming. For e-mail, there is nothing faster, better, or more secure. These are also the most cost effective devices to use overseas while roaming.

Cons: Web browsing has been the biggest drawback until RIM introduced their latest OS 7 software.  Their first few touch screen attempts were disasters. The Torch 9850 is the first decent Touch model they have made.  With the exception of their latest 9900 series, the devices are clunky and no threat to Apple or Google at this point. That is slowly changing and RIM seems to be making a comeback.  

There are other operating system Platforms to be aware of. Microsoft and NOKIA recently teamed up to launch the Windows Mobile 7 “Mango” Platform. NOKIA will be building the devices and the Lumia for T-Mobile is one of the first. I haven’t used this platform yet but my fellow analysts seem to like it. Mango sounds a bit sticky and messy to me. I thing Microsoft could have come up with something better than that. Then again, Google’s Gingerbread and IceCream Sandwich monikers aren’t much better. WebOS, formerly from Palm who was bought buy HP never got legs. Too bad because it was actually pretty good. Symbian is also hanging on by a thread these days.

What’s Hot and What’s Not

I am a firm believer in the fact that history does repeat itself occasionally. If this was a thoroughbred SmartPhone race, it might sound something like…

Arriving at the gate is “Palm Be Gone” in the one position, “iPhone Fever” in the second slot, “BB RIM Shot”  in the third, “Google Droid in the four spot, ” Syanara Symbian” at five with newcomer MS Mango in the six hole. They are in the gate, the flag is up…And therrrrre they go…

It’s Palm Be Gone and BB RIM shot out on the lead against the rail at the quarter pole. In third is Syanara Symbian followed by iPhone Fever, Google Droid and MS Mango. Around the backstretch  It’s iPhone Fever and Google Droid making their move neck and neck ,both blowing by Syanara Symbian and Palm Be Gone, followed by BB RIM Shot and MS Mango. It looks like Palm Be Gone is being pulled up lame by his jockey. He’s done. BB RIM Shot is fading fast and it’s Sayanara for Symbian too.
As they come down the final stretch, it’s iPhone Fever by a neck. Wait here comes Google Droid sneaking through on the inside. It’s Google Droid, iPhone Fever, Google Droid and at the wire…It’s a photo finish and we’ll have to wait for the results. In third place was BB RIM Shot, coming on strong was MS Mango with Syanara Symbian fading fast and Palm Be Gone now deceased.

These days, it’s all about technology patents. Palm is in fact deceased. They were purchased by HP for their patents and WebOS. HP basically gave up on WebOS. Symbian was the number one Smartphone Operating system for years internationally. Nokia and Sony Ericssson were early proponents of this  OS. They are all but done these days.

Interestingly NOKIA and Microsoft, two of the original Smartphone pioneers are making attempting a comeback. NOKIA and Microsoft will jointly be offering Microsoft’s upcoming Mango technology. While RIM stock is taking a beating and everyone is buying iPhones, don’t count them out just yet. RIM still does e-mail and security better than all of them. Their Blackberry products are also the most battery efficient and fastest when moving from application to application. While not for everybody, they still are the best choice for business users that live and die by their e-mail. In fact, as all my clients seem to be abandoning their ‘Berry devices for Androids and iPhones, I will be going the other direction. I will be giving up my Android for a BlackBerry 9900 to do an evaluation.Don’t be too surprised if I end up staying with the BlackBerry.

Around the clubhouse turn

i-Love. A story of Love, Loss and Redemption

Bob Saltzman
Academy Mortgage
813 787-7711

iThoughts…

My only real Apple iPhone experience to date was the three months that I owned an 3G 8GB GSM unlocked model that I used on T-Mobile’s network. At the time, I loved the feel of the device and applications. What I hated was the fact that I could not comfortably use it as a phone while driving, nor could I see the screen in the sunshine. Now that Apple is several generations further along, I thought it time to re-visit whether I should give the iPhone another try.  Especially tempting is the fact that Apple now makes a world CDMA model for Sprint that offers unlimited data plans.

Many of my associates think that I have a bias against Apple. I suppose it is not so much Apple as it is AT&T though. I still have an old iMac in my closest and own two G-4 Power Books and a MacBook Pro I bought for my daughter. My only real regret was I wish I had taken all of the money that I spent on Apple equipment and Apple Care extended contracts and just bought Apple stock instead of product.

Last month, I bought my first PC in about 8 years.  It’s a Dell Windows 7 Professional laptop with i5 core proecessor. I paid about a third of what the comparable Apple MacBook Pro would have set me back. With all of the pre-orders coming in for Sprint’s and Verizon’s new iPhone 4s models, I actually have been thinking about giving one a try. My problem is device perspective. If I was coming from a BlackBerry, the beautiful web browsing experience of an iPhone would be awesome. Coming from an HTC EVO Android though, I will be giving up the ability to stream live video. That’s because Apple, unlike Google and Microsoft, will not integrate Adobe Flash into their iPhone and iPad models. Face the facts, to get any kind of deal on a smartphone, you must lock in for two years.  Am  I comfortable making a two year commitment in 3G technology when in fact, it has already been replaced by faster 4G technology? Do I like the idea of having to spend an extra $100-$200 to get more memory? Am I willing to give up being able to pop a fresh battery in when the device shows low battery?

One of my business partners flies me and their other partners all over the country to attend Unified Communication Training seminars. Whether we are in San Diego, Memphis, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Buffalo, Arizona or Orlando, one thing remains constant. All of my colleagues that own iPhones, end up bee-lining up to their hotel rooms by the noon lunch break to put their iPhones on chargers. None of these guys even have their phones on them between noon and 3pm. The Android users like myself either pop a fresh battery in or use a super capacity extended battery that goes all day long.  

Over the past 18 months that I have been using my HTC EVO, many things were upgraded over the air that could never have happened on an Apple iPhone device. It’s called scalability. On June 4th, 2010, I bought this 4G device for $450 as I was not eligible for any kind of upgrade. About a week after purchase, I noticed that the device updated itself from Android 2.1 OS to Google’s latest Froyo Android 2.2 OS. I also noticed that my Adobe Flash “Lite” was updated to a full version of Adobe Flash 10.1. One day in October, I noticed my internet speeds had increased 5 x 10 times. That’s because Sprint released this device with a 4G radio built-in, even though their 4G network wasn’t even operational at the time the EVO was launched. Once they flipped the 4G network on, my HTC EVO took advantage of it instantly.

It’s amazing that today, Apple still does not make an iPhone that supports WiMAX, HSPA+, LTE or any other 4G platform. Should I buy a product that doesn’t support 4G when all of the other manufacturers have products that do?

I really love everything about my HTC EVO except the mediocre battery life and the 8GB memory card that came with the device. When you buy an iPhone, you specify the memory capacity since there is no upgrading it at a later date. Fortunately, with my HTC EVO, I just purchased a 16GB MicroSD card that easily slides in under the battery. Memory problem solved. As far as batteries, for a few months, I just kept a second battery charged and would change batteries in the afternoon. Since, then, I discovered an aftermarket 3500mAH SEIDO brand battery that easily takes me through each day and night.  

It all really boils down to the sexy “Ferrari”  looks and feel of the iPhone versus the superior power, 4G speeds, and flexibility of the Dodge Viper-like Google Android devices. With amazing new 4G models from Samsung, HTC, LG and Motorola, Apple will need to step up to the plate with a little more than a souped up 3g iPhone 4 if they want to sell me a SmartPhone.

iPhone5, 4G Support and Adobe Flash Support?

In a perfect world,  maybe.  This time, Steve Cook, in a Job-less Apple Launch, made another one of their “Major Press Releases”.  He talked about pretty much everything but the iPhone5. Like at the end of a  rock show, the audience waited for the 2nd encore that never came. Everyone was expecting the Peter Falk (Columbo) ” Oh, one last thing I almost forgot to mention…” which never happened.

Here is what we do know. Apple’s investors are pissed, as their shares immediately dropped 3% (over $14 per share) after the 1Phone5′s  non-announcement. Apple did introduce an iPhone 4S new model with some tweaks. Most notably, the CDMA version (Verizon, and hopefully Sprint) is now a world version supporting the GSM overseas carriers. Apple also upgraded the camera from 5mp to 8mp with some other minor improvements. They also recently bought a voice recognition provider, Siri, and have implemented a beta version of their application in their new iPhone 4S. That and a larger processor and you essentially have a souped up iPhone 4.

Advice to Mr Cook for his next Press Release…

I suggest dummying up until Apple is really ready to introduce the iPhone5.  Maybe add something to it that people actually want, like Adobe Flash Playback capability, and 4G speeds.  Don’t you wonder why Google’s Android format is beating the crap out of  RIM, Microsoft, and Apple combined? When Apple listens to the public as Google apparently does, they will make some changes to their iPhones. While I am at it, how about removable memory storage, user replaceable batteries, and over the air Operating System upgrades. My 2 year old HTC EVO went from 3G technology to 4G technology when Sprint flipped the switch. The  Adobe Flash-Lite Video Playback was upgraded over the air, to the full Adobe Flash 10.1 version. The Android 2.0 was upgraded to the newer Froyo version, also over the air.

Now that would be newsworthy and worthy of a press release!

On your mark, get ready…Spend!

Lately, all the device manufacturers are readying their latest Smartphones to support NFC.  No, not the National Football conference,  NFC is the acronym for Near Field Communication. Google has developed their own version approprietly called “Google Wallet”. Already backed by AT&T, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile USA, their is another major platform.  It’s called Isis and they  just announced that HTC, LG Electronics, Motorola Mobility, Research In Motion, Samsung Electronics and Sony Ericsson have agreed to produce phones using the venture’s near-field communications standard.

One name brand that is auspiciously absent from both camps is Apple. They don’t seem to collaborate well with other companies (re: Adobe Flash) when compared to their competitors, Microsoft and Google. I believe this is one of those features that the carriers hype and embrace because they will be “wetting their beaks” for a piece of the action.

There are some amazing developments regarding the latest SmartPhones. Aside from blazing 4G speeds, these devices have dual core processors up to 1.5Ghz. They have bigger and brighter screens, yet are thinner than today’s models. NFC, is like 3D to me. I could personally care less about either feature. I think losing your phone could have a whole new urgency if it was also your “credit card”. Security will be a big concern with NFC technology.

Remember, bundling actually sounded like a good idea when the carriers first presented  it. Unforunately, it was only a good idea for the carriers.  Rather than take the best individual services that each carrier has to offer. One carrier would offer a teaser rate and bundle Digital Telephone, cable TV, and internet services into one “convenient” payment. This  discouraged users from shopping their individual services with the competition.  Typically, these bundles required a 2 year contract and the first 3 months were “artificially” discounted.

The s**t would really hit the fan when your carrier had a service interruption and not one, but all of your services would go down simultaneously. I have always believed in going with specialists for each service and not “putting all my eggs in one basket”. Let’s see what Apple has in store for us with their Apple iPhone5…

Dr Wireless’ “Worst of the Month”

It seems that I cannot turn on my flat screen TV or open my LA Times without seeing a Verizon SmartPhone advertisement.  All seem to talk about how fast their new LTE speeds are and they all tout NETFLIX. Don’t get me wrong, I love NETFLIX and watch movies on mySprint EVO periodically. While their 4G data speeds are clearly slower than Verizon’s, there is one huge difference which Verizon glosses over…Cost! Sprint is the only carrier that offers Unlimited 3G/4G data plans.

Remember “Bill Shock” in the old cellular days when penalty minutes were the carriers favorite form of revenue. Verizon is trying to re-create that revenue model. Interestingly, Verizon never offered Unlimited 4G data plans and their 3G data plans are now extinct as well. In fact, they used to send “Dear John” letters to their heavy data users telling them there contract has been terminated and service discontinued. Once they drove their large data users to Sprint, they created tiered data plans ranging from $25-2GB up to $80 for 10GB. Compare that to Sprint’s Unlimited 4G plan for $59.99.

Did you know that with Verizon’s $50/5GB monthly plan, your monthly allowance is totally used up after watching  just 7 full length movies? Maybe that is in their fine print but I can’t read anything that small Now it becomes clear why Verizon and NETFLIX are such good buddies all of a sudden. I have a feeling that the FCC and CPUC are going to be getting all kinds of complaints regarding overage data charges.

In my opinion, if you are a power data user, AT&T and Verizon will clean your clock. T-Mobile caps their plans but does not charge overage fees. They just slow you down to 2G speeds which is far preferable to me than penalty charges. Since e-mail works fine in 2G, who cares?

What this all means is this…If you are only lightly browsing the web and viewing e-mail, 2GB per month is fine.  If you are in fact going to watch NETFLIX, Video Conference or do any peer-to-peer gaming go with Sprint or pay the piper.

Inmates Running the Asylum

The following quote was from Alex Leslie of Connected Planet…

“There is also no doubt that corporate bills and the billing process is a completely different ball game than consumer billing. Before electronic billing, these things used to arrive by truck, in boxes and some poor telecoms manager would have to sift through them and try to make them match his own systems and processes before approving them for payment. It took time.

“The telecom manager’s main concern is hardly ever the accuracy of the bill – most would admit that every bill they receive is wrong but the cost of tracking down errors is simply too much to get close to 100%. The main frustration is generally inventory – the number of lines and circuits that were ordered and used and then left, still connected, when they were no longer needed”.

I laugh when I hear about incidents like the City of  Los Angeles being overcharged millions of dollars because they entrusted their account management directly to their carrier representatives.  That’s because I actually offered my services to the Los Angeles City Controller who apparently didn’t think were needed.  Today, I see that Verizon is in hot water again for their corporate billing practices. This time it is Beth Israel Hospital.

Organizations that don’t utilize an independent wireless account manager are leaving money on the table. Regular inventory of active devices,  discount 3rd party global roaming solutions, changing plans when there is a better deal, and smartphone training are our specialty.  Carrier representatives are paid to activate new lines of service, not show you how to save money and be more productive.

As an independent wireless analyst/consultant, Dr Wireless works for our clients interests first. Having activated thousands of lines for all of the carriers over the last twenty years, we know the wireless industry like few others. If you think your company or organization  is overpaying for their wireless services, please contact me at joel@drwireless.com for a free consultation.

Biggest is Never Best for Consumers

After over 20 years in the wireless industry, I have watched most of my smarter colleagues move on to other industries.  Since the old days of the Ma Bell monoply, regulators have correctly believed that more competition = better rates for consumers. In my Southern California market, that meant that incumbent PacTel (aka Airtouch and now Verizon) and a start up named Los Angeles Cellular Telephone Company would pioneer a new wireless technology called Cellular in the late 1980′s.

What I found amazing is going from a monopoly to a duopoly had very little effect on pricing and competition. The proof of this was the fact that for years, each carrier offered the  same exact rates without changing them.  Does anybody remember these plans?  The “Standard” plan was $45 per month and offered absolutely nothing but the right to pay $0.45 per minute peak and $0.27 off-peak. The “Nightowl” Plan was only $25 per month and featured $0.20 per minute for off-peak time but a whopping $0.90 per minute during the day.

While many accused these carriers of collusion, I knew otherwise. This was the era of analog where fraud and cloning were rampant. You would think that since both carriers used the exact same phones and technologies that they might share fraud information. Wrong! This was not the case. Since each carrier had to publicly file their rates, it wasn’t difficult to see what each other was doing.

The point I am making here is that while free mobile-to-mobile and free nights and weekends were later added to these plans, there was really no competition until PacBel (aka Cingular/SBC) entered the picture along with VoiceStream. Once Sprint and Nextel jumped in, competition flourished.

History has a bad habit of repeating itself and that’s exactly what happened here. Los Angeles Cellular got bought by AT&T. Pactel became Cingular Wireless/SBC.  AT&T later got bought by SBC/Cingular who had such a terrible reputation that they ended up changing their company name back to AT&T. VoiceStream (owned by Deutche Telekom) also had a poor reputation. They changed their name to T-Mobile. 

Today, Sprint and Nextel have become one and the same. It’s them and T-Mobile who have been driving price and feature competition in the wireless industry. Ironically, T-Mobile has created an amazing pre-paid model through their resellers that actually hurt them. They lost over 420,000 direct pre-paid subscribers who left them for their lower cost resellers. What will happen to Simple Mobile and these other resellers once T-Mobile is owned by AT&T? I guarantee that AT&T will not allow these resellers to continue to undersell them as T-Mobile has done.

If pricing wasn’t a good enough argument to steer clear of wireless behemoths, arrogance should be. This morning, David Lazarus of the LA Times penned an article about Verizon bullying the daughter of a deceased woman by continuing to charge for services after her death. In fact, they even turned the deceased woman’s account over to collection. If this wasn’t dispicable enough,  it turned out that Verizon was actually double charging her for services not even rendered.  It took the intervention of David Lazarus and a potential PR nightmare to get Verizon’s management to wake up. In closing out his article, David’s last comments…”As I say, theres a reason many consumers view big companies as heartless and unbending. It’s not because their businesses are misunderstood. It’s because their actions speak for themselves.

Anyone other than AT&T management still think that  making AT&T bigger will also make them better?I think it’s time to send both AT&T and Verizon a very clear message. It’s consumers who can make you, as well as break you. I have hitched my wagon to Sprint and have never been treated better!

Meanwhile PacTel became Air Touch who later became Verizon. They also snalled up small players like Alltel Wireless.

“Leveling The Playfield”

Earlier this morning, one of my clients notified me that he was charged $100 this month for his Sprint $69.99/450 Everything plan. 
As he had signed up for our Dr Wireless Account Managment Program, he called me to find out why he was being charged $32 extra.

It turned out that he had been put on “terminal” hold several times when calling Time Warner and a few other companies from his cell phone. It did not occur to him that these numbers would count towards his plan’s included minutes. Had he called the carrier directly, about the overage, they would have politely explained all of this and then said they were  sorry but there is nothing that can be done and the overage must be paid.

Instead, he contacted me for my advice. I quickly determined what happened and instucted him how to turn a lemon situation into sweet lemonade. Most people would call in and ask the carrier representative why they were charged extra. That’s the worst thing you can do. Our Dr Wireless technique lets them know you are playing hardball. It involves getting beyond the front lines as these reps don’t have the “juice” to make adjustments or write off losses.

The trick to being successful when negotiaitng with your carrier is simple. It is all about getting to the right department, the retention department, to be specific.  If you call and ask for them, you will never get there. I instructed my client to call in and ask the first car rep they encountered one simple question. That question was, “Can you please tell me how much my early termination fee will be if I move my number to another carrier”? This is guaranteed to get you transferred to the retention department. If not, the rep may then ask why you are unhappy. That’s when you mention your spouse has a family plan with another carrier, or your business has a pooling plan with another carrier and you can save over the long run by leaving. Now you got their attention.

I gave my client this basic script and told him what to do. He called me back twenty minutes later incredulous and explained that they not only ate the $32 but also gave him a $80 credit for the following month. I had also told him about a promotion beginning in two days that would give an extra 300 minutes per month. I told him not to mention it specifically but to ask if there was anyway the rep could think of that would prevent these overage situations in the future. Naturally, the rep explained the new 300 bonus minute program and said he would add it in two days.

The motto…Don’t get mad, get even. You would not go into a legal battle without a good attorney. You shouldn’t engage your carrier without the advice of a professional wireless consultant.  The above “technique” is one of hundreds that we have found to be effective when negotiating with all carriers. Try it and let me know how you do. Just don’t tell them who sent you!