Posted by The Blogging Desk on Thu, Jan 13, 2011
PCMagazine has graciously given their two cents on Apple's Verizon iPhone. Unsurprisingly, Personal Computer Magazine doesn't think you should be picking up this Apple product. Let's break it down for the enterprising user in you, shall we?
It has a new carrier, but this isn't a new iPhone. The CDMA iPhone that Verizon announced yesterday is the same iPhone 4 that was released on AT&T back in July. So there's no reason to believe that will change this year, or that the new handset won't be available on both AT&T and Verizon around the same time.
She's mean like a snake, but she has a point. I surely wouldn't advise anyone picking up this version of the iPhone, but that's because nobody has listened to me when recommending the iPhone for the last 4 years. They end up getting some terrible BlackBerry and complain about it to me. To which I retort, "get lost; remember when I told you to get an iPhone?" I've retired from the phone/tablet recommending game. Make your own bed! But, back to the main point; yes, Apple introduces a new phone every summer. Chances are, though, that the average consumer doesn't give two hoots about the speed bump coming in June. They want a phone that works for them, now.
Hey Verizon, how much are the plans? One of the most obvious reasons to wait: Verizon hasn't announced its service plans for the iPhone. It's been rumored that the carrier will roll out a $30 per month unlimited iPhone data plan, but at the press event, Verizon's CEO, Dan Mead, wouldn't utter a peep about plan prices.
I'm not sure what kind of a PR game Verizon is playing with their service packages, but it's not cool. Not cool at all. Still, most people won't care when they get in line just to pre-order the iPhone. Mindshare!
Let Verizon iron out the network kinks before you get there. No one knows how many people will buy Verizon iPhones next month, but a large influx of new subscribers could mean a compromise in network quality in some areas. Hey, it happened with AT&T.
Am I the only person on the planet that doesn't hate AT&T with the fire of a thousands suns? It could be due in large part to the fact that I hate talking on the phone. Just text me, sheesh.
AT&T and Verizon may not be your only choices. Now that the AT&T stranglehold has been broken, it's possible that Sprint or T-Mobile might pick up the iPhone later this year.
Ha! T-Mobile is so adorable. I mean, who wouldn't want to get on their "4G" network!? Thanks to T-Mobile and AT&T, 4G is now a meaningless term that has no bearing on speeds whatsoever.
The Android army just keeps getting stronger. I know. I know. If you're like me, you're a diehard iPhone user who wouldn't even consider switching from Apple's beloved overflowing-with-apps smartphone. Verizon's massive Motorola Droid Bionic, for example, is packed to the gills with features, and it's an LTE phone.
LTE phones are cool and all, but, what cities even have LTE right now? You may get an LTE phone and not have the actual 4G services for at least a year into the future. Don't get me wrong, I love Android; whatever makes it easier for consumers to ditch their piece of junk feature phones, I'm all for.
So, should you get the Verizon iPhone? Don't look at me. I told you I retired from those questions. Go get a RAZR and leave me alone.
...
I'm kidding! If you reply on email, calendars, appointments, and contacts, you owe it to yourself to at the very least consider the iPhone. If you need to be connected at all times to your business, it's a smart move.
Posted by The Blogging Desk on Tue, Jan 11, 2011
Apple:
Beginning February 10, the phone that changed everything will be available on both AT&T and Verizon Wireless in the United States. Qualified Verizon Wireless customers will also have the exclusive opportunity to pre-order iPhone 4 online on February 3, ahead of general availability.
Whichever network you choose, you’ll get FaceTime video calling, the high-resolution Retina display, a 5-megapixel camera, HD video recording, long battery life, and all the other great features of iPhone 4.
My dreams realized; now I won't have to sift through Verizon iPhone rumors in my Google Reader any longer. I won’t go through naming the obvious; I’ll leave that to every tech blog on the planet. You’re failing eyes will thank me, grandpa.
Mobile Hotspot - What's this? Verizon has announced a Mobile Hotspot feature that will create a WiFi network thanks to your 3G connection for up to 5 devices. Will it be free? Doubtful. They sure made it sound like it is. It’s also not even an app as they stated on stage. It looks just like the tethering settings on every other phone. Most are wondering if this will Wi-Fi hotspotting will be built-in to iOS 5. But, don’t confuse built-in for “free”. I recall Gingerbread(Android) promoting such a feature at I/O, and that sure as heck ain’t free.
Monthly charges - Who knows. Nothing was announced. Brilliant or shameless PR? I'll go with both. Most people will line up at the store on their computer to pre-order and will be hardpressed to say no when they see the monthly charges for the first time right that second. I mean, what are they going to do, close the webpage!? Ha, yeah right!
Hardware - Case makers aren't going to be happy. If you're lazy and don't feel like moving your finger over the mouse button to click that link, essentially the volume buttons have moved ever so slightly. It looks like some cases won't work on these Verizon iPhones. Ouch.
That’s about it. And, no, you can’t use data while on a phone call. It’s the same as every other CDMA phone and will also be outdated in 6 months. You know, when Apple announces the iPhone 4S with speed bumps, an updated camera and possibly iOS 5.
Still, no more rumors. We did it! USA! USA!
And don't forget, Trigon will of course be providing the most up to date enterprise tools to iPhone users of both ATT and Verizon. If you'd like to know how these tools can benefit your business, please let us know.
Posted by The Blogging Desk on Fri, Jan 07, 2011
Comcast High Speed DSL enthusiasts grab your guns, there’s a movement not far off in the distance that suggests the army of Verizon 4G will soon replace your home internet connection – I am sure this will not go over without a fight.
I suppose, at first glance, the idea seems very possible. Consider your land line phone, a staple in the homes of just about everyone walking the face of the earth – yeah maybe in the days of Ward and June Cleaver but now-a-days, the POTS line that was always the lighthouse on the shores of despair, the work horse of the phone family, the trusted friend that you could always count on in a time of need – in many homes replaced, without hesitation, for the cell phone. Abandoning your home internet connection cannot be far off.
Recently, Verizon made an announcement in which CEO, Ivan Seidenberg suggests their new 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) network may offer a reasonable substitute for home cable and internet. It seems from the information that I have read that he is basing this idea on the results of initial speed testing that has been completed on the network. Preliminary data that I was able to locate shows that max download speeds reached on the Verizon 4G network were as high as 10.6 Mbps (speed results seem to be dependent on geographic location). I suppose for a hand held device, this could be considered extremely quick download speeds but when I look at this DL speed versus my Comcast high speed DSL connection (sure, I may be biased) and I see download speeds at almost twice what Verizon 4G is reporting, I need look no further than my comfy DSL.
I think that with any technology or concept that is in its infancy or maybe even pre-adolescent years, it’s hard to buy in to the idea that this new technology may replace what you are currently familiar with. As more time, energy and resources are poured into its development, its worth may be proven. If this occurs, costs will begin to decline, availability will begin to increase and before you know it, that new confangled 4G network is the bees knees and your crummy old Comcast router will be given its walking papers and become the best dang coaster for your overpriced morning caffe-latte-mcswirl drinky poo. Don’t believe me – how about you go to the kitchen and pick up the mauve colored Bell Tel rotary phone and call your grandma and ask her how she’s doing (that is if she picks up, you may be interrupting her game shows) – ouch that’s smarts! Embrace technology, but don’t forget that in order to know where you are going, you need to remember from where you came. Comcast high speed DSL, you will always be my favorite. If you think 4G or LTE would be ideal for your small to mid-sized company, we'll talk you down from the ledge. Happy surfing gang!
Posted by The Blogging Desk on Mon, Dec 13, 2010
Engadget:
By now you're probably familiar with this slate, seeing as how Google's Andy Rubin recently unveiled it on stage, but we're willing to bet you've never seen the top edge -- you know, the part now bearing a front-facing webcam and a conspicuous Verizon tattoo. Yes, this is Motorola's 10-inch Honeycomb tablet, and it's playing for Team Red just as foretold, though the tipster who obtained these images isn't sure whether it will bear the name Stingray, Everest or even potentially "Trygon." Spec-wise, we're told our previous tipster was right on the money, and it'll have a 1GHz Tegra 2 T20, a gyroscope and 32GB of storage underneath that 1280 x 800 multitouch screen, as well as 512MB of RAM and a slot for an up-to-32GB microSD card. It also sure looks like there's a micro-USB jack, a mini-HDMI port and a 3.5mm headphone socket, as well as some contacts for a likely dock, though as always Mr. Blurrycam's handiwork is such that we can't quite tell. No matter -- see for yourself in the gallery below.
Hmmmm. Some of the stills from Rubin's appearance at Dive Into Digital made it look very Windows-ish. Though, it may turn out the Honeycomb, Android 3.0, runs some kind of widgeting system on-screen. Since Google recently released their flashship phone, the Nexus S, I can only hope they will do the same with their Honeycomb tablet. Nexus T?
It's become obvious that Google doesn't approve of the Galaxy Tab in anyway and barely acknowledge its existence. Who knows if that tablet will be able to run Android 3.0. My guess is no and it will die a slow death. Sorry, early adopters!
The real benefit of these new tablets are their mobile opportunities for your small to mid-sized business. Out in Radnor but have a meeting in Bala Cynwyd? You can be able to video conference into the meeting using your tablet. Trigon can help you out with these Star Trekkian meetings, friend.
Posted by The Blogging Desk on Wed, Oct 20, 2010
Press Release:
Verizon Wireless and Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile) today announced the highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy Tab™ will be available Nov. 11 for $599.99. Running on Android™ 2.2, the Samsung Galaxy Tab features a brilliant 7-inch touch screen; robust HTML Web browsing experience with full support for Adobe® Flash® 10.1 for video and mobile gaming; and a 1GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird Application processor.
“This is an incredible time in mobile technology, and as a company we’re excited to add the Samsung Galaxy Tab to our portfolio,” said Marni Walden, vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon Wireless. “The Samsung Galaxy Tab brings together the reliability of Verizon Wireless’ 3G network and the power of Android 2.2 to deliver on our promise of providing consumers and business customers with a host of options to help manage their lives.”
Well, that's the end of that experiment. I look forward to Samsung concentrating more on cell phones in the near future.
$600 for a 3G, 16GB model, unsubsidized from Verizon? You can get an iPad for that same amount of money, but you get an OS that is actually approved by the company, and apps that are built for the device. You could also get a non-3G 16GB iPad for just $499.
With the Tab you get smaller real estate, and operating system that Google even says isn't designed for tablets, and zero Day 1 apps built for the actual device. It's silliness to think you can compete with a product that defined a market where there was none for a higher price, with no cheaper alternative. Silliness!
Hopefully for Samsung, there will be many other models for purchase, aside from those offered at Verizon.
Posted by The Blogging Desk on Thu, Oct 14, 2010
New York Times:
Julius Genachowski, the F.C.C. chairman, will propose what he calls the commission’s consumer empowerment agenda, aimed at ensuring that users of new technologies do not have to worry about hidden costs, confusing billing practices and what the commission calls “bill shock.”
In an interview on Tuesday, Mr. Genachowski said that the five-member commission would consider proposed rules that also would require cellphone and mobile Internet companies to notify customers when they were about to incur roaming charges or other higher-than-normal rates that were not covered by their monthly plans.
Who doesn't want to save money? In terms of cell phone bills, there could be nothing worse than going over your texting and/or data plan.
Apparently, Verizon disagrees;
The mobile phone companies are less enthusiastic. In a filing with the F.C.C. opposing new billing and notification regulations, Verizon Wireless said that it agreed that consumers should have “access to clear information regarding their wireless usage.”
But, the company added, “intense competition has led wireless carriers to provide consumers with usage information” and many mobile phone companies “have developed tools that allow customers to monitor and control their usage in various ways,” including on their mobile devices and online.
Gee, thanks. Isn't it bad enough they want a monopoly on apps, now they want to ensure we go over our limits?
I will say this; ATT's mobile app for the iPhone is very well done. I can open the app and check how many texts I've sent during the current billing month, how many minutes I have left, and I can even pay my bills. Fun!
It may not be fun, but it does help me from going overboard. The FCC is doing a good thing, but I think they're just trying to help people that really just use their phone for calls. Anyone using a phone with apps has to be smart enough to check their date plan. Right?
Right?
Would you like to save monies on your IT Support team? We'd like to help.
Posted by The Blogging Desk on Tue, Sep 07, 2010
GoogleTV will not be my savior. But it could be cool.
Today it was announced from Eric Schmidt that GoogleTV would be coming out this fall. Videos circulating online shows a beta tester running through the menus of what looks to be a test GoogleTV unit. It attaches to your already existing cable box to give a better cable viewing experience. Not only that, but you will be able to browse the web in it's entirety.
Several of the features are very slick. The main feature, allows you to search for any show or movie, say, Bones. When you type that in you'll get search results from your cable provider and also from the internet of various places you're able to watch. Netflix, Hulu, and also FiOS, for instance. The results all show up in a very clean manner so that it's almost indecipherable that you're getting results from other places.
You could say that it looks like a full featured AppleTV, but with a cable subscription. That's a negative in my book. Certain providers are going to have this Google Experience built-in to the box, so you won't need another one. You will, however, be able to buy one separately.
Let's just hope this isn't another Google Buzz, Wave, or Shopper. Am I right, folks?
Posted by Matt Kolowski on Thu, Aug 12, 2010
So long, mobile internet, it was fun while it lasted.
Google, of “don’t be evil” fame, is entering a partnership with Verizon that hopes to ensure the “openness” of the public internet. What the “public internet” is, I have no idea. They hope that other carrier and companies will join them in what, they say, will guarantee that broadband internet will never be bogged down by internet companies cutting deals with video providers and such that would enable the speediness over other websites. (Like Hulu loading quicker on Verizon than Comcast)
This partnership should prevent any rumors of Verizon allowing faster access to YouTube to its own customers and preventing access to others. Both Google and Verizon say they want to prevent that from ever happening. Great!
Or is it?
They specifically rule out these provisions for wireless networks. Meaning, Verizon, ATT, T-Mobile, Sprint and others are not going to be regulated by their proposed “openness” rules. Smell that? It’s fear.
Right now, Google Android is a big operating system across multiple carriers. Skype is an app that lets you make VOiP calls that don’t count across your ATT, Sprint or Verizon minutes. Want to use Skype for Android on T-Mobile? Tough. You can’t. Verizon has a deal with Skype for Android and Blackberry. This is setting a bad precedent.
Let’s rewind and pretend that Google and Verizon made this agreement 10 year ago, before broadband internet was as prevalent as it is now. Let’s pretend their agreement was for an open 56k Modem network which utilized your phone lines but which didn’t included Broadband, because that was too new and had different rules. We’d be so screwed.
We’d be living in a world where Microsoft could have cut a deal with Comcast/XFinity so that you could only use Skype on a Windows 7 computer hooked up to XFinity internet. Had a Mac on Verizon FiOS? Tough. You can’t use Skype. Imagine a world where if you had a Windows 7 laptop using FiOS and you wanted to watch some YouTube videos. Oops, Google cut a deal with XFinity, so you can’t watch any LOLcats today.
What happens in 10 years where the wireless internet is more prevalent than ever, but is bogged down by deals like that?
This is like Terminator 5 stuff.
Posted by Matt Kolowski on Tue, Jun 08, 2010
Let's be honest here, who cares about video chat?
Not I, said the pig. Well, that's not entirely true. I wouldn't have cared until about 1 month ago, when I found out my boys can swim. If you catch my meaning(babies). Now I care somewhat about video chat. If I'm away from my spawn for a night or twelve I'm sure I'd wanna see the little squirt. Of course, I'd have to buy the mother an iPhone 4 to get the whole thing to work....let's forget the whole subject for now.
HD video is where it's at, right? Who wouldn't want their own mini RED camera in their cargo shorts? People still wear those, I hope. iMovie looks hella sick. It is odd, however, that it tops out at 32GB. If Verizon gets a 64GB version within the next year I'm going to dropkick someone.
And what about Verizon? I'm not sure how I feel about being tied to ATT next summer when the iPhone 4G drops on what we will all presume to be Verizon. Speaking of which, how sweet is it that we still have to hear Verizon+iPhone rumors for the next x months? Super sweet, I bet you said.
Battery looks to be improved just to the point where it won't be annoying anymore. That's a plus. I can only drag-refresh Twitter for iPhone so many times until I have to switch to EDGE. And nobody likes EDGE.
While reading the live-blog, did anyone else completely forget that Jobs mentioned a front-facing camera at the beginning of the keynote only to make video chat his 'one more thing'? How was that even possible? Doesn't that say anything about peoples need/want for video chat? For that matter, why didn't they call it 'iChat' and allow people to chat from iPhone to Macs. Don't make me say 'game-changer' right now. Don't you make me.
Damn you, Steve. Damn you for making me want one.
Hey, remember the EVO 4G?
Posted by Matt Kolowski on Mon, Oct 19, 2009
I just called my parish priest to administer the Last Rites. You would be wise to do the same.
A few weeks back Google and Verizon formed an unholy alliance to combat the speeding locomotive that is Apple. They even hyped a "game changer" that would be announced in a few weeks. While I hate that phrase in all of its various uses, I at least raised an eyebrow since it came from Google's nerdy boss. Last night the new ads hit talkie boxes across the country, promoting the mysterious "Droid", and at the same time, talking down the iPhone in regards to features it doesn't have. Features like taking pictures in the dark, a physical keyboard, and baking cakes. Ok, one of those is fake.
But surely such a product would not come from the anemic Motorola? Right? RIGHT!? WRONG. Leaked specs of the Motorola Droid have come out thanks to the ‘Boy Genius Report', and I will present some of them to you in a completely non-biased fashion. Maybe.
First off, it has the mystical physical keyboard. Since losers around the planet complain about using virtual ones all the time, well, you can shut your mouth now. It also sports a 5MP camera, with flash. That's a pretty big step up from my measly 3PM with no flash. I am officially the biggest nobody on the planet now. Thanks Motorola. It also runs Android 2.0, the latest and greatest from the Google. Not too shabby. Capacitive touch screen? Check. The coolest thing though, is that when docked in its charger, it becomes almost like a mini "multimedia station", which can display the weather, time, etc. Nuts, my stupid iPhone can only display the time when docked...$30 straight up cash, anyone want this thing?
In all seriousness, I've been waiting for a good Android handset to come out and make the OS worthwhile. Pretty soon it's going to be on more phones than any other OS, but who cares when the hardware can barely run it? That looks to change with the release of the Motorola Droid. Listen, if you throw in Google Voice and a $199 price point, I may mosey on down into that Verizon kiosk with the salesman that has bad B.O.
Kidding! I want nothing to do with a company that pushes awful VCast down my throat with every ad they make. Nobody wants to watch MSNBC on their phones, dummies. Viva iPhone!