It’s hard to know when the tipping point happened for me. Likely when I started getting more capable smartphones from Nokia, whom employed me at the time. Surely I had experienced the various Communicator-style devices (I had a 9210, a 9300, and a 9500). However, the two most pivotal devices for me: The Nokia E70 and the Nokia N95, which is the middle of 2006. I still have (and occasionally even use) the Nokia N95, even though by today’s standards, it’s only marginally more functional than a featurephone.

Of course in those days, Smartphones were not entirely accesible to the masses. Sure, they were obtainable in the sense you could go to any operator and buy one. But then what? Most people had no clue how to use them. Why else do you think the US operators had no problem selling unlimited data packages? Because no one was really using them (except for a few of us).

Then something changed: the iPhone came on the scene. While the first iteration of the iPhone OS (now called iOS)  was arguably less functional than smartphones of the day, it quickly became the smartphone that everyone in the developed world wanted. It raised the bar for what the user experience should be on a phone.

Then Google-backed Android came on the scene and, after a few iterations, became a credible alternative to the iPhone. Microsoft, being a bit late to the party, completely redoes their mobile operating system. Nokia’s Symbian, the long-time leader in the smarphone space, could not keep up with the level of innovation Google and Apple were cranking out and, eventually, Nokia announced their plans to sunset the operating system and go with Windows Mobile. RIM, maker of the Blackberry handsets, have also struggled to keep pace and have stagnated.

It’s pretty clear to most industry observers (and even lay-people) that Android and iOS are the dominant phone operating systems. But it’s more than that: it’s now mobile computing. The same popular smartphone operating systems are now available in a different form factor device: tablets. And, as a number of industry analysts are saying, tablets are the new personal computers.

Apple led the way again here by introducing the iPad, using the same OS used on the insanely popular iPhone. A number of other hardware manufacturers have tried (and failed) to duplicate the success that Apple has had with the iPad using Android. The only manufacturer having any success is Amazon, who introduced the Kindle Fire at the end of 2011. Even their numbers are anemic compared to what Apple sells, but they have something the other tablet makers don’t have: a thriving ecosystem on which to use the device. Remember, Amazon sells all kinds of digital goods in much the same way Apple sells them through iTunes and the App Store.

Why do people prefer to use mobile devices rather than traditional computers? For me, it’s always been: because the device is always with me and connects me to what matters most. Even if it’s not a full experience, it’s often good enough.

For other people, it’s that these mobile devices are easier to use than traditional PCs. This is partially due to the easier-to-use touch interfaces on the current generation smartphones and tablets. There is also less for the average person to “screw up” as well, making for a less intimidating experience.

For another class of people, it’s because they can’t afford the PC and everything it takes to make it operate. This is certainly true in less affluent nations, such as Nigeria.

I had an interesting conversation over Twitter with Yomi Adegboye AKA Mister Mobility (he’s well worth following at @Mister_Mobility). It confirmed this hypothesis. Of course, during the 10 years I worked at Nokia, I took every opportunity to read up on everything Nokia was doing, including how they were developing phones for places like India and Africa. My hypothesis was already well informed.

In these less affluent nations, many people don’t even have electricity. Or if they do, it is supplied by a generator of some sort. Wired phone service may or may not exist (if it does, it is surely expensive for voice service, much less data service). The infrastructure needed to operate a PC may be entirely out of reach.

Meanwhile, while even a basic mobile phone is out of reach for some, that, a SIM card, and an occasional source of power is all one needs to compute and stay connected. For these folks, their mobile phone is their only computing device. Not because they prefer it, but because that’s what they are able to obtain.

There is no doubt in my mind that computing is going mobile. Will more traditional computers go away? While I expect my children won’t even need to own a traditional computer when they are young adults, the traditional computer will likely never go away entirely.

There is always going to be a need for bigger screens and more horsepower than you can pack into a device that lives in your pocket. Especially by people who generate large amounts of content. Will that be the norm for the average person, however? No.

See also Mister Mobility’s take on moving away from traditional computing.

Comments

• 4 February 2012, Facebook writes: [...] you're on the real Facebook web site. Also be sure to only download software from sites you trust.http://phoneboy.com/4251/living-mobile-and-the-post-pc-era?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed...ContinueGo back to [...]

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Comments

• 18 December 2011, Coldstreams.com by Edward Mitchell » Blog Archive » What if smartphones are mostly for personal pleasure and not business? writes: [...] Nokia Launching Lumia 710 on T-Mobile USA, Won’t Kickstart WP7 Sales (phoneboy.com) [...]
• 19 December 2011, Ed writes: I agree completely with so your last sentence.
• 20 December 2011, Appisaurus writes: Well, the Nokia Lumia 710 offers great connectivity capabilities, including WiFi and Bluetooth, as well as great turn-by-turn sat nav with spoken directions with Nokia Drive which is not really bad. Well see how this will turn out.

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Verizon today began blocking customers from tethering their data through jailbroken apps, following in AT&T’s footsteps as the company fights to stay on top of the U.S. wireless market.

The Basking Ridge, N.J.-based carrier now requires users have a hotspot-capable data plan if they want to tether data from their smartphones to other devices. Users who try to tether through jailbreak apps like MyWi will be redirected to a Verizon webpage where they can upgrade to a capable plan for an additional $20 a month.

Well that didn’t take long. The minute one of Ma Bell’s children does something anti-consumer like raising prices on unbundled SMS or eliminate unlimited data plans, the other is surely to follow. And AT&T wonders why people are so against their proposed merger with T-Mobile? And unlike what I said before, I’m definitely against the AT&T/T-Mobile merger now.

So let me get this straight. We can’t do unlimited data anymore. Even those who have it on a grandfathered basis on AT&T are gonna get throttled if they are in the top 5% of users. I’m waiting for Verizon to start pulling the same crap sooner or later.

And, to make matters worse, if we allow some other device to use that data via tethering, we have to pay more for the privilege? Sounds a bit like the old Ma Bell practice of charging you monthly for the privilege of having another phone jack in your house.

At least the old Ma Bell guaranteed universal service (meaning, you could get phone service anywhere). Not only can we not get service everywhere with these jokers, we pay out the nose for the privilege. Sounds like the worst of both worlds to me.

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Attacks against smartphones such as BlackBerrys, iPhones and Android phones have become quite prevalent in recent years and many of them have focused on getting malicious apps on users phones. Thats a quick and easy way to get access to user data and sensitive information. But there are a slew of other real and potential vectors that attackers have at their disposal no, as well. Going after the device firmware is one potential method, as is attacking the mobile infrastructure itself.”

If I can update your phone remotely, I own the phone at every level and I own you. Its game over,” said Don Bailey, a senior security consultant at iSEC Partners, said during the panel discussion.

While I myself have been thinking about mobile security, this is an angle I didn’t even consider. If hackers can pwn the mobile phone network itself, well, everyone’s mobile device is in danger. There’s not much you can do about it, either.

Comments

• 6 August 2011, Robmitch writes: How is this any different to the current paradigm with PC's and the Internet? I don't see that the issues are much different, just that the form factors and the areas of attack change slightly. There's an interesting commentary at http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/08/04/secret_iphone_hacking_tool/ on iphone hacking vectors, if you combine firmware update capabilities and this then there's some very evil stuff going on. But it's no different to the sort of MITM or Phishing-style attacks that we've seen on the Internet for years. Surely the same defence model can/should be used?
• 6 August 2011, PhoneBoy writes: Surely it can, but the mobile operating systems are so locked down third parties can't provide security services like they can on a PC. You also can't easily "firewall" your mobile phone with a hardware device like you can with your PCs at home. :)
• 7 August 2011, Robmitch writes: Fair point - that just means that the Mobile OS providers either have the obligation to secure their OS (Guess Apple kinda missed the boat on that one!) and the mobile network providers need to start incorporating that external "firewall" capability into their mobile networks. I think that corrupting endpoint devices is a relatively minor concern if the whole network is up for grabs - I guess the telcos have relied upon the technology to hijack or emulate a base station to be too expnsive and/or obscure up until now. Again, these are lessons that have been well learnt in the PC/Internet world, and another point where IP convergence into telephony/SCADA/infrastructure catches out historically poor security practice.
• 29 August 2011, Tomas writes: I bought my first Smartphone some weeks ago and I was thinking about security issues, too. I was looking for some good methods to secure my phone, but my search wasn´t as successfull as I was hoping. So it is and will be hard to really securing your phone.

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Then a funny thing happened to my 3GS: the battery decided to take a nosedive. My efforts to get the battery replaced made things worse instead of better. The 3GS still works, but the battery won’t last more than a few hours at best now. I have therefore had no choice but to make the switch to Android, unless I wanted to buy a new phone, which I am thinking about, but the choice is no longer as clear cut as it once was.

So, of course, now I’m looking at new handsets, both an iPhone 4 and at various Android handsets. The main problem I have is that I have very exacting standards for a handset, which are:

• Handset must be GSM (this limits me to AT&T and possibly T-Mobile)
• Handset must be unlocked (I violated this rule with the 3GS, and given the issues I’ve had with unlocking, the only way I would entertain an iPhone again is if I could buy it factory unlocked)
• Handset must be free of operator crapware (This is easy on iPhone, I would prefer a handset that only has stock Android firmware, but I’ll settle for one without operator customizations)
• Handset must be have enough “new” compared to either my iPhone 3GS and/or Nexus One to warrant purchase (e.g. difference between Nexus One and Nexus S is minimal, same for iPhone 3GS and 4).

Unfortunately, finding a handset in the US that meets all these requirements (and has a US Warranty) is proving to be difficult. The Samsung Galaxy S II looks really nice, but it’s not available in the US yet and will most likely only be available in an operator crapware-infested version unless I buy an imported one.

Setting the handset issue aside for a moment, I’d like to take a holistic look at the differences between iPhone and Android in terms of the OS and the ecosystem. As I tell people that ask me about these things, you’re not just buying a handset any longer.

The Gingerbread OS Itself

First let’s talk about some of the refinements in the OS. They seem to have removed a lot of the lagginess that I experienced in Froyo. They’ve generally made the notification bar and other things look nicer. When you scroll too far, you get this weird glowing orange effect at the edge. That’s kinda cool.

But for me, the thing that they’ve fixed is the on-screen keyboard. It’s now on-par with the iOS on-screen keyboard, but a little better because you can hold down the letters in the top row to get numbers without having to switch to the number and symbol part of the keyboard. And if you don’t like their keyboard, you can always replace it with a third party one–also a bonus.

Syncing

Being a Mac person, I’m used to the whole iTunes experience and needing that to Sync. On Android, there isn’t really a “solution” for that–especially on the Mac. Actually there is, and it’s called Missing Sync. Unlike iTunes, you can sync wirelessly–either over WiFi or Bluetooth. I can’t get WiFi to work consistently (sure that’s related to my VPN software), so I just use Bluetooth. You can also sync media (e.g. pictures, audio, and video) over USB. You have to load Missing Sync specific apps for the Calendar, but I don’t find that a huge problem.

But also, unlike iTunes, Missing Sync is far from free–$40! I have to do this this way because I am not connecting my phone to our corporate Exchange server.

With the recent addition of Google Music, the need to sync music via a USB cable goes away almost entirely. I can now stream (and store locally) music from my iTunes collection that has already been uploaded into the Google cloud. Any time I buy new tracks in iTunes on my Mac, it automatically uploads to Google’s cloud a couple minutes later.

Email and PIM

Apple’s email program is ok. On Android, I am using the Gmail app. It obviously supports more of Gmail’s feature more directly, which results in a better experience for things like deleting emails (which of course I do a lot). It also supports “undo” if I delete something accidentally. Score one for Android

Contacts and Calendar are about the same. Unfortunately, Missing Sync requires a separate calendar app to view entries synced from my Mac. On the other hand, I don’t actually use Google’s calendar, so that’s not a big deal. Something I will need to do on my Android device: join a bunch of contacts. There are some duplicates being synced to the device from different locations. I suspect it’s because there are duplicates on the computer. I will need to sort this out someday.

Twitter

I’m personally have not been happy with just about any Twitter app, with the possible exception of Gravity on my Nokia E71. On iOS, I use an app called Tweetbot, which does just about everything I want it to. The closest thing I’ve found to perfection on Android is Tweetcaster, which I have also used on iOS as well.

Facebook

The Facebook apps are very different on iOS and Android. I can see groups on iOS, I cannot on Android. I do like the photo stream that shows up in Android now. They are both a wash as far as experience goes.

Photography Apps

iPhone wins here easily. There are so many different camera apps on iOS (as well as apps that do other useful photography apps) that if you’re into that kind of thing, iOS is the way to go. Android has a few different camera/photography apps, but they are nowhere near the quality, or the level of functionality, that is available on iOS.

Games

While I am not a huge game player, every once in a while, I like to play a game. iOS definitely has more, possibly better games at least in the categories I’ve looked at. Given that there is only a few models of iOS devices versus the endless possibilities on Android, it’s much easier to make compelling games that take full advantage of the hardware.

App Stores

With Apple, you only have the one app store–the one that Apple provides. On Android, if you don’t like Google’s app store, there is always Amazon and a number of other choices, including buying from the vendor directly. This makes it more complex to restore your purchased applications if you need to wipe your device for some reason, but there is something nice about the flexibility of being able to get applications from anyone–not just ones Apple approves of selling you. Amazon’s “Free app of the day” promotion is also fantastic. Can’t tell you how many cool apps I’ve picked up that way.

Cloud Offerings

Apple’s recent announcements about iCloud are, no doubt, compelling. Document sharing between Apple devices, the iTunes Match service, among other things, would be very nice to have on an Android-type device. Google Music for Android (as is Amazon’s Cloud offering on Android) is a nice start, but it’s only for music and doesn’t give you the ability to buy music.

It’s a Push

At least for my usage, there’s enough pros and cons on both sides that I could easily be happy with either the iPhone or Android, with the right hardware of course. These days I pretty much exclusively use my Nexus One and other than the occasional game, I rarely go for my iPhone 3GS. Would an unlocked iPhone 4 change that? I’m not 100% sure of that.

That said, Apple hardware is becoming less desirable to me. The fact they have switched to MicroSIMs on the iPhone 4 is problematic since I like to use my SIM card in other phones (yes, I am aware of adapters). The current rumors say that Apple either wants to do a Software SIM or a new SIM card format that is completely different from any other SIM cards in use.

As much as I enjoy the Apple hardware, I really don’t want my phone service to be permanently tied to an iPhone, which a unique SIM card will do for better or worse. That alone may be the tipping point for me to go with Android instead.

Comments

• 13 June 2011, Ricky Cadden writes: I would highly recommend you check out an Android device with the HTC Sense UI overlay. I realize you want a vanilla experience, but this adds a few of the features that you counted as a loss with Android above. Camera - the new HTC Sense camera application completely replaces the stock Android one with a bevy of customization settings, both real (ISO and the like) and....'fake' (the stylized filters that iPhone users seem to adore). It's also endlessly more enjoyable to use, whereas I despise the stock Android camera app. HTC Sync - the newer HTC Sense devices, such as the HTC Inspire 4G, Sensation, and such all support HTC Sync, which is a desktop syncing application that will handle media, as well as contacts/calendar/etc. You can also use HTCsense.com to access certain features of the phone remotely, include a 'Find my phone' feature and one that lets you activate the ringer on loud, even if you left your phone on silent (useful for finding your phone in the couch cushions). The HTC Sense email app (for Exchange support) is also vastly improved over stock. Feel free to hit me up with any questions - I had the Nexus One and now carry a T-Mobile G2 with the Desire Z (HTC Sense) ROM on it and I absolutely LOVE it.
• 13 June 2011, PhoneBoy writes: The stock Camera app on Android is crap. I settled on Camera360, which has its own issues. Where iOS still beats Android is on panorama apps... HTC Sync doesn't do anything for my Mac, unfortunately, though I'm sure Missing Sync also works on these phones. :) I'm willing to entertain HTC devices--the Nexus One is, after all, an HTC device--but which one can I get unlocked and untouched by operator crapware? :)
• 13 June 2011, Ricky Cadden writes: Forgot you're on a Mac. Most of the latest HTC devices can be easily unlocked/rooted with minimal effort. Even if you don't slap a custom ROM on it, that gives you the option of unlocking it and removing any crapware with just a few clicks. This actually frees you up to pick more phones based on hardware. I LOVE my T-Mobile G2 - it comes with vanilla Android, but the Desire Z is the exact same hardware with Sense, so I just swapped the ROM - everything is fully supported, nothing fancy. The Virtuous ROMs strive to be as close to a shipping Sense ROM as possible.
• 13 June 2011, PhoneBoy writes: I've been debating throwing Cyanogenmod on my Nexus One, but I'm also trying to avoid playing the custom ROM game too. I don't mind rooting my device, but even that potentially presents its own issues. I also want to buy at the top end of the hardware curve to maximize the value of my investment. Especially since this stuff changes so rapidly... :)
• 14 June 2011, Ed Isaacs writes: Very interesting Daemon, I know that I too have been interested by the Android offering, and being in the USA at the moment and popped into a Verizon store - you wouldn't even know they sell iPhone - it's Droid everywhere. I am a Mac user as well, and am concerned as everything works well that I want right now. My breaking point is the Nokia factor. If you really look at the model that Droid has right now, it's Nokia all over but with a software license model as opposed to a device/HW model like Nokia - instead they have a bunch a vendors making the devices. The user experience is slightly different on each device from each vendor, and some have great battery life, some dont, some have upgrade-ability to new OS's - some dont, some crash - some dont. That reason alone is scaring me from looking at Droid as it reminds me of Nokia again. A saturated market of devices, and they are releasing them faster than Apple is, but if you talk with non-Apple people they state that they are pushing you to a new model every year. There is something to be said for HW control, and SW control - it is more stable, and more restricted. Having said that - I never feel restricted on my iPhone. My middle ground on this will be an Android tablet- It will get me into the droid world, no contract and a decent price. Until I see something massive that would make me want to switch, I'm looking at iPhone 5 from my 3GS.
• 14 June 2011, PhoneBoy writes: Valid point about Android, Ed. Other than the Nexus line of handsets done for Google, there really isn't a "standard" Android handset. The different manufacturers have their own standards on top of Android, and act differently. Like you say, it's Nokia-style fragmentation. It certainly is scary, but then again, it's selling like hotcakes--kinda like Nokias used to :) There's another area where the device fragmentation creates issues: with accessories. Apple's "one device" strategy means there's a ton of both Apple and third-party accessories that work with the iPhone. The other Android handsets don't have as many unless it happens to be a huge-selling phone. iOS has gotten good enough for most things, quite honestly. I'm sure iOS 5 will also be a huge bonus (especially in the notification department). Now that Apple sells unlocked iPhones in the US, my main problem with the iPhone is the non-standard SIM card--both now and going forward. I travel out of the country a lot. The ability to swap SIM cards matters to me quite a bit.
• 15 June 2011, Jason Costomiris writes: I spent a bit over a year with a Nexus One (on AT&T). Loved the phone, worked well, but it was little silly things over time that eventually drove me to an iPhone 4. Yes, I was rooted, and was running Cyanogenmod 7, so I did also enjoy some of the Gingerbread whizbang stuff, but in the end, the iPhone won me over. My wife got one a few months ago, and that, along with having spent a few months using my iPad pushed me over the edge. A big factor was phone speed vs battery life. I could enjoy a fast phone, or one that would last me a full day of business use (using SetCPU to manage that). Does your perspective change, now that you can buy an unlocked iPhone 4 direct from Apple? I'm hoping they'll carry that policy forward with the iPhone 4S, 5 or whatever they decide to call it. I really don't think that the unlocked SKUs will sell like wildfire, as people in the US generally don't recognize the value of an unlocked handset, but the option is great to have, IMHO.
• 15 June 2011, PhoneBoy writes: In terms of overall usability, the iPhone is going to be better, though Android is getting "close enough" for me. The fact you can now buy unlocked iPhones in the US (like you can in most every other civilized country) is a plus, but I'd rather buy at the top end of the washtub curve to maximize my financial investment. We know Apple's doing another iPhone, it's just a matter of when they will announce it. I'm also curious to see what changes they are going to make to the SIM card. Being able to easily switch SIM cards in and out is a plus, and even the current MicroSIMs in the iPhone 4 create some issues with that. This is the equation from hell. It really is.
• 15 June 2011, I’m Getting Two New Nokia Handsets « The PhoneBoy Blog writes: [...] | Recent Posts | Pages « | My Tipping Point Between iOS and Android [...]

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To be clear, I use both AT&T and T-Mobile today. My work phone is an iPhone 3GS, which is obviously AT&T. For my family, I have a series of T-Mobile prepaid SIM cards. Both serve their intended purpose nicely. There are some areas where either T-Mobile or AT&T don’t work so well. Having access to both sets of towers would be really nice.

Looking at the bigger potential anti-competitive concerns, I’m actually not convinced that it’s a bad thing. Yes, there merger, if it goes through as currently proposed, would result in 80% of the mobile phone subscribers in the US would be in the hands of two rather large companies that descended from Ma Bell: AT&T and Verizon.

From watching past acquisitions, what will likely happen is the following:

• In individual markets where the combination of T-Mobile + AT&T would constitute a substantial majority of customers, T-Mobile’s network in that market will be spun off and sold to someone else. This will likely add to the market share numbers for Sprint and smaller, regional carriers.
• People who have existing T-Mobile rate plans after the merger will be grandfathered in–assuming they make no changes to their service. I expect the very affordable T-Mobile rateplans to disappear post-merger.
• The various government agencies will likely use this opportunity to extract certain concessions out of AT&T (e.g. on net neutrality or something else) in exchange for approval on this merger.

One thing that AT&T will get out of this deal: the vast majority of roaming revenue from people traveling from overseas. This is because T-Mobile and AT&T are the only major GSM carriers in the US, and the rest of the world uses GSM.

This same dynamic played itself out in Canada recently. Rogers was the only GSM carrier up until a few years ago when Bell and Telus (both CDMA carriers) jointly built a GSM network to provide an alternative (not to mention, allow them to sell the iPhone).

Assuming this goes through, I would expect both Verizon and Sprint to accelerate their LTE plans and converge on the same global standard as AT&T, providing a variety of roaming options for foreign visitors, and to spread around the roaming revenue.

Another reason they might accelerate these plans: for people who travel outside the US often. If you do, the only rational choice is a GSM-based provider, else you will need to maintain two or more phones, or choose from a very limited selection of “global” phones from one of the other providers. When this merger goes through, the only major GSM-based provider will be AT&T (the other is T-Mobile).

Where I expect to lose out, aside from a lack of choice in GSM providers, is T-Mobile’s great prepaid service. It is by far the best deal of the major operators. I like that after $100 in renewals, all future minute purchases expire in a year! This works great for my kids mobile phones, which do not get that much usage in a month, much less a year! Also, I expect T-Mobile’s “Pay As You Go data Web DayPass”–a very affordable $1.49 per 24 hours–to be discontinued.

Will this merger be ultimately good? It has good and bad points, so for me, the jury is still out. Will it go through? No question that it will, as much as people–and the competition–may not want it to. It will be another year or so before it does, though. Meanwhile, all I can do is sit back and watch the rhetoric fly back and forth.

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• Where are the unlocked GSM phones?
• Marrying Your Parent

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There are some obvious limitations with this: namely T-Mobile’s coverage, lack of compatible 3G on frequencies that my AT&T iPhone can use, and, well, being jailbroken. Considering how little in practice I actually need data outside of the range of WiFi, the pricing–$1.49 per 24 hour period–makes it a limitation I can deal with.

Jailbreaking and Unlocking your iPhone is a bit outside of the scope of what I’m writing, but you can look at a somewhat dated (but still relevant) guide from The iPhone Blog Forums.

After unlocking, you’re going to want to turn off 3G since the iPhone is not compatible with T-Mobile’s 3G. This can be done in Settings > General > Network. Also here is the Cellular Data Network settings, which you will need to set as follows (note if I don’t list the field here, assume it is blank):

Cellular Data:

• APN: wap.voicestream.com

MMS:

• APN: wap.voicestream.com
• MMSC: http://mms.msg.eng.t-mobile.com/mms/wapenc
• MMS Proxy: 216.155.165.50:8080
• MMS Max Message Size: 1048576
• MMS UA Prof URL: http://www.apple.com/mms/uaprof.rdf

There’s one other thing you are going to want to download in Cydia in order for MMS to work correctly. Type Manage > Sources > Edit, then Add. The APT URL you want to add is http://cydia.pushfix.info. Then click on Search and look for T-Mobile US MMS Fix. Download and install this, which will reboot your phone.

After this, MMS sending and receiving should work. To use EDGE data service, you will need to fire up a web browser and ensure you are not on WiFi. Any web site should redirect you to a page telling you do not have data. You should be able to click through and order a daypass, which gives you 24 hours of data access.

I tried a number of applications: maps, email, Twitter, Boxcar, and of course a web browser. They all worked well, albeit slowly on EDGE. I confirmed I could send and receive MMS between an AT&T and T-Mobile SIM also.

There’s some verbiage in the terms and conditions about being throttled if you use more than 30MB of data in a 24 hour period. The reality in this case is, it’s EDGE. It’s already pretty slow.

Comments

• 29 March 2011, tom writes: at least in my experience EDGE never gets throttled. using a daypass on a phone such as the HSPA+ mytouch 4G will result in a major slowdown after 30MB of data, but turning off 3G/4G and using EDGE instead brings a significant speed boost. users of daypass in USB data dongles have also noticed this.
• 29 March 2011, PhoneBoy writes: Since none of my phones use T-Mobile's 4G network, I will always be using EDGE. I figured they can't throttle EDGE too much since the top speed is already pretty low anyway.
• 11 April 2011, Internet móvel pré-paga por apenas USD 1.49/ dia nos EUA writes: [...] através do site. Infelizmente, assim como acontece na AT&T, se você usar iPhone terá que alterar as configurações do APN, caso contrário, não irá funcionar. Outra coisa chata é que só vai rolar EDGE (nada de 3G), [...]

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• iPhone In The House

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The Federal Communications Commission said Thursday it has reached a record $25 million settlement with Verizon Wireless for wrongly charging subscribers “mystery” Internet fees over the past several years.

The payment will go to the U.S. Treasury and is the largest settlement in FCC history. The settlement also ends the FCC’s ten-month investigation into overcharges at Verizon Wireless, the agency said in a press release.

With the action, Verizon Wireless’s total costs associated with false data fees reached $77.8 million, one of the largest payouts for false business practices in the communications services industry. Verizon said earlier this month it would refund about 15 million subscribers $52.8 million for those unwanted data charges. Verizon partly attributed the problem to a software glitch in phones.

Of course, if they were doing this right, the customers would get refunded for all overcharges–with interest. Instead, 15 million customers are getting somewhere between $2 and $6 each. The only people who win: the government and the lawyers involved with this settlement.

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Revolutionary, democratic, unprejudicial—Verizon’s [Rule the Air] campaign comes as Americans debate whether the wireless broadband airwaves really represent any of these wonderful things. Who will really rule the air, consumer advocates wonder, smart phone users or the wireless carriers? Two mobile providers dominate the broadband airwaves and, thanks to a recent federal court decision, they enjoy unchecked power to limit or prioritize data, content, and features at their pleasure.

But this isn’t the first time a big carrier tried a charm offensive of this sort. A century ago, the insurgent phone company of the time—American Telephone and Telegraph—also found itself swimming in a sea of public worry. Consumers and independent providers feared (rightly as it turned out) that the corporation would prevail in its ultimate goal, the acquisition of almost all of the nation’s phone lines.

I’m a sucker for all things old Bell System. That said, this article deconstructs Ma Bell’s PR efforts in the early part of the 20th Century to make it seem less like an evil monopoly and more of a public, necessary good. They were rather successful, too, since they successfully kept the public opinion and regulators at bay for many decades until the historic breakup of the Bell System in 1984.

There are some rather interesting parallels here between what Ma Bell did and the Verizon and AT&T (descendants of Ma Bell) are doing now. Worth reading so you’ll know what to expect, since I suspect the fruit will not fall too far from the tree.

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If the conventional wisdom is that AT&T wireless blows, why is it beating Verizon Wireless — supposedly the best carrier of them all — in subscriber growth every quarter?

I have some theories. So do a lot of people who commented on the above article.

The iPhone does play a role here, for sure, but it’s part of a larger picture: AT&T has more phones to choose from than Verizon. Even if you don’t like the iPhone, you’re more likely to find something on AT&T that you’ll like than on Verizon. Better yet, because AT&T employs GSM technology, if you don’t like any of the phones AT&T sells, you can buy a compatible device from somewhere else and use it on AT&T.

The second thing is coverage. While most of the tech press are centered around two major areas where AT&T acknowledges issues with their service (namely, Silicon Valley and New York City), not everyone is. I experience pretty good AT&T service in Seattle, for instance and in many other places I have traveled. I’m sure that Verizon has better coverage in some areas just as AT&T has better coverage in others.

The third: pricing. Both AT&T and Verizon are priced on the higher end of the scale, but Verizon’s prices are somewhat higher.

At the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter who’s bigger. People just want service that work. Whether that’s AT&T, Verizon, or another carrier, it really doesn’t matter. The subscriber growth numbers do speak for themselves, though.

Comments

• 27 October 2010, ARS: Who “ruled the air” in 1910? (and who rules it now?) « Center for Innovation News Study writes: [...] Why is AT&T Adding More Subscribers than Verizon? (phoneboy.com) [...]

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• Cingular Wants Mobile Ads. So What?

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The operators (at least ones in North America) like to sell things in buckets. A certain number of text messages. A certain number of voice minutes. Mere mortal understand these things and can make rational decisions about how many of each they want.

Data is different. It used to be that most of the US operators sold it “unlimited” (or at least unmetered). Now they are making it more like the voice and text messages: a certain amount of megabytes (or gigabytes).

Many people likely to read this blog post have a vague idea of what a megabyte or gigabyte represents. The unwashed masses, however, have no clue what any of this means, nor do they want to. They just want to do their thing.

AT&T, to their credit, has a Data Calculator on their web site that will allow you to estimate how much data you need to purchase, given various activities on your mobile phone.

It’s still way too complex. To me, the correct answer is simple: tier it the way cable operators do. By the amount of speed you’re supposed to get. That’s not a perfect way, either, especially given how some complain about not getting their top speed. I’m sure there will be a lot more of those kind of complaints on mobile broadband.

It is, however, something non-technical people can wrap their head around and operators can easily differentiate. Without complicated “calculators.” Until data plans are based on something people can actually understand, the value is clearly understood, and the prices are more reasonable, people aren’t going to buy.

Comments

• 24 October 2010, tom writes: i agree completely that tiers based on speed not consumption is the only answer acceptable to consumers. but would it do anything to actually reduce total usage? or would users just wait longer but download just as much? the bigger issue is that the network are not built the way they need to be. i read a lot about offloading users to wifi being the answer. but wifi is not any more efficient than tiny mircocells, picocells or whatever the latest tiny cell tower is called. also increasingly wifi hotspots will be MIFIs or tethering connections that loop right back to the cell network. what is needed is for the telephone(and CATV) junction boxes on the street(and even inside large buildings) to be converted into small area cell towers and/or subscription WIFI.) that is the only answer that will bring the capacity needed to make all internet connections wireless, which at the end of the day is what most consumers are expecting and want.
• 25 October 2010, PhoneBoy writes: It will at least spread out the data usage. I would also be for putting in a micro cell in my house--if I didn't have to pay extra for the privilege!
• 26 October 2010, tom writes: i want the mirco cell not in my house but right outside my house where the PSTN junction box is. i want it paid for and maintained by the phone company. normally i am not for merging already big companies. but perhaps unifying the land line and cellular parts of companies like AT&T and Verizon is what would be needed to make this sort of thing happen.
• 26 October 2010, PhoneBoy writes: That would only work where the phone company and the wireless company are the same. My home phone is provided by CenturyLink, which does not have a wireless operator. What about people who have AT&T phone service and want to use Verizon wireless?
• 26 October 2010, tom writes: the fact is that wired landlines are rapidly disappearing and people want fast wireless everywhere. its time for a sort of merging where the landline infrastructure is used to power small but high capacity wireless base stations. the technology (WIFI or 3G/4G) is not the important thing. what i see us eventually moving too is a single wireless provider for everything. for the example you mention Verizon needs to deploy enough small base stations that the need for AT&T disappears. i differ from the point of view that wireless can never completely replace wired for internet. but the only way to do it is with tiny base stations all over the place.
• 26 October 2010, PhoneBoy writes: I just hope the tech to provide fast wireless broadband catches up with what is possible with landlines. I suppose with lots of small access points that becomes feasible, but the networking necessary to accomplish that at, say, 60mph, is pretty hairy :)
• 27 October 2010, tom writes: one thing i am watching closely is what the cable companies are doing in places like new york. they are starting top deploy WIFI on a broad scale. but what i want to see eventually is a single unified network that has the capacity of small sites but also the wide area coverage that require the current type of cell tower.
• 27 October 2010, PhoneBoy writes: The white spaces initiative will be interesting to watch. Wonder what sort of cool technologies people invent that provide both wide coverage and high bandwidth.
• 27 October 2010, tom writes: the dilemma with white spaces is that we have lots of unused spectrum where there are few people, and limited available spectrum where people live in major cities. but any additional unlicensed spectrum is always a good thing.

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T-Mobile

On their “Pay As You Go” prepaid plan, you have a couple of options: a Web day pass for $1.49/day, or the ability to buy a 100MB, 300MB, or 1GB chunk of data for $10, $30, and $50 respectively (good for 10, 30, and 30 days respectively). Depending on what they restrict you to, the web day pass might be the most cost-effective option. You can also get prepaid monthly voice plans that include data–also a bonus.

You can also buy a USB broadband device and use the data service on a prepaid basis.

Sprint

Sprint offers prepaid service under both the Virgin Mobile USA and Boost Mobile brand. Virgin Mobile USA includes “unlimited web” in their $25/mo rate plan, which also includes unlimited text and 300 minutes of voice. When you pair this with the Samsung Intercept they sell, this actually becomes a rather compelling offering. Or if you want to use a Blackberry device, add $10/mo.

If you don’t want to be tied to a handset $40/mo will get you unlimited data using a USB Broadband or Mifi device.

Boost Mobile has less compelling devices. They have monthly plans that include unlimited web. On the Pay-as-you-go variety, they offer unlimited web for $0.35/day. Of course, would you want to use the web on one of those phones?

AT&T

AT&T has loosened up somewhat with the prepaid data, but not too much. You can get a $75/mo unlimited prepaid voice/text plan that comes with 200MB of data. For their Pay as you Go plan (what they now call their Simple Rate Plan), you can get 100 MB of data for $19.99 (per 30 days).

For data cards, you can either get 200MB of data for $35 or 5GB of data for $60. Both are good for 30 days.

Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless is the stingiest of the operators when it comes to prepaid data. On their prepaid monthly plans–which are far more pricey than the competition–you can add data for $30/mo. The pay-as-you-go plans don’t offer data that I can see.

For data cards, you can get anywhere from 100 MB for $10 (good for 1 day) to 5GB for $80 (good for 30 days). Definitely the worst deal of the four major carriers.

Conclusions

It’s nice to see that the mobile operators are coming down on their prepaid data prices. That said, they are still too expensive compared to some other countries. Hopefully the “vibrant competition” the CTIA says our market has will continue to push the prices downward.

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• Is Prepaid Mobile The Way To Go?

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“We are Apples largest customer in Australia, yet with Apple we are still working through some areas in how to work,” [Telsra chief executive David] Thodey told a lunch held by the Australia-Israel Business Council last week.

via Cracks form in Telstra-Apple relationship – Business – News.

Having spent 10 years observing the mobile phone market from inside Nokia, I know that manufacturers basically have two types of customers:

• The end users who buy the handsets
• The operator customers who buy the handsets and resell them through the operator channel.

In most countries, the operator represents a larger percentage of overall sales than the individual customers who purchase a given device “unlocked, unbranded.” In North America, roughly 90% of the handsets are sold through an operator channel.

When faced with those kinds of economics, it’s no wonder that most phones sold through operator channels are “different” from the generic variants sold outside of the operator channels. It also explains why the handset makers are content to ruin perfectly good handsets by loading operator crapware on them. They are only satisfying their customers.

So far, Apple has been the only handset maker to have the sack to stand up to the operators and tell them “no.” That said, they have to make some concessions, as they do have to be able to sell in the operator channel–a necessary evil. However, they will not compromise on the overall user experience of the device for an operator.

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In OTIs study, we researched cell phone voice, text and data services for prepaid, regular postpaid, and unlimited postpaid plans provided by prominent cell phone carriers in 11 countries. We consider unbundled services using rates available to individual consumers.[1]  To provide a more direct comparison, our study indicates the price in US Dollar USD[2] per minute, per text, and per megabyte at a unit level and minimum total cost of individual cell phone package.

via An International Comparison of Cell Phone Plans and Prices | NewAmerica.net.

The results should not be a shock: Americans (generally) pay more than everyone else–except Canadians, who pay more. While in general, it’s difficult to do an apples-to-apples comparison because of all the “free” minutes one might get for various reasons, I think the most telling is the comparison among 11 different countries for the minimum cost for a complete mobile phone package (which includes voice, text, and data service):

In Canada and U.S., consumers have the highest minimum monthly charge for a complete postpaid cell phone service at $67.50 and $59.99 respectively. Other countries that follow a similar cost structure at lower rates are U.K. at $32.40, Denmark at $39.00, and Finland at $40.10. These costs are based on plans where consumers are charged for a preset amount of voice minutes, texts, and/or data amount irrespective of the minimum amount of service they use. Consumers do have the option of choosing higher preset limits if their usage volume is higher. After going above the preset threshold, consumers are charged by high per usage rates.

I fully expect the CTIA to make an attempt to debunk this study and say something along the lines of “the US market is competitive and provides a great value.” I’ll believe them when the overall bills aren’t among the highest in the world for, in some cases, substandard service.

Comments

• 17 October 2010, tom writes: on the topic of these 'preset bundles' one of the thing i have noticed recently on the data side is that carriers are offer smaller cheaper bundles but not the other way around. there is nothing available over 5GB. there are a lot of people out there that would find it attractive to move from wired to wireless internet and many of these people are willing to pay a bit more for the luxury. but until we get plans that are in the 10GB to 15GB range this is just not possible at any price for all except the lightest users.
• 18 October 2010, PhoneBoy writes: I don't like the data bundles. I think 5GB is too small just for mobile use, forget "home" use.

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I congratulate you on assuming leadership of one of the great mobile and wireless companies in the world.  Surely, something intrigued you enough to leave the safe mother ship of Microsoft to take on the challenge to ‘re-make’ Nokia.

You certainly have a great base in which to start.  You’re selling over one million cell phones a day. That’s still better than any other mobile handset manufacturer in the world. You’ve got many excellent people – some of the most professional I’ve met in the industry. And, Nokia is one of the most recognized and respected brands in the entire world.

But all is not well with Nokia as you walk in the door. While the volume of cell phone production is very high, it’s clearly not the right mix of models, software and services.  And, while you have been a leader in phone development for many years and were one of the first firms to develop an full-featured multimedia SmartPhone with the N95 in 2006, you have clearly fallen behind in the fast-growing SmartPhone segment, especially in the U.S.  Integrated multimedia SmartPhones are becoming the dominate handset device type in the developed world, and Nokia needs to get back to creating truly great and innovative products.

I appreciate the spirit in which this is offered, but I am mixed on the suggestions. The software does need a rethink, but not just the handset software, but all the software the phone might interact with. They do need a simple iTunes-like experience for all their devices (with less lockin than Apple, of course). Fewer handsets with differentiated software–totally onboard with that.

Moving Nokia to the US? Dumb idea. They are a Finnish company. It would be about as smart as moving Apple’s headquarters to China. Rethinking the hardware design? It’s distinctive and generally very well done.

Nokia needs to work more closely with all the US carriers. They also need to make high-end CDMA handsets, which they have never done in the US.

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