Too Many Customers, Too Little Capacity

The problem with “rationing” OTA bandwidth is of course, pissing off a lot of customers, who pay monthly for data plans, with the expectation that their mobile internet experience will be seamless and responsive. Most probably AT&T problem isn’t unique, simply because operators throughout the world have a nasty habit of promising what they can’t deliver.

Like any other resource, OTA connectivity is limited. Stress the network with enough people, and you’ll have dropped connections, slow data transfers, and other common symptoms that have frustrated many data users. That’s because operators are under constant pressure to increase the number of subscribers, to show shareholders that they’re taking steps to grow the business. The problem is that, while snazzy marketing campaigns quickly add converts to an operator’s customer base, the same isn’t true for increasing capacity and infrastructure capability.

What’s Your Budget for Reliable Mobile Connectivity?

Thus my question: how much would you pay for reliable OTA bandwidth? How much are you willing to spend on a regular basis in return for mobile online access featuring reliability and speeds that truly rival wired services? Two times as much? Three times as much? The answer to that question is of course, subjective, but I’ve got no problems sharing my personal willingness to pay four times as much as current rates. In return however, I expect virtually no downtime, and a promise to refund for connection failures, prorated to the length of the downtime.

There are problems with my proposal: operators can simply claim users weren’t within an area with good network coverage (a traditional excuse they use to explain away network failures). And of course, you have shareholder pressure to boost the numbers.

But I still think it’s a good foundation for reforming the market, and something has to change. Operators should stop luring in customers with relatively low-priced data plans, then leave them hanging with poor service even before the ink on that two-year lock-in has dried. There a sound business reasons driving this approach, but it’s hardly a sustainable model.

Post from: The Gadget Blog

The fourth-generation iPod nano brings Apple’s smaller portable player back to its form factor roots, albeit through a smaller and more feature-laden package. To wit:

The newest iPod nano is oh so slightly thinner than its predecessor, and the displays of both the 3G and 4G variants are actually the same, in terms of size and max brightness. Check out the pics and see for yourself (click on the thumbnails on top to see the bigger versions, and continue reading to see the rest of our gallery.

No idea on why Apple bumped the max video playback time to 3 hours though.

Post from: The Gadget Blog

I’m currently in Singapore for Nokia Connection 2008, basically their own “lock out” version of CommunicAsia. I’ve written up a few posts about this on Cellphone9 and would like to recap everything that has happened form day one to the middle of day 2.

Highlights would include the launch of the new Nokia E71 and E66 enterprise phones and a more solid Ovi platform. There are also hints of Nokia going into the mobile advertising business.

The Nokia Connection 2008 Launch Party: A closer look at N-Gage, new phone launches and testament to the Ovi commitment.

Nokia E66 and E71 Details: Essentially the same phone with two different ways of input, both phones come with the revamped OS, better options for enterprise solutions and push mail and security encryption. Here’s a detailed look on the E71.

Nokia Interactive Advertising: Nokia is entering the mobile advertising space with contextual ads on the mobile platform. They’re going up against the big Google when it comes to mobile ads but methinks their strategy is a simpler solutions provider. Not a lot of details was released as to how they’re going to go about it. Mostly case studies were presented of other online campaigns. But Nokia really hints that they’re going into this space because of the higher CTR and segmented penetration. Well, let’s wait and see.

Share on Ovi: Is Ovi going to be the Flickr killer? Seems like it. You can upload video, photos and audio for free. You can embed photos on blogs. You can create channels. There is a stronger social networking aspect and a more robust mobile upload platform. Seems to me, yes. It might just kill Flickr, even for the mere fact that it is free

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This tasty round of nuggets tells us that the iPhone will include the ability to GeoTag photos (which means it will have GPS), users can toggle the 3G radio on and off, and I have some predictions on exactly when the iPhone will be available.

Continue reading my gadget loving friends as I have compiled a nice round-up of some recent wireless 3G and Apple iPhone 2.0 news that’s been circulating around the blogosphere.

GPS: According to Engadget, screen shots of the iPhone 2.0 beta software shows a “location services” feature. The two different screen grabs seen show GPS ability paired with the iPhone’s Google Maps application, as well as the ability to “set location” in the camera application.

These features are widely available on many other phones with GPS, including the N95 from Nokia.

However learning with somewhat more certainty that the next version of the Apple iPhone will have GPS is encouraging. I particularly like to be able GeoTag photos when traveling.

3G Switch: Another screen shot (some think it was faked, others disagree) that has been found in the iPhone 2.0 beta offers users the ability to switch the 3G radio on and off.

This is a vital feature. Why? Battery life. Having an active 3G connection drains cell phone batteries much faster than when they are in EDGE-only areas.

For example with my Nokia N95 battery will last two days in EDGE coverage ares, but if I travel into a 3G region, the battery becomes drained in just one day.

Since 3G has such an impact on battery life, this is a nice convenience feature to have and can help prevent people from being stranded with a dead phone.

Availability: Earlier this week, it was widely reported that the iPhone will be announced on June 9 and will be available “immediately”.

I’m thinking that the Apple iPhone will 99.9%, without-a-doubt be announced during Steve Jobs’ WWDC keynote speech on June 9 and the 3G iPhone 2.0 will be available for sale in stores on June 18.

Only time will tell… but I would love to know your thoughts on it.

I wonder if we should start placing bets on the release of the 3G… hehe… what do you think?

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