4 posts tagged “iphone”
Leading this morning's tech news and rumor mongering is word that at 10:30 EST Verizon Wireless will announce that it's opening its network and allowing any compatible device and any compatible application to run on it.
It should mean that consumers can choose the phone they want and not be locked into a contract that ties the phone and service together. In the face of Google's open source push for its so-called Android software to run on phones next year and calls by handset makers (okay, they've always screamed about the problem) to open up standards so that new features could be offered to consumers, perhaps Verizon has finally seen the light.
Wall Street analysts will doubtless fail to notice, however, that the technology behind Verizon Wireless is inherently less open than that used by AT&T, uh, Cingular (for example, I regularly swap phones between the T-Mobile and AT&T networks simply by switching out SIM cards, something that is not possible with Verizon). So how much good this will do Verizon in the long run remains to be seen.
Maybe now they are finally regretting their decision to turn down the iPhone.
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Apparently not content with their carefully planned marketing and seeding of the iPhone hype machine, the heads of both Apple and AT&T have been doing something they hate doing: talking to reporters and making excuses.
The issue that so concerns Apple's Steve Jobs and AT&T's Randall Stephenson is the somewhat deceptive nature of Apple's TV ad campaign. It shows an iPhone quickly switching between Web pages, something that is not possible on the phone...unless it is connected to a stationary Wi-Fi network with its own high-speed Internet connection.
At issue is the fact that the iPhone can only use AT&T's slower EDGE data network and not its much faster HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) network. The carrier has been touting the HSDPA network like mad, but to defend the iPhone, AT&T is suddenly bending over backwards to dismiss its own faster network saying that the new high-speed access isn't available in many markets.
The execs have also offered other strange excuses that smack of TP. To wit, Jobs says that putting HSDPA support into the phone created a power drain. However, it is well known that Wi-Fi is a major power drain in mobile devices, and the iPhone supports Wi-Fi.
So what is the real reason for the iPhone's slow Internet access? The truth may be much simpler. A representative for a global cell phone maker recently was showing me their new product line when I asked if the phones would support HSDPA. The answer was, no. According the spokesperon, all of the phone makers have been having a difficult time making their phones work with AT&T's implementation of HSDPA. So given the tight time frame for the iPhone launch, the truth may simply be that Apple couldn't get the higher speed data access working in time.
Now doesn't that sound more likely? (And it didn't hurt a bit.)
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13. It uses a non-standard headphone jack, so you can't use better headphones or earbuds without buying an expensive adapter.
14. It doesn't have voice dialing or voice recognition.
15. It doesn't support wireless Bluetooth stereo, so you can't use wireless stereo headphones with it.
16. You can't shoot video with the phone's camera.
17. It does not have a GPS receiver for important location information.
18. Owners cannot remove the battery, so if there's trouble, you'll have to send your phone in for service.
19. It does not use a SIM card, so owners are forever tied to AT&T--even after the two-year contract expires.
20. No instant messaging.
Can't remember the other reasons not to buy an iPhone? Revisit the Web page at J-Q.com and reasons 11 and 12.
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To add to our Top 10 Reasons Not to Line Up for iPhone, here are a couple more:
11. It will not play Flash files, the de facto standard for animations on the Web. (So much for that full Internet experience Apple keeps claiming it has.)
12. The sun. No matter how bright the iPhone screen is, it can't overcome the power of sunlight to create glare and wash out colors. So expect to see iPhone owners scurrying for the shade every time they want to place a call.
If you really want a slick, touch-screen phone, why not consider the original iPhone: the Prada by LG. It is smaller than the long iPhone, doesn't lock you into iTunes (just plug the Prada into a USB port and download any music you like), and it doesn't lock you into a two-year contract with Cingular, er, AT&T. The Prada is an unlocked phone, so it will work on T-Mobile or AT&T.
Of course, the Prada is wicked expensive, too. But is $750 really too much to ask to be cool?
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