AT&T

Looks like the world is still waiting for an iPhone killer (so far the only successful iPhone Killer has been the smackdown the iPhone 3G put on the original iPhone). The phone everyone suspected might be an iPhone killer, the Blackberry Storm, seems to have been little more than a poorly done experiment by RIM. Let’s check the reviews:

PC World:
BlackBerry’s Storm: Awkward and Disappointing

But people who were hoping for a credible iPhone alternative fortified with BlackBerry’s strengths as a mobile tool for corporate travelers will likely find the Storm a disappointment. When it comes to touch interfaces, Apple still has no peer.

Engadget
BlackBerry Storm review (Hmm, someone needs to head over the Engadget and help them with creative titles)

The only hitch in this plan is a major one: it’s not as easy, enjoyable, or consistent to use as the iPhone, and the one place where everyone is sure they have an upper hand—that wow-inducing clickable screen—just isn’t all that great. For casual users, the learning curve and complexity of this phone will feel… more...

In case you haven’t heard (and you might not of, this is a new Blackberry not a new iPhone) the Blackberry Storm is coming out this week on November 21st. You’re going to be hearing a lot about the new Storm and how it compares to the iPhone. There will be useful lists which discuss each and every little difference in the spec sheets that will try and make it seem as though people are choosing between the iPhone and Bold as though they were trying to pick stocks. This stock has a trailing PE ration of.....

Don’t believe it for a second. The differences between an iPhone and a Bold, for the vast majority of consumers, comes down to the network. Or more precisely, the decision comes down to “I am friggin stuck at Verizon, what phone do they have that is most like the iPhone?” I come to this conclusion by a simple study: On the refrigerator there is a bit of direct mail announcing the Bold and the get in on date. I’ve got an iPhone so I don’t need the reminder. The wife is tied to Verizon but… more...

If you look through the specs of the HTC Fuze you’ll see a lot of overlap with the iPhone. Touch screen, tri band communications, decent looks. The Fuze has some features the iPhone lacks: slide out keyboard, ability to edit Microsoft documents 3.2 megapixel camera and a few others. The iPhone one spec sheet advantage: $100 cheaper (and with the Fuze you have to use a coupon). Fro the spec sheets it seems like it would be a fair battle between the two cell phones with a 50/50 split between AT&T users (like the iPhone the Fuze is AT&T only). But it won’t be a fair fight and you cna already tell that the Fuze is going nowhere.

How can you tell?
First: The hype.
You haven’t heard anyone clamoring for the Fuze and the only people that seem mildly excited by the thing are those that generate press releases.

Second: it runs Windows Mobile
Ah, the achilles heal of the Fuze. Windows Mobile is being rejected for both OS X Mobile and the RIMM OS. and both of those are dominated by Symbian… more...

When you sign up for an iPhone you are forced to sign up for some stuff you might not want. For example if you want an iPhone the minimum number of minutes you can get is 450 anytime minutes and 900 night and weekend minutes. That’s 1350 minutes per month (they roll over) which for some isn’t nearly enough but for the geekish among us is about 1300 minutes more than we need. But the excessive phone minutes come with the territory right? If you want max value, geeks, make some friends dammit!

Take it from the opposite perspective for a moment. If you want an iPhone just for calling you are forced to buy the unlimited data plan. That plan will set you back $30 per month. Which would be galling if all you wanted to do was talk on the phone instead of using the internet. Do these people exist? I don’t know but there is no prohibition on vapidity.

Two things are established: You’ve got to pay for calling minutes even if you don’t use them and you’ve got to pay for unlimited data if you don’t… more...

MacDailyNews loves (or loved) to post titles like “Blood on the Clickwheel, Sony to stop making the Hello Kitty MP3 Player” The idea was that every time someone came out with an iPod killer that failed to gain traction (which is every iPod killer but the iPhone) there was bit of corporate blood on the clickwheel once the iPod had (predictably) killed the competition. It was funny ha, ha for several reasons. First when the iPod killers came out they’d always come out with a lot of hubris and computer pundits everywhere would wonder if the iPod killer had finally shown up. When the products were finally withdrawn the reminder for MAcDailynews were half celebration, half I told you so.

The iPhone might be getting a little bit of corporate blood on the touchscrfeen right now. Sprint lost 1.1 million subscribers in the last quarter while AT&T raked in new subscribers. Of course the whole loss can’t be attributed to the iPhone, subscriber losses started in the spring of 2007 before the iPhone came out but while more...

Harry McCracken (super cool name) reporting for Technologizer:

Here’s a bit of cheery news from the Web 2.0 Summit: AT&T Mobility President and CEO Ralph De La Vega just told interviewer Michael Arrington that the company is working with Apple to let the iPhone serve as a tethered wireless modem for laptops soon. And he says it’ll be available “soon.”

That’s great news but first some bad news to go with it, Harry also guesses that it will cost another $50 to $60 per month. Ugh, I’d love to tether my laptop to the iPhone(hey, flash games ahoy) but I already have unlimited data so why would I pay more? Oh, because tethering your iPhone is a violation of the Terms of Service? But it says unlimited data… Yeah, yeah it is only unlimited when its convenient to AT&T. Of course you jailbroken iPhone folks can already tether your iPhone to your laptop. SO have a good time with that.Everyone else will just have to wait to see how much AT&T will gouge us for charge for the service.

via: MacDailyNews

The Blackberry Bold is finally here. And in the US you can only get it at AT&T. The specs match up with the iPhone fairly well with the notable exception of the price: The Bold will set you back an extra benjamin with a coupon. Without the coupon (onine only) the bold retails for $399. Memo to RIM, the new price to match is $199 expensive phones are too 2007ish.

Great, with that out of the way it is time to take a look at what other folks are saying about the long awaited Blackberry. First stop: 13 Good Reasons to Dump Your iPhone for BlackBerry Bold Read the whole thing for all thirteen points but here is the conclusion:

Sorry Mr. Jobs, please don’t revoke my Mac Club Card, but the iPod touch with a mediocre phone = an iPhone that just isn’t eve close to the functionality of the Blackberry Bold. If you want a business communications handset with excellent multimedia internet capability, GPS, WiFi and a 2MP video camera, get a BlackBerry Bold.

Interesting.… more...

When you think about a Blackberry you think business and you think ubiquity. Well, for now, you also think small screen size and physical keys but that will be addressed with the Storm. On the bright side, you can get a Blackberry with any carrier. Compare this to the iPhone and you realize that, well, you can only get the iPhone at AT&T. That means, obviously, that anyone who wants something close to the iPhone without signing on with AT&T until last Wednesday when the G1 went on sale could really only opt for a Blackberry. Sure, there were other options but in most people’s mind there was only two choices: iPhone and AT&T or a Blackberry and your carrier of choice.

The interesting thing here is that Blackberry makes some really nice phones. Phones that come to AT&T first. This is what you could call an executive mistake. If you’re a football fan it goes as follows:

Why don’t the newest, the most interesting Blackberrys show up at AT&T first? Maybe some convoluted corporate agreement. Or perhaps it… more...

You know those iPhone types: Eating sushi, drinking high grade port, lighting fine cigars with hundred dollar bills in their billiards room during a game of snooker, maybe they even have a monocle. Wait, that is completely over the top, the only person who actually behaves like that is Hadley Stern. The more accurate stereotype is a geek with disposable cash. But stereotypes never capture the full picture and the iPhone is gaining popularity with those who want to save money!

Can that be right? According to this Wired article it turns out that lower income groups are the fastest growing iPhone market segment. The idea is that while the iPhone seems expensive it isn’t if you use the iPhone to replace your internet service, landline and TV. To get the most out of it you’ll have to jailbreak the thing but, as these folks are pointing out, the future is clear: someday you’ll only pay for one data stream and trust it to deliver all you digitizable wants. 

Good news everyone! If you own an iPhone you now get free access at AT&T Wi Fi Hotspots. This is insanely great not so much because of the speed boost (well, if you have a an edge based iPhone it is) but because the old behavior was to automatically switch you to the Wi Fi network and prompt you for your password. Man, I hated that! The hot spots include all Starbucks and, if you live in Knoxville TN, the Tropical Smoothie place by the mall. Actually there are a lot more places but you get the idea.

At this point you’re thinking of that AT&T is being benevolent by letting you use the company’s Wi Fi hot spots for free. Heh, it is too laugh. Here’s how the back room calculation actually worked (I bet):

Exec: 3G data costs us X, Wi Fi hot spot data costs us Y. Z percentage of iPhone users actually pay for Wi Fi access. Get accounting in here!
Accounting: Yessir!
Exec: Should we give free Wi Fi access to iPhone owners?
Accounting: X-Y-Z=some positive number.
Exec:… more...