Category: Coffee Talk

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the brilliant mic work by Shawn Michaels, Triple, and The Undertaker on last night’s Raw, Jose Canseco’s evil twin, or Barry Bonds’ ex-girlfriend’s entertaining testimony, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Since 2008, Apple has announced a new iPhone model at its annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC). It looks like that will not be the case this year. The Loop — one of the most reliable sources of leaked Apple info — has reported that WWDC 2011 will be software only. Taking the rumor a step further, TechCrunch’s sources told it that the next iPhone (iPhone 5? iPhone 4G?) will be announced in September for a Fall 2011 release. If the second rumor is true then this could mark an interesting shift in Apple’s consumer electronics strategy.

Traditionally, Apple’s September events have focused on the iPod. With the crazy success of the iPhone and iPad, the iPod has become less important. Some have argued that it makes more sense to release the next iPhone later in the year in order to make it one of the most desirable holiday gifts around. The counter-argument is that Apple already has a hard time meeting demand for iPhones when they’re released in the summer; compounding the release of a hot new product with the holiday rush would be a recipe for disaster.

Does Apple even need a new iPhone this summer? The iPhone 4 (on AT&T and Verizon) is still selling at a brisk rate. Additionally, pushing the release to later this year would give Apple a chance to implement a next-gen LTE radio that’s more battery efficient while allowing the next iPhone to take advantage of the outstanding speeds offered by Verizon LTE. The counter-argument is that over the next few months there will be several Google Android phones with 4G speeds, dual-core processors, qHD screens, and more. Some say Apple has the luxury of time. Others don’t.

How do you think things will shake out? Will the iPhone be announced at a later date this summer? Or will it be announced in September? Should Apple continue to launch iPhones in the June/July? Or will it make more bank kicking things off in September/October? Kindly vote in the poll and share your thoughts!

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Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, David Ortiz thinking he’s still relevant, hiring Austin Aries as your personal bodyguard, or Charlie Sheen’s comedy tour, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile USA for $39-billion is an enormous move that will change the landscape of the American mobile market. Longterm, it means less choice for consumers and less competition in an already tight market. That said, there are several facets to this deal that make is so fascinating. Let’s take a look.

I Love This Deal For AT&T
This is a brilliant move for AT&T on so many levels. Immediately it can claim to be America’s number-one network over Verizon by a large margin. Combining AT&T and T-Mobile USA subscribers adds up to roughly 130-million, while Verizon has around 100-million. Sprint would be left looking like a chump with 50-million subscribers.

In the near future — probably a year or so — both AT&T and T-Mobile customers can expect improved service. AT&T has been getting knocked for not spending its money on building towers to improve reception. It’s not nearly as easy as paying for a tower and building it. Local governments have to approve the placement of new towers (which takes longer than it ought to) and a lot of people don’t want them in their neighborhood. Buying T-Mobile USA was the quickest and easiest way to acquire several new towers.

Longer term, the acquisition jump-starts AT&T’s 4G initiatives. AT&T has committed to LTE, while T-Mobile USA planned to squeeze HSPA+ as long as it could before moving to LTE. AT&T’s 4G strategy prior to the acquisition seemed sluggish, especially compared to Verizon’s aggressive LTE deployment and Sprint’s dalliance with WiMax (all signs point to Sprint converting to LTE as well). In addition to buying a bunch of towers, AT&T also acquired a bunch of T-Mobile spectrum that will help the company accelerate its 4G plans. The initial idea is to use T-Mobile’s AWS spectrum as AT&T’s LTE channel.

I Love This Deal for T-Mobile…Should it Fall Through
A deal this size faces enormous scrutiny from the Justice Department and the FCC. Yesterday, I spoke with eight friends in the tech industry — analysts and journalists — and they were split on whether the deal happens or not. (Yes, I spent a large chunk of my Sunday talking nerd news with friends.) The good news for T-Mobile USA is that it will walk away with $3-billion and a chunk of AT&T spectrum, should the deal fall through. That’s a healthy “breakup clause” that would leave T-Mobile in a better position to compete.

I Hate This Deal as a T-Mobile Customer
Although nothing (much) will change for a few years, I completely expect T-Mobile’s value and customer service to decline as time goes on. T-Mobile’s plans are generous compared to AT&T’s and I expect the gap to close. Even if T-Mo is kept around as a value brand, I see things like unlimited data, free phone unlocking (for use with international SIM cards), free tethering, and top-notch customer-service being phased out.

The features I’ll miss the most are UMA and WiFi calling. In order to compensate for its small network footprint, T-Mobile allows its users to buy phones that use WiFi signal for calls and text messaging. This is also convenient for indoor locations that get poor signal (big buildings, basements, etc.) and customers that live in the boonies. As an international traveler, I love being able to use UMA and WiFi calling; it’s a “free” way to make and receive calls while in other countries (though I understand that was never the primary purpose of these features). The combined footprint of AT&T and T-Mobile makes supporting UMA and WiFi calling unnecessary. I fully expect these features to go away. When that happens, I’ll hug my phone and say, “I’ll miss you the most, Scarecrow.”

What to Do?!?
A lot of T-Mobile customers are panicking, erroneously thinking that their service will suck and their bills will double starting today. Get a grip people. It’ll be at least a year (and likely more) before any significant changes. As a T-Mobile customer, I’m ready to sign another two-year agreement with the company or perhaps buy my next phone outright and move to an Even More Plus plan. AT&T has already claimed that it will honor existing contracts. If it alters them in any way, that gives me an easy out to switch to Verizon.

AT&T customers have a bright future to look forward to. Existing services will improve some time next year and 4G services will arrive faster than originally scheduled. Of course that’s all dependent on government approval.

As always, I want to hear your thoughts on AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telecom. Fire away (please)!

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Big Blak’s birthday, Cappie Pondexter’s idiotic tweets about God punishing Japan, or your March Madness brackets, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Unlike most of my friends, I actually use my mobile phone to make a lot of phone calls. That’s not too surprising considering that most of my friends are gamer geeks and/or tech nerds. I used to think that their phone usage was weird, but it’s becoming more and more common — people are spending much more time using their phones for data rather than voice. Hell, at this rate we probably should stop calling them phones. They’re portable computers that also happen to make phone calls. (For the record, I think the term “connected devices” is one of the worst marketing concoctions I’ve heard in the last five years. I refuse to use it.)

I wanted to see how you guys and dolls use your mobile phones. Are you primarily data hogs? Do you burn through your monthly minutes? Do you use a ton of voice and data? Or is it usually much more of one? Over the course of a month, what percentage of your phone use is voice and what percentage is data? I’m really curious to see your comments for today’s Coffee Talk. There should be lots of interesting data points.