Tag: Mobile Tech

AT&T Capping Upload Speeds?

Ah, AT&T…you always manage to find new ways to suck. According to several MacRumors forum users, AT&T is capping upload speeds  at 100kbps. According to the posters:

Cities/Regions affected so far: NYC, Central Jersey, Boston, Orlando, Seattle, South Jersey/Philly, Columbus, Cleveland, West Houston, Phoenix, Northern Colorado, St. Paul/Minesota, Suffolk County/Long Island, Quad Cities, South Jersey, Denver, Detroit Metro, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Kansas City, Fairfax, Minneapolis, Washington D.C., Des Moines!

I imagine there are thousands of iPhone 4 customers with expensive new hardware and contracts that are really pissed off with their upload speeds. If you happen to live in one of the regions mentioned above, kindly run a speed test and let me know if you’re being capped by AT&T.

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LG Getting Into Android with its Optimus Line of Phones/Tablets

Samsung has been getting a ton of attention with its various Galaxy S Android phones and Korean competitor LG Corp isn’t happy about it. To strike back, the company has revealed details on its upcoming Optimus phones and teased an Android tablet. Here are some details from the press release:

LG Optimus One with Google offers the latest in Google mobile features and connects seamlessly to the world. Its ability to connect effortlessly to Google’s Android Market delivers an unfiltered and genuine smartphone user experience. Also, a convenient user interface and diverse multimedia options ensure a mobile environment that makes this device one of the easiest to use on the market.

The LG Optimus Chic caters to fashion aficionados with its tasteful design incorporating soft and smooth lines. The handset’s sleek curves set a new standard for smartphone design, challenging the perception that advanced Android devices need to appeal to a hardcore tech crowd to gain widespread acceptance.

Yes, this post was mostly written because I thought it would be funny to use Optimus Prime on the home page. The cute Korean models picture above was just a bonus. Seriously though, I’ve loved the design of past LG phones. The company’s use of brushed aluminum made for some handsome handsets.

The Optimus line is great news for the Android platform too; LG does reasonably well in America and is super popular in Asia. The Optimus line should help Android up its game internationally. I love that the Android market is getting crowded and competitive. The result will be more interesting phones to choose from. Go Lucky Goldstar!

Can Google Compete With iTunes and Facebook?

Google already has its finger in dozens of pies. It rules the Internet advertising and search kingdoms, while competing in mobile operating systems, VoIP, social networking, and more. If the rumors are true then Google is about to go head-on with Facebook and iTunes with Google Me and Google Music, respectively.

Google has attempted two major social networking projects that never really went anywhere: Orkut and Google Buzz. While it’s still supporting Buzz, the company realizes that it has to do more. Will the third time be a charm with Google Me? Perhaps…but I seriously doubt it can put a significant dent in Facebook. Maybe being a strong number two — and serving tons of targeted ads — is more than enough for the company.

I believe Google has a slightly better opportunity with Google Music. Although iTunes is immensely popular thanks to millions of iPod and iPhone sales, Apple has never been good at leveraging cloud computing. Google, on the other hand, has been great at it. There are rumors that there’s a cloud-based iTunes in the works, but I wonder if Apple can pull it off. While Google has a ton of work to do in order to match the elegant iTunes experience, at the very least I expect it to get the cloud part right.

What do you guys and gals think? Can Google compete with Facebook and iTunes? Or are Google Me and Google Music destined to fail?

Apple Adamant That iPhone 4 Reception is a Software Issue

I know that Apple is all about manipulating the reality distortion field, but I don’t understand this press release that insists that the iPhone 4 reception issues are software related. Here’s part of the official explanation:

Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong. Our formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it should for a given signal strength. For example, we sometimes display 4 bars when we should be displaying as few as 2 bars. Users observing a drop of several bars when they grip their iPhone in a certain way are most likely in an area with very weak signal strength, but they don’t know it because we are erroneously displaying 4 or 5 bars. Their big drop in bars is because their high bars were never real in the first place.

To fix this, we are adopting AT&T’s recently recommended formula for calculating how many bars to display for a given signal strength. The real signal strength remains the same, but the iPhone’s bars will report it far more accurately, providing users a much better indication of the reception they will get in a given area. We are also making bars 1, 2 and 3 a bit taller so they will be easier to see.

I’ve seen too many tests that show that bandwidth drops with the so-called iPhone 4 death grip. It seems pretty clear that it’s a design problem that decreases reception for some, but certainly not all, users.

Am I missing something? I don’t understand what Apple is trying to do here. Am I interpreting the issue incorrectly? What’s the frequency Kenneth?

Speculation: CDMA iPhone 4 Ready, Verizon Yet to Sign

Here’s an interesting piece of speculation by The Loop. Jim Dalrymple believes that Apple has a CDMA iPhone 4 ready to go, but Verizon has yet to sign on the dotted line. His speculation follows the Bloomberg report that Verizon will start selling the iPhone 4 in January 2011.

Apple already has a Verizon compatible iPhone. It’s not that they have to rush around Apple HQ and start building the thing for a January launch with Verizon — it’s already there and being perfected all the time.

Here’s where my thoughts differ a little bit from Bloomberg. I don’t believe a deal has been finalized with Verizon. It’s reasonable to assume that the two companies are in negotiations and the Bloomberg article is just another negotiating tactic, but I don’t think a deal has been signed.

On one hand, you’re probably thinking that Verizon would be nuts not to make a deal for the most popular consumer smartphone on the market. On the other hand, Verizon is used to dictating terms and Apple is in an extremely powerful negotiating position. In case you have three hands, consider that Sprint — also a CDMA carrier — is desperate for new customers and Apple could dictate more favorable terms with it than Verizon.

I would love for Sprint to get the iPhone 4 over Verizon. On a personal level, it would be more affordable. From a verbal entertainer’s standpoint, it would make the market far more interesting. Despite the iPhone’s immense popularity, Verizon still has more customers than AT&T. Sprint is a distant third, but could conceivably close the gap in a very short time with the iPhone 4. It would just be fascinating to watch.

While I’m at it, here’s a poll for you:

[poll id=”57″]

Source via BoyGeniusReport

Evo 4G vs. iPhone Video Creator Suspended by Best Buy

Remember those hilarious Xtra Normal Evo 4G vs. iPhone videos I posted the other day? It turns out that the cat that made them, Brian Maupin, works at Best Buy selling mobile phones…or at least he did. His videos were viewed more than a million times, which is fantastic…to everyone except the powers that be at Best Buy. According to TechCrunch Maupin has been suspended indefinitely and is in the process of being fired:

The video in question was made by Brian Maupin, a 25-year-old based in Kansas City, Missouri. For the past three and a half years he’s been working at Best Buy selling mobile phones. He’s probably not going to be doing that anymore as Best Buy has suspended him indefinitely and is currently taking the steps to terminate him, Maupin tells us. The reason? The video.

The video became so popular (it currently has nearly 1.3 million views on YouTube) that someone at Best Buy corporate saw it. They then put two-and-two together that it was an employee at one of their stores that made it, and the hammer came down. “They felt it disparaged a brand they carried (iPhone/Apple) as well as the store itself and were fearful of stockholders & customers being turned off to Best Buy Mobile,” Maupin says.

That’s pretty crappy of Best Buy. Hopefully Maupin gets a high-paying gig that pays him for making Xtra Normal videos full time. It would be really sweet if his future benefactors hired me too. Ha!

Maupin, Bryan Danielson, and me…. There is no justice.

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Why Aren’t These Features in Google Android?

Here are some quick, random thoughts on Google Android before I head to a lunch meeting. For the life of me, I still don’t understand why there isn’t better Google Docs integration in Android. This would be a killer feature for business. I understand that there are obstacles that make editing documents difficult, but surely Google has enough resources to throw at this problem, right?

Secondly, I was amused that Google was pushing its video chat service on its blog today. With the Apple iPhone getting a ton of attention with FaceTime and Qik for Android being a faulty mess, surely Google should have a first-party solution for video chat, hey?

There are a lot of areas where Android excels and I’m a big fan of the OS, but it also has a lot of holes. Some of them can be filled with obvious additions like the ones I mentioned above. For those of you that use or are interested in Android, what features would you like to see in this fine mobile OS?

Apple iTunes Launching Cloud-Based Features “Soon”?

One aspect of Google Android that I greatly prefer over Apple iOS is its heavy use of cloud computing. All of that will change if this rumor from BoyGeniusReport pans out. According to the site, Apple is readying a version of iTunes that leverages the cloud. The purported features include:

  1. Streaming music and movies from Apple’s servers to your computers, devices, etc.
  2. Streaming music and movies from your home computers to your other computers, remote devices, etc.
  3. Wireless iTunes syncing with devices.

These features would be fantastic, though a little overdue. In addition to Android, Palm WebOS and the upcoming Windows Phone 7 have heavy cloud features. Perhaps this is a case of Apple’s self professed habit of not necessarily doing things first, but doing things right.

The BGR story also hints at new iPod devices with cameras, something RPadholic bsukenyan has mentioned being interested in.

Anyone else psyched for a cloud-ified iTunes? Or is it just me?

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“Xbox Arcade” Games Easy Ports for Windows Phone 7

As many of you know, I’ve been anxious for details on how Microsoft’s upcoming Windows Phone 7 will interact with Xbox 360. Although Apple’s iOS is extremely popular and Google’s Android is growing at a crazy pace, Windows Phone 7 has a chance to stand out by positioning itself as the gamer’s mobile operating system. TechRadar was able to extract some details on WP7 from Microsoft’s Oded Ran:

There are four million Xboxes in the UK compared to 2.5 million iPhones; we’re now working with developers who know how to make games, and they’re able to port Xbox Arcade games to mobile phones easily.

Before you get too excited, it should be noted that not every Xbox Live Arcade game is an instant port to Windows Phone 7. From my understanding, XBLA games created with XNA will be easy ports. The majority of XBLA games are not made with XNA. That said, WP7 should bolster the use of XNA and give WP7’s games market a huge kick start.

*sigh* I’m still annoyed that this wasn’t shown at E3 2010.

Source via MobileCrunch