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Android phone sales triple this year

July 26th, 2010 Richard Frisch No comments



Powered by Guardian.co.ukThis article was written by Josh Halliday, for guardian.co.uk on Monday 26th July 2010 13.20 UTC

Sales of Android phones have risen by more than 300% from the beginning of 2010, with one in 10 contract handsets sold in the UK now running Google’s mobile operating system.

Android’s share of the UK mobile contract market grew by 10.2 percentage points from the first quarter of 2010 to the second quarter, from 3% to 13.2%, new figures from retail watcher GfK show.

From the beginning of 2010, most of the UK’s major mobile operators have started selling a number of hotly-anticipated mobile devices running Google’s Linux-based software. The HTC Desire and HTC Legend are among other devices lauded by critics.

Just last week, Samsung launched a direct marketing challenge to the Apple iPhone with its Android-powered Galaxy S device.

Many mobile operators were unable to keep up with demand for the HTC Desire when it launched in the UK in April this year. HTC, the Taiwanese manufacturer of many devices running Android, posted a 41% global sales increase for the first six months of 2010, with figures from April, May and June reflecting record sales, according to the company.

In the same period, mobile devices running “advanced” operating systems – defined as those able to run independent compatible applications – grew in the contract market from 55% to 66.7%. Figures available from June show mobiles with advanced operating systems now representing 73.5% of the contract market.

“The figures suggest an increasing number of consumers are now asking for Android handsets by name,” said GfK analyst Megan Baldock. “Operating systems are no longer simply a by-product but a key selling point in their own right.”

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2010

reQall–a memory aid for the 21st century

July 25th, 2010 Richard Frisch No comments

imageAre you overwhelmed with the minutiae of modern life? Who isn’t? reQall is a service that helps us deal with the deluge of things we have to remember and attend to.

You use it by typing text into the application or speaking into your telephone. The speech-to-text facility is surprisingly accurate in my testing. It has been almost letter perfect in every one of my trials. It puts a similar feature in Google Voice to shame.

A moment ago I spoke the following to the reQall automated telephone attendant, “To-Do Sunday July 25th at 3:30 check reQall see if it transcribed this message.”

I got an email a few minutes later that read, “Reminder for 3:30 PM: To-Do: Sunday, July 25th at 3:30 PM, check reQall see if it transcribed this message.”

I am impressed.

reQall has both free and paid versions (AKA reQall Standard and reQall Pro). Pro costs $24.99 per year or $2.99 per month, and has several additional features compared to the free Standard version.  They provide a free 15 day trial of the Pro version so you can test the service before paying them.

You can use it to set up appointments, tasks, reminders, and shopping lists. The Pro version has location awareness so that if you tell it you want to buy fruit at Costco it will remind you when you are near Costco.

reQall works on Windows and Mac computers. It can be accessed via a web browser. They provide free apps for Android, BlackBerry and iPhone cell phones. You can also set up several landlines to work with the service as well.

image

reQall integrates with Outlook (both versions), Google Calendar (both versions) and Evernote (Pro version only). If you want reQall will send you text message (Pro version only) and email reminders (both versions). They even provide an RSS feed for your reQall items. You can share your reQall items with people in your BlackBerry or iPhone contact list.

Everything isn’t perfect though. The iPhone app is a bit clunky and the web descriptions and tutorials do not do justice to the elegance of the service. They also do a mediocre job of explaining what the service is or how to use it. I suspect the folks at reQall are engineers and not marketers.

I like what I see. My testing indicates that this service is useful and probably worth paying for the Pro version. I suggest you try it out. I think you will agree.

Considering a smartphone – a dialogue with John

June 10th, 2010 Richard Frisch No comments

person with a headache John asked me, “What smartphone would you recommend?”

A smartphone is a complex purchase. You will likely have to keep the instrument for 2+ years, so you really should like it. Some of the major questions are:

  • How much does the phone and monthly plan cost?
  • Which data plan is right for you?
  • Are you the only one on the plan or are you part of a family plan?
  • How will you use it?
    • Voice+text/email
    • Voice+text/email+Internet
    • Voice+text/email+Internet+apps
    • Voice+text/email+Internet+apps+video…
  • How good is the camera?
  • If you plan on video chatting, does it have a front facing camera?
  • Where will you use it? USA only or overseas?
  • How good is the carrier’s coverage where you use it?
  • How fast is the phone?
  • How often will you have to recharge it?
  • Is the battery replaceable or sealed in the phone?
  • Do you want apps? If so do you know which ones?
  • Can you type on a virtual keyboard or do you need a physical keyboard?
  • How good is the camera?
  • How good is the screen?
  • How much storage do you need?
  • How much is the ETF?

Below is the email exchange wherein I tried to help John navigate this tangle of trying to match needs and wants with features and availability:


Marianne mentioned you wanted my thoughts on a new cellphone. I am still on the fence, waiting for real world experience and information on the iPhone 4, at a minimum. I am probably going with either an iPhone 4 or an Android-based phone. We currently use AT&T so switching to an iPhone is not too difficult. If I switch to an Android smartphone we are probably moving to T-Mobile.

Questions for you:
Who is your current cell carrier?
Do you want to stay with them?
What do you want to use your phone to do—Voice, voice+email, or voice+email+Internet+apps?

Richard

Questions for you:
Who is your current cell carrier? ATT
Do you want to stay with them? Depends on coverage and overseas coverage
What do you want to use your phone to do—Voice, voice+email, or voice+email+Internet+apps? Voice+ internet+ apps+ photos… no video

Thanks…. john

Overseas coverage implies that GSM-based phones are your best bet. That means AT&T or T-Mobile, since Verizon and Sprint are CDMA-based. Verizon and Sprint sell a couple of “worldphones” that work on CDMA and GSM but the choices are too limited in my opinion to recommend them.

CDMA is used in the US, S. Korea and some parts of China and almost nowhere else [some other areas in Asia but GSM dominates worldwide]. Furthermore, CDMA phones are locked at the factory to specific carriers, while GSM phones can be unlocked and then attached to local carriers while you are traveling, simply by changing the SIM chip.

Since you are already an AT&T customer, the new iPhone 4 may be a good choice. The biggest issue that I foresee, based upon what I know now, is it uses a micro-SIM, while every other GSM phone in the world uses a mini-SIM chip. I assume there will be a way to deal with this in the not too distant future. The camera is good, 5 mega-pixels. The screen gets great reviews from people who have actually seen it. It has the highest resolution of any smartphone today. Most iPhone users are satisfied, once they adjusted to the on-screen keyboard and dealing with battery life issues.

The new iPhone 4′s battery life is supposed to be better than earlier models but we don’t know how much better yet. Earlier models rarely made it through the entire day without need of recharging unless you only kept them on standby. Since the battery is sealed in an iPhone many people resorted to buying external batteries, often formed into cases for the iPhone, in order to extend use to make it through the day. If the iPhone 4′s battery life is like the iPad, then WOW! It is probably not that robust.

Earlier iPhone models have a reputation and history of less than stellar voice capability. The sound is okay but for some reason the iPhone 3GS and earlier models drop phone calls with some regularity. AT&T got blamed but it was the phone not the carrier. Too early to know if this issue has been fixed in the new model.

AT&T’s other full-screen smartphone choices are limited and I have a hard time recommending any of them.

BlackBerry (BB) makes nice smartphones if you primarily want to use your phone for texting, email and voice calls. Although you can surf the Internet on a BB, the screen is small by comparison to an iPhone and the experience is not very good. BB battery life goes from great (my older Curve 8310) to okay on newer models. I don’t know much about the cameras (mine is poor) but I imagine the newer ones have better cameras. AT&T sells the BB Bold 9700, which gets good reviews. It has a 3.2 megapixel camera. Battery life is not quite as good as the Curve 8310 but people say they can get through the whole day without needing to recharge.

Hope this helps.

Richard

Categories: telephone Tags:

The Big Telco Skepticism Blues¹: Comparing large communications companies

June 5th, 2010 Richard Frisch No comments

3g-ipad-wirless-dollar-signs

Not all large communications companies treat their customers like dirt. Cablevision bucks the industry trend.

Large telcos do not have a good image. They have earned their reputations by gouging customers, restricting competition, under-investing in plant and infrastructure, being slow to adopt new technology, providing poor customer service and overpaying their executives. 

I am impressed by the contrast between, AT&T and Verizon, who appear to see their customers as little more than open wallets, with Cablevision, who actually gives its customers a fair deal.

AT&T recently changed wireless data plans. One consequence is that Apple’s 3G iPad products are less desirable. The cost of cellular data for streaming media skyrockets under the new plans. AT&T’s executives tacitly admitted that they had underinvested in their infrastructure and were overwhelmed by customer demand. They blame and gouge their customers rather than build out their network and take a hit on year-end bonuses. They never mentioned crediting iPhone customers in New York City, San Francisco and elsewhere where they have not delivered reliable service at any time over the past 3 years. I wonder if they ever considered doing that. (The Dutch subsidiary of T-Mobile is crediting its iPhone customers because of these issues.)

They also just raised the early termination fees (ETF) on smartphones from $175 to $325. Verizon raised their ETF to $350 last year. Both companies say they need these fees to recoup the cost of subsidizing handset prices. The ETFs are reduced each month but not symmetrically with the contract. Verizon reduces its ETF by $10/mo. rather than by $14.58 ($350/24 months). Furthermore, if you buy your own phone from elsewhere, assuming that is possible, or after 24 months when the contract is done, the monthly rate does not decrease in recognition of the lack of subsidization.

image Their stated reasons for their fees and monthly charges are corporate doublespeak. There is a lack of parallel treatment for their customers (that’s us) versus for themselves. It’s clearly a case of heads-they-win, tails-we-lose. Don’t look to Congress or the FCC to help. They are in the thrall of telco lobbyists. The FCC and our elected legislators make noise about the shoddy treatment telco customers receive but do little or nothing to alter the situation. 

This past week AT&T threatened a customer who complained about the new wireless charges by writing two emails to their CEO, Randall Stephenson, with a legal cease and desist order. The company, not Stephenson, apologized both publicly and to the customer after the story made it big on the Internet. I doubt that AT&T would have responded otherwise.

Today, I compared switching my home communications services from Cablevision, where I have Internet, TV and voice, to AT&T. If U-verse were available here, which it is not (see my above comment about under-investing infrastructure), it would cost me about $50/month more. I would get less telephone features and slower Internet for that $50/month more. I believe, although I am uncertain, I would be required to sign a two-year subscription agreement. Cablevision is month-to-month and always has been.

If I lived in an area serviced by Verizon and wanted to get FiOS-based communications services I would have to sign a two-year agreement. There would be an ETF, which Verizon raised at the beginning of this year from $179 to $360. I don’t know how their pricing compares with Cablevision’s.

Cablevision’s pricing has been relatively flat for voice and Internet for several years. They have raised prices for TV but it seems that this is to offset wholesale price increases which they pay. (See: Is your cable TV bill too high?)

Their voice services are highly reliable and feature-rich. I use the service that forwards voice mail as an email attachment to keep me connected to my business customers when I am away from the office.

I think their Internet service is the best in the United States. Their basic Internet service is 15Mb/s upstream and 2Mb/s downstream. I pay for and have had 30+Mb/s up and 5+Mb/s down for several years. If I wanted to pay for it they offer 101Mb/s service too.

They have great customer service (billing area excepted – see: Another angry Cablevision customer.) Their representatives are polite, not easily ruffled, knowledgeable, available 24/7 and locally-based! When I need in-home service their techs arrive within the specified time period, usually call me 20 minutes before they arrive, and know what they are doing.

When I have called AT&T Wireless customer service the representatives are either in another part of the country or overseas. They have not been as knowledgeable or as helpful as Cablevision’s.

imageCablevision provides free WiFi across much of their service area. This lets me connect to the Internet when I am out and about in Westport, Wilton, Norwalk and other local towns. I use it frequently. I don’t need to pay $60/mo. for a limited capacity cell data service and another $270 for a wireless adapter.

They recently entered into a reciprocal sharing agreement with Comcast and Time Warner Cable to allow their customers access to the other companies’ WiFi when in those service areas. The cost to customers for the additional service is $0/month. That’s right, zero, zilch, zip, nada, bupkis! Verizon Wireless and AT&T Wireless charge for access to their data networks and limit capacity.

Cablevision is continually investing in new services and infrastructure. They recently added web programming features to their customers’ DVR. You can see what’s on your Cablevision-supplied DVR from your computer, iPad or smartphone. You can also program recordings as well. (See: Programming your Cablevision iO DVR is now easy.)

They are dabbling with offering mobile phone services as well. Cablevision is testing a combined WiFi/cell phone service in their service region. I look forward to having more competition in this space than only the four major cell carriers—AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon. I hope that Cablevision will offer a first class service, but not at an outrageous price.

They recently offered to equip Long Island and Metro-North commuter trains with WiFi. The service would be free to subscribers and provide a reasonable-access service to non-subscribers.

Cablevision is involved in our local communities. They offer Channel 12 local news to their subscribers. They cover stories that the big TV stations, the big NYC newspapers and radio stations don’t.

Cablevision also provides local municipalities and school districts with their own cable channels, e.g. Optimum iO channels 79 and 78 for Weston and the Weston school system. I know this very well. I manage the Weston CATV government access channel and broadcast both Town and Board of Education meetings. This is a fantastic resource for Weston as we don’t get much coverage elsewhere. Cablevision also pays for much of the broadcast equipment for these stations. AT&T, who competes with Cablevision for communications customers in Weston and other Fairfield County, CT communities, does not do this.

¹ My friend Serdar suggested the article’s title. Thanks.

Categories: at&t, cablevision, telephone, verizon Tags:

Connecticut (USA) gets a new area code

May 16th, 2009 Richard Frisch No comments

image Effective December 12, 2009 the “475” area code will be added to “203” and “860”.

Effective November 14, 2009 10-digit local call dialing will be required. (10-digit is area code + phone number.)

You might need to update:

  • Fax machines
  • Speed dialing
  • Alarm systems
  • Personal phone books
  • Call forwarding
  • Pet identification tags
  • Stationery
  • Advertising materials

Categories: connecticut, telephone Tags:

Another angry Cablevision customer

March 21st, 2009 Richard Frisch 2 comments

Cablevision is my cable company. They provide me with three services—cable TV, Internet service and telephony, respectively Optimum IO TV, Optimum Online, and Optimum Voice. I was a happy customer, even a fan of Cablevision. They have top-notch, often bleeding edge technology and good technical support. What’s not for a geek like me to like—their billing department!

All the good will they built up over more than twenty years was extinguished by my encounter with their billing department today.

About a month ago I wanted to set up a web server using the hosting service that is included with my premium high-speed broadband Internet service they call Boost. I tried to access the web hosting to no avail. I spoke with three different technical support people over a two week period who all tried their best to help. Finally, Erik hit upon the idea of fixing the problem by rebuilding the account in their database, which he did and it worked, I think. You see, I started my server project when I had a window of available time. Since it took almost two weeks to fix the problem the window closed and I have not had the opportunity to set up the service.

Today I received two bills from Cablevision. I had paid the most recent bill on March 18, 2009 so this was a surprise. Adding further to my surprise was learning that Erik had precipitated a change in my account number and that Cablevision was now billing me for a stub period on the old account and about 40 days on the new account. They had also changed my billing cycle, moving it up from the end of the month to the middle. In effect, Cablevision was asking me to loan them about $100 for a month or more because of the way they fixed the web hosting problem.

I tried to explain this to five customer service representatives in the billing department. Their consistent response was that the billing was correct and they could do nothing to adjust it. They were indifferent to the fact that Cablevision had neither notified me that this would occur, nor gotten my approval. They did not dispute the events. They just were not going to fix this.

I have been a customer of theirs since 1987. I have always paid my bills on time, usually early. This means nothing. Their billing department acts like a bully and there is little I can do but add my voice to all other angry Cablevision customers.