iPhone Cruncher

December 30, 2010    

As U.S. iPhone exclusivity goes down for the count, the race to see which other carrier comes up with the iPhone first is in the home stretch and it’s become clear that the Verizon iPhone is set to be the winner ahead of either a Sprint iPhone or a T-Mobile iPhone. One of the three had to be first because, well, that’s just how Apple does things. If Apple had its way the iPhone would remain available on only one carrier per nation and it would use that exclusivity (and the threat of revocation) to whip that carrier into offering an Apple-like experience. But upon realizing that such a thing isn’t possible, at least here in the U.S., here comes the iPhone on a second carrier and it’s Verizon by at least a nose. In hindsight, here’s why the Verizon iPhone had to come first ahead of T-Mobile or Sprint, much as it’ll upset devotees of those two carriers:

Verizon is significantly larger than either T-Mobile or Sprint. That fact has to come first and foremost in any conversation on the matter. Expanding the iPhone to Verizon means more potential customers than expanding it to either (or perhaps even both) of the other two. It’s obvious, but there it is.

Verizon wants it. Badly. Don’t let all the Droid bluster fool you. Internal numbers from Verizon show that the iPhone is outselling the Droid by a jaw-dropping margin of 2.5 to 1, meaning that Verizon’s highly visible attempts to compete with the iPhone have been a flat out failure. While Sprint and T-Mobile have their niche markets for various reasons, Verizon is looking to play king of the world against ATT – and without the iPhone it’ll never, ever happen. That means that Apple can get Verizon to capitulate to doing a Verizon iPhone on Apple’s terms.

T-Mobile and Sprint customers won’t want to hear this, but Apple is likely gambling that at least some of them, who rejected the idea of using an ATT iPhone out

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More rumors about the iPad 2: on Tuesday, the Taiwanese Web site Digitimes reported that the iPad 2 will have three new versions, allowing it to connect to WiFi, UMTS and WiFi; and CDMA and WiFi. UMTS, or universal mobile telecommunications system, is what ATT and T-Mobile use for 3G. Sprint and Verzion use CDMA, or code division multiple access.

The information was attributed to an unnamed source who said Apple made its decision to allow more connectivity because 60 to 65 percent of current iPad shipments are 3G models, indicating that users prefer to have the option of connecting to the Internet all the time.

The source also told Digitimes that Apple is working to reduce smudges and glare on the iPad 2′s screen, to compete with the Kindle.

Finally, Digitimes reported that the iPad likely would start mass-production in late January, which CNet reports puts the tablet on track for a March or April release. That’s a bit later than previous rumors which indicated a February launch.

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(WIRED) — Apple’s loose-lipped overseas partners are exchanging whispers about the next-generation iPad, claiming it will come in three different versions, one of which would work with Verizon’s network.

The iPad 2 will support three different wireless configurations: UMTS, CDMA and Wi-Fi only, according to “industry sources quoted by DigiTimes” citing component makers.

That’s up from the two versions Apple currently offers: UMTS plus Wi-Fi, and Wi-Fi only.

To explicate the alphabet soup, UMTS is the standard used by major 3G carriers such as ATT and T-Mobile, while CDMA is compatible with Verizon and Sprint networks.

Currently the 3G iPad ships with a MicroSIM card slot, and in the United States, the only carrier that uses MicroSIM is ATT.

Customers who want to connect to non-ATT 3G networks must either buy an external wireless hotspot device such as the Verizon MiFi (Verizon already sells a MiFi plus iPad package) or trim a standard SIM card down to MicroSIM size, like Wired.com’s Charlie Sorrel.

The current 3G model of the iPad is not tied to a contract: Customers pay a flat monthly rate for data and can opt out whenever they please.

So if this rumor is true, it means that when the iPad 2 ships, you’ll have to pick a 3G model based on your carrier preference. If you don’t plan to be on the road a lot, there’s still the Wi-Fi option.

Support for both major wireless standards in the United States will make the iPad 2 available to a much larger potential audience, whereas before it was only available in the states from ATT.

WIRED: With iPad, Apple still has fatal attraction for ATT

Whether Apple hammers out sales agreements with Verizon or Sprint remains to be seen.

Recent rumors suggestion that the iPad 2 will hit stores April 2011, one year after the original iPad’s release. Some third-party protective cases for a purported “iPad 23 have been cropping

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A Verizon-powered iPhone appears to be imminent. The question is, did Apple wait too long?

(Credit:
Kent German/CNET)

Apple will introduce an
iPhone powered by the Verizon network “sometime after the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in early January.” That’s according to Bloomberg Businessweek, citing “a person familiar with Apple’s plans.”

Although we’ve heard countless similar reports and rumors in the past, there’s mounting evidence that 2011 will be the year iPhone customers finally get a carrier option other than ATT.

For starters, the Businessweek story comes on the heels of a DigiTimes report indicating Apple plans to ship 5 million to 6 million CDMA iPhones in the first quarter of 2011. Verizon’s network runs on CDMA; ATT’s doesn’t.

Since when is Apple even manufacturing CDMA iPhones? Back in October, The Wall Street Journal reported that mass production would begin by the end of the year.

That squares with Businessweek’s suggestion that “very soon, maybe by Valentine’s Day,” Apple will announce a Verizon iPhone. (Interestingly, Mobile World Congress begins on Valentine’s Day. Apple wouldn’t unveil the device there, but it might try to do some serious upstaging.)

Perhaps the strongest evidence is this: For the first time, Apple is facing serious competition in the smartphone marketplace. Suddenly, it seems Android is everywhere. In August, Android handsets outsold iPhones, bolstered no doubt by flashy models like the Droid Incredible, HTC Evo 4G, and Samsung Epic.

Android is also challenging Apple on the price front, as evidenced by models like the Virgin Mobile Samsung Intercept, which offers plans starting at $25 per month–including unlimited data. I don’t think Verizon will compete on price, but the reality is that customers can now get iPhone-level functionality with a considerably lower monthly bill.

Finally, ask any ATT iPhone customer what they think of the carrier, and you’re likely to get an earful. Earlier this month, Consumer Reports called ATT “the worst carrier,” citing a customer-satisfaction

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And the new Skype 3.0, unlike Apple’s FaceTime, works over ATT’s 3G mobile broadband.

That’s not through any cooperation with the wireless carrier, Skype says.

“We’ve not checked with ATT,” said Neil Stevens, Skype’s vice president and general manager for consumer products, in a Skype interview Wednesday. “We don’t think it’s our position to check in with carriers.”

I tested the new app in a round of brief calls from an iPhone 4, loaned by Apple’s PR department, to an iMac and vice versa, then between that iPhone and a loaner iPod touch. Every call connected in a second or two, stayed up until I ended it myself and delivered Skype’s typically good audio quality. But Skype’s low-resolution video stream looked lousy even over five bars of an ATT signal, and switching to my home’s faster wireless network didn’t improve it.

Then again, FaceTime doesn’t look that hot either.

You pay in bandwidth for the privilege of Skype 3G video calling. The iPhone’s usage records showed it ate up 15.9 megabytes of data coming and going during a five-minute video call. At an average of 3.2 MB a minute, it would take little more than an hour to burn through the 200 MB monthly quota on ATT’s entry-level data plan.

Skype 3.0 needs about 600 kilobits per second of upload and download bandwidth to avoid sacrificing video quality; most 3G connections won’t leave much headroom on the upload link. It also lets third-gen iPod touch models and iPads receive video calls.

Sub-VHS-grade video notwithstanding, bringing 3G video calling to the iPhone is an impressive achievement when you remember that Skype’s first incarnation on Apple’s smartphone only allowed voice calls over WiFi. ATT waited another six months to say it swould open 3G access for Skype on the iPhone. (The Federal Communications Commission’s just-passed net-neutrality regulatory framework would forbid that sort of blocking.)

What about the iPhone’s major competitor, Google’s Android operating system? While Sevens said the Luxembourg-based firm is “working hard on an Android version” with video-calling support, any U.S. release will remain subject to an exclusive deal

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When Henry Cuellar took to the Speaker’s podium at the United States House of Representatives with an iPad in his hand recently, the congressman had no idea he was accelerating a course of change in the august body.

“If you look at available technology, properly leveraged it can make us a more efficient Congress,” Rep. Cuellar (D-Texas) told iPadNewsDaily in a phone interview. “There is so much immediate information we can gather with an
iPad.”

Imagine, said Cuellar, being able to use the device for
legislative purposes like downloading a bill or searching for points in an amendment that are being discussed on the floor in real-time. It can mean the difference between introducing fact or hearsay.

It seems representatives aren’t always straight with the
mountains of information presented on the floor. “Just from the standpoint of making more effective and efficient decisions the technology is worth having,” said the 55-year-old, third-term congressman.

No tech allowed

However, for decades the House has shied away from new technologies, instead opting for more staid traditions while keeping the chamber a technology-free zone. Laptops, cell phones and other communication devices are forbidden in the chamber — and for good reason, Cuellar said. The U.S. House has 435 representatives and when the floor is at capacity, distractions come easily.

But what about the iPad? It’s not a laptop or a cell phone. The tablet isn’t as easy to peg as those technologies. And that is precisely how the congressman found himself in the middle of a minor maelstrom when he was spotted on C-SPAN with the device sitting on the Speaker’s podium.

“I’m not using it to play Angry Birds,” joked Cuellar, who was called upon to perform Speaker pro tempore duties that day by House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-California). Instead, he said, the device provides an opportunity to have information brought to the floor in a readable, usable format.

Cuellar uses the Congress

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Apple may ditch the 30-pin connector for a micro-USB port.

More rumors are beginning to surface as we draw closer to the expected big reveal of Apple’s 2nd-generation iPad in January or February. The latest rumor making rounds indicates that the updated model will feature a built-in USB port, a surprising move given that the 30-pin connector has been the default interface for many years.

It’s speculated that the supposed USB port stems from an agreement made by European device makers during 2009 in which micro-USB ports would serve as the standard charger connection for all mobile devices. This could mean that Apple may finally be tossing out the 30-pin connector for syncing and charging the device. This may also hold true for future models of the iPod touch and iPhone.

Currently Apple already sells an adapter for the original iPad that plugs into the 30-pin slot located at the bottom of the tablet. This device was developed for importing photos from cameras although many users have discovered it also works with various keyboards and USB audio. Naturally a native micro-USB port would make this adapter obsolete.

Other iPad 2-related rumors that have surfaced as of late include a CDMA model compatible with Verizon Wireless and Sprint, an iPod-like backing that features a metal grille allowing for a larger speaker, two cameras with FaceTime support, a thinner, lighter chassis and a few others.

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When the iPad first arrived on the scene, many newspaper and magazine publishers seemed to see it as a digital savior that would restore their fortunes and allow them to withstand the whole “information wants to be free” aspect of the Internet. After an initial flurry of interest, however, the enthusiasm of readers seems to be waning, according to some recent numbers — which show that sales of many magazine apps have been slipping. Hopefully some publishers are starting to realize that simply having an iPad app doesn’t qualify as a digital content strategy.

Venture capitalist Fred Wilson makes exactly this point in a blog post today, in which he argues that the economics around mobile platforms such as the iPhone and the iPad — and other tablets, presumably — will likely come to look a lot like the economics of the web itself, in which closing off access to content via paywalls and walled gardens has not proven to be a very successful long-term approach (with a few notable exceptions such as the Economist and the Wall Street Journal). As Wilson puts it:

I don’t understand why anyone would ever think that adding a presentation layer on top of web based content would make it something people would want to purchase when they are not willing to purchase the same content directly on the web.

The reality is that simply wrapping your content in a shiny package designed by Adobe isn’t going to convince vast numbers of people to pay you every month for it, especially when it costs as much or more as the print version. Having audio and video clips and other interactive doo-dads is nice, but it simply isn’t worth the premium some publishers are charging. As we (and others) have pointed out before, many iPad apps look an awful lot like the early days of CD-ROM editions — and they offer about as much in terms of real interactivity or sharing. Says Wilson:

Restricting access to

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A few days ago, I was showing my girlfriend, an iPhone 4 owner, something on my Android-based Sprint Epic 4G. “Wow,” she said, “You have a lot of apps.” I responded casually, but with a certain about of nonchalant geek pride: “Yes, yes I do.”

Indeed, my dogged pursuit of cool apps is a big reason why I sold my Palm Pre back to Sprint and switched to the Android platform a few months back. Although the number still can’t quite match the abundance of Apple’s App Store, the Android market is chock full of great applications. But with thousands to choose from, where do you start? Start with these 10 must-have Android apps and you can’t go wrong. I promise.

Before we get to them, however, I have to mention a few of my favorite apps that I had to leave off the list. The most obvious omission is Angry Birds. It’s a must-have download, to be sure, but at this point, I have to assume you have already heard of it. Everyone has, so there isn’t much value in including it here. I also left out both the official Twitter client and TweetDeck. I’m a big Twitter user (@dancosta), but the truth is, most people probably don’t need to Tweet from their phone. And those that do already know to download the client.

Likewise, I couldn’t get the excellent Photoshop Express into this story. More and more people are using their phones as their primary point and shoot, but I don’t think most people are up for in-phone editing just yet. If you’re a power user, go for it, but this story is for the newbies. And if you’re just starting to download Android apps, these are the first 10 you should get…in my humble opinion, anyway.

Think I missed something? Give it a shout out in the comments below.

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