Hello!
And welcome to our Thursday column, Worst of the Week. There’s a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for us at RCR Wireless News to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the wrong way. We hope you enjoy it!
And without further ado:
So, I know we are all sick and tired of anything iPhone related. Heck, the thought of any word that starts with an “i” is somewhat nauseating at this point, but you gotta admit, without the iPhone or its accompanying hype, the last couple of months would have been a bit ordinary. Just a long procession of “new” handsets from the usual suspects that look just like previous models. Ho-hum.
But, thanks to the i-you-know-what, those following the wireless industry have had something to look forward to, something that prodded us out of bed every morning and to rush to our computers to check out the latest facts or rumors surrounding the iThingy.
As for me, the anticipation culminated on June 29 when I was indeed one of the losers who bought an iPhone the day it was launched. No, I wasn’t one of the ultra-losers who actually camped out in front of an Apple or AT&T store to be first in line, nor did I join the quasi-losers who joined the line sometime on Friday before the 6 p.m. launch. But I was a loser nonetheless. I could argue that I did it for work as we were not deemed to be one of the worthy to receive an iPhone prior to June 29, but even with that argument I easily could have waited until Saturday or even Sunday to pick one up.
In an attempt to maintain a shred of dignity I told myself that I would only buy the device if there was no line. That patience paid off as I was able to walk into a local Apple store around 10:30 p.m. on Friday, purchase a 4 GB model and walk out all within about 3 minutes. (Most of that time was spent navigating the obstacle course of people standing like zombies around the iPhone demo models.)
After finally getting the device home, in what seemed like the longest drive of my life, I was finally able to partake in the unpacking of the device, which like most Apple products is akin to some sort of ritual ceremony. I thought about photographing every step of the unpacking process, but then realized I would have to explain to others why I took those pictures and held off.
Once out of the box, I simply plugged the device into my computer and, thanks to the recently updated iTunes software, was walked through the registration process. Now, I know people have a love-it or hate-it relationship with Apple’s iTunes service, but for registering the phone, it was magic. Step-by-step instructions on what to do, explained in English with buttons that allowed easy navigation back-and-forth through the registration process. And most importantly, I did not have to deal with a salesperson, sign 37 contracts or walk out of a store with reams of receipts. If anything, the registration process is the most amazing development to come from the iPhone and the most likely to alter the way cellphone registration is handled in the future.
Of course, this does not take into account the issues AT&T seemed to have in attempting to register the hundreds of thousands of iPhones over the initial weekend that left many with unusable devices for hours or even days. My device did not activate right away, but since I was in no hurry to call anyone, I told myself that I would just shut it down for the night and have a fresh look at it in the morning. Sure, I tried to sleep, but like Christmas Eve, it was nearly futile. (For some reason I kept dreaming I wanted an official red ryder carbine-action two-hundred-shot range model air rifle. Weird.) It took nearly all of my will power not to constantly check my e-mail for the magical message telling me the iPhone was active, but I managed to get a few hours of sleep and was rewarded with a fully functional iPhone in the morning. Sweet.
After a weekend of playing with the device I have to say that it is an impressive piece of technology, but as with everything, it’s not perfect. So, following is a brief list of observations from my time with the iPhone.
–The phone’s user interface is a big step forward for the wireless industry. While most cellphone users have become accustomed to dealing with conventional menus on handsets, the Apple U.I. takes the process to a whole new level. The layout is totally different from what is currently out there, yet it takes only minutes to figure the device out. Engineers at every other handset manufacturer should have fresh lash marks on their backs in attempting to come up with U.I. to rival the iPhone.
–The screen is amazingly clear and crisp and even more amazing is its durability. The screen seems impervious to scratches, though the constant touching does leave it covered in smudges, especially after a nice meal of BBQ ribs. Wiping the screen on a pair of jeans or a t-shirt just seems to smear the smudges.
–The lack of basic features like voice dialing and MMS are odd, but not deal breakers. You can still send a picture via e-mail from the device, which thanks to the intuitive U.I. is much simpler than sending MMS from some handsets.
–The biggest issue is the lack of 3G support. Sure Apple claims that the decision to go with an EDGE chipset for wide area data was due to space constraints and power issues, but I would think a W-CDMA/HSDPA chipset would not take up much more room than the Wi-Fi chipset in the device, and from using both 3G cellular and Wi-Fi on a Mac laptop the 3G cellular chip would prove more battery friendly. I would have easily given up the iPhone’s Wi-Fi capabilities for a true 3G service.
–The lack of 3G oversight on Apple’s behalf-I’m blaming this on Apple since I doubt AT&T had any input whatsoever on the design of the iPhone-unfortunately has placed most of the blame at AT&T’s doorstep as the carrier has had to defend its EDGE network hand-over-fist. AT&T could have been a bit more aggressive in rolling out its 3G network, which might have convinced Apple to think harder about including 3G capabilities, but it’s been amazing to watch how any negative issues with the device have slid off of Teflon-impregnated Apple and onto AT&T.
OK! Enough of that. Thanks for checking out this Worst of the Week column. And now, some extras:
–Dublin, Ireland-based Research and Markets sent out a press release earlier this week entitled: “New report suggests that the wireless industry is underexploiting the profitability of the wireless business market.” While I agree that the wireless industry has not fully monetized its assets in the enterprise space, the thought of the wireless industry “underexploiting” any aspect of the space is funny to read.
–We got an interesting e-mail offer from what appeared to be a wireless reseller offering to sell us an iPhone for $799. That’s right, a $200 premium on a device that when the e-mail was received was still available in most Apple locations and in a handful of AT&T stores. I’m no master of the free-market economy, but I could not fathom why anyone would pay, let alone think they could charge such a mark-up on something that was readily available.
–Nokia-Siemens sent out a press release this week stating that Finnish ISP Nebula was beginning to offer “very high speed broadband Internet connections” in Helsinki. The release did not provide any details on what exactly “very high speed” meant, but it does sound impressive. Though, I would offer that they could make an even bigger splash by using “ludicrous speed” or “this one goes to ’11’ speed” in trying to hype the service. Of course, with Turbo 3G being bandied about in Europe as a way to describe HSPA-based wireless networks, I would say any adjective is now fair game for marketing departments.
–It was bound to happen sooner or later. A Web site, which I will refrain from naming, is offering to uglify a perfectly good iPhone with Swarovski “crystals” for $295. The site claims to have adorned Paris Hilton’s Sidekick, though it was not clear what impact the crystals had on the phone’s reception during her three-week vacation at the cell-block hotel.
