InformationWeek.com is reporting that T-Mobile finally announced that its long-awaited 3G mobile network was up and running as of last week. T-Mobile customers have been waiting patiently for nearly 2 years for the arrival of the new high-speed mobile Internet-ready 3G network.
The company’s biggest competitors, AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint, have already been offering high-speed 3G data networks to their customers for years, leaving T-Mobile trailing behind in the race for high-speed mobile Internet service. Now that T-Mobile has finally caught up with the competition (at least when it comes to mobile Internet performance), the network’s customers should be setting on easy street, right? Not so fast…
Despite the fact that T-Mobile now has its very own 3G data network in place, the company has almost no 3G-ready mobile phones to take advantage of the new network. At present, they have only four models that can access the new high-speed network, and unfortunately, none of the four are real standouts.
Conventional wisdom dictates that T-Mobile should have introduced the new high-speed data network with the launch of a drop-dead, must-have smartphone. Debuting the network with a flashy new phone that can take full advantage of it would have been a smart marketing decision for T-Mobile. But instead, the company’s big announcement received very little fanfare, and even less free publicity in the media last week.
But while T-Mobile’s marketing efforts may have been highly flawed in debuting the new network, at least they now have the 3G high speed data access available, right? Well, not exactly.
T-Mobile is rolling out the 3G network gradually. According to company representatives, it is now in place only in New York City, and the company claims they will continue to expand the network throughout the year so that it covers “most” of the T-Mobile network by the end of 2008.
Now if the company could just introduce a new line of flashy and sophisticated smartphones to take advantage of their gradually expanding 3G network, consumers might just set up and take notice. Something along the lines of the Apple iPhone — or at least in the same general ballpark — should do the trick.
As it is though, by gradually introducing the new 3G network throughout the country over many months, and failing to have attractive new phones available to take advantage of it, T-Mobile may find it difficult to attract new customers or win over “converts” from AT&T or Verizon.
The Internet has been buzzing recently with talk of the ongoing format war between HD DVD and Sony’s proprietary Blu-Ray disk. Recent price cuts on HD DVD players have made it seem that Blu-Ray is losing the battle as a high definition video and audio storage medium, but just when you think Sony is on the ropes, they have a habit of pushing back hard with a new round of aggressive advertising campaigns to even the score.
It’s amazing how loyal techno geeks can be to their favorite brands and formats, and the Blu Ray/HD-DVD debate is a good example of this. Episodes of “flaming” on media and video related Internet message boards have been common over the past few years, as HD-DVD and Blu Ray have slugged it out, to see which of these proprietary formats would emerge as the global standard for high-definition video and media storage. So far, HD DVD has a slight advantage, but the mega-powerful Sony Corporation flatly refuses to give up on its Blu ray format.
But what is even more shocking about the Blu-Ray/HD DVD contest is the level of animosity between fans of the two rival formats, which has recently took a turn for the worst. Last week, for example, a popular Internet forum AVS was temporarily closed because of a rash of aggressive posts and threats of physical violence by both Blu-Ray and HD DVD supporters.
Apparently several of the overzealous posters lashed out at other forum members with personal threats and violent “flaming” attacks unheard of among the normally sedate and well mannered AVS Internet crowd. In fact, AVS forum administrators have indicated that possible legal action and police reports may be involved in this latest round of heated bickering between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray aficionados.
And with Sony determined to continue competing with HD-DVD to be the dominant format of the new millennium, the online “flaming” and threats are likely to continue. AVS forum says that it will reopen its message board in the next few days, but that comments on either side of the “format war” will be closely monitored.
Whichever format ends up “winning” though, one thing is for certain. Some people have way too much free time on their hands, and can’t find a way of personalizing market conflicts in a way that defies belief. At the end of the day, who really cares if Blu-Ray wins out, or if HD DVD becomes the dominant format? I’ll tell you who; the global companies behind these two formats, and pretty much no one else.
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Even well before it was officially released, the Apple iPhone was raising controversy and expectations worldwide. But now that the iPhone has been readily available for some time, the euphoria surrounding its release has died down somewhat.
But really, what else could Apple expect? The public relations Blitzkrieg that introduced the iPhone to the world was unprecedented in the world of cell phone technology. In fact, expectations ran so high before the launch of the iPhone, that there was really only one way for the iPhone to go — down.
To say that the initial iPhone hype has “settled down” would be the understatement of the year. And while overall, the iPhone has received positive reviews, there is little doubt that Apple’s breakthrough cell phone hasn’t resulted in the kind of sales Apple would have liked, and it certainly hasn’t been the competition-killer that many in the cell phone industry feared it would be.
One of the chief complaints about the new iPhone is not about the phone itself, but in Apple’s choice of a cellular network partner: AT&T. Critics have charged that the iPhone’s Internet capability is something of a letdown, and that Apple could have chosen to use a faster mobile Internet network provider.
Sprint, for example, has a much faster mobile Internet network than AT&T. And when you think about it, it’s odd that Apple would not insist upon a fast Internet connection for the iPhone. After all, Apple is a computer and Internet company. Doesn’t it make sense that Apple’s breakthrough cell phone should use only the best Internet technology?
Using AT&T as the network provider for the iPhone has prompted many consumers to seek out an unlocked version of the iPhone that can be used on the network of their choice. Predictably, computer hackers have already unlocked the iPhone, prompting Apple to issue a new firmware update for the phone which is designed to disable unlocked versions.
But Apple’s mistake was to label this newest update the “bricked iPhone,” a term that sounds like a challenge to any self-respecting hacker, and has prompted a whole new wave of iPhone unlocking codes to appear on the Internet over the past week. Basically, Apple seems to be entering into a game of one-upmanship with the hackers, a position they surely do not wish to be in.
The fact is, any security code that can be engineered by an Apple programmer, can also be reverse engineered by hacker. And because the worldwide hacking community tends to stick together, Apple can count on a massive and organized effort to defeat its efforts to lock the iPhone to any one network — particularly AT&T.
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Apple Inc. and AT&T are gearing up for what many people are expecting to be a crazy release day on Friday. The iPhone is officially going to be released at 6 p.m. and many people are getting ready. It’s probably the first time a cell phone is drawing a crowd similar to the release of a new video gaming system or day after Thanksgiving sales.
Accessory sales are a big business when it comes to Apple products. There is no shortage of accessories and accessory manufacturers when it comes to iPod and other popular Apple products. The new Apple iPhone has turned out to be a little tougher of a challenge. Because Apple has been extra secretive and not allowing too many people to get their hands on an iPhone, accessory makers have had to recreate the iPhone based on the specifications listed on the Apple website. Some manufacturers showed their recreations to Apple and asked for advice about size, shape and outlets so they could prepare their accessory lines. Unfortunately, only some of the top Apple accessory manufacturers were able to receive advice directly from Apple so be careful which accessories you buy. Many companies will have some very basic mistakes which could result in a non-fitting case or a holster that blocks some of the key functions of the phone. Many iPhone accessories have already begun to hit eBay although many are not from reputable vendors. eBay is taking steps by running a staff of 2,000 security representatives to keep an eye out for iPhone scams. The odds of finding a good quality case and other accessories alongside the iPhone at an Apple or AT&T store are pretty good but be wary of any lesser known company offering accessories this early in the game.
The iPhone starts at a relatively hefty price but it doesn’t stop there. Once you buy your iPhone, sign your 2 year contract, you can be looking at money cell phone payments in the $59.99 to $99.99 range. The major difference between the plans is minutes. Don’t forget the activation fee of $36. The hype is so great for the coveted iPhone that Apple stockholders can’t afford to have any small disappointments. Analysts claim that any issues or unmet expectations with the iPhone could have a dramatic effect on the price of its stock. There will probably be no concerns with the initial sales as people strive to be the first of their friends to own the Apple iPhone but as Sony is finding out with the PlayStation 3, the hype doesn’t always carry on throughout the life of the product. Apple may have some things going against them including only being available with AT&T. Many people are tied into contract with other wireless providers or don’t get good coverage from AT&T in their area. Either way, you can be sure that unless you have $500-$600 to pony up for a new phone on Friday, you’ll want to steer clear of your local AT&T store.
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The New York Post and Wall Street Journal both reported on Friday, May 04, 2007 that Microsoft and Yahoo are in the early discussion stages of a possible acquisition or merger. There have been reports of previous discussions about this same thing but to date, but no firm plans have been made. Originally, there was some speculation about a Microsoft/Yahoo deal about a year ago. Even with a combination of these two large companies, Google would still hold the market share of Internet searches. Last month, Google executed about 55 percent of online searches while Yahoo and MSN combined for only 32 percent. Many analysts believe that Microsoft is beginning to feel the pressure while Google continues to develop and expand their product line with Google Apps which offer some of the same abilities Microsoft Office currently provides. These products are currently web based and free from Google. Yahoo has experienced Google’s dominance more directly and has been in slow decline for years. The news of a possible acquisition accounted for a sharp increase in Yahoo’s stock raising it to a near 52 week high of $33.23 per share.
With Microsoft’s losing bid of DoubleClick to Google, it is obvious that Microsoft is looking to contend with the advertising giant, Google. Making a move to the internet advertising industry would supplement the slow growth of its application software. Google has kept the ball rolling with successful new programs and consistent acquisitions of companies that will only further their online dominance. With the recent Yahoo/Microsoft news, many experts are worried that a merger of these two companies will have the opposite effect and set Google even further apart than before. If a merger between Microsoft and Yahoo turned out to be unsuccessful, there would absolutely no one that could compete with Google. There are also issues of these two companies molding together. There are obvious geographic differences in their locations but other corporate differences that may turn out to be too much to overcome. The resources and effort it would take to merge two companies of this size might set them even further back than they already are. Microsoft appears to be taking on as much as it can handle with their software products. They have obviously not done well in the online arena. Taking on a company like Yahoo will be consuming in so many ways and will have a negative impact on both of them. Their offline software products will suffer and Yahoo, the next best search option, will get caught up in the mix and fall further behind. Yahoo needs to invest in their own products and bring them up to the speed of Google. They will lose a lot of time and money doing this through Microsoft. Microsoft needs to call it like it is and scale back their online efforts in order to focus on the things that are actually making them money. Imagine the improvements that could be made to the sometime sketchy Microsoft products if they invested their online budget into their software.
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