Don't like AT&T? Too bad.
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET)If you polled a group of iPhone owners on their biggest complaint about the handset, I'd guess that most would name the AT&T service. Yes, spotty coverage and the sometimes abysmal customer service are not to be ignored, but those issues are hardly unique to AT&T. On the other hand, one gripe is very legitimate: the fact that AT&T has a monopoly on Apple's device. It's aggravating and just not fair, they would say, and I have to agree.
A quick look abroad offers a much better model. I recently returned from a fantastic trip to Australia (as if you could have any other) where three carriers offer the iPhone. There you will find it at Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone. I knew this before I arrived in Oz, and it's worth noting that Australia is not the only country to offer the iPhone on multiple carriers, but I had to see just how the services differed.
According to my colleagues at CNET Australia, Telstra offers the best coverage at the highest price. Optus is just the opposite, and Vodafone is in between. The plans did seem to vary, but an unlimited data model was less prevalent. Perhaps that's why I noticed far fewer iPhones in the wild. But even so, the concept of a real customer choice is a great thing.
The reasons for AT&T's dominance here aren't a mystery. Apple doesn't make a CDMA version of the iPhone, and Verizon Wireless passed on the opportunity when Apple was first shopping for carriers. And even though T-Mobile in Europe offers the iPhone, T-Mobile USA isn't quite an option either, mostly because its 3G technology is incompatible. But just the same, it irks me that the home of Apple, and a country with 306 million people (a few more than Australia), restricts iPhone owners to just one provider. Sure, the carrier-driven U.S. cell phone market has always been in a class by itself, but that doesn't make it right.
HTC Magic
(Credit: HTC)To our disappointment, there hasn't been a ton of Google Android news to come out of GSMA Mobile World Congress 2009 so far. Huawei announced on Monday that it plans to start selling Android devices later this year, but other than that we didn't see a T-Mobile G2, and Samsung already said it would not show its Android phone at the show as it has been delayed until the second half of 2009.
However, we did get one device announcement. The bad news is that it's not for the U.S. market. On Tuesday, Vodafone said it will bring the HTC Magic to market this spring--the first Google Android device for the carrier. The Magic will be a Vodafone exclusive in the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, and France and will be available on a nonexclusive basis in Italy.
The HTC Magic features a 3.2-inch HVGA touch screen and trackball navigator, but doesn't have a slide-out QWERTY keyboard like the T-Mobile G1. The quad-band smartphone will offer various e-mail options, including Gmail (of course) and POP3 and IMAP accounts, and will support Google applications like Google Maps and Google Search. Vodafone customers will also have access to the Android Market, from where they can download more applications and games for their smartphones. Other goodies include a Webkit browser, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, HSDPA/WCDMA (900/2100MHz), and a 3.2-megapixel camera.
The HTC Magic will come in multiple colors: white for United Kingdom, Spain, and France; black for Germany; and both colors for Italy. Exact release dates and pricing schemes were not announced at this time, though there was mention that the Magic would be "available for free on various price plans." Vodafone also plans to release the HTC Magic in other markets over the next few months.
(Credit:
ZTE)
The wonderful and torturous thing about GSMA Mobile World Congress is that you get to see handsets from a number of international manufacturers that are beyond imagination but will most likely never make it Stateside.
Take ZTE for example. It may not be a recognized cell phone brand in the United States, although the company does offer a couple of its handsets through MetroPCS, including the ZTE C79 and the ZTE C88, but it happens to be one of China's largest handset manufacturers.
ZTE will, once again, make the voyage to Barcelona this year and revealed on Tuesday that it will unveil a full portfolio of smartphones at Mobile World Congress. The company said it will display 10 different designs, ranging from low end to high end, and the highlight of the show will be the VF 1231 Windows Mobile smartphone, which was developed specifically for Vodafone.
We'll be sure to stop by ZTE's booth at GSMA to get more information about the smartphones and snap some photos, so be sure to check out our full coverage when the show starts on February 16.
RIM just released the BlackBerry Bold shown here, but could have a touch-screen model coming soon.
(Credit: RIM)Research in Motion has a touch-screen BlackBerry in the works that should be out in the third quarter, according to a report Thursday.
The Wall Street Journal has echoed a previous report from The Boy Genius Report that RIM's BlackBerry Thunder will arrive later this year exclusively on Vodafone and Verizon's networks. The device is seen as an answer to Apple's iPhone, which will likely be running on AT&T's 3G network by the time the Thunder arrives.
RIM is by far the leading smartphone company in the U.S., but Apple has come out of nowhere to take second place, and the competition should intensify with Apple's plans for business-friendly software and RIM's continued advance into the consumer market. RIM has started advertising the BlackBerry during consumer-friendly shows such as the NBA playoffs, and Apple's getting set for The Second Annual Month of iPhone Ridiculousness in the coming weeks.
Vodafone is the latest cell phone company to get Apple's iPhone, the company said Tuesday.
Telecom Italia also said Tuesday it's going to sell the iPhone in Italy.
Vodafone will be distributing the iPhone in 10 countries, making this the first time that Apple has sold the phone through two different operators in the same market.
(Credit:
Apple)
Vodafone subscribers will be able to get the iPhone in Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa, and later this year in Turkey.
Almost a year after the iPhone hit store shelves in the U.S. market, it's still only available in a few countries outside the U.S., including the U.K., Germany, and France.
Canadian wireless operator Rogers Communications recently announced it has the exclusive contract to sell the popular touch-screen device there.
Apple watchers believe the company will soon come out with a 3G version of the iPhone. Apple has cut prices of the iPhone in the U.K. and Germany, which some believe is an indication the company is getting ready to launch the 3G version of the phone this summer. T-Mobile is currently selling the 8GB iPhone in Germany for 99 euros until the end of June. Subscribers who get the phone at the price have to agree to a hefty service contract.
I've always wondered why European telcos were so stingy with their data plans, offering set data limits for a monthly fee when the U.S. carriers--so backwards in other ways--offered unlimited usage.
Well, Vodafone has finally taken off the blinders and is offering unlimited data to all of its customers ... for free, when it used to charge $15 per month.
The fine print is that "unlimited" means 500MB. (While in London recently I burned through 10MB per day, so 500MB may well effectively mean unlimited use.)
As in open source, the opportunity of the mobile web lies in adoption, not throttling adoption through caps. Any money lost in this giveaway should be made up in other services that Vodafone offers around the data. Now Vodafone just needs to figure out those services. The data part is taken care of.
(Credit:
GeekSugar)
You've got to hand it to Madonna. As she turns 50 this year--50!--she's still remaking and evolving herself to stave off irrelevance. And that applies to technology as well, especially where marketing is concerned.
Her latest idea is to make seven tracks from her upcoming album, Hard Candy, available to Vodafone customers before its April 28 release. But don't expect the tunes to be free, GeekSugar says--just early, for bragging rights.
By the way, in case you were wondering, the uber-star's publicist says reports that her marriage is on the rocks are patently false.
Vodafone makes itself known at GSMA.
(Credit: Kent German/CNET Networks)The GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, is winding to a close, but that doesn't mean mobile phone news have stopped streaming in. The third day of GSMA 2008 saw AMD announcing big plans for mobile phone processors, RIM's co-CEO downplaying the recent BlackBerry outage, and the LiMo Foundation possibly giving Google's Android a run for its money with its own effort at an open, Linux-based operating system. Of course, we also took the opportunity to look at phones and carriers off the beaten path.
For starters, Senior Editor Kent German explored the large Vodafone plaza (Vodafone is a UK-based carrier) and took a look at their phones, such as the Nokia 5310 and the Samsung SGH-P110, which we'll never get here. He also lamented the lackluster Alcatel presence, despite their big showing in 2007. NEC is a big phone manufacturer outside of the U.S., and Kent gave us a good look at the NEC FOMA N705i for NTT DoCoMo in Japan, which also happens to be one of the first LiMo Foundation phones.
Nokia's Remade uses recycled and renewable materials to lessen its environmental impact.
(Credit: Nokia)In an effort to go green, Nokia has unveiled Remade, a phone that is made entirely out of renewable and recycled parts. Senior Editor Bonnie Cha also got a look at the much talked about Garmin Nuvifone, a touch screen phone with a lot of GPS functionality. Andrew Lim from CNET UK gave us a hands-on look at the luscious LG KF600 and KF700 touch screen phones as well.
One of the different devices we saw is the Polymer Vision's Readius, a phone that is also an e-book reader--the display can even be rolled up like paper. Another phone that looks very different from the rest is the Modu, which has different "sleeves" that can add to the functionality of the phone. Even though iRiver is more known for their MP3 players, this year in Barcelona, iRiver Europe announced it's breaking into the cell phone business with its first ever mobile phone, called the iRiver W7.
Readius e-book reader that's also a phone.
(Credit: Crave Asia)ZTE, which doesn't have much of a presence in the U.S. market, is one of the largest cell phone manufacturers in China, so we had to take a look at the company's phones. Overall, we're pretty impressed--their phones ranged from the keyboard-equipped smartphone to the simple flip phone. A lot of their devices are high-end megapixel phones that support HSDPA. As for companies that the U.S. is familiar with, Palm is unfortunately rather quiet at GSMA 2008, but news is that it might debut a white version of the Palm Centro on February 19th.
We'll have more as the week goes on, but please take a look at our complete coverage of GSMA Mobile World Congress 2008 for plenty of product slide shows, videos, and more.
Vodafone makes itself known at GSMA.
(Credit: Kent German/CNET Networks)Just to tease myself I stepped into the Vodafone pavilion at the GSMA World Congress. I knew I'd come out with pangs of jealousy, but it's important to see what the rest of the world's carriers are up to. The pavilion is certainly impressive enough by itself. Set out in a plaza between two show buildings, it's a two-story, glass-walled affair. Inside there's the usual reception desk and meeting areas, but there's also a wall of phones that Vodafone carries. Though quite a of the few handsets were no different from what we get in the United States, there also were some models that we're just hoping to get stateside. And best of all, they were attached to the wall only by magnets so I could get up close and personal.
Samsung SGH-P110
(Credit: Kent German/CNET Networks)I spied the Nokia 5310 and the Samsung F700. Both phones have been around for some time now, but there's still no sign they'll make it to a U.S. carrier. I also got to fondle the eye-catching Samsung P110. Introduced at last year's show, the SGH-P110 has a unique design that features a multiway hinge that both swivels and slips open. The result is a bit of a Frankenphone, but you can't argue that it's a striking concept. It also has a full keyboard that partially shares space with the standard numeric keys. We saw something similar to this in 2005 with Cingular's Samsung SGH-D307, but then we weren't too impressed the result. But Samsung redeemed itself last year with Verizon's SCH-U740, so we'd be willing to give them another chance. So thank you, Vodafone, for a nice visit.
Verizon Wireless is shaking up its technology plans for the second time this week.
Two days after the company announced plans to open its network to outside devices and applications, it announced plans to switch gears when it comes to future networking technology.
Verizon Communications and Vodafone, joint owners of Verizon Wireless, plan to use the LTE (Long Term Evolution) standard backed by GSM industry players rather than the UMB (ultramobile broadband) standard backed by Verizon's current partners.
There's a host of implications for the industry, but for the phone user, the impact is simple. Right now, if you're a Verizon or Sprint customer, and you want to travel to many parts of the world, you'll have to get a rental, if you want to make calls while you're there. The move toward LTE would bring Verizon into the GSM world and enable travelers to use their phones around the world (for a hefty fee, of course).
In some ways, the move makes a lot of sense, and Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg hinted that this was coming a few months ago.
The GSM family of standards is used by about 80 percent of the world's mobile phones--and by major carriers such as AT&T, T-Mobile, Vodafone, and virtually every other European carrier. If Vodafone is already planning to head down the LTE path for its own networks, it's natural that Vodafone would nudge its subsidiary down a similar path so they could share expertise and get better deals on equipment from companies like Alcatel-Lucent and Nortel Networks.
But Verizon currently uses the CDMA (code division multiple access) standard for its networks. CDMA is used by Sprint, and it's popular in Asia. It's also controlled by Qualcomm, which owns patents on the CDMA technology and runs a very lucrative business in licensing that technology to carriers and phone makers.
This is going to take years to play out. Don't expect to see LTE networks and phones for at least two to three years, said Avi Greengart, an analyst at Current Analysis. All Verizon said on Thursday is that, along with Vodafone, it plans to start testing the LTE equipment in 2008.
But if the companies follow through with plans to deploy the LTE networks, it could be a blow to Qualcomm's future business. Sprint's 4G plans are very much up in the air. It had originally announced its intention to use WiMax technology for its 4G network, but after sacking CEO Gary Forsee, the company is re-evaluating its plans.
At peak rates (which are rarely reached in the real world), LTE networks will let you download data at a whopping 100 megabits per second, compared to the 1Mbps or so that you'll get from a 3G EV-DO connection on Verizon's network at the moment, or a 1.5Mbps DSL connection at home.
In a press release announcing its decision, Verizon noted that this type of bandwidth won't just be for cell phones. "Discussions with device suppliers have expanded beyond traditional suppliers, such as LG, Samsung, Motorola, Nokia, and Sony Ericsson, as consumer electronics companies anticipate embedded wireless functionality in their future products."
