April 2011 - Posts
I’m a little, um…disappointed. How long have we all known the Playbook was coming, the “Bridge” concept, yet one carrier was not ready?
I really don’t get it. Rumors are that since the iPad/iPhone overwhelmed the network, they are trying to figure out what they need to do to throttle or charge for the data consumption. I hope that’s not true.
I received a Blackberry Playbook last week, and well, I’m not sure whether to blame RIM, AT&T or both. As many have already figured out, the Blackberry Bridge application will not install on AT&T Blackberry’s. Before you email me, yes, I’m fully aware that there is a standalone install that allows you to circumvent the block but nonetheless, Blackberry Bridge is blocked in AppWorld.
Strangely, it’s also the only carrier listed in the unsupported section. Really?
OK, back to the Playbook. From a size perspective, it’s slightly larger than the Samsung Galaxy Tab (that’s the Tab on the bottom, and the Playbook on the top). I like the form factor. The Xoom/iPad size (for those of us who carry around a laptop) is really too big for me. The larger screen size is nice, but the smaller form factor slides in my travel bag better and is easier to carry around and use.
From an app perspective, a little underwhelming. A lot of the apps that I have grown to love (including all my social media apps) just don’t exist for the Playbook. I’m sure with time the apps will improve, but for now, very limiting. Without it being connected to my Blackberry, it’s nothing more than a dumb terminal/kiosk with an internet connection. You’ve probably seen the articles. Without a Blackberry, there is no email, calendar, contacts, or any other “stuff” on the device. You must be “bridged” to the device to see the apps. While I can understand their reasoning for implementing this, why didn’t they take a lesson from Android and make separate email clients? One for corporate sync, the other for all your personal email? Or, just make the Exchange link unavailable unless connected? Why restrict it completely? And oh, by the way, internet mail or web mail is not a mail CLIENT. Please don’t say it has an email client when it doesn’t. It can do email, yes, but who really wants to use it for web mail?
I’ve only been able to successfully connect to the Playbook once. When I walked away from it and came back, it has a “Bridge Locked” error, and wouldn’t allow me to do anything at all on the device. I had to turn it off and back on, and once connected, all I got was “Bridge…Connecting”. Nothing…no connection…so, until they get that fixed, I can’t comment on 5 minutes of use while connected to my Blackberry.
So, in an attempt to get it to work, I deleted Bluetooth pairs, rebooted, hard reset, pulled batteries, deleted Bluetooth pairs again, paired Bluetooth first then tried to bridge, etc. All I get was a screen that said “An error (connection denied) occurred…”. When I tried to manually configure, I made it all the way to the end of the pairing exercise only to have the Playbook tell me Bridge was not installed. All in all, about an hour trying to get these two devices to talk to each other, only to see error screens. This was even after being prompted to upgrade to a latter release on the Playbook. So, after about a week, I’ve only had it working for about 5 minutes. The rest of the time I’ve been browsing the internet and looking for apps to install. Sigh…I’ve been led to believe it’s a Blackberry OS issue. Others that are testing this thing have not upgraded their Blackberry’s to the latest OS. Again…SIGH…
I’m not sure I get it. I’ll have to agree with others that have blogged about this device. It’s unfinished. I would not say it’s unusable, unless you’re looking for a 7 inch screen on WiFi that will allow you to browse the internet. Since I’m not in the market for something like that, I’m out. It needs serious work.
For now, I’ll stick with my iPad. There just aren’t enough good apps yet in the Market Place for the Xoom. With time, I’m sure it will get there too.
I have been using both the Samsung Focus and HTC Surround as my primary phones off and on now for several months, trading between the two since there are some things I like with both. I really like what Microsoft did with Windows Phone 7 and think they finally listened and get a great deal right with this phone. However, I ran in to my first “disaster” over the last couple of days and realized one of my complaints is now a problem. So, here it is.
I’m not sure what they were thinking when they integrated the applications in to WP7. Here’s what I mean. If you attach a WP7 phone to your computer and use Zune to purchase and install apps, no harm no foul. It works wonderfully and should you need to hard reset your phone for any reason, or you need to wipe the phone and start from scratch (we have to do this when testing), getting the apps back is a snap. Attach the phone, log in to your Zune account, all the apps come back.
So far so good right? Here’s where the problem comes in. What they don’t tell you is that once you install an app FROM THE PHONE, you’re done. You must always use the phone to get the app back. You can’t transfer to Zune, you can’t install from Zune, you can’t download from Zune. Nothing, your done. I must have missed this in the instructions. So, happy as can be, once I got the phone I went crazy in the Marketplace downloading apps. There are a great deal of good, free apps. So, while sitting watching TV, sitting in a restaurant, sitting waiting to get my kids from school, I was searching the Marketplace and installing apps.
Well, disaster struck. The phone was wiped of all data and now I’m trying to get the apps back. I attached to Zune and there are about 10 apps that transferred back to the phone with no issue. There are LOTS of apps though that didn’t come back. Here’s the thing though. If you find them in the Marketplace again in the Zune client and click download, guess what happens? Here’s a screen capture:
What do you notice? Yes, that’s right. It’s “already purchased”, and there is no option to download again. Seriously? Once I download from the phone, I have to go back to the phone and download each app all over again? Why can’t I download and archive for restore within Zune? Do you have any idea how long it takes to search for apps (Marketplace Search is horrible and hopefully gets fixed) and download each app over again? I’ll bet I downloaded at least 25-30 apps directly to the phone, and now there is no way to get the app again except from the phone. I don’t have time to sit here and do this all over again. Yes, I can go to purchase history and see all the apps I’ve downloaded but there is no indication where it was downloaded, and no indication if it’s available in Zune so I have to go back and forth from the list of apps to the phone to see what’s there and what isn’t. Why would they do this? This almost makes me want to table WP7 rather than wasting my time re-downloading my apps all over again. What happens if I need to wipe the phone again? Start all over once again ? Where is the backup that allows me to do a simple restore and get everything back, including tiles and settings? Where is the option to “transfer” from the phone to Zune so Zune has the complete record?
I’ll be honest with you. I don’t need cut, copy and paste, I don’t need multitasking, I don’t need some of the other functionality being discussed. Yes, those are nice to have. But being able to get my phone back is critical for me. You shouldn’t have to struggle through a phone reset.
I’ll say in this area alone, Apple (with their iOS products) and Blackberry win this hands down. No contest, not even close. All the apps and settings come back once attached to a computer and once restored. I can wipe hundreds of time and within minutes my phone is back right where I left it. It shouldn’t be this hard.
Again, another CTIA keynoter makes the news. The LightSquared CEO shared the opening keynote of CTIA discussing their LTE buildout and expansion plans for the upcoming year. I really didn’t know what LightSquared did until the keynote. Then I read an article today:
Senators Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) want the FCC to stop LightSquared from deploying its LTE network until it proves its service doesn't interfere with GPS services.
In an open letter released yesterday, the lawmakers asked their fellow senators to call on the FCC to ensure that GPS service is not compromised in any way by LightSquared's planned hybrid-satellite LTE network.
LightSquared plans to deploy its services on spectrum directly adjacent to GPS bands. The company has developed filters to stop its signal from bleeding into GPS service, but major GPS stakeholders, including the Defense Department, fear that widespread GPS "dead zones" are inevitable if LightSquared's network goes live.
He shared with everyone the LTE for everyone concept because they were the first to utilize satellites to help the network cover current dead zones. That is now what is being questioned.
The problem, they say, is that sensitive satellite receivers -- designed to pick up relatively weak signals coming from space -- could be overwhelmed when LightSquared starts sending high-power signals from as many as 40,000 transmitters on the ground using the airwaves next door.
"The potential impact of GPS interference is so vast, it's hard to get your head around," said Jim Kirkland, vice president and general counsel of Trimble Navigation Ltd., which makes GPS systems. "Think 40,000 GPS dead spots covering millions of square miles in cities and towns throughout the U.S."
He made an announcement that Cricket Wireless and Best Buy had already signed on. Knowing the government and how long they can take, I wonder what this will do to the LTE network for LightSquared. The GPS industry as a whole is huge. It won’t be as easy as they say it will be.
A couple of new toys arrived in the mail yesterday. A new Motorola Atrix 4G and a Laptop Dock.
I tried the Atrix back when it was first released, but it has some shortcomings that made me shelve it until the update is available. But, with the arrival of the Laptop Dock, I had to give it another go.
In essence, it’s a small 11.5-inch docking station for the phone that allows you to use the phone but with a larger screen and keyboard. Still figuring out all the “coolness” so I’ll update this later. I’ve done everything today with it. Email, making phone calls, running apps like Twitter and Facebook, browsing the web. No doubt with the dual core of the Atrix the dock was fast. The mouse would occasionally stick on me, leaving me in screens I wasn’t intending to be on, but overall it was a great experience. I would rank it up there with the tablet + experience. I guess Palm and their Foleo were once again before their time because this is what it reminds me off (yes, I still have two Foleo’s in my basement).
Opening and closing the lid of the laptop dock actually connects/disconnects the docking station. Based on this experience, I’m seriously considering full time use. I still love my Samsung Focus, but really looking forward to Mango.
It wasn’t too long ago that I sat in the audience at CTIA when Hesse, de la Vega, and Mead all shared the stage with Jim Cramer. During that discussion, Hesse (unless my brain had vapor lock) clearly said Sprint wouldn’t oppose the deal, he didn’t care, and didn’t think it would stifle competition. Oh what a couple of weeks make!
“We just cannot let this happen,” Hesse said today at an event in San Francisco. “If the proposed AT&T and T-Mobile merger is allowed to go forward it can also push the wireless industry from competition to duopoly.”
This was announced a day before CTIA stated and was THE topic of conversation that week. Hesse did a great job in the sessions, and one of the few that appeared to have a sense of humor that we all appreciated.
Hesse stated the merger would put control of 80 percent of the wireless industry revenue into the hands of the two carriers, the combined T-Mobile-AT&T and Verizon Wireless. Regulators should consider what impact the merger will have on consumer prices as well as innovation. The merger could restrict access to device makers among smaller wireless companies. With the buying power of the two largest wireless companies, “they could restrict access to some of the cool devices.”
It’s not surprising that Sprint has now taken the position. What’s surprising is a couple of weeks ago I heard him say they didn’t care.