Why Apple Is Sticking With AT&T and other tales...

[Dover]

To many, the most shocking part of Apple's Wednesday unveiling of its new iPad tablet computer was the fact that the company stuck by business partner AT&T.

After all, AT&T's ( T - news - people ) patchy support of Apple's ( AAPL - news - people ) iPhone has generated consumer ire for months with users across the country complaining of dropped calls and dead zones. The problems lent credence to a rumor that Verizon ( VZ - news - people ) Wireless would be tapped to host Apple's new gadget, either alongside AT&T or by itself. But at its press event Wednesday, Apple named AT&T as the sole carrier for the third generation (3G) version of the iPad.

So why did AT&T prevail over competitors at a time of great stress in its relationship with Apple? Experts cite three main reasons: the desire for both companies to preserve their alliance, AT&T's Wi-Fi assets and network readiness.

cont'd

http://www.forbes.com/2010/01/27/apple-ipad-verizon-technology-cio-network-att.html?boxes=Homepagemostpopular


Apple iPad Gripes and Groans

BURLINGAME, Calif. -- You've got to hand it to Forbes publisher Rich Karlgaard: Last fall, he blogged about the then-upcoming Apple tablet, calling it the "Apple iPad."

Although his prognostication came true, some are snickering that the name reminds them of feminine products and have dubbed the new device "iTampon," a term that has landed into Twitter's trending topics. The name "iPad," however, is just one of several gripes circulating among the tech pundit circuit. Other complaints include lack of camera, lousy virtual keyboard and no killer technology breakthroughs.

First up in Gizmodo's eight-item roundup of bad iPad features was the one-inch-wide bezel. That's the black casing around your iPod or iPhone, and according to the gadget blog's Adam Frucci, "It's huge! I know you don't want to accidentally input a command when your thumb is holding it, but come on."

Blog ReadWriteWeb lamented the lack of a camera, something users expect in a multi-purpose device. The Forbes technology staff thinks a camera would have been swell for videoconferencing.

Another groan? No Flash support, posits VentureBeat's Anthony Ha. ..cont'd

http://www.forbes.com/2010/01/27/ipad-apple-tablet-technology-cio-network-pundits.html?partner=popstories


Google And The iPad
How Apple's new device raises the stakes for that other disruptor.

http://www.forbes.com/2010/01/27/ipad-apple-ipod-technology-cio-network-google.html?partner=popstories

[hlthe2b]

1. Well, verizon would have been marginally better than AT&T

Guess I'll be skipping the IPhone quite a while longer. AT&T and I just can't do business after they sold out the American people with their wiretapping policies. I only wish more people had stood up to them, but that tantalizing IPhone won the day, I guess.

[Tesha]

9. Put a T-Mobile SIM in it; it's sold "unlocked". (NT)

[yodoobo]

21. well..its sort of unlocked.

Its good marketing to say its unlocked, but they are implementing a new smaller SIM type.

So yea, its unlocked. You can put it on any carrier that uses the new Micro-Sim

Unfortunately, only AT&T uses in the Micro-Sim for now.

[Tesha]

22. See my reply below; a handy person could "convert" a SIM to a MicroSIM.

Also, T-Mobile says they'll have the new MicroSIMs.

Tesha

[Touchdown]

10. Umm. Verizon wiretapped us too.

and Sprint... and MCI (Now Verizon), and Bell South (now at&t) and Southwestern Bell (now at&t), and United, Citizens, Rochester, and numerous other little ones (Who are now Frontier or Embarq), and GTE (now Verizon). The only major carrier that told the NSA to take a hike was Qwest.

[hlthe2b]

14. At&T set them up-- an entire building provided to them..

My understanding through the ELectronic Frontier Foundation that they all allowed international tapping; however, At&T actively permitted domestic... Is that incorrect?

[Touchdown]

20. You are correct. The EFF only knows that because the

whistleblower was one of my union brothers. An AT&T employee (as am I). He worked in the San Francisco office, which is an international hub. The splitters (wiretapping equipment) were installed at the switch, which both domestic and international calls go through.

However, the NSA and the Bush Cabal openly admitted that all contracts to all carriers allowed for domestic, after they were caught lying to the public about "...It requires a court order."-Bush. All companies that took the payola did the same as AT&T did. We know how they did it because of the whistleblower, but it's also how they all did it.

The protection racket legislation from Congress in 2008 providing retroactive immunity was for all telecoms involved, not just AT&T.

Verizon took the money and wiretapped. They did it when they were still called GTE, MCI, NYNEX and Bell Atlantic. The AT&T that got whistleblown is the old Ma Bell Long Distance company. SBC, Cingular & Bell South also took the money and wiretapped. In 2006-7 all 4 of these companies merged to become the new AT&T.

So, if you are just going to blame AT&T based on the EFF and their info from the AT&T long distance technician, then you should have no problem with AT&T wireless, since they were not in the EFF's fact sheets, only AT&T Long Distance was. AT&T wireless (the one which you refuse to use) was Cingular, and they did wiretap, but the EFF didn't sue them.

To be truly consistant, the only carriers you should be using are Qwest, Working Assets and Earthlink.

[hlthe2b]

23. What about Sprint and T-Mobile?

[Touchdown]

24. Sprint wiretapped and took Bush's money.

I don't know about T-Mobile, because they were small fries back in 2001, when this started. Alltel did wiretap, as they were a local exchange carrier before they became wireless.

T-Mobile has a small network, but for the most time they buy the use of AT&T's mobile network.

That's the true secret. It's all interconnected. That's the only way the global telephone network works. It really doesn't matter who you pay, you will eventually go over everybody's network at one time or another, where access fees apply. Our biggest customers aren't GM or Wal-Mart. Our biggest customer is Verizon, and we're theirs.

[Xithras]

2. The real reason for sticking with AT&T has nothing to do with AT&T

It's GSM. GSM is the most popular wireless technology on the planet, and AT&T is the only carrier in the U.S. that has its own nationwide GSM network (there are other GSM providers, like T-Mobile, but they license service in many areas instead of having their own networks). To make this clear, 80% of the mobile users on the planet use GSM.

By selecting GSM as their wireless technology, Apple has ensured that their gear will work in virtually every corner of the world. In the U.S., that decision wedded them to AT&T, but worldwide, it made them portable onto almost ANY network.

The good news is that Apple has already stated that they'll start supporting LTE (4G) on their devices in the very near future, and I'll be suprised if the iPhone 2 doesn't have LTE support out of the box (disabled, but ready to go). LTE is essentially the "next" version of GSM, with higher data rates. AT&T and Verizon are both rolling out LTE, which means that the Apple devices won't be technology bound to a particular network.

The real problem here isn't Apple, it was Verizon's decision to stick with CDMA all those years ago even though AT&T and the rest of the planet had moved on to something else. They made themselves "odd-man-out" in the phone technology world. Once Verizon joins everyone else at the technology table, Verizon users should get access to the same wireless technology that everyone else has.

Apple currently builds a single version of the iPhone for use in Europe, Asia, & the America's, and the ONLY difference between a French iPhone and an American AT&T iPhone are a couple of software settings. They produce one device that can be sold worldwide. To make a version for Verizon, they'd need to create a completely seperate hardware line, building a different version of the iPhone that would ONLY work on Verizon or other cheap CDMA carriers. Apple's decision was simply that the American CDMA market wasn't large enough to bother with, ESPECIALLY as its biggest user (Verizon) had already pledged itself to moving to LTE in a few years.

[Dover]

3. Thanks for that great explanation.

Now if only I knew what G3/G4 meant.

Little ol' me is still on an extemely slow dialup, landline.

[dmr]

4. My son told me yesterday it means generation

3G, 4G = 3rd & 4th generation.

I had to ask too. I thought it meant gigs.

Son is debating whether to get an iphone or the droid.

[Dover]

6. Ah, thanks! But.....what does that mean technologically speaking..

in layman's terms of course?

And now I have to find out what the 'droid' is...JEESH!

[dmr]

16. Each one is newer version of the other n/t

[Xithras]

7. I like the Android phones.

As a bonus, you can get Android phones on any network. I'm actually holding off on getting a new phone right now because I want to see if T-Mobile pushes 2.0 to the myTouch. If they do, I'm going that route.

[dmr]

17. He's decided on the Android

too many cons on the iphone compared to the droid, like not being able to multi-task. He likes the GPS on the Android, too. T-mobile isn't available where we live, & it's only available through Verizon - which has recently become available to this part of Michigan.

I've always carried the family plan through Sprint, but he wants to take it over, so through this family plan deal I get a new free phone - a new toy for me - a Blackberry.

[Xithras]

5. One of Apples lead engineers gave a talk last year and the subject came up.

It was very eye opening, and I honestly don't understand why Apple isn't more upfront about it. Apple, coming from the computer world and with a computer world mentality, only wanted to make a single hardware version of their phones, so they chose the most globally popular wireless protocol and one that was based on an open standard (developed by the French, no less). They partnered with AT&T because they're the ONLY carrier in the United States equipped with their own network to support that protocol in all 50 states and all metropolitan areas. It's the only network in the U.S. on which Apple could guarantee service, no matter where you lived in the U.S.

Then they locked out the other GSM carriers because AT&T demanded it as a term of their contract.

It really is that simple.

[Tesha]

11. Good explanation. One nit...

At least in our area, T-Mobile is building out their own
network; we're in the midst of a debate with the local
planning board about their latest several proposed towers.

Tesha

[Xithras]

12. I'm actually a T-Mobile user.

T-Mobile IS building out their own network across the country, but it's not done yet. There are still vast areas of this country where T-Mobile users are roaming on other carriers networks simply because T-Mobile hasn't expanded there yet, and T-Mobile has the least 3G coverage of any carrier.

I have no problem with T-Mobile as a company and am happy with them as a customer (I moved from AT&T to T-Mobile, and the service levels aren't even comparable), but I do understand why Apple preferred the AT&T network.

Of course, T-Mobile may well end up in the same position as Verizon here in a few years. T-Mobile has been backing off of it's LTE rollout plans for the better part of the last year, focusing instead on HSPA+. They have some legitimate gripes with LTE, and there are bandwidth problems to deal with, but they're in real danger of becoming the new "odd man out" if they don't embrace it quickly.

[hlthe2b]

15. thank you... very helpful

[rapturedbyrobots]

8. ALMOST found a way around AT&T

i've been trying to get unstuck from my iPhone voice/data plan for some time now and ALMOST have a solution.

i'm using google voice to merge my skype in/out number (for voice) and my textnow account (for SMS). the combined total for both accounts is something like $60 per YEAR. this gives me unlimited calling nationwide (with low skype rates for international) and free SMS worldwide. Both work wonderfully on my laptop and iPhone. Sounds great no?

only problem is i need to be on wi-fi to use both without AT&T. as soon as i get off wi-fi it still works, but i depend on AT&T for the 3g service to keep things connected.

luckily the iPad comes with a cheap $15/mo 3g plan. I now use about 100MB/mo. but that could go up when i use 3g for skype (now officially supported by the Apple App Store).

if i can get that iPad 3g data only plan to work on my iPhone...then i'll be good to go for unlimited voice and SMS anywhere there is wi-fi or 3g. all for $15/mo + $50-60 initial sign-up for skype & textnow.

if you can't switch the iPad 3g microSIM card to the iPhone regular SIM bay (there should be adapters for this right?).... then i'll need another way to get cheap 3g service on GSM. anybody know of a good fix for this? i'm willing to jailbreak/unlock the iPhone if necessary.

thanks.

ps. i hate AT&T

[Tesha]

13. The MicroSIM and a regular "2nd generation SIM" are electrically identical.

Apparently, if you're careful enough, an ordinary SIM can be trimmed
down to a MicroSIM and a MicroSIM could be wedged into the carrier
for an ordinary SIM.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2358489,00.asp



Tesha

[rapturedbyrobots]

19. thanks for the info

it would be great if i could just stick the iPad sim into my iPhone and get 3G for $15 without the contract and voice plan. So close!

[underpants]

18. ps. i got that

Wow great post. I was with you there for a while by I checked out while reading it.

you are almost there. Nice effort anyway

BTW- I go looking for hardware all the time (it would be perfect) but the things I want don't exist.

ps. I hate lowe's