Potential Apple Mobile Device Not To Be Designed For Professional Use

February 07, 2006

Do I believe that Apple is working on and will release a cell phone within the next 12 months? Yes. Will I hold off and purchase that phone (and whatever service will be required to make it fully functional)? No. Read on to hear why.

I think that Apple is surely up to something in the mobile arena. With all of the varying reports of iPhones, tablets, wireless iPods, etc... there is no reason to think they are not planning their moves in order to cash in on this billion dollar industry. I do not, however, think that the first phone (or wireless device) that they release will be aimed at the professional or even prosumer. I believe that the first device will feature an iPod like interface and Bluetooth. I think that this first foray into the mobile world will be a glorified iPod, potentially with GSM phone capabilities (in order to piggyback onto Cingular or TMobile networks) but also require a new style plan (most likely offered straight from Apple) in order to access the ITMS. I also believe that the phone itself will be tightly integrated with .Mac and it's accompyning services (mail, groups, iDisk, etc...).

I will not purchase this device though. The lack of a QWERTY keyboard, Airport Extreme (802.11g), various peripheral ports (USB, FW, etc...) and even a slick version of OS X scaled down to fit the processor and screen will leave a lackluster device for the business professional. Do I blame Apple for this approach? No. They are slowly gaining ground in the business sector I'm sure, but this is not their target market. For Apple to release a device aimed at the business professional glorifying it's "connectivity" through marketing, they risk alienating their bread and butter market, the iPod generation. Has your younger sibling ever complained about the lack of WiFi on the Treo 650? Exactly.

So in conclusion, I will not hold out for an Apple mobile device as there is no sign of one coming over the next few months and even if it does, I don't believe it will be aimed at professionals.

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Treo 650 - One More Time Around

July 27, 2005

So I'm going to take the Treo 650 for another spin. Cingular (my service provider) and Palm (formerly known as PalmOne) have just released an update to the Treo's firmware that updates the VersaMail client to 3.0c and adds Dial Up Networking (DUN) support via Bluetooth. These two features kept me from holding on to the device back in February. Hopefully this time around the device will perform properly as there are no other solid choices in EDGE capable, iSync compatible, QWERTY keyboard phones.

I'll keep this area posted with the results.

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Returned My Treo 650

February 28, 2005

I got the Cingular 650 on February 2nd and have been frustrated since I opened the box. Outside of the confusion regarding dataplans and DUN mine simply continually failed when connecting to and syncing with my IMAP email using Versamail. For $450 I'm simply not convinced that the phone was production stable and therefore returned it. It may not have helped that I use a Mac and was unhappy with the sync situation (the Palm contact management application is far inferrior to the Apple OS X Address Book) and am also very much a power user when it comes to email.

Just one persons opinion and I know that many of you are very happy with your Treo 650's. I just cannot justify it. Maybe things will get better when/if Tiger iSync is more flexible and Palm fixes the Versamail issues.

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Treo 650 First Impressions

February 09, 2005

After almost a week with my new Treo 650 GSM on Cingular I have to say I'm more than happy with the devise. Of course there are some issues with it but overall I think it's a solid phone with great PDA functionality.

Pros

• The Speed - This thing is super fast on the web reaching speeds of 140kbps
• The Screen - The display on the device is really beautiful making using the device a pleasure
• Integration - This is both a positive and a negative. It's great how well integrated the PDA and phone are but I have a problem with the Versamail email client.
• Bluetooth - I tested Dial Up Networking and am happy to report that it works. It's not the easiest thing in the world to set up but once you're connected it's pretty quick. I was reaching speeds of around 90kbps with my powerbook.
• The Keyboard - The keyboard on this device allows easy typing and can be "hacked" to speed the input of capitals and special characters

Cons

• Versamail - This email client has proven itself somewhat limiting as it will not properly sync with my IMAP folders. It also has trouble with CC and keeps resetting my device
• Price - This device was VERY expensive, even with a new contract from Cingular
• Palm Contacts Application - This application does not store data as flawlessly as the Apple Address Book and therefore does not sync well with it.

As I said, overall I'm very happy and can see this phone working out well over the long run. I need to either get Versamail working properly or change email clients though because the lack of proper email usage may be a deal-breaker

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Cingular Treo 650

February 02, 2005

I finally ordered the Treo 650. I got it from Cingular B2B and had it shipped overnight so it should be here on Thursday or Friday. I'm excited about the potential of this phone as mobile email and web are important to me. I intend to apply a hack to the Dial Up Networking to allow me to get online with my powerbook at EDGE speeds. This has been done successfully by Treo 650 owners so we'll see if I can get it to work. I'll be reporting back with initial thoughts as soon as I get the phone.

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Taxi WiFi

January 20, 2005

An interesting thing happened to me on the way to a meeting today. I was running late so I decided that my best bet would be a cab. Normally, when in a cab I use my bluetooth to connect my Powerbook to my cellphone and connect to T-Mobile's GPRS network for data transfer. This normally works fine except that today I needed to download a rather large file from my machine at the office. Being that the speeds of GPRS seldom exceed 33.6kbs I needed a faster connection. While sitting at a traffic light I managed to utilize someone's open wireless network "linksys". This is the default name for the wireless network on Linksys routers which, also by default, are left unsecured. I was able to stay logged on long enough to log into the work machine and download the file.

While cruising along I realized that there were many open "linksys" networks along 3rd Avenue. Each time I stopped at a light my machine would attach itself to "linksys" and I was up and running again. Being that the machine is assigned a new IP address and must negotiate with the router each time it's not as seamless as it sounds.

It's not a sure fire bet and much less ideal then the potential of systems like Wi-Max but in the mean time the free access of unsecured networks coupled with the traffic and stoplights of NYC makes for decent internet access while on the road.

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Apple iPhone

December 22, 2004

MobileWhack: "Rumours that Apple is making their own phone (dubbed by the pundits the 'iPhone') are flying around the net, backed up by reports that they're showing prototypes around to their partners. These rumours are probably true -- for one simple reason -- the iPod."

For me, this device would be a sure buy. I am an Apple Macintosh user who has been looking for a solid replacement for my SonyEricsson T610 for about 6 months now. I've been tempted by the Treo 650 but PalmOne's lack of continuing support for the Mac OS is a little discouraging. I've also been interested in the SonyEricsson P910i but it's $800 price tag is keeping me away. Hopefully MobileWhack is correct in their prediction and if so, that this new iPhone be release sooner rather than later considering my T610 is on it's last leg

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FlipStart PC

February 26, 2004

If only it was made by Apple and running OS X.

http://www.flipstartpc.com/

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Cell Phone Number Portability

November 05, 2003

As I'm sure most people are aware, cell phone number portability is slated to go into effect on November 24, 2003. With that in mind it is now up to the consumer to take a good look at their current provider, plan and phone and to decide what to do. Some carriers (look out Sprint) are doing all they can to make this difficult for customers to understand and therefore switch carriers. Some are even charging fees for the right to have a portable number (illegal).

One good resource for phones, plans and current information on cell phone number portability is MyRatePlan.com. They are providing a comprehensive information center designed to assist consumers in making the best choice for their cell phone carrier.

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Cellphone Number Portability

October 27, 2003

On November 24th a new law goes into effect in the United States allowing customers to keep their cell phone number when switching service providers. In my opinion this will spark drastic changes in the way cell phone plans are detailed. For example, in an effort to keep customers from switching, T-Mobile will be promoting "Three Day Weekends" including Fridays in their unlimited night and weekend calling.

This idea of number portability may have a downside. The idea of being able to take your number if you leave may force providers to offer only two-year contracts for premier services in an effort to keep customers around longer.

More at CNN.com

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Lost Bluetooth

October 20, 2003

I recently lost my dLink USB Bluetooth Adaptor. While this may not be a big deal for most people this small piece of plastic and silicon had become my traveling internet connection allowing me to get online anywhere I could get a T-Mobile GPRS connection (not that I could get that connection too often outside of NYC). Using T-Mobiles unlimited GPRS data plan I was able to get connected from many very convienent places including MTA and NJT trains (not subways though), most cafes and restaurants in and around the city as well as some suburbs in the tri-state area. I simply plugged the dLink into my Powerbook, connected to my Sony Ericsson T610 via Bluetooth and connected to the GPRS network.

The dLink is a small (1" x .5" x .25") USB device that looks very similiar to the new USB storage devices that have been flooding the market lately.

I need to find this thing.

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Another iPod Entry

July 02, 2002

Ok, so I broke down and bought an ipod. Within 5 minutes I had it up and running on my machine. Literally as easy as plugging it in. I filled it with 4GB of music, let it charge for an hour and viola, portable music.

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iPod-eriffic

June 25, 2002

The iPod from Apple is an amazing device. I don't own one (yet) but had Utah's all weekend. In just 3 short days I was sold. Having such a huge library of music on such a small, sleek device is great. The interface is so intuitive that anyone can operate it within minutes.

On another note, my sister Kristen graduated from High School yesterday. My family and I sat as 700 kids went from the safety of school to the uncertainty of adulthood. Let's hope the economy and job markets pick up for them.

Congratulations Kristen and good luck in college.

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