Verizon Wireless and Motorola today announced that its Droid device, a smartphone that uses the Android 2.0 operating system, will be available on Friday, Nov. 6. Features include high-speed Web browsing, voice-activated search, access to Android applications and connectivity to Verizon’s 3G wireless network. The phone will cost $199.99 (after a mail-in $100 rebate in which customers receive their rebate as a debit card) with a two-year agreement; service plans require a Nationwide voice plan and the Email and Web for Smartphone plan, which begin at $39.99 per month for 450 voice minutes, and the data (Email and Web) plan costs $29.99 per month. So, slightly cheaper than an iPhone voice and data plan. Read more
Monday's iPhone 3G S announcement was a bit of an anticlimax, and certainly contained no surprises. I mean, a compass app getting top billing? Even the $99 entry-level model was expected. Read more
Got this message when I sent an e-mail to a Verizon spokeswoman looking for more info on a new product:
"Thanks for your message. I'm on vacation on Friday, May 15 - even though my sweet BlackBerry Storm runs on the fastest and most reliable network in the country, I will not be checking e-mail."
Gotta admit, that's pretty funny, and a great use of the boring Out of Office message. Kudos to some originality in writing!
Well, as a Verizon Wireless customer, increasingly-avid Mac user, and resident of a spot with no AT&T wireless coverage, I certainly hope so. I've seen a number of stories lately about how the exclusive (and still secret) iPhone distribution agreement between Apple and AT&T comes to an end next year, and how (duh) AT&T would love to keep the exclusive. Read more
It's not often I cheer for a corporate giant unleashing its legal might, but let's make an exception for the lawsuit Verizon Wireless has filed this week against a film distributor.
In fact, it might even enough for me to forgive Verizon for its own robo-call assault on my house.
From the Verizon Wireless press release:
Verizon Wireless said today it has filed a lawsuit to stop a Utah-based telemarketing company from calling its customers and employees to advertise the upcoming movie, "The Velveteen Rabbit." The lawsuit, filed this week in U.S. District Court in Trenton, alleges Feature Films for Families, Inc. illegally used an autodialer to call Verizon Wireless customers on behalf of a company called Family 1 Films, based in Los Angeles.
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Perhaps they were just trying to hide behind the cute tale of a cuddly rabbit come to life, but Verizon Wireless has today filed a lawsuit to stop a telemarketing group from bombarding its customers with robocalls touting the upcoming f Read more
Microsoft won a nice coup over rival Google by scoring a mobile search deal with Verizon. Microsoft will become the default provider of Internet search for Verizon Wireless customers, reports the Wall Street Journal. A Verizon executive spilled the beans on the agreement Wednesday at the annual Citigroup entertainment, media and telecommunications conference, the WSJ said. Read more
Well, it looks like the Blackberry Storm's debut on Friday was a hit. The Blackberry cult is still alive and well, with thousands of Crackberry users showing up to upgrade their CBs and new recruits ready to join the throngs of The Berry. But a disturbing trend has emerged; crashing the order system. Reports are that Verizon offices and online Storm purchasers were stopped in their tracks by an overloaded back office ordering system. Did Verizon not anticipate the iPhone-like frenzied demand? Read more
Well, the Blackberry Storm is finally here. I've had a chance to use both and here's my honest assessment of the Blackberry Storm compared with the iPhone. I know, you're probably wondering how I know what an iPhone is like after all the ranting I've done about Apple and it's black box iPhone and socialistic company behaviors towards end users. Well, I actually have both a Blackberry Storm and an iPhone. Read more
OK, so do we finally have an iPhone killer, now that the BlackBerry Storm from Verizon Wireless is out?
Killer? No. Worthy opponent? Yes.
In the less-than-24-hours that I've had the device and have been able to do a basic set of tests on the BlackBerry Storm (on sale Friday, Nov. 21, for $199.99 after $50 mail-in rebate and two-year agreement), I can say that people who abhor the Apple iPhone will be able to grab a Storm and go, "Nyah Nyah Nyah" to their fellow iPhone owners. But I don't expect that large mobs of iPhone owners will suddenly switch gears to the Storm, either (they can't, they still have their own two-year contracts). But the Apple Haters now have a horse in the race – the Storm does an admirable job of matching several of the iPhone's features and provides some features that the iPhone doesn't have. Read more
Sprint Nextel had some really bad news today - it lost another 1.3 million wireless customers last quarter as well as $326M -- but at least Verizon won't be picking on it in public, at least for now. Read more
I know a lot of people have been more than skeptical of Verizon Wireless' claims, beginning in late 2007, that they would go open access, allowing any (technologically-compatible, obviously) device and any application on their network. Was this, as many assumed, just a ploy to influence the regulators, simply a cynical attempt to curry market favor supported by little or no real effort? Read more
The BlackBerry Storm, the first BlackBerry to feature a touch-screen like Apple's iPhone, will be available later this fall, according to Research In Motion, Verizon Wireless (exclusive U.S. carrier) and Vodafone Group (Europe, India, Australia and New Zealand). Pricing is expected to be announced as the companies get closer to launch.
The phone features a "clickable" touch-screen that "responds much like a physical keyboard", yet also supports single-touch, multi-touch and gestures, similar to the iPhone. The Storm will operate on Verizon's EV-DO Rev. A network for high-speed data downloads, but lacks any Wi-Fi connectivity. That seems like a big mistake in my book.
Sure, EV-DO might be faster than the UMTS or HSPA networks offered by AT&T Wireless and its iPhone 3G, but the ability to access much faster Wi-Fi networks makes a smart phone even better. It seems short-sighted to leave out Wi-Fi just because carriers want users to access their mobile broadband network. The company is hindering the adoption of data usage by limiting access to just the wireless WAN. Others may feel that having no Wi-Fi on the device is a sacrifice they're willing to make, but having used several smart phones with Wi-Fi on it, I'd have to say that Wi-Fi is a must-have – when Wi-Fi is available, it makes the user experience that much better and data access goes that much faster.
Other iPhone-like qualities on the Storm include a built-in accelerometer, which lets users switch between landscape and portrait modes as the device is rotated. When in portrait mode, users can type messages with RIM's SureType keyboard layout – when they rotate to landscape, they get a full QWERTY on-screen keyboard.
The Storm features an HTML Web browser that lets users double-tap to zoom in and slide their fingers to scroll/pan, and will support file downloads, streaming audio and video, and built-in RSS support.
On the messaging front, the Storm supports personal and corporate e-mail, text messaging, picture messaging and instant messaging services, as well as access to social networking sites.
More "personal" features include a 3.2 megapixel digital camera with variable zoom, auto focus and flash (unsure whether this can be disabled); built-in GPS with support for location-based applications, as well as the ability to geotag photos, and a media player for audio and video. The device includes 1GB of onboard memory storage and a microSD/SDHD card slot with support up to 16GB of extra storage space.
On the plus side, the Storm will have a removable rechargeable battery, something the iPhone lacks.
Woot! The BlackBerry Storm (9530) on Verizon's 3G EV-DO network has been announced. Support on Vodafone was also announced. Read more
Verizon Wireless customers who are feeling left out in the cold in the wake of this week's Apple and AT&T iPhone announcements can at least take solace in the fact that they can now get a new Palm Centro.
The two companies today said the $99.99 (after $70 mail-in rebate and two-year agreement) Centro smart phone will be available online and at Verizon Wireless stores on tomorrow (June 13). The Cobalt Blue Centro includes voice, text messaging, e-mail and Web browsing, and runs on Verizon's BroadbandAccess network. Users can also subscribe to the BroadbandAccess Connect service ($30 per month) and use the Centro as a modem for their laptops.
Applications on the Centro include Google Maps, VersaMail 4.0 with Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync support, as well as POP3, IMAP and Notes and Domino e-mail support. The device includes a 2x digital zoom camera with video capture, a media player with the Pocket Tunes Deluxe application, 64MB of storage and microSD memory card slot with support up to 4GB, and the Palm OS 5.4.9 operating system.
Customers can also pair their Centro voice plan with Verizon Wireless' E-mail and Web for Smartphone service for $29.99 per month, which offers unlimited data for Web browsing and e-mail support for up to eight personal e-mail accounts.
Happy Cinco de Mayo! Read more
I've been using the Asus Eee PC for a few weeks now, and I have to say my overall impression is very favorable indeed. It's very portable (small and light), has reasonable battery life, a very fast boot time (and fast shutdown as well - ever needed to head to the airport while Microsoft wasted your time shutting down XP by installing updates?), and overall easy manageability. Now, of course, this is LINUX, and you'd better be comfortable using the command line (terminal window) interface from time to time. Read more
Mobile data cards are all the rage today. It's hard not to see someone on a train or in an airport, merrily typing away on his or her notebook, connected via a data card. These wireless modems, which are available in PC Card, ExpressCard, and USB form factors, are available from all of the major carriers and are usually inexpensive to acquire. Some notebooks even have wireless WAN technology built in - although you need to make sure that your notebook comes with a card compatible with your chosen carrier. Read more
Tired of stories about Verizon yet? It's a sign of a well-run company that they manage their PR in such a way so as to continually attract as much attention as possible. First it was openness for devices and networks, and now it's their selection of the 3GPP's Long Term Evolution (LTE) (new name still needed here) technology as their 4G direction. This news was not all that unexpected - Vodaphone, the other owner (45%) of Verizon Wireless, is a GSM/UMTS carrier and will obviously go with LTE. And CDMA is on the way out as the basis for future broadband technologies anyway, to be replaced by OFDM, the basis of LTE (and many others). Read more
I've been scanning the Web for other news and commentary on Verizon's suddenly getting the openness religion. Again, make no mistake, I applaud their move to support any compatible device and any application on their network, and I believe Verizon to be the first carrier pickle out of the jar. Any carrier that doesn't jump on this bandwagon will get run over. Read more
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