Data Services

T-Mobile's 3G service seems to be spreading (I see 3G in more areas) and getting a bit strong in my area. I see a 3G on my phone indoors more often than I did after its rollout here. My AT&T Wireless service was back for my iPhone and looked good downtown (-79 dBm). So, I decided to run a quick completely unscientific download speed test with my iPhone 3G (AT&T) and HTC TouchPro2 (T-Mobile).

I used DSLReports' non-Javascript dependent speedtest since Windows Mobile 6.1's web browser doesn't work with DSLReports more commonly used Javascript based speedtest...

http://text.dslreports.com/mspeed

I used a 1MB download payload for each test. Here's what I found based only a single test for each phone/carrier:

AT&T
iPhone 3G
613 Kbps
0.473 second latency

T-Mobile
HTC Touch Pro2
671 Kbps
0.539 second latency

I'm calling this a "tie". It surprised me since I thought I was seeing better throughput on the Touch Pro2. I should probably run more tests and in a variety of areas (including outdoors) to get a better picture of my local 3G situation.

The world may not end in 2012, but MSN Direct will as reported by the Los Angeles Times...

Microsoft to shut down MSN Direct traffic service for GPS

Microsoft's own MSN Direct has a Q&A page set up to answer questions about the end of this wireless service that held a lot of undelivered promise...

MSN Direct Service Announcement

MSN Direct was port of Microsoft's SPOT (Smart Personal Objects Technology) effort that transmitted data one-way over FM radio sub-carrier frequencies. They basically partnered with local FM radio stations to deliver data to devices like watches (the first SPOT product), weather stations, and car navigation devices.

I have two Suunto SPOT watches myself that will stop providing data functions on January 1, 2012. They will, apparently continue to provide basic time functions continuing forward after MSN Direct data services stop. I will, quite honestly, miss the services of watches I've used nearly every workday and most weekends since around late 2004 or early 2005 for the first of my two watches. I still receive news alerts on the watch that I find useful. And, I used to get my calendar alerts on the watch too until my last Windows XP PC died taking with it the ability to send Outlook calendar alarms to my watch - The MSN Direct Outlook plugin doesn't install correctly under either Windows Vista or Windows 7, unforunately. It is too bad those MSN Direct people don't speak with Microsoft.

I still believe that SPOT and MSN Direct were good ideas with poor execution and marketing. It is too bad I will loose what has been a useful tool for me for half-a-decade (and the watches still work fine!). The watches still have a bit over two years of useful life with data service. So, I intend to keep using them until January 1, 2012.

Time Warner Cable's WiMax offering is more interesting that I originally anticipated based on what I read on DSLreports.com...

Time Warner Cable Announces Wireless Broadband

Their Road Runner Mobile 4G National Elite service provides access to both Time Warner Cable's WiMax service as well as Sprint's 3G network for $79.95 per month (if you already subscribe to RoadRunner Standard or Turbo cable data).

Their Road Runner Mobile 4G Elite just gives you access to the WiMax network but costs only $49.95 per month.

I assume that both services cap data use at 5GB per month like 3G services do today. If so, the National Elite costs just $10 more per month than current 3G services. And, the Elite service undercuts 3G service by $20 per month. Of course, WiMax coverage has a much smaller footprint than 3G networks. So, access could be a problem.

DSLreports.com reports that the North Carolina Triangle area will be the first launch area in December. Dallas, some unnamed part of Maui and Honolulu are next on the list for service. If the National Elite service has some kind of MiFi product associated with it, I may buy into it.

CMDA smartphone users (Sprint & Verizon) have something to look forward to accoording to this item from WMExperts...

CDMA Development Group Announces 'SVDO': Handle Calls and Data at same time

SVDO will let you CDMA users let you do something you've only dreamed about (if you are a tech geek) so far: The ability to talk and access data services at the same time. Of course, you will have to wait for the specification to be studied by the carriers, Sprint and Verizon to upgrade their networks, and new phones that supports SVDO to become available. So, this is not something to look forward to in the near future.

Earlier this month (Aug. 7) I wrote about...

Digital Nomads Getting the Boot from Coffee Shops

However, CNET's Rafe Needleman reports coffee shop giant Starbucks has a different attitude...

Starbucks: Stay as long as you want

Rafe quotes a Starbucks official response that states: We do not have any time limits for being in our stores, and continue to focus on making the Third Place experience for every Starbucks customer.

The "third place" referred to is the third place of work - the first two places being the office and home. Starbucks has a more restrictive WiFi access policy than some independent coffee shops though. You need to be a paying customer of some hotspot service (AT&T, T-Mobile, Boingo) to get more than two hours per day. Registered Starbucks card holders can get up to two hours of WiFi at a single Starbucks location per day. You can't just buy a cup of coffee and plop down in a chair all day. iPhone users can use WiFi at a Starbucks all day. But, how much can you really get done with just an iPhone?

And, I suspect that some extremely busy Starbucks locations would prefer to have some kind of limits available to place on their customers. I found that most Starbucks have seating available in the mornings. But, some locations are impossible to work at if you arrive at mid-afternoons. Anywhere near a school seems to have this situation. Quite honestly, I didn't realize high school kids drank coffee (I didn't way back when) until I noticed how young some mid-afternoon Starbucks patrons were (especially when I couldn't find a seat to use to work).

I applaud Starbuck's attitude. But, I think they may need to give some locations a bit more flexibility in deciding how long customers can plant themselves in shops with extremely heavy traffic.

I usually read these sort of network announcements with mixed feelings since it usually takes forever for such modern conveniences to reach my part of the world...

Clearwire to Officially Launch CLEAR 4G Service in 10 Markets on September 1, 2009

After reading the first line of the announcement...

Super Fast Mobile Internet Service Coming to Boise, Idaho; Bellingham, Wash.; and Eight Texas Markets, Including Abilene, Amarillo, Corpus Christi, Killeen/Temple, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, Waco and Wichita Falls

...I felt my attitude was justified. But, I kept on reading and got more interested, a lot more interested when I read...

Some of the additional markets planned to launch in 2009 include Chicago, Charlotte, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Honolulu, Philadelphia and Seattle. In 2010, Clearwire plans to launch 4G service in New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Houston and the San Francisco Bay Area among others.

Wow, so this is what it feels like to live in a developed part of the world :-)

Earlier this year Clearwire announced a MiFi-like device named the CLEAR Spot. Clearwire's USB WiMAX modem is plugged into the CLEAR Spot to provide WiFi connectivity to Clearwire's WiMAX broadband wireless service.

I had just about convinced myself to buy a MiFi and subscribe to Verizon's $60 per month service. But, I'm not in any hurry to part with $60 per month. So, I'm going to wait for Clearwire to rollout their 4G service here and see what its coverage is like before I commit to a wireless boardband service.

According to DSLReports.com Charlotte, North Carolina and Dallas, Texas can expect to see WiMax in their area sometime this fall...

Time Warner Cable Plans Mobile WiMax Launch

WiMAX is based on the 802.16 protocol and can provide relatively high data rates wirelessly over large areas. Time Warner Cable, like Sprint before it, is partnering with Clearwire. The interesting thing about this announcement is that Time Warner's announcement clearly points to the mobile service instead of the cable and dsl competing fixed service.

The question is how will Time Warner bundle it with their wired broadband services. And, how much more will they charge for WiMAX mobile data service?

YouTube video courtesy of Intel

Dell announced...

Dell Offers Three Laptops with My WiFi Option

My WiFi is Intel's branding that lets up to 8 WiFi devices be simultaneously connected to a My WiFi enabled notebook PC running Windows Vista. If you watch Intel's video explanation of My WiFi embedded above, you can see that the goal of this technology is to eliminate cable connections between a computer and peripherals or other computers.

This sounds like a great concept. But, I wonder how well it works in reality. For example, what if you are in a home with three notebooks, a couple of printers and media devices which are all My WiFi enabled. Who owns which printer when? Or, how about this scenario: You are in a meeting room with 10 people (each with a notebook or netbook) and a one printer. This already exceeds the maximum of 8 connected devices. Now, how to they manage access to a My WiFi enabled printer or projector?

I've long considered trying SugarSync which seems to be highly regarded by people I know who've used it. But, I've been reluctant to try pony up the $49.99 per year for the basic service that offers 30GB storage. SugarSync also has plans for 60, 100, and 250GB of storage.

However, James Kendrick's note over on jkOnTheRun...

SugarSync Gets Free Version

...means that fence sitters like me have a free option to play with before forking over cash. 2GB may be small, but it is quite enough storage to get started and get an idea if the service is useful to you. With services like Microsoft's Live Mesh offering gigabyte of free online storage for mobile devices, we will probably see this market heat up even more.

comScore's press release...

Mobile Broadband PC Data Card Subscriber Growth Decelerates in Q4 2008 as Consumers Pull Back on Discretionary Spending

...reports that after 6 consecutive quarters of double digit growth (between 11% and 28%) starting in Q2 2007, sales of 2G/3G data cards slowed to 5% in Q4 2008.

As their report summary notes:

...deceleration in subscriber growth during Q4 2008 coinciding with the economic downturn, an indication that mobile broadband service may still be seen by many as a luxury rather than a necessity

There's nothing wrong with the cards, of course. Even their prices are generally reasonable. The problem lies in the recurring cost (high) associated with them and level of service (low data caps). The wireless phone carriers need to rethink the way they market 2G/3G data service for netbooks/notebooks as well as WiFi hotspots or they may find themselves ripe for obsolescence as the world emerges from the current economic downturn.