I’ve been reviewing products for about 15 years.  I’ve reviewed many Smartphone’s over the years on all of the major wireless carriers here in the States. Its always the same – Ooh..! Shiny!!

Unless a specific device has serious, SERIOUS problems, most reviewers fall head over heels in love with <pick the latest gadget> and get caught in the honeymoon period.  When that happens, short of the device exploding (or having major, easy to see, easy to find faults),  its more than likely going to get a favorable review.

Here’s a word to the wise – Sliced bread is always better.

Sliced bread is ALWAYS better…

Some times product reviews are done too quickly. Some times when that happens, a product’s issues aren’t completely vetted out and aren’t brought to light.  I find this to be problematic, and generally not serving the public good.  You can see the whole article over at iTechGear, here.

I have a lot of respect for ALL of my colleagues on the multiple sites that everyone frequents on the Internet. I’ve been a technology journalist for 15 years.  During all of the hub-bub of the Dot-COM bubble burst and subsequent ripples over the past 10 or so years, its not been easy to stay at this.  Those sites that have been consistent, with long-term writers have more than likely discovered the "secret sauce" or formula for keeping the content going, for finding out who can do what for <pick a site>, and how to make trusted, consistent contacts.

To everyone in that category, congratulations.  You’ve done a great job.

However… and before I get started, I’d like to point out that any article I site is NOT a shot at any one site or any individual writer.  This is a dissenting opinion on a specific point in those articles…that’s all.

<RANT>
I saw an interesting opinion based article that was actually quite compelling.  The premise of the article, if Apple sold the iPhone 4 on more than one US carrier, the sales would have likely doubled, is very interesting and very compelling.  However, the basis of the doubled sales numbers – Verizon – is a pipe dream at best.

Its NEVER (read: reaLLY, REALLY unlikely) going to happen.

SO not gonna happen…

I outlined this back in March of this year on JAMM.  You can read the article here – Verizon’s iPhone..? Not so Fast…  I’ll sum up the major reasons why a Verizon iPhone is likely not going to happen on their CDMA network, but for the full explanation, you really need to read the full article:

• The US is a small (CDMA) market (compared to the global GSM market)
• Not every Verizon Wireless customer is going to buy an iPhone
• A CDMA iPhone would require a COMPLETE device redesign (the cellular radio is much bigger)
• Apple Support Costs would SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASE (and finally)
• If Apple were going to add another carrier, they would have done it already (with the introduction of the iPad and the iPhone 4)

The final nail in the VzW iPhone is this – Apple only wants a single version of the device – a GSM version – to circulate. Technology implementation changes (read: functionality changes) would have to be made to accommodate the CDMA radio (it just works differently than a GSM radio) and that is going to do nothing but rub Steve the wrong way.  The experience won’t quite the same, and will be different.  Again, Stevie J. doesn’t do that; and I don’t blame him.

Simplicity and consistency are what make the iPhone the success that it is. That doesn’t involve a technology change/shift from one cellular technology to another unless he’s going to take the entire world there; and with CDMA, that ain’t gonna happen.

EVER.

No, really…  neVER…EVER.

The most likely heir apparent to AT&T’s iPhone in the US is T-Mobile.  They are a GSM carrier, and could very easily run the phone on their HSPA+ network (provided the chipset Apple currently uses supports their flavor of HSPA+).  If not, changing out that chipset for one that supports BOTH AT&T and T-Mobile is nothing more than an internal part/BOM (Bill of Materials) change; and rather easy to accomplish.  That’s NOTHING compared to what will have to happen to create a CDMA based iPhone.

However, I’m not very certain how likely THAT is either.  T-Mo (and I do much prefer them to either AT&T or Verizon Wireless here in Chicago) is a MUCH smaller national carrier than AT&T. Its likely that an iPhone release on their network will result in similar kinds of problems with their ordering systems as well as their network, so yah… they’ve got THAT going for them.  If Apple were to authorize the iPhone on T-Mobile, you would think that T-Mo would have enough lead time and notice to ramp up their HSPA+ network to be able to handle the traffic.  Maybe that’s part of what they’re doing now, with the 25 new cities that have seen HSPA+ rollouts in the last couple of weeks… Who knows..?  But honestly, that’s just pure conjecture…

So please, people…everyone… please STOP with the Verizon Wireless iPhone rumors and thoughts. Unless and until a GLOBAL communications standard is established and adopted, we’re SO unlikely to see one, that its really safe to say

It ain’t never gonna happen, so fe-ged-aboud-it.
</RANT>

Just sayin’…

I’m not sure how many folks have already seen this, and frankly its a bit off topic. Awww, who am I kidding. This is way off topic.

Time Warner has been testing out a “consumption based billing” structure for its broadband internet service in Beaumont, Texas and plans to expand the trials to San Antonio and Austin; Rochester, New York; and Greensboro, North Carolina sometime this summer.

Up to this point, bandwidth has been capped at 5-, 10-, 20-, and 40-gigabyte levels ranging from $30 to $55 per month plus $1 per gigabyte over, but a recent post from Time Warner Chief Operating Officer, Landel Hobbs, responds to some criticism and outlines plans for two additional pricing tiers.

(via CrunchGear)

The part you don’t see in this pricing scheme is that they’re looking to top out this garbage at $150 A MONTH!

Let that sink in for a second… $150 a FREAKING MONTH!

I don’t know about you folks (there’s a poll below) but I’m pretty sure if Comcast knocks on my door tomorrow and starts telling me about how they’re going to be charging me $150/mo for internet service – I know exactly where I’m going to tell them to shove it.

Hey Time Warner – Don’t bother even sending me a flyer if you come to the Denver area. I’m not interested in being taken for a ride. Scum-bags.

  I am just amazed at the amount of negatives that are surrounding Microsoft’s latest initiative  for Windows Mobile. We’ve heard that the marketplace would exorbitantly charge developers for inclusions in the app store after their initial five free programs, and that additional charges would be incurred for even minor updates to programs after this limit was reached. So after the initial furore from the Windows Mobile community, it seems Microsoft “Got Smart” and rethought the pricing policy for developers, and thought they had pacified anyone that felt warm and fuzzy over that news.

BUT…

another hiccough, well more of a dry wretch, has hit the carpet, and it’s not pretty and it’s definitely gonna leave a stain. This is a decision that is going to alienate a lot of, well most of, well all current WinMo owners,

“No marketplace for you”, I know that sounds like the soup nazi from Seinfeld, it seems though that’s the road less travelled, and less travelled

Read More …

Does this sound like anyone you know?

I decided to download (Moviemaker) and buy the Digital Plus pack … so I went to Microsoft.com. They have a download place so I went there.

The first 5 times I used the site it timed out while trying to bring up the download page. Then after an 8 second delay I got it to come up.

This site is so slow it is unusable.

How about this?

It told me to go to Windows Update and do a bunch of incantations.

This struck me as completely odd. Why should I have to go somewhere else and do a scan to download moviemaker?

So I went to Windows update. Windows Update decides I need to download a bunch of controls. (Not) just once but multiple times where I get to see weird dialog boxes.

Doesn’t Windows update know some key to talk to Windows?

Then I did the scan. This took quite some time and I was told it was critical for me to download 17megs of stuff.

This is after I was told we were doing delta patches to things but instead just to get 6 things that are labeled in the SCARIEST possible way I had to download 17meg.

So I did the download. That part was fast. Then it wanted to do an install. This took 6 minutes and the machine was so slow I couldn’t use it for anything else during this time.

What the heck is going on during those 6 minutes? That is crazy. This is after the download was finished.

Or finally this one (after the break)?

Read More …