For several months now, AT&T customers have been complaining about network connectivity issues. Dropped calls have been a chief complaint, along with just not being able to get a signal at all. Smartphone users have had problems loading Web pages, or downloading and viewing e-mails. It seems the main culprit is the iPhone. When AT&T took on the exclusive contract with Apple, they either didn’t know how popular it would be and how much of a strain the device would put on its network, or it went ahead and added it to their lineup knowing it wasn’t ready or able to accommodate it, but thinking they’d be able to catch up later. Whatever the case, sales of the iPhone have surpassed all expectations and put a tremendous strain on AT&T’s network, leading to all those connectivity problems. So it came as quite a surprise when Apple announced AT&T would also be the exclusive carrier for the new iPad. Now it’s not just customers worrying about that deal. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is expressing concern over it as well.
In an innovative effort to address a public health issue, the White House Chief Technology Officer, Aneesh Chopra, has spearheaded a project help pregnant women in the United States. During a planning session at the National Health IT summit, held in Washington, D.C., Chopra announced the launch of Text4Baby, a free service that “provides timely and expert health information through SMS text messages to pregnant women and new moms through their babies’ first year.” The U.S. infant mortality rate is considered a public health crisis. More than 500,000 premature babies are born every year in the U.S., and approximately 28,000 babies die before reaching the age of one. Text4Baby aims to help new mothers care for their children, and reduce the infant mortality rate.
I remember back 10 years or so, I had a friend who refused to buy a car with power windows or locks. “Just one more thing that can go wrong,” he said. I always respected that advice, though I never took it for my own cars. Loosely applying this to wireless, it would seem that the more services connected to someone’s account, the more that can go wrong. This made sense upon first thought, but then I saw a J.D. Power and Associates survey which claimed that people with more plan features were actually happier. On a 1,000-point scale, customers with extended warranties, unlimited favorite number calling, unlimited text plans, and data plans rated from 740 to 770, while those with base plans rated 699 on the happiness scale. So what gives?
Who else was surprised by Apple’s announcement last week that AT&T would be exclusively providing the wireless service for the new iPad? After all the issues with the iPhone, all the complaints, and customers practically begging Apple to give the iPhone contract to Verizon, or really, anyone but AT&T, it’s a little mind boggling that they’d further solidify their relationship with the wireless carrier. To prepare for the anticipated increased burden on its network, the company has decided to invest an extra $2 billion in improving its 3G network. They’ll also need to do this to accommodate several new smartphones, including the Nexus One.
News of Google’s Nexus One censoring swear words has been all over the Internet for the past week or so. The phone’s voice-to-text feature doesn’t transcribe cuss words, instead replacing them with hash marks. In a personal experiment, author Neil Gaiman found that the built-in censor could be circumvented by following the swear word with the words dot com. But it seems the Nexus One is much more prude than initially thought. Boston resident Zechariah-Aloysius Hillyard discovered Google went to great lengths to avoid offending people by also censoring references to certain works of literature.
A week ago, I postulated that because of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) dissatisfaction with Verizon’s answers regarding their recently double Early Termination Fees (ETFs), they may just decide to look into ETFs across the board. To be honest, I didn’t think it would come about this soon, but that’s just what has happened. The FCC is now requesting all four major wireless carriers explain their ETF policies, and how those policies are relayed to customers. But it doesn’t stop there. It wasn’t just Verizon’s poor answers to the FCC’s request for information that prompted the industry-wide inquiry. Google may have accelerated the government agency’s action with the release of the Nexus One.
Every so often we’ll see a cell phone operator do something for new customers only. In fact, with the U.S. wireless industry approaching a point of saturation, I’m surprised we don’t see it more. Instead of signing up brand new customers, carriers have to pull subscribers from their rivals. This means giving incentives to new customers. But it also means, sometimes, not offering those deals to your existing customers, which is just bad business. If they feel slighted, then they might leave, which offsets some of the new additions. We saw T-Mobile do this with the Nexus One. But now T-Mobile will introduce a program that will allow current customers to upgrade devices before their two-year contract expires. That should put them in good graces with customers who renew their contracts only to find an excellent device has been released shortly thereafter.
Back in October, I wrote about how T-Mobile would be launching a Fender myTouch phone. Well, it’s out, and it’s a beauty. The limited edition phone’s case is designed to look like wood grain, with Fender’s trademark sunburst inspiring the design. It also has the classic Fender logo on the back of the case, along with the myTouch logo. It has all the features the regular myTouch has, and then some. But before you run out and get one, there are a couple of things to keep in mind.
After months and months of talk regarding the hazards of texting while driving, the U.S. government has finally acted. According to The New York Times, the Department of Transportation will enact new rules which will bar interstate truck drivers from sending text messages while in transit. We’ve long argued fro such legislation to cover all drivers, but truck drivers represent a good start. After all, they operate the largest, most dangerous vehicles on the road. Reducing their distraction level can make our highways a little bit safer, though we could still do more in that regard. I do have a question about this new legislation, however. How does the government plan to enforce the rule?
Ah, Google. Always looking out for us. Have you ever noticed that when you perform an image search on Google, there’s a “SafeSearch” option? It can be strict, moderate, or off altogether, and this will affect the types of images that appear in your search results. Depending on what you’re searching for, this actually isn’t a bad idea. It can keep undesirable images from appearing when you’re searching for medical or anatomical information, for example, which is great when you’re helping your kids with their biology homework. And the fact that Google gives you the power to control the level of restriction is nice, too. So why wouldn’t that same power extend to all Google products? It doesn’t. Apparently, if you’re a Nexus One owner, you’re not allowed to swear at it.
