Archive for category Wireless
Red Hot Gadget, Red Hot Blunder
The wait is nearly over in Canada for customers that want the iPad, Apple’s much-awaited tablet device that has been available in the US for some time now.
The pricing in Canada puts it in the same ballpark as higher-end netbooks and lower-end laptops, but in terms of cost, Canadians get some of the best deals across the board for the device according to Macworld, with the 16GB Wi-Fi version selling at $549. The story seems to differ somewhat when it comes to data, which has been the source of a bit of a headache for both Apple and Canadian wireless provider Rogers.
In a post this morning to RedBoard, Rogers’ official blog, they announced the data pricing for the iPad, with customers able to get 250 MB for $15/month or 5 GB for $35, with both including unlimited access to Rogers Wi-Fi hotspots (available at locations such as Second Cup Cafes). A more attractive option appeared to surface on Apple’s website earlier today however, stating that for $20 (it was unclear as to whether this was a recurring monthly cost or one-time fee), customers could link the iPad into their existing Rogers data plan (this has since been removed from the Apple website). Almost immediately in the comments in the RedBoard post, comments started flying asking for details about the option. Soon after the questions started coming, a comment from Rogers quickly shifted people’s enthusiasm. Mary, part of the RedBoard team, commented that the reference was indeed an error.
This prompted a storm of comments, many negative, most surrounding the pricing of the data plans for the iPad and the lack of a data sharing option. Some people have gone as far as to say Rogers “removed” the option (including this article from CBC News), which if true is really not cool on their part, but I like to give people (and companies) the benefit of the doubt.
Let’s say Rogers removed it (which also assumes it existed at all), assuming I even wanted an iPad with 3G, I’d be pretty upset myself. However, if it’s an error on Apple’s end, then I’d be upset at them for getting hopes up before I’d get mad at Rogers for not offering the add-on to begin with. In the event that both Rogers and Apple are at fault, then both are bound to (rightfully) get slagged on by the public, who of course can vote with their feet and their dollar by either not buying the iPad at all, or buying one and taking service with another provider.
At the end of the day, people are right to be upset, but while the data plans may be offered by Rogers, Apple is not immune to making errors in their marketing information. We may never know who was at fault or to what extent they were at fault, but once the dust settles, things are likely to go much smoother.
Operation: iPhone
Posted by Calvin in Current Events, Journalism, Wireless on April 27, 2010
If you follow tech news at all, you’re no doubt aware of the leak of the next-generation iPhone, a story that has been a big deal of late. Well, that story just took a seriously troubling turn.
Last Friday at approximately 9:45 PM Pacific Time, Gizmodo editor Jason Chen arrived from a night out with his wife, only to find that members of California’s Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team (REACT) had broken down the door of his house and were executing a search warrant (issued in San Mateo county superior court at 7:00 PM Pacific) at his home. According to an account by Chen, he was also subjected to a physical search for any weapons.
In the end, four computers, two servers, an iPhone, a Motorola Droid, mass storage media (thumbdrives, external hard drives), and personal identity info were seized. Included in the information seized was a letter from Gawker Media COO Gaby Darbyshire noting the search warrant was invalid under California’s shield laws, as Chen is a journalist under Gawker’s employ.
In a letter to the Detective that signed off on the inventory of property seized under the search warrant, Darbyshire notes that under the California Penal Code, the property should never have been seized, with other experts chiming in that it is also in violation of United States federal law. In light of the shield law defense put forward by Gawker, the search has come to a bit of a pause while the District Attorney’s office considers the defense, in light of reasons put forward by attorneys for Gawker/Gizmodo.
As to why the raid was executed when the Shield Law defense was possible, a spokesperson in the District Attorney’s office stated that the prosecutor in the case believed that the shield law defense did not apply in this case. The spokesperson had conceded that the pause of an investigation to explore a shield law defense after evidence had been seized was rather unusual. Whatever the reason the prosecutor had for believing the defense did not apply, the way events have unfolded gives the appearance that there were variables that were not considered when the raid was executed.
All of this has brought up the debate about whether bloggers are actually journalists. There is a precedent in California to say that this is the case (as noted in a note by Darbyshire), and some acceptance of the general notion is found in other jurisdictions further afield.
I’m not a lawyer, but it appears to me that there’s a couple of things potentially wrong in this scenario. Yes, the fact that Gizmodo paid for the leaked iPhone poses a problem, but there’s no reason why a seizure of computer equipment from a journalist was required when it’s been noted a subpoena would have been sufficient. Was it appropriate for Gizmodo to pay for the phone? Not really. Was it appropriate for a raid and seizure of equipment from a journalist on the story to be seized? Same answer.
Apple got their iPhone back. Why are we breaking down doors and raiding people’s houses over it?
Blowing My Socks Off
As I mentioned in my last post, I am a customer of Canadian wireless new entrant WIND Mobile (UPDATE: For disclosure’s sake I must note that as of May 17 I am also connected to WIND in a professional capacity). I’ve been with them for about a month now and now seems as good a time as any to post a review of my experience thus far.
Back near the end of February, I went into the WIND store to pick up my phone and was greeted with a nice, open store and the staff were ready and willing to help. The activation process took a bit longer than I expected, but activation by nature tends to take a while. Gave them my number to port over from TELUS then left.
I left the store and made a couple test calls to see if I could see what people meant with the dodgy network, but found the complaints people had were not there in my case. Only issue I had during the day was with the BlackBerry Internet Service, which I thought I had set up in-store, but there had been server side issues with the on-device setup, which seemed to be an issue on RIM’s end as opposed to WIND itself.
About a week after I bought my phone I moved to another part of town and seem to be experiencing a Farraday Cage effect at my home, where my phone will work fine in front of the house, but inside or behind not so much. That aside, I have kept a running list of weak areas within the home zone and reported the issues to WIND, thus far experiencing at least some improvements in some areas.
In all, I don’t regret the experience in the least and don’t plan to switch out if I don’t need to. If you’re in any of WIND’s home zones (Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto or Ottawa) then definitely take a look, I think a lot of you will like what you see.
Wireless with Teeth
We’re just over 3 months into the launch of one of Canada’s new wireless carriers, WIND Mobile (who I am a customer of and quite happy with for disclosure’s sake) and for the first time in a long time, Canadians are actually getting real choice in wireless.
With WIND having launched in December, we also have Public Mobile (a new entrant in the GTA and Montreal only at this time) and Mobilicity (formerly DAVE Wireless) both launching later in the year, which shows that the wireless business is seriously heating up, and definitely getting some teeth.
Thus far, WIND has geared a lot of their marketing towards people that are frustrated with the idea of wireless contracts (which most consumers are, let’s face it), along with customers that wanted a better prepaid experience (They offer all the same pricing, phones and most services (US roaming being an exception right now) to both postpaid and prepaid). Along the way they have had some pretty nasty issues, including a stream of complaints about network issues (I’ve had a few, but they got better) and their website being down for just about 2 days after the launch in Toronto, crippling it to some extent up to the Calgary launch. All this has provided fuel for Mobilicity, who on their website says “There’s nothing worse than making all kinds of promises then messing up because you were in a rush.” Granted, WIND did probably launch a bit sooner than was practical for them, but for what they have done right they have been doing a pretty good job.
Mobilicity, formerly under the less attractive moniker DAVE Wireless, is planning to launch in spring of this year according to their website, in the same space that they took a swipe at WIND’s issues. Nothing is said of their plans or phone offerings at this time, but they are promising unlimited plans, “uncomplicated wireless” and no contracts. Given they plan to launch in major Canadian cities, this puts them in a position much like the one Fido was in when Microcell launched them several years back, but sets them up to put fierce competition up with the big 3 (Rogers, TELUS and Bell).
Public Mobile is offering a single plan at the $40 price point for unlimited talk and SMS, with the ability to get free, unlimited Canadian long distance “for life” if customers join during the pre-launch promotion. They currently have just 4 phones, none of them being considered smartphones, where a sizable chunk of the marketplace is headed, but offering a phone in the sub-$100 price point without a contract, which will undoubtedly be attractive to some. However, as Public is only building a network between Toronto and Quebec City, they are going to be a relative non-threat to the big 3 and a relatively limited threat to WIND and Mobilicity (that and I’m really against this concentration in Eastern Canada, but that’s just me).
Worth mention as well is Videotron, which is a brand well known in Quebec for their offering as a cable provider. Quebecor, Videotron’s parent, purchased most, if not all of the spectrum set aside for new entrants in Quebec, with Public Mobile having acquired two licenses in Quebec to facilitate their coverage. Nothing is said about phones or plans with Videotron either, but it’s clear that they plan to cover all of Quebec.
No matter how you look at it though, the competition is definitely heating up and should provide the change Canadians have been hoping for.
-
You are currently browsing the archives for the Wireless category.
