Disruptive Telephony

In what looks like a classic case of someone leaving a critical word out of a headline, the Associated Press this morning came out with this report that MySpace is apparently launching an advertising supported free cell-phone. As indicated in the news release:

The company already offers premium, subscription-based versions of MySpace through AT&T Inc. and Helio wireless services. Those versions include special features integrated into specific handsets, such as uploading cell phone photos directly to a user's profile page.

The new version set to launch Monday will work on all U.S. carriers and will allow users to send and receive messages and friend requests, comment on pictures, post bulletins, update blogs, and find and search for friends.

At first I went along with the headline but the more I read it the more it made no sense whatsoever. There was no mention of phones... rate plans... or anything else. Gradually it dawned on me that while the AP headline was this:

Myspace to launch ad-supported cell phone

what they really meant was this:

Myspace to launch ad-supported cell phone version

Oops!

And here I was getting all excited that News Corp. was doing something truly stunning and had figured out a way to use advertising to drive the costs of all calls to $0 and give away all the phones and minutes for free! Given the huge community of MySpace users out there, they would probably have immediate pickup and would truly disrupt the industry.

Ah, well... the truth appears to be that they are just making it easier to use MySpace on web-enabled cell-phones without paying for the subscription version. Commendable... but not even remotely as exciting.

Let's see how far people run with the "MySpace to give away free cell phones" theme today!

Technorati Tags: freecellphones, myspace, headlines, socialnetworking, wireless

There's one little feature in my Blackberry 8830 that I just discovered today that I didn't see anywhere in any of the promotional materials about it.  Put simply:

Unified messaging works!

Here's the thing... given that I work for Mitel, I of course have "unified messaging" set up so that whenever someone leaves me a voicemail message, I get an email with the WAV file attached to it.  It's truly a wonderful thing because I never dial in to check to see if I have messages.  I get an email that clues me in to that fact - and generally when I am on my desktop PC, I just play the attached WAV file and listen to the message through my email program.  I don't dial into voicemail to listen.

Before, with my Blackberry 7290 or any of the other earlier models, having this unified messaging feature enabled was really only a "half solution".  Receiving the email clued you in to the fact that you now had a voicemail message... BUT...

you couldn't listen to the WAV file!

The Blackberry operating system couldn't play the WAV file, so you had to dial into the voicemail system to listen to the actual message.  So the nice part about UM was that you got the notification... but you couldn't hear it right there.

Well today a blog post by Russell Shaw over on ZDNet pointed me to this excellent 8830 FAQ over on EVDOInfo.com that contains this little gem:

Q - What are the enterprise advantages of the new 4.2 OS?
A - The biggest 4.2 feature is the ability to listen to WAV files that are attached to an email by a Unified Voice Messaging service. NOTE: The customers BES server must be version 4.1.2 or later.

Naturally I had to try it out so I called my Mitel extension and left a message (a virtue of having multiple phones around). A moment or so after I hung up there was an email msg with a WAV attachment sitting in my Blackberry inbox.  I opened it, scrolled down to the attachment area and chose "Open attachment" and... ta da!  There I was listening to the voicemail message!  (And since the 8830 has a speakerphone I could listen that way which would enable me to easily write things down were it a real message.)  Nice and easy.

Of course, I would be charged for the download of that WAV file but I'm on an "Unlimited Data" plan with Verizon which does, in fact, appear to be for an unlimited amount of data (no fine print that I could see).

So to me this is a wonderful addition to the Blackberry operating system... now I can receive my voicemail messages in my email and listen to them right on my phone.  Very cool!

Why does my voice change in audio quality about half-way through the new Telecom Junkies podcast?  Here's the story.

A few minutes ago I posted to both the Voice of VoIPSA weblog and also the Blue Box podcast site a note about the new Telecom Junkies podcast that features an interview with Robert Moore, one of the two people involved with the large VoIP fraud cast last year.  About mid-way through my connection dies and you hear Jason saying "Oh, we lost Dan!" and then I'm back, but with a much softer voice.

Since it says something about telephony - and since I'm also interested in relaying lessons for podcasting - here's what happened.

In the hotel I was staying at in Florida, I was getting pretty poor connections using my AT&T GSM phone (the replacement Blackberry had not yet arrived).  I'd noticed that when calling people from my room, even if I went out onto the balcony, calls would still drop out sometimes - even when I was sitting still.  Now I don't know if this was because I was on the 20th floor (room 2048, what a great geek number!) or because I was at just a particular angle for the GSM towers or what.  The phone seemed to indicate that I had great connection strength.  All I knew was that connections were dropping. 

Needless to say, I was a bit concerned going into the Telecom Junkies podcast recording.  Jason Huffman records his shows by having everyone call into a hosted conference service.  When the recording is done, he gets an email with a WAV file, slaps on the musical intro/outro, potentially does some minimal editing and posts the show to their website.  As Blue Box listeners know, I'm always looking to get the best audio quality possible so I was a bit concerned.

Given that cell phone coverage was problematic, I decided to try using a softphone over the hotel Internet.  Unfortunately, I am on a trial system for Mitel's softphone (using the latest development versions) and I had received the notice that I need to upgrade to a new trial load to keep using it - and hadn't yet downloaded the new version.  So I thought I'd use Skype instead.  However, I also had the dilemma (for either softphone) that because of space considerations I had left my nice new USB headset at home.  Given that I've had reasonable success with Skype's new 3.5 and no headset, I figured I would give it a try anyway.

So I actually first called into the conf bridge using Skype/SkypeOut and spoke with Jason briefly to ask about the sound quality.  He said I sounded a bit quiet and rough (keep in mind that I'm talking to the mic on my Dell laptop), so I called back in on my cell phone.  However, I didn't disconnect the Skype connection, but instead muted the microphone and plugged in a set of headphones so I didn't hear it.

Mid-way through the call, my cell-phone connection did die.  What I did next was put the PC headphones on and un-mute the Skype microphone... ta da... I was back in the conf call, albeit at a lower volume level.  So when you listen to the recording, the first part is via cell phone (and includes an audio cut-out or two) and the second part is via Skype without a headset microphone.

I thought there were a couple of interesting points here:

1. I have got to find a really small headset that I can carry with me when traveling.
2. VoIP can beat cell phones in availability (not that any of us in North America will even remotely dispute this!)
3. It's good to have backups when doing interviews remotely.
4. It never even occurred to me to use the hotel landline!

Let's think about that last point for a minute.  I had, sitting right there on my desk next to my computer, a perfectly functional phone tied into the hotel's PBX.  And yet, it never even remotely occurred to me to use it!  In fact, outside of calling within a hotel I can't think of the last time that I've actually ever used a hotel phone for an external call.  It's been probably... years!  I guess I've gotten too used to the typically-extortionist rates charged by hotels for phone usage that I just don't even consider it.  (Well, and every other time my cell phone has worked well!)

In any event... that's the story behind the story...  :-)

Replying to my last post about the new Blackberry 8830, Jim Courtney of Skype Journal left a comment clueing me into one minor little detail about the 8830's GSM support - it only works outside of North America!

Indeed, the GSM side of the 8830 operates at 900 and 1800 MHz which are used for GSM throughout the rest of the world, but it does not work at 850 and 1900 MHz, which are the frequencies used by GSM in North America.  The disappointment for me is that when I drive to Ottawa, there are patches of road in Ontario where there just isn't all that great CDMA... and it would be great if the 8830 would flip over to GSM to get the stronger signal.  However, that doesn't look like it will happen.

One wonders why not.  When RIM was creating the 8830, why didn't they include support for all 4 bands?  Is it perhaps because Verizon and other North American CDMA carriers want to keep people on CDMA in North America?  (You could see the case where in a particular NA city the GSM signal might be stronger in an area.  If the phone switches to that stronger GSM signal instead of staying on the weaker CDMA signal, the CDMA carrier would need to pay the GSM carrier.)

As a customer, I would really like the phone to switch to the strongest signal, regardless of whose network that is.

Jim Courtney offered his own view back in April: "Shouldn't Blackberry's Pure GSM Phones be the Real 'World Edition'?"

Today I received my new Blackberry "8830 World Edition" and I thought I'd record some initial reactions.  As past readers know, I live in Vermont where we don't really have decent GSM coverage (and can't get the iPhone) and are, in fact, likely to have even less GSM coverage now that Verizon will be purchasing GSM provider Unicel and, per Engadget and others, will be converting all GSM users over to CDMA.

This is obviously not a good thing for those of us who need to travel outside of North America. 

My previous CDMA-only Blackberry 7290 became essentially an extremely expensive paperweight the moment I left these shores.  Because I do travel, I have had a "backup phone" that is a Cingular GSM phone (with a New York number) that I used when outside of NA.  However, it's rather a pain because: 1) it's a different phone interface than I'm used to; 2) it's a different number than people know and I have to get into forwarding; 3) it doesn't always seem to work abroad; 4) Mitel has been paying two separate monthly fees for me;  and perhaps most importantly to me 5) I don't get my email on the phone!

A few weeks ago I saw that Verizon would be offering this new "8830" Blackberry that claimed to work anywhere in the world and so I dropped a note to our Corporate IT group to see if this would solve my two phone issue and let me get my email wherever I travel. They were looking into it and, in light of my recent brilliant move, decided to go ahead with it.  It arrived today and after the brief activation process with both Verizon and Mitel's Blackberry Enterprise Server, I was up and running again.

Some initial thoughts (note that I am comparing the 8830 to an older 7290 - if you have a newer Blackberry, you may already have some of these changes):

• The 8830 is a nice, sleek, sharp-looking unit. Smaller and thinner than the 7290 but seems to have a higher screen resolution and brighter screen.
• The thumbwheel on the side is gone and instead there's a trackball in the center.  This will undoubtedly take some getting used to after so much use of the thumbwheel.  You push in the trackball just as you did the thumbwheel to execute a command or make a choice.  As a bonus, the trackball lights up, too.
• The keys are closer together, but yet they have ridges/indentations on them that seem, so far, to make it as easy to "thumb-type" on them as the previous keys.  (Hmmm... in fact, because the keys are closer together will there be less thumb fatigue?)
• Two more keys were added in the keypad.  The "0" key is now on its own key to the left of the spacebar and there is a separate Shift key.  On the right-side of the spacebar there is a "Sym" key that brings up various symbols.
• Next to the trackball, on the outside, Rim added the green and red "call" and "end" buttons that are common on most all cell phones these days. This is different from the 7290 where this was all done with the thumbwheel.
• Immediately adjacent to the trackball are two keys: "Menu" on the left and "Esc" on the right.  The Esc keys does what the button on the side of the 7290 below the thumbwheel did, which is that it cancels whatever you are doing and takes you "back" to a previous screen.  The "Menu" button pops up whatever menu is appropriate in the context. 
• An interesting aspect of this change is that you have more granularity of control than you did with the 7290 where the thumbwheel and button were overloaded with multiple functions.  For instance, when you are in an app, the "Esc" button will now bring you back to the previous screen but leave you still with the app open (previously it would usually exit the app).  Exiting the app is done through either the red "end" button or through the Menu button and choosing Close.
• On the left side of the 8830 there is a "Convenience Button" that you can set to launch some app.  By default it is set to the "Voice Dial" app but, for instance, I changed mine to "Messages" so that all I have to do is push that button to get to my email.  Easy to configure and change in the "Options" application
• The leather holster with the magnetic closure is a much nicer way to hold it than the plastic bracket from which the 7290 often slipped out.
• The "other apps" that I had on my previous BB like Gmail, Google Maps and iSkoot all installed without any hitches.
• Installing the GSM SIM card that was labeled "Verizon" and "Vodafone" was a painless and simple exercise - but let's hope you never need to get it back out!  Just to see the card again I tried to remove it and found it basically impossible to do.  I'm not sure that I'd really ever want to do so, but if I did, I think I'd need needle-nose pliers to do so!
• The phone will work on CDMA or on GSM on either 900 or 1800 Mhz.  The default setting is for the phone to automagically detect whether CDMA or GSM is stronger and switch if necessary.  I'll be interested to monitor this when I next drive up to Ottawa and go through areas of Ontario with extremely limited CDMA coverage.  You can also force the phone to stick with either CDMA or GSM.
• Underneath the back cover, there is also a slot for a "mini-SD" card so that apparently you can store music or videos on that extra memory (At first I thought it was for the SIM card but it was too small.)
• Audio quality was fine in the few calls I've made with it so far.
• It has a speakerphone!

Those are some initial thoughts - I'm sure as I use it more I'll have some different opinions.  It will be interesting to see how I rapidly I adjust to the nuanced changes in button functions.  I've noticed myself pushing the wrong buttons some times already.

Now... I just need a trip into GSM-land to try out the transition...  (stay tuned)

Interesting post yesterday at ZDNet, "Apple seems to have forgotten the phone in the iPhone", where blogger Matthew Miller writes about his disappointment after 10 days of iPhone usage. Since I can't get an iPhone because of where I live, I've only very peripherally been following iPhone news (figuring that when I can eventually get one it will be improved by then).  Of course, you could not have missed the predictably huge initial reactions about the device being "magic", but now we are starting to see real and more honest appraisals as people actually get to work with the devices.  In Matthew Miller's case, here is his list of what the iPhone is missing related to telephony:

• Low volume speakerphone (basically useless at max volume through mono speaker)
• Mid volume speaker
• Tough to speed dial (at least 5 presses/slides to call one of your )
• No smart dial (filtering of contacts as you enter letters or numbers)
• Reception issues (full signal to no signal in same area)
• No instant messaging application
• Non-removable battery that cost $86 to replace from Apple
• Weak Bluetooth radio (profiles and reception with headset)
• No DUN (Bluetooth or cabled)
• No custom ringtones
• No MMS functionality
• EDGE only data even though AT&T has a national 3G network

He goes on to talk about how he does like it for some things (he had previously blogged about the iPhone at length here and here), but ultimately will be returning it to AT&T before his 14-day trial period expires.

It will be interesting to see what others think as they continue to use them - it would also be intriguing to see if you could get any stats on how many get returned by day 14 (not likely).  To me, if Apple did nothing else with the iPhone, it has made people think about how different a user interface could be, and for that I applaud them.   A common refrain I've seen from people reviewing their iPhones is that the iPhone is "fun".

In my book, anything that brings "fun" to the world of telephony is a good thing! :-)

In the end, it all comes down to *#$%#$?@ batteries!  I was greatly amused to read today David Berlind's ZDNet Blog post, "iPhone redux: Is it time for the battery life equivalent of a 'nutrition label' (see example)".

His statements are entirely true.  We as an industry do need some kind of "truth in labeling" decree about battery life.  I loved his diagram that he came up with (shown on right). 

This point was vividly driven home to me a few years back when for about a year or so I was the product manager for Mitel's wireless portfolio and was involved with the rollout of Mitel's IP-DECT solution in Europe.  Never in my life did I expect that so much of my time in the product launch would be consumed in dealing with issues around batteries! Being a "software guy", I really had very little understanding of the nuances of power consumption and their impact on battery life. It was definitely a great learning experience! As David Berlind says:

Not only was plenty written about the iPhone’s potential battery life issues, the truth of the matter is that there’s only so much you can ask a battery to do.

Batteries can only do so much - and the real challenge with a mobile device is to find every way possible to reduce power consumption so that the battery will go that much longer.  But, as he points out, we want our devices to do so much more....

(Me? I just want to be able to turn on Bluetooth on my Blackberry without having it require daily recharges!)

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past six months, you would know that today is the day that the Apple iPhone becomes available.  Actually, it is not until 6pm local time today, which seems a bit odd but it does provide a way to hype things all day as there will undoubtedly be endless news reports about the people standing in line to get an iPhone.  The hype is almost endless, it would seem.  Quite frankly, I don't see how the iPhone will even remotely live up to all the expectations that have been placed on it.  It slices. It dices.  It solves world hunger and cures cancer!  Well, okay, maybe not... but the hype would almost bring it to that level.  I have to expect that over the next few days the blog posts will naturally turn to peoples' reviews of the product and the inevitable let-downs.

I, of course, won't have a chance to experience an iPhone anytime soon.  As I wrote previously, those of us who live in states without AT&T coverage are just out-of-luck. (Also noted by a local Apple retailer.)  I guess the good news is that by the time we finally do get the coverage, whatever year that is, we should have a good idea about how well the iPhone does or does not work! :-)

In the meantime, for all of you out there who get one today and are standing in line now... well... have fun!

(Thus endeth my obligatory iPhone posting!)

That's the question that both Alec Saunders and Ars Technica ask in regard to a news release out of "Digital Life America" entitled "BlackBerry Backlash? Americans Split on 'Always On' Culture" (PDF).   The release, timed to coincide with the 3GSM event in Barcelona last week, covers some of the group's research and includes this:

• 33% agreed with the statement “devices like BlackBerry chain you to work more than they liberate you.” 34% were neutral and the balance, 34%, disagreed.
• Surprisingly, among those who own a BlackBerry or a similar device, the results were not all that different: 34% agreed with the statement, 37% disagreed and 29% were neutral.

The news release went on to highlight other stats that BlackBerry owners do in fact work longer hours and have higher incomes... but both of these are kind of "duh!" statements to me.  Look at who are typically the ones with BB devices in any company (i.e. management, executives).  When was the last time any of us in those job roles (at most North American companies) worked a 40-hour week?  (I think I actually might have in January, but that was because we had a vacation day.)

As a BlackBerry user, I have to say that I'm in the 37% who disagree with the statement, i.e. for me the device is a tremendous liberating device.  That wasn't my initial thought.  I resisted requesting one for a couple of years when peers were doing so.  I watched some folks get into BB-driven email wars at 10pm on a Saturday night and just said "Don't those folks have a life?"  and "Why would anyone want to be that accessible?"

However, once I started using it, I rapidly flipped the other way. For me, it allows me to be connected wherever I want to - should I choose to do so! And I think that's really the key. As Mark Evans writes, it really is about how you use it and how to achieve that work/life balance.  For me, the primary reason I got a BB was for travelling where it has proved to be incredibly useful.  I can't even begin to count the number of airports I've been stuck in where having ready access to email was useful and in some cases necessary. 

Even locally, there are too many times to count when it proved to be useful.  I was driving home one morning from dropping our daughter off at school and thinking about the things I had to do as the morning got underway when one of the warning lights on our car went on.  Since I was about to go by the car dealership, I pulled in and had them check it out.  I just went to the waiting area and used the BB to work through email.  It gave me the freedom to do something like that.  And that freedom does indeed help with my own work/life balance...   but you do need to exercise that restraint and not let it interfere with non-work time. 

At the end of the day, the BlackBerry and other devices are tools that can be either liberating or enslaving.  It's all really in how you choose to use them.  (Or, I suppose, are required to use them... I could see some managers out there expecting/requiring employees to always be available.)

P.S. Sometime, though, I'll write the counterpoint argument about how absolutely annoying it is as a presenter when you have a room full of people surreptitiously (or not) sucked into their email...

This isn't about VoIP, per se, but I continue to be fascinated by the ongoing battle between Google, Yahoo and Microsoft to be the set of tools through which you work with the Internet.  One of the latest salvos to catch my eye was the announcement that Google's software will be pre-installed on some Samsung handset models.  So now you'll get essentially Google's Desktop product on your mobile phone.  I wouldn't be surprised to see similar announcements from Yahoo and Microsoft.  As a consumer and user of those various services, it's rather interesting to watch the ongoing skirmishes... kind of like watching giant kids in a playground... all circling each other and fighting, while we sit on the side and observe.

We certainly do live in interesting times.