I remember sitting in this same building in the beginning of 2007 and feverishly refreshing a plethora of sites live blogging that year’s MacWorld Stevenote. And then the iPhone came out and we all know how that turned out (my and my iPhone are inseparable). And now it’s happening all over, only this time I’m waiting for a tablet – a device that is very mysterious to many, myself included.

As many have posited, the soon-to-be-announced Tablet (or whatever it ends up being called), will have to be revolutionary in more ways than one – and that’s why it’s so mysterious. Apple simply can’t take an iPhone (or an iPod Touch), increase its screen size, and call it a day. I have a feeling that this device will hail the introduction of an all-new interface (be it touch screen or otherwise) that will make everyone think, “Why didn’t we think of this before? It’s so obvious.”

In essence, the beauty of the iPhone lies in its proportions – the ability to use the device with one hand and one thumb (on that same hand). In fact, I can touch any corner of the screen with my thumb while holding the iPhone in just one hand. But when it comes to a tablet-style device that has a much bigger screen (we’re talking 8-10 inches here), single-handed navigation becomes difficult. And that’s the reason, in my opinion, Apple will hail a new set of technologies that will make using a larger-screen tablet intuitive, easy, and unique (whether it will be one handed is up in the air). And that’s not to mention the content magnet that this device will become – ebooks and magazines, videos and podcasts – the Apple tablet will undoubtedly work to increase content consumption exponentially.

And so I (im)patiently await 10 am PST for the Steve Jobs to take stage at today’s Latest Creation media event. Let the refreshing begin self-refreshing javascipt magic do its thing on the live streams (and let’s hope Twitter doesn’t go down). I’ll be here during the live stream.

As Congress continues to look into early termination fees (ETFs) charged by cellular carriers for leaving a contract before its date of maturity, it would be interesting to explore imagine a world without such penalties.

Financially, carriers expect a customer to stick around for the entire length of their contract, most often providing the incentive to enter into such a contract by subsidizing the upfront cost of a handset. If a subscriber wishes to duck out early, an ETF is assessed for essentially breaking this contract. But what if Congress passed a bill that would outlaw the use of ETFs altogether? If that were to happen, I would expect a colossal change in the cellular industry, one that would bring a contract-free cellular environment.

How so? If carriers don’t have the legal capacity to charge ETFs that penalize the customer for breaking a contract, the need to enter into a contract for cellular service would cease to exist altogether. The end result would be a cellular environment that centers around contract-free, pre-paid cellular service without ETFs.

But don’t get your hopes up just yet, since the possibility of Congress completely outlawing ETFs is very low to say the least.

Some of us have been using Google Voice (GV) for the last few months and loving it! All the while, the GrandCentral service – the precursor to GV – was still alive and well. Today, however, GrandCentral account holders began receiving emails informing them that the service will be closing its doors December 31, 2009. To us this means Google thinks enough GrandCentral users have migrated to Google Voice that it can safely wind down the old service. Here’s the full email from GrandCentral:

Dear GrandCentral User (alexluft16):

We’re writing to let you know that we will be closing down the GrandCentral website as of December 31, 2009.

All GrandCentral accounts were upgraded to Google Voice earlier this year, but since that time, you’ve still been able to log-in to your GrandCentral account and listen to old messages there. You will no longer be able to log-in to your GrandCentral account after December 31. Because of this, we strongly suggest downloading any messages or contacts that you want to keep in the next 43 days.

We will send you another reminder before closing down the site, but we suggest you take action now to download any information you want to keep.

- The Google Voice Team

For anyone who needs invites to Google Voice, we have a few left – so please leave a comment and we’ll send them out on a first-comment-first-served basis.

For September 12, 2009

- Palm Pixie announced
- Apple’s Rock and Roll Event
- AT&T releasing HSPA 7.2 in six markets

http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/09/09/att-announces-2009-hspa-7-2-network-upgrade-plans/

- AT&T says MMS coming to iPhone September 25th. No official word on tethering

http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2009/09/att-says-mms-coming-to-iphone-on-september-25.ars

http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=1574

- T-Mobile and Orange merge in the UK

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=a5rlH.Mm55_Q

- Lawsuit route proves lucrative for Tivo

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/sep2009/tc2009098_760023.htm

- Microsoft gets stay for Word

http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?=23848

- Facebooks “enhances intelligence” but Twitter “diminishes it,” claims psychologist

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/twitter/6147668/Facebook-enhances-intelligence-but-Twitter-diminishes-it-claims-psychologist.html

- Twitter makes changes to terms of service

http://twitter.com/tos

- IEEE stamps “approved” on 802.11n Wi-Fi standard

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/091109-80211n-approved.html?hpg1-bn

- Picks of the week
Alex: AP news app
Lizette: the new TweetDeck
- Joke of the week

http://www.ajokeaday.com/ChisteAlAzar.asp?

We’ve just discovered a new Windows 7 ad by Microsoft featuring a little girl, Kelly, talking up the new OS. In the ad, Kelly finds Windows 7 reviews on her dad’s Sony Vaio notebook and proceeds to make a slideshow about the awesome new operating system, complete with a unicorn, a kitten, and a piggy with huge ears. If you look closely, the slideshow displays four quotes from positive Windows 7 reviews (Gizmodo, Maximum PC, CNet, and ZDNet) all to the tune of Europe’s The Final Countdown.. The ad concludes with Kelly saying, “I’m a PC and more happy is coming.”

Perhaps that last part is referring to the Zune HD and a the much-anticipated Windows Mobile OS?

Check out the ad after the break!

With Windows 7, Microsoft has delivered on the “product” end of things. Now it’s time to market the great new product. Microsoft needs to change consumers’ (undeservedly) negative perception of Windows Vista with Windows 7. This ad is a great step in that direction. In fact, this is an example of a perfect advertisement – one that doesn’t bash the competition (cough, Apple) but endears the company in the ad. Hopefully, we’ll be seeing more of these “happy,” ads.

For September 5, 2009

- Nokia releases a ton of new stuff
- AT&T announces improvements to network
- Gmail down for two hours, nudges past AOL Mail
- Bill to give president control of the internet
- Picks of the week, and a whole lot more!

Nokia releases a ton of new stuff
- SDK for Ovi application platform
- N97 mini, X3 and X6 music phones
- Pricing for Booklet 3G

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10345495-94.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-10331767-266.html

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10315916-1.html?tag=mncol;txt

AT&T announces improvements in NYC and other markets – 850MHZ
And those who think Verizon is going to do better with the iPhone… behold the wrath of Alex!

http://www.macrumors.com/2009/09/02/atandt-announces-850-mhz-3g-coverage-improvements-in-new-york-city-and-other-markets/

http://technestreport.com/blog/2009/08/25/think-verizon-will-do-a-better-job-with-the-iphone-think-again/

Gmail down two hours… the world grinds to a halt!

http://news.cnet.com/8301-30684_3-10323837-265.html

Gmail nudges past AOL in total email users

AOL hires ad agency to refresh the brand

Facebook apps on their way out – replaced by Facebook Connect

http://news.cnet.com/8301-19882_3-10323364-250.html

Bill to give President control of the internet

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10320096-38.html

TomTom iPhone app is here! Is it worth it?

Domain tasting limits have been working!

http://boingboing.net/2009/08/15/domain-tasting-scam.html

Picks of the week:
Alex: Panabee – panabee.com
Lizette: Toy Slate

Joke of the week:

http://www.4degreez.com/jokes/Tech-Related+Jokes/984686126/joke.html

For August 22, 2009
- Apple responds to FCC regarding Google Voice
- Microsoft not so truthful about netbooks with Linux
- Microsoft and i4i – the Word patent dispute
- Google’s Android now has a built-in podcast catcher
- Picks of the week
- And a whole lot more

For full show notes, please visit shownotes.technestreport.com

It seems to be an agreed-upon point of view within the Digirati crowd that AT&T is killing the iPhone. If “killing” is not your bowl of soup, then we can substitute “is highly detrimental,” “the Achilles heel,” or “the main reason I switched to another smartphone.” But aside from the few high-profile and outspoken members of the Digirati community, what real reasons exist to prove that AT&T is really the “dark side” in the relationship? In this article, I dissect the great plethora of FUD, bogus, and unfounded claims about AT&T wireless as it relates to the Apple iPhone.

It’s the network, huh?

Those who have voiced and continue to voice their opinions about AT&T’s quality of cellular service as it relates to the iPhone seem to be focusing their attention on one falsely-conceived assumption: that the iPhone would be better off on a different network, such as Verizon Wireless. However, those who think so haven’t thought it all the way through. Here’s why: the iPhone is the kind of device that is extremely easy to use. It makes many features very user friendly – SMS, email and web browsing all shine on the device thanks in part to its awesome user interface. Remember when those features were completely not user friendly on other phones? Both of my parents (who have never used mobile web browsing, SMS, or email on their Motorola RAZRs) now use SMS, email and the browser regularly on their iPhones. In that regard, the iPhone – by its very nature – increases the usability of data by an enormous amount! It’s a device that takes what have been “geek only” features and brings them to the mainstream.

Knowing this, we can conclude that iPhone users consume exponentially more data than non-iPhone users. So here is my question to all those who think that the iPhone would be better off on Verizon/another carrier: do you really think that another carrier would be able to handle the exponentially greater data load brought on by the iPhone any better than AT&T does?

Think about it before you answer. Seriously, keep thinking. If you think that GSM/HSDPA (AT&T network technology) is in some way inferior to CDMA (Verizon network tech) and you are not a wireless network engineer, you have no idea what you’re talking about. There, I said it! I’ve spoken to dozens of cellular network engineers around my area from all four major carriers, and all of them state that while the underlying technologies differ greatly, what really determines the quality of the network is its implementation and the quality of the backhaul.

So who is to say that Verizon, Sprint, or T-Mobile would do a better job than AT&T is doing with the iPhone, given the increased data load the device brings on the network?

Personal experience

Everyone has a personal experience with their cellular device. You hear these stories all the time: “I hate (insert carrier name here) because when I step into the very South East corner of my apartment, put on my cowboy hat, place my left hand on my right ear, and then stand on my tippy-toes I lose service.” Know what I’m talking about? Sure you do! Let me tell you my experience with iPhone 3G S: ever since it fell into my hands on June 19, 2009 (launch date), I have not had one dropped call and have never lost service (had zero bars). You read that right – it has never happened to me. Sure, I’m not in the Digerati capital of the world (San Francisco area). But I’m not in the boonies either – I live less than five minutes driving distance from Boca Raton, FL. Sure it’s not as densely packed as an urban conglomerate such as New York City or San Fran. But everyone I know has a cell phone and so do their 10 year-old kids (iPhones, even).

Show me the evidence!

Having said that, I see absolutely no reason to wish that the iPhone be available on a different exclusive carrier in the U.S. So after thinking it through, you should be careful what you wish for – as the saying goes. Actually, there is one reason that I want the iPhone to be available on multiple wireless carriers: competition, which can happen on multiple levels: plan price, quality of service, or device price, among others. But let me be clear: competition is good for the consumer (and in some cases, for the companies). I’m in no way dissatisfied with AT&T wireless when it comes to the iPhone.

Really?

Perhaps I’m not understanding exactly what is going on here and iPhone users in San Francisco are suffering terribly from dropped calls and poor service. If that is the case, AT&T should look into fixing its service in that area. But – again – let me point out that the dissatisfaction with AT&T as it relates to the iPhone is overblown, overhyped, and – in my experience – only affects the (very) outspoken few. So leave AT&T alone!

In a future post, I will discuss the technical reasons why it’s not in Apple’s best interest, or the interest of me as a consumer, to switch iPhone exclusivity from AT&T to another carrier.

For Friday, August 21, 2009

- Facebook to launch Twitter app
- Microsoft to keep Windows Mobile 6.5 around after 7
- Twitter launches Pro accounts
- Wolfram Alpha strikes deal with Bing

For full show notes, please visit shownotes.technestreport.com

For Thursday, August 20, 2009

- Qwest discontinuing wireless service
- Verizon tests 4G LTE network in Boston, Seattle
- Archive coalition to give short URLs long lives

For full show notes, please visit shownotes.technestreport.com