UPDATE: Traveling Without a "Net"

UPDATE: AT&T Website Stops Selling iPhone in New York City

I remember visiting NYC back in March and complaining about the terrible reception I was receiving with my iPhone. It struck me as odd that I was in one of the most visited cities in the world, a cosmopolitan destination, and I could barely send and receive data, and kept dropping calls.

I've been following the recent cell coverage war between AT&T and Verizon, and independent studies have shown that AT&T does in fact have a faster network (coverage is a different story), but it appears they still don't still don't have the coverage problem sorted out in NYC.

Another angle on this story is the recent rumblings from AT&T that their network is "overwhelmed" with "data hog" users. The smartphone market (specifically, the iPhone) is growing faster than AT&T can expand their network. AT&T CEO Ralph De la Vega has gone so far as to say that AT&T is experimenting with the idea of charging for data usage -- very similar to how cell phone minutes are currently charged.

One would think that fixing the the coverage problem in NYC would be a good investment for AT&T, and not that difficult of a fix. Turning your back on the smartphone market as it continues to expand is probably not a good business decision. Charging users for data usage is not something I'm too excited about.

March 1, 2009

The title is a little dramatic, and not entirely true. Traveling
without a net, what does that mean?

It means since I have started blogging again this is the first time I
have traveled without a laptop -- hence, without the net and the
ability to post to a blog. Get it?

So what? Well, I'm writing this post on my iPhone, sitting in a plane
in Charlotte, NC. Once finished, I will send it to my blog for posting.

I can tell you are not impressed, but the amazing thing is that I am
posting to a web site (my blog) simply by sending an email.

I'm sure to most veteran bloggers this is not all that big of a deal.
To me it was a revelation of the power of Web 2.0. Think about, no
access to a browser, but I can continue to write and post thoughts to
my blog.

So, maybe not traveling without out a net, but traveling with a mobile net...

Post note: I wrote this blog on Friday, 27 February with the intention
of posting it once I arrived in NYC. However, upon arrival in the
city I found that my 3G connection, actually, cell phone connection in
general, was spotty. How strange is that, I get better cell coverage
in Jacksonville, NC than I do in NYC? AT&T, can you hear me now...?