Network and Telecom Strategies Blog

The (not so) Perfect Storm

Posted by: Chuck Bessant

 

Did I learn my lesson when I purchased the new Volvo S70 in 1997 in the first production month? No. Warranty covered everything, but I had a lot of stuff replaced which takes time, my time, at the dealership.

 

Did I learn my lesson when I built a house this year and used a new model KitchenAid oven? No. After self-cleaning it this summer, a module burned out and the oven wouldn’t heat up for cooking. I discovered this “feature” when I tried to bake a nice Copper River salmon, well, it would have been nice. Had it fixed, under warranty, then cleaned it again on Monday (1-Dec), and it did the same thing. Appliance guy, “Oh yeah, they came out with an updated module. We didn’t install the new module? Your oven should be fixed by Christmas.” WHAT (on so many levels)!

 

So, now I have a Blackberry Storm. I’ve learned a lot since 25-Nov.

 

·         The battery seems much better than the iPhone. The 480x360 color display is sharp. The SurePress touch screen operates well as long as you are not Andre the Giant. The SureType and QWERTY keyboards work OK. Lots of ring tones if you get board; I go for the Zen sounds myself. I was able to order it via the Verizon 800-number so no lines at the Verizon store. Broadband over Verizon’s EV-DO network, nice. GSM so it will work in Europe, very nice. Reception is great. This is all good.

 

·         SurePress action response is slow. When you press a key, there is a noticeable response delay that is very annoying. Navigation to the phone directory is a bit awkward. Once the keypad is up, and you want to Mute or go to Speakerphone it is a bit awkward. My Plantronics Bluetooth ear piece doesn’t stay synched very well, although it does with my Samsung cell phone. When physically turning Storm from portrait to landscape, the display doesn’t always rotate as advertised. Annoying? Yes - I’m getting a stiff neck.  

 

·         Verizon does not have their Backup Assistant applet for Blackberry, even though the instruction sheet from Verizon says to use it to download your directory. This feature on cell phones backs up your phonebook when changes are made to a Verizon server via a call. Seamless, fast, easy, automated, effortless. You can even access the phonebook by going to your wireless account on-line. Sweet! But for Storm, from what I’ve been told, and all Blackberries, sour. This feature does not exist. You can do an upload to Blackberry, or to Outlook via a cable to your computer. OK, I get that. Verizon’s response when I asked how to get my directory to Storm was “re-type or take it to a Verizon store”; I live 25 miles from the nearest Verizon store, and no one told me I couldn’t download my directory via Backup Assistant. I have got to believe that Verizon could provide a Backup Assistant to at least get your phonebook directory seeded to a Blackberry without going to a store, getting a number and waiting for help. All this great technology, wireless, EV-DO, yadda, yadda, yadda, and I still have to shag to a store. Boo, hiss.

 

I am new to the Blackberry, and maybe this is all normal. I expected Storm to be more responsive and a better first generation release than it is given RIMM’s reputation. This is not like Windows 3.0. Blackberry has been around for years. Verizon has carried it for years. The SurePress thing is new, granted. And so is Storm technology for Blackberry. Why is response slow? I have no idea, nor do I care, it is slow, I don’t like that so that is that – Sam I am.

 

I plan to return it. I’ll wait for Storm 2.0 to be released, or just maybe 2.1 so I can say I learned my lesson on new/major releases. Overall, the concept is excellent. I am just not impressed with v1.0, and having the user help fund the next generation release by releasing a device that should have been gang busters out the door.

iPhone Application Updates: The Fix is in

Posted by Michael Disabato

After my rant the other day, I went wandering through the googled pathways of the Internet in search of others who had the problem with application updates failing on the iPhone, and I found a fix for the vexatious problem here: http://tech.kateva.org/2008/09/iphone-21-does-not-fix-unknown.html

I still don't understand why Apple allowed this problem out in the first place, but at least there is a workaround.

Mike

(im)Perfection in a Smartphone

Posted by: Michael Disabato

** rant mode = ON **

Dave Passmore and Jamie Lewis bought iPhone version 1 and were surprised I hadn't camped out at the store in San Francisco to get one. I wanted a 3G device and knew if I waited, one would come. A year later, my dream was realized. Some dream.

As has been said in multiple posts elsewhere, the iPhone is perfect if:

You carry a power cable with to compensate for poor battery life and the fact you cannot carry a spare battery.

You don't care about sending multimedia SMS.

You never need to resend, forward, or save a text message.

You never need to copy and paste anything.

You always want to be discoverable by Bluetooth devices.

You don't mind dropped calls and constant shifts from 3G to EDGE.

You don't care about synching notes or to-dos.

There are others, but those are pretty big ones.

Others have written about the lack of copy/paste, but I cannot believe Apple of all companies left this out of the iPhone. No way to save a message. No way to transfer data between applications. The reduction in functionality this brings makes me want to return the thing and go with Windows Mobile. Well... maybe not, but it comes close. The iPhone OS will not really be a true mobile OS until copy and paste are a standard part of the OS. They are fundamental to working with email and many other texting types of programs.

Then there's the calendar and it's random color assignment. I use iCal for my work calendar, my wife's calendar, and a couple other public calendars I find useful. I've assigned them colors on my laptop and have grown used to them. Enter the iPhone. I can sync all these calendars to the iPhone with one minor problem. The colors don't match the laptop. Small issue? Not really. I've "trained" my mind to associate color with function. Apple's arbitrary color assignment messes this up in ways that are interesting to see. Interesting, but not fun. I now have to stop and think about which is which. Oh sure, I could re-assign the colors, but that means I allow the machine to dictate my behavior, not the other way around. And they call this intuitive software. Yeah, right.

Then there is the "minor" problem of application updates that don't work. Apple's workaround is to delete the app, with all the data, and upload the new version. Without the data. That's a solution? Gimme a break here! Get with it Apple. Applications change and improve. I should not have to delete my hard won data because you can't figure out a way to update the code without breaking it.

Oh yeah. The App Store. I've long railed against walled gardens, and here we are with one. Apple finally relented about the NDA, but their capricious policies concerning which apps are allowed in the store are damaging the developer community. Palm never did anything of the sort and lasted a long time. It took mismanagement at the top to bring them down, not bad applications. Hey, Steve! You may have built it, but I paid for it. It's my machine. Let me run what I want on it. I'll take the risk.

While we're at it, let's open up the Bluetooth stack. I use(d) Bluephone to control my RAZR and to send and receive text messages from my laptop. No such luck with the iPhone. Can't export text messages either. Or copy and past them. ooops. And let's shut off discovery mode unless absolutely needed. Heck, I've only been ranting about that for 6 years.

I also used my RAZR as a modem when I could not find a WiFi connection or wired connection. It wasn't often, but it was convenient. No such luck here. There was an application that allowed tethering through a WiFi proxy, but that got yanked from the App Store. I guess Apple thinks they need to enforce AT&T's usage policies. Why they think that is beyond me.

Last, but not least, there's the problem of Active Sync and messages causing the iPhone to reset. Doesn't happen often, but when it does, there's the moment of "ohmigawdwhatdidido???" panic as the little apple on the screen almost laughs at you.

Many have claimed the iPhone is perfection. If this is perfection, then Windows is completely secure, and I just became CEO of Burton Group. At last check, neither of those is true, so I guess the iPhone isn't perfect. Put another way, the Emperor has no clothes.

I'll explore why the iPhone is not enterprise-ready at another time. Needless to say, I'll point back to this post as some of the reasons.

The iPhone is my first true smartphone. It won't be my last, but if Apple doesn't address some fundamental issues, I'll be looking hard at Android-based devices in the future.

As always, I'd love to hear about your experiences with this device and how you see it entering your organization.

The iPhone, the Enterprise, the crow

posted by: Michael Disabato

Well, the iPhone SDK announcement has occurred. Those of you who read my quote in Fortune Magazine the day before are probably wondering what I had for breakfast that day. My analysis that Apple would not step up to the enterprise was borne of a long history of their failing to do just that. I have never been happier to be wrong.

From Exchange support to the ability to wipe the contents of the device, Apple addressed nearly everything I had said needed to be done. There are still a few sticking points, though.

In their effort to protect the device and its owners from malicious software, Apple has eliminated the ability of programs to use plugins. This rules out Entourage, Firefox, Thunderbird, Skype, and a number of other popular applications. Time will tell if Apple will relent on this and allow these popular apps on the popular gadget.

The second thing is application distribution. There is some confusion over this, even with in Burton Group. According to the announcement the iTunes store will be THE authoritative place to get applications. This means that enterprises would need to send their apps to Apple to get them on the iPhone. I can think of more than one company who will find this to be unacceptable. But once again, Apple may relent or there may be a clarification in the works.

I had been holding off on getting a iPhone for a number of reasons, most of which were addressed in the announcement. Now if the thing will only support HSPA and allow me to tether my laptop through Bluetooth...

I'd be interested in hearing how any of you plan to use the iPhone in your enterprise. Nothing proprietary, just an idea of policies to be put in place, concerns, etc. Who knows, you might even get mention in the next report on this.

Mike