More iPhone rumors with no hard facts

People love rumors and gossip. Even though the newspapers are honestly supposed to stay away from rumors and conjecture, the Wall Street Journal must feel strongly enough that its anonymous sources are trustworthy enough for the major story the Journal ran.

Of course, I’m alluding to the supposed iPhone that goes into production at the end of the year and will be released for Verizon. The one catch is that no one is officially talking: Verizon, Apple, the Taiwanese manufacturer of iPhones and the company that will allegedly be making the Verizon iPhone have all declined to comment on the matter. AT&T is talking, but it’s the equivalent to a “no comment.”

Still, it’s not just the Journal buying into iPhone-Verizon fervor, there are plenty of others reporting as well. The idea is that Apple is making an iPhone for CDMA networks, aka the network that Verizon (and a few others) are on. The current iPhone is a GSM network because that’s what AT&T is on.

Never fear, AT&T will still have the iPhone. In fact, there is supposed to be a new one coming out this summer — the same time a new one has been released for the last three years. But partnering with Verizon just makes more sense for Apple. The network is better and far larger, with at least 6 million more wireless customers, according to Reuters.

Just the mere speculation had Verizon’s and Apple’s shares rising while AT&T’s dropped.

I think it’s a great move, and not just because I’m a Verizon customer. The fact of the matter is that AT&T drops far more calls and can’t handle so many iPhones. Now, Verizon can also take some of the burden and that might even lead to AT&T having a more reliable network.

What slipped between the cracks, 3/22 to 3/28

I unfortunately missed two weeks of the weekly round-up, but, luckily, this week there was some really interesting stories to sink your teeth into.

The future of Sprint is a different type of billing. With people using phones for more than just making calls, the company believes it makes more sense to bill based on amount of data used and not minutes.

By the end of 2010 one-third of the U.S. will be covered by Verizon’s LTE network. Another projection Verizon made is that its 4G coverage will be at least equal to its 3G covered by 2013. Sure, that’s not exactly any time soon, but the company also assured customers that while it expands 4G coverage, it will also continue working on expanding 3G coverage.

AT&T was also busy this week with an announcement on the roll out of its 3G MicroCell. Basically, if you are on AT&T and are sick of it’s dropped calls and shoddy coverage, you plunk down $150 for what amounts to a mini-tower and coverage for up to 10 AT&T phones, while in range (5,000 square feet), is better.

Google had an interesting bug to fix when some of its corporate site was in Chinese. Some immediately assumed that the site had been hacked because of Google’s recent issues with China, but the company denied that and said the issue was a bug, not a hack.

Google's site resulting from a bug.

Want an iPad? You’re definitely not alone. Even if people don’t know the exact figures of pre-sales, one thing is for sure: there were enough that any new orders placed wouldn’t be received until the second week, April 12. Also, in-store pick up isn’t an option any more.

Now that my semester is half over, I’ll (hopefully) be a bit more regular with updates.

The phone market gets smarter

Although the majority of Americans still have regular “feature” cell phones (i.e. not a smartphone), Nielsen Wire is reporting that the number of smartphone users is growing so much so that by the end of 2011, half of the country will be smartphone users.

This probably isn’t a surprise to anyone. Smartphones are a newer a better technology and the longer it’s around, the more people are going to buy. What Nielsen doesn’t report on is how many smartphones are being made. After all, 21 percent have smartphones right now compared to 14 percent a year earlier. But how many more different types of smartphones are available now as compared to a year ago?

Not only is quantity contributing to the ever-increasing rise of smartphone users, but price is a huge factor. I’m a Verizon customer (thus, no iPhone for me), and if I’m going to buy a smartphone I can get the Samsung Omnia from as low as $9.99. The Droid Eris is $79.99 and the BlackBerry Storm 2 is $99.99. Overall there are 14 Verizon phones for under $100 (all of these prices include two-year contracts).

My next phone (when I get the money for it)

And other carriers aren’t skimping on smartphones for under $100: Sprint and AT&T both have nine each. The more inexpensive smartphones get, the more people who are going to buy them. The option is basically buying a smartphone for, say, $49.99 where you have the option of downloading apps and browsing the Web, or spending the same amount of money and not being able to do that.

Yes, smartphones do cost more per month. That’s where they get people. I’ve seen it happen to myself and my friends. What happens is that you get hooked on using those extra features.

While smartphone growth has been steadily increasing, Nielsen is showing that the country is getting hooked on smartphones. It’s expected that the amount of smartphone users will start growing more rapidly.

By 2012 there will be more smartphone in the market than feature phones.

Apple, the iPhone and the future

Multiple sites have reported the fact that Apple is selling contract-free iPhones. Unfortunately, these phones are still locked to AT&T. The original information was that the phones were unlocked and for a few hours, people rejoiced. Then it became apparent that what Apple is doing right now, is exactly what it did this time last year.

Using common sense, TechCrunch reported that the most likely reason for Apple selling contract-free iPhones to move the inventory. The company wants to sell as many iPhones as possible right now because there will likely be a new iPhone in June or July.

We can only hope the new iPhone looks really cool like some of the concept sketches from fans or this really professional-looking video. My only concern is the network.

AT&T said its new 4G network won’t be ready until 2011. If the new iPhone is a 4G phone (which would most likely be), then it would be a full year until the capabilities are all there in the U.S. Elsewhere in the world (I hear Scandinavia) the capabilities are there. Of course, in some places in Europe people can also buy the iPhone unlocked, meaning they aren’t stuck with AT&T.

Phone dependence

As Sidekicks and iPhones and SmartPhones become more popular because of their ease of use, it becomes more apparent that when things go wrong with them, people are left in difficult positions.

Back in September, iPhone users actually overloaded AT&T’s network. The immense amount of data that iPhone users stream (music, videos, apps and e-mails) is, at times, more than AT&T can handle. this has led to spotty service. Calls are dropped or never go through and text messages are delayed, sometimes for hours.

Just a week ago T-Mobile committed a grave error in the eyes of mobile phone users: the company lost personal data on all the phones. Personal data is stored on an outside server and an error with Microsoft caused the loss. In addition, if Sidekick users let the phones shut off for any reason all that data would be permanently lost.

These issues shouldn’t be such a blow, after all they are just mobile phones, but the problems arising prove that people rely on mobile technology more than ever. Just two years ago it wouldn’t have affected so many people so drastically. When I got my first cell phone back in the ’90s I rarely used the device. Today, the phone number I’m mostly likely to give out is my cell, not my home. I know relatives who don’t even have landlines and only use their cell phones. Others always have their phones handy to check and send e-mails, read the newspaper and entertain themselves during downtime.

After T-Mobile lost all his personal information, one Facebook user summed it up best: “[They] just left us 2 pick up the pieces of our life.”