Balancing power: Google v. AP, Yahoo! v. Geocities users, AT&T v. Skype

We try to be good to one another. Sometimes it's just about power.

The Associated Press newswire told search engines to pay for showing stories, or to stop showing them. [Ironic link above: AP story hosted on Google.] How quickly would AP enter bankruptcy if none of their stories showed up in Google News or search results?

Google's playing nice. They can, because they have the power in this relationship.

Yahoo! will kill Geocities later this month (26 October 2009). Millions of web sites, stores, online communities, blogs will vanish, along with their google juice. Geocities is a chunk of history for some, an online home for others. Yahoo! gave six months warning in its eviction notice. Yahoo! will move you to their paid hosting service. 

Yahoo! holds the power over Geocitizens in this landlord-tenant relationship. [Kudos to The Archive Team and the Internet Archive for trying to back up Geocities.]

AT&T blocked wireless access to VoIP on the iPhone for two years. Just to see what Skype and Google would do. They had power over Apple before the first iPhone launched. Less so now that Apple is a worldwide success.

Renters get power over landlords from their contract and from their government's landlord-tenant laws. Those laws rebalance power, create some process for notice and appeal, and define penalties for abusing process or power.

Skype is in the middle of a network of alliances, partnerships, antagonists, and dependencies. While some relationships are defined by market forces, many are driven by the struggle for industry and government power. Skype steps lightly. For every Skype government affairs person, the telecom industry has thousands. For every euro Skype spends on publicity and advertising to influence the public and regulators, the telecoms spend thousands. Skype is deft and agile, a guerilla going up against vested interests, avoiding brute force confrontations they could lose.

Meanwhile Skype earned its own power. Skype spent six years defining a global brand people love and trust. Skype quietly framed regulatory issues in Brussels and Washington placing Skype on the side of democracy and freedom. Skype proved its legitimacy as a profitable business (although still a rounding error in AT&T's 2009q2 Net Operating Cash Flow of $15.8 billion) and a competitor (8% of international minutes).

Skype is investing in its power. Geek cred will come if its Skype as a Platform service is successful. Skype is spreading its political attention to smaller governments. Skype has new PR, advertising, marketing partners to reinvigorate Skype's brand for what the company will become. Skype is building products to diversify its business model and create new sources of income.

Skype is approaching a half-billion users. Skype will no doubt be a US$2 billion a year company by 2013. Skype will sit at the table with Internet and telecom giants.

So I'm left with an incomplete thought.

Will Skype be as tender with its power as Google? Will Skype be as courteous as Yahoo! with trusting customers? Will Skype abuse market power through partnerships as AT&T?

Winston Churchill said the price of greatness is responsibility. What in Skype's cultural DNA says do no evil?

tags: skype, power, politics, ethics, morals

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AT&T caved on Voice over Cell. 12 Attacks To Come?

AT&T loathes Skype. Skype costs them international calling money and changes consumer expectations in ways mobile carriers cannot respond. So AT&T forbid Apple to permit Skype voice calls over the wireless network. It worked for two years. Now that barrier is down, how else can they slow or stop Skype? To bring a humble Skype to the negotiation table? Three anticompetitive strategies:

The Parity Strategy: Get government to treat Skype like a fat incumbent landline phone company.

• e911. Emergency dialing is expensive, unreliable with softphones like Skype, and different in every country. Skype says it is not a phone company, so the US FCC should not require Skype to offer emergency dialing. The incumbents would love to saddle Skype with this requirement.
• Assistance to the Hearing Impaired. Require Skype to offer interpreters for the deaf.
• Skype and US, State and Local Phone Taxes. Lobby for Skype to collect federal, state and local value added taxes and fees. Blur the distinction between Skype and phone companies. Complicate Skype's prices and products.
• Metro/State/Provincial Regulation. Encourage non-Federal governments and agencies to entangle Skype in hearings, compliance procedures.
• Administrivia. Phone companies file detailed reports with state and federal regulators. In triplicate. Ask local agencies to swamp Skype with requests for information.

Attack Skype's Brand.

• Pollute Skype's Security Brand. Skype has a reputation for being very secure, relatively spam free, and a safe way to communicate. Invest in academic challenges to Skype security. Publicize every stalker, lawsuit and robocaller. Host "ethical hacker" contests and spread the results.
• The Weapon of Evildoers. "Criminals and terrorists use Skype." Host conferences for police and intelligence agencies on threats posed by Skype. Urge them to compel Skype to give up encryption. Force Skype to rebut law and order politicians.
• Reframe Net Neutrality. Net neutrality improves Skype user access to networks. Supporters of net neutrality use language like freedom and choice. Instead, blame Skype for slow pipes, limited coverage and congested bandwidth.
• Not Invented Here. "Buy American," don't give your hard earned money to that foreign phone empire. A little astroturf goes a long way.

Divide and Conquer.

• Sponsor Class Action Suits. Pit dissatisfied customers against Skype. Force Skype to invest in lawyers, not engineers.
• Start the Skype-Killer Adventure Fund. Confuse Skype's customers with a market full of Skype clones. Pay peanuts to attract entrepreneurial talent to your war on Skype.
• Raid Skype Talent. Half of Skype's employees are paid Eastern European wages. Aggressively recruit them, stalling Skype's projects.
• Repeat Worldwide. Share with telcos in every market a template for attacking Skype. Make Skype struggle in every country.

tags: skype, competition, att, at&t

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illustration: LuMaxArt

Text of AT&T letter to FCC re VoIP over iPhone

Here you go: AT&T saying it had not previously consented to VoIP over its airwaves.

AT&T to FCC re: iPhone VoIP

 

October 6, 2009

Ruth Milkman, Chief Wireless Telecommunications Bureau
Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street, SW Washington DC 20554

Re: AT&T Response to Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Letter, DA 09-1737 (July 31, 2009); RM-11361; RM-11497

Dear Ms. Milkman:

On behalf of AT&T, I am writing to provide you with an update to AT&T’s August 21, 2009 response to the Bureau’s questions about the Apple iPhone. In our response, we explained that AT&T currently offers a variety of devices that enable VoIP applications to make use of our wireless network (including our 2G and 3G capabilities) and the devices’ Wi-Fi connectivity. We further explained that the iPhone currently supports VoIP applications that make use of the device’s Wi-Fi connectivity, but VoIP capabilities were not available on the iPhone for use on our wireless network. We also stated that we were taking a fresh look at the issue and would promptly notify the Commission of any such change in our policies. AT&T has completed its review of the matter and today we informed Apple that, effective immediately, AT&T consents to Apple enabling third-party VoIP applications for the iPhone that use our wireless network, including our 2G and 3G capabilities.

If you have any questions or need additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Robert W. Quinn, Jr.

cc: Chairman Julius Genachowski
Commissioner Michael J. Copps
Commissioner Robert M. McDowell
Commissioner Mignon Clyburn
Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker

tags: att, iphone, apple, competition, iskype, skype, fcc

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3G iSkype! Thanks, AT&T. (About frakking time.)

Skype confirms AT&T will announce lifting of the ban on VoIP over the AT&T network, this week at CTIA San Diego. The week Skype launched Skype for iPhone, someone showed the app calling over 3G on unlocked iPhones. Soon we won't have to think about our connection before calling.

It only took an FCC investigation into anticompetitive practices.

I eagerly await details. When? App upgrade required? iPhone OS upgrade required?

(now if only I could get 3G signal where I want)

(now if only Skype wouldn't choke on my 1k+ contacts)

(now if only iPhone would let Skype work in the background)

(now if only iPhone wouldn't hang up Skype calls when I get an SMS)

tags: skype, fcc, att, usa, us, competition, iphone, apple

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Will FCC's ATT/Goog/Apple check affect iSkype?

The US FCC is investigating Apple and AT&T over Apple's rejection of several VoIP applications from the iPhone, including Google Voice. At the same time, the Electronic Frontier Foundation petitioned the Library of Congress to legalize doing what you want with your iPhone.

Could this lead to mobile net neutrality rules? Could this lead to mobile Carterfone rights, including the right to tether without carrier permission? If this leads to rulemaking, could Skype be free to communicate over 3G wireless? Will this inquiry conflict with the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Competition or Justice Department's Antitrust Division's competition promoting duties.

tags: skype, google, apple, ebay, goog, voip, eff, fcc, ftc, carterfone, regulation, competition, anticompetitive behavior, netneutrality, mobile net neutrality, neutrality

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iPhone tethering fees violate Carterfone principles

AT&T prohibits tethering unless they sell you permission. From Plan Terms, Prohibited and Permissible Uses:

"Furthermore, plans(unless specifically designated for tethering usage) cannot be used for any applications that tether the device (through use of, including without limitation, connection kits, other phone/PDA-to computer accessories, BLUETOOTH® or any other wireless technology) to Personal Computers (including without limitation, laptops), or other equipment for any purpose."

"Accordingly, AT&T reserves the right to (i) deny, disconnect, modify and/or terminate Service, without notice, to anyone it believes is using the Service in any manner prohibited"

Fine print in your contract extends AT&T control into all the devices you use.

Mobile Net Neutrality says neither your handset maker nor your wireless carrier should alter your service based on the content or endpoints of your communication. You wouldn't let your ISP dictate what software goes on your PC or which web sites your surf. Why should your mobile operator have that power?

Yet Apple supports AT&T's ban on VoIP in theory, and full Skype in practice.

Mobile Carterfone says mobile customers should be free to connect to mobile voice and data services without a mobile carrier approving or dictating the device. You wouldn't let your ISP dictate what PCs or printers you connect to your DSL or cable modem. Why would you give your mobile operator that power?

Yet Apple supports AT&T's upcoming iPhone tethering fees.

Tethering fees give AT&T the power to approve or disallow your use of your phone as a modem. This is unheard of in most of the world.

AT&T is expected to add a surcharge of 30% to 50% for the privilege of using your existing device and bandwidth you already bought.

Tethering fees feel strange. The charges should stop at the first device, the connecting device. An operator should charge for primary connectivity, not downstream connections.

What other imaginary services could your phone company bill?

• Cell-handoffs. Get the first 5 free and then 10 cents a go. Neil Stratford
• Secondary listening. Special speakerphone detection modes to charge you extra for other people overhearing the call. Neil Stratford
• Voice by the word. Charge for voice the way they charge for SMS. 10 cents for 15 words.
• Volume detection. Shouting must mean the message is very important so charge more for louder conversation. mort

photo credit: cc-by Holly Gramazio.

Thanks to the Voice on the Web chat room.

See also:

• Power, Freedom And Money, a presentation on Skype, Apple, and the Carriers from April 2009
• FCC Chairman slams Skype Mobile Carterfone proposal; not dead yet, Skype Journal, April 2008
• Skype Journal nominates Chris Libertelli for the EFF's 2008 Pioneer Award, Skype Journal, January 2008
• FCC votes today, Skype glad FCC considering 'openness,' a far cry from 'delamination'. Skype Journal, July 2007
• Competing against Skype 102: Lobbying, Skype Journal, June 2007

tags: skype, iphone, att, at&t, tether, tethering, freedom, connection, connectivity, ripoff

Call me at +1-510-455-4384, Skype me, follow @skypejournal and @Phil Wolff.
Visit our Skype Journal private roundtable, one of the longest running public Skype chats.

AT&T 2009q1 Earnings Call slides

One half of the US Internet access duopoly reported it continues to drag its heels rolling out higher speed midband connectivity through DSL (U-Verse) and wireless. Here are the slides from today's investor conference call.

2009q1 AT&T Earnings Slides

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tags: t, att, at&t, skype, 1q09, 2009q1, financials, slides

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NGN IMS Forum continues making dump pipes smarter with billing interop

The Internet was designed to be dumb pipes with smarts at the edge. The telecommunications industry hates that. So the industry has been building smarts into the network with services like IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) since 1999. IMS is the phone industry's middleware between the transport layer (where data moves) and the application layer (where services like voicemail run on phone company servers). 

The Next Generation Network (NGN) and IMS Forum announced last Tuesday a new standards effort to inject IMS with business (billing, charging, policy control) and operations (provisioning, security, and reliability) services.  "The train has left the station; now we're jumping on the moving train" said the Forum's Michael Khalilian. The first deliverables are new functional requirements and architectural documents due later this year.

The telecom industry brought together Internet Protocol (IP) voice and data systems from regional phone companies, long distance carriers, mobile operators, cable companies, ISPs,  and others. Now that IP at the low end works, all the high end stuff is now a problem for interoperability, partnership and M&A.

Pulling together all this app functionality onto servers that live in phone company data centers will let carriers sell smartphone apps (think Apple + Skype + AT&T) and reconcile costs and revenue (walled garden 2.0). These IMS services will also replace the "best effort" approach of the Internet with the "quality of service" for streaming audio and video.

This project will be closed, limited to members of NGN IMS Forum, but you can email admin@imsforum.org for access to the listserv. 

So, my take:

1. Control. Telcos want to own the whole value chain. IMS is the walled garden's map. These extensions to IMS pull control over customer experiences, business models, and functionality from developers to carriers, from the application layer to the control layer.
2. Monetization. These particular standards will be used to meter every last bit customers use. After deployment, you won't be able to use "unlimited broadband" and "flat rate" in the same sentence.
3. Privacy. While intended for inter-service interop, there's a surveillance society element to this. Social consequences are not on the agenda.

Meanwhile, folks like Skype are building "over the top" services running on the edge, independent of pipes made smarter by NGN or IMS.

 

News release:

IMS Forum^® Launches BSS/OSS & Security Technical Working Group

To Establish Architectural Requirements for NGN BSS/OSS and Security

in Real-time Service Environments

Las Vegas, NV– April 14, 2009 -- The NGN and IMS Forum^®, the only industry associations dedicated to interoperability and certification of IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and Next Generation Network (NGN) applications and services, announced today at the Billing & OSS World Conference & Expo the creation of its BSS/OSS & Security Technical Working Group.

The working group will help guide industry momentum for an integrated BSS/OSS framework to enable cost-effective transition to IMS/NGN environments. NGN IMS Forum members have demonstrated billing interoperability in the past six Plugfests™ and through commercial deployments. This new working group will focus on the billing and charging, policy control and security functions required by service providers to capture the value promised by NGN networks. HP will chair the working group with support from vice-chairs, Comverse and Mu Dynamics. Other industry leaders such as, Acision, Aricent and Tekelec are also founding members.

“We have learned through the course of our last 6 Plugfests that billing OSS and security play an integral role in the successful implementation of integrated communications services utilizing NGN and IMS,” said Michael Khalilian, Chairman and President NGN and IMS Forum. “We look forward to including the input from this Technical and Business Working Group in our Plugfest 7 interoperability test event and in future Plugfests.”

“Service providers can re-use existing resources, lower costs, and increase revenue opportunities through an integrated BSS/OSS," said Nigel Upton, Director, Communications and Media, Solutions, HP. "With interoperability already demonstrated, our working group will strengthen the business and technical foundation that service providers need for a smooth transition to IMS and next-generation services.”

The Working Group will develop guidelines on the business and technical aspects of BSS/OSS and security in IMS and NGN services and will define the architecture and requirements for network interoperability and reliable real-time IP service application deployment. It will focus on the operational and management of converged IMS/NGN applications and services delivered over wireless (3G, LTE), wireline (DSL, optical) and cable broadband. The group will ensure that converged applications and services will have timely and complete support from provisioning, billing and management systems. A whitepaper describing BSS/OSS considerations of NGN will be the group’s first deliverable and is planned by mid-year. 

“This working group underscores the importance of ‘smart monetization’ approaches in creating successful business models to leverage the full potential of Next-Generation Networks,” said Gabriel Matsliach, General Manager, Billing & Active Customer Management at Comverse, who will serve as the Group’s vice chair. “The group will draw on our experience in supporting any combination of network, service and payment types, including true quad-play offers.”

“As a two-year veteran of the IMS/NGN Forum and their Plugfest events, Mu Dynamics is pleased to see the increased industry interest in secure Next-Generation Network deployments that prevent unexpected weaknesses in real-time networked applications,” said Adam Stein, vice president of Marketing for Mu Dynamics who will also serve as the group’s vice chair. “Many of our operator and vendor clients play an integral role in this important ecosystem with a high percent of their revenue dependent upon resilient, reliable and secure product development and continuous service deployment.”

About Plugfest 7

IMS OSS/BSS & Security Working Group will be an integral part of the IMS Forum’s Plugfest™ 7 interoperability test that will take place in June 1-5, 2009 at the InterOperability Lab (UNH IOL) in Durham, NH.  Participation in NGN IMS Plugfest 7 is open to all companies. For online registration and info contact the forum at: info@IMSforum.org or visit event at www.NGNforum.org.

About the NGN Forum™ and IMS Forum^®

The NGN and IMS Forum are the only global telecommunications associations devoted to Next Generation Networks (NGN) service delivery and interoperable IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) services architectures and solutions. The Forum’s mission is to enable delivery of M-play™: rich multimedia, mobility and fixed services over wireline, cable, GSM, UMTS, Wi-Fi, WiMAX, LTE and fiber broadband networks. The Forum is the creator and organizer of the IMS Plugfests™ and NGN Plugfests™, the industry's only events focused on verification and certification of IMS and NGN service interoperability through the IMS Certified™ and NGN Certified™ programs.

Through organized Plugfests, technical working groups and other activities, Forum members develop cost-effective technical frameworks for revenue generating converged IP NGN solutions.  The combined organizations include over 2000 executives and technical, business development and marketing professionals from global and emerging equipment vendors, solution providers, integrators, service providers, and governmental agencies. For additional information or to join the NGN Forum, IMS Forum the IMS Plugfest, and/or the NGN Plugfest, please visit www.IMSforum.org or www.NGNforum.org.

tags: ngn, ims, plugfest, gsm, umts, wi-fi, wifi, wimax, lte, ngnforum, imsforum, bss, oss

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Power, Freedom And Money: Skype, Apple, and the Carriers

Power, Freedom And Money

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My thoughts on Skype's political strategy at CTIA 2009. It builds on my Monday post, Apple, AT&T hobble Skype for iPhone 3 Ways (Skype Journal), Robert Miller's Is Deutsche Telekom playing an April's Fool joke at the expense of Skype users in Germany? (Skype), Rob Topolski's AT&T Quietly Updates its Wireless Plans (Public Knowledge), Lesley Cauley's Skype's iPhone limits irk some consumer advocates (USA Today).

Maybe a three minute read, flip quickly Lessig style.

del.icio.us tags: skype, apple, iphone, att, regulation, carterfone.

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Apple, AT&T hobble Skype for iPhone 3 Ways

BBC News' Rory Cellan-Jones is right when he asks Is Skype on the iPhone a big deal? 

1. No-VoIP Clause (Wi-Fi tethered). Apple's deal with AT&T (and presumably Apple's other carrier partners) forces Apple to force Skype off of mobile networks for voice or video calls. So Skype can only make or take calls when connected to the Internet through Wi-Fi.
2. No background apps (no Skype dialtone). Apple's iPhone OS prevents multiple apps from running. So I can only have Skype dialtone when it is in the foreground. You need Skype dialtone, connection to the Skype network, to share presence, to get chat updates, to receive Skype calls. When iPhone OS 3 launches at the Apple WWDC, this may get better.
3. No eye (no video). Apple doesn't have a camera looking at the user. Needed for video calls.

So Skype for iPhone is less than what it could be. Will customer pressure change AT&T's and Apple's attitudes? 

See the only Skype for iPhone video demo, courtesy of the BBC.

tags: skype, apple, iphone, att

Call me at +1-510-455-4384, Skype me, follow @skypejournal and @Phil Wolff.
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As netbooks become the new mobiles, will AT&T preload Skype?

American wireless companies are control freaks when it comes to configuring the mobiles they sell. They limit hardware features, choose applications, and otherwise protect their walled gardens.

Now they're set to sell netbooks with wireless data plans. AT&T piloted this with Acer and Radio Shack over the holidays.

The software that comes on PCs is usually determined by the manufacturer and the operating system. Skype comes on some netbooks via Linux, on some PCs via manufacturers. Will AT&T and others use their power to add Skype to netbooks? Or will they keep Skype off of netbooks?

Should netbook+wireless proves popular, Skype will want this desktop real estate. Trial and adoption rates are much higher with the trust that comes from being preinstalled.

tags: skype, netbooks, att, at&t, acer, netbook, wireless, strategy

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Mobiles (and Skype) force AT&T to layoff 12,000

AT&T blames the 4% layoff on landline loss. Four percent is no big deal for a 300,000 person company; it's just moving people from its landline business to its other operations. This follows 20% of US consumers who left landlines to mobiles.

At least one state government is trying to stop AT&T's layoffs. Connecticut's attorney general is suing to block "AT&T from laying off about 400 employees in the state, charging that the job cuts will further weaken the company’s already dismal service performance."

AT&T will also conserve cash by putting off upgrades to its infrastructure and systems. This could be bad timing as massive copper theft threatens US telephony, internet, and electricity systems.

Om Malik sees this hunkering down as a trend. This is already starving carrier suppliers, as those who used to sell their products at the now-defunct VON trade show know well. 

Personally, I think this is a political gambit. AT&T is getting set to play D.C. hardball when it comes to Obama administration FCC and FTC regulation, Department of Justice antitrust issues, and congressional bailouts.

tags: skype, attention, at&t, att, layoffs, economy, apocalypt08, business

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Blackberry Bold: Challenged to Deliver on Its Full Potential

Over the past five weeks I have had the opportunity to work with the Blackberry Bold on the Rogers network, including a week in California where I used it on AT&T's network. While it has provided significant performance improvements over my previous 8820 and has several applications that just are not available for the iPhone, I still had the feeling I was running with late beta stage or release candidate firmware. The availability of a new firmware release over the past weekend has changed that feeling. But its U.S. release on AT&T has also been dogged by 3G network robustness issues.
Let me put some of these issues in perspective, incorporating my own experience with the Bold on both networks.
There are two major technical issues related to the Bold:

• Network robustness issues at AT&T
• Firmware issues that have possibly resulted in suspension of deliveries at Orange (and reports of inventory shortages at other carriers)

First, to cover the AT&T network robustness issues:

• as reported in RIM's second-quarter report, 60 carriers in 29 countries have launched the Bold, including Canada where I've had a Bold running on Rogers for the past five weeks.
  
• several recent news reports have reported on network robustness issues as a contributor to the delayed launch on AT&T: Globe and Mail, TMCNet, CrunchGear
• a personal indicator: on a recent trip to California both my Blackberry Bold and iPhone 3G found an "EDGE" signal on AT&T more often than it found a 3G signal (in spite of setting the Bold to only operate on 3G). On the Rogers network I find the "3G" signal (in supported urban areas, such as Toronto and Montreal) more than 95 percent of the time.

I have to conclude, combining these issues, that the AT&T network robustness issues are real and serve as a threat to RIM's ability to penetrate the U.S. market via the Bold. On the other hand the pending launch of Blackberry Storm at Verizon may become RIM's primary route to to the U.S. market for their 3G smartphones, given Verizon's reputation for, and experience with, 3G networks along with their extensive customer base. (Why else would several of my U.S.-based blogging colleagues attending the recent IT Expo all be running their laptops on Verizon for Internet connectivity with no complaints?)
Five weeks' experience with the Bold tells me about its firmware:

• It delivers a significant performance improvement relative to the Blackberry 8820 I have been using for the past year. An half-VGA display with over 200 dpi resolution, 3G network speed and 624 Mhz processor speed all contribute.
• At no time has my experience to date inhibited my ability to carry on my normal mobile-supported business activities. I have had an opportunity to successfully take advantage of new applications such as editing Word documents.
• The display grows on you; when you find crystal clear small fonts or view Google Maps, you get this "how did they do this?" feeling. As indicated in other reviews, it's stunning. And the supported resolution is a major contributor to my next point.
• The Bold is definitely a game changer. After my week of traveling to California with the Bold, I realized that I was experiencing a significant change in my mobile device work patterns. I was simply going to the Bold to keep current not only on email (using a strategic combination of both Blackberry Mail and GMail) but also on my Twitter feed, Facebook and Google Reader. I was able to not only read but also edit Word documents. I had lost the anxiety-inflamed urge to fire up my laptop PC to remain "always connected"; One non-technical acquaintance who has had a Bold since the Rogers launch in late August commented to me last weekend "I'm beginning to think my Bold is more powerful than my notebook".
• At Mobilize 08 I met Google Maps senior product manager Steve Lee who pointed me to a new version of Google Maps for Blackberry which added Street View to the feature set available on Blackberry. While Google Maps itself is an excellent demonstration of both the Bold's display quality and speed, turning on Street View and either moving down a street or rotating around a selected address brings into play both network and processor speeds to dynamically generate high quality images. (While this is a feature that will be included on Android, it is still not available on the iPhone.)
• Using Blackberry's MediaSync, I can keep my music files updated by syncing with iTunes. But I also found having the trackball mouse a significant benefit when transcribing our interview with Josh Silverman via the media player; basically I was using the Bold as a Dictaphone.
• Skype chats running in iSkoot can run in background and provide notification when new chat messages appear. Also when my home office broadband was down recently for a neighborhood cable upgrade, I was able to use iSkoot to call into the daily SquawkBox conference call.
• Performance on WiFi has been excellent; walk into a registered WiFi zone and the Bold picks it up immediately. The actual registration process itself for a WiFi zone could be smoother but otherwise it works as expected.
• However, the Bold has been by no means perfect. Web pages would sometimes come up slowly; on some sites I would randomly get either the actual PC version of a page or the mobile version of the site. Sites were often stripped down to their basic content, absent of banners and sidebars. YouTube videos would stall with a "buffering" indicator appearing in the display; I was never able to view the complete video. I started to feel this was late beta stage firmware, not quite ready for "Main Street". And then Friday reports appeared that Orange was possibly suspending Blackberry shipments due to software quality issues.

Friday evening I learned that RIM had released new firmware for Blackberry Bold on Rogers. It was described as addressing browser issues, delivering more stability and improving memory management, amongst other issues. I installed it quite seamlessly Saturday morning with the following immediate observations:

• The browser is much faster at bringing up standard web pages and renders original web pages correctly. Pages with few "feature enhancements" involving "scripts" load as rapidly as on the iPhone; pages with lots of "scripts" do take longer but are correctly and much more rapidly rendered.
• YouTube videos can now be played to the end. On some videos I encounter a momentary "buffering" delay but they always went to completion. The actual player itself could provide better video quality to achieve the superb quality I have seen on the Bold's display when mpeg movie files are run but a user can readily follow the YouTube video action.
• After two days' use, using the phone itself only minimally but with lots of web activity over WiFi, my battery is only down to the 40% level whereas with the earlier version I found I had to always do a daily overnight recharge.

Other issues need a few days' use to determine if they have been addressed. But overall this upgraded Bold firmware appears to spell good news for not only Blackberry Bold but also the Blackberry Storm whose major differences involve radio bands supported, slightly larger display resolution and the type of keyboard but otherwise are based on the same underlying operating system, application and browser firmware.
The question that remains here is whether AT&T can fix their network problems in the near future or will the pending launch of Blackberry Storm become the real Blackberry 3G device launch product? For once I am quite happy to be a Rogers customer where they have spent over a year working with 3G technology prior to the Bold's launch and the network performance is "just there".
Bottom line: the Bold allows new user work patterns for mobile smartphones. It significantly reduces or removes the reliance on laptops to keep current with many communications activities, whether Skype Chat, Twitter Feeds or even minor document modification. Its 480 x 320 display makes it easy to read blog posts without ribbon bars. Background processing allows true multi-tasking. If you're in a country where it is available it is worth checking out (especially once any residual firmware issues are resolved; if you're in the U.S., it's worth having the patience to await its release on AT&T or even the Storm's release on Verizon.
Disclosure: the author has held a minuscule number of RIM shares since 1998.

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