Wireless bandwidth getting crowded.

This is just crazy, that wireless has taken off like this, in average households:

...consumers are flocking to wireless Internet connections, in some cases dropping landline accounts altogether. ABI Research projects U.S. mobile broadband subscriptions will climb to 150 million by 2014, up from 48 million this year and 5 million in 2007.

Future fees for iPhone apps!

An AT&T exec stated on 12/9/09 that iPhone data usage could become more restrictive in order to provide better service overall. Basically, AT&T is saying "Thanks for getting hooked on our hip product, but now we're going to charge you fees to use it because our service sucks." Nice.

Consumer Reports agrees:

Yet, both Apple and AT&T encourage iPhone owners to use more of those bandwidth-hogging features.

AT&T cares about dropped calls? Probably not.

They just have to seem like they care so people won't jump ship from iPhone to Droid or Windows OS phones.

Just call them iLousy. iPhone now had an app (now there really IS an app for everything...) to report their faulty service with dropped phone calls. The irony is the dropped calls aren't because of iPhones. It's AT&T's lousy coverage. So, what recourse is there for AT&T customers who are not iPhone users, with dropped calls? None, because AT&T doesn't care about you. Just your friends with iPhones who may see that newer technologies are on the horizon for smartphones. Hopefully Apple won't steal them and roll production ahead of time!

Droid to overtake iPhone?

Based on recent write-ups, not likely anytime soon. But Droid seems like a good alternative if Apple and AT&T aren't for you (or me).

The basics:
Both the 16GB iPhone 3GS and the Motorola Droid (which goes on sale Nov. 6, and comes bundled with a bundled 16GB microSD memory card) sell for $199 with a two-year contract. (If you buy the Droid through Verizon, it's actually $299 with a $100 mail-in rebate; you can also get the Droid at Best Buy for $199, no mail-in rebate required). Each phone also requires a $30-month 3G service plan. Also, both phones come with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, 3.5mm headset jacks, and (of course) 3G support.

Look and feel:
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, of course, so you'll have to decide for yourself which phone wins the most style points. Personally, I happen to prefer the iPhone's sleek lines, slim profile, and relatively light weight. But while the Droid is a bit sharper and boxier, it has a bigger (3.7-inch), sharper display, and at just 0.5 inches thick, it's the slimmest QWERTY slider I've ever laid eyes on. The Droid tips the scales at 6 ounces, nearly an ounce heavier than the iPhone, but it fits quite nicely in a jeans pocket.

Input method:
This one's pretty obvious. For the iPhone, you do all your tapping and messaging on the virtual, on-screen QWERTY keypad, while the Droid has a physical, slide-out QWERTY keypad. Which one's better? Well, that'll mainly depend on your preference. Personally, I've gotten so used to virtual keypads that I often found myself tapping on the Droid's screen even though I had a slide-out QWERTY at my disposal. Then again, at least you have a choice with the Droid; the iPhone, of course, has no physical keypad at all. That said, keep in mind that the keys on the Droid's roomy keypad are so flat that they're almost slippery; yes, you get used to it, but there's a learning curve. Winner: Tie

Interface:
Google's Android UI has come a long way in just a year, and with its speedy processor and first-on-the-market implementation of the new Android 2.0, the Droid does a great job of showing off what Android is capable of. I also love the Droid's ability under Android to let you add live widgets—be they for weather, sports, the music player, Facebook, or Twitter—to the phone's home screen, and arrange them in any way you so choose. But while the iPhone's interface isn't quite as flexible as the Droid's, it's unmatched at doing what it does. On the iPhone 3GS in particular, windows, menus, lists, and apps open smoothly and instantaneously, and you're never at a loss about what to do next. Peppy though it is, the Droid's UI still feels a big sluggish in comparison.

Calling:
The iPhone's touch-enabled calling interface couldn't be any easier to use, and it'll even wirelessly hook into your iCal contacts if you're willing to shell out $100 a year for a MobileMe subscription. But the Droid arrives with the ability to automatically pull in all your Google and Facebook contacts, for free, and you can also use the downloadable Google Voice app (still unavailable for iPhone) to receive calls from a single Google Voice number, as well as send free text messages and place cheap international calls. Then there's the issue of which network—AT&T or Verizon Wireless—you want to be on. Your mileage will vary depending on your coverage area, of course, but if I had a nickel for every call my AT&T-bound iPhone has dropped, well ... Winner: Droid

Music and video:
Yes, the Droid comes loaded with a basic music player, and there's also a free podcast application ("Listen") for download over the Android Marketplace, but neither can hold a candle to the iPhone's best-in-class, touch-enabled iPod player. And while the Droid packs in a streaming YouTube app, same as the iPhone, it doesn't come with a build-in video player—that you'll have to find (and probably pay for) via the Marketplace, (I prefer the 99-cent Act 1 Video player, by the way). Indeed, the Droid doesn't even support the streaming video clips on Verizon's V Cast service. The iPhone, on the other hand, plays video out of the box, and you can also rent movies or buy TV episodes over-the-air via iTunes. This one's a no-brainer.

Mapping and navigation:
You can't beat the iPhone's Google-powered Maps app when it comes to ease of use, smooth operation, and overall slickness (slickosity?), but the Droid's mapping features under Android 2.0 pack more punch. Not only do you get the same basic searching and point-to-point direction features, but you also get the digital compass-aided Street View (which automatically changes the Street View perspective depending on the direction in which you're holding the phone), layers for traffic, satellite view, transit lines, and Wikipedia, and—best of all—Google's new Navigation app with voice-aided, turn-by-turn directions, just like you'd expect from an in-car navigation system. Great stuff—and free, to boot. Equivalent GPS navigation apps for the iPhone, on the other hand, all come with either monthly fees, exorbitant price tags, or both.

Web browsing:
The Droid's solid, touch-enabled Web browser is nothing to sneeze at, and come next year, it's slated to add support for Flash-powered videos and embedded content. But the Droid's browser doesn't support such handy features as multi-touch gestures (for "pinching" or zooming text on a Web page, for example), and it's not immune to sudden crashes, jerky scrolling, or jumbled HTML rendering. Meanwhile, the iPhone's Web browser—Flash-less though it is, for now—makes for the smoothest, speediest, and most seamless browsing experience you'll find on a smartphone.

Camera:
The iPhone's middling camera has been its Achilles heel (or one of them, anyway) ever since it launched, and the iPhone 3GS's 3-megapixel, auto-focus snapper is only marginally better. The Droid, however, boasts a 5MP camera with auto-focus, a dual LED flash for night shots, and image stabilization, not to mention sharp (if not quite "DVD quality") video recording. The Droid's snapshots might not measure up to, say, the gorgeous photos you can get from the Nokia N97 or the Samsung Memoir on T-Mobile, but it easily bests the often-murky pictures that the iPhone cranks out, particularly in low-light conditions.

Messaging:
Pretty much an even playing field here, especially since AT&T finally enabled picture messaging for the iPhone. Both the Droid and the iPhone now support corporate Exchange accounts, not to mention push e-mail, Web accounts (like Gmail, of course, Yahoo!, AOL, etc.), and POP/IMAP mailboxes. Both handsets do threaded messaging for SMS and picture messages, but neither has a unified inbox for all your e-mail accounts and text messages (the Android- and MotoBlur-powered Motorola Cliq does, but the Droid doesn't).

Apps:
The Android Marketplace is undeniably growing at a steady clip, with about 10,000 free and paid apps now available for download, including some (like Google Voice) that you won't find on iTunes (or at least, not yet). But who are we kidding: Apple's App Store has close to one hundred thousand apps, including a wide selection of cutting-edge mobile games (Real Racing, Doom: Resurrection, F.A.S.T. Modern Combat: Sandstorm, for starters), productivity apps (like DataViz's Docs to Go), communication (Skype, now over 3G), social networking (Facebook, MySpace, Foursquare), sports, weather, navigation ... the list goes on. The Android Marketplace may be gaining momentum, but the App Store has a massive head start.

Battery life:
The iPhone's become notorious for its iffy battery life, and for good reason. There are days when my iPhone barely limps past dinnertime, and that's after only moderate use, and since the iPhone battery is sealed inside the case, you can't swap in a fresh one when you're on the road. The Droid, on the other hand, does has a user-replaceable battery, and its battery life is pretty solid; in my tests, it made it though nearly six hours of voice calls on a single charge. Watch out for those multitasking Android apps, though. I unwisely elected to allow IM+, an instant messaging application, to stay connected while the phone was asleep; an hour later, the red-hot Droid was burning a hole in my pocket, and its battery capacity had plunged to just 25 percent. Oops.

Apple mugs it's iPhone clitentele and sets them up to get mugged on the street!

Wow, that was a fast iScrewjob. Turns out Apple won't let you be cool for under $399.

...Those of us who were eager (dumb?) enough to buy last summer's iPhone 3G will not be eligible for the discounted $199/$299 iPhone 3G S pricing...Instead, prepare to pay $200 extra for an 'early' upgrade, which comes out to $399 for the 16GB iPhone 3G S or $499 for the 32GB version. According to TUAW, some iPhone 3G owners aren't even being offer the 'early' upgrade option—in which case, they're stuck with AT&T's 'no commitment' pricing of $599 for the 16GB iPhone 3G S or (gulp) $699 for the 32GB model.

That's a bunch of iBull. Buy a Crackebrry, you iSuckers! True, you don't get to look cool scrolling through screens hard and furious with your index finger, but who can afford an iPhone upgrade in this economy? And if you can afford it, do you really want the iSnob label while loudly pointing through apps?

And the number one reason not to upgrade: you're going to get mugged for your iPhone3GS! Ask Apple if they make an iTaser while you're at it...

Now you can be iCool for $99.00!

Apple announced it's the dropping the 3G iPhone price. How great, right? Eh, not so much. You see, they already have a better, sleeker, faster and more capable iPhone 3G-S waiting to hit the market, which will prompt current iPhone users to pay $199-$299 again. So, go ahead, be cool. Drop another wad of cash for a new phone and new apps (you don't think Apples going to let you transfer all of those between phones, do you?).

Ain't technology a kick in the pant?!

Zune to crush iPhone

Not that I'm a supporter of Microsoft continuing to expand their monopolized empire, but I think I hate proprietarized Apple a little more. The new Zune HD phone will bascially be one-stop shopping for all of your entertainment needs.

Why MBA's don't rule the world

Warren Buffett and Charles Munger made remarks at the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. shareholder meeting this past weekend. Most of it is the same armchair quarterbacking everyone is doing now with the economic crisis: stocks were over-valued, houses were over-valued, newspapers are dying, etc. Their remarks on investment knowledge/training/"expertise" I would like to highlight though, since I believe it to be true in my gut:

"There is so much that's false and nutty in modern investing practice and modern investment banking, that if you just reduced the nonsense, that's a goal you should reasonably hope for," Mr. Buffett said. Regarding complex calculations used to value purchases, he said: "If you need to use a computer or a calculator to make the calculation, you shouldn't buy it."

Said Mr. Munger: "Some of the worst business decisions I've ever seen are those with future projections and discounts back. It seems like the higher mathematics with more false precision should help you, but it doesn't. They teach that in business schools because, well, they've got to do something."

Mr. Buffett said: "If you stand up in front of a business class and say a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, you won't get tenure....Higher mathematics my be dangerous and lead you down pathways that are better left untrod."

I took an introductory MBA course through work years ago and my impression of the course at the time was "WTF?" similar to Buffett's sentiment above. I'd taken Macro and Micro econ courses in the past, so it's not as if the course was foreign entirely, yet I felt out of place and not understanding the point of the charts and calculus being forced on me. I remember thinking, "And how is this going to better my career and make me more savvy?" I came to the conclusion it didn't and I left the course and didn't go back. I figured me arranging for my work to pay for the course was savvy and I would better my career by actually working past 5 PM instead of skipping over to class!

NOTE: I'm not wealthy (so I would need an $85,000 loan to get an MBA) and I'm not where I want to be in my career, but I have a decent job (with some security) and I can pay my bills. Which is more than can be said by a bunch of MBA grads who got canned working for companies that caused the economic collapse! Hope calculus and graphs help them in their interviews. Or help them designing new iPhone apps, the latest entrepreneurial craze (which is more about programming than anything).

iPhone down

Yeah, bitches. Crackberry takes the lead! Can you tell what kind of smartphone I have?