Seems like iPad 2 owners are having trouble connecting to the 3G of Verizon, which seems to happen when they turn off the data connection and try to reconnect later on and most are saying the only way to truly get back on is by restoring the iPad via iTunes. Funny enough it sounds like Verizon customer service reps are blaming Apple?s hardware and the Apple reps are blaming Verizon?s network. No matter how you slice it, this doesn?t bold well for iPad 2 owners with Verizon. Of course as I am writing this article a colleague of mine has to comment that it works on AT&T as he and I have gone back and forth on the AT&T/Verizon debate. If an official resolution comes out, I will happy to post it. But as of now it seems what have posted today is the only way to get around it.
When iTunes hit our PC?s everyone who had an Ipod was so happy to see a program that they could keep all of their music in one place to easily transfer to their iPod. This eventually evolved into applications and movies as well. Well no its Android?s turn for an app store, well sort of. Amazon has launched an Appstore with 3,800 applications for the Android. Tonight Amazon will be available online through amazon.com/appstore. Users of the android will also be able to download a version to their Android device. Amazons appstore will launch with some mobile heavy hitters being on the platform, including companies such as Gameloft, Handmark, and one of my personal favorites Glu Mobile. Though Apple is suing Amazon for trademark infringement and unfair competition over the name, who would have thought Apple would be afraid of a little competition.
The appstore is actually very small compared to the Android Marketplace and of course the iTunes market. Amazon is even making a splash with some exclusive content for Angry Birds. To drive more business Amazon will be offering a few things to drive it.
? First Amazon will offer one free application a day to help promotions.
? Amazon will offer a feature called Test Drive, which will allow a customer to try an app out before they buy it. The technology is using Amazon?s cloud services. Users will be able to open and use the application from within their computer browsers. The sim will last around 30 minutes at said point you will have to buy the product.
? Finally, Amazon will drive recommendations based on a user?s purchase history. So if someone purchases cook book and high-end utensils, Amazon will recommend a recipe application.
? Amazon will also have a one-click purchase for anyone who wants to keep a credit card on file.
So all in all Amazon is shaping up to be a true contender in the application market. We will just have to wait out and see what will happen with the lawsuit Apple has placed on Amazon and what will come of it if Apple does win.
AT&T and T-Mobile are about to merge for $39 Billion. It is going to be a mixture of cash and stock in the deal. Although it looks like nobody really wins in this deal. As a matter of fact the consumers of these providers are noted to be the biggest losers in said deal. T-mobile has always been very aggressive with their plans which has worked well for a lot of consumers but with this merger who knows what will happen to people on T-mobile plans, also now we have to worry about the fact that there will only be three major carriers now, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. Sprint was actually working on buying out T-Mobile until AT&T jumped in and stole the show with the $39 Billion dollar deal. So now we will see what this buyout will mean not only for the consumer but for the other two competitors that are still in the wireless game.
There has been wide speculation that next iPhone with have a NFC chip in it. Now for those who don?t know what NFC is, it is known as Near Field Communication. It is suppose to enable mobile payments and other contactless communications between phones and special readers. This chip has been rumored to be in the iPhone 5 and since Google has built NFC into its latest phones on the Android you would think that Apple would compete to have the same technology. Although now there are reports that the iPhone 5 is not going to have it, a report from a United Kingdom publication named The Independent, said on March 14th that Apple has decided not to incorporate the NFC chip into the next generation iPhone due to the lack of a clear standard across the industry. Although we really won?t know for sure until Apple holds its annual iPhone event in June.
So believe it or not it has been a month since the iPhone 4 hit the market on Verizon and well it seems to have made a solid impression. The real question is will it continue? An analytics company that tracks mobile phones named Chitika has kept a close eye on this launch and they have some pretty interesting information from just this past month?s launch of the iPhone on Verizon. 1 out of every 8 iPhones in the US market is on the Verizon network. That?s about 12.4 percent if you like percents. So now it comes down to whether or not Verizon can keep the shift going or if it will stay around the 12%. I have a feeling that it will probably hover around 12% maybe go as high as 16-20% but my thoughts are that it will grow substantially when the iPhone 5 comes out. If you have been following my blogs since I started writing them you know I wrote a compelling article on why you should wait for the iPhone 5 vs. jumping onto the iPhone 4 wagon. So the next month should be interesting to see if the iPhones percentages rise on Verizon or stay the same, I will keep everyone updated on what I find as time goes on.
In the epic battle of the Zune and iPod, it seems like the iPod has finally won. Microsoft has decided to remove the Zune from its lineup of devices. Well at least the hardware is going away. Microsoft has decided that it would be best to stop making Zunes. But the real question is, does anyone really care? I personally jumped on the Zune bandwagon when it first came out and for the most part I was just mildly impressed. Although it looks like they are going to keep the Zune software up to date since it has become a staple in the Xbox 360 and is also on the Windows phones. It is unclear if Microsoft will rename the software side of things or just keep the name Zune. Microsoft will continue to sell the rest of the Zunes that have already been produced. So if you want something that might be a relic very soon go grab yourself a Zune HD!
