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(Almost) I-mode Service Coming in April
DJSK8 Mast0r Ralph McDaniels writes: "Looks like NTT DoCoMo Inc's investment in AT&T last year is coming to fruition as this article from allnetdevices.com lays claim to AT&T rolling out i-mode based services repackaged for the U.S. market as m-mode service with Motorola, Sony/Ericcson, Nokia and Siemens offering the requisite phones to take advantage of it. Not quite 3G, but seems on par with the 2.5G services Verizon recently rolled out, though both are a far cry from the 100Mbit/20Mbit 4G services DoCoMo is already working on."
I think technology like this is required for Enhanced 911 (the number, not the day), so it will be in all new phones pretty soon.
A few months ago, I bought a Palm VII... only to find that the PalmNet service, provided Cingular, wouldn't work anywhere around my area (a not-so-terribly remote part of Northern California). Their coverage chart said that coverage was "partial" or something like that, but I was unable to get a strong enough signal anywhere to even complete the sign up process.
Oh well, I ended up taking the Palm VII back and exchanging it for an m125, which has worked fairly well. Because of a promotional deal, I got a free games card, so instead of wasting time surfing the net on my Palm, I waste time playing Chess and SimCity. Hmm...
"Anything is better than IE, and you can quote me on that." -- Wil Wheaton.
ATTWS, Cingular, Voicestream are building GPRS networks now, they only have to upgrade via hardware to full GSM. They are spending the money NOW to build the networks and hardware.
Sprint,Verizon have to do 2 steps to get to full GSM, This is a more expensive, and slower option.
I-Mode and WAP etc is all support by standard webservices, so all you need is an apache webserver to roll out the services. (Ok, some back end software but not the cost)
Will be interesting to see what happens.
Sorry, I wouldnt bet on it. although GSM is finally in america, the frequency used everywhere else isnt available here. Personally, the one thing that irks me is having to go through AIM to message anyone off of the sprint pcs network.
"My head hurts, My feet stink, and I dont love Jesus." -Jimmy Buffett
That's not correct. e911 requirements relate to the ability to locate a cell phone within a certain distance (like 100 meters), and has nothing to do with data transmission speeds or services (3G and/or i-mode)... BTW -- i-mode is NOT 3G. i-mode is a very good marketing campaign for services via data transmission launched originally by NTT DoCoMo in Japan. 3G is a term for the speed at which data is moved to a wireless device, and its meaning has been eroded over the past year by various cariers.
Come play Moral Decay!
Just be sure to get a tri-band GSM phone - the US uses GSM at 1900 MHz, while the rest of the world uses a mix of 900 and 1800 MHz.
Even if you get a single-band phone, you should be able to take your GSM phone's SIM card and put it in phones that you rent overseas (called SIM roaming) - but it's much more convenient to just use your phone everywhere, with all the phone numbers and other setup. I've used my GSM phone all round Europe and it worked fine in India (Mumbai) when I was there.
Text below is from Verizon press release
Verizon Wireless plans a trial of a high-speed network next month that would offer advanced wireless Internet connections to businesses at speeds comparable to those achieved by DSL and other landline connections. The network, which will be tested in Tysons Corner, Va., and Rockville, Md., will be capable of data-transmission speeds of up to 2.4 megabits per second, potentially up to 100 times faster than current wireless data-transmission speeds. The trial complements Verizon Wireless' current rollout of third-generation and packet-data services by providing higher data capacity and throughput. "We have had tremendous success with our Express Network launch, and with an eye toward the future, we are sowing the seeds for the rollout of the next evolution of this technology," said Bill Stone, executive director-Network Strategy for Verizon Wireless. The higher-speed wireless network, using a technology labeled "1X EV-DO," is expected to help business customers enhance the productivity of their work force. For example, with Internet Protocol (IP) virtual private network (VPN) connections, business customers would be able to access the Verizon Wireless network as an extension of their corporate LAN or intranet, allowing their employees to work from any location as if they were in the office. The test is being conducted using technology from Lucent. Verizon Wireless also plans to begin a similar test in the San Diego area beginning in June that will feature the technology of Nortel Networks. Verizon Wireless will select participants for the trials. The trial results will help Verizon Wireless determine the best practical applications for the network.
What has made i-mode popular in Japan is that it has a mix of services that people really like. Much of the revenue comes from seemingly mundane applications such as teenagers exchanging Hello Kitty cartoons and ringer tunes. AT&T said that some of the services that are popular in Japan, such as cartoons, will not be included, so the question is can they figure out a mix of services that will be popular in the U.S.?
The one service that is most likely to be successful is Short Message Service (SMS). But success of SMS depends more on service interoperation and an easy way to type in your message than it does on high bandwidth technology.
I'm not gonna argue about any of the GSM or any of the technical stuff, but the features of I-Mode and just the cell phones in general really amazed me, and showed how primitive my Nokia 5165 really was after spending a week visiting a friend in Japan. 16-bit color graphics, 32-voice polyphonic sound (so your ringtones can be that much more annoying), digital cameras, videoconferencing (available in December 2002), and the java games...In one of the booklets I brought back, it showed that you could play Street Fighter II on your cell phone, and it looked almost as good as a Gameboy Color screen, and it was even back-lit.
Of course, the arguments AGAINST this kind of technology is because "you shouldn't be playing games on your cell phone". The mentality explains why they're popular in Japan but not here - at least in Tokyo, you spend a lot of time on public transportation, since it's really good there. What you would do on the trains is open up your DoCoMo and read the news or play a game while going to your destination. In America, you spend most of your time in private transportation (cars) - where you should NOT be playing a game or reading the news on a cell phone. (I fully support any legislation that forces the use of hands-free devices when you're driving)
And the funny thing was on one of the trains. There were signs in the cabin asking you not to use your cell phone at your seat to not disturb the other passengers. Then, in between cars (where you can use them), there's a sign that says that J-Phone (the other provider) is equipping all of the tunnels in Tokyo with receivers so you can still use your phone when you go under a tunnel. So they're saying "Please don't use your cell phones on the train, but we're gonna make it easier for you to use your cell phone on the train!"
So now I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of even a low-end DoCoMo to the US - and unfortunately I've heard that Atlanta will not be GSM compliant until the beginning of NEXT year, so I got a ways to wait.