Life on the Road with 3G

david_adams writes "Since I first evaluated Sprint's new Vision "3G" high speed wireless data service in September of last year, I've had the opportunity to travel around the country, using the service to keep in touch with the world, receive all my spam, er, email, and do my work. I've used the service in hotels, restaurants, parked cars, moving cars, picnic tables, and airports, in huge cities, and in desolate stretches of interstate highway. Here are my impressions after this long term test."

Comments

SMS

[SuperQ]

From talking to people I know in europe, the reason SMS is so popular is that SMS messages cost a ton less than talking on the phone. I don't belive "continent wide free long distance" exists over there. Some places still charge by the min for land -line phone calls.

Re:SMS

[ojQj]

I have to say, I personally hate SMS's, and they aren't cheap, but I can see why some people do like them:

1. You can communicate from a loud disco
2. You can communicate without interrupting someone in case they are doing something important (similar to e-mail)
3. You can communicate with someone in a language they don't feel terribly comfortable in since they don't have to respond in real time

This is all aside from the wierd fashion it has become among some teens here in Germany.

That said, I don't think SMS will be terribly popular once real e-mail is more mobily accessible.

Re:SMS

[slhack3r]

Here in the US of A, the big advantage of SMS is not cost-based, but the ability to use it when a vocal conversation is just not possible. ex::

- big lecture classes with attendance policies. everyone has had at least one of these, one where you knew the subject material inside and out but were still required to come. sleeping is *much* more noticable than sending an sms :-)

- communication with your friends and such at concerts/bars/clubs where there's no way you could hear what was coming out the speaker.

my favorite use of SMS, however, is combining preset "quick-notes" on my phone with a procmail recipie on my mail server that makes my phone a handy-dandy remote control for my home computer/server. mail server acting up? restart the thing remotely! want weather, news, or sports scores? i crafted up a shell script to grab them off of my favorite site and send them back to my phone in plain text. the possibilities are endless!

Why do I read the articles first?

[jonbrewer]

First off, he's not talking about 3G. Not even close. If the Slashdot posting had said 2.5G, I'd have ignored it. I mean, I've been using GPRS in Boston on T-Mobile's network for over two years, and it's nothing to write about. He can't even read his email on his phone! Bah. I was using Outlook on my iPaq using a bluetooth connection to my GPRS enabled Nokia 6330i almost a year ago.

really 2.5G

[guacamolefoo]

As the article notes, it is really 2.5G service. Nevertheless, I think the author's experience mirrors mine in a lot of ways.

1. SMS is way overrated. It has its place, but given the tariffs in the US, it will never be a big deal. Calling is just too cheap.

2. Data interfaces suck on phones. Everyone keeps predicting the demise of PDAs, but my Handspring Visor Neo with the Sprint PCS module (available for $20) kills any "phone" out there. Go to a bigger (compared to a phone) Treo (for an arm and a leg), and the web is usable.

3. Phones need a better way to get data in and out. At a minimum, maybe a USB cable to synch data from a desktop/laptop. Again, my Visor/PCS phone rules here. I can't believe the Samsung phone inthe review wastes all the features by lacking that simple item. I hadn't considered "how the features work" when I looked at that phone a few months ago -- gotta add that criteria to my list. I do not want to enter several hundred addresses on a fricking phone keypad.

4. What I want in a phone/pda/service plan are the following:

a. desktop synch
b. a decent, usable screen/browser
c. a smallish form factor (less than my currrent clunky rig, but super-duper small isn't a big deal to me)
d. palm-like features (handwriting recognition, scheduler, phonebook, to-do list)
e. lots of third party developers and apps
f. total cost $100
g. good coverage (very important)
h. 1 meg/day of transfer for data
i. under $50/mo.
j. 250 primetime minutes, free weekends/nights

I have compromised on some of those things, but I still haven't found everything I want in my market. Video phones don't interest me. Ditto cameras and MP3 players. I want my phone and PDA to converge for basic web/mail/phone capabilities in one usable, comfortable package for a reasonable price.

Re:really 2.5G

[catch23]

a. desktop synch

It has to be much better than this to get consumers to buy it. Usb? no way. You're much better off with bluetooth considering bluetooth adapters run for under $50 these days.

b. a decent, usable screen/browser

On those tiny cell phones you're never gonna have a decent usable screen/browser.... EVER! You might as well settle for bluetooth connectivity so that you can surf the web on your ipaq with the phone in your pocket.

c. a smallish form factor

Isn't the P800 small enough?

d. palm-like features

why not just buy a palm? if you need mobile connectivity, use bluetooth. How can you put all those features into one device and still maintain a smallish form factor? There is no way the screen will be readable with a smallish form factor and enough landscape to display your calendar. I honestly don't want a 160x160 palm display squished into the T68's display.

e. lots of third party developers and apps

P800 has that

f. total cost $100

yeah, maybe after every cell phone in the world has this. So just wait 10 years and you'll be able to buy it for today's equivalent of $100. Why not $50? 100 sounds like a nice round number?

j. 250 primetime minutes, free weekends/nights

Hey buddy, people expect more than 250 primetime minutes. By the time a palm/mobile phone device will cost $100, I'm sure they'll have near-unlimited talking minutes.