Pocket PC Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves

"AT&T's Chief of Mobility, Ralph de la Vega, was recently quoted as saying that his company intends to offer data speeds of up to 20Mbps on its network by 2009. AT&T has previously committed to using the yet-to-be-standardized LTE technology for its next-generation 4G network. AT&T is currently testing an HSPA upgrade that will offer speeds up to 7.2Mbps, and already offers PC Cards that will support it. AT&T is in a unique position because these speed enhancements are merely software upgrades to existing equipment, and would require limited resources to deploy, as opposed to implementing an entirely new network."



Jumping from 7.2Mbps to 20Mbps is a significant bandwidth increase. In theory by the year 2009 my HSDPA enabled phone would be able to download whatever I wanted quicker than my current cable connection from Comcast. Hopefully with the increased data speeds AT&T will finally get around to releasing some video conferencing enabled devices, preferably of the Windows Mobile variety.

"A new reference site launched by Motorola in the UK will allow Bluetooth users to check their devices for compatibility and help with a 'plain English' guide to the pairing up of devices. The website lets you do a compatibility search from either your mobile device or with the designated accessory. According to the manufacturer, 'Motorola’s Bluetooth headsets are designed to be compatible with over 200 Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones from more than 15 manufacturers, including Nokia, Sony Ericsson, LG and Samsung, as well as Motorola devices.' 'The intention is to provide some much needed clarity to the market by creating the ultimate Bluetooth compatibility reference point,' said Steve Gaskell, General Manager, Accessories, Motorola EMEAI."



It is about time someone created a site such as this. During my time slinging handsets the most frequently asked customer question was "Can you help me pair my headset?" I guess one of the downsides of creating incredibly small and useful products is that they can be a bit hard to manage and figure out. If you have an urge to learn more about the magic known as Bluetooth, than check out Motorola's new site here.

"Sprint's not going out of its way to make a big fuss about it, but its long-standing Voice Command service will soon be no more. The service, which allowed Sprint-Nextel phones to dial two buttons and then give voice commands to place calls, will be discontinued on July 1st, 2008, meaning that all your server-based contacts will soon be inaccessible. Aside from removing the VC fee from your monthly bill, Sprint's advising users to download and print their contact lists, and better still, it's encouraging users to rely on handset-based voice-activated dialing (or pick up a new phone if their current one can't pass muster). So long, Voice Command -- we can't imagine too many folks actually missing you."



I'm not sure if any of our Sprint readers take advantage of their carrier based Voice Command service, but if you do it would be a good time to back up all of your contacts now! It turns out Sprint is pulling the plug on this service on July 1st, 2008 and whatever you do not backup will be sent to the vast CDMA heaven up above. To be honest, I'm surprised they didn't pull the plug on this service a few years back when it started becoming more popular to use the VC services on the handset instead of via the network. Better late than never, huh?

"Windows Mobile does have and support voice-enabled functions, but this is an interesting twist. Due to better support for Java, Microsoft's Tellme subsidiary is offering its voice search for Blackberry devices before it goes live on Windows Mobile handsets. Tellme keeps track of where you are through your phone's GPS radio so your search results are local to where you are... Device owners can tap a button and speak their search query; in return, Tellme will offer local results using the Microsoft Live Search engine."



You know what? I'm not really too broken up about this. Don't get me wrong, I think the idea is pretty cool in theory but to quote Lawrence Peter Berra - "In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not". As amazing as Microsoft's Voice Command service is on our handsets the one major drawback I have always encountered is that it just does not work very well at all if you are not in a quiet room. Same thing goes for voice enable telecom services! Every time I try to use anything voice enabled and there is any noise in the background whatsoever then the service flat out fails... unless I yell my command into the microphone but then you just end up looking insane. This is the exact reason why I have stopped demoing the Voice Command feature for people who are interested in learning more about my phone.

Who knows, maybe this is a Trojan horse for Microsoft to make all Blackberry users look crazy while they shout into their handsets - aggravating them to the point where they switch over to Windows Mobile devices.