Unless you have been living under a rock or in a cave, you’ve heard about the pending merger of AT&T and T-Mobile. What will this mean for us, those who love AT&T’s network and those who love T-Mobile’s price point? We aren’t sure but it certainly has a lot of us worried. Why? Competition.

When AT&T absorbs T-Mobile, that will leave only one Major GSM carrier in the USA.

“The biggest losers of this deal are going to be the consumers. While AT&T and T-Mobile are going to try to spin it as a good deal to combine wireless spectrum assets, the fact is, T-Mobile USA is now out of the market.”- gigaom

“The less competition there is, the worse things will be for consumers. There will be less pressure on the remaining companies to invest in their networks and reduce prices, and they will be less restrained from tacking on new fees.”- Troy Wolverton of MercuryNews.com

Analysts are predicting that prices will become less appealing for consumers due to lack of alternatives. Sprint left as the third wheel, stands far, far behind in terms of  Subscribers could potentially be forced to merge with the other wireless behemoth, Verizon.

“On behalf of our customers, our industry and our country, Sprint will fight this attempt by AT&T to undo the progress of the past 25 years and create a new Ma Bell duopoly,” said Sprint in a statement.

AT&T counters these arguments stating that there will still be plenty of healthy competition from Local Carriers in the market. Yes that is true. However…

“Even if  Sprint were to go all-out and purchase the next three largest players — MetroPCS, US Cellular, and Leap Wireless (which markets under the Cricket brand) — they’d only end up with somewhere around 53.5 percent the subscriber count of AT&T.” -Chris Ziegler of Thisismynext.com

On the other hand…

Maybe it won’t be such a bad thing. Perhaps it will create a healthier environment for us.

The thing is… I can’t really see it. If we have learned anything about the way the carriers work it is they want to make money, and lots of it.

We are going to have to see what happens.

How will Android react to the Merge and will AT&T actually take some risks with their device selections?

Will side-loading apps on Android Phone continue to be a no-no?

How much Bloatware can we expect?

Most importantly, how do you feel about it?

Filed in categories: Android related, News

Tagged: AT&T, cell phone, t-mobile

AT&T-Mobile originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 28, 2011 at 11:00 am.

It’s been 30 days since I terminated my contract with AT&T, ditched the iPhone 4, signed up with Verizon and purchased a Droid X. For the most part, the move has been a good one. Verizon’s call quality and 3G coverage in my area are significantly better than AT&T. But has the transition been all rainbows and unicorns?

My decision last month to terminate my AT&T contract wasn’t out of the blue. I’d actually been considering it for a really long time. I just didn’t want to deal with the early termination fee or the fact that I’d have issues doing reviews of GSM devices once I made the switch. I decided that having better/faster data capability and call quality was worth the price of admission, and finally made the move after having the opportunity to test a Droid X.

The Droid X is very nice. I really love the display and the fact that I can customize the home screens with widgets to give me exactly the info I want to see. I love the fact that I don’t have to deal with crummy call quality or people always asking “what’s that clicking in the phone?”. I also enjoy being able to use apps that require a data connection, without needing to be connected through WiFi. The other day I was driving and need to find quick directions, I was able to get the info I wanted in about 5 seconds by using the Google Voice Search. I doubt the iPhone would have been that fast. At least not in my town where 3G coverage is spotty and not reliable at all.

So after 30 days, I am not sorry that I made the switch from AT&T to Verizon. But I’m not going to lie and tell you that I don’t miss the iPhone. Because I do – quite a lot actually. Mainly I miss the iPhone hardware. The size and feel of the device in my hand. The biggest hardware feature that I miss is the camera. The Droid X camera is slow to launch and although it does take decent photos, it doesn’t do quite as well as the iPhone camera. Especially in low light. You also can’t capture close up video with the Droid X like you can with the iPhone. The iPhone will allow you to focus in on a specific point while recording, just by tapping the display where you want focus. I miss that feature.

Another hardware issue that I’m having with the Droid X, that I didn’t notice quite so much with the iPhone 4 is battery life. It seems that the Droid X is pretty thirsty with the juice. Some days I’m lucky to get through one full day without needing to plug in. I don’t keep GPS or WiFi turned on and I don’t make many calls so it’s odd to me that some days the battery seems to drain significantly faster than other days when I’m doing the same basic tasks.

I used to complain a lot about the quality of apps in the Android App Market and I am happy to say that they are getting better and better every day. That said, I still do find myself wishing that I had some of my fave iPhone apps and games on the Droid X. Even though Android phones are getting more and more popular every day, it seems that whenever someone is talking about a really cool app, it’s for the iPhone and not Android.

So when it comes right down to it, I am happy I made the carrier switch. But if the iPhone becomes available for Verizon, I can definitely see myself getting one again. At least that is the way I’m feeling right now. Who knows how I’ll feel if/when a Verizon iPhone ever becomes a reality.

Filed in categories: Android related, Articles, iPhone, iPad, iPod related

Tagged: AT&T, droid x, iPhone, verizon

My Thoughts on the Motorola Droid X After One Month originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 26, 2010 at 4:50 pm.

I bet the title of this post surprises a lot of people that visit The Gadgeteer on a regular basis given the fact that I just posted a favorable review of the iPhone 4 a few days ago. It’s true that I’ve been a relatively happy user of the iPhone since Apple released the first version back in 2007. So why am I dumping the iPhone now? And why Android?

I say I’m relatively happy because while I love iPhone hardware, I am less than enthusiastic with AT&T’s call quality and data reception in my area (Columbus, IN). I touched on this fact in my iPhone 4 review and while the antennagate issues may plague some people, I haven’t had any dropped calls with mine. But I have been putting up with clicks and other audio bleeding into my calls on a regular basis. This hasn’t been an iPhone-only phenomenon for me though. I’ve experienced these problems with almost all GSM phones I’ve tested in the last few years. I’ve been dealing with these AT&T issues for a long time because I haven’t found a phone from Verizon that has made me want to switch. Till now.

For the past 2 weeks I’ve been testing the Motorola Droid X. I didn’t think I’d end up liking it as much as I do. The last Android phone that I reviewed was the Nexus One back in March of this year. Even though I enjoyed using the Nexus, it didn’t make me want to stop using the iPhone. At that time, I was still hung up on the fact that Android apps seemed inferior to iPhone apps. I often told people that comparing Android apps to iPhone apps was like comparing Commodore 64 apps to OS X apps. I still think there is a lot of catching up to do on that front, but it’s significantly better than it was 5 months ago.

How Android and the Droid X won me over

Call quality. The first time I called Jeanne with the DX, she was like “What phone are you on? It sounds so clear”. Which was a nice change of pace from all the other times I’ve called her with my iPhone and her comment has been “Your phone is crap!”.

3G Data Consistency. AT&T’s 3G speeds might be faster than Verizon, but Verizon is way more consistent as far as actually working when you need it. There are so many times when I try to check the weather, stocks, email, etc, that my phone will just sit there mocking me. Heck, 90% of the time I don’t even see the 3G icon in my iPhone’s status bar. I love it that I can bring up the browser on the DX, point it to a page and boom, it’s loaded.  Same goes for checking email or browsing around in the app market.

The display. This is the first display that has felt just as responsive as the iPhone for scrolling, pinching and zooming. Not to mention the fact that it is just plain gorgeous and HUGE.

Homescreen widgets. Why the heck Apple hasn’t added this feature to the iPhone is beyond me… I’ve always liked the fact that Android allows quite a bit of customization to the home screens. I also like live wallpaper. I know that’s mostly just eye candy and not important, but I like eye candy

The first two items are the main reasons why I’ve decided to terminate my AT&T contract. It’s going to cost me over $200 to do this, so it’s not like it’s going to be painless.

I’m not 100% sure which Android phone I’m going to end up with yet. I’m loving the Droid X, but am not sure about the size. I love the large screen, but the phone sticks out of the top my back jeans pocket and cargo pants pocket when I am walking around with it. I’d like to compare it to the HTC Incredible, Droid 2 and the upcoming Fascinate before I decide for sure. I just know that I can’t wait to make the jump and dive head first into all things Android. That doesn’t mean I’m suddenly anti Apple or iPhone though… I’m still loving my iPad and Macs, so there’s no fear of that happening. :)

Filed in categories: Android related, Articles, iPhone, iPad, iPod related

Tagged: Android, AT&T, iPhone, verizon

Why I’m ditching my iPhone 4 and AT&T for a Verizon Android phone originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 12, 2010 at 3:32 pm.

The latest smartphone to show up on my doorstep is the Pantech Matrix Pro (C820). It’s been a year since I reviewed the Pantech Duo (C810), which I enjoyed despite some faults. Today Judie of Gear Diary and I are going to give you our impressions of the latest model of this phone in a dual review. My comments are in blue italics, Judie’s are in Black.

Julie and I have been using the AT&T Pantech Matrix Pro for a while, and it is time to share our experiences with this Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard Edition smartphone. This review will be appearing on Gear Diary and The Gadgeteer; before reading further, you might want to start with my First Impressions of the AT&T Pantech Matrix Pro.

The Pantech Matrix Pro is a chunky little brick measuring 4.17″ tall x 2.0″ wide x 0.85″ thick and 5.34 ounces, but I have to say that it is so nicely curved and solidly built that I never felt its size to be a problem.

Me neither. The size is almost perfect for me. I can easily hold it in my hand (I don’t do belt clips…) while I walk around at my day job. If I don’t want to carry it, it isn’t difficult to stow it in my jeans pocket. It is a bit thick, but it has two keyboards – so I can overlook that.

Technical Specifications

Operating system: Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard
Internal Memory: 256MB
Expandable Memory: Supports up to 32GB microSD™ card
Display: 2.4″ 260K TFT (240×320 pixels)
Camera: 2.0 megapixels with digital 4x zoom
Connectivity: GPRS/EDGE quad-band, UMTS/HSDPA tri-band (850/1900/2100MHz), Bluetooth 2.0 and EDR, USB 2.0 HS
Audio: MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA, RealAudio®
Video: MPEG-4, H.263, H.264, RealMedia, Windows Media,® 15 fps QCIF, MobiTV, Cellular Video, Video Sharing
Battery: Rechargeable Li-Ion: 1320 mAh; Talk time: Up to 6 hours; Standby time: Up to 12 days

I’ll admit that when I first got it, I was prepared to be underwhelmed. Unlike Julie, I thought that the original Pantech Duo was gimmicky, underpowered, ugly, and cheap…and I didn’t expect this one be much different. How’s that for bias going into a review?

Awwww, I liked it! It wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination and I had issues with it, but I really liked the form factor. I just went back and re-read my closing paragraph and in there, I said I hoped Pantech would come out with a better version. My wish was granted. But is it better?

Julie can tell you that I dragged my feet even opening the box. When I finally did open it, I felt a twinge of guilt for how prejudiced I had been. Don’t get me wrong: the Matrix Pro is far from perfect, and for various reasons it is not what I would necessarily label a “Pro” device, but it turned out to be a very good smartphone which should appeal to heavy texters and those who appreciate the wide variety of programs available on the Windows Mobile Standard platform, but who don’t necessarily want to pay an arm and leg for the experience.

Right, the “Pro” descriptor for this phone is definitely a bit of a mis-nomer. It’s missing some key features in order to earn that designation.

As I mentioned in my first impressions post, the Matrix Pro has an attractive form factor; its buttons and other controls are nicely laid out and with the exception of the fake scroll wheel, everything works exactly as expected. Perhaps my greatest complaint about the Pro’s appearance is the use of all that awful shiny plastic. I am trying to remember who it was that told me that shiny surfaces are considered “posh” on mobile phones in Asia, but honestly? I hate them. If I thought I was compulsive about rubbing the HTC S740‘s shiny face, I can tell you that the Matrix Pro made me totally OCD. Not only is its face shiny, so are its sides and back. “Fingerprint magnet” does not even begin to describe this thing – it is a fingerprint and face grease wasteland. I realize this isn’t a big deal to everyone, but it annoys the heck out of me.

I agree with you there. Heck, on occasion, I’ve even used it as a mirror to check my hair! That said, after the initial shiny shock, I have really not noticed it being any more fingerprinty than my iPhone. Polishing it on my jeans has become an absentminded habit.

Other than my obvious negative fixation with the device’s shininess, I have very few real complaints. I expected to think it was too fat, but it isn’t. The Matrix Pro fits very nicely in my hand, and the weight is appropriate , in fact I think that the weight makes the device feel more expensive than it really is. The rounded shape is caressable – and it begs to be held.

I think it has a good balance and is comfortable to hold and use. It doesn’t feel cheap or fragile and does not exhibit any creaking or cracking when squeezed.

I really like the way that Pantech tried to keep the shape of the device streamlined by putting covers over the microSD slot and the sync/charge port…but oh man. More on the sync/charge port cover in a moment.

Hehehe… I hate covers over sync ports too. Grrrrrr…

I know that among hardcore mobility people, the non-standard and proprietary sync/charge cable is going to cause some rolled eyes. “Not another cable to carry…revolt!”

Yeah, I feel the same way, but I also look at it like this: the average consumer who buys LGs, Nokias and certain other phones (smartphones as well as dumb) is used to having to carry a separate charging cable when they travel – assuming they even do that much of it. For them, this will be par for the course; I bet they won’t even give it a second thought.

We aren’t average though, so we can complain about it I hate the cable. Why didn’t Pantech use a mini or micro USB cable instead? Why oh why do designers pick proprietary connectors over more popular (probably even cheaper) choices?

I mentioned before that I didn’t like the sync/charge port cover of doom, and in the end I did wind up ripping it off.

It does not bother me at all that the port is now exposed – instead I have immediate and easy access to a slot that I need to plug into at least every couple of days.

Port cover of doom? Ha! It’s not THAT bad Ok, it annoys me too. But, the proprietary cable annoys me more. I’ll gladly not complain about the port cover if we could have a micro USB connector behind it.

Agreed!

The 2 megapixel camera takes fairly decent pictures, but yeah, I am still hitting the Voice Recorder button when I have the Matrix Pro turned on its side.

Me too! What a lousy decision to place those buttons directly across from one another. Also the shutter button isn’t the easiest to press all the way down. It makes taking a picture a little difficult at times. And then there’s the even more annoying fact that you can’t see a #$@% thing on the display when you’re outdoors – even on an overcast day.

The camera actually doesn’t do that bad of a job. Even the macro shots are readable. Of course I wish there was a built in flash. You can click on the thumbnails to see the full-size images.

The 1320 mAh battery has proven to be quite robust during my testing. I could easily get through a day of regular use without needing a charge – even with several calls, heavy email pulling, light GPS usage and a bit of surfing. When on standby without much activity, the phone could last for several days without losing much juice. Perhaps the lack of WiFi (as in, one less battery draining radio to leave on and suck the life out of the device) contributed to my good results, but since I don’t usually use WiFi all that much anyway, who is to say?

I also had very good results with battery life while using this phone. I typically need to charge it every 3rd day when I’m only making calls and texting. Throw in some browsing, picture taking and game playing, and I’ll charge it every other day.

Is the Matrix Pro perfect? Of course not. It comes loaded with AT&T bloatware (Cellular Video, AT&T Music, MEdia Net, MEdia Mall [no, those aren't typos], AT&T GPS, AT&T Navigator, Shop Music, etc.), and while you can obviously add WM programs to the phone, for some it is as locked down as Fort Knox. For instance, if you don’t want AT&T’s preloaded programs, you can’t delete them. But even worse: Twitter addicts will have to update though the web – the excellent WM application PocketTwit can’t be installed without hacking. Another program I couldn’t install was Google Mobile Apps, though I was able to easily install Google Maps…go figure. Google Mobile Apps and PockeTwit both return an error stating that the applications can’t be installed because they “lack sufficient system permissions.” Gah! FAIL.

I ran into the same issues Google Mobile Apps although I was able to install GMail and mobile Sync. I really like Google’s mobile sync now that I’m doing the cloud thing. No more worries about 3rd party sync apps for my Mac. Yay!

On the other hand, the Matrix Pro is an excellent and largely rock solid device for anyone who likes Windows Mobile Standard, who doesn’t need a touchscreen, who doesn’t mind the proprietary sync/charge cable, and who doesn’t expect to see a 3.5mm headset jack on their phone.

And who doesn’t mind not having WiFi. Although if you think about it, people probably use WiFi mostly for browsing the web on their mobile device. I don’t know about all of you, but I’m not going to want to do very much browsing on a tiny display like the one on the Matrix Pro. So I suppose the lack of WiFi isn’t a deal breaker (for me).

The QWERTY keyboard on the Matrix Pro is very easy to thumb info onto; heavy texters will definitely appreciate it. As a matter of fact, I showed the phone to Sarah and was immediately informed she wanted one. Bear in mind that my 19 year old is a rabid texter (as I have mentioned numerous times), and she has been “making do” ever since killing her Treo 500v (also a WM Standard device) with a Nokia dumbphone that I got from AT&T when I added a line. That’ll teach her.

The dual keyboard is what attracted me to the Pantech Duo and now the Matrix Pro. The top of the phone slides to the right with a very satisfying kerchunk sound (yes, that’s a technical term). The sliding mechanism is spring assisted and is very easy to use.

I found the keyboard to be very comfortable to type on once I got used to the slightly odd layout, with the spacebar situated between the V and B keys. I do a fair amount of texting during the day, and this is the first phone in awhile that I enjoy texting on.

I do not like the keypad though. Not that I use it very often, but I have never been a fan of the Razr style flat keyboard.

I have enjoyed using this phone quite a bit. I think I’m more sold on the form factor and sliding dual keyboard design first and foremost though. Once I get past those features, I find myself wishing it had a better display (one that would allow me to view it outdoors) and a camera with higher resolution and a flash. I will say what said at the end of my Duo review… that I hope Pantech comes out with an even better version in the future. Hey, they listened last time

It would be really easy for me to rag on the Matrix Pro for not being more of a “power user” phone, but if I keep myself from falling into “phone snob” mode, I can admit that it doesn’t have to be. This is a good device – both in specifications and in price – for anyone who wants a smartphone operating system combined with a form factor made for heavy texters.

The Pantech Matrix Pro is available from AT&T.

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related

Tagged: AT&T, GSM, Pantech, Windows Mobile

AT&T Pantech Matrix Pro (C820) Smartphone Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 27, 2009 at 4:12 pm.