Car Dealers With Complimentary Wi-Fi Access

Okay, as strange as it sounds, Starbucks, superbook stores, and malls aren't the only place that offers Wi-Fi access to patrons.

Car dealerships and oil change places like EZ-Lubes also provide Wi-Fi.  You're asking why anyone would want to go there just to access the Internet.  Ordinarily, you wouldn't.  I'm not a big car guy.  But once in a while you have to take it down to the dealership for some maintenance work.  Sometimes, it's 30 minutes.  Other times, it could take a few hours especially if you don't have an appointment.

Still, there are times when you're there with your spouse, family, or friend looking to buy a new car.  The dealing and haggling can take a few hours.  I was once there for more than half a day.  Could I have used Internet access then?  You betcha!

Plus, some dealerships also have fast food joints and coffee houses for patrons that had to spend hours there at a time.  It's actually quite brilliant for all involved.  And it certainly makes taking the car in for servicing less of a chore.  A few of them even gave games on during the weekends so folks aren't missing their favorite team in action.

Also, about a year ago, I was sitting in EZ-Lube waiting lounge and I opened up my then Powerbook to hack out some notes.  I turned on the Wi-Fi to see if I can access the hotspot at a nearby Starbucks.  To my surprise, I found an open network from EZ-Lube.

Anyway, I'm wait for supermarkets to follow these examples.  I believe Whole Foods offer Internet access but other supermarkets like Ralph and Vons have renovated their stores with seating areas for patrons.  As you know by now, I often go to supermarkets during hot summer months because of the air conditioning and easy access to food and drinks.  There are even Coffee Beans and Starbucks in some of the stores.

The only shortcoming is that none of the ones I go to offer Wi-Fi access.

English Choice: iPhone Carrier Choices

To our British readers, you are so frakking lucky!  You not only get one choice.  You not only get two choices.  You're going to be getting three choices of iPhone carriers!

The mobile world, specifically the Apple mobile fans, will be watching to see what this means for them. You're going to get competition for your hard-earned money.  Perhaps more features.  Perhaps just lower monthly rates.

But I reckon you'll get more features and lower rates.  For us on this side of the Pond, folks, it feels like we're looking into the window of a rich family whose kids are playing with new toys.  It's a bit of a downer.

A while back, there was news that some Canadian carriers are looking to bring the iPhone to their networks so Rogers don't get all the fun and continue to charge users the crazy rates.

Again, what about the mobile warriors in the States?  Conventional wisdom is that We're stuck with ATT until the LTE network from Verizon is built.  I'm not so sure about that.  I'm still hoping T-Mobile somehow is able to provide the iPhones since they're got a more robust 3G network from when they came online with it last year.

Otherwise, we'll have to wait until the middle of 2010 at the earliest when Verizon's LTE is tentatively scheduled to come online.  For now, we can see what competition among wireless providers will mean for the customers.  And I'm sure the FCC are also looking as well.

Plus, given how Apple was able to secretly negotiate with the Orange and Vodafone to sell the iPhones without spies and bloggers finding out about this.  The same thing can potentially be going on with American carriers.

For now, congrats to the Brits on finally getting choices.

Will There Be An Apple Event In October or November?

Appleinsider is report both Mac Minis from Apple now have a 2-3 weeks waiting period while iMacs are also experience longer than usual shipping period.  Why am I mentioning this and how does this relate to Apple mobile?

Events.  See, there's a lot of moving parts with Apple's mobile strategy.  Not just app stores and iPhones.  There's music, movies and televisions.  Also with Apple TV.  See, Apple is very good at making money by creating a viable self-sustaining ecosystem.  

Almost all of Apple news these days are about the iPhone.  For instance, take the news yesterday about Apple buying a mapping service company.  Immediately we think iPhone but it could be that they also want to provide additional geo-tagging or overlay services for the Mac.

So, events.  If there is an event this October or November, chances are it'll be more than just refreshing the Mac hardwares.  It may involve Apple TV which has been stagnant and just recently received a price cut.

An Apple event this late may mean a new digital entertainment strategy.  Then there is always a chance that perhaps the iPhones and iPods will also benefit from this as well.  

We should know by the middle of October what's going on if an invitation to the press is issued.  Just so you don't get too excited.  Even if there is an event this fall, it won't be about the tablets.

More at Appleinsider. More at Onxo about Apple's map company.

Apple Arms For Mobile War By Buying A Map Service Company

We didn't get Google Voice for our iPhone and iPod Touch.  See, things aren't too good between Apple and Google at the moment.

Regardless, that's not our problem, right?  So long as Apple, Google, and others continue to innovate, we're really the folks in the driver's seat.

So, Apple acquired a map service company called PlaceBase.  It is to replace Google Maps on the iPhone or to provide better services and features for the Mac?

Remember, there's a tablet on the way.  Maybe Apple is doing something special for it.  Regardless, so long as we get whatever Apple has up its sleeves sooner rather than later, that's all good to me.

More about Apple's strategic map buy and possibility of Apple unveiling its own search engine at Onxo.

mSpot App Could Mean Good News For Hulu And Netflix Apps

To those who are interested in Hulu and Netflix apps for the iPhone or iPod Touch, I think a little optimism is in order.

mSpot, an online rental company, somehow slipped their app that allows streaming movies into the iTunes app store.  

Does this mean Netflix and Hulu apps aren't too far behind?  It's difficult to say at this point.  But be prepared to pay for access.  I think Netflix users should be allowed free access to the library of online shows and movies because they already pay for it through their regular Netflix service.  Rupert of Fox, Hulu partner, has indicated Hulu will begin charging for access.

So be prepare to pay for streaming should these two apps become available.  I don't see that as a downside so long as there aren't commercials.  I'm just happy mSpot is in which means Hulu, Netflix, and others can't be too far behind.

More at MacRumors and Techcrunch.

Note:  There are already apps that allow video streaming in the App Store.  I'll bring this up later tonight in another post.  TV.com app quickly comes to mind.  Yes, you can watch original Star Trek shows on your iPhone and Touch.

Does Apple Have An Answer For MOTOBLUR?

I'm keeping a close eye on the Motorola Cliq for T-Mobile very closely.  I've got iphones, iPods, and a single G1.  But I wonder as far as mobile uses go, if Apple is missing the boat on this one.  

I can see it now.  In about a decade or so, when the books are out about this era, t will be said that Apple underestimated the importance of social app integration with the iPhone and lost the initiative much the same way Microsoft dismissed the World Wide Web.

Of course, I'm only worried about Apple position.  But this is the nature of the beast.  Innovate or be killed off.  Still, Palm has done something pretty neat with the WebOS and it doesn't seem to do anything affecting the iPhone or, for that matter, Blackberry's position in terms of sales.

Still, I've started wondering what kind of "skin" Apple may be deploying in the future.  So far, we have not see anything that shows what Apple may be offering to answer the challenges posed by WebOS and MOTOBLUR, Cliq's widget interface.

If Apple is developing something, no one has seen it.  Still, I hope out hope that Apple will come up with an innovative way to provide users with easy access to all their social networks, Twitters, IM and text, and e-mails.  It'll be a treat to use I'm sure.

Fingers crossed.

iPhone Overwhelms Google

Google's mobile services just get better and better and that happened when Google Sync enabled push mail for the iPhone and some smartphones.  

Well, things haven't gone quite as smoothly as we like.  There are multiple complaints about mail not actually being pushed through.  This is totally expected given the number of iPhone and iPod Touch users in the wild.  And it's likely millions upon millions of requests were being made simultaneously.

Plus this service is sort of free so can't really complain about that.  It just shows the vastness of the mobile market, particularly the iPhone market.

Of more on Google Sync, here is a great post about it.  You can see what Google offers at its sync page.  And for more in the current Google problem, Business Insider has the scoop.

Personally, I'd wait a bit and see after the dust and excitement has settled down.  I'm sure Google is working furiously to make adjustments and increase load capability.  You can follow the Twitter updates to see how things are progressing as well.  Is there anything Twitter cannot do?

I'm find it surprising that we even have this service.  Let's hope Apple is truly studying Google Voice and engaging Google in trying to make GV work on the iPhone as it was meant to be.