Sprint's ZTE Peel for iPod A Good Start But Ruined By Insane Data Plan

Sprint was my first mobile carrier back in the days when they went nuts on everyone and offered a $75 plan with one thousand any time minutes.  At the time, everyone was like what are they doing ruining the cash cow that was largely still charging by the minute.

So I am not surprise that Sprint, though not thriving as it should, is still innovating in ways with plans and devices.  Such as the ZTE Peel for the iPod that offers a case as well as the ability to connect to the 3G network.  And it also works as a mifi for you to connect to other devices. 

And it's a decent price at $80.

And that's the good part and it pretty much ends there.  Now the bad part.  It only works for previous generation iPod touches.  And if you're like me with the latest iPod touch with the camera, it doesn't seem to support it. 

What's worse that for such a case, it doesn't offer support to charge the iPod touch on the go.

Now come the worst part of the deal.  It so bad thought I recommend we stay away from it.  For $30 a month, you get only 1GB of data on the 3G network.  For me this is a deal breaker.  If it they had offered 3 or 5GB, I can see more folks getting in on that but it would still be, by no means, a good deal.

What Sprint should have done was offer unlimited access.  After all, this is the slower CDMA 3G we are talking about. Not even the 4G-ish WiMax.  As a matter of fact, if you live in a WiMax area, you can get the mifi iSpot from Clear for $99 and get 4G only access for $25 a month.  

While the iSpot only supports iOS devices, the purpose of the Peel is to provide wireless Internet access for the iPod touch.

I hope Sprint becomes more sensible and offers a better deal.  One day, it may get the iPhone and if this is how they're going to treat iOS users out the gate, they're in trouble.  Besides, this is a worse deal than what their EVO and Galaxy S, both Android devices, are getting. 

More at Macnn.

Manufacturer in Ohio Uses iPads to Connect Employees And Increase Efficiency

It is more often now that we hear of companies adopting the iPad for enterprise use.  Heck, every executive at Apple from Steve Jobs down crow about it to anyone who'll listen.  Apparently, small businesses are paying attention and demonstrating the effectiveness of Apple's new iOS device, the 10" iPad.

The main thing here is the ease of use.  It isn't often that employees will adopt technology outright.  However, the popularity of the iPad as well as the ecosystem Apple created over the years has made it easier for companies to integrate into their workflow.

Industrial Mold & Machine in Ohio has done just that.  They took it a step further with a social network using Socialtext, a network for employees. From this Macworld post, there are a few unanswered questions.

I wonder if this is the 3G or the wifi version of the iPad that they are deploying.  Regardless, receiving pushed emails and schedules, work status, and to submit requests makes everyone working at Industrial Mold & Machine feel more connected and part of something bigger

I am sure efficiency will increase over time as the company find more innovative and time-saving uses for these iPads.

More at Macworld.

My Answer To Apple's Survey On My Customer Service Call About iPad 3G

I spoke to Apple and ATT over the weekend regarding a billing issue with AT&T for my iPad 3G.  Apple, interested in my opinion on the call with the gentleman who I spoke with, sent me an e-mail about the experience and asked me to rate it.  It was a multiple choice type of survey with a box at the end asking what else I think the service representative could done to help me solve the issue.

Here is my response:

NAME OF CUSTOMER SERVICE REP did great with my call.  My issue was ATT itself, and NAME OF CUSTOMER SERVICE REP was not able to do anything in that regard but he pointed me in the right direction when even ATT's own people couldn't.

ATT service is horrible.  I've got T-Mobile.  Please make iPhone available on T-Mobile. Or get ATT to learn from T-Mobile on how to provide great customer service.  I've got two iPhones and an iPad 3G through ATT.  

Each time I had an issue, it takes an average of 3 days and at last an one (one call took all day) to resolve.  With T-Mobile, I spend no more than 5 minutes at a time.

Again, NAME OF CUSTOMER SERVICE REP did great.  Nothing he could have done.  I just want to rant a bit...now I feel much better.  ATT customer service (let me throw in 3G network) sucks...

So, what did I learn from all this?  Call Apple first.

Location Apps For Keep Track of Love Ones On Halloween And Other Times

I don't know why in this day and age, parents would allow their children to venture out along. These are kids and we live in different times. Maybe this is why I don't have kids of my own.

If so and your child goes out tonight or any other night and is armed with a mobile device or smartphone, there are solutions available for you to keep traces of them via GPS or other location-bases apps.

Trick-Or-Tracker, an Android app is something that works pretty much as tracking app that allows parents or guardians to track their children wherever they are. It's a $100 app that does have a Halloween trial period.

On the iPhone, there is the Family GSP Tracker that has among other features, lets your love ones know that you're looking for them and lists sex offenders in the area. It runs from $3.99 to $5.99.

Here is an MSNBC video on this subject. I think this works for parents not just on Halloween but also for all times and events.



Are there other apps that work better for you that you're using for tonight?


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Rechargeable Flashlights got This Halloween Weekend

Okay, parents and kids...and monsters and the platoons of Ironmen and Woodies and Buzzes, it's finally Halloween.

So how do you protect yourself in the darkness which you will eagerly go into? Well, chances are it's not vampires or the undead that we have to worry about but rather it's the very much living. Yeah, regular old humans.

There are going to be lots of kids in the neighborhood especially with Halloween falling on a weekend, even if it's a Sunday night.

So for mobile warriors, here's a tip. Charge up your mobile phones, iOS/Android devices, or other smartphones.

Then set the screen to full brightness and let them stay on linger than you might normal would. This will not really help as a flashlight but it can act as a signal to drivers that there are people in the vicinity.

There are apps that function as flashlights but I have never given them any thought so I don't know how well they work. I know that there is even an iPhone lighter app.

But the best way to stay safe is to carry a flashlight. Each chaperon should carry one. Maybe some of the little monsters as well.

I like the rechargeable ones that you can wind up to juice up the battery. 30 Seconds or so will power up the flashlight for extended used.

And you can get those from just about anywhere now.

So have a great, scary, and safe Halloween, my fellow mobile warriors!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch

Mobile Against Zombies and Other Ghouls

Halloween time and I am going to mix some scary fun with mobile goodness.

And so I got to thinking. Today, GPS and online maps plays a big role with travel and generally trying to escape from traffic.

It'll be no different when we few remaining humans try to avoid getting torn to shreds or having zombies go Happy-Meal on our brains.

More that just mobile chats and spotters, we need to have real time uplink to satellites. But that might not be feasible with the world falling apart and coming very close to the end.

So what's the solution? I have advocated this in the past.

Airships.

That's right. With airships, they are a cheap way for surviving humans to having our numbers reduced and vital to any operations to reclaims our world from these undead.

The airships stay in the air for days if not weeks at a time. And believe me when I tell you that air superiority is what's going to make a difference between survival or letting the planet whither away.

Other than communication what else can an airship do for us mobile warriors? Suppose we need to get from one safe harbor to another and the roads are blocked by the undead or dotted with human survivalists who aren't particularly interested in helping retake and populate the planet but wouldn't think for a second to kill you for your supplies and weapons.

Yeah, High up in the sky, it is much safer.

And with your iOS or Android devices, you can still find a way to communicate via white spaces routers or airborne cell towers with your base camp or the folks down on the ground.

Obviously, I would go with mobile devices that are light and has long battery lives. Suppose Apple releases new iPads next year with 12-15 hours of battery life per charge, it would prove your chances of survival great.

On the ground or in the air, you shouldn't have issues with power as I am sure there are plenty of solar chargers. Heck, I've got a couple of them at home to charge my iPhone and iPods. Nevertheless, I like the idea of having to go through longer periods between charges.

And technology with airship developments are currently progressing nicely. I am sure they can be outfitted with all assorted of antenna arrays for communication. Plus, you might consider outfitting your airship with thin solar cells to make your batteries last longer.

So where am I getting this from? I am not a game player but I do love thrillers and "World War Z" is the first zombie literature that I have ever came across. It's a quick read and easy to blow through it in a weekend.

Especially this Halloween weekend...


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch

SSD - A Must Have For Mobile Ruggedness

Upon learning that Apple will be going all out with SSD instead of traditional hard drives has me thinking that that the era of power efficient and relatively safer memory storage is upon us for every day mobile warriors and corporate drones.

Apple wasn't the first to come out with SSD but does that matter? Nor was Apple the first to have USB in the iMacs but that didn't matter either.

However, Apple made it okay to have USB in PCs and it was quickly adopted as a standard. And for SSD adoption, The MacBook Airs with SSD only options made it okay for for mass adoption for even consumer lines.

I imagine that by this time next year, Apple will have moved a majority of its macBook lines with SSD options. This will be followed by other PC makers, like Sony and its Vaio laptops.

Keep in mind though that hard drives are not going to go away for a long time. But for folks whose data are very important and requires more insurance from accidents, these excellent prices from Apple are welcoming news.

Personally, I think I've got another year left in my late-2008 unibody MacBook before I find that I need to move on. Plus, I've got my wonderful iPad that has quickly become my main go-to mobile device for work and play.

But if you're in The market now or will be soon, consider SSD options whether it's the MacBook Air or a Windows machine like the Viao.

Note: SSD while great still has issues with degradation over time. TRIM is built into Windows 7 while this support is still lacking in OS X. Perhaps Apple might have something coming in way of this beginning with SSD implementation in the new MacBook Airs.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch