By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

You might laugh at those Zits comic strips, which have shown a teenager text messaging his mother from across the room (and more), but you shouldn’t. A recently released Neilsen Mobile report indicates that using a cell phone to actually talk to someone has become passe, and that text messaging is more popular than calling.

This is good news for wireless carriers, who see text messaging as a cash cow. Of course, since California has become the latest state to ban text messaging while driving, people in California will soon have to resort to actually speaking to people, at least while behind the wheel.

From the above table, you can see from Q1 2006 to Q2 2008, calls themselves have remained fairly constant, while text messages have skyrocketed. Seemingly echoing Zits’ strips, the leading texters are in the 13-17 year age range (see below).

1,742 a month? Using a 30 day month, that’s nearly 60 a day, and (subtracting 8 hours for sleep, but not excluding school time) about 3.6 an hour.

Small wonder that California opted for a teenage cell phone ban prior to the text messaging ban Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (that still sounds weird) recently signed into law (and which will take effect on January 1st).

It also makes the recent Harris Interactive poll that said that 42% of teens say that they can text while blindfolded a heck of a lot more believable. I would challenge them to do that on a touch-screen only device, like the LG Dare or the iPhone, though!

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

It appears that not telling people about your battery replacement plan prior to them buying the product is not quite the same as really, really poor battery life. Unlike the iPod battery lawsuit, which eventually led to an out-of-court settlement, this one has been thrown out of court.

Jose Trujillo’s lawsuit claimed that Apple and AT&T did not notify him or other customers about potential battery limitations either before the phone’s launch or before it was purchased, using that as the basis for his suit.

According to Bloomberg, U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly in Chicago granted Apple’s request that he dismiss the lawsuit as without merit. In his ruling, he said:

“Apple disclosed on the outside of the iPhone package that the ‘battery has limited recharge cycles and may eventually need to be replaced by Apple service provider.’ Under the circumstances, no reasonable jury could find that deception occurred.”

While there are at least two other iPhone battery lawsuits pending — this decision is only about Trujillo’s lawsuit — based on this ruling, it’s likely they will be dismissed as well.

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

After much criticism when people managed to read the fine print on their 3G detail page, T-Mobile has backtracked on their throttling policy after a user reaches 1 GB of data usage. Originally, the sentence read:

If your total data usage in any billing cycle is more than 1GB, your data throughput for the remainder of that cycle may be reduced to 50 kbps or less.

It was in bold, as shown above, but it was in the fine print at the bottom of the page. Well, T-Mobile quickly realized what a poor PR move it was, and quickly sent the following message to the New York Times:

Our goal, when the T-Mobile G1 becomes available in October, is to provide affordable, high-speed data service allowing customers to experience the full data capabilities of the device and our 3G network. At the same time, we have a responsibility to provide the best network experience for all of our customers so we reserve the right to temporarily reduce data throughput for a small fraction of our customers who have excessive or disproportionate usage that interferes with our network performance or our ability to provide quality service to all of our customers.

We removed the 1GB soft limit from our policy statement, and we are confident that T-Mobile G1 customers will enjoy the high speed of data access over our 3G network. The specific terms for our new data plans are still being reviewed and once they are final we will be certain to share this broadly with current customers and potential new customers.

They removed it all right, but read the statement now (emphasis mine this time):

To provide the best network experience for all of our customers we may temporarily reduce data throughput for a small fraction of customers who use a disproportionate amount of bandwidth. Your data session, plan, or service may be suspended, terminated, or restricted for significant roaming or if you use your service in a way that interferes with our network or ability to provide quality service to other users. Some devices require specific data plans; if you do not have the right plan for your device, you may not be able to use data services. Additional charges may apply. Domestic use only.

Interestingly, the original sentence was in bold and in the place of the current first sentence (which is no longer bolded; go figure). Obviously they don’t want to draw attention to it this time.

So while they removed the explicit cap that previously existed at 1 GB, what they’ve now done is created a policy very similar to Comcast’s new policy of throttling high usage users.

As I said previously: T-Mobile, meet Comcast. While certainly better than before, it still leaves them a loophole to throttle.

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

In April, MySpace and three of the four major record labels announced “MySpace Music.” At the time I said it was only a matter of time before the fourth, EMI joined in, and it has — at the last minute, in fact. And Thursday at 12:00 AM EDT the site is set to go live.

Once it goes live, MySpace users can will be able to create and stream whole playlists of music from all four major labels as well as independents. The whole thing is ad-supported and free.

Want to buy a song? Amazon MP3 will be tightly integrated into the site, so you can buy DRM-free MP3s easily. And if you want a ringtone, there’s Jamster for you.

And, while this is definitely going to be a big deal (heck, I’ll even dust off my MySpace account), this is just the first phase of the rollout, according to their press release. Excerpts:

Today’s announcement marks the first phase in an iterative global product rollout which will ultimately include a vast catalogue of premium and promotional content, a wide selection of new user-to-user sharing tools, and additional e-commerce opportunities for artists including merchandise and ticketing. Starting today in the U.S. and launching internationally in the coming months, the new MySpace Music functionality will also be available in Spanish and fully localized for the MySpace en Español community. Select products including the newly designed music player will be available globally to MySpace’s more than 120 million global users (comScore July 2008).

The first phase of the new MySpace Music unveils:

• The new, ‘MyMusic,’ personal music management toolset
• Free and unlimited ad-supported, full-length audio streaming
• Free and unlimited playlist functionality
• Free discography and content catalogues for SONY BMG, UMG and WMG artists
• DRM-free MP3 music e-commerce downloads powered by Amazon MP3
• Ringtone e-commerce powered by Jamster

Yep, the EMI agreement was so late it didn’t make the press release, as it’s not mentioned above. Caveats: some music won’t be available for streaming (e.g., The Beatles).

Users can also add a playlist to their profile, but profile playlists will be limited to 10 songs. On the separate MySpace Music page, you can add up to 100 songs per playlist.

For artists, another nice feature: on MySpace Music, the music listed on an artist’s profile page will have “Add” and “Buy” buttons. Hit Add and it goes to your playlist. Hit buy, well you can figure that out. Amazon users can use their existing accounts, if any.

You can read the full press release here (.PDF).

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

Today was the introduction of the T-Mobile G1, the first Google Android cell phone. The launch event didn’t include details on the service plans, but closer examination of the plans after they were posted to T-Mobile’s site reveals some worrisome details.

First of all, T-Mobile’s 3G network is the smallest among U.S. carriers. T-Mobile insists that they’ll have HSDPA up and running in twenty one markets by mid-October when the phone hits stores — and twenty seven markets by year’s end. Many of T-Mobile’s customers will be relegated to EDGE anyway.

But then, here’s the kicker: the fine print at the bottom of T-Mobile’s 3G detail page (emphasis T-Mobile’s):

If your total data usage in any billing cycle is more than 1GB, your data throughput for the remainder of that cycle may be reduced to 50 kbps or less. Your data session, plan, or service may be suspended, terminated, or restricted for significant roaming or if you use your service in a way that interferes with our network or ability to provide quality service to other users. Some devices require specific data plans; if you do not have the right plan for your device, you may not be able to use data services. Some downloads, such as movies, music, and games, not included. Domestic use only.

One thing’s for sure: you’re not going to be using the G1 for tethering purposes.

Some will say, big deal, 1 GB is a lot of data. Well, in reality, nowadays, it’s not. And the way they advertise their service plans is somewhat misleading:

You can choose from a data plan that offers 400 messages and unlimited data access for $25 a month—or add unlimited messaging for just $10 more a month.

While we all know that cell phone data plans aren’t really unlimited, this is the first time I’ve heard of throttling like this, and after only 1 GB of usage. Comcast, meet T-Mobile.

I expect users to buy the phone anyway, but I also expect to see some fallout.

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

Let’s not let the fact that the device hasn’t even been officially introduced yet slow us down, shall we? On Tuesday, prior to the introduction of the T-Mobile G1 (AKA the HTC Dream or Google’s first Android phone), Amazon confirmed rumors of a built-in app on the device which allows access to and purchase from the Amazon MP3 store directly on the phone.

Amazon’s music is all MP3, and thus all DRM-free, from all four major labels as well as independents. The rumored application had been nicknamed “AndroidTunes” by some.

While browsing, searching, sampling and buying can all be done over a cellular connection, according to the press release, downloading requires a wi-fi connection:

The T-Mobile G1 comes pre-loaded with an Amazon MP3 application, giving customers a phone-optimized version of the Amazon MP3 store and the immediate gratification of buying and playing their favorite music. Amazon MP3 has worked to make its DRM-free music available through numerous products and services, such as Pandora MySpace Music, and now Android and T-Mobile G1.

Downloading music from Amazon MP3 using the T-Mobile G1 requires a Wi-Fi connection but searching, browsing, listening to samples and buying MP3s can be done wherever customers are connected to the T-Mobile network. Downloaded MP3s can be played anytime on the T-Mobile G1, PCs, Macs or any other MP3 music player.

The best thing about Amazon MP3’s music, as I keep emphasizing to anyone who will listen, is the DRM-free MP3 format. Even if you buy DRM-free music from iTunes it’s still AAC format. Thus, I generally steer people toward Amazon MP3.

However, iTunes’ dominance lies not just in the iPod / iPhone devices but in the ease of buying. You already have iTunes installed on your PC, making it easy to buy.

So, if the G1 and descendents take off, will this app make a real impact, because it makes it easier to buy? This could be the “vehicle” that drives Amazon MP3 to iTunes level, because now Amazon MP3 will have a similar method to drive people to the store. And once people figure out the benefits of DRM-less music, this might actually become a battle.

The real war won’t start until more devices come out. And the stranglehold that iTunes has on the marketplace is still a big obstacle, even with this new system.

This could be fun.

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

You’ll remember that earlier this month I wrote about Sony’s recall of 19 models in the VAIO TZ series notebooks manufactured between May 2007 and July 2008. Apparently, as the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission said:

Irregularly positioned wires near the computer’s hinge and/or a dislodged screw inside the hinge can cause a short circuit and overheating. Sony has received 15 reports of overheating, including one consumer who suffered a minor burn.

Yeah, well, that’s all well and good (or bad, rather), but here’s how it works (my wife’s Vaio TZ-250 was among the recalled laptops):

Once you submit your information via their web form, Sony will call you and make an appointment for a technician to come out. The technician will come, take your system apart, and re-route the wiring.

They will then put the laptop back together.

Do not let them leave without testing it yourself! More

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

You’ll recall that despite its recently-filed lawsuit against the FCC over P2P-throttling practices, Comcast agreed it would still detail its network management policies to the organization, as originally ordered. On Friday Comcast provided that documentation to the FCC.

In fact, as part (.PDF) of the documentation sent to the FCC, Comcast now admits it had targeted P2P protocols: Ares, BitTorrent, eDonkey, FastTrack, and Gnutella were chosen after analysys. The company used a Sandvine Policy Traffic Switch 8210 for the throttling:

“The Sandvine equipment has been used (1) to determine when the number of simultaneous unidirectional upload sessions for a particular P2P protocol in a particular geographic area reaches its pre-determined threshold, and (2) when a threshold is reached, to temporarily delay the initiation of any new unidirectional upload sessions for that protocol until the number of simultaneous unidirectional upload sessions drops below that threshold.”

In Comcast’s update to the FCC, it details its new plan. which aligns with earlier Comcast tests we wrote about: Comcast will continue to throttle, but only in times of network congestion, and only high-usage users. By doing so, it avoids (or at least attempts to avoid) the “network neutrality” issues it ran afoul of with regards to the aforementioned P2P throttling (confirmed by AP and others, despite Comcast denials).

Comcast will accomplish this by creating a second lower-priority stream of traffic for recent heavy users. When congestion occurs, Internet speeds will be slowed on that stream.

While this is certainly better than targeting P2P users alone, it follows closely other developments in the area of broadband, and not just by Comcast — and not in the area of more FIOS rollouts:

• AT&T added throttling to its HSI Terms-of-Service
• Comcast sued the FCC Over “Net Neutrality”
• Comcast announcesd a 250 GB Broadband Cap

While it must be noted that 250 GB is fairly generous, take a look at Frontier DSL’s 5 GB cap and wonder what others might do. It also flies in the fact that more and more offerings are being made for broadband users, increasing usage.

If ISPs such as Comcast and AT&T can’t keep up now, what of the future?

Finally, in terms of the previously mentioned tests of their new system, according to Comcast, the earlier tests in five cities (Warrenton, VA, Chambersburg, PA, Colorado Springs, CO, Lake View, FL and East Orange, FL) resulted in no customer complaints — and less than 1% of customers were affected on a typical day.

If in fact these numbers are correct, that’s not actually a bad result. One has to wonder, however, if the reason people didn’t complain is:

• They were using P2P and didn’t want to call attention to that fact
• They weren’t home when it happened and didn’t notice

Or perhaps Comcast is telling the truth and customers really didn’t notice. Nah, it’s a corporation. I’d also be interested in what a more highly populated area, say, Los Angeles might feel in terms of pain.

The company says it plans to roll the new plan out to its entire network by the end of the year.