Expensive unlimited data plans enrich the carriers and benefit few customers

The end of unlimited data is nigh! As I discussed in yesterday’s post, AT&T’s announcement of limited data packages at lower prices has everyone up in arms. But the switch to a-la carte data is a positive move for everyone involved, including AT&T, the customer, and the US wireless phone industry as a whole.

Reality Check

Despite the hollers from the crowd, AT&T is not proposing pay-per-byte service. Their new plans serve up moderate (200 MB) and generous (2 GB) portions of data at much-reduced monthly fees of $15 and $25, respectively. Overages trigger large additional blocks of 200 MB for $15 or 1 GB for $10, respectively, and those on the smaller “DataPlus” plan can upgrade to “DataPro” on demand during months of heavy usage.

AT&T claims that 98% of smartphone users transfer less than 2 GB of data per month, and I’m betting that’s true even of iPhone power users. Of course, some people might use crazy amounts of bandwidth: Video streaming, Internet radio, and tethering come to mind. But I wonder how much data even the first two will require once they become available and popular. An hour-long podcast is about 25 MB, so Pandora, iTunes Live, and Spotify are presumably about the same. One could listen to those sites for 80 hours a month without exceeding AT&T’s new $25 2 GB DataPro package, and an additional 40 hours (1 GB) would only be $10!

The carrier also claims that 65% of smartphone users will be able to save money by opting for the $15 200 MB plan, and that this will drive further adoption of smartphones. Heavy iPhone users probably make up the outlying 35%, but the more-casual iPhoners will be able to cut their bill in half by selecting this plan.

Easy Savings

My own household includes three iPhones. My iPhone 3GS usage hovers around 400 MB per month, and I frequently stream audio from MLB.com At Bat and my favorite podcasts over the air. The other two iPhones average just 50 MB per month, with the occasional spike of around 100 MB. We currently pay $80 per month for data service: Two 3G plans at $30 and one original plan at $20. Under the new system, we can reduce our monthly data bill to $60 by switching the 3G phones to the $25 and $15 plans, respectively.

Don’t know how to stream big podcasts? Check out my article, How To Stream Any Size Podcast to an iPhone, Even Over 3G or EDGE!

We could trim the cost even more by moving both 3G phones to the $15 DataPlus plan and judiciously switching to DataPro during months of increased usage. I could also make more-frequent use of free Wi-Fi service at Starbucks, McDonald’s, Panera, and the local coffee shop, or flip on the Cradlepoint PHS300 and use my unlimited EV-DO hotspot. I imagine most iPhone users could economize similarly.

Follow the Money

Unlimited data plans hurt us all, forcing us to pay for the excesses of a few and limiting the availability of the coolest devices. Let’s get back to AT&T’s numbers for a moment. According to AT&T, only 2% of their smartphone customers transfer more than 2 GB of data per month. With everyone paying the same flat rate for unlimited data, each of those data gluttons was being subsidized by the bills of 50 regular subscribers. This kept monthly data fees artificially high and limited the adoption of smartphones in general. Even the iPhone, a smashing success by any measure, probably lost customers due to the high cost of data service.

But it gets worse. If 65% of smartphone users consume less than 200 MB of data per month, and AT&T can make money selling that much data at $15, then the company was pulling in seriously-massive profit margins until now. AT&T has between 15 and 20 million customers using smartphones, so this represents at least $150 million in monthly profit. All but the heaviest 2% of data users were profitable, and the company was gouging everyone else and pocketing the cash. Sure, they’ve spent some money on upgrades, but the AT&T 3G network is notoriously bad, from bottlenecks and dropped calls in New York to poor coverage in the heartland.

Then there’s the sorry state of competition among mobile phone carriers in the United States. Thanks to carrier locks and exclusive deals, the price for wireless data service remained fairly static until now. Unlimited data at $30 became an unofficial fixed price, and as Planet Money noted recently, price ceilings tend to act as a magnet. Perversely, the widespread availability of unlimited data plans kept prices artificially high. Until AT&T’s announcement, no one was willing to make the first move and initiate real competition.

Stephen’s Stance

Many criticized yesterday’s article, claiming a “peace of mind” benefit from “all-you-can-eat” offerings. I can understand their desire to know exactly how much their bill will be, no matter what their teenagers decide to do with their phone. But they should also consider that, all this time, they were subsidizing data gluttons, getting ripped off by their carrier, and restraining competitive pressure to lower prices. How much are they willing to pay to achieve a bit of mental calm? And aren’t these facts troubling, too?

I can’t wait to see Verizon’s response. AT&T’s pricing changes and their recent early-termination fee modifications mean they’re scared to death. Perhaps the rumors of Verizon iPhones and iPads aren’t off-base after all. At long last, we might be witnessing a real shake-up in the American mobile device market, and that’s something we can all cheer for!

It’s not all roses, though. Unlimited data promised to usher in a new era of mobile video and other innovative applications. It also posed potential competition for wired broadband providers, another market in serious need of competitive pressure. I’ll take a look at the downside tomorrow.

Note: Some of these links include affiliate codes that help pay for this blog. For example, buying an Amazon Kindle with this link sends a few bucks my way! But I don't write this blog to make money, and am happy to link to sites and stores that don't pay anything. I like Amazon and buy tons from them, but you're free to buy whatever and wherever you want.

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2010. | The End of Unlimited Data – Part 2: Who’s Being Subsidized?
This post was categorized as Apple, Everything, Personal. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

The Aliph Jawbone Icon gets even better with A2DP support

I’ve been pretty pleased with my Jawbone Icon headset. It has good battery life, clear audio, and is comfortable to wear for an extended period (once I found a loop that works for my ears). But Aliph’s claim that the Jawbone Icon could be upgraded with “apps” was underwhelming: None of the launch apps were compelling, and the app site itself remains in beta. But the company redeemed itself last week by releasing something I’d long hoped for: Bluetooth A2DP streaming audio support as an app.

Check out my full review of the new Aliph Jawbone Icon headset!

A2DP What?

Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) is a Bluetooth “profile” defining how high quality stereo or mono audio can be streamed between devices. The most popular use is listening to music from an mp3 player or phone on wireless headphones or an in-car audio system. A2DP support is fairly new but becoming increasingly common. All wireless Bluetooth headphones these days support A2DP.

Apple added A2DP streaming to the iPhone 3G and 3GS in OS 3.0, and this has spurred uptake of the standard and production of compatible headsets, headphones, and other devices. I briefly experimented with A2DP headphones when this support was added but set them aside: There is no way I would wear the huge, clunky, ugly, heavy stereo Bluetooth headphones that dominate the market! I suppose that the Motorola MOTOROKR S9 isn’t bad, but can Sony and Plantronics seriously believe people will wear theirs?

What I Want

I was much more interested in streaming non-music mono content to my wireless headset. I frequently find myself doing other things while listening to podcasts and baseball games (thanks to the awesome MLB app), sometimes dangling a single earbud so I can pay attention to the real world. That’s why Aliph’s A2DP upgrade is music to my ears!

The iPhone streams most audio to A2DP-compatible headsets like the Jawbone Icon. Tap the Bluetooth audio icon in the lower left to switch audio output devices.

Immediately after applying the free A2DP update, I fired up the iPod app on the iPhone to try out the sound quality. Before using it, though, you must tell the iPhone to “forget” the Jawbone and re-pair it so the device will “see” the new A2DP profile support. The sound quality is good, even for music, and it doesn’t seem to be too much of a battery drain. I expect it to last a good three hours or so on a charge.

An added bonus of this upgrade is in-headset volume control and one-tap call canceling. Whether listening to A2DP audio or using the Icon as a standard phone headset, pressing and holding the button cycles through louder and quieter volume levels. But call canceling is even more important to me. The iPhone’s “voice control” often dials the wrong person from my contacts list, so tap-to-cancel is critical!

All in all, Aliph’s latest update is one more reason to declare that the Jawbone Icon is the ultimate iPhone headset. It sports an on-phone battery gauge, support for voice control, and now streaming audio, and it’s even cheaper than the previous Jawbone models! It works great with the iPad, too. The only thing I’d still like to see is an iPhone app to control the headset settings. Hey, a guy can dream, right?

Note: The original iPhone has A2DP-compatible hardware but Apple does not enable it even with OS 3.0. Only the 3G and 3GS models have official A2DP support. But I’ve heard that jailbreaking can enable A2DP even on first-generation iPhones.

Note: Some of these links include affiliate codes that help pay for this blog. For example, buying an Amazon Kindle with this link sends a few bucks my way! But I don't write this blog to make money, and am happy to link to sites and stores that don't pay anything. I like Amazon and buy tons from them, but you're free to buy whatever and wherever you want.

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2010. | One More Reason to Buy a Jawbone Icon Headset: A2DP Bluetooth Audio!
This post was categorized as Apple, Everything, Personal. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

This blog post is probably out of date. If you want to set up Exchange ActiveSync, you should instead consult one my guides:
	iPhone Exchange ActiveSync Setup		iPad Exchange ActiveSync Setup
	iPhone ActiveSync Troubleshooting		iPad ActiveSync Troubleshooting

It’s finally here!  The iPhone now has most of the functions of the BlackBerry – over-the-air push and sync of Exchange email, contacts, and calendars!  Apple let the 2.0 OS out of the bag earlier today, and intrepid souls (and me) have taken the plunge and installed it.

While most people, including me, headed to the (also active) App Store to try out the native games, I quickly turned the other way – towards the new Microsoft Exchange integration.

Read on for my first impressions and instructions on getting it up and running.

For the most up-to-date information, see my iPhone Exchange ActiveSync Guide!

This post is part of my series focused on integrating the iPhone with Microsoft Exchange using ActiveSync:

• iPhone OS 3.0 information:
  1. First Look: iPhone 3.0 And Exchange ActiveSync Integration
  2. How To Subscribe To Internet Calendars In iPhone OS 3.0
  3. How To Access LDAP Directories In iPhone OS 3.0
  4. iPhone 3.0 Exchange ActiveSync: Better But Not Perfect
• How To Set Up iPhone Exchange ActiveSync
1. A Few iPhone Exchange ActiveSync Gotchas
2. Can the iPhone Sync With Multiple Exchange Servers?

By the way, the apps are great!  Sega’s Super Monkey Ball is touchy, but I think I’ll get the hang of it.  And my 4 year old loves Jirbo Match!  Too bad the Red Sox weren’t playing or my test of MLB At Bat would have been much more exciting!

Up and Running With Exchange

Seriously, why are you still reading? Head over to The iPhone Exchange ActiveSync Guide for current/useful information!

Here’s the quick how-to for getting Exchange up and running on your iPhone.  Note that this works on any iPhone with the version 2.0 software – the iPhone 3G comes with this out of the box, but original phones will need to be upgraded.  Update: You do not need to buy the Enterprise Data plan from AT&T in order for this to function – it will work with any plan, and even works on the iPod Touch! Update: The process is pretty much the same with iPhone OS 3.0!

We will set up the mail account first, then enable sync for Calendar and Contacts.

1. Install iTunes 7.7 and upgrade your phone to iPhone OS 2.0 if necessary
2. If you already have your Exchange server running with IMAP, disable the account in Mail Settings.  I left mine set up – no telling when or if I’ll need to revert!
3. Set up a new mail account, selecting Exchange as in the photo above.
   
4. Enter your email address (e.g. “billg@microsoft.com”) in the Email box.
5. Enter your Exchange domain and username (e.g. “msexec\billg.microsoft”) in the Username box and watch the text magically shrink to fit.
6. Enter your password (e.g. “OuttaHere!”) in the Password box and marvel at the nifty new “show the last letter entered” feature.
7. The iPhone will now try to automatically discover your Exchange server.  If you don’t have Exchange 2007 with Autodiscovery turned on, it will fail and warn you that it couldn’t validate your account.  You will have to manually enter your server name in the window.  Make sure you enter your ActiveSync server name, not the OWA server (as in Entourage) or the real Exchange server (as in Outlook).
8. Now tap the home button and go into Mail.  You should see your new account appear, and it should show your folders and email messages within a few moments.  Congratulations!  Email is now set up!
   

Next we will enable sync for Contacts and Calendars.

Note:  You can’t sync Contacts and Calendars from both Exchange and iTunes! You must choose one or the other! And the iPhone will delete your old entries when you enable this! Update: You can do both desktop and over-the-air calendars in iPhone OS 3.0!

Ok, enough shouting, on with the show!

1. Once you’re sure email is working, go back into the Exchange Account Settings tab (shown above) and tap Contacts to “ON”.
   
2. The iPhone will warn you about deleting your existing entries, just like I just did!  If you’re sure, tap “Sync”.
   
3. Now the iPhone will enable Sync.  Do not go running up to the Calendar or (new!) Contacts App and expect to see everything there immediately.  It took my phone about 5 minutes to populate these, and I was worried when I saw nothing there at first.
4. Do the same for Calendar and you’re all set.  Wait a few and you will have pretty much full over-the-air Email, Contacts, and Calendar integration!

Initial Impressions

Prepare to be confused by the new Calendar and Contacts apps.  They now include categories, and you can find yourself scratching your head at seeing no entries when you’re in the wrong category.  I left my calendar in “Home” and there were no entries.

I had to tap “Calendars” at the top to return to the screen at right and select “All”.  This could be really nice – I could organize multiple calendars here for work and home.  But it’ll take some getting used to.  Update: Don’t bother with multiple calendars! Update: Multiple calendars rock in iPhone OS 3.0!

Note that calendar entries are color-coded in the calendar, too, which is a nice touch.  I don’t remember any similar functionality on my BlackBerry, but it could be that I just never discovered it.  It took me about five years to figure out how to see missed calls, after all!

The same problem appears with the Contacts application.  Here again, we have groups of contacts, and what you see is dependent on which group you’re currently “in”.  I’ll have to work out how to manage these using Outlook or Entourage.

Thankfully, Apple finally includes a Contacts application on the home screen in OS 2.0.  It was always frustrating to have to go into the Phone app just to look at someone’s info!

The App Store is good, but a little perplexing.  There are about 500 applications up for sale right now, and not all are worthwhile.  There are three “flashlight” apps, for example, all at different prices.  I think the App Store will be quite a mess once all 25,000 or so applications have been added!  It’s already hard to locate anything.

Apple released just two native apps:  A $5 Texas Hold’em game, and a free remote control app for iTunes.  The latter is pretty nifty – it seems to use Bonjour in reverse to present itself to iTunes instances running on the network.  The iPhone shows up in the sidebar and you have to enter a PIN to activate it.  This would be much cooler with an AirTunes device – maybe I’ll have to snap up one of the old 802.11g AirPort Expresses currently offered at MacMall for $59!

There are some other worthwhile apps, too.  MLB At Bat is great – live game updates and video clips of major plays.  I think I’ll be using this a lot!  Definitely worth $5 to me.

I already mentioned a couple of games, but I was more interested in trying out the social networking applications.  AOL released a free version of Instant Messenger, but I’m not sure if it (yet) supports Apple’s always-on push service.  There’s a FaceBook app, too, but it doesn’t look much better than the web version.

This brings me to a major concern about the App Store.  Why make a native app to do something the web does just as well?  I can see where an offline book or map reader would be handy, but why MySpace?  There are lots of Bibles in there already, but where is the off-line/on-line version of Wikipedia that I had hoped for?

Google added a search app, covering both the web and local content on the phone.  But where’s Google Talk?  Shockingly, after literally sharing the stage with Google at the iPhone’s introduction, Yahoo! is entirely absent from the App Store.  Microsoft isn’t there, either.

But there were some nice surprises.  Yelp, Pandora, and Paypal all have free clients that look useful.  Time will tell which of these apps really get used!

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2008. | How To Set Up iPhone Exchange ActiveSync
This post was categorized as Apple, Personal, Terabyte home. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.