AllThingsD » data plan

Meet Zact, a Shareable Cellphone Service That Changes on the Fly

Ina Fried — Mon, 13 May 2013 12:00:47 +0000

The major carriers have taken baby steps in giving users more control over their data plan. With AT&T and Verizon, for example, users can share a pool of gigabytes across multiple devices.

But imagine a world where you can buy a few hours worth of streaming audio or add unlimited email but only a modest amount of data for other purposes.

That’s just the kind of world being created by a Marc Andreessen-backed startup called ItsOn. The company’s main business plan is selling systems to carriers that would let them offer these kinds of services.

However, to get that business off the ground, ItsOn felt like it needed to create its own service. So on Monday the company is announcing Zact, a consumer cellphone service designed to be cheaper and far more flexible than others on the market.

“We need to do a service and become our own customers to show what’s possible,” ItsOn CEO Greg Raleigh said in an interview.

Whether you want to give your kid more texts, boost your data plan or drop your ex from the account, all these kinds of options can be changed from the phone and on the fly. Want to buy just an hour of video or a month’s worth of email? You can do that, as well.

And if the plan you pick is more than you need, Zact will refund the difference between that plan and the least expensive one that would have matched your usage.

“There’s a way to give people exactly what they want and make a profit,” Raleigh said. Although Zact customers have to pay full price for their phone, they can still save thousands over a two-year contract, Raleigh said.

Another feature is controls that let parents choose not only how much voice, data and texts to give their kids, but also when they can use their device and which apps can run at which times.

Preorders for the service will start on Monday, with devices shipping to consumers by June. Though ItsOn created the service that enabled the flexibility, the underlying network for Zact is Sprint, with ItsOn buying capacity on a wholesale basis.

One big downside initially is Zact’s very limited device portfolio — and that’s putting it mildly. Zact initially only works with two Android phones, the $199 LG Optimus Elite and the $399 LG Viper 4G LTE.

Over time, Zact plans to add phone models as well as tablets and other devices.

But the goal is also to show carriers what’s possible using its service, so that eventually ItsOn can be used by the major operators. And the message is resonating, Raleigh said.

“You see it in their eyes,” he said. “They say, ‘We can be popular.’”

The Catch in Kindle’s Data Plan

Anton Troianovski and Greg Bensinger — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 21:00:49 +0000

At its Kindle Fire launch, Amazon touted a new data plan that it said would help save customers $410 over the cost of owning the iPad. What it left out is that those megabytes aren’t likely to go very far.

The Seattle Web giant says that for just $50 a year, you can use the antenna on the new $499 Kindle Fire to dial into AT&T’s cellphone network and “connect to the Internet, stream, and download at speeds even faster than Wi-Fi.” The plan buys 250 megabytes of data a month. But if you want to view 30 or more Web pages, or stream more than four minutes of video, or listen to more than 20 minutes of streaming music per day, that isn’t going to be enough.

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AT&T Unveils Shared Wireless-Data Plans

Thomas Gryta — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 13:09:55 +0000

AT&T Inc. unveiled the details of its long-awaited new wireless-data plan structure, which allows customers to share data among multiple users and devices, but users won’t be required to adopt the new options.

The plans come about a month after rival Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group PLC, unveiled similar plans. The plans from both telecom giants shifts the focus to customers’ data usage and diminishes the role of voice minutes and texts, once the basis for most wireless bills.

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Republic Wireless Decides to Put the Unlimited Back in Unlimited

Ina Fried — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 15:00:29 +0000

Upstart phone-service provider Republic Wireless earned praise for its plans to offer $19-a-month unlimited calling. But the carrier also got dinged hard for saying that those who used its unlimited cellular plan too heavily might get booted off the service.

Republic’s thesis is that with Wi-Fi networks so plentiful, most people only occasionally need cellular networks, and can do most of their calling, texting and surfing over Wi-Fi. The carrier’s initial service plan promised unlimited calling and data use, but said that it was encouraging customers to use Wi-Fi for most of their needs and that those who exceeded certain usage could find themselves looking elsewhere for service.

Republic still wants its users to rely on Wi-Fi, but it is no longer threatening to cut them off if they use cellular networks too much.

“From today, republic wireless is all-in,” the company said in a blog post last week. “We’re eliminating all usage thresholds, and with them the concern some of you have expressed about losing your membership for maintaining too large a cellular footprint.”

Even with the move, Republic Wireless still probably isn’t for everyone. It offers a single basic Android phone, and users must pay for that phone upfront. The phone uses custom software on top of Android to route things over Wi-Fi whenever possible, and uses Sprint’s 3G network when cellular service is needed.

Republic also notes that the service remains in beta, promising that the service will remain unlimited during the beta phase.

“Everyone who has purchased or purchases a phone during beta will be guaranteed the opportunity to enjoy unlimited service, without fear of cancellation, until the end of beta,” Republic said. “We won’t end beta until we either achieve economic sustainability or become convinced that doing so is impossible. In the event that we end beta with a decision to abandon or change our unlimited offering, we’ll give you the option of canceling for a full refund for your device at that time.”

Republic will keep — at least for now — a tool that shows users how much of their data and voice use is on Wi-Fi versus cellular, relative to how others are using their devices. It also plans to keep a clause that could remove users for “unacceptable use” beyond what is appropriate for a personal smartphone, though it says it may revise its language on that term, as well.

Cellphone Users to Get Billing Alerts Under New Voluntary Standards

Amy Schatz — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 12:30:52 +0000

Wireless-phone customers will begin receiving real-time alerts next year if they are about to go over their monthly voice, data or text-message limits under new voluntary industry standards set to be announced on Monday.

Wireless carriers have agreed to send warnings to consumers in danger of exceeding their monthly subscriber minutes or data plans under a deal with the Federal Communications Commission. The companies will provide the alerts to consumers within 12 to 18 months, FCC officials said.

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Verizon's ThunderBolt Moves Like Lightning

Walter S. Mossberg — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 01:19:14 +0000

Amid all the mergers and maneuvering of U.S. wireless carriers, they continue a steady rollout of faster cellular-data networks, dubbed “4G,” for fourth generation. While the companies all use that term for marketing, the actual technologies they’ve adopted to deliver 4G differ, and so does the performance.

[ See post to watch video ]

Last week, Verizon Wireless, which is deploying a flavor of 4G called LTE, or Long Term Evolution, started selling its first phone compatible with this new, speedier network: the $250 ThunderBolt. Previously, its only LTE devices were data modems for laptops. Its other phones, including its much-touted Droids and iPhone, can only use slower 3G networks.

I have been trying out the ThunderBolt and I have found it to be a speed demon. Simply put, when used on Verizon’s LTE network—which isn’t yet available everywhere—the ThunderBolt delivered by far the fastest cellular data speeds I have ever experienced on a wireless phone. In my tests, it blew away not only common 3G phone speeds, but the 4G speeds offered by rival carriers. In fact, it was faster than many home land-line Internet connections.

In dozens of cellular-data tests I conducted in two metro areas—Washington and Orlando, FL—the ThunderBolt averaged 12.6 megabits per second when downloading data and 4.7 Mbps when uploading data. That is about eight times as fast as a Verizon 3G phone I tested in the same locations, and faster than many public Wi-Fi connections. Cellular-data speeds can differ due to factors such as location and time of day, so your experience with the ThunderBolt might vary. However, based on my tests, and assuming future Verizon LTE phones perform as well, I’d have to say Verizon is firmly ahead in the race for the fastest 4G network.

Of course, its competitors aren’t standing still. Sprint was first with 4G and continues to expand its network and add devices. T-Mobile, which agreed to be acquired by AT&T, has a rapidly growing 4G network, though it really is based on a souped-up version of 3G. AT&T has lagged behind, but it claims it will step up its 4G rollout this year.

Verizon’s ThunderBolt

I compared the ThunderBolt to recent phones running on each of the other carriers’ 4G networks, and none could touch the speeds of the Verizon device. In multiple tests in a spot in the D.C. suburbs where all the carriers offer 4G service, Sprint’s EVO Shift 4G and AT&T’s Inspire 4G had an average of just over 2 Mbps in download speed, and much less than 1 Mbps in upload speed. T-Mobile’s myTouch 4G did much better, logging 5.52 Mbps downstream and 1.77 Mbps upstream. But even that was less than half the speed of the ThunderBolt.

Sprint and AT&T attributed their poor performance in my tests to my location. But even Sprint’s maximum claims for average performance don’t match what my Verizon tests yielded. (AT&T doesn’t offer such claims.)

You pay a price: The ThunderBolt is 25 percent more up front than most rival smartphones, which tend to sell for $200. Its battery life, while much better than some other early 4G phones I’ve tested, isn’t as good as on some 3G phones. And, the ThunderBolt is a relatively heavy and bulky device.

Verizon hasn’t jacked up the monthly data fees, continuing to offer the same unlimited $30 monthly data plan for this 4G phone that it does for, say, its pokier 3G iPhone. It is also giving away—through May 15—one extra-cost feature: the ability to use the phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot to power laptops and other devices. This feature has cost $20 a month on 3G phones. Verizon wouldn’t say the cost for ThunderBolt.

The ThunderBolt is built by HTC of Taiwan, and runs on Google’s Android operating system. HTC concedes that, beyond LTE, this phone doesn’t offer any significant hardware or software features that can’t be found on some of the company’s other models. It has a 4.3-inch screen, front and rear cameras, 8 gigabytes of internal memory and a 32GB removable memory card.

Battery life has been a concern on some 4G phones. The HTC EVO, which was Sprint’s first 4G phone, drained its battery quickly while using the faster network. In my tests, the ThunderBolt’s battery lasted about seven hours in mixed, typical use on 4G, which is fair, but not great.

Voice calls on the ThunderBolt were generally good, and it didn’t drop any calls in my tests. That may be because Verizon is still routing its voice traffic through its older networks, which have been very reliable. The LTE network is for data only. This distinction is invisible to the user.

I also tested it as a Wi-Fi hotspot and got download speeds on my laptop of 7 to 10 Mbps and upload speeds of 2 to 3 Mbps. But the hotspot signal occasionally dropped out. I also saw repeated crashes of an Android app I couldn’t identify, though the phone kept working.

The Verizon 4G network currently is available in around 40 metro areas. If you don’t live in an area covered by Verizon LTE, the ThunderBolt will still work on the carrier’s 3G network. You can see if you’re covered by checking this Web page. Verizon is promising to extend LTE to another 140 markets this year. It has announced plans for several more LTE phones and LTE tablets and laptops.

Bottom line: If you live in a Verizon LTE city and you want the fastest possible cellular-data speeds in a phone, the ThunderBolt is the answer.

Come see Walt Mossberg at New York’s Carnegie Hall at the JapanNYC festival, in a conversation with Sony Chairman Howard Stringer about where consumer technology is headed and the fallout from the earthquake. Friday, April 1 at 6:30 p.m. For tickets, call (212) 247-7800 or go to carnegiehall.org. Find all Walt’s columns and videos at the All Things Digital website, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com.

So How Much Is My Monthly Data Plan With the iPad 2?

Ina Fried — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 13:00:44 +0000

Although the price of the iPad 2 is the same its predecessor’s, there are now more options for those buying a model with cellular data connectivity.

Whereas the original iPad only supported AT&T, the new model comes in both AT&T and Verizon flavors, much as the iPhone does.

On the original iPad, AT&T offered two monthly options: 250MB of data for $15 or 2GB for $25. Once that prepaid data plan was used up, people could either wait until the next month or just pay again and start a new month of service.

With the new iPad, there are a couple additional options. In addition to offering the same options it did with the original iPad, AT&T is adding a second option, where users get billed at the end of the month. Users pay the same amount for the two data plans, but instead of buying a new plan if they run over their monthly allotment, users are billed at $10 per gigabyte for overages.

Finally, the iPad 2 also comes in a Verizon option. Verizon has several monthly plans ranging from $20 per month to $80 per month and anywhere from 1GB to 10GB of data. Below is a chart that tries to make all this a little easier to digest.

One important thing to remember, though, is that while the iPad 2 has the option for both Verizon and AT&T, there are two separate models, so once a buyer chooses one, they are stuck with that carrier for the life of the iPad. Also, in both cases, the data option is month-to-month with no long-term commitment.

In the coming days, I am sure we will be hearing plenty from both companies about why their iPad is a better option. If the iPhone advertising is any clue, expect AT&T to mention the speed of its 3G network and that its model will work in more overseas locations (for a hefty price), while Verizon will tout the reliability of its network. Both can make a case for offering a better price under certain scenarios, given their many different options.

Here’s the chart that breaks down the respective costs.

The Streak 7: Bargain Tablet From Dell Is No Real Deal

Walter S. Mossberg — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 02:01:23 +0000

If you could get a tablet for the price of a smart phone, and if it also worked on one of the new, faster, 4G-class cellular networks, you’d jump at the chance, right? Dell and T-Mobile hope so, and that’s why they’ve brought out the Dell Streak 7, at just $200 with a two-year service contract.

[ See post to watch video ]

The Streak 7, Dell’s second effort to compete with Apple’s $500 iPad, is the least expensive tablet I’ve seen from a major manufacturer, and claims to be the first capable of 4G cellular speeds (it also has Wi-Fi). Like many planned iPad competitors, it runs Google’s Android operating system. It’s also the first I’ve tested using a fast new processor from nVidia, the Tegra 2, which will power a number of new tablets this year.

Unfortunately, after a week of testing, I found the compromises Dell made to get to that low price make it impossible for me to recommend the Streak 7. Its screen, battery life, and software are all disappointing, and vastly inferior not only to the iPad’s, but also to those on the Samsung Galaxy Tab, a high-quality Android tablet about the size of the Streak 7 released late last year. In other words, you get what you pay for.

Like the Galaxy Tab, the Streak 7 has a 7-inch screen, measured diagonally, or less than half the size of the iPad’s. But it’s large enough to be properly called a tablet, unlike Dell’s first Streak, an odd tweener device with a 5-inch screen—more like a big phone—that was released last year to a tepid response.

Dell concedes it wasn’t trying to build “the Cadillac of tablets” with the Streak 7, but was aiming for budget-conscious families and home use. Dell notes it has plans for a range of tablets with different prices, screen sizes and specs.

The Streak 7′s screen, battery life, and software are all disappointing. In other words, you get what you pay for.

The Streak 7 has some strengths. Like the Tab, it’s smaller and lighter than the iPad, so easier to hold in one hand. It plays Flash videos, which the iPad can’t. And it has front and rear cameras, unlike the iPad. It can also be used, unlike the iPad, as a Wi-Fi hot spot.

Also, I found its cellular data speeds impressive. In tests I conducted in Silicon Valley, the Streak averaged 4.63 megabits per second in download speed on T-Mobile’s souped-up 3G network (which it calls 4G because it claims similar speeds). That was nearly twice as fast as the download speeds provided by my hotel’s Wi-Fi network. Cellular upload speeds were a bit slower than Wi-Fi, but still averaged about 1.2 mps.

But, in my view, the Streak 7′s minuses outweighed its pluses. Let’s start with battery life. In my tests, the Streak 7 conked out after a pathetic two hours and 10 minutes of watching movies. That compares with about 11.5 hours of continuous video playback for the iPad and just under seven hours for the Galaxy Tab, when I tested them. In a more mixed-use pattern, including Web surfing, game playing, music, email and social networking, with some short videos thrown in, the Streak 7 lasted between 5.5 and 6.5 hours, still underwhelming for a tablet.

Dell says its target audience will use the Streak 7 plugged into wall outlets and TVs through an extra-cost dock, but I wouldn’t buy a tablet with battery life this poor.

Screen resolution also was so low as to be fuzzy at times, especially in reading small type, and viewing the screen at an angle often reduced the image to a ghostly outline. The Streak 7′s screen has a resolution of 800×480, below the much smaller iPhone screen, and well below the resolution of the iPad or the Galaxy Tab. While the internal chips drove video fine—as long as the batteries lasted—it looked worse than on the other two, as did photos.

The software also is a problem. It’s an older version of Android, called 2.2, which was never intended for tablets, and whose core apps—such as email, contacts and calendar—were designed for the smaller phone screens. Months ago, Samsung used the same version of Android on the Tab, but compensated by rewriting key apps to take advantage of the tablet screen, with more PC-like designs. Dell has done none of this on the Streak 7. All it added was a thin user interface called Stage featuring big, blocky widgets that group things like contacts and social updates, an old concept. It preloaded some kid-friendly and family-friendly apps, but some are mere come-ons that require downloading the full app.

Worse, the Streak 7 appears shortly before the true tablet-optimized version of Android, called Honeycomb, and Dell can’t promise that Streak 7 buyers can upgrade to Honeycomb. The company says the device has been designed to accommodate an upgrade, and is hopeful that it’s possible. But there is no guarantee. Buyers might get stuck with the old version built for phones.

Even on a tight budget, the Streak 7′s deficiencies might not make it worth the price. You’ll pay T-Mobile $30 or $50 a month for a capped data plan for two years. By contrast, the base iPad requires no payments to a cellular carrier, as it’s Wi-Fi only. Even if you buy the iPad with cellular connectivity from AT&T, there is no contract. You pay $15 or $25 a month and end the cell service at will, with no penalty.

You can buy the Streak 7 without a contract, but then it costs $450, too much for a device with its drawbacks, and only $50 less than the far superior base iPad. Even the Streak 7′s subsidized price of $200 is only $50 less than what its carrier, T-Mobile, charges for the better Galaxy Tab with a two-year contract.

Dell is serious about competing in the tablet wars, and it may produce a winner yet. But its first efforts, in my view, missed the mark.

Find all Walt Mossberg’s columns and videos at the All Things Digital website, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com.

Mobile Data Forecast: Unrelenting Downpour

John Paczkowski — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 21:55:15 +0000

No surprises here: Worldwide mobile data traffic is exploding. But the degree to which it’s exploding is pretty remarkable. Between 2009 and 2010, mobile data traffic nearly tripled. And according to Cisco’s annual Global Mobile Traffic Forecast, it will see a 26-fold increase by 2015. Staggering, though perhaps to be expected given the proliferation of data-intensive mobile devices. Cisco predicts that by 2015, there will be 7.1 billion of them slurping up 75 exabytes of data (an exabyte is 1 billion gigabytes). No wonder the unlimited data plan is being phased out.

Verizon to iPhone Users: You Will Buy the $30-per-Month, Unlimited Data Plan and You Will Like It

John Paczkowski — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 11:29:22 +0000

When the iPhone goes live on Verizon’s network on Feb. 10, the carrier will indeed offer it with an unlimited data plan, as I reported earlier this month. But not because of an exception it’s made for the iPhone–because it’s doing away with its tiered smartphone data plan entirely.

A data-service pricing document leaked to Engadget suggests Verizon has scrapped its $15-for-150MB plan, leaving a mandatory $30-per-month unlimited data plan as the sole option for “feature phones and 3G smartphones” like the iPhone. Note the specificity of that designation–it excludes upcoming LTE handsets, which will presumably debut with higher, tiered data-pricing plans.

Meanwhile, rival AT&T continues to offer the iPhone with two capped data plans–200MB for $15 a month, and 2GB for $25.

[Image Credit: Engadget]

Verizon Wireless to Offer $15 Data Plan

Roger Cheng — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 17:34:06 +0000

Verizon Wireless plans to introduce a less expensive, but restricted, data plan for smartphone customers next week, according to a person familiar with the matter, in a move that follows AT&T Inc.’s own capped offerings.

The nation’s largest wireless carrier by subscribers will offer a $15 monthly plan that gives customers 150 megabytes of data. Customers who exceed the monthly limit will be charged extra. But unlike AT&T, Verizon Wireless will continue to offer its unlimited data plan for $29.99 a month.

The new $15 plan will be available on Oct. 28 for new customers, and requires a two-year contract. Existing customers have the option of moving to the less expensive option, or keeping their current plan. The pricing change was first reported by technology blog Engadget.
The move is part of a broader shift by carriers to change how they charge customers for the use of Internet, email and music downloads through their cellphones.

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Why You'll Pay to Watch Ads on the iPhone and iPad

Peter Kafka — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 18:20:47 +0000

The new iAds that Apple (AAPL) launched yesterday are interesting. But they had better be: You’re going to pay to see them.

This isn’t news, exactly. But consider it a reminder: AT&T’s (T) switch from an unlimited data plan to a tiered model means that everything iPad and iPhone users stream down to their devices via the carrier’s wireless network comes at a cost, measured in bytes.

So: Streaming a video to your iPad from Netflix (NFLX) or Hulu will chew up a lot bandwidth, and downloading an app will chew up much less. And clicking on an “in-app” ad, like the kind Apple is rolling out with iAd, will cost something, too: Each time you click on an app’s ad, the app makes a real-time call to Apple, which serves up a download.

How much will that cost you, bytewise? Web video producer Eric Spiegelman guesstimates that a tricked out iAd like the Nissan spot that debuted yesterday could require five megabytes.* Translate that into AT&T’s data plans, and you’re looking at something like six cents to 40 cents worth of data per iAd, depending on the package.

So not a bank-breaker! And again, no different than anything else you download to your iPhone or iPad. But maybe, depending on your use case and data plan, worth thinking about before you click.

If the idea of spending any of your precious data budget on ads really rankles you, by the way, you do have a choice. Either make sure you’re connected to a Wi-Fi connection before you click, or go completely offline, and you won’t see the iAds at all.

*Anyone else want to weigh in on the size of iAd downloads? Happy to hear your thoughts.

Why You'll Pay to Watch Ads on the iPhone and iPad

Peter Kafka — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 18:20:47 +0000

The new iAds that Apple (AAPL) launched yesterday are interesting. But they had better be: You’re going to pay to see them.

So not a bank-breaker! And again, no different than anything else you download to your iPhone or iPad. But maybe, depending on your use case and data plan, worth thinking about before you click.

*Anyone else want to weigh in on the size of iAd downloads? Happy to hear your thoughts.

New iPhone Keeps Apple Top of Class

Walter S. Mossberg — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 23:02:18 +0000

Just three years ago, Apple wasn’t in the mobile-phone business at all. Since then, its game-changing iPhone has become the most influential smartphone in the world. Now, on June 24, the company will roll out the fourth generation of the device, called the iPhone 4.

[ See post to watch video ]

While attractive, capable new smartphones emerge regularly from competitors, a new iPhone deserves special attention for two reasons. First, the device lies at the center of a huge ecosystem of 225,000 apps, plus popular related gadgets like Apple’s iPod Touch connected media player and iPad tablet, which collectively are approaching 100 million units sold. Second, the iPhone’s multitouch, gesture-based interface; elegant Web browser; sophisticated music and video playback; and other features have been emulated on many competing devices, so what Apple does affects the whole industry.

I’ve been testing the iPhone 4 for more than a week. In both hardware and software, it is a major leap over its already-excellent predecessor, the iPhone 3GS.

It has some downsides and limitations—most important, the overwhelmed AT&T network in the U.S., which, in my tests, the new phone handled sometimes better and, unfortunately, sometimes worse than its predecessor. I’ll get into that below. But, overall, Apple (AAPL) has delivered a big, well-designed update that, in my view, keeps it in the lead in the smartphone wars.

The iPhone 4 is a dramatic redesign. It manages to pack a radically sharper screen; a second, front-facing camera; a larger battery; a better rear camera with flash; and a faster processor into a body that is 24% thinner, a bit narrower, and retains the same length and weight as its predecessor’s. In fact, Apple claims that the iPhone 4 is the world’s thinnest smartphone and sports the world’s highest-resolution smartphone screen.

With the front-facing camera, and clever new software called FaceTime, Apple has brought simple, high-quality video calling to mobile phones, albeit, for now, only over Wi-Fi and only among iPhone 4 owners. In multiple tests, this feature worked very well for me and is a classic example of the value of having one company do integrated hardware and software.

In addition, the iPhone now includes an updated operating system—which also can be installed free on the prior model—that introduces catch-up software features such as limited multitasking (the ability to run apps simultaneously); folders for grouping related apps; and, for email, a unified inbox for multiple accounts and the ability to present messages as threaded conversations. This software is called iOS4.

The iPhone 4 will cost the same as the iPhone 3GS: $199 for a model with 16 gigabytes of memory and $299 for 32 gigabytes, with a two-year contract from AT&T (T). The 3GS model will drop to $99 with a two-year contract and 8 gigabytes of memory.

Design

Physically, the iPhone 4 is attractive and feels great in the hand. Even the back is now clad in glass, which Apple claims is a superstrong variety 30 times tougher than plastic. I dropped it several times from a few feet onto a hard surface with no problem, and it acquired no scratches at all in my testing, even though I didn’t use a case or coddle it.

Although it is the same weight as its predecessor, the iPhone 4 feels denser and tighter—more like a fine possession than a disposable gadget. It still looks like an iPhone, but it manages to make the 3GS appear bulbous by comparison.

While its 3.5-inch screen, once considered huge, is now smaller than those on some other smartphones, the high resolution packs in a lot of material and makes text appear almost like ink on fine paper. The software is simply richer looking and smoother to use than on competing phones I’ve tested, with fewer confusing menus and settings, and far more apps.

Screen, Voice, Battery and Camera

Always brilliant at marketing, Apple has dubbed its new screen the “Retina display.” At a resolution of 960×640, it has four times the pixels of its predecessor and displays a whopping 326 pixels per inch. I don’t know how it compares with the human retina, but I do know that, just as Apple claims, text on the screen shows no jagged lines, even when expanded to giant size.

Voice quality was quite good, even on long speaker-phone calls, and data performance over Wi-Fi was excellent. Video and audio streamed from the Web played smoothly.

Apple claims longer battery life for most functions—seven hours of talk time, for instance, versus five hours on the earlier model. I didn’t perform a precise battery test, but, even in heavy use, the iPhone 4′s battery never reached the red zone on a single day of my tests.

The new rear camera is another big plus. My test pictures came out sharp and clear, even in low light and close-up situations. It isn’t the best cellphone camera I’ve tested, but it is a big improvement.

The iPhone 4 records video in high definition and, in my tests, these videos came out very well in most conditions. Apple also is selling for $5 an iPhone version of its Macintosh video-editing program, iMovie, for editing the videos.

FaceTime

Video calling is one of this device’s best features. As noted, it currently requires an iPhone 4 and Wi-Fi connection on both ends, though Apple says it is making the technology free to others and hopes to have millions of compatible devices. There is no setup and nothing to learn. You just press a FaceTime button, and if the other person accepts the invitation to talk face to face, his or her image appears, with your own image showing in a small corner window.

You can tap an icon on the screen to swap the front camera for the rear one, so you can show your caller around the room, or include other people near you who are behind the phone.

You can even begin a video call as an audio cellular call, push a button, and switch it to a Wi-Fi FaceTime call. It worked great for me, except for a couple of brief freeze-ups.

Multitasking

After years of complaints, Apple finally has brought multitasking to the iPhone. But it has done so in a limited way that won’t please everyone. On the iPhone 4, multitasking doesn’t mean every app can work fully in the background. To prevent a disastrous drain on battery life, Apple has allowed only certain apps to fully multitask. These include streaming audio services like Pandora, which keep playing music from the Web while you do other things, and voice-prompted navigation apps, which keep working while you’re on a call. Others that fully work in the background include Internet calling apps, and those that perform long downloads.

But some logical candidates, such as Twitter and Facebook, merely pause in place when you switch away from them. You can get back to them quickly, and they update more rapidly than before, but they don’t constantly update in the background. They only wake up in the background if you have set them to notify you of an update, and then only for a limited time. Apple says constant fetching of hundreds of social-networking updates in the background would kill the battery too quickly.

In fact, for many scenarios, such as games, Apple’s version of multitasking is really just fast switching among open apps that save their place. And, even to achieve this, the apps must be updated. For some users, this limited version of multitasking will be a disappointment.

To use multitasking you just press the iPhone’s home button twice and a row of icons representing running apps appears. Click on the one you want and, if it has been updated for the new operating system, it will appear just as you left it.

Multitasking also will work on updated iPhone 3GS models, but not on models older than that.

Folders

Because iPhone users can easily accumulate hundreds of apps, it can become difficult to organize them. So the new iPhone OS now allows you to group them into folders. For instance, I grabbed the icon for The Wall Street Journal app, dragged it on top of the one for the Washington Post app, and a folder was instantly created called “News,” based on the apps’ built-in categories. You can change the name to anything you like, or alter or disassemble the folders.

The Big Downside

The most important downside of the iPhone 4 is that, in the U.S., it’s shackled to AT&T, which not only still operates a network that has trouble connecting and maintaining calls in many cities, but now has abandoned unlimited, flat-rate data plans. Apple needs a second network.

Both Apple (AAPL) and AT&T (T) told me they worked to make the iPhone 4 do a better job with AT&T’s network. For example, the phone itself is surrounded by a prominent stainless-steel trim piece that acts as a large antenna. And Apple said it also tuned the phone to try to grab whatever band on the network was less congested or less affected by interference—to stress the quality of a signal over its raw strength. AT&T said it, too, made some changes to its network with the new iPhone in mind.

But, in my tests, network reception was a mixed bag. Compared with the previous model, the new iPhone dropped marginally fewer calls made in my car, both in Washington and in Boston, and was much louder and clearer over my car’s built-in Bluetooth speaker-phone system.

Yet, in some places where the signal was relatively weak, the iPhone 4 showed no bars, or fewer bars than its predecessor. Apple says that this is a bug it plans to fix, and that it has to do with the way the bars are presented, not the actual ability to make a call. And, in fact, in nearly all of these cases, the iPhone 4 was able to place calls despite the lack of bars.

However, on at least six occasions during my tests, the new iPhone was either reporting “no service” or searching for a network while the old one, held in my other hand, was showing at least a couple of bars. Neither Apple nor AT&T could explain this. The iPhone 4 quickly recovered in these situations, showing service after a few seconds, but it was still troubling.

Just as with its predecessors, I can’t recommend this new iPhone for voice calling for people who experience poor AT&T reception, unless they are willing to carry a second phone on a network that works better for them.

For everyone else, however, I’d say that Apple has built a beautiful smartphone that works well, adds impressive new features and is still, overall, the best device in its class.

Find all of Walt Mossberg’s columns and videos online, free, at the All Things Digital Web site, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com.

More iPhone 4 Coverage »

Netflix Coming to iPhone, if AT&T (And Your Phone Bill) Can Keep Up

Peter Kafka — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 17:55:34 +0000

Here’s another bright, shiny object for Steve Jobs to brandish in front of iPhone owners: News that Netflix is bringing its streaming video service to the iPhone.

The app, demoed onstage at Apple’s developers conference by Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, will be available later this summer. Like the company’s iPad app, it will be free, though you’ll have to be a Netflix (NFLX) subscriber to actually access the company’s catalog of digital movies and TV shows.

And like the iPad app, the app will stream video via both Wi-Fi and AT&T’s wireless service. I checked with Netflix spokesman Steve Swasey to see if Apple (AAPL) or AT&T (T) would limit the amount of bandwidth the app could chew up, and he said no: “Same catalog. Unlimited. It will be Netflix as you know it and love it, but in your pocket.”

No caching, though. Like the iPad, you’ll need to be connected to the Web to use the app.

But that’s still pretty cool. And it’s also going to be a lot of strain on AT&T’s network. Which is, um, still pretty strained. I doubt many of you are going to watch all of “District 9” on your phones, but you may well watch an episode of “Weeds” (first couple seasons are pretty good, but then…). And if the carrier can’t handle phone calls, how is it going to keep up with that?

So: Either AT&T really is going to resolve its capacity problems by the end of this summer, as Steve Jobs semi-promised last week at D8. Or everyone involved assumes that AT&T’s new data plans will cut down on the number of people using iPhones to do all the cool, cutting-edge stuff Jobs showed off today.

FCC Wants Alerts on Wireless Overages

Amy Schatz — Tue, 11 May 2010 18:27:40 +0000

Federal regulators are proposing new regulations on the wireless phone industry, which would require carriers to alert consumers if they’ve gone over their monthly data or text message allotments.

The proposal is similar to rules recently enacted in the European Union on wireless companies, which require carriers to send a text message to subscribers who are racking up roaming charges or getting close to their plan’s roaming limit.

The Federal Communications Commission proposal also considers whether carriers should send real-time alerts to subscribers who are exceeding their monthly voice, data or text messaging limits.

“We’ve gotten hundreds of complaints about bill shock,” said Joel Gurin, head of the FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, in a statement. He said the agency is looking at if “there’s any reason that American carriers can’t use similar automatic alerts to inform consumers when they are at risk of running up a high bill.”

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Weekend Update 05.08.10–Boys of Summer Edition

Drake Martinet — Sat, 08 May 2010 22:46:04 +0000

The flowers are blooming in Silicon Valley and the scoreboard shout-outs at AT&T Park, where the San Francisco Giants play, are stacked up, as all the fashionable little start-ups treat their staffs to a dog, beers and some baseball. AllThingsD continues to watch the seasons change from inside our dimly lit HQ, crumpled over computers, smartphones and tablets to keep the news flowing. We’re going to be as pale in August as we were in February, all in the service of our readers. We’re glad to have you, so read on and catch up on anything you might have missed from this warm and wonderful week.

BoomTown started off at what has become a magically bottomless trough of posts. Kara reported on yet another exec, this time Angela Courtin, SVP of Marketing, Entertainment and Content, scurrying down the gangway of the SS MySpace. Kara mused that while posts on executive departures from My Space and Yahoo have been plentiful lately, they can’t keep coming forever. Midweek, she got on a plane to Beantown and caught up with Walt Mossberg at MIT’s new Media Lab facility. The video she came back with features foldable cars, cities of the future, awesome electro-opera gloves and the weirdest glowing-eyed owl-thing Weekend Update has ever laid eyes on. Seriously: Worth a watch. Toward the end of the week, Kara got deep in a piece she wrote for the Washington Post, where she worked back when newspapers were king. She wrote about what she thought the world would benefit from being rid of, namely physical keyboards and computer mice. Full disclosure: She wrote the post on her Apple (AAPL) iPad.

Digital Daily was a posting machine this week, starting early with some bad news for Steve Ballmer and the Internet Explorer fanboys out there (theoretically there should be some right?). It looks like IE’s dominating market share dropped seven percent, down to 59 percent since this time last year, under pressure from other browsers, according to a Net Applications study. Midweek, John moved on to a post about recent speculation that low AT&T (T) data plan prices for the iPad 3G may indicate an extension of the exclusive deal between AT&T and Apple. John finished things off with a nice post that brings some perspective to all the Apple ogling by the press. The comScore (SCOR) report names Samsung as the top mobile device maker in the U.S. market, even if an analysis of media coverage volume might suggest otherwise.

Over at MediaMemo, Peter brought us a post early in the week on Google’s investment in Invidi, a start-up working on “addressable ads” in the TV space. We aren’t sure if Google (GOOG) is looking more Appley or if Apple is looking more Googley these days. From the light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel files, Peter posted that Time Inc. saw gains in both ad and subscription dollars last quarter. The question remains: Will it be a V- or a W-shaped recovery? At least it’s not just a backslash. Delivering a much anticipated piece of news, Peter posted that it appears Facebook will finally start rolling out location services sometime in the next several weeks. Advertising Age reported that McDonald’s (MCD), the international corporate face of individualized services, will be a partner for the launch. It makes a lot of sense if you think about it. At Mickey D’s, you can have it any way you want, as long as it’s the McDonalds way.

Personal Technology this week was a little more of a conceptual piece than a gadget review, but Walt always mixes it up at the right time. He devoted his entire column to demystifying some of the concepts around cloud computing and explains what it may mean for Joe and Jane user. Walt seems keen on the change with allows flexibility and interoperation among devices, and his explanation brings it down to ground level. Katie rounded us out with a hands-on review of Microsoft’s new Kin One, a roundish little smartphone designed to be a social platform as much as a phone. She liked the design and execution in most areas, though felt that the polish on this first Microsoft smartphone reincarnation was a little lacking. Best of all? Seems like Kin’s constant wireless upload of all content to the cloud might be the feature to beat.

Thanks for tuning in, logging on and tweeting out with our new Meebo bar. We’re in the final countdown to the D8 conference now, and we’re ready to level up to full-tilt awesome. Stay tuned!

Did iPad Data Deal Extend AT&T's iPhone Exclusivity?

John Paczkowski — Thu, 06 May 2010 17:30:04 +0000

There’s an interesting theory being floated today by Broadpoint AmTech research analyst Brian Marshall: By agreeing to offer “breakthrough” 3G prepaid data plans for Apple’s iPad, AT&T won an exclusive on the device and extension of its iPhone exclusivity agreement.

In the run-up to its debut, many believed the iPad would be supported by multiple carriers. But when Apple announced the tablet in late January, that didn’t prove to be the case.

The reason, Marshall tells Computerworld, is likely those cut-rate data plans AT&T (T) currently offers for the iPad. 50 percent off the carrier’s normal wireless data rates was evidently an offer Apple (AAPL) couldn’t refuse, one perhaps good enough for it to oust Verizon (VZ) as an iPad launch partner and delay the debut of the iPhone on that carrier’s network.

“AT&T had to do something dramatic to get the iPad,” he said. “For that pricing [on the iPad], AT&T was able to negotiate a six-month extension on the iPhone exclusive.”

Seems a plausible argument to me, though it’s obviously sheer speculation on Marshall’s part. AT&T’s exclusivity agreement is reportedly set to end this year. If it doesn’t, well, Marshall may have been on to something here, though we’ll likely never know for sure.

In Mobile Gymnastics, the Motorola Backflip Scores a 6

Katherine Boehret — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:47:23 +0000

Touch screens are now prevalent enough on mobile devices that I find myself touching the screens of every new gadget I see. My trusty index finger of a stylus is ready at all times to swipe, pinch, double tap and scroll since these are natural gestures.

[ See post to watch video ]

Yet touch screens have some downsides. Finger gestures leave smudge marks on the glass screens and monopolize screen real estate, making it hard to show the screen to someone while navigating. Also, touch screens often require two hands.

This week, I tested a smart phone with a solution for two of the three touch-screen problems. The Motorola Backflip (http://3.ly/Ku9), which became available March 7, lets people navigate its screen by touching a panel behind it, thus keeping fingers off of the screen. This trackpad-like panel is appropriately named the Backtrack and works like magic: On-screen objects are selected, text scrolls and screens open, but you can’t see the fingers manipulating the screen because they’re hidden behind it.

The Backflip, which runs on AT&T’s (T) 3G network, costs $100 after a $100 mail-in rebate and a two-year agreement. Its name comes from its design: The Backflip’s screen seems to flip backward when the QWERTY keyboard flips down for use. In the device’s “closed” position, the keyboard flips back up and is automatically turned off.

I’ve been using the Motorola Backflip for emailing, Web browsing, social networking, taking photos and making phone calls. While I applaud its creative design and the idea of the Backtrack, I think it sacrifices functionality for form. Take, for example, its QWERTY keyboard, which has a subtly handsome design when the Backflip is closed. But when used for typing, its shallow keys don’t give much tactile feedback and are tough to use. Likewise, the Backtrack is clever, but only works when the phone is the flat, opened position, forcing people to reach around both the keyboard and the screen to use it. I often found myself giving up and just touching the screen directly, which also works.

Other companies’ mobile devices have found ways around actually touching their touch screens, silly as it may sound. Palm’s (PALM) Pre and Pixi models use a gesture area beneath the screen to navigate—with just one hand holding and swiping.

The Backflip in opened position.

I easily set up two email accounts and Twitter and Facebook accounts on my Backflip. There are also shortcuts for setting up accounts for Picasa, Photobucket, Bebo, LastFM and MySpace.

The Motorola Backflip runs Motoblur, the company’s social-network and message-consolidating software, which I found to be an attractive interface with intelligent capabilities. For instance, if it senses you’re checking it a lot, it will update the displayed messages more frequently. Motoblur also uses images from contacts, like their Facebook or Twitter photo, and displays these as small background icons behind Motoblur messages from that person. This is a small detail, but it brings an extra spark of life to everyday messages.

But Motoblur lacks one of the most popular Twitter functions: the ability to re-tweet, or re-message someone else’s tweet (Twitter status). A Motorola (MOT) representative said re-tweet is under evaluation, but won’t disclose details about timing. Motoblur has been available for six months, first seen in the Motorola CLIQ.

Oddly, the Backflip runs the Android 1.5 operating system, not the newest Android 2.1. A Motorola representative said the company plans to update this but wouldn’t say when. It seems strange for a brand-new device not to run the newest operating system.

Phone calls were clear and loud, and photos captured on the five-megapixel, flash, digital zoom camera looked great. I enjoyed using the Backflip’s bright, 3.1-inch screen with 320×480 pixel resolution. Though I wasn’t crazy about typing on its keyboard, I did like the keyboard shortcut keys for the Web browser, home, email and search. With the Backflip in its opened position, I used the Backtrack—the trackpad behind the screen—to skip around from one thing to the next. Double tapping on anything selected it, and I swiped my fingers down on the Backtrack to scroll a long news story on the browser.

The Backflip is designed so that whenever it’s plugged into its wall charger or set at a 90-degree angle, it goes into Tabletop mode, showing a large digital clock with the local weather, date and options for setting an alarm. This mode also offers a button for watching the device’s photos in a slow-panning, Ken Burns-like slideshow, which is useful for sharing with friends.

Monthly AT&T plans that work with the Backflip include a combination of the carrier’s required $30 unlimited data plan and a $40, $60 or $70 voice plan. It comes with a 2-gigabyte memory card, though it will work with one that holds up to 32 gigabytes. Its internal memory is 512 megabytes, and the memory available for apps is 220 megabytes, though certain apps can offload some data they use onto the roomier card.

Motorola deserves credit for trying an innovative design and for offering a unique way of moving fingers off of the touch screen. But the Backflip device seems unfinished because of several features that don’t work as well as they should.

Edited by Walter S. Mossberg

Write to Katherine Boehret at mossbergsolution@wsj.com

And Since We Still Don’t Allow iPhone Tethering, We Can Guarantee That Wi-Fi-Only iPads Won’t Overload Our 3G Network

John Paczkowski — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:10:42 +0000

Here’s the real reason AT&T was able to offer such a breakthrough price on data plans for Apple’s iPad in the U.S.: The carrier doesn’t expect many people to buy them.

Though $14.99 per month for 250MB of data and $30 per month for unlimited data are bargains, particularly considering that 3G service for laptops costs an average of $60 a month, AT&T (T) doesn’t see many people taking advantage of them.

During an appearance at the Morgan Stanley (MS) conference in San Francisco Tuesday, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said he doesn’t expect Apple’s (AAPL) iPad to generate a lot of new 3G service subscriptions for the carrier.

“It will be interesting to see customer reaction to the iPad,” Stephenson said. “My expectation is that there’s not going to be a lot of people out there looking for another subscription. We think it’s going to be a largely WiFi-driven product.”

That seems like an odd remark from the CEO of a company that’s got the exclusive on iPad 3G connectivity in the U.S. Honest, though. The consensus among analysts seems to be that most folks in the market for an iPad will buy the Wi-Fi-only version. At $499-$699, the iPad is a real head-turner and relatively easy on the wallet. But at $629-$829, it becomes more of a “Do I really need this thing?” question.

One last point worth noting here: Asked about the fate of the company’s iPhone-exclusivity deal with Apple, Stephenson said he expects the iPhone to be a staple of AT&T’s business for “quite some time.”

Oh, One More Thing: The iPhone 4G–On Verizon

John Paczkowski — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:39:53 +0000

Though the debut of Apple’s mythical tablet at the company’s invitation-only special event next week and the rapture with which it will inevitably be met obviate the need for a closing “one more thing” announcement, Apple (AAPL) may deliver one anyway. Three, actually.

iPhone OS 4.0. And the iPhone 4G–on Verizon (VZ).

That’s the word from Canaccord Adams analyst Peter Misek, who believes there’s “a good chance” we’ll hear about all three come next Wednesday.

“Together with our semi-conductor partners, we have ascertained that there is a reasonable chance the Asian supply chain is prepping for mass production of a new iPhone in March, for availability in late Q2, likely June,” Misek wrote in a note to clients today.

“The phone will be carried on Verizon and hence will operate on the CDMA network,” he asserts, adding, “however, it will also support European GSM and HSPA standards. An updated 4GS version that will support LTE is anticipated to arrive in June 2011.”

As to the cost, the analyst expects change. “At this moment, we have not heard about the pricing of the device, but believe it will be different from what it is at the moment. While we remain of the view that tiered data plans are imminent, our checks indicate the new iPhone from Verizon will still come with an unlimited data plan.”

Now, I have no idea how much credence to give speculation like this, nor do I have any insider insight into Apple’s carrier negotiations. But I will say this: It seems unlikely that Apple will announce a new iPhone and carrier partnership right after unveiling a brand new, and presumably revolutionary, product.

It might do so before, though. After all, the debut of the iPhone at Macworld 2007 was prefaced by the announcement of Apple TV.

[Image credit: Robert Davis / iLounge]

Usage-Based Data Pricing: The Solution to AT&T’s iPhone Problems?

John Paczkowski — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:15:46 +0000

According to Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi, the average Apple iPhone user consumes five to seven times the monthly bandwidth of the average wireless voice subscriber and at least twice the amount of the typical smartphone phone user (see adjacent summary; click to enlarge).

With usage levels like these and the network degradation and customer satisfaction issues that go along with them, is it reasonable to think that iPhone carriers like AT&T (T) will swap their all-you-can-eat data plans for usage-based pricing? Sacconaghi thinks so.

“iPhone users consume web, email and video data on the mobile network at levels that many believe are adversely affecting other subscribers on those mobile networks. Network congestion in turn is triggering higher capital spending requirements for carriers. Unchecked, the iPhone’s very high usage levels could severely undermine the economic returns of offering the iPhone,” Sacconaghi explains.

“We believe carriers will increasingly have to manage the usage side of the equation as well,” the Bernstein analyst asserts. “Carriers that have not already done so are increasingly likely to adopt usage-based pricing schemes that more fairly match price to usage but which will also inevitably discourage the most profligate kinds of applications.”

Sacconaghi adds: “Today’s combination of a subsidized iPhone with an all-you-can eat data plan can be likened to a carnival where there is a relatively high price of entry, but where all the rides are free. The adoption of usage-based pricing plans is akin to also charging for the Ferris wheel. When the rides are no longer ‘free,’ the value of the entry ticket could decline.”

That’s unfortunate. But in this case, the carnival’s wireless data traffic has increased 50-fold since the introduction of the Ferris wheel and there has not been a commensurate increase in revenue. In other words, AT&T is not getting paid for the level of data traffic it supports. Says Sacconaghi: “Over the…3-year period over which AT&T’s data bandwidth consumption has grown by 50-fold, its data revenues have grown by only 250 percent, resulting in a severe drop in revenue generation per megabyte of data.”

As more adopt unlimited data plans, they become unsustainable from a carrier profitability perspective. So what’s to be done?

Spend even more capital improving your network.

And raise the price of data by adopting usage-based pricing.

That might seem disadvantageous to Apple (AAPL), but as Sacconaghi notes, Apple could use the switch to usage-based pricing to its advantage. It could, for example, introduce a “non-data plan” iPhone that expands the device’s addressable market.

“A non-data plan iPhone might be something like an ‘iPhone Touch,’ a lower cost-of-ownership device (requires voice plan only; utilizes wifi for Internet connectivity) with which to attack the more traditional handset market…while exploiting Apple’s twin unique competitive differentiators: (1) A vibrant App Store with 100,000+ Apps and (2) a large and global iPod community that remains fiercely loyal to the iPod,” the analyst writes. “Such a product would have a price (to customers) that would be similar to a stand-alone iPod Touch today, and have a cost of ownership equal to standard voice-only phones.”

Who's Going to Pay for Online Content? A) A Few of You B) Barely Anyone C) You're Already Paying

Peter Kafka — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:05:47 +0000

The new conventional wisdom is that sooner or later, consumers will have to start paying for some of the stuff they currently get for free on the Web.

But will they actually pay up? Here, the conventional wisdom is not so helpful. Nor are studies predicting consumer behavior. To wit:

Nearly 50 percent of U.S. Web users are willing to pay for online news, says the Boston Consulting Group.
Not a chance, says Forrester (FORR): Try 20 percent.

For what it’s worth, my money’s on the Forrester number, or one that’s even lower. My gut says people love consuming news, but only in the broadest sense–Obama doesn’t really Twitter! What was Belichick thinking?–and that sort of stuff, which appeals to a very large audience, will always be free, and you’ll get it from Google (GOOG) or something like Yahoo (YHOO). Which leaves you with a small audience willing to pay for everything else.

But! We should note that people are indeed paying for “content” right now. In fact, they’re paying for a lot of it: $115 a month, up seven percent from last year, says NPD Group. The breakdown:

As of August 2009, 81 percent of U.S. households subscribed to a television service (satellite TV, basic/premium cable, or fiber-optic television service). A similar percentage of households (76 percent) paid for Internet subscriptions. Seventeen percent subscribed to an online music service or satellite radio; and 14 percent subscribed to online gaming subscription services.

More traditional forms of entertainment subscriptions, however, did not fare so well. The number of people subscribing to newspapers fell by 2 percentage points to reach 29 percent in August 2009. Forty-one percent of consumers subscribed to magazines this year, compared to 43 percent who did so last year.

According to NPD, an influx of new smartphone owners has led to an increase in mobile data-plan subscriptions: 9 percent of U.S. consumers had mobile data subscriptions this year, versus just 6 percent last year. Fourteen percent of consumers subscribed to a home-video subscription service, like Netflix, this year, which is 2 percentage points higher than last year.

Ah, see? Problem solved: If you want Americans to pony up for stuff on the Web, just link it to something they’re already paying for, like their cable or Internet subscription.

This is what smart guys like John Malone have been talking about for a while, and it’s also the core of the strategy behind the Time Warner (TWX)/Comcast (CMCSA)/everyone else “TV Everywhere” gambit. But it’s also what many people have been trying to do for a very long time–ask the music industry–with limited success.

MySpace Boots Pervs

John Paczkowski — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 22:27:54 +0000

[ See post to watch video ]

A BlackBerry That's Easy on Your Thumbs

Katherine Boehret — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 01:04:04 +0000

People who use smart phones with physical keyboards are well aware that they don’t look as cool as someone who touches glass to type and flicks a finger to scroll through emails, Web pages and photos. But for many, physical keyboards are easier to use than touch screens, and this fact, alone, cures even the worst case of touch-screen envy.

In two weeks, Research in Motion Inc. (RIMM) and T-Mobile will make available the latest version of the BlackBerry: the Curve 8900. This device works as a basic BlackBerry and doesn’t have a sleek touch screen or completely overhauled operating system, nor is it meant to compete with the likes of Apple’s iPhone. But it has a physical keyboard and still manages to look stylish — and that’s no small feat.

[ See post to watch video ]

The Curve 8900 costs $200 after a $100 mail-in rebate and with a two-year T-Mobile contract. In the BlackBerry family, this model falls into the Goldilocks category of not too big, not too small — just right. RIM’s $300 BlackBerry Bold came out in November, but its large size and high price were turn-offs for some. The BlackBerry Pearl and Pearl Flip are tiny and portable, but use condensed keyboards with multiple letters on each key, which can hinder fast typing.

After using the new Curve for a week, I found it offers a satisfying combination of high-end features, ideal size and good looks. Best of all, its physical keyboard is a dream for thumbs. Unfortunately, its $200 price comes with very little memory — only 256 megabytes built in and a memory card that adds another 256 megabytes. To expand this memory, users must buy microSD cards.

The new Curve is lighter, thinner and not as wide compared with its predecessor. Its surface, including the keyboard, is glossy black with a striking silver frame. The device’s top edge slopes off in a smooth diagonal that cleverly disguises the Lock and Mute/Standby buttons beneath that top-edge piece of black plastic. Number keys are labeled in red so they stand out on the black keyboard and are easy to see when making phone calls. Right and left convenience keys on each side of the BlackBerry can be assigned to open your favorite functions.

The $200 Curve 8900

Unlike older BlackBerrys that all use the same USB cables and chargers, the Curve 8900 has a micro USB port, which is slightly smaller than those on older cables and won’t work with them.

Photo Opportunity

The Curve 8900 shares two features with the touch screen BlackBerry Storm: Both use the same 3.2-megapixel camera with auto focus, image stabilization, 2x digital zoom and flash; and both have the same 480×360 pixel bright screen resolution. I used the camera on my Curve 8900 to capture some photos of Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., a few days after the inaugural parade, and friends couldn’t believe I took them using a BlackBerry. This camera can also capture video clips.

I really enjoyed using the Curve 8900′s newly designed keyboard. Its keys are flatter than those of the old Curve, which felt like typing on plastic bubbles when I switched back. The flatter design of the new Curve’s keys made them feel less resistant, and allowed my fingers to more quickly move from one key to the next. The larger Send, Menu, Escape and End keys that surround the trackball also are flatter and are on the same plane as the screen, giving the surface a smoother look.

This BlackBerry uses T-Mobile’s Quad-band EDGE, not a 3G connection like the BlackBerry Bold or Apple iPhone. For an extra $10 a month in addition to a monthly plan, users may opt for T-Mobile’s Unlimited HotSpot Calling.

Wi-Fi Detector

This feature works so that the Curve automatically detects when it’s near a pre-set Wi-Fi network and uses that network for voice calling or data instead of T-Mobile’s connection. Phone calls that are started in Wi-Fi networks will seamlessly be handed over to the T-Mobile network and the minutes won’t be docked from your data plan; calls started in the cellular network will switch over to Wi-Fi but will continue to dock minutes from your voice plan.

I made a handful of phone calls on the Curve, and the connection sounded clear on both ends. According to RIM, the battery life of the Curve 8900 beats that of the old Curve 8300 in talk time — 5.5 hours compared with four hours — but is a little weaker than the old Curve’s standby battery life, lasting just 15 days between charges, compared with 17 days. I didn’t run an exact battery test, but I noticed that I didn’t have to change my charging schedule from what I regularly do with the old Curve 8300.

I downloaded a few apps, including Facebook, Google Maps and TwitterBerry, and these worked as they do on my older Curve, though a bit faster. Compared with the iPhone’s selection, BlackBerry apps look rather primitive. RIM plans to open an app store in March that will sell apps that will work with this new Curve and other BlackBerrys. Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG) have already established app stores that users can access from their devices.

Too Little Memory

This is where the 8900′s relatively minuscule memory becomes a problem. It’s easy to use up the 512 megabytes of total memory by downloading apps like these and taking large-sized photos or video clips with the built-in camera. Comparatively, the $199 iPhone comes with 8 gigabytes of built-in memory. But memory cards are fairly inexpensive today; a quick search on BestBuy.com (BBY) found 2-gigabyte microSD cards for $15.

A 512-megahertz processor gives this new Curve some zip, and I had no trouble quickly surfing the Web, opening Web links embedded in emails or attached photos and Word documents. Videos, including a John Mayer music video and various YouTube clips, played without any jerky skips. Sound was emitted from a small but mighty speaker on the back of the Curve.

Some people simply won’t abandon their physical keyboards for touch screen, no matter what. For them, the BlackBerry Curve 8900 blends the comfortable size, attractive keyboard and stylish design necessary to make a winning device.

Edited By Walter S. Mossberg

Email us at mossbergsolution@wsj.com. Find this and other columns and videos online free at the All Things Digital Web site: http://walt.allthingsd.com