The Telecom Digest for January 16, 2011
Volume 30 : Issue 15 : "text" Format
Messages in this Issue:
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Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2011 09:59:07 +1100
From: David Clayton <dcstar@myrealbox.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Using your phone on the road could make you a safer driver: study
Message-ID: <pan.2011.01.14.22.59.06.20498@myrealbox.com>
http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-news/using-your-phone-on-the-road-could-make-you-a-safer-driver-study-20110114-19qfx.html
Using your phone on the road could make you a safer driver: study
Matt Campbell
January 14, 2011 - 11:42AM
New research suggests mobile phones may make some road-users pay more
attention.
Using your phone behind the wheel may not be as dangerous as we've
been lead to believe.
Despite existing research stating that driving while using your mobile
phone could be as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol,
new research has found the link between mobile phone use and car
crashes may have been overestimated.
A study by economists from the University of Chicago and the London
School of Economics used data from a Californian mobile phone company
and compared it to crash statistics over an 11 day period, and found
that despite a rise in phone calls made on the move, no significant
correlation was found.
The findings matched roving call data (by monitoring phones moving
between phone towers) with crash reports at specific times when it
could be proved that the number of drivers on the road using their
phone increased, but over the research period there was no increase in
reported crashes.
Furthermore, when the researchers looked further afield to other US
states, there was still no significant rise in crash reports despite
higher moving mobile phone use.
The researchers concluded that there are three possible explanations
for the outcome:
- people who talk on their phone while driving may become more
cautious of other road-users
- people who have no regard for other road-users will still drive the
same whether they're using a phone or not
- while mobiles may distract some, they may actually make other
drivers more alert
While the finding is an interesting one, the researchers are not
condoning using your phone when you drive.
"We note that this research does not imply that cell phone use is
innocuous," the report states. "It simply implies that current
cellular use by drivers does not appear to cause a rise in crashes.
"It is possible that drivers who use such devices compensate for the
added distraction by driving more carefully," the report
says. "Alternatively, it could be that risk loving drivers may treat
cell phones as a substitute for other, equally debilitating,
distractions. Finally, because we measure a local average treatment
effect, it could be that cell phones are dangerous for certain drivers
or driving conditions, and are countervailingly beneficial for
others."
The report concludes with a suggestion for further research into
driver mobile phone use, including the influence of mobile usage
across different drivers and in different driving conditions.
Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2011 15:36:38 -0800
From: Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Using your phone on the road could make you a safer driver: study
Message-ID: <4D322F86.1040009@thadlabs.com>
On 1/14/2011 2:59 PM, David Clayton wrote:
> http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-news/using-your-phone-on-the-road-could-make-you-a-safer-driver-study-20110114-19qfx.html
>
> Using your phone on the road could make you a safer driver: study
> Matt Campbell
> January 14, 2011 - 11:42AM
> [...]
Totally bogus and unscientific "study".
There is NO affirmation or confirmation the "mobile" cellphone users
were drivers and not passengers.
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2011 18:57:26 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Charlie Rose Talks to Verizon CEO Seidenberg
Message-ID: <p06240821c95693193194@[10.0.1.2]>
Charlie Rose Talks to Verizon CEO Seidenberg
Ivan Seidenberg discusses the complex courtship with Steve Jobs that
led to Verizon's adoption of the iPhone
By Charlie Rose
January 13, 2011
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_04/b4212032719210.htm
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2011 19:38:41 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Consumer Reports offers scathing critique on Verizon iPhone 4
Message-ID: <p06240824c95694527ad4@[10.0.1.2]>
Consumer Reports offers scathing critique on Verizon iPhone 4
By Daniel Eran Dilger
Published: 04:00 PM EST
While awarding Apple's iPhone 4 its highest ratings across the board
last summer, Consumer Reports is now warning users to wait, calling
it "middle aged" and doubting whether Verizon will offer the
unlimited data contracts it is said it would.
In a blog posting, Paul Reynolds and Mike Gikas write that the
Verizon iPhone 4 is "promising, but likely to be short-lived," saying
that "it may be quickly replaced by a newer, cooler version more
quickly than is customary even for the die-young life expectancy of
most smart phones."
...
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/11/01/14/consumer_reports_offers_scathing_critique_on_verizon_iphone_4.html
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2011 19:01:13 -0500
From: tlvp <tPlOvUpBErLeLsEs@hotmail.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Very interesting product
Message-ID: <op.vpbo0bunitl47o@acer250.gateway.2wire.net>
On Fri, 14 Jan 2011 09:52:54 -0500, John Mayson <john@mayson.us> wrote:
> On Thu, Jan 13, 2011 at 8:04 PM, tlvp <tPlOvUpBErLeLsEs@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> On Thu, 13 Jan 2011 00:14:48 -0500, John Mayson <john@mayson.us> wrote:
>
>>> What's the best way to determine this? � Frankly I don't know and
>>> th is has got to be the most poorly documented device I have ever
>>> used.
>>
>> Whose network SIM are you using, and in which country?
>
> I'm in the US and I used both a T-Mobile and at AT&T SIM. In both
> cases I had phone, SMS, and data. I did not try to determine data
> speeds, I was just more curious if they worked at all.
In either case they will work "at all" because the connection will
fall back to an EDGE -- or even a GPRS -- connection. GPRS is a hair
faster than old 56 Kb/s dial-up was; EDGE is a hair faster than slowest
available DSL (768 Kb/s). Full-speed HSDPA connections can easily exceed
3 Mb/s DSL speeds, depending on the carrier and your equipment.
> I'm taking this to Malaysia soon where I have a Maxis/Hotlink SIM.
> I'll let you know how it works.
It should work. Try a speedtest site once there, if you're curious.
If you're fast enough to be doing HSDPA, your device is using the
1900 MHz at&t HSDPA spectrum :-) . And bon voyage!
Cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP
Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2011 16:21:57 -0600
From: John Mayson <john@mayson.us>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Very interesting product
Message-ID: <AANLkTi=2q9qA5FeJe0QoNuct+Joxx5hspEL=bU62u+PC@mail.gmail.com>
On Fri, Jan 14, 2011 at 6:01 PM, tlvp <tPlOvUpBErLeLsEs@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> In either case they will work "at all" because the connection will
> fall back to an EDGE -- or even a GPRS -- connection. GPRS is a hair
> faster than old 56 Kb/s dial-up was; EDGE is a hair faster than slowest
> available DSL (768 Kb/s). Full-speed HSDPA connections can easily exceed
> 3 Mb/s DSL speeds, depending on the carrier and your equipment.
AT&T = 3G
T-Mobile = EDGE
>> I'm taking this to Malaysia soon where I have a Maxis/Hotlink SIM.
>> I'll let you know how it works.
>
> It should work. Try a speedtest site once there, if you're curious.
> If you're fast enough to be doing HSDPA, your device is using the
> 1900 MHz at&t HSDPA spectrum :-) . And bon voyage!
I'll be there in about a month. Look for my post then. :-)
--
John Mayson <john@mayson.us>
Austin, Texas, USA
Date: 15 Jan 2011 21:17:02 GMT
From: Steve Kostecke <steve@kostecke.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: With Verizon on the Horizon, iPhone Users Weigh Leaving AT&T - but there's a Catch
Message-ID: <slrnij43me.6rk.steve@stasis.kostecke.net>
On 2011-01-09, Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> wrote:
> Most notably, Verizon customers aren't able to surf the Web or
> exchange email while they're talking on their phone.
I've had no problem using my Droid's browser during a phone
call (on Verizon).
--
Steve Kostecke <steve@kostecke.net>
Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2011 16:33:31 -0600
From: John Mayson <john@mayson.us>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: With Verizon on the Horizon, iPhone Users Weigh Leaving AT&T - but there's a Catch
Message-ID: <AANLkTi=AwG65X5GRitqic2FimvpgM93o23AC58cRrmP8@mail.gmail.com>
On Sat, Jan 15, 2011 at 3:17 PM, Steve Kostecke <steve@kostecke.net> wrote:
> On 2011-01-09, Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> wrote:
>
>> Most notably, Verizon customers aren't able to surf the Web or
>> exchange email while they're talking on their phone.
>
> I've had no problem using my Droid's browser during a phone
> call (on Verizon).
This one has me confused. I've heard and read:
A. VZW decided not to allow voice and data simultaneously to protect
their network.
B. It's a limitation of the technology.
I tend not to believe A since, IIRC, voice and data operate on
different frequencies.
You're not the first VZW customer I've heard from who say they can
talk and use data simultaneously making me think it is a technology
limitation, but a limitation that is being slowly rolled away as VZW
upgrades their infrastructure.
John
--
John Mayson <john@mayson.us>
Austin, Texas, USA
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2011 19:38:41 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: SmartMoney: Hello iPhone, Goodbye Upgrades
Message-ID: <p06240822c95693f36480@[10.0.1.2]>
SmartMoney: Hello iPhone, Goodbye Upgrades
by Kelli B. Grant & Jonnelle Marte
January 13, 2011
You'd have to be living in a cave to have missed the big Tuesday news
that the iPhone is finally coming to Verizon. But what the company
didn't announce yesterday may turn out to be more important to
subscribers: A change in the company's upgrade policies that will
make phones more expensive for current and future Verizon customers.
Verizon officials have confirmed what SmartMoney was told by Verizon
sales reps at a number of stores around the country: The company is
ending its popular "New Every Two" program, which offers Verizon
subscribers a credit of $30 to $100 toward a new phone every two
years. As of Jan. 16, the company will stop offering the credit to
new customers and won't re-enroll current customers in the program
after their next New Every Two upgrade. The cell carrier is also
putting the brakes on its permissive early upgrade policy, store
representatives confirmed. ( See video explaining the policy change. )
...
http://www.smartmoney.com/spending/technology/verizon-ends-new-every-two-and-early-upgrades-1294852427732/
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2011 19:38:41 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Apple, Verizon Took Years to Clear IPhone Differences
Message-ID: <p06240825c956947883b9@[10.0.1.2]>
Apple, Verizon Took Years to Clear IPhone Differences
By Adam Satariano and Peter Burrows
Bloomberg
January 12, 2011
Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Verizon Communications Inc. President Lowell
McAdam works a few miles from the New York auditorium where he
announced yesterday's deal to offer Apple Inc.'s iPhone. It took him
four years to get there.
The press conference at Lincoln Center marked the end of haggling
over branding and revenue sharing between the two companies, as well
as efforts to ensure reliability. McAdam and Apple Chief Operating
Officer Tim Cook came to terms last year, setting the stage for
Verizon to offer the iPhone on Feb. 10.
The companies' detente underscores Verizon's desire to offer one of
the best-selling smartphones, even if it means ceding more control
than usual. Apple, meanwhile, gains access to the largest U.S.
wireless carrier. That may help maintain its ballooning sales growth
and stave off competition from Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. and
Samsung Electronics Co., which use Google Inc.'s Android operating
system.
"We said over the last three or four years that the business
interests would come together -- and they did," McAdam, who is in
line to be Verizon's chief executive officer, said in an interview.
Since reaching their agreement last year, the companies have been
testing a version of the handset that will work with Verizon's code
division multiple access, or CDMA, technology, McAdam said. AT&T
Inc., the iPhone's exclusive U.S. carrier since the device debuted in
2007, uses a different system.
...
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-01-12/apple-verizon-took-years-to-clear-iphone-differences.html
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2011 19:38:41 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: My Taxes? I Filed by Phone
Message-ID: <p0624082fc9569cb17130@[10.0.1.2]>
My Taxes? I Filed by Phone
By VERNE G. KOPYTOFF
January 14, 2011
SAN FRANCISCO - Few chores are as unpleasant as doing taxes. But
filers can avoid some of the drudgery by turning it over to their
mobile phones.
Intuit, the company that makes TurboTax software, introduced an
application on Friday that lets users automatically fill out the
1040EZ, the most basic of the I.R.S. personal tax forms. Filers
simply photograph their W-2 and the app does much of the rest.
Intuit's SnapTax app, available for the iPhone and Android phones,
relies on image-recognition technology to read salary and withholding
information from the W-2. Users answer a few questions and review
their return for accuracy before submitting it electronically by
tapping a File Now button.
Intuit charges $15 for each filing through the app, and it says that
completing a return can take as little as 15 minutes.
The app is intended for consumers who are increasingly using their
mobile phones for everything, including shopping and banking online.
Taxes are just the next step, although it may take some getting used
to for people who are accustomed to preparing their returns with a
pencil and calculator or on a desktop computer.
...
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/15/technology/personaltech/15phone.html
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End of The Telecom Digest (11 messages)
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