Wireless

A class-action suit against the long-running practice of Canadian mobile operators to charge unadvertised additional fees has just been certified by a judge in Saskatchewan.

Any Canadians that would like to join the class action can do so here. (Roland, that means you!)

Here is Michael Geist (Canada's answer to Lawrence Lessig) on System Access Fees:

"Emboldened by limited competition, [Canadian] providers have not hesitated to pad their prices by adding the deceptive "system access fee." Contrary to popular belief, the fee, which adds nearly $100 per year to every wireless phone bill (MTS Mobility in Manitoba just increased its system access fee to $107.40 per year), is not a government-mandated charge but rather a slick method of camouflaging higher prices."

Jeff

I'm all for fighting poverty, promoting modernization, and improving the human condition, but is this really getting to the root of the problem? UN plans to fight poverty with wireless. Since when is putting 2G data in someone's hand the answer to hunger, disease, and political strife? I'm thinking the UN's latest efforts aren't going to solve the world's problems, but I hope these people get a good version of Snakes.

Chris
EQO Customer Evangelist

"To see what is right in front of one's nose needs a constant struggle."
- George Orwell

Sometimes it's helpful to point out the obvious, to take stock of where we are.

The wired Internet is the real Internet. Geographic boundaries for nearly all purposes are irrelevant.

The wireless Internet is the Internet stillborn. Geographic boundaries are very real and impact everything you do. It is a 1960s long distance plan, only for data.

• Want to use the Internet on the mobile device you carry daily while traveling? Better watch out, outrageous bills ahead.
• Want to connect while traveling, via another provider with a prepaid SIM? Hope you understand APN settings. Hope you don't run into an especially restrictive carrier proxy that doesn't like your favorite application.
• Want to develop an application for phones that anyone can use, anywhere? Hope you've got the resources (like EQO does) to work around a multitude of deficiencies and roadblocks of the access networks, both incidental and intentional.

Like other wireless users, I want to use cutting-edge, revolutionary apps and services on my phone. There are a few out there... but there could be so many more.

The Internet is not a thing - it is an agreement. 3G will not bring the internet to your phone. Only a new system of agreements will.

The wireless Internet is broken - it is the internet 15 years behind the real Internet. In fact in the absence of the agreements that make the Internet work, it is not the Internet at all.

Jeff

Yesterday, Colin Quon, founder of EQO and big cheese, suggested that I give Skype for Pocket PC a try, just to check it out.  Well, check it out I did and I was pretty impressed with the app. 

The devices in my test set were a Dell Axim X50v, an iPaq HX2400 series, and a Motorola MPx.  I put Skype on all three devices by first downloading to my laptop then using Microsoft ActiveSync to upload via USB, no problems there.  Each device was connected via 802.11b to our office network with the router about three meters away, or for those of you still subscribing to the Imperial System, a bit more than three times the distance between the nose and thumb of King Henry I.

The Dell was the most satisfying to use, but I will say that the Motorola MPx is the coolest flip phone I’ve had the luxury of playing with; it flips two ways!  After flipping the MPx for a good ten minutes, giggling all the while, I gave Skype for Pocket PC a go first on this crazy fun Motorola.  Because the MPx processor speed is only 200MHz, I had to download Skype for slow Pocket PC’s; note that Skype recommends at least 312MHz.  Much to no one’s surprise, calls didn’t go so well on this sexy beast of a Smartphone.  There were problems with calls not being connected at all and voice was typically one way, garbled, and with noticeable echo.

I next tried the iPaq HX2400 series, which had a 520MHz processor.  I gave Skype Chat a go on this one and it worked seamlessly, as it did on all three PDA’s, not irritating to use at all.  My trial did not last very long as the iPaq kept dropping its wifi connection despite being only three King Henry I nose-thumb lengths away from the access point, very annoying.  I gave up pretty quick and was not able to put Skype through its paces. 

Last up, I gave Skype a whirl on the Dell Axim X50v, 620MHz processor, and was suitably impressed.  I was able to make Skype to Skype and Skype to SkypeOut calls with impeccable voice quality.  When I set the Axim’s processor to Power-Saving mode, voice quality suffered drastically, but all was well when set to Normal or Maximum Performance modes.  The only drawback I found when using Skype for Pocket PC on this handy Dell was that power consumption was rather drastic.  The online specs for the X50v dictate a maximum battery life of 8 hours, normal battery life of 4 hours, and battery life under heavy usage of just over 2 hours.  Well, with the backlight on, wifi pumping, and processor crunching audio input/output I was seeing the battery go down 1% per minute, thirsty.

All in all, Skype for Pocket PC was cool to use on the Dell Axim, pretty much like regular Skype.  I can see others with widespread wifi access who don’t mind only an hour or two of battery life feeling the same way.

As of this morning we've just released an update to the EQO Beta that allows for both Skype™ calling *and* Instant Messaging from your mobile phone. This is an exciting feature that will definitely get the community excited.

Our dev and test teams, after pulling an all-nighter (thanks team!), are presently napping. We're quite ready for the deluge and it's exciting to see all the interest that this feature has garnered. We've also expanded handset support to more than 40 phones!

The EQO Mobile Internet Phone Service for Skype™ is a J2ME-based application that rides on your mobile phone handset and lets you use GPRS to make and receive calls and instant messages on your phone, and track the status of your Skype™ buddies in realtime.

We think this is a cool service and we're proud to keep bringing you improvements.

Thanks also to our thousands of Alpha and Beta testers who are also helping to improve our software immeasurably through your enthusiastic and supportive feedback.

-Ian.

PS - We've received some great early coverage from conversations with Rhonda Ascierto, Om Malik, and Bill machrone.

I have been posting on the forum and listening to comments from our community members in the few weeks since EQO launched.  In response to reactions coming from the forum we at EQO have been working hard on new features and support for more phones (EQO for Mac, Motorola, Blackberry, and Palm Treo coming in the next month or two!).  We have already added support for many more countries and carriers as per the requests of many.  Like I said in my last post, we really pay attention to what is being said in the forums so feel free to give us a piece of your mind.

Chris
EQO Customer Evangelist

Bill Tam, CEO of EQO, was on the CBC the other day talking about EQO (audio here).. It's a good demonstration of the notion that, for the uninitiated, VoIP is a dirty word. It's not that it isn't a powerful technology, but the stay-at-homes and most of the rest of us have been conditioned to think of the dangers of the misdirected 911 call when we hear the word "VoIP". In many respects this is because the industry didn't do a good job of containing these fears at the onset (blame Vonage). After all, the mobile carriers have never done a very good job at handling 911 location data, still don't, and regulators haven't exactly held their feet to the fire.

One of the great things about EQO is that it doesn't matter whether or not we use VoIP. In keeping people connected to online communities, we'd use string and plastic cups if it was most appropriate. If this industry is to surmount this kind of attack (hint: it comes when we say "cheap long distance" or "VoIP") then we need to sell based on features... things that improve how people communicate. EQO is doing that but the mainstream media don't always pick up on that because it's more interesting to them to report on the evil defilers of E911 data.