Bjelovar: Apple iPhone 3GS, 32GB

Smudge. Smudge. Smudge.
''Hitting home button on the Globe.'' D.K.

Wayback - Web History- January 9th, 2007.

- Monday, 22.02.2010.
- two croissants and coffee
- day off
- early morning at the Hospital in Bjelovar ( optical review )
- coffee with N. at Carica
- crazy idea - T-Mobile Croatia shopping
- Filip's birthday
- got Avatar DVD
- afternoon nirvana
- white and red Marlboro
- Bjelovar City Center - parking lot
- faxing at the Post Office to VIPNET
- paying my bills at FINA


Songs:

John Mayer: Gravity




John Mayer: Waiting on the world to change



Quotes:

Every once in a while a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything. It's very fortunate if you can work on just one of these in your career. ... Apple's been very fortunate in that it's introduced a few of these.
Steve Jobs
The Apple CEO announcing introduction of the iPhone January 2007.

The iPhone is the most sophisticated, outlook-challenging piece of electronics to come along in years. It does so many things so well, and so pleasurably, that you tend to forgive its foibles.
David Pogue
The US technology writer as Apple's new iPhone hits US shelves June 2007.

Well, of course, I'm the wrong person to ask. I like to dial numbers with one hand, and maybe I'm the only one.
Bill Gates
Asked if he would buy an Apple iPhone.

Anyone privy to the release of the iPhone is going to hold on to their current device as long as they possibly can, all but Scotch taping their devices together so that they can crawl over the finish line and into the loving arms of a shiny new iPhone. (Oh, you know the box is gonna be sexy.)
John Mayer
The US singer, songwriter and guitarist, writing in his blog on 'Bring on theiPhone' just prior to its release.

I think there's almost a belligerence - people are frustrated with their manufactured environment. We tend to assume the problem is with us, and not with the products we're trying to use. In other words, when our tools are broken, we feel broken. And when somebody fixes one, we feel a tiny bit more whole.
Jonathan Ive
The British designer and Senior Vice President of Industrial design at Apple Computer speaking about the iPhone upon its introduction.

Yeah, you'll be the coolest person in the room when you pull one out and show it around, but that gets old fast when three other people have them and one person somehow has one that glows in the dark.
John C. Dvorak
The American columnist and broadcaster in article 'Rethinking the iPhone' in PC Magazine.

If there is something good in the world then we copy with pride.
Anssi Vanjoki
Nokia VP & General Manager of Multimedia on his company's plans to release new phone similar to iPhone in 2008.

Samsung i7500

Too late my darling came. Sing !

Samsung announced Android phone. i7500.
First look. As of yesterday , I got my new business phone Samsung SGH- J700V.

The phone will include all the smartphone essentials found on the G1, including Wi-Fi, GPS, HSDPA Internet and 8GB of internal storage – but like the HTC Magic, this model won’t have a QWERTY keyboard. It does get a healthy 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus, though, and room for up to another 32GB with a microSD card.

Bonus link
Android getting some steam
Video demo for i7500

iPhone era

A brick for the ''fast'', ''aware'' and ''social'' mobile Web with a better sales touch


Extremely wise choice by Apple for the release of 3G iPhone.

Apple 'Inc. will launch new iPhone 3G in Germany, the Netherlands and Austria July 11. It's in Europe ( T-Mobile empire ) , and what is best of all ; later this year, T-Mobile will start offering the phone to customers in Croatia ( my country ) , the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia ( Eastern Europe )

What does this tell us ? Where's global test bed for brave new mobile world ? Welcome to Eastern Europe.
Just as I preached here on Zec Online Journal blog for years hehehe. Thanks Steve, now I like you more ( before ).

Just a short note, iPhone is now indeed gaining first-mover advantage and with some smart and practical solutions ( Web as a platform, good carrier deals, solving music downloads, SMS services ) could be pervasive in the next few years just like iPod ( but needs to put more flavor to it ) . Nokia and Google won't give up.

''Giveaway'' is expected as well. Go to sleep ;)

USB stick modem for wireless internet access

Wifi hotspots are yesterday. 3G dongles are today. Affordable for consumers, not only businesses.

In essence, mobile lifestyle ( mobility ) is all about your mobile devices and connectivity . Right ?
Your phone, laptop or other gizmo makes true communication device when connected to a wider network.
Yet, it's not on cheap and it 's not much about convenience.

The business usually pay montly subs on 12 or 24 month contract and get PCMCIA card ( if they are not in mood to mess with WiFi , we have only few commercial hotspots in Croatia , but there's VIPNET's Mobile Connect modem only still too expensive ).

But 3G networks are reaching much more these days and perfect plug & play solution for connectivity seems to be USB dongle ready to access the Web without much intervention from the average user. No configuration at all.
I spotted this issue writing last year about Sony Ericsson's MD300.

Now, I've seen that Vodafone sells 3G dongle ( USB stick modem ) as well. The price of data and network bottlenecks are still important issues for widespread adoption.
Dean Bubley comment is right spot on:

'' Operators in the UK, Austria, South Africa, Portugal & others are definitely going after the consumer 3G dongle market.
Typical user is someone (student, recent immigrant etc) who doesn’t want a 12-24mo fixed-broadband contract at home, because either they share apartments, don’t have a current landline (which would cost £££ to get re-connected), move flat every 6 months or don’t yet have a local bank account / credit record.
Another segment is people who want a 2nd broadband line (maybe families, maybe young professionals).

While I do agree with most what Dean says, I think this type of connectivity is ideal for professionals on the move ( as a second broadband line ) and people without broadband connection in rural places.

The prices in Australia , for example, have dropped dramatically in the last year. AU$100 to AU$14.50 a month on a two year deal + free dongle.

When will those mobile data plans for laptops go hand in hand with mobile phone data plans ?

Cheap SkypePhone For The Massess

Just like ordinary mobile calls. Select a contact and call for free or cheap. Chitt- chat with allways-on friends

Mobile operator 3 and Skype got a winner.
SkypePhone as explained by Skypephone Journal.

This is finally deal that gives mobile VOIP in the hands of massess and at the same time resolving few important issues like making free or cheap calls on 3G mobile phones ( Not WiFi style, Steve please note ;), bringing easy-to-use interface,chat and IM into a mobile phone in a big way.

It seems it is selling really well.
Who would have thought few months ago it will sell like cakes? Look at the pics.

Skype is not a newcomer. It was already in mobile VOIP operations but this is really unique deal that will bring awareness to the possility of cheap/free calls on the 3G networks.
The visionary and brave mobile operatore 3 Three has made waves again.
The secret could be extremelly calibrated mobile offer for SkypePhone:

3 Skypephone offers:

• Free Skype-to-Skype calling worldwide, reducing or eliminating international long distance charges, provided your contact is also on Skype (on any platform)1

• Free Skype IM (presence and chat)

• Unlimited Internet browsing

provided you contract to purchase a monthly minimum of £12 of traditional voice and SMS text messaging services from Hutchison Whampoa's 3 Service. on an 18 month contract; the phone itself is then free. Alternatively you can purchase the Skypephone for £49.95 and do a minimum £10 monthly Pay-As-You-Go top up.

SkypeOut is leftout possible because they expect to ride on the network effect. How smart is that ? Very, indeed.

Imagine Steve Jobs choosed to start iPhone revolution in the partnership with Hutchinson 3 Three in Europe and then making pressure to the US shores ? He, he...Oh, yes, I know, iPhone wasn't supposed to be ''masss phone'', but it's intended to be internet-phone, no ?

So, Skype is a very much known internet brand ( very viral too ) and now combined with the most innovative mobile operator in the World ( remember they were first in the world introducing very brave flat rate models for 3G ) and with the little help of chinese manufacturing, they could be enjoying happy Christmas ;)
Skype Telecom. ''No- worry use'' and ''''select your contact and call.''

T-Mobile will have to do something with Jajah in the similar manner.

Low 3G capacity utilisation

Not dumb, but empty pipe

It’ll take a long time for the telecom ''pipes'' to be filled.
Short on incentives for a mass market.

3G Stimulation

Finns did it ! Again !

Change the law and adoption goes up.
That's how Finns did for 3G adoption. The results are:

- almost half (40%) already use 3G services and every fourth (25%) is considering their adoption

- the most wanted 3G services are email (60%), map and route services (49%), and Internet (40% )

- According to comparative questionnaire studies, the use of 3G has increased more than six-fold from the previous year's 6 per cent to 40 per cent. Currently, there are more than 700,000 3G phones in use in Finland. A year ago, the number was only 50,000.

- the most wanted were email (60%), map and route services (49%), and Internet (40%). Next most popular were the news (39%), bank (37%), weather (33%), search (27%), music (21%) and television (19%).

Japanese ''Terminals'' search for identity

Softbank's example and South-Korean innovation :)

I read over weekend NTT DoCoMo's Annual Report 2006. and familiarised myself more with Japanese mobile market. I am trying to put LG's Prada phone UI ( not Apple's ) inovation more into combined perspective .

I notice long ago that FOMA/mova handsets ( and those of other operators ) are not design's cutting edge but they are successful and selling well in Japan.
Above all , 3G usage penetration is almost 70 % in Japan and all that with handsets that are good-all clamshells and candybars.
Japan's market is by all means unique.

If we assume, there's wider shift in the user interface which will be supported by software (touchscreens and fluid/software Uis instead of buttons ) which will make easier using all these multimedia features and advanced mobile services ( payments, keys ), how will ''iphonish'' avantgarde concept make inroads into Japanese market ?
Is it relevant at all since usage of 3G service is not hampered by current generations of japanese handsets ?

I know there were some rumors about possible SoftBank's distribution of iPhone in Japan( SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son attended MacExpo in SF and Steve Jobs is his friend ) .
If true, whether that would have any sense since iPhone is not build and designed under control of mobile network operator and therefore hadn't had a chance to be adopted to operator's business goals ?

So, I am not talking about features of these future japanese handsets, but of design principle. Will they move building with their partners ( Sharp, Panasonic, Fujitsu ) those sort of touchscreen models with radical UI design proposition ?

I like Toronto Star's article and opinion from last January putting into perspective iPhone and more advanced mobile markets like japanese.