I am a Systems Administrator and have had many RIM devices over the past 9 years. I still carry a Blackberry for work (Bold 9700 on AT&T) and I recently purchased an iPhone for my personal use.
In response to AT&T complaining about their 3G bandwidth issues:
The AT&T juggernauts are saying that iPhone users on average use 5 times more data than Windows Mobile and Blackberry users. For the past 3 years the iPhone has set the bar in mobile communications. Every new phone that has come into the market has been questioned if it will be the next “iPhone Killer” a Phrase I’m sure we’re all tired of hearing. So why is it now acceptable to compare bandwidth usage to devices that were developed several years before the mainstream product in question? It’s not. We know this.
AT&T is missing the point. Users who have RIM and Windows Mobile devices don’t buy them for the multimedia experience. People buy these because they want instant and always on access to their office, their corporate lives, their business contacts, etc. There are also a glutton of BB users who use the PIN to PIN messaging, which is FREE, and take advantage of the industry’s best mobile phone keyboard. But no matter which way you look at it, the browsers on these devices absolutely terrible and really only used when they HAVE to be used. I don’t think I’ve ever used my blackberry for a recreational purpose. My iPhone however, gets used constantly for time killing, streaming music, (specifically twit.tv network podcasts and listening with the TWiT app) or reading some news. The user experience is high… so is the usage.
Give every driver in America a Smart ForTwo and I bet the average highway speed drops below 55. Give everyone in America a Porche 911 and I bet the average highway speed goes to 110.
AT&T is calling those of us that use 400 to 500mb of data per month “hogs”. This irritates me since I pay $40 dollars a month for 10mbit cable internet in my home and AT&T wants me to pay the same amount for half a gig of data, and then complain about it. I understand what unexpected bandwidth and usage can do to you and your network, I’m a systems admin for a large company, I know the pain.
Does it really cost AT&T 35 dollars a month to send me 500mb of data? I am almost ALWAYS connected to wifi anyway. I guess they should send me a Christmas card. Also, if they are going to expect users to more readily use wifi to offload the 3g network, then they need to figure out a way to make messages.app be able to send picture and video messages while connected.
