A data breach at a little-known entity that affected companies from J.P. Morgan ChaseJPM -0.02% & Co. to TiVo Inc. TIVO -2.79% is shining a light on the outsourcing of email marketing campaigns, a practice that has grown steadily over the past decade as consumers become less responsive to commercial pitches.
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The mobile providers’ device lineups are ever-changing, and the forces that create the dynamics are difficult to understand. Six month ago, when the Google Nexus One was announced along with T-Mobile as the initial service provider, this subsidiary of the German Telekom appeared to be on the cutting edge of the promising Android market and its growing threat to Apple’s dominance.
Today, a visit of T-Mobile’s website in an attempt to upgrade to anything remotely attractive that runs Android results in utter disappointment. The Garminfone is the latest addition, but hardly attractive with its comparatively small screen (320×480), outdated OS version (1.6), inferior processing power (600mHz), and unknown upgrade options (the device is provider-locked, after all). It comes with a car mount and charger. Maybe this phone appeals to a niche market of GPS aficionados, but to general Android customers it does not – at least not at $200 and a 2-year contract.
Everything else I see on the site is even less attractive. There are the MyTouch and Cliq, and yes, the G1 is still for sale as well. No thanks, is all I can say.
It looks that as of today (June 2010), if you are an existing T-Mobile customer wishing to upgrade to a modern Android device, your best bet is still to purchase a Nexus One from Google without a contract – the same situation that we had back in January. What has changed is that competitors today have better hardware that they sell directly. Stories like this one sound too good to be true – if T-Mobile has plans to add subsidized Android devices to their line-up, why don’t they share these plans so that customer can factor this into their purchase decision. If you don’t want to shell out $500+ for a phone without a contract and don’t mind signing up for a 2 year contract, Verizon’s new Droid Incredible sure looks like a worthy reason to switch (this still is a CDMA phone, however, since Verizon does not have a GSM network – which means that you can’t use the phone while travelling abroad).
Update: I was researching this because my wife needed a new phone. I ended up bying a practically new T-Mobile MyTouch Slide 3G on eBay, for close to $400. While it is not a bad phone, it cannot compete with the Nexus One.
I upgraded my FIOS service at home from 5/1 Mbps to 25/25 Mbps for almost the same cost ($10 more). This was a while ago, but for the first time today I actually measured transfer rates close to the nominal speed.
I am not using the ActionTec router, but a Netgate M1n1wall running pfSense that is directly connected to the Ethernet cable from the .
Time has come to replace my T-Mobile Shadow. I am no longer under contract, and the phone is no longer cutting-edge technology. My wife needs a new phone as well. The Verizon Droid has been creating some buzz for a while, so I started looking into what I’d be able to get for my money right now. It did not take long for me to decide against a switch to Verizon, for a couple of reasons:
There is of course the option of importing the GSM version of the Droid, which is sold in Europe and a handful of devices are on sale on ebay right now. I could pop in my T-Mobile SIM and use one in the US today, but there are some concerns about that, too:
For a separate set of reasons, I do not want to join the herd of iPhone users:
It seems that the Google Nexus One will address both of these issues. It will be a GSM phone that allows me to roam or use a SIM card from a local or pre-paid provider while travelling, and it will work with both US and European G3 networks. It seems that no other Android 2 phone & provider combination will do that in the forseeable future. This is why I decided to wait. Never mind multi-touch or other marginal features – first and foremost I need a phone that I can connect with.
There are many unanswered questions, such as whether I can keep my family plan, or whether it will support S/Mime signed emails. The most recent rumors seem to suggest that the Nexus One will not be available for phone upgrades to existing plans. If this is the case, buying one without a contract from Google at full price may actually be a better idea than abandoning an existing plan. Do your math, because the saving over 2 years may be greater than the upfront premium.
