With the rumors running rampant on the Internet of 3G iPhones to be subsidized by AT&T for a final cost of $199 with a two-year contract, it seems that time is running out for supposed exclusive carrier for US iPhones. Signs seem to indicate that this rumor has substance. Apple’s reported recent deal with Italy’s Telecom Italia Mobile to sell the iPhone unlocked and with a lack of firmware updates from Apple here in the states to re-secure an easily hacked 1.1.4 release in February, one would presume Apple desires more sales than headaches.
Seeing the huge demand in China alone for hacked iPhones, Apple can no longer ignore the demand for the Super Phone it released nearly a year ago last June. If the Cupertino iCompany does indeed decide to sell an unlocked iPhone, then AT&T needs to find another way to lock in its customer base. It will have to do it the old fashion way by eating a loss on the phone hardware in exchange for two years of your life. At a 50% discount of the initial cost of the phone, this will surely spawn new sales to the phone as well as retain current iPhone users desiring the faster mobile data access and possibly other hardware upgrade goodies such as rumored GPS (which I say is most unlikely.)
With a lack of a large GSM pool in the States, there may be not a huge splurge in unlocked iPhone sales locally, but where GSM is king, such as Europe and China, Apple could make a killing on the next generation iPhone if it truly will be sold as an unlocked device. Apple stands to make a greater profit with this business plan than skimming a few dollars a month per AT&T customer as it is suggested it is doing currently. While Apple is nearly half way to Steve Jobs self-commissioned 10 million phones sold by the end of 2008, sales have sagged in the last few months. International sales are even lower. An unlocked phone will change all that and meet, if not exceed, that 10 million mark for sure.
D-Link, the end-to-end networking solutions provider for consumers and business, today unveiled a family of 3G mobile broadband wireless routers designed to make it even easier for on-the-go consumers, field technicians and mobile professionals to access and share an Internet connection virtually anywhere by blending Wi-Fi(tm) networking technology and a wireless broadband network.
The D-Link 3G Mobile Wireless Routers allow users to create a 802.11g/b-compatible wireless hotspot anywhere within range of a cellular network.
By plugging a compatible 3G notebook adapter into the D-Link 3G Mobile Router’s built-in card bus slot or a USB-enabled mobile phone, users can get immediate access to EV-DO, UMTS or HSDPA networks. The D-Link router can then share this signal via 802.11g/b Wi-Fi technology to notebooks, PCs or other Wi-Fi-enabled devices. The D-Link routers are available in two versions: the DIR-450 (EV-DO) and DIR-451 (UMTS/HSDPA).
“These routers are ideal in situations where a wired broadband connection, such as T1, cable or DSL, is not available,” said Brian Larsen, associate vice president of product development for D-Link Systems, Inc. “For instance, once users insert a notebook adapter into their D-Link 3G Wireless Mobile Router and create a wireless ‘hotspot’, they can then check their email, browse
the Web, access their company network and share information with colleagues in ‘virtual meetings’. This solution is significant to the market by enabling communications at temporary work sites such as construction or disaster areas, concerts and others.”
For security, both versions support wireless security features to prevent unauthorized access, including WEP, WPA and WPA2 that ensure a secure Wi-Fi network regardless of the connected devices. They also employ dual active firewalls (SPI and NAT) to prevent potential Internet attacks.
In the past few months, Verizon Wireless has been testing its high speed Internet 3G connection in California’s agriculture hot spot through wee hours of the evening. All that testing has paid off as Verizon Wireless has announced today that Central California wireless users can no enjoy high speed access from their phone or computer like nearly the rest of the state has been using for the last year. While I myself still see 1x on my phones display and I more than deep in the allotted area, I’m sure it’s due to the signal tower in my town. Hopefully that’ll be resolved soon!
Customers in Stockton and Modesto can now access the latest high-speed business and entertainment services on their wireless phones, laptop computers, and other wireless devices thanks to Verizon Wireless.
New capabilities come with the expansion of the company’s Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) network, enabling both its BroadbandAccess and V CAST services. Customers in Stockton and Modesto now have access to the same high-speed Verizon Wireless services launched earlier in the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California.
“Verizon Wireless is committed to expanding our high-speed data network across the nation and is proud to announce the launch in Stockton and Modesto,” said Rich Garwood, Northern California/Nevada regional president for Verizon Wireless. “These two communities continue to experience a high rate of growth as so many people make their homes in the area while commuting to jobs in Sacramento and the Bay Area, and vice versa. Now, customers who both live and travel through these areas have access to the true mobility of wireless data.”