tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17500930.post6172274499050878917..comments2024-03-20T22:57:03.923+00:00Comments on Dean Bubley's Disruptive Wireless: Massmarket PC-based VoIPo3GDean Bubleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05719150957239368264noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17500930.post-4025714379155565872008-10-29T08:10:00.000+00:002008-10-29T08:10:00.000+00:00Hi David1) Starbucks in the UK is still tightly af...Hi David<BR/><BR/>1) Starbucks in the UK is still tightly affiliated to T-Mobile. Like almost all UK hotspot providers, it is extremely expensive and clunky for one-off access. It's £5 for an hour!!<BR/>http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/services/mobile-internet/hotspot/costs/ <BR/>(*Nobody* in the UK buys hotspot subscriptions)<BR/>It's also a pain entering long hexadecimal login passwords.<BR/>Conversely, both 3 and T-Mobile offer simple prepay and contract 3G dongles, starting at £10 a month.<BR/><BR/>I now use my 3 dongle instead of (paid) WiFi in the UK. But if there's free WiFi (eg at a hotel), I'll always use that out of preference as it's always faster, lower power consumption & more reliable.<BR/><BR/>2) There are many, many, reasons why nobody ever uses videotelephony on a 3G phone. Some of the main ones are:<BR/>- Cost (especially for an international call)<BR/>- Small screen with poor picture & frame rate<BR/>- Ergonomics - much easier to put a PC on the table in front of you, rather than holding a phone at arm's length for an hour.<BR/>- Multiple windows at the same time<BR/>- Better user interface<BR/>- Presence & chat windows also on screen<BR/>- Power consumption<BR/>- Needs the other person to have a 3G phone as well (and at maybe 25% global penentration the chance of any 2 people both having it is 6%)<BR/>- Ability to run a browser simultaneously so you can discuss web stuff (or other applications)<BR/>- Skype user experience is very good<BR/>- You can't accept inbound video calls on your phone if you're walking, driving, or wearing a bluetooth headset<BR/>- Probably another 10+ reasons!<BR/><BR/>Put together, these certainly mean that PC-based videocalling will always be much more important than phone-based options.Dean Bubleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05719150957239368264noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17500930.post-80224243250043348012008-10-29T07:55:00.000+00:002008-10-29T07:55:00.000+00:00Dean Always helpful to refer to "real users" in ou...Dean <BR/><BR/>Always helpful to refer to "real users" in our industry - we can often get carried away with the technical possibilities of our marvelous new gadgets!<BR/><BR/>Two observations regarding "She's on Skype, with a headset, doing a video call" (using 3G HSPA dongle from 3).<BR/><BR/>1) Why use a 3G dongle when Starbucks is renowned for its public WiFi service? Has mobile broadband already replaced public WiFi as the broadband connection of choice when out and about? Personally I think so, and its partly due to the ease of use (1 subscription, just works anywhere, attractive flat rate pricing).<BR/><BR/>2) Why use a netbook for videoconf instead of a 3G mobile? I know many people with video-call capable 3G handsets, including myself. I've never seen anyone use the feature, except for curiosity. This could be because video calling benefits from sitting down/stationary with a reasonable sized screen (so ideal netbook/laptop application). It could also be that Skype and other free over-the-top services connect easily and directly with PC's at home. And almost certainly because the cost is unknown and/or expensive - especially for international calls. Its hard to charge for "calling applications" (like video calling) in addition to the bit transfer.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com