The Mobile Perspective

We Need a MiFi With A Built In Wireless Router

Jeb Brilliant — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:33:21 +0000

I was just reading about a new miniature Femtocell and was thinking, you know what would be really great, a Femtocell built into a MiFi along with a traditional wireless router. I have found myself more then once in a nice hotel that thought they were doing me a favor offering free internet if I plug in but then charge me for wifi. Over the years of travel I’ve done I’ve learned to always bring an ethernet cable with. It takes up space but if I need a faster internet connection then the hotel is offering with their wifi or if it’s outrageously expensive, I just connect via my cable. It’s only been necessary a few times but without it I would have been sunk.I’ve been thinking about getting a MiFi after all these years. I’m usually content with just using the hotspot app on my phones but I get the feeling the MiFi might be faster. Plus I’m tiered of carrying a phone just for wifi. I’ve also been known to carry a wifi router with me every so often if I really don’t know what kind of situation I’ll be in. It’s nice in theory but gets bulky, even my smallest router. I’ve considered getting an Airport Express but I’d be much happier with a MiFi that was an all in one device.

Novatell I’m charging you with the responsibility of building me a GREAT MiFi with a built in wireless router.

Would you buy it? I know I would, especially if it had CDMA, GSM along with LTE built in. That would be a dream device. Oh and Novatell please keep it small, like no larger then a standard MiFi. Thanks guys and Looking forward to what you have coming down the pipeline.

PS: I got the AT&T Elevate 4G a few weeks ago to review and it’s been phenomenal. It’s come in enormously handy and is super fast. I just wish I could plug ethernet into it and it would act as a wireless router.

Stores Need To Allow Mobile Self Checkout

Jeb Brilliant — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:33:38 +0000

With this onslaught of mobile technology taking over and being the hot thing in tech (at least in my world) it’s clear that mobile money and transactions must take off. I just bought a gift card from a hair stylest (for my wife) today and he used a Square to charge my credit card. This is one aspect of mobile money. But today I’m thinking about another form of transactions. I’m thinking it would be great to have self checkout at grocery stores (and any other stores for that matter) that are done via the mobile phone. I’m not talking about NFC, but something entirely different that I haven’t read about previously. Imagine walking through Vons (a US chain grocery store) and scanning the bar code on the cereal you’re buying. Imagine picking up your milk and scanning the bar code to add it to your “shopping cart”. Do the rest of your shopping the same way, scanning the bar codes as you go. When you pick up your produce you just scan the bar code on the price tag on the shelf.

Another option is to have checkout area’s where there could be more supervision and employees to assist customers if it is necessary.

This would cut your time out standing in line plus you might have to the download Vons app that would deliver your coupons and weekly ad. This would be more secure by not having to take out your credit card and hand it to someone random you’ve never seen before. You’re also not needing to take your wallet or purse with you. By the way, you won’t be able to use the payment part of the app with out activating it and putting in your pass code so even if your phone is lost you’re credit card won’t be compromised unlike if you lose your wallet.

If any company is already doing this or something similar please reach out to me, I’d be delighted to talk with you and see what you’re working on.

AT&T Elevate 4G Mobile Hotspot Review

Jeb Brilliant — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:17:08 +0000

I’ve had the AT&T Elevate 4G for about a week now and it’s been nothing less then magnificent. I got it last week at CES and used it on my way home to download some music and podcasts onto my iPhone. Then the night I got home the internet in my house went down and instead of calling my ISP to harass them I just showed off the Elevate to my wife and we used it’s 4G LTE the rest of the night. My wife watched a TV show on the iPad and I was working in the browser of my computer. Not 1 hiccup in the video streaming and I had no issues working.

The single best experience was while driving to pick up my kids, my wife was able to use the iPad in the car and look at a restaurants’ menu we wanted to order from that night. I didn’t have to fiddle with an Android phone to turn it into a hotspot, I didn’t have to turn on a Nokia to use another service, the Elevate 4G was almost instant on, then the iPad was online.

It has industrial rugged design being rubberized on both ends and the bottom. The screen on top shows very basic info, strangely enough though the device can receive SMS but I have to go online to retrieve them. It’s made by Sierra Wireless who have been making these for many years now.

Almost forgot to mention I got over 20mbps down and 7mbps up sitting in my office. In case you don’t know and I know many people don’t, that’s FAST for a mobile device.

All in all I’ve loved this device. It’s a winner if you’re looking for a fast wireless mobile hotspot.

Vimeo and Vlingo From Pepcom at CES ’12 in Las Vegas

Jeb Brilliant — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:58:59 +0000

Pepcom also known as Mobile Focus was held Monday before CES opened. It was the biggest I’ve ever seen it and I was a bit overwhelmed by the magnitude of it. It was like a little trade show unto itself. Anyways, I was able to snag Vlingo’s CEO Dave Grannan for a quick video. Come to find out they’re making Vlingo for TV’s. And what I heard blew me away. I can’t write most of it just yet but Vlingo is doing well, very well.

I was also able to chat with Vimeo’s crack web developer Joe Schmitt who showed off their new video editor for the iPad. I can’t tell you how excited I am about this and it might just make it possible for me to bring only my iPad to trade shows now. Take a look at what Joe had to say.

AT&T 4G LTE Goes Live In 11 More Cities

Jeb Brilliant — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:50:58 +0000

Great news for AT&T customers. I got a press release yesterday announcing 4G LTE going live in 11 new cities including New York City metro area, Austin, Chapel Hill, Los Angeles, Oakland, Orlando, Phoenix, Raleigh, San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose. It’s already been live in Athens, Atlanta, Baltimore,Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C.

I’ll be testing it out thanks to AT&T (and @CSWMer) in Las Vegas next week on the LG Nitro HD. I’ll report back with a review of the phone and let you know how it does at CES. As of yesterday when I did a speed test with the Nitro it got 15mbps down and 5mbps up. I don’t call that blazing in general but it’s nice and fast for a phone. I’ve been able to stream cartoons for my kids on it and conduct a few Skype calls as well, so in my book it works well.

Android Needs To Have A Vanilla Option For All Handsets

Jeb Brilliant — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:32:09 +0000

Android is getting a bad name in terms of fragmentation. It really is if I’m getting asked about it by my non mobile/non tech friends and I am, every weekend when I see them let alone the parents at my daughters school asking me about it. Android is just getting slammed. people know what they are getting when they buy an iPhone or BlackBerry but each Android handset manufacturer typically produces their own flavor of Android and this is where the problem lies.

I won’t make this a long wordy post, I’ll just suggest that the phones should be made compatible with the newest version of Android and are future proof for at least a year, preferably 2. So any new HTC devices comes with Sense UI (they’re flavor or skin for the UI) but is open to have vanilla Android installed on it. No problems, no issues and no boot loader BS. It needs to be part of the licensing rules/regulations to use Android. Nothing complex, just make your phones OPEN to this kind of thing. Maybe even

It would be a huge selling point for many people I talk to. HTC could advertise this as a feature of the phone, just like a camera or a qwerty keyboard, it’s part of what should be included in the specs for every Android device

BlackBerry Bold 9900 Unboxing

Jeb Brilliant — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 23:21:45 +0000

Here’s a quick unedited unboxing of the BlackBerry Bold 9900 by AT&T. It’s rough, I didn’t get a chance to edit it but enjoy my Spielberg level video.

I have to say, I know a lot of people are down on BlackBerry these days but this is a great device. It’s slick, responsive and incredible to look at. The battery lasts for at least 2 days and the keyboard is a pleasure to use. I’m truly suprised at the level of responsiveness of the touchscreen as well. If you’re traveling internationally I highly suggest using a BlackBerry to keep your data consumption down to a minimum.

My only single gripe at this point is that Google and BB have not yet been able to get the read/unread status of your email in order. No matter what I do I can’t get the bloody email to sync its status.

Anyways, if you’re considering getting a BlackBerry I recommend this one. Go get it.

PR Firms Are Building Armies

Jeb Brilliant — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 04:02:13 +0000

I’ve been noticing over the last few years that the more successful PR firms in terms of getting bloggers to write about whatever their clients do are doing 1 specific thing. They are all creating relationships with bloggers that aren’t about the product. They aren’t only building on “look at this phone or that phone and write about it”. The most successful firms can change phone companies they’re working with and stay successful because they are building their relationships with the blogger about things besides a phone.

The 2 most successful firms in this field are both huge multi national companies. One has a thousand heads all doing the same, making the blogger feel important, flying them all over the world for all different kinds of adventures. The other firm is a huge spark of fresh air, they throw intimate catered parties at some of the nicest locations near by trade shows. The parties are fun because the bloggers get to hang with their peers who they may only see a few times a year at these shows, but rarely see any branding or products from the PR firm at the party.

These 2 firms as I’m sure many others really seem to get the human factor. They seem to be building armies of bloggers willing to do the bidding of the firm. I’m wondering when they may ask for a favor but in all honesty, I’m willing to write about their clients in my field if they ask me to. For example if they specifically ask me to cover some news of their client on a certain day, I’m in. They’ve made friends with me and I’d like to think vice versa.

So bravo to the 2 unmentioned companies and the rest that are doing in right. The ones that aren’t need to step into the new world and get on board the “building an army of bloggers” train. If you’re one of the latter, feel free to ask me for some input, but that’s not what this post was for. I’ve been meaning to write it for ages, so yes it’s dated but it’s still very pertinent to some firms that just aren’t there yet.

Sadly I Need An Alarm System For My Home

Jeb Brilliant — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:03:56 +0000

So last night I pulled into my driveway after a nice birthday dinner for my mother in law to find someone waiting by their car with a shattered window and 1 less purse then she started with when she pulled up infront of my house. This is very disturbing by itself but even more upsetting because last week cat burglers attempted to break into a house 2 doors down from mine. I’m horrified because this is a very quite and calm neighborhood. The only time we ever see police on my street is when one of my elderly neighbors passes away at home. We’ve never seen anything like this crime spree in the 7 years I’ve lived here.

I’ve been looking at alarm systems but don’t know what to get. I want something simple because I’m concerned my wife, kids or I will set it off to often if it’s to complex. I’d also like something hightech. Wireless so I don’t have to go into my attic or under the house is preferable. I was thinking motion detectors but then my family isn’t protected at night if someone comes in and the system isn’t activated. I don’t feel like it needs to call the police, I’m convinced if a loud ear piercing siren goes off it will scare the criminals away. But I’d love for it to connect to my wifi and send me an sms or email if the alarm is sounded.

So I want something wireless, techy, with keychain activation and probably a keypad near the door. I also need it to protect my family at night when they could get up and move around so motion detectors in the house would be useless, so I guess window magnets it is.

What do you all have to say? What is your best economical but still VERY safe for my family system out there? I don’t want to spend a ton but money doesn’t matter if my family is in danger. Thoughts? Advice? This is all new to me so I’m open to hear it all. Thanks everyone.

AT&T Seems To Be “Faster” And “Better”

Jeb Brilliant — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:04:39 +0000

I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I feel like AT&T service for all their niggles has gotten faster and more reliable. I was thinking about this just last week. I drove by a street corner where I used to drop calls most of the time but guess what, no dropped call. I was at dinner the other night and my 2 daughters finished before my wife and I did so of course they were going bananas (they’re still young) and we didn’t bring any coloring books or toys in for them so I handed over my phone with a YouTube video playing and guess what, no stuttering or “Daddy it’s not working” because of a freeze. I was truly impressed. And I don’t say that often or easily about AT&T let alone any telco.

Then this morning I read a press release that came across my desk saying exactly what I noticed. ”More than 1,700 network improvements were completed in Los Angeles, many in the last few months.” Translation, more towers and better coverage/service. Also mentioned is the fact that there are 41% fewer dropped calls. Color me impressed!

It goes on saying “AT&T has added thousands of more lanes to its mobile super-highway.” That doesn’t give any solid numbers about internet speed or capacity but I’ve personally noticed a bump in service. I don’t even know if it’s faster speed or more lanes as AT&T says.

What ever this is I like it. They’re doing something right over there and doing it well I must say. It’s not all rosy for AT&T these days but that’s for another blog post and a private chat with corporate suits.

Keep up the good work AT&T!!!

Note: I couldn’t find the press release on line to link to sorry.