Diaries of a Nokia Fan Boy

Ok, so I’ve been a little lacking in the posting department lately, but I’m going to blame my job and life situation on that one…

For the update: AT&T is now comparing their speed with Verizon’s based on downloads, and is calling Verizon a sluggish, headless wanna-be. Not sure what to make of that, would be interesting to see real comparisons: same/similar devices, same time of day at thousands of locations, done by an impartial third party, and results including not only download rates but latency too. Maybe even show the average speeds across different classes of devices, not just super-fast smartphones.

-Nokia FanBoy

Ok, so it was going to happen sooner or later, and in fact there were indications of this previously, but that’s all besides the point now.

Telus, rather quickly after launching their HSDPA+ network, sued Rogers over their claims as being “Canada’s most reliable network.” Of course this all makes sense. First off, I should probably be referring to this as the Bell/Telus network, but that’s besides the point. So in my personal, and totally non-law-based, opinion I strongly believe that Telus has a case. I mean their network covers most of Canada – not sure how that compares with Rogers, should see sometime soon – their network is also just as fast as Rogers, that being 21 MBps.

Bottom line is that the judge sided with Telus on the matter, saying “the present network technology is at least equivalent between Rogers and Telus.”

But really the most entertaining part is going to be the commercials. It will be really entertaining if the gloves come off and we get the same thing going as AT&T and Verizon are doing in the states. Guess I should look into how the two networks compare, eh?

-Nokia FanBoy

via: Engadget Mobile (read)

And finally!
AT&T is at last beginning to play the game, instead of crying about it (which failed miserably by the way). AT&T recently released a couple ads describing why they are better than the opposition without actually pointing at anyone! A little nicer than Verizon since I believe this kind of behavior to further advancement as opposed to breaking down into a schoolyard fight using lawyers as ammunition and shielding.

-Nokia FanBoy

via: Engadget (read)

Well those of you in the South have probably been watching this a little more closely than myself, given that it doesn’t really affect me all that much. But none-the-less, this little battle is quite humorous.

A little while back Verizon started their ad campaign nicknamed “There’s a map for that”, obviously in order to counter AT&T’s iPhone “There’s an app for that” set of commercials. Combined with Verizon’s “DROID vs. iDon’t” commercials is putting quite a bit of pressure on AT&T, and finally AT&T couldn’t handle it anymore and threw a legal fit.

The idea behind the “There’s a map for that” commercials is to show just how spotty AT&T’s coverage really is. AT&T decided to sue Verizon, claiming that the map is giving an unfair representation of AT&T’s coverage because its not showing the extent of their EDGE network (on a 3G map!). The irony is that Verizon lifted the coverage map straight off of AT&T’s website.

Well the most humorous part is Verizon’s response to the lawsuit. I give you their introduction:

AT&T did not file this lawsuit because Verizon’s “There’s A Map For That” advertisements are untrue; AT&T sued because Verizon’s ads are true and the truth hurts.

Hang on a second, I thought lawsuits and lawyers were supposed to be civil!?! This just looks like a the-gloves-are-off marketing *****slap! (Pardon my French)

Of course this tells me one thing: Verizon planned the whole thing all along. And their timing could not be better – the holidays are right around the corner, they’re releasing their flagship phone, and both sets of ads are targeted directly at their biggest competitor: AT&T! I mean it looks like they released their “iDon’t” commercials just to annoy AT&T, maybe even point and laugh a little, but knowing full well that without them, AT&T may not have sued! And the response to the lawsuit just screams marketing department.

Anyway, you guys decide for yourself what you think of the whole debacle but one thing’s for sure: this is going to be a fun one.

-Nokia FanBoy

Verizon’s response (pdf)
via: Engadget (read)

[caption id="attachment_295" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Nokia"][/caption]So I was browsing the interwebs today and came up on a great article regarding the Nokia vs. Apple lawsuit, written by Engadget’s staff. The article looks at the validity of Nokia’s lawsuit, the potential consequences, as well as Apple’s next moves. I’m not going to summarize it here, but I will say the article was written with the expertise of a lawyer and paints a picture of Nokia that I am happy to stand behind.

Okay, that’s a lot to think about, but let’s just back up a second here and consider the big picture: this has nothing to do with Nokia’s handsets versus the iPhone in the marketplace, and everything to do with the fact that Nokia’s intellectual property is a critical part of making modern mobile phones work. The real questions are how much of that intellectual property is in the iPhone, and how much Apple’s willing to pay — and neither has a simple answer.

Make sure to read through the article as it outlines the lawsuit in great detail.

-Nokia FanBoy

via: Engadget (read)

Well this is rather interesting. I have always disliked the way Apple used the courtrooms to their advantage and was rather pleased at just how little court time Nokia puts other companies through. Now if Nokia sued a different company I would have been upset, however this being Apple I am torn – on the one hand I disapprove of suing just to get your way, to postpone the launch of a product, etc. but on the other hand, this is Apple we’re talking about, the company that seemingly sues left, right, and center.

The details of the lawsuit aren’t exactly open to the public as yet, however we do know that it is due to some patents regarding GSM, UMTS, and WiFi, among others I’m sure. Also, the cause of the lawsuit is, of course, Apple’s iPhone, and Nokia states that 10 patents have been infringed on.

A brief history: Nokia has an amazing patent portfolio, having invested well over EURO 40 billion into R&D. Nokia’s patents are considered essential to industry standards. And Nokia has also successfully entered into patent agreements with over 40 companies, including some of the leading manufacturers.

I am really interested to see where this goes, and I am really quite torn on the matter. Of course its going to last quite a while so don’t expect updates too often.

-Nokia FanBoy

read: press release
via: Symbian-Freak (read)