Starbucks today announced a deal to offer AT&T WiFi service at more than 7,000 locations in the U.S. Starbucks card holders get up to two hours of free WiFi access per day; customers of AT&T broadband and AT&T U-verse will have unlimited access. Additional hours will be available at pricing starting at $3.99 per session for a two-hour period.

AT&T displaced T-Mobile as the wireless provider at all Starbucks. While this is great news for the average customer, it reduces the attractiveness of T-Mobile’s data plan. Included with the $20 a month data plan I have for my Dash was unlimited access to all of T-Mobile’s hotspots. This was a great deal especially if you travel a lot.

Now I have one less reason to stick with T-Mobile. I was hoping to get an iPhone when the new 3G models come out and potentially unlock it for T-Mobile. But now, other than the contract breakage fee, I don’t see many reasons to stay with T-Mobile.

I love T-Mobile’s customer service, but losing this deal with Starbucks may be a another sign that they will never move beyond last place in the wireless race in this country.

UPDATE: Apparently, AT&T will offer free roaming access to T-Mobile’s Hotspot customers. I just wonder how long this will last.

Another update: apparently T-Mobile has signed an agreement with AT&T to provide roaming access to T-Mobile Hotspot customers for the next five years. (via Thomas Upton)

I’ve been waiting for years for mobile content development to really take off, but there has yet to be a compelling reason for developers to make a big push into the mobile web. Yes, we have billions of people using SMS, but there’re not surfing the web on their phones. With Apple’s marketing muscle, I have hope we may be moving closer to a turning point.

After yesterday’s iPhone launch, I was excited to start reading some of the initial feedback this morning. Of course I started with my Twitter friends. Here’s the summary: some like Steve Rubel are complaining they now have an iBrick due to activation issues while others like Scoble are praising the iPhone as the second coming.

It appears that those who were actually able to activate their iPhone absolutely love the device. Prior to Friday’s launch, all the concerns were on the phone’s technology (potential issues with touch screen typing) and the speed of AT&T’s network. In reality, the biggest issue is just getting the phones activated so purchasers can start using them.

It will be interesting to see over the coming days where the fault for this lies. Was it AT&T not being prepared for the onslaught of new iPhone customer activations? Or was it Apple for forcing iPhone activations through the recently updated iTunes?

If you purchased an iPhone, I’d love to hear your initial thoughts.

The Sprint Ambassador Program is all about exploring our latest products and services and allows you to give direct feedback to Sprint. We recently launched the Sprint Power Vision (SM) Network and want to provide you with the full experience, at no charge. Sprint Power Vision Network enables customers to download data at faster speeds and experience new data products.

Basically, if your invited to the program, you get a free phone (Samsung MM-A920) and six months of full service (Sprint Power Vision Network).

As a qualified participant, we will send you one Sprint Power Vision phone and provide you with six months of all-access service (at no charge). You’ll have access to the Sprint Music Store(SM) live TV broadcasts, gaming and more. Yes, you will also have unlimited free calling and data service. It’s a pretty good deal and all we ask for in return is your candid feedback (you decide how much and how often).

After a bit or research, it looks like this is a program targeting bloggers. By no means am I an A-lister (is there such a thing as C or D lister?), so Sprint is obviously casting a wider net that one would initially think. And that’s a good thing. If I were in their position, I’d be looking for the following to gain entrance into the Ambassador program:

1) blog regularly
2) have been blogging for a while
3) preferably be high profile / high traffic / high readership
4) write about technology
5) specifically have written about wireless/mobile in the past

If we take these five hypothetical considerations for determining who to reach out to with a program like this, it makes a bit more sense of those bloggers invited. Out of the above five, I think I easily meet four of them (hint: high profile is not one of them!). This is a great marketing effort for Sprint. Relatively low cost project, potential high rewards. When I receive the phone, I will definitely give it a full workout and blog the results. There are some comments on Jeff Jarvis’ BuzzMachine and Steve Rubel’s Micro Persuasion posts regarding how ethical a program like this is for Sprint. I completely agree with Jeff and Steve. As long as the blogger is disclosing the fact that Sprint is giving the phone for free (we get to keep it after the six months is up) and giving us the free service during the program, I don’t see the issue. As a reader, you have all the facts and can make your own opinions about what we write. I carefully read Sprint’s Terms and Conditions before agreeing to participate and there was no mention of restrictions on blogging any comments – positive or negative. They only ask for feedback, but it’s not required:

Selected Ambassadors are not required to participate in any surveys or provide feedback, but it is encouraged.

A few more disclaimers: I used to be a Product Manager for Sprint (managed hosting) and I used to be a Sprint subscriber for many years. Everyone has issues with every carrier, but I never had any problems with Sprint so I’m a little biased in that regard. Interestingly, the only reason I switched from Sprint to T-Mobile was their lack of support for BlackBerry at the time.

So, although I’m more of a smartphone person (something with full QWERTY keyboard), I’m looking forward to seeing this phone in action. I’m finding this Live TV feature a bit hard to believe, but I’ll find out soon enough.

“The file for database name associated with MS Outlook is missing, invalid or points to a file of zero length.” In addition, when I tried to click on the browse button, nothing happened.

Since my BlackBerry worked fine with the sync on Outlook 2000, I knew it has to be an issue with my new laptop and the fact that I upgraded to Outlook 2003. I tried numerous fixes per various suggestions on different forums including re-installation of Intellisync, reinstall as well as repair of Outlook, and delete and reinstall of newer versions of the mapi32.dll all to no avail. Finally, I read somewhere that there could potentially be an issue with Outlook 2003′s version of the PST files and Intellisync. Although if this were true there would be many more people having this issue, I nevertheless decided to start experimenting down this path – create a .pst in an old Outlook format and copy my data over to this new pst file. Before I was able to start that nightmare, I decided to create a new Outlook profile (via Control Panel, Mail) and see what that may do to the situation.

So I created a new profile and added a dummy pst file in the old Outlook format. I then went back into Intellisync and presto, the ORIGINAL profile started working. I didn’t make any other change (such as switching profiles or moving data), but for whatever reason, Intellisync now reads my data.

I’m not sure of the exact reasons why this worked and to be honest at this point I don’t care! Hopefully, this can help someone in the same situation.

To all you corporo types out there that like the Blackberry, you have no idea what productivity is like ‘till you play with one of these bad-boys.

Basically, if you haven’t tried the SideKick as a replacement for the BlackBerry, you really are missing a lot. The best analogy I can provide is that Danger, the company that makes the SideKick, is the Apple of smart phones. The SideKick is really that intuitive and easy to use, especially for email and web browsing.

I won’t rehash standard product details as you can find them here (Danger’s product name for the SideKick is the HipTop). I will highlight those that really make this a standout device. First, though the size may turn off some, I like the feel of the SideKick for typing on the QWERTY keypad. It’s the best I’ve tried and the keys are spaced enough apart to really allow for speedy typing. I can actually write well on this thing. Yes, compared to the newer mobile phones out there, the SideKick is large. But that’s not the correct comparison. Put the SideKick against its real competitors such as a Treo or BlackBerry and its about the same size and weight although in a slightly different configuration (long rectangle versus tall rectangle?)

The web browsing is outstanding. Again, this is likely the best in class. I particularly like the fact that the SideKick browser now has JavaScript as well as cookies. Cookies let you retain your browsing state and username / password combinations. I now don’t have to retype these at every site like I’ve had to on other mobile browsers. This gives a more desktop browsing feel to the device.

Another useful feature is that all your data is backed up constantly on your T-Mobile account page including pictures, contacts, emails, events, and notes. This is done even if you are using the Intellisync software with your desktop.

Several people asked me if it was annoying to swivel the screen to reach the keypad to make phone calls. It really isn’t since all of your speed dial numbers, recently called numbers, and call logs are accessible without opening the screen. In addition, a small numeric keypad is displayed on screen that you can scroll though and hit the numbers if need be. The speakerphone is very loud and clear, so I’ve found I use that feature quite often now.

Overall, everything is there, just where I need it and anticipate it to be. That’s hard to quantify or even really describe well, yet you know it’s a good user experience just by use. The SideKick comes close to a desktop experience for many of the apps. For example, if you start typing in a name for email or phone, a list of matching records from the address book instantly appears letting you choose who you want to contact. This is very smooth and better than what some are used to in Microsoft Outlook. It’s the little touches that really stand out on the SideKick.

As far as negatives, I’ve already mentioned a few and no device is perfect. Aside from the size, there are some other noticeable items. First, while the calendar and contacts storage size is very generous, the tasks are limited to 50 items. When I try and sync via the Initellisync software (an extra $9.99 download), it chops off my 80+ items and only imports 50. Not a big deal, but I’m probably not alone in having an extensive task list in Outlook. This is especially true if you try and follow a productivity system like Getting Things Done (GTD). The camera is also decent for a camera-phone, but is useless in low light even with the included flash. Again, not a deal breaker for me, but I’ve never had a camera in my phone before so I had low expectations for this feature anyway. Finally, and this was the only big one for me, there is no Bluetooth in the SideKick II. I read it’s rumored for the SideKick III, but it’s not there now. I currently use a Jabra Bluetooth headset and have come to value its convenience. You can get a Bluetooth for non-Bluetooth phones adapter, but built-in BT would be much, much better. Finally, the ability for more customization and applications would be appreciated. The operating system is built on Java, so there’s no reason why Danger couldn’t open this up a bit more and make it easier for companies developing applications. Currently, all applications created for the SideKick have to be approved by Danger and then added to their download catalog. If you’re not a developer, you can’t just connect your SideKick via USB and load up new apps. If they changed this, Danger could really open up a larger market of business users. Personally, all the programs I need are already on there.

If you’re a new customer to T-Mobile, you can get one via Amazon for free after rebate.

Other great reviews of the SideKick I used while researching included:

CNET
PCWorld
Gizmondo
MobileMag

So, if you’re in the market for a new smartphone, do yourself a favor and check out the SideKick.

Mobile viruses also will have an easier time proliferating, now that wireless-download speeds have skyrocketed and technologies that connect wireless devices to other electronics have become more widespread. One such technology, called Bluetooth, could potentially spread a virus from one device to the smartphone of a passerby. And a crop of new services that let users upload music from computers to cell phones could conceivably allow the transfer of malicious code sitting on an PC.

What’s bad news for users of smartphones and other devices that allow for wireless e-mail access could mean rising revenue for antivirus vendors. “There’s an inflection point happening right now,” says Sarah Hicks, Symantec’s vice-president for strategic opportunities. “Symantec feels that it’s beginning to happen, in terms of its becoming a real, tangible market.” A Symantec-sponsored survey taken last summer showed that some 60% of the 600 smartphone users questioned keep confidential business data on their devices.

There’s definintely a market here.

The other issues I was having with this BlackBerry model included:

• poor attachment support (PDF, Word, and Excel all had problems that I couldn’t get resolved)
• the RIM lawsuit issues – potenial for service disruption
• OS was crashing way too often
• sync issues with Outlook 2003
• almost unusable web browsing
• narrow screen made email reading difficult

With all the new mobile devices coming on the market I decided it was time to look at alternatives. My criteria included:

• good voice plan with lots of minutes combined with a cheap data plan
• email capability (a push system was preferred)
• decent web browsing
• sync with Microsoft Outlook (calendar, tasks, contacts)
• camera phone
• hackability (ability to add/modify the software if needed)
• good QWERTY keypad
• speakerphone
• Bluetooth
• device currently available now

With these factors in mind, I quickly narrowed my search to the following devices:

• regular BlackBerry (models varied based on carrier)
• Palm Treo
• Sidekick II

I heard and read great reviews of the Treo, but after research on the phone/data plans, no carrier even came close to T-Mobile. The plan via T-Mobile I liked was the 1500 nationwide minutes and unlimited data for $60 per month (available for both the BlackBerries and SideKick). I’ve also had great success with T-Mobile and have never had issues with their customer support, so there had to be a significant reason for me to switch. This all led me to decide between one of the phones available from T-mobile – BlackBerry 7290 or the SideKick II. Since I already knew much about the BlackBerry (especially the software side), I started researching the SideKick II. I was quickly intrigued by what I found.

To be continued…

Bloglines (browser)
Egress (Pocket PC)
litefeeds (Java phone, BlackBerry, Pocket PC)
PocketRSS (Pocket PC)

I’ll be testing some of these out. If I find any of them to be particularly useful, I’ll update this post with the results.

The initial focus of the collaboration will be on co-marketing of new optimized Motorola ‘Skype Ready’ companion products, such as Bluetooth(R) headsets, dongles, and speakerphones, as well as delivery of the Skype Internet Telephony experience on select Motorola mobile devices.

Skype is not without its challenges though. Poor performance of both Skype and SkypeOut have been reported. Although this is to be expected with any newer technology (especially as all VoIP providers have documented issues), it will be interesting to see if Skype can make the leap from an an all computer based server to one more integrated with how people are currently familiar with making voice calls.

As far as my experience with the service, Skype really looks like vocal instant messaging. When you sign up, you select a username. This username then becomes your “phone number” in the network. Much like IM, another user either needs to know your username or look it up in a directory. Unfortunately, my own trials are incomplete, as i don’t know anyone using Skype yet!

Related resources:
Skype, Xandros Bundle VoIP, Linux
Skype to provide WiFi VoIP service to Motorola mobile devices