Prototype of a Person

Walled Gardens and TrackID

In my previous post on X-Series I wrote that Three were due to launch this product soon but it appears that the launch date has been pushed forward, for reasons that I’m not privileged enough to know. More than likely they’re testing the systems rigorously, rather than doing-a-Microsoft and launching with bugs intact.

However, much to my surprise they’ve removed their “walled garden” (see post) from Internet browsing on all 3 handsets. I’ve tested it and come to the conclusion that it’s not perfect, but it is very useful. Some sites redirect you to a PDA or Mobi version of their site, which is wonderful for legibility. The sites that don’t are squashed into your small screen, Bebo is difficult to navigate but is usable, to a degree. Some sites wont open at all, MySpace is completely inaccessible. Some sites are handset specific, YouTube will open but viewing the streaming video isn’t possible without Macromedia Flash Player, which doesn’t come as standard on most handsets. Overall I’m impressed with being able to type in practically any web address and being able to access it, and it’s reasonably priced.

There is an age verification system in place, for 3pay (pay-as-you-go) customers. You do have to be able to prove you are over 18 to access these features, which is understandable, as I did (for research purposes only of course) access pornography online with total ease. The only other downside (is age verification a downside?) is the fact that it’s not quite X-Series speeds, but it’s certainly not so slow that it will irritate.

In the post on X-Series I also mentioned my interest in getting a Nokia N73, but something else caught my eye. Infact, one genius feature completely won me over and I got a Sony Ericsson W850i. It comes bundled with TrackID, an incredible and extremely user-centered piece of software that records audio from the microphone (or built-in radio), takes a musical fingerprint and then connects to the Internet comparing the fingerprint to the Gracenote database. The software then tells you the artist name and song title, and seeing as it’s on a Three handset, you also have the option to download the song from the 3MusicStore - if it’s available, the Gracenote database has 2.5 million songs fingerprinted, 3MusicStore is only just approaching the 1million mark.

This software is something so wonderfully usable by myself and many others, Jen tried it in the Cinema and it picked up 90% of the songs she queried. I used it to find and download a song (that my brother was obsessed with) that featured in a Scrubs episode. TrackID has turned me from a hardcore Nokia user to a Sony Ericsson lover. The w850i is fantastic, I thought I’d be lost without symbian, but I’ve easily adapted and come to love the SE interface. As a music lover this is definitely the perfect phone for me.

iPhone: An Internet Device?

There has been a huge amount of speculation online (for years actually) about Apple producing a PDA or a Phone. Recently Steve Jobs introduced the world to the iPhone which is being marketed as an iPod, phone and Internet communicator. The iPod and phone part I get, the Internet communicator, with regards to an Irish market, is a bit of a stretch. This is definitely a device designed with the American market in mind.

The problem with any kind of mobile Internet is that none of the current networks in Ireland offer any kind of reasonably priced data packages that will allow for anything more than e-mail usage from the iPhone (unless connected to a wifi hotspot - pretty slim chance of finding many of those in Ireland). It’s a real pity the iPhone isn’t 3G compatible as it would be perfect for the 3 network’s eagerly anticipated X-Series. Unfortunately the iPhone currently only supports EDGE.

EDGE and 3G are the technologies that allow for high-speed mobile data transmissions, the most notable difference between the two is the speed. With EDGE you can connect to a mobile network at up to 384kbps but with 3G it’s up to 3.6mbps. It’s that huge difference in speed that allows you to make video-calls on a 3G network, which means no video-calls on the iPhone.

Currently only O2 and Meteor support EDGE, Vodafone and 3 surpassed this lesser technology to install a 3G network. Therefore the iPhone, as it is now, will only work on O2 or Meteor. It definitely limits your options and seeing as O2 is already a Apple Reseller, for now I’m going to assume that when the iPhone does launch in Ireland, it will launch on O2, only.

X-Series: The Next Big Thing?

The new job is going well, a change of scenery is definitely something I needed. I feel a lot less stressed out. Working for 3 as a sales associate means I am completely focused on selling products and hitting my targets, rather than stressing out about the store paperwork and deadlines. You would think that I’d be happier now… but I’m actually bored. Selling 3 handsets is easy, they practically sell themselves. I’ve come to the conclusion that I was stressed out in 3G because I wasn’t being paid to BE responsible, but it was part of my job to be, but no-one else on the same wage had any of the management duties that I did. I’m craving a little responsibility now that I find my brain switching off and my automatic “robot selling phrases” kicking in. The only aspect of working for 3 that is keeping me interested is talking to customers about the X-Series.

X-Series is a sexy name for access to the “Internet” on your phone, or rather 3s version of the Internet. They have partnered with Skype, Yahoo!, Orb, Sling, Google, Ebay and Windows Live Messenger to bring features of these online services to X-Series compatible handsets. You also have FULL, free web access. There will no longer be a “walled garden” - if you connect to the “Internet” from any 3 handset at the moment, you’re only able to access a selection of mobile sites that are compatible with your phone, but the handsets due to launch on X-Series are highly sophisticated devices.

There is a massive interest in the Nokia N73, due to launch on the network sometime in January, I’ve got my eye on one of these bad boys. This will be the first X-Series handset launched, with the Sony Ericsson W950i following later. While most consumers I’ve spoke to are dying to get their hands on a Nokia handset with a 3.2 mega-pixel camera and Carl Zeiss lens, don’t be under any illusion that this is a “camera phone”, this is a truly portable multimedia and communication device.

With an X-Series handset you can check your e-mail, logon to Windows Live Messenger, make voice calls over Skype (currently limited to other Skype users), bid for items on Ebay and even use Google to search. You also can browse online, check your Myspace profile or your Bebo page. Your profile that you labored over for hours will still look a lot better when viewed on a pc screen though, as the Internet browser from 3 modifies webpages to look “better” on the handsets small screen, in order to improve legibility.

For all these features, you’d expect there to be a massive monthly fee, it makes sense right? Granted you’ll need to take out a 12 month mobile phone contract, as the service isn’t available on 3Pay, but the X-Series subscription is cheap and for a flat-rate monthly fee you have “unlimited bandwidth” (although there IS a fair usage policy, stating that 1gb is sufficient for each user).

In the UK the monthly fee for full services is €15 a month, or you can access services for €8 a month which excludes Orb and Sling only. Orb allows you to connect to your home computer, and Sling allows you to connect to your home television subscription (such as Sky Digital) both via your home broadband connection. These two features are probably the most impressive and yet the least accessible to non-geeks as they require a complicated technical setup (they’ll also drain the battery life out of your handset).

Overall X-Series sounds rather impressive, as the service hasn’t launched in Ireland yet I haven’t had the opportunity to test the above features out. As soon as I get my hands on my very own N73, I’ll post a full usability review. For now, there is a fantastic review of the UK version over on Digital-Lifestlyes.info.