New AT&T (formerly Cingular) plans for iPhone (is it a Chaser Player?)

Darren Addy said:
With these plans, is the iPhone/AT&T a stormchaser player? Even the least expensive plan ($59.95) includes unlimited data but I'm not sure about AT&T's network coverage (particularly in AlltelLand). Also not sure if the fine print prohibits tethering.
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Question regaurding tethering. Nope. What we were told in training was that this thing will not be able to be tethered. Apple did all the desiging all the software. The only thing that AT&T really does is the network service. If it isn't any issue with the network then we transfer just about everything to Apple. The phone is also not going to be able to be unlocked. Apple designed it's OS to work with us and there for told us it can't be unlocked. As in reguards to EDGE. Yeah it isn't 3G but they actually have beefed up EDGE impresivley. And from my understanding if the tower was broadcasting EDGE, it got the software update. I have noticed EDGE here in OKC has picked up some too. I use AT&T for data during chasing and have been happy with it. Not just cause I work for them.
The next version of the iPhone we were also told will be 3G which will be cool.

In reguards to what Gordon said about AT&T using EDGE for our 3G, that is not true. EDGE (Enhanced Data for Global Evolution) is actually refered to as 2.5 and 2.75G. AT&T's actuall 3G system uses UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) which on average can do 400kbps to 700kbps with bursts ranging from 1.3mbps to 1.5mbps. UMTS a merger of CDMA and GSM to make WCDMA can support both data and voice at the same time. Yes UMTS in only in major metropolitan area's but they are expanding alot quicker than what people think. And where there is UMTS there is almost always, or shortly right after UMTS is activated, HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) which enhances the speeds five fold or more. And also just found out today which you can also find at phonescoop, we bought Dobson Cellular. Again both CDMA and GSM have there pro's and cons. But in the end you have to go with who you have had good service with. Like I said I haven't ever had a problem with AT&T, so that's why I stick to it. I have a friend that hate's Sprint but won't leave it, and one that thinks T Mobile is cellular gods. But that is the info I have on iPhone at this time. And to Gordon, I didn't mean to come off sounding all on the defense to what you said. Just stateing what I know. Take care everyone.
 
James Siler said:
As in reguards to EDGE. Yeah it isn't 3G but they actually have beefed up EDGE impresivley. And from my understanding if the tower was broadcasting EDGE, it got the software update. I have noticed EDGE here in OKC has picked up some too.
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Yes, they may have 'beefed up' the EDGE coverage (as in the number of towers that support it); it can't change the fact that EDGE sucks when compared to all the alternatives out there save circuit switched data -- Even 1Xrtt has a slight edge over "EDGE". I have a feeling there will be more news stories within the next month about how incredibly slow the iPhone is on AT&T's creaky old network. When people punch Ebay into their iPhone, they don't want to have to wait 30 seconds for it to load, or 10 minutes for a YouTube clip to pop up. These phones dramatically exceed in capability the service they are licensed to; I wish a cellular provider with a real data network like Verizon or Sprint had gotten the iPhone exclusive.
 
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Sorry to offend you Mr. Siler . But I only stated the facts. I think You as an AT&T employee would be a little biased and that is understandable. AT&T still lags far behind Verizon , Sprint and even Alltel in Data services . Like I said I am cheerleading for no one and sell my products to customers from all companies. I am very into the whole high speed data over Cellular networks scene . I read as much as I can and get my input from all users . I also know alot of insiders in the Cellular industry because of my relationship with alot of people at Motorola . I hope AT&T steps up to the plate and tries to improve things , but as it stands right now they have thier work cut out for them especially because they really do not have a partner to have roaming agreements with whereas Sprint , Alltel and Verizon and all have roaming agreements of one sort or another with each other.
A step in the right direction would have been to get Apple to have the iphone 3G compatible from the start . For as much hot air and coverage that has been put into the launch of this radical new device , you think they could have at least utilized all current technologies available and not fallen back on totally outdated technology . Sort of a lunch bag letdown in that department .
Good luck to AT&T more competition is always good but as of now they are lagging behind the other players
 
When i was shopping for data cards and service, cingular had the best coverage of data, mostly slow gprs, but their coverage with that was anywhere i had a signal on my handset. the sprint/alltel/verizon service aggrements must have not been in place at the time and it seemed data was only available along major highways and in cities. My contract isnt for much longer so switching is for sure an option if AT&T cant play catch up.
 
In the southeast, AT&T is the way to go. NEXTEL and Verizon suck around here. Some coverage as far as Sprint/NEXTEL goes, but Verizon is just starting to expand. And....what is Alltel? LOL. We don't even have that around here. If I were in the plains full time I think I would go with the Alltel plan given the roaming agreements.
 
agreed... I use the internet while mobile for reasons other than chasing as well. I reviewed the coverage maps of all and Cingular/AT&T is still the best down here and has good coverage in the plains, therefore I still stick to saying I give up speed for better coverage. I travel a good bit and its nice to be able to use it anywhere to find restaurants, etc.

Infact its my only internet, I'm on it now. definitely fast enough to keep me happy. I don't sit on youTube all day so that's a non-issue. For weather data, blogging, web site updating, etc. it fits the bill quite nicely. Coverage is complete along the coastline which is excellent for tropical intercepts.
 
Seven months have gone by since the last posting on this thread...has anyone tried pulling animated radar and satellite images using the iPhone? I'm talking as a free-standing device, out in the field (that is, not via a wi-fi hotspot). About how long does it take?

--Bob
 
I have messed with the phone in the store. I turned off the WIFI and ran off Edge. It took about 20 seconds for the NOAA maps to load up. The Edge connection was pretty good their though, so I don't know how it would differ in the field.
 
The animated images for WeatherTAP Mobile loads pretty quickly on the iPhone. We spent some time testing on the iPhone to make sure everything loaded nicely. A still image will take just a few seconds. Animated images will take longer to load through the edge network, about 15-20 seconds. There is one bad feature with the iPhone that you need to be made aware of. For some odd reason, Apple has set a size limit of 2 Megabytes for animated GIF images in Safari. This means that the animated image must be less than 2 Megabytes when it is uncompressed. If the animated image is larger than this when uncompressed, usually it will just load the first frame or first couple frames of the animation and then stop. This is one of the reasons we added the "Number of Animation Frames" and "Image Size" options in WeatherTAP Mobile. This way you can set the animated images to a size that will allow them to load on the iPhone. With WeatherTAP Mobile, we have found that an image size of 300 x 300 with 5 animation frames work well with the iPhone.
 
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