AT&T customers will finally be able to purchase their first Android phone, the Motorola Backflip, on March 7 for $100 after rebates. AT&T’s Backflip has a five megapixel camera with editing software, 3.1-inch capacitive touchscreen with WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth, and can connect to the web and the Android Market.
The Motorola Backflip has a unique clamshell design that leaves the keyboard exposed when closed. It has similar specs to the MOTO CLIQ on T-Mobile, and will compete with the Motorola Devour when that mid-range Android device launches for Verizon Wireless.
But AT&T went out of their way to replace Google search with Yahoo, says ZDNet
AT&T’s own Navigator service features voice guided turn-by-turn GPS driving directions, real-time traffic alerts, automatic reroute, and full-color 3D moving maps. But it costs $9.95/month. Google’s navigation software is free.
AT&T manages to remove Google’s search from an Android device. Verizon Wireless on the Devour drops in its Verizon Navigator to compete with Google’s GPS capability. Meanwhile, apps like Bing are being force fed to users and browser choice is a pipe dream on most mobile phones.How exactly did we arrive at such advanced mobile devices being hamstrung by primitive business models? Welcome to the wonderful world of wireless where vertical integration, business deals and other hangups remove the choice that you expect everyday on your PC.
Larry Dignan explains why buying a more expensive unlocked phone could save you money:
Let’s assume Verizon will plaster its Verizon Navigator with audible turn-by-turn directions that costs $9.99/month, onto the Nexus One and screw up Google’s GPS.For a consumer, the plan would be to buy the Nexus One and replace the need to buy a GPS device for the car dashboard. It’s obviously cheaper to do that with a subsidized phone. But if Verizon messes with Google’s GPS you could justify buying an unlocked phone.
The math works like this: Nexus One cost ($529) minus cost of GPS device ($200) separately minus what you’d have to pay a year of Verizon Navigator service ($120). Suddenly that unlocked Nexus One looks more palatable.
Still, the fact remains that you can buy a Verizon Droid with free Navigation from Google. Verizon’s DROID was the first device with Google Maps Navigation, providing turn-by-turn voice guidance as a free feature of Google Maps. It’s powered by Google and connected to the Internet. Of course you’d need a data plan. Verizon’s plans begin at $39.99 for monthly access for 450 minutes of nationwide voice, while the Email and Web access costs $29.99/mo (a total of $70/mo). AT&T has similar rates.
Perhaps competition will bury the walled garden.
Nokia announced today that T–Mobile USA will offer the Nokia 5230 Nuron in the coming weeks. The Nuron, a 3.2-inch touch screen smartphone, packs Nokia’s free turn-by-turn navigation service and access to Nokia’s Ovi Store using T-Mobile USA’s 3G network. Specifications include a 2 Megpixel camera, video recording up to 640 x 480, FM radio, integrated A-GPS, Ovi Maps 3.0, 4GB microSD and Bluetooth (but no WiFi).
The device costs $70 after rebates, an aggressive position for both Nokia and T–Mobile USA, to regain their footing in the domestic market. T-Mobile USA was the first operator to launch HSPA+, starting in Philadelphia last year. At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last month, T-Mobile announced plans to roll out the technology nationwide, which could make T-Mobile the fastest 3G network in the U.S. by the end of the year.
Ovi has navigable maps for over 70 countries. And it’s all free.
- Free Drive navigation
- Free Walk navigation
- Free maps and map updates
- Free Events guides
- Free Lonely Planet guides
- Free Michelin guides
Ovi Maps walk and drive navigation is free across the globe. Drivers receive turn-by-turn voice guidance including lane assistance, traffic information (in 10 countries including the US), and safety camera and speed warnings while pedestrians will be guided on shortcuts through parks and pedestrian-only zones. It all works offline too! You’ll need a Nokia phone, however.
Google Maps Navigation is an internet-connected GPS navigation system with voice guidance. It needs an internet connection. Google iPhone apps are free and include turn-by-turn directions
Meanwhile, T-Mobile’s HTC HD2, a Windows Mobile 6.5 mobile phone, due in a few weeks, will feature a 4.3-inch capacitive touch display, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, WiFi, and will come ready with access to millions of eBooks, movies, and television programs as well as GPS navigation.
The HTC HD2 GPS functionality provides turn-by-turn navigation using TeleNav GPS Navigator. The HTC smartphone runs on T-Mobile’s AWS 3G network and features a pre-installed 16 GB microSD card, and an advanced 5 megapixel autofocus camera with dual LED flash. TeleNav GPS Navigator is not a freebie, however. It typically costs $9.99/mo. TeleNav works on several T-Mobile phones. Prepaid Plans are also available at T-Mobile.
Those wishing the HTC HD2 wasn’t so Windows Mobile-esque may want to wait for an Android version. The HTC Supersonic, due this Summer, will feature a 4.3-inch OLED screen, Android 2.1 (presumably with free navigation), 1 GHz processor, and WiMAX/3G on Sprint. It would be the first WiMAX phone (in the United States).
Would Sprint allow Clear to offer a data-only WiMAX phone, running Skype for Mobile on their Android device? Could they prevent it? Stay tuned.
Walt Mossberg reviewed popular iPhone Navigation Apps. None stood out as much better than the others at navigation, says Mossberg, though they have different styles and features:
- TomTom for the iPhone: The U.S. and Canada navigation app costs $100 and takes up a 1.2 gigabytes of space on your phone. But there is no subscription fee and the maps are always present.
- Navigon MobileNavigator: This app costs $90, and it takes up 1.3 GB on the iPhone because it also stores all the maps. There is no recurring fee.
- AT&T Navigator: Downloads maps and info on the fly, but it takes up less space on the phone—just 2.3 megabytes. That means you need a good connection at the start of a trip. Though the app download is free, a $9.99-per-month subscription fee will automatically be added to your AT&T account.
- MotionX-GPS Drive: The main screen has a clever menu arranged in a circle. It’s also fairly small—just 10 megabytes or so. But it must download maps and other info each time you start a route. Drive also is potentially the cheapest of the four apps. It will cost $1.99 and include a 30-day free trial. After that, it’s $25 a year.
Apple’s iPad data pricing may be the future. For $15 per month you get 250MB and free use of AT&T’s Wi-Fi network. For $30/mo you get 5GB. No contract.
Virgin Mobile’s new prepaid data plan offers 30-day data usage in three tiers: $20 gets you 300 MB, $40 gets you 1 GB, and $60 gets you 5 GB/month. The $60 prepaid plan is the same as other cellular carriers 3G laptop plans, but there’s no commitment. Works with a CradlePoint Hot Spot, too.
A pre-paid WiFi-enabled smartphone or a small Android tablet might be another route. A used WiFi-enabled Android or Nokia phone goes for about $150 on CraigsList, and carriers like T-Mobile offer inexpensive prepaid voice service. No contract. Use voice and data when you need it and free WiFi the rest of the time.
