On Sat, 3 May 2008 21:14:16 -0600, "Todd Allcock"
<elecconnec@AmericaOnLine.com> wrote:

>
>"Ron" <ronclifford@peoplepc.com> wrote in message
>news:mv8q14l5o0s8da5hmt4089abogv19u64hh@4ax.com.. .
>>>Cellular data is ubiquitous , WiFi isn't.
>>>
>>
>> Thats what the maps and the marketers say, but dead zones exist, even
>> in big cities (or maybe especially in big cities), and all too often
>> 3G coverage is like Swiss cheese in some areas, so your 3G is working,
>> and then it isn't. I took and dumped on eBay an 8525 Phone after 1
>> week as 3G
>> WAS NOT UBIQUITOUS.
>
>Perhaps 3G wasn't, but CELLULAR DATA is. 3G falls back on EDGE/GPRS, so the
>"3G" customer still has a connection, albeit a slower one. What does WiFi
>fall back on? "Borrowing" a neighbor's or hotel's phone jack?
>
>(I realize the iPhone has EDGE to fall back on as well, IF you're buying a
>data plan. I'm really addressing the "WiFi is so readily available, I don't
>need a cellular data plan" mindset.)
>


WiFi is usually free, and is widely available, as those of us who use
it know.

EDGE/GPRS is not free, and it remains to be seen what AT&T will
charge for data plans for 3G iPhones, it typically charges $40/month
for 3G Smart Phone data planes, and the Edge iPhone has already
demonstrated the burden it puts on data infrastructure.

You can't have it both ways. Bitch about iPhone having to use Edge,
and then brag how Edge is UBIQUITUOUS. And even Edge, like
other cellular services will have dead zones, or times and places
where it wont work from over use. Try it 5 PM on a rainy night for
instance. Or anyplace more than 1/2 mile from the nearest Cell tower.
The "ubiquitous" cell service or data of 1900 MHz providers is even
more less so, with myriad complaints about indoor penetration.