At Celebration's Memorial Day Flag Ceremony. Remembering those that gave their all and honoring those that served.

On the way home for the long weekend. Odd to be traveling on a Friday, and during daylight.

Thank goodness for elite lines at TSA. At ORD this a.m. the security lines were snaking thru the terminal. Gold line was just 5 mins, phew.

New phone quandary

I have decided that it is time to start looking for a replacement for my Samsung Epix (WM6.1 on AT&T). Below are some of the alternatives and the pros and cons. Some key overall criteria for me are:

• Ability to tether or act as hotspot, so I can connect my laptop to the Internet if I have an urgent need.
• Exchange server sync for email, contacts, calendar and preferably notes
• Voice control (primarily for dialing) via Bluetooth
• GPS
• WiFi

 

Verizon HTC Droid Incredible
+  Android market, Verizon coverage, Skype
- only 3G, no simultaneous voice and data
Verizon Palm Pre
+ Free hotspot software & service, WebOS opearting system, cheap ($49 on offer)
- Hardware over 1 year old, no simultaneous voice & data, limited apps market
Sprint Evo 4G
+ Android market, Wimax speed in limited cities, large screen (4.3")
- Simultaneous voice & data only in 4G service area
AT&T iPhone 4G/HD
+ iPhone apps, simultaneous voice and data, possibly tethering (expected with release of new iPhone), HD screen?
- probably not 4G but UMTS 3.6 or 7.2 Mbps
Google Nexus on AT&T or T-Mobile
+ AMOLED (bright) screen (works well in sunlight), sunsidized via T-Mobile, UMTS 7.2Mbps
- AT&T version unsubsidized (=expensive)
T-Mobile Touch Slide
+ HTC Sense UI, physical keyboard, UNMTS 7.2Mbps
- Sliding keyboard, so probably thick

 

Other alternatives are to wait for Windows 7 phones, but I think Android and iPhone have far superior apps markets, or other Android phones, coming out in the next few months.
T-mobile has a very interesting capability, UMA, which basically allows the cell phone to use a WiFi network like the GSM network. The advantage is that you can use WiFi when traveling abroad without having to incur costly international data roaming charges. Your phone opeartes anywhere in thw orld as if it is on the US network. This is very good for the few, short trips that I make abroad. Currently UMA is only available on Blackberry smartphones, but there are rumors that T-Mobile will be bringing out an Android app later this year.
AT&T has the 3G voice and data micro-cell, which allow me to overcome the poor reception in my home.

 

I am sure that I will think of further benfits and issues, and will add them as comments to this post. Feel free to add your suggestions of things that I may have missed.

Suggestion for Delta Airlines Web Department

I would like to give some advice to the IT developers at Delta, while they have some useful tools, these tools do not quite work as they should. As a frequent user of these tools, as well as a business systems consultant I feel that I am in a good position to offer suggestions for improvements.

1. Paperless check-in is great, but why must I always enter my cellphone number. Can Delta not use my number from my profile? Or add an option in my profile to store the cellphone to which the paperless checkin message should be sent. It is not as if I use a different phone every day!
2. If I do print out a paper boarding pass, why one page per segment? Before the merger NW only printed a single sheet, which was recognized on all segments that you travelled that day. Why did DL not bring that across?
3. DL's flight notification system is one of the best in the industry in terms of reliability. Sometimes even just a 5 or 10 minute delay is immediately sent to my phone. However, why do I have to capture and store a 12 digit refernce number to be able to retrieve and cancel the notifications. I would prefer the ability to list all active notifications associated with my profile.

Fed up with Epix

About a year ago I posted about switching to a new phone, and promised a follow up when I had more experience with the phone. Well I am afraid that my experience has been bad, on a number issues.

• I am plagued with the phone freezing frequently, sometimes daily but never less than every third day. (Could be a WM 6.1 issue)
• Recently my USB connection seems to have stopped working.
• ATT & Samsung promised an upgrade to Windows Mobile 6.5, a supposedly more stable operating system, but nothing has materialized.
• There is a known bug in the ROM which means when you use the GPS functionality, the battery runs down in about an hour, instead of lasting most of the day.

Luckily I got a good deal when I purchased this phone, but it looks as if I may have to "invest" my savings in paying early termination fees and either getting a new phone or switching to a new carrier. I will list some alternatives and criteria in a separate post.

Just baked our first pizza in our new woodfired oven. The only way to eat pizza - woodfired!

Flying over the site of the oil disaster, my heart was saddened to see how far the oil slick extends: and yes even from 37000' you see it.

On the long haul home from the pyrite state, via Salt Lake City.

You know you are flying early a.m. When there is no line at Cust Service (because of delays) but the Starbucks line snakes thru the terminal