18 July 2008

OEM's Must Set American 3G Free,
Quit Fooling Customers

I was wondering something. I read at EngadgetMobile that the xda devs have figured out how to unlock the 850mhz GSM frequency on the Touch Diamond!! This is simply amazing, as some have complained that it didn't support the 850mhz spectrum.

Now what I wonder is this: I don't know the actual radio chip's physical construction, but if a GSM radio can be hacked and given another additional frequency, how possible or difficult would it be to alter the 3G frequency of an Nseries device? If this could be done, Euro versions would be obsolete, and Americans could finally choose the device they wish, regardless of carrier or world region!

I wished that it wouldn't need to come to that. The technology is there where it shouldn't be necessary. Right now, though, its a little known fact that Nokia makes ZERO devices for T-Mobile USA's 3G network.

Nokia has forced users who buy generic unlocked devices to still remain branded, as even though the device is unlocked, they can only either use the Euro versions and have no Stateside 3G, or a US version, but with 3G only with at&t. This is so ironic, as at&t has done little until recent to help Nokia deploy S60 in the US market. Either way, they don't feel users should be allowed to choose devices and carriers independently of each other.

This interoperability is the very spirit of the GSM standard worldwide, but not if the OEM's aren't made to cooperate. Someone needs to regulate GSM's 3G manufacturing requirements. In Europe, users phones are expected to provide GSM/3G connectivity no matter where they travel, though for some reason, they're forced to deal with slow speed data. This is utterly ridiculous.

Even worse for US users, their 3G access is branded, even in generic unlocked phones, as no manufacturer will build a phone that operates on both American GSM carriers. The device chosen decides where you'll be getting your service. This is why American users don't easily get the concept of an unlocked device, or differentiate between branded and generic handsets. When it comes to mobile broadband, there's no such thing.

A few members have asked why I don't use a North American N95 8gb. Easy. I refuse to be told where to buy my service. And I travelled alot for my last employer. I may not get 3G at home, but in the entire contininents of Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, I have full 3G access.

Had I gotten an Amercian version, I'd be forced to use the higher priced at&t for service, as they're the only carrier in the US to support the 1900mhz spectrum. And I'd be snail slow, regardless where I traveled outside the North American continent. T-Mobile's 1700mhz network is ignored altogether by Nokia!

I prefer the larger global footprint, and it makes my device easier to resell when I upgrade. Alot more Euro/Asian/African/Australian users than American. And Nokia knows T-Mobile has plenty of Nokia-loving customers, as well as a 3G network, as they're the ones providing some of the actual transmission and receiving equipment used to build it. Its fishier and fishier the more you hear it.

I hope Nokia realizes this will ultimately make them less attractive, draw away from thier non-carrier offered devices, and just keep Windows Mobile and Blackberry on the map. Nokia, the world, and especially, the United States of America, need a quadband 3G radio supporting 1700/1800/1900/2100mhz frequencies. No more regional devices! Give us network interoperability. It's what made Nokia the giant it is today. 3G adoption in the US will do it even more, but they have to serve the users. American business users have been global for years. No one sits still. Who wants a device that only works well under an umbrella?

I really wish some of our Symbian Freaks with electrical engineering and software expertise can successfully accomplish what our Windows Mobile brethren have for the Touch Diamond. I really just want Nokia to get it right, and provide the function and hardware we need in today's global, mobile culture. It'll only benefit Nokia. The year spent watching the iPhone take over the US while Nokia sat the sidelines was gruesome. They could easily prevent it from happening again with quadband 3G.

So all you N95-3 and N95-4 users that laugh at Sprint and Verizon users and their proprietary phones, wipe that egg off your face! Those are at&t branded phones, with use on no other network! So what's so different?? Absolutely nothing, that's what. Thank Nokia and the rest of the OEM's. They just took GSM and the American mobile market back 10 years. It killed Sprint. Now it's killing our mobile market. Thanks for nothing...