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3G comes to parts of (Rogers') Canada...

Submitted by Richard Smith on November 4, 2006 - 8:22pm.
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I might be cranky because Rogers has retrieved their promotional SIMS and cut me off from free phone and data service - and who can blame them, since all I did was whine about the price even while I was enjoying the service for free - but I have to say I am excited to hear about this development:

Rogers Lights up HSDPA Network

That's right, we Rogers (and Fido, presumably) customers finally see some 3G, if we visit Southern Ontario, anyway. The WirelessWeek story linked above has some sketchy details, but there isn't much. One of the ironic things about this is that Rogers, not having had a 3G network up til now, doesn't have any 3G phones to sell people (yet).

We have the phones already (our wonderful N80s) so I can't wait to give this a try, even if it DOES cost me a dollar to load a web page...

Well, I'll try it once, anyway. The app that would make this SO cool is gmail's new mobile client (you can download it here: gmail.com/app) for phones with a java (J2ME) implementation. I just did that - using the WiFi at home - and it is VERY slick. As Brian White, over at Wireless Weblog, reports, it is "just like being there" (on gmail, that is). 

And to top it all off, ShoZu has a new client and their authentication server is back on the air (it crashed the day they released ver 3.0), and I can upload photos to flickr again. The app is quite savvy to the wiles of data providers and the endless tricks us users use to get around them, and it will automatically suspend uploads when I am outside my "home" network (in this case my home WiFi). So I can snap away all day and when I get home the uploading begins. For free.

I am sure the mobile carriers have a good rationale for taking their prime customers and sending them "off network" in droves by charging crazy fees, but I can't imagine what that is. Do they think people will come back to them once they get a taste of wifi? I wonder.

...r 


Submitted by Roland Tanglao on November 4, 2006 - 10:04pm.

unfortunately IIRC i don't think the N80 or any current Nokia phone will work with with HSDPA (which is what Rogers has deployed) in North America because the frequencies are different (again!)

i think Europe uses 2100Mhz while NA uses 850 and 1900 MHz i hope i am wrong and anyways the N80 doesn't support HSDPA (European or otherwise)

the first Nokia handset to support HSDPA is the N95 which will come out in 2007

..Roland

www.rolandtanglao.com

bryght.com 


Submitted by Jean Hébert on November 5, 2006 - 3:35pm.
The mobile gmail client is pretty slick, yes. But as with my laptop, I am rather concerned about sending passwords over wifi, especially with open wireless networks. To add to my frustration, WPA authentication seems bit tricky on the N80 - the nomenclature in the phone's software is different, maybe? Maybe if I look at a manual I'll sort this stuff out, but I'll be much more motivated to experiment once there's a version of Plazer that's compatible with the N80. Or maybe this is my way of saying "standards are everything" - from wifi to 3rd party apps to what-have-you. The content garden feels not only walled, but compartmentalised...