Caleb Hunt (.com)

In one word, awesome. More thoughts on this later…

Tiered Data, ‘Flexi-data’, flexible data, whatever you want to call it, is everywhere and with the convenience and (relative) affordability of Internet access via 3G wireless networks it has become quite popular option for wireless data subscribers to use on their smartphones, tablets and Internet sticks.

One of the first questions that new mobile data subscribers ask themselves when signing up for service is “how much actual usage is X MB or GB of data going to get me?” Since this number varies from person to person and month to month, the idea is that “you pay for what you use…” appeals to many users. You start at the lowest tier (which is usually higher than the cost of buying the same fixed amount of data to start), and as you break the threshold of usage, you’re bumped into the next cost tier and data allotment. For example:

0-500MB of data $30/mo
501-1GB of data $35/mo
1GB-3GB of data $45/mo
etc…

The ‘savings’ over buying a fixed allotments of data is sold to you on the premise that at the beginning of each billing cycle, you start at the lowest tier, and your bill simply ‘flexes’ according to your usage rather than paying costly overage charges on data used outside your fixed data package (usually billed around 5-10 cents/MB).

So here’s the thing: the ‘more you use, the more you pay’ or ‘you pay for what you use’ model is exactly what Usage Based Billing (UBB) is all about, and lets be honest, UBB is a terrible idea and is exactly why I don’t think this type of plan is worth subscribing to.

One of my concerns is you are entirely at the mercy of the ISP (in this case, the Telco’s) to properly meter your usage. In the wired Internet world, Bell has already proven themselves incapable of accurately measuring their consumers Internet usage, how sure are we it’s entirely accurate on the wireless end of the spectrum?

So, if you only slightly cross the threshold of what’s allowable under your monthly ‘Teir’, and are automatically bumped into the next tier which in turn increases your bill.

Take for example TELUS’ current (as of March 2011) mobile high-speed, and high-speed flex plans:

Say a subscriber uses just a little over their 2GB monthly allotment.  As soon as they cross that threshold, they’re automatically charged an extra $15. They might not use any more data the rest of the month, but their bill  increases for crossing that tier. Compare this, to a user who is on the $50 fixed 2GB/mo plan. If they use a little over their 2GB allotment, (say $100) at 5 cents/MB that would equate to an approximate $5 extra charge.

What  I encourage for subscribers, is to opt for a fixed data plan. This way you know how much data is included in your plans, and operate within those boundaries. I would like to think that the more savvy user that pays for a fixed amount of data are quite often more diligent in monitoring their usage, as the risks of paying exorbitant overage fees are greater. Also, users have fixed allotments of data, know where their max lies, and quite often make use of their entire monthly allowance, because they’ve paid for it, so they might as well make use of it all.

The other thing I should point out is that at either $65 or $70 for 5GB of mobile data usage is highway robbery. The ‘Big 3′ have had promotions in the past offering as much as 6GB for $30 in the past, and companies like Wind & Moblicity currently offer ‘unlimited’ packages for as low as $25. The wireless landscape continues to change, and as competition heats up, companies will have no choice but to lower prices to remain competitive.

Or, maybe the CRTC should do something about that… It is their job isn’t it? Another rant, another time.

It was an inevitable transition for me, but it took the right device at the right time. Given that Android is the best selling smartphone OS in the world, it was only a matter of time before the software was paired with hardware that enticed me to bite. As a long time BlackBerry user, a physical keyboard was a must for email/IM, but not just any keyboard would do (or else I would have bought a Milestone instead of my Bold).

Over the past several months, it’s become very clear to me that BlackBerry has absolutely intent on keeping the high-end, tech-savvy users happy and would rather ship millions of handsets to kids wanting the BBM platform and corporate suits who need their email (which, to their credit, are satisfying both markets extremely successfully)

Enter the HTC Desire Z. When I first read about the Desire Z in early September, I was sold. Ripe with Google’s latest Android 2.2 OS offering ‘Froyo’, 3.7″ LCD, packing a 5PM Camera w/720P Video and a slick pop-out hinge that revealed a well-designed keyboard, it was perfect. When I later found out Bell would be carrying it, I bought it the day it came out full pop @ $500+taxes. 10 minutes after requesting an unlock code from cellunlock.net, I was SIM free. Two days later, I was fully rooted, Overclocked from 800MHz to 1.5GHz, S-OFF’ed and ready to flash custom ROMS. The Desire Z shares the same ‘guts’ that the T-Mobile G2 (successor to the wildly popular HTC Dream/G1 phones) has. So, the development community is large. The geek that I am reveled at the idea of learning a new system, and it’s been quite an enjoyable experience learning from quite an eclectic group over at XDA-Developers. This was the Android experience I was looking for.

What do I enjoy most about this phone? I enjoy that it’s so much more than just a phone. It’s truly the definition of a ‘Portable Computer’, or PC if you will. I wouldn’t be caught without my phone, it travels everywhere with me. So the fact that it’s more than capable of performing my every-day computing tasks, makes it the true definition of a PC for me. Banking, browsing (with full Flash support, thank you), scheduling & OTA sync w/ my Google apps, email, remote access, social media & communication hub, portable internet. It’s everything, really. I love the fact that the OS is all about control. The fact that I can VNC to my phone from my PC while it’s upstairs charging emphasizes this point. If it’s not the availability of Market available apps, it’s the expanded options once rooted that really sell the OS’  capabilities.

It’s been a month and a half now since I’ve had my BlackBerry. In fact, I sold it on Kijiji (to a teenage girl, ironically enough) two days past my return policy on the Desire Z. People have asked me ‘Do you miss the BlackBerry? You Must miss BBM, no?”

Honestly? No. I can’t say that I miss it at all.

Here’s to an Android filled 2011!

Everyone loves Dropbox, it’s a syncing machine. But if you have a college / university email address, you have even more reason to love the service.  Just over a month ago, Dropbox announced that anyone with a .edu TLD email address has the opportunity to double your referral bonus from 250MB to 500MB per referral up to maximum of 16GB. Needless to say, not all colleges and universities use the .edu address (I’m pretty sure none in Canada do anyway…) so was all hope lost?

I guess not – Since their innital announcement, they’ve started opening up some international edu addresses.

All you need to do, is sign into Dropbox via the web, navigate to https://www.dropbox.com/edu, confirm your .ca university email address (my @trentu.ca email address worked no problems), and viola – once confirmed, any existing referral you’ve done will automatically be doubled, and your maximum storage space is up to 16GB. I went from about 8GB prior to just over 11GB once I confirmed my University email address.

No more excuses of lost assignments and/or important documents now!

*** Heads Up!*** Data tethering can be outrageously expensive (potentially $8/mb) if your plan does not include tethering. I take no responsibilities if you end up with crazy data charges. My data package includes tethering, and I’ve had NO extra charges using the methods outlined below. That being said, if you feel comfortable doing what you’re doing… carry on

After a whole lot of internet searching, and no success finding a step-by-step tutorial on how to properly setup Bluetooth tethering, I’ve manage to piece together the settings on how you can make this work. This tutorial is specifically written on how to setup Bluetooth tethering with TELUS BlackBerries, and even more specifically my Bold 9700, so keep in mind, your mileage may vary on this one… but I hope this helps get you in the right direction.

My laptop is an LG R200 (C2D T7250, 2GB RAM) with a fresh installation of Windows 7 x32 Enterprise. I’m using the generic built-in Bluetooth drivers that Microsoft supports provides with Windows 7 which proves to be all that’s required to make things work.

First step, is to pair your Bluetooth enabled PC to your BlackBerry. During the paring, Windows installs the ‘Standard Modem over Bluetooth Link’ drivers required for Bluetooth connection to your BlackBerry, and then to the internet.

In the Network & Sharing Center in the Control Panel, there is an option to ‘Setup a new connection or network’ which you select, and on the following screen you select the ‘Standard Modem over Bluetooth link’ as the modem you’d like to use. The following screen asks you to enter your ISP information. Enter the following:

Dial-up Phone  number: *99#
User name: leave blank
password: leave blank

Give the connection name something like ‘TELUS via Bluetooth’ or something, an  then click connect. It will attempt to dial the *99# number via your BlackBerry – but just cancel this attempt by hitting ‘Skip’. Hitting close on the following screen creates the connection and saves the connection under Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network Connections (or by clicking the ‘Change Adapter Settings’ link in the side menu of the ‘Network and Sharing Center’)

*Update July 19th 2010*: confirmed that this setting also works with a CDMA BlackBerry 8530 as I helped a friend setup her phone for bluetooth tethering as well. No need for the next step if you’re configuring a CDMA (1XEV) BlackBerry, read on if you’re using an HSPA (3G) BlackBerry…

Next, from the Control Panel, select ‘Phone and Modem’ settings. Under the ‘Modems’ tab, select the ‘Standard Modem over Bluetooth Link’ and hit ‘Properties’.

Under the General Tab, hit the ‘Change Settings’ button. Select the ‘Advanced’ tab and add this line to the ‘Extra initialization commands’ box:

AT+CGDCONT=1,”IP”,”sp.telus.com”

sp.telus.com is the APN Telus uses for internet connections. Once you’re done, hit OK.

I’ve modified the connection properties to skip the prompt for the phone number and prompt for username/password, so it connects as soon as you click the ‘Connect’ button.

But that’s it – you’re good to go. You know you’re connected when your BlackBerry says ‘Modem Mode Enabled’ like it does here:

Now, I should probably say… Tethering via Bluetooth is NOT as fast as tethering via a USB cable, nor does it help the ‘make my battery life on my BlackBerry longer’ department, but it’s mighty handy when you don’t want to mess around with wires.  From what I’ve read, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR  maxes out around 3mb/sec, so your results may be a little better than this, but for webbrowsing, email, (and creating posts like this) – I’m OK with it.