WEBVTT - The Verizon iPhone Shakes Things Up 0:00:00.280 --> 0:00:02.840 Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve camera. 0:00:03.160 --> 0:00:08.920 It's ready. Are you get in touch with technology? With 0:00:09.039 --> 0:00:17.960 tech Stuff from how stuff works dot com. Hello again, everyone, 0:00:18.079 --> 0:00:20.480 Welcome to tech Stuff. My name is Chris Poulette and 0:00:20.480 --> 0:00:22.680 I am an editor at how stuff works dot com. 0:00:22.720 --> 0:00:25.079 Sitting across from me, as always when we record such 0:00:25.160 --> 0:00:32.640 podcasts as this, his senior writer, Jonathan Strickland. One more thing. Yeah, yeah, 0:00:32.640 --> 0:00:34.080 that was not a movie quote, but that was a 0:00:34.159 --> 0:00:36.280 quote in honor of our subject today. So let me 0:00:36.320 --> 0:00:40.760 get something out of the way. I was wrong. I'm 0:00:40.920 --> 0:00:44.720 very rarely wrong, but this time I was wrong because 0:00:44.800 --> 0:00:48.760 back in our prediction show for eleven, I said that 0:00:49.560 --> 0:00:53.000 would come and go without the iPhone coming to Verizon. 0:00:53.520 --> 0:00:56.640 Then I went to c S and there was mentioned 0:00:56.640 --> 0:00:59.760 that Verizon was going to make a big announcement that 0:00:59.840 --> 0:01:02.360 week after c e S, and by the time I 0:01:02.440 --> 0:01:05.240 left ce S, it was all but a certainty that 0:01:05.240 --> 0:01:08.000 that announcement would be the iPhone would come to Verizon, 0:01:08.080 --> 0:01:14.319 and low and behold, such was the case. Indeed, I 0:01:14.360 --> 0:01:18.000 think this is the first time that I've actually gotten 0:01:18.040 --> 0:01:20.280 one of our predictions right to the point where I 0:01:20.360 --> 0:01:23.240 might actually win a point for it in our recap. Yeah, 0:01:23.560 --> 0:01:26.640 well we'll find out when that when December rolls around, 0:01:28.120 --> 0:01:29.920 and it's a lot of time between now and then 0:01:29.959 --> 0:01:32.679 whoever is holding the red pen of death. And the 0:01:32.720 --> 0:01:36.399 amazing thing is it only took until January twelve for 0:01:36.560 --> 0:01:40.360 us to get that far Man, twelve days into the 0:01:40.440 --> 0:01:45.640 year before I got one totally wrong. Oh Man. So yes, 0:01:45.840 --> 0:01:48.000 at the time we were recording the podcast that Verizon 0:01:48.040 --> 0:01:51.360 iPhone has been announced officially but has not yet been 0:01:51.400 --> 0:01:54.880 released officially, and according to our publication schedule, this episode 0:01:54.920 --> 0:01:58.200 should come out even before you can get your your 0:01:58.280 --> 0:02:00.720 hot little hands on a Verizon I phone, but not 0:02:00.800 --> 0:02:04.440 too long before, because uh, they're starting to allow pre 0:02:04.640 --> 0:02:08.120 orders starting at the beginning of February. Correct, Yes, February third, 0:02:08.280 --> 0:02:11.400 if you are an existing Verizon customer um, which is 0:02:11.480 --> 0:02:13.600 very nice. A lot a lot of companies actually sort 0:02:13.600 --> 0:02:17.040 of prefer to push the bonus out to the new 0:02:17.080 --> 0:02:18.760 people to get them to come on board, but in 0:02:18.800 --> 0:02:22.280 this case, Verizon is offering them the phone on February 0:02:22.520 --> 0:02:26.080 third for pre orders and then uh for everyone else, 0:02:26.639 --> 0:02:30.080 h February t So, but it's not going to be 0:02:30.120 --> 0:02:31.519 long and they had this had to have been in 0:02:31.560 --> 0:02:34.440 the works for quite some time in order for Apple 0:02:34.480 --> 0:02:36.920 to turn around that many iPhones, because a lot of 0:02:36.919 --> 0:02:39.720 people are expecting the iPhone to do very well, indeed 0:02:39.720 --> 0:02:43.560 on Verizon. Yeah, Now, if you're not familiar with the 0:02:43.600 --> 0:02:47.519 way the United States major carriers kind of fall into place, 0:02:47.840 --> 0:02:49.080 I thought you were about to say, if you're not 0:02:49.080 --> 0:02:51.799 familiar with the iPhone, I'm sorry. What if you're not 0:02:51.840 --> 0:02:54.680 familiar with the iPhone? I mean not everyone is, but 0:02:54.720 --> 0:02:56.720 I'm assuming that most of the people on the podcast 0:02:57.120 --> 0:03:02.239 from the past. Uh, it's my little I T crowd moment. Yeah, 0:03:02.280 --> 0:03:05.480 the the United States carriers are a little different than 0:03:05.480 --> 0:03:08.760 they are elsewhere in the world. Right, Yeah, well, and 0:03:08.840 --> 0:03:12.160 in the United States we have lots of different carriers, 0:03:12.160 --> 0:03:15.960 but we have four major ones, right, and the biggest 0:03:16.000 --> 0:03:18.280 of them all as far as the number of customers 0:03:18.320 --> 0:03:21.760 is a Verizon. Yes, so it goes correct me if 0:03:21.760 --> 0:03:24.400 I'm wrong, I'm doing this from memory. It's Verizon, a 0:03:24.520 --> 0:03:27.880 T and T Sprint T mobile. That is correct as 0:03:28.080 --> 0:03:32.360 as of this recording. Right. So iPhone, of course in 0:03:32.400 --> 0:03:34.960 the United States was exclusive to a T and T 0:03:35.280 --> 0:03:38.440 for the first several years of its existence. Yes, in fact, 0:03:38.880 --> 0:03:41.960 they it was. It was it was public knowledge that 0:03:42.000 --> 0:03:44.920 the agreement was private. They had some sort of deal 0:03:45.160 --> 0:03:49.280 that and unknown amount of time and they just said, yes, 0:03:49.280 --> 0:03:52.040 it is exclusive to a T and T for well, 0:03:52.040 --> 0:03:54.480 we're not telling you for how long, but it's exclusive. Yeah. 0:03:54.480 --> 0:03:57.000 The the number I saw more often than not was 0:03:57.080 --> 0:03:59.960 five years, which is that's what I based my prediction 0:04:00.040 --> 0:04:03.640 off of, because by my by my reckoning, it would 0:04:03.680 --> 0:04:05.960 mean that would be the first year outside of the 0:04:05.960 --> 0:04:10.720 exclusivity agreement, assuming that it was not renewed. Right and clearly, 0:04:10.880 --> 0:04:13.640 whatever the length of time it was, it's over now. 0:04:14.560 --> 0:04:19.320 Uh So why would it makes sense from a customer 0:04:19.360 --> 0:04:22.040 base that the Apple would want the iPhone to get 0:04:22.040 --> 0:04:25.080 onto Verizon because Verizon has got more customers than T. 0:04:26.240 --> 0:04:28.559 But there are problems with that, Yes, there are problems 0:04:28.600 --> 0:04:30.960 with that. What's one of the what's the biggest one? 0:04:31.279 --> 0:04:34.240 The biggest one would be the difference in technology used 0:04:34.520 --> 0:04:38.479 for by the different carriers to handle voice and data 0:04:39.360 --> 0:04:43.719 um on on a T and T and T mobile systems. Uh, 0:04:43.760 --> 0:04:46.520 they use g s M, which is I guess it's 0:04:46.520 --> 0:04:49.280 fair to say the global standard. The most places in 0:04:49.320 --> 0:04:51.560 the world use GSM. There are a few other countries 0:04:51.600 --> 0:04:54.440 besides the United States that have the other one that 0:04:54.440 --> 0:04:57.280 we're about to talk about. But most yes, c dm AY, 0:04:57.800 --> 0:05:01.919 but most use G s M would and Sprint next, 0:05:01.960 --> 0:05:05.120 Hell and UH and Verizon use c d M A, 0:05:05.480 --> 0:05:07.880 which is in the United States is by far the 0:05:07.920 --> 0:05:12.000 largest market for c d M A technology. Yeah, and uh, 0:05:12.279 --> 0:05:13.960 which is both a good and a bad thing, right. 0:05:14.000 --> 0:05:16.680 I mean, if you do just domestic travel, if you 0:05:16.720 --> 0:05:18.920 live in the United States and you just do domestic travel, 0:05:19.240 --> 0:05:21.719 c d M A is great technology. You've got pretty 0:05:21.720 --> 0:05:24.520 good coverage pretty much anywhere you go. If you do 0:05:24.600 --> 0:05:27.440 global travel, then that becomes a problem. You don't really 0:05:27.440 --> 0:05:30.520 have a phone capable of making calls on other networks 0:05:30.520 --> 0:05:33.920 because the technology is not compatible. That's the really important thing. 0:05:33.920 --> 0:05:35.440 Is c d M A and G s M they 0:05:35.480 --> 0:05:38.480 don't work with each other, right, but you can get Ah, 0:05:38.760 --> 0:05:42.120 there are phones out there that have chips for both. Right. Uh. 0:05:42.240 --> 0:05:45.039 Some of the c d M A phones have a 0:05:45.080 --> 0:05:50.080 SIM card slot because you know, they number is essentially 0:05:50.120 --> 0:05:53.680 baked into the hardware for c d M A phones. Um. 0:05:53.680 --> 0:05:55.600 Whereas if you have a G s M phone and 0:05:55.600 --> 0:05:57.960 you've actually taken it apart a little bit, you know, 0:05:57.960 --> 0:05:59.920 maybe just taking the battery out to see the SIM 0:06:00.000 --> 0:06:01.640 card or watch them put it in at the store. 0:06:02.000 --> 0:06:04.800 You know that basically your number and your phone book 0:06:05.120 --> 0:06:08.000 in some cases and some other information is stored on 0:06:08.040 --> 0:06:10.880 that card. And you can take your SIM card out 0:06:10.880 --> 0:06:12.280 of your phone if you have a G s M 0:06:12.320 --> 0:06:14.120 phone and put it in another phone and there you're 0:06:14.120 --> 0:06:16.760 ready to go. Um, but not so much with a 0:06:16.839 --> 0:06:18.960 C d M a phone. And people who take who 0:06:19.040 --> 0:06:23.840 have Verizon, for example, and go to a country where 0:06:23.839 --> 0:06:26.200 there is G s M if they have one of 0:06:26.200 --> 0:06:29.160 the dual mode phones, I'm not sure exactly how you 0:06:29.160 --> 0:06:31.360 would refer to that, but um, there's a slot where 0:06:31.400 --> 0:06:33.440 you can insert a G s M card and you can, 0:06:33.520 --> 0:06:35.680 you know, get a SIM card and snap it in 0:06:35.680 --> 0:06:39.440 place and use your phone. Um. Of course I'm sure 0:06:39.480 --> 0:06:41.479 that means that you're using a different phone number, but 0:06:41.520 --> 0:06:45.760 at least you can use your phone. So the the 0:06:46.279 --> 0:06:49.400 news about the iPhone coming to Verizon was both surprising 0:06:49.400 --> 0:06:52.520 and not surprising. It was not surprising because, of course, 0:06:52.560 --> 0:06:55.200 like I said, you know, the Verizon has a lot 0:06:55.200 --> 0:06:57.400 of customers, and of course, if you if you make 0:06:57.400 --> 0:06:59.320 a product, you want to hit as many customers as 0:06:59.360 --> 0:07:02.320 you possibly can in. It was surprising in the sense 0:07:02.360 --> 0:07:05.440 that it meant that that that Apple had to re 0:07:05.640 --> 0:07:09.120 engineer some of its phone in order for it there 0:07:09.160 --> 0:07:11.080 to be a C d M A version, right, that's right, 0:07:11.120 --> 0:07:13.840 and just couldn't just PLoP out the other, you know, 0:07:13.880 --> 0:07:15.760 the G S M based one, and with a couple 0:07:15.760 --> 0:07:18.480 of changes. That actually takes quite a bit. And there's 0:07:18.520 --> 0:07:21.360 some differences between the Verizon version and the A T 0:07:21.440 --> 0:07:25.520 and T version that are carrier based, not necessarily hardware based. 0:07:26.000 --> 0:07:29.960 That's true. Um, you can see evidence of the difference 0:07:30.160 --> 0:07:34.360 when you actually look at the phone. There's a visible difference. Um. 0:07:34.400 --> 0:07:38.400 If you look at the antennas, which is uh famously 0:07:38.760 --> 0:07:43.040 now after antenna gate, the band around the outside of 0:07:43.040 --> 0:07:46.840 the iPhone four Um, you can see that the antennas 0:07:46.920 --> 0:07:50.720 of a Verizon iPhone and a an A T and 0:07:50.800 --> 0:07:54.679 T iPhone are joined differently in different places, and in fact, 0:07:54.760 --> 0:07:56.840 one of the buttons is moved a little bit. So 0:07:56.880 --> 0:07:58.320 if you get a bumper for an A T and 0:07:58.360 --> 0:08:00.760 T phone, it's not going to fit your Yeah, I've 0:08:00.760 --> 0:08:02.800 seen that A T and T is starting to carry 0:08:02.960 --> 0:08:05.040 um or at least uh, I don't know if they're 0:08:05.040 --> 0:08:07.600 carrying it, but there are a third party bumper cases 0:08:07.600 --> 0:08:10.680 out there that are designed to be universal, so they're 0:08:10.720 --> 0:08:13.160 the openings are a little larger so that it can 0:08:13.200 --> 0:08:15.920 accommodate a button, whether it's been moved over a little 0:08:15.920 --> 0:08:18.280 bit or not. It's the ring or mute switch if 0:08:18.280 --> 0:08:20.760 you're if you're keeping score at home. It also means 0:08:20.840 --> 0:08:24.680 that because there are the antenna's aligned a different way 0:08:24.760 --> 0:08:27.320 on the Verizon phone, that there's a totally new way 0:08:27.360 --> 0:08:30.000 that you can hold it wrong. Actually I don't know 0:08:30.040 --> 0:08:32.120 that for a fact, I've not used a Verizon iPhone. 0:08:32.240 --> 0:08:35.439 The c net report that I read said that they 0:08:35.440 --> 0:08:38.160 had tried it out and they couldn't could not find 0:08:38.240 --> 0:08:41.360 a grip of death. As if you're if you're unfamiliar 0:08:41.360 --> 0:08:43.440 with this, we should we should actually I guess mention 0:08:43.520 --> 0:08:46.960 this um a T and T s iPhone or the 0:08:47.000 --> 0:08:49.480 iPhone that that was used with a T and T UH. 0:08:49.600 --> 0:08:52.440 When the iPhone four first came out, it was criticized 0:08:52.480 --> 0:08:56.000 because if you touch certain parts of the antenna, they're 0:08:56.000 --> 0:08:59.000 actually uh different pieces to the antenna that go around 0:08:59.000 --> 0:09:00.920 the outside the stainless old band that you see then 0:09:01.000 --> 0:09:02.920 around the outside and if you touch it in a 0:09:02.960 --> 0:09:05.560 certain way, you create a short circuit that drops calls. 0:09:06.280 --> 0:09:10.120 UM and you know it. The problem exists more for 0:09:10.200 --> 0:09:12.240 some people than others. Some say that it has to 0:09:12.240 --> 0:09:14.720 do with the electrolytes and your sweaty hands. Some people 0:09:14.760 --> 0:09:17.080 say whether or not it's you're left handed, because you'd 0:09:17.080 --> 0:09:18.640 be holding the phone in your left hand and that 0:09:18.640 --> 0:09:20.640 would make that would mean that you would be more 0:09:20.760 --> 0:09:24.199 likely to make that connection. Yeah, the problem is solved 0:09:24.200 --> 0:09:26.240 pretty easily if you put a rubber bumper around the 0:09:26.240 --> 0:09:30.680 outside of it. Um. But of course it people have 0:09:31.040 --> 0:09:35.079 a pretty high standard for Apple's iPhone. And uh, the 0:09:35.080 --> 0:09:38.280 the idea that it wasn't perfect. Uh, you know, made 0:09:38.280 --> 0:09:40.680 some people laugh with glee and other people, you know, 0:09:40.679 --> 0:09:44.600 stamp their feet. Yeah. The and and we should also 0:09:44.600 --> 0:09:46.560 add that this was a problem that was new to 0:09:46.640 --> 0:09:50.520 the iPhone floor because the previous iPhone versions did not 0:09:50.679 --> 0:09:55.000 have the antenna exposed like that. Yeah. So the iPhone 0:09:55.120 --> 0:09:58.880 on Verizon, we have not played with it yet. UM. 0:09:59.280 --> 0:10:02.160 I have seence some reviews. I saw the Consumer Reports 0:10:02.320 --> 0:10:05.480 was actually cautioning people against buying it, and I've seen 0:10:05.520 --> 0:10:10.240 the same sentiment echoed throughout the blogosphere, and various tech 0:10:10.320 --> 0:10:12.440 journalists have said the same thing, and essentially what their 0:10:12.480 --> 0:10:14.599 point is is not that the iPhone and Verizon is 0:10:14.600 --> 0:10:18.760 a bad product or that Verizon offers a poor service, 0:10:19.240 --> 0:10:22.920 but rather that if Apple is following its normal m O, 0:10:23.679 --> 0:10:27.760 then we should see an update to the iPhone this 0:10:27.920 --> 0:10:31.360 summer tends to be in June that we see these 0:10:31.440 --> 0:10:35.160 these announcements, and that it may not be immediately available 0:10:35.160 --> 0:10:37.760 when the announcements made, but shortly thereafter it tends to 0:10:37.800 --> 0:10:40.840 be available. So if there's an iPhone five on the 0:10:40.880 --> 0:10:43.720 way or some sort of update to the iPhone four, 0:10:43.880 --> 0:10:46.520 kind of like the way the the iPhone three GS 0:10:46.679 --> 0:10:49.560 was an update to the iPhone three G, then it 0:10:49.640 --> 0:10:53.240 makes sense to wait instead of purchasing an iPhone four 0:10:53.320 --> 0:10:56.880 now and then a few months later you're you're faced 0:10:56.920 --> 0:10:59.920 with the fact that you know your your devices already 0:11:00.440 --> 0:11:06.400 not obsolete but outdated. So um buy or beware, I guess. 0:11:06.480 --> 0:11:08.680 I mean, it really depends on what you've been used 0:11:08.720 --> 0:11:10.400 to write. I mean, there are plenty of people out 0:11:10.440 --> 0:11:15.800 there who are still using uh, dumb phones or feature phones. 0:11:15.960 --> 0:11:19.200 I'm looking at one, I think, so, yeah, there are 0:11:19.200 --> 0:11:21.720 plenty of people out there who have phones that they 0:11:21.760 --> 0:11:24.920 don't fall into the smartphone bracket, and they've been waiting 0:11:25.080 --> 0:11:28.479 for something like the iPhone. You know, they aren't necessarily 0:11:29.080 --> 0:11:33.240 um enamored of the other operating systems that are available 0:11:33.240 --> 0:11:36.760 out there, whether it's Android or Windows Phone seven or 0:11:37.200 --> 0:11:41.840 or Blackberries. Uh, you know, the RIM operating system or 0:11:42.080 --> 0:11:45.559 Palms webOS or Palms Web. But well, you know, where 0:11:45.559 --> 0:11:51.480 are you gonna buy one of those? Um? So they're 0:11:51.520 --> 0:11:54.400 there are very few differences actually in the iPhone for 0:11:54.960 --> 0:11:57.679 that that you would actually notice. I mean, they're the cost, 0:11:57.760 --> 0:12:01.160 the price point is the same for this team gigabyte version. 0:12:01.840 --> 0:12:06.280 Uh for the thirty two. UM, I don't really know 0:12:06.400 --> 0:12:08.960 what the data plan is going to be yet, that's 0:12:08.960 --> 0:12:11.480 that's true. And it doesn't, as as you said, have 0:12:11.559 --> 0:12:13.600 a SIM card slot, so you will not be able 0:12:13.640 --> 0:12:17.200 to use it on a GSM network. But it does 0:12:17.240 --> 0:12:20.920 have data, you're right, and um uh, you know Verizon 0:12:20.960 --> 0:12:23.760 still has unlimited data plans if I'm not mistaken, right, 0:12:23.800 --> 0:12:25.640 We don't know if that's gonna dropped, you know, we 0:12:25.640 --> 0:12:27.360 don't know if that's going to stay the same once 0:12:27.440 --> 0:12:31.000 the iPhone goes live. We also don't know apparently right 0:12:31.040 --> 0:12:34.640 now anyway, as soon as the iPhone hits the store shelves, 0:12:34.920 --> 0:12:39.160 it will not be capable of doing simultaneous data advoice, 0:12:39.559 --> 0:12:42.000 which means you can't have a phone call while you 0:12:42.040 --> 0:12:44.920 are surfing the web at the same time. But supposedly 0:12:44.920 --> 0:12:48.080 that an update will follow, possibly in the spring. Okay, 0:12:48.120 --> 0:12:50.160 what I had read, Now I don't I don't know 0:12:50.160 --> 0:12:51.720 if this is true. And what I read was that 0:12:51.760 --> 0:12:53.360 was a problem with c d M a more than 0:12:53.400 --> 0:12:57.800 it was with the iPhone's ability to do that. I 0:12:57.840 --> 0:13:01.520 think I think it's a are your issue, not a 0:13:01.559 --> 0:13:04.040 hardware issue, which is why Verizon, which is why Verizon 0:13:04.080 --> 0:13:06.200 said they were working on it and they expected to 0:13:06.520 --> 0:13:09.000 fix that by spring. Okay, yeah, I was. I was 0:13:09.040 --> 0:13:10.679 curious when I read that and wrote that down, went 0:13:10.760 --> 0:13:12.959 really is that? Okay? It's one of those things where, 0:13:12.960 --> 0:13:17.040 I mean, you see these problems pop up in devices occasionally, 0:13:17.080 --> 0:13:19.720 and sometimes you just your left scratching your head about it. 0:13:19.800 --> 0:13:21.720 And really it just means that there's stuff going on 0:13:21.760 --> 0:13:24.440 behind the scenes that we're not privy to, and um, 0:13:24.640 --> 0:13:26.920 and that's why, I mean, it probably makes perfect sense 0:13:27.440 --> 0:13:32.120 from their perspective. Now, there is another capability that the 0:13:32.240 --> 0:13:35.199 Verizon iPhone has as that, as you said, is not 0:13:35.240 --> 0:13:38.720 necessarily tied to hardware, and that's its ability to function 0:13:38.760 --> 0:13:42.480 as a hot spot for WiFi. Yeah. Actually the the A, 0:13:42.600 --> 0:13:45.520 T and T one could do that, but that feature 0:13:45.679 --> 0:13:51.360 is not enabled the United States by carrier specific So 0:13:51.720 --> 0:13:54.439 by that we mean that you could create a little 0:13:54.440 --> 0:13:57.040 hot spot with your phone and connect up to I 0:13:57.040 --> 0:13:59.440 think it's five other devices to it. Yes, that's what 0:13:59.480 --> 0:14:02.600 I have, So your phone would be connected to uh 0:14:02.760 --> 0:14:06.079 the three G network. Um. Because that's another thing we 0:14:06.120 --> 0:14:08.600 should point out is the Verizon iPhone does not work 0:14:08.600 --> 0:14:11.560 on their LT network. Yes, and that's that's that's true 0:14:11.559 --> 0:14:14.800 of the A, T and T iPhone four as well. 0:14:14.880 --> 0:14:20.440 They're both three G network phones. So that also would 0:14:20.480 --> 0:14:23.160 sort of lead one to believe, especially with the push 0:14:23.280 --> 0:14:25.120 for four G right now, that it might be a 0:14:25.120 --> 0:14:28.120 good time to just for a couple of months do 0:14:28.200 --> 0:14:30.760 anything and see how that plant that plays out, because 0:14:30.760 --> 0:14:34.480 I don't know if either of these phones will be upgradeable. 0:14:35.160 --> 0:14:37.960 I kind of doubt it, right yeah, because usually you 0:14:37.960 --> 0:14:42.280 need another chip in order because LTE, at least LTE anyway, 0:14:42.520 --> 0:14:48.120 is it a different technology, um with if you're looking 0:14:48.120 --> 0:14:54.320 at uh the hsp A plus the the old technology 0:14:54.400 --> 0:14:57.440 that gets four G speeds. That's the that's the technology 0:14:57.480 --> 0:15:00.760 that T Mobile refers to as four G on their phones, 0:15:01.400 --> 0:15:03.480 because you're getting four G speeds even though it's not 0:15:03.600 --> 0:15:07.720 technically a four G technology. Um, I don't know. I 0:15:07.760 --> 0:15:09.880 would assume you didn't even have to have special equipment 0:15:09.880 --> 0:15:11.720 for that. I know that my iPhone is capable of 0:15:11.760 --> 0:15:14.680 doing that and I love it. But yeah, it's getting 0:15:14.680 --> 0:15:16.400 back to the hot spot. The idea here is that 0:15:16.480 --> 0:15:18.920 your your phone is connecting to data through the three 0:15:19.000 --> 0:15:22.760 G network and then creates a Wi Fi hot spot 0:15:22.800 --> 0:15:25.520 that other devices can connect to. So if you have 0:15:25.640 --> 0:15:27.760 a happen to have another device there that does not 0:15:27.960 --> 0:15:31.280 have three G capability or doesn't have any uh has, 0:15:31.400 --> 0:15:34.280 it's just WiFi only, you could connect it to your 0:15:34.320 --> 0:15:40.000 phone via the WiFi and then get data that way. Now, um, 0:15:40.040 --> 0:15:42.720 there's something else that I thought about. I was thinking 0:15:42.720 --> 0:15:46.520 about this. It was, you know, going over the idea 0:15:46.560 --> 0:15:48.880 in my head and going okay, well, there other than 0:15:48.920 --> 0:15:54.280 a few differences in the technology required, Um, the iPhone 0:15:54.320 --> 0:15:57.840 four is not all that different from the one that's 0:15:57.920 --> 0:16:00.760 on a T and T uh a T and T 0:16:00.840 --> 0:16:02.840 S network. But I do think this is kind of 0:16:02.880 --> 0:16:07.240 an interesting move because um by and large phones, at 0:16:07.280 --> 0:16:10.000 least in the United States, phones are specific to carrier, 0:16:10.640 --> 0:16:14.240 and now we're taking the almost exactly the same phone 0:16:14.720 --> 0:16:18.120 and moving it to multiple carriers. And I wonder if 0:16:18.160 --> 0:16:22.040 that's going to open doors for other manufacturers such as 0:16:22.280 --> 0:16:25.040 motor Role for example, could you have the droid move 0:16:25.160 --> 0:16:27.640 to Sprint so you have it on Sprint and Verizon, 0:16:28.640 --> 0:16:31.400 or you know LG S or HTC S phones, will 0:16:31.440 --> 0:16:34.280 they the same model be available other than you know, 0:16:34.320 --> 0:16:36.960 C D M A or GSM or actually most of 0:16:36.960 --> 0:16:39.360 the carriers are going with LTE for four G, so 0:16:39.880 --> 0:16:41.840 it seems like it would just be that much more portable. 0:16:42.040 --> 0:16:44.080 Well this, well this, do you think this is going 0:16:44.160 --> 0:16:47.760 to open the door to, uh, give the manufacturers more 0:16:47.800 --> 0:16:51.360 control over which carriers they can shop their phones too. Well, 0:16:51.400 --> 0:16:54.320 we've seen some of that before, like Nokia has phones 0:16:54.400 --> 0:16:58.000 that are appearing on on multiple carriers, but in those 0:16:58.040 --> 0:17:01.680 cases they tend to not be supported by the carriers 0:17:01.720 --> 0:17:05.080 in a subsidized way. Because in the United States, one 0:17:05.119 --> 0:17:07.120 of the other big things that's different from a lot 0:17:07.119 --> 0:17:09.320 of the other countries in the world is that, uh, 0:17:09.400 --> 0:17:12.159 most of the phones that we purchased tend to be 0:17:12.200 --> 0:17:15.880 subsidized by the carrier, and you you know, you agree 0:17:15.920 --> 0:17:18.879 to enter into a contract usually two years, although you 0:17:18.880 --> 0:17:22.560 can get one year contracts as well um with that carrier, 0:17:23.000 --> 0:17:26.640 and as part of that agreement you get those part 0:17:26.640 --> 0:17:29.560 of the purchase prices knocked off of the device, right 0:17:29.920 --> 0:17:32.920 because of usually a significant portion if you were buying 0:17:32.920 --> 0:17:35.240 an iPhone outright to be around six hundred dollars I 0:17:35.280 --> 0:17:39.160 think something like that five hundred dollars in so when 0:17:39.200 --> 0:17:41.840 you enter into this contract, they knock off some of 0:17:41.840 --> 0:17:45.600 that purchase price. Now, if you were to actually examine 0:17:45.640 --> 0:17:48.919 the contract, you'd realize that through the various fees that 0:17:48.920 --> 0:17:51.959 you're paying over the course of the lifetime of the device, 0:17:52.000 --> 0:17:54.520 you're going to pay more than you would on that 0:17:54.680 --> 0:17:57.840 upfront purchase price. Right. But it's easier to do because 0:17:57.840 --> 0:18:00.280 it's spread out over time. It's not all at lens. 0:18:01.200 --> 0:18:02.760 You know, if you see, if I see a phone 0:18:02.840 --> 0:18:05.359 in front of me and it says it's five dollars 0:18:05.400 --> 0:18:08.240 or six hundred dollars, I bulk at that price. And 0:18:08.280 --> 0:18:10.000 I know that there are people around the world who 0:18:10.119 --> 0:18:12.360 that's their reality. They go out and they buy a smartphone. 0:18:12.400 --> 0:18:14.520 That's how much it's gonna cost and then but they're 0:18:14.560 --> 0:18:21.080 not tied to a specific contract. So um, I think 0:18:21.359 --> 0:18:23.440 if you I think, if we do see more devices 0:18:23.600 --> 0:18:26.800 appearing on other carriers, there's the there's at least the 0:18:26.800 --> 0:18:31.359 potential that it moves to a more uh well to 0:18:31.359 --> 0:18:33.640 to the same model that most other countries are following, 0:18:33.640 --> 0:18:37.479 which is that, yeah, it's not tied to a specific carrier, 0:18:37.560 --> 0:18:39.359 but you're going to have to pay for that. You know, 0:18:39.359 --> 0:18:41.840 you're gonna have to pay the full price for that 0:18:41.920 --> 0:18:45.520 model as opposed to a subsidized price. Yeah. Yeah, Well 0:18:45.560 --> 0:18:48.159 we saw we saw evidence of that with Google's Nexus 0:18:48.200 --> 0:18:52.280 one phone, which was made by htc UM and they 0:18:52.280 --> 0:18:57.159 initially were planning on offering it UM unlocked, So it 0:18:57.280 --> 0:19:00.160 was a GSM phone that you could use with UM 0:19:00.160 --> 0:19:04.000 a T and T or T mobile and I mean 0:19:04.040 --> 0:19:07.080 you you could actually have it subsidized by T mobile 0:19:07.720 --> 0:19:09.600 UM or you could buy the unlocked version, and there 0:19:09.680 --> 0:19:13.640 was something like what four difference in the price between 0:19:14.520 --> 0:19:17.840 uh T mobile two year contract and getting it that way. 0:19:18.000 --> 0:19:20.760 Of course, uh they never really came out with the 0:19:20.760 --> 0:19:23.639 the they kind of ended the Nexus one program for 0:19:23.760 --> 0:19:25.840 it moved to other carriers that you had been planning 0:19:25.840 --> 0:19:29.800 a Horizon phone which never actually made it um to 0:19:29.960 --> 0:19:32.879 the to the carrier. Um. But yeah, I mean that. 0:19:33.320 --> 0:19:35.159 You know, if you were watching that whole thing, you 0:19:35.200 --> 0:19:39.360 would have seen firsthand the difference that the subsidy makes. UM. 0:19:39.440 --> 0:19:43.280 But I have started seeing rumors that there will be 0:19:43.280 --> 0:19:47.240 an iPhone headed for Sprint UM. And of course the 0:19:47.560 --> 0:19:50.639 rumors have been back and forth with T Mobile simply 0:19:50.640 --> 0:19:54.400 because uh, T Mobile, if I'm not mistaken, is currently 0:19:54.440 --> 0:19:58.280 the largest wireless provider in the world, although the fourth 0:19:58.359 --> 0:20:00.520 largest in the United States. T MO Boll has the 0:20:00.600 --> 0:20:04.000 rights to the iPhone in Europe. UM. And you know, 0:20:04.000 --> 0:20:07.840 there have been pictures of packaging with iPhone. I've actually 0:20:07.880 --> 0:20:11.359 seen people on the blog on blogs post photos of 0:20:11.520 --> 0:20:16.120 iPhone accessories in the T Mobile livery and I'm going, yeah, well, 0:20:16.160 --> 0:20:18.879 they would actually have a reason to have those accessories 0:20:18.920 --> 0:20:22.040 packaged in their colors because they sell the iPhone, just 0:20:22.080 --> 0:20:25.640 not here in the United States, so international travelers would 0:20:25.680 --> 0:20:28.680 definitely want that, yes, yes, And so you know we're 0:20:28.720 --> 0:20:32.080 seeing I've been seeing the rumors for Sprint now that 0:20:32.119 --> 0:20:35.880 the Verizon announcement has come down, So I wonder if uh, 0:20:35.920 --> 0:20:39.320 there's an exclusivity agreement at all, or a semi exclusive 0:20:39.320 --> 0:20:42.320 agreement between those two carriers, or if Apple is going 0:20:42.400 --> 0:20:44.080 to say, you know what, we want as many people 0:20:44.080 --> 0:20:46.360 as we can get, no matter what, we've got the iPhone, 0:20:46.400 --> 0:20:50.680 it's desirable. I'm pretty certain that during their UM press 0:20:50.720 --> 0:20:54.600 conference where Verizon unveiled the fact that they were having 0:20:54.640 --> 0:20:57.480 the iPhone to no surprise at that point, yes, because 0:20:57.800 --> 0:21:01.560 but everyone was essentially saying, today's the day Verizon is 0:21:01.600 --> 0:21:03.600 going to talk about the iPhone. I mean, it was, 0:21:04.040 --> 0:21:06.439 that was all over the news. UM. But when they 0:21:06.440 --> 0:21:11.760 announced it, they said there is no exclusivity agreement. So 0:21:11.840 --> 0:21:14.960 that that means there's at least the potential that the 0:21:14.960 --> 0:21:18.760 the iPhone could move to the other carriers as well. UM. 0:21:18.880 --> 0:21:20.720 I'm sure the other carriers would love to see that. 0:21:20.760 --> 0:21:24.359 It would it would even the playing field across all carriers. 0:21:24.960 --> 0:21:29.119