AT&T v. Sprint

Sprint and AT&T have released their flagship phones over the past month and I've been doing a lot of research about which new device and plan makes the most sense. I'm currently not under contract so I don't have to worry about an early termination fee, and that's a major consideration. What are the flagship devices?

The two devices are the Instinct manufactured by Samsung that utilizes the Sprint 3G Network, and the iPhone 3G manufactured by Apple that utilizes the AT&T 3G network. Can you compare these devices on an Orange to Orange basis? The answer is yes, but. The Instinct does not have the same quality on the web browser and utilizes miroSecureDigital memory vs built in memory like the iPhone has. The Instict will cost you $129.99 with a two-year contract, and the iPhone will cost you $199 for 8GB (black) and $299 for 16GB (black or white) with a two-year contract required.

What about the plans? Below are the plans copied directly from the respective company websites. AT&T has two components to their plan; 1) Voice + Data(email/Web), 2) Texting add-on




















Sprint Everything Plan












It looks like if you text or talk a lot each month then the Sprint plan is what you need, so you just have to decide if you can live with the not as good web browser and having to buy a 4GB microSD card.

I'm still not convinced that I want the Instinct, but based on the data I'm certainly leaning that direction. I guess I need to go see and use each device before I can really make a decision. If anyone has either or has used both of these devices please leave a comment and let us know which device you prefer.

The New 3G iPhone - It's Here!

The day I have been waiting for is here. July 11 will be the day that the new iPhone is available and I'm all over this one. My time with Sprint has been good, but the day has come to jump ship. There is no device that Sprint has or has coming that can compare to the new iPhone. It's a phone, iPod, Internet Browser, highspeed connectivity available worldwide, GPS, new Application Store, and last but not least Microsoft Exchange integration for the Enterprise users. It will be available in either 8GB or 16GB models with either black or white available in the 16GB version. Check out all the tech specs. This device truely has everything that any mobile business user might need, and you can listen and watch your favorite music/movies/tv shows. Did I mention that TomTom has a GPS solution ready to buy for the new device? It does and Sling Media is working on a SlingPlayer client for the new device with a working prototype already shown to the media. So now the debate will be do I need a physical keyboard I can I use a virtual touch keyboard. For me it's not a hard choice. I can't wait to see what apps will be available at the app store. I guess I need to start researching plans. Bye, Bye Sprint and Palm Treo. Visit the Apple website for all the details and lots of pics.

Abilene Christian in the News

Engadget picked up on the plan published by ACU to utilize Apple devices to increase communication for it's students. You can read the details on ACU's website, but what it says is:

"We are not merely providing cutting-edge technology tools to our incoming students," said Roberts. "We are also providing the web applications that ensure these tools will become critical to the students' learning experience. Because 93 percent of ACU students bring their own computers with them to college, we are choosing to take them to the next level by providing converged mobile devices."

My only criticism of this plan is that I think it is too confined to just Apple devices and think it should be more open. Hopefully with Android this type of exclusiveness will come to an end. I thought it was cool that one of my favorite blogs had a story about my alma mata. Go Cats!

Mac World News

Mr. Jobs gave his keynote address at Mac World today and made a few big announcements, but the iPhone 3G was not one of them, I'm sad about that. The headliner of this announcement is the new Mac Book Air (pictured above and below). Other announcements include: new Mac Pro, Time Capsule, Xserve, iPhone/Touch firmware update, and iTunes movie rentals.

So what are the details on the "Air"? Here's what you can see on the product site.

• 1.6GHz or 1.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor.
• 2GB of RAM
• 80GB hard drive or optional 64GB solid-state drive
• Oversize trackpad with multi-touch technology
• 13.3 inch backlit LED display
• iSight camera
• Height:0.16-0.76 inch (0.4-1.94 cm)
• Width:12.8 inches (32.5 cm)
• Depth:8.94 inches (22.7 cm)
• Weight:3.0 pounds (1.36 kg)
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi wireless networking (based on IEEE 802.11n draft specification); IEEE 802.11a/b/g compatible
• Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard
• iLife ’08 (includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iWeb, GarageBand)