And the big news in smartphones is that I have one now.
I just got a myTouch 3G phone from T-Mobile USA. I’m very happy with the phone and with the service, which is much better than that of my previous wireless service provider — well, let’s just call them “The Then Network.” The myTouch is a second-generation phone running on Google‘s Android mobile device software, and it’s made by High Tech Computer (HTC) of Taiwan.
More seriously, there is a lot going on in the smartphone market. Orange and Vodafone will soon join O2 in selling Apple‘s iPhone in the UK. Perhaps more significantly, the iPhone is finally going to the People’s Republic of China on an official basis. I say “official” because Chinese people have been using iPhones for a long time already, thanks to counterfeits and gray-market imports of unlocked iPhones that were altered so they would work on any wireless telecommunications network in China. The news came out this week that China Unicom will begin selling the iPhone next month. China Unicom has about 142 million mobile phone subscribers, which is breathtaking until you see that China Mobile has 503 million subscribers.
Meanwhile, back in the US, AT&T‘s exclusive contract to offer service for the iPhone may expire next year — or Apple and AT&T may decide to extend the contract. One factor is the widespread dissatisfaction over the quality of service AT&T offers for iPhone users in leading metropolitan markets — dropped phone calls, sluggish 3G data access, etc. So many iPhone users converged on Austin, Texas, last March for the annual South by Southwest festivals that AT&T’s network was overwhelmed by the increase in demand and most iPhones became unusable. People had to resort to using uncool phones, even landlines, to make calls.
It’s not clear what will happen to the Apple-AT&T relationship in the near future, but the continuing popularity of the iPhone (and the similar iPod touch) is a given.
And of course I get to play with it.