Month: January 2013

I’m moving networks, from Vodafone Ireland to 3 Ireland. My contract is finished, and if I get an upgrade phone with Vodafone, the price of the monthly bill will go up, and my monthly data allowance of 1GB will be halved.  Three on the other hand, will give me a contract that is €5 cheaper than what I currently have, give me “all you can eat data” (traffic shaping after 15 GB in a month), and free data roaming to the UK, including Northern Ireland.  3 also has a better data signal in areas that I spend time in.

I’m going with a SIM-only deal with 3.  That’s because the basic price that I want to pay doesn’t offer a phone in the deal.  I’ll buy a phone elsewhere, maybe in the USA when I’m there next month, and that’ll work out cheaper over 18-24 months.  It also means I only have a rolling 1 month commitment to 3, instead of being locked into a contract.

I’ve decided to unlock my Vodafone Ireland iPhone 4 and use it for a month or two with the new SIM.  I went onto the My Vodafone site, an followed the instructions to get an IMEI number, submit it, and get a NAC to unlock the phone.  Problem#1: the IMEI number was not recognised.  Problem#2: no matter what I did on the Customer Service line, I couldn’t get through to a human, until I lied and said I wanted to buy a new phone/contract   Three call transfers later I got through to a helpful young lady who spoke perfect English (a rarity in the phone business) who told me that iPhones cannot be unlocked online.  If only the site had been clear about that!  She would start the process, I’d get a text, and they’d send me further instructions at that time.

24 hours later I got the text with instructions.  I also was emailed a word document with instructions.  I’ve copied/pasted them here as evidence:

1. Connect the iPhone to iTunes (so much for the post-PC era, Apple!)
2. Backup the iPhone
3. Restore the iPhone

At that point my iPhone would be magically unlocked.  The text instructions were identical.  I followed them to the letter … the locations of backup/restore are moved in iTunes 11 into the phone status. I made sure to backup/restore to/from the computer.

And there was no announcement that the phone was unlocked.  Other than having another SIM handy, you cannot verify that it’s unlocked.  Hmm.  I wanted verification.  I searched online and found an Apple TS article.  It says that you should do the following to reset the phone. This is the correct process:

1.Ensure that you’ve waited the recommended wait period provided by your carrier.
2.Back up your iPhone.
3.Erase the contents of your iPhone.
4.Swap the old SIM card with the one for the new carrier.
5.Complete the setup assistant and restore your backup.

Huh!  The Vodafone Ireland instructions didn’t mention the phone reset; they went straight from backup to restore.  I had thought that a bitt funny.  I’d already backed up the phone, so I did a reset (General –> Erase –> Erase All Content and Settings) with the phone connected by the USB lead to iTunes.  I did the mini-setup on the phone and it asked if I wanted to restore the phone.  Yes, please … and iTunes announced that my phone was unlocked.

Remember – Apple/your service provider must enable the unlock before this process will work.

I’ve mentioned before that being able to listen to podcasts and audio books on my phone is a big deal.  I don’t own a car with USB-phone integration – buying cars in Ireland is like asking the tax man to probe you with hot irons, and even the additional options have taxes on the taxes (I am not joking about that either).  I rely on an FM transmitter; the phone plays the media, the transmitter broadcasts the content over a preconfigured FM frequency over a range of a few feet, and the car radio is tuned into that frequency.

I had a simple dongle for my iPhone 4.  It plugged into the Apple socket in the bottom and I used a + and – button on the dongle to configure the frequency.  It came with a lighter adapter to charge the phone via a pin-sized socket in the dongle.  That socket was about as reliable as a campaigning politician, but the transmission worked well enough.  In some areas, the signal could be interrupted:

• The car might drive through a phone signal bubble and you’d get that awful beeping noise loudly over the radio, as the phone went seeking for a stronger signal.
• The pre-configured FM frequency might get overpowered by an actual radio station as you drove into a new area.

I typically use 89.7 as my frequency because it’s at the bottom of the range here and I only get a problem for a few miles as I drive on the M1 near the Northern Irish border.

This solution has kept me sane as my daily commute to and from work every day (between 1.5 and 2.5 hours per day) and on the road trips for work that can accumulate up to 1,000 KM in a week.

But now, I’m considering getting away from an iPhone.  I’ve gotten a HTC 8x Windows Phone 8 for work and had some problems software-wise – the handset itself is excellent IMO and wa-ay better than the previous HD7 – and I wanted to test it out.

My Apple device wasn’t going to cut it.  I saw plenty of stuff online but most of the form factors required a battery in the transmitter.  I hate that idea – I want a single solid piece of h/w, preferably with an option to charge the phone while driving.  So I ordered a Belkin Autocast Universal from Amazon.

It’s universal – it works with the iPhone and Windows Phone, and probably Android too, because it uses a simple audio jack connection.  The transmitter requires power so it gets it from the cigarette lighter.  Note that this also has a USB jack – that means you can simultaneously power a GPS unit or charge the phone.  The transmitter allows you to store 2 FM frequencies and flip between them in case you do drive into a crowded airspace.  The overall cable length on mine is about 1 metre (I didn’t measure it but it’s longer than the image would suggest).

The gadget works.  I normally hate buying Belkin, but it works, and it was the only one of this design (which I like) that I could find.

Remember: Independent …

I arrived into the office this morning to find that a HTC 8x (Windows Phone 8) had been ordered to replace my HTC HD7 (Windows Phone 7.5).  I hated the HD7.  It’s my work phone.  My personal phone is an iPhone 4 which I’ve had for just over 2 years – I bought it the weekend before the global GA launch of Windows Phone 7 (in Europe).  I’ve like my iPhone.  I live on podcasts and audiobooks, transmitted to my car stereo via an FM transmitter dongle.  As I said, I hate WP 7.x.  While the iPhone runs my life, the WP7 handset gets turned off at the end of every workday – that’s the nice thing about what I do … no “on call”

With my iPhone contract expired, I’ve decided to change network and upgrade my phone.  Will it be the obvious iPhone 5, the strong Galaxy S III, or a dark horse WP8 handset?

On the network side, I’ve decided to switch to 3 Ireland.  They give unlimited data, they have great roaming with the UK (free data – and I’m up North quite a lot), and are cheaper than my plan with Vodafone Ireland (who would force me to “upgrade” to a downgraded plan if I get an upgrade phone).  Not to mention that 3 has better data signal nationally.

I hate iTunes 11.  If you haven’t upgraded, then don’t.  Cling to iTunes v10.x like it was your last breath in a drowning flood.  The awful new experience put me in mind to look at the competition.

Every time I look at Android it leaves me confused.  I just don’t get it.  The screens, the lack of continuity, and the wondering if apps will work at all.  Plus Android is a security nightmare.  And it’s always going to be last to get support from Microsoft because of the Google thing.

Then there’s Windows Phone 8.  I was getting an 8x for work so I could try that before making a decision.  The Lumia 920 is a no.  Only O2 Ireland will have it.  O2 are the most expensive and stingy network in the country.  Off-plan, the phone is around €800, and that’s more expensive than a 3G iPad!  Hey Elop – I’m still no fan of yours!  The Nokia maybe a flagship but so were the Titanic and the Bismarck.  The reviews of the Samsung ATIV S are not flattering.  The camera and the sound are said to be bad.

Today I got the 8x.  After getting a mini SIM I switched over from the HD7 and synced up everything easily.  All the social and media apps were installed.  Actually not all.  I was sure I had an NFL app for Gamepass on the WP7 set but I couldn’t get one for this handset and it’s gone from the Marketplace.  Huh!  I got a tidal app and sunrise/sunset app for photography.  It was all looking good.

And then it came to the most important thing: Podcasts.

I found an app called Podcasts!  It could search, but not as well as iTunes, sometimes requiring me to get RSS feed URLs, e.g. the Newstalk 106-108 shows that I listen to.  And then I found it required manual download and was limited to 2 shows.  By paying I could get over that limit … but no auto-download.  I’m sorry, but isn’t the point of Windows Phone that I don’t spend my day with my face pointed at the screen?  FAIL!

I asked on Twitter but the only response was a similar experience.  That rules Windows Phone out as my personal device, and the 8x becomes a brick that I use for work calls.  It might as well be a €24.99 pay-as-you-go candy bar phone from Tesco (like Wallmart).  I’m not going to invest time in this WP8 phone because it cannot do what I want most from it.

My search goes on.  Odds are, I’ll end up with an iPhone 5 because of how much Android confuses me.  That’s a pity, because a decent podcasts app couldn’t be that hard for MSFT to write.

Please contact me if you do find a decent workable solution for getting podcasts working correctly on WP8 that does not include batteries, a duck’s feather, bailing twine and lemon juice.

#EDIT1

So it appears that American, and some other, readers might not have a clue what I’m talking about.  Apparently podcasts appear in the market place for some privileged folks.  In Ireland, we are limited to apps, games, and music in the Marketplace.  Until Microsoft gets this regional lockdown stuff then Windows Phone is a saw without a blade to me.

#EDIT2

Alan Byrne contacted me on Twitter with a suggestion, and was quickly followed by Thomas Maurer (MVP) with the same idea.  There’s an app called PodCatcher that appears to do what I want.  I have installed the trial (that failed to install until I rebooted the handset).  The trial is limited to 2 subscriptions but it does have episode auto-download functionality.  It’s also sensible enough to not want to do large downloads over mobile networking.

As for app availability: The Windows Phone Marketplace not as broad as iOS or Android, not having some of the big names. But the core stuff I want is there.  Today is the crunch day.  We’ll see what I come home with at lunch time, assuming the local stores have any stock 🙂

Somewhere I can hear Steven Tyler’s rasping vocals

The holidays were spent mostly work free. The plan was to be 100% work and deadline free but a stack of chapters for the Hyper-V book came back for review.  We’re into the production or PDF review stages now.  4 of my 6 chapters have gone through their third of 4 reviews.  Not long now!

My Christmas holidays usually feature a lot of gaming.  This year I bought Red Dead Redemption from Gamestop (a used copy).  The disc was scratched.  This is usually where I rant …  but the staff in the Newbridge store checked the disk, checked for alternative copies (there were none), and gave me an apology and my cash back.  Nice one, Gamestop!

I’ve loved GTA IV and the add-ons so I wanted to play this game: Grand Theft Auto with cowboys   I got it via Xbox Live and spent way too much time raising hell out west:

I also finished reading No Easy Day, the story of one of the DEVGRU (Seal Team 6 guys) that was second or third into the room when UBL was killed.  That was quite an interesting read.  The thing that stands out: the top special forces unit in the USA, a country filled with guns, well … they use guns made in Germany.  H&K have a lot to thank the SAS and the Iranian embassy for.

Free time and good weather rarely crossed paths in 2012 so I didn’t get much time out with my camera gear last year.  I scouted the coastline in my home country for some likely spots for a sunrise photo shoot.  I hate New Years Eve and was early in bed, planning to take advantage of good (too good actually) weather on Jan 1st.  I drove out, and started a 2 point turn to park on the lane.  My car got stuck in some wet sand on the road’s edge.  It was still 90 minutes before sunrise so I resolved to get loose when I got back from the beach and my shoot.  There were no clouds to speak of, so no colour, and the decision to “shoot” black and white was made.

Afterwards I went back to the car.  Rocking, pushing, rocks under wheels, bags under wheels … none gave me traction so I had to call my rescue service.  40 minutes and a 3 second tow later and I was free.

I was back in the office today. The self-imposed non-blogging has ended.  There’s a series of posts that I’m thinking of doing.  In the meantime, I’ll keep updating with the usual snippits.

And no, I don’t know when the book is out.