Friday Q&A: Verizon Wireless Regional President Mario Turco talks Philly, 4G

We’ve long tracked down the region’s mobile leaders to get them into conversation about Philadelphia’s market.

Tapping regional executive leaders has certainly shed light on how the mobile market in Philadelphia—crowded by nearly every national player— lives and breathes. But truly, we were hard pressed to find tough questions for Verizon Wireless Regional President Mario Turco. With proven customer loyalty and less reported dropped calls, Verizon’s network has done well for the company.

Of course, that the iPhone isn’t available on the network has been a media sore spot for the company since the phone launched.

But that wasn’t why we reached out. It was more important for us to breakdown how the company exists within Philadelphia—including the relationships it has developed with citizens and local government—and to explore how Verizon will move into next-generation mobile technologies.

After the jump, we talk with Turco about Verizon’s network infrastructure investments, partnerships with the community and about the roll-out of its 4G technology.

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Review: Sprint 4G WiMAX wireless service in Philadelphia

Sprint's Overdrive 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot in Center City

Photos courtesy of Neal Santos.

Since Clearwire launched its 4G WiMAX network in Philadelphia in October, we’ve been itching to get our hands on a device that would let us utilize the high-speed wireless network.

With promises of speeds that blow away 3G connections that one might be used to on a mobile phone or USB modem, why not?

So we’ve taken the opportunity to test Sprint’s Overdrive 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot, a compact mobile WiFi router that lets up to 5 people simultaneously connect to Sprint’s WiMAX network.

It should be said that though Sprint, Clear and Comcast all utilize the same 4G WiMAX pipes, performance has been known to vary depending on the device. So while our tests here may indicate one speed, another device could produce a better or worse connection. We hope to test Clear and Comcast devices as the year goes on. [Full Disclosure: Clear is currently a Technically Philly advertising partner]

It should also be noted that the WiMAX network is being upgraded on a regular basis, so new towers are being installed in problem-areas where connection rates may have been poor during our tests produced earlier this year, officials tell us.

That said, we think our review is an interesting look at the network’s capability throughout Fairmount, Center City, Old City and Fishtown (complete with an interactive map of detailed throughput recordings). And we hope you’ll let us know how your 4G connection—whether on Sprint, Clear or Comcast—fares in your own neighborhood.

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Friday Q&A: AT&T regional VP and General Manager Dan Lafond

As we wrote in a column last week, AT&T is championing its mobile stability in the region. And Dan Lafond, AT&T’s vice president and general manager in central and eastern Pennsylvania, wants you to know about it.

The wireless carrier has received its fair share of criticism since the iPhone launched in 2007. Though the smartphone galvanized the mobile industry, AT&T—which, for now, exclusively sells Apple’s iPhone—has been beaten into the ground for network capacity concerns. A report released in October said that more than half of iPhone users would jump to another network if given a chance.

But the carrier has also responded with substantial infrastructure investment. In Pennsylvania alone, $725 million has been spent on capacity. And it seems to be paying off.

But, as Lafond notes in the interview below, in San Francisco and New York where the network is most congested, there exists the most news outlets reporting on technology, hence more negative coverage. Here in Philadelphia, he says, AT&T has reason to brag.

After the jump, we discuss with Lafond AT&T’s infrastructure investments in Pennsylvania, how mobile is affecting the digital divide and of course, the impact of the iPhone and what will happen if Verizon cuts a deal with Apple, too.

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There’s no place like Philadelphia for iPhone users

In an informal partnership with Philadelphia magazine‘s new Philly Post daily news blog, Technically Philly will be offering our insight on Philadelphia technology to a broader audience of tech-interested individuals every Tuesday. As is true of so much of our effort, this is yet another opportunity to voice the triumphs and concerns of the community to a broader audience in the city and beyond.

Since launching three years ago, the iPhone has undeniably altered the mobile market.

The iconic device changed the way manufacturers design and price mobile phones. It introduced mobile data consumption to the masses. And it’s been a testament to Apple’s ability to capture and reshape markets, like it once did with the iPod portable music player and like it’s trying to do once again with the recent launch of the iPad tablet computer.

Yet in the wake of Apple’s success, the smart phone’s pivitol backbone, AT&T, the wireless network on which the device exclusively relies to deliver data, has been on the receiving end of much criticism for dropped calls and data dead-spots. In a report released in October, half of loyal iPhone enthusiasts surveyed said that they’d leave AT&T for another network if given the chance.

But as we’ve thought often and as a regional AT&T executive is quick to point out, much of the criticism is coming from San Francisco and New York, where tech media outlets thrive and where smart phone users are more prevalent, hence, the network’s more strained. So, what about here in Philadelphia?

Read more at Philly Mag’s Philly Post.

Event Highlights for April 12-18, 2010

For those of you that follow along with our events highlights, you know we like to pick the top three goings-on to share.

But this week, there’s so many great, free technology happenings that we can’t pick just three. Wednesday alone has—count ‘em—seven events that all seem promising. That’s half of the 15 organized events this week. On a single day. Better take off Thursday while you can and see our breakdown after the jump.

Thursday, Verizon Wireless hosts a free, all-day wireless industry conference that looks put together. Sunday, we at Technically Philly will be in Cherry Hill to talk tech. Come on out if you’d like to heckle us, represent Philly’s vibrant tech community or talk shop with us after the event. And now, for the marathon…

All events listed on the event calendar are free to attend. Be sure to check our complete calendar for more.

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Can mobile ubiquity help bridge Philly’s digital divide?

In partnership with Temple University’s Multimedia Urban Reporting Lab, the university’s capstone journalism class, students Chelsea Leposa and Jared Pass will cover neighborhood technology issues for Technically Philly and Philadelphia Neighborhoods through May.

Apple’s iPhone and iTouch sold 57 million units in 28 months, according to Morgan Stanley’s The Mobile Internet Report.

Smartphones and other Internet-ready handheld devices have gained immense popularity. According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 83 percent of people own cell phones or smartphones and 35 percent of people have surfed the Internet with their phones.

Ashley Cox on smartphone

“I go on there for everything,” says Ashley Cox of her mobile smartphone, “I’m on it everyday, all day.” African Americans are the most active users of mobile Internet. On an average day, 29 percent of African Americans used mobile Internet in 2009, up 141 percent from 2007. In 2009 the national average was only 19 percent.

“Mobile Internet expands people’s realization of the power of the Internet,” says Michael Morgan, an industry analyst on mobile devices for ABI Research, “you know you can be connected to information wherever you are.”

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Friday Q&A: Keith McGinnis on Philadelphia Weekly’s free Happy Hour Guide app

No one is suggesting that iPhone applications are going to save legacy media. But the conversation so often turns to profitability on mobile platforms, that it may be a surprise there are so� few truly local products from Philadelphia media.

NBC10 and 6ABC have free apps developed with the help of their national parents. Shopiks offers Philly coupons, and there’s the popular Philadelphia Concert Hub.

A screenshot of the app's interface. Click to enlarge.

“The rest are tour guides, canned content, RSS readers of Philly feeds or some sort of national content that is supposed to relate to our area,” says Keith McGinnis, who recently left a role heading up IT for Review Publishing, whose flagship brand is Philadelphia Weekly.

In December, PW likely made the region’s strongest big media play into mobile by launching a McGinnis-led Philly Happy Hour Guide application for the iPhone and iPod touch. The application offers users the chance to search and find the best happy hour deals at specific locations, specific bars, specific neighborhoods or wherever is nearest. There are options for calling a cab, getting directions and tracking just what’s your favorite.

Last month, the app became free to use, after a paid trial version, and so now, McGinnis says, PW has an excellent opportunity to test the waters of localized mobile profitability, ahead of anyone else in Philadelphia (No particular provision is being made for the few hundred who paid $1 for the app, McGinnis says, “I figure you saved $1 on your first drink special.”)

McGinnis is now joining the staff of Northern Liberties Web development firm o3world, but the Happy Hour Guide is still close enough to his heart that he took the time to chat with Technically Philly about how the app plans on making money, how it got made and what it means for PW’s always active competition with crosstown rival CityPaper.

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Shop Talk: XIPWIRE mobile payment platform lets you text cash

Sharif Alexandre wants you to text more.

The founder of Fitler Square-based mobile payment platform XIPWIRE lets consumers send and receive money by SMS message. After registering for the service and linking a bank account, users can send a simple message which automatically pulls money from a virtual wallet or bank account.

“Xip $10 to Bill.” Bill’s got your dills.

The service works, Alexandre says, for inconvient circumstances when someone’s forgotten a wallet or has to divvy up a tab. “If you go out to lunch and have to split the check, you go to ATM, you don’t know how much you owe,” Alexandre says. “If everyone has a XIPWIRE account, you can literally xip them money.”

Currently in soft-launch, plans are for XIPWIRE to be available to consumers next week.

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More details on Motivas purchase of PhindMe

Word first leaked of Motivas Mobile purchasing Phindme Mobile when, as a Phindme spokeswoman puts it, “a Google crawler made its way through a WordPress preview.”

It took five days for the deal between the two regional mobile technology companies to be finalized, announced and now celebrated.

“It’s about people and the chance to join forces with well-respected entrepreneurs and innovators who share a common vision,” Suzanne Harris of PhindMe told Technically Philly.

Details of the deal continue to become clear.

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TNT: The ballet wants you to take your phone out. No, really.

The Rat King from the Pennsylvania Ballet

Among the pantheon of social faux-paus in our society, having a cell phone make even a peep during a live theater performance is high on the list. However, for one show next week, the Philadelphia Cultural Alliance is encouraging patrons to bring their cell phones.

“And that’s the irony of the whole thing,” says Philadelphia Cultural Alliance spokesman John McInerney.

Thanks to a $50,000 grant from PNC Bank, the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, an independent non-profit organization funded through grants and member dues, is launching its “Turn Your Cell Phone On!” campaign, a new effort to increase the interactivity of Philadelphia cultural events using mobile technology. The latest implementation of it is due this week with the Pennsylvania Ballet’s performance of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker. Audience members will be able to vote on their favorite characters and scenes using their cell phone.

“A lot of the times you go to a performance and right afterward you leave … but this is actually encouraging people to talk amongst themselves,” McInerney says. Though patrons will still be asked to keep their phone off during the performance, at intermission there will be flat screen TVs and staffers available to display the results and answer any questions, respectively.

The Alliance hopes that the slow implementation of more technology attracts a younger crowd to shows.

“We saw some great interaction where a grandchild was showing her grandmother how to text,” says McInerney.

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