iPhone Neglects Voice! Can T-Mobile Garner Attention With Seamless Wi-Fi Transition?

While the iPhone has received more press coverage in the past few weeks than the Iraq war has in the last five years, the superior hardware has been somewhat overshadowed by an inferior network. Since the iPhone has seemed to neglect the "phone" part of the device, the announcement of T-Mobile's HotSpot@Home and proficient use of Wi-Fi just two days prior to the iPhone introduction is very interesting. A seamless voice transition from wireless network to Wi-Fi hotspot helps the HotSpot@Home service provide a very real benefit. While at home, customers can enjoy a strong signal and unlimited domestic calling over Wi-Fi. While on the go, customers can use the T-Mobile cellular network or get the same benefits of home at the thousands of T-Mobile HotSpots. The fact is that you may see many folks use the iPhone for its media interface and keep a T-Mobile phone for its HotSpot@Home benefits. Don't be surprised.

iPhone Shortcoming
The iPhone indeed has been touted as a technologically advanced three-in-one device, combining a cell phone, cutting edge internet surfing device, and an iPod. As it turns out, the internet surfing is excrutiatingly slow over AT&T's EDGE network, requiring the owner to use the Wi-Fi connection option to obtain more reasonable response times. But once in a Wi-Fi hotspot, there is currently no provision for making voice calls over Wi-Fi, which could have reduced cellular minute usage. Those who intend to isolate their iPhone web browsing to Wi-Fi hotspots are disappointed to find out that they are still required to pay for the near-useless data package from AT&T. The user just can't seem to catch a break to save a buck. Not surprisingly, the iPod part of the iPhone works wonderfully. The other shortcomings, however, show the "chink" in the iPhone's armor.

Before detailing the new T-Mobile program, I have one question for the Apple folks. Why call it an iPhone when this seems to be the most neglected aspect of the device? Maybe it should be the iCoolWebBrowser or the iPodandInternetandPhone. That's a little hard to say, but at least gives the device credit for doing so many things - and it puts the "phone" last, which appears to be where Apple and AT&T put it. Just some thoughts.

T-Mobile's HotSpot@Home
For a device of such technological wonder, it seems as though Apple and AT&T could have taken some network lessons from T-Mobile. This wireless provider, presumable named after the letter that looks most like a cell tower, has rolled out its regional HotSpot@Home service to the entire nation. The HotSpot@Home feature allows a user to place a call within a T-Mobile HotSpot and not use up any minutes for the extent of the conversation. But if the caller wanders out of the Wi-Fi area, the signal seamlessly switches to T-Mobile's GSM/GPRS/EDGE wireless network. Once originated in the Wi-Fi area, the entire call doesn't use up minutes, regardless of where the call is completed. Additionally, as the name implies, a home network with a wireless router can provide a local HotSpot for the caller. Currently, there is special pricing that provides this service for an additional $9.99 per month for a single line and $19.99 for a family plan.

This combination of attributes provides a cell phone service with five distinct advantages - all cleverly outlined by T-Mobile (see icons below). Using the home network with a wireless router, the user can enjoy unlimited U.S. calls with no deduction in calling plan minutes. Since the calls from home are done with a local wireless router, the signal strength is typically much greater than the traditional wireless network. Taking advantage of HotSpot locations means the calls from any of the 8,500 T-Mobile HotSpots can be made without using up precious minutes. The iPhone can't say that. With seamless mobility, the caller does not have to be tied to a Wi-Fi location, which is the typical pitfall of VoIP phones. This comination of features translates into an unprecedented opportunity to scrap the landline and go to a single cellular phone.

While there is a growing trend of people using their mobile phone as their only phone, many have not made the leap due to their cellular reception at home and the fear of running up minute usage at home. The T-Mobile HotSpot@Home service tackles these issues by providing unlimited U.S. calls from home and ensuring great coverage through the use of a local wireless router. Its kind of like have a cell phone tower in your house to which you have unlimited access. Tradional cell phones (including the iPhone), VoIP phones, and traditional landline phones are all being tackled by the new T-Mobile service.

Other Terms
While T-Mobile has come up with a great term for their service, HotSpot@Home, it is important to understand that there are other names to describe the technology surrounding this feature. A service as beneficial as this one will surely be implemented by others, so knowing the common terminology will help identify them. Maybe even AT&T will eventually adopt the idea for use with the iPhone. The iPhone does, after all, have Wi-Fi capability.

Fixed/Mobile Convergence (FMC) is an overall term used to describe the way to connect the mobile phone to the fixed line infrastructure (i.e. landline phone). A Dual-Mode Handset (DMH) is a phone that can support both cellular and Wi-Fi connections. Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) is the name given to the main technology that allows the switching between the cellular and Wi-Fi connections. For example, a phone available from T-Mobile to use with their HotSpot@Home program may be described as a UMA-enabled DMH that promotes FMC.