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One thing we know: Apple's (AAPL) iPhone is so massively popular that the network it officially runs on (AT&T's) often has a hard time keeping up. Densely-populated areas have problems with dropped calls and unreliable data services since so many iPhone users are choking the network. It got so bad that AT&T stopped selling the iPhone from its website this past weekend, seemingly trying to slow sales down because its network couldn't handle it.So what happens when Apple releases the next, best thing? The blogosphere and tech press are totally psyched over the pending release of an Apple tablet or pad computer -- one that will "change the world" no less. But nobody is asking the question of usage problems. If an Apple tablet is announced in January and released shortly thereafter, are the wireless networks the device will run on be overwhelmed?
Mark Cuban has alluded to this notion several times in the past. Yet, we have Blu-ray players and other set-top boxes and other devices streaming full-screen, high-def video and audio to millions of consumers over the internet right now. But at home high-speed internet networks are much more capable than what AT&T or Verizon (or anyone else) could provide on the road.
If an Apple tablet is indeed announced and released consumers may go berzerk just as they have with the iPhone and snatch up millions of them. The strain on the existing national networks of the providers when consumers start gorging on YouTube, Hulu and a bazillion other bandwidth-intensive web applications would choke things further.
If an Apple tablet really is the device to end all devices (don't put this past Apple's marketing geniuses), the road it runs on may develop severe potholes pretty quickly, potentially turning the Apple tablet computer experience far from optimal. iPhones will still be in, but the iPad will conquer the next huge hill.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-30-2009 @ 3:25PM
BHarrison said...
It appears that some of the "advances" in technology or rather social networking are extremely inefficient and have negative impacts on the network highways. another article mentioned a face book site that had over seven thousand registered users; and facebook is being credited with being the majority of the internet traffic during the holidays. How little of the social networking "traffic" is effective compared to the volume that is nothing more than a modern version of JUNK MIAL? As a matter of practicality, shouldn't there be some means (licensing, or fees?) for transmitting massive amounts of data?
Just as "true (sic. unrestricted) democracy, where anyone can do anything that they desire to do, is "ananrchy", isn't unlimited messaging of "junk mail/traffic" detrimental to the integrity and capacity of the use of the Internet by everyone? And all of that is before the release of the new Apple tablet computer that will reportedly worsen these problems. . . . And then how will cloud computing exacerbate these data transmission problems even more.
1-01-2010 @ 2:35AM
J said...
AT&T better start sinking some money into their infrastructure, their lagging behind. Since our government is spying on us anyways maybe we should make them upgrade the infrastructure?
1-01-2010 @ 12:11PM
Mike Lazarus said...
Maybe it's time Apple thought about data compression to improve the speed of their devices and the reliability
The amount to data the iPhone uses to download a web page or email is 5-20x the same information takes to download to a Blackberry...
1-01-2010 @ 3:59PM
David said...
Until recently O2 have sold the iPhone in the UK, and have not been able to keep up with demand.
Although having full reception and repeatedly replacing my phone, 02 have been unable to provide me with the service I'm paying for (My call go through to answer-phone, and I get constant call failures): A lot of there staff I spoke to agreed with me on this, but they were unable to re-imburse me in any way.
I've now had to buy a new sim card with T-Mobile and transfer my number (now also paying O2 a cancelation fee) for a service they were unable to provide). Magically this works perfectly now even thought certain 02 staff are sure it is not there problem.
I think the networks are going to have big problem as more of these data hungry devices become standard.
1-03-2010 @ 6:05PM
muzza2009 said...
Social networking sites... Facebook will have the heaviest impact on networks since most people use FB on a desktop/laptop, and therefore download text/pix/vids because their visual device can handle it. Twitter is more akin to speedy to/from text with perhaps a few low-res pix thrown in. Any opportunity to mobile-ise a larger screen capability will definitely have a knock-on effect on network demand.
1-19-2010 @ 12:42PM
kmattlin said...
This will be the newest Platform for computing. Instead of a tablet, these units which are made like oversized IPhones should be called "TABSLATES" The tabslate will be the entry into the real information age..Watch & See..
The tabslates are coming...The tabslates are coming...