Connections in Motion

This past week we were asked a question from a customer pondering driving to Alaska. We did some quick research and came up with an interesting website, www.cellrecption.com and discovered that for the most part Alaska does not have much cell coverage (http://www.cellreception.com/deadspots/alaska/page1.html)

If you have experiences about traveling to Alaska or other ‘off the beaten path’ places let us know.

To add your comments to this or any other bit of content, simply register at the bottom left menu and follow the simple instructions.

We setup one of our top sales guys with a new Verizon IIM router today and we were literally blown away by the performance. So we did several toast.net speed tests and I’ve asked for a screen shot. UNBELIEVABLE… 1x performance that will compete really well with Sprint who had been the performance leader on their 1x network.

According to their website “The Venturi Carrier Solution accelerates wireless data communications, improves service reliability and enhances network efficiency. This third-generation, carrier-grade solution supports all wireless data networks including 1xRTT/EV-DO and EDGE/UMTS/HSPDA. With Venturi optimization, carriers benefit from higher customer satisfaction, fewer cancellations, and lower customer care costs.”

Few things work this well, and when you come across one you need to be aware of what’s going on. After some careful Googling I came up with this interesting piece of software http://www.venturiwireless.com/tech_support/VerizonWireless.html to optimize the Verizon System. WE HAVE NOT TRIED this yet but it looks very interesting. Look for a product review in the NEWS & VIEWS Section.

UPDATE: THE VENTURI COMPRESSION IS VERY SLICK. Preliminary testing point strongly to speeds in the 400kbs - to - 700kbs range (down) with compression being actively used during web browsing, email transactions, and streaming audio. Video testing has not been completed yet.

Notable was greatly improved audio streaming performance. Early tests indicate that Venturi improved Verizon network streaming media performance significantly. Our tests using iTunes radio showed that clearly we were able to maintain a 64kbs audio stream, something Sprint had been able to do for months, now Verizon seems ready to leap into higher and higher throughput.

We are out exploring the far corners of the US. Our business takes to many great places. As we discover these great places, we would like share with you (and you with us) the many of the things we have learned about mobile internet and its many uses..

Monday was another long day on the road. We are in Charlie’s Lincoln Town car heading south on I-65. Charlie boots the laptop, logs into Priceline and snags a room for $35.00 for the night. Logs into Google Maps and lands us right at the Motel. The motel manager is miffed at the really low price and invites us to call directly to the motel reservation line and get some points, and spend much more for the room. Priceline in Motion.

We check out the area on Google Maps and find a great little restaurant, and an excellent bottle of Cabernet.

After dinner we pack up the IIM router, bring it into the room, log into our own private network and work a few more hours. Then listen to some great jazz on Itunes to close out the day.

The webs we used on this trip:

• Google Maps. (maps.google.com)
• Priceline (www.priceline.com)
• Itunes (www.apple.com)