Blunt Perspectives

From Jeff Pulver’s Blog:

On Wednesday during my visit to Los Angeles, I took the time to visit an Apple Store in Century City. While there was a long wait for people to speak with one of their resident “Geniuses”, there was an even longer wait for someone who wanted to actually pay for something.

Now THAT is definitely amusing to say the least - good video Jeff.

I have found this issue to be somewhat true in my experiences, although my recent visits to Denver-area stores showed dedicated cashiers who were less flighty to help stranded consumers with iPod questions. It was really easy to give them $1.99 to upgrade to 802.11n also - but what isn’t simple on the web?! By the way - upgrade to 802.11n is worth every penny! (Core2Duo only, not CoreDuo or G4/G5)

Apple should consider continuing to look at how to make it easier for folks to give them money and even get support. As a rapidly growing company this needs to be closely monitored or else there will be suffering.

Although somewhat off-topic (from buying things) - I would like to ask that Apple’s telephone support be open longer than bankers’ hours. They close rediculously early Pacific time. Maybe Apple is avoiding using India for tech support but I have been frustrated a few times by their lack of 24-hour/day support.

I sure do love Apple though - thank God their stuff is reliable!

Sincerely,

Scott “Patiently Waiting to give Apple Money for iPhone” Stevens

As I was traveling last Friday I had several hours to kill before my flight left, so where better to sit and do some work than at Denver International Airport, which sports Wi-Fi in the while airport by AT&T and allows roaming partners like my subscription to Boingo.

I found a comfortable spot in a restaurant, opened my laptop and tried to login only finding my “login was rejected”. Much to my dismay, the AT&T “rejected” page did not offer any more specific information or a recharge page like CenturyTel Wi-Fi does. It also does not have “white-listed” links to roaming partners or an account management tool - and since I am a roaming customer through Boingo, I was left wondering how to fix this with Boingo when I can’t get to their website.

I felt trapped and frustrated.

Luckily the “rejected” AT&T Wi-Fi page does offer their toll-free number to call. I gave it a long shot hoping they could tell me some information about my account status or if my user/pass was just wrong (which I knew it was not). At a minimum all I wanted at that point was a number for Boingo.

From my mobile I call the 800 number and reach 3 options of which #1 is a somewhat logical choice as a customer, then the following prompt offering an account issue or tech support option.

Ring, ring, pickup…

I was stunned. I was maybe on hold about the length of time it takes for the call to transfer and a friendly female voice greeted me on the other end. I informed her that I was reaching that page, that I was a Boingo subscriber and that I believed my user/pass was okay.

The customer service rep informed me she could not help with Boingo account questions. My hope balloon just went flat. I asked if she had Boingo’s number and she happily looked it up. We laughed about my inability to get it without my login working. She offered me the number for Boingo which took a minute or two and to my surprise…

She offered to transfer my call.

I was glad to hear that Boingo and AT&T Wi-Fi decided to do the logical thing and at least allow transferring of calls. I accepted her offer and was transferred to Boingo where I was literally picked up on first ring. I asked the rep if they staff 1 customer service agent per subscriber and we laughed.

We got down to business…

We asked for my credentials (not secure ones; last name, first, account city) which I passed with flying colors despite an error from a recent address change. He informed me that the old card we had was expired and I gladly provided him a new card. He suggested a “few minutes” until all systems update and I can get back online.

Total support time: 5 Minutes

Because I was impatient from email withdrawals I tried to login about 30-seconds later with success. My email was downloading and the crisis evaded.

It was an experience of melancholy…

My customer service call was one of the quickest and most successful calls in my life. The reps were friendly and helpful, I was never on hold for significant time and the prompts were easy enough - Kudos to both AT&T and Boingo.

Although it had a happy ending, the beginning was very frustrating and restricting. The obscure message about my rejected login. No conspicuous links to white-listed roaming sites or roaming support pages. No phone numbers to roaming partner support. No mention that their support number would help. No more specific information on my login or account status. No conspicuous helpful troubleshooting tips.

In conclusion:

As a professional who builds Wi-Fi networks (including citywide “Muni” networks) I feel that I have more patience when it comes to these issues and typically resolve problems on my own. However, I was very disappointed at first because of the pure lack of information given to me on the “reject” page. Because I know what technical capabilities are available I felt underserved and confused. Many folks (especially Wi-FI consumers) are tech-savvy and prefer to fix problems on their own.

Unfortunately AT&T only offers phone support as the obvious option - despite an excellent support site that offers lots of good information, it was not an obvious option. Kudos to AT&T for the excellent support info and for the quick and helpful customer service. Thank you Boingo for impressively easy and fast support too.

But AT&T needs to beef up their self-help. Make your support docs the FIRST option, not last or obscurely placed on your very busy home page. Provide more information other than “rejected” for current subscribers. Include white-listed links on the page to roaming partners’ support pages. Include support phone numbers for your roaming partners.

Tech support costs all of us money; it affects ATT and Boingo’s bottom line and thus my cost for the service. Give me more info and let me fix my problem for us. I don’t want to spend ATT’s support money just to call Boingo directly.

I think roaming has come a long way and is doing a great job. These are really my suggestions on how to improve support and roaming support. Overall I am extremely happy with the service from Boingo, their partners and believe it’s worth every penny. I flock to use service where I know I can use my subscription on a reliable network. I prefer this far and above unreliable and illusive free Wi-Fi and even greater over incompatible “one-off” and/or non-roaming hotspots.

If given the chance, I would love nothing more than to help prefect Wi-Fi roaming.

Sincerely,

Scott Stevens

Only a few short days after I posted this and notified all parties of the post, this appeared on the Mark/Space website home page…

The Missing Sync for BlackBerry - Product Preview
Missing Sync reliability and usability, coming soon for BlackBerry.

The Missing Sync for BlackBerry is built on the same technology that has garnered 4.5-mice ratings from Macworld magazine. It’s built to be reliable, so that you can count on your information successfully making the round trip between your Mac and BlackBerry handset.

http://www.markspace.com/missingsync_blackberry.php

Now, I am not taking credit for this showing up, but rather I hope that many readers clicked on the survey link to entice Mark/Space to let us know it’s on the way (plus that little show known as MacWorld where they had a booth ) I have not heard back from Mark/Space when specifically this product is supposed to be released - their site indicates Q1 2007 which gives then only 75 more days.

Also, in what I consider a smart move - a discount to convert from Windows or Palm OS:

Upgrade from a qualifying Missing Sync product
Customers who own one of the Missing Sync products listed below will qualify for a special discounted upgrade to the new Missing Sync for BlackBerry, version 1.0.
Missing Sync for Palm OS
Missing Sync for Windows Mobile

Notably, the product page for Missing Sync for BlackBerry indicates the Pearl specifically when taking about syncing iTunes and iPhotos. This is because of the BlackBerry Pearl’s multimedia enhancements. The new Missing Sync needs OS X 10.4.8 (Universal Binary) and these RIM BlackBerry phones:

Mac System Requirements:
PowerPC G4, PowerPC G5, or Intel processor
Mac OS X, 10.4.8 or higher (Tiger)
Internet connection for product registration

BlackBerry Requirements:
The following devices running version 4.0 and later of the BlackBerry operating system have been tested:
7100 series
7290 (Cingular/T-Mobile)
7250 (Verizon)
7520 (Nextel)
7130 series
8700 series
8707 series
8703 series (Sprint)
8705
8100 series, aka “Pearl”
Other devices may work, but have not been tested.

As I wrote in my prior post that “the Pearl is my iPhone of today”, I now have seen the iPhone debut and retract my statement. The BlackBerry device is good, and I am keeping mine for the next 6 months, but then it’s going into the spare hones closet and the wife and I are getting 8GB Apple iPhones (we have been on Cingular for years and LOVE it)!!!

My beef with the Pearl is it’s entirely too reliant on menus - for EVERYTHING. I have found a steep learning curve that makes the kludgy Palm and icky Windows Mobile OS interfaces seem like generations of ease of use ahead. I also have found the BB to be VERY limiting in it’s customizability. It’s been a good phone and pretty reliable, ad Missing Sync for BlackBerry will make it even more useful, but I’m still not “sold” on it.

Sincerely,

Scott “Patiently Waiting for Apple iPhone” Stevens

I’ll begin here with the summary and call for cooperation for the sake of OS X and BlackBerry users everywhere! I have included sync instructions at the end of this post FYI.

Mark/Space has EXCELLENT syncing software for phones and OS X users known as the “Missing Sync”. It includes an easy-to-use interface and it works easily and reliably. Currently it handles an advanced sync for platforms like: PalmOS (Treo, etc), Windows Mobile (Blackjack, Q, etc), and even the Sony PSP. The reliability and support for the product is very worth the ~$40 USD cost. If only there was a Missing Sync for BlackBerry (they have a survey for readers to fill out)…

Mark/Space Website
Mark/Space BlackBerry Survey

Research In Motion (RIM)’s BlackBerry is an excellent phone platform, working off years of refinement by the pickiest of consumers. They’ve now added multimedia functionality on the Blackberry Pearl that works pretty well and, if properly marketed, should open up their user base (it’s inexpensive for a Smartphone too!). The Pearl is available through America’s largest - Cingular, T-Mobile, and the Canadian powerhouse Rogers.

BlackBerry Main Website
BlackBerry Pearl Website

So if you own a BlackBerry and use OS X, here’s the good and the bad news…

The Good News - RIM licensed an OS X sync free to BlackBerry owners.

The Bad News - PocketMac is not an easy, reliable, or powerful solution.

MacWorld UK - PLEASE RE-REVIEW PocketMac for BlackBerry!!!

Much to my dismay and seemingly hundreds or thousands of other vocal reviews on various web pages, the sync licensed by BlackBerry for OS X known as PocketMac sucks. I try not to use that word, but there’s no politically correct way to express the unbelievable complications, problems, unreliability, and unintuitive user interface (and installer). The company that makes this software, Information Appliance Associates, also makes PocketPC sync too, but after my PocketMac experience for BlackBerry I agree with a review I read on the web -it is very much NOT worthy of the 4-1/2 of 5 “mice” it was awarded by MacWorld UK.

I look to Mark/Space to help fix this problem, even though it’s not their fault…

MAKE YOUR SOFTWARE for BLACKBERRY!!!

Now, the reason I bring Mark/Space into this is because I believe they can fix this problem by making the “Missing Sync” for BlackBerry. It is my humble opinion that RIM only licensed PocketMac for their users because there was not another solution on the market. Pardon my play on their own words, but I believe that if Mark/Space found the “Missing Sync” for BlackBerry, they could get the license with RIM for their software to be provided to the loyal and growing BlackBerry contingent.

Okay, maybe Mark/Space hasn’t done it because it does not meet the business case, or maybe RIM is too cheap to fork out the licensing fee (I doubt). I still believe that Missing Sync would be a heavily purchased product in their portfolio, even if it were offered standalone like the rest of their products. They currently compete with Information Appliance Associates PocketMac for Windows Mobile and they should be winning that race hands down. If Mark/Space is not winning that race, then a move like this could win them significant accolades (and revenue)!

Click here to fill out the Mark/Space survey to make this happen!

My survey looked like this:

What model BlackBerry is your primary device?
Pearl

Please rate the importance of the following possible features on a scale of 1 to 5:
Sync tasks - 2
Sync notes - 3
Sync calendar events - 5
Sync contacts - 5
Email sync with Apple Mail - 4
Email sync with Microsoft Entourage - 1
Call log backup and access on the Mac - 5
Encrypted password and account number storage/syncing - 2
iPhoto album import/export between Mac and BlackBerry - 5
iTunes playlist/music/podcast download to BlackBerry - 5
Install video files to Blackberry Pearl - 5
Backup and restore of the BlackBerry - 4
Installation of third-party applications from the Mac - 4

Are there any special features not mentioned above that you’d like to see in a BlackBerry sync product for the Mac?
I would like to sync “sent email” on the BlackBerry with my mail program’s Sent folder.
I miss being able to use my Cellular Data (Edge/GPRS/GSM) on my Mac when I have no Wi-Fi.
The BlackBerry has a separate directory for /ringtones from /music. Being able to dip into the /music/ folder from the ringtone menu would be VERY nice (maybe an alias?).

I look to Research In Motion to help fix this problem for BlackBerry users…

ENTICE Mark/Space to MAKE THEIR SOFTWARE for BLACKBERRY!!!

I want to give RIM kudos on the best SmartPhone on the market - BlackBerry Pearl, an inexpensive and reliable Smartphone. Honestly after handling it I almost stopped looking forward to the coming of Apple’s iPhone - that was, until I sync’d it. It is easy to see that RIM required a solution to open their loyal users into the loyal Mac contingent, but this was not the way to do it. Unfortunately the message boards and review columns are full of dissatisfied Mac/BlackBerry users, frustrated newbies and veterans alike, and words of suggestion for Windows and Palm even against their better judgment.

Do it right or don’t do it at all, measure twice and cut once. And with all due respect, which I have for RIM, the move to license PocketMac was just a bad decision among many right decisions. Whether it was haste, lack of options or a lack of thorough research by RIM, PocketMac has turned out to be one bad apple in a “Blue-Ribbon” barrel. It pains me significantly to say that if RIM does not choose to entice Mark/Space to create the Missing Sync for BlackBerry, that they might as well pull the licensed sync software off the shelf.

I apologize in advance for my Blunt on this topic, but I feel very strongly about this. I want to trade in my Treo and convert the rest of the Windows and Palm world if I can. The sales pitch is to but a Mac and a Pearl - I think it’s a match made in Heaven. Both companies have VERY loyal fans and both products work. My iPhone is BlackBerry Pearl … once it works with my computer.

Sincerely,
Scott Stevens

Following are my instructions for PocketMac sync for BlackBerry and OS X.

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