1. iN8ter's Avatar
    About as long as it takes them to get sued if they copy the actual layout and design (word flicking). I believe blackberry patented that part.


    Sent from my BlackBerry Torch 9850 using Tapatalk
    SwiftKey's predictions are so good that they really don't need to copy that, and shouldn't. That is a productivity killer to me. I touch type without looking at the keyboard on my touchscreen phones.
    02-19-13 02:14 PM
  2. Omnitech's Avatar
    All the 3rd party VoIP services like Skype, Viber, ooVoo, Google+, Facebook (on iOS), etc. are not going to be blocked by by the carriers. There is precedent that the regulators will not stand for that.
    I would give those services a different name: "proprietary VoIP services". The thing about proprietary, locked-in VoIP providers is that you can negotiate deals with them, force them to agree to your terms, ask them for a cut of their revenue, etc, and of course any service pushed by a deep-pocketed competitor is something you have to think twice about before blockading. Not so much with the smaller players. I'd be more interested in whether generic VoIP (ie standard SIP) traffic is being blocked or throttled, and I can tell you for a fact that a LOT of ISPs and mobile carriers, in the past, did exactly that.

    That is changing to some extent now, but it is by no means a thing of the past. One of the key responses that the US cellular industry made to that is by pushing mandatory data plans and tiered data pricing. This is how they are recovering revenue lost from traditional voice minutes to the VoIP services.
    02-19-13 04:38 PM
  3. iN8ter's Avatar
    I would give those services a different name: "proprietary VoIP services". The thing about proprietary, locked-in VoIP providers is that you can negotiate deals with them, force them to agree to your terms, ask them for a cut of their revenue, etc, and of course any service pushed by a deep-pocketed competitor is something you have to think twice about before blockading. Not so much with the smaller players. I'd be more interested in whether generic VoIP (ie standard SIP) traffic is being blocked or throttled, and I can tell you for a fact that a LOT of ISPs and mobile carriers, in the past, did exactly that.

    That is changing to some extent now, but it is by no means a thing of the past. One of the key responses that the US cellular industry made to that is by pushing mandatory data plans and tiered data pricing. This is how they are recovering revenue lost from traditional voice minutes to the VoIP services.
    No, Skype and others filed a complaint with the FCC, and the VoIP on the iPhone that was getting blocked was unblocked by AT&T and Apple by rejecting apps that do it over the network. For Android phones, AT&T simply blocks Google Talk form doing this over 3G/LTE in the Firmware.

    They negotiatied no such deal.

    BBM Voice/Video is as proprietary as Skype, FaceTime, and Google Talk Voice/Video Chat. It has nothing to do with whether they're proprietary or not.

    The won't block SIP at the protocol level, because that would be too blatant and it would severely hurt business users on their network. Android 2.3 had SIP support at the OS level, for example. However, SIP is not "vanilla VOIP" the way you seem to imply it is. SIP is meant for controlling calls/sessions. It doesn't implement the CODECs that these applications use - like Skype's Patented SILK Wideband Codec they use for Skype to Skype calls.

    Also, since those companies' users are locked behind their own walled gardens the SIP support isn't really a factor. The applications are, and they never/don't utilize[d] that OS-level SIP support.
    Last edited by n8ter#AC; 02-19-13 at 05:37 PM.
    02-19-13 05:15 PM
  4. Omnitech's Avatar
    The won't block SIP at the protocol level, because that would be too blatant and it would severely hurt business users on their network. Android 2.3 had SIP support at the OS level, for example. However, SIP is not "vanilla VOIP" the way you seem to imply it is. SIP is meant for controlling calls/sessions. It doesn't implement the CODECs that these applications use - like Skype's Patented SILK Wideband Codec they use for Skype to Skype calls.
    I know for a fact that many ISPs and mobile carriers, at one time, blocked VoIP traffic - and I believe some still do today.

    The codec is immaterial, that doesn't have any bearing on how you filter/block IP packets associated w/ VoIP. When someone blocks VoIP, generally that means they block SIP traffic, and if we're talking about a proprietary app, they could do it as you mention via some firmware thing that looks for some sort of app signature. (like an antivirus utility) Especially if the app vendor is trying to circumvent generic VoIP traffic restrictions by (ie) tunnelling it within some other protocol.

    My point is that many carriers and ISPs have historically been hostile to VoIP because they see it as cannibalizing their revenues. Which is one reason why Verizon and other carriers are doing so much lobbying against "Network Neutrality". They see it as their divine right to prioritize and/or selectively block traffic on their network to suit their business objectives.
    02-19-13 06:12 PM
  5. Omnitech's Avatar
    Oh and BTW: read the news. Blackberry is in the midst of negotiating a deal with the United Arab Emirates to do VoIP with Blackberry 10. If they conclude this deal, they will be the FIRST vendor in that country allowed by the mobile carriers there to support VoIP. link
    02-19-13 06:17 PM
  6. jstarett's Avatar
    iPhones easily get better battery life than the Z10, and with MUCH smaller batteries. Apple has yet to put a 1500 mAh battery in an iPhone, something that was par for the course in Blackberries, Windows Phones, and Android Phones since early-mid 2010. If they had an 1850 mAh battery in the iPhone 4S or 5 it would probably get 2 days battery life. Right now the battery is still less than 1500 mAh.
    I doubt that...the biggest complaint out of my friends is the battery life.


    Which is stupid as the picture can be easily IM'd (i.e. Facebook Messenger, for starters), MMS'd, or emailed to them. Relying on Screen Sharing to share pictures, Lol. Sorry. That's almost sort of idiotic.
    That is your personal opinion...maybe you just want to show somebody a picture but don't want to send it to them. I could also help my friends easier by seeing what they are doing so I can help them when a problem occurs.


    Those are apps are all crap compared to the 1st party offerings, and whether you care is not the point. Every major app that someone depends on can be a deal breaker for that person. iOS and Android don't have this issue. Windows Phone and BB, however, do.
    What did these people have when they first started out...almost zilch so BlackBerry is doing pretty good on this front but that is my opinion of course.
    02-20-13 04:33 AM
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