Optus mobile customers in Sydney who use rail services on the city's North Shore and Western Lines will now receive mobile coverage through tunnels between Central and Chatswood stations, the telco announced today.
The new network coverage was officially switched on last night, following a "comprehensive testing period" and will see Optus mobile customers receive 2G and 3G coverage on their mobile phones, tablets and laptops in the tunnels of the two railway lines.
According to Optus, the initial roll out of its mobile coverage on the North Shore and Western railway lines is "stage one" of a broader rollout which will eventually see network coverage available on all of Sydney's City Circle train lines.
"Today marks an important step in delivering much-needed rail tunnel coverage to Sydneysiders as they travel around this beautiful city," said Optus' managing director of networks, Günther Ottendorfer. "We will continue to invest in the expansion of the Optus Network and remain committed to ensuring our customers have access in even more places than ever before."
The new network rollout is a three way partnership between Optus, the NSW Government and RailCorp, a an agency of the Government responsible for the operation and maintenance of Sydney's CityRail train network.
"Sydney customers have been waiting far too long to use this service and it is a testament to the Minister for Transport, the Hon. Gladys Berejiklian MP, that we are able to make this announcement today, who accelerated this project by making it a top priority,” Ottendorfer said. "This is stage one of a broader network expansion project that will eventually see Optus infrastructure delivered to the City Circle tunnels."
The expansion of mobile coverage to other CityRail lines is set to be completed "in the coming months" but Optus has refused to commit to an exact completion date.
"Stage two will commence in the coming months," said an Optus spokesperson. "We can’t commit to an exact date as it will be progressive across City Circle tunnels."
To celebrate the switch on of the Optus network in Sydney's rail tunnels, Optus has been handing out free coffees to railway commuters at Central, Wynyard and North Sydney stations. The activity is taking place between 6.30am and 10.30am today.
Hands-on: nearly instant photofinishing direct from your smartphone - Ars Technica
Walgreens and Fujifilm are targeting mobile phone users with new systems that allow users to order true photographic prints directly from an iOS or Android device. Both companies launched APIs this week that allow app developers to integrate print ordering directly from their photo-related apps. Fuji is configured to mail finished products to customers from a centralized lab, while Walgreens allows pickup from the nearest of its 7,900+ Walgreens stores.
Camera-equipped mobile phones have largely supplanted compact cameras for a wide variety of users, resulting in 10-20 percent annual declines in compact camera sales for the last couple of years. While smartphones allow users to easily share photos via social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Flickr, getting photo-quality prints is usually the last thing on many users' minds.
That's a situation that Walgreens and Fujifilm hope to change. The APIs allow mobile developers to tap in to each company's photofinishing services, making it almost as easy as clicking a button to get prints from your latest "iPhoneography" masterpiece.
"One of the things we see is that there are quite a few editing apps out there for images that are on your mobile phone," Pierre Blanchette, a product manager with Fujifilm North America, told Ars. "Customers are spending a lot of time editing those images, so it's clear they are important to them. We think those images should be printed; we think there's something about that tangible aspect that viewing on a smartphone screen can't match."
Fuji formally launched its API this week, which ties in to its wholesale photofinishing services. It has two industrial-style labs located in Greenwood, South Carolina and Portland, Oregon, which for now handle all the mobile orders. Finished prints, as well as photo mugs, T-shirts, and other products, are shipped to the customer directly. Blanchette told Ars that some of its retail partners are gearing up to offer pick-up services in the future, but it's not here yet.
Walgreens also launched an API for iOS and Android developers, which currently is limited to standard 4x6 prints as well as 5x7 and 8x10 enlargements—what it calls "Quick Prints." Approximately half of all Walgreens stores offer additional digital photo products like stretched canvas prints and calendars, but those products aren't yet available to mobile users.
Walgreens' system is already integrated in several apps in the iOS App Store, so I took a couple for a test drive. Overall I was pleased with the results, but there are a few details that make the experience less than ideal.
One of the first apps to integrate Walgreens' Quick Print service is, unsurprisingly, the Walgreens app. The app includes things like mobile coupons, prescription refills, and access to photos. Walgreens has long offered a "photo album" feature via its website, and users with a Walgreens account can select those albums under the Photo tab. But users can also access their iOS camera roll and albums as well.
Simply select between one and five photos, and hit "Print." Those photos will be uploaded to Walgreens' servers. You can chose up to 100 photos total, but only five at a time. Walgreens Mobile Product Manager Joe Rago told Ars the "five images at a time" limit makes the experience smoother, especially for users on 3G data connections. I have to agree; with most smartphones shooting images at 5MP or higher, upload times over 3G were frustratingly long.
Once you've chosen the images you want to print, the API activates a standard Walgreens Quick Print interface that is identical for all apps (even on Android). Here you choose print size (4x6, 5x7, or 8x10) and quality, up to 20 each. Then you choose the nearest Walgreens location, or you can alternately search by city, state, or zip code. Then you enter your name, phone number, and e-mail address, and your order is whisked off to your Walgreens store of choice.
Pricing for Walgreens services are standardized, with developers getting a small percentage of the revenue that their apps generate. 4x6 prints are 29¢ each—a pretty common price—while 5x7 enlargements are $1.99 and 8x10 prints cost $3.99. You could probably make prints a little cheaper at home, but you won't achieve similar results unless you're using the best inks and papers. (Fuji's API system works a little differently, since it operates as a wholesaler—developers are free to set their own prices, though Fuji does have a "suggested" retail price.)
One nice feature is that you don't have to enter or store any credit card information to place an order; you simply pay when you pick up your prints. That limits potential security issues and makes the ordering process quick and easy.
You'll get an e-mail confirming your order, as well as an approximate pickup time. Orders are usually completed within an hour depending on how busy a particular store is. Rago said that times can run as much as a few hours on heavy days, particularly around holidays like Christmas. You'll also get an e-mail alert when your order is ready.
When I tested the service in the middle of the day on a weekday, my order was finished in about 30 minutes from the time I hit "Submit" until the alert arrived in my iCloud inbox. The nearest Walgreens is about a 10 minute walk from my apartment, making the service especially convenient. (The same is true throughout most of Chicago, though even my small Indiana hometown has multiple Walgreens locations to choose from.)
I ordered several 4x6 prints, as well as a handful of 5x7 and 8x10 enlargements for comparison. All of the prints came back sharp and colorful. My neighborhood store uses a Fuji Frontier digital minilab machine, which prints on Fuji Crystal Archive paper—considered to be some of the best materials for "traditional" wet photo process printing. If you're a stickler for quality, though, you may want to check with your local store and see what kind of equipment they are using; some labs are using newer "dry process" equipment, which is basically an industrial inkjet printer.
Overall, I was pleased with the prints. The ordering process leaves a bit to be desired, though. You can only choose one print size for all the images in an order, so if you want multiple print sizes of a single image, you have to create multiple orders. Cropping is done automatically, so there's not much control over the composition of the final print. This is a bit of a nitpick, but entering your contact info repeatedly can get a bit annoying; thankfully that info can be stored in an app and forwarded via the API.
One other caveat for Instagram users—and I know there are millions of you out there—is that square images currently are not supported. Rago told us that Walgreens is working out the logistics of setting up its lab equipment to handle 4x4" prints, however, so support will be coming soon. In the meantime, square images are just auto-cropped to fit.
I also tried one other app with Quick Prints support, called Pic Stitch. This app offers a variety of multi-image collage templates which you can fill with your images. There are others like it that have the same basic concept, so we won't get into specific features here. Suffice it to say that you can choose from 4x6, 5x7, and 8x10 sizes with a variety of styles of collage. Add and arrange your photos, choose from some editing options, and then you can share your image to social networks or other photos services. Or you can choose to have your local Walgreens print the image.
I made a simple three-image collage at 4x6 size to test the integration. Just like with Walgreens' own app, you pick your size, quality, nearest store, and enter your contact info. Pic Stitch has a few helpful integration features, which warn you if you've chosen a template that doesn't fit the intended image print size. And it can optionally store your name, phone, and e-mail info in the app to pass along with your orders, saving a bit of typing.
Overall, this appears to be a smart move on Walgreens' and Fuji's part. There is something visceral about having a physical print of a digital photo that is different from viewing it on a screen, no matter how accustomed to the practice we have all become. And frankly, the prints are better than I can manage on my otherwise excellent Epson multifunction printer at home. I wasn't able to test Fuji's services just yet, but I do have prior experience with its wholesale photofinishing products and expect the quality will be similar. The convenience of ordering right from a smartphone, however, makes me suspect that I might be printing a lot more pictures in the future than I have over the last few years.
4G wireless service on fast track in Wisconsin - comcast.net
Jul 15, 2012 (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX News Network) -- Wireless providers are beefing up their fourth-generation networks, which promise Internet speeds equal to what you have at home or at work.
The major carriers have upgraded their current 3G networks to provide the faster 4G service in the state's major metro areas -- Madison, Milwaukee and the Fox Cities. This fall, U.S. Cellular will expand its 4G LTE coverage to include more of central and western Wisconsin where mobile phone signals often aren't reliable. By the end of 2013, Verizon Wireless will have 4G LTE available everywhere it currently has 3G wireless.
"It's the largest investment we are making," said Mark Nachman, Verizon's director of retail stores.
How much faster is 4G LTE? Verizon claims it's 10 times speedier than the ubiquitous 3G.
To take advantage of the new, speedier service, most customers will spend more -- to upgrade their handsets, and be prepared to spend more for data charges -- because the additional speed means you consume more data.
AT&T's version in Wisconsin is called 4G HSPA+, and while it's slower than 4G LTE, the company says it's still up to four times faster than a 3G connection. AT&T also has 4G LTE, but not in Wisconsin.
T-Mobile currently offers 4G HSPA+ at a few locations in the Milwaukee area, including Mitchell International Airport and the Bradley Center. The company says it's making the switch to 4G LTE but hasn't announced whether it's coming to Wisconsin.
Sunday, Sprint is launching its 4G LTE network in three Texas markets, Kansas City and Atlanta. Sprint hasn't said if or when it's bringing 4G to Wisconsin.
Faster than 3G
Technically, 4G LTE is the fastest mobile wireless network available. It has download speeds of up to 25 megabits per second (the data transfer speed) under ideal conditions. That's about 10 times faster than the 3G network most people use now on their mobile phones.
In real-world use, it means watching videos on your phone, and handling photos and large files, is faster and smoother. When you simply browse the Web and check your email, the differences between 3G and 4G networks aren't as apparent.
Even most videos were designed to work on 3G, said Terence Ow, an information technology professor at Marquette University.
"It's not much of a problem when my daughter is playing videos in the back of the car," Ow said.
The International Telecommunications Union, the group that determines network definitions, says true 4G requires minimum download speeds of 100 megabits per second -- something that no mobile wireless company is even close to offering.
But in 2010, the ITU issued a statement that essentially allowed any wireless technology faster than 3G to be called 4G.
Thus, the major carriers branded their next-generation networks as 4G -- even though speeds vary between carriers.
Wisconsin's urban areas now have the service, especially along busy commuter routes and interstate highways.
When traveling, people want the same type of wireless speeds they're used to getting at home with their desktop computers, said James Walker-Pontius, U.S. Cellular's director of network operations for the Central U.S. region.
Speeds can vary depending on where someone is and how many people are on the network at a given time.
Customers want 4G for uploading photos and videos to social media sites while traveling, Walker-Pontius said. They also want it for watching Web-based videos, with fewer time lags, and while waiting at the airport or the doctor's office.
There's a price to pay for the higher speed. Customers will have to upgrade their phone, which usually requires extending their contract. And they'll be charged more for the additional data use.
"Eventually, all of us will have 4G. But for now, it's a matter of how much do you want to pay for it," Ow said.
Phone apps developed
If your current mobile phone meets your needs, there's no need to rush out and buy a 4G phone since 3G service will be around for a long time and is adequate for most people.
Chasing the "latest and greatest" technology can be futile, Ow said, because the offerings change constantly.
Still, 4G will appeal to consumers who want the fastest possible speed on their mobile phone.
Phone apps are being developed around the technology, including multiplayer games and videoconferencing that benefits from the smoother flow of data and fewer network delays.
The service also has fostered a new breed of mobile phones, such as the Samsung Galaxy S III, that have faster processors and a smoother operating system. Those are "industry-changing devices," said Walker-Pontius with U.S. Cellular.
If speeds continue increasing at the rate they've been, 3G will soon become an unpleasant memory, PC World magazine wrote in 2011.
"What will that mean? The 4G service will very likely speed up your consumption of Web-based content, and it will smooth the operation of services such as streaming video. In fact, 4G speeds are likely to let you do things with your mobile device that you simply couldn't do with a 3G connection, applications such as video chatting, online gaming, and VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) calling," the magazine wrote.
Some businesspeople could benefit from 4G if they access large data files on mobile phones or use wireless for video conferencing.
The technology could be a substitute for a wired Internet connection in your home or office, but it could be very expensive because of data use charges.
More businesses are using cellphones or tablets much as they would a wired desktop computer, said Jeff Roznowski, president of the Wisconsin Wireless Association.
The greatest potential for 4G is to get speeds from 100 megabits to one gigabit per second -- something not currently available. At that point, for example, doctors could easily download medical images on their mobile devices.
Superfast broadband, whether it's wired or wireless, is being touted as an economic development tool, much like electricity spurred the second industrial revolution in the 19th century.
"That is where we will see some of the true advantages," Roznowski said.
SO, WHAT'S 4G?
True 4G requires minimum download speeds of 100 megabits per second -- something no mobile wireless company is even close to offering.
But in 2010, the governing group for network definitions issued a statement that
essentially allowed any wireless technology faster than 3G to be called 4G.
COVERAGE AREAS
AT&T, Verizon Wireless and U.S. Cellular all have 4G coverage in Wisconsin, with Verizon and U.S. Cellular having 4G LTE service.
Here are links to coverage areas, from the providers:
AT&T
Verizon
US Cellular
___ (c)2012 the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Visit the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel at www.jsonline.com Distributed by MCT Information Services
Copyright (C) 2012, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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