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AT&T and T-Mobile will have cell coverage in NYC subway stations
New York City promised subway cell phone coverage five years ago, and Transit Wireless took up the $46 million banner in 2007 -- now, three years and a friendly British jab later, at least two major carriers are convinced it's actually going to happen. Bloomberg reports that T-Mobile and AT&T have both signed ten-year agreements to let their customers access Transit's subterranean wireless network, which should cover 277 NYC stations in the years to come. Critically, we're still talking about coverage at just the stations, not actually on board -- there's till no word on when we can expect the tubes themselves to boost our sorry reception bars.
Clear WiMAX is live in New York City (updated: semi-live)
Sprint and Clearwire's WiMAX service has been making occasional cameos throughout the five boroughs since at least June, but now it's official: the service has been launched, closing up one of the most conspicuous holes in coverage so far. This matches up nicely with the San Francisco go-live we reported on earlier today, so you'll now be able to take your red eye from the Big Apple to the City by the Bay without fear that your EVO's going to get slow when you go wheels-down. Plans run from $25 a month (for the iSpot) all the way up to $55 for a mixed-mode WiMAX and EV-DO data stick, which works out to somewhere between 0.00001 and 0.0003 percent of your housing costs in Manhattan. Glass is half full, y'know. [Thanks, Marcus] Update: We've just been contacted by Clear and told that New York's still in the "operational readiness" phase of the go-live, which means hardware's only being offered to customers in limited areas and not all hardware is available (notably, the iSpot isn't yet being offered). Same goes for Los Angeles. San Francisco, meanwhile, isn't yet there -- we're told there might be some limited pockets where service is showing up, but Clear hasn't commercially launched there, even on a limited scale. For what it's worth, all of these areas are still expected to go fully live in 2010, they're just not quite there yet.
London, New York on track for subway cellular coverage?
After nearly three years of setbacks, if New York City isn't careful it looks like London just might win the race to extend cellular service to its underground transit system. The plan laid out by London Mayor Boris Johnson calls for the UK's big five wireless carriers (Vodafone, O2, Orange, T-Mobile, and 3) to cover the cost (some "hundreds of millions of pounds," according to the Telegraph) for a system that should hopefully wire the Tube by the 2012 Olympics. Meanwhile, the New York plan came back to life recently when Broadcast Australia purchased a majority stake in Transit Wireless, which was awarded some $46 million to wire subway platforms and select tunnels back in 2007 -- and which apparently threw in the towel shortly thereafter. Unlike the New York plan, London's won't be limited to the platforms, which is great news for Britons who like to listen to obnoxious strangers' cellphone conversations.
Time Warner claims it's the HD king of New York with 150 channels, StartOver
Time Warner's thrown down the HD gauntlet on Verizon FiOS in New York City, adding 25 HD channels and claiming that it's got the juice now, with all the HD games of the nine sports teams and NY1 in HD. Beyond the new additions -- including but not limited to good ones like Fox Soccer Channel, CSPAN networks, HBO and Showtime throw-ins, a few Viacom networks like Nick HD, CMT HD and VH1 HD, and the rather dubious four additional Big Ten HD feeds alongside Gol TV HD on the sports tier -- it also mentions Start Over is enabled on "more than 25 HD channels in the New York area" although it's not immediately clear which ones. Multichannel News reports Verizon's fired back that despite having a mere 133 HD channels, qualities like picture quality, widgets and VOD tilt things back its way. While they continue to do battle over the crown and those MSG sports networks, we're pretty sure plenty of New York watchers are just sitting back and enjoying some soccer, movies and routine government meetings in HD right now.
Visa gets Bank of America on board for mobile payments trial, starting in New York next month
It didn't take long for Visa to react to the three-headed beast of AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon entering the mobile payments arena. The world's foremost payment processing company has just announced that it's about to start a trial of its contactless payment system in partnership with Bank of America. Kicking off in the New York area this September and lasting through the end of the year, the scheme will most likely involve the MicroSD NFC communicator and In2Pay iPhone case that DeviceFidelity has been developing for Visa. No disclosures are being made on the size of this pilot scheme, though we're told that only a "select" group of employees and customers will be getting the mobile payment chips. Don't worry if you miss out on this one, though, as a similar trial is scheduled to begin in October with US Bancorp. That should give you enough time to turn yourself into a high-rolling select customer, right?
Social Bicycles bike sharing system powered by iPhone app to hit NYC this fall
Social Bicycles is a bike sharing system with a twist. Using an iPhone app, the system allows users to drop off, locate, and borrow a bike nearly anywhere. The bikes are equipped with a GPS device which is locked to one of the wheels, and when the bike is locked, it's locatable using the app, so that someone can borrow it; when it's in use and unlocked, it doesn't appear in the app. The real upside to Social Bicycles is that the regular infrastructure required for bike lending systems -- such as docking stations in a lot of convenient locations -- are unnecessary with this system, which can get by with regular old bike racks, making it a much cheaper, fly-by-night option. It's coming to New York City in very limited beta this fall, and we expect it to outperform Segs in the City in no time. Video is below.
Final roll of Kodachrome processed in Kansas; angel sheds a rainbow-colored tear
Kodak stopped manufacturing the oldest film in its catalog last year, but Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kansas kept its Kodachrome processing rig around just in case. Last week photographer Steve McCurry processed the final manufactured roll of Kodachrome there - 33 frames taken around New York City, and three taken in Parsons. A crew from National Geographic (where McCurry made his name, specifically with the iconic "Afghan Girl" cover photo) documented the final roll's journey from the factory to processing, so you'll probably be able to find out more on it soon. Oh, and if grandma's a real shutterbug, you might want to tell her to check the attic for any spare Kodachrome rolls she has lying around -- Dwayne's is the last remaining Kodachrome processing facility in the world, and that service will stop on December 10th. Now, if it's quite alright -- pardon us while we attempt to capture a meaningful moment on our soulless Easyshare ecosystem of products.
Newfangled spacesuit unveiled in New York
It's not everyday that we hear a "new" spacesuit has been designed and created, but that's just what we're hearing now. Two inventors, Nikolay Moiseev from Moscow and Ted Southern of Brooklyn are about to unveil a new spacesuit design they've come up with in their venture, Final Frontier Design. The pair outed their new design in New York City on Friday at the Eyebeam Art and Technology Center. They'd previously won a $100,000 NASA challenge to design a spacesuit glove -- one which boasts unprecedented dexterity and flexibility at the knuckles, and they've taken that design and spun it into an entire suit. The pressurized suit was shown off with the wearer able to play with a Rubik's cube, and the suit has been designed to withstand extremely high levels of pressure, as well. While the designers don't yet have an investor, they're hoping to attract them -- such as private companies such as Virgin Galactic, who are launching space tourism ventures as we speak.
Select Bus Service brings New York City transit into the 20th century
Did you know adding an extra subway stop to New York City's 7 train is going to cost $2 billion? In the middle of this big ol' recession, that's a big reason why transit geeks are freaking out about buses - they can be orders of magnitude cheaper than subways. It turns out in New York City (home of America's slowest buses at an average 7.5 MPH) they're jamming out on some serious tech to dispel the traditional associations commuters have with above-ground mass transit. The MTA's new Select Bus Service offers street-based payment kiosks (1 in the image above), low-riding rear entrances for quicker boarding (2), a "signal prioritization" system that will hold the light green for fast buses (3), and a separate terra cotta-colored lane with constant camera surveillance to keep stray cars and trucks out of the way (4). We've seen cabbies not get scared of things more serious things than painted lanes - personally, we'd install piranha-infested moats to protect our Select Bus System - but we'll have to trust the MTA on that one. The faster, funner new buses are already showing up in the Bronx, and If they're able to get through all the red tape associated with making things easier and more efficient for everybody, you can expect to see them on First and Second Avenues this fall and on 34th Street in 2012... provided we make it through the apocalypse.
AT&T says New York City service is improved
While AT&T's service has been notoriously bad even before the iPhone launch, iPhone users in New York City have suffered some of the worst of it, with one Apple Genius reportedly saying that 30% dropped call rate was average. (I think he misspelled "atrocious.") The good news is that AT&T has rolled out a network upgrade in the NYC, according to the company's press release this week. The big question was: Will it actually help? Early anecdotal reports are that yes, it has made a big difference. I've seen various snippets around the web of people posting that things seem to be better. I guess only time will tell for sure. This also seems like a good time to remind you about AT&T's free Mark The Spot app for noting when you have either a voice or data issue. We've noted that some users are getting updated with news of tower build-outs near their reported dead spots. Personally I wondered if this was leveraging towers AT&T planned to install anyway, but I spoke with a friend who works for AT&T and he said "I know it's hard to believe, but it really does matter." What say you, NYC folks? Has the upgrade been noticeable for you? [via Engadget]
AT&T says New York 850MHz 3G upgrade is complete, voice quality improved 47 percent
AT&T's service in New York City has long been decried as some of the worst in the nation -- we've heard people claim 30 percent of iPhone calls drop on average -- but hopefully things are about to get a lot better, as Ma Bell's just finished its 850MHz 3G upgrade in the city. That means the carrier should have more capacity in all five boroughs, and we're told voice quality has improved 47 percent since last quarter. Of course, the proof is in the pudding, so we'll see how things go -- hit us up in comments, won't you?
Sprint's WiMAX service teases EVO 4G-toting New Yorkers (update: LA and SF, too)
We'd figured that Sprint and partner Clearwire were going to have a devil of a time rolling out WiMAX this year in New York City; urban canyons are always tricky, of course, but their oddball 2500MHz spectrum allocation isn't the best at penetrating buildings and other structures, either. On that note, we'd been tipped earlier this week that a reader was seeing some weak WiMAX reception for the first time on his EVO 4G near Coney Island (see a shot after the break), and now, we've been able to independently confirm it on one of our own units -- in saturated Midtown, no less -- though we weren't able to do much with it beyond get a notification that a "4G network is available." Clearly this isn't ready for primetime use, but it's a good sign that these guys have officially started lighting up a few cells here and there. 1080p streaming, anyone? [Thanks, r0ckstar_23] Update: We're getting tipped that folks are seeing some occasional 4G action in LA and San Francisco, so keep a close eye on those EVOs!
NYFI aims to implement free WiFi on Long Island Rail Road and Metro
Mmm... the smell of gratis wireless broadband in morning. Even Starbucks agrees, you just can't beat it. One smell we could stand to live without is the stench left on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro after a few too many party people hitch a ride following a long Sunday in the city pub, but having free access to the world wide web while riding will make the act of dealing a whole lot easier. All jesting aside, NYFI (described as a "well financed neutral host WiFi provider"), has recently submitted a proposal to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York (MTA) to "build and operate a new WiFi network on Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road trains." Unlike similar ideas thrown around in the Big Apple, this setup won't require users to be subscribers of a cable service or any of the many religious cults going around these days. Head on past the break if you actually care to know how it'll be financed (hint: you don't), and be sure to push whoever you have to push to ensure this gets passed. Got it?
Sprint voice service down in New York City (updated with official statement)
We certainly don't want to point the finger at a wildly-successful EVO 4G launch just yet, but it seems that Sprint's voice service is down in New York City (data is still working, for what it's worth). This is happening consistently for three of us here in the city with EVOs on hand, so it certainly seems like a real problem. We're reaching out to Sprint for comment and we'll let you know what we hear. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Update: And we just got this from Sprint -- "One of our VoIP switches in New York did experience an equipment failure earlier today causing some traffic to be rerouted to another switching location during the repair process and resulting in call congestion for some Sprint customers. Our network operators are working aggressively to resolve this issue and hope to have service back to normal soon." Let's hope those glorious EVOs resume normal operation shortly. Update 2: Looks like we're back online, at least intermittently. Update 3: Sprint tells us that service was 100 percent back to normal as of 4:15PM ET. Carry on, folks!
World Science Festival kicks off June 2nd in NYC
If you're in the New York City area during the upcoming week, you really might want to think about trying to score yourself some tix to the World Science Festival. We've never been ourselves, and we have to say that our interest -- based on the description of the events -- is seriously piqued. The Festival was started Brian Greene (the physicist, not the guy from 90210) and his wife, and will run from June 2nd to the 6th. It will kick off with a gala event featuring Stephen Hawking, and will host a wide variety of talks over the week, covering topics like the science of sound, the science of Star Trek, and whether or not it's possible that we're all holograms. We're hoping to try to hit at least one of these events ourselves (though we do have a busy week ahead), but we suggest you check out the source link for full details yourself.
AT&T making tourists even more annoying with free Times Square WiFi
AT&T's master plan to relieve 3G data congestion in New York City? Give the crush of upward-facing tourists in Times Square free WiFi. AT&T will announce its first ever free outdoor WiFi hotspot later today located at the north central part of Times Square, near 7th Avenue between 45th and 47th Street. Qualifying AT&T customers with smartphones like the iPhone will automatically switch from 3G data to WiFi when in range. Great, just what Times Square needs: smartphone wielding pedestrians enticed by fast data to be even more oblivious to the pace of busy New Yorkers. If successful, AT&T will add WiFi hotspots to other high-traffic areas... and hopefully help push through tourist-lane legislation that could solve NYC's real congestion problems. [Photo courtesy of MarkArms]
Nokia's New York flagship store closes today
Imagine our luck: we just happened to stroll into Nokia's New York flagship store today on 57th between 5th and Madison Avenue, only to discover that it was practically torn down and set to close permanently today, a move that Nokia announced late last year. A representative approached us as soon as we entered and said, "the only phones we have are from this point forward; there's nothing else in the store." Interestingly, a call over to Nokia's other North American flagship in Chicago confirmed that it isn't closing today and no date has been set (at least, not a date that anyone is talking about) -- so there's one more outpost in the States if you want to get your Nokia on one last time. Needless to say, the overwhelming majority of Americans won't be shedding any tears over the closure, but it's always disappointing to see a neat and beautifully-designed place to geek out go belly-up. And where are we going to play with an N8 before we buy now, anyway?
RCN starts offering TiVo Premieres in NYC
RCN's Netflix, Amazon VOD and HD UI-lacking TiVo Premiere boxes are now available to Empire State customers, the first region outside of Washington D.C. to get access. It looks like the bundle packages vary from D.C.'s slightly based on internet speed, but adding a Premiere on is still a $19.95 per month charge. So New York City TiVo fans, the choice is yours: RCN's VOD or everyone else's, which do you prefer? [Thanks, Dave Zatz]
T-Mobile's HSPA+ network goes live in New York City
Manhattan is in need of as much wireless love as the nation's carriers can give it -- and shy of WiMAX or LTE, the next best thing is some good, old-fashioned HSPA+ with theoretical speeds going all the way up to 21Mbps. T-Mobile was the first American carrier to aggressively pursue a national HSPA+ rollout (though AT&T has revisited its upgrade strategy more recently and decided to hit it on the way to LTE, too), and the goods have finally hit the New York City metro area. That means that Gothamites can now buy the webConnect Rocket USB stick that's been rolling out market by market over the past few months -- and while we can guarantee you that you won't see anything close to 21Mbps in practice, it's probably among the fastest wireless data solutions in town for the time being. Don't go running any web servers on it now, y'hear?
AT&T's Q1 results: earnings down thanks to one-time charge, NYC seeing 'solid improvements'
AT&T's first quarter results posted this morning look generally quite positive for the company -- it saw its highest first-quarter net wireless adds in history (1.9 million) and both postpaid and total churn are at their lowest levels ever, suggesting that subscribers are happier with their service than they have been in recent months, the thought of tantalizing hardware is keeping them around, they're too worn down to bother switching, or some combination of the above. Net income of $2.5 billion was down a bit year over year -- $600 million, to be exact -- thanks to a one-time charge related to some tax craziness that only accountants would fully comprehend, but had it not been for that, they'd be looking at having banked $3.5 billion. In other words, the numbers are looking good. At least the financial numbers are looking good, but what about those dropped calls? AT&T claims that Manhattan -- one of the hardest-hit areas in the country, if not the hardest -- saw a 6 percent improvement in the first quarter, with the New York metro area improving 9 percent overall. The promised third carrier rollout is claimed to be well underway, and as proof of all this noise, AT&T helpfully provides a pair of graphs -- graphs with no perceptible Y-axis units, mind you -- showing bigger bars and higher lines in the first quarter than in last. Of course, we still don't appreciate AT&T bringing its extensive WiFi network into the equation here; it's still totally non sequitur to the matter at hand, as far as we're concerned, since even the most extensive WiFi coverage is a drop in the bucket against WWAN footprint. Besides, if these guys can actually meet their proclaimed goal of offering both the fastest and the most reliable 3G data around, it's a moot point, right?
