For years now, the carriers have been installing equipment that I’ve always called “micro cells” into large commercial buildings, due to the fact that the frequencies used for mobile phones aren’t great at penetrating building materials like steel and concrete.  These micro cells are essentially small indoor cell towers, and help to improve signal strength inside of the building.

Fairly recently, carriers have been offering a device called a “Femtocell” that their customers can install in their homes.  The devices are about the same size as a cable modem or router, and act as a personal cell tower.  Calls are routed back to the wireless carrier over the users home broadband connection.

Unfortunately, these femtocell devices have been aimed at improving voice coverage and not data coverage.  Luckily, that may be changing!  I came across an article on Wired today that speculates (based upon documents files with the FCC) that Sprint is readying a femtocell that will provide 3G data service in addition to voice coverage to users on their network.  If it’s true, this could be great for smarphone users who live in poor coverage areas.

For a few years now, you’ve heard the term “3G” used to describe data services on cellular networks. Now, all of a sudden, there is a new term showing up. Ads on TV, in magazines and newspapers, web sites, billboards, and anywhere else you can imagine are starting to feature new “4G” service from Sprint.

You may find yourself wondering “Do we really need an additional G? What is ‘G’ and why do I need four of them? Are the other carriers going to roll out an extra G for their customers too?”

First and foremost, “G” stands for “Generation”. The first generation cellular technology was the original analog cell phone system that became popular in the 80’s and early 90’s. The second generation transitioned us from analog to digital cell phone service in the late 90’s. The third generation, or “3G” technology added support for higher data speeds that have enabled the rich mobile experience we have grown accustomed to on our smart phones.

Quite simply, “4G” refers to the fourth generation cellular network technology that is optimized for high speed internet traffic. I know, this is an extreme simplification, but I don’t want to get hung up on the formal technical definition of 4G as set forth by the ITU. For the overwhelming majority of cell phone users, this is a good enough working definition to understand what the carriers are talking about.

Sprint is rolling out a 4G technology called WiMax on their network. This network upgrade will allow new devices to connect to the internet at speeds up to 20 Mbps. What this really means is that WiMax will allow mobile connections at speeds comparable to, or faster than many people’s home internet connections.

Sprint won’t be the only wireless carrier in the US to offer 4G service. AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and Tmobile are also planning to roll their own 4G network upgrades. The catch though, is that AT&T, Verizon, and Tmobile are planning to roll out a different 4G technology called LTE. LTE offers theoretical speeds of 56 Mbps, but real world connections will probably not reach this limit.

At this time, Sprint has a head start. They have already rolled out WiMax in a handful of markets around the US, and will expand their service throughout 2010. Verizon Wireless will be rolling out LTE starting this year, and plan to finish upgrading their network bo 2013. AT&T plans to start rolling out LTE on their network in 2011. Tmobile plans to launch their LTE network in 2011.

As our smart phones get smarter, they become more and more like computers, and less and less like phones. One piece of equipment that we’ve had on computers for decades is now making its way onto our phones. That piece of equipment is the keyboard. The problem is, each handset’s keyboard is different from every other handset.

To me, the keyboard on the device should be one of the biggest deciding factors when selecting a new phone. Some devices have only on-screen keyboards, some have physical keyboards, and some have both.

My personal device, a Samsung Moment, has both an on-screen keyboard and a physical slide out keyboard. I find that if I’m simply entering a word or two, the on-screen keyboard will do. On the other hand, if I’m sending an text message, typing a quick email, updating twitter, entering a URL into the browser, or any other activity that requires more than a few keystrokes, I find the physical keyboard to be much more usable.

If you’re in the market for a smart phone, be sure to take time to try out the different keyboard options on different handsets. There will be differences between the onscreen keyboards and the physical keyboards from phone to phone, and there is no doubt, if you buy a smart phone, you will ultimately be using the keyboard on a regular basis to input data.

The folks over at PC PRO have an article comparing the usability of keyboards across a handful of devices. Check it out, and see their results. You’ll notice that the error rates for on screen keyboards are much higher than for physical keyboards. In addition to the higher error rates, the time required was also much longer.

Network World has posted an article on their site, “7 Android devices that aren’t phones“.  On the list are tablets, media players, and even Netbook computers.

While Android isn’t nearly as powerful as a full blown operating system like Microsoft Windows or Apple’s MacOS, it is certainly capable of allowing users to do the most common internet activities.  It’s simplified interface lends itself very well to use on set-top boxes, TV’s, or other appliances.  It wouldn’t surprise me to see Android begin to work its way into the automobile industry either, powering an internet connected in dash navigation and media system.’

Oh, and next week… no Android.  I promise.

I came across a podcast client called Mediafly the other day, and have been really impressed with it.  I am using their application on my Android phone.  They also have versions of their software for Blackberry, iPhone, and WebOS (from Palm).  I was surprised to see that they do not list Windows Mobile and Symbian as supported platforms.  As expected, they also can sync to MP3 players like iPods, Zunes, or Sandisk Sansa players through a desktop application.  Not so expected though, is support for some set top boxes like Roku or Popcorn Hour.

A podcast is a show released for download on the Internet.  Some are audio only, like radio, others are video.  Some are even in HD!  Podcasts are released through a feed that allows you to subscribe to them with special client software so that the newest episodes are automatically downloaded and ready for you to enjoy.

In my opinion, the best feature of the Mediafly software is the ability to manage my subscriptions via the Mediafly website on my PC.  I can browse an extensive catalog of shows from many different sources.  When I subscribe to a particular show, it shows up automatically on my phone so that I can listen to it on the go.  I don’t have to sync my phone to my PC, the show is downloaded over the air through my data plan.

I listen to a number of different podcasts, and with Mediafly, I can always make sure I have the most recent episode with me wherever I am, no more forgetting to sync my iPod to my PC to get the new shows.  If you’re interested in exploring some of the great content available as podcasts, some of my favorite shows come from the TWiT Network, CNet, and NPR.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I think Google’s Android operating system is the future for mobile devices like smart phones. That’s not to say that Apple’s iPhone isn’t a great device. It is. Touch screen phones wouldn’t be what they are today without Apple pushing the envelope in the last few years, but, the iPhone has one big problem. Apple. Apple has created a closed system, and, while that closed system has allowed Apple to produce a great product thus far, it will ultimately be the reason that Android surpasses the iPhone.

Android is a great operating system for mobile devices. There are some aspects that aren’t quite as polished yet, but overall, It has significantly closed the lead that Apple has had in terms of functionality, quality, and user experience. The openness of the Android platform is what I think will propel it into the lead over the next two years.

Google makes Android available to any device manufacturer that wants to use it. There are no licensing fees, there is no exclusive carrier, and developers don’t have to jump through hoops to get their applications approved.

Apple has had a long head start, but since November, we have seen a number of new Android based devices become available. Sprint has picked up the Hero and the Moment, Verizon now has the DROD and DROID Eris, Tmobile has the G1, MyTouch, and the Cliq. Tmobile is also the carrier partner for Google’s own Nexus One, the new flagship Android “superphone” as Google calls it. AT&T has plans to launch their Android devices sometime in the first half of 2010.

Moving forward, I don’t see how Apple will be able to maintain the lead overall. The iPhone may continue to be a best seller when comparing sales of individual handset models, but I think that the Android platform as a whole will overtake Apple’s market share when looking at the combined number of handsets sold across every manufacturer and carrier.

There is one major problem that Google may face with Android. The problem, as I see it, is that wireless carriers move at a glacial pace compared to Google. Android 1.0 was released in September of 2008. In just over a year, we have seen Android advance from 1.0 to 1.5, to 1.6, to 2.0, and now to 2.1. To the carriers, this is incredibly fast, especially considering the amount of time that they take to test new devices on their networks before releasing them to their customers. It can take the better part of a year to design, build, test, and release a device.

The rapid development pace of Android means that by the time a device is released, it’s operating system will likely be out of date. This is already the case with devices like the Hero, Eris, and Moment, which just became available in November of 2009. These three brand new devices were released with Android 1.5. It has been announced that these devices will receive firmware updates to Android 2.1 sometime in the first half of 2010, but a firm date has not been established.

Luckily, in time, I think two things will happen. First, I think that as Android matures, the development pace will begin to slow down a little bit, easing some of the pressure on the carriers. Second, I think the carriers have realized that they can not continue to move at the same pace that they always have and expect to remain competitive.

New mobile “devices” (as they’re called in the industry) come out constantly, and each round is more capable than the last. Something I find very interesting is how mobile gadgets are changing our lives. They offer us a level of connectivity to the world around us that has never been possible before. It wasn’t long ago that my cell phone could do little more than make phone calls. If you were on the cutting edge, you had a slick little flip phone with a camera built in. If you were lucky, you had a camera with enough resolution that you could actually tell who you had taken the picture of! Now, I can’t imagine having a phone that can not surf the web, shoot video, run custom applications to do things like update Twitter or Facebook, and give me directions to the nearest coffee shop.

Unless you live in a very remote area, you probably have access to at least one carrier’s mobile data network. Just about anywhere, you can have an always-on connection to the internet in the palm of your hand. Combine that with a touch screen interface, and you literally have the world at your fingertips.

Check back regularly, and explore the world of gadgets and mobile technology with me!