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Hotelier Technology Update iPhone The Apple iPhone has generated enormous publicity over the last three weeks around the world. It was released for sale to the public with great fanfare last Friday and analysts estimate it sold 500,000 units over the weekend. Considering the phone costs about 5 times what a “normal” cell phone costs (recognising cellular companies “buy down” or subsidise the price in exchange for lengthy service plans) this is pretty significant.
iPhone’s popularity springs from the phenomenal success of iPod and video iPod as well as its multifunction features: with up to 8 hours of talk time, 6 hours of Internet use, 7 hours of video playback or 24 hours of audio playback and more than 10 days of standby time, iPhone’s battery life is longer than any other Smartphone. There are two major areas in which Apple is being criticised for the iPhone: limited battery life (and the need to mail the unit into Apple since the battery is not replaceable by the consumer) and the slow internet connection speeds. The internet connection is being provided by AT&T in America. They have an exclusive sales deal for the first year of the iPhone and use their EDGE network. The network is not terribly fast- it’s a shared medium and slows down as each user is added. Steve Jobs is quoted in the New York Times, “Edge is good, but you’d like it to be faster,” he said, suggesting that the availability of local Wi-Fi networks would make up for the Edge network’s slower speed.
So what’s this all mean to hoteliers and end users? The iPhone is compatible with iBAHN’s existing Wi-Fi network and will extend the reach of the iPhone in two ways: firstly, users will have extended range inside of the hotel structure where the EDGE network slows down due to one wall limitations. Secondly, the speed of iBAHN Wi-Fi service will provide a great user experience for iPhone users surfing the web. iPhone is another example of how the selection of iBAHN Wi-Fi helps hoteliers to future-proof their investment.
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