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The iPhone returns … iPhone 3G S

>edfa been a really long time since I used an iphone for anything. My original iPhone essentially became a paperweight after about 3 months and the SIM card has rotated through a dozen or more devices since. Even so I felt compelled to check it out once again and once I realized that the (subsized) price for the 32GB model was $100 less than the equivalent iPod Touch, I was sold.

It’s hard to not be impressed with what’s changed since the original. The hardware is sleek, lighter and includes some serious power boosts making what was a previously slow unit intensely fast! The iPhone 3G S might be the fastest device I’ve used. The basic navigation is effortless and switching between open apps and the finder and back to re-open an app is very smooth. I’m still in the process of re-familiarizing myself with the flow and while there are some new additions with 3.0, but it’s not exactly hard to figure anything out here. First take, the iPhone has truly advanced in 2.5 generations.

My main issue currently is one that will probably improve with time though never quite be what I’ve grown accustomed to via S60 which is multitasking. The same core apps get that treatment while 3rd party developers have try to work through the (barely live) push notices. I’ve got a few apps installed that allegedly use this (AP News, Umbrella, Tapulous) and have gotten a few from AP… The process is simple enough but the limits of the implementation mean that the information yo get carries no context. You still have to find and launch the AP App, wait for it to refresh and then find the headline if you want to read the full piece. That’s less than ideal … Why we can’t simply get some sort of link that deep links to the app is beyond me. Oh right without multitasking, your app can’t update until it’s open. Similar currently running app limits apply across the board. You can’t stream music from last.fm or pandora and do anything else – background notices have nothing to offer streaming media.

The first generation battery was quite weak by my standards. Today I found I had burned over 50% of the battery in a few hours of use. Looks like moderate usage will yield a full day, but I’d be nervous having a really heavy day of usage without access to some extra juice. Standard smartphone …

I’ll have some more thoughts soon enough … for now though I am very pleased with this upgrade regardless of the background process limits. The iPhone is clearly a well polished, easy to use and very powerful device. Strong subsidized pricing make it an easy choice …

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Is the 13″ MacBookPro a Shot at Netbooks?

Apple’s COO Tim Cook had stated the following regarding netbooks in a recent earnings call:

“When I look at netbooks, I see cramped keyboards, terrible software, junky hardware, very small screens. It’s just not a good consumer experience and not something we would put the Mac brand on. It’s a segment we would not choose to play in.”

For the past month or so, I’ve been thinking what my next netbook might be …

With the prices as they are it’s easy to consider netbooks almost temporary machines. My good friend Andy Abramson almost considers them disposable leaving his MacBook Air in the hotel safe and dragging around the netbook which he can afford to have smashed or even stolen.

In my case, I have been trying to do as much as possible on the netbook and while that’s been both largely successful and pleasurable, there are certainly some limits. The newer crop of netbooks is supposed to alleviate the video processing power and heavy flash web page processing the Atom really does at admirable job trying to handle, but lags. Battery life is of course a major plus on netbooks and I’ve gotten as much as 7.5 hours of active use during a day of business. I love that the battery is solid enough to go a few days of intermittent use without even having to plug in – something my other laptops (work lenovo X61 and personal 15″ macbookpro) can only dream of managing.

The new 13″ MacBookPro is completely changing my perspective on mobility … It’s only slightly larger and about 1lb heavier than I’m used to carrying around but offers an quantum difference in capabilities. The price is rather different as well. Instead of topping out at around $500 for a netbook, the 13″ MacBook is closer to $1800 configured the way I’d want. The price difference, while considerable is small compared to the newly found power I’m likely to find once again.  And let’s not overlook the new battery power to die for according to Anandtech … making the MacBookPro even more attractive!

While netbooks are really about compromises … MacBookPro’s are not.

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If Nokia is about being Open why is data initially set to off?

After a lively debate on twitter tonight I’ve decided to reorganize my thoughts into post. My discussion with @chansearrington has really gotten me thinking about what Nokia’s perspective is on data usage and frankly why I think it’s wrong for today’s consumer marketplace.  Let me caveat this by first stating that I am considering only the higher end products … $500 and above which for Nokia is actually quite a few devices.

Let’s first consider a few things.  The iphone changed it all.  By forcing an unlimited data package into the purchase the iPhone lowered the bar to trial of basic data services and led the way to the applications marketplace which is clearly a runaway success.  The G1 followed and also included an unlimited data plan and now the PalmPre has arrived and comes with an unlimited data plan. 

Of course all three of these leading smartphones is offered through operator subsidy and that certainly makes things a bit easier as the data pipe is ready when you turn your phone on.  While Nokia sells gobs of phones through carriers none including the pending N97 flagship have mandatory unlimited plans.  I realize that outside he US, unlimited is a relatively new concept but again reflecting on the change the iPhone has brought the smartphone consumer has changed as well.  People now expect a data “tax” or an associated bill along with their usage of the phone.  There’s no way around that frankly as it’s the only way to get value from a workhorse like a smartphone.  If you don’t need or want that you’ve probably purchased the phone because you think it looks nice … now move along!

Chase argued that :

@atmasphere I’m sorry, bud. but you’re wrong. the more high end a user the aware they are of wifi and less likely to purchase a data plan

and did actually follow that up with:

@atmasphere on the flip side, higher income users with high income devices do tend to have data connections (think origin. black berry user)

Awareness of wifi and it’s value to your data experience does not mean you don’t want to have easy and open access to cellular data.  In my case (and yes I am on the extreme side) I use cellular data as much as possible unless I know my indoor coverage is going to limit my access to 3G.  I might use both more frequently if Nokia offered a smarter connection switching technique, but that’s yet another topic!

The key piece to the puzzle for me is how Nokia actually configures the software for you.  Presumably because the old way you would buy data was in an incremental manner, the device tends to ask each time you want to connect.  You not only have to confirm your intent to go online, but you have to choose your connection type.  Some people like this … I try not to think of the number if times I have agreed to go online. 

My suggestion is that the higher end Nokia devices (and I’m using $500 as the benchmark for high end) be set to just connect automatically to the internet through whatever operator sim is in your device.  Perhaps a single confirmation the very first time you go online and then never again would satisfy the legal department has caused this consumer frustration.  I’m willing to bet that the consumer purchasing a device in this price range is well aware and has the desire to go online frequently to consumer content. 

The N97 is loaded to the gills will ways to go online.  Apps, widgets, email, the store etc … imagine confirming your desire across each of them.  Why?  Just go online.  If I recall how my iphone works correctly (it’s been ages since I used it), I set a wifi point and then when in range (based on the scanning interval) it switches over.  there’s no prompt – in fact I have to go find wifi.  Cellular is the default.

In my view, everyone wins in this equation.  The consumer gets what they want – access to “stuff.”  The manufacturer gets happier more educated consumers using more of their devices … and I would be willing to bet more likely to purchase a next one.  The operator gets usage and a nice bill to share.  With the right plan structure it’s fair.  We just want to be able to access online content in a reasonable way for a reasonable price.

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Bing Bang Boom

So I tried Microsoft’s Bing search … meh. It’s a nicer page than Google, but the results were less than expected and it feels like a rebadged Live Search page – which it probably is regardless of the new search algorithm.

The biggest gap for me though is the sheer lack of mobile access. I’ve tried to view Bing on my E75 twice today and instead of a simple mobile search page ala Google, I got the full web site instead. This is a total waste of bandwidth the time spent loading does not pay off on a site that’s easy to manage on the small screen. It’s 2009 Microsoft, the PC is just one of many things we use to connect.

BTW – Yes I know you can load m.bing.com to get the mobile site, but Microsoft should be redirecting automatically. Get serious about the fight and do the right things to earn customer attention!

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Access Point Destinations Make it Easy to Get the Best Connection, If You Can Choose One

Nokia has been making some very nice though admittedly subtle updates to the way the S60 functions on the later devices and having used most of them I’ve been taking this for granted.  Starting in Feature Pack 2 (N85, N79) the Network Setting panel received an update which added something called Destinations.  Destinations are a way to group access points like your cellular data and wifi into a group.  This group function is actually an old function that used to exist in early Eseries devices (E61) and was awesome, but never seemed to carry forward to later ones like the E71.  Gotta love the consistency …

5800 - Network Destinations 5800 - Internet Destination

5800 - Network Destinations

Since using the Nokia 5800 I’ve noticed something about how these Destinations now work and it’s a very powerful concept and one that should really be part of all smart devices.  With wifi scanning on (I set mine to a 10 min interval), my phone will automatically switch over to wifi when in range.  The 5800 runs the 5th edition version of S60 which is what the upcoming N97 runs so this will also work there.  Connection switching back to cellular has not been as smooth in my experience, but it does work.  In classic form (and yes that is sarcasm) S60 is not set to use a Destination for all applications.  Instead some applications rely on an Access Point which makes the switching impossible. New apps like the Nokia Messaging service looks to use Default which will drop to Internet (the main Destination) though MailForExchange needs a single Access Point. The browser is happy with a Destination though Gravity (a 3rd party twitter app) wants an Access Point. Google Maps wants an Access Point … you get the idea.

These subtle changes are powerful but frustrating as even Nokia’s core applications cannot take best advantage of the work that’s been done to improve the user experience.  As a non-developer it’s hard to know whether these updates get pushed out in a reasonable way to encourage adoption or whether developers are left to figure it out for themselves just like the user. It’s getting better, but clearly quite a bit of work still lies ahead.

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The mobile phone is the social camera

I started to leave a blog comment on Antonio’s post and decided to do it here instead …

When I read the rumor that Apple has ordered a 5MP CMOS sensor for an unspecified product, it screamed to me of another coming disruption, this time around the point-and-shoot slice of the digital camera market. Because while the market for digicams is still growing at a healthy clip, the fat belly of point-and-shoot cameras has been relatively stalled since 2007 and shows signs of becoming a segment dominated by price and share wars— in other words, ripe for an Apple-like disruption.

A lot of the industry analysts that cover the emerging mobile space have been saying for a long time that better cellphone cameras would eventually kill the point-and-shoot, but I’m not sure that it is quite that simple. Or that is, before we get to this cellphone-as-camera nirvana, we may still have room for the iPod Touch of cameras (one that is connected but without a data plan). This would allow for all sorts of neat use cases around the concept of the “Social Camera, ” some similar to what Eye-Fi allows today, albeit with richer, more mass-market integration.

And best of all, if such a device was based on the iPhone platform, we’d benefit from the same Precambrian-like explosion of apps to explore every corner of the programable camera universe in a much more rich way than any one company could.[ The Onda]

An interesting thought for sure, but here’s where I see it really going. I already have a social camera and it’s called ANY Nokia handset I’ve used in the past several years.

Here’s how it works:

  1. I take a picture and share it instantly via (your choice) Share Online or Shozu.
  2. My current arrangement is via Share Online and pics pass through Pixelpipe which is an amazing photo mediation service. My default setting sends pictures to Flickr, Ovi, Facebook and Twitpic – all at once. Share Online also regularly checks Ovi and Flickr for new media, media that I’ve commented on and media of mine that’s been commented on and brings it all to me – even nicely notifying me via the homescreen.
  3. Pictures and Video I capture are geotagged and mapped on the supporting services as well so I’ve got a very rich contextual map of my media.

The social camera is here now.  It’s easy to use and has worked for a while.  I”m sure Apple has a perspective on this, but my guess is that it will happen on the existing platform not via some new piece of hardware.

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AT&T’s new mobile rules are BS

update – AT&T Caved!

I’m just catching the news on AT&T’s new TOS which seriously limits the potential for bringing your own mobile capabilities.

I think we all get that carriers don’t want to be just a dumb pipe, but let’s be honest the more advanced the mobile device, the less likely you are to be using the carrier offered services – music, navigation etc.  In today’s smartphone market, we are seeing all kinds of manufacturer and 3rd party offered applications and services and the user is really in control of what they do and more importantly, how they do it.

Instead of trying to force us to use devices or specific services (which usually only work on a limited set of devices), I would much rather just pay for my usage – exactly the same way I buy access from my home broadband provider.  Provide a reliable consumer service at a realistic price and everyone wins.  Consider this – the new TOS from AT&T means that applications like Qik, Sling or Hava, and Joikuspot are all violations of your basic unlimited plan since unlimited means exactly the opposite – plenty of limits.

Should be interesting to see who gets caught doing anything that’s no longer allowed.  I wonder what the real penalty is actually and if we’ll even receive a formal notice on the change as a precursor to some formal action against the consumer.

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Do MIDs make sense?

Joanna Stern from Laptop Magazine makes many good points on why MIDs make no sense.

Still not sure what MIDs are? MIDs are meant to be different from smart phones in that they intended to have specific connected purposes. Intel told us that some MIDs will focus on navigation, others on multimedia (watching movies and listening to music), and a large selection on productivity (checking e-mail and reviewing PowerPoint slides, for example). But the driving force behind them all is Internet connectivity.

Do consumers really want to carry around different devices for different tasks? Unless you’re big on parachute pants, it’s not the most convenient solution. And can’t you do all those things with a $199 smart phone? Applications like Google Maps and TeleNav turn your phone into a GPS navigator, and people are ditching their point-and-shoot cameras for phones like the Samsung Memoir, which sports an 8-megapixel camera. Devices that can do it all make a lot more sense than ones that do a specific task really well. Isn’t this why iPhones and Blackberrys get more popular every day? [Laptop]

MIDs as they currently stand, are ‘tweener devices and that’s a hard sell. If someone could make a smaller MID-like device with the power to get through a day of use I’d be sold. Current devices seem to offer around 3 hours of battery life for $1000 which just does not cut it and none really fit in your pocket. I want a computer in my pocket but MIDs are the only thing trying to push these limits.

And by computer I don’t mean something that offers background processing through “push notificiations” or pseudo-multitasking because email can arrive when I’m listening to music. I mean the real thing. I want killer browsing, intelligent memory and task management, unified communications with presence and access to applications. I’d also like the power to both create and consume media on the go as well while we’re at it. Is that too much to ask for?

I’m not sure I’ll be a one-piece mobile device user anytime soon, but if a single device offered what I’m suggesting it would make quite the consideration …

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Microsoft goes “high” fashion for Windows Mobile

In what has to be the lamest idea I’ve seen touted in a very long time, Microsoft has decided that Isaac Mizrahi (who has no mobile or technology design credit) knows more about what the on device experience should be like.

The designers are working to improve the background wallpaper, color schemes, and the look of scroll bars and other elements in the Windows Mobile interface, Woodman said. The goal is to let users personalize their phones, he added.

Windows Mobile, while potentially powerful, suffers from classic Microsoft design complexity. I look forward to seeing what comes from this experiment …

In a statement, Mizrahi said, “Phones are just as much a fashion statement as the clothes you wear. As a designer, I’m excited to team up with Microsoft to bring forth fresh and funky new ways for people to make their Windows phones a part of their personality. Cast aside your old black phone and make this about color and fun.”

Should be fun. Not.

via Computerworld

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Could the Nokia Skype Deal Activate Mobile Video Calling?

03/03/2009 E71 call menu

While the the obvious intent of a Nokia Skype deal is about voice calling, it could definitely have a substantial impact on mobile video calling.  As noted in the just linked Techlivez post, the Skype deal will integrate Skype directly into Contacts – meaning it’s not a separate application, but rather an available protocol.

It’s too early to know how real that is, but the idea is actually pretty huge and I can suddenly see how this makes carriers nervous as they consider the potential loss to their voice revenues.  As an integrated experience I could imagine seeing another option in my call menu which would include options for sending a Skype message or making a a Skype call much like making an Internet Call appears when you’ve added a SIP account today.  The difference of course is that very few people with the exception of a few geeks actually use the intgrated SIP stack.  I made a Skype video call with my parents over the weekend and Skype reported over 14 Million active connections during that time – that’s some serious potential!

Now back to video for a moment… Video calling usage is low for a few reasons.  First are the data costs, but I think even more importantly is that the service is operator provisioned – at least on the integrated front.  The 3rd party options work, but are also have limiting factors as they require some advanced planning on both sides to make sure everyone has the right applications and connections on either their PC or mobile.  Skype on the other hand is a fairly ubiquitous application and something you can expect to find on the other end of a lot of people’s PCs today.  I’ve even been seeing Skype on national TV lately on Oprah, the Today Show and not a commerical but in actual use as part of the show.  These are programs watched by (again) millions of people who are seeing  Skype in action.  One video call with my parents and they could easily see AND hear (Skype’s voice quality is awesome) the benefits.

I’ve had a front facing camera on my mobile phone since 2005 when I first received the N70.  Since that time, I’ve been able to make a single video call.  Even with a flat data rate and a 3.5G as well as wifi capable device, no carrier supports direct video calling (in the US) without first subscribing to a proprietary service that of course restricts use to a few select phones.  Skype could very easily change all this and if they offer video this change could substantially impact how we communicate.  Sure we still have to get around the data tarrifs, but that is actually happening more and more on a global basis even which is excellent as it enables greater usage … exactly what we need.  As I’ve mentioned previously my own usage is at least 90% data if not more.  Skype would only add to this … even as a voice option and I would expect a considerable shift to data over voice (in time) as more people realize the potential.

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Update on My Netbook Usage

Samsung NC10-14GW netbook

I’ve been using the Samsung NC10 as my main travel system (also carrying my work laptop) since the end of December and I thought it would be worth reporting on my findings to date.  In general, the NC10 performs admirably for every request I’ve made though it’s not hard to find the edge of the netbook limit either.

Since buying the NC10, I’ve traveled abroad twice and found that aside from needing to connect to my office’s VPN, I can do everything I need with ease during the course of a business day.  I can email, IM, video chat, browse sites, open office docs, play media etc.  The battery in Windows XP goes basically the whole day though I actually rarely run XP as was pre-installed.  Instead, I’ve been using a combination of Windows 7 and OSX as my primary systems – mainly Windows 7.

Both OSX and Windows 7 use more power, but are infinitely more pleasurable to use over XP.  I accept the lesser battery capability in return for user experience and will definitely remove XP when Windows 7 is properly released.  OSX is something I run when I want to use a Mac specific app like iPhoto though after this vacation I will probably not do that too much more moving forward with this current rig.  As much as I like running the Mac side of things, editing high resolution media is not very efficient on the current Atom spec.  You really need more horsepower and ideally a GPU to complement the CPU.  This would most likely reducer battery life further, but again it would be worth the sacrifice to let something this size serve as a primary computer.  I’d pay more for this privledge as well.

This past week, aside from shooting a few hundred RAW images of my kids, I’ve also captured a lot of HD video clips with a Flip MinoHD I received from my wife.  It’s basically impossible to playback these clips at full strength … they play fine in smaller preview scale, but fullscreen HD is just too much to ask for a low powered system in these initial netbooks.  While I would not be looking to edit or playback HD video or edit RAW images on a daily basis I actually lost track a bit that my computer was indeed a netbook.  Of course I know it’s a netbook, but since it really is an incredibly versatile system, I don’t really consider it secondary.  This last thought is something I think is pretty impressive … While the intent of the netbook as it was sold was as a low cost, reasonably powered computer you can actually do a ton of stuff with it – and not really consider the limits unless you start to venture into richer media.

For me, the netbook is still a very strong category of computers and I look forward to upgrading to a more capable system at some point this year when things evolve.  For a typical user these current and even the soon to be released computers will serve a very wide segment and after a few months of use, it’s not hard to see why they are selling well.  In these financially unknown times getting a lot of return on a small investment is a great deal.

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Samsung’s OmniaHD is seriously impressive!

In a word … WOW!

I’ve never seen this touch UI in action and love the widgets and transitions.  Samsung really shows the potential for S60 here given that it’s running on S60 5th edition like the Nokia 5800 and N97 yet with a considerably higher degreee of gloss.  I don’t have any sense of how the battery lasts through all this HD action either, but it’s certainly a gorgeous looking device!

via S60 Blogs

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Nokia Messaging Gets an Update

I’ve been using Nokia Messaging since the summer across my devices and it’s definitely worth an install if you are looking for a push-like email experience.  The latest update to the service offers a tweak to your settings giving you more control on the handset as well as supporting the just announced Eseries devices.

The Nokia Messaging team has released a patch for Nokia Messaging that is available now at email.nokia.com. This patch does a few nice things, including returning APN selection in the client, the addition of the E75 and E55 to the Nokia Messaging family, and upgrading our notification system for Yahoo! Mail users. [via S60 Blogs]

If you use an Eseries device like the E71 I carry, you can get an additional mailbox on your homescreen for a dashboard into your messaging which is excellent.  All handsets benefit from the web based configuration though which lets you define your mailboxes and then have Nokia Messaging send you a configuration message which activates mail on your device.

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Sony Ericsson Says I Do

Sony Ericsson announced the Idou ( pronounced I do) phone at MWC today and it’s got some strong specs, and a deep link with Sony’s PlayNow Entertainment service which in addition to music, games will add movies.

To demonstrate Entertainment Unlimited, they unveiled the Idou phone (it is pronounced I-Do, not I-Do-You, and is only the prototype name). More information will come out before summer, but for now they are saying it is has a 12.1 megapixel camera, a full touchscreen, uses the Symbian OS and that it will be launching in the second-half of the year. Two carriers are expected to announce the support for Sony Ericsson’s Entertainment Unlimited this week. The company also announced the W955, a Walkman phone that is supposed to have a superior video-watching experience.  [mocoNews.net]

Into Mobile reveals this device will also be running on the Symbian Foundation version of Symbian which probably makes this the first phone of this new generation. This is impressive given that SE was really focused on UIQ up until quite recently and Symbian Foundation is based on S60. As this is a touch device, it will have a similar UI to to other 5th edition devices like the Samsung and Nokia devices though from what I’ve read SE is looking to differentiate on spec and with their service integration. Competition is good!

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Currently Providing Wifi on Metro North

02/04/2009 someone's ipod connecting on my joikuspot

Tonight for the first time ever I noticed someone else (an ipod!) using my joikuspot and in light of my recent post on the lack of wifi on Metro North, I’ve decided to leave the AP open.  Service fluctuates between 3.5G and EDGE, but it’s functional for RSS, email and blogging.  No idea what this guy is doing tonight, but enjoy your free access buddy!

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Google’s Latitude kick starts social location

I woke up this morning to a few invites to join Google Latitude, which as is turns out is packaged into Google Maps Mobile 3.0. Once in the system I immediately saw how powerful this new service is going to be … While it is still very early Google and the Latitude / Maps team have done an excellent job bridging the service layers into the application which makes it very easy for existing Maps users to use. And that’s the real key here – there’s a massive installed base for Google Mobile Maps! This is less a new social network and more about adding a feature to an existing product millions of people already use. If Google decides to allow other location services to feed data into their system (and they probably will) it will only get stronger. This is big because the potential network effect  is instantly massive!

So what is Latitude – essentially it’s the ability to see your friends and search around the map once you find them. You can get a list view and then click through to see exactly (to the degree that info is shared) that person is and even what they are up to through a status line.  For the moment, the contact system is integrated into your GMail contacts and you can sort through the list by most contacted and even those you may have starred if you use an Android device. I could definitely see an option here for my Friend Connect contacts which would bring my social network friends and my contacts all onto the map.

On the desktop side, you can add an iGoogle Gadget which I’ve yet to do and will take a look at later. (have added it now and it’s quite nice if you want access from your desktop) The real power of this system is the mobile accessibility and that is definitely how I see myself getting the most from it. I’ve snapped a bunch of screenshots from the N79 so you can get a feel for how it works …

Screenshot0001 Screenshot0002

Screenshot0003 Screenshot0004

Screenshot0005 Screenshot0006

Screenshot0007 Screenshot0008

Screenshot0009 Screenshot0010

Screenshot0011 Screenshot0012

All in all a very strong start for Google Latitude. I’ve verified my mobile number now and will have to see how that gets used. Perhaps for contacting people on go via the Map for in the moment planning which would be very cool.

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Toshiba TG01 – Another attempt to conceal Windows Mobile

Much like HTC has done with TouchFlo Toshiba has created a new way to use Windows Mobile … While I have to give the Toshiba team some credit for what they are attempting to do, this is just simply not my cup of tea. And yes it’s true I’ve never liked Windows Mobile either.

I can’t say whether Windows Mobile makes for a good platform or not though it always seems like these new UI overlays only last a few clicks before revealing the mess that lies beneath.

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Where’s the wifi on Metro North?

Aside from my own personal wifi, there is no wifi solution on the Metro North train and in 2009 it seems a bit lacking…  I spend an hour on the train in either direction though the average traveler (based on my observation) spends between 30 and 40 minutes per trip.  There are plenty of devices here – laptops, smartphones, and portable game systems.  Most of these things can connect over wifi and while most people are perhaps not obsessing over their RSS feeds or email, I would see a very reasonable pick-up on a connection if it was available.

I’ve reported previously on the Cablevision wifi which has popped up at various stations, but that’s impossible to use while moving.  Aside from a few dead spots (which could perhaps be filled by the carrier providing the service) wireless connectivity would be a killer addition to the commute.  I could see purchasing it as part of the monthly pass – right from the kiosk.  In fact that would easily work for a day pass just as easily …

This is the New York Metro area … I know we are not the most wired city in America, but it’s 2009 and things should be here by now.