Back from New York
by Volker Weber
After spending two nights in a hotel bed and one night in coach on United, I have returned from New York. What a trip. Nokia announced the Lumia 1020, and all the news had leaked before the event. And still, it was worth the effort. A couple of observations:
- Roaming is expensive, especially for data. We tried buying a SIM from AT&T and the experience was awful. You walk into a store at TImes Square and they ask "do you have an appointment?". Two blocks to the west, a small T-Mobile outlet - what a contrast. A very friendly and helpful rep got us started in minutes. He helped to config Oliver's iPhone 5 with the correct APN settings and we were ready in no time. Unlimited calls, texts and data, first 200 MB data at 4G speed, on $3 a day, prepaid. Perfect for short stints in the US. I had to get one for myself and the Lumia 925 did not need any intervention from the sales rep. Replace the SIM, reboot, and it was all working without any setup. I paid $10 for the SIM, added $10 for three days. Next time, I just need to add funds for a few days.
- I brought the Lumia 925, the 808 Pureview and the Yoga. The 808 was just a backup and I did all my work on the 925. What an amazing camera. I traveled with a carry-on suitcase, but frankly, a small backpack with clothes for two days, a charger, two external batteries, and a small tripod would have been all I needed. Throw in a small bluetooth keyboard for longer texts in Microsoft Word on the Lumia, and I would not even have needed the Yoga.
- The invisible backbone for all of this is Skydrive. Integration into Windows (Phone) 8 - and the Mac btw - is just perfect. While I am working it uploads photos and videos, and I just move them into the folders I share with my colleagues from c't and Techstage. The collaboration has been outstanding. A huge thank you to Dr. Volker Zota (vza).
- The Nokia event was huge. Excellent keynote presented by Stephen Elop, Juha Alakarhu and Kristina Björknäs. Flawless Wifi network, an engaging hands-on area, all the product managers on-site. I have no idea how you could improve an event like this. You get there thinking you know it all, and then you start learning. Meeting all those dedicated people and having the opportunity to speak with them at length makes it worthwhile to endure the air travel and jetlag.
- Two tourist tips: avoid The Ride and do visit Top of the Rock.
Did I mention the Lumia 1020 rocks?
Comments
Why avoid the Ride? Thanks for the tipps. ;)
Obnoxious.
T-Mobile sounds like a good tip for US trips of a week or less. Just watch out for the 90-day cancellation policy if you don't have Gold Rewards with them! :-)
http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/pay-as-you-go-plans-faqs
Yep, Top of the Rock rocks, because you get great views of the Empire State Building and Central Park.
So you got the sim-card and got it activated right away?
That's a great change in their policy!
When I went last year they could give you a SIM card but for activation you had either order a activation-kit sent by snailmail oder buy a phone with activation-kit at walmart.
Therefore I choose AT&T this year and ordered from a reseller. Worked fine but has some extra fees (understandable as they want to earn money for their service).
So if this works now with T-mobile this is a great alternative!
Ja, sofort vor Ort an der Theke aktiviert.
Every time I have purchased SIMs abroad, i have found that by the time I have got round to visiting the country again, the SIM has expired and the number has been reallocated due to inactivity. In the UK the policy seems to be six months of inactivity before deactivation. Do these SIMs have a expiry for inactivity?
I am sure they have. OTOH, I have been to the US three times this year already. I think I will be able to keep it active for a while. And if not, it's only $10 to buy a new one.
Ich hatte mir den Livestream angeschaut und fand den Event tot-langweilig. Elop hat das Charisma von Rudolf Scharping und persönlich finde ich es echt übertrieben, so ein Tra-ra wegen einem Telefon mit Kamera zu machen. Das mag für ein Flaggschiff angemessen sein, aber für diesen hässlichen Brocken?
Tja, so erlebt das jeder anders.
