That means 3G for the Playstation Vita will cost $15 per month for 250 MB, or $25 per month for 2 GB, in addition to the $300 price of the 3G Vita itself. (A Wi-Fi only model will cost $250.) Both data plans will include unlimited access to AT&T’s Wi-Fi hotspots, of which there are 29,000 around the United States. The Vita launches on February 22 in the United States.

I’m disappointed that AT&T and Sony stuck with conventional data plans for the PS Vita. This would have been a great opportunity for AT&T to launch a shared pool of data among multiple devices–something wireless carriers have talked about doing for some time. I can’t imagine a lot of people will want to pay a recurring data charge just for a gaming device, especially when you get the same result by using a smartphone’s Wi-Fi hotspot feature, which would also allow for faster 4G data and connectivity with other devices.

Sony and AT&T are hoping to lure people into paying for data plans by offering exclusive in-game content when players check in at certain geographic locations. We may be able to judge the 3G Vita’s success based on whether game makers continue to produce these kinds of exclusives long after launch.

The actions by the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice to block this transaction do not change the realities of the U.S. wireless industry. It is one of the most fiercely competitive industries in the world, with a mounting need for more spectrum that has not diminished and must be addressed immediately. The AT&T and T-Mobile USA combination would have offered an interim solution to this spectrum shortage.  In the absence of such steps, customers will be harmed and needed investment will be stifled.

 
AT&T’s agreement with T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom requires it to fork over $4 billion in penalties, which probably doesn’t make AT&T any less cranky.I’m glad that the merger didn’t happen, simply because I don’t want to see AT&T and Verizon share a wireless-industry duopoly. The continued existence of T-Mobile USA in some form–it may well be bought out by someone else–helps prevent that eventuality. I wonder what AT&T’s backup plan is, and whether we’ll even remember this non-merger five or ten years from now?

My iPad 2 and ZaggFolio, in the press room at IFA in Berlin, September 2011.

Can the iPad replace a PC?

Ever since Apple announced its tablet nearly two years ago, the Internet has been awash in discussion of this question. Most of it has had a pretty theoretical feel and has gravitated towards conventional wisdom. A piece by Gotta Be Mobile’s Will Shanklin comes to the typical conclusions:

Whether you can replace your laptop with an iPad is going to depend on what your needs are. In early 2010, casual computer users could arguably replace a laptop with an iPad. Now it’s a no-brainer. When it comes to content consumption, a tablet is lighter, more portable, more comfortable, and more personal.

If part of your life involves creating professional-level content, tablets still have a long way to go before becoming your primary device. They don’t qualify now, and they won’t next year. Customers aren’t used to spending more than $10 for most tablet apps, so those consumer expectations could slow the march in this direction too.

The answer, therefore, hasn’t changed too much in a year. Tablets are moving in a “primary computing” direction, but they aren’t exactly sprinting. Maybe we’ll check back next year to see if the “tablets are for content consumption, notebooks are for content creation” cliche has changed. Right now it’s as true as ever.

I respectfully disagree with Shanklin. I think it’s possible to use an iPad as one’s primary device for professional-level content creation. Actually, scratch that. I’m positive it’s possible–because I’ve been doing it for the past three months, and I’ve been having a really good time.

This hasn’t been one of those experiments-for-the-sake-of-experimentation in which someone temporarily forsakes a PC for another device in order to write about the experience (like, say, this). No, I’ve been using the iPad for my daily activities–running Technologizer, writing for TIME, CNET, and AllBusiness.com, and more–because I find it to be the preferable tool in multiple respects. I’ve been using it about 80 percent of the time, and using my MacBook Air about 20 percent of the time. I have no desire to go back.

If this startles you, I understand. It seems to startle most folks who notice I’m doing it. I’m startled myself. Or at least I was at first–at this point, I’ve been doing it long enough that I forget there’s anything unusual about it until someone reminds me.

It all started in August. I read Walt Mossberg’s review of four portable Bluetooth keyboards for the iPad 2 at All Things D and was intrigued–especially by the ZaggFolio, which cleverly builds a truly notebook-like keyboard into an attractive case. So I bought one. The ZaggFolio changed the way I use my iPad, and that changed my life.

Without the ZaggFolio, I used the iPad mostly for reading and light productivity. I’d happily type brief e-mails on it, but never anything as long as a meaty blog post or article. But Zagg’s no-compromise keyboard made typing every bit as comfy as it is on a notebook. All of a sudden I could write hundreds of words on the iPad. Or thousands of them.

(Side note: The ZaggFolio I bought was part of an early production run that was defective–its clasp didn’t shut securely. And after a few weeks, one of its keys fell off. I ended up replacing it with the “Logitech Keyboard Case by Zagg for iPad 2,” which puts a similar keyboard in a low-profile tray that doubles as a protector for the iPad 2′s screen. I prefer both of these models to rivals such as the Adonit Writer which don’t match the full-sized, full-travel goodness of Zagg’s designs.)

Blogsy, my go-to iPad blogging app.

Of course, having a nice keyboard for an iPad doesn’t instantly turn it into a pleasing laptop replacement. You’re typing into a radically different set of apps than are available on a notebook. Once I got the ZaggFolio, I had to figure out how to blog, edit photos, and perform other tasks I do every day.

I was just getting started with this challenge when I hopped on a plane to fly to Berlin, where I was attending the IFA electronics show. I took my iPad 2, the ZaggFolio, and my MacBook Air. It was during this trip that the iPad became my primary computing device, even though I was still learning how to be productive with it.

And it was one specific thing about the iPad that made it so useful on the trip: I could use it for ten hours at a pop without worrying about plugging it in.

I can’t overemphasize how important this is to my particular workdays. Even when I’m not traveling, I spend a lot of time bopping around San Francisco and the Bay Area, attending conferences, visiting tech companies, working out of hotel lobbies, and generally having spotty access to power outlets. With the Air, or almost any other portable computer I’ve ever used, I’m lucky to get three or four hours of life out of a charge, and therefore have to bring my power brick and obsess about plugging in whenever possible. It’s an enormous hassle, and sometimes I simply run out of juice.

With the iPad, I didn’t even bother to bring the power adapter to the IFA show: I worked all day, going online as much as I wanted, without fully draining the battery. I ended up only using the MacBook Air in my hotel room.

Beyond the jaw-droppingly good battery life, my iPad 2 has one other hardware attribute that’s a huge upgrade over the Air: It has AT&T wireless broadband built in. There are PCs with embedded wireless, of course, but not Macs. And even though I’ve used both the Air and iPads with Mi-Fi mobile routers in the past, I like the built-in wireless on my particular iPad much, much better than any external connectivity solution. I don’t have to worry about toting another device (or draining my phone’s battery, as I would if I tethered it to the iPad). I don’t have to futz with Wi-Fi hotspots. I’m just online–and it makes me so much more productive that I don’t object a bit to paying AT&T for the service.  (I even happily forked over a stiff fee for international roaming in Berlin and during a later trip I took to Tokyo.)

Okay: The Zagg keyboards are good. The iPad’s battery life is good. Its built-in broadband is good. I quickly discovered yet another simple joy of using the iPad as a blogging/writing tool: Its utter predictability and simplicity.

When you use a Windows PC–and, to a somewhat lesser extent, a Mac–you get dragged down by the responsibilities and obligations of using a computer. Even if you’re very familiar with a program, you need to bob and weave your way around icons and menu items you don’t require at the moment to get to the ones you do need. Programs other than the one you’re using may vie for your attention, possibly alerting you, for instance, that they need to be updated. You might have to rummage around in folders to find documents. When you multitask between apps, you need to juggle their windows, maximizing or minimizing them as you go. If a program stalls, you’ll likely need to kill it manually.

With the iPad, all that goes away. You can devote nearly every second of your time to the task at hand, rather than babysitting a balky computer. I don’t feel like I’m “using an iPad to write.” I’m just writing. It’s a far more tranquil, focused experience than using a PC or Mac. It’s also easier to dive in, do a bit of work as time allows, then dive out–especially since the iPad’s instant-on feature is more reliably instant than the alleged instant-on capabilities of traditional computers.

TouchDraw, a powerful iPad drawing app. (I didn't draw the hourglass in it--I imported it, and composited it with text.)

Those facts helps make up for one of the challenges of using the iPad for productivity: Many tasks are at least a bit slower or more unwieldy than with a computer, and some things that can be done with one program on a Windows PC or a Mac require several of them on the iPad. When I started using the iPad as my primary device, for example, I thought that Photoshop would be simply irreplaceable. Then I discovered that I could do about 85% of the things I do with Photoshop by using several iPad apps together as an ad-hoc graphics suite, including PhotoForge2, TouchDraw, and others.  Photoshop remains the more powerful tool, and on the iPad, I only have access to the fonts that Apple provides. But I can apply fancy effects, layer together multiple images into a collage, and dress up type on the iPad.

(Wait, how can you match the precision of a mouse and the efficiency of a big-screen display with the iPad’s touch interface and dinky screen? Well…you can’t. But for most of my day-to-day needs I can come closer than I would have expected before I gave it a shot.)

As for writing and editing, I usually use Apple’s own Pages when I’m creating a manuscript that someone is going to expect to get as a Word document, such as stories for TIME’s dead-tree version. Pages has maybe five percent of the features of Microsoft Word, and for the type of writing I usually do…that’s a virtue! It makes it easier to concentrate: All I really need is a white screen and a word count. (I would like Find/Replace, though.) [UPDATE: Search and replace is there--it's just a bit hidden, and I didn't see it. One less reason to be hesitant about the iPad.]

When I’m blogging at Technologizer, I use an excellent app called Blogsy, which I prefer to the official WordPress app for iOS. (I’d be even happier if I could just use full-blown WordPress in Safari, but it doesn’t quite work.) For CNET blog posts, I use CNET’s proprietary content-management system, which runs reasonably well in Safari.

Other iPad productivity tools I use every day include the splendid mobile-browser version of Gmail and the iOS versions of the IMO.IM instant messenger and HootSuite Twitter client. I use other apps from time to time and am frequently discovering new ones; most iPad apps cost only a few dollars, so you can explore the wonders of the App Store without blowing much money.

It’s true that there are things that don’t work very well on the iPad. (One of them, inexplicably, is Google+–its iOS app is dreadful, and I have trouble with both the mobile-browser and desktop-browser versions.) There are also a few things I don’t do at all on the tablet, such as manage my WordPress installation. (For that, I run Apache, MySQL, and PHP on the MacBook Air.) But I can get most of the jobs I tackle in a normal day done–and the longer I do this, the more efficient I get at it.

At first, when I traveled out of town, I’d bring the iPad and the MacBook Air but use the iPad most of the time. Now I’ve started bringing only the iPad, unless I have specific reason to think I’ll need a full-blown computer. When I went to Chicago on a business trip last month equipped only with the tablet, it was the first time in two decades that I’d boarded an airplane for work purposes without a laptop on hand.

So would I recommend that everyone ditch their computers in favor of iPads? No, not at all.

All of this works wonderfully well for me, but that’s because of my particular circumstances: It lets me work anywhere and everywhere, without having to think about my battery or remember to bring along much in the way of cables and accessories. (I do usually tote my iPad in a little bag that has room for Apple’s SD card adapter for transferring photos from a digital camera, although I’m just as likely to shoot photos with my iPhone and e-mail them to the iPad.) Even with the added bulk of a Zagg keyboard, the iPad is the smoothest, least cumbersome mobile computing device I’ve ever used, and I rarely leave the house without it.

PhotoForge2, a neat iPad photo editor with a clever interface.

When I’m at home, however, I’m less concerned with power management and portability. Oftentimes, I use my MacBook Air instead of the iPad. But not always–really, unless I have a specific need for a Mac app, I generally grab whatever’s handiest, and don’t give it much thought.

I know I’m still unusual. When I’m out and about and run into my fellow bloggers–most of who have workdays at least roughly similar to mine–they’re intrigued by my iPad-and-Zagg set-up. They ask questions. But I don’t think I’ve convinced any of them to join me. Yet.

Still, I don’t think I’m a wacko. What I’m doing is a viable option today, and it’s only going to get more appealing as tablet apps get more mature. (I’ve seen noticeable improvement to programs such as Blogsy in just the 90 days I’ve been doing this.)

Based on my first three months as a mostly-iPad person, I’m convinced that I’ve arrived in the future of computing–or a rough approximation thereof–a little ahead of schedule. I’m glad I’m here, and I bet I have lots and lots of company soon enough.

“This news underscores the need for Congress to act swiftly to protect the location information and private, sensitive information of consumers”, he says. “Right now, Carrier IQ has a lot of questions to answer”.
Since the story came to a head over the past week, several companies have come forth to clarify their position on Carrier IQ. Verizon has denied the use completely in any of its smart devices, while Sprint and AT&T both admitted to use of the software.
 
“In-line with our privacy policy, we solely use CIQ software data to improve wireless network and service performance”, AT&T spokesperson Mark Seigel says, calling it a network management tool. Sprint echoed AT&T’s position, calling the software an “integral part” of its network management.
 
The biggest question remains as to what exactly Carrier IQ is doing. While the researcher — Trevor Eckhart — makes claims of keylogging, at no time does he actually prove what is being sent. This is crucial to the entire story. If this software is just sending behavior, it’s no different from the data many of us agree to opt-in to for those “customer experience” surveys. If its actually sending content, that’s completely different.
 
Here’s the thing, as John Graham-Cumming puts it:  “What isn’t delved into is what the application does with the information. Without that it’s not possible to tell if there’s something really scary going on or not”.  And that’s very important, because if we don’t know this, it sounds a lot like Chicken Little.
 
[UPDATE: A Carrier IQ executive gave All Things D's John Paczkowski more information on what the software captures and transmits--and says it doesn't involve any personally-identifiable information. Just data on issues such as dropped calls.]

During a media call Tuesday afternoon FCC representatives (who insisted on remaining anonymous) said that Chairman Julius Genachowski has asked fellow commissioners to review a proposal that the merger be subject to a hearing after finding aspects of the proposed deal that don’t line up with the public interest. One representative called the merger a unique concentration in market power in almost every single one of the top 100 local markets in the U.S., and also said that AT&T’s claims that the merger will allow more Americans access to 4G wireless (AT&T’s primary selling point) and create new jobs did not hold water.

If the hearing happens, it’ll only begin after the Department of Justice concludes a trial over the proposed merger that isn’t due to start until February. So it could be a long, long time until the deal gets a definitive yay or nay–and you’ve got to wonder at what point AT&T and T-Mobile decide that it’s best to give up and begin the rest of their lives as competitors. (AT&T wants T-Mobile so it can beef up its 4G, but it must have a backup plan, and it can’t postpone it forever.) 
 
For me, the prospect of the merger has always been pretty simple. Smaller wireless companies, like T-Mobile, Sprint, and regionals like MetroPCS and Cricket have lower prices and more creative plans. The two giants, AT&T and Verizon Wireless, have higher prices and less flexibility. I don’t see any scenario under which removing one smaller player from the equation improves things for consumers–and that’s why I’ll be happy if the merger falls apart, as it’s now looking like it will.

With three carriers now selling the iPhone, your options have gotten a bit more complex as far as monthly service plans go. We’ll take a look at which carrier’s plans are best for cheapskates, big talkers, big texters, and those who want it all—voice, data and text messaging.

Before we start, some constants between all three carriers:

The iPhone 4S starts at $199 with a two-year contract.

Voice plans include unlimited minutes to people on the same network, so even if you have the 450-minute plan on Verizon, for instance, you won’t use any minutes when calling other Verizon customers.

Apple’s new iOS software features “iMessage,” which lets you send and receive free text messages (for now, at least) between other Apple devices that have the iMessage feature turned on as well.

And with that, let’s get started.

Cheapest Plan

AT&T: $40 for 450 voice minutes + $15 for 200MB data = $55/month

Verizon: $40 for 450 voice minutes + $30 for 2GB data = $70/month

Sprint: $80 for 450 voice minutes, unlimited texting and data

AT&T is the cheapest way to get into an iPhone, especially considering that if all you want is an iPhone—any iPhone—AT&T’s the only carrier giving away the iPhone 3GS for free with a two-year contract.

You give up text messaging with both AT&T’s and Verizon’s cheapest plans. With AT&T, you’ll pay 20 cents per text message (incoming or outgoing) and 30 cents per picture or video message (incoming or outgoing). Verizon charges 20 cents per text message (incoming or outgoing) and 25 cents per picture or video message (incoming or outgoing).

As for data, with AT&T you’ll pay $15 for another 200-megabyte bucket if you go over your initial 200 megabytes. With Verizon, you’ll pay $10 for an additional gigabyte after you go over your two-gigabyte allowance.

Cheapest Plan with Light Text Messaging

Verizon: $40 for 450 voice minutes + $30 for 2GB data + $5 for 250 text messages = $75/month

AT&T: $40 for 450 voice minutes + $15 for 200MB data + $20 for unlimited texts = $75/month

Sprint: $80 for 450 voice minutes, unlimited texting and data

Verizon shows a good mixture of data—two gigabytes should be plenty for most people—and text messages here, though for $5 more per month, you can get the same amount of voice minutes with Sprint and not have to worry at all about data or text messaging overages. AT&T only offers unlimited text messages at a price of $20 per month.

Cheapest Plan with Heavy Text Messaging

AT&T: $40 for 450 voice minutes + $15 for 200MB data + $20 for unlimited texts = $75/month

Sprint: $80 for 450 voice minutes, unlimited texting and data

Verizon: $60 for 450 voice minutes and unlimited texting + $30 for 2GB data = $90/month

For heavy texters, Sprint’s a good worry-free option since you get unlimited data as a bonus. AT&T’s five bucks less but that’s with only a 200-megabyte data allowance.

Cheapest Plan with Heavy Voice Minutes

AT&T: $70 for unlimited voice minutes + $15 for 200MB data = $85/month

Verizon: $70 for unlimited voice minutes + $30 for 2GB data = $100/month
Sprint: $110 for unlimited voice minutes, unlimited texting and data

If you’ll be doing more talking than anything else, AT&T’s your best bet at $85 per month for unlimited voice minutes. Verizon gets you substantially more data, but will cost you an extra $15 per month. Sprint is the most expensive, but you get unlimited data and text messages, too.

Cheapest Plan with Heavy Voice Minutes and Light Texting

AT&T: $70 for unlimited voice minutes + $15 for 200MB data + $20 for unlimited texting = $105/month

Verizon: $70 for unlimited voice minutes + $30 for 2GB data + $5 for 250 text messages = $105/month

Sprint: $110 for unlimited voice minutes, unlimited texting and data

AT&T and Verizon are neck and neck here. AT&T gets you unlimited texts but only 200 megabytes of data; Verizon gets you two gigabytes of data but only 250 text messages. Sprint actually looks pretty good—for $5 more, you don’t have to worry about anything.

Cheapest Unlimited Plan (Voice + Texting + Data)

Sprint: $110 for unlimited voice minutes, unlimited texting and data

AT&T: $70 for unlimited voice minutes + $45 for 4GB data + $20 for unlimited texting = $135/month

Verizon: $90 for unlimited voice minutes and texting + $80 for 10GB data = $170/month

Sprint is the clear winner here, edging out AT&T by $25 per month and Verizon by $60 per month. Sprint’s also the only carrier that offers unlimited data plans. You’re still in danger of overage fees with AT&T and Verizon.

Conclusions

AT&T provides the cheapest path to an iPhone… until you add text messaging. The company’s decision to offer only a $20 all-or-nothing texting plan prices it out of cheapskate range pretty quickly, especially considering that even if you’re not sending any text messages, you can be charged for messages sent to you.

Verizon’s weakness is that its lowest-priced data plan starts at $30. You get more than enough data if you’re a typical user, though, as AT&T’s $15-per-month data plan only provides 200 megabytes to work with.

Sprint actually comes away looking pretty good here. If you can get past the fact that you’re facing a minimal monthly outlay of $80, the peace of mind you get with unlimited data and unlimited text messaging might be worth it. And if you really don’t want to have to worry about anything, you can avoid any and all overage charges with the $110 plan. AT&T and Verizon cost $25 and $60 more per month, respectively, for similar peace of mind, but even their plans aren’t truly unlimited when it comes to data overages.

[This post republished from Techland. Edited on 10/11/11 to correct some inaccurate pricing for AT&T.]

I’m not an expert on the economics of telecommunications competition. But I keep coming back to this: The two wireless companies that have been the most aggressive on pricing and the most creative with plans have been T-Mobile and Sprint. The (relatively) small players, not the giants. Is that a coincidence? What are the chances that eliminating one of them would lead to lower prices and more options?

The upgrades start today with Motorola’s Atrix 4G, followed by HTC’s Inspire 4G in a few weeks. Also on the update list are LG’s Phoenix, Pantech’s Crossover and Samsung’s Infuse 4G. The Samsung Captivate, which launched last year, will get the update as well.

Gingerbread is the latest version of Google’s Android OS for smartphones, and includes improvements to the software’s keyboard, text selection and power management. A minor update for Gingerbread phones with front-facing cameras also added native video chat through Google Talk.

This is a significant development for Android, which is notorious for inconsistent software updates that can cause app compatibility issues — Skype video chat, for instance, only supports Android 2.3 handsets for now — and generally depriving users of the latest features. It’s fairly common to see carriers promise updates for individual handsets, but I can’t recall any wireless carrier vowing to bring all of its recent smartphones up to date.

For Google, however, there’s still a lot more to be done. In May, the company announced an ambitious plan to ensure 18 months of updates for all Android handsets, working with several leading handset makers and all four major U.S. wireless carriers. It’s unclear when this effort will begin or how Google will execute it. Presumably, AT&T’s commitment isn’t part of the plan — if it was, I’d expect to see an announcement from Google — but at least it shows some willingness to support the software even after the customer has paid for the phone and signed a contract.