Quote:
Originally Posted by Torture
One major thing that RIM has going for it in the future is the fact that everything is optimized on the BB. A data plan for a BB uses a lot less data than one for the iPhone. Carriers are getting a lot of stress put on them right now, and that's only going to increase as more people begin to use smartphones. RIM has an advantage there because everything goes through their servers and it puts a lot less stress on the networks.
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The Blackberry uses less data for many things because it compresses data and distributes it using the portion of cell bandwidth normally used for stuff like SMS (its a data channel, but not particularly high bandwidth data). This is one of the reasons your blackberry will continue to receive email even when there isn't 3g available.
That same method doesn't work, though, to distribute streaming audio or video, to purchase and download apps or music files, etc. When it comes to that stuff, the BB uses just as much data as any other device. A photo is a photo and an MP3 is an MP3 - there is nothing to be done to optimize that stuff.
Either way, it's of no advantage or consequence for the future - available bandwidth, like available processing power and storage is always increasing. RIM likes to say its important, but really its not in the grand scheme of things. If it was, we'd have seen the same approach play out on the land lines - available bandwidth via modem and DSL and cable would have been optimized to use compression. Instead, the telcos simply adopted improved technology that gained them better bandwidth over existing distribution networks.
In the wireless space it seems to me that available bandwidth is in fact increasing at a rate at least on par with consumer landline. Look how far we've come since 1991:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...one_interfaces