Jeanette Cloman head of Investor Relations from G* returned my call this afternoon (2:30 p.m. PDT). She had many answers to my (your, our) questions, some of which she referred me to: Andy Radlow of Air-Touch, at 925-988-4422. If somebody wants to get those answers from Andy, tell him Jeanette Cloman sent you. I am now full tilt into a research project and may not have time till much later to contact him. (I am at CalPoly in dairy microbiology work)
Does it work under a tree? yes, foliage is no problem
Will it receive signals 50 miles out at sea? yes, line of sight, telephone in standby mode
Does it work in the rain? no problems
Will it function on a high speed train? yes IF YOU ARE NEXT TO A WINDOW WITH A LINE OF SIGHT TO THE SAT
Does it work on a cloudy day? absolutely
Will the other end understand what I say? you bet
Does it work in the fog? no problem, ditto for LA smog
Does it drop calls under an overpass? going under an overpass is not a problem, but going into a tunnel or between steep mountains where the line of sight is blocked FROM THE CAR KIT ANTENNA can pose a potential dropped call
Will its signal penetrate my office glass? yes, unless a high-tech coating on the window somehow interferes with the signal. REMEMBER, the prospects of using the phone in satellite mode in an office building are remote, with landline or cellular mode available......GOOD POINT, I thought, they are focused on the true utility of this product.
Will it work between skyscrapers downtown? of course it will, because wherever there are skyscrapers there is cellular access, and only where there is no cellular access will the phone roam to satellite service...
Does the battery expire too quick? o.k., we have multiple answers:
cdma=talk 3hrs // standby(sb)25
analog= 2hrs talk/7hrs sb
satellite= 4hrs talk/10hrs sb
these numbers are changing as they are improving something or another, and will be more appealing as time goes on......
Does it ring with the antenna down? no, but it has short messaging to tell you who tried to call during your time off. And when you turn the phone on, an access code is dialed which indicates to the system where on earth you are, that you may be called, as long as the phone is in standby mode.
Can it perform a cellular to satellite switch? vehement NO that this is beyond the state of the art at this time, nobody can do that, etc.
Is service affordable only to the rich? call AirTouch
Pricing schedule: call AirTouch
Availability now: call AirTouch
Beta Tester: no comments available, not until the rollout, not until the system is as flawless as possible will there be any disclosures, OR you can call AirTouch (this is an Andy Radlow question)
There will be approx 65K phones available by the end of the year, and rampup expectations are in control........says Jeanette.
NOW, for the REAL reason I wanted to call Jeanette, which WAS THE F.B.I. NEEDING WIRETAPPING ACCESS.....SHE SAYS THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT GOING TO STALL THE ROLLOUT, THERE ARE MULTIPLE OPTIONS AND ALTERNATIVES. ABSOLUTELY DEFINITIVELY NO PROBLEM. HMMMMMM. ANYWAY, THERE YOU HAVE IT. Thanks for all of the excellent postings on this board, you have contributed to my knowledge of this company tremendously. Martin |
