• ZD Net, Telstra Attacks Terabyte Fad
• IT News, Telstra says: Don’t take terabyte broadband bait

But as a writer, there’s a different challenge in writing for a specific audience or in a particular format. This is part of the reason I’ve become an official  blogger at Telstra Exchange (TEX). Writing for TEX means pushing ones self to write to someone else’s requirements.

For example,  whilst conciseness is something I strive for , my more analytical posts tend to be around a thousand words, or even longer. By contrast, the recommended word count for TEX is about half that. Sticking to the suggested limits requires careful selection of both the blog topic and the key points to be covered.  It’s a challenge, but being able to work within the guidelines and still produce a post I’m happy with is quite rewarding.

The other reason for blogging at TEX is exposure.  My first post at TEX was a review of Kindle for Android, and in one afternoon it’s generated more comments, likes and shares than anything posted on MinimalState. TEX  looks like being a good platform for building a personal blogging brand, which can hopefully be leveraged to boost the profile of MinimalState.

So whilst there will still be new and original posts appearing here at MinimalSate, I’ll also be directing readers to posts on TEX.  And if you have any suggestions for topics you’d like to see covered here or at TEX, please  let me know.

The new PM has wasted no time in seizing the opportunity to  change the governments  approach to negotiating with the mining industry over the resource super profit tax (RSPT). The question now is – what other policy areas could benefit from an opportune change of tack?

Within the telecoms and technology arena, there have been two hot topics for the  ALP led government since it came to power – the National Broadband Network (NBN) and internet censorship.

This week, an in principle agreement was finally reached with Telstra in regards to the company’s involvement with the NBN.  Given the size  of the agreement ($11bn) and the benefits of the deal to NBN Co (access to Telstra’s infrastructure and customers), the government is  unlikely to  substantially change things too much in this arena. With an election  expected in the next few months, the government needs the NBN to be an election promise showing tangible progress – not just another pipe dream causing conflicts like the RSPT.

On the other hand – internet censorship continues to be a problem area for the government. Like the NBN, progress has been slow. So slow there’s speculation that the enabling legislation may be delayed until after the election. But like the NBN, internet censorship was an election promise and the escalating rhetoric from Senator Conroy (the responsible minister) had put the government in a position where it risked losing face if it yielded to criticism of the proposal.

But Julia Gillard’s ascension to the role of PM offers an opportunity for the government to rethink this policy. If  Senator Conroy where moved on as part of a Cabinet reshuffle, a new Communications Minister could potentially seek alternate methods of delivering the spirit of the policy – without imposing mandatory internet censorship on all Australians.

The next few weeks look like being a very interesting period indeed.

So what makes this phone so desirable? And why the qualification of “mostly”?

NOTE: In addition to the standard disclaimer & disclosure, readers should be aware that this phone was purchased on the Telstra staff plan. Therefore this review does not discuss plan and pricing options. This is a personal review and is not part of the Telstra’s  ’social review’ program.

Things to Love
For anyone still wondering if it’s worth making the leap to a smartphone (be it iPhone, Android or other) , the answer is yes. At home, the Desire has  become a convenient laptop substitute for simple tasks like checking email or catching up on Facebook. Having an alternate means of Internet access also comes in handy when, for instance, your broadband service is offline for a week.

Turning specifically to the Desire,  HTC’s ‘Sense’ user interface is a winner. There’s a few elements to Sense which I really love, starting with the seven customisable  home screen panes. Not only does this provide plenty of space for widgets and apps, it also enables similar applications to be grouped together on separate screen. For instance, you might  group all the games on one screen, with social media apps on another.

What adds to the wow factor  is the ability to preview the seven  panes with a “pinch” of the screen, then select the screen you want with a single touch. It’s much faster than flicking through multiple screens iPhone style.  (Check out the video from PocketVideo for a full run through of the Sense experience.)

The screen on the HTC Desire is also fantastic. It’s big and bright, which makes for a great web browsing and photo viewing experience. Even set to the dullest power saving level, it’s still quite usable indoors. The only time I’ve found myself turning up the brightness is to view photos or outdoors in bright light.

Despite such a large screen, the battery still managed to meet my needs.  Battery life is helped by a handy power management widget that provides one-touch on/off control over functions like WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth, syncing and screen brightness. The Desire managed about a day and a half without recharging under normal usage, which involved both 3G and WiFi internet browsing as well as a couple of phone calls and some game playing.   Adopting conservative power setting and resisting the urge to use the phone except when needed, it easily made it through two days without recharging.

The Desire’s camera was also a pleasant surprise. My expectations were quite low given my previous experience with the less than satisfactory camera on the  HTC Magic. Thankfully the Desire’s camera is much better. It won’t replace a dedicated digital compact, but it will give you a better chance of capturing those spur of the moment shots that always seem to come up when you only have your phone with you.

Lastly, I’m a big fan of the unlock pattern on Android phones .  Remembering and swiping in a multi-point pattern  seems a lot simpler than remembering a PIN of equivalent length.

Things to Improve
The HTC Desire is a good phone, but it’s not perfect. Early users of the Telstra branded Desire  didn’t get off to the best start, thanks to a software fault with the GPS. To their credit, Telstra and HTC were fairly quick to issue an over-the-air software update that not only fixed the GPS issue, but also added voice search.  In the end it was a  minor inconvenience, but one that still detracted a little from the initial excitement of having a new phone.

Secondly, whilst  I’ve  found apps to do all the things I want on my Desire so far, there’s still a lot more choice on the iPhone.  Currently, Apple has about a 5:1 advantage over Android in the number of apps, with games the weakest link for Android.

Wrapping Up
Overall the HTC Desire has a lot going for it – it’s easy to use, has a nice bright screen, gets through the day without a recharge and has a better than expected camera. Whilst the initial GPS issue took some of the fun out of my first week, there’s no buyers remorse.  And with the Android Marketplace growing at 9,000 apps per month, the ‘app gap’ is quickly going to become less about the number of apps and more about their quality (1). The HTC Desire is probably the best Android phone in Australia at the moment. If you’re considering a smartphone, then it’s worth at least checking out the Desire before you hand over your money to become another iPhone user.

p.s. As the Desire is currently exclusive to Telstra, the best place to compare the  Desire and iPhone is at your nearest Telstra  T[life] store where you can check out ‘live’ handsets side by side.

Notes:
(1) But that’s a topic for another post.

Screen Size

Both phones feature a 3.1″ screen.  This is smaller than the iPhone (3.5″) as well as the upcoming  Desire (3.7″) and Xperia (4.0″).  Whilst a bigger screen may mean a better browsing & app experience, the Backflip  is probably going to slip into to your pocket  easier than an Xperia.

Physical Keyboards

The DEXT and the Backflip both feature physical keyboards.  Whilst the touch-screen keyboards of both phones seemed ok, the smallish screen size  means only a few lines of text can be seen at a time when in landscape mode. Using the physical keyboard enables more text to be displayed on screen, reducing the need to scroll in order to see what’s already been written.

Of the two handsets, my preference is for the keyboard on the DEXT.  Whilst the keys on the Backflip aren’t tiny, the keyboard is flat and smooth, making it harder to distinguish individual keys. By contrast, keys on the DEXT have enough ‘bump’ to feel like individual keys.

Motoblur

According to Optus:

“The Motorola BACKFLIP and DEXT are the first smartphones announced in Australia to feature MOTOBLUR, allowing customers to sync contacts, emails, posts, messages, photos and more from sources such as Facebook®, MySpace, Twitter, Gmail™, work and personal e-mail and LastFM.  Content is automatically pushed straight to the home screen, in easy-to-manage streams allowing users to spend less time managing their life and more time living it.” (Optus media release 30/03/2010)

Optus’ advertising for the  DEXT is heavily focussed on the social connectivity facilitated by Motoblur, even going so far as to tag the DEXT  ”the first phone with social skills”. Given the hype, I was keen to check out Motoblur, especially as the concept is quite similar to ‘Friendstream‘ on the forthcoming HTC Desire.

Whilst the in-store handsets had live internet connections, unfortunately they hadn’t been linked to a Motoblur account or any social sites. This meant one could check out the home screen widgets,  but not any real live  ”happenings”. Thankfully Motorola has a pretty good Motoblur simulator on its site, but it’s still not the same as playing with a live handset.

Optus  ’yes’ Social Plans

To go with its new ‘social phones’, Optus has launched  a range of ‘yes’ Social Plans. Like the  Optus’ iPhone plans, they include a mobile data allowance, but have the additional benefit of  free (unmetered) use of Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and YouTube. Offering unlimited access to these popular social sites strengthens the ‘social phone’ positioning of the DEXT and Backflip. It may also help reduce the risk of bill shock being caused by Motoblur  pulling content from these sites.  Either way, it seems a smart move by Optus and the ‘yes’ Social Plans are arguably as much a part of the ‘social phone’ value proposition as the handsets themselves.

Closing Thoughts

Whilst the Backflip has looks on its side, it’s worth checking out the keyboard factor in person as you may find the Backflip keyboard as off-putting as I did. Motoblur looks interesting but without a ‘live’ account it’s hard to say just how useful it really is.  Lastly there is the new ‘yes’ Social Plans. These  support the ‘social phone’ positioning of the new handsets and will provide extra value for some users.

With two new Androids touched down, it’s going to be interesting to see what the next wave of the Android invasion has to offer.

Image courtesy of Telstra.com

Justin Milne  joined Telstra at the end of  2002 after several years with OzEmail.  When he arrived, Telstra had ~222k broadband subscribers(1).  When Telstra reorganised late in 2008 and Milne relinquished broadband to focus on Telstra Media, that number had grown to 3,269k (2) , a CAGR of 63% and pretty much in line with the market growth rate (3) in spite of a being the premium priced provider in a market of over 450 ISPs (5).

Not only did Milne preside over significant growth in the broadband business,  he was also responsible for laying the foundations of Telstra’s digital media business with ventures such as BigPond Music, BigPond Movies and BigPond Sport.

So if your recent CV involves high growth online businesses, what do you do next? The internet access market doesn’t really look high growth any more, except for maybe FTTP when (if) the NBN is built.   So perhaps digital media somewhere? Could we see Justin leading  someone like Fetch TV to challenge traditional television broadcasters in the high speed world of national 100Mbps broadband and IPTV?

Or is that too small? What about leading another media-comms play?

As discussed in a previous post, Seven is facing the challenge of coordinating its traditional and online media businesses. Seven also has a broadband access business, Wireless Broadband Australia – with two retail ISP’s in Unwired and Vivid Wireless. Then there is its involvement with Hybrid Television Services – the Australia-NZ licensee for TiVO.   Seven has the potential to converge on the media-comms space from media side of things – the flip-side to Telstra who comes from the comms background.

Justin Milne bringing together the different elements of the Seven media-comms play is probably an unlikely occurrence, but it would certainly be more interesting to watch than seeing him join former colleagues like Doug Campbell at NBN Co.

Update: An official announcement confirming Justin Milne will finish on June 1, 2010 is now available via the ASX .

As well as the usual Disclaimer & Disclosure I should also point out that  whilst I have never worked directly for Justin Milne I did work at BigPond during the time Justin Milne was in charge.

Notes:

(1) See page 37 of the .pdf which includes a statistical summary of Telstra’s half year results for the December 2002 half.

(2) See page 13 of the .pdf for the FY 2008 Annual Report.

(3) Telstra CAGR Based on period Dec 02 to Jun 08. Market CAGR Based on ACCC broadband data for Dec 02 and ABS 8153.0 for Jun 08. Use of two different data sets was necessary as neither data set covered the complete time period.

(5) The March 2007 quarter was the last time the ABS reported the total number of ISPs.

Around October each year, the TIO publishes it’s annual report that almost invariably reports a rise in complaints. For instance in the latest reporting year (2009) we’re informed “the highest increase in complaints was among mobile phone users (79% rise), followed by internet (57%), landline (40%) and mobile premium services (13%).” (TIO 23/10/2009).

The report also provides a detailed breakdown of complaint data by service provider. This tends to be popular with the IT media, who use it produce headlines such as “Telstra records highest telco complaints“.

My concern is that by using complaint volumes as it’s key metric, the TIO may be creating inaccurate perceptions about the performance of particular product categories or service providers. This in turn impacts public policy and regulatory behaviour(1), as well consumer choice.

Firstly, because the TIO reports on the total volume of complaints, changes in complaint numbers are influenced by changes in the number of services in operations. For a growing product category (or service provider), this means growth in complaints may be partly or wholly due to the growth in services. For example, the rise in internet complaints for FY2009 is a lower (but still quite disturbing!) 39% when holding the number of services constant.(2)

The second problem with using total complaints instead of complaint rates is it can lead to potentially misleading comparisons between service providers. If you’re the largest provider in the market and offer services across fixed line, mobiles and internet – it’s going to be quite a challenge to not be the most complained about provider. Likewise, if you are a second or third tier provider, you have to be quite a dodo before you rate an individual mention. Yet in terms of comparing the service experience with different providers – the complaint rate is probably a far better guide.

Whilst the volume of complaints is an important operational metric for the TIO, publishing complaint rates (e.g. complaints per 1000 services), would improve the quality of the TIO’s contribution to public policy and consumer choice.

Publishing complaint rates at the product category level would also remove the effect of product growth or decline, enabling more insightful comparison of service performance between product categories as well as over time. This shouldn’t be an onerous or costly exercise.

There’s also an opportunity for the TIO to use complaint rates to help consumers choose between providers. Whilst publishing a providers complaint rate may not be appropriate (3), the TIO could provide tables for each product category ranking services providers on their complaint rate. This would provide consumers with a better means of comparing providers complaint performance than the total volume of complaints.

If the TIO is interested in improving outcomes for consumers and the telecommunications industry, publishing complaint rates would represent a good opportunity to improve the quality of policy debate and also assist consumers to make better informed choices.

Notes:

(1) For example, Senator Conroy  used the 2009  report to threaten further industry regulation, whilst the government funded Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) is advocating that anyone who lodges a complaint with the TIO be entitled to a $50 payment from their service provider.

(2) The complaint rate was calculated using TIO complaint statistics from 2008 and 2009 annual reports and ABS data on the number of household internet subscribers. Household subscriber data was used as the scope of the TIO is small business and residential customers only. The impact of using residential only is thus to produce higher complaint rates, however the impact on growth in complaints was not determined.

(3) Publishing a complaint rate as well as volume of complaints may not be appropriate as this would enable a providers number of services to be reverse engineered. Such information is usually highly prized by industry analysts and CI professionals in the industry.

HeathG works within the telecommunications sector. Please read his full disclaimer and disclosure.

Note: This is an edited version of an article previously published at ‘Catallaxy Files’ but lost during the great crash of ’09.