Several years ago, AT&T was widely derided for the performance of its wireless network. Consumer complained about dropped calls, spotty reception, and data download speeds that were often aggravatingly slow. At the time, these criticisms were valid ones: according to industry research, AT&T boasted one of the most over-burdened networks in the country, a fact that contributed to reception and data vexations for millions of its customers. The Apple iPhone, then carried exclusively by AT&T, was largely to blame for the tremendous rise in data use and the subsequent overload on the company’s network.

The negative perception of AT&T’s network has continued until today. According to John Stankey, the company’s CEO, customers have a “neutral” perception of AT&T’s network performance. But this assessment, if anything, may have been an inaccurate and optimistic one considering that Consumer Reports ranked AT&T last among United States providers when it came to customer satisfaction.  It is believed that network perception plays a central role in this.

But a funny thing happened last year: AT&T spent about $20 billion dollars improving its network offerings and its capacity. The company built two 4G networks, improved drop-call frequencies by a 25% margin, and made enhancements to almost 50,000 networks nationwide. AT&T now offers one of the strongest networks out there. Consumer perception of that network, however, remains low and stagnant.

To change this perception, the company is making a concerted push towards better informing customers of the improvements that have been made. Mobile customers now receive text messages when a network upgrade is made in their area. Furthermore, AT&T is turning its advertising efforts to upcoming network improvements in the areas of LTE and 4G HSPA+. While Verizon Wireless, its main competitor, has an advantage when it comes to LTE coverage, AT&T has far greater 3G and 4G upgrade capacities. Expect that these advantages will be strongly stressed in marketing campaigns this year.

AT&T has chosen to focus on consumer perception at an opportune time, just after the company received bad press for its T-Mobile takeover bid and just as data demands from the iPhone 4S have started to place an extra burden on nationwide capacities. As data use becomes more and more prevalent, we can only expect that network capabilities – both real and perceived – will become an increasingly vital component of mobile provider strength. Consequently, it is more important than ever that AT&T meld its poor perception with its much-improved reality.

There was once a time, only a few short years ago, that mobile phone providers wanted consumers to use as much data as physically possible. They offered unlimited texting and data plans, they provided games and other applications that required an internet connection, and they worked to secure appealing browsing interfaces for every new model. In short, the phone companies were hungry for data consumption. And it was easy to see why: with declining call and texting revenues, data charges were fast becoming a crucial driver of income. Companies took a large hit to offer cheap iPhone contracts, in fact, simply because they knew that data fees would more than offset that loss over time.

But that all changed over the past couple years as data networks became increasingly crowded. The first culprit was AT&T, which saw an influx of customers – and of heavy data users – when it became the sole provider of the Apple iPhone. While the deal proved lucrative for the company, it also strained AT&T’s data network and resulted in widespread consumer dissatisfaction that has continued until this day. AT&T has invested more than any other provider to upgrade its network since then. However, the slow upload speeds caused by that initial overload have continued to haunt the company – and competitors have taken notice.

More recently, it was reported that the average iPhone 4S user consumes twice as much data as the average owner of an iPhone 4. This tremendous jump can be largely attributed to the success of the Siri personal assistant, which requires relatively high amounts of data for most of its functions. Now, 3G and 4G networks are increasingly being strained across the board. Mobile providers, in response, are starting to consider what was once unthinkable several years back – the restriction of data amounts. They have also turned to new technologies and approaches in an effort to avoid AT&T’s troubles.

Here are the options providers currently have for alleviating the data crunch, along with a couple pros and cons:

-Restrict Usage

Usage can be restricted by eliminating unlimited use options, implemented tiered data plans, and by increasing prices.

Pros: This approach provides a quick and easy way to avoid data overloads.

Cons: Even with price increases, usage restriction methods usually lead to lower data revenues. They also provide only a short-term stopgap.

-Develop New Networks

New networks currently under development – LTE networks chief among them – can be expected to provide much-needed data relief in the next couple years

Pros: LTE networks offer a longer-term solution to current data demands

Cons: These networks are expensive to implement and won’t solve current needs, especially since most phones will continue to use 3G networks.

-Identify Top Users

Some companies are considering giving individual base stations to consumers at the extreme high end of the data use spectrum.

Pros: Since the biggest users consume a highly disporportiate share of data, this would free up national networks without too great an expense for the provider.

Cons: The approach may turn into a logistical hassle and become only a piecemeal solution, especially as data use grows.

These are the major options currently available for mobile providers. Most will likely pursue some combination of these three. Whatever they do, however, one thing is certain: our current network models can’t carry our growing data demands for too much longer.

2011 was a momentous year for mobile technology, which means 2012′s new phone buyers can reap the benefits. Before heading out to your carrier’s closest store to renew your contract, make sure you know what the most up-to-date features and specs are when it comes to the latest smartphone technology. Even for those not particularly interested in the hottest mobile phones around, it’s worth knowing what should be expected of a brand new device this year. You don’t want to get talked into entering a two-year contract with a two-year old phone when the outdated device is set to go on sale in a few months.

Whether you’re looking for a state-of-the-art smartphone or just a replacement that isn’t going to wind up being a rip off, be privy to the top six smartphone features you ought to have in 2012:

4G

Don’t settle for a phone that isn’t built for a 4G network. While debate continues as to the current strength and capability of 4G compared to 3G, the next evolution of mobile network is certain to be underway this year. Look around – companies wouldn’t be investing this much into 4G advertisement if they weren’t serious about creating a distinctly new network.

Digital Camera Replacement

The cameras and camcorders included with top-of-the line smartphones such as the iPhone 4S and Galaxy Nexus can truly be considered digital camera replacements due to their high quality. Any smartphone bought in 2012 ought to be able to take the place of a digital camera in most settings. Test this feature out before committing to any particular phone.

Cloud computing

There’s only so much memory that manufacturers will put on mobile devices that consumers will only pay so much for. In exchange, cloud services allow smartphone users to store more mobile-accessible data without paying a premium for it. Check for such cloud storage plans when browsing new options, or inquire as to how fast these devices can connect to third-party cloud storage via 4G.

Ice Cream Sandwich

The next phase of the Android operating system has reviewer and user alike so far drooling. Since chances are that your next smartphone purchase will be one where Android is the OS included, make it your mission to acquire a device with Ice Cream Sandwich. An improved interface, increased space, and 4G optimization are just a few reasons why you should opt for this version of Android.

Beefed Up Security Features

One hyped-up feature of Ice Cream Sandwich is the ability for users to unlock the device using facial recognition. The technology is a bit more novelty than practical (you can use a photo of the user to bypass security) but such leaps forward in smartphone security must be taken as more people use their mobile devices to conduct banking and other private personal finance activities. It’ll pay to ensure your phone is a secure one, so don’t forget to check.

Personal Assistant App

Anyone looking to get an iPhone 4S will be getting Siri, the first personal assistant app released for consumers. Competitors are certain to be coming out with similar technology in the next several months. While currently still a bit clumsy, personal assistant app technology is the future of mobile web browsing and information seeking, so hop on it as soon as possible.

If you’re looking for the latest in mobile technology, focus on these features. If you’re in search of the best deal on a smartphone, use the aforementioned as a measure for getting the most value out of a new device. They are the technological leaps of the mobile world, as far as 2012 is concerned.

With the job market stagnant and unemployment still high, many Americans are well-versed in the job application process. They know how to perfect their resumes, prepare for an interview, and search out poorly-advertised opportunities. They probably also know those things that can set them back in the search process: cover letters with mistakes, an off-putting attitude, and any distractions that impede their job search.

Among these distractions many people would consider tech gadgets such as smartphones. While smartphones certainly have a wide range of excellent uses, they are also the ultimate distracters, capable of turning your attention away from friends, meetings, errands, and – of course – your impending job search. So how can a smartphone help the employment process, besides simply providing web-browsing access? Well, as always, there’s an app for that. No matter what your career goals or needs, there’s probably an application out there designed to help you out.

Here are six of the best and most creative job search applications out there:

-Interview Buzz

This app provides common interview questions and a variety of interview tips, ranging from body language to dress to salutations. Furthermore, with Interview Buzz, a user can save comments and mark certain questions for later review.

-Resume PRO

An easy-to-use resume builder, Resume PRO gives smartphone users the ability to quickly upload information and make a resume or standard cover letter. Both documents can then be saved as a PDF for later use.

-Job Finder

There are many job search apps out there, and such internet stalwarts as Career Builder and Monster.com both put out popular products. But only a few applications provide aggregate listings that are drawn from all the major job search engines. Of these, Job Finder is one of the best out there.

-LinkUp

LinkUp is similar to Job Finder in that it pools job information from various websites. But rather than focusing on employment databases, LinkUp gets its data from over 22,000 company websites. It combs these websites daily and then posts any new openings on the app.

-LunchMeet

If you’re looking for networking opportunities, especially with like-minded professionals in your area, LunchMeet may be able to facilitate a gathering for you. It operates by using data from LinkedIn.

-Resunate

Resunate is an application that will read and analyze your resume to insure that it will get through electronic filters and actually get read by a live person. It does this by looking for keywords and comparing them against the job description.

These are just six of the many job search applications out there. While sitting at home and wasting time on your smartphone may certainly impede your search process, this does not mean that the phone cannot be used to further your goal. If you’re currently seeking a job – or if you think you may in the near future – you might want to give these apps a look.

While Ice Cream Sandwich is in many ways already “so last year,” chances are that most users of the brand new Android operating system will be introduced to it this year. With that said, many Android users familiar with older generations of the OS are still unsure as to what is distinctly different about Ice Cream Sandwich over Honeycomb and Gingerbread. Let this article help you sort it all out. The following are the most important new features of Android you ought to know about:

Revamped User Interface

The latest Android interface is much more elegant and user friendly than previous incarnations. As far as customization is concerned, homepage button and widget sizes are entirely up to you. All the while the bold vibrant colors of the latest OS contrast beautifully with the default glossy black shading and background.

Beaming Between Android Devices

Beam is a new technology for Android that essentially enables users to share content such as map directions, photos, and music files with each other without plugging anything in. It’s especially useful for those with multiple Android devices as it allows for instant transfer of data between the two.

Enhanced Control Over Network Usage Monitoring

One notorious problem of many smartphone owners is keeping track of network usage and avoiding the penalties accrued from going over data limits. The latest version of Android gives users a much more detailed and nicely designed breakdown of network usage.

Evolved Gaming Possibilities

While most people will prefer their PS3 or Android tablet over a smartphone to play video games, trends are making it apparent that consumers are spending more money on downloadable games on their phones instead of traditional platform titles. Those with Ice Cream Sandwich will be able to plug a controller into their phone, among many other gaming-focused additions.

Improved Voice Recognition Technology

With competition coming in the form of the iPhone’s Siri app, the Android team understood that the clumsy voice recognition tool featured on former versions needed to improve. While far from a personal assistant app, the new voice recognition technology for Android is a much needed improvement, featuring more controls during recording and better editing features.

Futuristic Facial Recognition Security Feature

While you may think this is an instance of saving the best for last, the truth is that while this new feature is certainly the coolest of all Android updates, it’s far from optimum. Good for a demonstration, in practice this “security” feature can be cracked with a photograph, or unusable in low light. Regardless, it’s a first generation technology that’s sure to improve with time.

Ice Cream Sandwich isn’t going to be making history. But those who designed it certainly made some improvements over former versions of the Android operating system. While many factors go into deciding whether or not to buy a new phone, rest assured that for the most part the new additions to Ice Cream Sandwich make it a certain selling feature for the phones that carry the OS.

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If you’ve ever asked your Siri what the meaning of life is and received an ambiguous answer, the reason could be that Siri feels lonely, cut off from the vast panoply of incredible apps that could be sharing the workload. Why should Siri have to do everything? From music to data storage to place-based messaging here is a list of apps that can greatly improve the utility of your smartphone:

Spotify—Spotify is the free music database we always dreamed of, and now you can have it on the go. If you’re okay with a little of advertising here or there, you can essentially have every song ever made for free. A mobile database of millions of songs that are accessible any time of day. Not a bad deal.

Dropbox—Dropbox is a free cloud service for storing and sharing data. This is an easy way to bring all of your documents, photos, and videos into one place and make them accessible online or offline to work colleagues, friends, or clients. It is also an invaluable tool for collaborative projects, file synchronization, and data backup.

Pandora or Last.fm—These two music streaming apps are both very popular and essentially offer the same service, utilizing different algorithms. They both allow users to create playlists based on recommendations and pre-stated musical tastes. Your best bet here is to download both for your smartphone and see which one works better on your particular device.

Foursquare—A place-based messaging service that revolves around the idea of checking in at a location and receiving points for doing so. Foursquare is a social network but it’s importance to you could be much more based on its advantageous financial opportunities, as many local businesses offer discounts and promotions based on Foursquare use.

LinkedIn—Get rid of your business cards and resumes, the future of employment networking is LinkedIn. Having it as an app makes your phone a mobile career finding device. You no longer need to carry around a rolodex of your business connections. Keep your resources, business and job leads consolidated in one place while also networking with other professionals in your line of work.

So the lesson here is that if you use Siri for your iPhone, you shouldn’t have to ask her questions about music, file storage, local deals, or business connections. There are a wide variety of apps that will help you with these sectors of your life. The apps listed above represent excellent tools for business organization, personal recreation or both.

AT&T, once just steps away from acquiring T-Mobile and becoming the world’s largest and strongest mobile provider, probably now wishes that it had never proposed the deal in the first place. Last month, the initial merger plans were not received favorably by the Department of Justice, which announced its intentions to oppose the deal and fight AT&T’s efforts in court. This action stood to kill the proposed $39 billion merger; to win the court case, the DOJ would merely have to prove that a combined company of AT&T and T-Mobile would hurt the public interest by limiting competition in the mobile industry. Experts predicted that this would be easy to establish, insuring that the deal would not proceed any further in its current form.

Regardless, AT&T planned to fight the DOJ by continuing litigation and by selling off T-Mobile assets – up to 40% of the company, some predicted – in order to insure that the merger mobile provider would not be large enough for the DOJ to prove, during the court battle, that the merger would decrease competition. It was expected that AT&T would look to sell T-Mobile assets in pieces and to small providers, thereby insuring that it was increasing overall competition just as it simultaneously sought to decrease it.

That plan, however, now appears to have fallen through. In recent weeks, AT&T was in talks with Leap Wireless International, Dish Network Corp., MetroPCS Communications, and several international buyers, all of which were interested in carving up sections of T-Mobile. But talks with Leap Wireless have reportedly now fallen through. According to reports, Leap Wireless believes that AT&T will never win DOJ approval for the merger, even if it sells off 30 to 40% of T-Mobile assets. Consequently, the company does not want to make financial commitments to a deal that stands to fall through. In light of Leap Wireless’ withdrawal, other suitors have ceased negotiations as well, effectively giving AT&T no place to dump those excess T-Mobile assets.

When AT&T goes to court in the coming months, then, it will likely present the DOJ with a merger proposal that has not been modified much from the original – a proposal that is almost certain to fail. At this point, the company may be best suited to drop the case, try to renegotiate the settlement it owes to T-Mobile, and try to move past this whole debacle. AT&T needs to look to the future, after all, and it appears increasingly clear that the future does not include T-Mobile.

Last Tuesday, the National Transportation Safety Board made a landmark recommendation to United States lawmakers, calling for a complete ban on the use of cell phones by drivers of moving vehicles. The ban is certainly based on a reasonable level of evidence: distracted driving deaths on American roads would actually be dropping if it weren’t for the added factor of increase cell phone use. Over 3000 people were killed last year due to cell phone related distractions, while investigators contend that the number could be much higher by virtue of the fact that dead drivers are unable to confirm whether or not they were distracted by a cell phone. It’s a modern habit that seems to be doing more harm than good.

The solution offered by the NTSB calls for a complete ban on the use of cell phones by a driver unless in unspecified emergencies – presumably calling 911 or getting directions to the nearest emergency room. This even includes hands-free use of these devices. According to the NTSB, if such a ban were implemented by all 50 states, a decrease in distracted driving fatalities will be observed in the years thereafter. It’s a reasonable argument with a long road of legislation and litigation ahead of it. All the while, Joe and Jane Public will be fighting for their right to keep using their phones on the road. How else are they supposed to know where they are going, or catch up on business during rush hour?

Well, according to the NTSB, they can use dash-mounted navigation and communications systems installed by the vehicle manufacturer. These are excluded from such a ban, even as hands-free use of individual devices would still be considered against the law. The difference between the distractions of a hands-free voice-activated smartphone and those of a preinstalled in-dash component were not specifically outlined by the NTSB. In fact, there was no attempt for arguments sake to differentiate between the distractions of speaking to someone via hands-free device, and speaking to someone who is in the car with you.

So why are hands-free devices still considered worthy of being banned, while preinstalled devices of an identical nature get a free pass? The only answer – until the NTSB can offer a specific explanation – is that intense lobbying on the part of car manufacturers prior to this potential ban being announced likely resulted in their technology being untouchable in the event of outside communications devices being banned. This in and of itself is nothing unusual in the history of American lawmaking. But the idea that hands-free technology in one instance is dangerous, while in another is safe, is a new low in the history of American hypocrisy.

When comparing the relative strengths of smartphone models, there are plenty of data points and indicators that can be used to support any particular company or platform. You can use market share, sales data, revenue figures, and more temporal numbers, such as quarterly shipments and retail sales. When comparing Apple and Android, the two major players in the mobile world today, these indicators, taken together, paint a blurry picture of relative strengths. Yes, Android has a larger market share, and yes, Apple still enjoys greater revenues. Yes, all signs indicate that Android continues to grow, but the iPhone 4S was a big success, next year’s iPhone 5 stands to be even more sought-after, and few would argue that Apple remains the industry’s standard-bearer.

Amidst all this fog of war, industry experts and analysts have begun looking to application information to determine relative strengths in the marketplace. The number of apps sold, created, and regularly used can be a potent indicator for current success and future growth, according to past studies. This metric has been applied to the Windows Phone, which currently stands at a distant third in the market. Data showing a rapid increase in app creation and sales spurred analysts to predict continued growth and vitality for the Windows Phone in the coming year.

But for Apple and Android, the app comparison is wrought with complications. In other words, app data for the two is hard to compare, since Apple tightly regulates its applications while Android does not. This has led to frustrations with Android, since the platform’s apps are an easy target for malware. But it has also caused some developers to grow tired of Apple, who resent that the company imposes deadlines for submitting apps before the Christmas holiday. A delay in gaining approval or a glitch found post-submission could translate into thousands of dollars of lost sales on Christmas Day, when apps are downloaded at a far higher rate than normal. At the end of the day, all these benefits and detriments aside, the Android and Apple app platforms function so differently as to make comparisons difficult.

But this difficulty does not extend to specific apps that can be seen as indicative of the market – and, consequently, of the Android-Apple battle – as a whole. These are apps that most users have on their phones and access regularly, the foremost among them being Facebook’s app for smartphones. Facebook makes an application for both Apple and for Android, and the company has historically favored those it made for the former. Facebook launched its app for Apple a year before it launched to Android – 2008 vs 2009 – and, since then, the iPhone app would regularly be the first to get an update. This trend, however, has suddenly shifted in recent weeks. Just after news came out that Android’s Facebook app had surpassed Apple’s in users and in activity, the social media giant released its Timeline update for Android almost a week before it did the same for Apple.

This is a small indicator, to be sure, but it remains a notable one nonetheless. If Facebook continues to favor Android, there is a good chance that this reflects the preferences of developers and of users, at least in the short-term, as the industry looks towards next year. Either way, it should make for an interesting 2012.

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If you have any money invested in RIM, the company who makes the once popular Blackberry line of smartphones, it’s probably a wise decision to unload your stock as soon as possible. Things are not looking up for the phone manufacturer and won’t be getting better any time soon. According to a report from CNN Money, their stocks are down 77 percent and are at their lowest since 2004.

After a worldwide service outage and several failed product launches, it looks to be the end of the line for the once iconic Blackberry. What could have been one of the top names in this next generation of smartphones has been reduced to a shadow of its former self. In order to fully understand why the Blackberry name has been dragged through the mud, it is important to take a look at some of the mishaps the RIM corporation has taken over the past several years.

Refused to Adopt Early

The iPhone completely revolutionized the smartphone game and Google’s Android service quickly followed suit as a competitor. While Apple and Google started to innovate on technology and consumer insights, the RIM CEOs scoffed and mocked their attempts to build brands. According to CBS, this cost shareholders close to $70 billion in value and brand recognition. Instead of scoffing and mocking, the CEOs are now scrimping and panicking to keep their company afloat.

An Utter Lack of Simplicity

If you have ever used one of the latest models of the Blackberry, you know that it isn’t really a fun process. The front-facing keyboard is an excellent tool, but after that it becomes a quagmire of confusion for any task you want to complete. Android and Apple have listened to consumers and taken steps to create phones that are specifically tailored to consumer’s needs instead of just rolling out whatever they deemed fit.

Too Many Products on the Market

If a consumer walks into a store and looks at the number of Blackberry lines available, there is going to be a lot of confusion. Most of the models are labeled with numbers such as 9850, 9860, etc, and do not have enough defining characteristics for consumers to differentiate between. According to Forbes, even technology reporters at The New York Times can’t keep up with the different Blackberry releases.

Failed Tablet Launch

There is no doubt that the iPad is the most popular and best selling tablet on the market. When you factor in Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Barne’s and Noble’s Nook as cheap options, there is little space left for competitors. The failure of the Blackberry Playbook has set the RIM company back even further than all of their smartphone mishaps. Because of this major hit, innovations within the rest of the company are going to come to a halt.

If you are an investor in RIM, unload your stocks as quickly as possible. If you are considering the purchase of a Blackberry phone for business or personal use, make sure you don’t get stuck in a long term contract. There is nowhere to go but down for RIM and the Blackberry brand, which is a shame because Blackberry used to really mean something.

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