bill%gauss@gatech.edu (bill) (03/14/91)
At the outset, let me say that my evaluation is almost purely
subjective and is based upon little-to-no evaluation of the
engineering details of the respective units. That having been said, I
have recently had an opportunity to use both the relatively new
Fujitsu Pocket Commander and the somewhat older Motorola Micro-TAC
model in daily activities. I'll attempt to convey my impressions of
both units. I'll try to stay away from giving engineering specs,
because anyone can get those from a dealer or from the manufacturer.
Instead, I'll concentrate on my subjective opinion, having juxtaposed
both units during the course of approximatly ten days. Please note
that both units were used on the 'A' carrier in Atlanta, Pactel
Cellular. My thanks to them for letting me evaluate these units.
They're hoping I'll buy one, of course! :-) The jury is still out on
that aspect. The general pricing of these units is too high for me
yet. Here goes:
Size: both units are roughly the same size, yet the Fujitsu is
smaller. When I looked at each unit separately, I could not notice a
size difference. Each unit has two different batteries, a compact and
an extended life, which affect the depth. The units are effectively
the same size.
Weight: each unit causes a noticeable sag in an inside jacket pocket,
no matter which battery is attached. I did not have any sense of
fatigue when holding each unit to my head during conversation, though.
At 12.3 oz., the Motorola is the heavier of the two by .4 oz. My hand
and arm could not discern any weight difference between the two when
actually in use, however.
Range/reception: there was no significant difference in the
performance of the units. I used or attempted to use each in similar
or identical settings. I phoned from a cell fringe, from an interior
room of a metallic building, in the car, on MARTA (rapid rail system)
and on the sidewalk in a high-rise downtown area. I called from our
computer room and also from my home. The reception was comparable,
given the same conditions. The worst coverage for both was at my
home. Lots of trees at home to block the coverage. Engineering
flash: trees tend to attenuate cellular freqs. Matter o' fact,
Atlanta is filled with trees! Cell siting is the key here, though,
not so much the phone one would use.
Charge life/recharge time: Charge life seemed to be similar here -
bear in mind that this is purely subjective in my case. Recharge
time? I didn't make a meaningful comparison here. I'd just pop them
into the charger at night and pull them out on the way to work. Each
got a full workday in, given the applicable mix of talk and standby
time. The batteries would have to go into the stand first thing when
I got home, though.
Features/price: These are individual considerations, each unit has its
stregths and trade-offs but they are definitely in the same class.
The Pocket Commander seems to have the better price (for the time
being), but Motorola has a few models in the DPC line (to which the
Micro-TAC has evolved, I presume) which will/do offer competitive
pricing with the Fujitsu.
Miscellaneous impressions: I liked the buttons and keys of the
Motorola much more. The Motorola uses a one-piece sealed keypad which
I like a lot. The Fujitsu uses tactile keys ("they click"), but the
keys don't seem to be sealed against the elements (they may be sealed
under the faceplate - I don't know either way for sure). The
microphone for the Motorola is on the fold-out/flip-down piece and
seems susceptible to "hissing" when pronouncing the letter 's' sound -
just a matter of holding the unit at the proper orientation, I
suspect. The mic for the Fujitsi is not on the flip-down piece, but
rather it is in the vicinity of the hinge. The sound quality on each
is acceptable in my opinion. The Motorola seems more "substantial" to
me - very subjective. The Motorola is American-made. I don't know
where the Fujitsu is made.
Well, that's all that I can think of. Please bear in mind that I have
not evaluated these units from an engineering view, but from that of a
user. They are very comparable, but my opinions lean toward the
Motorola. Bear in mind that the Motorola only allows keyboard
programming of the NAM to be done three times before it must be sent
to a Motorola service center to be reset - if you use multiple
cellular accounts then this is a serious liability. It is a quirk
that I'd recommend that Motorola remove. Anyone know why they do
this? The Fujitsu did not have such a restriction as far as I could
tell.
Conclusion?
On the basis of my unscientific "tests," I would recommend either
unit. It seems to come down to a user's preference for certain
features. There is not enough room to delineate the features here,
but it's easy enough to call a Motorola or Fujitsu rep and ask them
for a sales brochure.
If anyone has a specific question about my impressions as a user,
please send me e-mail. Engineering questions should be directed
toward the respective manufacturers, however. After all, it is their
equipment.
Hope this has been of use to some of you.
Bill Berbenich Georgia Tech, Atlanta Georgia, 30332
uucp: ...!{backbones}!gatech!eedsp!bill Internet: bill@eedsp.gatech.eduibbotson@uunet.uu.net (Craig Ibbotson) (03/19/91)
Call me a blind patriot (and possibly a blind Motorola employee) but if the two of these portables come up even (as was suggested), I would have to think people in the U.S. would opt for the phone that is made in America by American workers for an American company. The factory where they make the MicroTac is next door to my building, and I think it is fantastic to see such high-quality products coming out of a U.S. factory with American factory workers. These people are average Joe's like you and me, but they are competing tooth and nail with the Japanese. Finally, a U.S. manufacturer who can do it right. Go for the Motorola phone.
olling@trc.jnoc.go.jp (Cliff Olling) (03/20/91)
In article <telecom11.216.8@eecs.nwu.edu> (Craig Ibbotson) writes: > The factory where they make the MicroTac is next door to my building, > and I think it is fantastic to see such high-quality products coming > out of a U.S. factory with American factory workers. These people are > average Joe's like you and me, but they are competing tooth and nail > with the Japanese. Finally, a U.S. manufacturer who can do it right. When I was coming back to Tokyo after skiing on Monday, I noticed the (Japanese) guy next to me on the the Shinkansen had a MicroTac. In fact he dropped it on the floor a time or two :-). I asked him why he didn't buy a Japanese-made phone. He said that the NTT competition was too expensive, and that most people don't care that the MicroTac's not made by a Japanese company. Sorry this is so brief, but my Japanese isn't yet up to an in-depth market analysis survey :-). Clifford Olling Japan National Oil Corporation $@@PL}8xCD(J Technology Research Center $@@PL}3+H/5;=Q(J Chiba City, Japan olling@jnoc.go.jp $@KkD%K\6?1X(J 24hrs/day=>81+472-73-5831
jgd@gatech.edu (John G. DeArmond) (03/20/91)
motcid!ibbotson@uunet.uu.net (Craig Ibbotson) writes: > Call me a blind patriot (and possibly a blind Motorola employee) but > if the two of these portables come up even (as was suggested), I would > have to think people in the U.S. would opt for the phone that is made > in America by American workers for an American company. > Go for the Motorola phone. As long as non-technical criteria are being used to judge the merit of one vendor vs another, let me add another fact for consideration. I'll ask Pat's and the group's indulgence for a moment. Motorola sits at the top of the civil rights Tower of Shame by having the most egregiously offensive arbitrary drug testing program in America. For those not aware, I maintain a list, called the Piss List, of companies that violate employees' rights in various ways such as pee-in-the-bottle tests, psychological profiling, lie detectors (yes, they are still around), and other offensive thing so that people can vote against these practices with their feet and with their pocketbooks. This list is available from piss@dixie.com. Mail a message with the word "send" in the SUBJECT line. I can also provide a copy of Motorola's policy, a document that will strike fear in the hearts of even the most conservative spectator. Write to piss@dixie.com and ask for it. I also maintain a list of good companies that maintain an afirmative position regarding employees' rights to privacy and freedom on their own time. As of this writing, Fujitsu is not on the bad list. That should be enough of a tie-breaker. Beyond that, my impression of the Motorola luggable (a mobile radio with a nylon bag wrapped around it) after side by side comparison to my three year old Panasonic Portable and after some bench testing is that I'm not at all impressed. It is much more prone to intermod in the RF-hostile downtown Atlanta area and the receiver is less sensitive. The radio itself appears to be a mobile unit to which some stamped sheet metal brackets and some Molex plugs have been added. Bare wires are apparent under this sheetmetal bracket. Looks like something I might have jerry-rigged up as a prototype but certainly not as a production item. On the plus side, the phone uses Panasonic batteries and charges them when on mobile power. I suppose at the discounted price of under $200 dollars, the phone is not a bad deal if you can bide your conscience enough to buy from a company with people policies as bad as Motorola's. John De Armond, WD4OQC Rapid Deployment System, Inc. Marietta, Ga {emory,uunet}!rsiatl!jgd
john@zygot.ati.com (John Higdon) (03/21/91)
Craig Ibbotson <motcid!ibbotson@uunet.uu.net> writes: > Call me a blind patriot (and possibly a blind Motorola employee) but > if the two of these portables come up even (as was suggested), I would > have to think people in the U.S. would opt for the phone that is made > in America by American workers for an American company. For openers, let me say that both of my cellular phones are Motorola: a MicroTac and an old in-car unit (I forget what). They are most satisfactory. That said, I must disagree most strenuously with the apparent statement in the quoted paragraph. Being made in America is NOT a reason to buy anything. One should buy on the basis of need and fulfillment. If one's needs are fulfilled by a product and the price is right, it should be purchased. To buy product just because it is "American" possibly rewards a company for building inferior wares. (Definitely not the case with Motorola.) > The factory where they make the MicroTac is next door to my building, > and I think it is fantastic to see such high-quality products coming > out of a U.S. factory with American factory workers. Look at the above comment. Is it not a sad commentary that one considers it "fantastic" that a US factory with American workers would build high-quality products? Does this mean that the norm is over-priced, shoddy, worthless junk? Would that there come a time, once again, that we all could consider American products to be routinely of high workmanship and value and not be amazed by it when it occurs. > Finally, a U.S. manufacturer who can do it right. So let us reward those American businesses that do it right by patronizing their goods and avoid the others until they, too, can "do it right". > Go for the Motorola phone. I am certainly happy with mine. But buy it because it is good, not because it is "American". John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395 john@zygot.ati.com | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o !
sanford@uunet.uu.net (Curtis Sanford) (03/22/91)
I do believe you need to be aware of the origins of the products you patronize. Motorola introduced the Micro-TAC several years ago, at a time when it was by far the most advanced technology in the world. At that time, the Japanese government prevented their selling that phone in the Tokyo metropolitan area, which is the largest market in Japan. Only with the assistance of the US Government, to the point of nearly starting a trade war, did the Japanese government back down and allow Motorola to bid for a contract to supply phones to the Tokyo area. At that time, NTT (the government owned telephone monopoly) issued a public apology that they had failed to develop the smallest phone, and that they would embark on a crash program to fund the Japanese manufacturers to duplicate the Motorola technology. That Fujitsu phone was developed with Japanese government money, targeted to destroy the Micro-TAC and Motorola. Please understand that Japanese view competition as warfare, and that they (like George Bush) do not settle for less than total victory. Motorola must develop new products out of revenues from sales of existing products, like all American companies. You may choose to ignore these facts when you make your choice of products. But you may wish to ponder the impact thousands of decisions like yours will have on the future of America, and your job.
paulf@shasta.stanford.edu (Paul A. Flaherty) (03/22/91)
Cliff Olling writes: > When I was coming back to Tokyo after skiing on Monday, I noticed the > (Japanese) guy next to me on the the Shinkansen had a MicroTac. In > fact he dropped it on the floor a time or two :-). I asked him why he > didn't buy a Japanese-made phone. He said that the NTT competition > was too expensive, and that most people don't care that the MicroTac's > not made by a Japanese company. Sorry this is so brief, but my > Japanese isn't yet up to an in-depth market analysis survey :-). When I was in Japan this summer, the only American product I saw anywhere (well, aside from a classic Caddy) was a proliferation of Motorola UHF HTs on nearly every police officer I saw. Despite some nasty things that I might have to say about Motorola's industry practices, they still put out a radio you can pound nails with. Paul Flaherty, N9FZX paulf@shasta.Stanford.EDU
ibbotson@uunet.uu.net (Craig Ibbotson) (03/24/91)
john@zygot.ati.com (John Higdon) writes: > I am certainly happy with mine. But buy it because it is good, not > because it is "American". I agree with you 100%. My point was simply if there are two products of equal quality, performance and price, I would buy the American product. Buying something just because it is "American", regardless of quality, is rewarding poor performance if that product is not up to snuff. Any of you who are interested in a more detailed review of the Motorola Personal Communicator should see this month's {Cellular Business}; there is a review on page 74. This month's cover story is about cellular fraud, a topic which has been showing up here and in comp.risks with increasing frequency.
hullp%cogsci.Berkeley.EDU@ucbvax.berkeley.edu (03/24/91)
> That Fujitsu phone was developed with Japanese government money, > targeted to destroy the Micro-TAC and Motorola. Please understand > that Japanese view competition as warfare, and that they (like George > Bush) do not settle for less than total victory. Motorola must > develop new products out of revenues from sales of existing products, > like all American companies. > You may choose to ignore these facts when you make your choice of > products. But you may wish to ponder the impact thousands of > decisions like yours will have on the future of America, and your job. These facts (I'm assuming they ARE facts) would only serve to encourage me to buy the Japanese item. If they're smart enough to figure out a way to design a competitor to the Micro-TAC that's so good that it puts an end to the the Micro-TAC, more power to them. Instead of whining about their methods or buying inferior products that are made inefficiently by ill-educated and/or lazy U.S. workers, the truly American response would be to buy the best product at the lowest price, regardless of its origin. Perhaps the solution to your problem is to have the U.S. government actually develop a national industrial policy. When it's done that, perhaps it could look past its parochialism and learn something from Japanese methods ... even perhaps ... dare I suggest it? .... fund new product development. Philip V. Hull INTERNET: hullp@cogsci.berkeley.edu BITNET: hullp@cogsci.berkeley.bitnet UUCP: ucbvax!cogsci!hullp OR: ucbvax!cogsci.berkeley.edu!hullp
trebor@uunet.uu.net (Robert J Woodhead) (03/25/91)
hullp%cogsci.Berkeley.EDU@ucbvax.berkeley.edu writes: >> That Fujitsu phone was developed with Japanese government money, >> targeted to destroy the Micro-TAC and Motorola. Please understand > These facts (I'm assuming they ARE facts) would only serve to > encourage me to buy the Japanese item. If they're smart enough to > figure out a way to design a competitor to the Micro-TAC that's so > good that it puts an end to the the Micro-TAC, more power to them. You are missing the point. The complaint is that the Japanese government closed it's market to the Micro Tac, and then subsidized the creation of a competitor. Moto is bitching that they didn't get a fair shot -- that the Japanese government didn't let them enter the market until the local boys had a chance to catch up and grab the market share. Even if the new Japanese phone makes the Micro-Tac look like doo-doo, Moto should have gotten their year or two of being "leader of the pack" before being deposed. The Japanese government seems to be very adept at such protectionist manuevers. Perhaps it is because the best and the brightest from the major universities go into the civil service instead of industry. Robert J. Woodhead, Biar Games / AnimEigo, Incs. trebor@foretune.co.jp
robert@uunet.uu.net (Robert L. Oliver) (03/27/91)
john@zygot.ati.com (John Higdon) writes: > Craig Ibbotson <motcid!ibbotson@uunet.uu.net> writes: >> Call me a blind patriot (and possibly a blind Motorola employee) but >> if the two of these portables come up even (as was suggested), I would >> have to think people in the U.S. would opt for the phone that is made >> in America by American workers for an American company. > I must disagree most strenuously with the apparent > statement in the quoted paragraph. Being made in America is NOT a > reason to buy anything. One should buy on the basis of need and > fulfillment. If one's needs are fulfilled by a product and the price > is right, it should be purchased. To buy product just because it is > "American" possibly rewards a company for building inferior wares. > (Definitely not the case with Motorola.) First off, Craig said only that he suggested going with the American phone *IF* it came up even technically and price-wise. Thus one is not rewarding a company for building inferior wares. One is using "American made" to decide a tie. Motorola products are good in large part because Motorola is now using Total Quality techniques that the Japanese learned from Demming (who was originally ignored in the U.S.). Second, [asbestos on, and please don't everyone start a news war, at least not in this group] I seriously believe that the current recession we're in (I don't know about the West Coast, but it's quite evident on the East Coast) is a derivative or our trade imbalance with the Japanese. There are many reasons for this, ranging from simply better/cheaper Japanese products (especially in the past) to unfair Japanese trade practices to incompetent public officials in the U.S. Our government has not only allowed unfair practices to occur, but has further worsened the situation by propping up the economy by selling Treasury paper to the Japanese. The U.S. deficit looms large because the U.S. government is doing things with a huge Visa card that an individual would never be allowed to do. They'd be bankrupt and in court by now. [adding more layers of asbestos] I personally don't want my children or grandchildren flipping burgers for a living. Let's keep some viable companies and jobs in the U.S. by providing quality products and services and buying American whenever reasonable. Robert Oliver Rabbit Software Corp. 215 993-1152 7 Great Valley Parkway East robert@hutch.Rabbit.COM Malvern, PA 19355 ...!uunet!cbmvax!hutch!robert [Moderator's Note: Thanks for your comments, and to avoid the flame war you mention, we probably should close this topic. Thanks to all who have provided input. PAT]
jimmy@tokyo07.info.com (Jim Gottlieb) (03/31/91)
In article <telecom11.239.7@eecs.nwu.edu> kddlab!lkbreth.foretune.co. jp!trebor@uunet.uu.net (Robert J Woodhead) writes: > The complaint is that the Japanese government closed it's market > to the Micro Tac, and then subsidized the creation of a competitor. The issue is very complicated. I never fully understood it until I read an article that explained the whole incident. Now I forget both where I read it and most of the details. But I thought I would point out a major difference in the cellular market here as compared to the U.S. In the U.S., one buys a cellular telephone on the free market and then must pick a carrier. The free market (and carrier kickbacks) keeps the price of equipment low, while the duopoly of cellular carriers in any given market forces the customer to be ripped off, with little real choice. Here in Japan, the duopoly extends to the equipment side. You don't see cellular phones being sold in stores here. Rather, you choose your cellular carrier (either NTT [the telco] or IDO in Tokyo), and they also rent you the telephone. You have very little selection. The NTT hand-held that most people carry around looks quite old-fashioned when comapred to what is sold in the U.S. NTT is now running a large campaign on T.V. and in the print media featuring Bruce Willis, announcing at least three new hand-held cellular phones. Japanese who have come to visit me when I'm in Los Angeles have been impressed with my Mitsubishi 900 hand-held, saying they've never seen such a nice-looking and small unit in Japan. The new NTT-offered sets will change this, but if I understand correctly, they could never offer the Motorola MicroTAC because Motorola's phones are not compatible with the NTT system. I bet if Motorola were a Japanese company, rather than cry to the government about there being no cellular systems in Tokyo compatible with their equipment, they would have seen to it to build compatible telephones.