Lots of chatter on the Internet around AT&T laying off between 10,000 and 15,000 employees or about 4 percent of its workforce. Of course, this is not surprising as everybody is laying off people right now. Unlike previous times, this is a real layoff, not a voluntary buyout.

I’d imagine, though, that with 160,000 plus workers, AT&T is bloated just like many government and private companies. It’s always sad to hear when someone / anyone loses their job. It’s especially discouraging when it happens during the Christmas holiday season.

This layoff is particularly interesting because of how it might affect iPhone sales and service. However, it appears that the layoffs are targeted toward employees who are primarily on the voice side of the business. The traditional voice business has been steadily losing customers to wireless / cell phone service for the last several years. AT&T also said that they would be hiring employees on their more profitable cell phone business.

These layoffs AND hiring come on the heels of consumers moving rapidly to adopt cell phones as their primary communication method.

Times are a-changing indeed in this industry. There so many cell phone / pda options for people now that consumers will likely see some real benefits from these slow economic times. For example, one of the latest rumors is that Walmart will start selling a $99 iPhone. The rumor continues that this will be a 4G version which was very popular, especially when the first iPod Touches were released.

Additionally, Google, of course, launched their heralded G1 a couple of months back. Reviews of this device have been lukewarm. But, it does speak to the fact that competition is healthy and will get even more intense as mobile device manufacturers try to knock off the king of the hill – Apple.

However, I don’t see widespread consumer adoption of any one device or operator until one of the big carriers drops their cost / min, cost / text, cost / data plan significantly. All of the operators continue to hold onto what little margins they have by increasing prices in one area or the other.

I know this is true for the iPhone for example. One cannot buy an Apple iPhone without at least buying the $30 data plan. And, a minimum, ya gotta have texting. Kaching … add at least $5 per month for 200 messages. And finally, ya also gotta get a minimum voice plan of $70. That’s a WHOPPING $105 for an individual plan. Talk about sockin’ it to you!

And, what is this nonsense about being charged to pay your bill? How absurd is that? If you decide to use a “live” operator rather than an automated system, you “could” be subject to a fee.

Remember the good old days when you went to fill up your gas tank. The attendant came out washed your windows, checked your oil, and then filled up your tank? Some of them even shook you hand.

No more …

True price reductions will only come from healthy competition, both on the DEVICE side and on the PLAN side. I applaud Google for bring some competition to the device side. But, hey, these devices are pretty much a commodity anyway.

One of the big carriers needs to start pushing the envelope on cellular rate plans. Then, the average consumer can begin to see the real benefits of affordable pricing.

Call your congressman today!

I’ve been a big fan of the Garmin brand of GPS units for a long time. I own two personal Garmin GPS units, one for my wife and one for my self. In fact, I believe that dedicated GPS units in general are more useful devices than those integrated into PDAs and my own Apple iPhone. The reason is simple, it’s just less complicated and less things to worry about breaking.

Garmin has been steadily increasing the sizes of their LCD screens, which is a great benefit for those of us who need glasses even to read a 15″ laptop monitor. And, the announcement of the GPSMAP 696 is no exception. It comes with a gorgeous 7 inch portrait screen, which makes it possible to see the whole approach path on one screen.

The other thing that Garmin has been doing very well is making their LCD screens bright enough to be seen even in bright daylight. This is one of the biggest fault of many of the other lesser name brands. I can’t tell you how useful a big, bright display is when you are either driving or flying an airplane. The GPSMAP 696 has the fantastic feature as well.

Garmin has thought of everything when it comes to this handy little aviation device, including softkeys on the display itself with the most commonly used functions, such as page, weather display, flight plan, zoom in and out, and much more. Other portable Garmin devices are true to form also with easy to read and use function keys for local addresses, nearest gas station, etc. They are indeed a pleasure to work with and use.

The GPSMAP 696 does not stop there. There are so many features built into it that will tempt many pilots to leave their charts at home (althought I personally always like to keep a backup). For example, the GPSMAP 696 offers diplays of jetroutes, minimum altitude, rivers, state boundaries and much much more. Again, this is also true of the multitude of features and mapping/topology detail standard in even their basic portable auto GPS units.

The Garmin GPSMAP 696 has so many features that any pilot would welcome such a great unit in such a small footprint. For example, the database includes runways, taxis, hangars, and even ground transportation, restaurants and lodging. Just like its pedestrian / auto GPS units the GPSMAP 696 can be easily updated by purchasing and downloading new maps from Garmin. This will ensure that the information is always fresh and up to date.

Finally, XM satellite radio is providing audio and weather data to this really cool device. The street price for this unit will like come out between $2,700 and $3,200.

I cannot emphasize enough how great Garmin devices really are to use. Commercial, aviation and personal / auto use Garmin GPS units have the great ease of use and bright LCD screens. Garmin is clearly the leader in this space also because they never fail.

And, by the way, you get get $500 toward the purchase of any Garmin unit by clicking here http://everypathnbeyond.com/Garmin.