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View Full Version : Is Tenerife a technology backwater?



Gfplux
03-07-2011, 09:42
I am preparing for my next trip to the island. It has struck me that Tenerife the island, the tourist industry and the residents have not yet embraced modern technology.
An example is the lack of wifi in rental apartments.
Another example is the lack of iPhone and iPad apps in the iPad store. (I can not speak for Android)
If you search in the store for Tenerife you find only 21 for the iPhone and 6 for the iPad.
If you compare this with Luxembourg (an island in the centre of Europe with half the resident population of Tenerife) where I live - 162 for the iPhone and 45 for the iPad.
Can someone tell me why this is?

onelegnofeet
03-07-2011, 09:48
I agree BUT,its an expense most could do without installing wifi into their letting apartments .plus to counter act the cost they may have to raise their Tariffs .Which may affect their lettings ,I go away to get away from this to relax and chill so i would be a bit miffed to find prices had gone up for something i dont need ..........just my opinion

Jackie
03-07-2011, 10:06
You do like to carry on about the lack of Wifi in rental apartments don't you? ;)

Many of the residents, as in ex - pats have embraced modern technology, it's just that we chose to leave it all behind when we moved here. Yes Tenerife is about 20 years behind other places in Europe but we manage. You mention Luxembourg which as you say has half the residents of Tenerife BUT is smack bang in the Centre of Europe. Tenerife may have double the amount of residents BUT it is smack bang in the middle of a big Ocean 2,000 odd miles away from the rest of Europe. Everybody survives here with the technology we have so I wouldn't worry, it's not life threatening.;)

MrsTT
03-07-2011, 10:12
Tenerife is a tiny island off the North Coast of Africa, about a thousand miles from Spain or other European connections. They were still using camels and donkeys for transport in the South 25 years ago! We have been here 6 years and have seen the computer owning population rise dramatically. In the first year we were here it was almost unheard of for people to own their own computers, hence the need for internet shops like ours. We have seen a dramatic decline in local regulars as Islanders have embraced the new technology with enthusiasm and with the fibre link set to break the monopoly of Telefonica, who knows what might happen.
Try to think back to the UK around 2000 when BT had the stranglehold on all the phone lines. We lived in a lttle village and had to try to get 300 people to sign up for a line before they would bring the internet in on ADSL. As the village only had 100 homes that was never going to happen!! Then the competition started and lo & behold the village was online!!

Thanks Jackie - you were writing whilst I was composing. It is amazing how we all manage here with such a terrrible lack of speed!

onelegnofeet
03-07-2011, 10:22
Yep seen this post on 3 sites now ............though i bet i know one that it wont remain on ,as its the weekend !!!

SPEED .............its not that great here in the UK !!!

tonypub
03-07-2011, 10:25
I am preparing for my next trip to the island. It has struck me that Tenerife the island, the tourist industry and the residents have not yet embraced modern technology.
An example is the lack of wifi in rental apartments.
Another example is the lack of iPhone and iPad apps in the iPad store. (I can not speak for Android)
If you search in the store for Tenerife you find only 21 for the iPhone and 6 for the iPad.
If you compare this with Luxembourg (an island in the centre of Europe with half the resident population of Tenerife) where I live - 162 for the iPhone and 45 for the iPad.
Can someone tell me why this is?you have obviously booked the wrong apartment,your fault.

BoPeep
03-07-2011, 10:32
We have WI FI all winter when we live in our villa but do not allow the visitors to use it in the summer because it is unreliable so it will just give rise to complaints.

Its a shame but it is really not worth the hassle.

Indigo
03-07-2011, 10:50
IMO people here don't need to submerse themselves in the "newest" technology like they do in other countries. People seem happy enough without becoming obsessed with the latest gadgets. I quite like it as people actually interact with each other over here, unlike people i know in the uk who will sit in the same room talking to each other through their laptops or iphones :crazy:

cheery
03-07-2011, 10:55
The idea of going on holiday is to get away from all the trappings of modern life. Being connected to the office is not the be all and end all of everything. If you need it for games, web browsing etc go to a cafe.

Alternatively you could go to the beach, sit by the pool at your villa or apartment, go for a walk along the sea front, in the hills etc etc...............

Jackie
03-07-2011, 12:15
The idea of going on holiday is to get away from all the trappings of modern life. Being connected to the office is not the be all and end all of everything. If you need it for games, web browsing etc go to a cafe.

Alternatively you could go to the beach, sit by the pool at your villa or apartment, go for a walk along the sea front, in the hills etc etc...............

Exactly Cheery. I can't see the point of a holiday if you have to be in contact with the office all the time. OK I understand some people who run their own businesses may need to check in etc. but there are plenty of places where they can go for internet connection. We run our own company in the UK and when we first started holidaying here my husbands bloody phone did not stop ringing with work related calls. When he comes over now he makes people in the UK aware that if it is business related then they phone before 10a.m. because after that his phone is switched off or left indoors when we go out. A holiday is just that, a time to relax and get away from all the everyday c**p that work brings.

Airazz
03-07-2011, 16:30
Apple apps are blocked in Tenerife? Why? As far as I have noticed, everything works just fine for android. Why would they be blocked for iPhone?

CIM
03-07-2011, 16:41
First thing I check when booking accommodation is whether or not they have Wifi. Doesn't matter if I am in Spain as I have it on my phone but outside of Spain it is a priority - holiday or not. My missus likes chatting with her friends too, sending holiday snap to Facebook etc. It is something that is coming to be expected in good quality accommodation now.

cheery
03-07-2011, 17:02
So if people had found a super bargain, beautiful accommodation, brilliant location you would turn it down because you couldn't send a picture straight away to friends in London, Edinburgh etc?

I have a laptop at work to browse when we are quiet, I have a Blackberry to send information to suppliers or friends. It also takes pictures for quality issues with products. However, when I am on holiday I couldn't care less about the outside world. i don't buy newspapers, I only see the news if it is on in a bar I am in. A holiday is just that. To get away from everything that life throws at you. When I go home I catch up with all that is necessary.

CIM
03-07-2011, 17:13
So if people had found a super bargain, beautiful accommodation, brilliant location you would turn it down because you couldn't send a picture straight away to friends in London, Edinburgh etc?

I donīt send pictures, my other half does and given the option of being able to or not being able to why shouldn't she be able to do this in the year 2011???!
I run a couple of businesses and have numerous websites. I like to be able to check on any one of these at any time I like when I am paying good money to stay in good accommodation in the year 2011.
If a hotel doesnt have wifi options, then that says a lot about the hotel to me and it is probably not a place I wish to stay in. There is simply no excuse not to have it any more. Private accommodation is trickier for the owner but on touristic complexes I see no reason why it should not be offered.

delderek
03-07-2011, 18:50
I think this may be an age related thing, many of the younger generation expect instant communications and wifi. older people don't understand what its all about, and yes Tenerife is well behind the times, and many more people will be looking for wifi in their apartment in the future. It is now becoming the Norm in many holiday areas. So Tenerife apartment owners,,,ignore it at your peril.

Balcony
03-07-2011, 19:13
I would love to have wifi (broadband) in our apartment, as I would a telephone, but the cost is prohibitive, since the apartment is empty a lot. I do tend to use a net cafe.

However, I did trundle over a few times with my laptop and bought a dongle locally, which worked fine, but trying to understand how the tariff top up works seems to have slipped past me and I lost useage, and again, there are huge gaps in in us being there, requiring (I assume) re-registering the dongle.

I didn't try the free wifi that quite a few cafes offer, mainly as I did not want to carry around, what becomes, a heavy object. I'll see how my new phone works when I get there next.

doreen
03-07-2011, 19:20
I was asked to provide wi-fi by one Swallow couple (booking nearly 20 weeks in all) ... they had an excellent deal with me, and when I said it would cost 20 euros a week extra, they said No (that price was actually at a loss for me). Some other guests would appreciate it, but it has not been a deal breaker and the complex is now offering free basic access around the pool.

MaxineC
03-07-2011, 20:47
Apple apps are blocked in Tenerife? Why? As far as I have noticed, everything works just fine for android. Why would they be blocked for iPhone?

No they're not!! I have an iphone and use a MacBook... no apps are blocked???

We run an internet based business, and though speed & reliabilty can be frustrating, we're not as much in the dark ages as some of you think.... anyway, when the connection drops it's a perfect excuse to sit on the terrace with a nice glass of something until it comes back on... :D

poker
03-07-2011, 21:21
Do you get less sun without connexxion to the net ? :-)

Hopefully within a few months (or years:-( ) We will get faster internet with the fiberoptic kable between here and the peninsular .

Sent using Tapatalk.

Gfplux
05-07-2011, 14:13
Re: Tenerife a technology backwater?
As the original poster ( here and on other forums) may I comment further.
My question is motivated by my caring about Tenerife as a holiday destination.
Having been a number of times I want to continue coming but am aware that Sun and cheap beer and food does not sustain a holiday destination for the long term. The difference between a successful. And an unsuccessful destination can be as little as a drop of 5% in visitors.
All resorts should be doing EVERYTHING in their power to attract and increase the number of visitors.
Technology is just ONE of those things that can make a visitor choose a particular destination.
Just because cheap beer is not a driver in my decision making does not make cheap beer beer an un-important thing to offer the visitor.
I for one will continue to lobby about this as it is important to the Island the visitor and me.
Do not underestimate the speed with which the majority of visitors attitude can change.
Tenerife should not continue to be left behind.

Balcony
05-07-2011, 14:23
I'll drink to that!
No they're not!! I have an iphone and use a MacBook... no apps are blocked???

We run an internet based business, and though speed & reliabilty can be frustrating, we're not as much in the dark ages as some of you think.... anyway, when the connection drops it's a perfect excuse to sit on the terrace with a nice glass of something until it comes back on... :D

Added after 8 minutes:

I tend to agreee with your sentiments here. It's true that many people are used to connecting, but like many things it's down to money. There are a lot of absent owners who may or may not generate sufficient rentals to actually make this worthwhile. The cost can't simply be absorbed and has to added to rental cost. It's maybe fine in hotels, where they can generate additional income from food/drinks etc, but in a block of individual apartments it's not so easy. Plus, technology can falter (to some extent) as wonderful fibreoptics meet old-fashioned copper wires that run within apartment complexes, often buried in concrete.

Re: Tenerife a technology backwater?
As the original poster ( here and on other forums) may I comment further.
My question is motivated by my caring about Tenerife as a holiday destination.
Having been a number of times I want to continue coming but am aware that Sun and cheap beer and food does not sustain a holiday destination for the long term. The difference between a successful. And an unsuccessful destination can be as little as a drop of 5% in visitors.
All resorts should be doing EVERYTHING in their power to attract and increase the number of visitors.
Technology is just ONE of those things that can make a visitor choose a particular destination.
Just because cheap beer is not a driver in my decision making does not make cheap beer beer an un-important thing to offer the visitor.
I for one will continue to lobby about this as it is important to the Island the visitor and me.
Do not underestimate the speed with which the majority of visitors attitude can change.
Tenerife should not continue to be left behind.

babybadger
05-07-2011, 15:11
I guess its because the Locals prefer to talk face to face, you know, the sort of thing you did years ago, and actually got to know people. I would rather leave it all behind and sit in a bar without someone continually checking their facebook etc. Leave the devices at home and connect with people....

"If I let you know where I'm going, I won't be on holiday" - Ethan Hunt - Mission Impossible 2

Added after 2 minutes:


I donīt send pictures, my other half does and given the option of being able to or not being able to why shouldn't she be able to do this in the year 2011???!
I run a couple of businesses and have numerous websites. I like to be able to check on any one of these at any time I like when I am paying good money to stay in good accommodation in the year 2011.
If a hotel doesnt have wifi options, then that says a lot about the hotel to me and it is probably not a place I wish to stay in. There is simply no excuse not to have it any more. Private accommodation is trickier for the owner but on touristic complexes I see no reason why it should not be offered.

Wifi is a choice of Holiday Hotels, not a necessity, a Business Hotel .... now that is different....If it's that important the book into an expensive business hotel. I am happy if I am in a Hotel and chilling by the pool, without someone continually on the phone in ear shot , telling their friends what a great holiday they are having , while they are ruining mine...

BTW - you should try being in Santa Cruz if you want Wifi etc, loads of places , because it is more
Business orientated...

Added after 2 minutes:


I am preparing for my next trip to the island. It has struck me that Tenerife the island, the tourist industry and the residents have not yet embraced modern technology.
An example is the lack of wifi in rental apartments.
Another example is the lack of iPhone and iPad apps in the iPad store. (I can not speak for Android)
If you search in the store for Tenerife you find only 21 for the iPhone and 6 for the iPad.
If you compare this with Luxembourg (an island in the centre of Europe with half the resident population of Tenerife) where I live - 162 for the iPhone and 45 for the iPad.
Can someone tell me why this is?

It sounds like Luxembourg is boring if the residents compare the number of iPhones and Ipads to another country, you should get out more...