Mobile Wiseguy
Translator
- On a Carnival Cruise for the next week. Thanks Josh Linker your vacation linker. Super bowl on the water
Verizon Wireless Plans and Accessories
Phonescoop news, info and reviews
- Review: Samsung Galaxy Attain 4G for MetroPCS February 4, 2012Samsung brings a mid-range Galaxy-class device to MetroPCS's network in the Attain 4G. This simpler smartphone packs some surprises, along with some disappointments. […]
- Motorola Looking to Win 2.25% of Apple's iPhone Sales February 4, 2012Court documents reveal that Motorola is seeking 2.25% of Apple's iPhone sales in order to license the standards-essential patents that Motorola holds. That percentage amounts to about $15 per iPhone (unsubsidized iPhone 4S 16GB). Motorola and Apple are amidst a patent battle in German courts, and the document came to light as part of this week's pr […]
- AT&T Asks FCC to Place Conditions of Dish's Network Plans February 4, 2012AT&T has requested that the Federal Communications Commission set a number of requirements in place before Dish Network can build out its planned LTE-Advanced 4G network. AT&T wants Dish beholden to similar requirements levied on LightSquared. It would be required to cover 100 million POPs within 33 months and reach 260 million POPs within 69 months. […]
Archive for the ‘at&t’ Category
AT&T is scrambling to save its T-Mobile merger plans
AT&T to Woo and Fight Justice Department on Antitrust Lawsuit according to NYTimes.com. AT&T needs merger because Verizon Wireless LTE network will dominate the industry with all the new products and services. If I was developing a service or product to be used on a 4G network would I not use the largest, fastest and most reliable network and if things stay the same that will be Verizon Wireless.
The future is data service in real time and LTE is the pathway that most of the world is choosing to follow.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/03/technology/att-to-woo-and-fight-justice-department-on-antitrust-lawsuit.html
What will texting cost while overseas with at&t wireless phone
I am on the way to Trinidad and just got off the phone with at&t. The customer service representative argued with me about texting outside the country. The at&t representative said that it would cost to send and receive text when outside the country. I told him if you have a text package the incoming messages would come out of your package. He said this is what he does for a living and I should go to att.com to verify what he said.
This is how at&t wireless charges for texting overseas. If you have a text package your incoming text come out of the package. For example if you have unlimited texting you can receive unlimited incoming text while overseas, if you have the $5 200 text package you can get 200 free incoming text while overseas but if you go over your package the the cost is $.50 a text or $1.30 for a picture. Out going messages are always billed, see below for more details.
This was copied directly from att.com website.
Sending Text, Picture, and Video Messages When Outside the U.S.
Text Messages $0.50 per message sent
Picture and Video Messages $1.30 per message sent
Home pay-per-use or package rates apply to all text, picture, or video messages received when roaming internationally. See your Rate Plan Brochure for details.
Data usage pay-per-use rate is $.0195/KB, except in Canada where rate is $.015/KB.
To save on data usage when roaming internationally with your smartphone, iPhone, or laptop see att.com/worldpackages.
Which Tablet is the best choice for you?
So you’ve decided to get a tablet PC, but you don’t know how to go about choosing the right solution for your needs. Here are a few tips that might help in your decision.
1. First and foremost which is the hardest decision….which operating system do I want to go with? Do I want to go with a chosen leader for ease of use like the Apple iPad? Do I want to have the freedom to add widgets withing Android Honeycomb? Or are you still addicted to your BlackBerry (in an Apple and Android World) that you want to continue the legacy with a BlackBerryPlaybook? This isn’t the easiest of decisions. The last quarter of this year we will see an influx of Tablet makers and this is one decision that cannot be judged by price and specs. Is it for social networking, remote access to your server, or just looking for an easy way to access your company mail on the go.
2. Next…this decision doesn’t get much easier. Which screen size should I choose? They typically range from the small 7 inch screen to the large 13.3 inch screen. Remember, that bigger isn’t always better or more expensive. Unlike desktop monitors, tablet monitors are meant to be small and handy to carry anywhere. Choose a screen that you are comfortable with, but remember sometimes the bigger they are the shorter the battery life will be!
3. What kind of performance are you looking for? Single core processor? Dual core processor or does it even matter? With a world of tablets coming to the table performance doesn’t always = price. The best “bang for your buck” might be in the middle of the road so avoid the most expensive tablets (unless you have money to burn) and check the consumer reviews of the models you have in your sights.
4. Are you looking for expandability? Determining what type of ports might actually determine which operating system you choose. Typical ports include Type I and II PC card slots, SD card reader, USB ports, VGA port, docking connector, microphone jack, and headphone jack, but Apple limits you to only the microphone jack so expandability is what your looking for than an Android tablet might be what your looking for. Take into account what you might be doing on this tablet in a year to make a better informed decision. 5. Battery life is more important than you may think! Here is a great Wiki that shows a complete comparison of the available models out there with their run times. Once you find a style and OS of your future tablet, make sure it meets your demands for battery life.
The Mobilewiseguy will help guide you with all the different choices and features so contact me.
At&t buys TMobile 39 Billion
AT&T just announced it will buy T-Mobile USA for $39 billion. If the transaction gets approved by the government and closes in a year as planned, it will create the nation’s largest wireless carrier by far.
While this is great news for both companies, it’s an awful idea for consumers – and I desperately hope the US antitrust authorities rake this merger over the coals.
An AT&T/T-Mobile merger at least makes more sense than the silly T-Mobile/Sprint idea which was being bandied about. Both carriers use the same technologies: GSM, HSPA+ and LTE. While they’re on different frequency bands, radios which use all of the relevant bands are becoming easier to build.
The merger neatly solves T-Mobile’s long-term problem of not having enough spectrum for LTE, the 4G technology which will soon be a global standard. It gives T-Mobile’s struggling parent, Deutsche Telekom, a gigantic cash infusion. And it lets AT&T once again position itself as the number-one carrier against Verizon Wireless, which leapfrogged AT&T technologically this year with Verizon’s 4G LTE launch.
AT&T is ahead of T-Mobile on building LTE. T-Mobile is far ahead of AT&T on building HSPA+, a intermediate 4G technology that fits right between the carriers’ existing 3G networks and LTE. Together, they could have a smooth and powerful nationwide network.
Let’s Talk and Simplexity stopped selling at&t cell phones online.
AT&T is no longer going to allow some online retailers from selling AT&T phones. The details are still a little fuzzy at this time, however word has come from both LetsTalk as well as Wirefly. According to a statement that LetsTalk sent out to their affiliates, this is going to go into effect on March 8th.
“We’re reaching out to let you know of an upcoming change to our carrier offering. Effective March 8th, 2011, LetsTalk as well as other web indirect agents, including Simplexity (Wirefly), will no longer be able to offer AT&T Wireless as a carrier option to our customers.”
In terms of the details coming from Wirefly, they did not give a specific date, however are still mentioning March as the time when AT&T phones sales will stop stating that;
“Unfortunately, circumstances prevent us from being able to deliver on this promise with regard to AT&T phones. It is therefore with regret that I must inform you that effective March, 2011, we will no longer offer AT&T products and services on Wirefly.com.”
All said and done, this seems rather disappointing. After all, companies such as Wirefly have been a perfect spot for those looking to shell out a little less cash at the time of purchase. Take Wirefly for example, they often had the phones priced a bit lower then direct with the carrier, but the also offered free accessories from time to time as well as free activation.
With that, the confusion comes in with which other retailers are going to be affected. And one that we have our eye on, but have not seen anything either way on, is Amazon Wireless.
I must also change my at&t links that I have in the top left corner of this Blog because I am also effected by this move. I was using Simplexity for at&t on the top right but now that link takes you directly to at&t’s site.
how to use your smartphone as a wireless modem
The other day I needed another internet connection for my laptop so I downloaded an application called PDAnet on my laptop. PDAnet allows you to teather your PDA to your computer and use the PDA as a wireless modem. Now I can use my Motorola Backflip as a modem to access the internet on my laptop and desktop.
I have heard about this application before but I never took the time and looked into it. I have a Verizon Wireless data card that I use for my laptop and desktop computers. I have used the Verizon Wireless data card for all my internet needs for a few years now.
My girlfriend is always using my data card on the desktop so I tried out PDAnet and to my surprise it was as easy as 123.
I did a Google search for pdanet and the first website I saw on the search I clicked on it and download the software specific for Vista and Android. The installation process took less than 5 minutes to get it up an running. The internet speed is remarkably fast and it has not given me any issues as of yet, plus because I am using an at&t Android phone I still can talk on the phone while surfing the web from my laptop.
I do have a warning at&t has limits on your data now and you can easily go over using your phone as a modem. I have unlimited data with at&t that I am grandfather in on but I will still have to be cautious because at&t and the other wireless carriers do not want you to do this with your PDA phone without paying for the teathering feature. The teathering feature with most wireless providers range in price from $20 to $30 a month and the usage is limited to 2Gb to 5GB.
The PDAnet application that I downloaded is a great solution for anyone who needs to use a computer on the road. I now have another option to connect my computers to web.
The PDAnet allowed me to surf sites on any computer with my Backflip but it would not let me go to secure sites (https) unless I upgraded the PDAnet for a one time fee of $15.95. I paid the one time fee of $15.95 and now I am able to go to any site without any problems. This fee is transferable if you change Android phones and it can be used on any computer.
PDAnet works with most smartphones and operating systems (Blackberry, Apple OS, Android and Palm).
Tiered data plans are being offer by three of the top four wireless providers
The wireless price war continues with data plans. Three of the top 4 wireless carriers are now offering tiered data plans to better suit there customers needs.
At&t started the tiered data pricing followed last week by Verizon Wireless and now T-Mobile is jumping on the bandwagon.
http://www.rcrwireless.com/article/20101101/CARRIERS/101109996/t-mobile-usa-set-to-roll-out-tiered-data-plans
Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
how to put videos on the web from a cell phone
I wanted to do quick video and post it to the web using my cell phone. I thought it would be easy to take the video and then upload it from the phone to YouTube so it can be used on my Blog.
I only can take a short video with my Blackberry Bold 9700 and send the video through MMS to YouTube. The video is sent as a multimedia message to YouTube and the anyone can see your video on YouTube. After the video is uploaded to Youtube it can be link to websites and or Blogs.
The issue I have is that a MMS video is only 30 seconds and the quality is not as good as normal videos that can be taken with the Blackberry Bold 9700. A normal video can be hours long as long as you have room on your media card.
I have a few other ways to upload longer and better quality videos to YouTube. First is after taking a good quality video with the phone take my media card and use the SD adapter to upload the video from my laptop to YouTube.
Secondly is my Motorola Backflip an Android device let’s me upload videos taken with it directly to YouTube without the 30 second restriction. I am sure it has something to do with Google owning Android mobile operating system and Youtube. My first test was a 5 minute video I took waiting for the draw bridge to open. I realized later more than 2 minutes took way too long to upload directly from the cell phone.
Then I remembered using an application on my Blackberry Bold 9000. It is called Qik, this application allow you to stream the video live and the video can be an hour or more. I stopped using Qik only because it is not supported on my Blackberry Bold 9700. Qik works on many devices Android, iPhones, Windows Mobile and some models of the Blackberry.
Qik is the easiest way to put videos on the web.
Check out some videos on my Qik website.
Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
Pandora is fixed on my unlocked Blackberry 9700 Bold it was the APN setting
Two weeks ago I could not listen to my favorite application Pandora on my Blackberry Bold
9700 which is unlocked from AT&T and being used on T-Mobile data only.
I have used all my applications for over a month without any problems on T-Mobile.
The Bold 9700 unlocked from at&t works only on EDGE which is 2G on T-Mobile, it will not work 3G on other carriers, but I had no problems on the EDGE, I used all the functions, applications including Pandora.
Now about two weeks ago when I tried to use Pandora I was getting an error
(Critical tunnel failure). It would not sign me in to the Pandora application.
So I deleted Pandora and re installed it, that didn’t work. Next I wiped my Blackberry clean, which puts it back to factory settings and erases all of the content, applications, settings and contacts.
I then reinstalled all my previous contents. That did not work also, I then
decided to download another music radio application to use in the mean time so I downloaded Slacker Radio. Slacker worked for a day then prompt me to re-input my user name and password. I did but Slacker gave me an error saying it was wrong. I then had to reset the password and it would work for a few minutes, then prompt me to re-enter the user name and password again and again.
Now I am of the opinion it was something in the Blackberry software that was causing Pandora and Slacker not to work.
I did some research on the web and came to the conclusion that it was my APN setting. The setting was still set on AT&T which was (wap.cingular).
I put a call into T-Mobile tech support who then transferred me to RIM support and after explaining the problem and stating it was an unlocked Blackberry from AT&T the tech from RIM then told me the APN setting for T-mobile is wap.voicestream.com.
Now Pandora and Slacker is working properly and the fix was simple. The APN
setting is under options, advanced options then TCP/IP. The T-Mobile setting
does not have a user name or password so un-check that box. At&t had
wap@cingular.com and the password was blanked out.
Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
do not call list for cell phones
I was fooled by the email circulated on the web.
The Truth about Cell Phones and the National Do Not Call Registry.
I put this quick post below after seeing that email.
Reminder, all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies this month and you and will start to receive these sales calls. YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS to prevent these calls, call the following number:
THE DO NOT CALL LIST: 1-888-382-1222
Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.