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Posts with tag cellular

Sprint Tops Rivals With $99 Unlimited Everything Plan

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Feb 29th 2008 at 3:05PM

Sprint Offers $99 Unlimited Everything Plan
Spint has just announced that it lost $29.5 billion loss for the last quarter. Most of the loss is due to the purchase of Nextel, but Sprint has also been hemorrhaging customers as well. Dropped calls and poor customer service have become real sticking points, even topping a Google search test for which cell phone provider is "the suckiest."

But Sprint isn't ready to lay down and die just yet. The beleagured provider is looking to upstage its competitors $99 unlimited calling plans. AT&T and Verizon offer unlimited voice for $99, and T-Mobile adds unlimited text messaging, but Sprint is offering unlimited everything at the now industry standard price point of just under a Benjamin. Unlimited calling, texting, data, e-mail, Sprint TV, GPS, and push to talk. Matching that offering on Verizon or AT&T would easily push your monthly bill to over $140.

We're glad to see a U.S. provider finally offer a reasonable flat fee plan for unlimited everything. If Sprint can successfully tackle some of its other issues, such as network reliability, it may be able to put significant pressure on other companies to match its offer.

From CNET and Consumerist

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Video: The Switched iPhone Verdict

by Switched Staff, posted Jul 4th 2007 at 8:02PM



Now that we've had a few days to play around with our shiny new iPhones, here's what we think.
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Make Cell Calls Over Wi-Fi & Save Minutes

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Jun 27th 2007 at 2:14PM

Engadget Hands On With T-Mobile's Hot Spot @ Home
Our pals over at Engadget got their tech-greedy mitts on T-Mobile's new Hot Spot @ Home service and have some early impressions. Hot Spot @ Home uses a phone with Wi-Fi to switch between the standard cellular GSM network and Wi-Fi connections for unlimited voice over IP minutes. This basically means that you can potentially save mega money and minutes by using WiFi instead of your cell phone provider's network.

T-Mobile provides you with a Linksys router, but if you already have a Wi-Fi router (and you should) you can simply use yours by entering the network ID and key. Hot-Spot @ Home also comes packaged with free access to all of T-Mobile's hot spots around the country, like those at airports and a certain ubiquitous coffee chain. Seems like a pretty good deal for only $10 a month.

The Engadget folks were pretty pleased with the service -- though it wasn't with out its quirks. Switching from GSM to Wi-Fi wasn't exactly seamless. There was usually a delay of a second or more, and they experienced a few dropped calls. Also, all data is transfered over T-Mobile's cellular network, even when the phone is connected to Wi-Fi.

T-Mobile's Hot Spot @ Home will initially be available with either the Nokia 8086 or Samsung's SGH-T409. Both are pretty standard flip phones (Bluetooth, cameras etc.) with Wi-Fi built in.

Check out the complete review and a hands on gallery at Engadget.

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Landlines to Follow the Dinosaurs

by Terrence O'Brien, posted May 15th 2007 at 1:16PM

Landlines to Follow Dinosaurs
Like Tom Cruise's career, telephone landlines are on a path to extinction. That's according to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which, apparently, has grown bored of studying its usual fodder of killer viruses, avian flu and other flesh eating bugs.

The study reports that more than 25 percent of folks under 30 have ditched traditional landline phones in favor of an all-mobile diet. In addition, people in lower-income households are dropping landlines in record numbers, deciding that their money is better spent on cell phones.

According to the study, landline abandonment not only affects the lifespans of the Bells. It also affects 911 emergency service providers and polling organizations which no longer have access to a huge chunk of the population.

Of course, the real losers are telemarketers who are surely shaking in their boots.

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From Slashdot
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Newer, Faster Cellular Internet

by Terrence O'Brien, posted May 9th 2007 at 2:13PM

Newer, Faster Cellular InternetThe brand new Samsung Blackjack, Nokia N75 and even the Treo 755p (new as of today) are already dinosaurs. Sure, their 3G (3rd generation) wireless data technology is blazing fast -- but that's when compared to other, older phone networks. 3G can still only download about as quick as a slow DSL line. With a theoretical maximum speed of 1.8 Megabits per second, you'd need days to download a feature film over the air. Actual speeds are around half that.

Thankfully, several companies, including Nokia, Ericsson, Vodafone, and T-Mobile, have joined forces to form the LTE/SAE (Long Term Evolution/Systems Architecture Initiative). LTE/SAE was created to formalize and study a new standard that could potentially boost download speeds to 100 megabits per second -- a more than 50-fold increase. That's twice as fast as even the speediest land line available for home use -- Verizon FIOS -- which maxes out at 50 megabits a second.

3G made mobile Internet use-able, but 3G LTE could make it attractive to even the casual consumer. If LTE data networks are reliable enough the public may choose to abandon land-based data pipes altogether, the same way many have ditched land line phones in favor of their cells.

LTE is based on current 3G standards, unlike its next-gen competitor WiMax, which will likely top out at 10 Megabits per second. That means upgrade costs would be lower and interoperability would be easier to maintain. The LTE standard should be ready for prime time by 2010.

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From Textually.org
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Zap Impolite Cell Callers

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Apr 13th 2007 at 2:30PM

Cell Phone JammerFists are one way to stop someone from rudely gabbing on his cell phone in public. But if assault ain't your thing, you might consider the equally illegal JAM1000 from Spycatcher. This wonderful little gizmo kills nearly all cell phone chatter within a 50-foot radius.

Is some teenage girl ruining a movie for you? Are you done listening to the guy you're sharing an elevator with sweet talk his mistress? Does that business woman have no respect for the fact that you're currently at a funeral? Zap them all! Just be careful not to gloat so openly since, after all, it's against the law in most places to even own a cell phone jammer.

From Spy Review
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