A pair of friends in Pennsylvania decided to pursue the world record for text messaging. After they reached 217,000 texts, they learned that one of their providers, T-Mobile, really had an upper limit to “unlimited” texting, and sending 217,000 texts led to a $26,000 phone bill that cost $27 just to mail.
mobile phones
Man Runs Up $26,000 T-Mobile Bill Pursuing Text Message Record; Thumbs in Stable Condition
By 4.23.09
By 8.22.08
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“Condom!” is a free ringtone for your phone. It’s being promoted in India as part of a campaign to normalize condom use, but there’s no reason you can’t put it on your own phone to impress and amaze fellow diners, bus riders, church goers, etc. It’s also catchy! [Crave]
Couple Can't Get Rid Of Cellphones No Matter What They Do
By 8.19.08
The sales rep did his song and dance and insisted that I test out the phone service for 2 weeks. I said no a few times but he wouldn’t hear it. Well, he gave me 2 phones and 2 phone numbers. No credit check, no money whatsoever. I walked out of the store with 2 free phones and some paper work.
By 8.13.08
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Best Buy will start selling the iPhone on September 7th, making it the only retailer other than Apple and AT&T to offer the device. [Associated Press]
That Sure Is An Expensive Phone Ya Got There, Mr. Hobo
By 7.14.08
Fine, fine, the iPhone is decent and all that, but here’s a funny clip from “The Soup” that puts the lie to that whole “It’s so much cheaper!” hype. And if you’re not an iPhone owner and need even more reason to feel good about that, check out Wisebread’s rant against people who stand in line for gadgets.
Court Allows Lawsuit Against T-Mobile To Proceed
By 10.11.07
On Wednesday, the California Supreme Court refused to review two earlier findings, which killed T-Mobile’s final chance at blocking a lawsuit against its early-termination fees and practice of locking phones. This is the third time T-Mobile has tried to stop the case from proceeding, and both a state trial judge and a state appeals court have already rejected T-Mobile’s claims that its customers were required by the terms of their contracts to submit to binding arbitration.
Class-Action Lawsuits Filed Against Apple, AT&T Over iPhone
By 10.10.07
A class-action lawsuit was filed on October 5th against the unholy duo of Apple and AT&T, charging that they intentionally broke unlocked headsets via the last firmware update, and conspired illegally to monopolize parts of the mobile phone market by preventing consumers from using any services other than those provided by the two companies. The suit charges the two companies, either jointly or separately, with six formal counts, including “alleged violations of the California Business and Profession’s Code, The Cartwright Act, The Sherman Act, The Federal Trade Commission Act, The Communications Act of 1934, and The Telecommunications Act of 1996, as well as rules and policies established by the FCC.”
8 Bluetooth Headsets Reviewed
By 10.4.07
A professed non-early-adopter has reviewed 8 different Bluetooth headsets in a range of prices, scoring them on design, functionality, sound quality, and value. Her favorite from the group: the huge Plantronics Voyager 520, which sells for around $100. Coming in last was the $100 Samsung WEP410, which kept falling out of her ear.
New $40 SIM Lets You Call From Anywhere For Cheap
By 9.28.07
[UPDATE: The numbers quoted in this post are B.S. Skip it and go directly to the follow-up a week later, where we find out that the company’s CEO grossly misrepresented the savings on this card.]
Coming Soon To Paris, Bluetooth Ads For Mobile Phones
By 9.14.07
Marketers in France are planning to beam location-specific ads to your phone via Bluetooth, the common short-range wireless transfer technology that’s now included in nearly every new cellphone, reports Reuters. Currently under consideration is just what sort of ad would be compelling enough to tempt consumers to opt in on such messages, since there’s no way advertisers can force you to accept Bluetooth communications.
"Ringles" Latest Brilliant Scheme From Recording Industry
By 9.10.07
Starting next month, you can get your fill of ringles in major stores like Wal-Mart, Target, and Best Buy. Brainstormed by Sony, the ringle is a sort of souped-up CD single—”one hit and maybe one remix and an older track—and one ringtone, on a CD with a slip-sleeve cover.” Sony BMG will release 50 titles in October and November, while Universal will release 10 to 20. Each ringle will cost between $5.98 and $6.98. (Wanna bet which price point the labels will go for?)
Tape On Your Wet Cellphone Won’t Help You At All
By 10.18.06
In response to our post on Saving A Wet Cellphone, and specifically the advice we for some reason gave about trying to trick companies to pay for dropping the blasted phone in the sink by taping over the water damage sticker, an anonymous tipster wrote:
Cell Phones Scream When You’re Mugged
By 10.4.06
Does society need more ear-piercing shrieks? The car alarm. The house alarm. The fire alarm. The unbearable sound of small, obnoxious children at play. And now, the stolen cellular phone alarm.
Advertisers Want to Text You
By 9.26.06
The do-not-call list added hurdles to telemarketers trying to cold call to sell you vinyl siding. Then Tivo slowed down television advertising. Spam-filters, as much as they still kinda suck, are constantly being tweaked to limit the influx of marketing to your inbox. That leaves texting, the last great frontier in intrusive advertising.
Verizon Wireless: “You’re All Wet.”
By 9.22.06
Katy calls Verizon Wireless when the screen on her Motorola RAZR breaks for no reason. The CSR tells her she must have gotten it wet. Katy points out that for this to have happened, an unprecedented miracle would have had to occur, in which her purse’s contents suddenly transmuted to liquid then immediately transmuted back. They strongly insinuate she’s lying.
Say Cheese! You’re About To Be Robbed.
By 8.7.06
Making a withdrawal? An amateur photographer in the bank lobby pointing his camera at you? It might be best not to pose with those large, pregnant sacks, swollen with wads of cash and tattooed with dollar symbols. Smile! Say Cheese! You’re about to be robbed.
UPDATE: Sprint Loves To Give Out Your Billing Address
By 7.10.06
After getting blogo-lambasted for a gaping security hole that allowed anyone to call up and snag your name and home address by punching in your Sprint cellphone number into an automated system, Sprint has closed that selfsame privacy aperture.
Sprint Loves To Give Out Your Billing Address
By 7.10.06
Sprint is taking the lead for crappy customer verification after Boing Boing spilled that their new international call identity verification service will spill the name and address of the owner of a particular phone number just by typing that number into a robot-manned 1-800 number.
