We keep hearing about a wi-fi bug that leads to iPhone 5 owners racking up huge data bills when they thought they weren’t on the mobile data network. When Matt contacted Verizon about it, the ever-helpful customer service representative told him that it was just because the iPhone 5 is a 4G LTE device. This is probably the cause of many data complaints that new smartphone users have, but isn’t the case for Matt. He says that he hasn’t changed his browsing habits: using the same amount of data in a shorter amount of time doesn’t mean that he uses more data. At least, not according to the math that everyone except Verizon uses. [More]
Verizon’s iPhone 5 Math: Using The Same Amount Of Data Faster Counts As More Data
By October 17, 2012
2.5 Internet Connections For Every Person On Earth By 2016
By May 30, 2012
According to an annual survey by Cisco, the number of Internet connections will reach 18.9 billion by 2016, driven by a proliferation of smartphones, tablets and other handheld devices. That’s 2.5 for for each person on Earth. [More]
Virgin Killing Off Unlimited Mobile Broadband Plan
By January 27, 2011
Say “sayonara” to another unlimited mobile plan, Virgin is adding a 5GB cap and throttle to its $40 “Unlimited Broadband2Go” MiFi plan. After you surpass the threshold in a month, your transfer speeds will get reduced to 256 kbps or lower for the rest of the month. The changes go into effect Feb 15. Happy Valentines Day. [More]
RadioShack Employee Buys Customer An Accessory In Order To Get System To Approve Phone Upgrade
By September 27, 2010
Has RadioShack gone too far with its sales quotas? Allison wrote us to say that when she tried to upgrade her phone recently, the employee had to add accessories to the transaction before the system would approve it. She said he canceled some, and she ended up paying $2 for “two plastic covers for phones I don’t own.” But she says her mom had an even more bizarre experience at a RadioShack, where the assistant actually paid for the accessories herself. [More]
Get Hard-To-Find Customer Service Numbers With PhoneTell
By August 13, 2010
PhoneTell is adding hundreds of difficult to find customer service numbers to its free call-management app for Android. The new feature goes live next Monday, August 16th. [More]
Gov. Launches Product Recall App For Android
By July 7, 2010
This week USA.gov launched a slew of new apps to help citizens, including a product recall app for Android. [More]
Use This Chart To Pick The Best Smartphone
By June 30, 2010
Lifehacker reader Apollo Clark has put together a matrix that compares seven of the most popular and/or feature-packed smartphones on the market, as well as the iPad for some reason. If you’re planning on trading up to a fancy new phone/multimedia device in the next couple of months, it’s worth checking out to see which phones best align with your wish list. [More]
Idealistic Apple Developed iAds To Keep Apps Affordable
By June 7, 2010
Why did Apple come up with iAds, the company’s new platform for mobile advertising? It had nothing to do with the $60 million Apple has already taken in from companies like Nissan, GE and Best Buy. And it apparently didn’t have anything to do with Apple’s plans to control nearly half of the market for mobile ads. No, the real reason is simple. As CEO Steve Jobs explained it today, Apple created iAds “for one simple reason: to help our developers earn money so they can continue to create free and low-cost apps for users.” [More]
Don't Buy An iPhone Right Now
By April 13, 2010
If all this iPad iPad iPad Apple Apple Apple gyrating has got you hot and bothered for an iPhone, take a deep breath and calm down. Now is probably the worst time to take the plunge, notes The Unofficial Apple Weblog. Historically, mid-summer is when Apple ugprades the hardware, so if you wait a couple of months you might be able to get a faster or more feature-rich iPhone for the same cash you’d be shelling out today. [More]
Read Consumerist On Mobile
By March 19, 2010
Starting today, if you visit consumerist.com in your mobile browser, you will get automatically redirected to m.consumerist.com, the cross-platform mobile version of Consumerist. Hooray! If you want to navigate back to the “classic” version, just hit”switch to full site” in the bottom left. [More]
Get Consumerist On Mobile
By March 1, 2010
Wanna get Consumerist on your phone? Easy-peasy, by default going to Consumerist.com in your cellphone browser takes you directly to the streamlined mobile version of the site, located at m.consumerist.com. [More]
AT&T Randomly Logs You Into Someone Else's Facebook Account
By January 19, 2010
A glitch at AT&T is causing some mobile phone used to be randomly shuffled into other people’s Facebook accounts. Apparently the carrier has confused which phones should be logged into which accounts. Whoops. [More]
JCPenney Tries Out Mobile Coupons In Houston Stores
By September 29, 2009
If you live in the Houston area, you can now use your mobile phone to redeem coupons for JCPenney through a trial-partnership with Cellfire. You have to register with Cellfire in order to receive the promos via SMS or email, and if you register today you’ll receive a mysterious “$10 in$tant gift” [sic].
Sprint Opens Mobile-to-Mobile To All Providers
By September 10, 2009
If you’re a Sprint customer using the company’s Everything Data Plan, you can now call any mobile phone on any network without using up any of your plan minutes. Good news? If you’re on the carrier’s $70 a month plan, which has 450 included minutes along with unlimited data service, it could be — if you don’t roam into areas where there’s no Sprint coverage (where the meter will start running) and if you have a lot of regular contacts on other cell networks.
Network World Uncovers More Dirt On Zer01
By July 23, 2009
NetworkWorld published its findings on the suspicious histories of the men behind new cellphone company Zer01 just two days ago, but they clearly sent someone behind the scenes scrambling. This afternoon they reported that Zer01′s parent company “has stripped its Web site down to only basic information,” and that “new details have also come to light suggesting a past connection between two of the involved companies, despite claims to the contrary.”
Is ZER01 Mobile A Legit Cellphone Service?
By July 22, 2009
ZER01 is a new cellular service launching soon that promises unlimited calling and unlimited, fast data connectivity for $70 a month. There’s another unique twist: you can sell the service to your friends for $10 monthly credits. That’s right, it’s a multi-level marketing mobile virtual network operator—an MLM MVNO. NetworkWorld smelled something fishy, so they researched the companies behind the offering and found that there’s a lot of sketchy looking stuff. We put the highlights of their investigation into a chart.
By July 3, 2009
Here’s another free game for iPhone/iPod Touch owners to pass the time this weekend: Wild West Pinball. If you’re a Blackberry owner, Bplay has a 30% off sale going on right now—enter JULY in the code box at checkout. [IntoMobile]
Alltel Requires Data Plan For Blackberry Owners Who Don't Use Any Data
By June 2, 2009
Dan likes the interface and ease of texting on his Blackberry, but doesn’t need mobile Internet or e-mail. He asked his service provider, Alltel, to switch his service to a Blackberry he already owned, but without a data plan. An employee said that was possible and set it up for him, and Dan texted away happily…until he received his bill, which now contains a hefty data plan charge. Alltel now insists that Dan can’t have a Blackberry on their network without a data plan.
