Trevor might be getting a Samsung Galaxy S4. He might not. His order went through fine the first time, but it turned out that he made an error, and had asked for the wrong phone number to be upgraded. Oops. He called to cancel the order, but didn’t have a credit card handy to place a new one. That is how his saga began. A saga of trying to place a preorder that Best Buy apparently doesn’t want to accept. [More]
Coming Soon To A Mall Or Airport Near You: Straight Talk’s Prepaid Phone Vending Machines
By March 28, 2013
Need a new phone or a replacement SIM for an off-contract device? Need it right away? Want to avoid pesky human interaction? In a mall or airport near you, there may already be a Straight Talk vending machine. [More]
Is A $19/Month Smartphone Through Republic Wireless Right For You?
By February 19, 2013
Yeah, the future is here, and everyone above the age of eight seems to be wandering around with smartphones in their pockets. Maybe you’ve put off joining the mobile-computing revolution because you didn’t want to spend $100 per month for a voice and data plan. How about $19 per month for a smartphone with unlimited voice, texting, and data? That’s what Republic Wireless offers, and many consumers find this intriguing. The problem is that you pretty much get what you pay for. Or is that an advantage? [More]
T-Mobile Promises Not To Extend My Contract After Replacing Phone, Extends Contract
By February 7, 2013
Philip’s wife’s phone wasn’t working very well. It would power-cycle and drain its own battery, and her texts get delayed. So he set out to get her a new phone, but this was a bigger challenge than he had expected. A replacement phone without extending the family’s contract apparently wasn’t an option. He managed to get a comparable new phone at no cost without extending his contract by calling the retention line to cancel, but this concession came with a price. [More]
Majority Of U.S. Households Either Don’t Have Or Don’t Use Landline Phones
By December 27, 2012
There are kids and teens out there that have never used anything other than a wireless phone (though these youngsters only seem to text). And many of us who can still remember their first cellphone call — “I’m calling… from the street!” — can’t remember the last time we used a landline at home. [More]
Galaxy S3 Does Everything Better Except Stay Out Of Toilet; AT&T Saves The Day
By December 26, 2012
April has always been pleased with AT&T’s customer service, but a recent experience delighted her so much that she just had to write to us and share the love. She upgraded to the Samsung Galaxy S3 from an iPhone 4S, and was very pleased with the new device, finding it vastly superior to the iPhone. One thing that the Galaxy isn’t better at, though, was staying out of her toilet. Her phone went “splash,” and she didn’t have $600 lying around to replace it. So she wrote to a selection of AT&T executives and made her case. [More]
Will Eliminating Phone Subsidies Save T-Mobile?
By December 12, 2012
Remember the heady days before Google’s Nexus One launched, when we wondered whether a search engine company might be the one to save us from handset subsidies tied to onerous contracts. Two years later, we haven’t quite been saved yet, but one mobile carrier announced bold plans to get rid of handset subsidies. Simply put, the idea of a T-Mobile iPhone is tempting for many, but would you pay as much as $800 up front for one? [More]
Study Begs The Question: If You Love Your Phone So Much, Why Don’t Ya Marry It?
By November 30, 2012
We already know there’s a name for that intense anxiety you might feel at being separated from your cellphone (where are my fellow nomophobics at?) but how many of actually admit we love our phones with true, shameless burning affection? A new study from Pew says if you adore your phone but feel a little weird about that, you’re not alone. [More]
How I Got Verizon To Credit Me $300 And Admit My Phone Had No Water Damage
By October 26, 2012
When Justin’s phone failed, Verizon Wireless insisted that there was water damage to it, and billed him $299 after initially sending a warranty replacement with no fuss. Then, a month later, Verizon sent the administrator of the account, his mother, a bill for the replacement phone. It had water damage, they insisted, even though the moisture sensors remained un-tripped. Justin babied that phone, and resented the “abuse.zip” file name that Verizon gave the compressed set of pictures that they sent him as proof. So he employed the executive e-mail carpet bomb. [More]
Apparently Stealing Smartphones Is A Thing We Need To Worry About Again
By October 22, 2012
Although you can never be too careful, there was a time where it felt like it was okay to be a bit relaxed about someone stealing your phone. After all, basically anyone has access to some kind of relatively smart phone if they really want one, even if it’s not the one with the latest bells and whistles. But in some U.S. cities, smartphone robberies are on the rise again. [More]
Do You Always Wait Until You're Eligible To Upgrade Your Phone?
By September 12, 2012
Later today, Apple is slated to introduce its latest iPhone, which inevitably leads to fans of the popular device clamoring for an upgrade while they glare with disappointment at their iPhone 4S, asking “Why did I ever think I could love you?” But will people wait until they are eligible for an upgrade from their wireless carrier, or will they just say “screw it” and pony up some extra cash to have the newest and shiniest phone? [More]
The Case Of The Newegg Investigation, The Missing Refund, And The Vanishing Unlocked Phone
By May 23, 2012
Brian was really excited to open up and play with his new toy, an unlocked phone that he ordered on sale from Newegg. But the box arrived on his doorstep and…. no phone. The bluetooth headset that he had ordered was there, but not the phone. He grew impatient with Newegg’s investigation when the missing phone wasn’t his fault, and managed to get their customer service to do the right thing and get the phone into his hand, at the sale price. Only neither of their promised refunds–of the original purchase price, and of the difference between the original price and what Brian paid for the replacement phone–have come through. [More]
Ways To Minimize Cell Phone Radiation Exposure
By June 1, 2011
If you’re freaked out by the World Health Organization’s announcement that cell phones are possibly carcinogenic to humans, you should know that there are measures you can take to minimize your exposure to radiation without abandoning your beloved electronic leash. [More]
AT&T Has $6 Billion Bet Riding On T-Mobile Merger
By May 13, 2011
AT&T must be pretty sure that its much-criticized proposed merger with T-Mobile will go through, because if regulators block the deal it will be out $6 billion. [More]
Phone Tips For People Who Hate Phones
By April 9, 2011
For people who’d rather live their lives by email and text messages, pressure to participate in actual phone calls can be an unreasonable burden. Lifehacker offers valuable tips to neutralize the annoyances phones can foist upon you: [More]
T-Mobile Store Can't Explain Why You Can't Have This Deal: You Just Can't
By January 13, 2011
Kevin and his wife tried to take advantage of a buy one smartphone, get one free promotion that T-Mobile e-mailed them about. At the time, Kevin was at the end of his contract and eligible for a full upgrade. His wife was a few months away from her full upgrade, but willing to pay a fee to replace her non-working phone. Because Kevin’s wife wasn’t yet eligible, the local store refused to honor the promotion, even after corporate intervened. [More]
How I Stopped Verizon From Swallowing My $100 Rebate
By December 30, 2010
The Verizon computer nearly tricked Joshua out of a $100 rebate with some mathematical Three-Card Monte, but he made like a human calculator and stood firm, arguing his way into getting the fair price. [More]
Skype Outage Leaves Millions Searching For Landlines
By December 22, 2010
No, it’s not just you. A Skype “supernode” outage has left millions of users without access to the popular Internet phone service. According to company engineers, the problem may last a few more hours, and video calling may not be available until even later. [More]
