A new study finds that the mobile devices are excellent virus vectors, harboring 18% times more bacteria than a typical men’s bathroom flush handle. Furthermore, “If you put virus on a surface, like an iPhone, about 30 percent of it will get on your fingertips,” said the study’s co-author. And, “a fair amount of it may go from your fingers to your eyes, mouth or nose.” Next time you borrow someone’s cellphone, you might want to bust out the rubber gloves and Lysol first. [More]
cellphones
Mobile Devices Harbor More Germs Than A Men's Room Flush Handle
By 10.15.10
RadioShack Employee Buys Customer An Accessory In Order To Get System To Approve Phone Upgrade
By 9.27.10
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]
Got Until 9/27 To Cancel Sprint Without Fee
By 9.23.10
You have until September 27th to cancel your Sprint contract without early termination fee. Sprint recently made it so employer discounts don’t apply beyond the first two lines on the account. Because this is a material change in the service contract, you can cancel the contract without penalty. [More]
Verizon Talks Elderly Parents Into Pricey Phones They Can't Use
By 9.22.10
A fast-talking Verizon rep talked Joanna’s septuagenarian parents into buying expensive Blackberry Storm 2’s, but after they got them, they found that when it came to using the devices, they were all thumbs. Her dad has large fingers and rheumatoid arthritis, and the gadgets were overall too complex for her parents. [More]
Theater Chain Fights Back Against Texting During Movies
By 9.21.10
I don’t go to the movies much these days because I’m in NYC, and I don’t want bedbugs crawling all over me like that scene in Peter Jackson’s King Kong remake. But if I did go to the movies, I wouldn’t, because the last several times I went there was always some fool texting within my line of sight. Now a theater chain based in Arizona is launching a nationwide campaign to try to get through to these self-involved types that texting in a darkened theater is wrong. [More]
Sprint's Premium Data Plan For Samsung Epic Has Slower Upload Speeds Than Regular 3G Phones
By 9.20.10
Yesterday, the blog Explain the Fee noted that Sprint customers with the new Samsung Epic 4G, who have to pay an extra $10 a month for a premium data plan, are reporting upload speeds slower than phones they had 3 or 4 years ago–with upload limits seemingly capped at 150kps. [More]
Walmart's New Cellphone Plans Are Great If You Skip The Data
By 9.14.10
Yesterday, Walmart announced that starting next week it will offer a new wireless plan under its own brand, but running on T-Mobile’s network. The rates are good compared to national carriers: $45 per month for unlimited texting and minutes, and $25 per month for each additional line. There’s also no contract, and you pay the bill at the end of each month instead of loading up a pre-pay account. It’s one of the better family-style deals available, except for one thing: the data plans are actually more expensive than AT&T or T-Mobile. [More]
Sprint Customer Finds Naked Pictures On Her Repaired Cellphone
By 9.13.10
A woman in Colorado had her eyes burned out by images of “nude women and male genitals” on her cellphone’s new(ish) memory card, reports KRDO.com. She says the Sprint employees who worked on her phone must have known it was there, since they’re the ones who swapped in the new card. She’s pretty upset: “If [young family members] had seen those pictures, it could have ruined them for life.” [More]
AT&T Comes In Last In Latest Network Quality Survey Among Consumers
By 9.13.10
J.D.Power and Associates released a new survey last week that measured customer complaints among national cellular networks, and although different companies excel in different regions, AT&T is still consistently the laggard when it comes to call connections and overall quality. Of the six regions covered in the survey, AT&T places last in four of them. The only part of the country where it does okay is the North Central Region, where it places third, and where the otherwise highly-ranked Verizon comes in last. [More]
AT&T Customer Service Rep Says Store Employees Are Commission-Chasing Liars
By 9.7.10
One of our readers just switched over from T-Mobile to AT&T, but he discovered that pretty much everything the salesperson promised him at the retail store turned out to be a lie. At least, that’s what the angry AT&T customer service rep told his wife when she called in to dispute her first bill. [More]
Mom Threw Away Blackberry, T-Mobile Charges For $6,000 In Fraudulent Calls
By 9.3.10
Before leaving the country, Fermin left his Blackberry on his table along with some junk mail. His mother came over while he was gone to clean up, and swept up the phone along with the junk mail and tossed it. Someone found it in the garbage and used it to make $6,000 in fraudulent calls. Fermin negotiated with T-Mobile to pay $2,000, then they changed their minds without notice and decide to hold him on the hook for $4,000. What’s a consumer to do? [More]
Transfer Calls To Your Gmail Chat To Save Minutes
By 8.26.10
One cool way to use the new Google Voice integrated with Gmail is to transfer cellphone calls to your computer and save on minutes. [More]
What Apps Do You Use To Be A Smarter Consumer?
By 8.19.10
What apps do you use to manage your personal finances and be a savvier shopper on your smartphone? [More]
Gunslinging Cell Phone Store Employee Foils Armed Robbers
By 8.18.10
A gun-packing cell phone store employee in Cali thwarted an attempted armed robbery last weekend, firing multiple rounds as the suspects fled. I guess Dirty Harry had to pick up some part-time work. Would you like to add unlimited messaging to your plan, punk? Well, would ya? [More]
Get Hard-To-Find Customer Service Numbers With PhoneTell
By 8.13.10
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]
Get Sprint To Credit You For The Discount They're Taking Away
By 8.9.10
By calling up Sprint and insinuating he might cancel because they’re taking away his discount, one of our readers was able to get Sprint to credit his account for the same amount they’re taking away from him. [More]
