If you’re proud of how much money you’re saving on your Sprint family or share plan because of all the mad discounts you’re getting, get ready for a price hike. After August 27th, Sprint is getting rid of all add-a-phone discounts. [More]
cellphones
This Cellphone Ad Needs More Anxiety!
By 8.3.10
As any Mad Men fan can tell you, ads are all about creating the itch and then selling the cream to soothe it. You stoke the desire and then offer the solution. Sales ensue. But what the modern dreamweavers on Madison Ave have figured out is that the two don’t even have to be related. You could show a bunch of elephants trampling a village – an anxious event, indeed – and then “Pencils! Get 20 for $2” and you have yourself a great ad. Very Eisenstein, and for some reason, this tactic seems especially popular in cellphone ads. I remember a Verizon one where a girl had to have a llama and it was socially awkward. Inspired, I wrote up a short sketch to demonstrate: [More]
Simple Mobile Unlimited Data Plan Is Of Course Secretly Limited
By 7.26.10
Simple Mobile, a reseller of T-Mobile cellphone service, offers a $60 “unlimited everything” plan that includes unlimited data. To no one’s surprise, there is a hard cap on the unlimited data according to Howard Forums and our tipster Eric. Naturally you can’t find that limit anywhere on their website, and if you exceed it you’re asked to pay $10 for an additional 100 MB of data. [More]
Verizon May Introduce Tiered Data Plans As Early As Next Week
By 7.21.10
One month ago, Verizon Wireless’s CFO hinted in an interview that the company might follow AT&T’s lead and replace unlimited data plans with tiered ones. Now Engadget is reporting that the switch might come on July 29th. Because this is just a rumor so far, there’s no word yet on whether Verizon will offer the same 200 MB / 2 GB split as AT&T or whether it will grandfather in existing unlimited customers. [More]
Do You Still Use Your Land Line?
By 7.20.10
According to a recently released study, there are more than 5 billion cell phones in use around the world today, with 20% of those just coming into use in the last 18 months. More and more, people are either ditching their traditional land lines or relegating it to a secondary role, especially in large metropolitan areas. [More]
Don't Threaten Yourself Via Text Message Then Tell The Police
By 7.12.10
The conventional wisdom has it that if you want to commit a crime with a cell phone, use a prepaid model. That’s what a woman in California did to get back at her ex-boyfriend and his sister-in-law, by sending harassing text messages to herself and then reporting them to the police. The plan fell apart, however, when her victims hit the pavement to find proof that they were being framed. [More]
Run Android On A Windows Mobile Phone
By 7.9.10
Over at the How-To Geek they’ve figured out how to get the Android OS to run on a Windows Mobile phone, and now they are sharing the information with one and all. [More]
"New" Sprint Phone Pre-Loaded With Porn
By 7.8.10
A Detroit woman is saying “What?!” after buying a supposedly new Sprint phone that had an unwanted free feature: it already had several X-rated porno videos on it. [More]
Gov. Launches Product Recall App For Android
By 7.7.10
This week USA.gov launched a slew of new apps to help citizens, including a product recall app for Android. [More]
How To Fix iPhone 4 "Death Grip" Issue
By 7.1.10
Here’s a custom mod you can apply to your iPhone 4 to fix any “death grip” related signal loss. [More]
Consumer Reports Video Faceoff: Droid X vs. iPhone 4
By 6.30.10
Playing like a polite re-enactment of a gadget blog comments section flame war, two Consumer Reports journalists pit the features of the iPhone 4 against the new Droid X in this video thunderdome. Who will win? Will the iPhone’s Retina blind the Droid’s amber oculus? Or will the Droid’s tapered top-knob bash the iPhone into shards? “Two phones enter… one phone leaves…” [More]
Verizon Retreats From Charging Marine Widow $350 Early Termination Fee
By 6.30.10
After achieving “clarity,” Verizon has decided to not charge the widow of a Marine who died in Afghanistan a $350 early termination fee. The woman had moved back home following her husband’s death so as to be closer to family, and in the new area she had no cellphone reception. In announcing the situation’s resolution, Verizon Wireless also took the opportunity to take a jab at the media for sensationalizing their incompetence. [More]
Use This Chart To Pick The Best Smartphone
By 6.30.10
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]
T-Mobile Fixes Broken Arbitration Opt-Out Site Our Reader Spotted
By 6.29.10
A little over two weeks ago, tipped by reader Chan, we told you about how buried in T-Mobile’s online terms and conditions is a way to opt-out of their mandatory binding arbitration clause, but unfortunately the website where you were supposed to do it was down. We gave their PR guy a heads up and now the site, www.t-mobiledisputeresolution.com, is online. [More]
AT&T Ships Empty Box Instead of iPhone 4
By 6.29.10
The big day had arrived. The UPS box containing Logan’s new iPhone 4 sat on his front porch. Picking it up, he noticed it felt rather light. [More]
Verizon: Die Fighting In Afghanistan, Pay $350 Early Termination Fee
By 6.25.10
After a woman’s husband died in Afghanistan, a marine felled by an IED, she moved back to her home town to be closer to her family and grieve. In the smaller town, she couldn’t get any reception from Verizon, so she called them up to cancel. Despite being a widow and Verizon not living up to its contractual obligations to provide actual cellphone coverage, they slapped her with a $350 early termination fee. UPDATE: Verizon Retreats From Charging Marine Widow $350 Early Termination Fee [More]
Sheriff Says Tmobile Delayed Murder Investigation
By 6.24.10
The head of the Major Case Squad of St. Louis is calling out Tmobile for delaying a 20-person double-murder investigation by several days by demanding an unusual $50 fee for accessing victims’ phone records. [More]
