Apple made it clear last year that Google Voice is not welcome on the App Store or your iPhone. “Fine,” said Google. “We’ll go through the browser!” Today the search engine revealed a new mobile web interface that uses some fancy HTML5 magic to provide voicemail, calling, and text message functionality. If you don’t already know, you can turn any page in Mobile Safari into an App icon on your home screen (click the “+” icon in Safari), meaning now you can have a legitimate Google Voice “app.” Below is a video tour. Update: There’s a down side to this: Cy writes in to let us know that this fancy new version actually breaks functionality for iPod Touch owners–the old web-based version let Touch owners make calls, but this one doesn’t. [More]
phones
Verizon Shrinks The List Of Phones Subject To $350 ETF
By 1.20.10
Verizon has dropped 10 phones from its list of models that will trigger the high $350 early termination fee. Cnet wonders whether this is Verizon’s way of trying to make its “advanced devices are expensive to service” argument more palatable to the FCC, as the remaining models are all smartphones. [More]
T-Mobile Wants Family To Pay $1500 In Bogus Charges On Phone Stolen From Special Needs Customer
By 1.7.10
Jennifer wrote to us about the trouble a family in South Carolina is having over a huge T-Mobile bill: “Zeb, a special needs adult living with his parents, had his cell phone stolen just prior to Christmas. By the time the theft was discovered, $6000 in calls and text messages had been made to Honduras.” The good news is that T-Mobile hasn’t asked the family to pay the full $6,000. The bad news is that they do want them to pay a fourth of that. Update: T-Mobile has let the family off the hook. [More]
AT&T Asks FCC To Deep-Six Landlines
By 12.31.09
AT&T wants out of the landline business and has asked the FCC to consider authorizing an all-internet phone network, GigaOM reports: [More]
This Verizon Store Provides Weird Repair Services
By 12.21.09
Some Motorola Droid phones are having problems with the battery cover coming off too easily. That’s what was happening to Chris’ Droid, so he and his girlfriend brought it into a Verizon store in Pleasant Hill, CA. His girlfriend brought along her defective enV Touch for service as well.
When they left, Chris had a sticker stuck to the back of his Droid, and his girlfriend was told to stop wearing makeup because makeup ruins the enV Touch.
T-Mobile Down Throughout Southern States, But Back Up Now!
By 12.17.09
What the heck, did you guys strike early, and target the wrong wireless carrier? The day before the possibly-ill-conceived “Operation Chokehold” is supposed to bring AT&T’s wireless network to a standstill, T-Mobile steals all the bad press by going out this evening across large parts of the Southeastern US and Puerto Rico.
Update: Immediately after posting this, T-Mobile announced the service was back up.
AT&T: Want To Tell Us We Suck? There's An App For That
By 12.7.09
AT&T has debuted an iPhone app that will let AT&T/iPhone users submit reports when they experience poor phone service. This will be a popular app. [More]
Sprint Forcing Customers On Too-Good-To-Be-True Plans To Upgrade
By 12.1.09
I don’t know how Corey ever managed to secure a monthly plan that only costs $2.50–oh wait, it looks like some old offer Sprint forgot about but some of their customers found. Well, now Sprint knows about it, and they’re not happy. On the bright side, hey, no ETF to worry about if you want to switch carriers, Corey. You can read Sprint’s take-it-or-leave-it offer below. [More]
Verizon Stuck Me With A Contract I Didn't Sign And Phone I Don't Want
By 11.23.09
When David’s phone broke, he bought a stopgap device from Verizon, emphatically telling the salesperson he didn’t want to renew his contract.
Vonage Reaches $3 Million Settlement With 32 States
By 11.17.09
If you had trouble canceling your Vonage account in recent years and ended up getting charged for services you didn’t want, you might be eligible for a refund under an agreement Vonage just made with the attorneys general of 32 states.
Block Spam Callers From Your Blackberry With Call Control
By 11.11.09
You can always just not answer your phone, but if a telemarketer calling you on your Blackberry sends you into a rage, you might want to look at Call Control. The app relies on the telemarketer database at everycall.us to screen out known spammers. The free version screens out the top 100 telemarketers; an $8 version uses the entire database and includes updates.
Radio Shack Opening Mobile Phone Kiosks In Target Stores
By 11.3.09
One problem I’ve always had when shopping for jacked-up prices is I can’t find enough crazy to go along with it. Same thing for the crazy: I know where to go to get cart-loads of that, but I can’t find the 2400% markup! What I need, clearly, is for Radio Shack to open up specialty kiosks inside Target stores, so then— oh hey! It’s the Bullseye Mobile Solution!
Walmart Gets Into Cellular Business, Offers Unlimited Plan For $45
By 10.14.09
Today Walmart announced that it’s launching its own wireless service, Straight Talk, on October 18th. The network will piggyback on use TracFone’s wireless network. At launch, two pre-paid plans will be offered: a $30 package that includes 1000 minutes, 1000 text messages, and 30MB of data; or a $45 plan that includes unlimited voice, text, and data. 411 calls are free.
Couple Signs Up for $77.99 Verizon Bundle, Charged More Than Double
By 10.12.09
An Oregon couple signed up for $77.99 Verizon-Qwest bundle that included phone, internet and TV service, and were surprised to see the actual bill come to $158.49.
Comcast Sends Out Phone Sex Number, Apologizes
By 10.12.09
The Harrisburg, Pa. Patriot-News reports Comcast sent out a service upgrades flier with a number for a phone sex line.
Why You Shouldn't Let Telemarketers Help You Donate
By 10.10.09
Earlier this week we posted a warning to watch out for calls from people asking for donations on behalf of local police or fire departments. Today an alleged former employee—who says he quit after two days of training and one day of seeing what it was really like on the call center floor—wrote in to tell us a little more about how a company on the other side of that phone call works.
Don't Donate Money To Public Safety Organizations Over The Phone
By 10.5.09
The website Consumer Affairs (which is not related to us or our owners in any way) is warning people in Oregon to watch out for calls from people asking for donations on behalf of local police or fire departments. It’s a good reminder to everyone that telephone solicitations should be ignored: “At best, the solicitor will probably take the lion’s share of your donation. At worst, the caller is an outright fraud,” the site reports.
Call Drop Rate For iPhones In NYC Is 30%, Says Apple Genius
By 9.30.09
Hey AT&T, maybe you should offer some sort of congestion pricing on your iPhone plans in places like New York City. We’ve heard/read all sorts of anecdotal reports on dropped calls before, but today Engadget reported that an Apple Genius said a 30% drop call rate is average for the area. If that’s true, it seems like false advertising to charge for a full-time calling plan that you can only use about two-thirds of the time.
