What do you say when everyone keeps complaining that you can’t handle traffic on your network? If you’re AT&T, you say “We just need to charge more money” and “Our customers who are actually using their phones as advertised are ruining things.” AT&T’s head of consumer services, Ralph de la Vega, told investors today that usage-based pricing is going to happen eventually, and that the company is planning on giving heavy users–who make up 3 percent of their customers–“incentives to reduce or modify their usage.” Somehow I’m guessing he doesn’t mean coupons or cash-back bonuses. [More]
smartphones
FCC Questions Verizon $350 ETFs For Smartphones
By 12.5.09
The Federal Communications Commission has a few questions for Verizon Wireless about their decision to double the early termination fees for contracts that include smartphones and other “advanced devices.” [More]
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.
Verizon Customer Finds Upgrade Dates Can Be Flexible If You Want A Droid
By 11.11.09
Chris navigated Verizon Wireless’s troubled phone upgrade waters and came away with Droids for both himself and his wife, even though her upgrade date was still a ways off. Earlier, his wife had gotten a new Voyager with assurances that her contract renewal date wouldn’t be affected.
Droid User Says Says Verizon Double-Charged Him For Service Plans
By 11.9.09
Victor, who picked up Verizon’s new iPhone competitor, the Droid, says Verizon billed him for $40 a month in redundant charges.
Verizon Wireless Relegates iPhone To Island Of Misfit Toys
By 11.8.09
As a whimsical follow-up to AT&T’s lawsuit concerning their “There’s a map for that” ads, Verizon Wireless released their Christmas-themed set of AT&T/iPhone bashing ads today. They’re harsh, but also pretty funny.
Take More Notes, Save Money
By 11.2.09
Yesterday I grabbed a notebook app for my smartphone and spent a couple of hours organizing the various content folders—ideas for Consumerist, gift lists for Christmas, things to look up later on a computer—so that I could capture information more efficiently. Wait, why s ths n Cnsmrst? Because The Simple Dollar argues that by keeping a notebook and using it all the time (Lifehacker calls it “ubiquitous capture”), you can end up saving money.
Chart Compares Total Cost Of Ownership For Popular Smartphones
By 10.30.09
You may think that buying an iPhone with AT&T service is an expensive commitment, and you’d be right. But as this chart from BillShrink shows, your total cost of ownership (TCO) for any of the latest smartphones is going to exceed 2 grand over a 24-month period. In fact, the highly-praised new Motorola Droid on Verizon works out to exactly the same TCO as the latest iPhone.
Meet the DROID, the Latest Chance For Verizon Owners To Express Their iPhone Envy
By 10.29.09
Motorola and Verizon revealed the mystery device behind its iCan’t ad campaign — the DROID, a 3G phone with a 5 megapixel camera, its own app store, a 16gb memory card packed in and a QWERTY keyboard.
Deadline To Ditch Your AT&T Smartphone Data Plan Extended To Oct 31
By 10.21.09
Do you want to get rid of the data plan for your AT&T smartphone, but missed the September 6th deadline? You now have a second chance. The deadline to drop your plan has been extended until October 31st.
First Sidekick Data Outage Lawsuits Filed
By 10.15.09
After T-Mobile Sidekick users lost data access for the better part of a week, then lost the information stored on their phones, it should surprise no one that the lawsuits are already flying. Though it is surprising that none of them were filed by Perez Hilton.
Will You Try To Drop Your Voice Plan Now That There's VoIP On The iPhone?
By 10.7.09
Justin says he has done something that many iPhone users have discussed, but haven’t been able to accomplish. He claims that AT&T let him drop the voice plan from his account, and plans to use VoIP in order to make any voice calls he needs. Is this even possible? Is it a good idea?
New Blackberry Desktop Manager For Mac Still Worse Than Windows Version
By 10.2.09
If you’re one of the approximately three Mac users who uses a BlackBerry instead of an iPhone, today is an exciting day. BlackBerry Desktop Manager for Mac OS debuted this afternoon. CNET had an early copy and has checked it out for us.
AT&T To Offer Free Wi-Fi Hotspot Access To Windows Mobile Users
By 9.2.09
If you have a WinMo smartphone, you’re in luck. (Wow, I never thought I’d be typing that.) Starting September 14th, AT&T will open up its approximately 20,000 Wi-Fi hotspots to Windows Mobile customers with “qualifying plans.” According to AT&T, that should mean most WinMo customers as “most [already] have a qualifying data plan.”
AT&T To Require Smartphone Data Plans For Smartphones
By 8.23.09
Bad news, smartphone-owning AT&T customers. Starting September 6, customers will not be permitted to use a smartphone on the network without purchasing a smartphone data plan. Exceptions: unlocked phones and customers who currently have a smartphone (think Blackberry or Palm) but use a non-smartphone data plan.
Who Killed The Google Voice iPhone Application?
By 7.28.09
You can download a mobile Google Voice application for Blackberry or Android, but not for the iPhone. Apple rejected Google’s official application, and has been removing other apps using Google Voice functionality from the App Store. Now, why would they do such a thing? You know the answer. AT&T told them to.
