Cell Phone Contract Tips
Choosing a contract and choosing a for you can be very challenging. Choosing a that's right for you depends on your personal preferences and your needs.
cell phone choices vary from the multi-featured and cool style to the strictly functional and unassuming. It is strictly a personal choice, and you'll want to choose a that is right for the way you use it.
A good choice is one that has features you'll enjoy using. While there are many factors to consider, it all boils down to choosing a that will offer you the best design, features, and performance.
If you thought choosing a design was hard, choosing your features isn't any easier. choices range from simple and functional to complicated features. As a general rule, don't buy anything more than you will use.
If you want your phone to strictly make calls, stick with the basics. If you're going to use your mobile for e-mail or multi-tasking, go with a higher-end choice. If you want to have fun with your phone consider one with a camera.
When choosing a plan, think carefully about how much you'll actually be using your phone. Usage time is the basis of every contract. The more minutes in your plan the more money you will have to pay. Most contracts from the major carriers vary from 300 minutes a month up to 5,000 minutes.
You also have to think about when you'll be making most of your calls. Most carriers consider only those calls made during peak periods typically, Monday through Friday between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m., as minutes that actually count toward your plan minutes.
Calls made during the weekends, nights, and holidays, are usually free and are considered
Oh, and speaking of Verizon, I got word today that we may be seeing another VZW handset or two thrown into the pot before Summer's over. So Happy Friday and Happy July 4th from your friends at PhoneDog and LG!
]]> PSP-Phone: Is Sony planning a Playstation phone and leaving Ericsson out? MarketingWeek has an article dated June 25 claiming that Sony is working on a Playstation-branded mobile phone. This isn't news, or isn't new news anyway, but beyond the strange use of the word "mooting" in the first sentence, the article is notable for claiming that the new device won't be a Sony Ericsson phone, but rather will bear only the Sony moniker.
The launch of the SE F305 gaming phone drew a few, "Hmm ... I thought a PSP phone was coming," comments from the media, but it seems that Sony may be looking to keep the PSP brand all to their selves. The Marketing Week article cites an industry source as saying, "the relationship between Sony and Sony Ericsson has become 'frosty' and he adds that Sony has learned from its 'strategic error' of giving its Walkman branding to Sony Ericsson."
SE's profits were off almost 50% in Q1 of this year, and they've fallen into fifth place in the global handset market. Whether or not Sony's looking to distance themselves from the Ericsson partnership remains to be seen, but a well-executed PSP phone could prove a big hit. Look for it in time for Christmas '09, if Marketing Week is to be believed.
Users need to use Safari on iPhone to get to Google Talk. When you navigate away from the page on your web browser, status is set to unavailable, and the session restarts when you return. So, it's not as integrated as a downloadable app, but it'll do for a quick fix.
You can select from a list of the people you talk to the most, search your contacts, and manage multiple conversations.
]]> Google maps for mobile with voice search for BlackBerry Pearl 8110, 8120, and 8130, US only). Using the same speech recognition engine as GOOG-411, the free directory assistance service, Voice Search for Google Maps is great in situations when you can text...like while driving in California as of this week.]]> Touch Diamond: Telus Becomes First to Launch Diamond in North America HTC Touch Diamond before too long, our friends to the north don't have to wait much longer. HTC just sent word that Telus has cracked open the seal on their fancy new Windows Mobile smartphone here in North America:
"Telus will launch a CDMA version of the HTC Touch Diamond later this summer for $149.99 with a 3 year contract. To make the HTC Touch Diamond even more attractive, they offer subscribers very affordable unlimited data plans like $15 per month for unlimited email and IM, or $30 for unlimited email, IM and web browsing. You and your readers can learn more about Telus and the HTC Touch Diamond at: http://www.telusmobility.com/on/pcs/data.shtml"
$149's a nice price, but a three year contract? Ouch.
MMS isn't a new technology by any means, but the first-gen iPhone doesn't have it. Conventional wisdom says that Apple would just as soon have you use their Mobile Me online service, and not MMS messaging, for your photo sharing needs since Apple charges $100/year for Mobile Me. But AT&T is laying out all kinds of cash to subsidize iPhone 3G's new, lower price, and they'd stand to recoup some of that money by way charging for iPhone MMS messages.
It's worth noting that the new iPhone plan does not include messaging of any sort (the "old" iPhone plan does). Current AT&T messaging plans start at $5/month for 200 messages. As with everything else iPhone 3G, all will become clear when the next-gen of Apple's mobile handset goes on sale July 11.
I am personally grateful for the free Samsung Mobile Charging Station service, which I coincidentally took advantage of yesterday at one of the 51 charging stations in Los Angeles at LAX.
In addition to MSP, power thirsty and travelers desperate for a little battery boost can take advantage of Samsung's generosity at the following airports: JFK, LAX, LaGuardia, Orlando International and of course, Dallas/Fort Worth.
iPhone 3G will be available for $199 for the 8GB model and $299 for the 16GB model. These prices require two-year contracts and are available to the following customers:
iPhone customers who purchased before July 11
Customers activating a new line with AT&T
Current AT&T customers who are eligible, at the time of purchase, for an upgrade discount
Existing AT&T customers who are not currently eligible for an upgrade discount can purchase iPhone 3G for $399 for the 8GB model or $499 for the 16GB model. Both options require a new two-year service agreement. In the future, AT&T will offer a no-contract-required option for $599 (8GB) or $699 (16GB).
Current customers can also wait until they become eligible for the upgrade discount. Current AT&T customers who are upgrading to iPhone 3G will pay an $18 upgrade fee and new AT&T customers will pay the standard $36 activation fee.
Voice, Data and Text Messaging Plans
AT&T NationSM Unlimited: Includes unlimited Anytime Minutes for $129.99 a month.
AT&T Nation 1350: Includes 1350 Anytime Minutes and unlimited Night & Weekend Minutes for $109.99 a month.
AT&T Nation 900: Includes 900 Anytime Minutes and unlimited Night & Weekend Minutes for $89.99 a month.
AT&T Nation 450: Includes 450 Anytime Minutes and 5,000 Night & Weekend Minutes for $69.99 a month.
iPhone 3G goes on sale at AT&T retail stores at 8 a.m. local time on Friday, July 11.
Looks like that July ship date is now looking more like August - even mid-August according to Boy Genius Report. RIM showed Bold off at a press event in New York City Wednesday night (which I couldn't attend because I'm headed out to Montana for a wedding and mini-vacation, thankyouverymuch), and a RIM representative made it clear that the Bold was planned for an August launch all along.
"We didn't say anything about 'July' or 'August.' It will become available in August. So we're still on track for [availability] this summer," said Erik Van Drunen, RIM's PR manager, according to BetaNews.com. Van Drunen also denied knowledge of purported overheating problems with the device. "I don't know where that's coming from at all, but it's probably from somewhere in the blogosphere," he said.
Set up to help web developers create more function-rich, user friendly and relevant applications, the initiative is designed to drive the use of data services on mobile.
But now a photo of Paris in a new color scheme - black and orange - has surfaced over on Just Another Mobile Phone Blog. So what gives? It's possible that this is a photo of a prototype built before SE decided to scrap the project, and it's possible that SE's going forward with Paris and just wasn't ready to announce the handset last week. Many a blog post, comment, and forum entry decried Paris' rumored specs as not being robust enough for a modern smartphone, so it could well be that SE brass sent the device back to its engineering labs for a processor transplant before deeming it ready for the marketing folk.
]]> Unlimited: Virgin Mobile to offer $80/mo unlimited calling Virgin Mobile. The "Totally Unlimited" plan will work nationwide with no contract necessary. You'll be able to pay via cash or credit, and you're not going to get hit with roaming charges, which is a big advantage over similarly priced regional offerings.
Another $10 each month will get you unlimited SMS/MMS/Email/IM messaging on top of all of those minutes. Looks like a pretty good deal for anyone who makes it a personal practice to avoid contractual agreements like the plague.
]]> Wi-Fi on the go: Alltel announces $70 3G/Wi-Fi plan with Boingo Alltel, announced a partnership with hotspot provider Boingo to add some WiFi to their customers' 3G data diet. $69.98 each month will now get you unlimited handset data via EV-DO along with unlimited access to Boingo Hotspots around the globe.
Alltel's calling the plan the Internet Anywhere Bundle, and it rings up at $10/mo. more than their 3G only Internet plan. I guess it's a decent buy if you use 3G on your handset a lot, but also rely on the faster speeds of WiFi for moving larger chunks of data around with your laptop.
We'll have to see how this all shakes after that Verizon purchase of Alltel goes through.
I no longer have a Sprint Touch and so can't personally vouch for this file, but from the comments on the XDA Developers forum and over at Engadget Mobile, it looks like this is the real deal and "is a breeze to install." Proceed at your own risk, kids.
]]> Samsung Instinct-M800 in-depth review - At Glance What's Good: Supports every feature Sprint offers; EV-DO Rev. A data speeds; Good touchscreen response; Bright, clear display; Excellent GPS/navigation and voice command features; Good visual voicemail feature; 3.5mm headphone jack and stereo Bluetooth; Second battery included in packaging; Excellent value at $129 retail price
What's Not Good: "Full HTML" Web browser is disappointing; No IM support; No calendar synching; No support for user-created ringtones or background images on menu screens; No phone as modem support on mandatory Simply Everything plan
Bottom Line: Sprint's new flagship media phone is a very good device, even if I wish they'd skipped the whole "Instinct vs iPhone" marketing campaign. The Web browser needs work and mobile IM addicts will be left in the cold by Instinct, but otherwise Instinct offers solid support across a huge variety of features and excellent implementation of GPS-based navigation and voice activated commands in particular. Though plans start at a hefty $70/mo, if you use the unlimited data, navigation, and Sprint TV it's actually a good value. And you can't beat the $129 price tag.
Specs: Make/Model: Samsung Instinct (M800) Network: CDMA 850 / 1900 Data: 1x EV-DO Rev. A (3G) Carrier: Sprint Size: 116 x 55 x 12.4 mm Weight: 128 g Form Factor: Candybar with Full Touchscreen Display: 3.2" Color LCD, 240 x 432 resolution, 262,000 Colors Memory: 32 MB built-in, microSD card slot, 2GB memory card included Notable Features: GPS with navigation; Support for Sprint Music Store, Sprint TV, Streaming music services; Voice control system; First Sprint EV-DO Rev. A device for consumers
]]> Shadow II: T-Mobile Smartphone May Support HotSpot@Home TmoNews has a little more dirt on the upcoming Shadow II, and whlie its nothing groundbreaking it's at least promising. The next-gen Shadow looks much like the current version, with a few more rounded corners and some other cosmetic updates. The big deal here is that it looks like Shadow II will support TMo's Hotspot@Home UMA calling service, making it the carrier's first H@H-compatible WindowsMobile device.
While it'd be nice to see a high-end T-Mobile device with 3G support, I really liked Shadow when I reviewed it awhile back, and HotSpot@Home keeps getting better and better. TMo's really playing up the value angle as of late (well, as of always), and while they're often last to the party when it comes to new phone tech, they also often get it right when they finally do it. With many of the kinks worked out of the whole UMA calling thing - using the performance of the recent BlackBerry Curve and Pearl as an indicator - here's hoping that T-Mo will soon unleash some uber-phones combining "Value Tech" like myFaves and H@H with some sex appeal like high-speed data.
]]> Rock On: T-Mobile Launches MOTO ROKR E8 I was pretty impressed by the E8 when I played with it at CES in January. The "ModeShift" morphing keypad is a pretty clever way of offering context-sensitive controls and menus on a non-touchscreen phone, and the music player looked pretty nice. Think of the E8 as a higher-end Nokia 5310.
You can head on over to TMo's site for some product shots and specs, but there's no pricing or availability info up yet (as of 10 PM Pacific Time Wed night, anyway). If you're in the market for a relatively thin candybar phone with a 2MP camera, 3.5mm headphone jack and Stereo Bluetooth support, and a unique look, the E8 might just be your ticket. You'll be limited to EDGE data speeds, but if you're on TMo you're used to that already.
We've covered Dare quite a bit already in these pages so I won't go into too much more detail here, except to say that I wish they'd gone with a true Xenon flash instead of an LED flash on the camera. But hey, LED's better than nothing. I guess I can be bothered to cut and paste the full spec sheet from the press release, too. More just as soon as I get my paws on a review sample.
From the Press Release:
The LG Dare's touch-screen offers the optimal HTML Web browsing experience and runs on the nation's most reliable wireless network to ensure a smooth and easy navigation experience. The touch-screen also supports handwriting recognition and tactile feedback so that customers can more easily select their options on the phone. The phone's camera has a Schneider-Kreuznach certified lens for outstanding image quality, and the camera offers advanced features, such as face detection and an LED flash so customers can take enhanced-quality photos from their mobile phones. Additionally, customers can use the photo editing tool to personalize their digital photos with features that include borders and landscapes, and they can draw on their pictures directly on the screen using their fingertips.
Additional features and capabilities of LG Dare include:
V CAST Music-capable access more than 3 million full-length songs from well-known and independent artists that can be purchased and downloaded over-the-air directly to the phone
Music Player for .mp3, .wma, unprotected .aac, and unprotected .aac+ files
microSD? card memory port with up to 8 GB support with an optional memory card
USB Mass Storage transfer files between microSD card and PC
3.2 Megapixel Camera and Camcorder
Schneider-Kreuznach certified lens for optimal picture quality
Camera Resolutions: 2048 x 1536, 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 640 x 480, 320 x 240 pixels
SmartPic technology and manual ISO adjustment for improved image quality
Face Detection detects a face when taking a picture
Panorama, split shot and frame camera settings
Scene Mode automatically makes adjustments to camera settings for improved quality in different environments
Zoom: up to 2x
Image Editor zoom, rotate, crop, add frames and icons and write over images
Video Resolutions: 640 x 480, 320 x 240, 176 x 144 pixels
Video Recording Speed: up to 120 frames per second for slow video playback
Video Recording Time: 30 seconds (for sending); up to 1 hour (for saving) depending on memory
Video Player for WMV, MP4, 3GP, 3G2 formats
Customizable brightness, white balance, shutter sound, color effects, night and preview mode, photometry, self-timer
Bluetooth® Version 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)
Listen to music with optional stereo Bluetooth headset
Send all contacts and calendar events via Bluetooth
Print and send customer-generated pictures (JPEG) via Bluetooth
Save up to 20 Bluetooth pairings
Supported Profiles: headset, hands-free car kits, dial-up networking, stereo Bluetooth, phone book access, basic printing, object push for vCard and vCalendar, file transfer, basic imaging, human interface device
One-touch speakerphone
Speaker-independent voice commands
Voice Recording: 1 minute or 1 hour (standby)
Music ringer support (clips from hit songs)
HTML Web browsing with touch navigation and favorites
Text, picture, video messaging-capable
Mobile Email access MSN® Hotmail®, America Online® and Yahoo!® accounts to exchange e-mail
Mobile IM capabilities
VZ NavigatorSM-capable get visual and audible directions to thousands of destinations, locate businesses and other points of interest, get maps of a location, and share directions with others
Phone Book with 1,000 contacts: each contact entry stores five numbers, two e-mail addresses and a Picture ID
]]> The Sound of Money: Sprint's Selling Loads of Instincts Samsung Instinct is Sprint's flashiest, most hyped device ever, has received mainly good reviews since it launched a week ago, and was priced at a bargain basement $129 on contract, this shouldn't come as much of a surprise. Sprint sent out word this morning that Instinct's broken all sorts of sales records in its first week on the shelves, and word around the InterWeb is that the handset is sold out all over the place.
"We had high expectations going into the launch so our initial order to Samsung was the largest for any Sprint EVDO handset to date," said John Garcia, President of Sprint's Wireless Division. "The strong early response tells us that wireless customers recognize Instinct as a highly-innovative and convenient touch-screen device combined with the fast speeds available on the largest national mobile broadband network. In the first few days of availability, many Instinct devices were purchased by existing customers upgrading their wireless device we thank our customers for their endorsement of this device, our Simply Everything pricing plan and our company."
If you're interested, I've posted about three thousand minutes worth of video detailing Instinct's workings (okay, slight exagguration ... but only slight). A full written review is forthcoming, but in a nutshell Instinct is a very good device with excellent GPS and voice command features and solid media capabilities. The Web browser and messaging are lacking a bit, but if you're on Sprint and can live without Mobile IM, that $129 price tag must be lookin' awful nice right about now.
]]>
unlimited anytime minutes. Calls made to other cell phones on a carrier's network can also be free.
You'll need to find out if checking your voicemail, incoming and outgoing calls count toward unlimited anytime minutes. Be sure you know how everything works when comparing plans.
When choosing a plan that is best for you, you're better off overestimating the number of plan minutes you'll need rather than paying extra, expensive airtime charges each month.
If you find that you've overestimated or underestimated your usage, you can easily change your rate plan. When comparing plans, keep in mind that this may affect your contract date by moving it out further, so ask.
7 points to consider before agreeing to a contract:
1. Verify the unlimited anytime minutes you have and what kind of calls count toward them.
2. Be aware of all roaming, overtime, and extra charges.
3. If you travel a lot, or have lots of friends and relatives all over creation get a contract nationwide plan with free long distance.
4. Know where your local calling area begins and ends.
5. Many of the great deals require a two-year contract. Make sure you understand this commitment and how much it will cost you to break it.
6. If you're in the middle of a contract or not on a contract and just want to buy a new phone you don't need to sign a new contract. But you probably won't get any discounts that would come with a new contract.
7. Extended warranties and insurance can come in handy if your phone is lost, stolen, or damaged. Just be sure to find out the total cost.
Before you sign any contract just be sure you know how everything works so there are no surprises.
Here are some articles to start with..
Cell Phone Accessories - A Guide To Wireless Phone Accessories Cell phone accessories are a big business on the commodities' market today, and most folks have invested in at least one of the many options that are available for outfitting these handy little Read more...
Cellular Ring Tones: The Latest Way To Say This Is Me! Ringtones, those digital sound bites that 'ring' through cell phones especially during critical moments in darkened movie theaters, presentations, and anywhere there are signs posted to turn your Read more...
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