Category: Mobile (Page 15 of 65)

      iPhone 4 pre-orders are totally borked

      June 15, 2010 /

      I woke up early this morning all excited to pre-order my iPhone 4. I was up a bit late last night and noticed that the store was down, and with the iPad, pre-orders were available around 8:30am EST, so I planned accordingly. Much to my chagrin, the online system at Apple wasn’t working. Neither was the AT&T system. In fact, it seems the whole pre-ordering process has melted down.

      I started digging around the web to find other experiences, and even the people in brick-and-mortar stores are having trouble pre-ordering. The problem, it seems, is on AT&T’s end (who’s surprised?). Requests for account information aren’t being handled properly, and presumably because of the massive traffic AT&T is receiving, every step of the upgrade process is causing errors. As in, you fill out the data for step one (which renews your contract), press enter and get an error. Resubmit until it goes through. Now you have a new contract, but no subsidized phone until you can get step two or three to work.

      This especially sucks for the people in brick-and-mortar stores. Cross step one and you’re stuck in the store until AT&T’s system deems you worthy to leave or, as I mentioned, you get a renewed contract but no new phone. Hopefully this will get fixed at some point today, but knowing AT&T, that’s not going to happen. If you have a couple hours to kill and feel like testing your boiling point, head on out to your nearest AT&T retailer for a little fun.

      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      Apple, iPhone, Mobile, News

      Starbucks catches on to every indie coffee house, releases free Wi-Fi

      June 14, 2010 /

      Starbucks coffee mug.

      There were few things that frustrated me about Starbucks quite as much as its Wi-Fi policy. There was the weird smell, the pervasive corporate atmosphere, the hipsterier-than-thou baristas, but none of it really held a candle to the fact that I had to pay for Wi-Fi if I was in a Starbucks.

      It looks like the coffee chain has finally caught on and will be rolling out free Wi-Fi for all customers starting July 1. The catch (you knew there would be one)? Starbucks will be using the service to roll out all sorts of targeted media trash for your unsolicited enjoyment.

      Really, it probably won’t be so bad. There won’t be any advertising, just free versions of Starbucks-approved WSJ, NYT and other publishers’ content. You’ll get access to the Starbucks iTunes download of the week as well.

      Mobile, News

      Should I be more cautious about the AT&T upgrade?

      June 9, 2010 /

      Dueling iPhonesI am unflinchingly excited for the new iPhone, and even more so that AT&T has granted me an early upgrade eligibility. But why did they do it? Supposedly the subsidy on my 3GS, which is only a year old, is built into the life of my two-year plan. Is that $18 upgrade fee really going to cover the difference of a full year of service?

      No. It’s not. So why is AT&T so ready to lock me in for what would only be an additional year. Here’s what AT&T says:

      The reason we’re doing it is we recognize the commitment our current iPhone customers have made to us. We listened to people last year and took steps to make the process better. And we built on it this year by expanding further the approach.

      Here’s what I say: bullshit. Of course you don’t want angry customers on your hands but losing even more money on each phone by selling it off to people who haven’t made up the difference seems crazy. You have to wonder if that Verizon iPhone rumor isn’t true after all. I know, it’s been denied up and down and back and forth and whatever other way you can deny it. But come on, is AT&T really that generous?

      iPhone, Mobile

      AT&T to do away with unlimited data, offer tethering

      June 4, 2010 /

      iPhone tethering.AT&T will be making some changes to its existing data plans on June 7th, the same date it’s rumored Apple will announce the next iPhone. Unlimited data will be going away, and in its place, AT&T will finally offer tethering.

      Here’s what you’re looking at for plans:
      – DataPlus. Provides 200 megabytes (MB) of data – for example, enough to send/receive 1,000 emails (no attachments), plus send/receive 150 emails with attachments, plus view 400 Web pages, plus post 50 photos on social media sites, plus watch 20 minutes of streaming video – for just $15 per month.** This plan, which can save customers up to 50 percent off their wireless data charges, is designed for people who primarily like to surf the web, send email and use social networking apps. If customers exceed 200 MB in a monthly billing cycle, they will receive an additional 200 MB of data usage for $15 for use in the cycle. Currently, 65 percent of AT&T smartphone customers use less than 200 MB of data per month on average.

      – DataPro. Provides 2 gigabytes (GB) of data – for example, enough to send/receive 10,000 emails (no attachments), plus send/receive 1,500 emails with attachments, plus view 4,000 Web pages, plus post 500 photos to social media sites, plus watch 200 minutes of streaming video – for $25 per month.** Should a customer exceed 2 GB during a billing cycle, they will receive an additional 1 GB of data for $10 for use in the cycle. Currently, 98 percent of AT&T smartphone customers use less than 2 GB of data a month on average.

      – Tethering. Smartphone customers – including iPhone customers – who choose the DataPro plan have the option to add tethering for an additional $20 per month. Tethering lets customers use their tethering-enabled smartphones as a modem to provide a broadband connection for laptop computers, netbooks or other computing devices. Tethering for iPhones will be available when Apple releases iPhone OS 4 this summer.

      The big thing you might notice in there is that 98 percent of AT&T smartphone customers use less than that 2GB limit, according to AT&T anyway. All in all, the plans seem pretty flexible, but I have a feeling the people who go with tethering will be paying some pretty exorbitant fees for the service. It might be difficult to hit 2GBs of traffic on your smartphone. It’s another matter entirely on your laptop.

      iPhone, Mobile, News

      Skype 3G app downloaded 5 million times

      June 3, 2010 /

      Skype app for the iPhone.On Sunday Skype launched the latest iteration of its iPhone app, which now allows users to make VoIP calls over a 3G connection. As of last night, the application had been downloaded nearly 5 million times, a number that has surely been passed by this point.

      There is some bad news with the good, though. Skype has said they may start charging users for Skype-to-Skype calls made over 3G as early as next year. Skype has always been free for in-client calling. There are still no specifics on pricing, though Russ Shaw, Skype’s mobile GM, said he wanted to stay competitive. “We’re not going to want to price ourselves out of the market,” he said. “I can’t ignore the fact that consumers (currently) use us for free.”

      You know, Mr. Shaw, even $.03 a minute is more than free. You probably won’t find many people who will be happy about the change.

      Apps, iPhone, Mobile, News

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