Posts tagged "Cingular"

Cingular Advertising And The Promotion Of Wireless Phones

Ever so often when the time is right, Cingular will come up with a new product offering for its regular and potential customers. While it is true that many individuals are already sporting phones from this company, there is always a reason to upgrade. In order to convince the people that they need a new phone or to join the wireless company, the advertising has to be very convincing.

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Are wireless cell phone services supposed to upgrade your phone for free?

If you have a wireless service provider, like Cingular, are they supposed to upgrade your phone for you? I still have a nokia from like 3 years ago.

Most cellular providers will offer you the new "free phone" or a great discount on your purchase of a higher-end phone, only when your standard 2-year contract is up and they want you to re-sign. It is company policy for most, but they certainly are not obligated to give you a new phone or even to offer, so perhaps you should ask a sales associate next time you get a chance.

AT&T Wireless 3G Services Press Release

AT&T Wireless 3G Services Press Release

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what is the diffrence between wifi and broadband in a pda?

i am looking at the motorola q and it says it supports broadband but a review said that it doesnt have wifi.

WiFi means that the PDA is equipped with a capability of connecting to the wireless networks, for example WiFi routers commonly installed in homes or hotels, etc.
Using WiFi, you don’t user any minutes of data exchanges with the Cell Phone provided internet.

When the PDAs say that Broadband is available, they mean using the Cell Phone providers network you can use the internet to browse at high speeds. Most of the cell phones now a days have broadband EDGE or 3G connection available.
EDGE network is widely available with Cingular for example.
Similarly, Verizon and Sprint have their own version of high speed data transfers available for the cell phone users.

Coming back to WiFi enabled phones. I think they are better as you can use it to connect to your computer at home or work or any wifi network available for free.
This way you are not charged any data rate for browsing. You can browse for unlimited hours without having to pay a penny.

NOTE: ALL THE WiFi enabled phones also support the Broadband as well. I don’t know if any one does not.

So go with phone that has WiFi.

I’ve "Cingualar 8125" It is a great phone and has almost everthing that you can ask for.
Check it out at Cingular or google

Due verizon upgrade. How about the Motorola Q?

I’m due for the upgrade in a week. i want a PDA type phone for the key pad. I also like the windows mobile aspect too. I really love the Palm Treo 700wx, but its to pricey. so I’ll have to settle for something else. now the Q is nice but i guess it dosen’t allow editing of documents only viewing, and it only has 64MB of memory and only takes the mini SD cards. The only 4 things that make me consider this phone is: its thin, has the scroll feature, It’s price is right, and its a Motorola. if i had $400 just laying around it would be the Palm 700wx. Im not a business man or important. I’m just a guy that is interested in a pda with the some, or all of the above features in a phone. i’ve seen reviews, but could someone who has this phone or works with/uses this phone give me the pros and cons, so i can make a decision? also other phone suggestions are not out of the question, my contract ends June 08 which then I’ll probably go to cingular where they have better and more phones. thanks

I work in PDA tech support, so I have a pretty good idea of the flaws and features of different Verizon phones.

It sounds bad, but I wouldn’t advise ANYONE to buy a Moto Q…unless they’re willing to deal with a lot of freeze-ups and malfunctions. Yes, they’re cheaper than Treos, but there’s a reason for that. They’re not as high quality. I have replaced more Motorola Q’s than any other device, and it’s mostly due to one function flaw. They, like any computer-type device, freeze up sometimes…but unlike other PDA’s there is no reset button on the motorola q, all you can do to try to jump start it is take the battery out. The other PDA’s have a hard reset that you can do if the soft reset doesn’t work..the hard reset wipes out info, but if you’re syncing (which I recommend doing with ANY smartphone or PDA, considering how much of your info they have) you can get it right back, and your phone will be working within 3 minutes. The moto q doesn’t have a hard reset that is reachable if the phone isn’t working…you can only hard reset if it’s working properly, which is useless. So if your phone freezes up or doesn’t want to boot, you’re looking at at least 24 hours without the phone until you can get a new one, because after the 15-day worry free guarantee, you get replacements for PDA’s and smartphones through tech support, not at your local store. That’s why I wouldn’t recommend the Q.

However, I WOULD recommend the 700w or wx. They’re more reliable, you still have the Windows interface, they have more capabilities for document editing, and if something goes wrong, they are MUCH easier to fix, saving you time and frustration. The 700w is not available for sale online right now, but it is a little older than the wx and is probably in your local store…for a cheaper price. I can’t say for sure, I’m not in retail. The main (and only signficant) difference is it has less memory, but a mini SD card can remedy that.

My personal favorite windows-based device is the Audiovox 6700, aka a pocket pc. It’s $300 online (plus your new every two discount!), which is more expensive than the moto q, but soooo worth it. The keyboard slides out when you want to get online or type, displaying a full qwerty keyboard, and the screen switches from portrait to landscape. I’m honestly not sure if it has document-editing capabilites, and it’s not as thin as the q for sure, but it’s sooooooo much more reliable than either the q or the treo. In an average 25 calls a day, I get about 10 q calls (at least 2 of which are replacements), 5 treo 700x or wx calls (1 of which is a replacement), and 2 calls about this phone…and I’ve only done 4 or 5 replacements in a year of working in tech support.

I really hope I’ve helped. I’ll enclose a couple links to the vzw website, but I also recommend going into the stores and trying some PDA’s out to see which you like best, veen if you want to order online for the discounts. Remember, there’s ALWAYS the 15-day worry free guarantee, so if you get one you have a couple weeks to try it out and exchange it for something else for ANY reason. Also, you can call 1-800-922-0204 to talk to some other people in tech support who are experts on these phones…though they might not be as brutally honest, since we’re recorded and screened by Verizon on ALL calls. Good luck!

Reasons to Switch to a Prepaid Cell Phone?

The answer to the question asked in the title is, yes. But only if it makes sense. It will make sense for some people to use prepaid cell phones. For others it will make sense to stay on the contract model, especially if there are several people on one plan.

Many of the large cell phone service companies now offer prepaid cell phone plans–when formerly, all they offered were the standard contract model, for which you sign up for two years and get stuck in the cycle of upgrading to a new phone and of course signing another contract.

There are a lot of different routes to take when you are looking for alternatives to the traditional contract model. Prepaid cell phones or pay-as-you-go options may just be the way for you to go in terms of your mobile communications.

AT&T merged with Cingular and they now bill themselves as having the largest network in the United States. This may be true. Whatever the case may be, there are also several other competitors that you can look at to try to find the best deal for you and your family.

Boost mobile is definitely a contender for your business as is the Alltel network. Virgin Mobile also operates on a pay-as-you-go cell phone model, so this may be a viable option for you as well.

Boost Mobile offers one great feature, which is the free walkie-talkie service from one user to another. This is included in all plans. Virgin Mobile is the British company owned by Richard Branson. It is a very youth oriented company, as is Boost Mobile, and has some good options for younger cell phone users.

The truth is you can sort of customize your cell phone plan to be close to how you actually use it. You don’t have to get stuck with a whole bunch of minutes you don’t use at the end of the month.

As you can see, there are many well known companies that you can find prepaid cell phone plans with. The company you choose completely depends on what you want out of your mobile phone.

The beauty of the prepaid model as opposed to the contract model is that there is no commitment (other than what you spend on the actual phone) so it is fairly painless to move from one service to another if you are dissatisfied with the service.

All companies that offer prepaid cell phone plans require you to use a phone that works with their service. The cell phone itself may be pricey, but generally there are many different models to choose from.

Using a prepaid cell phone means that you do not have to undergo a credit check from the company or sign a long term contract–but this doesn’t mean it’s the right option for you.

People who are on a shared plan and have a lot of minutes each month or carryover minutes often find the best deal by signing a contract and using that model of service. Another perk to this type of service is you are often offered a free cell phone or a discounted newer model when you sign up for a new contract.

You want to take out your cell phone bills over the past several months and see how many minutes you use consistently, and take into account things like mobile to mobile free usage, how many carryover minutes you get, the cost of a new phone, and the other costs and fees involved.

If it makes sense, make the switch to prepaid. You can always sign another contract later!

Chris Crowe
http://www.articlesbase.com/cell-phones-articles/reasons-to-switch-to-a-prepaid-cell-phone-561901.html

Traffic Mapping For Your Mobile Phone

In late July, Google announced that it will be offering live traffic information to mobile phones in more than thirty U.S. cities. Plans to provide the traffic feature to PCs are still in the works. The Google traffic feature will be released as an update to the free Google Maps for Mobile service, which has been available for 18 months for download on the Google web site. Google would not disclose how many subscribers it has, but it says the number is growing rapidly.

The feature expands Google’s mapping technology into an area where Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo already have a presence, but in different ways. Yahoo and Microsoft offer real-time traffic information on their Web-based mapping services for PCs. Microsoft has chosen to move into the mobile “space” by licensing traffic-monitoring technology for mobile devices to a Kirkland-based startup, InRix Inc. Yahoo currently has no mobile traffic service. MapQuest, an AOL property, offers traffic reports over cell phones for $2.99 per month.

With typical bombast, Microsoft announced that when operable, the InRix mobile service will actually predict upcoming traffic problems – however currently the MSN mobile mapping technology provides no traffic information at all.

In the cities where it works, the Google feature will show traffic conditions on most major highways – indicating green for clear roadways, yellow for medium congestion and red for high congestion or stopped traffic. Google Maps will work on most Java-enabled phones offered by Cingular and Sprint and all color BlackBerry devices. The service does not currently work on phones from other major carriers such as Verizon or T-Mobile USA. Google Maps sends the data – obtained from an undisclosed source – every five minutes.

Although Google’s free service doesn’t identify traffic hazards or accidents, it will let drivers know if there is a clogged road. Google also shows the expected drive time for a route when phone users search for driving directions. It has introduced a feature that lets users save their favorite locations and frequently used driving directions for future use.

The three search engines are not alone, however. In February, Rand McNally Traffic began offering a downloadable mobile application that delivers news of real-time traffic flow, accidents, weather conditions and road closures to 94 cities. Rand McNally Traffic is available on Sprint, Nextel, AT&T Wireless and other services for $3.99 a month.

Media giant Clear Channel Communications’ Total Traffic Network feeds content in 125 markets in the country to 15 services. One of them provides the information to subscribers with Sprint mobile phones for a $9.99 monthly subscription. That service is relatively new. In addition to weather conditions and traffic information, the service also provides data on gas station prices.

Cell phones are rapidly turning into GPS devices, with localized information as an added feature. It remains to be seen how many people will turn to their cell phone screens for traffic news, one eye on the road and another on the phone. In some states and several local jurisdictions, it is already illegal to use a handheld cell phone while driving. Some of these jurisdictions allow hands free use, but that won’t help with a visual feature. It will be interesting to see if this new functionality is limited by governmental concern over safe driving habits.

Madison Lockwood
http://www.articlesbase.com/advertising-articles/traffic-mapping-for-your-mobile-phone-73150.html

How to upgrade Windows Mobile software on iPAQ?

Have iPAQ hx2000 series running WinMobile2003; purchased 2005. How do I install the new OS without destroying or losing my current data? People have said it’s hard. Does it make sense to buy a new PDA instead??but they’re so pricey! If so, which PDA that runs on WIndows Mobile OS would you recommend? And which products give great customer service (have not been pleased w HP). Thank you so much! Alternatively, should I leave the PDA’s behind and buy a "smart phone" or Blackberry? Thank you so much!

Don’t put Windows Mobile 5.0 or 6.x on a device which was made to run WM4.2. The hardware will not run very well, it will be slower, and you will be disappointed. I have worked with many people who wish they’d not tried to mess with the OS.

If you install a new OS, you will have to hard-reset your pda. You WILL lose all programs, data, calendar, and contacts you’ve installed. Be sure you have used ActiveSync to copy EVERYTHING off your pda before you attempt changing the OS.

Dell makes the Axim x51 and x51v, which are superb devices which run WM5.0, have bluetooth, and are internet capable. You can probably still get them from Dell or on ebay.

If you go to a smartphone, try Palm’s Treo 700w, but get it from Cingular instead of Verizon. The 700w and 750w run WM5.0 instead of the Palm OS. Verizon cripples the bluetooth capability of their version of the Treo so you can’t use a bluetooth headset to call with voice commands As far as I know, Cingular doesn’t do that.

Best Cingular PDA / Smartphone to buy?

I’m looking to buy a phone which I also need MS Outlook email capability, internet access, and built in camera. I’m a Cingular Wireless customer, and I’m not sure which phone will be the best quality for my business work.

I was looking at getting the Palm Treo 680, but my friends were telling me that its not reliable and it didn’t have much high ratings on www.cnet.com.

So i’m looking at the Blackberry Pearl and the Blackberry 7150c which had better reviews, plus it has all the features i’m looking for.

What do you think about the Palm Treo, and/or blackberry? Are there another data phones you recommend that I should look into?

The blackberry pearl is a very nice phone. It’s thin and compact but yet packed with all PDA features. You may also want to check out the new Samsung blackjack. Check out the links below:

Choosing a Broadband Provider for VoIP

While not absolutely necessary, a broadband Internet connection is what makes your Internet phone calls reliable, and understandable. VoIP uses a traffic engineering term called Quality of Service (QoS) that refers to the implementation of controls to ensure that delay sensitive IP packets are prioritized as they flow through the pipe. To forgo these controls would result in acoustic problems like jitter and echo, as well as dropped calls. Because a broadband pipe is much larger than a dial up connection, there is much more throughput capacity, or space, to allow us to prioritize.

There are basically three ways for the residential consumer to obtain a broadband Internet connection. From your cable television provider, your telephone company, or a wireless broadband network such as Clearwire, a Wi-Fi hotspot, or even a cellular network likes Verizon or Cingular. With these options becoming increasingly more wide spread, utilizing the Internet to route your phone calls has also become a viable and cost saving alternative to traditional landline telephony. Now the question becomes, which type of broadband service is best suited for voice over Internet protocol.

Since the advent of cable television, cable companies have contributed enormously to the development of the worlds Wide Area Networks (WANs), adding broadband Internet to their list of services offered. Indeed, with the development of VoIP, they have even blurred the lines of the telecommunications Industry. The cable modem, and its Coax Cable pipe, have ushered the Internet into the Jet Age with Internet service at the speed of light.

A cable company WAN consists of neighborhoods connected to nodes, each node having its allotted amount of bandwidth. The cable pipe is about the largest to be had for the residential consumer and is plenty big enough for the clearest of VoIP phone calls. However, the bigger the neighborhood grows, and the more people that connect to the pipe, the less bandwidth is available for each household. Cable companies are generally very good about distributing bandwidth and will add more nodes when necessary. Their network is, after all, their bread and butter. Just be aware that at peak traffic times, VoIP call quality can degrade.

The Digital Subscriber Line, or DSL, is the residential broadband solution offered by the traditional telephone companies such as AT&T, the regional bells, and others like Quest Communications for example. For years the Telcos have had the upper hand in the business community, connecting their networks to the outside world via a T1 line, which is the equivalent bandwidth wise to a cable modem. DSL is somewhat slower than a cable modem, and in fact, in some communities is offered at 2 speeds. It also tends to be somewhat cheaper. Nevertheless, there is still ample bandwidth to implement VoIP successfully.

DSL is not affected by node saturation like cable networks, but it is distance sensitive. The further you are from your telephone companys local switching station, the more signal degradation you will have, and the maximum distance is 18,000 feet. Telcos can and do use remote switching stations to expand their service where they see a market opportunity.

The fatal flaw of DSL when considering the use of VoIP, is that most companies require you to subscribe to their traditional telephone service as well. Naked DSL, the unbundling of broadband and telephone service, is possible and is offered by only a few local phone companies. Perhaps because of the cable companies creeping onto their turf, and the slow but sure acceptance of VoIP in the general population, the Telcos seem to think they need to get the money where they can.

In January of 07, the Senate reintroduced the Internet Freedom Preservation Act. One of the provisions called for, is that all broadband service providers offer consumers standalone broadband service. If this Net Neutrality bill passes, DSL could prove to be a viable option for those wishing to switch to VoIP.

Wireless networks also provide ample bandwidth for VoIP telephony, and their value is most appreciated in the life of the Road Warrior. People who constantly travel, weather for business or pleasure, are finding Wi-Fi hotspots popping up everywhere. Most modern hotels have their own wireless network, and Internet cafes are becoming an international phenomenon. Travelers that find a hotspot have the choice of using their laptop and a headset to communicate over the Internet, or to use one of the many Internet Phones found on the market today.

Metropolitan Wireless Broadband networks are also proliferating nation wide. Clearwire Wireless Broadband is a company that uses a combination of Non Line of Site (NLOS) and its own proprietary technology to cover whole cities, even regions of the country. Let it be known however, that this technology has been met with mixed reviews.

If youve visited a college campus recently, you may have noticed tiny antennas sticking up from the rooftops every few meters. Campuses today have their own Wi-Fi networks, allowing students, faculty and administrators to make VoIP phone calls via their laptop, or an Internet phone, from anywhere on campus.

The Cellular Networks built by companies like Verizon, Sprint, and Cingular, have proliferated all over the world and indeed blanket most developed population areas. Cell phones have been introduced by Nokia, Samsung, and most recently the Apple iPhone, that are capable of switching (in some cases seamlessly) from a cellular network to a Wi-Fi hotspot and back. However, it is the Cellular companies that control the airwaves.

Cingular Wireless (soon to be at&t wireless) already utilizes phones with quad band and Wi-Fi support, and will be the carrier for the much anticipated Apple iPhone. While the cell phone networks seem to have been dragging their feet on implementing full support of VoIP for the consumer, there are technological issues to be considered, as well as how they will profit from the technology.

Once the broadband pipe has been decided upon, there is still the issue of picking a VoIP service provider. Cable companies, Telcos, and increasingly cellular companies all offer their own VoIP service to consumers, and since their service is over their own networks, they are in an excellent position to deal with Quality of Service issues.

You are not, however, under any obligation to use your broadband service provider as your VoIP service provider. Pure play VoIP providers, companies that offer only VoIP service, have grown in number, and could be said to be responsible for the low rates associated with VoIP telephony. Vonage, with around 53% of the residential VoIP market, is one pioneer in the industry that offers calling plans as low as $15 a month. SunRocket, Packet8, and the peer to peer VoIP company Skype, have calling plans for even less. Cable and Telco plans on the other hand, are bound to cost more, starting at around $35 or $40.

Whatever VoIP service provider you choose, and for whatever reason, the most important factor in determining the quality of the call is the quality of the pipe. To test your connection for VoIP suitability, do a query on the keywords “voip test” on your favorite search engine

Michael Talbert
http://www.articlesbase.com/voip-articles/choosing-a-broadband-provider-for-voip-98338.html