Archive for the 'Cellular' Category
Our beloved Ringo has just added some new free ringtones for all of those using Ringo. Made exclusively for Ringo, you won’t find these ringtones anywhere but at www.ringomo.com. Ranging in a mix of Classical, Country, Rock, Salsa (mmmm, salsa and chips) and Ragtime, you’re phone will keep things interesting with every call.
If you don’t know about Ringo, then read our review and find out why we loved it. It works for BlackBerry, WIndows Mobile, and the beloved (but forgotten?) Palm OS. With its easy to user interface and ability to play MP3s for ringtones and messages tones, why wouldn’t you get Ringo now? 
Ringo is available at ringomo.com for US$19.95.
If that’s not nuts enough for you, then check this out. While California legislators agreed with a Harvard study (full report in PDF) that claimed 2,600 people are killed each year from talking on a cell phone while driving, those same legislators felt it was fine to allow drivers to do a little text messaging while navigating fossil fuel burners! In addition to that, you can take pictures with your phone, download games, surf the Internet, and be a good citizen and report accidents on Twitter. All without any fear of being pulled over and cited. Phew! I don’t know what I would have done if I couldn’t tweet while driving!
California is getting the word out and displaying warnings on its electronic signs through out the scene, as seen here on Interstate 80 Business in states capitol, Sacramento. (Note the reddish haze in the picture from the smoke coming from the nearly 900 fires currently a blaze in Northern California.) Surely many will ignore this sign because they are too busy talking on their phone but come July 1st, they’ll fine out quick enough.
Now, I wonder if all the cops I see talking on their cell phones while driving will go hands-free as well. Wonder if I can slap ‘em with a $20 fine if they don’t.
Verizon Wireless, the nation’s leading wireless service provider, and Loopt® announced today that Verizon Wireless customers can now access Loopt’s interoperable location-based service.
Loopt allows friends who opt in to be located by other friends to show where the friends are located and what they are doing via detailed, interactive maps on their mobile phones. Loopt helps friends connect on the go and navigate their social lives by orienting them to people, places and events. Users can also choose to permit sharing of location updates, geo-tagged photos and comments with friends in their mobile address book or on online social networks, communities and blogs.
“Loopt helps Verizon Wireless customers stay connected to friends and share their location in a fun and interactive way,” said Ryan Hughes, vice president of digital media programming for Verizon. “Loopt enhances our customers’ real world experiences by helping friends stay informed of their friends’ lives.”
“We are on a mission to deliver Loopt to consumers everywhere, and by offering our service to Verizon Wireless customers, we’re significantly closer to achieving that goal,” said Sam Altman, chief executive officer and co-founder of Loopt. “With Loopt, Verizon Wireless customers now have a powerful tool to navigate their mobile lifestyles and easily connect with people and places around them.”
Loopt, the social mapping industry leader, offers the most intuitive and effective privacy controls and security features for end users. Loopt is 100 percent permission-based and users share location information only with their known friends via private networks. In addition, Loopt users can easily turn location-sharing on or off at any time on a friend-by-friend basis or for all friends at once. Loopt regularly works with organizations such as the Family Online Safety Institute, ConnectSafely.org, the Center for Democracy & Technology, Progress & Freedom Foundation’s Center for Digital Media Freedom, and the Internet Safety Task Force.
Loopt is available today on select Verizon Wireless phones for $3.99 monthly access in the Tools on the Go, Featured Applications and Community shopping aisles in the Get It Now® virtual store. Customers need a Get It Now-enabled handset and Verizon Wireless digital service to access the Get It Now virtual store.
Aaron Vronko thinks a lot of people are too caught up in the 3G iPhone frenzy and thus are missing something big right before their eyes. In fact, it’s right there in their hands: the first-generation iPhone.
Aaron Vronko is the co-founder of Rapid Repair, popular for its iPod repair and used sales, and he spent some time on the phone with SvenOnTech last week. Building a strong business from an abundance of used and damaged music players by Apple, Vronko believes that it can continue its growth by adding iPhones to the mix. Vronko senses that there are two markets with the first-generation iPhone come July 11th, the date of release of the 3G iPhone. The first market is that of sales from the slew of five to six million 2G iPhones in the wild. Rapid Repair intends to see one to two million of those iPhones being shipped to its facilities in Michigan. This leads to the second market: sales of used iPhones. Vronko estimates these cleaned, repaired (if needed), and certified iPhones will be in the sub-$100 range (or lower) when Rapid Repair puts them on sale.
“Why would anyone want to buy a first-gen iPhone near the same price Apple and AT&T are going to offer the 3G iPhone at?” I asked Vronko. He responded that many people out there are not going to want to lose a ton of cash on activating the new iPhone (AT&T and Apple will require in-store activation at purchase) when they can just purchase the older one and easily unlock it. “People can’t live without it,” Vronko told SvenOnTech about their phones. Not wanting to have to wait two years on AT&T to jump ship to T-Mobile or any other GSM network, this desire creates a strong demand for old iPhones. Being on par with the 3G iPhone, sans the updated network support and GPS, the older iPhone will continue to have shine factor.
Then there is those who don’t want to upgrade and just want to stick with their current love. Come June 29th, warranties will run out on iPhones and those that did not opt for the extended warranty from Apple Care will now be able to use Rapid Repair’s service to fix their iPhone. “Fifteen precent of these devices will break in the first year,” Vronko told SvenOnTech on the phone last Friday. Vronko continued, “That’s a huge parts supply”. Yes, that means Rapid Repair will even purchase defective iPhones. Rapid Repair will pay between $50 and $75 depending on the condition of the phone. So even if you’re looking to upgrade, or are forced to due to a damaged iPhone, then you have a reputable place to sell it to. Vronko warned that, “You don’t know what you’re getting with eBay,” and such services. With Rapid Repair’s well respected reputation and reasonable purchase price, selling your iPhone couldn’t be easier.
Sale or buy, Vronko wants you to come to Rapid Repair first and see what it has to offer. Drop by to get your sale underway or to start your purchase today. Tell them SvenOnTech sent you.
TomTom has confirmed to SvenOnTech that it has indeed, “…tested and successfully [ran] our navigation software on the iPhone and it looks good and works well.” The Holland-based company told SvenOnTech that it is waiting to see what Apple’s strategy for the built-in GPS is on the next-generation iPhone, “…before we can say more about what kind of opportunities this will bring us.”
TomTom is excited that Apple is entering the GPS world with the 3G iPhone, due to release July 11th at both Apple Stores and AT&T stores in various markets, and is more than ready to bring its highly acclaimed navigation software to the iPhone.
TomTom believes with the development of more pedestrian navigation systems, such as the iPhone and Nokia’s offerings, it will continue to bring greater attention and demand to car navigation devices. “With more and more people getting acquainted with navigation, this will also further grow the demand for car navigation,” TomTom’s Karen CK Drake, Public Relations Manager for TomTom, told SvenOnTech last week. Drake emphasized that it does not believe the iPhone to be a replacement device for GPS but rather be “complementary” to its current offerings of car-mounted GPS units.
SvenOnTech will actively watch this developing story and keep our readers abreast of any new information as becomes available.
Feeling a bit like grandpa with this statement, I can remember the days when Bluetooth headsets (BTh) where just a few and even those where difficult to find. Today with many states going with hands-free laws (California to join the fray four days prior to our Nations birthday,) headsets are a dime a dozen now. Many offer a wide range of differing features but none seem to offer what LG’s Decoy does. You see, the Decoy docks its Bluetooth headset in the phone!
According to the Verizon press release SvenOnTech received, the headset attaches to a “discreet docking port” on the back of the slider phone. With the 2.2” mirror-like LCD screen and five-way joystick, you’ll be able to navigate through the multimedia friendly phone that supports mp3, .wma, .aac and unprotected .aac+ files as well as doing the V-CAST thang. You’ll also be able to do email (access MSN® Hotmail®, America Online® and Yahoo!®) along with web surfing. Speakerphone, 2.0 MP camera, and Bluetooth 2.1 pretty much round out this phone. Full set of features after the jump.
The LG Decoy will be available beginning on June 16 for $179.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and a new two-year customer agreement through Verizon Wireless’ online store at www.verizonwireless.com and in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores, including those in Circuit City.
Our feelers are telling us that AT&T will charge $30 a month for 3G network use for the new thinner second-generation iPhone. There is no details if this is on addition to the $20 it currently charges for unlimited Internet or if it is just a $10 increase in the current fee. Either way, this would increase users fees from $120 a year minimum making the cost of use more expensive killing any savings from the Apple markdown in price within a two year contract.
If you have to have your data quicker and you don’t live in a Wi-Fi available neighborhood, then you’ll be paying more for your data. Additionally, those that find themselves traveling may not be happy with the current AT&T coverage map, though the cellular company claims nearly all metro areas will be covered by years end.
UPDATE: According to the AT&T’s iPhone 3G Conference Call held today, this will be in leu of the current $20 charge. So, the unlimited Internet will be increased from $20 to $30 a month on AT&T for 3G access from the next-generation iPhone due July 11th. Further, the phones will be either activated IN STORE at either AT&T or the Apple Store differing from the current iTunes activation scheme used today.
The rumors can finally be weeded out and now we know to be true:
CEO Steve Jobs did not make mention if the 3G will be an unlocked phone, but with no AT&T presence on the stage and the push for 70 countries to have the 3G iPhone, it is most likely the next generation iPhone will indeed be unlocked.
As for subsidies, note that Steve Jobs stated the phone would be a maximum of $199. This definitely indicates you can expect stores, such as AT&T, to take a bigger bite out of the price and offer new customers another 50% discount to entice more users to the once named Cingular network.
Other highlights included (Firmware 2.0):
The 3G iPhone, which even Steve Jobs tripped over trying to say once, will be available July 11th, for $199 for the 8GB and $299 for the 16GB version which will be white (no photos shown.) While nearing Wi-Fi speeds for download, the 3G iPhone will also suffer in battery life when compared to the current version. Talk time is halved to 5 hours with standby at 300 hours. Web browsing comes in at about 6 hours with video an hour more and audio enjoyment clocking in at a full day. With browsing now 3.6 faster than EDGE and even 36% faster than Nokia’s N95 or the Treo 750, users of the new iPhone should be impressed with the speed gains until they have to plug into a power jack to recharge the internal battery.
What limited applications Apple did show off, they were far from limiting in what the iPhone SDK can do. Some really amazing applications where previewed such as God of War which rivaled that of the DS and even comes close to the PSP. Medical students and professionals will be happy with the two med-apps shown to the developer crowd available soon after the July App Store launch. Don’t worry sports fans, the MLB has you covered with its application that’ll keep you up to date pitch-by-pitch with any game in progress. The blues simulator from the Band application brought resounding applause to the Moscone West building when demonstrated as did the eBay application.
MobileMe, the replacement for .mac, nearly replicates the iPhone on Apple’s servers. Nearly looking identical to the Mac desktop versions of iPhoto, Mail.app, and iCal, MobileMe will bring Exchange-like features to the rest of the crowd. Pushing mail, contacts, and calendar events upon creation, iPhone users will always be up-to-date with MobileMe and firmware 2.0. The Gallery, pushing photos to the web, will allow users to share pictures on the go - finally! - anywhere one might have an EDGE, 3G, or Wi-Fi connection. The price remains $99 a year. No details were given pertaining to current .mac users.
Well, this iPhone lovin’ guy took a hold of the latest BlackBerry and gave it a spin. Yes, yes, I kept thinking, ‘How does this compare to the iPhone,’ in nearly every thing I did with it and funny to say, in some things, it faired better than the Apple-made phone. Granted, in others it didn’t (man, that web browser is plain horrible,) but truth is, not everyone wants an iPhone. Some people want Cut-n-Paste on their smartphone.
So I trekked with the Curve for a couple of weeks, used it, played with it, snapped photos with it, let it guide me to destinations, and even talked on it. Many things surprised me about it and I must say, I was really impressed with it. It is without a doubt a definite replacement for all my Windows Mobile phones I used in the past, but my iPhone? Mmm, you’ll have to read the review for that answer.
Verizon Wireless has entered into an agreement with Alltel Corporation and Atlantis Holdings LLC, an affiliate of private investment firm TPG Capital and GS Capital Partners, to acquire Alltel Corporation in a cash merger. Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD).
Under the terms of the agreement, Verizon Wireless will acquire the equity of Alltel for approximately $5.9 billion. Based on Alltel’s projected net debt at closing of $22.2 billion, the aggregate value of the transaction is $28.1 billion.
The parties are targeting completion of the merger by the end of the year, subject to obtaining regulatory approvals.
Once this transaction closes, customers of both companies will have access to an expanded range of products and services, including a premier lineup of basic and advanced devices and an expanded IN Network calling community. Alltel customers also will benefit from advanced services including over-the-air downloadable music from a three-million-song library, and a network that is nationwide, for a uniform coast-to-coast experience. They also will be able to take advantage of industry-leading consumer policies, including Test Drive and Worry Free Guarantee®.
“This move will create an enhanced platform of network coverage, spectrum and customer care to better serve the growing needs of both Alltel and Verizon Wireless customers for reliable basic and advanced broadband wireless services,” said Lowell McAdam, Verizon Wireless president and chief executive officer.
Alltel serves more than 13 million customers in markets in 34 states. This includes 57 primarily rural markets that Verizon Wireless does not serve. The transaction puts the Alltel markets and customers on a path to advanced 4th generation services as Verizon Wireless deploys LTE technology throughout its network over the next several years. Alltel’s customers also will reap the benefits of Verizon Wireless’ Open Development initiative, which welcomes third-party devices and services to use the Verizon Wireless network.
Verizon Communications, the owner of the majority stake in Verizon Wireless, expects that the transaction will be immediately accretive, excluding transaction and integration costs. “This is a perfect fit, with Alltel’s high-value post-paid customer base, its solid financials, our common network technology, and significant, readily attainable synergies,” said Ivan Seidenberg, Verizon chief executive officer and chairman of the Verizon board. “Verizon Wireless’ acquisition of Alltel clearly provides opportunities for enhanced value for Verizon shareholders.”
Alltel President and Chief Executive Officer Scott Ford will continue in his current position as head of Alltel until the merger is completed.
“Both Alltel and Verizon Wireless have long track records of delivering a high-quality customer experience in the marketplace,” Ford said. “The combination of our two companies will continue and improve upon that heritage as, together, we can more quickly deliver an expanded range of innovative products and services to our customers.”
Verizon Wireless expects to realize synergies with a net present value, after integration costs, of more than $9 billion driven by reduced capital and operating expense savings. Synergies are expected to generate incremental cost savings of $1 billion in the second year after closing.
Alltel and Verizon Wireless both use a common network technology, which provides advantages of a seamless transition for Alltel customers, ease in integrating the two companies’ networks, and scale efficiencies in operating the larger integrated network.
Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisor to Verizon Wireless on this transaction and is providing bridge financing. Debevoise & Plimpton LLP acted as legal advisor to Verizon Wireless.
Citibank, Goldman Sachs and RBS advised the sellers on the transaction. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz acted as legal advisor to Alltel, and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP and Ropes & Gray LLP acted as legal advisors to the sellers.