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AT&T updates Wireless Home Phone service with LTE internet in new bundle
Big Blue's been doing its best to catch the eye of nostalgic folks who miss the era of landlines. After introducing prepaid options for Wireless Home Phone in May, Ma Bell's now extending the service with internet over LTE. An AT&T spokesperson told us that the new Wireless Home Phone and Internet bundle debuted in select locations (listed below) on Friday. A two-year subscription comes with a free router that can connect up to 10 WiFi devices, but it'll cost you at least $80 a month for unlimited local calls plus 10GB of data. Ponying up $90 each month nets 20GB of data, while boosting the bill to $120 nabs 30GB. Thanks to an additional $10 charge for every gigabyte over your cap, however, wired home broadband may still be your best (read: cheapest) bet if you stream movies and TV shows frequently. AT&T Wireless Home Phone an Internet bundle markets: Baltimore Delaware Eastern Pennsylvania Southern New Jersey Virginia Washington D.C. West Virginia
EE now offering flat-rate unlimited broadband and call packages
EE's 4G may grab the headlines, but the company's also offering land line phone and internet services with a (Kevin) Bacony-twist. Now, the network is coaxing existing customers away from rival ISPs like Virgin and BT with six new unlimited broadband and call packages. The £5-per-month basic tier will give you unlimited ADSL and weekend calls, while bluer bloods can fork out £29 a month to get unlimited fiber (up to speeds of 76 Mbps), unlimited calls to landlines and 1,000 free mobile minutes each week. We've added a chart for comparison after the break, assuming you don't reach for your wallet every time you see a product pitched by the guy from Footloose.
US Cellular getting ready to launch Home Phone service
Keen to capitalize on the ever-growing segment of landline cutters, US Cellular appears to be launching a home phone service similar to the Home Connect offerings by Verizon and Sprint. According to information we've received, all you have to do is plug in a regular cordless or corded phone into the provided base station and voilà -- you'll be able to make calls via US Cellular's wireless network instead. You'll get unlimited voice calls for only $19.99 a month, which also includes voicemail, caller ID, call waiting, call forwarding, three-way calling and that all-important E911 service. Of course, as it's voice-only, you won't get data or text messaging as part of the plan. The PCD-made base station seen above has a model name of FT2260 and boasts dual-band support (800/1900 MHz CDMA), a QSC6055 chipset, two phone jacks and a USB port for diagnostics purposes. Also included in the package are a charger, an antenna and a 1500 mAh NiMH battery that promises up to two hours of talk or 36 hours of standby time. We're not sure when exactly this'll roll out, but from the looks of it, we won't have to wait long for yet another alternative to ye olde POTS. [Thanks, Anonymous]
Zipwhip endows existing landlines with the ability to send and receive texts
You might remember Zipwhip from its SMS-enabled espresso machine, but the outfit's hoping a new feature added to its cloud-based text-messaging platform will catch your attention this time around. In case you're not familiar with Zipwhip's non-caffeinated affairs, it allows texts to be sent through a desktop app, the web and Android tablets with a user's existing mobile number. Now, it's giving landlines the ability to send and receive texts without the need for a new number, which the firm says is a first. Instead of converting written missives to voice messages like other text-to-landline services, the setup sends the actual text to the application. By wielding the feature, companies can communicate with customers regarding orders, reservations and the like. Though the service is aimed squarely at businesses -- and even offers them a 14-day free trial -- its $20 per month price tag might even make it reasonable for folks who just have an obsession with texting. To give your wired phone a taste of the late 20th century, hit the source link below.
AT&T Wireless Home Phone goes prepaid, emulates landlines on demand
We can't say that most attempts to replicate the landline experience with a wireless link have panned out -- Verizon Hub, anyone? AT&T is wagering that it can overcome some of that hesitance with new prepaid tiers for Wireless Home Phone. Those who plug their wired phones into the $100 cellular hub can now pay only for those times they want pseudo-traditional service, whether it's $20 per month for unlimited US-wide calls or $15 for 1,000 minutes of international long distance. It's hard to make a case for the new Wireless Home Phone option when many of us already have cellphones, but we can see its uses: think snowbirds or apartment dwellers who want a cheap, traditional phone option that will follow them around for a few months at a time. If you haven't (or can't) cut the cord entirely, AT&T may have the next best thing.
Google mulled adding home phone service in Kansas City fiber packages, backed away due to 'regulations'
One can only imagine the insane amount of red tape you'd have to endure in order to launch as a new Internet Service Provider, but evidently that pales in comparison to setting up shop as a new phone provider. According to a report from the Kansas City Business Journal, Google "considered offering phone services with its ultra-fast Internet and TV packages" in the Kansas Cities, but it backed away from the idea after "doing some digging into federal and state regulations." Milo Medin, vice president of Google Access Services, had this to say: "We looked at doing that. The cost of actually delivering telephone services is almost nothing. However, in the United States, there are all of these special rules that apply." It was also noted that Milo didn't feel as if the lack of a home phone option would be a huge detriment to everything else Google was doing, and considering the decline in landline connections these days, we can't say we disagree.
BT lets site visitors add features to landlines with only a phone number and postcode
If you're subscribed to BT's landline phone service, you may want to keep an eye on your bill in the near future. The British provider recently patched up a website issue that showed account holders' full names, but attention is being drawn to an approach that lets visitors add paid features like TV service using only an account's phone number and postcode as credentials. When both of these are potentially in the public eye, that creates understandable concerns that a rogue agent could hike someone's rates without consent -- even the email address BT uses to confirm changes is only chosen on the spot, which could keep the change a secret early on. BT so far contends that the light security is for "customer convenience," although we've reached out to verify whether or not that will continue to be the company's policy going forward. In the meantime, those still on the carrier's traditional phone service will want to be careful about giving out their number to strangers; while the risk isn't extreme in practice, there's no need to hand someone the keys to the kingdom.
Sprint Phone Connect 2 will try to replace your landline on October 14th
Last year, Sprint quietly stepped foot into the world of home and office phone solutions with the release of its Sprint Phone Connect service. In a nutshell, this 3G powered VOIP alternative gives would-be customers the option of transferring their existing home or office landline number to Sprint's flat rate $20 per month service. While Sprint Phone Connect may not be among the Now Network's best sellers, it's done well enough to warrant a sequel. Pictured above is an internal screenshot of the unimaginatively named Sprint Phone Connect 2. Set to release on October 14th, this new and improved hardware is packed with a set of new features: dial tone creation, voicemail notification, caller ID (number only), call waiting, call forwarding and 3-way calling. If that MagicJack isn't quite cutting the mustard and you're looking for an affordable home or office phone solution, the Sprint Phone Connect 2 can be yours for free on a two-year commitment, or $150 outright.
Ooma Linx extender makes a visit to the FCC, lets phones go the extra DECT distance
For a VoIP phone company, Ooma has been unusually quiet since it showed us the HD2 handset at CES this January. Thankfully, an FCC filing spotted by Dave Zatz has let slip that the company is getting chattier in the near future. As the helpfully provided manual tells us, an upcoming Linx adapter will let a conventional phone talk to a Telo base station over DECT. The goal is to let Ye Olde Wired Phone in the basement join the 21st century without having to move the Telo or otherwise jump through hoops -- it'll even bring your fax machine onboard, if you're still holding on to 1994. We can't glean from the clearance just when the Linx will be ready to shake the dust from our antiquated phones, but with all the documentation seemingly in order, the wait isn't going to be too long before that landline handset enters the modern world.
RIM patent application ponders a desk dock for your BlackBerry
It's that special time of the week when we examine the what-ifs and whys of the patent system. Research in Motion applied for a patent last year to construct a telephone-dock that'll nestle your BlackBerry when you're sat in the office. Plonk your device in the carved out slot and it'll offer up its display and address book for the use of your landline, in essence, a RIM-branded version of the Phone Dock we saw back in 2010. Although this device has the added benefit of being able to hand off your desktop calls to your cell and vice-versa. Now, only the vagaries of the Patent and Trademark Office, Thorsten Heins' management decisions and market forces stand between us and this device appearing in the flesh.
Motorola HS1101 and MBP2000PU Android Home Phones get examined, detailed by the FCC
We imagine that the vast majority of Android users have since abandoned or even eliminated landline service, but if you're still tethered to the grid at the homestead, your DECT cordless might as well be running Android. Motorola demonstrated such a concept at an event way back in 2010, and it now looks like the company may finally be readying a pair of production models, dubbed the HS1101 and MBP2000PU Android Home Phones. Based on published user manuals, both of the handsets appear to be virtually identical, with the exception of color scheme -- the HS1101 is covered in a glossy black finish, while the MBP2000PU is decked out in silver and white.The WiFi-equipped handsets could be running Ice Cream Sandwich (based on a screenshot of the HS1101), and each include a 3.2-inch 400 x 240 LCD, a front-facing camera with video capture, stereo 1.5-watt speakers, microSD storage, along with micro-USB and a standard headphone port. Naturally, you'll be able to download apps (through SlideMe), while some selections, including an Aldiko e-book reader and a Digital Answer Machine come preloaded. Whether or not consumers ever plan to buy another cordless set remains to be seen, but if you're in the market, you might as well hang tight for a Motorola Android Home Phone. Both models have passed through the FCC, so the grueling wait for an ICS-powered DECT cordless may soon come to an end. Jump past the break for a closer look at both models, or hit up the source link to thumb through those meaty manuals.
Verizon halts dubious third-party billing on landlines, years after landlines were 'in'
Okay, okay -- landlines are still useful. But rapidly growing, they are not. That said, Verizon is caving to congressional pressure in a relatively minor way, announcing that it'll be banning certain third-party charges on landline bills. In political circles, the process is known as "cramming," where customers (oftentimes unknowingly) submit their number to certain third-party add-ons that have generated some $10 billion in revenue over the past five years. Sen. Jay Rockefeller from West Virginia is applauding the move, and also encouraging Congress to make this commonplace across all carriers. Curiously, there's no mention of mobile blocking, where consumers are regularly duped into subscribing to recurring fees via text-based competitions and contests. Perhaps when we've all moved on to telepathy, the feds can get right on that.
Ultra-rare Apple WALT up for grabs on eBay
TUAW readers who are into collecting Apple devices are going to love this eBay find: a prototype of an unreleased product from 1993. The Apple WALT (Wizzy Active Lifestyle Telephone) was introduced at Macworld Boston in '93, the same venue where the ill-fated Newton MessagePad first went on sale. WALT, like Newton, also had a touchscreen, a stylus, and handwriting recognition. It was designed to be a companion to a home landline phone, and was designed in cooperation with BellSouth. Built into WALT were services like an address book, fax (remember that technology?), caller ID, custom ringtones, and online banking. To interact with all of these services, users worked with a customized version of System 6 with a HyperCard GUI in place of the Finder. According to the seller's description, "Back in 2008 PC World published a list of the "Top 15 Vaporware Products of All Time". The W.A.LT. was #1." While WALT was ogled by the public at Macworld Boston 1993, the device never went into production. This prototype, complete with a full printed user manual (so much for ease of use), is being sold by eBay user russel400. The WALT is priced at US$8,000 -- note that you'd better be handy with a soldering iron if you want to get it back to working order, as it has a few "loose connections" that have rendered it unusable. Of course, you could also spend that eight grand on sixteen brand new third-generation iPads...
Clarity reveals Fortissimo speakerphone for folks with mobility issues
It's not often that speakerphones grace Engadget's pages, but Plantronics' Clarity division has created a new such device tailored to the needs of folks with mobility issues and difficulties using their hands. Called the Fortissimo, it's got an outsized LCD touchscreen for easy viewing and prodigious voice command capabilities courtesy of Plantronics' Vocalyst technology. Vocalyst lets users send emails and texts, update social networks, and access other phone functions with the spoken word, and can connect with headsets via Bluetooth. Physical phone interaction's on tap too courtesy of air switches activated by blowing on them and oversized pillow switches that are as easily hit with arms and legs as they are heads and shoulders. Lastly, there's ClarityLogic customer service that gives company reps the ability to adjust settings and upgrade Fortissimo remotely. Clarity's showing it off this week at CES, and the Fortissimo will be released this summer. PR's after the break.
A lesson in simplicity: securing a 'no landline' home with LifeShield and Dropcam
Think of this as an IRL, but longer. Recently, I bumped my head so severely that I would up buying a new abode, and for whatever reason, the insurance company mandated that I have a "monitored fire and burglary system" installed (that's UL-certified monitoring, by the way). Not too surprising when you consider their viewpoint in the deal, and honestly, I needed someone to push me into getting one, anyway. Being a grown-up, resting easier, protecting one's investment -- you know, those types of things. So, here I was, an inexperienced homeowner in dire need of a security system, with nary a place to turn. Well, except the internet. After days upon days of sifting through options and garnering advice from every corner of every related message board this side of http, I decided to phone up a couple of companies an in effort to try a hybrid (or perhaps hodgepodge) approach to keeping an eye on things. Click on through if you're interested in hearing how my time with LifeShield and the Dropcam HD turned out.
East Coast earthquake brings down cell phone, landline service (update: restored)
You've probably already read about the 5.9 magnitude earthquake that affected the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, and now we're hearing reports that the quake brought down some landline and cell phone service in New York, along with other cities on the East Coast. We've been unable to place calls in New York City using AT&T and Sprint smartphones, as well as office landlines. Are you experiencing issues as well? Let us know in the comments. Update: Service seems to have been restored in New York City. Update 2: Verizon Wireless has released the following statement on Twitter: "Seeing no reports of damage to our wireless network. There was some network congestion in the East after tremors. Continuing to monitor." Update 3: T-Mobile was feeling left out and sent us an email: "T-Mobile's network is experiencing higher call volumes in all areas and counties affected by the earthquake. If customers are experiencing temporary difficultly placing calls due to network congestion, we advise them to use SMS or E-Mail until call volumes return to normal."
Vonage Extensions makes mobile international calling a free-of-charge affair
Hey Vonage customers, your VoIP service of choice is about to get a bit of a mobile value-add. Announced today, the company's new Extensions service links your existing home internet calling plan to extra phone numbers -- like a cellphone-- for free, so you can make that long-distance call to Tante Lulu in Gstaad on-the-go. Okay, so the feature isn't exactly gratis -- you're still required to sign up for an unlimited international calling plan, but the bucks literally stop there. All it takes to get started with this "virtual calling card" is an access number and some foreign digits. Sound too complicated for you? Don't fret, official iPhone and Android-compatible apps are scheduled to hit their respective markets in the coming weeks. So, go ahead and ring ol' Lu for her 89th birthday. She'll be glad you called.
PSA: AT&T DSL and U-Verse landline internet caps begin tomorrow, if you can see this website
Tomorrow is May 2nd, 2011, and you know what that means -- tomorrow is the day that AT&T will impose data caps on DSL and U-Verse Internet, and begin tallying up overage fees. At least, that was the plan on March 18th -- when the company formally announced 150GB DSL and 250GB U-Verse caps -- but even if you're a paying customer who chows down several hundred gigabytes in a month, you may not have to worry about paying extra right away. AT&T specified that folks like yourself will have access to an online tool to self-police your usage before the company even begins to calculate the cost of your formerly all-you-can-eat bandwidth buffet, and as you can see in the picture above, the tool isn't quite ready for public consumption across the entire country. Scoot on over to our source link, enter your AT&T ID, and if you see the same, perhaps you won't have to cancel your 700-hour Star Trek marathon quite yet.
Vonage offers unlimited VoIP calling to mobile phones in 42 countries
It's been a while since we've heard much from the ever-embattled VoIP provider, but it looks like Vonage might still have a couple tricks up its sleeve. The company's latest service plan, known as World Premium Unlimited, offers unlimited calling to mobile phones in 42 countries -- and landlines in 80 -- for $55 a month. This plan also provides for unlimited local and long distance service in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico, and requires callers to use a touch tone phone, hooked up to the internet by way of a Vonage adapter, to make calls to places like the UK, Mexico, and Brazil. It may not be an ideal primary calling solution for most, but it could be enough to put Vonage back in our sights. Full PR after the break.
AT&T will cap DSL and U-Verse internet, impose overage fees (update)
Ladies and gentlemen, the days of unlimited broadband may be numbered in the United States, and we're not talking wireless this time -- AT&T says it will implement a 150GB monthly cap on landline DSL customers and a 250GB cap on subscribers to U-Verse high speed internet starting on May 2nd. AT&T will also charge overage fees of $10 for every additional 50GB of data, with two grace periods to start out -- in other words, the third month you go over the cap is when you'll get charged. DSLReports says it has confirmation from AT&T that these rates are legitimate, and that letters will go out to customers starting March 18th. How does AT&T defend the move? The company explains it will only impact two percent of consumers who use "a disproportionate amount of bandwidth," and poses the caps as an alternative to throttling transfer speeds or disconnecting excessive users from the service completely. Customers will be able to check their usage with an online tool, and get notifications when they reach 65 percent, 90 percent and 100 percent of their monthly rates. We just spoke with AT&T representative Seth Bloom and confirmed the whole thing -- rates are exactly as described above, and the company will actually begin notifying customers this week. He also told us that those customers who don't yet have access to the bandwidth usage tool won't get charged until they do, and that AT&T U-Verse TV service won't count towards the GB cap. Update: What prompted this change to begin with? That's what we just asked AT&T. Read the company's statement after the break.
