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Mobile Miscellany: week of June 10th, 2013
If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week, the Lumia 925 touched down in Germany, a popular RSS client for Android broke free of its Google Reader shackles and BBM Channels received some sorely needed features. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore all that's happening in the mobile world for this week of June 10th, 2013.
Consumer Reports: Verizon ranked the best major US carrier, AT&T ranked the worst
Nothing much has changed in this year's mobile carrier satisfaction survey from Consumer Reports, with Verizon again being rated the best of the major providers, netting good scores for voice and data service quality, staff knowledge and issue resolution. The other big players also ranked in the same order this time around, with Sprint and T-Mobile following behind Big Red, and AT&T staying in last position. None of the bottom three scored particularly highly, especially in relation to voice service quality, and only four points separated them in the ratings. While AT&T had the worst value and data service quality scores, its LTE network was ranked the best of any carrier, and the least problematic. MVNO Consumer Cellular, which piggybacks on AT&T's network, didn't disappoint after last year's overall first place finish, keeping the top spot and receiving great scores all round. Full results of the survey, which polled 63,253 subscribers, will be available in Consumer Reports' January 2013 issue.
Mobile Miscellany: week of September 17th, 2012
If you didn't get enough in mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This past week, Sprint hit more than one milestone that it just had to share and Nokia teased the latest app that's exclusive to Lumia owners. We then discovered a very rare BlackBerry and also learned of the latest city to get prepped for T-Mobile's LTE service. Hell, we even stumbled on a new smartphone for old people! These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of September 17th, 2012.
Mobile Miscellany: week of July 9th, 2012
Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you're like us and really want to know what's going on, then you've come to the right place. This past week, Motorola debuted the RAZR V in Canada and the Sony Xperia Ion was spotted at Rogers -- curiously, the phone has yet to be formally announced for the carrier. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of July 9th, 2012.
Consumer Cellular axes activation fees, retirees rejoice
Now here's a trend we can really get behind. Consumer Cellular, the "exclusive wireless provider for AARP members" (and a company that caters to the 50+ crowd), has announce that it will no longer be gouging charging its customers the dreaded activation fee. New and current customers looking to procure a phone qualify for the waiver and CC is extending the free activation offer to SIM-only patrons as well. Hopefully, this is the start of a grassroots movement in the wireless industry. The full press release is after the break.
Consumer Reports: Verizon has highest satisfaction rate among major US carriers, AT&T is lowest
It's annual satisfaction survey time for Consumer Reports, and the magazine has a few results to share in anticipation of next month's issue. It appears that regional provider Consumer Cellular topped the charts -- the survey rated scores from 66,000 online subscribers -- though Verizon was ranked the highest out of the four major players for the second year in a row, followed closely by Sprint and T-Mobile. According to the survey, the latter company was still "significantly better" than last-place AT&T. The full results will be published in the January 2012 issue. Your own personal experience with each provider may vary depending on your locale, of course, but 66,000 people have certainly made their voice heard.
Consumer Cellular rolls out Mobile Captions Service atop Nokia E5
MVNO Consumer Cellular is now offering Mobile Captions Service, an on-phone text relay system that allows deaf and hard of hearing users to see what's being said to them on the screen. Needless to say, speech-to-text isn't accurate enough to make it work, so the company has partnered with Hamilton Relay Service to have actual relay operators push the text to you. In order to use it, you'll need a Nokia E5 -- an odd choice for a carrier that thrives on hardware simplicity, except for the fact that a smartphone platform like S60 probably gives Consumer Cellular the flexibility it needs to deploy a usable relay app. In states where Hamilton is authorized to provide relay service, Mobile Captions is available now -- for free -- to qualified users.
