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More AT&T wireless outages?
We've been receiving a steady stream of tips from users around the country today reporting that AT&T, which supposedly just got back up from some apparent sporadic outages spread across the nation, was (is?) back down again today. We haven't seen or heard much, and have yet to confirm whether things ever even fully came back up at all, but what say you? Still experiencing issues? We'll let you know what we hear back from AT&T -- as you may have heard, we had them build a Batline to Ralph's office for just such an occasion. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Nokia 6555, now in "sand"
Back when we were young'uns, red was red, blue was blue, and that's the way we liked it. Nowadays, everything needs a fancy name, and not even the simplest of colors are spared. Take AT&T's new 6555 shade, for example: it can't just be brown or beige. Heck, we'd even be cool with ochre. But no, Nokia has to get all fancy on us with "sand." Okay, okay, we're just messing around, sand's a fine name, and you can pick up the 3G flip's newest color now for about $50 on contract. Supremo Red, on the other hand...[Via phoneArena]
AT&T wireless data outages hit the Midwest, other areas
We're getting reports from all over that AT&T customers are having trouble with 3G and EDGE data. A majority of the complaints are coming from the Midwest / Chicago areas, where things seem to be down entirely, but we've also heard from folks as far away as Florida. Team Engadget hasn't hit any snags in New York or Vegas where we're currently situated, but let us know if you're having troubles wherever you might be -- and what color crayon to use for this fancy "threat level" printout we've got pinned to the wall.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Meet the W760r, Motorola's V365 replacement for AT&T
Remember that V365 replacement for AT&T we chatted up back in the day? Well, AT&T's still not ready to talk about it, we guess, but the FCC sure is. The so-called W760r appears to live up to the V365's faux rugged tradition, but adds a couple key goodies: WCDMA of some sort (HSDPA, we'd hope) and a 2 megapixel cam, up from the W365's milquetoast VGA sensor. What hasn't changed is the presence of a prominent aerial antenna, a feature all but the most diehard signal addicts could probably do without. No word on a release, but considering the famous example of the still-unreleased SMT5700 that hit the FCC, like, eons ago, there's really no telling when we'll see it.[Via Phone Scoop]
AT&T ends 2007 with 231000 U-verse subscribers
Make no mistake, the number 231,000 in and of itself isn't exactly valuable, but considering that AT&T is aiming to secure one million subscribers to its fiber-based U-verse service before this year comes to a close, it certainly comes into perspective. Just months ago, AT&T was reporting that it had 126,000 U-verse customers and was handling around 10,000 installs per week. Currently, the carrier is suggesting that it's over one-fourth of the way to its goal, but considering that "just" 12,000 installs per week are being done now, it's not exactly on track to hit that million. 'Course, if it keeps on rolling U-verse out to new markets at a furious pace, we suppose anything could happen, but it's not like the provider hasn't overshot estimates in the past.
AT&T brings U-verse to Northeastern Illinois: largest launch market to date
No sooner than Southern Illinois gets gifted with a handful of new HD channels on Mediacom, the opposite side of the state now has access to U-verse. You heard right -- Northeastern Illinois has just been dubbed AT&T's largest U-verse market launch to date, giving more than 175 communities the ability to acquire its fiber-based services. More specifically, residents in Bellwood, Buffalo Grove, Crystal Lake, Dolton, Elmhurst, Harvey, Hoffman Estates, Melrose Park, Oak Lawn, Orland Park, River Grove, St. Charles and Waukegan (among many, many more) can all phone up AT&T and get U-verse headed to their abodes. And yes, Big Ten Network is indeed included in the lineup, so you can let loose that pending sigh of relief.
Sony Ericsson W580i for AT&T, now in pink
How about one more announcement just for good measure, guys? They say the third time's the charm. We kid, we kid -- find the light red W580i in your friendly local place of AT&T business for $80 with a new contract and rebate.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
AT&T boosting pay-per-use text and MMS rates -- again
Whoa there, didn't these just go up not long ago? Indeed they did, but in the fast-paced, money-grubbing world we call home, two price bumps spaced a year apart are sadly par for the course. AT&T has started informing customers that unless they're subscribed to a messaging plan, they'll be paying 5 cents more for both text messages and picture / video messages -- now up to 20 and 30 cents per, respectively. The change takes effect March 30, so we'd recommend you either tell all your peeps to cut it out with the messaging or sign up with a package by then. Follow the break for AT&T's full manifesto.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Patent granted on smartphones, everyone sued
What would you do if the US patent office gave you the go-ahead on a far-reaching, non-specific application filed for a "mobile entertainment and communication device"? If your answer was that you would immediately draw up lawsuits against almost every major electronics manufacturer that even looked at a smartphone funny, you get a cookie. Yes folks, as impossible as it is to believe, the holders of the aforementioned patent have just sued Apple, Nokia, RIM, Sprint, AT&T, HP, Motorola, Helio, HTC, Sony Ericsson, UTStarcomm, and Samsung... amongst others. So eager was this company to sue, in fact, that legal papers were filed a day before the patent was granted, and subsequently had to re-submitted. The real sucker-punch here is that the patent simply combines a list of prior technologies jumbled into one product, a practice which has recently been ruled against by the Supreme Court. Still, we doubt it will stop the holders from trying to nab a few dollars in settlements, staying the work of real innovators, and generally making a mockery of our patent system. Bravo![Via Slashdot]
Are one in three iPhones sold being unlocked?
While it likely won't come as much of a surprise to those reading this, it seems that Apple's recently released iPhone sales numbers and AT&T's customer number don't exactly match up, leading those ever so insightful analysts to conclude that many of the phones are being sold with the sole intention of being unlocked. What is somewhat surprising, however, is exactly how many phones that might be. As MacWorld reports, Apple says it sold 3.7 million iPhones in 2007, while AT&T says it signed up about two million or so iPhone customers during the same time period. While those aforementioned analysts point out that Apple's numbers were boosted by 300,000-400,000 sales in Europe, and likely a few sold over the holidays that were yet to be activated, that still leaves over a million iPhones running free out there. If you do the math, that seems to suggest that roughly one in three iPhones sold are being unlocked although, obviously, we're not about to get a confirmation on that number from anyone.
AT&T's U-verse motors to Detroit, Michigan
For Motor City residents wondering when AT&T's U-verse would ever find its way to your neck of the woods, you can finally sleep easy knowing that it's available now. As of this week, those who call Detroit home can order up AT&T's fiber-based TV, internet and / or phone service, as it is being hailed "the first area in the nation where AT&T U-verse Voice is available." Granted, we're sure the most of ya already have the phone thing covered, but just be prepared to fend off those lightning quick "triple-play" sales pitches when you call up to order TV service exclusively.
AT&T hands out free hotspot access to broadband customers, ups its bandwidth
AT&T, continuing to be the open, giving, and free-wheeling loony that it is, has decided to bestow cost-free access to its 10,000+ WiFi hotspots (for its broadband subscribers, that is). Effective immediately, if you're tossing money the company's way for any high-speed access, you can hop onto wireless networks in retail shops, restaurants, and airports free of charge... provided they're AT&T networks. We know its a lot to handle, but get this -- the telco has also upped the speeds of its U-verse service to a whopping 10 Mbps downstream / 1.5 Mbps upstream configuration, undoubtedly warming the hearts of AT&T subscribers hankering for a little more bandwidth to sustain their ever-increasing 'net needs. It's like the holidays all over again.Read - AT&T To Deliver Free Access To Nation's Largest Wi-Fi NetworkRead - AT&T Boosts Bandwidth Choices and Speed with 10 Mbps Offer for U-verse Customers
Windows Mobile 6 upgrade for Samsung BlackJack hits today
After having given its newer BlackJack II cousin plenty of breathing room in the WinMo 6 spotlight, Samsung's finally doubling back to bring the original up to spec. No, seriously: as of 5PM Eastern Time today, you'll be able to hit the attached link and download Windows Mobile 6 (an official ROM, finally) for your old-skool BlackJack in all its glory. For folks not in need of the II's GPS, the upgrade should breathe new life into a handset that still holds its own in the smartphone pack, and for some time now, has been just one small upgrade away from avoiding the proverbial glue factory. Let us know how it goes, updaters!Note: Prior to 5PM EST, you'll be redirected to an old Windows Mobile 5 update for the phone. Hang tight, folks!
Cellphone bill on the rise? Check your SMS charges
If you've been paying attention to mobile carriers' SMS pricing lately (and something tells us you haven't) you'd be surprised to discover a fairly disturbing trend amongst providers: price hikes. Over the past year or so, nearly every major carrier in the US has raised their per-price cost of SMS messages, with Verizon and Sprint jacking up the fee from $0.15 to $0.20 a message, and AT&T and T-Mobile adding another nickel to their $0.10 charge. Of course, this trend of rising prices accompanies a major spike in the use of text messages amongst customers, with some surveys marking a 130-percent jump over SMS use since June 2006 -- and telcos are taking it to the bank. What's most insidious about the inflated costs is the fact that SMS data is particularly low-bandwidth, and analysts say that the price increases aren't related to higher operating costs -- these companies are simply gouging customers for a service which they have embraced. Companies say the hikes are meant to encourage customers to go for more expensive "bundles," though we're confident they won't mention it when your Mom uses more messages than her plan allows and unwittingly pays a few extra bucks on her bill -- that stuff adds up, you know?
Corporate users rejoice: the iPhone is now an option
The biggest challenge I encountered when lobbying for an iPhone at work wasn't the price, or the fact that is only kinda sorta supports Exchange (IMAP, I love you, but you are no ActiveSync) but rather it was bureaucratic in nature. There was simply no way to buy an iPhone using a corporate account. I got around this by buying the iPhone myself, and paying the monthly bill myself (aren't I clever?).Luckily for well heeled corporate drones everywhere AT&T has announced Enterprise plans for the iPhone. The rates are pretty much the same, but the beauty is that some faceless, soulless corporation will be footing the bill for you (ain't capitalism grand?).Thanks, Chris.
AT&T says SIM-only service available contract free, 2-year plan was a mistake
Apparently, the news we got (and saw on the company's website) yesterday concerning AT&T's offer of a SIM-only service plan was off the mark... or so says AT&T. According to the telco's reps, a SIM card can be had sans-contract, saying that its attitude towards the service hasn't changed and that pre-paid, post-paid, or any other millions of varieties of arrangements can be made to tap into its sweet service. So move along folks, nothing here to see.
Motorola Z9 for sale by way of eBay
A few scratches around the screen. A keypad that doesn't light up. No original materials included -- just a wall wart for charging. Doesn't exactly sound like a dream of an eBay find until you realize what this is, the totally unreleased Motorola Z9 slider that hasn't been seen or heard from for many, many moons. As the seller points out, the Z9's basically a slider version of the RAZR 2 (right down to the bizarre burgundy shade of AT&T's V9) so if sliders just really do it for you, here's your chance to get in on a little piece of unavailability. The seller also claims that the phone won't be out in retail channels for "a couple more months," though with six or more months already behind us since we first heard of it, who's counting?[Thanks, Lincoln]
Red LG Shine gets real for AT&T
Some of you good folks may have seen AT&T commercials on the telly this weekend pimping a red version of its Shine alongside a red Curve and Blackjack II -- but for those that haven't, yeah, it's here. Grab it in all its crimson sliding glory for a hundie on contract after rebates.[Thanks, William]
iPhone goes corporate: AT&T announces business plan
Without a 3G iPhone announcement at MacWorld, Apple remains focused on increasing the penetration of their generation-one handset. True to the rumors circulating the intertubes last week, AT&T is now offering the iPhone to business customers. Plans break down as follows: 2 year commitment, voice service, and data plan required $45 per month for unlimited data, visual voicemail, and 200 SMSes; $55 ups the SMS limit to 1,500; $65 for unlimited everything An extra $25 per month nabs a 20MB monthly data plan good for 29 countries, $60 per month ups the limit to 50MB Activate by 31 March and qualified accounts will receive a service credit of $25 per month good through 31 December, 2008 -- yeah, that's a sweet deal We have a funny feeling that the timing of this has something to do with IBM's imminent announcement of Lotus Notes mail for the iPhone. Now get on the horn to IT, they'll be dreading your call. [Thanks, Brandon B.]
AT&T offers SIM-only service, attempts to maintain "most open" status
It looks like all that shouting AT&T has been doing lately about its "openness" is starting to manifest itself in the way the company does business. It's come to our attention that the mobile telco has started offering a SIM-only plan, thus providing the ultimate in open options. The idea being, of course, that you can bring any random / crappy / salvaged GSM-compatible handset the provider's way, and it'll let you hook a towline onto its satellites. Of course, you could just get one of those cheapo giveaways and pop out the card, but this is so much more open and free, like San Francisco in '69, a car-less road, some land of your own, and a good old-fashioned whiskey on the rocks. Oh, you still have a sign a two-year agreement... enjoy your freedom![Via The Boy Genius Report]
