Posts Tagged ‘AT&T’

Blackberry Media Sync – another way to free yourself from AT&T and the iPhone

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

Recently, I learned I could sync my Blackberry Curve with iTunes® or Windows Media Player files. I thought, awesome, I can finally consolidate the different gadgets I carry around everyday onto a single device.

But I wondered how hard it would be and/or would it be as easy as syncing with other dedicated music-playing devices? The answer in short is, yes, it is easy and quick. Here’s my step by step account:

  1. Go to Blackberry’s website, download application and install on your computer. Click here to download yourself.
  2. Launch application from your computer, at which point you’ll be asked to connect phone via USB.
  3. Choose whether to sync with an iTunes library or a Windows Media Player library. I chose my iTunes library. (There’s an easy way to switch this at any time from the ‘options’ menu).
  4. The desktop application then provided a list of playlists, including the the entire library of songs to choose from. I chose the ‘Top 25 most played’ to keep it simple.
  5. After selecting a playlist to transfer, the app indicated how much space on my Blackberry media card still remained and it had a cool option that allowed me to “add random music to free space” if I wanted to fill up my entire media card with additional songs. I left this option unchecked as I wanted to leave some room for pictures on my media card.
  6. Finally, just click ‘Sync’ and, voila, iTunes music on my Curve. It works fairly seamlessly with one exception. Songs I purchased from the iTunes store before they offered DRM-free versions (Digital Rights Managed) weren’t able to be transfered. So alas, for me, no Beastie Boy’s Paul’s Boutique on my phone for now.

And that was it. As simple as could be, without a single hiccup along the way. The whole process from installing to syncing took less than 20 minutes.

So now that you can sync music, enjoy superior email functionality, use maps with GPS and download 100’s of other cool apps from the Blackberry App World you can finally free yourself from AT&T and the iPhone.  Need more convincing? Click here for a complete guide to “knowing your network.”

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Posted in Entertainment | No Comments »

We support Wireless Open Access and the Google Voice App on BlackBerry

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

Google Voice is a really interesting phone service that Google launched recently.  It’s sort of like Skype but much more flexible.  From your Google Voice phone number, you can make free domestic calls in the US, send unlimited SMS, and call international numbers for a few cents a minute.  Here is where it gets interesting and certainly confusing – you can choose which physical phone to use to make and recieve calls – your mobile phone, your home phone, your office phone, the nearest phone.  It allows you to screen calls, customize voicemail greetings for different callers, choose where to answer the phone depending on the time of day, and read your voicemail.

You can use the service from the google voice website but if I’m running errands and want to call my mom in Japan to ask her what goes in her special recipe for okara, I use the Google Voice Dialer App for my BlackBerry.  It costs me $0.02/min on my Google Voice account to make the international call to Japan.  On my phone, the call to my mom looks like a call to another US number and just uses airtime with no extra toll charges.

You can sign up to get a Google Voice phone number here and download the App for your BlackBerry by going to http://m.google.com/voice.  It’s really nice that the App is integrated with the BlackBerry Address Book.  It makes it easy to call any contact in your address book using the Google Voice service.

There are probably lots of creative ways to use Google Voice.  I’m not creative enough to get my head around the possibilities but Google must be planning something big with this service.

The Google Voice Dialer App is available on the BlackBerry and Android, but not on the iPhones.  Apple rejected Google Voice for the iPhone from it’s App Store and now the Federal Communications Commission is investigating the reasons and motives behind the rejection.

Leave it to AT&T and Apple to hinder innovation and limit consumer choice.  In an era where people increasingly use their phones to stay connected, why shouldn’t we get net neutrality and open access in the wireless world just as we have on the internet?

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Posted in Uncategorized | 10 Comments »

Technology writer David Pogue on how to shorten mobile voicemail messages

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

If you, too, are a fan of New York Times Technology writer David Pogue, you may be familiar with his current campaign against the “inane, utterly pointless, time-wasting ‘how-to-leave-a-message’ instructions foisted upon us by Verizon, Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile.”  Gizmodo, Engadget, Consumerist and others have agreed to help out.  I agree.  We would prefer that our customers and their friends spend their time calling their Senators and digesting NPR instead of listening to voicemail instructions.  Thus, here a few ways to give some precious seconds back to your callers and cut down on your minutes consumed:

1)  Get rid of the system instructions at the end of your message - Access your voicemail box. Press 3, for personal options.
 Press 2, for greetings.
 Press 1, to change your personal greeting.
 Press 3, to add or remove the caller instructions. Follow the prompts to turn instructions on or off.

2)  Let callers know how to leave a message ASAP - Early in your voicemail greeting, make sure to let callers know to “press 1 to leave a message”.  This will save them a few seconds of listening to you ramble on about not being there.

3)  Complain to your carrier - As Pogue’s readers have found out, the other carriers aren’t making it easy for you to shorten your voicemail message and save $.  Let them know how you feel about this:

- Verizon:  Post a complaint here:  http://bit.ly/FJncH.
- AT&T:  Send e-mail to:  customerissues@attnews.us.
- Sprint:  Post a complaint here:  http://bit.ly/9CmrZ
- T-Mobile:  Post a complaint here:  http://forums.t-mobile.com/tmbl/board/message?board.id=General&thread.id=2346.

Here are some of Pogue’s posts on the subject:

- How to Bypass Stupid Voicemail Instructions
- ‘Take Back the Beep’ Campaign
- Take Back the Beep, Part II

- 8/13/09 update from Pogue

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Posted in Productivity, voicemail | No Comments »

The iPhone, Without AT&T

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

Lots of progressive gadget-o-philes I know are intrigued by the sleek design and functionality of Apple’s iPhone…but also aren’t very happy about the prospect of paying a bunch of money to the Bush-Cheney-McCain donating, net-neutrality-fighting mega-corporation that is AT&T.

Well, lately I stumbled into an ideal solution that gives me the iPhone’s functionality without AT&T (and no, it doesn’t involve ‘jailbreaking’ your iPhone).

You see, the current generation of iPod Touch devices include support for a microphone along with your headphones…as well as a built-in WiFi connection.  And just a few months ago, Skype came out with an app for the iPhone that also works on the iPod Touch.

So…get an iPod Touch and then buy a set of headphones that also includes a microphone (here or here for example).  Get a free Skype (or Fring, or Truephone) account…and then also download and install the client from the App Store. Presto — your iPod touch is now a working telephone, and no big monthly bill to AT&T.

Of course, this solution depends on a WiFi connection…but for me, that includes home, all the coffeeshops in my neighborhood, and my local airport. And it works great for free international calls to friends abroad, most of whom have Skype accounts.

For the rest of my phone needs — plus great mobile access to my email — I use the new BlackBerry Curve from CREDO Mobile.  It gets my work email for me when I’m on the road, and lets me stay in touch with the office after hours without being chained to my desk (or dragging my laptop around.)

It’s the best of both worlds, really.

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Posted in Political, Productivity | 7 Comments »