So, I found out that the Thunderbolt won't synch with Me.com (what used to be .Mac and MobileMe). While it's not a surprise, it is rather irritating. I used to rely on it to synch with my phone, as well as my wife's phone (and all the Mac systems in the house, of which there are four). Well, I still have my iPad also.
What am I using now, on the Thunderbolt? Google Calendar, which appears to be simpler (fancy that...something that's simpler and more intuitive than an Apple-grown app).
I'll still use my Me.com account for other things, such as photo sharing and archiving, extra e-mail accounts, and tracking my iPad (if I lose it) and daughter's iPod Touch. As I said, I still have Mac systems in the house.
Also, this phone is a power hog! I have a car adapter for charging and use my work's Blackberry charger to charge my Thunderbolt at work (I also have a micro-USB cable that I can use and plug into my laptop when I need to charge both the BB and the Tbolt). Still, I find it consuming lots of energy, and I'm barely on a 4G network throughout the day (I touch it maybe once or twice for 10 minutes at a time).
I'm still drooling over the HD videos it records, too. I recorded some fireworks that we set off tonight and the video turned out very well (once I found out how to adjust focus).
AT&T called me last night wanting me to participate in a survey once they found out that I cancelled my service with them. They called me on my Tbolt and asked if I was on a cell or landline (WTF?). When I told them I was on my phone, they told me they'd call me at my home phone, which was rather odd. When I later told my wife, she said, "they were afraid the call would be dropped". I almost snorted my lunch out of my nose when she said that!
And on that note, no, I still haven't had a dropped call and it's been almost a week since I've had the new phone. If I were using my iPhone, I'd have had at least 4-5 dropped calls already.
Showing posts with label ATT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ATT. Show all posts
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Saturday, July 02, 2011
So, I'm on vacation...
I now have some time to geek out. I suspect it will involve something with Apple products, whether it be the iPad or the Macbook. The wife has her Macbook with her, also. Maybe I'll take a look at hers to see how she's doing on disk space. I may delve in some scripting on mine. Or, play with web serving.
Regarding the iPad, I forgot to bring the charger, but I do have my standard iPhone synching cable with me, so I may have to slow-charge the iPad (when I'm sleeping or something, but that means I'd have to put the iPad to sleep). I'm charging it now as I type, and it charged 2% in 10 minutes, so that's actually not bad, especially since it was at 92% to begin with.
My iPhone is about to be replaced. I'm not even sure I'm going to stay with AT&T, as I'm tired of dropped calls. I also work for Verizon and will get a pretty substantial discount (15%) if I switch. The only Verizon phones that catch my interest are the Droid X2 and the HTC Thunderbolt, which are both LTE/4G phones. The AT&T phones that interest me are the Samsung Infuse and the Motorola Atrix (the Atrix has a dual core CPU, as does the Droid X2), and both of those are considered 4G phones, even though AT&T doesn't yet have a "true" 4g network...they have that HSPA+ crap that isn't quite on par with 4G but insist that it is equivalent to 4g
My wife has the Samsung Infuse and it is a great phone, IMO. The screen is 4.5"...huge! And the clarity of the screen is typical Samsung. It has front- and rear-facing cameras, also, which is another one of my requirements. The camera at the back of the phone is 8MP, and the front camera is 1.3MP, I believe. It is an Android phone. My wife doesn't like it, but she's coming from an iPhone 3GS (which I have right now), which she loved. The Infuse isn't as intuitive as her old phone. I told her if she didn't like the phone, she should return it before the 30-day satisfaction guarantee expired. In the end, she kept it, as she liked the clarity of the screen and the cameras. I'd have taken it off her hands if I wasn't still tied to my phone number...we could've swapped (and no, you can't swap the SIM cards from one to the other, between the iPhone and Infuse). But, she complains of dropped calls and bad reception at work, while Verizon phones tend to get good reception inside buildings. I've friends who say they can make/take calls when in the subways...can't really beat that.
Comparing both the Infuse and the Thunderbolt, they appear to be very similar in hardware. What I like about the Thunderbolt is that you get a 32gb micro-SD card with it, out of the box! The cameras are the same. The screen on the Infuse is larger, though. The Thunderbolt is true 4g. The Infuse has super screen clarity. The Samsung captures video at 1080P, while the HTC does it at 720P. This is going to be a hard decision. Also, I'm still under contract, although I'm seven months out. I'd have to pay something like $80 as an early termination fee (which isn't bad). A comparison of the two phones is here.
Why am I not getting an iPhone 4? I see no need to continue to be tied to any iPhone, as intuitive as they are. My main complaint about my current iPhone is the fact that I can't customize it the way I want. I sometimes wish I could have some of the Android apps, as they tend to let you do some pretty awesome things. I want more screen area, also. I want the option of having my data stored on external media such as an SD card (no, Dropbox doesn't cut it). I want real 4g (and 3g will no longer cut it).
I've yet to decide if I'll migrate to Verizon. I've yet to decide what phone I want, but I want the Thunderbolt pretty bad. I've seen it on display and it is a nice piece of work. About the only thing I haven't done is actually used one on the LTE network. It is pretty much either the Samsung or the Thunderbolt, right now, but I haven't even looked at Sprint's phones. I'm going to have to do that, also. I refuse to look at T-mobile, since they are pending a merger with AT&T, with AT&T buying them out. AT&T will get rid of a lot of things that make T-mobile good. I do not want to buy a T-mobile phone and find that I'll have to get another phone in a year...that would piss me off. I hope that merger doesn't go through, either, as that would mean there are only three major players (Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint).
I do want to check out Sprint's phones, though. It will have to be a top-of-the-line Sprint phone, though. HTC's EVO 4G would be the Sprint phone I'd probably look at first.
Regarding the iPad, I forgot to bring the charger, but I do have my standard iPhone synching cable with me, so I may have to slow-charge the iPad (when I'm sleeping or something, but that means I'd have to put the iPad to sleep). I'm charging it now as I type, and it charged 2% in 10 minutes, so that's actually not bad, especially since it was at 92% to begin with.
My iPhone is about to be replaced. I'm not even sure I'm going to stay with AT&T, as I'm tired of dropped calls. I also work for Verizon and will get a pretty substantial discount (15%) if I switch. The only Verizon phones that catch my interest are the Droid X2 and the HTC Thunderbolt, which are both LTE/4G phones. The AT&T phones that interest me are the Samsung Infuse and the Motorola Atrix (the Atrix has a dual core CPU, as does the Droid X2), and both of those are considered 4G phones, even though AT&T doesn't yet have a "true" 4g network...they have that HSPA+ crap that isn't quite on par with 4G but insist that it is equivalent to 4g
My wife has the Samsung Infuse and it is a great phone, IMO. The screen is 4.5"...huge! And the clarity of the screen is typical Samsung. It has front- and rear-facing cameras, also, which is another one of my requirements. The camera at the back of the phone is 8MP, and the front camera is 1.3MP, I believe. It is an Android phone. My wife doesn't like it, but she's coming from an iPhone 3GS (which I have right now), which she loved. The Infuse isn't as intuitive as her old phone. I told her if she didn't like the phone, she should return it before the 30-day satisfaction guarantee expired. In the end, she kept it, as she liked the clarity of the screen and the cameras. I'd have taken it off her hands if I wasn't still tied to my phone number...we could've swapped (and no, you can't swap the SIM cards from one to the other, between the iPhone and Infuse). But, she complains of dropped calls and bad reception at work, while Verizon phones tend to get good reception inside buildings. I've friends who say they can make/take calls when in the subways...can't really beat that.
Comparing both the Infuse and the Thunderbolt, they appear to be very similar in hardware. What I like about the Thunderbolt is that you get a 32gb micro-SD card with it, out of the box! The cameras are the same. The screen on the Infuse is larger, though. The Thunderbolt is true 4g. The Infuse has super screen clarity. The Samsung captures video at 1080P, while the HTC does it at 720P. This is going to be a hard decision. Also, I'm still under contract, although I'm seven months out. I'd have to pay something like $80 as an early termination fee (which isn't bad). A comparison of the two phones is here.
Why am I not getting an iPhone 4? I see no need to continue to be tied to any iPhone, as intuitive as they are. My main complaint about my current iPhone is the fact that I can't customize it the way I want. I sometimes wish I could have some of the Android apps, as they tend to let you do some pretty awesome things. I want more screen area, also. I want the option of having my data stored on external media such as an SD card (no, Dropbox doesn't cut it). I want real 4g (and 3g will no longer cut it).
I've yet to decide if I'll migrate to Verizon. I've yet to decide what phone I want, but I want the Thunderbolt pretty bad. I've seen it on display and it is a nice piece of work. About the only thing I haven't done is actually used one on the LTE network. It is pretty much either the Samsung or the Thunderbolt, right now, but I haven't even looked at Sprint's phones. I'm going to have to do that, also. I refuse to look at T-mobile, since they are pending a merger with AT&T, with AT&T buying them out. AT&T will get rid of a lot of things that make T-mobile good. I do not want to buy a T-mobile phone and find that I'll have to get another phone in a year...that would piss me off. I hope that merger doesn't go through, either, as that would mean there are only three major players (Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint).
I do want to check out Sprint's phones, though. It will have to be a top-of-the-line Sprint phone, though. HTC's EVO 4G would be the Sprint phone I'd probably look at first.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
iPad now available in AT&T and Verizon retail stores
http://www.macrumors.com/2010/10/28/ipad-now-available-in-atandt-and-verizon-retail-stores/
AT&T is offering only the three Wi-Fi + 3G models, priced at Apple's standard $629/$729/$829. The company also continues to offer its two no-contract monthly data plans at 250 MB ($14.99) and 2 GB ($25.00). Monthly international data plans are also available for those traveling outside of the United States, although at significantly higher prices than domestic data.
For its part, Verizon is offering the the Wi-Fi-only iPad models, promoting bundles with the carrier's MiFi mobile hotspot for $629.99/$729.99/$829.99, effectively offering an over-50% discount on the MiFi's standard no-contract price of $269.99. No-contract monthly data plans for the iPad/MiFi bundle are offered at 1 GB ($20), 3 GB ($35), 5 GB ($50) and 10 GB ($80). The carrier is also offering unbundled Wi-Fi iPads for $499.99/$599.99/$699.99.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Got a new phone - iPhone 3GS!
Backed up old phone -3G 16GB
Sync'ed the new phone - 3GS 32GB.
Erased old phone.
How to erase all data from an iPhone - Apparently, this is a two-hour process (OMG). Maybe it won't take so long, since I was only using 7GB of the space.
Giving the 3G to the wife. The phone guys just swapped out my old SIM card from the old phone to the new one. Took the old one home and gave it to the wife and she was playing with it and yelled, "why is it working when there's no SIM?" We'd forgotten that this phone can still be used without a SIM, and she was going on the web and everything. Basically, it was in iTouch mode...hahaha. So, apparently, she can pop in the SIM from her phone (non-iPhone) and it should work. She'd still have to call or visit an AT&T authorized dealer so that they could turn on the iPhone data plan, though (from what I'm told). We'll add a family plan to my phone and she can piggy-back off of me.
Seriously, I considered the Droid but did not consider much else. Based on some reviews I read and some feedback from friends that have the Droid, I decided to not get that phone. Really, once you go iPhone, you're not turning back. Almost everyone I know that tried to switch away came right back.
The 3GS is much faster than the 3G (the 3G still lags a bit after finger inputs). I can play my Skee Ball much better with this new hardware (no lag due to other background tasks going on). It also feels just a tad lighter in weight. My old cases fit the new phone. All my apps are still compatible with the 3GS. The camera on the GS is worlds better, also...and the video function is a dream. Additionally, the speaker is WAY louder.
About all I have to do now is upgrade the firmware to v3.1.3 (it currently has v3.1.2).
And, to be different, I went black this time instead of white.
So, why upgrade to 3GS when this summer will probably be 4g? Because I'm not one to be a beta tester. I'll let other people sort out the new hardware...I just want a stable phone. Plus, if I REALLY want one, I'll get it anyways (and sell my 3GS to help pay for the 4g phone).
Sync'ed the new phone - 3GS 32GB.
Erased old phone.
How to erase all data from an iPhone - Apparently, this is a two-hour process (OMG). Maybe it won't take so long, since I was only using 7GB of the space.
Giving the 3G to the wife. The phone guys just swapped out my old SIM card from the old phone to the new one. Took the old one home and gave it to the wife and she was playing with it and yelled, "why is it working when there's no SIM?" We'd forgotten that this phone can still be used without a SIM, and she was going on the web and everything. Basically, it was in iTouch mode...hahaha. So, apparently, she can pop in the SIM from her phone (non-iPhone) and it should work. She'd still have to call or visit an AT&T authorized dealer so that they could turn on the iPhone data plan, though (from what I'm told). We'll add a family plan to my phone and she can piggy-back off of me.
Seriously, I considered the Droid but did not consider much else. Based on some reviews I read and some feedback from friends that have the Droid, I decided to not get that phone. Really, once you go iPhone, you're not turning back. Almost everyone I know that tried to switch away came right back.
The 3GS is much faster than the 3G (the 3G still lags a bit after finger inputs). I can play my Skee Ball much better with this new hardware (no lag due to other background tasks going on). It also feels just a tad lighter in weight. My old cases fit the new phone. All my apps are still compatible with the 3GS. The camera on the GS is worlds better, also...and the video function is a dream. Additionally, the speaker is WAY louder.
About all I have to do now is upgrade the firmware to v3.1.3 (it currently has v3.1.2).
And, to be different, I went black this time instead of white.
So, why upgrade to 3GS when this summer will probably be 4g? Because I'm not one to be a beta tester. I'll let other people sort out the new hardware...I just want a stable phone. Plus, if I REALLY want one, I'll get it anyways (and sell my 3GS to help pay for the 4g phone).
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