AT&T Throttles Largest Data Users on Unlimited Data Plans

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On July 29, 2011, Dallas based AT&T announced that it would throttle the heaviest data users beginning in October of 2011. This would affect, or so the company alleged, only the top five percent of data users. The company didn’t indicate the amount of data usage that would prompt the throttling. According to an Associated Press article, AT&T cited network overcrowding as the reason for limiting the unlimited data.

Subscribers Feel the Crunch

Mike Trang, an Orange County California property manager, often uses his phone’s GPS device because it helps him get to locations for his job. He was horrified to discover that his phone wouldn’t load anything over the last few weeks. Because Trang was regarded as one of the top five percent users, AT&T exercised their prerogative to cut data speeds, the result of which slowed his phone to dial up speeds. After subscribing to an unlimited data service for $30 a month, Trang received a notification just two weeks into the billing cycle, informing him that he had used 2.3 GB of data.

Those traveling could also feel a hit.  If a person is traveling in Illinois and trying to decide what to do in Chicago, the time it takes to perform the search could change the manner in which he or she conducts the search.  If the purpose of the data transfer is convenience, the overall experience and impression will be modified, and not in a positive way.

Bait and Switch

According to PC World, the average smartphone user in the U.S. is paying approximately one penny per megabyte of data with major carriers on contract plans. Since phasing out the unlimited plan, AT&T offers tiered data plans beginning at $30 for 3GB of data. That is almost one gigabyte more than the amount that Mike Trang and others used , which caused AT&T to throttle their data service. When customers called AT&T to inquire about the throttling and complain that they were never informed about the amount of data use that would cause the throttling, they were told that it would be averaged out across the top five percent of data users.

Money Scenario

AT&T claims they don’t have the infrastructure to support unlimited data usage. More importantly, it appears as if they don’t want to build it because by not doing so, they can charge customers more for a tiered system. AT&T is apparently forgetting about an important part of the equation: the suppliers, namely Apple. The reason that many AT&T customers purchased unlimited data plans in the first place was because they wanted to have the service for smartphones, and they were the first major provider to feature the iPhone. Feature rich phones such as the iPhone are designed to do a lot, so they need to access more data. The ability to access more data also requires speed.

Another potential drawback for AT&T is the fact that the iPhones and iPads are the most widely purchased products for businesses, especially small businesses. By not spending money on infrastructure, AT&T hangs on to more money, except for what they share with shareholders. They fail to see that by using the money to build the infrastructure, they could create additional jobs, and in the process, help the American economy.

Now that other major cell phone providers are carrying the iPhone and other high-tech smartphones, AT&T has more competition. AT&T’s attempt to save money by not building the infrastructure to support unlimited data usage, and their refusal to tell their customers exactly how much data they can use before their service will be throttled may backfire. Users may decide to look for providers that will give them unlimited service without the need to lock themselves into a contract.

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Mobile: Making Waves in the Marketplace

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Prior to the advent of the Internet, consumers had little choice when it came to shopping and looking for deals. Sales fliers and word-of-mouth were how consumers learned of impending sales, and it wasn’t unheard of to spend an entire afternoon going from store to store in an attempt to find the best deal. Now, however, a few clicks of the mouse will yield results beyond most shoppers’ dreams.

Mobile Coupon Aggregators and Apps

Mobile coupon aggregators are able to offer potential customers up-to-the-minute deals when they subscribe or opt-in to the service. Websites such as Cellfire, Yowza, and Zavers encourage users to sign up to get multiple local promotions in one place. By using an opt-in model, subscribers are able to choose exactly what they want to receive. The fact that they choose the offers they wish to receive makes it almost certain that they’ll read the text message and save it because of the coupon code.

As smartphone use rises with the addition of newer, feature-rich mobile phones, software companies are taking advantage of the newer and more user-friendly cell phone applications. MobiQpons, another mobile coupon aggregator, uses the GPS feature on a cell phone to locate potential customers. It then offers users coupons for restaurants and retailers in the vicinity of their homes or work places, taking advantage of the probability that a subscriber will be more likely to use a coupon that offers a discount for a business they patronize anyway.

Sources for Online Coupons, Codes and Deals

Several websites function as all-inclusive clearing houses for the best deals, coupons and discounts on the Internet. One of those places, CouponCraze, organizes their inventory in such a way as to separate new coupons from those that expire soon, exclusives, and coupons for specific stores — making the site much easier to navigate. FatWallet is another good site, albeit less organized and reliable; people who are looking for a discount on specific items like laptops will benefit most from the site.

Social Media Sites

Facebook is one of the social media sites that allow businesses to create pages as a way to communicate with potential customers, while developing a broader presence in the community. Businesses will often take advantage of the “like” feature, using it to their advantage by offering potential customers, coupons or deals for liking their page. Twitter does the same thing by allowing businesses to post tweets up to 140 characters that include a shortened link directing users to a specific offer from that business.

Holiday hike

Retailers reaped the rewards of the busiest holiday spending week ever in December, but the record wasn’t a shocker. eBay and PayPal anticipated a significant mobile shopping spike in late 2011, describing a growing trend that has been dubbed “Couch Commerce”. Mobile and tablet applications invited eBay shoppers to take advantage of Daily Deals taken from the auction giant’s bestseller listings, offering consumers huge discounts and free shipping.

As technology continues to evolve, people are drawn to newer and more feature-rich mobile devices. Smartphones and tablets allow people to surf the Internet or shop for anything at any time. There is no question that a service that offers a discount on appealing merchandise will make the prospect of shopping much more inviting – no matter what the marketplace. Mobile devices represent the technology of the future, and smart businesses should drive their marketing towards an increasingly mobile-driven society.

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Why small ISPs and rural telcos love Google Apps

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With the IT industry enthusiastic about smaller machines with bigger capabilities and with the prospect of cloud computing fast becoming a reality, demand for remotely hosted reliable services is on the rise. For the past few years, Google Apps has offered a realistic alternative to Microsoft and having achieved 99.98% uptime in the second quarter of 2011, Google Apps offers not only lower prices than Microsoft, but also a more reliable service.

Rather than just competing with Microsoft on product performance and price, Google has also made itself attractive to rural telcos and small ISPs with a host of other products and services. These enable smaller businesses to offer their customers high specification and value-for-money services. Some of the services available on Google Apps allow small ISPs and rural telcos to provide their customers with email through their own unique and corporate-branded domain, as well as apps to replace traditional office suites, such as Google Docs, Talk, Sites and Voice.

Small companies are often not able to work directly with Google, which is why the market for Google Apps resellers is one of the fastest-growing investment opportunities. A major reseller in the US is NeoNova, which has migrated 13 independent telco customers to Google Apps in 2011 and a total of 27 since they started selling Google products in 2010. Ikano Communications and Integrated Broadband Services LLC have also enjoyed great success by providing added-value services to clients through Google Apps.

Market Trends

These successes have been attributed to a set of market trends that give distinct advantages to small and rural telcos and ISP companies. Given a global trend in increasing broadband connectivity for rural areas and the proposition from the UN to make internet access a human right, Google Apps that offer free web-based applications have become a profitable niche market.

With the growth of the cloud-computing phenomenon, broadband providers are able to offer more innovative applications, which in turn can help them increase their revenues while also streamlining their operations. There is also a growing international demand for Google Apps, with over 30-million users currently favouring Google for their messaging and document-sharing tools. As the services are web based, apps are constantly updated, with new releases being put out every fortnight.

Google and More

For customers of Google Apps resellers, migrating to the cloud can offer more than just Google. For NeoNova customers, extended features include NovaSubscriber for account management, NovaSupport for top-quality customer support and NovaDesk for a 24-hour helpdesk solution. The company also offers security products and services and a whole host of network-management products which allow customers to manage, analyse and report on network traffic.

For rural telecoms companies, the next few years are going to be vital, as they look to retain their customers and add value to their subscribers’ services. For end users, whether they connect through a wireless network, dongle or wired broadband, the expectation is for not just high-speed broadband but for the same level of service as they would receive with the larger providers. Companies already using the Google Apps platform believe that this format enables them to provide their customers in rural locations with the same high level of services as urban users would enjoy, without the need for added investment in infrastructure.

All Sewn Up?

With the many advantages of using Google Apps and nothing of comparative quality and price being offered by Microsoft, it seems the small telcos and rural ISP markets could be rapidly sewn up. As broadband extends into more and more rural locations worldwide, many users will sign up for these applications as their main platforms, whether connecting with a mobile dongle or home-broadband service. However, as cloud computing really comes to the fore over the next few years, more software companies will bring out competitive products. Google will need to keep up with the changes to stay in the game.
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Motorola Atrix 4G Review

Motorola Atrix 4G Review

The Atrix 4G is not just a simple phone. The dual-core handheld works as a laptop, desktop computer, set top box, and somewhere between all these, it works as a smartphone too. The Motorola device, with its 4-inch screen, HSPA+ connectivity and other killer features, is multi-purpose device meant to substitute your netbook or more, through its Webtop environment.

Hardware and Performance

The Motorola Atrix 4G’s hardware is admirable for a number of reasons, one of which is design. The chassis is mainly plastic but it’s packed firmly that it feels much more solid. Its dimensions are 4.63 x 2.5 x 0.43, thickness that is similar to that of the iPhone 4, and weighs 135g (4.8oz).the front is almost completely display, except for the Android buttons at the bottom. At the top rear is the power/sleep button, which is also a fingerprint scanner, and the headphones jack is next to it. On the right edge is the volume rocker and on the left edge are HDMI and microUSB ports. The fingerprint option is quite unique but if you don’t need high level security, a simple passcode will be enough.

The Motorola Atrix 4G is one of the best looking smartphones on the market and the looks are paired with some respectable power – 1GHz dual-core CPU, 1GB DDR2 RAM, 16GB internal memory plus a microSD card slot for extra 32GB. The device is also equipped with 960 x 540 capacitive touchscreen  that  Motorola calls qHD display. In the connectivity section, Atrix 4G offers Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, Wi-Fi b/g/n, and HSPA+. The phone has also a built in light sensor, compass and accelerometer.

The Atrix 4G is one of the fastest phones, competitive even to the iPhone 4. It can’t be thrown out of balance even by complex tasks like 3D gaming.

The cameras completely match the quality if the rest of the phone. The still images are clear and with realistic colors, and the 5MP camera also allows for 720p HD videos to be captured. The quality of the sound meets the quality requirements that we set when it comes to Motorola phones. Both the earpiece and the speaker on the back deliver a loud and clear sound.

The battery is packed with remarkable 1930mAh and even though Android tends to drain the battery very quickly, you can get more than 24h of constant heavy usage with just one charge.

Software

For the Atrix 4G, Motorola decided to go with modified Android 2.2 Froyo instead of Gingerbread. It might sound like Atrix 4G is going retro on us, but it works very well actually, and no one says you can’t update to Gingerbread latter on. There are a number of proprietary apps of Motorola and AT&T that consume too many resources for other, more useful apps could be used. Some of these apps can be uninstalled, however.

Accessories

Now, here’s where things get interesting. Motorola Atrix 4G comes with a software called Webtop that allows you to plug the Atrix into a laptop or desktop dock and set up an environment in which you see the phone’s window along with the Webtop software on the big screen.  Even further, you can have a Motorola laptop dock that looks like it just came out of a geek’s wet dream. It’s an 11.5-inch vessel for the Atrix 4G with 1366 x 768 resolution, full keyboard and trackpad with two buttons. Of course, the laptop doesn’t work without the phone. Motorola also provides a desktop dock, keyboard and mouse.

Even though Atrix has 4G as a core of its name, it fails to live up to the expectations. Both the download and the upload speeds are not 4G-like and the average download speed is 1.5Mbps. Perhaps the problem is in the network and not the phone, but still it’s frustrating.

The Verdict

The Atrix 4G will cost you $199.99, accessories not included. But with all the fire power and looks this phone has to offer, the only thing you should ask yourself is which of the accessories should you by.

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LG Thrill 4G Review

LG Thrill 4G Review

The second Android smartphone in the United States that is capable of recording and displaying 3D video and photos without the need of a special glasses would be the LG Thrill 4G. The question people are curious to know would be; is the 3D effects fun and useful or just lame?

The LG Thrill is equipped with a 4.3 display screen, 800 x 480 pixel screen that is able to display both 2D and 3D graphics. This phone weighs in at 5.9 ounces and it a little heavier than the rest of the other smartphones. The LG Thrill seems to be a pretty solid phone. The LG Thrill 4G runs on Android 2.2 out of the box but is promising to be updated to Android 2.3. With the phone’s dual core processor being 1GHz there seem to be no lag in this phone data processing.  The 3D term seem to put a bad taste in everyone’s mouth because of the bad effect the Nintendo 3DS. Nintendo 3DS has the 3D effect but isn’t worth it. The Thrill 4G has got a superior screen compared to the 3DS and the 3D is optional to use but is enjoyed by many to use the 3D effect. The LG includes a full 3D menu that allows you to quickly browse 3D YouTube videos, 3D photos and videos in the gallery and fast access to all 3D games.

 

The camera of the Thrill 4G is capable of shooting both 2D and 3D modes. The 3D mode the pictures and videos came out very nice. The only bad part is if you don’t have the right amount of light the pictures may actually overlap of two images and look quite blurry in the 3D mode. So if you plan on using the camera in 3D mode be sure not to be in dark places for the pictures will not come out. The call quality and data usage are quite good. Putting the data speed to the test it operates at 1.6 MBPS in the uploading test.

 

The battery life of the LG Thrill 4G was average. It will last all day if used moderately. It will not last as long with heavy usage of the smartphone.

 

So the answer to the question on everyone mind is pretty clear, that the 3D effect is quite fun and is not just a lame gimmick. The 3D actually works good compared to the DS3.

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Mobile Phones for Christmas – Contract or SIM Only?

Mobile Phones for Christmas

It can be a challenge to find the best cell phone service plan to meet your needs when there are so many service providers competing for your business and such a confusing array of service options available. You not only have to decide on a service provider, but what kind of phone you want, what features you need, what type of plan will fit your calling pattern and what kind of contractual commitment you’re willing to make, if any.

Mobile Phones for ChristmasBefore you sign on the dotted line, take the time to do some research and shop around to ensure you are really getting value for your money and that the plan you choose is going to meet all your needs. Too often consumers are swayed by a service provider’s glossy ad and fail to read the fine print, only to discover that they are locked into a long-term contract with monthly bills that are far in excess of what they expected or plagued with ongoing problems like dropped calls or busy networks.

Standard cellar phone contracts are generally for a period of one to three years and include a free cell phone and accessories. You actually pay for the “free” phone, as its cost is rolled into the overall price of the contract.  And during the contract period, you are not allowed to cancel or downgrade your service. Over the past decade SIM only deals have become a popular alternative to long-term mobile phone contracts. The SIM (Subscriber Identification Module) is the smart card that functions as the digital brain of a mobile phone handset. It holds all of the data that the phone needs to function including: the phone number, the personal security key that authorizes you to use a particular network, your rate plan, service features and personal information. SIM only deals do not include a phone and as a result are far less expensive.

The SIM card is portable and can be transferred from one phone to another, enabling you to receive calls to your cell phone number on different handsets. Upgrading to a new phone or using a borrowed phone, is as simple as slipping your SIM card into that phone. However, if you currently have a phone that came with a standard cell-phone contract, the phone will be locked and only able to recognize the SIM card from the carrier who sold you the contract. In most cases, these phones can be unlocked for a small fee, allowing them to accept SIM cards from any carrier.

SIM only deals offer you some distinct advantages over standard cellular service contracts. They include more minutes, unlimited texting, access to mobile internet and other perks for a far lower cost than any standard service contract can offer. And they are very flexible. Most service providers offer rolling thirty day contracts, giving you all the advantages of a monthly payment plan with the flexibility of a pay-as-you-go service. You are not locked into a long term deal and can switch providers or plans whenever you want. SIM only contracts are also an ideal choice for anyone who has a limited credit history or a poor credit rating. And for anyone concerned about reducing their environmental footprint, buying a SIM card allows you to recycle your phone.

My name is Nisha, I represent a site called Wish.co.uk. I love to write, especially about games and technology, I love contributing my knowledge and experience readers. Please visit our site to find some great Christmas gifts!

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Samsung Epic 4G

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After the success of 3G and 2G standards for mobile phones and mobile communications, 4G is introduced in mobile phones to provide secure Internet Protocol based mobile broad band solutions.

Samsung is coming with many mobile phones, which includes all the new features that are in high demand by the public in order to compete with the market. One of it’s innovate new mobile phone is Samsung Epic 4G that was released on September, 2010. The outstanding feature of the phone is that it has a physical keyboard that is rated to be best and user friendly keyboard among other mobile phones with relatively same features but different mobile phones manufacturers. Because its keys are nicely spaced, this makes clicking the keys easier.

It weighs about 155 grams with 124 by 65 by 14 mm in dimensions. It has a super AMOLED capacitive touch screen that puts the touch sensor on the display itself, this AMOLED technology used by Samsung is highly appreciated by the people over the world, as it makes the animations appear lively on the screen and colors burst out of the display which is very eye-catching.

Samsung Epic 4G has internal memory of 512 MB RAM and 512 MB ROM. But its external memory can be extended up to 32 GB which is also a key feature of Samsung mobile phones. The phone runs Android Operating System version 2.1 upgradeable to version 2.2, with Samsung’s own Touch Wiz 3.0 User Interface. Samsung also has its own media aggregator as it combines many communities’ accounts in a single view.

The phone comes with 5 mega pixel primary camera with 2592 by 1944 mega pixels t the back and VGA camera at the front. Like other Samsung mobile phones the Samsung Epic 4G also has the LED flash light to enable shooting videos and capturing pictures in dark. And also the feature of smile and face detector is found in this handset along with the one key touch focusing characteristic. Epic has rated high for its video quality performance when compared with other mobile phones in bright light.

The Samsung Epic also has a good microphone as it detects the voice sounded far too loud as compared to other smart phones with relatively same features. The touch Wiz music player that is self built in the mobile phone is very touch friendly and easy in navigating. One of the best feature that adds up the market value of the Samsung Epic 4G is that it also supports more video codecs such as DivX, Xvid and H. 264 formats which many other mobile phones does not. Audio off the external speakers is also decent which makes this mobile phone more popular into music lover group.

 

The Samsung epic 4G is the second 4G support smart phone on Sprint. It enables to connect up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices through the hotspot. The call quality of the phone is also good, but at some areas users have heard a little static on the line.

 

 

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Facebook Messenger for iPhone

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Facebook has invaded the lives of billions of people, and those people have let it. Nowadays, Facebook has modified their applications so that they can work on whatever type of mobile device you’re hauling around. This could mean any phone or tablet, whether Android or Apple. Facebook Messenger is now available for the omnipresent iPhone. As always, Facebook makes itself free, by which it can be the premiere choice for everyone.

This new Facebook Messenger has been formatted to work with iOS, the operating system that comes with iPhones, iPad, and iPodTouches. Since everyone either has a Facebook profile, or symbolically refuses to get involved in the Facebook Revolution, and since everyone has a cellphone, the two combined mean that you are integrated into the global network wherever you go.

Facebook Messenger for iOS makes the interconnection even more intense with a new integrated system that allows for both traditional chatting and SMS text messaging all through its Facebook interface.

Of course, the domination of the market depends on the users submitting to the Facebook world. The Facebook Messenger allows you to chat with other friends who are online at the moment. For SMS text messaging, it goes into friends’ profiles in order to find their cell phone number, instead of searching in your phone’s directory. This can definitely be a pro, particularly if you have outdated numbers stored in the phone’s memory banks.

The chatting is fast. Text transfers rapidly between users with this free application. It is to be expected, considering the resources Facebook is working with. When your iPhone is in your pocket, you will be alerted to new SMS texts or incoming lines of chat. Alerts can be turned off, or reduced from a ring to a vibration.

Users also have the option of deactivating a few other features. For instance, if users are fearful of losing their iPhone, they can disable to automatic syncing that takes place when they upload the Facebook Messenger application. This way, their Facebook privacy is assured.

Users may also disable notifications altogether by means of a small cog icon over the top border of chat windows. The great part is that users can turn off notifications for a determined amount of time, say, the 8 hours that they need to sleep. Also, conversations can be selectively muted, meaning that the user can shut off a conversation of lesser importance, but keep an important one alerting.

Finally, there is a physical location annotation, showing your friends where you are in the world. Users can see their friends’, but they can also choose to hide their current location. That’s the last positive of the Facebook Messenger, but it does have its faults.

Apart from the lack of profile pictures in some cases of chat, there are many duplicate messages, and the app brings up yesterday’s messages every time it’s switched on. Finally, there’s no list of online friends.

Overall, this is the future, so why not adhere?

 

Camera Apps for Android

Camera Apps for Android

Android is the best selling active platform for mobile devices. It has key applications, middleware and an OS. Its mobile OS is actually based from the Linux kernel. Its apps (applications), which cater to the functionality of the devices, have ranged to over 250,000. All these can be downloaded through third-party sites such as Android Market, Android Zoom, Freeware Lovers, Coupon Croc and Android Freeware. One of the most heavily downloaded types of app according to recent studies are camera apps for Android phones.

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