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Each week, our friends at gdgt go through the latest gadgets and score them to help you decide which ones to buy. Here are some of their most recent picks. Want more? Visit gdgt anytime to catch up on the latest, and subscribe to gdgt's newsletter to get a weekly roundup in your inbox.
Big Blue's been doing its best to catch the eye of nostalgic folks who miss the era of landlines. After introducing prepaid options for Wireless Home Phone in May, Ma Bell's now extending the service with internet over LTE. An AT&T spokesperson told us that the new Wireless Home Phone and Internet bundle debuted in select locations (listed below) on Friday. A two-year subscription comes with a free router that can connect up to 10 WiFi devices, but it'll cost you at least $80 a month for unlimited local calls plus 10GB of data. Ponying up $90 each month nets 20GB of data, while boosting the bill to $120 nabs 30GB. Thanks to an additional $10 charge for every gigabyte over your cap, however, wired home broadband may still be your best (read: cheapest) bet if you stream movies and TV shows frequently.
AT&T Wireless Home Phone an Internet bundle markets:
Via: Fierce Wireless
Source: AT&T
EE's 4G may grab the headlines, but the company's also offering land line phone and internet services with a (Kevin) Bacony-twist. Now, the network is coaxing existing customers away from rival ISPs like Virgin and BT with six new unlimited broadband and call packages. The £5-per-month basic tier will give you unlimited ADSL and weekend calls, while bluer bloods can fork out £29 a month to get unlimited fiber (up to speeds of 76 Mbps), unlimited calls to landlines and 1,000 free mobile minutes each week. We've added a chart for comparison after the break, assuming you don't reach for your wallet every time you see a product pitched by the guy from Footloose.
Keen to capitalize on the ever-growing segment of landline cutters, US Cellular appears to be launching a home phone service similar to the Home Connect offerings by Verizon and Sprint. According to information we've received, all you have to do is plug in a regular cordless or corded phone into the provided base station and voilà -- you'll be able to make calls via US Cellular's wireless network instead. You'll get unlimited voice calls for only $19.99 a month, which also includes voicemail, caller ID, call waiting, call forwarding, three-way calling and that all-important E911 service. Of course, as it's voice-only, you won't get data or text messaging as part of the plan.
The PCD-made base station seen above has a model name of FT2260 and boasts dual-band support (800/1900 MHz CDMA), a QSC6055 chipset, two phone jacks and a USB port for diagnostics purposes. Also included in the package are a charger, an antenna and a 1500 mAh NiMH battery that promises up to two hours of talk or 36 hours of standby time. We're not sure when exactly this'll roll out, but from the looks of it, we won't have to wait long for yet another alternative to ye olde POTS.
[Thanks, Anonymous]
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile
You might remember Zipwhip from its SMS-enabled espresso machine, but the outfit's hoping a new feature added to its cloud-based text-messaging platform will catch your attention this time around. In case you're not familiar with Zipwhip's non-caffeinated affairs, it allows texts to be sent through a desktop app, the web and Android tablets with a user's existing mobile number. Now, it's giving landlines the ability to send and receive texts without the need for a new number, which the firm says is a first. Instead of converting written missives to voice messages like other text-to-landline services, the setup sends the actual text to the application. By wielding the feature, companies can communicate with customers regarding orders, reservations and the like. Though the service is aimed squarely at businesses -- and even offers them a 14-day free trial -- its $20 per month price tag might even make it reasonable for folks who just have an obsession with texting. To give your wired phone a taste of the late 20th century, hit the source link below.
Source: Zipwhip
We can't say that most attempts to replicate the landline experience with a wireless link have panned out -- Verizon Hub, anyone? AT&T is wagering that it can overcome some of that hesitance with new prepaid tiers for Wireless Home Phone. Those who plug their wired phones into the $100 cellular hub can now pay only for those times they want pseudo-traditional service, whether it's $20 per month for unlimited US-wide calls or $15 for 1,000 minutes of international long distance. It's hard to make a case for the new Wireless Home Phone option when many of us already have cellphones, but we can see its uses: think snowbirds or apartment dwellers who want a cheap, traditional phone option that will follow them around for a few months at a time. If you haven't (or can't) cut the cord entirely, AT&T may have the next best thing.
Source: AT&T
One can only imagine the insane amount of red tape you'd have to endure in order to launch as a new Internet Service Provider, but evidently that pales in comparison to setting up shop as a new phone provider. According to a report from the Kansas City Business Journal, Google "considered offering phone services with its ultra-fast Internet and TV packages" in the Kansas Cities, but it backed away from the idea after "doing some digging into federal and state regulations." Milo Medin, vice president of Google Access Services, had this to say: "We looked at doing that. The cost of actually delivering telephone services is almost nothing. However, in the United States, there are all of these special rules that apply." It was also noted that Milo didn't feel as if the lack of a home phone option would be a huge detriment to everything else Google was doing, and considering the decline in landline connections these days, we can't say we disagree.
Via: Techmeme
Source: Kansas City Business Journal
If you're subscribed to BT's landline phone service, you may want to keep an eye on your bill in the near future. The British provider recently patched up a website issue that showed account holders' full names, but attention is being drawn to an approach that lets visitors add paid features like TV service using only an account's phone number and postcode as credentials. When both of these are potentially in the public eye, that creates understandable concerns that a rogue agent could hike someone's rates without consent -- even the email address BT uses to confirm changes is only chosen on the spot, which could keep the change a secret early on. BT so far contends that the light security is for "customer convenience," although we've reached out to verify whether or not that will continue to be the company's policy going forward. In the meantime, those still on the carrier's traditional phone service will want to be careful about giving out their number to strangers; while the risk isn't extreme in practice, there's no need to hand someone the keys to the kingdom.
Filed under: Internet
Via: The Verge
Source: The Register
Last year, Sprint quietly stepped foot into the world of home and office phone solutions with the release of its Sprint Phone Connect service. In a nutshell, this 3G powered VOIP alternative gives would-be customers the option of transferring their existing home or office landline number to Sprint's flat rate $20 per month service. While Sprint Phone Connect may not be among the Now Network's best sellers, it's done well enough to warrant a sequel. Pictured above is an internal screenshot of the unimaginatively named Sprint Phone Connect 2. Set to release on October 14th, this new and improved hardware is packed with a set of new features: dial tone creation, voicemail notification, caller ID (number only), call waiting, call forwarding and 3-way calling. If that MagicJack isn't quite cutting the mustard and you're looking for an affordable home or office phone solution, the Sprint Phone Connect 2 can be yours for free on a two-year commitment, or $150 outright.
Filed under: Household, Wireless, Sprint
Sprint Phone Connect 2 will try to replace your landline on October 14th originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 17:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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