AT&T: Talk And Surf At The Same Time Ad

Well...... That didn't take long.

AT&T has already put together their "mines better than yours" answer to Verizon's new commercial, and it actually makes a good point. Again, I can't tell you how many times I needed to be able to talk and pull information at the same time.

Deal breaker!!!

There's a Map for That

This is good, and Apple must realize the customer explosion they could get if they drop the exclusive agreement in the US like they have in other countries.

AT&T Buries Dirty TOS In 2,500 Page GuideBook

Photo courtesy of Gizmodo

It appears that AT&T is up to its no good “screw our customers” deals again. And this time they might have crossed the line by trying to implement Terms of Service that might be potentially illegal. AT&T sent out an updated service agreement that is 8,000-words long and has 2,500 pages, with the hopes that no one will read it. But it looks like the California state regulars and the LA Times did, and found some interesting tid bits. Such as customers will be given a 30-day notice of price increases when it's "commercially reasonable”.

And my favorite one is now you can’t sue AT&T.

Uh… What?

This was a nice BS move by AT&T because by putting it in a huge manual, they can almost count on no one reading it. I think I just might be time for the FCC to start regulating these guys to keep them from corn holing customers like this.

[LA Times via Gizmodo]

3G iphone Is Here!!!

The new 3G iphone is now official!!!!

Here are some of the dirty details.

• Available on July 11
• $199 for the 8GB model, and $299 for the 16GB
• GPS is confirmed
• 16GB model is available in white
• iPhone 3G customers will be $30/month with business users paying $45/month. This on top of the voice plan that you have to have, starting at $39.99.

[Crunchgear]

AT&T 3G Network To Reach 20 Mbps In 2009

photo courtesy of Gizmodo

AT&T said today that they will upgrade their 3G network to run at speeds at 20 megabits per second in 2009. Currently AT&T is running at 3.6 megabits per second, which isn't to bad right now. I'm sure all this has something to do with the likely hood that everyone and their mother owning a 3G iphone soon. AT&T states that it is in the test phase, and that they currently are running at 7.2 megabits in the lab. All of the upgrade will be software based and won't require any hardware upgrade, so 3G phones that you purchase now should be ready for the speed.

So the question is, will the speeds still be as fast with the entire world drinking from the same fountain?

[AppleInsider via Gizmodo]

AT&T 3G iphone To Cost $199

Well this is certainly a good way for AT&T to keep people from running out and unlocking the new 3G iphone due out soon. According to Fortune, AT&T will subsidize the new 3G iphone as much as $200. Making the iphone as low as $200 with a soul sucking 2 year contract, which isn't that bad when you think about it. The catch is that you have to buy it from AT&T, as the 3G iphone will go for $399 and 499 for the 8GB and 16GB models at Apple stores. People who want to take their new iphone to T-Mobile or to export it will have to pay the higher price.

So buying straight from Apple will cost you extra!

Fortune's source also state that the 3G iphone does has GPS and is 2.5mm thinner, not thicker as previous reports. Fortune said that you'll know when it will ship, because Apple will cut off shipments of the original iphone to clear inventory.

Now if I could get one of those drones at Apple to tell me when shippments have stopped, my journey will be complete.

[Fortune via Gizmodo]

Walt Mossberg Says iphone Will Be Here In 60 Days

Most rumors about the iphone have to be taken with a huge grain to salt, but Walt Mossberg has confirmed what we've all been waiting to hear. The version 2 iphone with 3G will be available in 60 days, and that makes sense considering that it will be the one year anniversary of the original iphone. This rumor is more solid because Walt gets his hands on the goods long before the rest of us mere mortals do. Along with Walt's statement, AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega has also hinted that the 3G iphone will be out by late May or early June. If you want to hear it from the horses mouth, check out the statement at the 6:53 mark on the video.

Hurray!!!!

[Crunchgear]

Surface surfaces

OK...so maybe Microsoft does have a plan for Surface.

So what you see here is exactly what AT&T and Microsoft will be deploying to a handful of stores on April 17 -- 12 stores in four cities, to be exact -- and we have to admit, this appears to be a pretty flawless execution of the Surface's user interface concepts and a great business model for the 30 inch, multitouch monster to undertake. Being able to throw down a phone or two and get specs, review plans, and compare features is simply jaw-droppingly cool, though what really got us was another feature that AT&T has apparently been tossing around as a future possibility: device-to-device transfer. The idea is that a customer would walk in to purchase a new phone, place both phones on the surface, and contacts, photos, music, and so on stored on the old handset would appear on the Surface, where they could be selectively dragged to the new one or discarded.



[Thanks Engadget]

RIAA Wants Your Anti-Virus To Scan For Pirated Content

So now the RIAA wants your Anti-virus to scan your downloads for pirated content. The one thing that went through my mind at first was "I can barely get the damn Anti-virus to do what it was designed to do", and now the RIAA wants to Big Brother my downloads via Anti-virus? Cary Sherman says "doesn't give rise...to any privacy concerns because it can operate automatically and anonymously"? uhh.... yeah, right.

But Sherman at least knows that people wouldn't go for this:

"Why would somebody put that on their machine? They wouldn't likely want to do that, they'd do that when it benefits them such as for viruses and so on and so forth...it could be enforced at the modem or put in by the ISP."

Oh, so now you want my ISP provider to filter my content now? Yes copyright material should be protected, but this isn't the way. If the ISP providers open this Pandora's Box, where will it end?

What else will be filtered one day? News? Blogs that bad mouth ISP's?

We can't afford to let this happen.

[Public Knowledge via Gizmodo]

Does cable, satellite, or fiber provide more HD?

Particularly of late, cable television providers have been bullying each other on the air and proudly proclaiming superiority in the high-definition department. One would immediately assume that there's some black and white somewhere in this equation, but honestly, things are pretty gray. Hard though it may be to believe, there actually isn't a clear cut answer to this week's Ask Engadget HD question, which comes to us from the bewildered mind of Brian:"I want an unbiased opinion, and more importantly, the facts. DISH Network is looking more and more like the leading HD provider with its weekly HD additions this past fall. However, now my local cable provider, Comcast, is running ads stating that it has More, More, More HD. My question is simple: who has more HD channels including and not including HD VOD?"The inability to find a clear cut answer hasn't stopped us from forging ahead in the past, and it won't be slowing us down today, either. Ready to plunge deep into the increasingly murky waters of HD offerings?

Read the full story here!

AT&T Pulls Data-Only Plan From Hearing Impaired

In another installment of AT&T are jags, this one comes from a AT&T store in Colorado. Seems like this store was providing hearing impaired iphone owners a data-plan only for $27.99 a month, since they don't get much use out of the voice plan.

Sounds cool right?

Well I guess some insensitive hearing assholes were complaining about it to AT&T Corporate Marketing, and they shut it down. So no more data-plan only for the hearing impaired. Once again AT&T has dropped the ball, forcing people to pay for a plan that they simply cannot use. Why can't they keep in the higher ups who have common sense?

AT&T puts the kibosh on voice-free iPhone plans for the deaf [TUAW via Crunchgear]

BlackJack II Available On Black Friday

Hello,

Anyone waiting for the BlackJack II only has to wait until Friday for the black version, and the red wine one is out on 12/6. Both units will sell at $149.99 with a two-year contract, so go forth and get it my friends.

Analyst Says AT&T Pays Apple $831 Per iphone

Well I guess the real reason of why Apple was so determined to lock down the iphone from hackers. After an analyst with Piper Jaffray examined the financial aspects of the AT&T/Apple deal, it seems that AT&T pays Apple $18 per month for every activated iphone through AT&T. Yes my friends, that breaks down to $831 during that 2-year bend over contract that you have to sign to own one.

I guess that's a pretty good reason why Apple went out of their way to brick iphones that were not in the loop. I guess the $600 bone wasn't enough, Apple has to make sure that you're not cheating them out of the additional 8 bills they feel they've got come'n.

Well if you've hacked your iphone, feel good knowing that you're beating 'the man'!

AT&T: Wildfire Victims Must Pay Us $300

Man I just love AT&T!!!

On top of them threating to turn your Internet off if you say any bad things about them, they've managed a way to look even more like an ass. Case in point a California couple lost their home in the wild fires that have plagued the area, while they were on a cruise. Well AT&T was nice enough to charge them $300 for the loss of equipment-non-negotiable!!!

AT&T wouldn't even postpone the bill until the couples insurance kicked in. That's so cool AT&T, this couples lives have burned to the ground, but to hell with them, where's our DRV right? So if you have any AT&T gear, your ass better run back into that burning home and get it. Forget your photos and stuff you can't replace, AT&T wants their receiver.

AT&T: Your World, Burned to the Ground (but get my dvr first)
What a joke!

[DSLReports via Crunchgear]

Update: AT&T has responded to the situation. It was actually a Dish Network employee that they were transferred to and that person did not follow the disaster policy that they have in effect. So this wasn't really a case of AT&T being insensitive, just a moronic employee at Dish Network.

Thanks DSLReports

Apple Says 250,000 iphones Unlocked

Rather interesting news coming out of Cupertino today, specifically about the iphone. Apple reports that of the 1.4 million iphones that were sold, 250,000 were bought with the intent to unlock. Apple states that many of the 250,000 were purchased after the price drop, with many of them going to U.S. T-Mobile or exporters.

As you can imagine, this isn't an insignificant number to Apple, and I see why they're going to such lengths to lock the phones again. But Apple has always been known to listen to their customers and provide the things that they want. So why don't they just release an unlocked version of their phone and allow consumers to choose?

Isn't that the essence of "Think Different"?

[Engadget]

iTunes 1.1.1 Unlocked: AT&T Haters Rejoice

Boy that didn't take very long.

The guys at The Dev Team have already put together a working "Jailbreak" application that unlocks iphones that have been upgraded to iTunes 1.1.1. It hasn't gotten all the third party applications working just yet, but it will get you out of the clutches of AT&T. It should be available sometime next week, so stay tuned.

Announcing a preliminary iPhone 1.1.1 Jailbreak [TUAW via Crunchgear]

Official Release Date For The AT&T Tilt

It is official my friends, the AT&T Tilt (8925) will be street side this Friday October 5th. The price will be $299 with a 2 year agreement to sell your cellular soul away. The Tilt will come with some pretty cool specs, check the bullet points:

• Windows Mobile 6
• Push to Talk and standard IM program
• GPS w/ TeleNav
• Mobile Office
• 3-megapixel camera
• 3G HSDPA with Wi-Fi
• Push to Talk and Push Email
• Full slide-out and fold-up keyboard with HTC-style QWERTY keys

I like this smartphone. It is certainly a nice choice from the iphone.
[AT&T via Giz]

Get A Blackberry Curve For $49 Without Hassle

If you’re in the market for a new phone and the Blackberry Curve has caught your eye, don’t go walking into an AT&T store just yet. Amazon is offering the device for a cheap-as-hell $49 without any rebates whatsoever. Yup, just plug in your credit card, place an order, and you’ve got yourself a Curve for under fifty bucks.

One slight problem. If you break AT&T’s terms of service agreement in 181 days after the purchase, you get hit with a $250 fee from Amazon in addition to the normal fees AT&T will charge you. So tread carefully on this amazing deal.

Hit the jump for the deal. [BGR]

AT&T To Close Stores For iPhone

Though the title is a bit deceiving, it’s also very true. AT&T will be closing down every single one of its retail stores in preparation for the launch of Apple’s iPhone. To stay on track with the target 6pm launch, most stores are said to be closing around 4pm so that employees can get ready, prepare for the rush, and set up adverts in every inch of the store.

The close also comes as safety comes into play. AT&T doesn’t want mobs of people waiting inside a store so they can bum-rush the counter when 6pm rolls around. Stores will be setting up rope lines outside to keep a queue in order, which is probably a good idea.

Let the madness begin

Read the read here. [Apple Insider]

Destiny’s Child Mobile Game Released: Bullet and Gun not included

I've never been into the Final Fantasy series but I know that a lot of people love them. So it breaks my heart to tell you that the company who brought you that stellar game is bringing you the new 'Destiny's Child' game!

That's right!! You heard correctly.

Square-Enix, the masterminds behind classics like Final Fantasy VII are now doing mobile games for AT&T apparently. Destiny’s Child Groove allows cellphone users of all ages to dance and move their asses to R&B grooves from Beyonce & Co. Hits like “Survivor" and “Say My Name” are included and you’ve gotta show off your hot thumb skills if you want to be the ultimate dance champion.

Somehow I've just become a little dumber for posting this.

A noose? A kingdom for a noose. Someone? Anyone? A noose please?