unwanted text messages on iPhone

// February 16th, 2012 // No Comments » // iPhone

I just noticed charges in the “mobile purchases and downloads” part of my at&t bill to goldpocket.com for tax = $9.99 and another charge of .68, I clicked on a link on my phone accidentally according to at&t.

My best guess is that I didn’t reply correctly to this text (since that is about when I started to be charged):

“Hiring in your Area! Secret Shoppers Needed Make up to $50/hr Call 8779070514 Now. Reply stop4out”

I just replied with “Stop”

I called AT&T Service and they made it so that clicking on a link (which they say I did) to get this service, does NOT automatically sign me up for anything (and charge me) like this did. 

 

 

AT&T begins data throttling on “Unlimited” data plans at 2GB mark

// February 7th, 2012 // No Comments » // iPhone

AT&T begins data throttling on “Unlimited” data plans at 2GB mark: “

Sometimes it’s as if the wireless carriers WANT you to be disgruntled with them.

Per iLounge, AT&T has begun to throttle—or downgrade the data speeds of—customers on unlimited data plans that go over 2GB in data usage for the month.

As AT&T customer John Cozen wrote on his blog, “I received a message during my last billing cycle, warning I was in the top 5% of my region and would experience reduced data speeds next time I reach that level of data use. I immediately checked my data usage on the AT&T iOS app. 2.1 GB. Less than I expected considering AT&T offers a 3GB plan for US$30 a month. The same amount I’ve paid for the unlimited data plan since signing up with them many years ago. AT&T no longer offers an unlimited data plan, anyone still on it has been grandfathered in.”

“Data consumption by all smartphone customers, including the top 5 percent of smartphone data customers, varies by month and by market,” said Emily Edmonds, Director, AT&T Corporate Communications. “As of August 2011, the average data use across the country by the top 5 percent of AT&T smartphone customers was 2 GB per month.”

Stay tuned for additional details as they become available and if you’ve seen this change on your end, please let us know in the comments.

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Apple Gearing Up for iPhone 5 Production Ahead of Summer Launch?

// January 25th, 2012 // No Comments » // iPhone

Apple Gearing Up for iPhone 5 Production Ahead of Summer Launch?: “9to5Mac reports that it has received word from a “reliable” source at Foxconn that Apple is gearing up to begin production of the iPhone 5, suggesting that the company could be pushing for a mid-year launch more in line with pre-iPhone 4S debuts.

The source said various sample devices are also floating around (which vary slightly from one another) so it is impossible to tell which one will be the final. Some things in common with all of them, however, are:

– 4+ inch display (made by LG on at least one of them)
– No teardrop-shaped devices as were rumored in the lead up to the iPhone 4S. Samples so far have been symmetrical in thickness. Also longer/wider.
– None of the sample devices have the iPhone 4/4S form factor
– None of the devices are final versions

The report notes that the start of production seems to be coming several months ahead of last year’s schedule, indicating that Apple could be targeting a launch well ahead of last year’s October debut of the iPhone 4S. Consequently, Apple could be returning to its traditional iPhone launch pattern of an introduction at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference (typically held in June) with availability in the first batch of countries coming just a few weeks later.

Some of the details of today’s report are very similar to those shared in an iLounge report from last November that also claimed a 4-inch next-generation iPhone 5 without a teardrop shape was being targeted for a summer launch.

Speculation on Apple’s next-generation iPhone launch timing has been split, with some observers suggesting that the iPhone 4S was an anomaly for Apple and that it will return to the usual mid-year timeframe, while others have suggested that moving back to the mid-year launch would make for an extremely short lifecycle for the iPhone 4S.

AT&T announces data plan price increases

// January 19th, 2012 // No Comments » // iPhone

AT&T announces data plan price increases: “

You might not like this.

Per AppleInsider, AT&T has introduced new data plans for smartphone and tablet users, adding additional cap space but also charging customers more. The new plans max out at 5GB with tethering for US$50 per month.

A press release on Wednesday stated that the new rates that will take effect on Sunday, Jan. 22, marking the first change to the company’s data plans since 2010.

“Customers are using more data than ever before,” said David Christopher, Chief Marketing Officer of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “Our new plans are driven by this increasing demand in a highly competitive environment, and continue to deliver a great value to customers, especially as we continue our 4G LTE deployment.”

The new smartphone pricing is basically a US$5 surcharge for a 1 GB bump in data for DataPro users, while DataPlus subscribers will get an extra 100 MB for the same price.

Tablet owners will see a reshuffling of options as the previous 2 GB DataConnect plan is to be replaced a 3 GB per month flavor previously only available on a two-year contract. An additional 5 GB plan will also be added for US$50 per month and the lowest 250 MB plan remains unchanged.

Current subscribers can keep their existing plans or opt in to one of the new tiers when the program launches on Sunday.

Smartphone plans are as follows:
– AT&T DataPlus 300MB: US$20 for 300MB

- AT&T DataPro 3GB: US$30 for 3GB

- AT&T DataPro 5GB: US$50 for 5GB, with mobile hotspot / tethering

Additional data pricing remains at US$10 per gigabyte for the DataPro plans and US$20 per additional 300 MB for DataPlus customers.

Tablet data tiers have changed to:
– AT&T DataConnect 250MB: US$14.99 for 250MB

- AT&T DataConnect 3GB: US$30 for 3GB

- AT&T DataConnect 5GB: US$50 for 5GB

Overage charges only apply to 30-day tablet prices and include US$14.99 for and extra 250MB with AT&T DataConnect 250 MB, and US$10 per additional gigabyte for DataConnect 3 GB and 5 GB.

The new plans reflect an upward trend in cellphone and tablet data pricing from U.S. carriers as their networks strain under the pressure of a growing customer base.

Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

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T-Mobile USA Claims Next iPhone Will Be Compatible with their Network

// January 12th, 2012 // No Comments » // iPhone

T-Mobile USA Claims Next iPhone Will Be Compatible with their Network: “

T-Mobile USA is the only remaining carrier amongst the big four carriers in the United States, without the iPhone. The biggest problem as to why T-Mobile does not have access to the iPhone in the United States is related to the carrier’s use of the Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum of the 3G network band. This would require Apple to create custom hardware just for T-Mobile USA, to take advantage of their network.

With the backstory out of the way, it is now being reported by AllThingsD that T-Mobile CEO Philipp Humm has acknowledged that AWS is one of the reasons the iPhone is not on their network, and claims that this problem will be resolved by adjusting the spectrum that they use, and Apple’s inclusion of AWS hardware in the next iPhone.

That leads to a report from CNet wherein T-Mobile’s Chief Technology Officer Neville Ray claimed that the Apple’s next-generation iPhone chipset will indeed support AWS.

These reports shouldn’t come as a surprise. T-Mobile is in a bad position considering there aren’t at least offering the iPhone to customers. Plus, there have been reports that negotiations between Apple and the carrier are under way (which is obvious now). Additionally, there were recent reports that T-Mobile is refarming their network, and some iPhone customers, who were already on their network (through Jailbreaking) are beginning to pick up 3G signal.

Expect T-Mobile to be added to the list of carrier when the next iPhone is introduced. If not before then.

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Updates to the Gospel Library App

// January 3rd, 2012 // No Comments » // iPad, iPhone, LDSTech

Updates to the Gospel Library App: “

Gospel Library provides a comprehensive collection of Church material on your mobile device, including scriptures, conference addresses, magazines, manuals, and even videos. Recently the Gospel Library app for iOS has been updated with three new features:

• Improved media playback options
• Study Notebook integration
• LDS Music integration

Improved Media Playback Options

You can now listen to audio narrations for English scriptures, general conference addresses, magazines, and some lesson material. You can also watch videos of general conference addresses and other material. When you’re viewing content with media playback options, a play button appears enabled in the lower-right corner of the app.

When you click the Play button for conference addresses, you’re prompted with either video or audio media options.

If you play the audio, the play button changes states to indicate the audio is playing. If you choose the video option, the video stream plays.

Overall, the media playback gives you more options to consume the content, rather than just reading.

Note that the inclusion of audio and video with Gospel Library requires the presence of media links in the content. These media links were not included in previous content downloads, so to play the audio or video, you must either delete and re-install the library content (a somewhat tedious process), or you must delete and re-install the Gospel Library app (the preferred method).

Before you delete the app, make sure any notes you added have been synchronized with your LDS Account (otherwise they will be lost when you delete the app).

To delete and re-install the Gospel Library app:

1. Start Gospel Library.
2. Back up any notes by going to Settings > Account Settings. Click Sync Now. Wait until the Pending Changes number becomes zero.
3. Tap the iPhone’s Home button to exit the app.
4. Tap and hold the Gospel Library app icon until the icon wiggles and shows an X.
5. Tap the X.
6. Press the iPhone’s Home button to return to the normal mode.
7. Open to the App Store and search for LDS Gospel Library.
8. Install the app. Then start it.
9. Tap Manage Library.
10. Tap the content you want to download.
11. Tap the green download arrow to download the content.

When you re-download the latest content to the Library, the new content will contain media links to play audio and video. (Note that the audio or video itself does not download locally but rather streams from a Church server; you must have either WiFi or a cellular connection to play the media).

Study Notebook Integration

My Study Notebook is now accessible from within the iOS Gospel Library app. Previously, notes synchronized between the two apps, but now you can access My Study Notebook directly within the Gospel Library interface, rather than just from LDS.org. A Notebook button appears in the upper-left corner of the Gospel Library app home screen.

This Notebook view shows you content from My Study Notebook. These items include the following:

• Marks: Passages you highlighted.
• Notes: Passages you annotated.
• Tags: Passages you have tagged.
• Links: Passages you have linked.
• Documents: Documents help you collect and organize your notes for talks, lessons, and topical study.

Probably the most common features are tags and documents. When you tag passages with a keyword, such as millennium, all passages with that same tag appear in a list.

You can add passages to a document by tapping and holding a verse, and then tapping Send.

LDS Music Integration

The iOS Gospel Library app also integrates with LDS Music. When you view a song from the Hymnbook or Children’s Songbook, a link labeled Open in LDS Music link appears at the top of the screen. When you click the link, the song opens in LDS Music. LDS Music shows sheet music and plays audio.

In the image above, the left screen is from Gospel Library. When you click Open in LDS Music, the hymn opens in LDS Music. When you finish the song, the Return to Gospel Library link takes you back to Gospel Library.

Note that if you don’t have LDS Music installed, when you click Open in LDS Music, you will be invited to install it.

Roadmap

Currently these new features are only available for the iOS version of Gospel Library. Eventually the features will be available for the other platforms as well.

“

 

AT&T Gives Up on T-Mobile Acquisition

// January 3rd, 2012 // No Comments » // iPhone

AT&T Gives Up on T-Mobile Acquisition: “

AT&T announced today that the company would end its bid to acquire T-Mobile USA.

The actions by the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice to block this transaction do not change the realities of the U.S. wireless industry. It is one of the most fiercely competitive industries in the world, with a mounting need for more spectrum that has not diminished and must be addressed immediately. The AT&T and T-Mobile USA combination would have offered an interim solution to this spectrum shortage. In the absence of such steps, customers will be harmed and needed investment will be stifled.

The acquisition intention was announced back in March, 2011. Under the original terms of the deal, AT&T would have paid $39 billion in cash and stock. The deal, however, was heavily criticized in an analysis by Federal regulators who believed that the merger would limit competition in virtually every U.S. city and lead to higher prices for customers.

AT&T now owes T-Mobile parent company Deutsche Telekom $3 billion in cash plus $1 billion in spectrum (at market rates) as a breakup fee for the failure of the merger. However, the Wall Street Journal reports that AT&T’s bottom line will not feel the full brunt of the cost because it should be fully tax deductible, meaning the cash hit of the breakup fee would be closer to $1.5-$1.8 billion.

 

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Apple’s Retail Self-Checkout Doing Well, Strong Promotion Coming at Grand Central

// December 6th, 2011 // No Comments » // iPhone, Weird or Interesting News

Apple’s Retail Self-Checkout Doing Well, Strong Promotion Coming at Grand Central: “CNBC reports on word from a source who claims that Apple has been very pleased with customer usage of the EasyPay self-checkout system for its retail stores. Under the system, customers can use the Apple Store app on their iPhones to scan shelf-stocked items in an Apple retail store and pay for them using their iTunes Store accounts. Customers can simply walk out of the store after the transaction is completed without needing to speak with any store employees.

The report does not offer any specifics on the program’s performance, but vaguely suggests that it is at least meeting expectations.

Apple’s self checkout revolution may have seemed a bit crazy, but it’s apparently working out.

That’s what I hear from a source familiar with Apple’s retail operation.

…

The intelligence I’m getting is that the benefits of the new system are outweighing any negatives.

The report notes that Apple is also expected to heavily promote the self-checkout feature at its new Grand Central Terminal store set to open on Friday. With the open floor plan and throngs of commuters quickly passing through the store, the feature will likely be a popular one for store visitors.

While some have been skeptical of the usefulness of the self-checkout feature, many customers had expressed frustration at difficulties with getting the attention of store employees to complete simple transactions, and the new self-checkout avoids that situation entirely while freeing those staff members for more specialized consultation and training with other customers. Apple has reportedly noted that it envisions self-checkout and another system in which customers can pickup online orders in-store eventually being the primary ways in which customers make purchases from Apple retail stores.

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New iPhone Data Speed Numbers: AT&T Offers Fastest Data, Sprint the Slowest

// November 21st, 2011 // No Comments » // iPhone

New iPhone Data Speed Numbers: AT&T Offers Fastest Data, Sprint the Slowest: “

Metrico Wireless has released a nationwide study wherein they measured nationwide cellular data speeds with the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. They found that AT&T had the fastest data speeds, while Sprint came in as the slowest with speeds about 1/5 that of AT&T. Across all carriers the iPhone 4S pulled slightly ahead of the iPhone 4 in download speeds. This is likely due to Apple’s new antenna system introduced with the iPhone 4S.

It’s not all bad for Sprint though; they have the best call quality on the uplink. That is when the iPhone owner is the one speaking. AT&T on the other hand has the best voice quality on the downlink.

Surprisingly, Sprint has the most dropped calls at 3.7% call failure rate. Verizon saw a 2.1% call failure rate, and AT&T saw 2.8% call failure rate. In sum, AT&T seems to handle the iPhone alright now (as compared to a few years ago) Verizon comes in somewhere in-between and Sprint pulls up the rear, especially in regards to data speeds.

I’m a Sprint customer, and I’ve had only one dropped call, and at least to my thinking, was due to me standing in a partially underground building with three foot thick concrete walls. But I’m sure that had nothing to do with it. As for data speeds, yeah, they’re pretty bad on Sprint, but I knew that when I signed up, and I’m rarely off of Wi-Fi.

Image courtesy of Metrico Wireless.

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Nationwide Study Shows AT&T Has Fastest iPhone Data Speeds, Sprint Most Dropped Calls

// November 18th, 2011 // No Comments » // iPhone

Nationwide Study Shows AT&T Has Fastest iPhone Data Speeds, Sprint Most Dropped Calls: “According to a study by Metrico Wireless, a mobile performance measurement company, AT&T has the fastest iPhone 4S data speeds for both upload and download. Sprint’s data speed is roughly five times slower, echoing earlier anecdotal reports of poor Sprint data connections.

In all, Metrico performed 21,000 Web page downloads nationwide with the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 over the networks of the nation’s largest three carriers. Metrico also ran more than 8,000 data download and upload tests and generated about 6,000 voice calls with recorded human voices. The tests were performed in a certified lab as well as several locations in five unnamed cities that Metrico called “representative of [network] conditions nationwide.”

Metrico claims Sprint has the highest voice call quality on the uplink — when the iPhone owner is speaking — while AT&T had the highest quality on the downlink.

For dropped calls, something for which AT&T has been consistently criticized, Sprint comes out worst. Metrico claims Verizon experienced a 2.1% call failure rate while AT&T had 2.8% and Sprint was worst at 3.7%.

Computerworld noted that part of the intention of the nationwide study was to show “how performance problems in one city reported by the news media and bloggers shortly after a phone is launched can be less relevant over the entire network over time.”

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