My Digital Life

iPhone - International roaming and visual voicemail

The cost of international roaming is just ridiculous. Even the purchase of a local SIM card on a pay as you go plan is not neccesarily cheap. Even if you reject an incoming call while roaming you get charged for the inbound and the oubound connection back to the voicemail system. In the Caribean @ $2.49 a minute, that gets expensive quickly. The solution is to use visual voicemail. You forward the phone to voicemail (AT&T uses different voicemail systems across the country. To find your voicemail number you should forward to dial *#62# send) and all calls are directed there automatically without using the roaming cellular system. The voicemail is then transfered via the cellular data network (not WiFi) to your phone. The cheapest way to recieve visual voicemail is to sign up for a roaming data plan. This method is working well.

iPhone - AT&T, Apple & international roaming

I am traveling this week so not much blogging happening, although I thought I would use the opportunity to document my international roaming experience.

I called AT&T before I left to activate international roaming, see what options were available and try to get my IPhone unlocked (don't I thought I would give it a try).

Here is what I found out:

1. To activate international roaming you need to be a customer in good standing for 90 days. I just made it since I bought the iPhone in mid July.
2. AT&T customers in good standing who are traveling internationally can get their AT&T supplied phones SIM unlocked. At first I don't think the representative realized I had an iPhone. He took my IMIE and entered it into the system. It got rejected, at that point he asked if I owned an AT&T phone, I replied I owned an iPhone. He told me that they did not have the unlock codes for the iPhone and I would need to contact Apple. And of course Apple won't give you the unlock code since they say they have a contractual obligation to AT&T (no word on exactly what that is). I guess I have to wait until July 2010 to get it officially unlocked, but nobody is quite sure how Apple will handle it. So for now there seems to only be two options for the iPhone 3G, one pay the exhorbitant cell roaming charges or buy a SIM card adapter which fakes the phone into thinking you are using an AT&T approved SIM card. There several web sites which sell these adapter for $30 - $50, but I have not tested them and obviously they are not approved by AT&T or Apple.
3. The one good feature AT&T has, is roaming data plans. I signed up for the 20MB plan for $24.99 per month. The only two quirks you need to watch out for is that they pro rate the data and rate based on your billing date. The other is that you must keep the plan on your account until the data charges show up. This could take 1 or 2 billing cycles and I am not how legal this is, although I was told this by 2 reps. My trip crosses two billing periods. I signed in the middle of my current billing period which ends today, giving me 10MB. Tomorrow a new period starts giving me a fresh 20MB. AT&T reps do a good job of reminding you to reset your data counter under general settings/usage and turn off push email. As of right now I have used 9.4MB so I am glad the new cycle starts tomorrow. I am also using the hotel's weak WiFi signal which works ok as long as I am outside on the porch. It does not take a lot of surfing or email to use MB of data...

AT&T now offers WIFI as part of their data packages which includes the iPhone

AT&T has finally succumbed to providing WIFI access as part of their data packages (T-Mobile has included WIFI for a while now). I have been using AT&T WIFI at Starbucks under the Starbucks card 2 hours a day plan, but now I can use AT&T WIFI anywhere.

MacRumors reports that AT&T has been sending SMS messages to announce the feature, but I received an email inviting me to shop for accessories (up to $50 off) with this one sentence "And now, get free access to the nation’s largest Wi-Fi network, including Starbucks". 

The sign on process works with SMS messages. You enter your phone number on the login web page using attwifi as the SSID, receive an SMS with a link to access the WIFI network, and click on the link to log on. This is clearly aimed at stopping folks from using other devices.  

I wonder how it will work with my current AT&T/Starbucks log on credentials.... 

Thanks AT&T, this adds excellent value to the data package and helps you save bandwidth on your 3G network. Sounds like a win-win situation. 

 

iPhone 3G - Battery life and charging; some useful accessories

The Apple iPhone 2.1 update has helped the battery life of my iPhone 3G, however I still need a quick charge in the afternoon to make it into the late evening. I found this great little accessory which will help out during those times where a quick charge using a wall outlet, car charger, or USB port is not feasible. Gomadic sells a battery backup which allows you to charge the iPhone 3G or any other mobile device they have a compatible exchangeable power tip. The unit works with 4 AA batteries which is much better than a rechargable backup solution since AA batteries tend to keep their charge longer when not used..

The Gomadic battery backup. I wrote a review of the Gomadic power accessories back in 2006 and I am still using them today. They also now have a dual charger which allows you to charge two mobile devices at once.

With the iPhone 3G and the Touch, Apple decided to abandoned the 12 volt DC Firewire charging in favor of the 5 volt USB charging. The unfortunate result for owners of older accessories is that they may not charge the iPhone 3G or Touch. Some innovative Swedes have come up with a solution. A little dock connector adapter which converts the Firewire 12 volt leads to the USB 5 volt leads. I reported on earlier but it is now available and shipping.

The Ridax Charge converter.

Ramblings for the week of May 26th in My Digital Life

Last week I signed up for the T-Mobile Family 4-Pack promotion and so far I think it will work out very nicely. Here is a summary of my observations:

• The selected 5 My Faves numbers are tied to the phone and not the account. The bottom line is that you can't share My Faves number across your Family plan (too bad).
• Once the My Faves numbers have been validated by the phone's My Faves application, you can swap your SIM card into a phone which does not have the My Faves application (like the iPhone). Your calls  to your My Faves numbers still count in you My Faves unlimited bucket.
• You can only modify My Faves numbers once a month. The message I received was that I could change them on June 1.

All in all this looks to be an excellent promotion...

With the official release of Windows Mobile 6.1 from HTC Europe for the TyTn II, I decided to take the plunge and upgrade my AT&T Tilt this last weekend. After backing up my unit with Sunnysoft's Backup Manager, I decided to try Dutty's 6.1 test ROM from xda-developers. I was unable to restore my backup and the ROM had several issues, the most troublesome was that I could not get the GPS to work. I decided to try the official release of the HTC ROM, I had to download it via MoDaCo, since HTC won't allow the download to a non HTC branded device. At this point I decided not bother restoring and I installed all my applications from scratch. I will have to update my Windows Mobile application list with my current configuration. All seems to be working well, GPS included...

I received my Fujitsu U810 and so far I am very impressed with its build quality. It is not the fastest machine (it gets a 2.1 Vista processor score), but I think it works quite well for web, email and text processing. The tablet functionality works very well (this one area where Vista shines). The size and weight  are just about perfect for my shoulder bag. I will be traveling soon and will report back on how useful this little machine will be.

This week:

• Working on a review of CellPoint's Flamingo Music earphones.
• Update my Windows Mobile application list

Ramblings for the week of May 19th in My Digital Life

Back in February I ranted about T-Mobile's lack of news and direction (link), however as comments pointed out they are tough to beat from a value perspective. This month they have again upped the ante on value with a special promotion through June 24 called the Family 4-Pack (link from tmonews.com). The Family 4-Pack adds:

• Unlimited [email protected]
• Unlimited calling to each family members 5 favorite poeple
• Unlimited T-Mobile to T-Mobile
• Unlimited Nights and Weekend

All of this for $9.99 per month in addition to your base Family plan charge and since it is an option, it has no contractual commitment. I was paying $19.99 for the [email protected] option, replacing it with the Family 4-Pack saves me $10 per month. Since I have 5 phones on our Family plan we can call up to 25 My Faves numbers for free (5 per phone which can be shared). In order to get this promotion T-Mobile checks to make sure that all of your phones are compatible with My Faves, they do not care so much if they are [email protected] compatible. It was interesting to find out that they knew I had connected with my iPhone, Wing, and currently HTC Kaiser (aka AT&T Tilt). They were concerned that the HTC Kaiser did not have the My Faves application. I tried to explain that I could install the My Faves application on the Kaiser but they did not think it would work so I told them I would use the Wing. I downloaded the My Faves application from xda-developers (link), installed it and it works just fine. I have been wondering how My Faves works, at first I thought the software on the phone added a code to the number called, but I am thinking that it is the billing system that handles the matching of numbers so you do not get charged. The only function the software on the phone seems to do is activate the number in your account profile by sending SMS messages. Without the software on the phone the number does not get validated and it is not active as a My Faves number. I am assuming it only does this once when you initially enter or modify the number. I will have to test my theory with my iPhone. If I make a call to one of the activated My Faves number on the iPhone, it should show up as a V call (My Faves) in my account on the T-Mobile web site. Obviously I can't add or modify My Faves numbers with the iPhone since it has no application to validate the number. Maybe someone will write one...Bottom line, I think this is a great promotion and it will keep me as a T-Mobile customer. I am now just waiting for 3G. Also it seems you can only modify a My Faves number once a month which makes sense, since if you could change the numbers at will, the plan could be viewed as totally unlimited...

I have decided to try a UMPC this month, the Fujitsu U810 to see how it might fit in with my travel gadgets. It is a Tablet PC with Vista that has a 5.6" screen and weighs 1.56lbs. This would definitely solve my photo sharing dilemma since I could easily transfer files from my camera and upload them to the Kodak Gallery for sharing. Costco is currently selling the 40GB model with Vista Home for $849 and adds 1 year to the base 1 year warranty for free. It will be interesting to see how useful this UMPC is.

This week:

• My review of SBSH Mobile Software Facade application for pocketnow.com. should be published this week. This is a smartphone (Windows Mobile Standard) today screen replacement.
• Finishing on a review of SBSH Mobile Software Pocket Weather.
• Working on a review of CellPoint's Flamingo Music earphones.
• Update my Windows Mobile application list

My ongoing dilemma, sharing my digital pictures while traveling

In my continuing research to find a good solution for sharing pictures from my Sony digital camera while traveling without a PC (see previous post), I found a German company which makes portable backup and viewing devices targeted to professional photographers. The company is called Jobo. They produce a device (about the size of an iPod), the Spectator which allows for the selective backup and copying of files from CF/MD/SD/MMC/MS memory cards. It also allows you to view of JPEG files on the 2.5" screen or an external TV. The Spectators comes in a 40GB, 80GB, or 120GB model.

The Spectator would allow me to selectively copy pictures from my Sony camera's Memory Stick to the Micro SD card used in my AT&T Tilt via the internal hard disk. I would then share the pictures using the Kodak Gallery email service using Exchange ActiveSync on my Tilt. I could also use the Spectator as a backup for my camera and not have to worry about running of space on my 4GB Memory Stick.

I priced the 40GB model for $245 at Adorama.com (link). A little pricey for a single purpose device and would mean traveling with another device but it would help solve my dilemma. It is really too bad Apple has discontinued development and support of their iPod camera adapter. It would be a great a great accessory for the iPhone or Touch. Maybe a third party will step up after the iPhone 2.0 firmware is released...I can only hope.

The Jobo Spectator, it won't win any design awards but it is a utilitarian device.

Ramblings for the week of May 12th in My Digital Life

The rumors have been flying about the 3G iPhone and this weekend's unavailability of original iPhones at Apple's online store just spurred things on.

Will Apple release the device in May, June or July? Well nobody but Steve Jobs seems to know, but everyone can reliably predict that an announcement will be made at Apple's World Wide Developers Conference June 9th - 13th. I think that pretty much rules out any May launch of the 3G Phone. Now all the pundits are debating whether the lack of inventory of the original iPhone was planned or a gaff. I think it was maybe a bit of both, but it really does not matter, it is a win win situation for Apple because they clear out their inventory with no markdowns and the pent up demand for the 3G phone will be that much greater. It is a fact that the 3G iPhone is coming, we just have to wait another month to know the exact date.  The more interesting rumor however, is the potential big announcement of a MID, UMPC or tablet style computer and where that takes Apple.

With the Sony Experia X1, the HTC Touch Diamond announcement last week and RIM's Blackberry Bold announcement, the competition is not sitting still. Are these iPhone killers, I doubt it but it will help stem users from migrating away. This next year will be an interesting one...

This week:

• My review of SBSH Mobile Software Facade application for pocketnow.com. should be published this week. This is a smartphone (Windows Mobile Standard) today screen replacement.
• Working on a review of SBSH Mobile Software Pocket Weather.
• Working on a review of CellPoint's Flamingo Music earphones.

Ramblings for the week of May 5th in My Digital Life

Unless you were living under a rock this weekend, the big technology news was that Microsoft bailed on the Yahoo acquisition. On its face value, I agree with the decision, I was never convinced that Microsoft could properly execute the merger. However, what I have found very interesting is the competition between the blogosphere and the traditional media in coming up with theories good or bad. Techmeme's front page is filled with links from both spheres. The one I found the most interesting (and it has nothing to do with my fascination with Apple...) was the post by fake Steve with the crank shot of Dr Evil (Ballmer) and Mini me (Gates). As the hard charging winner take all executive he is, I always think Ballmer has something up his sleeve and maybe he is gambling on Yahoo falling flat on its face, then picking up the pieces for next to nothing. We will just have to wait and see. In the end the  unfortunate issue in this story, is that Wall Street will decide Yahoo's fate rather than Yahoo, and we all know how fickle Wall Street can be...

I never got to put my 8GB micro SDHC card through it paces last week, by transferring my still pictures from my Sony camcorder. I found that my AT&T Tilt is very fickle when it comes to charging. In addition to the HTC charger, I have an iGo Juice and a Gomadic dual charger. Both of these allow me to charge multiple and different devices by changing the adapter plugs. Last month I had an issue with the iGo and the Tilt, the mini USB adapter I had used with the T-Mobile MDA and Wing did not work so I ordered one specific for the Tilt. This trip I took the Gomadic dual charger, (it does not charge laptops and is smaller), and the same is true, none  of the three adapters tips I had worked, at the end of the first day of travel the Tilt was dead. Good thing I took along my iPhone and Samsung i760. Unfortunately, the iPhone is not compatible with the Delkin USB Bridge and to my disappointment the i760 does not recognize the 8GB micro SDHC card. My planned experimentation was a bust...I was glad for GSM's SIM card technology so I could easily swap it into the iPhone, not true for Verizon's CDMA technology. If the i760 was my primary driver I would have been dead in the water since you can't easily swap phones...although EVDO worked great for watching Directv via my Slingbox.

As I was rushing out the door last Tuesday, Sling Media decided to announce they had released an update to the SlingPlayer mobile for Windows Mobile and I neglected to modify the formatting used by pocketnow.com (bbphp) and my blog (HTML). All fixed now...

This week:

• Finnish and publish my review of SBSH Mobile Software Facade application for pocketnow.com. This is a smartphone (Windows Mobile Standard) today screen replacement.

Ramblings for the week of April 28st in My Digital Life

I decided to annotate the title of this weekly post with the word "ramblings" since it more clearly describes the content I write on Monday mornings.

I received my SanDisk 8GB micro SDHC card for my Tilt from Digital Media Outlet for $56 and it includes a USB adapter. It works well with the AT&T Tilt, I just copied the content of my 2GB card to the 8GB card and was on my way...I will be using it heavily this week transferring the contents of my Sony camcorder so I can email selected content to the Kodak Gallery.

I may have found an issue with my Dell XPS 720 disk configuration which might be causing the blue screen. When I installed the RAID 1 array, I use for data, I installed the drives in two bays next to each other without looking at the controller setup. There are 2 SATA controllers in the system and my RAID configurations was using both. Theoretically it should not matter and would provide a redundancy on the controller front, but you never know how the nVidia RAID drivers are architected. I decided to try placing both disks on the same controller, the system seems more stable (it has been up for over 2 days). The jury is out and I will have to see how things go this week.

As HD content includes more and Dolby Digital audio tracks, it is becoming a real pain to switch the Directv DVR audio output between standard PCM and Dolby Digital. I believe the problem is with my older Yamaha AV reciever. It does not automatically detect and switch modes between signal types. So when we switch to a program with PCM audio and the DVR is in Dolby Digital mode, the receiver is still processing the audio as Dolby Digital (that is what output is tagged as) although the content of the stream is PCM. The audio is so low that you cannot listen to it. This off course is only a theory, however from my forum research it seems to be a fairly common issue with certain receivers. I will have to test with a newer receiver to validate. I will probably try to stick with a Yamaha receiver,  I always found them to be solid good sounding units. The local audio/video chain has a 30 day return policy so I should be in good shape, they also match the big box store pricing...

This week:

• Continue work, my review of SBSH Mobile Software Facade application. This is a smartphone (Windows Mobile Standard) today screen replacement.
• Start a review of Slingplayer Mobile for Windows Mobile.