Phone Archive

T-Mobile, the company that might be acquired by AT&T for $39 billion, posted on their Facebook page that tonight beginning at 9pm Pacific (that’s midnight for you Yankees fans and 10pm for all of your hook’em horns fans), they will provide web-only specials on two of their 4g smartphones. There are some questions on the Facebook posting whether the deals will be valid for existing customers or only for new customers – no official reply as of yet.

It looks like T-Mobile currently has three 4g smartphones: the myTouch 4G, Samsung Galaxy S and the T-Mobile G2.

TalkAndroid is also reporting that, beginning tomorrow, T-Mobile will offer two new unlimited plans. T-Mobile will offer a $59.99 pre-paid unlimited Even More Plus plan and a $79.99 unlimited Even More plan for two-year contracts.

What I’ve noticed in my shopping research as I look to get a new phone (although this LG Optimus isn’t bad!) is that Amazon and other online shops offer much better deals than going directly through the carriers especially if you want the latest and greatest Android smartphone.

Over the next couple of months, Microsoft will be hosting full-day training sessions for developers looking to build apps for the new Windows Phone 7 platform. It looks like the sessions are in a variety of cities around the country including Houston, Austin, several in Michigan and several in Ohio. There are also multiple dates for each city. Some cities (Atlanta is one) are hosting evening hackathon sessions as well. The events are free to attend and it looks like they will be held at the Microsoft office in each city.

From the event overview, “Join us for a day of Windows Phone 7 hands-on training. You’ll learn how to build Silverlight-based applications that take advantage of the many Windows Phone 7 platform features. We’ll introduce all the basic concepts required to get started building Silverlight applications including the Windows Phone 7 platform and frameworks as well as the designer and developer tools. We’ll also cover the process for submitting your application or game to the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace. Bring your laptop! Topics covered will be reinforced with an opportunity to explore hands-on-labs using your own laptop. Windows Phone 7 experts will be on hand to help you explore Windows Phone 7 development.”

The only requirement is that you bring your own laptop with the Windows Phone 7 tools already installed.

I couldn’t find a comprehensive list on the Microsoft training site but this search query gets you pretty close (let the page fully load). I will be attending the session here and perhaps if there’s interest, we could all meet for drinks after the training sessions have completed.

I have had the HTC Incredible from Verizon in my grubby little hands for about 20 hours now, approximately 15 of them waking. Here’s my first impression.

As an AT&T refugee, the experience with Verizon to date has been EXCELLENT. Everything went smoothly and quickly and slickly. I was originally told a ship date of May 4th — then an hour after I placed my 7:30am order, I got a shipping notification. Phone showed up at 1:15pm the next day. Activation and porting were both painless. Reception is excellent, the broadband experience is superb.

Now, let’s get to the phone itself. Packaging was minimal. No extraordinary efforts required to open. I unboxed it at the Apprenda office, where our sales guy and former telecom guy, Bob, could hardly wait for me to get my own look at it before he virtually snatched it out of my hands for his own examination. Our CEO, Sinclair, who has had a Droid for six months or so now, was eager to check out the Incredible of course, though I think Bob was really the most eager out of the three of us.

The phone: incredibly light and compact. Battery came half-charged; case snaps open to install battery. Almost-perfect weight: I won’t feel like I am holding a cinder block to my ear, nor will it blow away in the wind. (Remember the Motorola Q anybody?) It could be a tad lighter, but my beer muscles are in good shape, this phone should not present any fatigue issues when I choose not to use my Bluetooth headset. And, the screen? BEAUTIFUL. No other word for it. Great resolution and color and responsiveness. The phone takes a fair amount of time to startup, but it is certainly still an improvement over WinMo 6.1 boot times on my old TyTn II / HTC Kaiser.

Continue reading “HTC Droid Incredible Review” »

Below are four of the newest startups according to Killer Startups for the period ending March 9, 2008. Check out previous Killer Startups posts.

Phone.com – A New Phone Company

If you are sick and tired of paying too much money and receiving questionable service from your current phone company then Phone.com is definitely worth a look or if you have a small business and are in need of an affordable virtual office solution then this may well be the solution for you. Phone.com offers residential plans starting at $9.88 per month and an unlimited package for about $17 that includes all of the bells and whistles. read more »

AllSmackTalk.com – The Sports Social Network

AllSmackTalk differs from previous social networks, where users mainly network with existing friends or contacts, by encouraging the user to meet new Team Mates (friends) and Rivals. The Smack Boards are a great way to do this where users can jump right in and meet other users who are fans or haters of their team. read more »

Tagthe.net – Tag your Texts

Sometimes, we all have problems coming up with keywords when we are writing blog entries or articles (writing daily articles, I am at fault as much as anyone else). Tagthe.net gives you a boost up. The site is simple to use- enter a block of text or an html address into a box located on the home page, and Tagthe.net analyzes the content to provide you with the most relevant and effective keywords. read more »

FreedomSpeaks.com – Get Political

In light of the upcoming presidential elections and the ongoing heat of the democratic primaries, you may find yourself hearing, thinking, and talking about politics a lot more than usual lately. FreedomSpeaks.com offers you a place to take political action if the ballot box isn’t enough. It’s a free, non-partisan network for individuals, interest groups, and politicians, where you can discuss political topics, find information, and learn how to take action. read more »

RaiseCapital.com – The Name Says It All

RaiseCapital.com is an online community where entrepreneurs can showcase their business ideas and capital needs to investors. As members of RaiseCapital.com, users have the option of posting a text description, pictures and/or a video presentation of their venture for free. There is no doubt about the vast array of businesses that fill each city and town. And there’s no shortage of people looking to start new businesses each year. Coming up with the idea for a business is usually the easy part. Finding out how to raise capital to get it going is a whole other story. read more »