Category: Mobile Tech

Skype Celebrates World Cup By Offering Free Calls

The awesomely awesome voice-over-IP service Skype is celebrating World Cup football by offering free calls to dozens of countries. The amount of free minutes depends on the country. Here’s the entire list:

  • 60 minutes free calls to landlines in Algeria for a month
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines in Argentina for a month
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines in Australia for a month
  • 400 minutes free calls to landlines in Brazil for a month
  • 60 minutes free calls to landlines in Cameroon for a month
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines in Chile for a month
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines in Denmark for a month
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines in France for a month
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines in Germany for a month
  • 60 minutes free calls to landlines in Ghana for a month
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines in Greece for a month
  • 60 minutes free calls to landlines and mobiles in Honduras
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines in Italy for a month
  • 60 minutes free calls to landlines and mobiles in Japan for a month
  • 120 minutes free calls to landlines in Mexico for a month
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines in the Netherlands for a month
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines in New Zealand for a month
  • 120 minutes free calls to landlines in Nigeria for a month
  • 60 minutes free calls to landlines in Paraguay for a month
  • 60 minutes free calls to landlines in Serbia for a month
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines in Portugal for a month
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines in Slovakia for a month
  • 120 minutes free calls to landlines in Slovenia for a month
  • 120 minutes free calls to landlines in South Africa for a month
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines in South Korea for a month
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines in Spain for a month
  • 120 minutes free calls to landlines in Switzerland for a month
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines in the UK for a month
  • 60 minutes free calls to landlines in Uruguay for a month
  • Unlimited free calls to landlines and mobiles in the USA for a month

Head to Skype’s blog to sign up for these promotional rates. Now excuse me as I call several random numbers in Ghana and Slovenia…just because I can (for free)!

iPhone 4 Having Reception and Display Issues?

It looks like a number of iPhone 4 units are having reception and/or display issues. On the reception side, several users have claimed that signal can be lessened by touching certain points of the phone’s metal band, which also serves as an antenna. Earlier in the month, Professor Gert Frolund Pedersen predicted this issue via Comon:

Human tissue will in any event, have an inhibitory effect on the antenna. Touch means that a larger portion of the antenna energy turns into heat and lost. This makes the antenna less efficient to send and receive radio signals.

As for the display issues, a number of users have reported and sent pictures of yellow bands appearing on the display. Gizmodo has several photos and user reports.

Yesterday Rpadholic N8R mentioned that he was probably going to wait for the second batch of iPhone 4 units, waiting for Apple to work out the initial kinks. Do either of these issues make you want to hold up on your purchase? Or are you still enamored with this beautiful and technically impressive phone?

White iPhone 4 Delayed Until Second Half of July

Apparently it’s harder to build white iPhone 4s than black ones. Apple has explained the delay behind the white iPhone 4 model in an official statement:

White models of Apple’s new iPhone 4 have proven more challenging to manufacture than expected, and as a result they will not be available until the second half of July. The availability of the more popular iPhone 4 black models is not affected.

Initially I thought the black model was better looking, but after seeing how it’s a mad fingerprint magnet and considering the rarity of the white model…I kind of want a white one. And no, I’m not selling out on my race.

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Verizon Announces Next Google Android Phone: The Droid X

Verizon has announced the next phone in its Droid line of Google Android handsets: the Droid X. Available on July 15 for $199.99 (after rebate with a two-year contract), the phone combines powerful hardware from Motorola, a great operating system from Google, and Verizon’s outstanding network.

The Droid X is armed with a 1GHz OMAP CPU, 8MB of internal storage, a 16GB MicroSD card, a 4.3-inch, Android 2.1 with MotoBlur, an eight-megapixel camera with dual-LED flash, and 512MB of RAM. Android 2.2 (FroYo) and support for Flash 10.1 will be available later this summer.

This should be a smoking phone that’s a step up from the HTC Evo 4G that I’m currently playing with. The hardware is a bit better and I expect the call quality to be superior than the Evo’s. That said, Verizon’s service is more expensive than Sprint’s and this phone will not support the company’s upcoming 4G LTE network. I also prefer HTC Sense over MotoBlur.

What do you think of this scorcher from Verizon? Anyone interested in picking it up?

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Google Voice Available Without Invite

Google has announced that its Google Voice service is available to everyone — no invite required. I’m a huge, huge fan of Google Voice. The service allows you to use a single number that hits multiple phones, make cheap international calls, and manage/send text messages from a web browser. If you have a Google Android phone, the integration is super tight. I encourage all of you to snag a Google Voice number and try it out.

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Get Your iPhones Ready: iOS 4 is Available Now

Apple has released iOS 4 today. If you’re running an iPhone 3G or 3GS that isn’t jailbroken as well as the latest generation of iPod Touch media players, then you should download it straight away to take advantage of the new features. If you get a chance, let me everyone here know what you think of iOS 4.

Analyst Predicts That T-Mobile Will Get the iPhone

Just in case you were getting tired of all those iPhone-to-Verizon rumors, Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu has thrown a change-up by predicting that T-Mobile will be the next American iPhone carrier. According to All Things Digital, Wu told his clients:

Currently, T-Mobile’s 3G service (UMTS/HSPA) supports 1700 MHz and 2100 MHz frequencies while AT&T supports 850 MHz and 1900 MHz frequencies. Interestingly, both the new iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS support 3G at the 2100 MHz frequency and, from our understanding, the technical hurdle to support T-Mobile is minor compared to supporting CDMA technology at VZ and Sprint.

I would love an iPhone 4 on T-Mobile. A (seemingly) great phone coupled with T-Mobile’s excellent pricing?!? Sign me up — especially if the phone takes advantage of T-Mo’s HSPA+ build-out. That said, T-Mobile has the smallest footprint of the four major American carriers. While it would advantageous for Apple to be on multiple carriers, Sprint or Verizon would probably be better choices.

At the end of the day, I’m totally writing this off as more garbage spouted by an analyst. This information is only slightly more meaningful than a Sprint CSR telling a customer that the iPhone is headed for Sprint in Q3.

Would any of you be interested in an iPhone on T-Mobile?

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T-Mobile Giving Away Free Phones on June 19?

Here’s an interesting bit of news for anyone that’s looking for a new mobile phone provider — according to Tmonews, T-Mobile will be giving away phones on June 19 to anyone that signs up for a family plan. The standard two-year contract applies. The site claims to have found scripts for a commercial that hypes the promotion.

While T-Mobile’s current lineup of phones isn’t the most interesting, the HTC HD2 and myTouch Slide 3G are two of the better choices. My personal suggestion is to take one of the free phones, sell it on eBay, and buy a Google Nexus One.

Anyone interested in this rumored promotion? T-Mobile has some really sweet family plans. If the network works well where you live, work, and play then it’s worth considering. Hopefully it turns out to be true!

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Windows Phone 7 and Xbox Live: What Features Do You Want?

One of the most fascinating aspects of the upcoming Windows Phone 7 is its connectivity with Xbox Live. Way back in Coffee Talk #86 I told you a bit about Windows Phone 7’s game hub. Here’s the official word from Microsoft, just in case you need a refresher:

This hub delivers the first and only official Xbox Live experience on a phone, including Xbox Live games, Spotlight feed and the ability to see a gamer’s avatar, Achievements and gamer profile. With more than 23 million active members around the world, Xbox Live unlocks a world of friends, games and entertainment on Xbox 360, and now also on Windows Phone 7 Series.

The games hub is a potentially cool way for Windows Phone 7 to differentiate itself from Apple’s iOS, Google’s Android, and Palm’s WebOS. If you think of Xbox Live as a social network, Microsoft already has millions of customers to draw from. That said, I’m not sure about Windows Phone 7’s timing — perhaps it’s too late. Let’s not focus on that right now. Let’s think about it in terms of gaming.

I’d like to know what features you’d like to see in Windows Phone 7’s game hub. What would enhance your Xbox Live experience? Any predictions on any connectivity features Microsoft will announced at its E3 2010 press conference? Do you think Windows Phone 7 will have a portion of the presser? Remember, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s future supposedly rests on the future of the company’s mobile products. Perhaps he’ll nudge the games team to highlight the WP7 games hub.

Sprint CSR Tells Customer iPhone Coming in Fall 2010

A Sprint customer service representative allegedly told a customer that the Apple iPhone is coming to Sprint in Fall 2010. Last month I told you about a rumor that Apple has ordered 10-million CDMA iPhones from Pegatron, which is mobile technology Sprint uses. The peeps at Skattertech have also speculated that the iPhone is destined for Sprint. Before I get ahead of myself, here’s what supposedly went down with the Sprint CSR according to a poster on Sprint Users:

Denise went ahead to say go ahead and get the iPhone, that is a toy compared to the EVO. She then said if you leave you will not be able to take advantage of Sprint getting the iPhone in the Fall. I think that she only told me that to retain me.

Personally, I think this rumor is bunk. I’m leaning towards the CSR being dishonest with the customer. There’s also a chance that the customer made the whole thing up. Either way, I don’t see the iPhone 4 going to Sprint…

…but how crazy would that be?!? Even though Sprint is third out of the big four, I consider it the biggest loser of the bunch. Getting the iPhone would take it from zero to hero. Sprint’s pricing is second-best out of the big four and its network is arguably second best (especially when you factor in its roaming agreement with Verizon). Imagine an iPhone with reasonably priced service on a network that doesn’t blow chunks?!? Yeah…that’s too crazy to be real.

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