AT&T boosts Seattle-area 3G coverage with 850 MHz spectrum

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Broadband, Cell Phones, Wireless / WiFi

This morning AT&T announced that they’ve done a “substantial upgrade” of its 3G coverage in the Seattle area, having deployed additional wireless spectrum using the 850 MHz band. According to AT&T, the upgrade should mean that customers in Seattle, Tacoma, Everett, Renton, Auburn, and King County should all have better 3G connectivity, performance, and the signal should be much stronger when indoors as well. The move should also increase overall network capacity, which AT&T is hoping will support subscriber growth.

Since Gear Live HQ is located smack-dab in the middle of the enhanced coverage area, we’ll be giving things a try, and we will let you know if the use of 850 MHz spectrum truly helps the dire situation that is AT&T coverage. Seattle iPhone 3GS and 3G users, give it your best!

Read More | AT&T News Room

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Black Friday 2009: Office Depot ad

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Cameras, Cell Phones, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Hot Deals, Movies, PC / Laptop, Portable Audio / Video, Wireless / WiFi

Alright, we are scrounging together all of the Black Friday 2009 ads and deals that we can find, and bringing them to you one-by-one in order to help you make your shopping decisions, and we are starting with Office Depot, which actually has a few surprising items that are fairly attractive, if you ask us. Go ahead and check out the list after the break. Also check out our Newegg posts, for items you can buy from the warmth of your chair, as opposed to lining up outside in the cold. Hey, to each their own.

Click to continue reading Black Friday 2009: Office Depot ad

Read More | Black Friday Info

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How to fix the Motorola DROID MMS bug

Posted by Dan Hughes Categories: Cell Phones, Google, Handhelds

We recently reported an issue regarding the Motorola DROID and it’s MMS problem, and it looks like we’ve tracked down the issue.

After some hefty research (read: lots of Googling and failed MMS messages,) we finally stumbled upon a post over on Howard Forums from a user who seemed to identify this issue.  We have tested it successfully, both purposefully breaking and then fixing our ability to send MMS.

The culprit: parentheses around your contact’s area code.  If your contacts have parentheses around them when they are synced to the phone, the Droid faithfully preserves that.  However, when the address is used for an MMS transmission (and ONLY MMS, for some reason), it glitches out and fails. [Ed. note: What an absolutely ridiculous bug!]

Here’s how to fix the DROID MMS issue, if you are experiencing it:

1. Delete any open threads containing the user you want to MMS, including any text message threads.  Otherwise, it will pull the address form the thread instead of using the new one.
2. Edit the contact, removing the phone number and retyping it in.  Notice the Droid will type the hyphens in itself, but will not place parentheses.  Make sure to do this on EACH form of data this may synchronize from (e.g. Corporate AND Google contacts, if this person is in both.  Haven’t figured out if parentheses coming from Facebook can cause a problem.)
3. Soft reset the phone.
4. Attempt the MMS.

This worked for us.  Drop us a comment and let us know if it worked for you.  There have been some reports of the problems reoccurring, and so we’d like to know your circumstances.

Personal note: Make sure you edit the information that syncs to your phone so it has no parentheses.  I know I exported my contacts from Outlook, and imported them into Google, and Outlook puts parentheses by default, so that is why none of my contacts worked in the first place, but we COULD send to the guy at Verizon Wireless (because we typed in his number directly.)  I’m wondering if somehow the parentheses data is somehow being synced back to the phone.

We’ve reported the situation to Verizon’s Wireless Data Technical Support team, who thanked us for the information. (Direct quote: “Awesome.”)

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Reports of Motorola Droids Not Sending MMS

Posted by Dan Hughes Categories: Cell Phones, Google, Handhelds

Update: It looks like we’ve found the culprit - How to fix the Motorola DROID MMS bug.

It seems to be few and far between at this point, but stemming from an unfortunate first-hand series of events, we’ve investigated and found a few unhappy Verizon Wireless Motorola Droid customers out there who are experiencing an annoying problem:  MMS’ are being sent and being rejected with the error message: “You have entered an invalid address.”

The problem seems to be intermittent and with no discernable pattern.  Reports show customers who are inflicted with the problem are unable to send to certain numbers but are able to send to others.  Our first-hand experience involved attempting to send pictures to a quarter of the address book before giving up and calling tech support.  Oddly enough, the first successful picture message sent on this particular Droid went to the guy from Verizon’s Wireless Data Technical Support team who was helping us to fix the problem.  We were able to receive MMS from the numbers we tried, but failed receiving from another of Verizon’s Customer Support reps.

Posts on Android’s and Motorola’s support forums found that there was no workaround yet, but some of those who swapped out for a new Droid had no problems with the new phone.

Is anyone else having this problem?  Verizon, Motorola, and Google definitely have not spoken up yet, so we don’t know how many people are calling about the problem, but there are a few out there.  For all we know, it could be a small glitch.  Drop a comment and let us know.

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The gloves are off: Verizon iPhone attack commercials go full swing

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Corporate News, Videos

Oh man, you’ve got to love how Verizon Wireless has gotten so bold now that they’ve finally got a killer device in the Motorola DROID to brag about. You’ve also got to love how Apple is getting a taste of their own medicine, after running the “I’m a Mac” ads for years now. Verizon is aiming to highlight their phone offerings, as well as their huge 3G network, in their holiday commercials that dump on the iPhone and AT&T. There are three so far, and we must admit, they’re pretty clever. You can watch all three commercials, one of which sees the iPhone banished to the Land of Misfit Toys, after the break.

Click to continue reading The gloves are off: Verizon iPhone attack commercials go full swing

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Motorola DROID review

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Features, Google, Handhelds, Product Reviews, Videos

The Motorola DROID is a symbol of change, for a bunch of different reasons. The fact is, the DROID is a Motorola phone, exclusive to Verizon Wireless, and runs Android 2.0. There is major significance for each of those three bullet points, and that’s not even getting into the actual device. In many ways, the DROID is something new for all three companies involved, which is likely why the three worked to closely together on getting the device just right. So the question is, did they succeed? We’ve had the device for about a week now, and we’ve been playing with it non-stop for the most part. We know what you’re probably wondering—how does the DROID stand up to the iPhone? Is Android 2.0 actually better than what we’ve seen from the platform on other devices? Does the Verizon network really make a difference?

We’ve got all the answers for you in our Motorola DROID review, so sit back, and read on for our take.

Click to continue reading Motorola DROID review

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Video: Google Maps Navigation feature walkthrough

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Google, GPS, Handhelds, Software

One of the nicest features in Android 2.0 is Google Maps Navigation. In a nutshell, it’s Google Maps with turn-by-turn GPS navigation, and voice guidance. Google has put together a video that introduces Google Maps Navigation, which we’ve embedded above, but there are some of the features that stand out to us:

• Live traffic: Since Google Maps can show you traffic info, it’s obviously built-in to Google Maps Navigation, at no extra cost.
• Routes always current: When you search for directions, Google Maps Navigation searches the cloud, and gives you the best current route based on the most recent data
• Layers: You can overlay different types on data over your maps, like restaurants, gas stations, and more.
• Live street view: This is just awesome. You can use the Google Street View feature to get a fantastic visual of your surroundings while driving
• FREE!: Google Maps Navigation is free. That includes the GPS, the live traffic data, and the always updated maps. That is a big deal.

The first handset to ship with Android 2.0, and thusly Google Maps Navigation, will be the Motorola Droid.

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Video: A look at Android 2.0

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Software, Videos

Google has released a video that shows off all the new Android 2.0 features. Of course, Android 2.0 is what powers the Motorola Droid. A few of the highlights:

• Android 2.0 can pull in contacts from multiple sources, and supports two-way syncing. There is a new feature called Quick Contact, that shows you just about every way you can possibly contact someone when you tap their user icon.
• Apps will now be able to turn on Bluetooth to set up connections with other devices
• Android 2.0 supports multiple screen resolutions. In the video, we see an application running at 800x480 and 854x480, as an example

Definitely some good stuff here. Color us excited.

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Motorola Droid: Available November 6th for $200, Verizon exclusive

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Handhelds

The wait for the Motorola Droid to go official is finally over, as Verizon has announced all the details on the drool-worthy handset, highlighted by the fact that the Droid launches exclusively on Verizon Wireless on November 6th (yes, just over a week from now,) and will sell for $200 after mail-in rebate with two-year contract.

We know what many of you are thinking - $200 will get you an iPhone 3GS, so this thing better bring the pain. Well, my friends, it certainly does. The Droid is a top-notch phone, boasting a 3.7-inch 480x854 display, Cortex A8 processor, Bluetooth, GPS, 5-megapixel camera (with dual-LED flash,) slide-out QWERTY keyboard with d-pad. 3G, Wi-Fi, over-the-air Amazon MP3 downloads, and voice-activated search are also present. Included in the box is a 16GB SD card, as well as a dock for the phone. That’s just the hardware. Equally important is the software running on the device, and the Droid is the first handset to feature Android 2.0. That’s a big deal, as no other phone on the horizon seems to be shipping with 2.0. This also means that Droid picks up the new Google Maps Navigation feature, which essentially turns the phone into a fully-functional GPS, using Google Maps, at no extra cost.

We’ll obviously be bringing you more details as we get them, but expect to hear a lot, a lot about this phone over the coming weeks.

Read More | Verizon Wireless

Gallery: Motorola Droid: Available November 6th for $200, Verizon exclusive

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Use Google Voice voicemail with your current number

Posted by Dan Hughes Categories: Cell Phones, Google, Internet

Today, Google “announced” a feature that technically already existed before now, but giving it a name makes it more real, right?

Google says that by taking advantage of the conditional call forwarding feature your carrier provides, you can forward calls that you do not answer on your phone to your Google Voice phone number, thereby replacing your company’s voicemail with Google’s.  This functionality has actually always existed: Google Help forums reveal countless people already were setting up their functionality long before Google made this announcement. 

It boils down to setting up your call forwarding feature (*71 or the like) to forward to your Google Voice number (or your “Access Number” if you sign up “Without a Google Number”).  Then, when your call is forwarded to the Google Voice number, the voice mail is logged and transcribed and stored online, with delivery options such as email or text message to your cell phone.  You don’t get all the features you get if you use an actual Google Voice number for people to call, but it is still a nifty service.

A bit more information about Google Voice after the jump.

Click to continue reading Use Google Voice voicemail with your current number

Read More | The Official Google Blog

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