phone

iPhone users worldwide are complaining of dropped calls, and it's looking increasingly likely the cause is the phone itself. The problem appears to be occurring with the "3G connection," the fast-access which allows many of the smartphone features ... to operate. Because the phones aren't getting a strong enough connection on the 3G networks, they often need to switch to a traditional phone network in mid-call. This doesn't always go smoothly and is sometimes causing temporary disconnections which are enough to terminate the connection. There doesn't seem to be any strong geographical pattern in ... (view more)

There have been times in our lives when we have had to make important phone calls that we would much rather avoid. In these instances (and in-between whispering to ourselves "please don't pick up") we anticipate the salvation that comes when hearing ... the beep of an answering machine, signaling that an unwanted conversation has just been avoided. Wouldn't it be great if we could jump straight to the answering machine without having to wait out the seemingly endless ringing period? Now thanks to Slydial, unwanted phone conversations are a thing of the past. Slydial is an emergent technology that ... (view more)

Apple's in-store activation scheme for the launch of the new iPhone seems to have backfired thanks to a software bug. The problem isn't with the phone itself -- as far as anyone can tell, they work exactly as advertised. Instead, the glitch lay in ... the servers used to activate the phone service. Apple brought in the scheme after fears people would buy phones and then sell them abroad, particularly in markets which don't yet have a licensed local carrier. To combat this, U.S. buyers have to get their phones activated in person. In most cases, this involves signing a minimum two-year service ... (view more)

The new 3G iPhone is set for a roaring start in the United States and Britain, but Canadian consumers appear sceptical after the recent announcement of a phone plan they deem unfair. The device launches on Friday at 8am in AT&T stores (unlike ... the original phone which was held back till 6pm on its launch last year). The time switch is because the new phone must be activated in-store rather than at home. As this process could take up to 20 minutes per customer, long lines should inevitably build up. Thus, AT&T wants to spread sales across the day; a new policy is designed to make it harder for ... (view more)

Many people have been wondering why the new 3G iPhone is much cheaper than expected. It turns out wireless carrier AT ... (view more)

Jajah just landed a deal to manage VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) calls for Yahoo! Messenger. Beginning in the third quarter of 2008, the web-based telephony company will add the Internet portal's 97 million users to its own base of 10 million ... Jajah customers. Whether or not users will notice the difference is unclear. (Source: marketwire.com ) While both services use pre-paid credits, the pricing system is slightly different. Yahoo, for example, charges less than Jajah for U.S. long distance, while the reverse is true for international calls. Of course, neither service can compare to ... (view more)

It appears Apple will sell an unlocked edition of the iPhone in Italy, which raises the question of whether the company will adopt a similar policy elsewhere in the world. An unlocked phone is one that will work with any telephone carrier. So far, ... Apple has always sold the phone in a locked state. For example, in the United States it only works on the AT ... (view more)

There's a major shortage of iPhones in stores across the country, and Apple's own online outlet is also running short. The shortage has prompted speculation Apple is planning to bring forward the launch of its next phone, likely based on 3G ... technology. AppleInsider, an unofficial site that reports on the company's business, says it contacted Apple stores across the country and all were out of stock of both the 8GB and 16GB models. Thus far, there's no news as to when replacements will arrive. Readers of the site added to the reports, suggesting some entire states were without stock. There's ... (view more)

Have you ever wanted to star in your very own television show? Thanks to the rising popularity of YouTube, it seems as if everyone has their own online show, complete with all the copying, deleting and editing that goes into production. But, have ... you ever wanted to star in your very own LIVE television show? Complete with no script, no rules, absolutely LIVE as it happens? If you own a cell phone, get ready for your close-up! It's inevitable now; every mobile phone will soon have a cellular video camera installed in it. While still in its infancy stage, Qik.com, a small start-up company based ... (view more)

It's now guaranteed that a major part of America's wireless airwaves will be accessible to any device or computer program. That could mean more choice for cell phone owners who want to access the Internet on their phones. The guarantee comes because ... bidding on the relevant part of the airwaves (the C block of the 700 megahertz spectrum to be precise) has passed the $4.64 billion mark. The government has agreed to proposals, championed by Google, ruling that any bidder paying more than this amount would have to follow open-access rules. The airwaves are being freed up by television ... (view more)