Comments (6)

By Sarah, July 20, 2009 8:53 pm

I have to take this opportunity to whine about something. What else is new, right? But let’s be real – what the heck is up with AT&T? I’m totally butt crazy in love with my iPhone but I am on the verge of a nervous breakdown thanks to the ever-so-flaky service. I’ve recently found myself spending quite a bit of time on the phone, whereas before, I primarily used my phone for texting, the web, and the apps. I’m more convinced than ever that AT&T is trying to ruin my life.

If I were a boxer, this would be my inspiration.

I totally get it, though – I live in a highly urban area, in an old, brick building that doesn’t allow for superb cell reception. But what I don’t understand is how every other call, literally, can fail. Call failed. Call failed. Ooh it’s ringing! Nope, call failed. Even when I can get a call through, the static is unbelievable. Nevermind the mysterious voicemails I get days late from phone calls I never received, that never showed up on my Missed Calls log. It’s endlessly frustrating and I’m finding myself more convicted than ever about the future of my relationship with my iPhone!

It wasn’t until I actually began using my cell as an actual telephone that I noticed just how awful the service is. You really can’t compare anything to the seamlessness of all other aspects – the aesthetics, the syncing, the convenience of having all my calendars, accounts and applications working in perfect harmony. But the cell service is total crap. What do I do?

It’s not like AT&T isn’t aware. The lack of service in Austin this past March for SXSW was the topic of many a conversation. The service just seems to be getting worse, and I’m sure I’m just one of the millions who are taking to their blogs to rant about dropped calls. What is keeping AT&T from getting their act together? I know you’ve got the fundage, the monthly bill for an iPhone is atrocious.

I noticed myself longingly gazing at my good friend Jason’s G1 on Sunday at church (yeah, shame on me for being distracted during church). Surely it wouldn’t be so bad to be the only one of my friends without an iPhone. Dare I risk not being one of the cool kids and allow myself the luxury of having access to a functioning cell phone? Could I possibly turn my back on the iPhone? That Pre is looking really nice about now.

The truth is, if the G1 or the Pre were available with Verizon, the Godfather of wireless providers, I would probably take the plunge. But I’m not totally sold on the reliability of T-Mobile or Sprint at the moment, definitely not enough to break my iron-clad contract with AT&T. The Pre WILL be available through Verizon in ~six months, but by that time, maybe I should just wait to see what Google has happening? Will G1 v2.0 be better? Perhaps by that time my long-distance boyfriend will be in LA and proper cell service won’t matter as much to me? What’s a girl to do?!

I am lost, and frustrated, and based on Twitter’s trending topics and the heated article on TechCrunch, I’m not the only one. One thing is for sure – AT&T is surely working doubletime to extend that contract with Apple, because once they switch providers, their customer base is going to be more sparse than hair on Homer Simpson’s shiny bald head.

FIX IT. Or I’m leaving. I mean it.

Comments (0)

By Sarah, May 27, 2008 3:12 pm

Just reading that title alone made me a bit nauseous. I pictured one of those toy cell phones that your 7 year old niece has – made with cheap plastic and plastered with cartoon characters of a Disney princess, with crappy audio playing “When You Wish Upon a Star” or something equally obnoxious.

Fortunately, that is not the case with this particular mobile, though I wouldn’t go as far to call it demure, either. Flashy phones aren’t my thing, but it’s actually kind of pretty, and much more suitable for say, a 17 year old girly girl.

The DM002SH is the product of a collaboration between Walt Disney and Sharp, and is set for release on June 7. The phone will come with a Cinderella theme and feature Disney Mobility service, available with Softbank in Japan.

Other features include a 2.6″ internal display with a WQVGA resolution (400×240), a 0.5″ external OLED display, 50MB of memory, a 2Mpix camera, Bluetooth, microSD slot, and a 1Seg Tuner. It will be available in three magical colors: Clear Crystal, Brown Topaz, and Pink Diamond.

No word on pricing or availability in North America yet.

via Akihabara News

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By Sarah, May 1, 2008 2:14 pm

Love your Blackberry but miss your old flip phone? No problem.

Exclusive, top-secret info has just been leaked regarding the newest addition to the Blackberry family, the Kickstart! Not a whole lot of details on specs yet, but this clamshell phone seems to have a SureType keyboard, has an external LCD, and a pretty decent looking internal LCD. It also uses the TrackBall for navigation and does have a camera.

Reports suggest a release date by the end of the year…..

View more images here.

What do you think – would you buy it?

via BoyGenius Report

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By Sarah, April 12, 2008 4:21 pm

Phone cards are SO five years ago. Now, it’s all about the disposable cell phone, or at least it will be, thanks to Hop-on Inc. The company unveiled it’s $20 (13 Euros) disposable cell phones at CTIA in Las Vegas this year. The compact and recyclable units have a Texas Instruments chipset and works on 900/1800 MHz frequency, but no LCD screen. This is essentially JUST for making calls – absolutely no frills or extras.

A European distributor just picked up 10,000 of the phones for an intial test run. Sounds like a great solution for traveling, no? Hop-on also recommends the phone for kids, teens, and seniors.

via Gizmodo

Comments (1)

By Sarah, January 31, 2008 8:04 pm

The Prada and Giorgio Armani phones are one thing, but this…. well this is quite another. Japanese mobile company Softbank Mobile is teaming up with Tiffany & Co to create a nearly $100,000 cell phone (exact price tag is 10 million yen or $94,000 USD). This luxury mobile phone is adorned in 400 diamonds for a total of 20 carats. Ask any girl you know – if there is anyone that knows diamonds, it’s Tiffany’s!

Well at least it’s pretty. SIKE! My eyes, my eyes! That thing is OOOOGALAY!

As if the rich folks really need another gadget to tote around and leave the rest of us bitter about. This is truly insane!

Anticipated launch date between Feb and March of this year. I wonder if it’ll come in the little blue box?

via TechieDiva

Comments (1)

By Sarah, May 4, 2007 2:40 pm

Just when you thought these luxury phones couldn’t get any more elaborate, along comes the blue and white diamond encrusted MOTOKRZR Roma.

Roma – as in, the ancient Greek city. And this phone is almost as marvelous as the city itself.

The phone itself is Cosmic Blue – and is encrusted with a total of 325 blue and white diamonds (thats a total of 4-5 carats in weight) and 18CT white gold. It’s designed by Peter Aloisson, has a reflective glass front, bluetooth, and an mp3 player.

Oh, and it’s $29,992.50.

Does it get any ritzier than this?

Comments (0)

By Sarah, February 23, 2007 12:44 pm

Nokia’s new line of phones (based on the L’Amour Collection) could quite possibly be the world’s prettiest phones.  Up until now, the market for girly looking phones has been quite bleak.  It must be difficult for the designers to think of something besides "now color it hot pink."  But these phones are soft pink, ceramic looking,
with swirlies, and gold, and have round edges, and are quite feminine looking all around.   

With three models to choose from, there’s pretty much an option for everyone.  They are priced between $255 and $575, and in this case, you get what you pay for.  The most expensive is the Nokia 7380, a ‘fashion phone,’ featuring keyless dial, a 2 megapixel camera, leather panels, and voice commands.   The Nokia 7370 features a ’swivel’ open keypad, 1.3 megapixel camera, video ringtones, 2-inch QVGA color screen, and even comes in brown for the boys.  The most pocketbook-friendly is the Nokia 7360, just as beautiful as the rest, with a VGA camera, mp3 ringtones, and stereo FM radio.

They are all equal in beauty, so whichever you pick, you’ll be the envy of women everywhere.  Best to keep your distance though, thousands of them swarming to you while squealing "Ooooh it’s so pretty!!!" could get ugly.

Comments (1)

By Sarah, January 8, 2007 11:23 am

The age of technology is upon us, and the girls want to play, too!   But why should we compromise our feminity for the sake of functionality?  No doubt about it, it’s a woman’s world out there, just ask any man.  So why in the world all the hot new products on the shelves are so incredibly dull and boring looking, well your guess is as good as mine. 

For years now I’ve worked in the IT field, with men & their gadgets.  I grew up in a house full of boys.  I’m used to being one of the only girls, and rather than becoming a tomboy, it’s always made me feel even more like a lady.  One look at me and you can tell, I’m a girly girl.  I like cats, shopping, make-up, shoes, shiny things, and of course, the color pink.  However, I also understand the mentality of a man.  ‘Functionality over appearance’, ‘Who cares what it looks like, as long as it works’, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’, right?   I get it.  Along the same lines of "you don’t need to put on make-up to go to the movies – it’s going to be dark in there anyway, no one will see you!"  But can we try just a little here?  I’m not talking bows & glitter, either (although I might prefer a pink hard drive over a grey one…)

Case in point – Bravo, Motorola!  When it came time to upgrade my cell phone last fall, I opted for the Hot Pink SLVR rather than the mundane silver or black.  Everytime I answer my phone, it’s a little burst of sunshine in my day.  And it sure makes it a lot easier to find in this monster of a handbag, too.  Cell phones and mp3 players are probably the one area of technology that are finally "getting it."  Brand names aside, virtually anyone can find a variety of colors & styles to suit their personality. 

Around here, I need all the sunshine I can get.  It’s a pure joy working at Tom’s Hardware Guide, as any techno buff would imagine.  But the scenery?  It’s looking grim.   Stacks & stacks of boxy grey and black objects. 

So no matter who you are or what you’re into, a little bit of color never hurt anyone.  And if that color so happens to be pink?  Hats off to you, my good man!  Variety is the spice of life…