Wireless Guide News

Dear ABC News Fixer: Please help! On Oct. 30, I called AT&T to change the name on our family’s multiple cellphone account from my husband’s name to my name, to get an employee discount through my new workplace.

I specifically requested that no changes be made to any of our text messaging, minutes or data plans on our four phone lines. I was assured they would remain exactly the same. We were simply changing the billing responsibility from Robert Del Real to Ivana Del Real.

The following day, one of our phone lines received a text message indicating that it was over the messaging limit.

I called AT&T and was informed that the person who transferred the billing to my name did not transfer any of the data or messaging plans. They also told me that the unlimited data plan was a “grandfathered” plan and is no longer available.

After more than 45 minutes, I got a manager and told my story all over again. In all fairness, this manager was very understanding and proceeded to open a case on my behalf.

Two weeks later, I had not heard back, so I called AT&T. I was told my case had been closed the same day it was opened.

BARCELONA, Spain–Doro, the Swedish phone company that manufacturers handsets geared towards seniors, launched its PhoneEasy 622 in Europe today during Mobile World Congress. The flip-phone is Doro’s first device to feature video recording and works alongside Doro’s mobile ecosystem that enables users to manage a loved ones mobile contacts and calendar.

Design
The PhoneEasy 622 comes in black and burgundy, and measures 4.01-inches tall, 2.05-inches wide, and is a third of an inch thick. It’s lightweight and is sleeker than other Doro phones, like the 618.

It has a smooth p…………… continues on CNET

And contrary to what you hear in Augusta, lawmakers can legislate common sense.

You can’t legislate good driving or common sense, according to Rep. Wayne Parry, an Arundel Republican on the Transportation Committee.

That’s why he joined with nine colleagues to kill a bill that would have made it illegal to talk on a cellphone while operating a motor vehicle.

Parry said that enacting the law would open a “Pandora’s box” of regulation, but that box has been open for a long time.

Common sense would have told people that it’s a bad idea to drink and drive, yet millions of Americans did just that and thousands were killed every year as a result. It wasn’t common sense that dramatically reduced the number of drunken driving deaths, it was tough state laws th…………… continues on Press Herald

When I wrote the copyright report for the House Republican Study Committee, I had no idea the outpouring of support I would receive from the digital generation that I belong to. I wrote it solely to start a conversation amongst our Congressional Members, but instead I have seen it engage thousands of average people. The report was published on November 16, 2012. Two weeks later, on December 7, 2012, I was informed that I would not be retained as a staffer.

Despite the personal consequences, I am not giving up. I’m just getting started, and I’m not scared by a temporary setback. I’m emboldened by it. And I don’t think I’m the only one, or that I’m one of a few.

The conversation that the copyright report started is inspirational, in the face of a political establishment (on both sides of the aisle) which often refuses to acknowledge that we are paying attention. It is up to us, the public, to be engaged. If we are not satisfied with our policy-makers and the policies that they enact, we can change…………… continues on Boing Boing

February 20, 2013

A ruling about copyright from the Library of Congress covers cell phones. The rules include whether you may buy your phone from one carrier and then use it with another. There is a movement to make it easier to unlock cell phones, so they are not tied to the carrier that you bought it from.

Philip Hsiang and his wife, Mary Ann, used to pay almost $ 1,000 a year for a pair of cellphones under a family plan contract.

But as recession gripped the economy a few years back, the Davis couple opted for low-cost prepaid phone service and never looked back. They shaved $ 800 off their annual phone bill, even though Hsiang could easily afford the pricier plan on his salary as an electrical engineer.

“As a Chinese immigrant to the U.S., it’s a virtue to be frugal,” Hsiang said. “Wasteful spending is a bad thing.”

Like the Hsiangs, millions of American cellphone users fed up with soaring bills are flocking to prepaid plans. Long a lifeline for low-income consumers and people with bad credit, these phones have become one of the hottest performers in the U.S. wireless market.

Total U.S. prepaid subscriptions shot past 100 million as of June, growing by 12% over the previous year, while traditional wireless telephone services with monthly bills remained flat. About 1 in 3 U.S. cellphone owners now opt to pay as they go.

Prepaid service has come into its own because of a trio of customer-friendly factors: The cost sometimes is less than half that of a traditional billed service; there’s no restrictive contract or hefty early-cancellation fee; and some high-end providers offer smartphones with unlimited Internet, text…………… continues on Los Angeles Times

A new change to the ban against using a cellphone when flying could be coming soon, but there are some emerging controversies over cellphone use on planes, including a possible health risk.

Some European and Middle East airlines now allow personal cellphone use while flying outside United States airspace.

Onboard equipment solves navigation interference problems, but in the United States the Federal Aviation Administration requires passengers to turn off their cellphone for take-off and landing, only allowing for airplane mode at altitude.

Regulators are poised to allow regular, in-flight cellphone use on domestic airline flights.

This has polarized some experts and passengers.

“I think it’s a bad idea personally because we’ll be listening to everyone’s gossip and their whole life story,” said Karen Sager of Napa.

“I think the pros would be that if there’s an emergency you can get hold of somebody,” said Sonoma resident Lisa Carlsson.

Flight attendants worry no one would pay attention to cabin instructions.

And then there’s another concern, passengers health.

“Looking at brain tumor risk and other kinds of cancer risk, I would say it’s a bad idea,” said Joel Moskowitz, director of the University of California, Berkeley’s Center for Family and Community Health.

Moskowitz said cellphones…………… continues on KTVU San Francisco

A woman reported being jumped by three women who robbed her while in a bathroom of a business on North Huron Street in Ypsilanti, according to police.

PHOENIX – State lawmakers are sending a message to new teen drivers: Put down the phone.

On a 3-1 vote Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Public Safety approved a measure to prohibit cellphone use by anyone younger than 18 who is driving on a learner’s permit or for the first six months after getting a license.

The ban would cover both texting and talking.

Stuart Goodman, lobbyist for AAA Arizona, told lawmakers statistics support the move. He said that from 1982 to 2007, alcohol-related fatalities for teens dropped, but the “overall number of fatalities have stayed the same.”

He said “distracted driving has now replaced alcohol-related accidents or fatalities as one of the leading causes of young deaths behind the wheel.”

Special restrictions on young new motorists is not new. Existing law generally precludes them from driving between midnight and 5 a.m., though there are exceptions, like driving to school or work, or if a parent or guardian who has a driver’s license is present.

And anyone licensed for less than six months cannot have more than one other person younger than 18 in the vehicle. Siblings are excepted, as are situations with a parent in the vehicle.

Sen. Al Melvin, R-Tucson, who has attempted to get similar restrictions for five years, said he wrote SB 1241 to be as narrow in scope as possible.

One…………… continues on Arizona Daily Star

more ways to save you real money on your cell phone bill. After our first report helped one family save hundreds of dollars on their bills, thousands of you logged on to let us know, you are going to do it, too, and some of you sent us other ways that everyone can save money. Abc’s paula faris, here once again to put real money in your pocket. Hi. Hey, daddy. Reporter: Remember the barry family in massachusetts? Divorced dad, phil, daughters reagan and ava, who depend on their cell phones to stay in touch. I love you. I love you too, dad. Reporter: We showed phil how to save big on his monthly cell bill by switching to a family plan and applying his corporate nt. Holy mamajama. year. And after our real money story aired, thousands of families around the country found other ways to save. We ended up saving about $ 80 a month. It estimated w…………… continues on ABC News

By PETER SVENSSON, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Research firm Gartner says worldwide cellphone sales fell last year, as economic turmoil dampened shopper appetites.

The decline was 1.7 percent, and it was the first time since 2009 that cellphone sales have fallen, Gartner says. Sales amounted to 1.75 billion units, meaning that one out of every four people on the planet bought a new cellphone last year.

A competing research firm, IDC, last month said that sales grew at 1.2 percent last year.

The firms agree that smartphone sales grew quickly, while non-smartphone sales declined by a roughly equal number.

Samsung Electronics of Korea is the world’s largest maker of phones, followed by Finland’s Nokia Corp. and Apple Inc. of the US, according to both research firms.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Shopping for a new phone in Miami. More people want to find if they can get cellphone convenience without cellphone contracts.

It’ll cost you a Ben Franklin, maybe more.

Missoula’s ban on driving with a cellphone in hand goes into full effect Tuesday, Feb. 5, and the penalty if you get caught is at least $ 100, possibly as high as $ 300. Busted a second time in the same year? You’re out $ 150, at least, and maybe as much as $ 500.

But guess what? You have options to get around it. The workarounds run from free to cheap to get-me-a-sugar-momma.

So far, the ban has been in its educational phase, where police issue warnings instead of citations. Missoula Police Chief Mark Muir said officers handed out 28 warnings in the month of December, and as daylight increases, he anticipates the number of tickets will go up.

“It won’t surprise me to see us issue maybe a couple hundred a month,” Muir said.

Councilman Dave Strohmaier, who pushed the ban for years, often walks downtown, and he hasn’t seen a perceptible drop in the number of people talking on their phones and driving in the initial phase of the prohibition.

“I continue to see folks pulling bonehead maneuvers downtown while turning corners talking on a cellphone or sitting at stoplights downtown,” Strohmaier said. “So my hope would be, come Tuesday, with the opportunity to send a little stronger message to people, we might see a significant reduction.”

A recent observational survey of some 10,000 cars…………… continues on The Missoulian

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) _ State lawmakers are holding a public hearing on increasing the fines for violating Connecticut’s ban on using hand-held cell phones while driving.

The Transportation Committee has set the hearing for 10 a.m. Monday in the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.

The proposed bill would double the fines for talking on cell phones without hands-free devices, texting and other cell phone use while driving.

The current fines are $ 100 for a first violation, $ 150 for a second violation and $ 200 for subsequent violations. Some lawmakers want to increase the penalties to $ 200 for a first violation, $ 300 for a second violation and $ 500 for subsequent violations.

You may share your thoughts in our comments section below…

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy resigned Saturday after “breaking the public trust,” Gov. Dave Heineman said.

Heineman announced Sheehy’s resignation in a hastily called news conference Saturday morning. Heineman said the resignation followed disclosures made in a public records request, but declined to discuss what those disclosures were.

“As public officials, we are rightly held to a higher standard,” Heineman said. “I had trusted him, and that trust was broken.”

The Omaha World-Herald reported (http://bit.ly/X2LVyC) that Sheehy resigned after it raised questions about improper cellphone calls to four women, none of which were his wife, during the past four years. The World-Herald said in its online additions Saturday that it discovered Sheehy made thousands of late-night calls to the women on his state-issued cellphone.

Sheehy, a Republican, had been considered the front-runner in the 2014 gubernatorial race and had been endorsed by Heineman. Sheehy has been traveling throughout the state, making speeches and holding public events.

Sheehy was the mayor of Hastings before Heineman selected him as his running mate. They were elected by a record margin to their first full term in 2006 and re-elected in 2010.

Last July, Sheehy’s wife, Connie Sheehy, filed for divorce after nearly 29 years of marriage. H…………… continues on Washington Post

Syracuse, N.Y. – About 1,500 old cell phones were donated to “Cell Phones for Soldiers” this holiday season, providing more than 3,000 free minutes to servicemembers deployed overseas, according to Sen. John DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse.

It was the fifth year DeFrancisco’s office organized the collection boxes, which were in area libraries, malls and at his office in at 333 E. Washington St., Syracuse.

The collection period is officially over, DeFrancisco said Friday. But anyone with an old cellphone or smart phone can still drop it off at the senator’s office for next winter’s donations.

Contact Teri Weaver at: tweaver@syracuse.com, 315-470-2274 or on Twitter at @TeriKWeaver.

LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy resigned Saturday after “breaking the public trust,” Gov. Dave Heineman said.

Heineman announced Sheehy’s resignation in a hastily called news conference Saturday morning. Heineman said the resignation followed disclosures made in a public records request, but declined to discuss what those disclosures were.

“As public officials, we are rightly held to a higher standard,” Heineman said. “I had trusted him, and that trust was broken.”

The Omaha World-Herald reported (http://bit.ly/X2LVyC) that Sheehy resigned after it raised questions about improper cellphone calls to four women, none of which were his wife, during the past four years. The World-Herald said in its online additions Saturday that it discovered Sheehy made thousands of late-night calls to the women on his state-issued cellphone.

Sheehy, a Republican, had been considered the front-runner in the 2014 gubernatorial race and had been endorsed by Heineman. Sheehy has been traveling throughout the state, making speeches and holding public events.

Sheehy was the mayor of Hastings before Heineman selected him as his running mate. They were elected by a record margin to their first full term in 2006 and re-elected in 2010.

Last July, Sheehy’s wife, Connie Sheehy, filed for divorce after nearly 29 years of marriage. H…………… continues on Washington Post

Syracuse, N.Y. – About 1,500 old cell phones were donated to “Cell Phones for Soldiers” this holiday season, providing more than 3,000 free minutes to servicemembers deployed overseas, according to Sen. John DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse.

It was the fifth year DeFrancisco’s office organized the collection boxes, which were in area libraries, malls and at his office in at 333 E. Washington St., Syracuse.

The collection period is officially over, DeFrancisco said Friday. But anyone with an old cellphone or smart phone can still drop it off at the senator’s office for next winter’s donations.

Contact Teri Weaver at: tweaver@syracuse.com, 315-470-2274 or on Twitter at @TeriKWeaver.