Posted on Nov 26, 2007 under Hardware Tips |
While the iPhone touts its Airplane Mode, the Motorola Q has an In Flight Mode of it’s own, although it’s a bit more cumbersome to enable.
Turn Phone Off
1. Press and hold the Home key. The Quick List displays.
2. Select Wireless Manager.
3. Scroll to Phone and press the center select key.
4. When the Phone button turns to the lighter color, it is turned off.
Now the second part is to turn Bluetooth off.
1. Press and hold the Home key. The Quick List displays.
2. Select Wireless Manager.
3. Scroll to Bluetooth and press the center select key.
4. When the button turns to the lighter color, it is turned off.
Source: Motorola Q Manual.
Posted on Nov 26, 2007 under Blog |
Is your current cell phone contract up, or are you looking to renew? Are you looking for the best deal? Here are a few things you should consider before resigning right away just to get that great new piece of crap phone!
Are they trying to get you to sign a 2 year contract? Make sure you read the fine print! For example ? Can you change your rate plan without extending your contract for another 2 years? Most companies will not tell you that you are extending your contract. This is important if you are not sure how many minutes you will be using, or if you need to travel a few months out of the year and switch to that more expensive national plan. Another question is ?Will I roam?? and if so, ?What will I be charged??
If you can afford the phone at the 1-year or no contract price, DO IT! Because I can assure you that 99% of the time your phone will not last you 2 years.
You can purchase phone insurance, which in my opinion seems to be a pretty good deal. If you are accident-prone then $5 to $10 per month will allow you to get the same phone for $50 -$100 if you break or lose your phone. The only catch is you can only file 2 claims a year, and if you lose it or its stolen you must file a police report.(read the fine print)
The phone you are most interested in, will only be pushed upon you if it is the biggest ?money maker?. Cell companies get paid per activation; they don?t make their money off of selling phones. SO what that means is on a NEW 2 year activation they will try to get you into that free or cheap phone, because that means more money for the company and probably a bigger ?spiff? for the sales rep. Don?t fall for it, the best phones I have found are generally the middle price range from $60-$100. Another rip off is buying a $300 phone with a $100 mail-in-rebate. How often do you get a mail-in-rebate back? You usually get a letter from the company stating you didn?t give them everything needed, so in other words, you got screwed! The bottom line is, if you get a free or cheap phone, don?t expect much.
Posted on Nov 26, 2007 under iPhone Tips |
Airplane mode disables the features that transmit or receive cell phone, radio, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth signals.
Enable Airplane Mode on your iPhone by choosing Settings, then turn airplane mode on.
This will disable the ability to:
Make phone calls
Send or receive email
Browse the Internet
Send or receive text messages
Stream YouTube videos
Get stock quotes
Get maps locations
Get weather reports
When in airplane mode you can still:
Listen to music and watch video
Listen to visual voicemail
Check your calendar
Take or view pictures
Hear alarms
Use the stopwatch or timer
Use the calculator
Take notes
Read text messages and email messages already stored.
Source: iPhone Users Guide
Posted on Nov 26, 2007 under Hardware Tips |
How to disable or prevent your iPhone from automatically syncing when you connect it to your computer.
1. Open iTunes.
2. Click iTunes > Preferences (on a Mac) or Edit > Preferences (on a PC)
3. Deselect Disable automatic syncing for all iPhones.
Now your iPhone will not automatically sync when you connect it to your computer.
Source: iPhone Users Guide
Posted on Nov 26, 2007 under Blog |
Once upon a time there was no choice when it came to your phone service. Not only did you have to get your service through Bell Systems, you had to rent the equipment from them too. Yes, you had to actually rent the phone that was plugged into the RJ-45 on your wall. A 1968 case where Carter Electronics took on Bell Systems resolved that problem when a judge ruled that third party equipment can be plugged in and used on the network that Bell Systems maintained and provided service on. A whole new communications industry was born and consumers were free to choose which equipment they wanted to use for communications.
The Bell System companies dragged their feet for many years after the Carterphone decision, still requiring customers to rent their equipment up until consumers fought them well into the late 70’s. Even through that battle, we are still retreating back to the era where our communications options are becoming increasingly controlled in other arenas. Consumers are forced into contracts they don’t want to be locked into, and to use phones only supplied by our wireless providers, Shouldn’t the 1968 Carterfone decision make a difference in the wireless industry? Because of this case, shouldn’t I as a consumer have the ability to use whatever equipment I want on a wireless network? How about a cable network? The Internet?
Read more… »
Posted on Nov 26, 2007 under Blog |
Verizon sucks for the most part, but they are the best choice because of the network.
I have been stuck with my UT Starcom phone for 2 years now, and Verizon is offering me the ?New Every 2?. I of course have to sign a new contract to get the deal. Anybody that knows phones will tell you that the Audiovox model CDM-8910 phone that Verizon sold the crap out of 2 to 3 years ago is quite possibly the worst phone ever made. Settings don?t get stored, you will miss text messages and voice mail notifications if the memory gets close to full (which is often) and the phone is so locked down you can?t even change the banner.
Frustrated I tried to find another phone and learned that I couldn?t just switch to the phone I wanted. I had to wait until my 2 year contract was up, or else pay $300 for a phone that I could get on Ebay for $50. I had thought that SIM card technology had brought us beyond this problem only to learn that Verizon and Alltel sells bastardized versions of brand name phones that don?t have the features other carries have.
Cingular/AT&T and Sprint provides phones with SIM cards. Verizon and Alltell do not. AT&T and Sprint customers can put their SIM card into any phone they want to use anytime. Verizon and Alltell customers however, have to pay more or sign a new contract if they want to switch phones.
Looking over the plans I am becoming even more discouraged. Has anybody taken a look at the free weekends and evenings deal with Verizon? Night Hrs: (M?F) 9:01 p.m.?5:59 a.m.
Wknd Hrs: 12:00 a.m. Sat.?11:59 p.m. Sun. How bogus! Your weekend hours consist of 3 hours on Friday and Saturday basically. The plan used to give you free nights starting at 7:00pm. Alltel still does. AT&T?s weekends plan is similar to Verizon?s with the exception that they give you Saturday as well as Sunday.
I will give Verizon one huge plus, and that?s the network. The commercials aren?t lying about how reliable it is. I?ve been everywhere from Chicago, Los Angeles and the corn fields of Minnesota and South Dakota, and I am able to consistently make and receive calls. When I had Cingular and Nextel/Sprint, the networks weren?t nearly as reliable. Cingular was average and Nextel was downright awful.
Read more… »
Posted on Nov 26, 2007 under Hardware Tips |
How to perform a hard reset and master reset on the Motorola Q SmartPhone.
Please be aware that the following steps will remove all data on the Motorola Q. You may want to backup your data before performing these steps.
Master Reset - This will delete all data except security code, and lifetime timer.
You can navigate using the pad to Start > System Tools > Master Reset
Hard Reset - This will reload the entire phone from ROM and delete ALL data.
1. Start with the Motorola Q powered off, then power the device on.
2. At the startup screen, hold down the center button on the navigation pad for 5 seconds until you get a Master Reset? prompt. Then select Yes.
Posted on Nov 26, 2007 under Hardware Tips |
Verizon locks the Auodiovox XV6700 phone down to where Wi-Fi is not enabled by default. Here is how to enable it.
1. Download and install PHM Registry Editor on your phone.
2. Open PHM Registry Editor click on the plus sign next to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
then SERVICES
then WirelessMGR
3. Edit the value mutexflag. Change the value from 1 to 0.
4. Accept the changes, then close PHM Registry Editor..
5. Wait for 15 minutes.
6. Perform a soft reset on the phone by pushing the Reset button on the bottom of the phone.
Now Wi-Fi is enabled on your Audiovox XV6700 phone.
Posted on Nov 19, 2007 under Software Tips |
Useful software that transfers the data and images from the cell phone onto your computer.
I was looking for something the transfer items from my Motorola RAZR to my computer and I came across this Datapilot Motorola Mini Usb Kit. I have to say the software works extremely well.
Read more… »
Posted on Nov 19, 2007 under iPod Tips |
I just realized how common hardware with USB ports are. My phone was out of power and I left my charger at work. Could I use my Tivo to charge it?
I did however have a USB data cable for my cell phone. My laptop however was also left behind. My Tivo has USB ports, so I figured I’d try plugging my phone into it. The Tivo started charging my phone.
So I took it one step further. My iPod was also low on power. I plugged it into the back and it charged it as well.
You can do this with almost any device now. Some cable boxes even have USB ports. You can find USB data cables for almost any cell phone. Just google or eBay “nokia data cable” for example.
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