Hasta La Gadget!

Ever dreamt of keeping a phone so long that the original battery went kaput? And, during that same dream, did your loving, compassionate carrier decide to bless you with a second battery for free? No need to keep dozing, as regional operator US Cellular has decided to show up the big boys by introducing its Battery Swap program. Launching tomorrow, the initiative enables customers to come into any US Cellular store and “change out a dead or dying battery for a fully-charged one, for free.” Needless to say, the firm is pretty stoked about being the only wireless carrier in America to offer such a service, though you should know that only phones which have been purchased within the last 18 months are eligible. Sounds fair enough to us — so, when’s everyone else jumping on this bandwagon? Bueller…?

[Thanks, Kristofer]

Filed under: Cellphones

US Cellular’s battery swap program puts a new charge in your handset, for free originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 May 2009 08:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s pretty redundant to make laws outlawing texting while driving because it already falls under laws covering distracted driving, but holy crap, something needs to be done about it.

You have ridiculous cases like the Trolley driver rear ending another train because he was texting his girlfriend, and train conductors causing a 25-fatality crash because he was texting teenage boys telling them that they’re “gonna run the locomotive.”

There’s two commonalities to these accidents. First is that texting while you’re supposed to be paying attention and in charge of other people’s lives is a bad idea. Second, guys seem to be intent on texting people, no matter how inappropriate the time, if it’s going to get them laid.

But there’s nothing better than an anecdotal account of how bad texting while driving is, courtesy of reader Trevor, who has been rear ended three times this year by people texting on their phones.

Anyways, I live in Idaho. And everyone who lives in this state FUCKING SUCKS at driving. The last thing we need is people using their cell phones simultaneously, but of course I see everyone from the 15 year old girls to 50 year old guys typing out emails on their Blackberries. It sucks ass to have to deal with these fucking morons on a daily basis.

Anyways, on to the first incidence of getting hit:
I was driving through stop and go traffic outside of a high school moment after they got out of school, and I am completely stopped when I see a brand new Hummer H2 coming up on my ass at ferocious speed. I knew I was going to get hit, and right before he made contact, I was able to discern a fucking cell phone in his hands through my rear view mirror. The officer on the scene estimated he hit me going roughly 30mph, and had not even applied the brakes before hitting me. Completely totaled my beloved Toyota Tacoma, and gave me a wicked case of whiplash. By the way it was a roughly 17 year old guy driving his parents Hummer to school. Spoiled prick…

Second time was just 6 months later in the winter. It was a touch icy on the roads and I was stopped to make a left turn onto a side street and I look in my rear view mirror (after the Hummer incident I have been made paranoid about being hit), and see a little Dodge Neon moving way too fast towards me and start sliding sideways right into the back of my new truck. I jumped out and asked if she was ok, and the first thing she says to me is “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I was texting and didn’t even see you there until it was too late.” This time the damage wasn’t too bad, but I ended up being without my vehicle for 2 weeks, during which I had a shitty little rental car, so it still was quite the inconvenience.

Third time was about 3 weeks ago and I’m still feeling sore from it. I was sitting at a stop light and a big Ford F-350 with a huge trailer full of lawn mowing equipment plowed into me at about 25mph, once again totalling my vehicle, and absolutely wrecking my back. I felt like I got hit my a freight train this time. I had my foot on the brake, and he made my car skid forward so hard that I pushed the car in front of me into the car in front of him. An eyewitness to the accident said that the man in the truck was using a phone when he hit me, and it was just verified to me the other day that his phone record shows that he sent a text message seconds before the accident occured. At least this guy was able to apply a little bit of brakes before making contact, but still, I got hit really hard. I’m going to have to see a chiropractor, and I now am searching for another vehicle.

So yeah. That’s my record for getting hit. It really sucks. I can’t quite say I would mind the banning of texting while driving after all of this as I’m 100% sure at least somebody has lost their life in an accident caused by texting while driving. Hell, I used to do it before I got the iPhone which is fucking impossible to do without looking, but after seeing how poorly most others handle it, I can definitely understand why people are wanting this kind of a ban.

I don’t know what we need to do about this, and encoding restrictions on devices themselves to not allow texting while moving is not the solution. I don’t know what is.

Thanks Trevor!

Apple’s popular iPhone invigorated the smartphone market, and recent rumors about the handset’s possible expansion to Verizon are renewing debate over which U.S. carrier offers the highest quality service.

It’s difficult to say whose network is best: Each carrier advertises itself as the speediest and most reliable. Consumer experiences with each network vary on a case-by-case basis; some AT&T customers swear their network is the worst, while a number of Verizon users are preaching that theirs is superb — and vice versa. Customers on the smaller U.S. networks, T-Mobile and Sprint, are just as inconsistent in terms of satisfaction.

As of 2008, over 20 million U.S. homes rely solely on mobile phones for telecom communication, according to research company Nielsen. Therefore, it’s clear that in recent years the value of a high-quality, efficient cellphone connection has grown tremendously for the everyday consumer. A missed or dropped call can potentially ruin a relationship, cost job seekers career opportunities or simply create a persistent annoyance.

A carrier’s network performance is a dealbreaking factor for consumers shopping for a smartphone, whether it’s the iPhone, the HTC G1, or a BlackBerry Storm. Just which cellphone network is the best? Or better yet, which carrier is best for you in your particular area? In August, Wired.com conducted a global study to investigate the iPhone 3G’s network issues, which concluded that connection problems were tied to AT&T rather than the handset itself. Following up on that survey, Wired.com is inviting every 3G smartphone user in the United States to participate in a study to determine which carrier is the best overall in the country.

The process involves running a data speed test on your browser-equipped smartphone, followed by plotting your results on an interactive map with your computer. Ultimately, consumers will be able to view the results on the map to see how well each carrier performs in different parts of the country.

Follow the instructions below to complete the test, which will take about five minutes.

1. Ensure Wi-Fi is turned off and 3G is enabled on your smartphone (not the slower EDGE connection).

2. Load your smartphone’s browser and visit http://inetworktest.com/wired.*

3. The test will run automatically as the page loads. When it’s done loading, tap your carrier (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile or Sprint), and your results will appear.

4. On your computer screen, scroll to the ZeeMap at the top of this article and click the Add button. Fill in the Location and Details fields (see screenshots below for examples). For “General Satisfaction” rate your satisfaction on a scale from 1 to 5 — low satisfaction to high satisfaction, respectively.

5. Click Submit to complete the survey. Your entry should look similar to the example in the screenshot below.

*JavaScript must be enabled to run the data test page. Some BlackBerry devices have JavaScript turned off by default. See these instructions to learn how to turn JavaScript on for BlackBerry devices.

And then you’re done. After a week of collecting data, Wired.com will compile the results and highlight noteworthy conclusions about each carrier.

We strongly encourage smartphone owners to complete the test: The more participants, the better the conclusions we can reach. E-mail your questions or concerns about the test to BChen [at] Wired [dot] com, or add them in the comments section below.

Wired.com would like to extend a special thanks to Ben Reubenstein of Xcellent Creations, who designed the 3G data test for this study. iPhone and iPod Touch owners interested in learning more about data performance on their devices can download the iNetwork app for $1 through the App Store.

See Also:

• Wired.com’s iPhone 3G Survey Reveals Network Weaknesses
• Survey: People Love iPhone Despite Its Imperfections
• Apple: We’re Sticking With AT&T for the iPhone
• 4 Reasons Apple Should Share the iPhone With Verizon
• Cell Phone Reception Bars Are Meaningless
• What’s Wrong With the 3G in iPhone 3G
• Suit Alleges AT&T, Apple ‘Oversold’ iPhone, Strained 3G Network …
• Video: iPhone 3G in Reality Versus Advertisement
• UK Bans Apple’s ‘Really Fast’ iPhone 3G Ad

With the economy in the tank (still) and the heat on, cost and profit margins are more important than ever to companies hoping to stave off the inevitable, apocalyptic doom of recession. Well, iSuppli’s released an estimated report of how much its costing Palm to cobble together the Pre — about $138, as it turns out. iSuppli has positively identified just two of the Pre’s suppliers thus far — that Texas Instruments OMAP chip, which runs Palm $11, and Qualcomm’s wireless chip — but they’ve formed a general picture of what’s under the hood for the estimate. That price is about 46 percent of the $300 iSuppli suggests Palm will be charging Sprint for the Pre (a number that’s completely unconfirmed at this point). To put it in perspective, the BlackBerry Storm costs about $203 to make and was sold for $199 initially, the G1 clocked in at $144, while the iPhone 3G costs Apple an estimated $174.33. Of course, we have no way of assessing the accuracy of the estimate yet, but if it’s in the neighborhood of correct, Palm’s profit margin should be pretty healthy.

Filed under: Cellphones

Palm Pre: $138 to build according to iSuppli originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 10:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The last time we saw the Pre’s Classic Palm OS emulator in action, we had a few lingering questions in our mind, chief among them being how well can it game? From the looks of this latest video, released by Motion Apps to answer that very question, pretty well so far. In addition to confirming sound support for the latest build, we also get a brief glimpse of the software handling 3D driver GTS World Racer. Of course, seeing this makes us even more curious about the gaming potential for the native webOS, but alas, we’re in the cold there. In the meantime, check out some classic 3D racing in the video after the break.

Continue reading New Pre Classic emulator video shows off 3D gaming prowess

Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming

New Pre Classic emulator video shows off 3D gaming prowess originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Apr 2009 04:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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