AT&T Cell Phone Reception Boosters

The new mini-cell phone tower that AT&T will provide, will allow consumers to get guaranteed reception while at home or in the office. AT&T has received complaints from consumers saying that hundred dollar phone bills are not fair when they still are not getting reception in some of the areas they use the cell phone the most. So there answer is to give the consumer a new option to get cell phone reception to their iPhones and other popular AT&T cellular phone models. Putting a cell phone tower in your living room may sound crazy, yes we understand, but it is very true and coming toward store near you, sooner than you imagine.

Verizon has been playing around with this theory of internet repeaters for cellular service for a few months. However AT&T has hooked up with technowhiz Cisco to create miniature cell phone towers to boost reception, that you can buy as well as place in your home or office to get the cell phone service you are already paying for. Well, these little "Mini Cells" as they are being called, are not truly cell phone towers they require an internet connection and using your existing internet connection pipe your calls through the backbone of the web. The end result is crystal clear reception for anybody using this new device.

If you are one of the AT&T patrons who can't make a mobile phone call from your home, this may turn out to be the answer you offer been looking for. On the contrary, your minutes will rack up on your bill all the same. Even though you have to buy the device and pay for an internet connection to use it. Some people claim that it is time for AT&T to simply upgrade their cellular network and it turns out that AT&T agrees. In fact due to some recent public fillings it is now public information that AT&T plans to spend 8 Billion dollars over the next year to upgrade their network, so if you can wait, you may not even need one of these gadgets. On the contrary, the concept is interesting and if you don't want to rack up the minutes there is supposed to be a $20/month unlimited feature so these mini cell towers still may offer the consumer some considerable savings in the long run.

AT&T's Best Selling Phone

Let me start by saying this discussion is not going to include the Apple iPhone. Since it is not available through many AT&T retailers, I will not include it in this report. Plus, there is so much information available on that phone, you don't need my input. I will also say that the "best selling" phone is based on the time of this writing.

The current best selling phone from AT&T is the BlackBerry Bold 9700 phone. I might add that it is also the best selling phone for T-Mobile at this time. The list price for this phone is $499, but you can buy it much, much cheaper as long as you agree to certain service agreements with AT&T. Of course you need to check the price in your zip code on this and all cell phones.

Let's take a look at what makes this phone so popular. It belongs to the family of phones called smart phones. It features the ability to surf the net through Wi-Fi and AT&T's 3G network. It's optical trackpad is much like the touch pad on most laptops. The BlackBerry Bold 9700 is known for its long battery life and high resolution screen. You can put in an optional microSD card and store all of you favorite music, videos, and photos. The 3.2MP camera has zoom and video capabilities. It also comes with a built in GPS capability and has BlackBerry's own maps.

Now let's take a look at what some of the customer's have to say. It has over a four star rating at Amazon, which is very high from some pretty tough critics. Customers seem to love the touchpad once they got over the learning curve of using it. The texting people, and it seems that includes nearly everyone these days, love the keypad. They say it is much easier to use that touch screen models. Some loved the camera and some wished for higher MP rating. Like the digital cameras, what is good today will be outdated in a few months. Many loved the price that is available with many plans, especially compared to the iPhone. Compared to previous BlackBerry phones, it is more compact, the processor is much faster, and the screen has higher resolution.some former iPhone users switched to the BlackBerry Bold 9700 because they loved the keyboard.

Of course, not everyone loved the phone. One complained about BlackBerry having no support, you have to use AT&T support. Some complained about the keyboard being smaller, with the whole phone being more compact than previous models. There were complaints about AT&T service, but that is not the fault of phone. In the beginning I said check what is available in your zip code, which definitely includes the kind of reception you get.

Overall, the phone got great reviews, especially from previous BlackBerry owners. If you are not dead set on getting an iPhone, you need to take a look at this phone and compare its features to other phones on the market.

AT&T - New Data Plans Really That Bad?

AT&T has been known to have pricier voice and data plans than their competitors, other than Verizon. Yet with the new announcement of their next generation data plans on June 2nd, they've decided to introduce new tiered data plans for their users, and do away with their unlimited data plan for their new customers.

As you well may already know, the previous unlimited plan was $30/month. These new data plans include a "DataPlus" 200MB plan at $15 per month for light data users, which AT&T claims is "enough to send/receive 1,000 emails (no attachments), plus send/receive 150 emails with attachments, plus view 400 Web pages, plus post 50 photos on social media sites, plus watch 20 minutes of streaming video," and a "DataPro" 2GB at $25 per month for heavier data users which is supposed to be able to "send/receive 10,000 emails (no attachments), plus send/receive 1,500 emails with attachments, plus view 4,000 Web pages, plus post 500 photos to social media sites, plus watch 200 minutes of streaming video." Users who have the $25 plan also have the option to add tethering for an additional $20.

Should users exceed their 200MB on the $15 plan, they will be charged an addition $15 for an additional 200MB. If users exceed the 2GB on their $25 plan, they will be charged an additional $10 for an additional 1GB of usage.

So now that we have new data plans and their costs laid out, the question is: Are AT&T's new data plans really that bad for us?

My Take

First and foremost, keep in mind that current AT&T users may grandfather their AT&T plans into the new generation of data plans.

Next, consider this. Most users don't need unlimited data, and for those who do, AT&T is not for you. These new plans allow users to pay less than what they're currently paying, and closer to what they're actually using.

AT&T learned that "65 percent of AT&T smartphone customers use less than 200 MB of data per month on average," while "98 percent of its customers use less than 2 GB of data a month."

I for one, use between a range of 200-400MB a month. If I were to drop my current unlimited plan for the new DataPro plan(2GB/month), I would've saved $5/month, or $60/year for the last two years while the 65% of users who use less 200MB a month would've saved 50% of their current costs.

Also, keep in mind that WiFi may help, and that you don't necessarily need to use your 3G network for all data related tasks.

Does that sound bad to you? In fact, if I had the option between my current plan, and these new plans years ago, take a wild guess as to which I would've chosen.

Tethering

The new costs for tethering are bit hard to grasp for users who've always wanted it. The additional $20/month are a bit expensive, and capped at 2GB/month with no additional bandwidth for the user, I don't think it's worth it.

My Suggestion if You're Considering

So if you're thinking about going to AT&T for a new smartphone, and is concerned about their new data plans, here are my suggestions if you already have a smart phone:

1. Look at your current data usage.
2. Determine which kind of data user you are based on how much data you use.
3. If you're considering an iPhone, its been statistically proven that iPhone users use more data than other smart phones. So take this into consideration.
5. Decide what plans would work best for you.
6. Then ask yourself, should you now be concerned with using more data than the plan you have in mind?
7. Finally, make your decision

Lastly, keep in mind that AT&T has been struggling with the overloading of their wireless bandwidth due to their increased number of subscribers since the introduction of the iPhone. These new limits will hopefully help stabilize their networks and result in a win-win for both the business and the consumer. It's never wrong to have hope, is it?

AT&T 2wire 2701HG-B Basic DSL Wireless Gateway Setup

If you're reading this document, you most likely are on the lookout for on how you can set up your new AT&T 2wire DSL router. Throughout this document I might be using a 2wire 2700HG-B wireless router, but this tutorial may even apply to different routers that 2wire provides AT&T with. The very first thing to do when organising your 2wire DSL router is plug the DSL filters into all your telephone jacks, the place you propose having a telephone. On one of many DSL filters, it's best to see a twin filter that reads Telephone and DSL/HPNA, on the facet that says DSL/HPNA plug a phone line into this port, then run the other end of the telephone line into the phone port on the again of the 2wire DSL router.

After you could have related the phone line, plug a ethernet cable into port 1 of the router, then join the other finish of the ethernet cable into your PC. After getting made the connections between your PC and the DSL modem, and the modem and the DSL filter. You may then plug within the energy adapter into the router, then plug the ability adapter into the wall outlet.

As soon as the 2wire DSL router powers up, it is best to see a inexperienced light subsequent to power, ethernet, and DSL. Once you see these lights turn inexperienced on your 2wire router, the following that you could do is open an online browser similar to Web Explorer. After you open your web browser, you should see a windows that resembles the one below. Once you see this window, press the following button, which ought to then ask you to obtain the 2wire DSL setup tool.exe.

Once you have installed the 2wire DSL setup instrument, the 2wire gateway authentication display screen should open, merely select the yes button.After you might have authenticated your 2wire router, you must set an administrative password on your router. I recommend setting a password with upper and lower case, with a few numbers for safety reasons. This password will turn out to be useful if you are making an attempt to alter settings in your 2wire router. To entry the router sooner or later to vary any settings, merely type 192.168.1.254 into your internet browser.

Subsequent you've set a password in your router, click the following button to start registering your 2wire modem with AT&T.After you've got registered your router, read by way of the agreement then click on I Agree button. After you have got accepted the agreement with AT&T SBC Yahoo DSL, you have to to create a consumer title and password in your DSL account. To begin organising your new person identify and password enter you land line phone number that you've obtained from AT&T.

After you've created your new username and password, there will be one other progress display, then click on the finish button. After you may have completed the about steps, shut down your present browser and reboot your computer, this may resolve any community problems. After you laptop reboots open you net browser and being surfing the web together with your AT&T 2wire DSL router.

In case you are occupied with port forwarding on your 2wire router, open a web browser and kind in 192.168.1.254 into the URL address bar. Once you have clicked the submit button and window resembling the one below should appear. The password that you just created earlier for you 2wire router, would be the one you use right here when altering setting in your 2wire DSL router.

Why Wont AT&T Set Android Free

AT&T, being the last major cell phone company to offer an Android device has constantly put itself in the spotlight for questioning. What kind of questioning do you ask? How about "Hey, why don't you allow things as they are?" or even "If your going to do something, why cant you just do it properly?" Now im pretty sure that there are die hard Android fans out there wondering why AT&T cripples its Android devices...

But just because something doesn't do what you want doesn't mean it's crippled.

AT&T currently does not allow for its Android customers to install third party applications. How is this usually done? In the settings of any (other than AT&T's) Android handsets, the user has the option for allowing or disallowing the phone from accepting any application from outside of the official Android Market or in other words, third party applications.

When the Motorola Backflip first arrived on AT&T's scene, Android fan boys were happy enough that AT&T finally accepted Android, even if it did limit its capacities. However, the more AT&T releases new Android handsets is the less these fan boys become OK with the "limitations."

The most recent phone that caused this stir is the HTC Aria. This is AT&T's first high end Android smartphone. Resembling a mini HTC Incredible.

But seriously though... how much does it matter?

Not much. Most people who buy an Android handset are less likely to even know how to install a third party app, much less have the need to do so.

The only limitation I could see as posing a threat to the Android experience on AT&T is the fact that you are unable to remove the AT&T bloatware applications. Either way, I have thought up possible reasons to why AT&T won't set Android "free."

Here they are:

1. To 'protect' its users- Security is always something to be concerned with. Its quite possible that AT&T would rather avoid any possible threat.

2. They have Apple- Its no secret, Google and Apple are at a mobile OS war. I wouldn't be too surprised if AT&T and Apple made an agreement against allowing a full blown Android handset to its line up. We could also exclude Apple from this and say that AT&T just wants to be 'faithful' to Apple. I mean Apple isnt THAT evil... is it?

At the end of the day it's either you like the phone or you don't and switch carriers. If your contract isn't stopping you then dont complain, and even if it is... we dont want to hear your complains either way. Just wait it out.

And remember, in a world that offers you freedom.... oh wait, AT&T screwed that up.