phones

Do you own a RAZR? Looking for the hottest new cellphone on the market? Be the first in line to get the newest offerings in mobile phones and mobile related gadgets.

Yahoo! Voice, the New Skype?

Phone In.. Phone Out.. Sound familiar? Make free worldwide PC-to-PC calls and enjoy great sound quality and voice mail with Yahoo Voice. They’re going to give Skype a run for the money. They’re prices are lower and the quality is good. Sue and I tested the 3 top P2P networks today and Yahoo is good. We tried Yahoo Voice, Skype and MSN Messenger Voice. The verdict? They’re all good. I think MSN may have won though. If you want to try it out, Skype me and we can chat.

Okay, here’s the 411 on Yahoo Voice:

Yahoo! Messenger with Voice takes instant messaging to a new level. Use it to connect in real-time and communicate how you want, when you want, with whom you want. In addition to sending text-based instant messages, you also get:

- Free worldwide PC-to-PC calling
- Drag-and-drop photo sharing with real-time discussions
- Stealth settings to control your time online
- Self expression through Avatars, Emoticons and Audibles

That’s not all! You can also get your own Yahoo Voice Phone In number (USA, UK and France available) for as little as $2.49 a month, which is cheaper than Skype.  The only downside to their Phone In service is that there are a lot of area codes missing. I can’t get a local number with Yahoo, but I have one with Skype. I’m sure they’ll be adding more, as they just launched, but in the meantime it’s not as convenient for me.

The Phone Out is 2 cents a minute for USA and 1 cent per minute for UK.

Bottom line: There’s a new player in town and they’re good.

Is the iPod Phone Really Coming?

Insiders at BenQ say that Apple procurement executives have been talking to various Taiwanese phone makers during the past few months in an effort to cut a manufacturing deal on an iPod Phone. (Hey, we’ve heard this rumor before!)

Apple will launch an iPod with phone functions within the next few months.  “An iPod phone is definitely coming. BenQ will not be making it as we are in competition with Apple however several of our suppliers have been approached to manufacture parts. Among manufacturers in Taiwan it is common knowledge. The issue for many is the availabilty of parts if the phone takes off” says a BenQ exec.  keep reading...

Beam Me Some Cash, Scotty!

Paypal now lets you send money via your phone from anywhere at anytime. I’ve used my mobile on PayPal for a long time, but the “standard” way, so now they’ve made it easier with a ”text me $$$” method. What does this mean for you? It means that you can now send money to your friends with a credit card or bank account and a cellphone, two-way or PDA. It couldn’t be easier, could it? So now, between PayPal and eBay I have an even easier way to spend my hard earned $$$. Lucky me, and lucky you too!  Here’s the 411 -

After you activate your phone, you can send money one of two ways:

1. Text to 729725 (PAYPAL) with the amount and recipient’s phone number. Example: send 5 to 4150001234

2. Call 1-800-4PAYPAL (1-800-472-9725) and follow the instructions.

Sounds pretty easy. Here’s a little visual. I just know you love pictures *smile*

Hello Kitty Prepaid Phone

All pink loving savvy chick’s need one of these. The best part is that they’re only $99 and you can use them in the United States. They’re prepaid phones using Cingular, so they would be great for a teen.

“This supercute custom pink Hello Kitty Nokia 6010 handset features exclusive Hello Kitty ringtones, plus wallpapers and a game for its full-color screen. It also features voicemail, caller ID, wireless Web/email and text messaging. The Hello Kitty Nokia phone includes $10 of free prepaid Cingular KICSM wireless airtime.(Calls are 10c/minute to all Cingular customers on the Mobile to Mobile Plan.) When that balance is low or depleted, you can buy Cingular prepaid refill cards at Cingular Wireless stores and participating authorized agents and retailers.”

Panasonic does Skype VoIP

Panasonic is bringing a new twist to the old-fashioned cordless phone market by announcing it will ship a set of Skype-compatible handsets in the second half of the year. The phones will connect through regular DECT base-stations into the public phone service and via a broadband internet link to Skype’s P2P network.

The KX-TG9000 series lets users choose which way outgoing calls are routed. And it will automatically relay both landline and VoIP calls through to the handset. The phones will not only support free calls between Skype accounts, but also work with SkypeIn, SkypeOut and Voicemail services.

According to Panasonic, this will “push VoIP into the mainstream”. No word on pricing, but expect this to drop in the second half of this year in “some European countries.”

Couture Meets Connectivity????

Simple, Colorful, BOLD. Okay, so they got that one correct.

These are just some of the words that Motorola is using to describe the Motorola PEBL Colors. Can a simple yet colorful phone live up to such hype? Check this out:

“Luxury meets fresh and bold style with the Motorola PEBL Colors.  Stretching the boundaries of traditional design, the colorful PEBL boasts a unique oval shape, distinctive vertical external display, innovative one-handed opening hinge design and tactile soft-touch finish.  And now available in vibrant shades of green, orange, blue, and pink, the Motorola PEBL is sure to be the center of attention everywhere you go.”

Oh and that’s not all, this is the best part:

“Document life on the go with the rich multimedia capabilities of the Motorola PEBL Colors.  Before you buy the latest handbag, get a friends opinion - even when she’s across town.  Simply point, shoot and narrate via MPEG4 video playback, then send via Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS)*.  Visual delights continue with an embedded VGA camera for quality still photography, picture caller-ID* and dynamic color display.”

I’m sorry, this phone is cute and all.. but this what??? What are they talking about? How many fashion conscience style mavens are going to rush out to buy this phone? I honestly don’t know of very many. Hype Hype Hype. Blah Blah Blah. Whatever!  Okay, that’s enough already.. just go read the press release yourself if you want to.

Sprint over to Sprint and Sign up!

Sprint has announced two new plans that would allow its customers to make or receive unlimited calls between their cell phone and a pre-designated home or office number, regardless of their wireline carrier, without deducting minutes from their wireless service plans.

The consumer option will cost $5.00 per month, and business customers with a rate plan of $49.99 or higher could add it for $8.00 per month.

Sprint will also offer Sprint to Home with Long Distance, a free offer for customers who subscribe to both Sprint wireless services and long distance services.

Sprint plans to expand the value of this offer later this year to allow business customers to pre-identify a range of landline numbers - up to 30,000 DIDs - that can be called without pulling from the subscriber’s bucket of anytime minutes. [Press Release]

Razr Phones Pulled from Market

Cingular and T-Mobile stopped selling the Motorola Razr phone this week.  There seems to be a glitch in them that causes the phones to disconnect.

Customers who purchased Razrs with the flip problem can exchange them through T-Mobile and Cingular however at this time the phones have not been officially recalled.

The good news is that Motorola has already solved the issue at the manufacturing level, so there are new phones on the way.

Just so you know though, this problem does not affect Razrs sold through Verizon Wireless, because Verizon uses a different wireless technology than Cingular and T-Mobile.

TiVo Mobile is Hot Hot Hot

No more worries about forgetting to set the TiVo. Did you just realize that your all time favorite episode of Sopranos is on tonight and you’re going to miss it? Hey, forgetaboutit. The new TiVo Mobile has made it easy for you to set your TiVo remotely via your cellphone.

“TiVo subscribers will soon be able to program television recordings straight from cell phones using the Verizon Wireless network.” according to this article.

Verizon subscribers will be able to access TiVo Mobile through its “Get It Now” service menu starting in the early summer. Verizon’s pricing for the service has yet to be announced. Hopefully it won’t be on a per item basis, but then again.. how much are you willing to actually pay for this service?

Text Me! Hot Celebrity News…

Are you a gossip hound? Love a good rumor? Can’t get enough of who’s doing who? Celebrity couples.. weddings, hookups and breakups. Hollywood and Celebrity Babies.. yea, I knew it!  Well, thanks to the folks at People Magazine you can be the first to get the latest celebrity news on your phone. People will text you instant alerts when the biggest stories break. Here’s how:  Text keyword ENTER to 72667 (SCOOP) to join. For more details check out this link.