iphones - Gizmodo

posts about #iphones more →
AT&T MicroCell 3G: Here's Why Users in Known Dead Spots Should Get One Free
AT&T 3G MicroCell Site Live: Home Base Station Boosts Spotty Coverage
Conflux Festival's Augmented Reality Games, Gizmos Descend On NYC
Just Some Naked Guys With iPhones!
Actors Paid To Stand in iPhone Line by Orange in Poland
All Things Macworld 2008: Get it Right Here
iPhone 1.1.3 Firmware Update is Official
Macally FlexTune Dock Holds iPhone Sideways For Video Without the Neck Strain
14th St NYC Apple Store Is 2nd Biggest In US, First to Offer Free Pro Classes
China Unicom "Willing to Discuss" iPhone Deal

Your version of Internet Explorer is not supported. Please upgrade to the most recent version in order to view comments.

Dsmvwl Admin Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×

Cash907Censored
09/21/09

In reply to AT&T 3G MicroCell Site Live: Home Base Station Boosts Spotty Coverage
Oh look, it's "My First Femtocell," by Fisher Price.
Reply

Cash907Censored was starred Cash907Censored was unstarred

RichasB
09/21/09

In reply to AT&T MicroCell 3G: Here's Why Users in Known Dead Spots Should Get One Free
Charging customers because your service sucks? As a freelance techy, I wish I could do this to my customers...

"Sorry ma'am, I know you paid me X dollars to fix your computer, but I'm not a very good tech, so give me another $20 if you want me to somewhat finish the job you already paid me to do. Also, I need to borrow your tools and you electricity? Thanks."...and always finish with a smile :D
Reply

Identity less than three promoted this comment RichasB was starred RichasB was unstarred

btrotta
09/21/09

In reply to AT&T MicroCell 3G: Here's Why Users in Known Dead Spots Should Get One Free
They SHOULD be free to the consumer. They do nothing but benefit the carrier. They:

A) give a signal to someone who otherwise has none and would likely leave the carrier, contract or not.

B) take traffic off of the carrier's network and put it on the subscriber's internet carrier, thus delaying the need for network upgrades to handle increased traffic.

C) Make it possible for people to use their phone more, leading to increased overages, and/or people choosing higher cost plans.
Reply

Don Nguyen promoted this comment btrotta was starred btrotta was unstarred

evilR3
09/21/09

In reply to AT&T MicroCell 3G: Here's Why Users in Known Dead Spots Should Get One Free
all i have to say is that i live in an apartment overlooking the hudson on the 25th floor and have zero coverage for my iphone. I have full bars but can only send text messages, calls drop within 2 seconds if I am able to get them to dial

ATT told me that this is due to work on the towers for the SMS rollout, Im skeptical
Reply

Lassus promoted this comment evilR3 was starred evilR3 was unstarred

Lassus
09/21/09

@evilR3: "i live in an apartment overlooking the hudson on the 25th floor"

SYMPATHY FAIL
Reply

Lassus was starred Lassus was unstarred

dcdttu
09/21/09

In reply to AT&T MicroCell 3G: Here's Why Users in Known Dead Spots Should Get One Free
I think AT&T thinks of the customer last, and will never offer this for free. It's basically like saying 'Hey, our network sucks, and we know it. Please use this instead." Besides, it would have never worked at my house, as I lose 3G FAR before I ever get home, and it wouldn't be able to hand-off from 2G to 3G, of course.
Reply

Don Nguyen promoted this comment dcdttu was starred dcdttu was unstarred

VijayPentheus
09/21/09

In reply to AT&T MicroCell 3G: Here's Why Users in Known Dead Spots Should Get One Free
You should move to Sprint. After getting your phone, just call them up the same day and tell them you'll be canceling your service because you have no signal at home. They will promptly ship one out to you for free, that's a free device, free shipping and no monthly fees.
Reply

Don Nguyen promoted this comment VijayPentheus was starred VijayPentheus was unstarred

Corey Tess
09/21/09

In reply to AT&T MicroCell 3G: Here's Why Users in Known Dead Spots Should Get One Free
I live in a nice dead zone for some reason, and all ATT ever says is "our maps are just an estimate, coverage is not guaranteed". I am sure if they were to give these out free to customers in dead zones, I can see them saying, "well the map says we cover the area, if your not getting service, that's not something we can fix for you". They are one of the worst companies to deal with, and they do not care if the customer is happy.
Reply

Bandit promoted this comment Corey Tess was starred Corey Tess was unstarred

silverdee
09/21/09

In reply to AT&T MicroCell 3G: Here's Why Users in Known Dead Spots Should Get One Free
Why would they have to give it to customer's free? If you got AT&T or any other carrier that you KNOW has shoddy coverage and signal strenght, it's your own damn fault and should not be given any special consideration.
Reply

silverdee was starred silverdee was unstarred

davebg5
09/21/09

@silverdee: How about b/c I didn't know AT&T had such bad reception until I singed up with them?

When I went to sign up with AT&T over a year ago I checked their coverage maps. They are very detailed; I could see the outline of the pier that my condo development is on. My entire town was listed as having "very good" 3G coverage (the best rating the map gave.)

That couldn't be further from the truth. Dozens of calls to AT&T, hundreds of dollars in service credits and one visit to my home by an AT&T engineer confirmed what I already knew...the coverage map was a lie. There was no cell tower in my state that would service my town. I was pulling a weak signal from across the Hudson River in NYC.

So, given that AT&T lied about the coverage in my area and that this Microcell solution would be using MY bandwidth that I pay ANOTHER company for and that it will serve to augment their over-burdened, under-developed network, why should I have to pay for it?
Reply

Bandit promoted this comment davebg5 was starred davebg5 was unstarred

snitch
09/21/09

In reply to AT&T MicroCell 3G: Here's Why Users in Known Dead Spots Should Get One Free
They're crazy if think they can charge $19.99 a month for this thing, $9.99 is a fair price but $19.99 is highway robbery, specially when sprint gives you the service for free, don't they know skype works almost the same way and it's only $2.99 a month?
Reply

Bandit promoted this comment snitch was starred snitch was unstarred

Bandit
09/21/09

@snitch: $20 is robbery but $10 is fair? That's a bizarre spread considering it's pennies a day either way.
Reply

Bandit was starred Bandit was unstarred

SwatLax
09/21/09

In reply to AT&T 3G MicroCell Site Live: Home Base Station Boosts Spotty Coverage
Gotta love that AT&T is going to charge more when you use Verizon or Comcast's bandwidth to make up for AT&T's crappy coverage.

And with today's pending Net Neutrality announcement, I guess Verizon, Comcast, Time Warner, etc. won't be able to do anything about it.
Reply

SwatLax was starred SwatLax was unstarred

TheSonOfKrypton
09/21/09

In reply to AT&T 3G MicroCell Site Live: Home Base Station Boosts Spotty Coverage
Quick route to cancer. Awesome. I've always wanted to be a guinea pig.
Reply

TheSonOfKrypton was starred TheSonOfKrypton was unstarred

SockMonkey
09/21/09

In reply to AT&T MicroCell 3G: Here's Why Users in Known Dead Spots Should Get One Free
I'm in a black hole for not only AT&T, but for ANY carrier. One bar if we're lucky and standing in a specific corner of our house. About 10 or so houses down (on either side), signal is fine. And don't go into my basement... no signal at all.

I would love to get one of these for free, but I am not expecting it. I will buy it if it's a one time fee and promptly disconnect my VOIP. But if they want monthly fees, they aren't getting it from me.
Reply

Homerjay likes Belgiumese Puke Porn promoted this comment SockMonkey was starred SockMonkey was unstarred

Joshua Jackson
09/21/09

In reply to AT&T MicroCell 3G: Here's Why Users in Known Dead Spots Should Get One Free
Absolutely Danny! I think it is ridiculous that users should be forced to pay to shore up AT&T's sh1tty network. At the office where I work there are 4 of us with iPhones and my boss finally just went out and bought a cell phone repeater. We are right between 3 different towers so AT&T has no plans to augment the network here. The Femtocells would be a nice solution, AT&T could give a couple to us and we would provide cell coverage through our broadband for all the AT&T customers who work here (including all of us iPHone people).
Reply

Bandit promoted this comment Joshua Jackson was starred Joshua Jackson was unstarred

transzoo
09/21/09

@Joshua Jackson: You know the perverse thing is now they have a financial incentive to provide really crappy service! Think about it, why spend your money to make your network better when you can instead charge your customers more to make it better! I can't wait till some other carrier gets the iPhone, I'll pay the ETF on all four lines with a smile on my face.
Reply

Bandit promoted this comment transzoo was starred transzoo was unstarred

Tony Bostony
09/21/09

In reply to AT&T 3G MicroCell Site Live: Home Base Station Boosts Spotty Coverage
Seems easier to just cancel at-t and just go elsewhere for a cellphone.

So you use your iphone at minimum, you'll need a $90 plan, and up to $20 more to use it in your house. That is friggin hilarious. Just put up more towers asshole.
Reply

TheSonOfKrypton promoted this comment Tony Bostony was starred Tony Bostony was unstarred

TheSonOfKrypton
09/21/09

@Tony Bostony: I pay 58$ a month for my 3GS. Don't know where you're getting your numbers buddy.
Reply

TheSonOfKrypton was starred TheSonOfKrypton was unstarred

€hЯ!§
09/21/09

@TheSonOfKrypton: How the hell do you manage that?

And Tony Bologna whatever, the minimum plan is $70/month. $90 is the minimum if you want unlimited messaging, too. Unless, of course, you're TheSonOfKrypton and somehow manage to get an extra $12 knocked off your plan. Maybe some kind of discount...IDK
Reply

TheSonOfKrypton promoted this comment €hЯ!§ was starred €hЯ!§ was unstarred

TheSonOfKrypton
09/21/09

@Chris: lol, that's exactly what it is dude. AT&T offers a business discount for many places of employment. 15% of voice and data. But then I also managed to get the 20$ a month data package (used on the first iPhone) and 200 free text messages using a little trick I got from the Macrumors forum....So ultimately, I pay 33.99$ (voice) plus 20$ (data+texts) a month, plus tax.
Reply

TheSonOfKrypton was starred TheSonOfKrypton was unstarred

TomXP411
09/21/09

@TheSonOfKrypton: Yep, work for a partner company of AT&T (such as a hardware provider), and skip the SMS plan, and it's about $58 after taxes.
Reply

TheSonOfKrypton promoted this comment TomXP411 was starred TomXP411 was unstarred

witq
09/21/09

In reply to AT&T 3G MicroCell Site Live: Home Base Station Boosts Spotty Coverage
Wow, a Yellow Ethernet Cable.
Reply

witq was starred witq was unstarred

trevisol: Stop putting words in my mouth
09/21/09

@witq: Yeah those look awesome going from my DSL modem under my desk to my router on top of my bookshelf.

Why couldn't they make the power cord yellow, and the ethernet cable black, if they insist on color-coding it for morons.
Reply

NannerPuss
09/21/09

@trevisol: It is color coded probably because it is a cross over cable. Cross over cables are typically yellow. Although I could be wrong and they just made it yellow to be douschey.
Reply

spannu promoted this comment NannerPuss was starred NannerPuss was unstarred

spannu
09/21/09

@NannerPuss: Cables come in all colors, and the use of crossovers is less necessary as connection points can usually convert the signal now. I use yellow and purple ones because it's easy to separate them by color and length compared to the standard blue or black ones.
Reply

spannu was starred spannu was unstarred

Earlier discussions Other discussions Show all discussions Show featured discussions only Start a new discussion

Gizmodo Team

SUBSCRIBE TO Gizmodo

Login

Reset Password

Register

Submit Your Comment