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numerous congugation errors

"congugation"? Do you, by any chance, work for cingular?

;-)

Cingular is an LLC, but they wait until their legalpage to do it. Rather than making it part of the pitch. There are many other example of this, LLCs seem to be quite popular these days (at the very least a lot of slashdot posters are *in Love* with them!).

The URL was really 1828675309.com and let you to an OGG of Blink182 singing the standard Reebok commercial.

Check your minutes

1. Dial *MIN# (*646#) on your phone.
2. Hit the Send key.
3. Within seconds, the minutes you've used are delivered via text message to your phone screen. These minutes will be broken down by type.

Some sites don't even work properly in either browser. *cough* Cingular *cough*

I just wanted to point out the obvious (but apparently not so obvious for many) that almost all of the mobile providers offer phones without some degree of features such as cameras, MP3 players, and the kitchen sink. It makes me wonder if anyone's actively looking for one...

T-Mobile - Nokia 6010
Cingular - Nokia 3595
AT&T Wireless - Nokia 2260
Alltel - Nokia 3585i
Verizon Wireless - Nokia 3589i

OK - now perhaps you're one of those who feels that color screens are over the top for mobile phones... so what to do? Why not look around on eBay?

With that said, I wholeheartedly appreciate the trend of adding features to phones.

Rotary phones "just worked." Why did they even bother adding that newfangled touchtone button dialing or even eliminate operator-connected calling? They always "just worked." The reason: progress.

I love Caller ID and SMS... they're infinitely useful and convenient. Sure... features like Push-to-talk and loud ringtones are annoying... but only when they're blantantly misused or inappropriate... like for personal conversations and in classrooms, respectively.

I just had to say this because I really dislike comments like "just give me a phone that works" because if telephone tech never evolved and never incorporated any new features, we'd all be using AMPS. We've come a long way from the days of car phones. And I, for one, LOVE being able to check my eMail on my 3650. Granted, network reliability should be paramount, but I've never had any lingering issues with my T-Mo service.

I guess I'm less spiteful of the industry than I used to be.

...but I still want a Nokia D311 from Cingular.

Cingular has the solution, but i dont know if verizon has anything like it. Its called FastForward. Basically, you plug your cell phone into this and it into your landline, if your cell rings, all your home phones ring, and you can talk throught them over the cell service. I dont know if any providers or third parties offer anything similar though.

Well, currenetly your paying a high cost for low data rates.

Something like 20/mo for 5 meg transfer, and up to 80/mo for "unlimited", where you get a max of 130ish/sec or somethign like that.

more info cingular page

But you must remember. End users don't care for doing data. They just want voice. Data is targeted at businesses, whose workers know nothing about money...its a business expense.

Grump

It's been my experience that the idiots are the ones making the purchasing decisions, hence the nature of the advertising.

• Product A -- Claims to be 73% good.
• Product B -- Claims to be 96% good.
• Product C -- Claims to be 99.999% good.
• Product D -- Claims to be 100% good.

But if you see a big brand name (Microsoft, Cisco, Intel, etc.) on product C, you might say "Well, it isn't 100%, and they are a good company. Maybe it's the truth. Of course, claiming to be Product C happens, and that's where the trap is.

It might be that you are looking at Microsoft statement claiming "5 nines" of 99.999% uptime (that's down for 5 minutes each year). Or Sun claiming the same 99.999%. Or Cingular Wireless claiming 99.999% reliable networks, excluding several days of downtime that they must not factor into their percentage. Maybe it's that 99.999% pure copper speaker cable you were looking for. (For the chemists, here's a site where you can buy over a dozen other '99.999% pure metal' wires.) Lots of people get caught into that.

In some cases it really is justified. If I were a chemist, maybe having iridium wire that is only 99.9% pure might cause problems, and those extra 9's might be significant. But that usually isn't the case for most marketing.

But I don't think it's just a PHB issue, it's a problem of 'I really want the best, and I only want to spend 5 minutes to find out which one that is'.

frob

Am I the only one who thinks the Wallop logo looks like the Cingular guy getting ripped apart by the tidal forces of a black hole?

If your cell phone provider is Cingular or T-Mobile, then your location services are being provided by TruePosition. Since Cingular is now going to gobble up AT&T Wireless, there will probably be a huge growth in TruePosition services in the US as a result. There is some information available online but the location system is quite proprietary and not simply GPS. Since the location is actually determined from equipment in a telecom rack somewhere, don't expect to be able to hack your phone much to make use of this.

horrid coverage reputation? odd, i've never heard of it. care to elaborate?

Especially if they get something like Cingular's FastForward, so incoming calls don't come out of their minutes.

I know a guy working through his MBA, sitting in class hooked up to the net wireless through through Verizon Wireless. He's getting a minumum of 144kbps both ways most of the time. Considering that most of the US and world is connected vi dial up, that a bit improvement. He says it works well in most areas, but it has trouble if you're moving, such as while on the train. He said he does get the burst speeds in many situations, but the average speed is quite acceptable (and he's used to a oc-3). Cingular has this too, as well as, Sprint and At&t wireless. The nextel specs cliam to be high, as the other web sites I cites also make their claims, and they all charge premium prices for this service. Given Nextel's pricing, this will also be at a premium rate.

I just don't understand how the last big name to get in the game is considered news. Was their hyped numbers are bigger than the other hyped numbers? Or was it just general ignorance about the market.

While traveling in New England (and most of the US), for example, you would be considered highly offensive if you left your mobile phone on during a meal, especially if you took the call at the table. However, in rude cities, you might see people taking phone calls right during a speaker's presentation! Try the same thing in a rural area, and you might get thrown out the door.

Take a look at these Cingular Wireless survey results, which show some interesting regional differences: http://www.cingular.com/about/latest_news/03_10_27

From surveys I've seen, it's the opinion of most Americans that everyone else is far ruder than themselves, and should be punished! ;-) Seriously, though, I'd suggest "better safe than sorry" and just keep the phone off at the table, etc. If you must make a call, excuse yourself and go away from the table to call.

Also, IIRC, it's illegal to use mobile phones while driving in Australia (unless hands-free?) Most of the US, however, does not have that restriction. But before you might make a habit of the convenience of talking while you drive, be aware that it's not legal in all places (e.g., New York State).

Enjoy your trip!

Cingular's wireless internet express offers unlimited data for $75/month, and that can be hooked to a computer or used from a phone.

More than a few large cities. AT&T is rolling out GSM to all of their service area, and have done most or all of the major metro areas already:

AT&T Wireless GSM map

Cingular has done the same:

Cingular CSM map

AT&T and Cingular were the two major TDMA networks in the US, and have are converting to GSM.

http://www.cingular.com/beyond_voice/fastforward

I think it's most useful for those who spend a lot of time at home during the day from time to time. They just put their cellphone on it, then they receive cell calls through their home line while their cellphone charges. It supports 3 devices so that others can use it if you don't happen to be home. Of course, if you spend a lot of time at home, you should probably just have them call you on your home number to begin with :)

http://www.cingular.com/beyond_voice/fastforward

I think it's most useful for those who spend a lot of time at home during the day from time to time. They just put their cellphone on it, then they receive cell calls through their home line while their cellphone charges. It supports 3 devices so that others can use it if you don't happen to be home. Of course, if you spend a lot of time at home, you should probably just have them call you on your home number to begin with :)

I don't see any NVIDIA influence in XGI's logo, but would you deny that the XGI logo resembles the Cingular logo, except pixelized and painted green?

Hey, I'm not the only one here -- you're just trying to Cingular me out!

Find out how Cingular Fits You Best(tm) at cingular.com today.

I see this as a welcome development, especially seeing the SBC company is rapidly growing into a huge communications monopoly right before our eyes and until now nobody has raised questions. For those who don't know, SBC has controlling ownership of Cingular Wireless and are already bundling residential phone service with wireless, and as if that's not enough, they are now jumping into the satellite TV market as well. The plan is to have people buy their home phone, cell phone, high speed Internet and satellite TV (and God knows what next) from the same company, paying one combined bill.

If that isn't leveraging monopoly power in one market into other markets to gain undue advantage (through bundling), I don't know what is. There better be more antitrust lawsuits, because this one barely scratches the surface of SBC's monopoly power.

Verizon = Northwest Bell
Uh,.... No Verizon = Former Companies NYNEX (Itself a conglomeration of NY Telephone and New England Exchange), Bell Atlantic, and GTE. Cingular = PacBell (owned by SBC, see above)
according to Cingluar They are "Cingular Wireless is a joint venture between the domestic wireless divisions of SBC (NYSE:SBC) and BellSouth (NYSE: BLS). SBC owns 60 percent of the company and BellSouth owns 40 percent, based on the value of the assets both contributed to the venture. " Additionally The bestreference to NW bell is likely Qwest (formerly USWest) Wanna stay away from bell? go T-Mobile (disclosure: I don't own a Cell phone or cable service)

• Cingular Wireless is a joint venture between the domestic wireless divisions of SBC (NYSE:SBC) and BellSouth (NYSE: BLS).
• SBC owns 60 percent of the company and BellSouth owns 40 percent, based on the value of the assets both contributed to the venture.

• Verizon Communications, (NYSE:VZ), formed by the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE

That's not true. Cingular wireless also uses GSM, and so does AT&T now.

I use T-mobile, my girlfriend uses Cingular, and we have great coverage in most all places we've been in the states.

Go over your allotted data and you're looking at $0.03/KB. If you are able to get that 57.6 Kbps out of this modem, that's about 7KB/s, or $0.21/s.

Want to download a 5MB MP3? $153.6 please.

I don't understand how they expect people to use this service, given the alternatives.

OK, so if I send a message that goes through here and I have passed through say here how are you going to track the origin again??

Look Jon -- It's a convenient device to raise the battle between Spider-man and AotC to the level of culture-shifting battles between one kids generation and the next.

But to say that Lucas has a lock on marketroid obsession and that the Stan Lee clan hasn't tried to "shroud Spider-man in market hype", and that that's why Spider-man is winning the hearts of all the little Generation X++ers, isn't just wishful thinking... it's plain wrong.

For breakfast this morning, I had Kellog's Spider-man cereal. (Honestly. I really did.) It tasted just like Cap'n Crunch Berries, but it sure looked like little spider webs. I could have tried the Spider-man Pop-tarts or Rice-Krispies, but I was in the mood for something a little sweeter.

After breakfast I signed up for the new Spider-man Cingular account that I saw lots of cool commecials for, and entered to win a custom Spider-man Dodge Viper.

Then I popped over to Wal-mart to pick up the new Spider-man game, and found out I could get a free trip to Universal Studios, complements of Sam Walton! For lunch I "swung into Carl's Jr" or did I "drop into Hardee's" for a quick Spider-man burger, and washed it down with a Spider-man Dr. Pepper, which I became a big fan of ever since I heard they were racing a Spider-man Dr. Pepper car in the NASCAR Busch Series.

The amazing thing is, even the marketing press is completely aware of what Sony Pictures is doing with Spider-man. Why aren't you?

You forgot cingular and AT&T Wireless along with Voicestream they are all 1900Mhz GSM and between them cover main areas of population.

I wonder if this was the charity that they were referring to when telling me where my two old Nokii were going. Of course, they did say something about battered women...maybe they misunderstood what was meant by "Hop On"... oh well...

2G (TDMA) to 2.5G(GPRS) its a major network upgrade. From 2.5G(GPRS) to 3G(GSM) its a small hardware upgrad


This is where I meant you had it backwards. It's a small(ish) hardware upgrade to add GPRS to a GSM network. It needs no new antennae and what not. GSM is 2G, GPRS is 2.5G, and UMTS is (true) 3G.

UMTS uses entirely different spectrum and air interface (CDMA, not TDMA like GSM), not to mention signalling protocols, etc. UMTS is a massive upgrade and is usually considered "a whole new network."

The TDMA you're thinking of is ANSI-136. That specifies the nuts and bolts of the air interface. GSM has different specs, but both use "TDMA" as the means of multiplexing. (Since they're similar, they can be made (forced) to interoperate. This is usually through GAIT.)

The CDMA you're thinking of is ANSI-95. Again, an implementation of "CDMA" as a multiplexing means. UMTS also uses "CDMA" for multiplexing, but to much different specs than current CDMA networks.

In USA there are two paths to 3G type services GSM1900 - GPRS - EDGE -(WCDMA?) and cdmaOne - cdma2000_1X - cdma2000_3X
See the possible data speeds
Cingular for example has gone the EDGE route

luckily cingular is buying 4 billion dollars of european cell (nokia, ericsson, siemens) tech to bring 3G to the states. zdnet carries the story.

-sam

No details for that particular device, but this looks like an integrated VisorPhone module.

The providers for the VisorPhone module are Cingular Wireless and VoiceStream.

thousands, five, what's the difference?

No, seriously... I realize there are at least two (and possibly as many as four) other providers that cover more than ten square miles with something resembling recent technology.

Good thing The Market has provided us with all these choices, eh?

I guess Cingular is trying to connect self-expression with cell phone use. It's a stretch, but not any more than the themes in most ads. I first thought that the add was exploitive, but then I went to Cingular's web site and read about Dan Keplinger (the artist), visited his web site, and read what he and others had to say about the commercial. Dan says: "I think Cingular showed courage to do something really different and something significant about the importance of self-expression." and "it gave me an unbelievable opportunity to show the world - a hundred million people - my art. It doesn't get any better than that. I hope that my talent, my art and my fighting spirit communicate their message. And I hope that people remember the gift that we all have - the gift of self-expression." What ad is better than that? And did Cingular or Dan benefit more? Now I really think it was a great ad!

Cingular has only been around for a couple of weeks - it was formed by the merger of the cellular divisions of BellSouth & SBC (Southwestern Bell/Pacific Bell). Full details are on their web site of course.