To you, reader who is thinking of purchasing the new EnV phone at Verizon, allow me to throw all possible resources that I can at you to help your researching of this brand new device.

The LG EnV2 will be released starting today, April 30, for $129.99 after $50 Mail-in rebate on 2 year contract. Fortunately there have been a few places that have already been able to review the phone, so let's review the reviews:

Cnet gives it a rating of 8 out of 10, stating that it is "not much more than a slimmed down version of the enV, but it still serves as an excellent high-end messaging phone".

PhoneArena gives a full listing of all the specs for the EnV2 at its website.

MobileBurn informs us that there will be 2 colors - black and maroon.

PhoneScoop also has a little ditty with all the specs. No reviews as of yet on it, but rest assured after a couple days there will be a few!

I also found a video at MobileWhack that compares the new EnV to the old one. Check it out!

The fine folks at intomobile.com reveal the EnV2 will have text-to-speech capability which reads your text messages back to you! How cool is that?





Related posts:

Upcoming Verizon Phones

Buy the enV2 on Amazon

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The release of the Firefly a couple years back was a great concept but a flawed product. The concept was a brilliant one -- a phone that enables parents to control who their children are able to call and be called by. While the Firefly was canned because it didn't do a very good job at what it was supposed to do, most parents still want this kind of phone.

The great news is that ANY GSM phone can be turned into a Firefly-style device through the magic of Fixed Dialing. PhoneArena defines Fixed Dial as

"A service feature that allows users to restrict their outgoing calls and messages to selected phone numbers, included in a fixed dialing list. Once the service is activated the user can only call and send messages to the phone numbers from the list. The capacity of the fixed dialing list depends on the capacity of the SIM card. The list is protected by a PIN code."

So fixed dialing prevents the user of the phone from calling people you don't want them to call.

When you set up fixed dialing, it will prompt you for a PIN2 code. Each provider uses a different default code, so the best thing to do is call up the customer service department to find out what their particular code is.

Related to my PUK code post, if you put in the wrong PIN2 code enough times you will be prompted for a PUK2 code. Always always always call customer service to find out what the PUK code is, because it is different for every line of service and does change periodically.


Related Posts:
How Young is too Young?
How to get Free Directory Assistance
Why are Text Messages Double-Charged?

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Millions of children are using cell phones now; some as young as 4 years of age are becoming ritual talkers and texters. How young is too young? (I'm using this argument disregarding any health effects phones may have, because while at this moment studies have been done to correlate phones with radiation and cancer, there has been no official proof.)

Parents typically look at the issue in one of 3 ways:

1. Phones can help children learn responsibility. However, it is a privilege that can be taken away.
2. Phones are a nuisance. They can be a distraction to children when they should be doing homework or being otherwise productive. They also lead to destructive habits.
3. Phones are a necessary lifeline for children in emergencies, but not to be used for social reasons.

The earliest age I will consider my children having a cell phone is at 8 years old, to be used for idea #3; in other words, they will only have a phone when they are not at home, and even then it will only be prepaid with 30 minutes or so on it. Text and internet will be blocked, and I will enable Fixed Dialing so they can only call people we want them to. Strict? Perhaps, but 8 years of age is too young for my child to have a relevant cell phone.

I will consider changing them to idea #1 (privilege but also responsibility) when they are 13 or 14. At this time they can start taking responsibility for their phone. They will still have restrictions, but those restrictions will ease up as they begin proving themselves. If they prove they can still handle their schoolwork and other chores without the phone being a distraction,
then shall I consider giving them more privileges with the phone.

Texting is one big example of having privilege. Having worked in the wireless industry for 3 years, every day I see kids who are texting 10,000+ times per month. That is 333 texts per day! Don't get me wrong -- I do enjoy texting, and often will do it in place of calling someone. But I don't have whole instant messaging conversations on them (hello. hi. how r u. good and u? doin gr8); I just think that's wasteful. 10 texts could be covered by a 1 minute phone call. But again, this is all privilege. Children can still communicate effectively these days without texting!

I just don't like the idea of my kids spending all their time at home, at school, on breaks, and everywhere else using the phone. Plus, I just read a recent story where 30 kids were charged with sending pictures of their own private parts and inappropriate acts as MMS to each other.

Not to over-protect my kids, but I want to keep them safe. I want to keep them focused on what's really important. While I have a passion for phones and gadgets, they are privileges and not essential. This may be a controversial subject, and everyone is entitled to have a different opinion than me. But this is the way I shall approach cell phone use with my own children.

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Remember last year when 1200 Sprint customers got the boot because they made too many calls to Customer Service? At the time I argued that the customers weren't calling so many times to make friends with the agents -- they genuinely had concerns that were not being resolved. And so, because customers were not provided with the proper level of customer service they wanted, they were being punished by being kicked off the network. Sadly, most of the people receiving the boot were probably happy by the news.

I just ran across this post on the Building Blocks blog which confirms my feelings, where an anonymous CSR shares everything about their policy and how they're supposed to do things. It is not a very customer-friendly policy either. For instance, the agent only gets a $2.50 credit quota per call. Per call! Not very efficient if a customer was wrongly billed for $100, is it?

Instead of working through the situation, giving the proper credit and the customer hanging up happy, the rep can only give $2.50, make the customer mad, transfer the call, each time making the customer more upset, only to get to a superviser who would likely issue the credit. Each transfer costs money -- so by transferring the customer to 5 different departments just to get the result that could've been taken care on call #1, Sprint is just wasting money, and making customers more upset. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

Confessions of a Sprint CSR

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Hey everyone,

I've put up a poll I would love to get your votes on. The question of the week is "which upcoming phone are you looking forward to the most?" Those 4 choices I listed are the ones that I would LOVE to see right now and I think it's a difficult choice between the 4 of them. But please let me know on the poll what you think!

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Here are various internet and Picture Message settings for T-Mobile phones.

MDA and Windows Mobile 5

MMS:

Connection Name: PictureMessaging
Data bearer: Packet data
Access point name: wap.voicestream.com
User name: N/A
Password: N/A
Authentication: Normal
Homepage: http://216.155.174.84/servlets/mms
Advanced Settings (Handsets not equiped with WAP 2.0 may skip this section)
Proxy serv address: 216.155.165.050
Proxy port number: 8080

Internet:

Connection Name: T-Mobile Internet
Data bearer: Packet data
Access point name: internet2.voicestream.com or internet3.voicestream.com
User name: N/A
Password: N/A
Authentication: Normal
Homepage: None
Advanced Settings (Handsets not equiped with WAP 2.0 may skip this section)
Proxy serv address: None
Proxy port number: None

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It's hard to get your battery to last a long time. Most phones in this day and age are only expected to have roughly 4-5 hours of talk time. And that counts all the extra stuff we like to do on our phones. With most phones acting as cameras, music players, GPS systems and portable internet, it's no surprise the battery life of our phones are pure junk. Thus, I'd like to give you a few tips on how to get the most out of your battery.

1. Turn off Bluetooth
The Bluetooth radio can contribute to a quickly draining battery, so whenever you are not using your Bluetooth device, turn off bluetooth power in the settings menu. Some phones will allow you to set up a shortcut to do this much faster.
2. Lower Screen Brightness
Don't have the screen on its brightest setting, but don't have it on its lowest either. There is rumor that having it constantly on lowest setting will cause you to strain your vision.
3. Decrease backlight time
Similar to screen brightness, whenever the backlight is on it is using up much-needed battery power. Best thing to do is to have it turn off faster when the phone is idle.
4. Turn off 3G or dual mode
The chips in UMTS or HSPA phones are HUGE drainers of your battery. IMO there are a couple very good reasons to turn off 3G if your phone gives you that option. First, if you never use internet, save your battery. Second, turning 3G off will reduce the amount of dropped calls that could occur when going from a 3G area to EDGE. On my phone I find that there may only be one bar of 3G but full bars of GSM strength. Still, since the phone is set up to look for 3G first it doesn't bother to see how good the reception really is, thus causing dropped calls.
5. Stay in areas of good reception
While it may sound odd for saving battery life, this is actually very important. When your phone is in areas of little or no reception, the phone is constantly searching for a better signal. The act of actively searching for a new signal quickly drains your battery.
6. Recharge when 1/3 full
About 90% of the sites I researched considered this a great way to lengthen the overall lifetime of your battery. Generally it is bad to completely discharge the battery (let it totally die) every single time before you charge it again.
According to Asia's Cnet.com:
"A lithium battery can be charged whenever it needs it. Full discharges are not needed--indeed, they are not advisable. Instead, let the battery run down to around a third of its capacity and charge it on a regular basis rather than running the battery completely flat.
If your phone is not displaying the correct amount of energy left in your battery, then let it run completely flat and this should solve the problem."
7. Turn off phone when not needed
Explanation not necessary; however this isn't possible for everyone as some people are on call for business.
8. Keep battery cool, keep out of sun
Lithium batteries are built with protection from overheating, so charging the phone overnight or for 2 days doesn't damage your battery. If, however, it is overcharged for up to a week, the battery will heat up. Overheating will cause permanent damage to your battery. So, don't leave it on the charger and don't keep it out in the sun.
9. No more vibrator
The vibration mechanism on your phone takes quite a bit of power. Keep it on there only when absolutely necessary. Like meetings or quiet shindigs.
10. Lower ring volume and keypad sounds
Similarly, ringtone volume and the "beep-beep" sounds every time you press a button are power users.
11. Take off screensavers and moving wallpaper
This one was a bit of a surprise to me. But, alas, the movements do use up power.
12. Packet data access "only when needed"
When packet data access, typically found in the settings menu under "connectivity" or "network", are turned to Always Online, it means the phones are constantly searching for internet and making sure a connection is enabled. While this doesn't charge your bill for internet usage, it does strain your battery life.
13. Fully discharge battery once every 30 charges
Related to #6, optimal battery life is achieved when for 29 charge cycles you begin the charge when the battery is only 1/3 full, and on the 30th charge you let the battery die completely before charging. Repeat every 30 cycles.
According to batteryuniversity.com:
Although lithium-ion is memory-free in terms of performance deterioration, batteries with fuel gauges exhibit what engineers refer to as "digital memory". Here is the reason: Short discharges with subsequent recharges do not provide the periodic calibration needed to synchronize the fuel gauge with the battery's state-of-charge. A deliberate full discharge and recharge every 30 charges corrects this problem. Letting the battery run down to the cut-off point in the equipment will do this. If ignored, the fuel gauge will become increasingly less accurate.
14. Turn off active applications
The more multi-tasking you do on your phone, the faster your battery will reach Empty.
15. Clean the battery contacts
Many websites advocate the practice of occasionally cleaning the contacts of your battery with a cotton swab and rubbing alcohol. This maximizes efficiency of energy transfer from your battery to your phone.

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Cool stuff just keeps coming for the iPhone. The latest thing to come out is a piece of software, similar to Graffiti for Palm, that lets you use your own finger-writing abilities to text instead of using the keyboard. It is called HWPen; the software is currently in beta tests and not perfect yet, as it won't work for email nor will it work in landscape. More news on this later.

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Rejoice, phone lovers who hate the fact that the iPhone doesn't come with a stylus! It was only a matter of time before someone came up with one to use.



The stylus itself is made of aluminum and the tip is made of rubber, thus guaranteeing a good stylus experience without scratching the screen or leaving fingerprints. It is currently selling for $12.99 at daydeals.com. Take the link to jump over!

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Adding to the previous Verizon list, here are the latest additions.

XV6900 Touch - Just released 4/16
LG Env2 - planned sometime April
Blackberry Curve 8330
LG Dare - 3.2 MP Camera with "Prada-like" touchscreen - expected June
Palm Centro
LG Decoy VX8610 - to replace current Chocolate before July
Motorola VU30 - a PEBLish clamshell

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The latest list features a few new phones. We already know about the LG Vu and the Samsung Access; AT&T has announced that their Mobile TV service will begin on May 4, so we should expect these two long-anticipated phones to make their arrival either on the same day or just prior.

The newest phones to pop up on PhoneArena include:

Samsung A617 - Quad band World phone
Pantech C710 - Tri-Band, 1.3 MP camera
Pantech C510 - Quad band but no 3G, 1.3 MP Camera and MicroSD
Pantech C600 - Quad band, 3G, VGA camera, MicroSD
Motorola W760R - Quad band, 3G, 2.0 MP camera, rugged, replacing V365
LG Voyager (Rumored!)

These phones are all flips, and all but one - the C510 - will be 3G.

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This is a bit of clever trickery, but it has now been proven possible to use your iPod Touch as a VoIP iPhone (VoiPhone? Hey, the name could stick). I haven't tried it myself, but if you are feeling intrigued and adventurous, it may be worth a shot. This link will take you to more detailed information. Let me know how it goes!

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The question has been asked many times: what is this PUK code my phone is asking for? Where did it come from? How do I find the code? The PUK code stands for Personal Unblocking Key. If you see it pop up, don't freak out! It is designed to protect your phone from unwanted users, and there is a way to find out what the code is.

For example, when you set up PIN codes to block people from certain applications from your phone, if someone tries to get in and puts in the wrong code 3-5 times, it prompts that person for the PUK. The only way to get the PUK is to either call your cell phone provider or visit the local corporate-owned store and verify the account information. Putting in the wrong PUK code 3-5 times will permanently block your SIM card from further use. At that point, the only option is to go into the local store and replace your SIM card completely in order for your phone to work. Your old SIM card will never be functional so any numbers you had stored on the card can never be accessed again.

When you put in the right PUK code, the phone will prompt you to change your PIN code to something new so that you can remember it more easily.

Thus, the PUK code protects your phone from phone thieves or a nosy younger brother.

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Continuing on with the big CTIA announcements, I particularly enjoyed this announcement about the HTC Touch Dual coming to North America. It was announced that this device will be sold at Best Buy, bestbuy.com and htc.com. It will be an unlocked GSM device, meaning any AT&T or T-Mobile customers will be able to put in their SIM cards.



The Dual is a touchscreen device with Windows Mobile 6.1 and TouchFLO, which is a technology which allows finger-touch scrolling, photo zooming, and panning. Also features a slide-out 20-key keyboard, quadband GSM and dual band AT&T HSDPA frequencies. Check out the video here.

The revelation about these phones being sold at Best Buy leaves unanswered questions. Will this begin a new trend here in the States? Most phones sold are locked and sold through specific carriers. There is a limited selection of unlocked phones sold in the US, sold either through auction sites such as eBay or other novelty stores. Nokia, for example, is selling the N95 among other phones unlocked at its stores and on its website. Other unlocked phones are imported. But these types of phones are certainly in the minority.

Thus, I am curious to see if Best Buy begins selling a number of different types of phones unlocked and open to be used on different wireless carriers. These days we find the carriers under more and more pressure to loosen their tight grip on contracts and open their networks. To me this seems to be a way for Best Buy and HTC to further the movement along in that direction.

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For this post I'm linking you over to bbgeeks.com, which proudly shows off some videos at the Blackberry booth during CTIA 2008. The booth showed off MobiTV and the game Guitar Hero III now made for the Blackberry devices.

MobiTV

Guitar Hero III

Guitar Hero is $14.99 and you begin with 15 songs; you can also get a $4.49 monthly subscription and receive 3 new songs each month. Downloads are available at bplay.com.

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The two flagship TV phones on AT&T coming out in May are the LG Vu and the Samsung Access. Check out these video links to watch a live demo of these phones!

Samsung Access

LG Vu

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Last year: the iPhone. This year: the Surface.

At CTIA, AT&T has announced they will unveil the new coffee-table touchscreen computers at stores in NYC, Atlanta, San Antonio, and San Francisco. These tables will give customers an interactive approach to shopping for cell phones.

The Surface is a 30" display that's crafted onto a table and has features such as multi-touch, the ability to enlarge pictures and make them smaller. AT&T plans on using the features of the Surface so that the customer can put two different phones onto the display and get side-by-side comparisons of those phones. Even by putting one phone on the table you will be able to view all of the available features and accessories for that phone.

You will also be able to look at coverage maps (again, being able to zoom in and out using multi-touch), rate plan options and service agreements. In the future AT&T plans on using this technology so you can purchase ringtones, graphics, games and videos, then drag and drop directly into the phone while it's on the table.

Check out the videos here!

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