Phonedig

Clearwire plans to launch WiMAX in 10 markets on September 1. The speedy broadband wireless service, based on 4G technology, will launch in Boise, Idaho; Bellingham, Washington; and the following cities in Texas: Abilene, Amarillo, Corpus Christi, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, Kileen/Temple, Waco, and Wichita Falls. This is in addition to the current services in Baltimore, Portland and Las Vegas, Nevada. Psssst, Clearwire, I think you forgot Los Angeles, California…

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AT&T today announced a ‘Viva Mexico’ calling plan for those who frequently make and receive calls from Mexico. The plan starts at $55 per month (or $85 for two lines) and gives customers 1000 anytime minutes for calls to and from Mexico–this means no additional international long distance costs and customers can use their roll-over minutes. Viva la AT&T!

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Google announced the release of Google Maps for mobile 3.2 for Windows Mobile and Symbian series 60 devices.  So what’s new with this release? Layers. You can now add multiple layers on top of the map. Say you’re viewing the map and want to see the traffic. Click, there you have it. Maybe you want to Wikipedia the area to see what’s interesting. Click again and there you see it on top of the traffic layer. Another layer? Click, I’m sure you get the point. The following layers are available to you:

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Today, Google announced the launch of their Google Voice app for BlackBerry and Android devices (but not *yet* for iPhones). So what’s the big deal and what exactly does Google Voice do for you?

Let me attempt to clarify. When you sign up, you’re given one Google Voice number. You then assign however many phone numbers you want to this service. The next time someone dials the Google Voice number, it rings all of the assigned numbers simultaneously. Not only that but you can assign which phone to ring according to time of day. So if someone calls the Google Voice number during your work hours, it’ll ring your work phone; during the evening it’ll ring your home phone. When you make calls or send SMS texts from your GV-enabled BlackBerry or Android phone, the other side will think it’s from your Google Voice number. Pretty snazzy, eh?

But wait, that’s not all, folks! Billy Mays says the Google Voice app will integrate with your phone’s native address book, will transcribe your voicemails to text, and will allow you to make cheap international calls. Check the vid after the ‘leap’.

…Continue reading: Google Voice App For BlackBerry And Android Released

Today Amazon.com unveiled the launch of their new AmazonWireless.com beta. Nope, it’s not the original Amazon’s site optimized for your phone but it’s a site that actually sells the phone direct to you.

So far it offers 120 phone models from AT&T and Verizon Wireless–quite a selection. The cool thing is that they offer free 2 day shipping on most models and will automatically deduct any mail-in rebates offered by the carrier (saving consumers a lot of hassle).

I, for one, think this is a great idea. The site is in your typical, easy to use Amazon.com format and all rebates, prices, service plans, etc are clearly layed out. You might want to check it out.

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AT&T and Xora announced their GPS Locator service that tracks any company phone. The service, designed for small to medium businesses, allows tracking of field-based employees in real time using Xora’s web-based interface. No software is required on the phone, allowing for quick deployment and wide phone compatibility. The price is a little steep at $21.99/month for each device.

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The head honchos at Sprint are promising to release a 3G voice/data femtocell solution before AT&T. Well, they better get moving because AT&T is set to release their version by the end of 2009. Sprint’s femtocell device plugs into your broadband router/modem and effectively boosts voice reception as well as EVDO Rev.A coverage. Should be sweet.

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Google recently announced that Google Search is now optimized for all feature phones in over 60 countries and 38 languages. This means any Google searches on your particular phone will be properly formatted and displayed and will effectively eliminate the need to zoom or scroll sideways. Check it out

• When available, News, Images, Blog, Video and Product Search results are blended right into your result page
• Many of your favorite Google Search features now appear in the first result to provide direct answers to your searches
• We continue to optimize specific results for mobile, so local listings for restaurants in London, for example, provide easy-to-select phone number links

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AT&T is set to rollout their femtocell technology by the end of this year. They will be expanding the current trial into a marketing trial to a handful of cities in the coming weeks. A full national launch should be in place by the end of 2009.

So what is this femtocell technology? Basically, you plug in a AT&T-branded 3G Microcell (which looks like a wi-fi router) into your current broadband router/modem. The microcell then uses your internet connection and sends out a cell signal that greatly improves cell phone coverage.

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To alleviate congestion on the iPhone-filled 1900MHz spectrum, AT&T will be making the 850MHz spectrum available for 3G access. The net result should be increased capacity, improved coverage, and overall better experience. Sounds good to me. Expect the change within the next few months in the New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco areas.

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