MyTouch 4G Initial review

As you might have seen by an earlier post from Firefly, I took the plunge and switched to the new MyTouch 4G on the T-Mobile network. After using this phone for almost a week, I am very pleased with it. It took a little getting used to it, not so much in the UI, although that was an adjustment from physical keyboard to screen based keyboard, but in ensuring that everything was set-up as I wanted. Especially because of the broad integration with social networks, which impacts some results on the phone. For example, the Contacts function has a link to Facebook, and fills the "Me" record with Facebook profile information. However, the Facebook account that I use the most and wanted to link to, uses a nickname which I did not want in the Me record. I found that by resetting the phone, editing the Me record and THEN linking to Facebook, I was able to get the desired result.

One of the key functions that influenced my choice was T-Mobile's decision to make WiFi calling available on their Android phones, especially the MT 4G. After a small glitch during set-up, which was quickly resolved by calling Customer Care I was up and running. This feature is important at home as none of the major networks have very good reception in my area, specifically inside the house. In fact for out AT&T phones I am running their Micro-Cell. T-mobile does not need a microcell as WiFi calling uses any existing WiFi network to makes calls, for texting and of course for data. In addition, I am heading overseas for a business trip shortly and will be able to make calls from the other side of the world, without messing with SIM cards, unlocking the phone, etc.

In the first few days I was a little concerned about battery life, as I seemed to need to recharge quite frequently. While exploring the Settings function, I discovered a listing of power usage. This showed that over 50% of the battery power goes to the screen. in other words, the more you play with the phone, the quicker the battery will run down. If I just do my normal usage, without constantly viewing the screen, the phone easily lasts all day, including regular email and Facebook synching, as well as a number of phone calls.

I also just found out that Dish network have released an Adroid app which allows remote access to my DVRs, AND also streams the Slingbox that I have attached to one. This is a free app, which makes my wife jealous, as she paid $30 for the one on her iPhone. Buts apps will be the subject of a future post.

My Review of T-Mobile myTouch 4G Black

Originally submitted at Wirefly

The myTouch 4G for T-Mobile is the newest addition to the myTouch lineup. Running on Android 2.2 operating system, you can customize to your heart's content. With groundbreaking speed and exclusive features, the myTouch 4G is a premium smartphone. Lightning fast 4G speeds lets you download pho...

T-Mobile myTouch 4G Black

Great new phone

By Illusioneer from Celebration, FL on 11/22/2010

 

4out of 5

Phone Size: Average

Bluetooth Connectivity: Quality Connection

Data Connection Speed: Fast

Pros: Attractive Design, Easy to use, Great OS, Good Interface w/email, WiFi calling, Selection of apps, Brilliant Display, Easy Navigation

Cons: Display is battery hog

Best Uses: Organizing Schedule, Music, Texting, Organizing Contacts, Making Calls, Email, Web Browsing

Describe Yourself: Gearhead, Business Professional, Practical

This phone does everything that I was expecting, and then some. Battery life is OK, unless you spend all your time playing with the phone, then you probably need to recharge during the day

(legalese)

The end is in sight

It looks like something closer to my ideal phone is available  (as per 11/3/2010) - the t-Mobile myTouch 4G. Is uses the HSPA+ network for hogh speed data, and comes with UMA and WiFi hotspot capabilities. Added extra are the front facing camera and the ability to video call using the cellular network, not just on WiFi (using Qik). Click on the title above for a link to some overview videos.

But there are a lost of rumors and presentations planeed this month, eg. Nexus 2/HD, a Samsung event, so I am still going to wait a few weeks before taking a final decisions.

The search for a new phone becomes hotter

This looks like a serious contender for a phone to replace my AT&T EPIX (WM6.5). Key attributes that I like are:

• Android 2.2
• HSPA+ (near 4G, if not real 4G)
• Front facing camera (for video chat)
• WiFi Calling (not full blown UMA, but close enough)
• 5MP camera

Would have been nice if it had:

• Dual core processor (supposedly better battery life)
• (Micro)SD card slot (not listed, but who knows)
• Full UMA (including hand-off between cellular network and Wi-Fi network)
• AMOLED screen (no mention in any specs I could find)
• 4.3" screen (although this is the least of the wishes, due to the resultant size issue)

Further musings on the WM6.5 on Samsung EPIX

I found out that, due to a slight coloring on my "liquid detector" I was not eligible for a warranty replacement of my EPIX after all. However, they did send me a replacement USB cable. And much to my surprise it worked! So I was able to install WM6.5. My initial findings are that the phone is still quite stable (as I seemed to have resolved the WM6.1 instability with the removal of Newsbreak). Instead of Newsbreak I am using the default RSS reader, but do not like it so will look for another alternative.

I am not so happy with the WM6.5 browser, even though it is more modern with a zoom capability. Of course, without multi-touch capability, the zoom has to be done with a slider. It requires a tap on the options button, a zoom button and then quickly to the displayed slider. If you are not quick enough the slider disappears, I wish that the wait time could be adjusted (registry hack anyone?). Also the slider is not so easy to use so you often spend time fiddling around to get the page at the right size to be able to both read the text, as well as view the page without constant scrolling left/right.

I have noticed that "Messaging" has changed slightly, not choice of "text" or "MMS" for a new message, it assumes text. I do like that a number of key apps and screen have finger gesture controls, e.g. flick scrolling.

Where I have noticed a huge improvement is the time to lock in the GPS satellites. Previously it took as long at 2-3 minutes, now it seems to be about 10-20 seconds! Also, the GPS battery drain is gone, so I can now use location based apps.

All in all, this update means that yes, I can use my phone for a few more months, while I wait to see what comes out of the woodwork around Christmas time. I suspect that T-Mobile's "Project Emerald" phone from HTC is going to be a strong contender; what with HSPA+ (21Mbps down/11Mbps up), UMA (hopefully) and Andriod.

Test msg from Ping.fm

0-0 at the end of regulation, hope this does not go to penalty kicks

Watching the big game. Hup Oranje!

Great night spoiled in last minutes. In shuttle to car park, teenager stood up and offered me her seat. Do I really look that old?

World of Color was typical Disney, magnificent and finished to the nth degree

Finishing my magical night at Disney with California Adventure's brans new World of Color

Managed to catch one of the last flights to the Moon of Endor. Followed it with the Indiana Jones Adventure.

Disney has not only the most beautiful fireworks, they are perfectly tme to the soundtrack

Oops, 4th July fireworks only last weekend, just their normal/special tonight

Special West Coast treat tonight, Disneyland & California Adventure. World of Color as special entertainment, then Disneyland July 4th fireworks

Just finished another evening of entertainment at Hollywood's Magic Castle

Earthquake was a 5.9, epicenter about 80 miles south of my location. Effective strength here about a 3 (USGS.GOV)

Just experienced earthquake in Orange County, severity unknown but not large

Samsung EPIX WM6.5 update

Just when I had given up hope, Samsung finally released the WM6.5 upgrade for my Samsung EPIX. My initial euphoria was dampened when I realized that I could not load the upgrade because my UB connection has stopped working. However my spirits soared again when I realized that I am just (by a few days) within the warranty period. A quick call to AT&T and a new (reconditioned?) phone will be on its way to me shortly. In an earlier post to this blog I had expressed some frustration about my phon and of my desire to start looking for a replacement. One of the issues was an almost daily freezing of the phone. Due to the USB problem I decided last weekend to carry out a hard reset, to see if this would clear the issue. It did not, but then I found that I had lost my Sprite backup files when my SDHC card had gone funny one me. No major issue as all imprtant data is on the Exchange server, and other data is on the SDHC card (except the backup files).
This did require a reinstall of all key programs, an opportunity to clean out unused programs and to update the programs that I am using. For this I go to the site where the program was purchased and check to see whether there is a newre version. For my RSS reader, Newsbreak, I was shocked to notice a comment on the site that this program was NOT compatible with my listed phone (Not the Ilium Software site but a 3rd party retail site). So I did not re-install this program and since then did not have a single freeze.

So two pieces of good news this week that will enable me to extend the life of my EPIX until I am again upgrade eligible with AT&T. At that time I can take stock again and see what phones are available. There are some personal reasons to remain with AT&T, but to date their only super smartphone was the iPhone. Now that the Captivate (Samsung Galaxy S) has been announced this gives me a better phone to which I might switch. However, I am also still tempted by T-Mobile with their UMA feature and the HSPA+ network. perhaps by the time my AT&T contract is up T-Moble will also have a true HSPA+ phone. At 21M/s this would blow the Evo out of the water for network speed.

Look for a post in about 2 weeks with my WM 6.5 reviw.

Happy and safe Independence weekend to all my friends

Phillips VOIP321 Skype phone - initial review

Due to all the changes mentioned in other blog posts, I needed an easy way to connect to family members in Europe. As a number of them already use Skype, when I saw a deal ($25 incl shipping) for this phone at ThingFling I decided to try it out. I had some initial problems with installation, as this model is a little old and the software did not agree with my newly installed Windows 7 on the desktop. Luckily, I have a second desktop with XP alongside. Once installed and set-up of Skype was completed I found that using the phone is exceedingly easy. In addition to a normal landline capability, it has a Skype button, which retrieves your Skype Friends List and allows you to connect just like with a normal phone. In fact you can also use this phone for Skype-Out calls, i.e. with a normal phone number. You just need to make sure that sufficient credit is available on the account, but at 2c/minute a few dollars goes a long way. Of course, calls to a Skype client on a computer remain free, so I expect to be calling on the regular landline and telling the other party, "please go to the computer and I will call you via Skype there."

I have used the phone to call the UK this weekend, both ways, regular Skype and Skype-Out, and both work easily and with good clarity. It is interesting to see the phone display the Skype contacts list as a phonebook, which makes dialing very, very easy.

Google Voice - First thoughts

In conjunction with installing the AT&T Microcell, I decided to try out Google Voice connected to my cellphone. I am not using the Google Voice number feature, i.e. one number that callers dial, which then tries to connect the call to different phones, e.g. cell phone, work phone, home phone, etc. Instead I am just using it for the voice mail and cheap International calls features. The special feature of the voicemail is that messages left are transcribed to text and then sent to you as email and SMS text message. This enables me to see who called and what they said, without having to listen to a voice mail. At least that is the theory. In the couple of messages to date, the transcription accuracy is not very high. I will have to wait and see how this works out. But it is still better than knowing someone left a message but not having any idea at all what the voicemail message is about, or how important it might be. This will allow me to review an incoming message in a business situation without having to step out of the room to listen to a voicemail.

The other feature I expect to use a lot is low cost international calling plan. After the installation of the AT&T Microcell and the shutdown of our VOIP service, which had free European land line calls included, I was looking for an alternative to call our European family members. To keep things simple, I have installed a Phillips VOIP321 phone at home, which used Skype to connect (see separate review). However, Skype has stopped support for Windows Mobile 6, so although I have the software I did not trust using it. I discovered that Google Voice also provides cheap international calling, actually fractionally cheaper than Skype-Out. So I am going to be using that for my cellphone. Basically, you use your browser to initiate a call, giving both your phone, as well as the number of the called party via the net. Google Voice then calls your phone and connects you to the required party. There is a way to directly connect from your phone, but as I have a smartphone, using the browser is a much easier way to go.

There is one other added benefit, Google Voice domestic calls are free. So I can use the same call and connect me to a chosen number for the rare occasion that I need to make a long distance call, not on my cellphone and from a location with restricted dialing, e.g. client site or hotel room. I have already tried this out on a one hour call, it worked great!

AT&T Microcell - initial thoughts

Last weekend I finally managed to buy an AT&T Microcell. For those who do not know, this is a gadget that puts a cell tower in your home. We needed this because the AT&T signal at our house is dismal, even outside the house, but definitely insid, i.e. 0-1 bars. After 3 to four tires to activate the device, which the manager of the AT&T store had warned me about, we finally get 4-5 bars thoughout the house and quite a large circle outside around the house. Although a very short period I am very happy with this new toy, and am making plans to shut down our VOIP service and use our cellphones as primary phones. Technically the Microcell actually uses the Internet, like a VOIP service, but for free. Not completely for free as the device costs $150 if not purchased with an unlimited Microcell plan at $20 per month. As we have quite a number of RollOver minutes available, i.e. w do not use our monthly packet fully, we are going to use the Microcell without extra unlimited minutes. In fact, if I understand correctly, because I have two seperate accounts, one for my (business phone) and a family plan for my wife and daughter, I would need to subscribe to two unlimted microcell plans. The resultant $40 would be more than our VOIP service, so we are certainly not going down that route. However, while it is perhaps not right that we should pay to bolster AT&T's poor coverage, on the other hand, the Microcell pays for itself in 6 months as we can get rid of the VOIP service.

I have discovered one small issue, namely that my Belkin router, at a random frequency, shuts off the Internet for 5 to 15 seconds. I had actually noticed this on the VOIP service, especially on conference calls, where all of a sudden the line would be silent for 5-15 seconds. Now with the Microcell, it causes the device to lose its synch and it takes a little longer to get the signal back. Probably time to look for a new wireless/wired router.

Just got my ATT microcell, and after 4 tries, activated it. Now at least 4 bars throughout house (prev 1 to 0) Bye bye landline

How to treat your customers when things go wrong

Hope to leave soon, after 8! Hours at DTW. Should be home in bed just after 3 am


Note: As we deplaned, we received a coupon for the inconvenience, valid for 10,000 SkyMiles or $100. Now that is Customer Service! All passengers received this bonus!.

Extra Note: A week later a nice letter from Delta informaing that they had also added another 15,000 miles to my account, for the inconvenience. Delta, you really know how to treat your Elite customers well when things go wrong. Big KUDOS to you!