Re: T-Mobile finagling advice?
* Ben Burdette [EMAIL PROTECTED] [070210 19:47]: Unfortunatly, It looks to me like T-Mobile is currently not interested in letting its pre-paid customers use GPRS to go anywhere outside their Silly T-Zones walled garden. Let me guess. This contains such things as weather reports, news headlines, ringtones, ... All available for a small per-use-fee? Sigh. They see GPRS as a profit source, to drive profit to their own partners. Rather than a service to provide to users. That's a depressing prospect. All this openmoko and no web? I wonder if cingular is any better... This is on a prepaid T-Mobile in the USA. European prepaid SIMs seem to support GPRS fine, albeit it's usually priced unattractivly. (The only Austrian provider with a somehow acceptable prepaid tarif is drei, which doesn't apply to the Neo, as they have only UMTS. All other tarifs are in the 5EUR area) And yes, I find using prepaid sims a stupid idea anyways :) Andreas ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org https://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
Re: T-Mobile finagling advice?
On Sat, 2007-02-10 at 23:04 -0700, Shawn Rutledge wrote: Unfortunatly, It looks to me like T-Mobile is currently not interested in letting its pre-paid customers use GPRS to go anywhere outside their Silly T-Zones walled garden. Let me guess. This contains such things as weather reports, news headlines, ringtones, ... All available for a small per-use-fee? No I've got a Linux phone with Opera on it, and it works just fine on TMobile in the US to access any web site. I'm guessing that since the phones they sell are locked down to just the TZones crap, that's why they offer such a low price for GPRS, because most users won't take much bandwidth. But actually you can do anything that the phone will let you do. That's good news; however, seems that T-Mobile could change that policy if users do start using a lot of bandwidth. Hope they and other carriers see enough of a trend and market in new open-source and open-design devices to support it rather than to build the garden wall higher. Phil ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org https://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
Re: T-Mobile finagling advice?
kkr wrote: Le vendredi 09 février 2007 à 20:33 -0500, [EMAIL PROTECTED] a écrit : snip For example, imagine an application that uses GPS location information to determine your car's proximity to your favorite grocery store on your way home. When you get to within 5 miles of the store, your Neo uses the GPRS to access a personal website page where your spouse keeps a grocery list. If there are any items on the list, the application downloads the and alerts you via your bluetooth earbud. snip I really like this idea :-) She must be added on the wiki not to be lost! One obvious optimisation for where GPRS may be very expensive is to simply send a SMS, compressed according to a shared database. ABC = Item 28, 3 of EGI = Item 187, 10*100ml of. Some 60 items per SMS, of a list of several hundred is probably suitable for most people. In most cases, the fact that you're going past the store is pretty irrelevant to the need for groceries. ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org https://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
Re: T-Mobile finagling advice?
Ian Stirling writes: In most cases, the fact that you're going past the store is pretty irrelevant to the need for groceries. Or, for most of us on the way home, the fact that you weren't going to be near the store has nothing to do with the fact that you are now going by the store... ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org https://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
Re: T-Mobile finagling advice?
Unfortunatly, It looks to me like T-Mobile is currently not interested in letting its pre-paid customers use GPRS to go anywhere outside their Silly T-Zones walled garden. Let me guess. This contains such things as weather reports, news headlines, ringtones, ... All available for a small per-use-fee? Sigh. They see GPRS as a profit source, to drive profit to their own partners. Rather than a service to provide to users. That's a depressing prospect. All this openmoko and no web? I wonder if cingular is any better... Ben ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org https://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
Re: T-Mobile finagling advice?
You should not have any problem getting GPRS to work as long as you are using their regular service. AFAIK, only their PREPAID service has the access to GPRS restricted. -Jason On Saturday 10 February 2007 12:40, Ben Burdette wrote: Unfortunatly, It looks to me like T-Mobile is currently not interested in letting its pre-paid customers use GPRS to go anywhere outside their Silly T-Zones walled garden. Let me guess. This contains such things as weather reports, news headlines, ringtones, ... All available for a small per-use-fee? Sigh. They see GPRS as a profit source, to drive profit to their own partners. Rather than a service to provide to users. That's a depressing prospect. All this openmoko and no web? I wonder if cingular is any better... Ben ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org https://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org https://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
Re: T-Mobile finagling advice?
Unfortunatly, It looks to me like T-Mobile is currently not interested in letting its pre-paid customers use GPRS to go anywhere outside their Silly T-Zones walled garden. Let me guess. This contains such things as weather reports, news headlines, ringtones, ... All available for a small per-use-fee? No I've got a Linux phone with Opera on it, and it works just fine on TMobile in the US to access any web site. I'm guessing that since the phones they sell are locked down to just the TZones crap, that's why they offer such a low price for GPRS, because most users won't take much bandwidth. But actually you can do anything that the phone will let you do. ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org https://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
Re: T-Mobile finagling advice?
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Mary... I've been looking into this issue in a related way. One of the biggest opportunities for the Neo will be writing mobile oriented data retreval and sync applications using gps/GPRS. For example, imagine an application that uses GPS location information to determine your car's proximity to your favorite grocery store on your way home. When you get to within 5 miles of the store, your Neo uses the GPRS to access a personal website page where your spouse keeps a grocery list. If there are any items on the list, the application downloads the and alerts you via your bluetooth earbud. Unfortunatly, It looks to me like T-Mobile is currently not interested in letting its pre-paid customers use GPRS to go anywhere outside their Silly T-Zones walled garden. Let me guess. This contains such things as weather reports, news headlines, ringtones, ... All available for a small per-use-fee? Sigh. They see GPRS as a profit source, to drive profit to their own partners. Rather than a service to provide to users. ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org https://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
RE: T-Mobile finagling advice?
If you are in the UK, Tescos do a cheap pay as you go SIM; http://www.tesco.com/mobilenetwork/shop/?page=simcards Maybe WalMart do the same in the US? Al - Email sent from www.ntlworld.com Virus-checked using McAfee(R) Software Visit www.ntlworld.com/security for more information ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org https://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
RE: T-Mobile finagling advice?
On Wed, 2007-02-07 at 10:05 +, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: If you are in the UK, Tescos do a cheap pay as you go SIM; http://www.tesco.com/mobilenetwork/shop/?page=simcards Maybe WalMart do the same in the US? There are various pay-as-you-go services in the US. $20 (10UKP) will buy you a GSM cellphone and 60 minutes of talk time (With no ID or credit card required btw for fellow privacy freaks) :-D The one that I have does use a SIMcard and they roam onto some GSM network which it doesn't identify. My guess is certainly cingular since its the only GSM network available in my area[0]. Regards, Red ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org https://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
Re: T-Mobile finagling advice?
Tmobile has a fairly acurate street by street coverage map on their web site. On 2/6/07, Ben Burdette [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: So, I'm thinking seriously about getting a neo1973 when they become available. I called the local T Mobile office and asked them whether I could borrow a phone to see how the signal strength is where I live. They said I could get a 14 day trial with a free phone and just take it back when that is over. My question is, has anyone been through this process before, what's the best way to find out how the service is? I don't know anyone that has a t mobile phone (maybe that should tell me something). And the other thing is, how would I get the neo1973 onto the t mobile network? would I have to get their cheapest phone and then remove the sim card to use in the neo1973? Is it possible to get the sim card without buying a t mobile phone? I'm sure I could find out more by calling T Mobile, but I'm betting there's a lot of expertise in this area on this list. ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org https://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org https://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
Re: T-Mobile finagling advice?
If you are in the UK, Tescos do a cheap pay as you go SIM; http://www.tesco.com/mobilenetwork/shop/?page=simcards Maybe WalMart do the same in the US? There are various pay-as-you-go services in the US. $20 (10UKP) will buy you a GSM cellphone and 60 minutes of talk time (With no ID or credit card required btw for fellow privacy freaks) :-D The one that I have does use a SIMcard and they roam onto some GSM network which it doesn't identify. My guess is certainly cingular since its the only GSM network available in my area[0]. Regards, Red Good info; I think that's what I'll do to evaluate service. I like the idea of pay as you go better than a monthly plan anyway. ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org https://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
RE: T-Mobile finagling advice?
Redvers Davies writes: The one that I have does use a SIMcard and they roam onto some GSM network which it doesn't identify. My guess is certainly cingular since its the only GSM network available in my area[0]. I'm curious -- which one do you use? Were you able to get just a sim card from them, or did they insist on giving you a phone? ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org https://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
RE: T-Mobile finagling advice?
On Wed, 2007-02-07 at 08:41 -0700, Joe Pfeiffer wrote: I'm curious -- which one do you use? Were you able to get just a sim card from them, or did they insist on giving you a phone? They insisted on giving you the phone and looking at it you would need to keep the phone in order to maintain your account since addition on minutes etc is all done via the phone interface. I don't know for sure if it will work in a phone other than theirs. However, I have that phone and my treo 650 in the car. At lunchtime (approx 1 hour) I'll try throwing that SIM into my treo and see if it flies. Regards, Red ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org https://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
Re: T-Mobile finagling advice?
On Tue, Feb 06, 2007 at 06:25:30PM -0700, Ben Burdette wrote: So, I'm thinking seriously about getting a neo1973 when they become available. I called the local T Mobile office and asked them whether I could borrow a phone to see how the signal strength is where I live. They said I could get a 14 day trial with a free phone and just take it back when that is over. That would probably be the best way to test a phone, as even their street- by-street coverage maps aren't 100% accurate (But to be fair, ther street map of my house shows I have less signal than I actually do). This is, of course if you live in the US. I don't know if their coverage map works in Europe. My question is, has anyone been through this process before, what's the best way to find out how the service is? I don't know anyone that has a t mobile phone (maybe that should tell me something). And the other thing is, how would I get the neo1973 onto the t mobile network? would I have to get their cheapest phone and then remove the sim card to use in the neo1973? Is it possible to get the sim card without buying a t mobile phone? I know that you can go to t-mobile.com and click the Coverage link in the bar at the top, then punch in your address and it should show you. Other than that, just trying to get a T-Mo phone and try it. Like you said earlier, you can try it for 14 days. As for the getting a Neo on the T-Mo network, that will be easy for basic things and harder for others. Currently, I use a non-T-Mo phone on my T-mo account, and when my girlfriend joined up, she got the same phone from eBay and we got the SIM card from the local T-Mo store. Technically, she got their free phone and they just gave us the card out of it. It didn't cost us anything. I'm sure I could find out more by calling T Mobile, but I'm betting there's a lot of expertise in this area on this list. Also, another thing to consider is that Cingular (The New ATT) uses GSM networks for mobile phones as well, so if T-Mo isn't cutting it for you, and if Cingular is in your area, you can look into them as well. -KW ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org https://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
Re: T-Mobile finagling advice?
On Wed, 7 Feb 2007, Mark McClellan wrote: On 2/6/07, Ben Burdette [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: So, I'm thinking seriously about getting a neo1973 when they become available. I called the local T Mobile office and asked them whether I could borrow a phone to see how the signal strength is where I live. They said I could get a 14 day trial with a free phone and just take it back when that is over. My question is, has anyone been through this process before, what's the best way to find out how the service is? I don't know anyone that has a t mobile phone (maybe that should tell me something). And the other thing is, how would I get the neo1973 onto the t mobile network? would I have to get their cheapest phone and then remove the sim card to use in the neo1973? Is it possible to get the sim card without buying a t mobile phone? I'm sure I could find out more by calling T Mobile, but I'm betting there's a lot of expertise in this area on this list. Ben, A few years ago I posed the same question to a T-Mobile sales guy. He handed me a working demo phone to take around for a few days. I took it back the next day and signed up. I wouldn't get the cheapest phone they offer. Remember the first edition of the OpenMoko device is geared for developers. You may still need a true 'production' quality phone until 4Q '07. Mark Remember too that service performance will depend on your phone radio and antenna hardware, and not just the provider's network. But it's a good first step. ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org https://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
RE: T-Mobile finagling advice?
What country are you in? If it's UK then you shouldn't have much of a problem with signal unless you're in the wilds of Scotland :-) Most if not all of the network providers also provide sim only options for contracts or pay as you go services, not usually heavily advertised but avaliable none the less. If of course you're not in the UK then please ignore all of the above ;) Graham -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Joe Pfeiffer Sent: 07 February 2007 01:34 To: Ben Burdette Cc: community@lists.openmoko.org Subject: Re:T-Mobile finagling advice? Ben Burdette writes: snip My question is, has anyone been through this process before, what's the best way to find out how the service is? I don't know anyone that has a t mobile phone (maybe that should tell me something). And the other thing is, how would I get the neo1973 onto the t mobile network? would I have to get their cheapest phone and then remove the sim card to use in the neo1973? Is it possible to get the sim card without buying a t mobile phone? Based on what a T-Mobile salesdroid told me, it isn't possible to get their service without a phone. So my plan is to do as you suggest: get their (actually, I haven't fully researched the GSM providers in my area, so they may not be T-Mobile when the dust settles) cheapest phone, move the sim chip. ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org https://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org https://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
