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November 6th, 2009, 1:04 pm by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress
 After being the first in the industry to pro-rate 2-year mobile phone contracts, Verizon Wireless now plans to double that fee — BUT only in some cases.
Beginning Nov. 15, Verizon’s early-termination fees jump to $350 for higher-end devices like smartphones, netbooks and other advanced devices. The current rate is half that, at $175. The higher rate kicks in only on customers who sign a new contract.
Verizon still will prorate the contract, subtracting $10 a month (all other phones are prorated $5/month). So, by the end of 23 months, affected users will still need to cough up $120. But by then, you might as well wait a month to leave without paying a penny.
Why is Verizon changing its early termination fee? To make subsidizing these expensive devices worth it to the company.
Interestingly, the new Motorola Droid is $199.99 with a 2-year contract. But without a contract, it sells for $559.99. That means you could save $10 by buying the phone, and then canceling the 2-year contract ($200 + $350 = $550). And since the new fee doesn’t kick in until Nov. 15, that means people who buy a Droid before that date and then cancel service will get it for $375 without a contract! No wonder Verizon upped the fee.
As I’ve mentioned before, anyone can test a Verizon phone for 30 days and then cancel without having to pay any early termination fee. Read my earlier story covering testing policies, I mean, return policies by the major mobile providers: “How any consumer can ‘test’ a cell phone.”
Verizon also adds that if you bring a compatible phone to its network and sign up for service, you don’t have to commit to any long-term contract.
Earlier on cell phone policies:
Posted in: Cell phones • cell phone policies • Droid • early termination fees • etf • inflation • Verizon Wireless | 3 Comments »
November 6th, 2009, 9:55 am by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress
 I, for one, am very glad that there is more to mobile phones than the iPhone, which is a very nice phone. But if the world only wanted an iPhone, gadget geeks everywhere wouldn’t have much to look forward to. And today, we’re looking forward to the new Motorola Droid, on sale today from Verizon Wireless (There are 40 Verizon stores within 25 miles of Santa Ana. Here’s a store locator).
After a week with the Droid, I’m seriously digging its Google Android 2.0 operating system, which will pop up in more phones from Verizon Wireless and other carriers. While I wouldn’t call the Droid a game changer for the industry, it’s a game changer for Verizon Wireless because for the first time the company let outsiders help develop the phone. Even tinkerers who want to develop Android apps can influence the Verizon phone in a way that was prohibited before.
The phone itself is an improvement over the original Google phone, the G1 (my current phone), with a sleeker shape and better internal technology. A 3.7-inch screen makes it the largest smartphone screen out there. The slide-out keyboard is a bonus. But, as with any gadget, I have an opinion. There are features I love, like and hate. Let me start with what I don’t like.
5 things I don’t like about the Droid:
1. Screen sensitivity: Nice big screen, but not as responsive and smooth as the iPhone. Not sure if it’s a glitch, but sometimes shortcuts I placed on the main screen did nothing when pressed. Other times, one touch popped up the application. Also, when scrolling on the Web, it can be jerky as images load. Reminds me of pre-broadband everywhere days. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in: Car tech • Cell phones • Gadgets • Android • Android 2.0 • Droid • Gadgets • Google • GPS • maps • Motorola Droid • smartphone • Verizon Wireless | 12 Comments »
November 5th, 2009, 5:24 pm by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress
 DirecTV must be doing something right — it made more money than last year and continued to add new subscribers during its third quarter, which ended Sept. 30.
The El Segundo satellite TV service added 136,000 net new subscribers during the quarter, bringing its total to 18.4 million customers. While the subscriber growth is lower than the same time last year, DirecTV is growing.
Comparably, both the number one and two cable companies saw their subscriber count drop during the same period. Comcast, the nation’s largest cable provider, lost 656,000 video customers during the quarter, while second-place Time Warner Cable lost 84,000 customers.
DirecTV’s interim chief executive Larry Hunter attributed the subscriber growth to marketing its service with AT&T. Sales growth — revenues were up 10 percent from a year ago to $5.47 billion — came from more people subscribing to its HD and DVR services, plus growth in Latin America.
But consumers should keep in mind that DirecTV’s sales growth also meant higher prices. The company said the average customer’s bill increased 2.1 percent to $85.32. Customers are paying more for programs, HD channels and DVR service fees. Then again, DirecTV is the only company that offers programming like NFL Sunday Ticket, a $200 package.
Meanwhile, DirecTV’s payment to TV networks in order to offer channels increased 1.2 percent per subscriber. DirecTV spent nearly $2 billion on programming costs.
Read DirecTV’s third-quarter 2009 earnings report HERE.
Earlier on DirecTV:
Posted in: Video & TV • DirecTV • directv earnings • earnings • Satellite TV • subscribers • tv subscribers | 2 Comments »
November 5th, 2009, 7:53 am by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress
 It was another rough quarter for Time Warner Cable, which lost TV customers, posted lower profits and saw a drop in premium channel subscriptions. It lost 84,000 video customers by the end of the third quarter, ended Sept. 30, compared with the second quarter.
But in almost all other areas, the cable TV provider grew: It added more Internet and phone customers, more digital cable customers and more multi-package customers. That helped offset the exodus of video subscribers to a loss of 25,000 customers. Overall sales were up 4 percent, to $4.5 billion, compared with $4.3 billion last year.
The company has been losing video customers as new TV services like Verizon FiOS and AT&T U-verse enter the market and customers head for the Web to view TV shows on their own time.
|
2Q 2008 |
3Q 2008 |
4Q 2008 |
1Q 2009 |
2Q 2009 |
3Q 2009 |
TW video
subscribers |
13,297k |
13,266k |
13,069k |
13,105k |
13,048k |
12,964k |
| Change |
|
-31,000 |
-197,000 |
36,000 |
-57,000 |
-84,000 |
While the number of customers fell less than 1 percent, to 14.652 million subscribers, Time Warner got a bit more money from each one. Subscription revenues grew 5 percent, to $4.3 billion, thanks to more digital video, Internet and phone customers. Separating out video alone, Time Warner made 2 percent more off TV subscribers, coming in at $2.698 billion in the third quarter, compared with $2.639 billion a year earlier.
Still, Time Warner made less money than it did a year ago. Net income fell 11 percent, to $258 million, compared with $301 million a year earlier. Part of that was because it had to pay more for the TV channels it offers customers. The cost of video programming grew 6 percent, to $1 billion. Meanwhile, more customers dropped basic video and premium channel subscriptions.
In the chart below, Time Warner notes that about 13 million pay for plain-ol’ cable TV service. About two-thirds also pay for digital cable and high-speed Internet. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in: Video & TV • cable tv • subscribers • Time Warner Cable • TWC earnings • twc subscribers | 54 Comments »
November 4th, 2009, 12:45 pm by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress
 Spreading the word: Apricorn just announced a two-terabyte DVR expander. The catch: It’s for DirecTV DVRs.
The Poway-based Apricorn says that two terabytes can boost a DVR’s capacity by 250 hours of high-definition recordings or 1,124 hours of standard definition video. (Just did the math — you can record TV 24/7 for nearly seven weeks!)
The DVR Expander is available in capacities of 1 TB for $129; 1.5 TB for $199; and 2 TB for $259. It plugs into the DirecTV DVR’s eSATA port. But when you power it up, you won’t be able to access recordings on the actual DVR. To do so, users must disconnect the DVR Expander and restart the DVR.
Apricorn tells me that the new device is not compatible with TiVo. It was released specifically for these DirecTV DVR receivers: HR20, HR21, HR22 and HR23. More details at Apricorn’s site HERE.
The company does offer DVR expanders for other DVRs that have eSATA or USB ports. But those devices only go up to 1.5 TBs. Here’s a link to other models.
Other companies that offer DVR expanders include Lake Forest’s Western Digital, which has expanders for DVRs with enabled eSATA or USB ports. That pretty much excludes cable TV company DVRs but does include TiVos. Seagate Technology also has a 1-TB DVR expander that works with Dish Network receivers.
More on gadgets:
Posted in: Gadgets • Video & TV • Apricorn • DirecTV • DVR • DVR expander • Gadgets • Poway • Western Digital | Post a Comment »
November 4th, 2009, 11:07 am by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress
 Many people here in Orange County want Verizon FiOS TV and Internet service badly but can’t order the service in their neighborhood. However, if you happen to be building the first “green” house in Huntington Beach, consider Verizon at your service.
The new Living Green home, which is being unveiled today in Huntington Beach, managed to get the highly sought-after TV and fast Internet service.
Our Huntington Beach housing reporter (yes, we have a reporter who covers real estate just in HB!) wrote all about the home Tuesday at “Grand opening for 1st Surf City green home.”
Built by Living Green Homes Construction & Development, the 3-story home at 319 21st St. has a few other notable perks. It was built on guidelines from Build it Green, uses 40 percent less water and 65 percent less energy and saves the owner $700 a month (What? That’s one huge monthly bill!) Plus, it’s just a few blocks from the beach. The kick-off party is today at 1:30 p.m. The home will be open for public tours before it’s sold.
But any techie in their right mind will gloss over these greenish facts and hone in on the 100 percent fiber-optic FiOS service. FiOS is an alternative to cable TVand offers Internet speeds of up to 50 mbps downstream, 20 Mbps upstream, plus it has the most high-definition channels available in O.C. In addition, FiOS service includes on-screen widgets to check your Twitter messages and Facebook status and other geeky things like that.
The “green-ness” of FiOS? It “increases a homeowner’s ability to reduce their carbon footprint through telecommuting, video-conferencing and on-demand entertainment,” says the company.
Good enough for me!
Of course, I should note that this near downtown Huntington Beach neighborhood was one of the first to even get Verizon FiOS services. Verizon didn’t have to go much out of its way to offer it.
You’ll have to check out the Register’s Green OC blog to get full coverage of Orange County’s green building scene. Added 12:50 p.m. - Here’s the story: “State’s green building program easier than national system.”
Recent Green OC news:
Posted in: Video & TV • FiOS • Green • Green OC • huntington beach • real estate • Verizon FiOS | 10 Comments »
November 4th, 2009, 6:21 am by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress
 UPDATE: T-Mobile says if you continue to experience difficulty making/receiving calls or accessing data services, please power your phone off then back on. This will update your connection to the network and should restore your access to these services.
UDPATE: 7:19 a.m.: I’m still hearing that service is spotty in south Orange County. Anyone out there feeling that too? Please leave a comment and I’ll check it out.
——————-
It was a rough night for many T-Mobile customers Tuesday as the mobile-service provider acknowledged that there was a widespread outage of its data and voice services affecting at least 5 percent of its 33.5 million customers. That’s approximately 1.7 million customers.
Around 10:30 last night, the company said everything was fixed. In a statement, T-Mobile said that service was fully restored and the company is now investigating what happened. Here’s the statement:
“T-Mobile confirms it has fully restored voice and text/picture messaging services for customers affected by intermittent service disruptions on Tuesday. About five percent of our customers across various geographies were affected for much of Tuesday evening, and by late Tuesday PST their service was restored. Our sole focus has been restoring full services for all customers; we are now investigating the root cause of the incident. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience that this has caused our customers.”
The five-hour outage affected not just Orange County, but the whole nation. Readers from Arizona, Minnesota, Dallas, Chicago and other cities left comments saying that their T-Mobile service was out, too.
Other news sites reported that the outage happened just as T-Mobile was trying to fix a data outage that some SideKick users have experienced for nearly one month. T-Mobile said it had restored all services by Halloween.
The Wall Street Journal reported that “Microsoft Corp. accidentally lost personal SideKick data stored in its servers. The company and its SideKick unit, Danger, later restored some of the data, but took a lot of public criticism for the slip-up.”
Are you still experiencing an outage or spotty data/voice service? Comment below and I’ll look into it.
Earlier: T-Mobile says phone service not working
Recent Gadgetress stories:
Posted in: Cell phones • outage • sidekick • T-Mobile • T-Mobile outage | 26 Comments »
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39.05%
0.41%
38.55%
3.51%
16.83%
Tamara 'the Gadgetress' Chuang
Here's a list of TV/mobile companies helping consumers one tweet at a time. 
