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25,000 more places for Wi-Fi (if you’re with AT&T)

August 25th, 2009, 2:41 pm by

Free Wi-FiAT&T just announced that its collection of global Wi-Fi hotspots increased 25 percent today, bringing its total to 125,000 hotspots worldwide.

The new 25,000 hotspots are in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Croatia, the Netherlands, the UK and China. Sites in China are live and active. The European sites will be activated over the next 45 days.

But for the most part, these new sites are geared toward AT&T business users who pay $19.99 a month for AT&T’s Wi-Fi Premier plan.  Still, any one can get this plan, which could come in handy when traveling overseas.

Here in the United States, AT&T offers access to its hotspots for free to iPhone users, and for its high-speed Internet or U-verse Internet customers. Non AT&T customers can pay a daily fee of $3.99 for access or, of course, purchase the monthly $19.99 Wi-Fi Premier plan. There are 20,000 AT&T hotspots in the United States.

Alternatives for non-AT&T customers include the free Wi-Fi for Verizon customers (read: “Verizon offers some customers a bonus: Free Wi-Fi“), free Wi-Fi at Barnes & Noble and Starbucks (read: “Free Wi-Fi at Barnes & Noble for everyone!” “Free Wi-Fi at Starbucks — with restrictions“) or WiFiFreeSpot page, which lists cafes and businesses offering free Wi-Fi nationwide. If any one else knows a useful free Wi-Fi service, please point it out. Thanks!

Previous stories on free Wi-Fi:

AT&T U-verse adds remote DVR control for iPhone

June 26th, 2009, 10:34 am by
AT&T U-verse allows subscribers to program home DVRs from their iPhone.

Image from AT&T

AT&T’s U-verse TV service is the latest to add a way to program your home DVR via mobile phone — and on an iPhone, no less.

The free “Mobile Remote Access” app allows U-verse subscribers to schedule and manage recordings when away from home. This is a full-featured feature allowing users to search for  upcoming programs, view descriptions, delete stored TV shows and edit scheduled recordings.

The app, available at Apple’s App Store, is also available for iPod Touch owners.

AT&T already offers customers a way to program their home DVRs from the Web. Verizon FiOS offers a similar service, as does DirecTV (which also has an iPhone App) and Dish Network.

But cable subscribers? Not much luck there. According to a report from MultiChannel News, the cable companies have lagged behind the competition. Cox Communications said it planned DVR scheduling in the middle of summer this year.

When I last asked Time Warner Cable about this in the spring, the response was that it was coming but not at this time.

More on the web:

Cable Trails On Remote DVR (Multichannel News)

Previous TV news:


Check out the Gadgetress Guide to local TV services

1 million new iPhone 3GS sold in 3 days

June 22nd, 2009, 6:54 am by

iPhone 3GS goes on sale in Orange CountySo, the lines weren’t as long as the first two Apple iPhones. But apparently a lot of fans did as iGirl did and ordered them online because Apple just reported that it sold “over 1 million iPhone’s sold” in the first three days. In addition, 6 million people downloaded the latest iPhone 3.0 software during the five days it’s been available.

Obviously a popular device, the iPhone even inspired company CEO Steve Jobs, who’s been on sick leave since December, to make an appearance in today’s press release:

“Customers are voting and the iPhone is winning,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “With over 50,000 applications available from Apple’s revolutionary App Store, iPhone momentum is stronger than ever.”

The phones sold out at most of the Orange County Apple stores on Friday, but other stores like Best Buy, Wal-Mart and AT&T stores also offered the phones. Most popular, based on first to sell out, were the 16 GB white, also one of the cheapest at $199 for new customers.

More around the web:

Recent iPhone 3GS stories:

O.C. iFans rewarded with early Apple store opening for iPhone 3GS (UPDATED)

June 19th, 2009, 7:23 am by

iPhone 3GS goes on sale in Orange CountyUPDATE: Slideshow posted so you too can see what it was like to be in line for an iPhone 3GS way before the rest of the county was awake. Also more updates posted on lines at other Orange County Apple stores.

* See latest line updates, as of 4:20 p.m., below…

* Best Buy stores, Wal-Marts and AT&T stores are also selling the new iPhone 3GS today.

* Just got a call from AT&T at 10:07 a.m. that AT&T stores have relatively short lines compared to Apple stores. Of course, you can order an iPhone online and get it mailed to you within 7 to 14 days. But that’s no fun!

LINE UPDATES:

iphone3gs-mark6

*As of 4:37 p.m., the Apple store at the Irvine Spectrum has a 10-15 minute line wait. All colors and sizes of 3GS phones are still available.

*As of 4:30  p.m., the Apple store at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa is sold out of iPhone 3GS,  unless you reserved one ahead of time.

* As of 4:25 p.m., the Apple store in Mission Viejo has a very short line and there are limited quantities of all the phones.

*As of 4:22 p.m., the Apple store at Fashion Island in Newport Beach is sold out.

*As of 4:20 p.m., the Apple store in Brea still has a line. The store only has 32 GB iPhone 3GS left in both white and black.

* As of 11:21 a.m., the Mission Viejo Apple store says the line is about 10-15 people and the store is almost sold out of every iPhone 3GS in stock.

* As of 11:14 a.m., the Irvine Spectrum Apple store reports a 2-hour wait in line. All phones are still in stock.

* As of 11:11 a.m., the Fashion Island Apple store says the line is about 2-hours long. The 16-GB white iPhone 3GS is sold out.

* As of 11:08 a.m., the Brea Apple store still has a line and is expected to be there most of the day.

* As of 9:49 a.m., the Apple store at South Coast Plaza HAS NO LINE. There are still plenty in stock, according to the store.

* As of 9:25 a.m., the Apple store at The Shops in Mission Viejo has about a 1-hour long line for folks who didn’t reserve a phone ahead of time. They’ve run out 16 GB white iPhone 3GS and is in short supply of other models. However, the online reservation system opens back up tomorrow so the store expects to recieve more units tomorrow. 

* As of 9:22 a.m., the Apple Store at Brea Mall has a “pretty long line.”

* As of 9:20 a.m., the Apple Store at Fashion Island has a 1.5-hour wait in line. The store is also sold out of the 16-GB iPhone 3GS in white. 

* As of 9:17 a.m. the Apple Store at the Irvine Spectrum says the line is 3-hours long, but it hopes to have phones available all day.

* At Orange County AT&T stores, which also opened at 7 a.m., AT&T reports there were lines at every store. For the greater Los Angeles area, there were, on average, 40-60 people in line as the stores opened, according to an AT&T spokesman. 

Lines were all over Orange County and by 7 a.m. phones were moving out of the Apple stores. Over at South Coast Plaza, doors opened 45 minutes early for the nearly 100 200 people in line.

Follow me on Twitter @gadgetressPeople continue to Twitter about waiting in line, including the first in line at South Coast Plaza (pictured on right), who our South Coast Plaza reporter Candice Shih interviewed below. Elsewhere in the county, Twitter user neilgreene said he was picking up an iPhone at the Mission Viejo store by 7 a.m. While carolynhimes said she was the 25th in line at the Apple store in Fashion Island just after 7 a.m.

Candice Shih, who blogs for the Register’s South Coast Plaza blog , arrived at the Apple Store at the Costa Mesa mall by 6:15 a.m., just in time to catch the first people in line before they headed inside the store. Here’s her report (or see her special SCP take “Apple store sees steady stream of iFans for launch of new iPhone“), which includes a couple of photos from Register photographer Mark Rightmire (the Gadgetress appreciates the hard and early-morning work!):

All Apple stores in Orange County were supposed to open at 7 a.m. to sell the new iPhone 3GS. But the store in South Coast Plaza opened at 6:15 a.m. I don’t know why they opened the store early but good thing I got there at 6:15 — just in time to talk to the first guy in line.

Read the rest of this entry »

iPhone 3GS lines start; Here’s where you can get one in O.C.

June 18th, 2009, 5:27 pm by

Boxes of iPhone 3GS on their way to stores for June 19 launch.Another summer, another iPhone. The new iPhone 3GS goes on sale as early as 7 a.m. Friday (June 19) and if you’re smart, you would have pre-ordered the phone online or from a store. But if you didn’t, you can still get your hands on one if you’re willing to get to a store early and wait in line.

According to Irvine Spectrum mall officials, customers are already in line in front of the Apple store as the long night begins. (It’s even been Tweeted, with pics of course. See who’s Twittering about lines at the Irvine store  HERE.)

Sonya “iGirl” Smith, the OC Register’s resident iPhone expert, won’t be in line tonight, as she has been for the past two years. She ordered her 3GS the day it was announced and now eagerly awaits its arrival via snail mail. She has already shared her initial thoughts with readers, which I appreciate since I’m not an iPhone user.

Candice Shih, who pens the South Coast Plaza blog (yes, we have a reporter covering just South Coast Plaza!), will be checking in on lines at 7 a.m. Friday, and reporting her findings right here. I’ll also be posting updates throughout the day on sell-outs, lines, etc.

For those who plan to get a phone Friday, please know that people who pre-ordered will have priority at AT&T stores and most everywhere else. It does look like some Apple stores in Orange County will let people in line buy a phone as early as 7 a.m. See details below.

Apple Stores

Orange County’s Apple stores open at 7 a.m. (though some stores say 8 a.m. on their phone message). Expect two lines, one for pre-orders, one for everyone else. See more details about individual stores below:

  • Brea Mall, 1065 Brea Mall, Space #1024A, BreaCA 92821, 714-255-5610. Store opens at 7 a.m.
  • Fashion Island367 Newport Center Drive, Newport BeachCA 92660, 949-729-4433, Store opens at 7 a.m. Mall officials plan to let people line up starting at 7 a.m. but you might try getting their earlier.
  • Irvine Spectrum85 Fortune Dr. #311, IrvineCA 92618, 949-255-1500. Store opens at 7 a.m. Your best bet if you want to line up all night. People are in line right now (Thursday afternoon), according to the mall.
  • South Coast Plaza, 3333 Bear St., Costa MesaCA 92626, 714-424-6331. Store opens at 7 a.m. Mall officials plan to let people line up starting at 4 a.m.
  • The Shops at Mission Viejo936C The Shops at Mission Viejo, Mission ViejoCA 92691, 949-365-0727. Store opens at 7 a.m.

Boxes of iPhone 3GS on their way to stores for June 19 launch.

AT&T Stores

For those heading to AT&T stores (you can search for O.C. locations HERE), the stores open at 7 a.m. but only to allow customers who pre-ordered and notified by e-mail to leave with a phone.

Doors open for everyone else at 8 a.m. If you pre-ordered and miss the 7 a.m. opening, AT&T will let you go to the front of the line until 9 a.m. However, if you pre-ordered a phone and got confirmation that the phone is available, then an iPhone 3GS with your name on it will be waiting at the store no matter what time. You just may not be able to cut in line though if you arrive after 9 a.m. Don’t forget: Bring your receipt!

If you pre-ordered online at AT&T, your phone should arrive beginning Friday. Others could come as late as 14 days from now.

Elsewhere Read the rest of this entry »

iGirl just bought a new iPhone 3GS

June 8th, 2009, 2:17 pm by

I admit it. I just did it. I just pre-ordered the 32GB white iPhone 3GS. It is a lot of money, but it SHOOTS VIDEO! It’ll ship to my house. Woohoo for iGirl not standing, sleeping and eating in line for hours!

Yep, it’s me, the crazy iPhone-girl here with another new iPhone story. Apple announced today a line of new laptops, iPhone OS 3.0 available June 17, and oh yeah, a new iPhone.

My love affair began with the iPhone two years ago, when I waited 26 hours for the first iPhone and I wrote about the geeky affair for all of the O.C. Last year, I waited a short 11 hours for the second iPhone.

Now some of you out there may be wondering why, just why, I’d shell out a couple hundred more bucks ($499 to be exact) for the 32GB white iPhone 3GS. Yes, the double memory and faster processor will be quite nice. But the real reason I’m upgrading? It’s the camera. I just couldn’t help myself.

3299713406_54a256ba25I’ve always had fun playing as an amateur photographer. I have about seven lomography (toy) cameras, and I love shooting quick videos of my puppies and kitties with a Flip Ultra. And in this year, I decided to start a photo-a-day project on Flickr in which I take and post a photo every day — all taken with my iPhone 3G. I’ve even skipped toting a film camera on my recent outings and vacations, and taking along just the iPhone as a camera.

Imagine just how many more photos and videos I’ll be shooting now! And, the best part is I can geo-tag my content and post it straight away to the Web — from almost anywhere!

I’m not saying the iPhone 3GS is for everyone. I’d suggest that each of you take the time to research what phone is right for you before buying.

But, iPhone 3GS, here I come. Oh, and please post any ideas for my new iPhone’s name in the comments below. (If you remember, my first Gadgetress post described my tendency to name electronics after Superman characters — it’s a geeky reporter thing.)

UPDATE: While ordering my iPhone online, the Apple Web site said June 19 as delivery, a confirmation e-mail said it would be delivered on June 24. After talking with Apple customer service by phone (after waiting on hold for about half an hour) the company said the June 19 delivery online was a mistake. Apple’s now given me free next-day delivery so I’ll get my iPhone as early as June 20, and as late as June 22.

Photo above left was taken by iGirl with her iPhone 3G. Photo taken Feb. 21 of a tree in my back yard using the Toy Camera app on my iPhone.

March Madness gets extra love from TV to iPhone

March 19th, 2009, 12:05 am by

**See updates below in bold**

How many ways can one watch college basketball finals, a.k.a. March Madness, this year? Let’s count:

1. An iPhone app! Beginning today (March 19), iPhone/iPod Touch users can download the March Madness app. For $4.99, users can watch all 63 games live, thanks to MobiTV’s mobile TV service. 

2. For non-iPhone AT&T users, AT&T is putting all 63 games on its Mobile TV service. Better yet: AT&T is offering new Mobile TV subscribers a free two-month trial, which takes us well into May. Normally, the mobile TV service is $15/month. More details at att.com/ncaa. Read the rest of this entry »

A more Apple friendly CES?

January 12th, 2009, 7:19 pm by

The show ended Sunday. Here is the rest of what I saw at CES… To see more, visit Gadgetress@CES 2009

Apple may have pulled out of Macworld after last week but that annual tradeshow hasn’t officially ended. Rumors are already flying that the similarly timed Consumer Electronics Show will become the new home for Apple, but CES organizers won’t say.

“Yes, we have had discussions regarding Apple but that’s all I can tell you,” Jason Oxman, a senior vice president with the Consumer Electronics Association told me just a week before this year’s CES.  ”We already have a number of companies that exhibit at the show that make Apple products.”  

O.K., fine. For the thousands of companies, journalists and retailers who hate trekking to San Francisco (for MacWorld) only to turn around to get to Las Vegas in time for CES, a combined show would make many lives easier. Then again, Mac products were not absent from the CES floor. Here are a few I stumbled on:

A golden MacBook silicon keyboard cover to protect keys from spills, crumbs and dust.  Click images for larger view. The company that makes this one is from Oceanside, but I should mention that at least two Orange County companies also make silicon keyboard covers. Check out the dermaSHOT cover from Irvine’s Incipio and the Carapace cover from Irvine’s Sonnet Technologies.

 

Candy-coated iPhone cases - Speck Products, which makes all sorts of covers for Apple laptops, just introduced its line of CandyShell cases, so named because they have a rubberized interior but a thin, hard shell on the exterior. Four colors are available: Lemon Drop Liquorice (high-gloss black shell with bright yellow interior), Key Lime Jawbreaker (high-gloss dark grey shell with bright lime interior), Cranberry White Truffle (high-gloss white shell with cranberry red interior) and Watermelon Gumball (high-gloss light grey shell with pink salmon interior). The $34.95 cases are available at Apple Stores, www.apple.com and www.speckproducts.com.

 

Nano-matching USB car adapters. These 2-port USB adapters from Casco Products aren’t just for iPods. They work with any USB device. This obviously is to appeal to the nano lover who wants matching accessories. Seven colors available. The guy manning Casco’s booth told me that the USB car charger sells for $9.99 and a matching cable with an iPod nano tip is $5.99. But I think he was telling me about the wholesale price. On Casco’s web site, the USB car chargers are $19.99 and aren’t available in the nano chromatic colors.

For the list of Gadgetress reports from CES, visit the headline page at gadgetress.freedomblogging.com/ces2009.

 

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