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Mormon presence in O.C. attracts cable TV’s attention

September 29th, 2009, 12:01 am by

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsFixed spelling of Mormon in headline.  Apologies!

The 179th general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will once again be broadcast at no additional cost to cable TV subscribers in Orange County.

I mention this because of an interview I had last year with Time Warner’s local boss. He said that the request for coverage of the annual Mormon gathering was so great, the cable provider couldn’t ignore it and offered full coverage.

Apparently, if enough people ask for it, the cable company will cave offer it. (Another channel that appeared locally because of demand? NASA TV.) [Updated note, 8:46 a.m.: My point is that if readers make a unified effort to ask for new channels, we just may get them. This paragraph wasn't meant at all to degrade anyone's beliefs. A bad choice of words, apparently. Apologies to those who were offended. ]

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According to the Association of Religion Data Archives, there are 115 Mormon congregations in Orange County. That’s enough to make us the nation’s 9th largest county for Mormon population.

Time Warner customers can tune in to channel 698 for the broadcast Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 3 to 4. The broadcast runs from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. (Time Warner adds that it also carries other religious programming, such as KTBN and Inspiration Network).

Cox Communications has offered the meeting for about a decade, said Lana Ong, a Cox spokeswoman. “This conference seems to be popular with our community,” she added.

Cox is airing the conference during the same days on Channel 31, a public access channel. For customers with analog cable, it’ll be on Channel 96. The conference will also be broadcast on the BYU channel on 361 for digital customers. Air times are between 9 to 11 .m. and 1 to 3 p.m. daily.

More on TV channels:

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • | 52 Comments »

AT&T to offer gadget to improve customer’s cell coverage indoors

September 21st, 2009, 8:35 am by

AT&T's 3G MicroCell gadget improves wireless coverage at home.Noted: A new AT&T Web page launched touting a  gadget that lets customers get better wireless reception in the dead zones of their house. Using femtocell technology, the new AT&T 3G MicroCell is like having a “mini cellular tower” in your home, says AT&T.

The idea behind it is that in areas of the home where AT&T cell phone coverage is awful, consumers can plug this device to a high-speed Internet line and make and receive clear calls over the Internet. AT&T is the last major wireless provider to offer this: Verizon launched its  version last January, Sprint’s Airave came out last year and T-Mobile has offered its Hotspot@Home service since 2007.

According to DSL Reports, the new MicroCell site is for the company’s first public trial of the technology in North Carolina.

But what the Web community is upset about is the price:  $19.99 a month for unlimited use, and $9.99 if you subscribe to AT&T Wireless and home phone service. If you get wireless, landline and Internet service from AT&T, it’s free.

Engadget’s Chris Ziegler calls it a shame the price is so high and AT&T consumers must pay more money to get reception inside their own house.

“We appreciate that these guys can’t blanket every nook and cranny … but carriers need to understand that femtocells are ultimately tools to help them retain customers who’d otherwise have to leave for greener pastures. AT&T’s certainly not treating it that way with the 3G MicroCell.”

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Would you pay more to get better cell reception at home?
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Engadget also offers pricing from other companies:

  • Sprint’s Airave runs $4.99 a month, but they’ll give it to you for free if the alternative canceling your service. Unlimited use is $10 a month.
  • Verizon charges nothing once you buy the unit, though there’s no unlimited calling option available.
  • T-Mobile offers unlimited calling through its WiFi-based HotSpot@Home service for $9.99 a month.

DSL Reports notes that AT&T says the pricing is part of the trial and could change in the future.

Earlier on wireless:

More on cell, mobile services:


Check out the Gadgetress Guide to local cell phone services

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • | 17 Comments »

Help the Gadgetress blog!

September 4th, 2009, 4:26 pm by

Help The Gadgetress tweak her tech blog!The OCRegister is about to launch a redesigned Web site so I thought I’d take the time to evaluate  my own blog. Readers have told me — by way of their visits and reading habits — that they can’t get enough coverage about their TV provider and their other big monthly bill, cell phone service.

So, I’ve changed my coverage and focus so I can spend more time covering those topics. But my big welcoming banner and name needs an update, don’t you think? Help me out, readers, by taking my poll and offering feedback in comments. I’ve also let users add their own poll choices. So be nice!

For fun, I’ve added some cartoonized Gadgetresses from over the years with links to the originating posts. (Plus an updated photo of my own little Widget.) Maybe I just wish I lived in a cartoon world?

Much appreciated,

- Tamara ‘The Gadgetress” Chuang

Cartooned!
Gadganime
Simpsonized Gadgetress
Gadgetress bump
Pinkified Gadgetress
Wii Mii
Virtual Gadgetress
My little Widget
How do you get to The Gadgetress blog?
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Addendum, 9/5: When I started this blog 5 years ago, I covered tech news in Orange County and, as some may remember, offered a new gadget review each week. But as all writers here are judged on growing web traffic, I focused on what got readers attention: their TV and phone service. Covering the way paid TV and mobile phone service operates in Orange County is 10-times more popular than what I previously covered. Yes, it’s not exactly a pure tech column, but the world’s already got a David Pogue and many other great, all-purpose tech writers. I’d rather cover an area few, if any, are writing about here in Orange County and judging from reader comments, this is also an under-reported topic nationally.  For now, I’m sticking with this new focus.

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The name of this blog is:
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I check this blog because...
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What special features are you looking for?
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Design features I like on this blog are:
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Design features I don't like on this blog:
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This blog needs...
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I wish this blog ...
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Thanks for playing everyone! Comment below or e-mail me with any other concerns, suggestions, etc. Have a good long weekend.

Posted in: news • • • • | 4 Comments »

Is Time Warner really cheaper than Verizon FiOS?

August 28th, 2009, 7:04 am by

Verizon FiOS vs. Time Warner Cable. Who's going to win?In an effort to keep customers, Time Warner Cable is pushing a feature possibly more important than the number of HD channels it offers: saving money.

The cable TV company, at least for its Southern California region, says its service is cheaper than rival Verizon FiOS. Time Warner offered me this handy chart, put together by its competitive research team:

Time Warner Cable cheaper than FiOS? Here's Time Warner's analysis.

How much is your monthly bill for TV, Internet and phone?
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What? Time Warner is $68 cheaper per month than FiOS? I had to check this out myself.

But wading through the screens and fine print of both Time Warner and Verizon FiOS is not so simple. Instead, I went to the source and asked Verizon FiOS to tell me what they thought of the numbers.

Surprise: Time Warner is cheaper! But only by about $10 a month, depending on the plan. But, adds Verizon, you can’t really compare services since Verizon offers nearly 100 HD channels plus Internet service that is almost twice as fast as Time Warner’s.

“As usual Time Warner is playing fast and loose with the facts,” said Jon Davies, a Verizon spokesman.

First, Davies points out that Time Warner compares Internet and TV service packages first, and then later adds in phone service. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • | 21 Comments »

U.S. pays most for cell service; wireless firms disagree

August 12th, 2009, 11:02 am by

Ka-ching!Noted: Americans pay more for cell phone service then (corrected 12:20 p.m.) than, well, everyone else in the world, according to a new report by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development.

The Paris, France-based OECD, which studies economies and offers suggestions to government, concluded that the mid-level user in the U.S. spends $635.85 a year for cell phone service compared to a mere $131.41 in the Netherlands and Finland. That plan includes 780 voice calls, 600 text messages and 8 multimedia messages. (See the chart below showing OECD’s average annual bill for medium-usage wireless customers. The full list of countries is HERE.)

CNet’s Marguerite Reardon  points out that the U.S. will likely continue to be the most expensive as Verizon, Sprint and others invest in faster 4G wireless networks and ultimately raise prices even higher. Although, she noted, more consumers might very well turn to lower-cost prepaid services with flat-rate pricing.

Country Total ($US)
Netherlands 131.44
Finland 131.44
Sweden 137.94
New Zealand 256.02
Switzerland 267.08
Japan 267.49
United Kingdom 272.02
OECD 317.77
Australia 332.99
Korea 340.13
France 378.02
Italy 394.26
Germany 405.20
Mexico 417.62
Canada 500.63
Spain 508.26
United States 635.85
  Full list: OECD

But wait a minute, says the CTIA Wireless Association, which represents the nation’s wireless companies. It issued an immediate response, calling the study “flawed.”
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Comparing calling plans by country make no sense, it said. Consumers in America make way more calls than everyone else thanks to family calling packages and unlimited plans, which weren’t taken into account by the OECD study.

CTIA stood by its previous statement that U.S. consumers have the lowest per-minute rates of all OECD countries — $0.06 per minute (based on the Federal Communications Commission annual report of the mobile industry, page 8).

Someone over at the CTIA also had time to read through the voluminous OECD report and pointed to “the real story,” on page 275. CTIA provided the excerpt:   Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • • • • • • • | 29 Comments »

Would you buy a house because it has Verizon FiOS?

June 30th, 2009, 12:43 pm by

Would you buy a house because it has Verizon FiOS?Nearly 70 percent of 600 people surveyed recently said that yes, their next house better have that speedy fiber-optic based Internet service, such as Verizon FiOS.

And these are people who can’t order FiOS, like most of us in Orange County, even if we dangled a $100 bill in front of a Verizon installer!

When it comes to buying a house, this speedy Internet, which requires a company to connect cables from its facility all the way to a consumer’s front door, was more important than having nearby jogging trails, 24-hour security, a community pool or a neighborhood fitness center, according to report commissioned by the Fiber-to-the-Home Council and conducted by Oklahoma consulting firm RVA Market Research and Consulting. 

Fiber lets companies like Verizon offer its speedy FiOS network of super-fast Internet (up to 50 Mbps downstream, 20 Mbps upstream to upload videos, photos), TV service, phone and pretty much anything else it wants to offer customers at home. Many in Orange County have been salivating for the service, or so it seems.

In reality, though, will people really buy a house because it has FiOS?

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Verizon recently acknowledged that it slowed FiOS expansion plans in Southern California because customers who could order it, weren’t. Said Verizon at the time, “… In order to get the return on our investment we need to focus on areas that we’ve already built.” (Read the earlier story, Verizon’s FiOS TV rollout slows in So Cal.)

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • • | 8 Comments »

Apple iPhone 2.0 expected next week

June 6th, 2008, 3:02 am by

A second-generation Apple iPhone is expected to be announced on Monday so I thought it was a great time for a drop-in from me, iGirl.

With four days to go as I write this post, I find myself in disbelief that it’s been a year for Jimmy and I. (Note: Yes I’m a nerd, and yes I love Superman and my iPhone enough that I named my iPhone Jimmy after Jimmy Olsen). To see some of the fun I’ve had with Jimmy, click here for a collection of photos I’ve taken with my phone.

sonyawithiphoneAlmost a year ago I humiliated myself on this blog, in line in front of the Irvine Spectrum Apple store and on the front page of the Register while I wrote about my 26-hour wait in line so I could buy the 8GB iPhone about 10 minutes after it went on sale.

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After I took a shower, had dinner and spent time with my iPhone I wrote this review answering “yes I love my iPhone,” but here’s a list of what I wish my iPhone had. Below, I have revised that laundry list with a year’s worth of iPhone experience. Please add your additions or suggestions for iPhone 2.0 in the comments! Be sure to check out the wish list items noted by a * star with a note at the end.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: iPhone • • • • • • | 7 Comments »

Free and cheap 411 alternatives

May 29th, 2008, 4:56 pm by

Dialing 411 ain’t cheapDialing 411 isn’t cheap. Do you know how much we spend on them? (Answer after the ‘jump’). Thank goodness there are free alternatives. I tested four of them with this simple goal: Get the phone number for Starbucks on 17th Street in Santa Ana. Here are the results:

Jingle Networks (1-800-Free411): Not impressive. After a 10-second ad, the automated service didn’t recognize my query — Starbucks — and gave me a hardware store instead. Second attempt: It found Starbucks but when trying to narrow by street, it gave me four other Starbucks first. If you spend too much time waiting for the result, you’ll get another ad. Both times, I was informed that I had won a trip to magical Orlando.

TellMe texts the number to your phone

Goog-411 (1-800-GOOG-411): From Google, the free and ad-free service also will text the information to your phone. Automated service had trouble deciphering my speech. I said “Santa Ana” but it gave me “Anaheim.” Much, much faster than Free411.

Microsoft’s TellMe (1-800-555-TELL or 1-800-CALL-411): TellMe doesn’t listen very well. It could not understand my repeated attempts to say “17th Street.” I almost hung up. At some point I said, ‘I don’t know’ and it started listing Starbucks locations. Once I found what I wanted, it offered driving directions and the option to send the message as a text to a cell phone. If you like the service, TellMe also offers news, maps, directions, traffic and weather. Microsoft’s Live Search 411 uses TellMe’s technology.

AT&T 1-800-YELLOWPAGES (1-800-YELLOWPages): AT&T’s free 411 spent a mere 2-seconds mentioning the sponsor of the call. Perhaps I learned from earlier attempts but I enunciated clearly and loudly into the phone and it pulled up Starbucks with no problem. I also liked how it narrowed down results quickly, finding two Starbucks on 17th Street. According to the FAQ’s, not every caller has to listen to an ad. For those keeping track, this used to be 800-411Metro.
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Amazingly, we spent around $5.8 billion on 411 calls last year — a number that comes from Saroja Girishankar, vice president of information services at market research firm The Pelorus Group in New Jersey. She tracks the directory-assistance industry for a living. There are reports in the $8 billion range, but Saroja feels that number likely includes more than basic directory assistance information.

“411 is a service that is very need based. When they want a number, they call right then. 411 is a brand that is so deeply etched in the brains of people that you can dial it in your sleep. You don’t think about it or think about the $1.25 fee (for wireless directory assistance calls),” she told me.

Out of curiosity, I decided to find out how much it costs to dial 411. Can you believe this:

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Cell phones • Gadgetress reviews • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • | 12 Comments »

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