From my live blog:

9:29: Just saw a copy of an email about the system issues stating:

“Current Issues and Workarounds

These are the issues that are currently being worked. We do not have solutions for some of the systematic issues just yet. As many workarounds as are available are provided below.

Issues upgrading a FT line (CARE only):

Work around to get customer out the door: split line off of the FT, make individual and then put back on the FT account.

Tethering for Unbrick is slow or erroring (telegence and care)

Send customer home to tether. Reps will still be comped.

Cannot add a line to an existing FT account (CARE only):

New line Port-in Failures:

The vast majority of our port failures have been because the rep is not asking for the Pin/Password. This field MUST be populated if the customer has a pin/passcode on their account.

Cannot sell out the 16GB white device (69115)- not available for sale (care and telegence) on both new line (port) and upgrade:

Not showing as a 3G device.

The CSS for upgrades in CARE markets is not printing the Upgrade Fee for ANY phone sales. iPhone and non-iPhone.

Rep must be sure to cover the fee with the customer. Fix is not until Tuesday.

Feature Conflict with Existing FT Messaging”

I didn’t get the second page, so if anybody wants to fill that in, email me.

Picture after the jump.

7:00: Daycare was a few minutes late opening but traffic was not too bad. I am number 59 in line. It just so happens that my spot has a bench to sit on. They won’t tell us how many are in stock. I got a free bottle of water. I wonder what happens if I have to go to the bathroom. I’ll take it easy on the water. Pictures below.

I just saw a person that was waiting in line last year for the iPhone and the Ms. Debbie Heroman, the lady that did our flowers.

7:22: The guy in the number 61 spot bought a first-gen iPhone two weeks ago and now has to wait in line to exchange it for the 3G version. What rock was he hiding under?

8:00: The doors are finally open. I ran to Starbucks to use the bathroom while someone held my spot in line. I talked to the first people in line and they said they got here about 11:30 last night. I also got a glimpse of the new phone. Pretty nice looking. The line is moving fast.

8:30: Pretty much at a standstill. I’m sure activating in store this year is going to make the wait a little longer. I’ve made a few business contacts while waiting in line.

8:40: Someone just came outside and said there was a “small glitch” in the system. Great.

8:44: I’m starting to hear a lot of cell phone conversations saying “I’m gonna be a little late for work.”

8:49: Some guy just shouted “Does anybody want to buy a BlackBerry Curve?!” My battery is about to die on my laptop. I’ll be back when I plug it back in.

9:29: Just saw a copy of an email about the system issues stating:

“Current Issues and Workarounds

These are the issues that are currently being worked. We do not have solutions for some of the systematic issues just yet. As many workarounds as are available are provided below.

Issues upgrading a FT line (CARE only):

Work around to get customer out the door: split line off of the FT, make individual and then put back on the FT account.

Tethering for Unbrick is slow or erroring (telegence and care)

Send customer home to tether. Reps will still be comped.

Cannot add a line to an existing FT account (CARE only):

New line Port-in Failures:

The vast majority of our port failures have been because the rep is not asking for the Pin/Password. This field MUST be populated if the customer has a pin/passcode on their account.

Cannot sell out the 16GB white device (69115)- not available for sale (care and telegence) on both new line (port) and upgrade:

Not showing as a 3G device.

The CSS for upgrades in CARE markets is not printing the Upgrade Fee for ANY phone sales. iPhone and non-iPhone.

Rep must be sure to cover the fee with the customer. Fix is not until Tuesday.

Feature Conflict with Existing FT Messaging”

I didn’t get the second page, so if anybody wants to fill that in, email me.

10:32: Finally in, out of the 92 degree heat. It is a little heated in here, with people frustrated by the system slowdowns and news that they are not eligible for upgrade. The combination of the two has caused a pretty long wait.

I’ve been told that I will have to activate the phone using iTunes. They also have to change my rate plan to the same rate plan??? It was easier when you just had to buy the phone and then activate through iTunes.

10:50: Got to play with a demo. 3G is pretty fast, but I noticed that the frame rate is lower than using wifi. i’m going to post a video review once I activate through iTunes.

11:10: I’m done. Not sure what all just happened, but I am getting out of here. Still have to “unbrick” through iTunes. I might wait until a little later to activate it.

11:23: As I was walking out, I heard a manager say they were out of 16GB in black.

Pictures below.

AT&T is finally allowing customer’s to cover PDAs and smartphones under their insurance program.  This coverage includes unintentional liquid/physical damage and lost or stolen cell phones.  You may also make a claim if your phone has warranty issues after the one year warranty is up.  The monthly service charge for insurance coverage remains at $4.99 per month per phone.

Until November 3, 2008, all claims covered under the insurance program will have a $50 non-refundable deductible.  After that time, a tier system will be used to determine the deductible you will have to pay.  Tier 1 will be a $50 non-refundable deductible and Tier 2 will be a $125 non-refundable deductible.  Tier 2 phones are high end PDAs, including the latest BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Palm Treo devices.  Phones may be moved from Tier 2 to Tier 1 during the phone’s life cycle, reducing the deductible.

There is a 30 day enrollment period that begins on the day you purchase the device.  You may want to call the insurance number (1-888-562-8662) and ask if they will make an exception due to the new policy.

Check here (pdf link) to see if your phone is eligible.

You can view more information about AT&T’s insurance policy here.

Ben
ben@wirelessiqllc.com
www.wirelessiqllc.com

You can view a complete list of searches to perform on Google SMS at sms.google.com.

Ben Marcel
ben@wirelessiqllc.com
www.wirelessiqllc.com

Video is below.

Read below for the link and some videos showing people popping popcorn using cellphones (supposedly an advertisement and not real, still cool though).

Ben
ben@wirelessiqllc.com
www.wirelessiqllc.com

Read CNet’s Article

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju5yIFu4yY8]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V94shlqPlSI]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAd0aWxs7kQ]

While you’re at it, have a pizza delivered to our office. Read on for more information on how to get setup to order pizza from your mobile.

Ben
ben@wirelessiqllc.com
www.wirelessiqllc.com

Pizza Hut – http://www.pizzahut.com
from cell: http://www.pizzahut.com

Create a Pizza Hut online account if you do not already have one. You can enter multiple addresses and credit card information to charge your order to. To text message your order, you will have to create a “Pizza Playlist.” You can customize your toppings and crust style to your liking. I created a meat lover’s pizza and named it “MEAT.” Create a text message with the letter “O” followed by the name of your order and send it to 749HUT or 749488. You will receive a confirmation text message letting you know that the order has been placed.

Papa John’s – http://papajohns.com/sms/
from cell: http://papajohns.com/sms/mobile

Create a Papa John’s online account. You will enter your address information. You can then access text ordering settings under the “Modify Account” link. Make sure your “Text Ordering Status” is enabled. From the online ordering page, you can then create up to four favorites to be ordered through text messaging. To order, create a text message and type “FAV#” (with 1, 2, 3, or 4 in place of #) and send it to 4PAPA or 47272. You will receive a confirmation text message with your order and you must reply with “Y#” (where # is replaced by 1, 2, 3, or 4 again) to complete your order. If you decide to not place the order, just reply back with “N.”
*for daily specials and coupons, text “DEALS” to 4PAPA or 47272

Domino’s –

Complete registration on your computer at http://www.dominos.com/home/mobile.jsp. If you do not have a Domino’s online ordering account, you will have to create one. You can then add new locations to have your pizza delivered. You cannot text message your order with Domino’s. You can use your cell phone’s internet connection to access http://mobile.dominos.com and place your order.

Contact us if you have any questions regarding international traveling or anything else pertaining to wireless.

Ben
ben@wirelessiqllc.com
www.wirelessiqllc.com

Prerequisites:

Generally, you must be a customer of AT&T mobility for at least three months before they will enable your phone to travel internationally. They may make an exception based on your credit history. You can check on this by calling AT&T’s international customer service number directly at (916) 843-4685.

Calling plan:

Once you have international roaming enabled on your AT&T account, you will be provisioned to have AT&T Standard International Roaming. This is a per minute rate for every call made and received. The rate varies by country.

You can receive a discounted international roaming rate by signing up for the World Traveler roaming feature. This package is $5.99 per month added to your cell phone bill. The feature can be added and removed without penalty. Most people add this feature before they leave the country and remove it when they get back. ***I would recommend that you leave the feature on until you receive bills from AT&T covering charges the entire time you were abroad. I have heard of AT&T customers removing the feature the day they get back and were charged the standard rate. Sometimes it can take up to two billing cycles to collect the usage data from foreign wireless carriers.

If you are going to Canada, you can get $.59 per minute calling for $3.99 per month, and if you are traveling to Mexico, you can get $.59 calling for $4.99 per month.

A list of the standard and discounted rates by country/cruise ship can be found here.

Equipment:

Most cell phones that AT&T provide are quad-band. This means that they operate on four frequencies: 850MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz, and 1900Mhz. Here in the U.S., AT&T operates mainly on 850MHz and some 1900Mhz. While international, the frequency varies by the wireless provider. On AT&T’s website, after you select the country you are traveling to, click details. This will open a popup window displaying the frequencies available in that country.

To make sure your phone is capable of using these frequencies, go to PhoneScoop and enter your phone model. It will list all of the frequencies for your cell phone.

AT&T also recommends that you have a 3G SIM card. I’m not quite sure the reasoning for this unless you are traveling to Japan or South Korea.

Japan and South Korea operate on the 2100MHz band. AT&T does not provide a cellphone that can use this frequency. There are some AT&T devices that can be used in Japan. You can also rent equipment in Japan or from Cellhire.com.

Data:

For most people, the above information will be enough to get by making and receiving cell phone calls abroad. Others using BlackBerry, Palm Treo, Windows Mobile, iPhones, or Laptop Connect cards may have concerns about data charges while abroad.

First off, sent text messages are a flat rate of $.50 per message sent and multimedia messages are $1.30 per message sent. Received messages are billed according to whichever domestic text message package you have.

BlackBerry has an unlimited international data package that is $64.99 per month. This gives you BES and BIS access in over 140 countries, making it the best data option for AT&T customers. You can even combine the World Traveler package mentioned above and pay a total of $69.99 per month. It can also be added and removed without any penalty. There seems to be conflicting information regarding the ability to freely add or remove the international BlackBerry data package.  AT&T’s website only specifies that agreement for using Laptop Connect while abroad.  I called international customer service and they said that it is a one year agreement.  The rep then stated that since I have a business account, the early termination fee may be waived.  In my experience, I have seen many cases in which the international BlackBerry service was able to be added and removed freely.  Please note that the information provided by Wireless I.Q. is correct to the best of our knowledge and we are not liable for any misinformation.

Smartphones, PDAs, and iPhones have a limited amount of data in their international plans. For $24.99 per month these users receive 20MB of data in only 41 countries, listed here. Once you go over that, it is $.005 per KB (kilobyte). If you are an iPhone user, you can select at 50MB data plan for $59.99 with the same overage charges. These overage charges can add up very quickly. On their site, they list $.005 per KB being about $5 per MB, if that gives you an idea. A great tip is to set your email to not check automatically while you are abroad.

Make sure you will be traveling in the list of 41 countries, otherwise it is $.0195 per KB to use data.

*I would not recommend attempting to tether your cell phone to your laptop for internet access while traveling abroad.

Laptop connect subscribers can use up to 100MB of data while roaming in the same 41 countries as PDAs, Smartphones, and iPhones. This service is 139.99 per month and the user must agree to a one year agreement. If you only travel to Mexico and Canada, you can get it for 109.99 but the same one year agreement applies. Because of the one year term, this option is usually used by frequent international travelers.

Troubleshooting

Once you arrive to your destination, it is recommended that you turn your phone off then back on to get signal from the carrier. I take it one step further by removing my battery completely, waiting about 10 seconds, then reinsert the batter. Once the phone powers back on, it usually picks up the signal quickly.

If you still have trouble, you want to call AT&T’s international customer service team at +1(916) 843-4685. They will be able to further troubleshoot any issue. If your phone is not working, you may have to call from a landline. Make sure to keep details of the cost of this call. I was able to receive credit on my cell phone bill for making calls to that number when my phone was not working.

To dial back to the U.S. make sure you dial + 1 (area code) (phone number). You can get a + on most regular cell phones by pressing and holding 0. PDAs and BlackBerry devices will be a little different. In most cases, you will press the shift key, then the corresponding button with the +. Consult your owner’s guide if that does not work.

To call any other country, you will need to know the country code. Dial + (country code) (phone number), depending on the format used by that country.

Links:

http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/roaming/international-roaming.jsp

http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/roaming/affordable-world-packages.jsp

http://www.cellhire.com/att/index.htm

3G, Built-in GPS, 5 hours of talk time on 3G, 8GB for $199, 16GB for $299

Launching July 11th. Read more for other announcements from Apple.

You can watch the entire keynote here.

Thanks Engadget.

Contact us if you want to know how these announcements can help your business.

Ben

ben@wirelessiqllc.com
www.wirelessiqllc.com

Other things announced today:

iPhone 2.0 software update will be released in early July.

Features:

• Exchange capabilities
• Contact search
• iWork support
• Microsoft Office support
• Bulk delete/move for documents
• Ability to save images from emails
• Scientific Calculator (<sarcasm>woohoo!</sarcasm>)
• Parental Controls
• New languages supported

MobileMe

A service that pushes email, contacts, calendar and keeps your Macbook, Outlook, iPhone, and a web-based platform synchronized. You will get 20GB of storage for $100/year.

Apple Push Notification Service

A tool for developers to be able to push information (i.e. Instant Messaging) to an iPhone without having to run the application in the background.

[Update 6/11/2008 – (via Engadget) The software update may come earlier than expected.  Apple’s Australian website is showing that the App Store will be available on June 27th)

Back in March, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced a software update that will help the iPhone evolve and better position itself in the business segment and against other smart phones. With rumors circulating about a 3G iPhone release, early adopters of Apple’s wireless device can get the software upgrade for free and take advantage of true business applications, without having to upgrade their device. These applications include access to Microsoft Exchange’s wireless sync capabilities, increased control by IT administrators, and third party application support. Jobs anticipates that this software update will be released before the end of June, probably around the one year anniversary of the iPhone launch date. We will have a video review when the update is released. Read on for more details about the update.

Currently, iPhones can access corporate email using POP or IMAP access to their company email server. Many IT admins do not allow this type of access because of security reasons. Contact and calendar data must be synced using a USB cable connected to the user’s computer. The iPhone software update will bring Microsoft Exchange capabilities to the iPhone, allowing users to securely receive their email from a company’s Microsoft Exchange server (2003 or later). Outlook data, such as contacts, calendar, tasks, and memos will also synchronize over the air. iPhone end users will have access to their company’s Global Address book, giving them the ability to view colleague

IT administrators will also have increased control over iPhone users accessing corporate information. Admins will be able to remotely configure IT policies on iPhone devices. This is especially important for businesses that transmit proprietary information. Mandatory passwords can be implemented to devices to protect data from getting into the wrong hands. A lost or stolen iPhone can also be remotely locked until the device is recovered or the data can be completely wiped from the device. A Virtual Private Network (VPN) can be used to access information on a company Intranet, whether it is using the at&t data network or through built-in wifi capabilities.

The most anticipated feature is the ability to download third party applications for the iPhone. Wireless phone users love to customize their device to fit their individual business and personal needs. iPhone users will be able to access the Apple App Store and download applications directly to their device. The Software Developer’s Kit (SDK) for the iPhone was released about the same time this software update was announced. Third party application developers have been working hard to come up with applications to be used on the iPhone, some even being free of charge to the end user.

Wireless I.Q. specializes in helping professionals customize their wireless phones to assist wireless users in becoming more efficient in their day to day activities. We look forward to the release of the software update and being able to better people’s lives through the use of technology.

As always, feel free to contact us with any questions that you may have.

Ben

ben@wirelessiqllc.com
www.wirelessiqllc.com