I’m reasonably new to this whole iPhone business as well as new to data limitations.  Up until recently I was an Android/BlackBerry/Nokia user and had been on an unlimited data plan for as long as I can remember.  I’ve been enjoying the iPhone a great deal but I’m always concerned about going over my data allowance.  Onavo has been very helpful and has kept me from blowing through 200mb every month but that’s not good enough. Onavo is great but why are our plans so minuscule?  Why are the telco’s not not making data plans more reasonable?  Of course I know the answer, it’s MONEY.  The root of all telco evil.  If they could make more money with a 300mb data plan they’d drop 200mb plans in a second.  But no, 200mb is the sweet spot, at least for AT&T.  The thing is, I think telco’s could be making a lot and I do mean a lot more money if they made better bundles.  Or if they at least offered better plans.

Any time I’m at home, my parents, my friends houses etc I’ve set my wifi to connect so I save my data bundle.  Same thing with a service called Boingo I use,  at Starbucks, airports, and (most) hotels the Boingo service automatically connects me to the wifi that’s included in my subscription.  The telco’s are losing out big time on this, why aren’t they making a big fat deal with Boingo?  Why doesn’t AT&T charge an additional $5-$10/month and include Boingo service in their data package?  I know a lot of people would pay that just for internet access in their hotel instead of paying the Hilton $15/24hours.  I’d pay it just so I could do Facetime with my wife and kids at night and in the morning when I’m away.  AT&T and all the other telco’s could be making a huge amount of money on top of their data plans if they just charged on a per use basis for Boingo access or per week.  Anytime you’re around a Boing hotspot it could pop up on my phone and ask if I’d like access for $2 for 24hours.  I know I’d go for it if I was laying in bed just waking up in the morning and my kids were just going to bed at night at home.  I’d pay double that so I could see them and say good night.

So when the telco’s complain about not making enough money and having to charge more for less maybe we should ask them why don’t they innovate and come up with some ideas to line their pockets while making their customers happy.

Disclosure: Boingo has given me free service as well as S.W.A.G over the years.

So I’m still an uber newb to this conservative new world of BlackBerry.  But I learned something tonight that is very exciting to me.  It makes the BB an even more appealing device and a money saver for me and anybody who doesn’t want to pay for roaming.  I am on T-Mobile in the US who runs something called UMA which stands for Universal Mobile Access and allows the user to make calls and send/receive text messages over WiFi.  This is a great benefit for someone like me who makes business calls on my cell phone and expects them to sound impecable.  I don’t have the best T-Mobile reception in my home so this replaces it.  On top of this UMA can be used anywhere in the world where you can get on a WiFi network and it acts as if you are at home on your WiFi.  So I can be relaxing in a hotel room in Tel Aviv and if I’m on the WiFi I can make calls and send/receive SMS as if I’m in a hotel room in the US.

Ok so what I learned tonight after playing with this BlackBerry 8520 is that I can turn off the access to the T-Mobile network and leave on the WiFi so I can still use the UMA.  This means when I travel abroad which I do at least once a year and usually 2-3 times every year I can still use the BlackBerry over UMA without being concerned that I’ll roam and get charged a bundle from T-Mobile because I won’t allow the phone to access their network over a cellular connection but only via WiFi.  I’m not in a corporate job where the company picks up my mobile bill so I do have to watch my pennies and this will help.  It will allow me to call and SMS home to my wife without racking of the big roaming bill.

This entire BlackBerry experience has been 85% great.  My only qualm is the Gmail email sync problem but it may just be my specific device.  I’m hoping to get my hands on a 9700 or 9780 in the very near future so I can test it against the 8520 I’m using now.  So if you travel outside the US and are on the T-Mobile network using a BB I suggest checking out this option for yourself and maybe save a little money.

A few months back I was flying out of Long Beach Airport (LGB) in California and decided to test the internet speed when I was there.  I like many others have been known to spend a great deal of time waiting for flights that are sometimes shorter then the time we wait in the airport.  At bigger airports there are airline club rooms that aren’t all that bad to spend some time in, but Long Beach airport isn’t one of them.  It’s as big as some of those more luxurious club rooms but being small is part of it’s advantage.  I can litteraly go from the curb to the furthest gate in under 3 minutes and that’s not even breaking a sweat.

I really like flying in and out of LGB and like most of my readers I tap into the wifi in the airport during the wait to board.  My last two times waiting to fly out of LGB were very different.  One I had reasonable internet at 2.09mbps down and 1.64mbps up.  I want to congratulate the airport on doing this right.  It’s not as fast as I’d like to see but it will sure do when checking email and using Google Docs.

On the other hand my most recent visit to the airport was very different.  I couldn’t find an access point to use to get on the net.  I tried every single AP and none worked.  I checked Boingo which usually gets me on at most airports and no luck there.  I ended up having to use my trusty Nokia phone with JoikuSpot (a program that turns your phone into a wifi hotspot utilizing your networks 3G data) running on it to get on the web.

I’m not sure what happened to Long Beach Airports wifi but I was disappointed to find I couldn’t use it.  Oh well, there’s always next time.

Truphone one of my favorite mobile VOIP providers has announced 2 new flat rate plans.  I have been waiting for this kind of thing for over a year and maybe 2 years now.  They have a plan called TruUnlimited for Landlines at $14.40/month and it includes unlimited calls to landlines in 38 countries and unlimited to mobiles in USA, Canada, China, and Hong Kong.

Their second plan is called TruUnlimited for Mobiles will run you $35/month and it includes unlimited calls to landlines and mobiles in 64 countries.

Here is the Press Release from Truphone and at the bottom are notes on the included countries.

 LONDON (March 30, 2009) – Low cost calling just got lower with TruUnlimited, the most robust, flat rate worry-free calling plan announced today by Truphone. Now, users around the world can call more places, more often — all for one low fixed price with the two new unlimited plans for both landline and mobiles.

Using TruUnlimited, customers now have the freedom to make calls around the world, at any time of the day, and any day of the week without having to worry about mounting call charges. Additionally, the customer is always in control. TruUnlimited plans do not require entering into long-term contracts and can be cancelled at any time.

“Many of our customers have asked us to help simplify their lives by providing the peace of mind that comes with the ability to make unlimited calls to landlines and mobiles and not have to worry about checking balances or fearing bill shock when they receive their statement,” said Geraldine Wilson, CEO Truphone.

Introducing “TruUnlimited for Landlines”…
For people who need to regularly communicate with colleagues, friends and family around the world, the new TruUnlimited for Landlines monthly calling plan gives customers unlimited calls to those landlines in 38 countries for just $4.40 per month. As a bonus, the TruUnlimited for Landlines plan also permits calls to mobile phones in some top destinations such as the USA, Canada, China, and Hong Kong at no extra charge.

…and Presenting “TruUnlimited for Mobiles”
For customers regularly calling mobile phones more frequently, in addition to landlines in many different countries, the TruUnlimited for Mobiles plan provides subscribers with even more savings with unlimited calls to landlines as well as mobile phones placed to 64 countries for just $35.00 per month.

What You Need To Take Advantage of Truphone’s TruUnlimited’s Low Rates
TruUnlimited is available immediately to existing Truphone customers and for new subscribers via the easy installation of the Truphone application software available as a free download for iPhone, iPod touch, Nokia Symbian N & E series capable devices, and for Truphone Anywhere on the Google Android G1 and RIM Blackberry Messenger Smartphones.

Truphone Standard Rate Plans
The new TruUnlimited plans are not replacements for other popular Truphone programs. Customers that do not need a Truphone Unlimited plan can still make great savings using the company’s Truphone Standard rate plan (details available at www.truphone.com).

- XXX -

Notes to editors
Countries included in the TruUnlimited Landlines tariff are landline numbers in: Argentina; Australia; Austria; Belgium; Brazil; Colombia; Cyprus; Denmark; France; Germany; Greece; Hungary; Ireland; Israel; Italy; Japan; Korea (South); Malaysia; Netherlands; Panama; Poland; Portugal; South Africa; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Taiwan; UK; Venezuela

In addition to landline numbers, mobile numbers in the following countries are also included with the TruUnlimited Landlines tariff: Canada; China; Guam; Hong Kong; Macau; Mariana Islands; Singapore; Thailand; USA

Countries included in the TruUnlimited Mobiles tariff are landline and mobile numbers in: American Samoa; Antigua & Barbuda; Argentina; Aruba; Australia; Austria; Bangladesh; Belgium; Brazil; British Virgin Islands; Canada; Cayman Islands; China; Colombia; Cyprus; Cyprus (North); Denmark; Finland; France; Germany; Greece; Guam; Guatemala; Hong Kong; Hungary; India; Indonesia; Iran; Ireland; Israel; Italy; Japan; Korea (South); Kuwait; Macau; Malaysia; Mariana Islands; Mayotte; Mexico; Mongolia; Monserrat; Netherlands; Netherlands Antilles; Niger; Nigeria; Pakistan; Panama; Paraguay; Poland; Portugal; Russia; Rwanda; Singapore; South Africa; Spain; Sri Lanka; Sweden; Switzerland; Tajikistan; Taiwan; Thailand; Trinidad & Tobago; Turkmenistan; Uganda; UK; Ukraine; USA; Venezuela; Uzbekistan

Great work Truphone, keep it up!

I was just at a Burger King in Tel Aviv, more specifically in Ramot Tzhala and was I happily surprised to see that they offered free WiFi.  It was a treat I didn’t expect to find.  I didn’t test the speeds but I was able to make a VOIP phone call via DeFi Mobile on an N95-4.  Good job Burger King and I hope this trend spreads.

I have been testing DeFi a Mobile VOIP for a few weeks now on the Nokia N 95-4 . Let me tell you, DeFi has it pegged. I am not an economist and I don’t have a masters in business but I think if they can get DeFi in front of the right people they will have it made. DeFi charges $40 per month for unlimited calling (3,000 min/month fair use policy) on any of the dozen plus Nokia Symbian smart phones that support wifi (mostly the E and N series). It is pretty simple, just go online, register with them, they will send you an sms with the download link. At that point you go to the website in the link and download the app. Within 5 minutes you should be making phone calls around the world.

I have been able to plan an event in China, call Israel to chat with friends, and spend hours talking to my sister, her husband and son in Argentina. All of this is for just $40/month. This may be steep if you only make a few calls internationally a month but keep in mind you can make calls to the US also. The unlimited calls include land line and mobile numbers to. So if you use a lot of minutes calling the US this might be a good deal for you also.

I see DeFi competing directly with other major Mobile VOIP MNOs but also with some of our local operators. For example Metro PCS here in the US offers unlimited calls for $35/month, but your restricted to their small footprint. You can use DeFi anywhere you have access to wifi, anywhere in the world. I also suspect you can use it over 3G. This means you have a roaming free handset, which I forgot to mention also provides a phone number for you.

My only complaint and this may be more a hardware/software restriction is that I can’t have DeFi on the same phone I have Truphone and run both at the same time.

All in all I would suggest DeFi to anybody.Visit www.DeFiMobile.com to get started.
Note after the fact: The DeFi customer service is superb.

As everybody the world over knows Los Angeles has the worst traffic anywhere.  When I give directions to out of towners and they ask how long it will take to get here or there I say x amount of time or all day.  The sky is the limit.  So I was on my way to a meeting and got here a bit early, so what  do I do, whip out the Asus Eee PC 901 I was kindly sent to review.  I figured I would be able to connect via Boingo, an aggregater of wifi hotspots.  Well as my luck usually goes Boingo doesn’t connect right off the bat.  I fiddle with it a bit and use JoikuSpot to get on line to retrieve the Boingo customer service number.

When I call I’m greeted by a very nice women named Bianca.  I won’t go into the harrowing details of her getting me back on track but in short she got me set back up and ready to work.  I can’t tell you how frustrated I would have been talking to me and how grateful I am that she didn’t get pissed and tell me to shove off.

Anyways, many thanks to Bianca and Boingo for being and having such great customer service.

I was in San Jose airport last week waiting to fly home and was told there was free wifi.  I had a few hours to kill and I went to the Bits & Bytes bar, plopped down ordered a Tuna sandwich and a beer expecting to spend a few hours working.  Well, low and behold, don’t fall over anybody, the wifi in the airport was terrible.  I was able to connect on and off for about 30 min, then it went totally dark.  Of course it was in the middle of a Skype chat with Andy Abramson who was in the next terminal over and we were trying to coordinate meeting up.  Well, that never happened and I blame it on the crappy wifi.  I’m learning more and more that free public wifi in airports can’t even be counted on to check email and IM with friends.  I wasn’t expecting to make a video call, but I didn’t think retrieving my email should be so taxing on the airports wifi infrastructure.

Anyways, that’s another airport that gets a big fat zero in my book.