Verizon facing some heat from the FCC over ETF charges

Remember a while back when I posted an article about Verizon raising their ETF fees.  Well I guess I wasn't the only one that thought that this was a questionable move, it looks like the FCC is now asking questions of their own.  Specifically "do customers still have to pay the $120 left on their contract after the 2 year contract" and "how visible is the details of this ETF on customers contracts".  Here is a copy of the letter.
Verizon has argued that they raised the ETF to make up the cost for advanced devices they sell to customers at a subsidized price.  In other words, the reason you are able to get the Motorola Droid for $199 subsidized, retail $560, is that Verizon pays the remaining $360 of the phone price and locks you into a contract for 2 years to make up that cost.  The FCC doesn't seem to care.
The FCC has been taking a more proactive role as a consumer watchdog lately.  In fact, four U.S. senators recently proposed a legislation that would limit the amount that carriers can charge for an ETF, and also make the fees more accessible to consumers.  Could this spell the end of the ETF? maybe, but not likely, hopefully Verizon will wise up and fall back in line, so I can finally get that BOGO offer for two Storm 2's and sell them on Ebay for a small profit, hahaha.

Source:  InformationWeek

Crackberry news: all the goods from the world of Blackberry

 Trapster is a Blackberry app that warns you of upcoming speed traps and speed cameras so that you can hopefully slow down in time to avoid a ticket.  God knows I need this app.  The app has just been updated to version 3.5 so if you haven't tried it out yet it might be worth taking a look at.  This combined with your in dash radar detector should help you avoid a trip to the courthouse, or losing half your paycheck over a traffic fine, but if you're a baller and can afford a 109mph traffic ticket like Adrian Peterson then ignore this. More info about Trapster is available here, Trapster is also available on all other devices.
Source: Crackberry

BOLT is a free browser that is possibly one of the fastest options for mobile browsing.  The app is built on Bitstream's Thunderhawk browsing technology, meaning it is the product of over 5 years of mobile browser development and has been optimized for speed, usability, and performance. 1.6 offers improved performance, the ability to make BOLT your default browser, a password manager, and more, get it from boltbrowser.com, oh and you're welcome. Source: Blackberry Rocks



One thing that has been missing from the Blackberry App world is the inclusion of.....you guessed it THEMES.  Well wait no more, now you can purchase and download themes directly from App World's catalog of 151 themes in 9 categories.  Unless you like getting your themes for free, if thats the case then I suggest you visit:  Pimpmyberry.com , Themes4bb.com, or just do a Google search for free Blackberry themes. 




Speaking of free stuff.  Check out SMS Contact and Forward, Reply, and Edit.  SMS Contact enables you to sent contact infomation via SMS and you can also define what contact information you would like to send.  FRE does exactly what the name implies, go to your message hit menu, choose Reply & Edit or Forward & Edit and well, you can figure out the rest.  You can find them here.  Source: Blackberry Rocks

Motorola Opus: makes a sound arguement for switching to Boost

Typically I avoid posting rumors because I dont do well with disappointment but this one is almost too good to ignore.  You know that company called Boost? yea the one with the $50 unlimited everything plan, and the crappy phones, ok what if I told you that they could be getting a full featured Android phone.  Yea I know, I know.  Sounds too good to  be true to me too.  According to the Blogsphere (the world of bloggers) there is a strong possibility that the shiny device you see above might end up on Boost Mobile, so if you've been holding off on getting Boost because the phones suck, well....

There is no release date yet and this is still in the rumor stage, but if it is true, then I guess I'm out of excuses, now to figure out how to get out of this damn contract.

Source: BGR

Google's got Goggles everywhere, visual search now possible

Thank you Google for continuing to push the limits of technology and showing others that a company can offer great products that make consumers lives easier without charging an arm and a leg.  The good folks at the mighty G have done it again, their latest product, called Goggles (love that word) brings visual search to Android devices running OS 1.6 or higher.  Heres how it works:

If you see a book, a picture, or are outdoors and want to know more about the store you are standing in front of holding your camera; fire up Goggles.  The app has an augmented reality feature that can instantly tell you the name and other pertinent information about the building in your viewfinder. (see the video above).  Another feature of Goggles is being able to take a picture of an object you would like to know more about and Goggles will give you detailed information about that product, it can identify books, pictures, landmarks, logos and even grab the content off a business card and add it instantly to your address book. 3 geeks up for this one, keep em coming G.  If you've got Android 1.6 what are you waiting for, of course its free.

Motorola DROID update 2.0.1 get yours now

Dear Droid owner,
I envy you soo much, besides having one of the coolest devices on the planet you also are receiving the very first update to the OS today.  Congratulations, its not OS 2.1 so you wont see a lot of major changes but I've heard that the update comes with several tweaks.  The reported improvements include; improved battery life, a more stabilized OS, camera auto focus improvements, three way calling enhancements, incoming call audio improvements, elimination of background echo when using bluetooth, instantaneous arrival of visual voice mail notices, and blah blah blah.
If you haven't done so yet, go ahead and update your device and enjoy all the added functionality.  You deserve it, and I'm not jealous, my Sony Erricsson W810 can still run laps around your stupid Droid.  If you've upgraded please list some of the new functions you discovered in the comment box below.


Instructions for OS Update

Source: Andronica