Blackberry Passport Review

I received my Blackberry Passport ~1 month ago and I've been using it since that time so I thought that now was the perfect time for me to write my thoughts on the Blackberry Passport.

As shown in my other blog entries, I use a wide variety of phones (Android, iPhone, Blackberry, etc.). In terms of Blackberry phones, I've used a Blackberry Bold 9700, a Blackberry Q10, and now a Blackberry Passport.

I won't go into the Blackberry 10 OS but the Blackberry Passport ships with Blackberry OS 10.3.x and includes the Amazon AppStore. This review blog will mainly be my thoughts on the Blackberry Passport when I compare it with my old Blackberry Q10.

With lots of phone manufacturers making phablets, the size and shape of the Blackberry Passport takes some time to get used to. It is about the same size as a Canadian Passport (although obviously thicker).

I find that the Blackberry Passport is speedier and more responsive than my older Blackberry Q10. What I like about the Blackberry Passport is the larger screen size and the additional memory that the phone ships with. I also like the fact that the Blackberry 10 browser renders webpages very well.

In terms of what I'm not crazy about when it comes to the Blackberry Passport, one of the things that I'm still trying to get used to is that there aren't any physical keys for the numbers and you must use the onscreen numeric keyboard when you want to type numbers. This is not really a big deal except that I've discovered an app that doesn't show the onscreen numeric keyboard (it is possible that there are other apps as well) so it isn't possible to type a number when using this app.

The physical keys also don't feel like the keys on my old Blackberry Bold 9700 nor do they feel like the keys on my Blackberry Q10. Personally, I find that the Blackberry Passport keys feel a bit "cheaper" compared to the other 2 models that I mentioned but others might have a different opinion. However, the Blackberry Passport's keyboard has "trackpad" functionality. It is difficult for me to explain this but by moving your finger over the keyboard, you can control the cursor and depending on the finger gesture on the keyboard, you can also delete words that you've typed very easily.

Currently a lot of the apps (both from Blackberry App Store as well as Android applications) don't appear perfectly on the Blackberry Passport. Even programs that show up correctly on the Blackberry Q10 sometimes don't appear perfectly on the Blackberry Passport. At the time of this writing there are also quite a few apps that I installed on my Blackberry Q10 which are listed as incompatible on the Blackberry Passport.

The Blackberry Passport uses the newer nanoSIM (my Blackberry Bold 9700 used a standard miniSIM & my Blackberry Q10 used a microSIM). I know that phone manufacturers like to use smaller footprints whenever possible and using a smaller SIM card is part of this philosophy but personally I would prefer that they stick with the microSIM sized SIM.

As mentioned, the Blackberry Passport ships with Blackberry 10.3.x and one of the benefits of Blackberry 10.3.x is Blackberry Blend which allows people to access their Blackberry Hub from their computers or certain tablets using the Blackberry Blend program. This is great if you forget your Blackberry at home and want to access BBM to send/receive messages. Another benefit with Blackberry Blend is that I can keep my Blackberry Passport in my vest pocket and send/reply to BBM messages as well as access my Blackberry's e-mails without constantly having to remove my Blackberry Passport from my pocket.

For the Blackberry Passport User Guide, you can get it from Blackberry's site or you can get it *HERE*. If you're interested in the Discover Blackberry Passport The Guide to Working Wide, you can download it *HERE*.

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OnePlus One Purchasing Experience and Unboxing

I apologize for not having written a blog entry in close to 3 months since I've been busy with some other things and mainly write my blog reviews as a hobby and because writing and technology are 2 of my passions.

Although I've purchased/received many items that I could write about, I'll start with the latest technology gadget that I recently purchased. This would be the "exclusive" OnePlus One mobile Android smartphone.

I ordered it on Monday September 29, 2014 after receiving a random invitation from the company and was a bit hesitant on whether to purchase it or wait for the next Nexus version. As it turns out, a co-worker had offered me an invite the week previously on Friday but informed me that if I wasn't 100% sure that I would purchase it, he wanted to know so he could give it to someone else. Since I wasn't 100% sure that I wanted it (I was thinking of getting the next Nexus phone), I informed him that it might be best if he were to give his invite to someone else.

I didn't get the HTC Nexus-One but purchased the Samsung Nexus-S, skipped the Samsung Nexus Galaxy, got the LG Nexus-4, skipped the LG Nexus-5, and I was planning on getting the next Nexus version but it hasn't been announced yet. Because I probably wouldn't get another invitation to purchase the OnePlus One, I decided to redeem my invitation and ordered the OnePlus One when I arrived home from work on Monday September 29.

For those of you unfamiliar with the OnePlus One purchasing method, I'll just cover it briefly here. First of all, the reason that I wrote that the OnePlus One was an "exclusive" phone was because unlike most other phones where a customer can just purchase a phone given the amount of stock available at a retailer, someone wanting to purchase a OnePlus One must be invited to purchase it. Even after being invited to purchase it, he/she must purchase it within 24 hours of the invitation since the invitation expires. Also, in order to purchase the OnePlus One, the customer must create an account on the OnePlus One website as well as have a PayPal account since at the time of me writing this blog post, PayPal is the only accepted method of payment however OnePlus One will ship the phone to an address that isn't verified (I shipped it to my work address which isn't listed on my PayPal account).

The invitation marketing method is similar to how Google first distributed their Gmail and GoogleVoice accounts. If I were to want to purchase the latest 2 phones (Blackberry Passport and iPhone 6) available now, I can basically pre-order it from my carrier or I can purchase these phones from one of the retailers who sell them. With the OnePlus One, excluding purchasing it second hand, you can only purchase it from their website and in order to purchase it from their website, you must be invited to purchase it either by randomly being selected by the company or being invited by someone who already purchased it.

I was surprised how fast I received the OnePlus One after working it late on Monday September 29 (~10:00PM EDT). Because I knew that I would have to pay taxes/duties/customs/brokerage fees, I opted to send the item to my place of work as opposed to sending it to my place. On the OnePlus One website, it showed the "Processing" status the following day on Tuesday, September 30 and then on Wednesday, October 1, the item shipped from Los Angeles. I received it in Montreal during my lunch on Thursday October 2 at work at ~1:58PM where I left the fees after having received a phone call from the courier company (DHL) informing me what the fees would be after it passed through Canadian customs.

I didn't open bubble-wrap envelope before getting home but after opening it, there were 2 boxes; one small OnePlus One labeled box and another brown cardboard coloured box.

When I opened the brown cardboard coloured box at home as well as the small OnePlus One labeled box, I saw that the small OnePlus One labeled box contained the AC USB adapter plug and the brown cardboard coloured box contained a large OnePlus One labeled box. I believe that within the smaller white OnePlus One box, there was also a nanoSIM card adapter/tray. I was a bit curious on what the nanoSIM card adapter/tray was used for but when I ejected the OnePlus One SIM card tray and saw that it was a microSIM card tray, it was quite obvious that the nanoSIM card adapter/tray are for those users who have a nanoSIM. Instead of having to purchase a microSIM to nanoSIM converter, the included nanoSIM card adapter/tray is used directly instead of using the microSIM card adapter/tray that was already in the phone. This is ingenious and I wish most manufacturers included a different tray for at least the 2-3 common sized SIM cards for their phones without having to resort to an adapter.

Opening up the large OnePlus One labeled box, I found the OnePlus One phone. Underneath the white board that the phone sat on, was the USB cable as well as the SIM extraction tool.

It will take me a few days/weeks of using my new OnePlus One phone in order to write my review/thoughts about it but the phone is noticeably larger than my LG Nexus-4 and in terms of responsiveness/speed, I find it to be quite fast and responsive. After opening the box on Thursday evening after work, because I arrived home late, I didn't really "play" with my new technology gadget but charged it for the entire evening and after work on Friday I spent most of my time configuring it as well as installing/customizing the Android applications on it.

You can get some information of the OnePlus One from the keynote document either from the company's own website *HERE* or from my blog *HERE*.

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Nexxtech 43-165 Business Caller ID Speakerphone Review

I was looking for an inexpensive landline corded phone which had speakerphone capability as well as a headset jack and didn't require it to be plugged into an AC source in order to use it with my ZTE WF720 Wireless Home Device.

I wasn't really interested in the call display that the phone offers but since it included it, I don't really mind having it. The phone get's the power for the screen display with three AA batteries.

The manual for this phone can be found *HERE*. I won't cover all the features of the phone but will mention some of the things that I don't like about this phone and some of the features that I do like about this phone.

I purchased this phone mainly for the speakerphone capability and one of the things that I don't really like about this phone is that in order to use the speakerphone, there must be batteries in the device. For example, if the phone rings and I want to answer it using the speakerphone, pushing the speakerphone button will probably not work if there are no batteries powering the screen display. I mentioned "will probably not work" as opposed to it definitely not working because if the phone was used a few seconds prior, the speakerphone button will work regardless of whether or not there are batteries powering the screen display. Without batteries in the unit, in order to use the speakerphone capabilities of the phone, it is a 2-step process. You first have to pick up the handset and then push the speakerphone button and then put the handset back onto phone unit itself. For the purpose of why I wanted a corded phone with speakerphone capability (and without needing to be plugged into an AC outlet), I find this 2-step process annoying and I didn't want to put batteries in the unit just so that I would have the ability to push the speakerphone button in order to activate it without having to lift the handset first.

Another annoyance to me is that this phone uses three AA batteries. Since I use mainly rechargeable AA batteries in my devices, I find any electronic device that uses an odd number of AA batteries to be annoying since most battery chargers will either charge two batteries or four batteries at a time. Not only does it use three AA batteries but when using rechargeable NiMH batteries, the screen display is very dim and the batteries don't last a long time powering the screen display before needing a recharge. In my opinion, the manufacturer could have easily made the device use four AA batteries so that the screen display isn't as dim and the batteries last longer between recharges/replacement.

The final thing that I don't really like about the phone is that to control the ring tone and ring volume (as well as the tone/pulse control), you must remove the battery cover underneath the phone base unit. In my opinion, it would have been better to place the controls for ring tone and ring volume on the side of the phone. Since the tone/pulse control is generally only used once, having it underneath the battery compartment is not that bad unless you are still using a pulse line and after making your phone call, you need to switch it to tone in order to enter a code such as a calling card number, an extension, or a PIN using the phone pad.

What I like about this phone is that it has a standard phone headset jack so that I can continue to use my hands and speak on the phone without having to use the speakerphone. The only negative thing about the phone headset jack functionality is that just like the speakerphone function/button, it will only work if the device is powered with three AA batteries or if the handset is off the hook prior to you pushing the headset jack button.

I don't have any problems with the sound quality of the phone and people have not complained about the sound quality of my voice when I use this phone. I have tried the speakerphone a few times and it appears ot have built-in noise cancellation in it so when there is faint noise (like wind), the microphone will turn off. It will then turn back on automatically when it detects someone's voice or when the background noise is loud enough.

All the other phone features are good and as long as the shortcomings that I've mentioned in my blog does not bother the person interested in buying it, as long as the price is under $25 (taxes/shipping included), this is a good phone to have in case of a power failure when cordless phones won't work.

If you have any comments/questions regarding this blog entry, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section below. Please note that the comments are moderated and any comment containing a URL link (whether embedded or not) will automatically be flagged as spam and will not be posted.

Lycamobile US Pay As You Go Prepaid SIM Review

I've had my Lycamobile US Pay As You Go Prepaid SIM for approximately 8 months after purchasing the SIM while I was in Las Vegas on a trip. I used to have a RedPocket Mobile US prepaid SIM but I found that based on my usage, I couldn't continue to maintain the RedPocket Mobile SIM because with an annual renewal of $100 and at $0.10/minute to call the US/Canada (among other countries), I wasn't reducing the balance enough in the span of a year to justify renewing it. If I couldn't use $100 at a rate of $0.10/minute in the span of 1 year whenever I (and my friends/family) visited the US, there was no way that I could use over $100 the following year if I renewed it by adding $100 since the previous balance would carry forward for another year and be added to the $100 that I just added to the balance.

I did some research prior to my trip to Las Vegas for another Pay As You Go Prepaid SIM with a low per minute rate and a low renewal rate or better terms to keep the US SIM active. I came across Lycamobile US which has favourable terms in order to keep the US SIM as well as the phone's balance active and it also had a very low per minute cost using direct dialing. The per minute cost at that time (which I was interested in) was $0.02/minute to make a call to a US number, $0.02/minute to receive a call while in the US, $0.03/minute to make a call to Canada, $0.04 per message to send a text message to a US number, and $0.16 per message to send a text message to a Canadian number. The current Lycamobile Pay As You Go prepaid rates are $0.05/minute to make a call to a US number, $0.05/minute to receive a call while in the US, $0.06/minute to make a call to Canada, $0.04 per message to send a text message to a US number, and $0.16 per message to send a text message to a Canadian number. Since it offered direct dialing at very low rates, there was no need to remember any calling card number or PINs prior to making an outgoing call.

In order to keep the SIM and balance active, Lycamobile only required that there be a billable charge every 90 days. I thought that this might present some problems but Lycamobile also roams in many countries (including where I live in Canada) so I could use it and create a billable charge at the higher rate for roaming in Canada (~$1.84/minute outgoing, $1.50/minute incoming, & $0.64/SMS) if I didn't go to the US in the span of 90 days. The current terms stipulate that any balance remaining on your account after 90 days don't rollover regardless of whether there is a billable charge on your Lycamobile account or whether you top up your account.

I purchased a Lycamobile SIM from a store a few hours after arriving in Las Vegas and inserted it into my unlocked GSM phone when I arrived at the place that I was staying in Las Vegas. When I powered on the phone, I waited a few minutes so that my phone could acquire/register onto Lycamobile's network. I then called 622 and waited to be prompted to enter the ZIP code. I entered the ZIP code for the place that I was staying at in the US. A few seconds later, I received my new phone number on the new Lycamobile SIM that I purchased. I then purchased $10.00 worth of airtime and placed it onto the phone.

The next thing that I did was to register my account on their webpage so that I could manage/view information regarding my account. The webpage for this is *HERE* and the only thing required to register on their website is the phone number and the PUK code for the phone (which was found on the large SIM card where you broke/removed the miniSIM, microSIM, or nanoSIM from this card). One of the things that I like about logging into the My Lycamobile website is that the website shows detailed call logs. These detailed call logs show outgoing phone numbers and dates/times/duration/costs of all calls. The incoming calls are shown as with your phone number in the "Called Number" field/column. The webpage also shows the current available balance on the SIM. The only information that isn't shown on the account webpage is the expiration date so one must manually calculate it based on the last billable charge in the "Call History."

One of the things that I like is the fact that it roams in Canada and allows for the use of free system "star" commands that allow users to check the balance by dialing *611# and also allows for the display of the phone number by dialing *613#. The only negative thing about the *611# command is that it (like the "My Lycamobile" website) doesn't display the expiration date.

The Pay As You Go service with Lycamobile includes call display and voice mail. The voice mail can be deactivated. I deactivated the voice mail on my account since I didn't want people leaving me voice mail messages.

During my usage of the Lycamobile prepaid SIM, I didn't have any issues with it. The only issue that I experienced was that sometimes when going from one country to another country, it will display an "Inactive SIM" message for a few minutes prior to acquiring/registering onto the network of the country. I corrected this by turning off the phone, waiting about 1 minute, and powering it back on again and waiting a few minutes.

Because I only use my Lycamobile US SIM when I (or my friends/family) visit the US and there is no expiration date shown on the phone or on the My Lycamobile website, the way that I keep track of the expiration date is to add 90 days to the date of my last usage and record the date in my agenda with a few reminders prior to that date. I then modify this date as it becomes necessary. According to the Lycamobile's website (section 3.4), a system generated SMS and/or e-mail is supposed to be sent to the user when the phone reaches 40 days and 60 days of inactivity but I have never received an SMS or e-mail to indicate this despite going over 60 days of inactivity with the phone.

The new terms and conditions mention that when topping up, any amount that remains from the top-up after 90 days is lost. You can find this information in section 4.6 on their terms of usage *HERE*. For me, this is a major issue and I can't really recommend Lycamobile to travelers because of this change in policy.

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Panasonic KX-TG4034C Expandable Digital Cordless Answering Phone System Review

I got the Panasonic KX-TG4034C cordless phone set during the Canadian Boxing Day/Week sale. I've been using it for a few days now and I thought that I would write my thoughts about the phone set after using it for a little over one week.

The system that I purchased contained 4 phones, 3 charging stands, and a combination answering system charging stand.

Each phone uses 2 x AAA NiMH rechargeable batteries (all included). After inserting the batteries into the units, the cordless phones displayed a message indicating that they needed to be charged a minimum of 7 hours. I decided to configure the phones (ring settings, tone/pulse dialing, date/time, etc.). The configuration is pretty straight forward based on the manual. You can get a copy of the manual *HERE*.

I tested the phone and I would say that the sound quality if very good when I connected it to a POTS (regular landline) as well as when I connected it to my Linksys Internet Phone Adapter. However when I plugged it into my ZTE WF720 Wireless Home Phone Device, the sound quality was not that best. The results were to be expected since with my Linksys Internet Phone Adapter, the sound quality would largely depend on the internet quality (speed) so this explains why the sound quality was almost comparable to a POTS (regular analogue phone) line because at the time of my test, I was getting a very good download/upload speed from my internet service provider. I believe that the issue with the sound quality when I plugged it into my ZTE WF720 Wireless Home Phone Device was due to two reasons. The first reason is that I don't get very good signal strength from my cellular carrier at home and the second reason is that the main charging stand which also functions as the transmitter/receiver for all phones (where you must connect the actual phone cord into the unit) is somewhat close to the ZTE WF720 Wireless Home Device. When positioning electronic devices, they should not be placed too close to one another because of interference from the different electronic devices. For me, I was limited in this respect.

I don't believe that the subpar sound quality from the Panasonic KX-TG4034C when plugged into my ZTE WF720 Wireless Home Device was due to the cordless phone unit itself because when I tried to continue the conversation on a corded phone which was also plugged into the same ZTE WF720 Wireless Home Device, I received the same subpar sound quality which makes me strongly suspect that it was due to me not having a good signal from my cellular carrier. To describe the subpar sound quality, I would say that you hear a slight vibration/rattling when the person is talking. The person whom I was speaking with also informed me that she would describe it similarly.

Continuing the rest of my testing of the Panasonic KX-TG4034C on a POTS analogue telephone line, I was very happy with the results.

The Panasonic KX-TG4034C cordless phone system has a lot of features. You can read about them in the manual which I've included *HERE*.

One of the features that I like about the KX-TG4034C is that it has the ability to block callers. If you subscribe to Caller ID service, you can enter a phone number into the Call Block list and when that number calls, the phone will ring once and then the caller will get a busy signal. The Pro Call Blocker unit that I reviewed *HERE* does something similar except that it rings once and will hang up on the caller. The Pro Call Blocker unit also allows the person to block area codes whereas the KX-TG4034C requires the complete phone number.

Another feature that I like about the KX-TG4034C is that it has a night setting. This allows you to have the phone automatically turn silent between a certain time period (ex: 11:30PM to 6:30AM) so as to not disturb you when you sleep without having you remember to silence the ringer before going to bed and then turning on the ringer when you wake up.

One other feature that I like about this phone unit is that it has an alarm. However, the alarm only has only 2 settings. It can either be set to go ring once or it can be set to go ring daily at a specific time. Personally, I would prefer that there were 3 settings (once, daily, and weekdays). I think that a weekday alarm setting is more practical. Because the initial settings screen for the day/time requires that you enter the year, based on having the year, it is possible to know whether the day occurs on a weekend or a weekday.

The handset's speakerphone ability (handsfree) is a good feature and I find the sound quality to be more than acceptable when comparing it using a cellphone's handsfree/speakerphone feature.

All in all, I'm very satisfied with the KX-TG4034C unit. The feel that the range for how far the cordless phones can be used away/separated from the main charging transmitter/receiver base is good.

If you have any comments/questions regarding this blog entry, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section below. Please note that the comments are moderated and any comment containing a URL link (whether embedded or not) will automatically be flagged as spam and will not be posted.

Unlocked my Blackberry Q10

With an impending trip to the US in a few weeks, even though I have my trusty factory unlocked LG Nexus 4 (as well as my old factory unlocked Samsung Nexus-S) and a lot of other unlocked phones, I decided that it was time to unlock my Blackberry Q10. Since I've used the company MobileinCanada to unlock my cellphones in the past and I found them to be a trustworthy company and they were also fast in providing unlock codes for me in the past, I decided to use them again. There are cheaper online companies that can unlock cellphones but because I've used MobileinCanada in the past, it was my primary reason for using them again.

With the other phones that I've unlocked, MobileinCanada provided me with the unlock code in a few hours. However, with my Blackberry Q10, it took them close to 24 hours to get the code. Because of the longer than normal wait time for me to get the unlock code this time, if you are in a rush to get an unlock code, MobileinCanada might not be a good option for you.

The unlock code is a specific code based on the unique IMEI number of your phone. More information on what an unlocked phone is can be found *HERE* in my blog entry devoted to the topic. Although that blog entry is over a few years old, the information there is still relevant. 

Once I received the code, it was a simple matter of entering the unlock code by going into the Settings, Security & Privacy, SIM Card and then scrolling down to the Phone Network Unlock and then clicking on the Unlock Network button. I then had to enter the unique unlock code.

Randomly picking a code or entering the wrong code a few times will permanently lock the phone so I was very careful to enter the correct unlock code in the screen above.

Once my Blackberry Q10 showed up as being unlocked, I tested it by inserting a microSIM from another carrier into it and the Blackberry Q10 was able to acquire the network without any problems. This means that once I go to the US in a few weeks, I will be able to swap my US microSIM card between my LG Nexus-4 and now my Blackberry Q10.

If you have any comments/questions regarding this blog entry, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section below. Please note that the comments are moderated and any comment containing a URL link (whether embedded or not) will automatically be flagged as spam and will not be posted.

Linksys Internet Phone Adapter with 2 Ports for Voice-over-IP PAP2T Review

I've been using my unlocked Linksys Internet phone adapter PAP2T for about a year now with my SIP service provider and I thought that I would write my thoughts on it.

Configuring the device was fairly simple. It involved connecting the device to my router and the power supply as well as connecting an analogue telephone to the PAP2 Line 1 port. After waiting approximately 60 seconds, you would pick up the phone receiver and then hit the "*" key on the phone 4 times. You will then hear a message about the configuration menu. Press "110#" and the system will then reply with the IP address for the device.

Using your web browser connected to the same network as the newly plugged in Linksys Internet Phone Adapter, you basically only have to plug in the IP address into the browser's address bar and it will go into the configuration screen for the device.

Depending on your SIP provider, you will have to make the changes in the configuration screen for the Linksys Internet Phone Adapter.

I use VoIP.ms and I found the configuring the Linksys Internet Phone Adapter for VoIP.ms to be pretty straightforward (comparable with configuring SIP clients on my smartphone). Yes, the Linksys Internet Phone adapter has a lot more parameters than the standard SIP client on a smartphone but all I did was configure the parameters that were required.

VoIP.ms actually has a configuration document specifically for the Linksys Internet Phone Adapter PAP2T. I created a PDF (printed to PDF) from the wiki created by VoIP.ms.

I configured each telephone RJ-11 port to work with a different account with different phone numbers.

In terms of the quality of service, like with all VoIP solutions, the sound quality will depend a lot on the speed/bandwidth/latency of the internet connection that it is plugged into. I would say that the sound quality is better than what I am getting with my SIP client on my cellphone configured to use the same wireless router/network because the Linksys Internet Phone Adapter uses a network cable and doesn't connect to a wireless network which is generally less stable than a wired connection. The Linksys Internet Phone Adapter also had the added benefit of using a real phone which I find has better sound quality than most cellphones.

If you are subscribed to a SIP provider, I have no problems recommending the Linksys Internet Phone Adapter (as long as you purchase it unlocked since some Linksys Internet Phone Adapters are locked to a particular SIP provider or SIP carrier). It works very well and set-up is relatively simple.

If you have any comments/questions regarding this blog entry, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section below. Please note that the comments are moderated and any comment containing a URL link (whether embedded or not) will automatically be flagged as spam and will not be posted.

ZTE WF720 Wireless Home Phone Device Review

I got the opportunity to try out the ZTE WF720 Wireless Home Phone Device and thought that I would write a review of the product.

This device is offered by certain cellphone/wireless carriers such as AT&T Wireless (in the US) and Rogers/Fido (in Canada). The monthly price varies but since I live in Canada, the version that I got to try was from Fido. Rogers has the exact same deal. The monthly charge for both Rogers and Fido is either $9.99 per month or $24.99 per month plus the applicable monthly taxes/fees. The $9.99 monthly price tag is to anyone with an existing service with the carrier and gives unlimited nationwide calling (no long distance fees). The $24.99 monthly price gives the same service except it is for people who don't have any services with the carrier. I'm not sure what the fee is for AT&T's wireless home phone service.

The way that the device works is that you insert the SIM card into the device (the device uses a normal mini-SIM), connect the battery to the device, and plug it into an electrical outlet. You then connect your household phone's RJ-11 cable to the device and start making/receiving your calls. According to the documentation, the battery will last for ~3 hours if not plugged into the AC outlet. I haven't tested the battery myself but based on my experience with advertised battery usage times, I would probably say divide that number in half. However, since it is meant to be a home phone, it should always be plugged into the AC outlet.

The unit has 2 RJ-11 phone ports, a power on/off button, the power cable input port and what the manual labels as a service port. In terms of LEDs, the ZTE WF720 Wireless Home Phone Device has 4 indicator lights (power, voicemail, battery, & signal strength). Each RJ-11 phone port is simply an extension of the phone number so you can plug 2 different phones to each phone phone (ex: one cordless and one corded) and use either phone to make a call and pick up either phone (or both phones) when a call is received.

Since the plan that I tested came with unlimited nationwide calling at a very low price compared to regular cellular service, I tried the SIM in a regular cellphone to see what would happen and the phone would not lock onto the network with that SIM card but would lock onto the same network with a different SIM card from that same carrier.

Another reason that I put the SIM card into a regular cellphone was that I wanted to set up the SIM lock on the SIM card which is not possible to do using the ZTE WF720 Wireless Phone Device itself. After setting up the SIM lock on the SIM card, I inserted the SIM card back into the ZTE WF720 Wireless Phone Device and the phone that was connected to the device seemed to get a regular dial tone but calls could not be made from the phone. The only indication that the SIM lock was in effect was the flashing green battery indicator LED on the unit itself. After entering my SIM unlock code using the connected phone and pressing the # key, I could then make a phone call (and receive phone calls).

Although the device looks like it is a VoIP solution, it is in fact using the carrier's phone service in order to make and receive calls. I find the signal strength of the device to be good and the voice quality to be better than what I would get in the same location with my cellphone.

One thing that I wanted to write was that the device mentions that it will not work with satellite receivers, modems, fax machines, and home alarm system. I have not tested the device in any of the above items to see whether it will work or not.

For Canadians, depending on your needs and usage, I have no problem recommending this device with the price plan price of $10+taxes per month. The $25+taxes per month price tag might still be worthwhile depending on how much you pay for your home phone service and what you use your home phone service for.

In terms of the sound quality, I would say that that sound quality is equivalent to what you would get on a cellphone at the same location (or maybe slightly better). For me, even though I am using a regular landline phone connected to this device, I can still tell that you are not using a real landline since the sound quality is not as good as what I get with a real landline because sometimes the person's voice whom I'm talking with will sound a bit "robotic" and other times I will lose certain syllables/words during the conversation similar to what I would get with a handheld cellphone.

One of the good things about this device over a regular landline phone service is that it is easily transportable and since the plan covers unlimited nationwide calling as long as the device is within the carrier's cellular coverage area, it makes a good phone to take with you if you go to another part of the country temporarily.

What makes this device extremely attractive is that unlike in the US, in Canada, most cellphone plans don't include nationwide calling. What this means is that if someone with a Montreal area code goes to Toronto and receives a call on his Montreal cellphone, he/she will pay long distance to receive the call. If he/she makes a call back to Montreal while in Toronto (even though his phone has a Montreal area code), he/she will pay long distance to make the call. Using this device, all of this is ignored since while in Canada, you can receive a call without paying anything extra and you make a call to a Canadian number without paying anything extra.

For a copy of the ZTE WF720 Wireless Home Phone device manual, you can click *HERE*.

If you have any questions/comments regarding this blog entry, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section below. Please note that the comments are moderated and any comment which contains a URL link (whether it is embedded or not) will automatically be labelled as spam and will not be posted.

Rooting Samsung Nexus-S

Since my Samsung Nexus-S was having issues updating existing programs that I installed onto it and I was mainly using my LG Nexus-4, I decided to root my Samsung Nexus-S after I purchased a replacement battery for it (because the original battery that I had would not last more than half a day based on very light usage). Another reason why I finally decide to re-root my Samsung Nexus-S was because there hasn't been an upgrade to OS for the Nexus-S in a long time (nor do I expect an upgrade to the OS). I had rooted it in the past but when I upgraded the OS software, it reverted to a non-rooted state and because I was only using two applications that required root access, I opted not to root it until recently. Every time the OS is officially upgraded, one of the steps involved in rooting the phone generally wipes the phone back to factory defaults. I found this to be time consuming (reconfiguring the phone and reinstalling all the applications that I had) and not worth it for the 2 applications that I use which require root access. Since there hasn't been an OS update for the Samsung Nexus-S in a long time and I recently replaced my Nexus-S battery, I felt now was a perfect time to root my Nexus-S again.

I did some research on rooting my Samsung Nexus-S and came across this video on YouTube showing how to root the Nexus-S. You can view the YouTube video below or by clicking *HERE* (I did not create this video). A shoutout goes to QBKing77 for creating this video and providing instructions/steps and shoutout also goes to the creator of the program WugFresh.

My instructions are based on the above video and things that I noticed when I tried to root my Samsung Nexus-S. Just like with my blog post on installing Android on the HP TouchPad, I am including my standard disclaimer.

My instructions are geared towards people who are somewhat familiar with computers and know how to troubleshoot simple installation issues or go into certain directories using the command prompt. Regardless of whether you are or aren't such a person, I am including the usual disclaimer that I am not responsible for anything that might go wrong when you follow my instructions or use my files. These instructions and files worked for me and they should work for you.

The instructions that I followed from the YouTube video mention downloading a file. I've included this file on my blog which you can download directly *HERE*. After watching the video to its entirety, download the file either from the site mentioned on the video (or in the description area of the video) or you can download it from the link on my blog.

Please note that everything will be wiped from your phone when you root your device (during the unlock process).

I won't detail everything that the video goes through but will write about some of the issues that I had.

The first issue was that I wasn't sure which version of the Nexus-S I had. In my case, I purchased my Nexus-S from a Canadian carrier called Fido which uses the same frequency/bands as Rogers Wireless in Canada and AT&T in the US. After doing some research (since I could not locate this information on my phone), the Samsung Nexus-S version that I had from the menu selection was the 850MHz i9020a version (which might be the information shown in Settings -> About Phone -> Baseband version).

In terms of which version of Android I was using, I got this information from Settings -> About Phone -> Android version.

From the program screen, I clicked on the "Full Driver Installation Guide" button and followed the instructions. During step 2 of the driver installation, I was presented with the screen/window below:

The recommended solution based on my set-up was Driver Solution #1 based on the screen. However, I tried using the recommended solution a few times (rebooting my computer multiple times and uninstalling/reinstalling the drivers) and the step would always fail during the the Fastboot Check (the ADB check worked without any issues). I decided to try using Driver Solution #2 and after rebooting my computer, both the ADB check and the Fastbook check worked without any issues.

I then proceeded to unlock the bootloader and didn't run into any issues.

When rooting my device using the "Root" button, at first I didn't select the "Custom Recovery" option but after running into a minor issue during boot-up, I redid the step using the Custom Recovery option. After completing all the steps when I clicked on the "Root" button, it didn't add "Superuser" or "SU" to my Samsung Nexus-S.

The video makes mention to the possibility of this happening. To fix this, you will need to download the SU application. I have a copy of it *HERE*. After downloading this ZIP file, you will place it on the root directory of your Samsung Nexus-S (which will probably place it into the /sdcard directory).

After doing this, you will remove your Samsung Nexus-S from your computer and turn off your Samsung Nexus-S, wait a few seconds and then on your Nexus-S push the power button and volume up button at the same time to get into the Boatloader screen. Use the volume key to select "Recovery Mode" which will bring you to the Team Win Recovery screen. Select "Install" and then locate the "CWM-SuperSU-v0.99.zip" program. CWM-SuperSU-v0,.99.zip will install. This is also shown in the video but I thought that I would make mention of it because it did apply in my situation.

If you have any comments/questions regarding this blog entry, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section below. Please note that the comments are moderated and any comment containing a URL link (whether embedded or not) will automatically be flagged as spam and will not be posted.

LG Nexus-4 System Update Available for 4.3

Today I received a prompt on my LG Nexus-4 regarding a system update being available today. I checked the version available and it was 4.3.

The upgrade size was 169.3 MB which my LG Nexus-4 already downloaded in the background when I received the prompt on the notification area informing me of the upgrade. Excluding the time required to download the upgrade, it only took under 10 minutes in order to upgrade my LG Nexus-4.

Since I only upgraded it to Android 4.3 about 8 hours ago, I didn't have a lot of chance to experiment/test it but so far I don't really notice any major improvements nor do I notice any degradation in speed and responsiveness.

If you have any comments/questions regarding this blog entry, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section below. Please note that the comments are moderated and any comment containing a URL link (whether embedded or not) will automatically be flagged as spam and will not be posted.

Pro Call Blocker version 2.0 - Caller ID Blocker Review

I have a VoIP SIP phone at home that automatically forwards to my cellphone when I'm not home and occasionally I get telemarketing calls so I looked for a way to block them so I wouldn't be disturbed. I found a way to block the calls on some of my cellphones using third party applications. However, when I'm at home, having my VoIP/SIP phone ring when I knew that the number was a telemarketing call or one of those credit card scam calls promising lower interest or cruise winning scam calls was starting to bother me.

I did some research and came across the Pro Call Blocker version 2.0 at a decent price online. I received it recently and easily set this up and did some testing with it and my cellphone and it worked. What happens is that when the call display shows a number that you've configured to block, it will pick up the phone and then hang up within one second. Depending on where you connect the device to (and whether it is connected in series or in parallel to the phone), the phones on the line might ring once or at most twice for calls on the blocked list. A workaround for this involves turning the ringers off all phones in the house and plugging a phone directly into the device (where the ringer for this phone is on) and only this phone will ring provided that the telephone company sends the caller ID information prior to or during the first ring. Using this set-up, if the caller is in the blocked list, this phone won't ring and since all the other phones in the house have their ringers off in this configuration, it will be as if no one actually called.

With my set-up, the display seemed to freeze occasionally requiring that I unplug the device, wait a few seconds, and then plug it back in. According to the manual, the reason for this is because I am using a VoIP SIP phone and the fix for this is to install an ADSL/DSL line filter. I installed the filter and the display on my device still freezes up so an ADSL/DSL line filter may or may not fix your frozen screen problem if you experience it. Unplugging the device, waiting a few seconds for the device to power itself off, and plugging it in again generally unfreezes the device but you will then have to reconfigure the year on the device if you want the device to accurately show you the day of the week that the call was received. It isn't necessary to reconfigure the date/time because the device will get the date/time from the first incoming call (except for the year). Because I have to unplug my device every few days, I've left the year at the default value of 2012 and I ignore the display portion showing the day of the week that the call was received (I only concentrate on the date and time the call was received which is accurate).

The device gets its power from the phone line which is a good thing and a bad thing. The good thing is that you don't require any batteries even though there appears to be what used to be a battery compartment at the bottom of the device which has been modified to not accept any batteries. The bad thing is if you are using a VoIP solution instead of a regular landline phone, in case of power failure the device will power off and you will have to reconfigure the year/date. On a regular Bell landline, this isn't a problem since power failures don't normally affect regular phone landlines so the device will almost always get power unless there is a major phone outage.

The device also allows users to block outgoing calls but I haven't tried this I don't really need this feature.

The device is programmed by plugging in a phone to the phone jack on the device. You can manually enter numbers that you want to block, manually enter area codes of numbers that you want to block, block all blocked/private calls, or block outgoing calls. The configuration instructions/manual can be found *HERE*.

For me, since my VoIP SIP provider doesn't allow me to block specific incoming phone numbers or phone area codes, I do find this to be a very useful tool.

If you have any comments/questions regarding this blog entry, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section below. Please note that the comments are moderated and any comment containing a URL link (whether embedded or not) will automatically be flagged as spam and will not be posted.

Blackberry Q10 Review

As mentioned in my previous 2 "intermediate" blog entries, I managed to get my hands on a Blackberry Q10 and would either spend the time to write this week's blog entry on Blackberry OS 10 or the Blackberry Q10. I've decided to write this blog entry on both.

I've been using a Blackberry Q10 for approximately 1 week so these are my first thoughts about it and they might change as I use it more.

I came from using a Blackberry Bold 9700 which as I mentioned in a previous blog entry was starting to show its age. That Bold 9700, shipped with Blackberry OS 5 and I later upgraded it to Blackberry OS 6 which in hindsight doing this was a big mistake because in my opinion, the Blackberry Bold 9700 was not meant to run Blackberry OS 6. I wanted a phone with an actual keyboard (as opposed to a virtual onscreen keyboard) to replace my Bold 9700. This is one of the reasons why I decided not to purchase the earlier Blackberry Z10 which came out a few months earlier.

The carrier that I deal with had 2 colours (black or white) for the Blackberry Q10. I opted to get the white one which for the time being is rarer than the black one since the black one is available with all the carriers that offer the Blackberry Q10. My Blackberry Q10 shipped with OS 10.1.0.1483. There were no upgrades available at the time that I received my Q10.

In terms of some of the specifications for the Blackberry Q10, it is a dual-core phone that is LTE enabled (unlike the LG Nexus-4 that I got as an upgrade to my Samsung Nexus-S). I find the Q10 to be very fast. The resolution of the screen is 720x720 and it has a 8 megapixel auto-focusing rear camera (the Bold 9900, which I skipped, did not have auto-focusing). The Blackberry Q10 uses a microSIM card from the carrier, has a microSD expansion slot, and a micro-HDMI port for connecting it to a television set. For Wi-Fi, it supports 802.11 a/b/g/n. I didn't have any issues connecting my Blackberry Q10 to any of the access points that I had at home or at work. Most importantly, the Blackberry Q10 has a physical QWERTY keyboard (and a touch screen).

You can get a copy of the Blackberry Q10 user's guide from *HERE*.

One of the main differentiating things between this Blackberry and the previous Blackberries (with the exception of the Z10) is that Blackberry OS 10 does not require a Blackberry specific data plan (like BIS). In fact, for the first 3 days, I was using my Blackberry Q10 entirely on wireless mode (without a SIM card in the phone) and all the data functions worked very well (browser, Blackberry Messanging, e-mail, synchronizing, etc.). On my Blackberry Bold 9700, without a BIS-enabled SIM card, the built-in browser, the e-mail functions, and Blackberry messaging (among other data applications) would not work even over Wi-Fi. This meant that when I traveled to another country, I couldn't put another carrier's SIM card into the phone and get the data applications to work even over Wi-Fi. The negative thing about Blackberry OS 10 going this route (no longer requiring a Blackberry specific data plan) is that there is no longer any compression for e-mail and browsing which will increase data usage. Depending on your company's corporate network, you will probably still require a BES data-plan for some of the business features.

Because I've used a Blackberry Playbook before, the touchscreen gesture controls didn't take me too much time to get used to. After about a week of usage, I am still sometimes looking for the non-existent trackpad, the Blackberry menu button, or the back button.

In the one week that I've been using the Blackberry Q10, I find that the keyboard is very good and the phone and/or the OS is very stable/solid. Whereas my Blackberry Bold 9700 has to be rebooted almost on a daily basis and the browser on it would crash after viewing a few pages, I have yet to reboot my Blackberry Q10 and it's browser has yet to crash and I have used the browser a lot. The Q10's browser renders pages very well although because of the screen-size (3.1" diagonal), it does sometimes require that I do  the "2-finger pinch zoom" in order to enlarge the portion of the webpage I want to read.

In terms of the applications available for the Blackberry Q10, I do find it lacking in that department. A lot of the applications that I had on my Blackberry Bold 9700 are not available for the Blackberry Q10. As of the date that I'm writing this blog entry, one program that I use occasionally on my Blackberry Bold 9700 which is available on the Blackberry Z10 is not available on the Blackberry Q10 (and both the Z10 and Q10 run on Blackberry OS 10). The program that I'm referring to is the Ebay program.

The Blackberry Q10 supports Microsoft ActiveSync which I find is a big improvement from what was supported via the carrier's BIS webpage. The only thing (but this is not Blackberry's fault) is that Google has abandoned support for Microsoft ActiveSync for their free accounts. As such, it required a few extra steps to get my Blackberry Q10 to synchronize with my Google calendar, my Google contacts, and my Gmail account but it wasn't too difficult to do this. I forgot to mention this but as opposed to using the Blackberry Desktop software to back-up my Blackberry Bold 9700 and then perform the hardware upgrade option (transfer device) for restoring all the settings to my new Blackberry Q10, I opted to configure everything from scratch. After getting my Blackberry Q10 to synchronize with my Google account, I find that it does it very well (better than what I was getting with my Blackberry Bold 9700). The Blackberry contacts integrates my Google contacts, Facebook contacts, LinkedIn contacts, and my Twitter contacts and it allows me to specify which accounts to show in the Blackberry contacts list. There does seem to be a bug in the Blackberry contacts for the Q10 and that is, it only performs a sync once when setting it up. I've changed information for a particular contact (either on my Blackberry Q10 or on my Google Contacts account) and that change was never reflected/synched even after waiting over 8 hours.

As mentioned in this blog entry's title, this is only part 1 of my review/thoughts on the Blackberry Q10. I will write part 2 at a later date (I am not sure if it will be next week's blog entry or whether I will write about something else).

If you have any questions/comments regarding this blog entry, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section below. Please note that the comments are moderated and any comment which contains a URL link (whether it is embedded or not) will automatically be labelled as spam and will not be posted.

Just got my hands on a Blackberry Q10

Just a short post/blog entry saying that I got my hands on a Blackberry Q10 so my next blog entry on Monday of next week will either be on Blackberry OS 10 or on the Blackberry Q10 specifically.

I will be setting up the Blackberry Q10 as a "new" phone without doing any form of back-up on Blackberry Desktop from my Blackberry Bold 9700 to this new Blackberry Q10. I almost didn't accept the Blackberry Q10 because of a dispute over pricing.

As mentioned in my previous/weekly blog entry, if you have any questions on the Blackberry Q10 that you would like me to answer for next week's blog, please don't hesitate to leave them below in the comments section. Please note that all comments are moderated and any comment that contains a URL link (whether or not embedded) will automatically be flagged as being spam and will not be posted.

Stay tuned for Blackberry Q10 Review

I was expecting to get my hands on a Blackberry Q10 last week in order to write my review on the Blackberry OS 10 and the Blackberry Q10.

Unfortunately, I didn't get my hands on a Blackberry Q10 last week but was informed that I should be able to test it this week (probably on Tuesday). With my Blackberry Bold 9700 starting to show its age (after having used it for ~5 years), I was looking for a "data phone" with a keyboard to replace it. Since there are only 2 major currently available phone operating systems with a keyboard (Android & Blackberry), I wanted to try my hands on a Blackberry Q10. The Android phones that I've seen with a keyboard seem to be preloaded with Android OS v2.x.

What I like about the Blackberry is the keyboard which is one of the reasons I purchased a Blackberry Bold 9700. Prior to using the Blackberry Bold 9700, I was using the Palm Treo line of phones (Treo 600, Treo 650, & Treo 680). The reason that I like a physical keyboard instead of an onscreen virtual keyboard is that I like the tactile feel of the keys under my fingers which in my opinion makes typing long messages, replying to e-mails, and posting comments a lot easier. Whereas I wouldn't have second thoughts about posting this particular blog entry using a phone with a real keyboard, I would hesitate in writing this particular blog entry on the virtual onscreen keyboards of my iPhone 3GS or my LG Nexus-4. Even though according to the reviews that I've read (and the people that I've asked) who have the Blackberry Z10, the Z10's onscreen virtual keyboard is better than any other phone manufacturer's onscreen virtual keyboard on the market today, I had no intention of getting a keyboard-less phone to replace my Blackberry Bold 9700.

Stay tuned for my Blackberry Q10 review which should be available next week or the week after depending on whether I decided to write a review on Blackberry OS 10 first.

If you have any questions on the Blackberry Q10 that you would like me to answer for next week's blog, please don't hesitate to leave them below in the comments section. Please note that all comments are moderated and any comment that contains a URL link (whether or not embedded) will automatically be flagged as being spam and will not be posted.

Will I or Won't I buy an iPhone 5?

Since I didn't really have anything to review this week, I wasn't sure what to write about for this week's blog entry but since the biggest technical gadget news item this week is probably the release of the iPhone 5 in North America, I decided to write about what my thoughts were on the new iPhone 5 and whether I will be purchasing one (or not). I have taken a look at the specs for the iPhone 5 and it does look nice.

I do have an iPhone 3GS that I sometimes use to make/receive phone calls but the majority of the time, I use it more like an iPod Touch (surf, e-mail notification, play games, listen to podcasts, watch videos, etc.).

I generally skip at least 1 generation for a particular device before purchasing the next device. This is why even though I like the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, I haven't purchased it (and why when the iPhone 4 & iPhone 4S came out, I didn't purchase those phones either). The iPhone 5 represents a big improvement from my iPhone 3GS but because I use mainly my Blackberry Bold 9700 and my Samsung Nexus-S (and I don't really use my iPhone 3GS), I'm taking a wait and see attitude in regards to whether I will purchase an iPhone 5. Currently I'm waiting to see if Rogers will introduce a data plan that I feel is worthwhile for me to get a new Rogers account.

One of the things that I don't like about the newer iPhones (iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, and iPhone 5) is that they don't use the standard size SIM card. The iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S use MicroSIM cards while the newer iPhone 5 uses NanoSIM cards. Because I sometimes travel and I have a few US SIM cards that are of regular size, it is somewhat of a hassle for me to try to convert my US SIM cards to the proper size in order to fit into the newer iPhones. I also feel that when traveling, regular size SIM cards are easier to find than the smaller SIM cards used in the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, and iPhone 5.

Something else that bothers me about the new iPhone 5 is that it uses a new charging/syncing cable/adapter. This means that if I purchase it, the "dock" that I have on my radio won't work with it.

Apple has stopped including Google Maps and YouTube with the newer iPhone 5 (at least with the new iOS 6) . However, by the time most of you read this, there will probably be standalone apps for each of these.

As someone who has a Blackberry (Blackberry Bold 9700), an iPhone (iPhone 3GS), and an Android (Nexus-S), I see the pros and cons of each of the devices. The phone that I currently "use" the most would be my Blackberry Bold 9700. The main reason for this is that I find it easier to type on a physical keypad as opposed to using a virtual on-screen keypad. I haven't upgraded my Bold 9700 to the Bold 9900 because I'm unsure about RIM's future and because their built-in e-mail and built-in browser requires the use of RIMs servers, I don't want to be stuck with a device where over 50% of what I would want to use it for no longer works.

If you have any comments regarding this blog entry, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section below. Please note that comments are moderated and any comment that contains a hyperlink whether or not it is embedded will automatically be flagged as spam and will not be posted.

Netgear SPH200D Dual-mode Cordless Phone with Skype Review

When I subscribed to the unlimited North American Skype Plan, I purchased this phone. At the time, I already had the Belkin Wi-Fi Skype phone but because the Belkin device relies on Wi-Fi and I wasn't overly satisfied with the sound quality with the device, I thought that a cordless phone as opposed to one using Wi-Fi would be better.

I believe that at the time that I'm writing this review, Belkin has discontinued this product but I've seen this product for sale occasionally on Ebay.

As you can see from the picture, there are essentially 3 components to this product. The first component is the transmitter unit. It is here that you would have to plug in your regular phone line as well as your RJ-45 network cable from your router. The second component is the handset which is used to make/receive calls. The third component is the handset charging cradle.

One of the things that I like about this product is that the handset is powered by two AAA NiMH batteries so they are easy to replace if necessary.

When someone calls you via Skype, the phone will automatically ring. If someone calls you on your phone number, the phone will also automatically ring. It does all of this transparently/automatically. When you want to place a call, you can have it either automatically use your phone line or Skype or you can have it ask you before each call.

With this device, you can make Skype to Skype calls (these over-the-Internet calls are free), SkypeIn/SkypeOut calls (used to make or receive regular phone calls over the internet at Skype's low per minute rates), and traditional phone calls (it functions as a regular phone through the use of a "landline".)

Now, the most important question is... how is the reception? I find that the reception to be like any other cordless phone for regular phone calls. For Skype calls, I find the call quality to be better than the Belkin Wi-Fi Skype phone but it is nowhere as good as a regular phone call and can't be mistaken as a regular phone call.

Similar to the Belkin Wi-Fi Skype phone, the Skype contact list appears on the display and you can add/delete someone from your Skype contact list directly using the handset. Once added/deleted, these changes are made to your account's contact list so when you use Skype on a PC or another Skype device, the addition/deletion will also be reflected there.

This device supports up to 4 handsets where the additional handsets are sold separately. If you ever lose/misplace one of the handsets (and the handset still has power), there is a paging function on the top of the transmitting unit that you can press. Once pressed, it will page all the handsets that are "married" to the transmitting unit and that are within range and they will all ring.

The cordless phone technology for the Netgear Dual-mode Cordless Phone uses DECT 6.0 (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) and broadcasts in the 1.8/1.9 GHz band which according to the documentation should avoid interfering with Wi-Fi networks as well as offering long range and clear voice quality. Based on my usage, I found that cordless call quality (using the regular phone line) to be on par with other cordless phones that I've used in the past.

If you have any questions/comments regarding this blog entry, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section.

Registering a new Red Pocket Mobile Prepaid SIM

A few people asked me about my primary US SIM card so I thought that I would write another blog entry on Red Pocket Mobile but this time, I would concentrate on the purchasing & activation process.

As I mentioned in my first Red Pocket Mobile SIM blog entry, I purchased my Red Pocket Mobile SIM on Ebay. I later purchased a replacement SIM directly from the company in the US since I could no longer locate a seller on Ebay selling it. Both came from the US and both took roughly the same amount of time for it to arrive to me in Canada (~ 1 week). The one from the Ebay seller sent it via regular USPS (United States Postal Service) in a regular business sized envelope whereas the one which came directly from Red Pocket Mobile was also sent via USPS but the company used a more expensive USPS option of sending it. I don't remember what USPS option Red Pocket Mobile used to send their SIM card to me but it was in a big USPS international envelope. It took approximately 1 week for me to receive the SIM card directly from the company (shipped from California to the province of Quebec). From the private Ebay seller (located in New Jersey), it also took approximately 1 week for me to receive the Red Pocket Mobile SIM card.

You can also purchase the Red Pocket Mobile SIM card (as well as airtime) in some cities. I've seen it being sold in New York City (in Chinatown) but I don't recall the name of the business establishment.

The first thing to do before considering purchasing the Red Pocket Mobile SIM card or any carrier's phone service for that matter (either through a private seller or directly through the company) is to make sure that there is coverage in the area that you will be visiting (or in the area where you live).

As mentioned in my first blog post on Red Pocket Mobile, Red Pocket Mobile is an AT&T MVNO and they use the native AT&T GoPhone (Prepaid) network. Their coverage map is located *HERE* and you will have to make sure that you select "GoPhone" underneath the "Coverage Type" and in the "GoPhone Coverage Legend," you will have to make sure that "Pay As You Go" is selected.

As you can see, their US coverage is limited but if you will be using their SIM card within their coverage zone, Red Pocket Mobile is an option that I think deserves consideration especially for people who are from one of the places where Red Pocket Mobile only charges local rates to call (or if you plan on calling one or more of these places a lot). These places are Canada, the US, China, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Red Pocket Mobile also charges local rates to call Taiwan but this only applies to Taiwanese landlines. Calling Taiwanese cellphone numbers costs a premium. Red Pocket Mobile recently added a few other places where calling these places, local calling rates apply. These new places are 3 Mexican cities (Monterrey, Mexico City, and Guadalajara) and South Korea. Calling a South Korean phone number and paying the local rate appears to only work for landlines.

After receiving the SIM card, I activated my Red Pocket Mobile SIM card by going to their website. I filled in Red Pocket Mobile's online activation form and within an hour, I received my Red Pocket Mobile phone number as well as my PIN. The PIN is required to log onto Red Pocket Mobile's website (gives you access to the outgoing calls made to non-US phone numbers).

Since I live in Canada and I obviously didn't have a zip code, I used the hotel's zip code for the zip code field. There are only 3 mandatory fields on the form. The zip code is used to give you your Red Pocket Mobile phone number. The hotel that I was staying at was in Las Vegas so I received a phone number in the 702 area code. The only importance in the area code is how much it will cost people to reach you at the area code. With your Red Pocket Mobile phone/SIM, it costs you the same amount whether you have a Las Vegas area code and you call someone in New York City or whether you call someone in Las Vegas with your Las Vegas area code. As long as you have Red Pocket Mobile coverage, it will cost the same regardless of where you're physically located in the US when you make/receive the call to these places. The SIM ID# field is important since the company needs this in order to activate the particular SIM card. Finally, the e-mail address field is important since this is where you will receive the information (i.e. your newly created Red Pocket Mobile phone number, etc.) I didn't complete any of the other entries before submitting the form and it didn't cause any issues with my account.

When I purchase my Red Pocket Mobile SIM card, the company offered $10 initial airtime upon activation. I'm not sure if they still do this but it is my guess that it is still done.

After your Red Pocket Mobile SIM is activated, if you are in an area that Red Pocket Mobile has coverage, you should activate your voice mail. To do this, you will have to insert your Red Pocket Mobile SIM card into your unlocked GSM phone and call your Red Pocket Mobile phone number. From what I remember, the entire process takes less than 3 minutes so will cost around $0.45 in order to set it up. You cannot activate your voice mail if you do not have coverage since the system requires that you use your cellphone in order to activate it. Once your voice mail is activated, you can access it by calling your Red Pocket Mobile phone number from any phone.

After activating my Red Pocket Mobile SIM, since I thought that $10 worth of airtime wasn't sufficient for my needs, I purchased airtime via the company's website. I picked the option for them to e-mail me my ePIN refill code and I paid using PayPal. Once I received the code, because I was still in Canada, I couldn't enter this code directly into my phone because I didn't have Red Pocket Mobile coverage so I went to their website and submitted the refill ePIN code. The link to do do this is *HERE*. If I was already in the US and if I had Red Pocket Mobile coverage, the refill ePIN can also be entered directly on the handset.

If you are in an area that offers Red Pocket Mobile coverage, you can also check your airtime balance by calling *777#. If you're in an area without Red Pocket Mobile coverage, you can get your balance by calling their North American toll free number 1-888-993-3888 or by sending them an e-mail at cs@redpocketmobile.com. During regular business hours (Pacific Time), I find that e-mails are generally responded to within a few hours.

If you have any questions/comments regarding this blog entry, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section.