In talking with people that send text messages (SMS), one of the most frequent things I hear is that they wish they could save some of their SMS messages. Many of them have lost their messages forever if their phone is damaged/replaced/upgraded, or they run out of room and are forced to delete them. There is a very useful application for Android called SMS Backup that helps you save your SMS messages to Gmail so you can keep them forever.

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I am still a bit surprised by AT&T’s sudden decision to allow VOiP over 3G. Happy but surprised. Sure the decision might just be an attempt to deflect some of the mounting criticism over lousy service (30% of calls in NYC are dropped!!) and numerous conflicts over apps like Google Voice and Slingbox. But no matter what the reason, I’ll take.

AT&T has had a good couple of week. First they finally got MMS pushed out to iPhones. Now 3G VOiP. What’s next?? Perhaps tethering? NOPE! Don’t expect it any time soon.

Here’s why…

According to a Wall Street journal post, when asked about the possibility that tethering would be rolled out soon a spokesperson for AT&T said that tethering remains unavailable. S/he stuck with the company’s prior comment on this: “Whenever we offer new features, we want to offer the best possible customer experience. For tethering, we need to do some additional fine tuning to our systems and networks so that we do deliver a great experience.”

Translation- “Enjoy your 3G VOiP, now go leave us alone for a while.”

We looked at the Peek wireless email devices back in October of last year. At that time the only thing that seemed a bit off was the price of the service (then $19.95/month and since lowered to $15/mo). Now the updated Peek Pronto is available with lifetime push email (up to 5 email accounts – Windows Live, Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail, AOL, Outlook) plus text messaging. With Peek Pronto you get everything Peek packs: unlimited push email, 5 accounts, unlimited texting to cell phones, PeekSocial for Facebook, PeekMaps that lets you track Peeks on a map, PeekFeed for your Twitter and weather and news feeds. Continue Reading

MMS Is Coming… and I’m still not sure what is so exciting about it. Admittedly I have never used MMS on ANY phone but still… why would I choose to use MMS over emailing images when emailing works just fine?

I am, however, open to finding out WHY it is such a big deal. So I turned to my friends in the hope that they would enlighten me. Here’s what they said…

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BlackBerry users with OS version 4.5+ can download upgraded versions of RIM’s Instant Messaging clients for BlackBerry. Versions are available for Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, ICQ, Google Talk and AOL Messenger. New to these programs is the ability to create a standalone contact icon on the BlackBerry Home Screen, search saved conversations and add contacts and display pictures or avatars to the address book to easily instant message, email, SMS, or call right from the address book or conversation box. For easy over-the-air downloading guide your Berry over to http://mobile.blackberry.com

BlackBerry Instant Messaging 2.5

Jessica just recently posted a great tutorial on how to get MMS on your iPhone now, before AT&T’s promised September 25th delivery date.  If you missed it check it out here.

That got some of us here at Gear Diary started on a small debate about the merit’s of MMS.

I saw the MMS trick a few days ago couldn’t come up with a reason for MMS on my phone so I simply didn’t install it and still haven’t.

For the life of me I can’t understand why everyone is making such a huge deal about MMS.  Is it just that AT&T’s failure to deliver it a few months ago was something to complain about? Or is there actually something essential on a device that already has email? Could someone please explain to me what MMS brings to the table…

Maybe I’m in the minority but most of my friends & family, which are the people I’m most often sharing pictures with, have access to either a smartphone (Blackberry, iPhone etc.) or more importantly an e-mail account.  So if i want to share a picture with them all I have to do is e-mail it knowing they’ll see it either on their phone’s e-mail client or on their computer.

I know MMS is still very popular outside the U.S. but we’re strictly talking about AT&T here in this case.

So are you eagerly awaiting the arrival of MMS on the iPhone, or have you already done the trick Jessica posted about?  And if so what do you actually use MMS for that makes it such a compelling feature?

So, yesterday in my daily perusal of the web, I saw that AT&T had started silently rolling out MMS functionality for the iPhone in small batches.  It didn’t seem to have a rhyme or reason–some people on iPhone OS 3.0 had it, some on 3.01, and some on 3.1, all in different locations.

Some people in the Dallas-Fort Worth area were reporting working MMS, so the question at the forefront of my mind was HOW DO I GET IT!?  I’m an impatient girl, and I didn’t want to wait another 11 days for MMS on my iPhone if I could get it now!  A little more Googling and a few visits to the HowardForums gave me the answers I needed.  How can YOU get MMS working on your iPhone?  Well, I’ll show you.

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The National Transportation Safety Board just banned mobile texting and talking on portable devices by all 400 of their employees. For the last three years the NTSB has been recommending motorcoach and school bus drivers be bannded from mobile device use. There are no states that completely ban cell phone use by drivers. That may change though as Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood holds a summit on September 30 to discuss mobile cell and smartphone use.

NTSB Bans Mobile Texting and Talking

I’m a big fan of the iPhone application biteSMS.  It makes text messaging so much easier.

I showed you the application in detail in a recent post here.

With a recent update biteSM has become even better now adding the ability to quick compose SMS messages right from the lock screen.

You can create, send and respond to SMS messages from virtually anywhere on the iPhone.

Check out biteSMS, a “must-have” application for anyone with a jailbroken iPhone, here.

Larry and I have both had the opportunity to try out an early release of ShapeServices’ upcoming update to iPhone messaging app IM+.

The biggest feature in the next version? The ability to have voice messages transcribed for you within the app itself, for just $.99 a month.

It is a neat trick and a taste of things to come. Let’s take a look…

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Disclaimer: The video above contains graphic images and pulls no punches with the depiction of an auto accident.  Gear Diary is in no way liable for any nightmares or post-traumatic stress syndrome caused after viewing this video.  You’ve been warned…

Last month Carly shared the interactive game that shows the likely consequences of texting while driving. The Gwent police department of Wales has taken the message even further with this video using local actors to drive (literally) the message home.   If you’ve texted or emailed while driving (and we’re all likely guilty of it at some point or other), you should definitely watch this video.   If you have a teen driver in your family, this should be required viewing.

While the video is certainly disturbing, the point is made:  Your text messages can wait until you are off the road.

via BBC News and Gizmodo

All over the news lately is how bad texting and driving can be. It’s common sense that looking at your phone and driving is a bad idea. But have you ever tried to quantify how bad it is?

The NY Times has an interactive game up that lets you “test” how bad you are at texting and driving. The goal of the game is to use the numbers on your keyboard to control what lane your car is in, while simultaneously answering texts that require simple, one word answers through a phone that appears off to the right. According to the end of the game, the average user is .24% slower at responding, and misses 8% more gate changes while texting. The first time I ran it I was horrible; every time I improved, but mostly because I got better at the game.

It is kind of an addictive game, but more importantly it gives you an idea of how tough it is to watch ahead of you and type simultaneously. Give it a shot and sound off below on how you did!

Via The New York Times

Subscribers to Sprint again have the ability to create SMS allow lists. Using a maximium of 50 numbers you can create a set of numbers that are the only privileged ones that can get a text message through to you. Seems that Sprint had this feature a few years ago. Removed it. And it’s now making a comeback in your online account.

Sprint via SU

Select Subway restaurants in New York City are offering the ability to text in your lunch order which avoids the unpleasantness of a lengthy lunchtime wait in line. By establishing an online account with payment information you can skip the cashier. Your food order is waiting and you pick it up and go. Place your order either via the web or once you’ve created an account and loaded it with your favorites, you can link up a mobile phone. Sending a text with the word “menu” to 466626 results in a reply SMS that lists your favorite sandwiches. In return you reply back, receive a confirmation number. Life is grand.

Subway Now

If the FAA doesn’t already have a rule against texting while parachuting – I bet they consider it after this. The Samsung Mobile XTREME TEXTING event attempted to set a Guiness World Record for texting while parachuting (who knew there was a category for such a thing). Ten skydivers jumped from 12,000 feet in airspace just outside of Los Angeles city limits. They were attempting to establish a record for “Fastest Text Messaging While Skydiving”. The phrase they texted? “The razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human.”. To qualify, the message had to be sent by all skydivers within one minute. The phones used all contained full QWERTY keyboards. I have NO idea how all 10 of them remembered the phrase they were supposed to text while free falling from an airplane:

- Samsung Propel
- Samsung Gravity
- Samsung Rant
- Samsung Alias
- Samsung Messager

Samsung Mobile XTREME TEXTING