Motorola i560 is One Tough Cell Phone

Want a cell phone you can take to work? No, not one that slips in the pocket of your suit coat. A real work phone. The kind of phone you can take to a construction site or out commercial fishing. Or maybe just a phone you can take rock climbing and not have to worry you're going to shatter the shell with the least little bump.

The Motorola i560 Yellow is such a cell phone. It's ruggedized outer shell withstands dust, shock, vibration, and short drops. It is built to Military Standard 810F, certified for blowing rain, salt fog, humidity , dust, shock and heat. Besides that it just looks like it's ready for the great outdoors. That cool yellow and black case won't disappear so easily into the grass if it happens to take a tumble. You'll probably be able to find it around the house easier, too.

The i560 has working phone features as well as rugged good looks. This phone runs on the Nextel network and supports push to talk (PTT) services like Direct Connect, Group Connect and DirectTalk. PTT operation differs from a regular phone call in that you push one button and speak. Your voice instantly comes out of the phone at the other end of the call. No waiting for rings or someone to pick up. You talk. They listen. Of course, both of you need to be on Nextel service for this to happen. For calls to other carriers, you use your Motorola i560 just like any other cell phone. One ring... Two ring... Oh, rats. Voicemail.

Make life even easier when you're trying to work by using the built-in speaker phone. You don't need to hold the phone, so to speak, in order to carry on a conversation. Or the whole crew can get into the conversation. Like for bawling out that supplier who was supposed to deliver the concrete an hour ago.

Another cool feature of the Motorola i560 is GPS services support. The phone is also a GPS receiver. That comes in handy if you get hurt and can't tell the operator your location. Other than emergencies, the GPS feature can be used for navigation. In fact, the i560 comes preloaded with TeleNav 3.0. Don't spend thousands on a fancy GPS system. TeleNav gives you audible driving directions and local point of interest. It puts a little map on your display and will automatically reroute you if you happen to miss a turn. Carry your phone with you and you are also carrying a small GPS system. TeleNav is a low cost option with your Nextel wireless service.

You get two displays on your i560. The main display shows over 65,000 colors. The external monochrome display is backlit and shows valuable information when your phone is closed.

Another interesting feature of the Motorola i560 is the phone book. It contains 600 entries but uses a removable SIM card. You can have multiple numbers per name in your book.

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Samsung MM-A940 Two Megapixel Camera Phone

We're sorry, but the Samsung MM-A940 special offer is unfortunately no longer avaialable. What are the hottest cell phone deals available right now, including free cell phones? Use the Cell Phone Plan Finder to check out the top phones and associated wireless service plans.

The cell phone and digital camera are merging into one. Enter the Samsung MM-A940 camera phone. Most cameraphones have VGA or at most 1.3 Megapixel cameras. The A940 offers a full 2.0 Megapixels. That's way more than enough resolution for sending picture messages to your friends. With 2 Megapixels, 1600 x 1200 pixels, you have enough resolution to print great still photos. No need to carry your digital camera with you. Carry your cell phone and you'll have a great camera available too.

Take a look at the image gallery for the Samsung MM-A940 and you'll notice something unusual. This phone flips open and closed like you would expect. But the display also swivels 90 degrees so that you can see the screen while you are looking at the side of the cell phone. Why would you want to do that? Because that powerful 2 Megapixel camera is located in the hinge area shooting sideways. Swivel your monitor screen and you have yourself a small camcorder. Now you can take and send video clips with sound as well as still photos.

That big screen is a beauty. It measures 176 x 220 pixels and is capable of showing over 262,000 colors. It's a perfect match to the high resolution digital camera. You also get a smaller color external display that shows valuable information while the phone is closed.

The MM in MM-A940 stands for multi-media. You know about the video part. How about audio? The A940 has a built-in MP3 player with stereo sound. Take your tunes with you. There's an expandable memory card slot so you can add memory to store your music and videos.

The MM-A940 is also designated the EVDO-940. EVDO is the high speed 3G or third generation network that Sprint is currently deploying in the United States. It's basically cellular broadband. If you live in one of the major cities where EV-DO service is available, you'll be able to watch on-demand TV video clips or listen to music with the optional Sprint PCS Vision Ultimate Pack.

You have hands-free operating convenience with the Samsung MM-A940. Advanced voice activated dialing lets you call someone by simply speaking a name in your phonebook. No pretraining of the phone to recognize your voice is needed. Turn on the speakerphone and you can talk and listen hands-free, perhaps letting others in on the conversation. For private calls, clip a Bluetooth headset on your ear and converse without having to hold up the phone or deal with tangled headphone wires.

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Samsung A900 Rivals Motorola RAZR V3 Black

If you think that the Motorola RAZR V3 "Razor" is the ultimate in cell phone technology, then you should have a look at the contender from Samsung. The A900 is also a super-thin multimedia phone packed with useful technology.

The Samsung A900 is packaged in a chic black shell just slightly thicker than the RAZR's half-inch. This one measures in at 0.57 inches to be precise. On the outside you'll find a color display capable of over showing 65,000 colors. That's as good as the main display in many cell phones. You'll also notice three silver buttons that look like they belong on an MP3 player. That's because they do. The A900 comes with an MP3 music player built-in. It's capable of downloading songs on the go from the Sprint Music Store.

Inside, you'll find the 2.5 inch color main display, which is unusually bright and capable of over 262,000 colors. This display is designed for multimedia. It's set up to show on-demand TV video clips from the Sprint TV service. You can make your own videos using the built-in Megapixel digital camera with and LED flash that doubles as a movie camera light. Still photos are good enough to print. That's made easy by the PictBridge capability, so you can print directly to PictBridge capable printers.

Hands-free communications are built-in. The outstanding voice-activated dialing on the A900 lets you simply speak a phone book name with no pre-training needed. Clip a Bluetooth headset on your ear and you can have private conversations without having to hold up the phone or deal with dangling wires. Or, turn on the speakerphone for group conversations. Need to make a note? Forget writing. Use the voice memo feature to record up to 5 memos up to 1 minute each.

Text messaging lets you send and receive SMS text messages or SMS voice messages. This phone also has great voice to text dictation capability.

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Free Razor RAZR V3 With T-Mobile Wireless

This is the classic Motorola "Razor" V3 in the original brushed aluminum finish. It features quad-band GSM capability that can operate on cellular networks worldwide. Bluetooth communications is built-in so you can use a wireless headset. Take and share pictures with the VGA quality digital camera sporting a self-timer. Even record 15 second video clips in the camcorder mode. The display is a beautiful 2.2 inch color that you'll see when you flip open the half-inch shell. With your phone closed, you'll see valuable information on the smaller monochrome external display with blue backlight. Many customizable features let you make this phone your own.

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Motorola i870 Camera and MP3 Music Phone

Motorola's i870 is an advanced technology cell phone that works on the Nextel wireless network. That means you get all the advantages of PTT (Push to Talk) walkie-talkie type communications as well as regular cellular phone service. But, oh, this phone goes way beyond the usual PTT functionality.

First off, the digital camera in the i870 is rated at 1.3 Megapixels for 1280 x 1024 pixel resolution. This gives you great shots for photo messaging and great prints of your favorites as well. An LED flash is included for low light situations. The camera can also be used in camcorder mode for video capture limited only by the amount of available memory in the camera. A 32 Mb TransFlash card is included.

Your pix will look great on the giant 2.2 inch color main display. It's capable of displaying over 262,000 colors. There is also an external display that shows valuable information without opening the phone. It's in color, too.

How about some audio to complement the video capability. OK. The Motorola i870 has a built-in stereo MP3 music player with cover mounted controls. It's your portable music player, your digital camera and your telephone.

As a cell phone, you can use the i870 hands free with voice dialing. Clip a Bluetooth headset on your ear and have private conversations without holding up the phone and without any dangling cords to get tangled up. Or, turn on the built-in speakerphone for convenience while doing other things or to let colleagues and friends in on the conversation.

Want instant communications? That's the beauty of Nextel Direct Connect service. Push a button and you will be heard instantly by the party you want to reach. No ringing, no voicemail, no busy signals. Just Push To Talk.

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T1 PRI For Call Centers

If you own a call center or are thinking about it, you'll likely be interested in digital telephone service. Individual analog phone lines are only a good solution if you have a handful of seats and don't need to integrate your phone service with a computer system containing customer records. Once you reach a dozen lines, moving from analog to T1 digital carrier service is almost certainly a cost savings. If you elect to go with a VoIP telephone system, you'll need reliable broadband service for even fewer lines.

First let's consider call centers with traditional PBX phone systems and, say, 10 to 12 lines. Your PBX equipment has or can get a digital interface that brings all your phone lines in on a single T1 carrier. Now, you have a choice of how you want your T1 line configured. The original legacy configuration is called channelized T1 and offers 24 independent phone lines per T1 line. These lines can be set up for local and/or long distance service and as incoming only, outgoing only or both. What you don't get are any of the advanced features such as Caller ID or ANI (Automatic Number Identification). That's because the 24 channels of the T1 line are completely consumed in carrying the voice conversations.

A more sophisticated T1 line configuration is called T1 PRI or Primary Rate Interface. This term comes from ISDN or Integrated Services Digital Network) technology. A PRI line is also channelized into individual telephone lines, but carries 23 simultaneous calls rather than 24. What happened to the other channel? It's been assigned to be a data channel to serve the 23 bearer or voice channels. All the dialing information is passed through the data channel rather than as touch-tones over the voice channels. That helps make call set up and tear down faster. You'll experience that as phone calls going through faster. On the receiving end, the data channel accepts Caller ID or ANI information. This can be fed to display units to show who's calling, or fed to a CTI (Computer Telephone Integration) system so that customer information will pop up on an agent's screen based on the number of the incoming call.

You are not limited to a single T1 or PRI line. Many larger systems can double, triple, quadruple and so on the capacity of the phone system. A single PRI data channel can service two PRI lines, freeing up one extra channel for voice. In practice, if you are going to have multiple PRI lines, you'll probably want at least two data channels for redundancy.

What about VoIP and softswitches? VoIP or Voice over IP networks actually convert phone conversations to digital data within the telephone instruments. Your phone wiring then becomes a standard Ethernet LAN which can serve both telephones and computers. They all look the same to the network. For transmission of data beyond your facility you'll use an unchannelized T1 line. That's a T1 that is configured to look line one big data pipe with 1.5 Mbps bandwidth. It's also called a data T1 line because the information is carried as IP data packets. Data T1 lines can be combined in a process called bonding to multiply the bandwidth of the network from 2 to 6 times or more.

So, what type of T1 service is right for your call center and how much does it cost? The best way to find that out is to let our friendly Shop for T1 consultants evaluate your particular needs and give you multiple competitive quotes for service. It's fast, easy and available at no cost to you. Simply put in a T1 service quote request at T1 Rex for new or replacement service. Please note that T1 lines are only intended for business locations, not residential broadband use.

Motorola RAZR V3c Razor Special For Verizon

The hot Motorola RAZR "Razor" phone has received a major upgrade in the form of the RAZR V3c for Verizon Wireless service. It's the same half-inch thin aluminum shell with the signature feather-touch precision crafted keypad. What's new and exciting is an upgraded digital camera and on-demand video downloads via VCAST. You can get the original razor or even the improved V3c on other carriers. But if you want VCAST for on-demand video and music, you can only get it with Verizon Wireless service.

This is the RAZR upgrade that takes advanced cell phone technology to a new level. First is the improved digital camera that now offers 1.3 Megapixels with 4x digital zoom. That's more than enough resolution for picture messaging and good enough to get decent prints. You can also shoot your own short video clips with this camera.

Another great media feature is a built-in MP3 music player that lets you take a few of your favorite tunes with you. More dramatically, you can watch and listen to music videos on demand using VCAST. Verizon's VCAST runs on Verizon's EV-DO broadband cellular network that is available in major cities nationwide. This high speed network makes it possible to get news, sports, weather and entertainment right on your cell phone. Watch the latest news updates as they occur, sports highlights from the big game, weather reports of incoming storms, and entertainment shows to keep you amused. All this while you're stuck in traffic or waiting for an appointment. Add VCAST to your Verizon Wireless voice plan and you're enabled for video on demand.

The RAZR V3c multimedia phone has lots more to offer. Talk hands-free using the built-in speakerphone or slip a Bluetooth headset on your ear for privacy and no dangling cords. Voice activated dialing lets you speak a name in the phonebook without having to pre-train the phone. Of course, graphics and ringtones are customizable and you have lots of cool games to choose from.

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Motorola RAZR V3c Razor Is Here On Alltel

The RAZR is still an amazing 1/2 inch thick, but it now comes with an upgraded camera. The new razor camera is 1.3 Megapixels with 4x digital zoom. Upgrading the camera from VGA to megapixel quality means you'll be able to print and share sharp still pictures. No need to tote a separate digital camera along just in case a photo opportunity arises. Just point and shoot with your RAZR V3c and you'll have captured the moment.

The new Motorola RAZR V3c has a wealth of technology packed into its gray aluminum shell. In addition to the upgraded camera, you'll find a MP3 music player, Bluetooth wireless technology so you can make your calls using a cordless Bluetooth headset, large color main display, speakerphone, and so much more.

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Katrina Makes a Mesh of New Orleans

Technical change is usually evolutionary, with new technologies replacing older ones slowly at first and then steadily taking over. The pattern follows a classic S-curve shape, with old and new battling it out until eventually the new technology becomes the status quo with even newer technology starting to make the next challenge.

That's been the state of broadband Internet service as more and more people switch to DSL and cable Internet service, dropping their old dial-up accounts. To some extent broadband has been swimming upstream not because it isn't a better idea or because people don't want it, but because the incumbent technologies have been resisting. Nowhere has that battle been more pitched than in the adoption of metro Wi-Fi. City governments get excited about making their entire area one big wireless hotspot. Local telecoms fight it tooth and nail, crying foul at big government's usurping what they see as their business. Many metro Wi-Fi projects have had the plug pulled on their designs before any plugs were ever energized.

Sometimes it takes a disruptive event to move things along. In the case of New Orleans, that event was Hurricane Katrina. Like the asteroid that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs, Katrina obliterated the existing wireline infrastructure. But wires and cables are a dinosaur-like technology that takes months and years to put back in place. Wireless technologies are quicker and easier to install. Like little mammals who saw their chance when the asteroid made sure the big dinos wouldn't eat them anymore, wireless access points are fearlessly popping up in New Orleans. The incumbent telecom companies can't exactly scream foul that someone is usurping their wired services. The wires are all gone.

What really is making wireless Internet access expand virally in New Orleans is a mesh network architecture. In mesh networks, radio sets exchange data with their nearest neighbors. Packets are routed from node to node until they reach their destination. Contrast that with the centralized architecture of a telephone company DSLAM (Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer) that sits in a telco office and feeds DSL service over telephone lines to each destination. Flood a DSLAM or knock its wires off the phone poles and you're out of business. Knock out an individual node of the mesh network and the network keeps working. It just ignores the lost node. Lose more nodes and things slow down, but as long as two nodes can talk you still have a working network.

The new metro Wi-Fi network in New Orleans got jump started with donations of equipment by Intel, Proto Networks and Tropos Networks. It's up and running in the French Quarter with download speeds of 512 Kbps. That's as good or better than you get from a lot of DSL locations. It's also free Internet service, courtesy of the city. Expanding the network is as simple as adding additional nodes in the form of weatherproof boxes of electronics that hang on traffic light poles and draw their miniscule power from the AC already running the lights.

The upside of Katrina's destruction is that New Orleans has leaped into a 21st century communications infrastructure. Who knows what the effect of this will be in enabling people who were formerly techno-havenots because of Internet access cost or lack of availability. It has to be good for the community as a whole in the long run, although there is certainly a downside to those who had a vested interest in the old infrastructure. Not surprisingly, politics has reared its ugly head here too. The free high speed access will only be available while New Orleans is under a state of emergency. When the crisis is over, the system will be throttled back to only 128 Kbps of free bandwidth. Even so, with 128 Kbps penetrating every nook and cranny of the city does dial-up 56K stand even a prayer of revival? Clearly, one era has suddenly ended and another begun.

Samsung D307 is Built For Messaging

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The Samsung D307 looks like a little computer, makes calls like a cell phone, and transcribes your messages like a stenographer. It's a phone that is designed for anyone who loves messaging.

Lots of phones will let you send and receive text messages. It's usually a bit awkward, since you are limited to a few keys that have to serve multiple functions. Your other choice is to lug around one of those PDA style phones that are pretty big for your pocket. Now there's a flip-phone that's not much larger than a business card. Yet, it sports a backlit QWERTY keyboard and a rectangular display that swivels into a horizontal mode.

When closed, your Samsung D307 looks like any other clamshell cell phone. On the outside of the case you'll find an external display with important information such as date, time, signal strength and battery life. Flip it open and the top part of the case shows a large main color display of 176 x 220 pixels. Make calls the usual way, or use the speakerphone for hands free discussions. Or clip a Bluetooth headset on your ear and make private calls without any cord tangle.

The real excitement with this phone comes when it's time to send a text message. You twist the display around on its swivel so that it is positioned horizontally above the keyboard. It looks just like a miniature notebook computer with display on top and keyboard in front. Compose your messages quickly and easily using the QWERTY keyboard. Or, let the D307 take dictation. Yes. The built-in voice to text conversion lets you orate while the phone converts your words into text. Even if you don't like being dictated to, this phone loves it.

The D307 really is a small computer that communicates data on the Cingular EDGE cellular broadband network. In additional to standard text messaging, it has instant messaging and email software built-in. You can also access the Internet using the mobile web browser. All this technology, plus talk time of up to 300 minutes or 5 hours.