LetsTalk.com Blog

Motorola Cliq XT Unboxing Video

blog@letstalk.com (Joni Blecher) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:03:43 PDT

We just got in a Motorola Cliq XT for T-Mobile. LetsTalk's Melanie Bie takes us through all the features of the latest Android smartphone. Watch the video below to see the cell phone in action.

HTC HD2 Windows Mobile: Does the iPhone have some competition?

blog@letstalk.com (Joni Blecher) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:03:31 PDT

Earlier this year, T-Mobile announced it would be offering the HTC HD2 and now we're finally getting to see the Windows Mobile 6.5 cell phone in action. It has a 5-megapixel camera, 1GHz SnapDragon processor, a large crisp display for easily viewing movies, and a slim form factor. The HTC HD2 is coming soon, click this link to sign up for more information. In the meantime, check out the video by LetsTalk's Scott Price to get a sneak peak at the HTC HD2.

G'Zone Brigade for Verizon Wireless Unboxing

blog@letstalk.com (Joni Blecher) — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:03:11 PDT

We just got in a Casio G'Zone Brigade for Verizon Wireless. LetsTalk's Scott Price takes us through all the features of this rugged cell phone. Is the Brigade right for you? Watch the video below to help you decide.

Sprint TV brings March Madness to cell phones with ESPN Mobile TV

blog@letstalk.com (Joni Blecher) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:03:06 PDT

Sprint may not have NFL Mobile anymore, but it has a much bigger sports line-up with live sports programming and entertainment from ESPN Mobile TV. The line up for the next couple of months include over a 100 live events:

23 Live Men's NCAA Basketball Games (including Conference Championship games)

19 Live Women's NCAA Basketball Championship Games

9 NBA Playoff Games

15 Regular Season NBA Games

30 Live NBA Fastbreak Shows

10 Regular Season MLB Games

50 Live Baseball Tonight Studio Shows

3 College Football Spring games

3 Live Friday Night Fights

3 Live NCAA Hockey Championship Games

5 Live MLS Matches

Clearly, if you're a March Madness fan it looks like a sprint cell phone will keep you up on all the events - even let you catch games while on-the-go. If you don't have a data plan ESPN Mobile TV will cost $0.03/KB. That can add up pretty quickly and Sprint's Everything plans offer basically everything so you can watch all the ESPN Mobile TV you want and not worry about the pricing.

Palm Pixi Plus vs. Palm Pre Plus: Which is right for you?

blog@letstalk.com (Joni Blecher) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:03:00 PST

The two new Palm smartphones for Verizon Wireless, the Palm Pre Plus and the Palm Pixi Plus sport similar features. There are only a few things that set them apart. But is it enough to help you choose which one is right for you? Watch the video below to help you decide.

NFL Mobile coming to Verizon next month

blog@letstalk.com (Joni Blecher) — Tue, 9 Mar 2010 11:03:24 PST

Starting in April, Verizon Wireless will be offering NFL Mobile on its cell phones.The first big event to air on Verizon cell phones will be a live stream of the NFL Network's coverage of the 2010 NFL Draft to be held from April 22-24. There will also be a pick-by-pick draft tracker updated in real time along with other related content. During the season fans will also be able to watch the NFL RedZone, live streaming events of Sunday and Thursday night football games, and more. We'll have to wait until the season starts for more information on pricing of the service and which Verizon cell phones will be able to receive it.

Motorola Backflip now available on AT&T

blog@letstalk.com (Joni Blecher) — Tue, 9 Mar 2010 09:03:06 PST

The Motorola Backflip that was first announced at CES (You can see the announcement by clicking this link.), is finally available for AT&T. The latest Android smartphone sports a 5-megapixel camera, comes with Android 1.5 (the Motorola Devour also recently released for Verizon comes with Android 1.6), an included 2GB microSD card, WiFi, and of course Motorola's social media interface Motoblur. To get an idea of what Motoblur is all about, just check out the picture below. Additionally, if you're new to AT&T and get the Backflip at LetsTalk.com you also get a $50 Visa Debit card.

Verizon Razzle: More than just another messaging cell phone

blog@letstalk.com (Joni Blecher) — Mon, 8 Mar 2010 10:03:08 PST

The Verizon Razzle may not have the slickest display we've seen on a messaging cell phone to date, but it does have something else: a really interesting design. It transforms itself from being a cell phone with a fully QWERTY keyboard to becoming a portable music player. The Razzle cell phone isn't just a messaging phone, but it's actually a music phone that's all about the sound. It has one of the best speakers we've encountered to date. Watch the video below to see what we mean and if you want even more information, read the expert review by clicking this link.

Nokia 5230 Nuron smartphone coming to T-Mobile

blog@letstalk.com (Joni Blecher) — Fri, 5 Mar 2010 10:03:37 PST

T-Mobile announced the Nokia 5230 Nuron will be available in the coming weeks. This Nokia smartphone will be the first Nokia cell phone in the US to come preloaded with the Ovi Store - Nokia's apps store. Even better, consumers will be able to buy apps on the cell phone and have purchases charged directly to the customer's T-Mobile bill. Also of note is the inclusion of Ovi Maps that offers free turn-by-turn directions. For more convenience, built into Ovi Maps are nearby places of interest such as movies, restaurants, and events compliments of Lonely Planet Guides. The Nokia cell phone will work on T-Mobile's 3G network, sport a full HTML web browser and a 3.2-inch touchscreen.

Earn Delta SkyMiles when you buy a cell phone online

blog@letstalk.com (Joni Blecher) — Thu, 4 Mar 2010 09:03:37 PST

Delta and LetsTalk.com have teamed up to offer you more than just a great deal when buying a cell phone online. If you have a Delta SkyMiles account that purchase will earn you 4,000 miles. You can add those miles to existing miles to purchase products from the SkyMiles Marketplace, get magazine or newspaper subscriptions, pay for tickets or redeem award travel, or if you’re feeling charitable donate the miles to a SkyWish charity. So, how do you get 4,000 free miles? Simply buy a new cell phone and plan at LetsTalk.com/Delta. The offer still applies for contract extensions and even wireless data cards and netbooks. You can also earn 10 miles for every $1 spent when purchasing a cell phone accessory such as a Bluetooth headset or carrying case. Not enrolled in Delta SkyMiles? No worries, as long as you’re shopping at LetsTalk.com/Delta you can still sign up before you finish your purchase and receive the 4,000 miles.

Cell phone plan changes: What you need to know to get the best deal

blog@letstalk.com (Joni Blecher) — Wed, 3 Mar 2010 10:03:04 PST

There has been lots of news recently about Verizon Wireless and AT&T dropping the price of their unlimited plans, but the real story lies beneath the surface. For example, did you know that:

· These “unlimited” plans only cover voice minutes?

· Carriers are now requiring a data plan on many of their most popular phones, even if they are not smartphones?

First, let’s clarify a few things:

Unlimited… talk?

1. It’s all talk

- The new unlimited talk plans from AT&T and Verizon only include unlimited talk time for $69.99 for an individual plan and $119.99 for first two lines of a family plan. Those plans only include voice.

- Neither plan includes text messaging, e-mail, or web surfing.

2. The real question is: how much do you really talk?

- If you’re using more than 450 minutes to talk a month (which costs $39.99 for individual) then it’s worth considering.

- Before you make the change consider how many people you talk to that use the same service provider as you – those calls are free.

- If you’re on AT&T and you’re not using all your minutes, remember unused minutes get rolled over to the next month.

3. Lots and lots of talk is now cheaper than it has ever been, who is this a good deal for?

- For those of you who have abandoned their landlines and talk a lot on the cell phone

- For those of you who really do gab

- A $30 drop in price from $99.99 to $69.99 is a good deal and worth taking notice

- As an added bonus, we should note, that if you’re in the middle of a contract you can change your minute plan without extending your contract.

Data is extra… and often required?

In tandem with the unlimited plan rollouts, both AT&T and Verizon also made a fairly sweeping policy change that requires many of their phones (not just smartphones) to be purchased with data plans, which cost extra.

Why do I need data if I’m not buying a smartphone?

· Cell phones have more and more features that are designed to help customers do all kinds of cool stuff with their cell phones. Stuff like:

o Checking web-based e-mail accounts (i.e. Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, etc.),

o Viewing videos from sites like YouTube

o Visiting news sites

o Adding and receive RSS feeds on your cell phone

o Staying connected to friends through social media sites.

· Unfortunately, this “Stuff” consumes data, and carriers were finding that the per kilobyte charges customers were incurring were far more expensive than a basic data plan (see chart).

· These phones are referred to as 3G multimedia phones (Verizon Wireless) or Quick Messaging Devices (AT&T) and you can pretty much figure out which cell phones fall into this category, they simply do more than take a picture, have a MP3 player included, and have basic 12-key pads. Cell phones in this category tend to have beautiful touch-screens, enhanced menu interfaces, and typical full QWERTY keyboards, but are not smartphones.

OK…. What if I just text?

Good news here. There are many popular activities that do not require data usage and plenty of phones on the market that are great for you and do not require data plans. Data usage isn’t required for:

· Text messaging

· Multimedia messaging

· Instant messaging

What does all this cost me? And how can I compare carriers? It’s more confusing than ever!

Great question. Once you determine the kind of phone you want:

- Smartphone

- Quick messaging/ multimedia phone

- Basic phone

…you can refer to our slides below to compare costs across the 4 major postpaid carriers. Or you can message me at @letstalk_joni on Twitter and I’ll do my best to help!

Cell Phone Service Price Plan Comparison

March is Sprint Total Equipment Protection month

blog@letstalk.com (Joni Blecher) — Tue, 2 Mar 2010 10:03:42 PST

Deciding whether or not to get "insurance" for your cell phone at time of purchase isn't always easy unless of course you're someone who is accustomed to losing or breaking your cell phone. The bad news is that if you don't sign up for this feature within the first 30 days of owning the cell phone, you typically can't sign up for it at a later point in your contract. That's not the case with Sprint during the month of March. The company is offering customers with a working cell phone in their possession (Read: If you break the cell phone in March and then sign up, that won't cut it.) the option to sign up for its Total Equipment Protection plan between March 1st and March 31st. The service costs $7 a month, per line of service.

So, what does the plan cover?

The cell phone is covered if it malfunctions, or is lost, stolen, or damaged. Additionally consumers will receive free Express delivery on replacement devices, extended customer service hours, the ability to track your claim online, and an e-mail notification of claim shipment status.

Motorola Devour in-depth overview

blog@letstalk.com (Joni Blecher) — Mon, 1 Mar 2010 10:03:46 PST

We just got in a Motorola Devour for Verizon Wireless. LetsTalk's Scott Price takes us through all the features of the latest Android smartphone including a comparison of the other Android cell phones available in Verizon's line-up. Is the Devour right for you? Watch the video below to help you decide.

Motorola Devour now available

blog@letstalk.com (Joni Blecher) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:02:11 PST

The Motorola Devour Android smartphone recently announced for Verizon Wireless is now available. There are a couple of differentiators that set this Google cell phone apart from the other two (Motorola DROID and the HTC Droid Eris) Android smartphones that Verizon currently offers. For starters, in addition to running Android 1.6 operating system it will also have Motorola's MotoBlur interface that keeps you informed of your friend's social media activities. It also has a rather sleek design. Although both the DROID and the Devour have a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, the Devour seems just a bit more streamlined and slimmer. Other features include a 3-megapixel camera, WiFi, and an included 8GB microSD card.

Samsung Omnia II: See what's in the box

blog@letstalk.com (Joni Blecher) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:02:24 PST

Want to know what comes with the latest Omnia II Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphone for Verizon? Watch the video below featuring LetsTalk's Scott Price. Does it have everything you want?