The Dark Wraith

Sprint Nextel Corp. is upstaging with the Upstage.

Perhaps taking advantage of a lull in pricing changes by its larger rivals, Sprint Nextel this week slashed its price on the latest and greatest from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.; the Upstage music phone, a Sprint Nextel bar-style, music phone exclusive, dropped to $100 from $150 on the carrier’s Web site.

The carrier released the phone just a few weeks ago during the CTIA Wireless 2007 trade show in Orlando, Fla.

Coupled with Sprint Nextel’s decision to lower the price for downloadable music tracks from $2.50 to 99 cents, the carrier likely is looking for attention from consumers to gain traction against its rivals’ momentum.

Sprint Nextel also dropped the Samsung M610 to $130 from $150, if only to keep the Upstage from upstaging its own brethren. The carrier dropped the price on the Research In Motion Ltd. BlackBerry 8703e to $150 from $200.

Cingular and Verizon Wireless both took the week off from handset pricing changes.

Labels: Phone, Samsung

Symbian is back in the news this morning after another night of promiscuity. Having been spotted shacking-up with with LG and Google just yesterday, the Nokia bedfellow was just outed with this cutie, Samsung's new SGH-i400 smartphone. It's not the first Samsung S60 slider we've seen, nor will it be the last. In addition to some pretty bold "symbian OS" branding in the upper-right corner, the i400 brings a regular ol' 2 megapixel camera, dedicated MP3 key, stereo speakers, A2DP Bluetooth, MicroSD expansion, and support for full web browsing on its 2.3-inch "wide display." No word on a 3G radio here so we'll have to assume the worst (tri-band GSM/EDGE). We do know that it'll make its debut in Russia in July and then "other European countries" shortly thereafter.
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Labels: Phone, Samsung

Because so many people have made watching television a daily part of their routine the competition between television providers is very fierce. Cable Television used to be the main choice of people searching for service, but Satellite Television is fast becoming the top choice. There are many reasons why Satellite TV providers, such as Dish Network, are gaining more customers every day. One reason is the very enticing offers they give to new subscribers.

New Subscribers Hear “Free” Often

As a new subscriber to Dish Network, you will hear the word “free” quite often. For instance, you receive Free Installation by professionally trained technicians to ensure your satellite TV system is running correctly from the beginning. You have the option of choosing a Free Four Room System. This allows you and your family to watch four different programs in four different rooms of your home at the same time. Plus, there is no equipment to buy for new subscribers and that free equipment comes with a Lifetime Warranty in addition to a Free Home Protection Plan. These aren’t the only things that come free when you join.

Record, Store, Pause, and Rewind Without a VCR

You also are given the choice of either a free DVR upgrade or a free HD upgrade. A DVR, or Digital Video Recorder, can record and store up to 100 hours of your favorite shows so you can watch them any time you want. DVRs also allow you to pause and rewind live TV. If you miss a piece of information in a program or want to watch a moment in a sports game, show, or movie then just pause, rewind to that moment, and watch again. You then have the choice of continuing to watch from that moment or jumping ahead to where the program is running live.

High Definition Means High Quality

If you have purchased a HD, or High Definition, television, then you probably want to take full advantage of its superior image and sound capabilities. If so, then the Free HD Receiver upgrade for new customers is the way to go. This HD receiver has an Optical Dolby Digital output, Component & DVI outputs, Optional Analog & Digital Off-Air Local, and is Standard-Def & High-Def compatible. Another reason for HD users to choose DishNetwork is that they offer America’s largest HD channel lineup. However, you may want the capabilities of both the DVR and the HD receivers. Well, you are in luck because DishNetwork’s cutting-edge satelite technology is now offering the industry’s first HD DVR receiver that combines all the great features of the two into one.

High-Speed Satellite Internet Now Available

To complete the full entertainment needs of people DishNetwork is now offering High-Speed Satelite Internet service through HughesNet. HughesNet is America’s #1 choice for Broadband by Satelite. This offer is particularly good for those who are currently using dialup service. Besides being much faster in surfing and downloading, the advantages over dialup are that you have broadband access, it is always on/available, is optimized for multiple users, and has advanced security features. HughesNet satelite service is compatible with both Windows and Mac operating systems. It’s a great option for those living in rural areas where cable Internet service is not available.

Dish Network is Tops in Customer Satisfaction

Perhaps the best way to make a final decision on whether to choose a product is to see what other users of it think. When you do this, DishNetwork beats every one of its competitors. J.D. Power & Associates has repeatedly awarded them the highest rating in Customer Satisfaction. With that many people happy with their service, it is safe to assume you would be too.

Joseph Reed delivers consumers the latest satellite TV reviews and deals. A tech writer for over 17 years, Mr. Reed navigates his way through the confusing world of cutting edge entertainment and discovers the best consumer friendly deals out there from companies like Dish Network and DirecTV. If you're thinking about purchasing satellite television make sure you read Joseph Reed's articles first.

Labels: SatelliteTV

Phone cards

All of us need to communicate. It is the way of expressing our ideas, thoughts, feelings and opinions.

Communication is very important in our daily lives. It is the process of exchanging information of two individuals by common symbols or behavior. There are heap of ways to communicate with others.

If you travel a lot because it is part of your work, or you live far from family and friends, or you are studying in a far place, you definitely need to communicate and keep in touch with your loved ones and friends. There are plenty of ways you can do just to keep in touch; you can send email, if you have plenty of time you can chat with them, but it would be better to hear their voices.

Prepaid calling cards are helpful in communicating with family and friends. Definitely, nothing beat hearing their voices and to talk to them.

Using prepaid calling card is the most convenient way to communicate with others. As someone who travels a lot, you will be so grateful that there are prepaid calling cards in the market that can help you communicate with your loved ones and friends.

There are plenty of prepaid calling cards and each prepaid calling card has different features. So if you are going to purchase prepaid calling card, better to know each features first in order for you to come up with the right prepaid calling card that will suit your needs.

Each prepaid calling card has different prices and services, so comparing each is helpful so to find the best one for you. Yes, prepaid calling card can help you save a lot of money. You can purchase prepaid calling card for local use only, so you can make calls within the country only. If you have family and friends abroad, so you can purchase international prepaid calling card that can allow you to call abroad.

In using prepaid calling card you can save money since prepaid calling card have cheaper rates compared with post line.

You can call your loved ones and friends any time of the day and anywhere you are, so prepaid calling cards are truly convenient to use. As long as you have your prepaid calling card with you, you can make calls by dialing your PIN and the number of your loved ones.

But there are prepaid calling cards that do not require PIN, so if you find dialing PIN hassle with you, you can search for prepaid calling card that do not have PIN, so you can directly make a call without the hassle of dialing a PIN.

In choosing prepaid calling card, you have to gain information first and weigh each features and services, then choose the one that fit your needs. As a piece of advice, in choosing prepaid calling card, you have to consider the assistance that they can give you. The prepaid calling card company should have good customer service, so in case you will have any questions or problems regarding your prepaid calling card, you can easily have someone to assist you. Also remember that prepaid calling card has expiration date, so use your card properly and wisely.

Labels: Phone, Phone Cards

At one time a phone conference call used to be an expensive service offered by a mainstream telephone company. This expense was due to the fact that an operator was involved, the communication equipment was not as advanced and the mainstream telephone companies had a “corner” on the conference call market.

However, today the availability of utilizing a phone conference call service is readily available. This is due to the inclusion of other telecommunication services and a significant change in technology. This change in technology includes the use of the internet, fiber optic cabling, switching equipment, etc. Not only has this new technology allowed for the use of conducting a phone conference call, but has made the service more affordable.

In addition to the phone conference call being a more available and affordable there are options to the consumer in accessing these services. Two of those particular services include the use of an on-demand phone conference call service and an operator facilitated phone conference call option.

On Demand Conference Call

The on-demand phone conference call option is not only the most convenient, but, generally the most affordable option when initiating a phone conference call. The provider of a phone conferencing service often offers a number of plans to their customers. Utilizing the phone conferencing call system is as easy as dialing the toll-free number that is provided by the conference call provider. Once that number has been dialed a recorded message invites the caller to enter their conference ID number followed by the pound sign. This simple process allows the caller to gain access to the phone conference call.

There are a number of plans that are offered by the business that provides this service. These plans can include a flat fee which means that the conferencing service can be accessed and utilized as much as possible during the billing cycle. This particular option is most useful to those individuals or companies that initiate conference calls on a regular basis. A simple cost analysis will show whether participating in a flat rate service or paying per minute is the most economical means of utilizing their phone conference call service.

The other option associated with the on-demand phone conference call service is that of being billed by the service provider for each minute that the conference line is accessed. The monthly billing is calculated by charging the customer for each minute used at the agreed-upon rate per minute.

Operator Assisted Phone Conference Call

This particular type of phone conference call utilizes the assistance of a professional operator. This higher costing plan utilizes the talents of a professional operator which may include their facilitating the conference call, introduction of conference attendees, facilitating a question and answer period, etc.. In addition, through the assistance of the operator, recordings of the conference can be captured as well as any follow-up calling that needs to be accomplished with the conference attendees.

Labels: Call, Phone

The market of MP3 players is still considered to be in its infancy, even though Apple has produced several generations of the popular iPod. The iPod accounts for about 80% of the sales of digital music players, although there are several digital music players available on the market.

Creative Technology is one MP3 developer that has positioned itself to be a large competitor in this market. In 2005, Creative Technology was awarded a patent in the United States for the interface design that it was using on its digital music players. The patent was for how the files on the digital music player would be organized. Creative Technology was one of the first companies to produce digital music players but has been overshadowed by the iPod’s success in the marketplace. In November 2004, the boss of Creative Technology, Sim Wong Hoo, said that the MP3 war had started and that he was aiming at his competitors. Creative Technology’s first MP3 player was the Nomad Jukebox MP3 player. The player was shipped thirteen months before the Apple iPod was even announced.

There have been several MP3 players enter the market since the beginnings of the digital music player. SanDisk, Samsung, Sony, Phillips and Dell all had MP3 players on the market. Many of these have been popular because their prices were considerably lower than the iPod. The expense of the iPod can be attributed to the hard drive that it uses for storage while the other smaller digital music players rely on a flash drive. This allows them to be smaller and more compact. They don’t, however, feature the extensive memory, interface capabilities or video capabilities that the iPod has. Apple has answered these smaller and less expensive players by introducing the iPod nano and shuffle to the line-up.

Dell has apparently admitted defeat in the MP3 market. Their DJ Ditty has disappeared from the catalog and the web. Dell initially entered the market in 2003 to get in on the iPod and MP3 player craze, but the iPod took off and beat everybody out on sales. Dell attempted to compete with features and price, but it was impossible with the popularity of the iPod. The DJ Ditty just couldn’t keep up with the iPod.

The MP3 player market is projected to increase to a $58 billion dollar market by next year and only increasing in value as technology becomes better. Everybody is working on a thinner hard drive with more features and better compatibility.

Labels: iPod, MP3

Vacationing with a recreational vehicle or RV is the ultimate experience in freedom. You are literally in control of your every travel movement. You are the king of the road.

There are many recreational vehicles to choose from, including the truck camper, the folding camping trailer, the travel trailer, the motorhome, the motorcoach, or the campervan. You can rent or buy your RV, or if you are very passionate about it, you can fashion your own.

The perfect RV

An RV should, at the very minimum, contain beds, a table, and kitchen benches and cupboards. But you can also get an RV with fully-functional bathrooms, refrigerators, larger living areas and bedrooms. In fact, some RVs are truly like a home away home with satellite TV and internet connections. An RV vacation can be as simple or as elaborately luxurious as you like.

The advantages of RV vacations

There are so many advantages to RV travel, it's hard to imagine an RV vacation could be anything less than great. With so many in-vehicle features, you can hit the road whenever you like and wherever you like without carrying luggage around and saving money on meals by preparing your own. RV vacations are also the perfect vacations for kids.

How to organize an RV vacation

Organizing a great RV vacation is easy. At the very minimum you need to stock up on road maps, and ideally use the Internet to research the places your wish to visit. You'll need to locate where the RV parks and camping grounds are situated. You can plan as much or as little of your itinerary as you want, but always let people back home know what direction you are traveling in. Once you've bought or rented your RV spend some time learning how to operate the various equipment. Take a few practice driving (and parking) rounds to get a feel for the peculiarities of driving an RV. And then, get ready, get set, and go!