bruceb news

You can send e-mail messages and have them show up as a text message on an SMS-enabled phone, if you know the cell phone carrier used by the recipient. Here’s a list that may come in handy, courtesy of a post on the QuarterToThree forums:

T-Mobile
Format: 10-digit cell phone number @ tmomail.net
Example: 3335551111@tmomail.net

Verizon Wireless
Format: 10-digit cell phone number @ vtext.com
Example: 3335551111@vtext.com

Rogers Wireless
Format: 10-digit cell phone number @ pcs.rogers.com
Example: 3335551111@pcs.rogers.com

Sprint PCS
Format: 10-digit cell phone number @ messaging.sprintpcs.com
Example: 3335551111@messaging.sprintpcs.com

Cingular Wireless
Format: 1 + 10-digit cell phone number @ cingularme.com
Example: 13335551111@cingularme.com

AT&T PCS
Format: 10-digit cell phone number @ txt.att.net
Example: 3335551111@txt.att.net

Bell Atlantic
Format: 10-digit cell phone number @ message.bam.com
Example: 3335551111@message.bam.com

Bell Mobility (Canada)
Format: 10-digit cell phone number @ txt.bell.ca
Example: 3335551111@txt.bell.ca

Cellular One
Format: 10-digit cell phone number @ mobile.celloneusa.com
Example: 3335551111@mobile.celloneusa.com

Comcast
Format: 10-digit cell phone number @ comcastpcs.textmsg.com
Example: 3335551111@comcastpcs.textmsg.com

Fido
Format: 10-digit cell phone number @ fido.ca
Example: 3335551111@fido.ca

Telus
Format: 10-digit cell phone number @ msg.telus.com
Example: 3335551111@msg.telus.com

For some reason Verizon has not attempted to generate any excitement about the new Samsung i760 cell phone/PDA, even though it looks very nice and perhaps is even a worthy competitor to the iPhone. Why is Apple the only company that knows how to market successfully?

The i760 was demonstrated briefly at a trade show early in 2007 and got a bit of attention online, but no information was forthcoming about its release date. Recently Verizon has been marketing new teenybopper phones but drew no attention to the i760 when it appeared on the Verizon web site a few days ago. […] continued

Apple’s rollout of the iPhone and updated iPod line generated impressive buzz, giving the impression that Apple is an unstoppable force. At the same time, though, Apple’s efforts to lock down its control over its users created uneasiness.

Two things happened today that are worth watching in case Apple’s base turns out to be more fragile than we suspect.

The first involves the possibility that Apple may kill a bunch of iPhones soon.

The iPhone arrived locked to AT&T, which frustrated early purchasers more than they were willing to admit. Tempers were frayed when Apple dropped the price on the iPhone by $200 within sixty days after its launch, leaving the early adopters feeling used; the hundred dollar credit in the Apple store did not completely erase those feelings. […] continued

It’s hard to make the stereotypes fit.

Microsoft is reviled as the big monopoly. I don’t want to suggest that Microsoft is a huggable teddy bear, but it’s worth noting that much of its success comes from the work of thousands and thousands of hardware and software partners invited to build products on Microsoft technology. When Microsoft puts on an event to roll out a new product, there are hundreds of partners invited to speak at the event and set up their tables outside the auditorium and send their products into stores.

Apple is praised for being independent and open and encouraging creativity. […] continued

Apple had to know that signing a deal with AT&T would lead to disgruntled customers. By definition, any customer of AT&T is an unhappy customer, right?

It started when the first AT&T bills were delivered to iPhone users. AT&T chose to itemize each and every bit of data to and from the phone – each text message, each individual ad graphic on each web page. There were reports of 300-page bills delivered in boxes, with completely useless amounts of detail on too much paper. As one tech site put it, “Apple’s renown for elegance and simplicity has been ironically mocked by this ridiculous document of excess.” Or as David Pogue put it, “It’s a staggeringly, hatefully complex document, designed by some Monty Pythoneseque committee in charge of consumer confusion.”

Now the phones have been available for long enough that a few people have carried them overseas. […] continued

In 2009, new frequencies will become available in the US for handling voice and data. The frequencies are currently being used for analog television, but the FCC decided years ago that analog television would no longer be supported after 2009; the frequencies are being reclaimed and resold in an FCC auction.

A few days ago Google bid $4.6 billion dollars, the reserve price, for the 700Mhz band frequencies. Google’s bid included a request that the FCC put conditions on any bid that might be successful:

‘Google “requested that the Commission should extend to all CMRS-type spectrum licensees clearly delineated, explicitly enforceable, and unwavering obligations to provide (1) open applications, (2) open devices, (3) open wholesale services, and (4) open network access.” For those of us who don’t regularly hang with the FCC these proposed conditions mean: 1) users should be able to download software from anywhere and use it on their communication devices without restriction; 2) users should be able to use any communication device that meets the technical requirements for connecting to the network no matter who made the device; 3) third-party resellers should be able to buy wholesale bandwidth from auction winners, and; 4) other networks should be able to connect to the 700-MHz network.’

Although the major telcos and cable companies have made noises about supporting these goals, the reality is that they will never allow anything like this to become possible. […] continued

Skype is well-known free software for making phone calls from your computer. Most people use it to make calls to other Skype users – always free, anywhere in the world. Calls are made from your computer and travel over the Internet; sound quality is surprisingly good. The software is simple and intuitive. If you have relatives in another country, or do business overseas, you should be using Skype already!

It’s also possible to make phone calls using Skype to conventional landlines and cell phones – you use Skype to dial a number, the phone rings at the other end. You can buy a year of unlimited calls to any landline or cell phone in the US or Canada for $29.95. […] continued

Google announced on Monday that it has acquired GrandCentral, the remarkable collection of telephone services. Here’s Google’s announcement of the acquisition, and here’s GrandCentral’s announcement. I wrote about GrandCentral a few weeks ago; my experience with it has been flawless and I’m still learning new tricks that make it even more valuable.

GrandCentral has stopped accepting new users for a short while during the transition to Google’s infrastructure, although you can sign up to “reserve” a number. Existing GrandCentral users can bypass that short delay and invite up to five new users, so my clients and friends should drop me a note if you’re interested. […] continued

Here’s an interesting possibility – an unconfirmed report that the iPhone will be able to sync with Outlook and Microsoft Exchange Server, using the same ActiveSync technology found in Windows Mobile-based phones. That would open a lot of doors for the iPhone in the business community. Watch for an official announcement before you go stand in line.

The hype for the iPhone is building to a fever pitch, leading up to the release on June 29. There’s a twenty-minute guided tour at Apple’s iPhone web site with a lot of useful information about features and the iPhone’s look and feel.

I’m still skeptical about a number of things and the guided tour slides right by some possible shortcomings – and AT&T’s cell phone coverage is so poor in Sonoma County that I don’t expect to see it often up here anyway.

But there’s no getting around it: the demo is very, very impressive. Go take a look! […] continued