When a competitor has already been offering the same service, without the requirement of buying extra hardware (@home uses your existing wifi) for several years at a price half of what's being offered... why yes, i do think its a ripoff. How can you think it's not?
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AT&T Set to Roll Out Nationwide 3G MicroCell Availability Beginning Next Month
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When a competitor has already been offering the same service, without the requirement of buying extra hardware (@home uses your existing wifi) for several years at a price half of what's being offered... why yes, i do think its a ripoff. How can you think it's not?
Sweet. $150 and I can use my cell again at home? (No service seems to work in my 500 unit apt in Manhattan). I have 20Mbps FiOS, bring on my improved service!
Love the fact the you can travel with it, my cell service sucked on the 30th floor at The Mirage in Vegas this past weekend.
Love the fact the you can travel with it, my cell service sucked on the 30th floor at The Mirage in Vegas this past weekend.
Yes, just add their number to your MicroCell and they do the same with your number.
Sam
OK, since everyone's pointing out the flaws, how bout I point out the good points:
1) A lot of people only keep their landline because they want a line that they can reliably be reached at, with no reception problems (e.g. avoid a cell phone jam in a disaster). This could bridge that gap.
2) $150 one-time is not extremely expensive, compared to how much one would pay monthly for a landline (+ cost of calls).
3) at&t HAS spent billions improving its coverage. (see article link for "improved coverage"). So, it's not like they haven't been trying their darndest.
4) I would guess that it simply doesn't make financial sense for at&t to spend hundreds of millions on towers to reach those last few people here and there. It's reached its "low hanging fruit" first.
5) Some buildings will never get good reception - underground, out in the countryside, homes in narrow ravines, large office buildings, etc.. If a consumer wants to spend $150 to fix this, why not?
1) A lot of people only keep their landline because they want a line that they can reliably be reached at, with no reception problems (e.g. avoid a cell phone jam in a disaster). This could bridge that gap.
2) $150 one-time is not extremely expensive, compared to how much one would pay monthly for a landline (+ cost of calls).
3) at&t HAS spent billions improving its coverage. (see article link for "improved coverage"). So, it's not like they haven't been trying their darndest.
4) I would guess that it simply doesn't make financial sense for at&t to spend hundreds of millions on towers to reach those last few people here and there. It's reached its "low hanging fruit" first.
5) Some buildings will never get good reception - underground, out in the countryside, homes in narrow ravines, large office buildings, etc.. If a consumer wants to spend $150 to fix this, why not?
@Home only works with phones that support UMA, which isn't very many.
So while you're correct that there's no addition "device" to buy (as UMA phones use your existing WiFi network), the fact that T-Mobile's @Home service doesn't work with 99.99% of the phones on the market makes it a "non-service" for most, regardless of its lower price point.
No I mean, without having to put in individual numbers- like you check off a box in the configuration saying I want to be part of a roaming pool, where I agree to let ANY ATT user roam on to my microcell- even people I don't know- and in exchange for that I can roam on to anyone else's who agrees to be part of this same "roaming group" or whatever it would be called. Like that fonera router that allows for roaming between groups of wifi users.
Really don't want another device I would have to pay for, just to have the call quality/reliability we should have anyway for the price we pay.
I wish AT&T and Apple would partner up with the next version of software and allow us to use WiFi on the iPhone for VoIP calls in and out without any additional equipment.
I wish AT&T and Apple would partner up with the next version of software and allow us to use WiFi on the iPhone for VoIP calls in and out without any additional equipment.
Finally someone who's been in a real city in a real situation where this would be useful. My friend's apartment is on the 38th floor in manhattan and NO carrier gets good signal up there. This has nothing to do with at&t being bad, on the contrary they're giving us yet another option to make it easier to have the fastest phone connection possible. Currently I'm in a house built into a hill where verizon does not get any signal and at&t gets about 3 bars on average (if your phone is out of your pocket, at least). If everyone hates att so much, jailbrake your phone and go on another service and shut up.
Magic Jack
or Vonage. For $25/month I get unlimited voice to ... not only the US, but a lot of other places in the world.
I look at this as : pay some more money for less crappy service.
"Least number of dropped calls" still makes me laugh.
use fring or skype or vonage or any of the like dozen voip apps that already work on the iphone.
You are acting like someone doesn't already have to have an ATT voice plan in addition to this $20 monthly companion plan. It's very convenient for you to cherry-pick a statement and use it without context while rhetorically asking others if they even read before commenting; usually, we only get that type of posting from newbies.
What a whine fest this thread is. If you don't want it, don't buy it.
I wish ATT would improve coverage in my house (there's only a corner of one room and the deck where you can talk -- sometimes), but I know it ain't going to happen. At least I now have an option.
I'll think about getting one.
I wish ATT would improve coverage in my house (there's only a corner of one room and the deck where you can talk -- sometimes), but I know it ain't going to happen. At least I now have an option.
I'll think about getting one.
My understanding is that you will have to list your phone numbers with the device and that it will only work with those phones -- sort of like a WPA password.
Agreed.
I remember that before switching over to AT&T (because of the iPhone), with T-Mobile I had something similar. It would allow my device to pick up the wifi at my house and simply use that to carry the phone call and web-surfing. If the call was initiated at the house and I were to leave -- still on the call -- it would seamlessly transition to 3G service. Any calls made on wifi did not discount plan minutes and if the call started on wifi, and you transitioned to 3G while on the call, it would still not discount minutes. That service was only $9.99/month. What AT&T is now offering is a total rip off. No reason why they can't do the same T-Mobile does. Oh, and no extra hardware was necessary; just my existing wireless router.
Living in the middle of Downtown LA I get ZERO bars. This is a great solution for people living in the concrete jungle.
I bet if Apple made this all these people would be praising it as "Magical" and a "Game Changer".
I bet if Apple made this all these people would be praising it as "Magical" and a "Game Changer".
I've tried a few, and frankly they have been lacking...
And again, why should we have to purchase another service or app or have to get yet a different number? Also most offer free outgoing but not incoming.
Let me make a comparison....
I already have AT&T DSL Internet service.
They want to sell me a Microcell for $149 and charge me $20/mo to use the Cell on the Internet.
But wait, my iPhone already communicates through my Wireless AT&T Internet Router.
I already have Broadvoice for my home phone. $24.95/mo and allows me to also call 57 countries (UNLIMITED MINUTES). It's cheaper if I didn't have the International plan. http://www.BroadVoice.com. Check out this page for iPhone Info: http://broadvoice.com/support_installation_byod.html
And I added a Multi-Presence on my line. That allows me to use another device on my same Broadvoice Monthly Plan. (2 extra devices max). That was a one time charge of $9.95 and $2.95/mo. What did this do? It allowed me to purchase the Acrobits Softphone App from the App Store and use my cell on ANY Wireless Internet Connection OR 3G connection. Yes, it's like talking on my Home Voip phone, except I'm on my Cell Phone. And I can call anywhere in the 57 countries (non-business use) Unlimited with NO EXTRA CHARGES.
So, AT&T Microcell = $149 plus $19.95/mo
Broadvoice (if you already have it for your home phone) = $9.95 one time plus Acrobits Softphone $7.99 and $2.95/mo Multi Presence Broadvoice charge. And yes, this is UNLIMITED calling in U.S. and 57 countries International.
You be the judge on this one.
I already have AT&T DSL Internet service.
They want to sell me a Microcell for $149 and charge me $20/mo to use the Cell on the Internet.
But wait, my iPhone already communicates through my Wireless AT&T Internet Router.
I already have Broadvoice for my home phone. $24.95/mo and allows me to also call 57 countries (UNLIMITED MINUTES). It's cheaper if I didn't have the International plan. http://www.BroadVoice.com. Check out this page for iPhone Info: http://broadvoice.com/support_installation_byod.html
And I added a Multi-Presence on my line. That allows me to use another device on my same Broadvoice Monthly Plan. (2 extra devices max). That was a one time charge of $9.95 and $2.95/mo. What did this do? It allowed me to purchase the Acrobits Softphone App from the App Store and use my cell on ANY Wireless Internet Connection OR 3G connection. Yes, it's like talking on my Home Voip phone, except I'm on my Cell Phone. And I can call anywhere in the 57 countries (non-business use) Unlimited with NO EXTRA CHARGES.
So, AT&T Microcell = $149 plus $19.95/mo
Broadvoice (if you already have it for your home phone) = $9.95 one time plus Acrobits Softphone $7.99 and $2.95/mo Multi Presence Broadvoice charge. And yes, this is UNLIMITED calling in U.S. and 57 countries International.
You be the judge on this one.
Looking at T-Mobile's website, just a few phones support @home and that's it. Any 3G AT&T phone will work with the Microcell.
Your phone has to support that. None of AT&T's phones, even the ones with WiFi, support the protocols required for that. The Microcell will work with any 3G phone. That's why.
You're not doing a purely internet call with this solution.
Wifi is simply being used to get your call to the AT&T cellular network.