PhoneTalk

This week our Question and Answer series comes from "Ask a Merchant," a new feature launched on LetsTalk.com that can be found in the middle of cell phone detail pages. This week's featured merchant is LetsTalk's Merchandising Manager for T-Mobile Michael Cera. He answers questions about text message signatures and tech terms. Got a question you want answered? Submit your question here. Got something to add to the answers below? Leave a comment.

Does the BlackBerry Curve 8900 for T-Mobile have text message signature? - Justice

No, there is not a signature for your text message. There is the option to do it for your emails, but not text messages.

I’m looking at the T-Mobile Dash 3G, can you tell me what 3G Data Technology is, what Wi-Fi calling is, what Sync means and it means when a cell phone has Windows Mobile 6.1 OS? – Melissa

3G data technology means you can access the Internet on your cell phone at faster speeds than the normal EDGE network. Wi-Fi calling is very similar to a Voice over IP calling system such as SKYPE. However, for some cell phones that have the ability to do Wi-Fi calling on T-Mobile, you are able to use a T-Mobile Hotspot to make calls using Wi-Fi as opposed to your normal minutes. Lastly, Windows Mobile 6.1 is just the operating system for the phone. Similar to a PC’s operating system, it is a smaller scale operating system set to work on your mobile device.

Tags:	Text messaging	BlackBerry	Windows Mobile	Smart phones
	WiFi	Q&A	HTC

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Windows Mobile 6.5, the update to Windows Mobile 6.1, was released today. There aren't a whole lot of advancements found in this smartphone OS update, but there are a few noteworthy ones listed below.

• Along the lines of customizations, people can now create more personalized themes for their Windows Mobile phones. You can find out more information on how to do that by clicking here. 
• Windows Live has been enhanced to include new feeds and improved photo sharing to sites such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and Flickr. We should note that many non-smartphones already offer similar photo sharing features. 
• There's an icon to access Windows Marketplace for Mobile for purchasing and downloading apps directly to the phone. 
• Windows Internet Explorer mobile browser has gotten a facelift with support for Adobe Flash Lite2. This will improve the mobile web surfing experience. 
• If you're interested in picking and choosing specific content for backup, such as pictures, appointments and contacts, check out My Phone. It's a free service that lets you sync this info to a web site so that all is needed is an Internet connection to see and manage your data. If you're someone who tends to lose your cell phone a lot, check out the Premium package (it's free until November 30th and after that can be purchased for $4.99). In short, if you lose the phone in the US, it will locate it for you on a map found on the My Phone site. This service is available for people who have Windows Mobile 6.0, 6.1, and now 6.5. 

There are some new cell phones coming out that have Windows Mobile 6.5 loaded, which include: HTC Pure and HTC Tilt 2 for AT&T, HTC Imagio for Verizon Wireless, and the Samsung Intrepid for Sprint (it should be available on October 11th). If you have a Windows Mobile 5.0 or 6.0 running on your existing Windows Mobile smartphone you will not be able to upgrade it to Windows Mobile 6.5. However, if some Windows Mobile 6.1 phones are eligible for updates, however, there's no announcement of when that will be. Here's the list of eligible smartphones:

HTC Dash

Samsung Jack

Samsung Mirage

Samsung Omnia Pro

HTC Ozone

HTC Snap

HTC Touch Pro 2

Pharos Traveler 137

Finally, here's a peak at what the new interface looks like on the HTC Tilt 2:

Tags:	Phone Smarts	Samsung	Windows Mobile	Smart phones
	GPS	HTC

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The HTC Ozone might look a lot like a couple of other smartphones currently available; namely the HTC Dash 3G and the HTC Snap. Each model is a little different. See what sets the Ozone apart by watching the video below.

Tags:	Phone Smarts	Verizon Wireless	Windows Mobile	Smart phones
	International	Business Use	Bluetooth	HTC

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The Samsung BlackJack was such a popular smartphone that it's now up to its third version. Simply called Jack this smartphone AT&T has a lot going for it: Windows Mobile 6.1, WiFi, slim form factor and more. Watch the video below to see if the latest version of the BlackJack is a worthy upgrade.

Tags:	Phone Smarts	AT&T Wireless	Samsung	Windows Mobile
	Smart phones	Business Use	WiFi	E-mail
	Bluetooth

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In this installment of Questions and Answers, we discuss choosing between the Propel Pro and the Samsung Impression as well as using a cell phone as a tethered modem. Got a question you want answered? Submit your question here. Got something to add to the answers below? Leave a comment.

I am tied between the Samsung Impression and the Propel Pro. Can anyone help me make a decision? Pros/Cons? – Thanks!

In short, the big difference between the Propel Pro and the Samsung Impression is that the Propel Pro is a Windows Mobile smartphone and the Samsung Impression isn’t: it’s a multimedia phone. While both the Propel Pro sport a tactile slide-out QWERTY keyboard the display is going to be much brighter and larger on the Impression. The emphasis on the Propel Pro is really all about staying connected to work. It will also have a slightly smaller display than the one found on the Impression. Whereas, the Samsung Impression has a touch screen and isn’t a smartphone. The Impression has an emphasis on multimedia functionality (viewing videos, web access, etc.) and easy customization. You'll still be able to get web-based email on this cell phone with ease.

I have a Dell Inspiron 5150 with a regular wireless card installed. However, I have a Motorola w315 with USB cable and have installed its drivers to my laptop. How do I use this w315 as a modem for my laptop. - Jeff

There are a few things you need to check before getting started. First, you need to make sure you have a data plan that will support using the phone as a modem. Next, you don't need the wireless card installed - that can interfere with using the phone as a modem. So either remove the card or turn off the wireless functionality on your computer. Next, if you have Bluetooth on, you'll need to turn that off, too. On some computers it can interfere. Then if your service is with Verizon you'll need to follow these directions from Verizon Wireless.

However, if you already have a wireless card you'll likely get faster service with that than the cell phone you want to use, but that does require its own data plan.

Tags:	Motorola	Verizon Wireless	AT&T Wireless	Cell phone plans
	Samsung	Windows Mobile	Smart phones	Q&A

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Sprint announced that the HTC Touch Pro2 would be available next week. The latest Windows Mobile 6.1 phone from HTC is an update to the HTC Touch Pro. The new model sports a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, touch screen, the TouchFLO 3D interface, and of course 3G connectivity over Sprint's network. This phone is also a true world phone working on both CDMA and GSM networks. It will have an Opera browser and access to Sprint TV service. A nice plus is that the smartphone has a 3.5mm headset jack, which is a departure from the occasional proprietary headset jack found on some HTC smartphones.

Tags:	In The Know	Sprint	Windows Mobile	Smart phones
	Business Use	HTC

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According to this Information Week article, AT&T will start requiring data plans for all smartphones. If you are already an AT&T subscriber with a smartphone and don't already have a data plan, you will not have to get a data plan until you upgrade to a new smartphone. Everyone else who plans on getting a smartphone with AT&T will need to purchase a data plan as well. Here's a rundown on the data plans AT&T offers:

• Baseline plan: For $35 a month, this plan will provide you with unlimited data. Text messages are not included in this plan.
  
• Bundle Unlimited Data plan: This plan includes unlimited data and unlimited text messages. This plan will add an additional $50 a month to your plan.
  
• Tethering and Text plan: For an additional $60 a month, this plan includes unlimited data on your smartphone, plus the ability to use it as a wireless modem with your computer. Connect the cell phone to your computer via a synching cable or Bluetooth and you can use the phone's data connection to surf the web on your computer and even check e-mail. This plan does not include text messages so you'll need to add that o,n as well. Not sure what tethering means? Watch the video below to see how it works.
  

Tags:	In The Know	AT&T Wireless	Cell phone plans	BlackBerry
	Windows Mobile	Palm	Smart phones	Business Use
	E-mail	Android

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The HTC Dash 3G may run the same OS as the original Dash, but this model has quite a few upgrades that are worth checking out. Most notably: It sports 3G connectivity. Take a closer look at what else it has to offer by watching the video below.

Tags:	Phone Smarts	Windows Mobile	Smart phones	Business Use
	WiFi	T-Mobile	HTC

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Whether you're a developer for BREW, Android, Windows Mobile or BlackBerry here's your chance to win $50,000 and a featured spot on the launch of V Cast apps for Verizon Wireless. The company is asking for application submissions in the following categories: Connect, Entertain, Guide, Save Time, and Enhance Living. Simply submit your entry here by September 20th. Applications will be voted on by members of the Verizon Developer Community (VDC). Semi-finalists will be announced October 6th with the Grand Prize winner (that's the $50,000 award and featured spot on V Cast apps, plus 200 percent of the application's actual revenue for a year - additional restrictions apply) and People's Choice along with category winners announced on October 30th.

Here's the fine print: Developers must register for the VDC to be eligible to enter the contest. Registration, as well as the latest information on the VDC and the Apply Your Ideas contest, is available here.

What are you waiting for? The contest starts today.

Tags:	In The Know	Verizon Wireless	BlackBerry	Windows Mobile
	Smart phones	Android

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The GPS phone from Pharos, the Traveler 137, will come with a customized version of SPB software. On board will be SPB Mobile Shell for a widget-based desktop with 3-D animation; SPB Keyboard; and SPB TV for watching live TV. The SPB software will add a few other features, as well. The SPB software is essentially an overlay over the Windows Mobile OS that makes using the smartphone much more user friendly and customizable.

Tags:	In The Know	Windows Mobile	Smart phones	GPS
	T-Mobile

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