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Phun with Fones
Jul. 29th, 2009 10:45 amThis issue may not affect many of you, at least not as much as it does me, but I thought I'd point it out in case there's anyone else who can expect a good and painful walletectomy in about a month.
One of the coolest things about the iPhone is that it retains your voicemails onboard. No more calling in from the road, at daytime rates, to get your messages. No annoying pre-voicemail greetings to listen through. Listen to them in any order. Ignore the ones you don't need to hear. Awesomesauce, right?
Imagine the lost revenue to AT&T. Imagine what they might be doing to recapture some of it.
Here's two, for a start.
----
The messages before you can leave a voicemail are getting longer. They've added "to send a fax, press 4." Who sends a fax to a mobile? This is still followed by "to page this person, press 5." Who pages anymore? What is this, 1989? And on at least some of the ones I've called into, you cannot bypass the bullshit by pressing 1 to go straight to the prompt.
Ah, but if it's mobile-to-mobile, it isn't costing anything on many plans. That's where the really nasty new thing comes in.
----
I typically forward my incoming office calls to my mobile, even if I'm in the office. Better access to voicemail for missed calls, no running down the hall to grab the phone, et cetera. Since many of my calls are from other mobiles, they're free. Or at least they were.
I just checked our AT&T account online to see "what's da damages" from Emily's month of texting orgasmia down at Fredonia. Our bill just cycled, so the past month still isn't up, but this month's usage is. In four days, I've blown through 70 of 450 minutes. The huh?!?
I checked the detail, and I understand. They are now treating every forwarded call, including every call from a cell phone, as if it was from a landline, showing not the caller's number as they always did but my office number. Even though all the "forwarding" does is bounce the call off the wall and send it back into wirelessland. Even though the call, far as I know, doesn't cost the wireless company anything for being placed through the land carrier's system. Now, it appears, it's as if that call was originating and lasting the entire time from my desk.
Needless to say, I've turned forwarding off until I can figure this out. And so should you. Also, especially if you have an iPhone, you should google "Google Voice" to see how Apple and AT&T are reacting to that new threat to their portable cash cows. Once implemented, you will have free access to all your calls and voicemails in one place, bypassing the meters and the limits of the carriers' systems. Apple just banned Google Voice apps from the iTunes Store, doubtless because of the sucking sound they heard over the horizon on their pot of money from captive customers like me. I've resisted jailbreaking my phone until now, but don't make me angry, Mr. Jobs. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry.
One of the coolest things about the iPhone is that it retains your voicemails onboard. No more calling in from the road, at daytime rates, to get your messages. No annoying pre-voicemail greetings to listen through. Listen to them in any order. Ignore the ones you don't need to hear. Awesomesauce, right?
Imagine the lost revenue to AT&T. Imagine what they might be doing to recapture some of it.
Here's two, for a start.
----
The messages before you can leave a voicemail are getting longer. They've added "to send a fax, press 4." Who sends a fax to a mobile? This is still followed by "to page this person, press 5." Who pages anymore? What is this, 1989? And on at least some of the ones I've called into, you cannot bypass the bullshit by pressing 1 to go straight to the prompt.
Ah, but if it's mobile-to-mobile, it isn't costing anything on many plans. That's where the really nasty new thing comes in.
----
I typically forward my incoming office calls to my mobile, even if I'm in the office. Better access to voicemail for missed calls, no running down the hall to grab the phone, et cetera. Since many of my calls are from other mobiles, they're free. Or at least they were.
I just checked our AT&T account online to see "what's da damages" from Emily's month of texting orgasmia down at Fredonia. Our bill just cycled, so the past month still isn't up, but this month's usage is. In four days, I've blown through 70 of 450 minutes. The huh?!?
I checked the detail, and I understand. They are now treating every forwarded call, including every call from a cell phone, as if it was from a landline, showing not the caller's number as they always did but my office number. Even though all the "forwarding" does is bounce the call off the wall and send it back into wirelessland. Even though the call, far as I know, doesn't cost the wireless company anything for being placed through the land carrier's system. Now, it appears, it's as if that call was originating and lasting the entire time from my desk.
Needless to say, I've turned forwarding off until I can figure this out. And so should you. Also, especially if you have an iPhone, you should google "Google Voice" to see how Apple and AT&T are reacting to that new threat to their portable cash cows. Once implemented, you will have free access to all your calls and voicemails in one place, bypassing the meters and the limits of the carriers' systems. Apple just banned Google Voice apps from the iTunes Store, doubtless because of the sucking sound they heard over the horizon on their pot of money from captive customers like me. I've resisted jailbreaking my phone until now, but don't make me angry, Mr. Jobs. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry.