28
Oct
Sprint

A few months ago AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon all started blocking wireless tethering apps in the Android Market, making them unavailable for download on their respective devices. At that time, Sprint was the only carrier still allowing tethering apps to be installed without limitation -- but that time has come to an end. That's right, the Now Network has begun blocking the installation of wireless tethering apps from the Market on any device attached to its network.

SC20111028-110531 SC20111028-110535 SC20111028-110631

While this is disheartening indeed, there is always a workaround. Sprint may be able to block specific apps in the Android Market, but it can't stop you from pulling an app directly from the web and sideloading it onto your device.

06
Sep
Sprint

Last week, the US Department of Justice filed an antitrust complaint against the proposed AT&T/T-Mobile deal. Naturally, Sprint was quite pleased by this, as it has been fighting this deal tooth-and-nail since its initial announcement. Now, The Now Network has filed its own suit to block the deal.

Sprint's lawsuit is focused on how this merger would affect both competition and the consumer market, citing that it would:

  • Harm retail consumers and corporate customers by causing higher prices and less innovation.
  • Entrench the duopoly control of AT&T and Verizon, the two "Ma Bell" descendants, of the almost one-quarter of a trillion dollar wireless market.

27
Jun
image

When the new Google Talk with voice and video calling was launched, those of you on T-Mobile who wanted to place calls on 3G quickly found out that it wasn't at all possible. Rather than connecting you to your dog for an afternoon chat, the application stubbornly insisted on only operating through a Wi-Fi connection. At Google I/O 2011, I was able to dig up some more technical details surrounding this limitation, even further upsetting hopeful customers. Bummer.

The light at the end of the tunnel appeared out of nowhere today, when reddit user ep311 was suddenly able to call a friend from his Nexus S running Android 2.3.4, all on 3G while driving home from work.

09
May
call-block-stop-unwanted-calls
Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

I've had this problem with my cell phone for the past couple of years. Somehow, despite my best efforts, telemarketers have gotten ahold of my cell phone number. In addition to that, I'm STILL getting calls from debt collectors for the person I assume had my phone number before I got it, which was around 4 years ago. This is really annoying. Like, really, really annoying. I've got my own debt collectors calling, I don't need this "Sherry's" collectors calling me as well. Lucky for me, though, warranties are just a cute, ignorable line of text from the manufacturer and I promptly root all devices within 15 feet of me.