Disney MVNO shut down.

Disney announced today that they are shutting down their Disney Mobile phone service.  According to Disney, current Disney Mobile customers will receive service and support until Dec. 31, 2007.   Current customers may qualify for a reimbursement program but details of the reimbursement program were not immediately available. Customers should check on the Disney Mobile Web and that they will announce the programs details no later than October 8th.  Also something to note is that if you plan on moving your service to another provider and you want to port (keep your Disney number) then you should do it before November 30th to insure number portability.

What Disney brought to the table was not a bad feature to have if you are a parent with younger children.  I assume that the service will eventually make it to one of the major carriers (probably Sprint; because Disney Mobile used their networks) as an add on service much like the ESPN service now on Verizon Wireless. 

The service that Disney provided was a family oriented GPS tracking system that allowed parents to “see” where their children are through a web based portal or on their cell phones GPS system.  All in all, the idea is a great one for families who are always on the go.  With the hectic schedules that Americans have these days, it is a great feature to calm worried parents who want to know where their children are. 

AskTheYak…

So, any questions out there? 

Recently, I had a customer come in the store with a text messaging problem.  Maybe someone out there knows the answer to this, but I am currently researching it for the customer. 

Not much detail as of now, but she has a Motorola Razr v3M with Verizon Wireless.  For some reason, when she tries to text message someone or someone tries to send a message to her, it does not work.  I have talked to Verizon Wireless and they state “it should work”.  Obviously not the answer I was quite looking for, but for the most part it’s true.  It should work.  For some reason it does not. 

Later on this when I find out what’s really going on!

Micro-USB to become standard on most cell phones

Looks like cell phone manufacturers are starting to actually LISTEN to their customers!  It was announced that Samsung, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, LG, and Nokia are all going to standardize their cables for charging cell phones.  

 How many cables do you own around your household?  If you are a gadget freak, then I don’t want to know.  But for the most part, people do have a ton of cables lying around their house to charge their phones, iPods, laptops, etc….So this is definitely a change in the right direction.

I know that Motorola has done a great job standardizing their cable ports to use the mini USB port, but other manufacturers have been slow to adapt.  This will mean that you and your wife can buy one car charger for those road trips, one cable for hooking up your phone to your computer to download music, pictures, and data files. 

T-Mobile Releases Wi-Fi enabled Blackberry Curve.

 T-Mobile annouced today that they will be releasing the Blackberry Curve with wi-fi!  It should be compatible with T-Mobile’s HotSpot@home service but it was not confirmed on the press release.  The phone will come in two colors; pale gold and titanium (gold shown).  

AT&T has had the phone in it’s lineup for a couple of months, but T-Mobile’s offering has a 2 megapixel camera, broader keyboard layout, and with a two year contract can be yours for $249.99.

 Remember you can trade in your phones at Yakety Yak and use it towards the purchase of your new phone!

Welcome to AskTheYak

Hello world!  My name is Thomas and I am starting this blog for two reasons…..The first is that I find writing a great opportunity to let consumers know what is happening in the cell phone industry.  As an owner of a wireless store, I have great insight to all that is cellular!   The second reason is that I like to write!  I think it’s a great way to keep up with all the industry changes and stap on top of where the industry is going!

First, a little about my business…..

My store is a little different than most of you are used to seeing…we carry multiple wireless carriers so you can come in an compare all your choices.  Instead of hopping from one carrier store to the other, we make it convienent to stop in and ask about all the major carriers including Verizon Wireless, Sprint, Nextel, T-Mobile, Cricket (Local Carrier if you have never heard of them).  We are also an authorized representative of Clearwire, wireless broadband.  I will go further into that company’s profile in another post.

 So where to start? 

The cell phone has changed the way we communicate with each other on a daily basis!  The other day, my daughter Ainsley (she’s four years old) asked me what her sister Taeya was pulling along the living room.  The object in question was a toy rotary phone with silly eyes and a mouth.  Ainsley has never seen a rotary phone being used around our household as my wife and I were early to cut the landline and go exclusively cellular.  I told her it was a phone, but she looked at me as though I was crazy!  How times have changed! 

I think the best place to start is to jump in and write about the latest news concerning the wireless world……..

I hope you all enjoy what I post on this blog….as for the first blog….it will have to wait until I get back from a buddies bachelor party.  He is getting married in October so we are heading up to a cabin in Donnely, Idaho to make sure he leaves the bachelor life with a bang!  Welcome to married life Mr. Z.

The Weekend……

Happy Monday to all;

The bachelor party was a blast!  Getting older is hard to do when your friends think they are still 20 years old!  Wow!  What a weekend! 

Something I noticed while I was in Donnely, Idaho; Verizon Wireless and Sprint worked well near Tamarack resort.  But Cingular/At&t and T-Mobile had some issues.  Looks like their roaming agreements are not very good with whom ever owns the tower there.  I have Verizon Wireless and was able to make phone calls and send a few text messages while stationed at the Goodson cabin.  Another friend of mine has Sprint and it worked just as well.  T-Mobile was the preferred carrier of my friend Tiny Tim…he couldn’t call out from the cabin and neither could my Cingular friend.

Now that I own a cell phone store, I tend to look for cell towers for some reason while driving around town or going somewhere like Donnely.  It’s kind of like when you get a new car and all of a sudden, everyone driving around you owns the same car!  They sure do look out of place in some of the less urban places….I saw one right up against a hill with a bunch of cows around it.  I guess people want cellular reception EVERYWHERE they go! 

So if you happen to be one of the lucky ones and own a cabin in Donnely, Cascade, or McCall, Idaho………Verizon Wireless and Sprint/Nextel are the way to go.  It seems more and more people head up that way each weekend to get a good dose of wilderness!  It sure is beautiful up there…the weather was a bit nasty, but there was a skiff of snow Sunday morning!  Hope the snow gods can be nice this year and dump a bunch of snow on us!  Last year was such a bummer. 

If you have not had a chance to get up to Idaho’s newest resort, you have to go and take a look around.  Tamarack is definitely a desitination resort and they did such a great job of preserving the natural beauty around that area!