Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

It seems strange to report something positive about Vonage not once, but now twice in a row. Just yesterday we heard how they were getting some more cash to stay afloat and that we could expect a new CEO soon, and today they have added a new calling plan.

The new plan is dubbed the Vonage Pro and will allow users to use their home number to make or receive calls anywhere they happen to have an Internet connection. The new plan will include a new version of the Vonage SoftPhone client and comes with the same features as the current unlimited residential plan.

Customers will be able to send or receive calls from both their home phone and the SoftPhone and have the caller ID show the home number. In addition they will also be able to make two calls at the same time, meaning someone can make a call from the home phone as well as the VoIP client. The Vonage Pro account will set new users back $34.99 a month, or current unlimited calling customers can upgrade for an extra $10 bucks a month.

According to Vonage’s chief marketing officer Jamie Haenggi they have “already received feedback from beta users that indicates Vonage Pro will be a success, both in the quality of the phone service and the unique features it offers.”

We can only hope that is true, personally I have been a Vonage fan and am pleasantly surprised to see them making a comeback, when for a while it seemed like they were going to be down for the count.

Read [Vonage] Via [Digital Trends]

After several cries and complaints, Sprint has finally explained its decision to cap its “unlimited” data usage plan to 5GB a month, plus 300MB a month of off-network roaming. According to Sprint, the new limit is plenty enough, since it only affects 0.5% of customers. Sprint also notes that the limit applies to both existing and current consumer and individual accounts, but not corporate, business, public sector, or government contracts. The company states that the Simply Unlimited plan is exempt from the new rule—as the limit only applies to data cards and phone-as-modem plans. Interestingly, Sprint is permitting customers to go over the limit only if they do not exceed the limit in two out of three consecutive months—otherwise, termination is possible. However, Sprint is being gracious enough to inform users of the new limits prior to termination, giving customers a chance to change their usage habits. To aid monitoring data usage, the company will allow customers to check their data usage via Sprint.com starting June 8.

If 99.5% of customers are not going over the 5GB limit, than why is Sprint enforcing it? Granted 5GB of bandwidth should be plenty for most users, is it really worth losing the 0.5% of its “hardcore” customer base? Wouldn’t keeping the 0.5% and removing the limit give Sprint the competitive edge its needs, by being the only wireless provider to offer a true “unlimited” data plan?

Via [MobileCrunch]

Sprint is probably the only wireless carrier to offer a true unlimited data plan. However, according to a Sprint employee on the SprintUsers forum, this may no longer be the case. A reportedly leaked internal memo has revealed that Sprint is now enforcing a monthly 5GB data usage cap on its Phone as Modem (PAM) and data card plans, thus, joining the other carriers that are also limiting data usage to 5GB (AT&T and Verizon). Additionally, the memo says Sprint users that roam on another network will only be allowed 300MB of data per month.

“Sprint reserves the right to limit throughput speeds or amount of data transferred and to deny, terminate, modify, or suspend service if usage exceeds 5GB per month in total or 300MB/month while off-network roaming. Check your subscriber agreement rights on Sprint.com”

It should be noted that there has not been any official announcement by Sprint, so at this point it’s only a rumor at best. But, the leaked memo mentions that Sprint will be updating its Terms of Service to put the new limits into effect on July 13. Despite the new revelation, it is unknown whether or not the wireless company will actually be enforcing the new rule. What exactly does “reserve the right” mean? Does this only apply to heavy users, or to the entire member base? Regardless, the good news is that Sprint customers may be able to terminate their contracts earlier, due to the change.

Read [SprintUsers]

Following up on the recent confirmation that Rogers will be indeed offering the iPhone “later this year” we are now left to wonder just how affordable their data plans will be. The latest word has it that they will be offering an unlimited plan for just $7-a-month, which sadly at this time is nothing more than a rumor and speculation as it has come from the wonderful “un-named source.”

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The latest offering coming from Boost Mobile is the PAYGO Chat Plan, which is just $1 a day. The plan does not include any daytime minutes, but instead offers unlimited nights and weekends, unlimited texting, and unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling. Those daytime minutes will be billed at $0.10 per minute. The PAYGO Chat Plan could be a nice option for those looking for just basic calling, but be warned those extra charges can run up quickly for additional services. Wireless web will set you back an extra $0.35 a day and picture, audio or video messages will be an additional $0.25 for each that is sent or received.

Read [Boost Mobile] Via [IntoMobile]

Didn’t we just reported that eBay has given Skype until the end of this year to prove its worth and viability before they decide to sell it off or keep it? Looks like Skype is starting to shape up as it just announced that it will begin offering an unlimited international calling for $9.95 a month.

The new Skype plan will give users unlimited calling features to 34 countries worldwide including most European countries, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, China, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Malaysia. The new plan also includes Skype to landline and cell phone calls in Canada, China, Hong Kong and Singapore.

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Rumor has it that Sony BMG is launching an unlimited music subscription. Rolf Schmidt-Holtz was noted saying in an interview with German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, that the company is already working on music subscription service, of course, for the greater good of the Internet users. We’re expecting the music service would launch before 2008 is over and would cost between $9 to $12 per month. Songs are expected to play on all types of digital players including the iPod, which would imply that they were going to be released as DRM-free. 

Schmid-Holtz disclosed:

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The long running rumor about The Beatles music coming to iTunes had recently resurfaced, and once again was quickly proven untrue, so now it only makes sense that we should see the unlimited download plan stories start to resurface. The Financial Times is reporting that Apple is again talking with the “major music companies to offer customers free access to its entire iTunes music library in exchange for paying a premium for its iPods and iPhones.”

According to the story the negotiations are stalled over just how much Apple is willing to pay up, Apple of course had not made any statement confirming or denying the story. We here would tend to believe this one is not true, but hey stranger things have happened.

Read [Reuters]

Alltel has quietly announced, albeit a little while after the other major carriers, their unlimited calling plan. Currently available for only $99.99 per month, Alltel subscribers can now talk anytime, anywhere without having to keep tab of the minutes with the new unlimited phone plan. Called the National Freedom Unlimited, this call plan is an attempt by Alltel to keep up with other carriers such as AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon that have recently launched their own unlimited plans. 

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If you are not worried about data, then Sprint’s other unlimited plan may be something to consider. The second unlimited plan, which is more in-line feature with the other major carriers. Sprint’s plan goes for $10 less than the other carriers and costs $89.99 a month, it includes unlimited voice, messaging and direct connect. In addition to the lack of data, this plan also does not include the Sprint TV and GPS services.

Personally for just $10 more, I would suggest going for the $99 Simply Everything plan and getting all those extras, but I suppose there are a lot of people out there who could care less about surfing the web or watching TV on their phone.

Via [MobileBurn]