Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

As a long time Cingular Customer and Motorola user, I recently
upgraded to the V400 & GSM (after long and skeptical research and
evaluation) wanting to enjoy the media I saw my friends on Sprint
enjoy. (Awesome graphics and fast!)

Nobody could advise me as to how big of a plan I would need or use, so
I started with the $2.99 500 KB plan. I started using it Saturday
Night and could access very little.... "Waiting....,
Downloading....Pausing......Data Server Not
Available....Sending....blah blah blah. I finally was able to access
My Weather & Sports scores a couple of times, received one RingTone,
but that was it. It kept prompting me to register on Media Net (which
I already had) and the weather.com web page, (which I already had) but
still would not accept my user log in. I'm not going to go through
this each time I want to access this stuff. It was awful. No weather
Radar...(they want another $3.95 per Month for that which I was
mislead on) the sports scores appeared plain text and crowded together
and hard to read. There is no way I actuallyreceived 500KB worth of
data. It would download half of something then krap out and I would
have to start over. I notice Sprint gives you the first two months
free so you can determine if you like it and how much of a data /
multimedia plan your going to need. Cingular should offer the same
thing, or at least a month. I was surprised how much better Sprints
Media Access and what a better deal it was than Cingular's.

I'm going to call and complain Monday (since you can no longer get CS
on weekends or nights) but if it takes a half a MB each day, unlimited
would be the only way to go. I certainly can't justify $240 per year
worth of weather and sports from my cell phone, but it would be nice
to access occasionally. It seems they are a bit confused in offering
these minimal plans, or they just know they are going to make a bunch
more money off it that way. What are your thoughts on this?

Other than that, I seem to like the GSM and V400 fine.
(although I don't want a camera on my phone)
Tim

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

1. Access: Given decent signal with a properly provisioned account and
properly configured phone, MEdia Net access is quick and reliable. Contact
Customer Care for help in getting your problems corrected.

2. Content: MEdia Net has both free and premium content, and weather radar
falls into the latter, although the price is only $1 (for Basic Mobile My
Cast). But you're not limited to MEdia Net -- there's lots of free WAP content
and resources on the Internet. For weather radar (and other useful weather
content), go to the URL http://mobile.wunderground.com/ and enter the ZIP
Code. (You can Bookmark the URL for repeat use.)

3. Speed: For higher performance, you need a phone that supports EDGE (e.g.,
new Motorola V551). EDGE, now available in most major areas, is 2x to 3x
faster than GPRS (used by the V400).

4. Cost: I strongly recommend the MEdia Works "unlimited" package, which is a
bargain at only $20/month. For occasional use, albeit at low speed, CSD is
available, which uses plan minutes (a good use for generous Night & Weekend
minutes). Cingular does offer data promotions from time to time, and you may
be able to get a free trial if you ask.

In <brdfp0t99ck1dg5i6f8aapumrc5dn9ou5v@4ax.com> on Sun, 14 Nov 2004 14:37:58
-0600, Tim <timbuk2NoSPAM@NoSPAMcox.net> wrote:

>As a long time Cingular Customer and Motorola user, I recently
>upgraded to the V400 & GSM (after long and skeptical research and
>evaluation) wanting to enjoy the media I saw my friends on Sprint
>enjoy. (Awesome graphics and fast!)
>
>Nobody could advise me as to how big of a plan I would need or use, so
>I started with the $2.99 500 KB plan. I started using it Saturday
>Night and could access very little.... "Waiting....,
>Downloading....Pausing......Data Server Not
>Available....Sending....blah blah blah. I finally was able to access
>My Weather & Sports scores a couple of times, received one RingTone,
>but that was it. It kept prompting me to register on Media Net (which
>I already had) and the weather.com web page, (which I already had) but
>still would not accept my user log in. I'm not going to go through
>this each time I want to access this stuff. It was awful. No weather
>Radar...(they want another $3.95 per Month for that which I was
>mislead on) the sports scores appeared plain text and crowded together
>and hard to read. There is no way I actuallyreceived 500KB worth of
>data. It would download half of something then krap out and I would
>have to start over. I notice Sprint gives you the first two months
>free so you can determine if you like it and how much of a data /
>multimedia plan your going to need. Cingular should offer the same
>thing, or at least a month. I was surprised how much better Sprints
>Media Access and what a better deal it was than Cingular's.
>
>I'm going to call and complain Monday (since you can no longer get CS
>on weekends or nights) but if it takes a half a MB each day, unlimited
>would be the only way to go. I certainly can't justify $240 per year
>worth of weather and sports from my cell phone, but it would be nice
>to access occasionally. It seems they are a bit confused in offering
>these minimal plans, or they just know they are going to make a bunch
>more money off it that way. What are your thoughts on this?
>
>Other than that, I seem to like the GSM and V400 fine.
>(although I don't want a camera on my phone)
>Tim
>

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

Thanks for all the good info. After visiting two cingular stores
today we discovered my phone worked fine. when I got back home, it
would no longer download data successfully. I went outside in the
yard, and still no luck. I drove two blocks away and it again worked
fine. I'm having a friend with the same plan and the same phone come
over tomorrow night and see if the can download here. If she can, my
phone must have some kind of weird problem.

Tim



On Mon, 15 Nov 2004 10:05:16 GMT, John Navas
<spamfilter0@navasgroup.com> wrote:

>1. Access: Given decent signal with a properly provisioned account and
>properly configured phone, MEdia Net access is quick and reliable. Contact
>Customer Care for help in getting your problems corrected.
>
>2. Content: MEdia Net has both free and premium content, and weather radar
>falls into the latter, although the price is only $1 (for Basic Mobile My
>Cast). But you're not limited to MEdia Net -- there's lots of free WAP content
>and resources on the Internet. For weather radar (and other useful weather
>content), go to the URL http://mobile.wunderground.com/ and enter the ZIP
>Code. (You can Bookmark the URL for repeat use.)
>
>3. Speed: For higher performance, you need a phone that supports EDGE (e.g.,
>new Motorola V551). EDGE, now available in most major areas, is 2x to 3x
>faster than GPRS (used by the V400).
>
>4. Cost: I strongly recommend the MEdia Works "unlimited" package, which is a
>bargain at only $20/month. For occasional use, albeit at low speed, CSD is
>available, which uses plan minutes (a good use for generous Night & Weekend
>minutes). Cingular does offer data promotions from time to time, and you may
>be able to get a free trial if you ask.
>
>In <brdfp0t99ck1dg5i6f8aapumrc5dn9ou5v@4ax.com> on Sun, 14 Nov 2004 14:37:58
>-0600, Tim <timbuk2NoSPAM@NoSPAMcox.net> wrote:
>
>>As a

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

I should have indicated that what I was intersted in was the motion
radar for weather...Java I guess. I saw it on a Friends Sprint phone
and it was awesome! And, it was included in his plan.

I chatted with Cingular tech support last night for an hour, as we
verified their settings and my phone settings and everything was
correct. It seems to be a problem either with my phone or just in
this neighborhood. Very strange. They told me if my friends phone
worked here, they'd swap the phone.
I just accessed Wunderground, but when I book marked it and attempted
to access it again, I get all kinds of errors. I have to enter my
state each time and go from there. Kind of a hassle.
Thanks Again
Tim


On Mon, 15 Nov 2004 10:05:16 GMT, John Navas
<spamfilter0@navasgroup.com> wrote:

>1. Access: Given decent signal with a properly provisioned account and
>properly configured phone, MEdia Net access is quick and reliable. Contact
>Customer Care for help in getting your problems corrected.
>
>2. Content: MEdia Net has both free and premium content, and weather radar
>falls into the latter, although the price is only $1 (for Basic Mobile My
>Cast). But you're not limited to MEdia Net -- there's lots of free WAP content
>and resources on the Internet. For weather radar (and other useful weather
>content), go to the URL http://mobile.wunderground.com/ and enter the ZIP
>Code. (You can Bookmark the URL for repeat use.)
>

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

FWIW, I personally find WAP limiting enough that I run a full Java web browser
on my phone (WebViewer), which does a remarkably good job of scaling the real
web (not just WAP) down to the small screen.

In <7o3jp0dfl13ad9n1c9siikkpf6mobofdhh@4ax.com> on Mon, 15 Nov 2004 23:25:47
-0600, Tim <timbuk2NoSPAM@NoSPAMcox.net> wrote:

>I should have indicated that what I was intersted in was the motion
>radar for weather...Java I guess. I saw it on a Friends Sprint phone
>and it was awesome! And, it was included in his plan.
>
>I chatted with Cingular tech support last night for an hour, as we
>verified their settings and my phone settings and everything was
>correct. It seems to be a problem either with my phone or just in
>this neighborhood. Very strange. They told me if my friends phone
>worked here, they'd swap the phone.
>I just accessed Wunderground, but when I book marked it and attempted
>to access it again, I get all kinds of errors. I have to enter my
>state each time and go from there. Kind of a hassle.
>Thanks Again
>Tim
>
>
>On Mon, 15 Nov 2004 10:05:16 GMT, John Navas
><spamfilter0@navasgroup.com> wrote:
>
>>1. Access: Given decent signal with a properly provisioned account and
>>properly configured phone, MEdia Net access is quick and reliable. Contact
>>Customer Care for help in getting your problems corrected.
>>
>>2. Content: MEdia Net has both free and premium content, and weather radar
>>falls into the latter, although the price is only $1 (for Basic Mobile My
>>Cast). But you're not limited to MEdia Net -- there's lots of free WAP content
>>and resources on the Internet. For weather radar (and other useful weather
>>content), go to the URL http://mobile.wunderground.com/ and enter the ZIP
>>Code. (You can Bookmark the URL for repeat use.)
>>

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

Could not find a $1 option, only 3.95 and 9.95 for MyCast and the
whatever that other one was. I can't believe someone would pay $120
per year for access to a weather radar on their phone... must be nice.

Wunderground didn't work well, had to enter zip code everytime and
could establish a bookmark that worked directly to my state. I got an
error message that the file was too large or couldn't locate the page.

Tim


>>>2. Content: MEdia Net has both free and premium content, and weather radar
>>>falls into the latter, although the price is only $1 (for Basic Mobile My
>>>Cast). But you're not limited to MEdia Net -- there's lots of free WAP content
>>>and resources on the Internet. For weather radar (and other useful weather
>>>content), go to the URL http://mobile.wunderground.com/ and enter the ZIP
>>>Code. (You can Bookmark the URL for repeat use.)
>>>

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

You mean if you buy and install the WebViewer Browser you can access
the weather radar for free as if on your computer?

Thanks
Tim

>>>2. Content: MEdia Net has both free and premium content, and weather radar
>>>falls into the latter, although the price is only $1 (for Basic Mobile My
>>>Cast). But you're not limited to MEdia Net -- there's lots of free WAP content
>>>and resources on the Internet. For weather radar (and other useful weather
>>>content), go to the URL http://mobile.wunderground.com/ and enter the ZIP
>>>Code. (You can Bookmark the URL for repeat use.)
>>>

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <gbikp0lc1dp1bb28ld4j40ansdnl4s4d59@4ax.com> on Tue, 16 Nov 2004 12:42:00
-0600, Tim <timbuk2NoSPAM@NoSPAMcox.net> wrote:

>Could not find a $1 option, only 3.95 and 9.95 for MyCast and the
>whatever that other one was. I can't believe someone would pay $120
>per year for access to a weather radar on their phone... must be nice.

That's a function of the phone you are using -- I get the same higher prices
with a Cingular-branded Motorola V551. But with a generic (unlocked) Sony
Ericsson Z600, I get $1 for Basic Mobile My-Cast. Unfortunately, I know of no
way to get the $1 price with a Cingular-branded Motorola phone.

>Wunderground didn't work well, had to enter zip code everytime and
>could establish a bookmark that worked directly to my state. I got an
>error message that the file was too large or couldn't locate the page.

Again, this is a phone issue -- I have the same problem with the V551, but not
with the Sony Ericsson Z600, which can easily bookmark and return to
particular radar pages. The apparent problem is that Motorola phones don't
save the bookmark correctly -- a direct URL (e.g., the link for San Francisco
http://mobile.wunderground.com/cgi [...] ery=94101)
does work. Unfortunately, I know of no way to work around the problem in a
Cingular-branded Motorola phone -- perhaps you could create a working bookmark
manually with Motorola PhoneTools.

p.s. This kind of issue is part of the reason I've decided to return the V551
and stick with the Z600.

>>>>2. Content: MEdia Net has both free and premium content, and weather radar
>>>>falls into the latter, although the price is only $1 (for Basic Mobile My
>>>>Cast). But you're not limited to MEdia Net -- there's lots of free WAP content
>>>>and resources on the Internet. For weather radar (and other useful weather
>>>>content), go to the URL http://mobile.wunderground.com/ and enter the ZIP
>>>>Code. (You can Bookmark the URL for repeat use.)

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

WebViewer allows you to access most Internet Web (not WAP) content by doing a
remarkably good job of scaling Web pages down to the small screen. (It
doesn't support all Web features and the phone memory does impose a page size
limit.) It is able to access the non-animated current weather radar images at
<http://mobile.wunderground.com>, and can successfully bookmark particular
locations for later rapid access.

WebViewer can also navigate NOAA; e.g., start at <http://weather.gov>, enter
your location in "Local forecast by 'City, St'", and click Go to access the
complete NOAA local forecast page, including radar and satellite images.
Click on the radar image thumbnail and it will take you to the full local
radar image page with the high-resolution radar image. However, it's not able
to run the looping. (For ease in seeing what's going on, navigate the site in
parallel on a computer.)

All of this can be seen in the Online Demo of WebViewer at
<http://www.reqwireless.com/demo-webviewer.html>. I was able to download the
WebViewer demo directly to a Cingular-branded Motorola V551 with the built-in
WAP browser from <http://reqwireless.com/wap> -- it gets installed as a game
-- and found that it worked well.


In <adjkp0h41thq9b017vqgn4bhrj9ofk31p8@4ax.com> on Tue, 16 Nov 2004 12:58:20
-0600, Tim <timbuk2NoSPAM@NoSPAMcox.net> wrote:

>You mean if you buy and install the WebViewer Browser you can access
>the weather radar for free as if on your computer?

>>>>2. Content: MEdia Net has both free and premium content, and weather radar
>>>>falls into the latter, although the price is only $1 (for Basic Mobile My
>>>>Cast). But you're not limited to MEdia Net -- there's lots of free WAP content
>>>>and resources on the Internet. For weather radar (and other useful weather
>>>>content), go to the URL http://mobile.wunderground.com/ and enter the ZIP
>>>>Code. (You can Bookmark the URL for repeat use.)
>>>>

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

Thanks John for all the good info. I was able to determine that my
house/yard/neighborhood was the problem with data reception and
Cingular has noted the problem and made an adjustment for the
inconvenience. (I guess because it is in the heart of Oklahoma City
and shouldn't be a problem) I also somehow discovered a premium
weather plan for $1.99 with which I'm happy.

All in all, I love the V400, especially for the $60 upgrade fee. There
is some great info here in the group and I'm glad you all are here...
there's also some amusing conversations. ;-)
Tim



On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 18:28:25 GMT, John Navas
<spamfilter0@navasgroup.com> wrote:


>WebViewer can also navigate NOAA; e.g., start at <http://weather.gov>, enter
>your location in "Local forecast by 'City, St'", and click Go to access the
>complete NOAA local forecast page, including radar and satellite images.
>Click on the radar image thumbnail and it will take you to the full local
>radar image page with the high-resolution radar image. However, it's not able
>to run the looping. (For ease in seeing what's going on, navigate the site in
>parallel on a computer.)
>