13,500 people sing “Hey Jude” at Trafalgar Square

by Scott Carmichael on


If you thought 100 random people singing the Sound of Music in Antwerp was a bit wacky, picture 13,500 people singing Hey Jude in the heart of London.

This was another stunt by T-Mobile in the UK who previously got 17,000 people to show up at Liverpool street station. None of the people there actually knew why they were there – it was all thanks to the “power” of social networks that everyone managed to show up at the right place, and the right time. And I don’t know about you, but I’m really digging the feel good atmosphere the whole event seems to have created there.

Daily gear deal – T-Mobile prepaid Samsung phone + $25 credit for $30

by Scott Carmichael on

Our daily deal for this morning is for a T-Mobile prepaid mobile phone with a bonus $25 prepaid card. This Samsung Stripe GSM phone is a step above most basic prepaid phones, as it has Bluetooth and a camera.

The phone is on sale for just $29.99. Now, you are probably wondering why I’m linking to a prepaid phone when most of you probably already have a decent (smart) phone.

Well, at just $30, this makes a brilliant little backup phone, plus it is great for anyone visiting the US who wants a cheap way to make some calls when they visit us.

The other reason is that this phone can be used with any T-Mobile SIM card, which means current subscribers to T-Mobile will be able to pop their SIM card in the phone and use it.

The phone comes with a charger, hands-free headset and SIM card with 10 minutes starter airtime.

Gadling Gear Review – T-Mobile Blackberry Curve 8900

by Scott Carmichael on

Last year, I wrote about the T-Mobile Blackberry Curve, and described why I was convinced that it was the best phone for International travelers.

Its combination of T-Mobile WiFi calling and smartphone features made it an absolute winner, and it was one of the 25 products featured in our “best travel products of 2008“.

As with all mobile phones, technology does not stand still, and T-Mobile recently released the newest version of this Blackberry – the Curve 8900.

The 8900 takes the best parts of the older Curve, and adds a 3.2 megapixel camera with Auto-focus and LED flash, a MicroUSB port (instead of MiniUSB), GPS, a higher resolution screen and an improved keyboard. Still inside the device is the fantastic WiFi calling feature and all the other goodies offered by the Blackberry operating system. The device also underwent a little cosmetic surgery, and is in my opinion the best looking Blackberry to date.
As a reminder – the T-Mobile Hotspot@home service allows you to use a WiFi network as an alternative way of getting on the T-Mobile network.

When you are outside their cellular coverage area, you simply get yourself on Wi-Fi, and you can make and receive calls, send and receive text/picture messages and use the web/email portion of the phone. Of course, none of this is particularly impressive if you are just sitting in Peoria without coverage, but being able to turn on Wi-Fi in your Tokyo hotel and make free phone calls without any trouble is in my opinion the best feature on any phone available at the moment.

Yes – many phones have VOIP built in (the iPhone has Skype for example), but the seamless integration on the Curve is just amazing. You make and receive calls using your own phone number, and you don’t have to screw around with any additional software.

Battery life is quite simply astounding – and is one of the few phones that actually gets close to its promised standby and talk times (5.5 hours talk time and 15 days standby). Even with over 400 emails a day, I could still get away with just one charge a week.

The Blackberry Curve 8900 is not perfect though – the device still uses the old(er) EDGE data system instead of 3G, so when you are using the cellular network, you’ll feel the pain of slow transfers.

Also, the Blackberry OS feels a tad cumbersome when compared to the iPhone or the T-Mobile G1 running Android. Simple things often take more button presses than they should.

Still, despite those minor issues, the Curve 8900 is quite simply amazing, and for anyone leaving the country a lot, a real lifesaver. To make the device even better, T-Mobile is the only operator in the country that offers an unlimited email add-on package. For just $19.95 (in addition to the normal plan costs), you get unlimited email in any country that offers T-Mobile roaming service. AT&T will charge you $60 for just 50MB of international data, and that plan only applies to a select number of countries.

One quick word of warning though – the unlimited email plan really only applies to email, in the past they would permit any data, but recently they made changes that started billing customers for web or other data used abroad.

One final major improvement I need to mention is the new Blackberry App World. This iPhone like “app store” is fantastic, and finally puts an end to the hassle that was always involved with getting applications on the device. The App World is free, and is currently filled with loads of cool applications, including Slacker for the Blackberry.

The Blackberry Curve 8900 is available from T-Mobile for $149 (after a $100 mail in rebate), or from Amazon.com (a T-Mobile dealer) for free (after a $100 mail in rebate). These prices require a new service plan. The price without a new plan is $500.

Daily deal – T-Mobile Cameo wireless digital photo frame for $39.99

by Scott Carmichael on

My daily deal for today is pretty far from the average travel technology deal, but since almost every traveler carries a camera phone, I’ll explain why I think it is still a great deal for you.

The T-Mobile Cameo digital photo frame launched last year, at $99 and a monthly service charge of $9.99, it was one of those gadgets that I would have wanted to purchase, but just could not get over the $10 fee every month.

Yesterday, T-Mobile dropped the price on the Cameo to $39.99 for the frame, and just $1.99 a month for the service.

So, what can you do with this photo frame? You can sent photos to it from anywhere in the world! The frame operates on the nationwide T-Mobile network, and constantly waits for new incoming photos.

You can send photos using MMS (picture messaging) or through email. Each frame comes with its own mobile number, and sending a photo to it is as simple as attaching the photo in an email, and sending it to the dedicated email address assigned to the frame.

This is of course absolutely perfect if you are traveling the world and want to send daily photos to a loved one back home, or if you have a family member who can’t seem to operate anything more complicated than a coffee maker.
The device does not require any user interaction to receive the photos, they just show up when you send them. Thankfully there are some settings that allow you to restrict who can email the device, so there is no need to be worried about the family prankster sending porn to the frame.

In addition to the wireless portion of the frame, you can still add photos by connecting it to your computer, or by adding an SD memory card. The frame has a display resolution of 720×480 and has a built in light sensor for adjusting the brightness.

The Cameo frame can only be purchased at a local T-Mobile retail store (corporate owned), and since the $1.99 fee is actually for a new line, you will have to pass the T-Mobile credit check.

The good news is that the Cameo service does not require an activation fee or a contract, so you are free to cancel it after just 60 days. I’ve been playing with mine for a few hours, and it really is a fun way to send and view photos.

You can make the deal even better if you purchase the Cameo along with the new T-Mobile Samsung Memoir camera phone – when purchased on the same receipt, you are eligible for a $40 mail in rebate.

If you want to read a quick review of the device, check out this article by our friend Darren Murph over at Engadget.

Sign up with T-Mobile, get free companion airfare

by Grant Martin on

Up for a contract renewal for your mobile phone? Desperate for a cheap plane ticket? T-mobile might have your answer.

If you sign up for a two-year contract with the wireless provider, they’ll give you a free companion ticket to any seat that you buy. The offer is fairly flexible too: there are no blackout dates, tickets are good through 2010, you can earn frequent flyer miles and you can fly on any airline.

But there are also restrictions. The biggest one that I can discern is that you have to book your original ticket through a T-Mobile partner’s proprietary search engine — through which I hear you can’t get the “best” prices on all flights. As an example, one member at Flyertalk pointed out that a transcontinental flight was quoted between $600-$700, nearly twice that of which you could pay during a good fare sale.

Still, if you do your homework and find out that it’s economical to book the companion ticket, it may be worth looking into. You can check out T-Mobile’s promo page here while the Frequently Asked Questions page is here.