![]() The spokeswoman said Wi-Fi calling on Android phones uses a different technology that doesn’t let calls be handed off into the carrier’s network. The company discontinued this service in October 2009. Users paid $10 more each month and got unlimited calling over Wi-Fi. This system wouldn’t be such a surprise if T-Mobile hadn’t, at one point, offered a similar feature that didn’t deduct minutes. If people choose the Web-200 plan, they’ll pay $150 for the Sidekick device, itself. People can choose between two data plans for the Sidekick 4G on top of their voice plan: The Web-200 is $10 a month for 200 megabytes of Web and email Web-Unlimited offers unlimited Web and email for $30 a month. The kicker is that calls made using Wi-Fi, even one’s own home network, will still deduct minutes from a monthly T-Mobile data plan. If someone starts a call in the network and wanders into Wi-Fi-even a network already set up on the phone-that person won’t be prompted to switch to Wi-Fi. Sure enough, I walked too far and the call dropped. I tried this during a call and heard a warning beep, then saw a message flash on the screen telling me my call would drop if I went out of the Wi-Fi coverage. People can make or receive calls over Wi-Fi using the Sidekick 4G as long as they’ve enabled one simple setting on the phone (first-time users receive a prompt that walks them through this).īut if someone is in the middle of a call and walks out of Wi-Fi coverage, the Sidekick can’t pass the call over to the carrier’s network. In some cities, the average download speeds of T-Mobile’s 4G phones have approached five mbps, with peak speeds of nearly 12 mbps, she said.īut like all carriers, T-Mobile wants to make it as easy as possible for users to hop off of its own carrier network and onto Wi-Fi-even for making phone calls. The spokeswoman said 4G speeds will vary based on a number of factors. Four other T-Mobile smartphones run on this 4G network. In Washington, D.C., I clocked my Sidekick at 6.28 megabits per second for downloads and 0.51 mbps for uploads-fast, but nowhere close to the T-Mobile website’s theoretical estimate of 21 mbps. The Sidekick 4G’s Group Texting function in actionĪs its name implies, the Sidekick 4G runs on T-Mobile’s 4G network. The spokeswoman said Cloud Text will have Group Texting in the next two weeks and that contacts in Cloud Text and the rotating screen problem would be fixed in updates over the next three months. (People can also receive texts and reply to them.) Another problem is that some apps and screens won’t rotate into landscape view even when the phone is turned on its side with its screen slid out. This means you have to (gasp!) know someone else’s mobile number to initiate a text from the PC or manually input names and numbers as contacts on the PC. Cloud Text is still in its beta, or test, phase, and it doesn’t yet sync contacts from the phone to the browser-based texting services, nor does it enable Group Texting. The new Sidekick has a 3.5-inch screen that slides up to expose a five-row physical keyboard, including numbers, which eliminates the need to shift to another screen for typing numbers or symbols.īut some features aren’t fully baked. The Sidekick 4G has no technical connection to the data service previous devices used.) (Sidekicks had a problem with the loss of personal data due to server issues. A T-Mobile spokeswoman said the previous model was discontinued last summer in anticipation of the device’s move to the Android platform. Since its debut in 2002, the Sidekick has been known for its cool screen that either swings or slides out to reveal a keyboard beneath it. I tried all of these features and had fun using the Sidekick 4G, which runs the Android 2.2 operating system. And a Group Texting tool lets people create and save groups of friends for group chats. ![]() A Sticky Notes feature lets users stick text messages with important information in it-like directions to a friend’s house-on the Sidekick’s home screen. It’s the first T-Mobile phone with Cloud Text, a feature that lets people receive or send texts on their computer’s Web browser, too. Its Secret Messages option will password-protect text messages from nosy parents or friends.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |