As I wrote in this post, I signed up for Skype’s monthly subscription service last spring. At first, I was just curious about it and didn’t expect much. Now I can say Skype is really valuable for anyone who often calls internationally.

Skype to Go Number
I found Skype to Go Number especially useful. “Skype to Go Number” comes with monthly subscription. What you get is a local number you can call from your cell phone or any other landlines. The following shows how you can set it up once you signed up for monthly subscription.

• From your computer’s Skype program, choose “Skype” then “Account.”
• Click on “Skype to Go Number.”
• If I remember correctly, then you’ll see a list of available numbers. You pick the area code and the number you want. I picked the number with the same area code as my cell phone’s.
• Then, you need to register/save the phone numbers you want to use to call Skype to Go number. I have 2 phone numbers registered: one is my cell and the other is my office phone.
• If you have international phone numbers you call often, you can register them as speed dial contacts from within the Skype software. (You don’t have to have speed dial contacts but you know it’s not fun to dial 16 numbers every time you want to make a call.)
• With Skype to Go Number and the saved speed dial contacts, the rest is very very easy.

You call your own Skype to Go Number from your registered phone and follow the direction. Basically, it’s pressing 1 for calling one of the speed dial number or 2 for calling any other international number. You don’t need to remember each of the speed dial number, it will be read out to you…. “Press 1 if you want to call Jane….”, etc. This is what I call a no hassle international call. I can use my cell phone or office phone to make a call, not from my home PC where I installed Skype software.

My LG enV3, which I got about 2 months ago, has a problem saving pictures. After I take a picture, I can save it on the phone only for a little while. The picture I saved shows up in “My Pictures” right after I took it. If I check it, say after 5 min., the pic won’t show most of the time, with a red question mark placed over some logo.

So, basically I couldn’t save any pics, or that’s what I thought. I deleted pics I’d taken. Then, I realized that photos show up in My Pictures sometimes…..

Browsing the photos seems to cause some problems also. The phone freezes from time to time when I browse pictures.

I’ve found out that these are common problems with enV3 that Verizon has a fix. So, I need to bring my phone to the Verizon store to get it fixed. (I think they’ll do a firmware upgrade.)

Related Post
LG enV3 Music Syncing Problem

I must admit…. I like electronic gadgets. I usually buy new and hot stuff relatively early, especially when it comes to music- or video-related goods. I am not as crazy as those who spend hours and hours in front of a store to get hold of a new product. But I usually buy a new product before its second generation comes out.

For some reason, Bluetooth headsets did not interest me. Well, that is… until recently. I’ve been doing Christmas shopping and noticed that the prices of Bluetooth headsets have come down a lot. I am feeling tempted. So, I started to do some research.

The two main advantages of Bluetooth headsets are:

1. Wireless — frees up hands
   Obviously, not having to use a hand to hold the phone is very, very convenient, especially while driving. Even when you are doing a grocery shopping and calling home to ask your family members about what they want from the store, your hands are free to push the shopping cart or to examine some products. I can see some benefits in this regard.
2. Affordable
   As I noted above, Bluetooth headsets are affordable now. You can find some cheap one for less than $20.00. However, people I spoke with and a lot of online reviewers said the sound quality for cheap units are not as good. You get what you pay for. One person told me that $50.00 is his threshold. Anything above should be decent, according to an IT person who uses Bluetooth at work.

Well, then the question is:”Do I Need IT?”
Probably not. At my work, I sit in front of a computer almost all day with a headphone on to shut out noises and listen to the music. I don’t move around. I don’t get too many work-related phone calls anyway.

My commute time is very short. It’s only a 10 min. drive one way. I do, however, drive 40 min. one way every week for some extra curricular activity. I use a corded headphone I bought along with my new cell phone, LG enV3, so I have a device that let me do hands-free driving while on the road.

My next question to me has an obvious answer. Do I Want IT? Yes, I do. Very much.

What I’ve decided to do, since I cannot decide to buy it now or not, is to buy one as a Christmas present and see how my recipient likes it or not. In other word, I’ll use her as my guinea pig.

Based on my budget (between $50 to $70) and my research, models I am considering buying are the following.

• Plantronics Discovery 925 Bluetooth Headset
  
  • From CompUSA ($49.99)
  • From TigerDirct ($49.99)
  • From Amazon.com ($49.99)
• Jabra BT 530
  
  • From ComUSA ($54.99)
  • From TigerDirect ($54.99)
  • From Amazon ($37.95)

Have you struggled to sync music between your cell (LG enV3) and your computer? I have. It was frustrating as music sync software (both Windows Media Player and Yahoo Music Engine) didn’t work. But I’ve found a much easier solution.

Use a memory card reader on your laptop — No need for special software
Yes. It’s just that. If you laptop has a memory card reader, use a memory card adapter that comes with the memory card for you phone, and stick the memory card into the card reader. Your laptop should recognize your card just like any other external drive.

Side Notes

• Battery Life When Used as a Music Player
  I was skeptical about the battery life if I use the phone as a music player. I used it for about 6 hours straight last weekend and it still had 2 bars. I need to do more experiment to be sure, but I can tell you it’s been good so far.
• Sound Quality
  The sound quality is quite good. Even though it doesn’t have some advanced features of a mp3 player, such as equalizer, it has high quality stereo sound.

Related Post
LG enV3 Picture Problem

Here’s a quick way of creating and sending your own ringtones to your Verizon cell phone. It’s not that difficult. You need a sound editor program to crop the source mp3 file and to change the format. I used GoldWave, which costs $49.00 for one user; however, you can download and install free software, audacity, from here. If you choose to use audacity, you also need to download and install the mp3 codec, Lame 3.96.1.

Once you picked a song and installed software, do the following.

1. Open the song in the sound editor and trim the song so that the song length is about 20 seconds.
2. Save the file as an mp3, 22050 Hz, 160 kbps, stereo. You can choose a lower kbps and mono but the quality will not be as good. The file size should be somewhere between 250kb to 350kB.
3. Close the file and change the file extension to mid so Verizon protocol will think it’s a file in a midi format. [Note: I am using LG enV3, and it worked without changing the extension.]
4. Log in to your email account. (I used my Yahoo email.)
5. Start a new email and attach the file to the email and send it to yourself.
6. Forward the email to your cell phone. The recipient’s address should be:
   XXXYYYZZZZ@vzwpix.com
   where XXXYYYZZZZ is your cellphone number including the area code. (You may need to have a Verizon pix place for this to work.)

I tried some other ways and software before but I am satisfied with the quality and ease of making/sending my own ringtone this way.

[Note]
If you are not a Verizon user, you can refer to this page for some additional info on other wireless carriers. I’m not sure how up-to-date this page is, though.

T-Mobile G-1 Android phone, the first mobile phone built with Google’s operating system, Android, was launched last fall. Even though I am leaning toward staying with Verizon as you can see in this post, I still want to look around to see if there are better alternatives for me.

Reviews on the Internet
The reviews I could find on the internet were mixed. For example, gizmod.com lists 5 flaws of T-Mobile G1.

1. Contacts and syncing problems
2. No video capability
3. Hardware inadequency
4. No internal strage for media playback
5. Locked to T-Mobile

The same gizmod.com also has a very detailed, somewhat positive review here.

All of the above are probably typical of any product during an initial launch. With a little more time, I’m sure the product will get better. It’s a good looking phone with some twists.

If you want to get some deals, there are already some listings for the Android phone and a lot of people are actually bidding for it

US $69.00 (4 Bids) End Date: Saturday Jul-31-2010 13:32:57 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

US $79.99 (3 Bids) End Date: Sunday Aug-01-2010 22:42:22 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

US $182.50 (28 Bids) End Date: Sunday Aug-01-2010 21:39:38 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

US $119.50 (9 Bids) End Date: Sunday Aug-01-2010 19:02:32 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

US $71.00 (5 Bids) End Date: Sunday Aug-01-2010 12:12:45 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

US $309.00 (3 Bids) End Date: Thursday Aug-05-2010 12:05:45 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

US $61.00 (16 Bids) End Date: Wednesday Aug-04-2010 18:08:40 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

US $105.00 (23 Bids) End Date: Monday Aug-02-2010 11:43:34 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

US $61.99 (13 Bids) End Date: Wednesday Aug-04-2010 17:35:18 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $185.00 Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $360.00 (29 Bids) End Date: Saturday Jul-31-2010 17:30:53 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

It’s been about a year since I switched to Samsung Glyde. It’s been a bumpy ride with a few glitches here and there, so I am now ready for my next cell phone. I’ll probably wait until my current 2-year contract with Verizon expires next year. But I want to get started with my research.

Cell Phone Carrier
The first decision I need to make is a cell phone service. Should I switch the carrier or not? I’ve been a happy customer of Verizon Wireless for about 6 years now. I had a Sprint cell phone before and the signal quality was terrible at the time. As I was living in a newly-developed suburb, I had to pay a roaming charge even when calling from home. Ridiculous. So, I switched to Verizon. The signal quality was superb. No more roaming charges for calling from home.

Signal Quality
I don’t travel a lot but when I travel, I could always count on getting good signals with Verizon wherever I go. My friend and I went for a weekend trip about 3 years ago, and we got stranded in the middle of nowhere in Mississippi because of flat tires. As two of her tires blew out because of big fat nails, we needed to call a road-side assistance. It was a middle of nowhere with no big town nearby but we were driving a major interstate highway. Her cell phone couldn’t get the signal but mine did. The only times I couldn’t get signals with Verizon were in the mountains in Oregon where there are even no zip codes assigned to the area.

Consumer Reports Review
The consumer reports website picks Verizon as a stanout choice for most people. According to their user survey, Verizon is:

Widely available, among the leaders in satisfaction and connectivity in every rated city, and the standout in customer support. Its prepaid service is as highly rated as its traditional plans. It also offers Vcast mobile TV, a live-TV service offering cable and broadcast channels.

Other recommendations from Consumer Reports are:

A fine alternative where available
Alltel

Though Alltel service is available to only 26 percent of the U.S. population (vs. 87 percent for Verizon), this provider typically matched Verizon for overall satisfaction and connectivity. It’s also among the least expensive carriers for Web access. Its My Circle plan allows unlimited free calls to as many as 20 designated phone numbers, including wireless and landline on any network.

Worth considering, especially if you frequently travel overseas
T-Mobile

Overall satisfaction is similar to Verizon in most cities, though it doesn’t match Verizon in connectivity or customer service. It’s among the least expensive carriers for Web access and for text and multimedia messages. Its My Faves plan allows unlimited free calls to five designated phone numbers on any network.

So, I think I’ll stick with Verizon. When I talk with my friends, I experience an occasional signal drop with my ATT-using friend but not with Verzion friend. Verizon’s TV commercial, as it may seem silly, is true to the fact that Verizon signals follows you everywhere and they are dependable. As a woman who may need a cell phone in case of emergency, I put dependable signal quality as the most important criteria when choosing a cell phone service.

Before I cut the cord of a landline telephone, I needed to do a little thinking about the replacement for my regular phone. Should I go cell only or go VOIP? If going VOIP, which service? Finally, I decided to use Skype.

The reasons I decided to use Skype were:

• I’ve already used a free Skype service and was satisfied.
• International calls to certain countries are unlimited for a low fixed rate. The price was $9.95/month when I signed up. They raised a price a few days ago, so now it’s $12.95/month. I make international calls to 2 countries. Even though I use discount phone cards and I don’t call often, it still adds up.
• There is no long term contract. You can choose pay as you go or monthly subsription.

The reason I chose to get a paid service, monthly subscription, is that not everyone I call is capable of computer-to-computer calls. With a flat monthly subscription fees and no hidden/additional taxes and fees, I still save some money since my monthly landphone bills were around $50/month.

Skype to Go
In addition, a “Skype to Go” number comes with a monthly subscription. Essentially, a “Skype to Go” number allows you to make international call from any phone including cell phones. So, I can use my cell phone, my work phone, or my friend’s phone to make international calls by calling a local “Skype to Go” number. I tested it. It works fine and the sound quality is excellent.

Online Number
A “Skype to Go” number comes with a monthly subscription but you need to purchase “online number” if you want a number where other people can call. Since I have a cell phone and a cell phone plan with a plenty of minuites, I didn’t have to buy an online number. But I wanted to have a landphone equivalent for some reason (probably sentimental reasons). The big advantage of having an online number is for frequent international travelers. I purchased an online number that has the local area code. So, as long as I have a computer with Skype installed (my laptop) with me and as long as my laptop is connected to the internet regardless of my location in the world, my friends here can call me by dialing a local number and talk with me. That’s pretty neat.

As a subscriber, I got 50% off of a purchase of an online number, so I paid $30 for a number I can use for a year. That’s $2.5/month. Not bad at all. By purchasing the number for a year, I may have committed myself for a year. But I can cancell my subsription without a penalty and not using the online number I bought fully. This is just so different from cell phone companies’ 2 year contract deal. I think most of cell phone providers charge $175 or so for an early termination of the contract.

Technical Glitch about Sound Card — Solved quickly
After a few days of use, I noticed one very annoying glitch about Skype. If I watch Youtube videos or listen to music on my computer, Skype software stopped responding to calls or could not make outgoing calls saying that “No sound. There’s a problem with the sound card inside your computer.” Every time it happened, I needed to reboot my computer to fix it. It was quite irritating. Then, I checked the audio setting in Control Panel. The default device was set to Total Recorder (software to record sound), so I changed it back to my computer’s audio card. That fixed the problem quickly.

Overall
I am very pleased with Skype. I recommend it for anyone who makes international calls or anyone who goes abroad often.

I finally ditched my landline phone, which I wasn’t using at all. Basically, I was paying extra bills for the thing I didn’t use. Since I was too lazy to register for “Do Not Call,” I was plagued with solicitation calls. So, I just stopped picking up the phone, then those solicitors left messages, making my answering machine a junk box. It was a good move for me to save some money and to get rid of annoyance. I first thought about going cell only but decided to go VOIP. Overall, I am quite happy not to have a landline phone. I should’ve done it sooner. If you are thinking of doing the same, here are some things for you to consider.

Usage Pattern/Activity Pattern of the household

• How big is your family? Does your family have a chatty person who’s on the phone a lot?
• Does your cell phone plan’s minutes enough for your family? Do you go over the cell phone minutes from time to time?
• Do you and your family spend a lot of time at home or you/your family are on the go most of the time?
• How often and how long do you and your family make domestic long distance calls?
• How about international calls?

Home Security System

• Do you have a monitored home security system?
• Does your security company offer a cell-phone-based monitoring?

Cell Phone Signal
Is the cell phone signal strong enough at your home? This is important if you are thinking of going cell only.

Emergency Call (911)
The emergency dispatchers can see the address if the call is made from a landline but they cannot get the exact location from a cell phone call.

Fax
If you need a fax machine at home, you may want to keep the landline. I did a research on this and found out that cell phones do not work with a fax machine. There are alternatives to phone-line based faxing. Now you can fax by email or use a cell phone to take a picture of the document you want to fax. Either way, it’s cumbersome.

I considered all of the above. Since I don’t have a family member who talks a lot/ and for a long time, I decided to ditch the landline.

The charge problem I described in this post seems to have been solved. The cause was a simple one. The battery was not seated in the slot properly. I’d had some difficulty to close the case properly and that seemed to indicate that the battery didn’t get into its slot properly, which should not happen if the design of the case and the battery slot was good enough. Well, now that I’ve found out what was the cause, I only need to charge twice a week or so. I’m glad I didn’t buy a replacement battery.