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A few retailers have jumped on the bandwagon and started selling refurbished iPhones. This might be tempting to some people who have been dying to get their hands on this device. However I have to wonder if it really is a good idea to buy a refurbished iPhone. iPhones are different than other cell phones and  smartphones in that you really cant remove the battery from the device; youre not supposed to remove the SIM card either though I am sure some of you have done that out there; and youre not really able to back up your phone profile anywhere else. What if your refurbished phone crashes? I think they are a riskier phone to get in the form of a refurbished model and might cause you too much of a headache and hassle. My iPhone 3G, which I bought brand new, has had to be hard reset more than a few times. And Ive had to do my fair share of factory restore which Ive never ever had to do on any other device that Ive owned. The point is that the iPhone still has too many glitches without you having to worry about one more thing if it is being purchased as a refurbished model. Plus youre only getting $50 off which isnt all that much. For a refurbished iPhone I wouldnt want to pay $149 for something that isnt new. My suggestion to you is this: either shell out the extra $50 and get a new iPhone or to go for another device if its going to break the bank.

Spend some time in a retail wireless store and youll soon realize that people dont want to part with their money so much. Whether at Verizon Wireless or AT&T or any other carrier, customers are generally all the same. They have come to expect a deal by getting a free phone or an almost-free phone. Well, the problem now is that most phones are more than just phones.  Todays smartphones can parallel your desktop to some extent and provide you with an organizer, MP3 player, and cloud computing among other capabilities. So why do we expect for these phones to be given to us for such a discount when they are actually worth so much more? Some people predict that the days of giving out free phones are coming to an end. Thats because wireless carriers are already heavily subsidizing the smartphones they sell. One reason they are doing this is to gain more customers, of course. More importantly though, they all know that revenue from data plans can be very profitable in the long run so subsidizing doesnt seem so bad. As far as the device manufacturers are concerned, theyre in a rat race.  They have to continue to discount their handsets to get them into the hands of mainstream and middle class consumers and for that to happen the price has to be just right. Apple set precedence in 2008 when they lowered the price of the iPhone 3G to $199. Now it seems any smartphone hitting the market at anything over that price is setting itself up for automatic failure.  On the flip side, the problem with consumers is that they dont realize the value of a smartphone and the actual cost of the device. Smartphones retail for anywhere from $400 to $1000 without a contract. Thats really expensive right? But not if compared to say if you walk into a Best Buy to get a new laptop in that same price range. Smartphones are starting to replace laptops so why not give them the same value consideration that we would with a computer and realize that we will all have to pay for that mobile convenience?

We reported to you the week before last that AT&T has started to sell refurbished iPhone 3G. Well, they are not available for purchase in stores. This seem to be an online-thing only.  And for a limited time you are in luck! The original price of a refurbished black 8GB iPhone 3G is $150 but until December 31, 2008 there is an additional $50 OFF so that makes the phone for only $99 with a new 2 year contract. What an amazing price! Also, the 16GB is available in black or white and that is also $50 OFF so the price will be only $199 with a new 2 year contract.

Whether you got a new Apple iPhone 3G just recently for Christmas or youve had it all along, make sure you take good care of it. When I was in the AT&T store today, I found out that if you loose your precious device, it will cost you much more than what you originally paid for it to be replaced. A new 8GB will be sold to you for $399 and the 16GB for $499, plus dont forget that your AT&T plan will get extended. Ouch! And double ouch! That one will really hurt your pocket books so take good care of your iPhone 3G.

How about saving yourself a little bit of money this holiday season when you buy an iPhone? Well, now you have the option to do just that... AT&T has started selling refurbished Apples iPhone 3G for $50 less than the brand new ones. The 8GB model is for $150 and the 16GB model sells for $250 with a 2-year contract for both. Wondering where these phones came from? Theyre from customer returns during the 30-day trial period.

 

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LG Incite the first smartphone from LG’s kitty is all set to ignite the smartphone market in the US. From LG Electronics MobileComm U.S.A the device is packed with premium capabilities bundled up in a superb design with a shiny reflective surface.

Available to AT&T customers exclusively LG Incite packs the latest in wireless communications technology. Its capabilities include built-in 3G, GPS and Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, Windows Mobile 6.1 professional, Microsoft Office Mobile, Microsoft ActiveSync 4.5 and also Windows Media Player 10.

The LG Incite is decked with an alluring 3-inch touch screen with an on-screen virtual keyboard which can be a full QWERTY one in landscape mode or a 20-key keyboard in portrait view. Users can capture, send and store fav memories using a 3.0 megapixel camera and camcorder.

Incite’s user interface makes screen navigation smooth. A configurable drag-and-drop favorites menu gives easy access to important applications. User’s finger or the stylus gets things done in a jiffy.

Fully loaded, Incite comes with AT&T Navigator, powered by Telnav. Turn-by-turn voice directions, colorful moving 3-D maps, traffic alerts, re-routing and many more location-based services makes Incite the best travel companion.

As for written communication there is personal and business mail access via Microsoft Direct Push and AT&T’s Xpress Mail service and instant messaging. Music lovers can download music from eMusic using AT&T Mobile Music service and store the songs with the microSD Memory Port with 16GB support.

Here’s more music to the ears- Use Bluetooth 2.0 capabilities on the Incite to wirelessly access music through stereo headsets, transmit data to Bluetooth-enabled devices and call hands-free all the time. Send live video while talking, with AT&T Video Share which allows sharing video over wireless devices.

“LG Mobile Phones has done an outstanding job in its first offering in the U.S. smartphone arena with the LG Incite, and AT&T is pleased to the be first U.S. carrier to offer an LG smartphone,” said Michael Woodward, vice president, Smart Devices for AT&T’s wireless operations.

Both Woodward and Ehtisham Rabbani, vice president of Marketing and Product Strategy for LG Mobile Phones share the opinion that the LG Incite is a stunning looker with powerful capabilities in the Windows Mobile smartphone portfolio.

Incite’s features list does not end here. It also supports Microsoft’s System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008. Being an enterprise-grade mobile solution it helps manage and protect Windows Mobile 6.1 phones, helps companies pass on software updates to employees over the air and enables secure access to company data.

Let’s wait and watch if the Incite will create waves or only ripples in the smartphone market.

The feature rich LG Incite is all yours for $199.99 with a new two-year agreement and mail-in rebate. Go for it online at www.wireless.att.com or buy from an AT&T retail store close by. 

The new Samsung Eternity mobile phone is out on the AT&T network and its very cool indeed.

Just announced today this is a a touch-screen device that comes with support for ATT Mobile TV. ATT also announced the availability of a 30-day free trial for all new ATT Mobile TV subscribers.  As for the device, this ones great; 3G network; a full-touch QWERTY keypad, a large, vivid 3.2-inch touch screen, AT&T Mobile Music with Napster Mobile and a 3 megapixel camera among other features. For full details check out the AT&T store.

Guitar Hero World Tour is becoming very popular and who wouldnt want to rock this game out? AT&T offers a mobile version of this game to play on your phone, and they are offering 4 exclusive songs for free. Also if you order new high-speed internet you get a free Guitar Hero World Tour Complete guitar game free. You can also enter a sweepstakes to win an one of many prizes from a band of Guitar Center , including an electric guitar from Laguna, a drum set form Orange County and many more. Looks like AT&T is the people to be hooked up with, if youre a Guitar Hero Fan!

A while back it seemed as if AT&T was worried about the overpopulated 3G network, and how tethering an iPhone would play off. Well now it looks like the worries are gone. AT&T President and CEO Ralph De La Vega stated in an interview at the Web 2.0 Summit, that the company is working with Apple to let the iPhone serve as a tethered wireless modem for laptops soon.  Unfortunately, there is no info yet on the actual effective date nor the pricing. If you are anxious and simply cannot wait for it, there are a few other known options like using PDANet. If you can jailbreak your phone it will probably be easier and cheaper to stick with using other alternatives for tethering your phone. Unless AT&T offers the tethering service for a real low price, I doubt many will switch to tethering that will cost them money as opposed to none. Then again a lot of people might just want to play tby the rules and avoid any problems.... yeah right.

Napster has expanded its availability to more than 13 million AT&T customers. Napster lets you download music to your phone from more than 6 million songs. The service is now available on more than 25 AT&T smartphones and handsets, including the Blackberry Bold. Previously it was only available on a limited number of AT&T phones. This expansion reach comes due to a less restrictive digital rights management requirements from the labels and Napsters adoption of a more flexible technology. Now AT&T customers can download full length songs, at $1.99 each, wirelessly and for added value, a copy will automatically get sent to the customers pc. Napster mobile is also available  for $7.49 a month, which includes five song downloads per month. With this new music app, AT&T offers more choices for mobile music than any other U.S. carriers. Source & Image: AT&T, news.acoustics.com