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All the entries posted on August 15, 2007.
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Home > Plugged In > Archives > 2007 > August > 15
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Your iPhone bill is here. Remember to lift with your knees
Apple iPhone owners, another big thing has come your way: The Bill. And we don’t mean big as in pricey, but monstrously big as in Godzilla-tiptoeing-over-Tokyo.
Message boards and blogs are buzzing with talk about recently received paper phone bills from AT&T that span dozens of pages. Graphic designer and blogger Justine Ezarik appears to be the current public champ with a 300-page bill shipped to her in a cardboard box (see her hit video below).
Why the big bills? AT&T itemizes not just phone calls and text messages but every bit of data the iPhone consumes. That includes e-mail and all the little files on all the Web sites visited. So if you’re reading Plugged In on your iPhone, even our little green graphic counts as a download.
All the traffic is listed, line by line, kilobyte by kilobyte, simply as “data.”
AT&T says receiving the detailed paper bill is the default.
“If you don’t want it, that’s fine. Just let us know,” said AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel. Customers can go online or make a call to choose electronic billing or a shorter paper summary.
But it’s too late now for folks who didn’t pick e-billing from the start. If your first bill hasn’t arrived, there’ still time for some weight training.
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Kids on the web
A survey out today shows that a good number of kids are surfing the Web before they even know how to read very well.
About 41 percent of adults surveyed by computer fix-it franchise 1-800-905-GEEK and Harris Interactive said that they allowed their kids 6 years old or younger to go online. About 20 percent said they let kids go on line at age 3 or younger.
For some reason, Southern adults were more likely to allow children online at an early age. About 27 percent of Southerners surveyed said they introduced at least one of their kids to the Web at age 3 or younger. By comparison, only about 11 percent of Midwestern adults did.
The survey says young mothers are more likely to let their kids online at an early age — 3 years old or younger. Fathers are less likely let their kids grab the mouse at such an early age.
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Satellite company gets charged up in Dallas
Coming soon to homes in Dallas: Internet over electric power lines brought to you by your satellite TV company.
DirecTV announced early Wednesday that it is partnering with the Current Group to offer broadband over powerlines (BPL) and Internet calling services at the end of this year. The first market will eventually cover about 1.8 million homes in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Further expansion depends on Current building out its network.
Subscribers will get a BPL modem to plug into almost any home outlet. The companies say the service has upload speeds faster than a cable connection.
The alliance gives DirecTV a new stick to play with in the Great Bundle Wars shaping up between the phone and cable companies. The satellite guys also may have no choice but to find new dance partners since Verizon and AT&T, which have offered calling bundles with DirecTV, are breaking into the video business on their own using new fiber networks.
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