AT&T to allow VoIP apps for iPhone—but you may still have to pay

The brouhaha that’s been brewing since AT&T and Apple squelched the Google Voice app for iPhone back in July just took an interesting turn. In an apparent reversal, and capitulation to an FCC inquiry, AT&T now says it will permit iPhone VoIP apps—those phone services that allow you to place voice calls over the Internet at little or money—to operate over its 3G and 2G networks.

iPhone (and Touch) users already have the ability to make VoIP calls via Skype service when they're within range of a Wi-Fi hotspot—but not over AT&T's 3G network. AT&T has a history of curbing iPhone access to its network for fear of overloads. Only in late September did it begin allowing iPhone users to send text messages with pictures (MMS).

This issue of allowing people to bypass their networks to make phone calls has been far more contentious. Many consumer groups, including Consumers Union advocates, contend that blocking such innovative apps is unfair to consumers. 

The announcement, CU advocates say, is a step in the right direction. However, AT&T's new VoIP offer may yet prove to be a very limited victory for consumers. Blackberry users can already make VoiP calls via Skype and other providers on AT&T's 3G network. However, the calls go over the voice portion of the network, so consumers use up their minutes. The only time it pays to use Skype over 3G is when calling foreign countries, which will be charged as domestic minutes rather that the much pricier foreign minutes.

No details of permitted apps or app rollout have been released. —Mike Gikas

New Ratings of cordless phones: Better than ever, generally speaking

They may not grab headlines much anymore, but cordless home phones continue to improve, as illustrated by the latest batch of models posted to our Ratings, available to subscribers.

Much of the credit is due to a technology called DECT, short for Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications. Phones with DECT technology—which comprise 23 of the 34 models in our updated Ratings—don't have the interference problems that often plagued their analog and digital predecessors, since they use the 1.9-GHz frequency band the FCC reserved for them (and other voice-only devices). They also have better talk times (sometimes exceeding 20 hours) than phones with those older technologies, and work over greater distances from their bases.

[UPDATE Sept. 2, 2009: As a reader noted, the Panasonic KX-TG6413T cordless phone does not have talking caller ID since it lacks an unattended auto-answering function. —Ed.]

Some models also add other conveniences to make calling easier. For example, the Panasonic KX-TG6413T, a phone-answerer that costs $80, can save you the hassle of leaving your comfy couch just to see lets you know who's calling without looking at the phone’s caller-ID. It verbally announces callers via talking caller ID, and also allows you to assign frequent or important callers their own, distinct ring tones. You can even block telemarketers and other nuisance callers by storing their numbers on the phone's call-block directory.

And another phone-answerer, the The Uniden DECT 2060-2, $60, is a very good phone-answerer to have if eavesdropping is a concern. If you don’t want people on other extensions to listen in on your conversation, push a button and they'll be locked out. In this mode, the word “Unavailable” will appear on the displays of the extension phones.

Update: About 911 and "disconnected" landlines

As some of you have pointed out in our recent post, Using your cell phone as your home phone comes with a risk, some states do require local carriers to maintain a "soft" or "warm" dial tone, which allows you to call 911 on a line that has been disconnected or is otherwise inactive.

An up-to-date-list of affected states is elusive; we struck out in obtaining one from the FCC and some industry groups. However, the following are likely states for some form of soft-tone requirement; we assembled the list from data in an FCC report published in 2000 (Adobe Acrobat software required) and a North American Numbering Council (NANCE) report published in 2002 (link requires Microsoft Word or compatible word processing software).

Here they are:

• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Delaware
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Iowa
• Massachusetts
• Minnesota
• Montana
• New York
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• South Dakota
• Utah
• Vermont
• Washington
• Wyoming

Using a cell phone as your home phone comes with a risk

The economic downturn is causing more households to pare down services to save money. You'd think one of those might be service to the family’s cell phones, but according to a new Center for Disease Control (CDC) study, it's often the landline that's getting the ax.

During the last half of 2008, 20 percent of U.S. households used only cell phones, compared with 17 percent of the households with landlines that had no cell phones.

It easy to see why people would prefer the mobility of a cell phone over a stodgy landline, especially since falling rates for unlimited minutes are actually making them the better bargain. And, as the Associated Press reports, cell phones users are less likely to be annoyed by pollsters because federal laws prohibit them from using computers to place calls to wireless phones.

But landline connections do have one important advantage over cells: They're safer. With emergency calls made over a landline, 911 operators know for certain the address and location of call. Not so with cell phones, which use much less-direct—and less-consistent—system for connecting with emergency responders.

Skype launches iPhone app

Voice-over-Internet company Skype is expected later today to make available an application to allow its service to be used on iPhones. The app adds to Apple's smartphone a calling option that's been available for some time for phones that use the Windows Mobile and Google Android operating systems. A Skype app for Blackberry devices is expected in May.

Early reviews of the app—from blogs on USA Today and CNet, among others—have been generally positive, while pointing out that the iPhone Skype doesn't offer everything that the service offers when used on computers.

The takeaway: Don't start spending the money you hope to save by dropping your iPhone voice plan after you get Skype on the device. The new app will be usable only from Wi-Fi hotspots, not on the AT&T data network—where it might allow you to skip running up minutes on your voice plan.

Cell phone Do Not Call list? No need to call.

If the in-boxes of Consumer Reports' staffers are any indication, there's currently another uptick in e-mails warning that America’s cell-phone numbers are about to be posted in a national 411 directory for use by telemarketers. Unless you call 888-382-1212 888-382-1222 to register it on the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Do Not Call List, the messages say, you'll soon receive a flood of telemarketer calls.

This is false. There is neither a deadline nor even such a directory, at least not yet. The e-mails even get the relevant agency wrong; the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates cell phones, not the FTC.

It's actually illegal for telemarketers to call your cell phone, though your carrier or its partners have the legal right to text you with upgrade offers or account notices. (For tips on curbing unwanted text messages on your cell phone, see: "Cell-phone spam: How to curb it.") Also, non-commercial organizations such as charities and political campaigns can contact you all they want, on your landline or your cell.

You can register your cell-phone number with the FTC's Do Not Call Registry (https://www.donotcall.gov/), but the agency will as yet do little or nothing with it. The registry is for landline numbers. You used to have to re-register those with the FTC every five years. But now registrations remain in effect until you change your number, thanks to the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007 that became law in February 2008.

If telemarketers or others harass you on your home or cell phone, you can file a complaint with the FCC by filling out online form 1088. Make a note of the time, and any caller details (caller ID comes in handy in these situations).

—Mike Gikas

[UPDATE March 31, 2009: We corrected an error in the toll-free number for the "Do Not Call" registry. —Ed.]

Higher iPhone sales fuels applications and accessories

Apple's announcement on Wednesday that quarterly iPhone units sold were up nearly 88 percent (to 4.4 million units) over the same quarter last year is a rare bright spot in an otherwise bleak economy.

Such growth helps account for the continuing increase in the number of iPhone applications sold through the iPhone App Store.

When I was at Macworld recently, some iPhone (and iPod Touch) applications caught my attention. Here are some new titles you might want to look into:

• Truphone is a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) app for both iPhone and 2G iPod Touch, using a wi-fi connection to make calls (free between Truphone users). It may save money on international mobile calling in particular.


• E-wallet from Ilium Software lets you store all your critical data and passwords in one place accessed by one strong password. It offers 256-bit encryption, 30 UI templates, and multiple "wallets" allowing users to store by type (banks, credit cards, social sites, etc.).


• Consumer Reports even has its own free iPhone app, which carries the complete postings of this blog as well as our sister blogs on Cars, Shopping, Home, Health, Safety, Money and Babies and Kids. The next update, which should be live in a week or two, will add videos with regular updates on the above topics and much more. (Do you have the latest version of iTunes and want to try out our free app? Click on the image above and you'll be taken directly to the page on Apple's online App Store where you can download our program for free.)

Share your telecom "bundling" experiences

These days it seems like everyone wants to provide you with Internet, telephone and cable TV service. Double- and triple-play packages that offer some or all of these services are being heavily promoted offered by cable and telephone  companies, as well as by satellite service providers such as DIRECTV and DISH Network. Verizon's high-profile entry into the market with its much-publicized FiOS fiber-based service has created yet one more choice for consumers to ponder.

Adding to the complexity is that individual providers frequently offer a variety of bundles, allowing you to increase your Internet surfing speeds, for example, or the number of channels included with the TV portion of your service, all, of course, at a higher price. Promotional pricing that ends in anywhere from 3 to 12 months can make difficult to find the amount you’ll ultimately pay.

Given all this, we’d like to find out whether you’ve ventured into the jungle of bundled choices. If so, how was the experience?

Among the questions we’re curious about:

• How easy (or difficult) was it to compare bundles within a provider and also to compare among providers?


• Did you try negotiating with the providers to see whether they’d sweeten their offers or extend promotional prices?


• Did you end up opting for a bundle or buying your services a la carte from different companies, and how satisfied are you with your choice?

Have you reviewed the choice you made, perhaps some months after the fact? If so, some additional questions:

• If you went with a bundle, are you saving money compared to the amount you were paying for individual services, even after the end of the promotional pricing?


• Were there any nagging gimmicks or gotchas that you didn’t discover until after you signed up?


• What do you like best about your provider, and what bothers you the most?


• Finally, do you have any horror stories or tips for other consumers?

Your input will help us create upcoming content on so-called telecom bundles.

Thanks.

[Update 3/9/2009: We have updated our article and Ratings on telecom bundles. Find the new story here. —Ed.]