Items tagged with texting
T-Mobile may not have the widest coverage net of the major U.S. carriers, but boy, are they gaining mind share. And as it turns out, market share as well. After adding nearly 4.4 million subscribers in the most recent quarter, rivals such as AT&T are having to pay attention. They're also having to modify their...
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It's rather annoying having to sidestep a fellow pedestrian on the sidewalk who's paying more attention to his mobile phone than his surroundings, but not only is such behavior selfishly rude, it's scientifically observed to be dangerous, too. A new study points out all kinds of flaws with trying to text message and strut at the same time....
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Anyone who has ever tried texting and driving at the same time should take note of a video released by police in Fort Meyers, Florida. The short video clip, which was taken from a police cruiser, shows a car veering off the side of the road and narrowly missing a telephone pole before ramming into a tree and flipping...
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Here's what isn't surprising: Facebook is trying to take over where the conventional text message left off. Here's what is surprising: that is has taken this long to get to this point. The tried-and-true phone number is a hangover technology from many generations ago, and it's actually quite unfortunate that it's...
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Hopefully you've never had to experience "bill shock" before, but if you're curious what it feels like, a trip overseas followed by liberal use of your smartphone's texting, data, and voice will do the trick. International roaming rates are obscenely high, and if you're not careful, you can come home to a bill that's...
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Get used to hearing the term "Text Stop" because it's a real thing now. New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the creation of special "Texting Zones" where motorists can pull off the road and safely respond to that all-important text message that just can't wait. The initiative is an ambitious effort to reduce...
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A statement made by the New Jersey Appeals Court this week has a number of people in an uproar, and after learning the details, it's not hard to understand why. To be fair to the story, it's best to understand where the ruling stems from. In 2009, a girl texted a friend who happened to be driving his truck at the...
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"It can wait." It has become a fairly popular phrase, and almost anyone in the smartphone universe would recognize that as the universal slogan for "don't text and drive." Plenty of crashes and accidents have happened due to motorists being distracted by their phones while attempting to drive, and in fact, many places...
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Listen up, teen drivers -- put the mobile phone away and resist the temptation to check for or fire off a text message while operating a vehicle. It doesn't matter that you see parents/adults do it all the time, be the smarter (and safer) driver out there by waiting to text and you'll significantly increase the odds of getting from point A...
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The problem with trying to send and receive text messages while operating a vehicle is that your eyes are zeroed in on a mobile phone instead of the road where they belong. Voice-to-text apps that offer hands-free texting seem like an obvious solution, but new research suggests that such software offers no real safety...
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Mobile users have responded positively to the idea of taking, sending, and receiving photos and videos that are viewable for a short period of time before they're gone forever. Such is the idea behind Snapchat, a mobile app for iPhone and Android users that touts being able to "share a moment" up to 10 times faster...
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Thinking about punching in updated directions on your smartphone while cruising in California? Think again. Over the years, states have been marching towards a highway system that's devoid of any texting, phone holding, etc. And that's a good thing, given that distracted driving can (and does) lead to far too many accidents. But if you're...
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Text happy teens aren't the only ones putting themselves and others at risk by sending and receiving electronic messages while driving. Adults do it too, and surprisingly, the more experienced and supposedly wiser demographic is the worst offender. Hard to believe, isn't it? Well, believe it, says USA Today, which commissioned a study by AT&T....
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There's a good chance you've seen a fellow motorist drifting over into a neighboring lane, only to later discover he or she is texting while driving 3,500 pounds of steel and glass (as a point of reference, a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco weighs 3,650 pounds). It's an all-too familiar sight, and unfortunately, mobile...
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If you've never heard of Snapchat, ask your kids about it, especially if they're teenagers. It's billed as a real-time picture chatting application, and that's exactly what it is, making it an ideal tool for so-called "sexting." Using Snapchat, you can send photos or videos to recipients with a timer attached, so...
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By May 15, 2014, all four of the nation's top wireless carriers (AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, and T-Mobile) will support emergency texting. U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said all four of these carriers have committed to major deployments of text-to-911 in 2013. The rollout is scheduled to be available...
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Texting and driving doesn't mix very well and you shouldn't tryi to do the two simultaneously, even if your state hasn't made it illegal yet. But texting and walking? Turns out that combination can be dangerous too, and if you get caught sending or reading a text message while taking a stroll in New Jersey, you could be hit with a fine. According...
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Guess what? Push-to-talk is still alive, and well, apparently. While Sprint (and Nextel) and usually the companies tied to PTT services, it's AT&T connecting to this one. A new charter program will enable participants to experience new PTT communications, and in a world where everyone seems to be leaving the chirp behind, it's a strange...
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Whoa, wait a second -- text messaging is on the decline? Well, not entirely, but it's certainly not shooting through the roof from a global perspective any longer. Once thought to be the number one killer of voice minutes, texting seems to be on the decline in a few locales around the world. According to M.G.I...
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Do you remember what you were doing 19 years ago today? Odds are high you didn't own a mobile phone, though you may have been rocking a beeper (yes kids, beepers used to be cool). But believe it or not, the very first SMS text message was sent off nearly two decades ago, much to the bane of linguists who twitch every time they see a shorthand...
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Texting and driving, even tweeting and driving, or just-about-to-fall-asleep and driving -- either way, it's a big problem. Tobii Technology knows it, and this week they're introducing a new platform for drowsiness and distraction detection in driver safety systems. The platform, based on Tobii's advanced eye tracking technology, provides...
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Bad news for potential AT&T customers: the communications giant has announced that it will be revising its text-messaging pricing to push customers towards its more expensive plans. Where new customers could previously get 1,000 text messages for $10 a month, new customers will be stuck with a $20 a month unlimited plan or a $30 a month...
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