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Walmart Wireless

admin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 03:12:47 +0000

I was at Walmart last night in Terre Haute, IN and I noticed that the connection center in Electronics was no longer there…

So I started to wonder if walmart was stepping out of activations and going to push more prepaid products. Then I checked out, and what did I see but a Walmart Wireless “store within a store” between Subway and a hair place. I don’t think we need to question what Walmart’s dealer aspirations are anymore…

Are these popping up all over? Are they where you are? Let us know…

Posted to MinistryPlace.Net with WordPress for BlackBerry.

Motorola Defy: Android 2.1 goes rugged …

admin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:12:46 +0000

Engadget broke this story yesterday. After having a G1, I really like the idea of having an android-based smartphone that can take a beating. Too bad it is only for Europe at this point….Below is the full story…

Motorola Defy: Android 2.1 goes rugged with water, dust and scratch resistance — Engadget.

Blackberry Torch 9800…Useful for Ministry?

admin — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:00:35 +0000

I got some brief hands-on time with the new Blackberry Torch 9800. I lack the contacts in the Cell Industry to test phones before they are released. This one happened to be pretty simple. Our Senior Pastor was up for an upgrade, and after looking at his needs, Blackberry was going to be his best bet. Wirefly got him a great deal on the 9800.

My impressions vs the 9700:

I carry a Bold 9700 from ATT, so there were a lot of innate similarities. I would call the 9800 and Blackberry OS 6 more evolution of the platform than a Groundbreaking new device. Someone upgrading from OS 4.7 or 5 will see a lot of similar menus and icons. The one exception I saw was an options/settings menu that was more Android in nature than Blackberry. This was a very welcome change. Personally the reviews I read could not prepare me for how much better the Webkit Browser was over the stock OS 5 Browser. Hardware, Performance, and Durability I would rate on par or better to the Bold 9700 that I have. The one thing that would be a learning curve to some is the weight of the Torch vs the Bold 9700. The Torch feels solid in its weight. Not heavy, but solid – if you had one, think Blackberry 8800/8820/8830, they were solid. It is really one of my main issues with the 9700, it’s almost too light. I was not able to push the 9800 to its limit or spend an extended amount of time with it, but my overall impression was positive.

Useful in Ministry?

A while back, I did an overview of using a Blackberry in Ministry. I won’t repeat, except what is specific to the 9800. This phone is primarily a business unit. They have added some features that make it more consumer-friendly. The way I see it, it is not designed to be an iPhone killer. It is designed to be a secure, business-minded phone that has some of the “fun” features of other smartphones. It continues and builds on what RIM does well – email and messaging. It does both very well. It has very reasonable battery life, slightly diminished from the Bold 9700, but remember it’s driving a larger touchscreen display.

As I mentioned earlier, the web is a much richer experience on OS 6. I would put it at least as good or better than the Android 1.6/2.0 Stock browser (have not tested a 2.1/2.2 unit extensively to compare).

My overall vote in Ministry use is that this is a very serviceable unit for ministry use due to the fact it does email and messaging extremely well, has a great built in backup method (via Desktop Manager), and contact management is improved from even OS 5 (which is very good).

On a scale of 1 to 5, I would rate it at 4.5.

Do you have a 9800? Looking at getting one? Questions/Comments?

What’s Happening in Mobile Technology That Churches Should Notice?

admin — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 17:30:12 +0000

I saw this yesterday.
This is a good video from a couple of the geniuses at YouVersion.com. It provides some great insight from the bleeding edge. Good work guys, keep it up!

What’s Happening in Mobile Technology That Churches Should Notice? | tonysteward.

Cricket hires goats to eat blackberries…

admin — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 22:23:39 +0000

Welcome to Post #150 at MinistryPlace…

In case you missed this from Engadget the other day…

This is a win/win situation for all parties involved. Saves money for Cricket, keeps environmentalists happy, and customers get better service. Awesome.

Link here…

Vodafone customers fume over HTC Desire “upgrade”

admin — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 20:45:20 +0000

Vodaphone pushed out an update to their customers that they did not find useful. They thought it was going to be the next version of Android OS, instead it was some Vodaphone-branded bloatware. Thankfully it is only a temporary situation. The next update will undo what has been done.

Vodafone customers fume over HTC Desire “upgrade” | News | PC Pro.

My question is how many times do we (intentionally or unintentionally) do the same thing by packaging the Gospel as Jesus + Something?

A Redeeming Use of Xtranormal.com…

admin — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 17:36:12 +0000

For those of you who have not heard of Xtranormal.com, it is a site (and software) that allows you to animate cartoon characters and make “short films” by drag and drop, and typing a script. The text-to-speech software really handles the rest. Much of the user posted content is not very family friendly (as well as what users have also posted on youtube).In fact a lot of it is downright vulgar.

However, I see the promise in the platform, and that it can have some humorous possibilities in ministry as well. There is a lot of free content that can be used, which is a bonus in ministry. For example, below is the Youth Announcements video for this Sunday.

Because the text to speech is built in, it makes a neat alternative to CrowdControl’s LT Software that they used at The Youth Specialties Convention a few years ago.

Is this something you could (or would) use?

The Big List of 20+ Bible Apps for Mobile Devices

admin — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:32:24 +0000

This came out a couple weeks ago, but there is some good information here. On Blackberry, I function with a combination of YouVersion (when I have WIFI/3G) and OliveTree Bible Reader (When I do not). There are some great options available on iPhone and Android (ironically, I used the same combination of apps on my G1 as I do now on Blackberry) as well. Hit the link below for some ideas…

The Big List of 20+ Bible Apps for Mobile Devices | ChurchDrop.

What Bible Apps do you use?

RIM shows off BlackBerry User Demographics » Nerdberry.net

admin — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 17:22:58 +0000

I ran across this yesterday, and found it to be very interesting Marketing Research done by RIM (Research in Motion). I am somewhat of a Marketing Junkie, which makes life in Youth Ministry a little interesting, to say the least. If you would like to read some more info about Blackberry’s demographic figures, the link is at the bottom of the page.

Whatever business or organization you are in, it pays to know your target. It seems from these figures that RIM has hit their target very well through the products and services they provide.

How are you doing? Do You know your target Demographics?

RIM shows off BlackBerry User Demographics » Nerdberry.net.

What is Your Smartphone of Choice for Ministry?

admin — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 17:14:22 +0000

In many cases, what you work with in Ministry is not what you see as the ideal situation. Believe me, I understand that as a Youth Pastor.

Based on the Link below, it seems that there is some change in enterprise needs, I wonder if Ministry is the same?

RIM’s Blackberry Enterprise Grip Begins to Slip

What do you see as the ideal Smartphone for your ministry use?

Everyone has different needs, and those needs change over time. Make your case of either what is working for you, or what would work for you based on your needs.

Is it Android? Blackberry? iPhone? Windows Mobile?

Graffiti for Android scribbles Palm OS memories all over Google’s platform — Engadget

admin — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:22:06 +0000

Some days I miss my Palm m505, life was simpler back then. Now you can relive the memories if you happen to have an Android-based SmartPhone…

Graffiti for Android scribbles Palm OS memories all over Google’s platform — Engadget.

Is Capping Download/Upload Speeds Smart or Ethical? :Updated

admin — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:46:07 +0000

The News
There seems to be a little bit of a stir regarding AT&T over the last two days Starting with a post from Gizmodo . It seems
that the 3G upload speeds are being capped at about 100k on the iPhone 4 (I am not entirely sure it is an iPhone-only network issue, as I am experiencing the same issue on my Blackberry Bold 9700). It might be a network maintenance/upgrade issue, or a more permanent approach to keep network bandwidth resources in order.

The Ethics and other questions
Would it be a wise move for big blue to implement this policy, in light of past issues with coverage and bandwidth for previous iPhones? Will it incur a change in the TOS (terms of service)? Is this the next step in tiered data plans? Will you have to pay extra to get uncapped uploads?

Lots of unanswered questions. Answers later, hopefully…

Update#1 Boy Genius Report says that it’s an ATT Software Bug…