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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: telephone

telephone stories: 31 news summaries

1 - 20 of 31 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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(Newser) - We may have Erik Satie to blame for hold music—the composer “developed a very cynical attitude” toward a distracted listening public and decided modern music would be more like a chair than an intellectual pursuit—but the science behind it is state-of-the-art, Newsweek reports. Studies on the... More »

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music • science • business • composer • telephone • scientific study • hold • Erik Satie

 Voicemail Is So Over 

System too slow in faster-paced world

Jul 9, 09 1:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - After some 25 years of popularity, voicemail has become merely an annoyance for many, the Boston Globe reports. "What I really hate are the soliloquies," says a time-crunched user. But the long-winded are only part of the problem, experts say; the real culprit is the rise of texting.... More »

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cell phones • text message • texting • voicemail • telephone • trend • message

tech review

Too Many Phone Numbers? 
Google Can Help

Promising new free service handles access to all your devices

Jul 2, 09 9:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - One phone number for home, two more for work, another for your mobile—Google Voice aims to change that. The new free service, which gives you one internet-based number that dials all your phones, "will take years to reach its full potential," but it looks promising, Hiawatha Bray... More »

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Google • land lines • phone software • telephone • mobile phones • Google Voice • women's issues

Police Hunt Silicon Valley Phone Vandals

50K lose service in attack that highlights systems' vulnerability

Apr 10, 09 11:50 AM CDT
(Newser) - Authorities in Silicon Valley are hunting for saboteurs who cut fiber-optic telecom cables, leaving more than 50,000 customers—including police and hospitals—in parts of three counties without phone and internet service, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Ten cables were severed, crippling 911 operations, cellphone service, and businesses depending... More »

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Internet • Silicon Valley • San Francisco • cell phones • sabotage • telephone • emergency responders • cellphones

Skype Could Hit iPhone
as Soon as Next Week

Voice-over-IP firm may announce its client at CTIA Wireless

Mar 27, 09 12:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - Skype is putting the finishing touches on a version of its VoIP client for the iPhone, and may debut it as soon as an industry conference next week, GigaOm reports. Skype is looking to the mobile market to keep growing as its PC usage starts to plateau. Skype already offers... More »

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iPhone • software • Skype • Voice over IP • telephone • iPhone applications • mobile phones

 Skype Rolls Out 
 New Biz Service 

Internet calling company aims to boost revenue

Mar 23, 09 8:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - Internet calling company Skype is introducing new software for businesses that lets workers on corporate phone systems make calls using regular office phones instead of computer headsets, the Wall Street Journal reports. Domestic and international calls to cellphones and landlines will start at 2.1 cents a minute, and computer-... More »

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eBay • VoIP • businesses • Skype • Internet phone • telephone

 Prez Loves to 
 Work the Phone 


Obama loves to get info and connect with people, voice-to-voice

Mar 4, 09 10:51 AM CST
(Newser) - President Obama might love his Blackberry for the email, but the new commander-in-chief also spends a sizable amount of time working the phones with people ranging from close advisers to world leaders, reports the New York Times. Obama often makes more than two dozen calls a day in order... More »

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Barack Obama • White House • telephone • David Axelrod • George W. Bush • President Obama

 Amid Cell Boom, 
 Colleges Yank 
 Land Lines 

Cell phones have rendered costly phone lines unnecessary

Feb 4, 09 8:08 PM CST
(Newser) - US colleges are ripping phone lines out of dorms—and not to encourage students to study, the San Jose Mercury News reports. It’s recognition that mobile phones have become as ubiquitous as textbooks among students. “Demand has dropped, and it’s a costly service,” says an official... More »

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technology • cell phones • college • college dorms • land lines • telephone • college student • Santa Clara University

 Winslet Recalls Teen Trial: 
 Dad's Pay Phone 

Dad's tactics threw off her dating routine, actress says

Feb 4, 09 12:48 PM CST
(Newser) - When Kate Winslet was growing up, her dad knew how to keep her from gabbing on the telephone all night: He installed a pay phone in their house. "He would pick up the extension and sigh and tut down the line when I was talking to boyfriends," says... More »

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telephone • pay phones • Kate Winslet • The Reader

Obama's Staff Finds High Office Means Low Tech

'Kind of like going from an Xbox to an Atari,' one says of White House's rigid apparatus

Jan 22, 09 12:47 PM CST
(Newser) - Tech-savvy Obama staffers had a rude awakening on their first day at the White House, saddled with disconnected phone lines, limited Internet access, and 6-year-old PCs, the Washington Post reports. “It is kind of like going from an Xbox to an Atari,” a spokesman said of the disconnect... More »

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Barack Obama • technology • White House • BlackBerry • Macintosh • telephone • computers • Obama administration • President Obama • staff • WhiteHouse.gov

 'Bored' Teen Sends 
 15K Texts a Month 

Dad had unlimited plan, but still plans crackdown

Jan 12, 09 4:21 PM CST
(Newser) - A California dad whose teenage daughter logged an astounding 14,528 text messages in one month was tickled at first, the New York Post reports. “I laughed. I thought, ‘That’s insane, that’s impossible,’” said Greg Hardesty. “And I immediately whipped out the calculator... More »

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California • cell phones • text messaging addiction • text message • telephone • teenager • phone bill

Economy May Be Death Knell for Landlines ... Even Cable

If consumers are forced to pare down, high-speed internet connection has trump

Oct 27, 08 10:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - An economy that’s stuck in “slow” could soon have consumers making choices about whether to keep their cable TV or Internet connections, and weighing whether they need a telephone landline, reports Advertising Age. A high-speed connection that can provide access to the Internet, phone service and even entertainment... More »

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Internet • cell phone industry • cable industry • telephone • financial crisis

ANALYSIS

DC Trip Nets Mac Little More Than Muddled Campaign

Getting back on track may be hard after confusing few days

Sep 29, 08 2:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - John McCain's insistence on rushing to Washington to involve himself in the bailout process left his campaign reeling, gave critics new ammunition, and widened Barack Obama's poll margins, Bob Drogin reports in the Los Angeles Times. The Arizona senator, who didn't help draft the plan and also skipped voting on... More »

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John McCain • telephone • Election 2008 • bailout • US Senate • campaign shakeup

Texting Raises Alarms as Accidents
Turn Fatal

Docs see danger while driving—or walking

Sep 20, 08 8:12 AM CDT
(Newser) - The steep rise in text-messaging is being matched by a steep rise in people not paying enough attention to what they're doing, the New York Times reports. Fatal accidents involving distracted texters are on the rise and a group of emergency room doctors has issued a stern warning against attempting... More »

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cell phones • safety • text message • texting • telephone • driver distraction

Service Lets Callers Dodge Conversation

Slydial users can sneak a message straight onto voicemail

Aug 2, 08 7:04 AM CDT
(Newser) - A new phone service is a hit with people who want to make a phone call without actually talking to anybody, the New York Times reports. Slydial allows users to skip directly to leaving a message on voicemail without the recipient realizing they have an incoming call. Users say the... More »

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cell phones • communication • telecom • phone service • voicemail • telephone

France Telecom Offers
$42B for TeliaSonera

French telco looks to expand into Turkey and Russia

Jun 5, 08 7:26 AM CDT
(Newser) - France Telecom’s long-anticipated takeover bid of Swedish telco TeliaSonera finally landed today—with a thud. TeliaSonera immediately rejected FT’s $42 billion cash-and-stock offering—worth some $10.33 per share—as too low, reports the New York Times. Investors appeared to disagree, pushing France Telecom stock down 4%... More »

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telecom industry • acquisition • France Telecom • telephone • TeliaSonera

Consumers Giving Up Landlines

One-sixth of US households are
now wireless

May 14, 08 8:29 AM CDT
(Newser) - Mobile and Internet-based phones are replacing landline phones in US households as younger Americans lead a movement to newer technologies, reports USA Today. The number of homes depending on wireless phones jumped 159% between 2004 and 2007. Nearly 35% of people 25-29 years old lived in wireless-only households in... More »

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cell phones • Verizon • VoIP • telephone • AT&T

earnings report

 Wireless Drives AT&T Growth 

Company posts 22% increase in net income for Q1 despite dip in landline earnings

Apr 22, 08 2:43 PM CDT
(Newser) - AT&T posted a 22% increase in net income during the first quarter, thanks to strong growth in its wireless unit. Its wireless earnings nearly doubled, while landline earnings dropped 2.1%. The company’s net income was $3.46 billion (57 cents a share), compared to $2.85 billion... More »

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telecom industry • earnings reports • wireless industry • land lines • telephone • AT&T

Cellphones
Sound Last Call for British Icon

Famous red booths disappear from
English streets

Mar 24, 08 12:18 PM CDT
(Newser) - Britain’s iconic red phone booths are going extinct in a country where cellphones outnumber people, USA Today reports. British Telecom is shrinking the overall number of pay phones and replacing the red booths with modern ones that double as wireless hotspots. With just 12,700 of the originals left... More »

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London • cell phones • collecting • Britain • telephone • pay phones • phone booth • British Telephone • British Telecom

T-Mobile Brings Cell Phone Service Home

New plan would combine mobile,
landline accounts

Feb 28, 08 4:10 AM CST
(Newser) - Cell phone giant T-Mobile is moving into the landline business. The company is trying out a service that ties cell phones to landlines that if successful in Seattle and Dallas could go nationwide within months, the Wall Street Journal reports. The company's new service uses a special router to tie... More »

MORE ABOUT:
cell phones • WiFi • telecommunications • telephone • T-Mobile

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