When I signed up for my account, I asked to have my Rohm and Haas corporate discount added.  I wasn’t sure it actually got done during the sign up process so I went online in search of the answer.

I looked at their My T-Moble site (which can be a bit confusing at times) and couldn’t locate the information.  I then went on and attempted to send them an email.  To my surprise, the site offered Live Chat with a rep.  I wish this would have popped up before I wrote them an email but that’s okay.

After a quick chat with the online representative, they gave me the number to the Personal Corporate Discount Migrations Department (their number is 877-453-8824 in case you were wondering).  There were no menu options and I got right through to Elizabeth H.  Within 10 minutes (most of which was spent talking about TMobile’s terms and conditions) she had added the discount, refunded my activation fees and credited me a $5 good-faith credit since I had to call in to have it added!

I know, $5 isn’t much but it’s the attention to detail and helpful nature of all the staff I’ve talked to that will keep me coming back for more.

P.S. - As a side note, I’m still loving the G1.  It’s handy, fast and just works.  Thanks Google, HTC and TMobile.  I would however liked to have waiting till Nov 19th where they are now offering free companion flight tickets to new sign ups.  It’s a neat promotion.

In my line of work I send a lot of emails.  I also text quite a bit.  When it comes to writing paragraphs of information or a blog entry, a real keyboard helps me to both type faster and more accurately.  With the onscreen keyboard of the iPhone, I would need to constantly look at it to make sure my fingers are where they’re supposed to be.

Today however, I’m excited for those iPhone friends/fiends that are now using the Google Voice Search for the iPhone.  From what I’ve seen and heard the interface is simple to use, works really well and the best part — The voice recognition is done on the phone so it’s much faster than most traditional voice recognition products (TellMe and Vlingo come to mind).

Fret not my Google Android friends, I have two things to let you know:

1. Since Google Android is made by Google, I’m sure that the G1 and Android will have integrated voice search in the near future.  It only makes sense to add this and an onscreen keyboard to the device (please?).
2. You can search with your voice for certain things by using a tool like TellMe.  Call 800-555-TELL and you can say any number of things that you’d like (including movie times, weather and directions).  It’s kind of cool — Just not as cool as an integrated G1 app.  Go figure.

One can only hope that Google will come to their senses and start rolling out software for the Android OS when they do others.  I mean, it is their baby!

Graham Stewart over at Graha.ms designed the first “tether” app for the G1 and the Android OS.  Better than that, it’s cross-platform compatible so Windows lovers, Mac heads and Linux gurus can all browse the web through their phones.

I say “tether” because it uses SOCKS proxying right now but I’m sure he won’t let us down and he’ll set it up for a full NAT app that allows all applications to use it to get out to that vast world wide web.

I don’t want to re-post his directions because when he goes ahead and makes the application even better, I’d have to update this blog (and we all know how consistently I do that) but shoot over to his page, download the app and let me know how it works for you.

Note: One thing to do in Firefox — Enable SOCKS DNS look ups by typing about:config into your address bar and changing network.proxy.socks_remote_dns to TRUE by right clicking and choosing Toggle.  You should be all set.  Enjoy!

In my mind, TMobile never had great coverage.  I tested a TMobile Blackberry 8700 about 3 years ago and was getting dropped calls right in Olde City, Philadelphia.  That’s just not good.  Sure the coverage was decent on the highways and even up near my parents house in Quakertown, PA but to have calls drop out in a major city, no way I could use it.

Fast forward about 3 years to today.  The G1 is an excellent phone.  From design to execution it has been a total pleasure to work with (not that it hasn’t come with its kinks).

I called up TMobile yesterday and spoke to a wonderful woman named Luciana.  Her rep ID ends in 32880 and she’s in the Dallas, TX call center.  She was pleasant to talk to, she understood my problem (the hing seemed a little wobbly and I didn’t want it to fall apart) and she simply ordered me a new one — free of charge.  I didn’t even have to go into a store, they ship it UPS to me.

Many people might think it’s crazy that I’m excited about such a simple thing but calling customer service at any cell phone company can be aggravating.  I will usually go through 4 or 5 different people before I find the one I need to talk to and then they send me through a whirlwind of questions until they finally come to the conslusion they should, replace it.  TMobile didn’t make me do this at all.

I will definitely be sticking with TMobile for the time being and I will be trying to give Luciana a call the next time I have any issues.  TMobile is lucky to have someone like her on their staff because she just won them a customer that was with AT&T Wireless for 6 years and a blog post dedicated to them.  Customer service FTW!

1. Customer service rocks! – This came from a number of people including @lwcavallucci and my little brother.  I’ve also had great experiences with them.
2. It’s able to run both Windows and OSX – Thanks @blankbaby and @melitami.
3. Security is far above that of a Windows box – @stiennon, @geekgrrl and @melitami included this in their comments.
4. Ready to go out of the box – Instead of fighting with driver issues, etc the Mac is ready to go says @aaronaiken and @twowheel.
5. Since Apple controls both hardware and software it leads to a better experience – @sunblush and @djstarr shared this helpful nugget.
6. Nice looking GUI and form factor – @geekgrrl, @lwcavallucci and @beyondreality shared this among other great reasons to get a Mac.
7. Since the OS is built on top of Unix, it’s got great apps built in (Apache, Python, Perl, etc) – This is really helpful for developers and other techie people.  Thanks @geekgrrl for that bit too!
8. Very few viruses – Because of the way the OS is designed (so well), this helps to protect the system out of the box.  Thanks for that Amanda.
9. Only 1 mouse button – Derek said that was a con but I disagree.  It decreases the barrier to entry for a non-computer user.
10. Macs today cost about the same, if not less than a PC – If you’re in the market for a new machine, why not get a Mac?

Wow, I can’t believe how many people out there wanted to help me make up this list.  Thanks to everyone mentioned above for the awesome support — I think you might actually be better than Apple’s Genius Bar!

One of the biggest things to enter the cell phone market was GPS and aGPS.  Both of these services provide the ability for the phone, service and people to know exactly where they are in real time.  Scary, huh?

While location based technology can be freaky, it can also be a huge help to your everyday activities.  I leave GPS turned off and use cell tower-based location (where your phone can approximate where you are based on towers around you) to find restaurants and machanics.  But there is so much more than can be done with location.

Since I’ve been testing out the G1 from HTC, there is an amazing application called Locale that comes in the market for Android apps.  This program lets me change almost every setting on the phone based on where I am.  No location information is sent to any outside service so I have no fear of people tracking me.

It automatically turns on vibrate mode when I’m at work and turns the phone up louder when I’m out running (Hey, I run sometimes).  For power-saving, I have the phone set to leave wifi turned off unless I’m at a place that I know has it available like National Mechanics or IndyHall.  This means that I get faster web browsing without touching the configuration of the phone.

This is a location-based application that I believe that everyone could sink their teeth into.  It doesn’t share where I am, it doesn’t interrupt me while I’m in a meeting and it provides a service to me that I otherwise would have had to work for — Changing my own ring volume?  No way!

What do you think are some other great uses of location-based services or applications?  Restaurant reviews?  Movie listings?  Why would you use them in the first place?

I’ve decided to give you a recap of the top 5 (the greatest) and bottom 5 (the not-so-great and/or strange apps) third-party apps that I’ve found for the G1.  This list does not include applications like Gmail, integrated Google Talk with contacts and Google Maps with the amazing compass view.

Top 5 - 

5. LocalSpinner - LocalSpinner allows you to press one button to grab your current location and then spin a wheel to find restaurants, clubs and other venues nearby.  The idea is that it’s like Wheel of Fortune — Wherever it lands is where you go.  Apparently I’m going to the bar at 11 am.

4. Klaxon - This application is a replacement app for the built in alarm on the G1.  In addition to allowing you to choose any song on the phone for the alarm sound, you can also turn the phone over to make the alarm snooze and shake it to turn the alarm off.  Kinda neat, right?

3. imeem - For those of us who love to listen to music, imeem streams almost any song (Pandora-style) to the G1.  This application auto adjusts the bitrate based on the connection you have.  Lower quality sound for lower quality connections (Edge or slow wifi).

2. iSkoot - I use Skype for work quite a bit.  iSkoot just came out with a new version of the app that works amazingly well.  You can chat, modify your buddy list and even make Skype calls (the call is placed over GSM with a middle-man number)!

1. Meebo - Meebo just released their new app today and it rocks!  I’ve never seen such a simple design in a smart phone chat application.  There are very few options (a few are missing that probably should be added) so there is no clutter and it just works.  Login with an AIM, Yahoo, MSN, Gtalk or Jabber account or just login with your Meebo account and begin chatting.

Bottom 5 - 

5. Strobe Light - Just as the application says, it makes a strobe light effect on the G1.  If you’re into those kinds of things (raves and seizures), you might really enjoy this app.  For everyone else, not so much.

4. Lolcat Builder - I love cats and LOLing as much as the next guy but this application is a bit ridiculous.  Take a picture with your camera, add some text (Rn’t i sooo funnies?) and then go ahead and spam it to all of your friends.

3. Krystle II - Okay seriously, cats are still cool but this is creepy.  This application shows virtual fur on the screen and when you ‘pet’ the screen, it purrs and vibrates to simulate a purring cat.  I can think of 10 different ways that this app can be abused and “by me” is not one of them.

2. Bubble - If I had a nickel for every time I needed an unplanned level (both normal and a 360 degree level), I’d be poor.  I can understand that this app might come in handy for some but honestly, buy a level — They even make them for your key chain and they’re a lot less than $179.

1. Mario Simulator - That’s right!  With this program you can jump up and down and hear both the jump sound and the sound that is made when Mario grabs a coin.  Cool, no?

Those are some of my top and bottom picks.  What are some that you’ve seen that I should add into my application reserve pool?  With a 16 GB card, I can add every app from the market and still not be anywhere near full!