• organizing applications by folders
• improved mail: unified inbox, organize messages by threads, open attachments in third-party apps
• iBooks
• create playlists on phone
• 5X digital zoom
• tap to focus video
• view photos based on who’s in them and where they are taken
• home screen wallpaper
• give apps as gifts
• spell checking
• wireless keyboard support

Of these features, those that interest me are the ability to organize applications by folders, the unified inbox (about time), ability to create playlists on the phone and wireless keyboard support (should have been there generations ago).

Since there are over 100 new features, that leaves many to the imagination.  I hope there are features that improve the communications and productivity aspects of the phone.  Here are features I hope are included:

• ability to turn off geotagging in photos or otherwise remove geotags before transmitting photos
• synchronization of notes and tasks
• pop-up notifications consolidated into a notification bar (like PalmOS and Android)
• easier way to toggle on/off wireless and Bluetooth
• Bluetooth file transfer
• ability to use phone as storage device

I understand that Apple’s way is to build from scratch but other phones already do many of these things.  So until I see features I can actually use, the verdict’s out.

Photo Credit: Adam Jackson / Flickr

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If you want to continue to use a VOIP service, there are some options. Packet8 and Teleblend are the alternatives recommended by Sherwood Partners, SunRockets liquidators. There are reports that Teleblend has started to update the configurations on some models of the SunRocket gizmos to use their service.

In addition, Vonage has a deal where you get 2 months of service free and free startup costs. Another VOIP provider Nuvio has posted instructions on how to unlock your SunRocket gizmo to use it with their service. These instructions can be used to connect to any VOIP carrier that allows you to connect directly to its network via Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). (I wish Skype did this.)

I configured mine to connect to the Gizmo Project based on instructions I found by Googling “Sunrocket gizmo hack”. The Gizmo Project allows free calls to anyone on their network plus 150 other VOIP networks. For calling and receiving calls from outside the network, Gizmo Call Out credits and Gizmo Call In numbers are available for purchase. These services are extremely cheap. Call In numbers are billed in 3 or 12 month increments for $12 and $35 respectively. Call Out to North America is at 1.9 cents per minute. To receive and place completely free calls on your Gizmo Project number, however, set up your Gizmo Project number in your GrandCentral account. Use the GrandCentral telephone number for incoming calls. For outgoing calls to be free they have to be placed from GrandCentral’s web interface. One important thing to note is that Gizmo Project does not have 911 service so if you decide to go with it, you should have a backup that will be used in an emergency situation.

Tags: sunrocket gizmo grandcentral gizmo project vonage nuvio packet8 teleblend

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• My Phone is Disconnected

How is it that you can be a customer of a company for more than 2 years and that company could have such little regard that they cease to exist without any notification whatsoever? This reminds of the Dot Com Bubble Burst in that a lot of services that I used abruptly ended. The difference is that those services were free. For this I had prepaid $199 for the year. In addition, this was no arbitrary service – it was my home phone and I had ported my actual home number to it when I first signed up for Sunrocket.

Overall I was satisfied with my Sunrocket service and had recommended it to friends who I had to contact to let them know that their phones may not be working today. How embarrassing.

At any rate, Sunrocket showed a lack of professionalism and a total disregard for its customers by ceasing operations without notice. A home telephone is an important service to have. While I’m sure that most of the 200,000 subscribers had cell phones to use as backup, it is a gigantic safety (and convenience) issue to allow the “phone lines” to go dead. It has to be a violation of some federal regulation to just turn all the “phone lines” off.

At any rate, I will be disputing the prepaid charge on my credit card. I will also try to find out who Sunrocket’s owners were so I can steer clear of their future business ventures.

Update: When I got home my phone was working again. No idea how long that will last. Also, I signed up for Vonage whose future is uncertain as well due to Verizon patent issues. According to Vonage it takes 10 days to port an existing telephone number. I wonder how long it will take since Sunrocket is no longer operating. In the meantime, I’m giving out my GrandCentral number so people will be able to reach me.

Tags: sunrocket sunrocket shutdown voip phone service

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