How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Blog » mobile freedom project

Mobile Freedom Overview

cameron — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 20:08:09 +0000

Here are some options for setting up a data-only phone to make calls over wifi with no contracts and no monthly plan. Certainly there are other approaches, these are just the ones I’ve tried myself.

option 1a: Get a parked SIP number (SipSorcery, IPKall) that you can use for Google Voice call forwarding and piggyback on free wifi networks for data (office, library, McDonald’s, etc). Combined with a month-to-month wifi hotspot (DataJack or Virgin Mobile), this is my favorite option.

options 1b: Same as above but use a SIP client like SIPdroid or Softphone instead of Google Voice. This option won’t give you SMS or voicemail transcription.

option 2: You could skip SIP altogether and use Skype with a online number set up. Skype is decent over wifi but atrocious on 3G hotspots. You also can’t get incoming SMS messages. Not my favorite option.

RESOURCES

IPKall for free parked phone numbers
SipSorcery or voip.ms for SIP server hosting
SIP clients: SIPdroid (Android) or Softphone (iOS)
No contract WiFi hotspot i.e DataJack or Virgin Mobile

Sent from my Verizon Flip Phone

cameron — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:11:33 +0000

Welcome to a new installment in the Mobile Freedom Project series. I just got the charger for my recently ebay-acquired LG VX 6100, a 6-year-old Verizon flip phone. Sure enough, the phone holds a charge, and I just switched over service from my Palm Pre and downgraded my service to $20/month.

LG VX6100 via eBay

Just as a reminder, I’ve been on a quest to live a carrierless life for almost a year now. I’ve tried a bunch of stuff, including a hacked Android G1 running SIPDroid, an iPhone running Skype on wifi, and iPalm, and most recently, a 3rd Gen iPod touch with Skype and Google Voice and an EVDO 3G card. This last combination has worked out so well that I’ve hardly touched my Palm Pre in the past 3 weeks, turning it on just twice, once to check voicemail, and again today to switch the service to the LG phone.

Pick a phone, any phone...

The reason for the switch is that Verizon (and AT&T) require a data plan on all smart phones, in addition to basic voice features. This get expensive. Ah, whatever, just cancel the plan… Oh wait, the early termination fee for the Pre is $310. Three hundred and ten dollars. I knew this going into the contract, but it’s still kinda shocking. Well, what about downgrading? Hmm… I talked to Verizon and they told me I could in fact downgrade my phone and keep my old number, without extending my contract. Awesome.

Long story short, I’m now paying $20/month for 50 minutes of voice a month. No text. No data. And after all, that’s what the iPod data phone is for! (btw I had Verizon block incoming texts as well as web access, just in case Justin Beiber broadcasts my number on twitter and text messages jack up my bill.)

The Dream Team

3rd gen iPod Touch with Skype and GV

Hopefully one of these days Google will support mobile safari calls through their recently launched Google Chat VOIP service. Until then, iPod touch + skype backgrounding + Google Voice SMS + backup flip phone are faring pretty darn well. Hold that thought, I’m getting a call…

iPod Data Phone

cameron — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 21:23:04 +0000

If you want an iPhone without the procrustean contracts and pricey service plans, here’s a solution: an iPod with Skype and Google Voice SMS, running on EVDO wifi.

The Mobile Freedom Project continues with this latest iteration. After hearing about Skype with multitasking, I purchased an 3rd Generation iPod Touch (the only iPod that currently supports multitasking), and got to work.

ipod 3rd generation and no contract EVDO card from DataJack

I already have Google Voice and a Skype number setup, and I purchased an no-contract EVDO card from DataJack a few months ago, so this round of setup was pretty simple. I setup Google Voice to forward calls to my Skype number. Connected the iPod to the datajack wifi. Call forwarding and multitasking are working fine, ringing the iPod as expected.

Skype ringing on incoming call

The only problem solving I had to do was push notifications for Google Voice SMS. I did a cursory search for an app that does this, but none of them were satisfactory. The solution I came up with was pretty simple. Text messages to Google Voice get forwarded to my email, and I’ve installed the Push for Gmail app to give SMS like alerts for emails.

Battery drain with Skype backgrounding is likely the biggest pitfall, but hopefully future updates will address this.

My next step might be to set up a separate email account for Google Voice only, so that the notifications only pop up for SMS and voicemail, instead of all email.

Please feel free to post comments or questions, or check out the other Mobile Freedom Project posts for background and ideas.

iPalm

cameron — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 01:42:08 +0000

Over the past several months, I’ve been exploring with different strategies to customize my mobile service plan, going a good 5 months without a major service provider or contract. In May I opted to get a Palm Pre Plus with a 2 year contract with Verizon. The service beats AT&T, and the mobile hotspot feature lets me run my iPod touch on wifi. Here’s a demo on what I’ve dubbed the iPalm. Also check out the project guide on Make.

Skype on iPod touch via Palm Pre Plus wifi from Cameron Cundiff on Vimeo.

Mobile Freedom Project – iPhone returns!

cameron — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 23:43:36 +0000

Acrobits Softphone works on 3G

Exploring a couple of new options for my carrierless life. Datajack + SIPDroid on the G1 is treating me well (minus a nagging echo for the other caller). I have been missing the iPhone some, so went scrounging and found acrobits softphone. I was excited to see that it allows calls over 3G (whereas Skype does not), and the call quality is great with good 3G. The downsides:

still requires setting up a SIP number
you have to jailbreak your phone to get the datajack sim card to work
the app has to stay open to receive calls (jailbreaking may solve this one)

I think it would be a great alternative to iPhone users who don’t mind getting their hands dirty. Certainly beats Skype’s limitations, and doesn’t require an Android phone.

Mobile Freedom Project – SUCCESS!

cameron — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 18:29:16 +0000

In earlier posts (here and here) I’ve talked about my frustration with contracts and crummy service from AT&T, and my quest to find an alternative. Skype + Peek was fine as an interim solution, but being tied to hotspot access only for voice was a problem. Furthermore, the Skype App won’t ring the iPhone, so it was basically useless as a real-time voice call solution.

I’ve discovered a better way. The missing links were SIPdroid for Android and Datajack 3G. SIPdroid allows calls via Junction Networks OnSip service (per minute VOIP), and datajack gives me unlimited 3G at $40/month, no contract. The datajack is a usb device that is intended for use with laptops, but I discovered that it has a T-mobile SIM that can be popped out and inserted into an unlocked phone (an Android G1 dev phone in my case). I have Google Voice setup with my OnSip number, and the GV app on the phone. I have yet to determine how to make calls from GV with the OnSip number, but for now I simply specified my caller id as my name and GV number in the OnSip admin panel.

Good Riddance, ATT

cameron — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:48:50 +0000

I just made the move to drop ATT, after a ridiculous conversation with a support representative. The upshot was that they refused to cancel my data plan on the iPhone (told me that the hardware wouldn’t update without the data connection, which is utter nonsense). I ported my number to Number Garage, forwarded it to google voice which is set up with a skype number. Peek is working great for email, and Boingo WiFi lets me get wireless when I’m not at home or school. The only downside is that VOIP services don’t support SMS, so voice and SMS have different #’s.

All in all, feeling good about the move. Good riddance, ATT.

AT&T meets its match

cameron — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 19:42:53 +0000

Right now I’m feeling especially good about technology innovation.

After experiencing the AT&T’s tyranny and crappy service, I’m ditching my contract and setting up an array of services and devices to do what I need, with no contracts and at half the price. I signed up for a Boingo wireless for my iPhone, getting lifetime Peek, and exploring Skype, SipDroid, and Google Voice. Right now I pay approximately $85 a month for AT&T service only to get a lot of dropped calls and a rigid contract. I’m estimating that all said and done I’ll be paying about $45 a month (over 2 years), factoring in the ATT contract cancellation fee and the cost of the Peek device. (This all follows a move from Time Warner Cable to Netflix streaming with a Roku box).

These are significant changes, not simply because of the savings, but because it’s even possible. It’s an exciting and palpable reminder that tech startups can effectively compete with massive companies.