3Screens

"You Don't Need the Weatherman to Tell You Which Way The Wind Blows.." Or Maybe You Do

Being a huge Bob Dylan fan, I love the lyrics to the song, Subterranean Blues, where he talks about the weatherman.

And speaking of weather, the folks at AT&T U-verse^SM TV now have a brighter TV forecast. AT&T Texas today announced the launch of Weather On Demand in San Antonio, (it's in other parts of the U.S. as well) that has a very cool, interactive feature powered by AccuWeather.com^® that allows U-verse TV customers to find the weather information they want, in the city they want, at the time they want — all at the touch of a button. San Antonio U-verse TV customers can now enjoy the feature at no extra charge.

Customers can access AccuWeather.com information for their home city and any other U.S. city they specify on their “My Cities” list by tuning to Channel 227. Customers can then:

 

• ·         View weather information for cities throughout the country that they select.
• ·         View current local conditions, including high/low temperatures, humidity, wind, visibility and barometric pressure.
• ·         Get local and nationwide forecasts, including hourly and six-day outlooks.
• ·         Access animated local and national radar imagery and satellite views.
• ·         Watch current videos of meteorologists presenting the local weather updates.

·         Search and select cities by name, ZIP code or by looking at a U.S. map.

 

Weather On Demand is the latest addition to the constantly evolving suite of features that has been introduced to all U-verse TV customers since the AT&T U-verse launch in June 2006.

At no extra charge, U-verse TV customers can also enjoy several other integrated features, including Total Home DVR; the ability to program DVR recordings from your mobile phone or any Web-connected PC; personalized, on-screen weather, sports, traffic and stock information via AT&T U-bar; the ability to view personal photos on your TV that you have uploaded to flickr.com; and more.

 

For additional information on AT&T U-verse TV — or to find out if it’s available in your area — visit http://uverse.att.com or stop by the nearest retail location.

 

 

ABC News Picks Up My Story on How To Save on Phone, Wireless, Cable, Health Club, etc

And now, ABC News expands the story that ran on Good Morning America yesterday.

Just click here.

Here's the Segment That Ran on ABC's "Good Morning America" Showing How I Saved Money on My Monthly AT&T Bills Such as Phone, Internet, Wireless, (And... Health Club and More...)

Good Morning, America: I Want to Help Create a $600 Million Savings To America's Families

This morning, I was on ABC's Good Morning America.   I'll be posting the video later this morning.  The theme of the story was about saving money for your family, with a focus on services like phone and cable.

My goal is simple:  I want to help 100 million Americans save a minimum of $50 per month on family budget line on services such as phone, cable, internet, and more.

That comes to $600 per family or $600 million in sum.  That money can be used as savings, applied to something else you might want or need, or perhaps to be given to the charity of your choice or someone in need.

Here are some basic tips:

1.  Do your homework.  Make sure you have your bill in front of you and go line by line item 

2.  Do your research.  Get competing offers.  If you are with AT&T, find offers from your local cable and satellite provider.

3.  Be diligent (and be polite).  Chances are the first person you speak to may just offer you a $5 or $10 discount.  Turn it down and ask to speak to some in the Customer Retention Department.  Retaining customers is a whole lot less expensive than losing you as a customer and having to start over.

4.  Ask.  Ask. Ask.  Be prepared for the standard response about how much they love and appreciate your business.  This is not a customer courtesy call.  It's a call to help you and your family save money and get your money's worth in this economic climate.  

Acknowledge what they say, and tell them how much you love the service from AT&T, Verizon, Cox, Comcast, etc.  But this is 2009 and this is reality. 

5.  Prepare to disconnect.  What would happen to you if you killed your phone or cable service for a month?  Try it.  Disconnect.  And then re-connect.

6.  Ask for a rebate or credit on your next bill.  In the case of your wireless bill, if they won't budge, ask for a rebate.  Ask for a credit on your next bill.  The more wireless phones you have on your plan, the more you can negotiate.  I have 5 wireless phone lines and while AT&T would not lower my rates, they did give me an $80 credit on my next phone bill.  

7.  Every dollar you save is really $1.30 to you.  Think about how much you pay in taxes.  Give or take your tax bracket, this is more than just saving money.  It's putting money back in your family's budget.

If you are a journalist needing more information, email me:  alan at weinkrantz dot com and I will return your call.

"The Wall Street Journal" Covers the Story on How I Got A&T to Lower My Triple Play Residential Phone Bill

During the month of December, I spent quite a bit of time going line item by line item in my business and household budget trying to reduce costs.

One area that was getting out of hand was my residential triple play phone bill.  

I called AT&T and got my bill lowered about about 40%.  Frankly, I was not expecting this much savings, but it did happen.

Since then, Telephony Magazine covered the story and today, The Wall Street Journal did this piece.

And since then, I have another story to share - on saving money on your business lines.

That comes tomorrow, so stay tuned.

Wanna Get Out of Your Spring Contract and Switch to AT&T? Here's How

If you still drool over wanting an iPhone, but are still on contract to Sprint, here's how to get out of your contract!

Info here via the rascals over at Gizmodo

AT&T Introduces the Remote Control You'll Never Lose (and never run out of battery life)

AT&T is now shipping its new A10 U-verse Remote Control.

The idea is two fold (well, actually three)

1.  You never lose your remote because when you do, you just punch the button on the base station and the family AT&T chime goes off.

2.  The remote control base station has a clock, which makes up for the fact that the morons engineers who designed the Motorola set top box forgot to put in a clock - my guess at the OEM level - about $1.00 or less in cost.

3. Since it sits on a base station, it's re-chargeable, so you don't ever have to buy a battery.

XSTREAMHD to Offer HD On Demand Content

While AT&T offers a great Video on Demand solution, there is one thing missing to their service offering:  when you view content on U-verse's Video on Demand, you don't get true HD. 

Now, enters the XStreamHD solution that  enables consumers to build unparalleled in-home entertainment networks and enjoy Premium HD content; including 1080p movies, lossless music, electronic games and HDTV anywhere in the home. 

XStreamHD’s whole home HD entertainment solution includes the revolutionary XStreamHD Media Server that networks with multiple DLNA® compatible devices including the compact XStreamHD Media Receiver, TV, PC and game consoles.

Here's my interview with George Gonzales, XSTREAMHD's CEO....

Lexy Brings a Whole New Way to Listen to, and Create Audio Content via your Mobile Phone

For years, I have been wanting to do my own podcasts and sometimes listen to Podcasts via iTunes.  

My biggest enemy in all of this is that of time and equipment.  At CES 2009, I discovered Lexy, which is an on-demand news and entertainment service that comes to you over your mobile phone.  You can listen to short podcasts from providers like NPR, The New York Times, Wired, etc., or you can create your own short "Quickcasts" and broadcast them to your network via your phone.  

Here's a more in-depth piece from Mobile Content Today.

Here's a short interview with Co-founder and Creator of Chaos, Tony Levitan:

SONY UNVEILS WORLD’S FIRST WI-FI DIGITAL CAMERA WITH FREE AT&T WiFi ACESS

I just arrived to the CES 2009 show and learned about Sony's introduction of the the world’s first Wi-Fi® enabled digital camera that uploads photos and videos to Web sites through any public hotspot due to its built-in Web browser.

The new Cyber-shot DSC-G3 digital still camera answers one of the most pressing needs for photo enthusiasts: how to share those amazing photos and video clips of family, friends and events as soon as you shoot. The Cyber-shot camera makes it easy to upload images and video directly to popular photo and video sharing sites wherever a Wi-Fi connection is available.

Comes with Free AT&T WiFi Access....

First there was Starbucks.  Then McDonald's and now.... Sony?

Yup-  The new DSC-G3 model comes with complimentary AT&T Wi-Fi access to Sony’s Easy Upload Home Page until Jan. 31, 2012. It includes Wi-Fi access at thousands of AT&T hotspots across the United States, including participating coffee shops, selected book stores and major quick-serve restaurant locations, as well as hundreds of upscale hotels and airports.

“By collaborating with Sony to launch the first digital still camera with a built in Web browser and embedded access across the entire AT&T Wi-Fi service network, we’re enabling consumers to gain quick and convenient access to Sony’s Easy Upload Homepage through thousands of AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots across the country,” said Glenn Lurie, president of AT&T’s emerging device organization. “The wireless capabilities and cutting-edge features of the G3 camera with the reliable coverage of AT&T’s Wi-Fi network offers a unique consumer experience.”

Uploads Made Easy

The new camera makes it easy to connect to the Internet and upload images. By pressing the WLAN button on the camera, you can open its embedded Web browser.

After connecting to the Internet via wireless access points, the camera automatically navigates to the Sony Easy Upload Home Page, which includes direct links to photo sharing sites like Shutterfly™ and Picasa™ Web Albums; video sharing sites like YouTube™ and Dailymotion™; and a photo and video sharing site, such as Photobucket™. Also, the DSC-G3 camera allows you to access other sharing sites for uploading photos and videos through its Web browser.

Through the Sony Easy Upload Home Page, you can send e-mail notifications from the sharing Web sites to let friends and family know that you have posted new images and videos for viewing. This is perfect for sharing with loved ones that were not with you when you took the pictures or shot the videos.

When friends and family are nearby, you can use the camera to access photos you may have already uploaded to sharing sites and display them on its high resolution 3.5-inch LCD screen.

The camera supports DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) guidelines. By connecting to such DLNA-compatible devices as Sony BRAVIA® televisions via access points, photos in the camera can be played back with high-definition quality. In addition to BRAVIA TVs, the camera can connect to other DLNA-compatible devices, such as Sony VAIO® PCs.

Pricing and Availability

The Cyber-shot DSC-G3 camera is now available in black for about $500. The camera and a range of accessories can be purchased online at sonystyle.com, at Sony Style® retail stores (www.sonystyle.com/retail), at military base exchanges and at authorized dealers nationwide.