Howard Stern's Phony Phone Call - Dial-A-Trade Dropped Calls

When Richard Christy noticed a Dial-a-Trade radio show host frequently dealing with dropped calls, he saw a comedic opportunity. On Monday, Howard unveiled the Stern Show staffer’s latest prank call, exploiting this vulnerability for maximum hilarity.

Are You A Sucker for Marketing Scams?

Have You Purchased Cellular Service Based on Coverage Maps?

Do You Buy Products Because They Labeled As Green?

Trust the Financial Press & Sell Stock in 2009?

Do You Believe the Nielsen TV and Internet Ratings Are Accurate?

Get Cash For Gold for Only 30 Cents on the Dollar?

Invest in any Hedge Funds of Mass Destruction?

Did You Buy Real Estate With No Equity or Money Down?

Have Anything But the Highest Deductible Health Insurance Plan?

Did You Believe The Iraq War Was For Safety or Money?

Did You Believe These Old Cigarette Ads?

Top Most Expensive Cell Phones

Cell phones are an absolute necessity nowadays and although the majority of the sets sold are branded as 'entry-level' phones, there is considerable demand for premium phones. Vertu, a division of Nokia, had a monopoly in the luxury phone market till recently but it seems that its days of reign are over as more and more companies are now manufacturing uber-luxury phones which are targeted towards the richer sections of the society. Let's have a look at some of the most expensive cell phones in the world. The following list does not follow any particular order.

1. Goldvish "Le million" ($1,000,000)

The "Le million" by Goldvish is widely regarded as the world's most expensive mobile phone. The phone features 120 carat of diamonds (VVS-1 grade) and it has been designed by eminent designer, Emmanuel Gueit. Goldvish is a Geneva based company and it has many other diamond-encrusted models which are a bit reasonably priced than this one.

2. Vertu Signature Cobra ($310,000)

This is a limited edition phone and only 8 pieces are available in the market worldwide. It features a pear-cut diamond, a white diamond which is round in shape and more than 400 rubies. There is also a cheaper version of this phone available which does not have any rubies encrusted on it. It is being offered at an attractive price of $115,000.

3. Goldstriker iPhone 3GS Supreme ($320,000)

In 2009 this phone, designed by Stuart Hughes, was declared as the world's most expensive phone. The phone is made from 271gm of pure gold and there are more than 200 diamonds on the cell phone. There is an Apple logo on the back of the phone which has a large number of gems. The home button is made from a single piece of diamond (7.1 carats). This is easily one of the most beautiful looking luxury phones available in the market today.

4. Diamond Crypto Smartphone ($130,000)

This beautiful looking phone has been designed by peter Aloisson, a luxury accessories designer. The phone has been encased in a platinum base and it has more than 50 diamonds. The USP of this phone is that there are as many 8 rare blue diamonds. Even the navigation key of this phone has been encrusted in 18Carat rose gold. It is very interesting note that this cell phone, originally worked on Windows CE.

4. VIPN Black Diamond Smartphone ($300,000)

The body of this cell phone has been made from polycarbonate and it features a cutting edge mirror that has been adorned with diamonds. The cell phone has a 400 MHz processor, a 4MP camera and a 256 TFT screen.

5. Vertu Diamond ($88,000)

The Diamond is part of the many high-range premium mobile phones by Vertu. The handsets are made from platinum and they are fully diamond encrusted. Only 200 such handsets are available in the market today and the most expensive one is priced more than $90,000.

6. Motorola V220 Special Edition ($51,800)

This special edition Motorola phone is studded with 1,200 diamonds and the keyboard is made from 18 carat gold. The phone is priced at $51,800. Media reports suggest that this phone has caught the fancy of football stars and film stars but the general rich class has stayed away from this model. The price that some of these phones command is a gentle reminder to us that all of them are beyond our reach but it is surprising to know that people are actually eager to pay such amounts for a cell phone!

About The Author: Kelly is a writer. She loves writing, travelling and playing. These days she is working on technology used in cell phones.

Jon Stewart on FCC & Comcast Corruption

We all know the FCC is a joke but this one takes the cake as one of the most ridiculous conflicts of interest I have ever heard. The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart just railed the former FCC Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker for becoming a lobbyist for Comcast. The hilarious segment was complete with booing and hissing from the audience when the commissioner’s actions were revealed.  Criticism of Commissioner Baker has come from almost every media outlet including The New York Times, TIME Magazine, Rolling Stone and now The Daily Show.  Freepress has collected more than 60,000 letters urging Rep. Darrell Issa to investigate Baker’s sudden departure with a goal of 100,000 before delivering them to the congressman.  Send you a letter demanding the resignation and clamping down of the FCC corruption. 

Al Franken Rips AT&T's Coverage Map

Ooooh . . . That's a Great Map!

Thanks to the strong support of a strong U.S. Senator Al Franken, AT&T might actually have an opponent in the Government who won't approve the merger. Al is not on AT&T's political payroll. In this short video clip for CSPAN Senator Franken makes fun of AT&T's map directly to the CEO of AT&T Randall Stephenson. He then moves on to other back-haul issues after Randall Stephenson and others on the panel acknowledge that competition is a National issue. Read more and listen to more of the testimony on Al Franken opposing the merger and modification of net neutrality laws. Al Franken argues against the current practices of the Department of Justice and the FCC analyzing competition on a local level. Its wrong and the companies competing in the marketplace and everyone knows it. This quote came 1 hour and 30 minutes into the full Senate hearing.

iPhone 4 Bars But No AT&T Service

Red Devil Lounge
1695 Polk St at Clay, San Francisco
"We Are the iPhone of Nightclubs . . .  4 Full Bars but Crappy Service"

Why Mobile Phone Consumers Are So Stupid

These might some of the funniest videos I have ever seen making fun of today's consumer mentality.  The aspiring film maker Brian Maupin is brilliant and we would like to hire Brian to see if he can poke fun at the carriers.  It just goes to show how stupid corporate American thinks consumers are these days.  

Best Buy suspended and then try to reinstate suspended Independence store employee Brian Maupin.  However, Hollywood has now found discovered him and now looks to be move his career upward.  His films seen above compare the Sprint EVO verses the iPhone 4.  The video took him 30 minutes to make and made fun of iPhone fans for the frenzy to get the device.  The animated video features a sales person trying to convince a person looking for an iPhone to buy a Sprint smart phone instead.  He compares many features on the phone that are inferior but the iPhone fanboys still want their new device.

Brian who is an aspiring filmmaker isn't sure he wants to return to selling cell phones and other electronics.  Best Buy had suspended him while they investigated that and two other videos they thought disparaged the store.  The videos were posted on YouTube.

In a statement, Best Buy said, "This is an important situation for us because it involved balancing our social media guidelines with a commitment to creating a supportive environment for our employees." The company noted that Mauphin had removed the videos that disparaged Best Buy. "Contrary to rumors, Brian has not been fired and is scheduled to return to his job at Best Buy this Friday," the statement says. But Mauphin told KMBC's Robb Yagmin that he is weighing his options and may not show up.  "Right now I'm planning on taking a leave of absence so that I may survey my current career plans and the future," Mauphin said. "I'm not sure it would be comfortable returning to Best Buy considering the circumstaces, but I will definitely consider all options."

Wi-Fi Could Go Down the Toilet . . . Literally

Toilet Internet Service Provider (TiSP)

When you first read this you might think its a joke but then you begin to question yourself because of the source (Google).  Google has thousands of PhDs on staff and this concept seems absolutely doable over an old pipe infrastructure.  After reading the detailed instructions I began to accept the impossible and started to believe it was true.  After all, the concept seems very analogous to powerline networking where data traffic is routed through your electricity switches within your home.

How does TiSP (Toilet Internet Service Provider) work?  The Google TiSP (BETA) is a fully functional, end-to-end broadband wireless system that provides in-home Wifi access by connecting your toilet-based TiSP wireless router. The router connects to one of the thousands of TiSP Access Nodes via fiber-optic cable strung through your local municipal sewage lines.  Why should I switch to Google TiSP? It's free, fast & delivers a 10x higher flow rate than basic DSL (even after your morning dump). Its also vacuum sealed to prevent water and pipe damage.

However, until seeing the press release dated April 1, 2007 my head sank into my lap after the time I had wasted wondering why there wasn't more press on the idea.  However, I am not giving up on the concept because there are millions of people who just might take a little more satisfaction over the commode knowing they are contributing to the disruption of a telecom oligopoly.  Still a believer and think someday it might come true. . . read more Google hoaxes.   

10 Funny Femtocell Product Brand Names

AT&T's New Sponsor Sudafed - "Congestion Relief for Our Network"

SudaCell - Congestion Relief for the Network

SinuCell - Relief for your Network Congestion

MicroHell - Because we know your outdoor cell coverage is actually getting worse

Wi-For-Free - Why would we want to use a free back-haul service like Wi-Fi?

Never Drop - Or we pay for the call

Extenna - Extension for your iPhone 4 antenna that won't reach the cell tower

Ubiquity - Your phone should work everywhere our coverage maps claim

Auto Re-Dial - Because we know you will have to do it at least once

Show Me the Money - Just pay us and stop complaining about your poor service quality

Cell You Crap - When your $150 + $20 Per Month AT&T MicroCell drops calls

What are femtocells?  - They are 2G, 3G, 4G, LTE or Wi-Fi wireless device that has been specifically designed for cell phones and used it is used to enhance cell phone reception indoors and lower cell phone costs at the same time.  Femtocells are typically used to relieve network congestion, dropped calls and areas that have no cell phone reception.  

Man Dumps Cell Phone for Telegraph After Too Many Dropped Calls

Did You Know That Only 25% of the US Land Mass Actually Has Cell Phone Coverage?

The telegraph statement is not true but might feel like reality for some rural customers.  Many parts of the US have no broadband or wireless coverage.   You won't likely hear about this in the press but many residents are simply ignored by wireless carriers who make false claims about wireless service availability.  If 75% of US land mass consists of mountainous, farming and remote areas than we still have a long ways to go for carriers to make the claim that they have "more coverage in more places."

AT&T Coverage Map Helmet Video

We need to hire this guy ASAP!   This is one of the funniest videos we have ever seen making fun of the marketing departments for both AT&T and Verizon.  This is a brilliant way to exacerbate the feud going on between Verizon and AT&T in regards to mapping coverage.  This brilliant person had the creativity to make his own coverage map helmet that shows AT&T's coverage nationwide and went into stores trying to find a phone that could get him coverage in rural areas.

He enters an AT&T store to get some assistance and then goes into a Verizon store where he is greeted to a bunch of humorous talk from employees who drink the "coo-laid".  Kudos to him as he definitely managed to stir up some attention as he even walked around to a local movie theater where people complimented him and honked in support. He was so cool almost like Will Farrel and did a wonderful job in keeping his composure when questioned about the idea.  In the end, he was unable to find the provider or phone that he was looking for.

Here is the commercial that he is clowning.