Douche Of The Day Award goes to: Canadian with $85,000 Cellphone Bill

Canadian runs up $85,000 mobe bill
Unlimited browser plan? Not exactly...

A Calgary man who mistakenly believed that a $10 "unlimited mobile browser plan" would enable him to surf the internet with impunity, "downloading high-definition movies and other bandwidth-hungry applications", was slapped with an $85,000 bill for his trouble.

According to Canada's Globe and Mail, 22-year-old Piotr Staniaszek recently decided to renew his wireless contract with Bell Mobility, and got a new phone in return. He quickly connected the phone to his PC and hit the web.

About 10 days ago, the bad news arrived in the form of a bill to his parents' house - $60,000 in mobile phone charges for November alone. It then got worse: when Staniaszek rang Bell Mobility, he was told the total had risen to $85k "because the company was charging him on a per-kilobyte basis".

Staniaszek explained to CBC News: "I told them I wasn't aware that I would be charged for hooking up my phone to the computer. I'm going to try and fight it because I didn't know about the extra charges. Nobody explained any of this to me."

Bell has since made a "goodwill gesture" and reduced Staniaszek's bill to a mere $3,243, calcluated on charging him "the best data plan available for using cellphones as a modem", as company spokesman Mark Langton explained.

Langton added that Staniaszek "should have known that using the cellphone as a modem wasn't part of his data plan, and that it wasn't 'accidental'". He concluded: "When the customer downloaded the software to do so, a warning came up that said there would be additional data charges on top of the mobile browser plan."

Source [TheRegister]

Live365 Internet Radio Goes Mobile

Stream it NOW on your Windows Mobile 5/6 Phones

Live365, the world’s largest internet radio network, announced that its streaming service is now available via their Radio365-Mobile software for all smartphones, pocket PCs, and PDAs running Windows Mobile 5 or 6.

Users of Windows Mobile handsets on any carrier network worldwide (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and more) can now enjoy internet radio from thousands of Live365 broadcasters in 250 genres originating from over 150 countries. Nearly every major handset manufacturer offers mobile devices with the Windows Mobile operating system including Samsung, Motorola, HTC, Palm, HP, and many more.

Whether its pop, rock, inspirational, hip-hop, oldies, jazz, or anything in between – mobile listeners can now enjoy their favorite Live365 stations in their car or anywhere their broadband Edge/3G or Wi-Fi network is available.

Radio365-Mobile is free to download and installs directly to the phone from a mobile web browser at http://m.live365.com. Once installed, Live365’s commercial-free VIP subscription is available for a 15-day, no-credit-card free trial. Once the free-trial has expired, listeners can continue to enjoy a handful of free stations or purchase VIP for as little as $5.95 per month (discounted 3-month and 1-year plans available). One Live365 VIP subscription is good on any Live365-powered website or device.

The Radio365-Mobile software has a large variety of features including album artwork, artist/track/album info, unlimited presets, one-click e-mailing of track info/buy links, large-font mode, keypad presets, user-selected themes, personalized recommendations, automatic mute on incoming calls, and portrait/landscape support -- all with easy one-thumb operation. For more information and a list of the growing number of compatible phones, visit http://www.radio365mobile.com .

According to Arbitron’s 2007 Digital Radio Study, nearly one in six 18- to 34-year-olds listen to internet radio and one in three Americans currently own a portable audio device. As mobile connectivity and Wi-Fi hotspots become more ubiquitous, Live365 will be a leader in car audio and all mobile listening – the current home turf of AM/FM, Sirius, and XM satellite radio.

This new mobile offering complements Live365’s existing free ad-supported and subscription listening across the www.live365.com website and many devices and platforms including TiVo, D-Link MediaLounge, Windows Media Center, Sony VAIO WA1, Philips Streamium, Windows Media Player, HP MediaSmart TVs, Slim Devices, and many more. One Live365 VIP subscription is good across all these platforms so listeners can take their Live365 presets everywhere!

Live365 is a pioneer in mobile radio streaming, having a beta release of its Windows CE software for Pocket PCs way back in early 2001. The solution was short lived due to high mobile data charges and a promising partner, Metricom (makers of the portable wireless Ricochet Modem), going out of business.