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AT&T offering $100 to both new and existing customers

AT&T promo

Following a back and forth between T-Mobile and AT&T on promotions geared toward customers wanting to jump the carrier ship, AT&T announced today a short term promotion that actually rewards existing customers in addition to new users.

AT&T is shelling out $100 (in the form of a credit) for new lines including smartphones and tablets.

New and existing customers are eligible when you activate a qualifying wireless line

Add a new line for any smartphone, feature phone, tablet, wireless home phone, MiFi puck, or other connected device

You must remain active and in good standing for 45 days; your credit will be applied within 3 bill cycles

The promo runs through the end of March, so it’s not permanent, but it’s certainly a hefty incentive and hopefully of sign of what carrier competition can bring.

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Carrier billing to be available for Verizon Wireless customers who want Google Play content

After rumors over the last week, Google confirmed this evening that Verizon Wireless customers will be able to buy Google Play content from their Verizon account. Google tweeted:

Hey @Verizon Customers! Pay for Google Play apps, music and more on your phone bill. We’re rolling this out over the coming weeks. Enjoy!

Droid Life pointed out that there could be a $25 limit set for how much can be charged to a Verizon account each month. We will know more as this feature rolls out to Verizon customers!

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Google Apps Vault now available to new customers directly from Control Panel

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wZd_hIln1-I]

Google officially rolled out a new service to Apps customers in March, called “Google Vault“, that helps users securely preserve and manage important data. The service has since launched to new and recent customers, and Google announced today that Vault is being made accessible directly from the Google Apps Control Panel:

Starting today, Apps customers can purchase Google Apps Vault online directly from the Control Panel…Google Apps Vault can be added to your Google Apps account for an additional $5 per user per month… Google Apps Vault is available for new and recent Google Apps for Business and Education customers. We’re working to enable Vault for existing customers, and we’ll announce availability when it is ready.

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Report: AT&T to start system for blocking stolen devices July 10

So, someone stole your AT&T Android smartphone—now what? Well, AT&T plans to début a new system July 10 for blocking any stolen device.

According to The Verge, which cited a trusted source, the system will block access to voice, data, and SMS should a smartphone or tablet be swiped. The account will remain “intact,” as the publication noted, to avoid the “inconvenience of a full SIM block”:

The company sent a message [above] to customer service representatives on Wednesday advising them of the change. According to the guidance, AT&T will compile a “blocklist” of stolen devices and service will be automatically suspended “if any attempt is made to use a device that is stored in the blocklist.” The only way to add a device to the list will be by contacting a customer service representative directly, and users with remote data wipe apps will be required to activate them before suspending their device, to “prevent access to their personal information.”

AT&T will not have a directory of blocked phones, but a customer who requests a block may also remove it later. Therefore, the company will likely keep a record of blocked devices corresponding with customers.

This aside is cross-posted on 9to5Mac.


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Verizon to introduce shared data plans June 28, reflects reality of multiple device users

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According to a report from AllThingsD, Verizon Wireless will soon change the way it charges customers for cellular/data plans in a major way. Rather than charging customers for phones calls or messages sent, the report claimed Verizon would charge “almost exclusively based on how much data” is consumed. The new “Share Everything” plans will also be the first in the United States that allows users to share their data with up to 10 devices through a single account:

The plans, known as “Share Everything,” allow users an unlimited number of calls and texts and also allow data usage to be pooled among up to 10 devices on one account. With the move, Verizon becomes the first U.S. carrier to offer the ability for customers to share a bucket of data across multiple devices.

AllThingsD noted that AT&T also has plans for shared data options, but it did not provide more details. As for Verizon’s new plans, which will apparently kick-in June 28, the report explained the cost of the data plan and pricing metrics based on a per-device fee. In other words, you will have to pay roughly $40 per smartphone ($10 per tablet), and then opt for either a $50 1GB data plan or a $100 10GB plan. While the report claimed the new pricing should not impact the cost of plans for users who continue consuming the same amount of data, it is clear that those signing a new plan for a single smartphone are getting a bit less for their money:


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Google acquires KikScore technology

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3YiL59pBCc]

KikScore announced that Google acquired its technology.

According to KikScore’s official blog:

We are excited to announce that the KikScore technology and certain assets have been acquired. As of June 28, 2012, the KikScore service will no longer be available to customers. We recommend that our customers check out the Google Trusted Store product as an alternative to the KikScore service. In fact, we wrote this post last October that describes how complimentary the KikScore and Google Trusted Store products are for small businesses. We are very proud of the more than two years that we offered the KikScore service and are so grateful to the 1700+ small business customers that we have served globally.

The buyout, as SearchEngineLand first noted, will bulk Google’s Trusted Stores program. The service helps online shoppers to identify stores with a safe and superior online shopping experience, which is possible through supervision of product shipping times and customer service. It also extends $1, 000 in purchase protection warranty.

KikScore is a similar service that also offers seals for non-online retailers and local businesses. It foremost guarantees online businesses, however, and aggregates information about management, website history, and details on customer service satisfaction.

The financial aspects of the acquisition were not revealed.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FKXPeIeKYd8]


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Dell’s CEO wants to use Google+ Hangouts as a customer service tool

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Michael Dell hosting a hangout

GigaOm is reporting that Michael Dell, Dell’s CEO and chairman, wants to use Google+ Hangouts for customer service. Michael Dell has used Hangsouts more than a dozen times to connect with customers, showing he’s a fan of the service and he yesterday said on Google+:

I am thinking about hangouts for business. Would you like to be able to connect with your Dell service and sale teams via video directly from Dell.com?

As of now Google+ is in an invite only beta, so this idea couldn’t be executed yet. But this is certainly some good thinking.