calling

On Call: What we'd really lose in an AT&T-T-Mobile merger

On Call runs every two weeks, alternating between answering reader questions and discussing hot topics in the cell phone world.

By now I'm sure that you're familiar with the arguments against the proposed AT&T-T-Mobile merger. As critics see it, the deal will put too much power in the hands of one carrier (and one GSM carrier, at that), it will reduce customer choice and innovation, and it will lead to higher prices and poorer customer service.

Those all are valid points, but I'm more worried about something that hasn't received a lot of attention. … Read more

Skype for Android opens up video calling--sort of

The official Skype app for Android lets you place voice calls to landlines, mobile numbers, or other Skype users. It also offers built-in SMS capabilities, instant messaging for chatting with your Skype connections, and for a select few supported devices, video calls.

Skype's user interface is incredibly clean and simple to use. The Home screen displays four icons to cover all your basic needs: Contacts, Recent, Call phones, Profile. Above the icons, there's a small bar where you can change your mood message (Skype's version of a status update). And at the very top, there's a … Read more

Shuttle Atlantis' final flight

Google shuts down Google Labs for greater company focus, Darth Vader makes it to Garmin GPS devices, and the space shuttle Atlantis touches down, marking the end of NASA's shuttle program.

Links from Thursday's episode of Loaded:

Space Shuttle Atlantis ends final flight

Darth Vader voice comes to Garmin GPS

Google shuts down Labs

Make multiple calls in Gmail

CBS TV shows hit Amazon Instant Video

Make multiple phone calls using Gmail

Those of you who use or want to try out Gmail's voice calling feature to make phone calls can now set up multiple calls at the same time.

Unveiled almost a year ago, Gmail's phone call feature lets you make calls to other Gmail users as well as to regular cell phones and landlines. Calls to the U.S. and Canada are free, while calls abroad typically cost a few pennies per minute. The feature even includes video chatting.

Until now, you could only make one phone call at a time. But in a recent update to the … Read more

Set your power button to end calls on Android 2.2 and up

Using a mobile phone while driving is dangerous enough on its own. Add to that the need to look at your phone to end calls and you have a recipe for disaster. If only today's smartphones had that trusty end-call button that existed on older phones. Fortunately, you can follow these quick steps to turn your power button into the end-call button you've been missing:

Editor's note: This How To is geared toward handsets running Android 2.2 and above.

Step 1: Enter the settings menu from either the app tray or by clicking Menu>Settings … Read more

Google Voice catches spam before it hits the phone

Google Voice users who have been marking calls as spam now have something to show for their troubles.

"Thanks to the help of the thousands of Google Voice users who mark calls as spam everyday--and our own spam identification tools--it is now possible to automatically redirect calls, texts, and voicemails from any of the numbers in our database directly into your spam folder," the search company said on its Google Voice blog yesterday.

Spam filtering has long been a desire of Google Voice users. Previously, when telemarketers would call a Google Voice user, they could still block the … Read more

New Facebook scam takes advantage of video calling

Facebook scams and viruses grow by the day, so it's no surprise scammers are taking advantage of the new video calling feature.

Sophos' Naked Security blog reports that the newest Facebook scam makes Video Chat look like an application called Video Call, as seen in the screenshot below. That, in turn, tricks users to be "easily convinced to approve the application to have more liberal permissions."

However, there are a few more noticeable problems with the permissions request if one actually takes the time to read. After all, why would an app that comes directly from Facebook … Read more

Call of Duty convention deploys Sept. 2-3

Activision is aiming to build the Call of Duty community in a big way. The publisher last month announced Call of Duty Elite, a new service for fans of the military first-person shooter series with a wealth of social-networking bells and whistles. Today, Activision followed that up with the introduction of Call of Duty XP 2011, a convention it dubbed a "celebration" for the game's community.

Set to take place on a 12-acre compound in Los Angeles September 2-3, Call of Duty XP 2011 will serve as a coming-out party for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer mode. An expected 6,000 attendees will be able to get their hands on the game's cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes, as well as check out the fully functioning Elite service for the first time.

Read more of "Call of Duty convention deploys Sept. 2-3" at GameSpot.… Read more

Skype for Android gets video calling

Video chatting has made its way to Skype's Android app, the VoIP provider announced today.

Video is extremely important in the Skype ecosystem. At any given time, there are 30 million concurrent users on Skype, according to Skype vice president and general manager of product and marketing, Neil Stevens. At its peak, Skype sees 500,000 simultaneous video calls across its service.

When users download the free Skype for Android 2.0, they'll find that they can place or receive video calls with owners of other Android handsets, as well as those who use the platform on their … Read more

Skype 2.0 for Android adds video calls

Hot off the heels of its iPad-optimized app release, Skype, the popular VoIP service, makes another splash with an update for its Android-toting user base. Skype for Android has jumped to version 2.0, and at long last, it lets Android users make and receive video calls--well, it lets a few of them anyway. See, the new video-calling capability is, at the moment, only available to users running Android version 2.3 on the following devices: HTC Desire S, Sony Ericsson Xperia neo and pro, and the Google Nexus S. If you're counting, that's only four devices. While … Read more