Date: Fri, 29 Jan 1999 00:27:21 -0500 (EST)
Organization: Interpage Network Services, Inc. // www.faxup.com
Subject: Bell Atl. Mobile Alpha Messaging Probs on Qualcomm/Sony 800s
Keywords: Alpha SMS BAMS Qualcomm Sony software revision CDMA Sprint
Status: O

About a year and a half ago, I purchased a (then) brand-new Qualcomm 800 
CDMA Digital phone to operate in conjunction with Bell Atlantic's CDMA 
digital service. 

One of the primary reasons I purchased the phone and obtained digital 
service was due to the SMS Alpha messaging capabilities which allow 
customers to receive messages anywhere in BAMS territory, and which are 
stored if I am out of a given coverage area until I return.

(I can assure readers that it was NOT for the "enhanced" quality of CDMA --
CDMA is mainly pathetic, and Qualcomm should be ashamed to push something
as lame [And AT&T and the rest of the TDMA gang aren't that much
better...].  Everyone who talks to me on the CDMA is annoyed by the
obviously artificial sound of the voice, and the clipping and delay --
almost as if we were talking on a satellite connection! A friend of mine
in New Haven, CT, regularly gets cut off even though he is sitting in his
living room, not moving around, and is in a good coverage area. BAMS has
still not provided a satisfactory explanation for why this goes on.
However, the overall Digital Choice package from BAMS, which includes a
large home rate area, first incoming call free, caller ID and the alpha
SMS messaging service makes the package worthwhile -- I just switch my
phone to analog for important calls where I actually want to have a normal
and generally uninterrupted conversation.)

Anyhow -- recently, BAMS changed the maximum number of characters one 
could receive in a given alpha message, from 55 to 120. This change was 
long overdue, and the low character limit was something I specifically 
pointed to as a failing of the SMS service when I first posted about the 
BAMS Digital Choice service offering in September 1997.

However, owners of Sony and Qualcomm 800 CDMA phones (the ones with the 
ear-piece which needs to be slid upwards when placing or receiving a call) 
found out that after receiving a few messages, the memory in their mobile 
phone was somehow getting used up, even if all new messages were deleted 
so that there should be no messages at all stored in the phone. 

That is, even if a user were to clear out ALL of their messages (new and 
old), any new message which tried to come in would result in the phone 
rejecting the message saying "Not enough memory -- New message 
rejected" and displaying to the user "Memory 100% full!". Again, it would 
do this WITHOUT ANY messages being present in the phone. 

More annoyingly, the cell system keeps trying and trying to send the 
message every few minutes, and unless you turn the ringer off (and thus 
don't know when anyone calls you), you continuously hear "BEEP BEEP 
BEEP!" each time the system tries to send the message to the phone!

After talking to some people at BAMS, they called Qualcomm, and Qualcomm 
said what was needed was software revision 1.51 or higher. However, BAMS 
did not have it at any of their stores (in CT, NJ, NY, Mass, or PA) -- 
the closest thing they had was v1.4, which I tried but did not solve the 
problem.

Getting nowhere with the stores, I called to BAMS/Northeast office in 
Wallingford, CT, explained the problem, and about a day later got a call 
back saying that they had called Qualcomm and that they are obtaining a 
copy of the revision 1.5 software and will have it at their Manchester, 
CT store shortly.

So, if you are having the same problem and do not want to upgrade your 
phone (I don't like the 820 since if you are checking voicemail and press 
a touch tone key while the phone is near your ear it comes through in a 
deafeningly loud manner), you may want to contact your local BAMS office 
and see if they can contact Wallingford to get a copy of the software to 
your local store. The woman I spoke with in Wallingford who arranged all 
this is named Paula, and she is familiar with the situation.

Hopefully, this new revision will solve the problem once and for all and 
allow me to use the phone with the SMS messaging feature without getting 
so mad at all the beeps that I just want to throw the thing out the 
window! :)

If anyone has the same problem and finds their local BAMS office to be of 
little or no use in resolving it, send me some mail and I'll provide more 
detailed contact information at BAMS.

(This post and updated SID list are also available at www.wirelessnotes.org)

Regards,

Doug