According to att.com/hurricanelane, AT&T mobile customers have access to unlimited talk, text, and data from August 24-28. This applies to all AT&T wireless customers with billing addresses in the state of Hawaii.

Thanks AT&T! And I gotta say their Disaster Preparation page is very informative letting customers know what actions AT&T has taken and what customers can do for themselves. I just hope AT&T won’t have to activate their National Disaster Recovery program for us.

So what does happen when the (so far flawless) Starbucks mobile order and pay system doesn’t behave?

The lines backup and get long.

 
And worse, if you did place an order, it went to another (not so convenient) location over a mile away.

Right after finding parking, you can mobile order and pay for your drink and pick it up, bypassing those infuriating lines. It’s so simple! Now I have to decide if getting a free refill is worth the wait in line…

But if you wanted to place a new order, you have to browse for the drink or search for it. Either requires tapping on your device. Instead of this dangerous distraction, why not just tell Siri what you want and let he/she/it order it for you? Okay, so you probabably have to acknowledge the order either with a tap of approval or perhaps a Touch ID “unlock” but just imagine the ease and convenience!

And of course, Siri would get trained from your commonly ordered drinks and better understand your verbal order. Or perhaps the app could simply assign numbers to your “quick order” list so all you need to say is, “Hey Siri, order a number 3.”

I can definitely see this happening, and I can’t wait.

The ability to place your Starbucks order and pay using its mobile app is coming to Hawaii in the coming week. At least the Pearl City Starbucks location is advertising this mobile feature.

I also said goodbye to my iPhone 4. This phone really cranked up the camera quality, making the iPhone my preferred camera.

With the Starbucks mobile app and Mobile Card, it’s a wonder why they haven’t moved their free Sweet 15 drink offer to a mobile platform as well. Don’t get me wrong, I love getting these postcards in the mail, but keeping track of them and their expiration date is somewhat humbug. But I guess that is the point. If I forget to use the card, then it’s my loss and Starbucks’ gain.

But still, if I can pay for my Holiday-themed Peppermint Mocha with my iPhone, why can’t I redeem my free drink using my iPhone?

Want to understand more? Read this great wireless primer from Engadget called “2G, 3G, 4G, and everything in between.”

So if you’re in the market for a new phone, check out AmazonWireless.

Yesterday, the phone was frozen. It wasn’t responding to anything, and I couldn’t even turn it off. I had to remove the battery to reset it. The final straw.

I’m on the hunt for a new phone (still with Cingular though). Besides the usual wants like cheap, long battery life, and light weight, here are some of the features I like:

• Flip/clamshell design – smaller than the “candy bar” shape
• External display – to see the time and caller ID info-useful when wanting to ignore calls
• USB capable – to sync contacts with my Mac using iSync
• Easy to use interface – I’ve always thought the Nokia phones were easy to use. Motorola’s interface took a while to get used to
• Speakerphone (optional) – could come in handy with Merynn to tend to
• Camera (optional) – not a fan of the crummy pictures but it’s harder to find a phone without a camera
• Music/FM player (optional) – probably won’t be used with my iPod around
• Internet capable (optional) – does come in handy when it’s the only Net access around

Cingular offers these phones that come close:

• Samsung X497
• LG C2000 – Amazon review 4 stars, but the external display is a waste of time
• Samsung P207
• Nokia 6102 – Amazon review 4.5 stars
• Motorola v551
• Motorola RAZR V3 – too expensive
• Samsung D307 – ugly!
• Motorola MPx220 – you kidding me after my MPx200 experience?

The Nokia 6102 sounds like a good one. Any recommendations?