Carriers

Cricket Wireless today continued its dive into smartphone territory by announcing nationwide 3G data roaming for its top-end devices. Customers using the service will be able to make calls and use all data features on their handsets even if they leave Cricket's home network area.

The roaming service will be available through Cricket's EV-DO roaming partners, which include Sprint Nextel and MetroPCS. Like with all wireless service, the carrier's expanded 3G data roaming won't be available in all parts of the country, though Cricket says it will cover 80 percent of the U.S. population, or … Read more

Verizon Wireless will be releasing a new Network Extender femtocell that will finally be able to access 3G/EV-DO data. Like the previous Network Extender, it works by connecting to your home broadband connection. You can then use it to make and receive phone calls and text messages, and now, you can surf the Web with it as well.

According to Verizon Wireless, the 3G Network Extender has a 40-foot range and will work with up to six different Verizon Wireless devices. The unit costs around $249.99 upfront, but there's no monthly access fee to use it.

Updated with correct charges

Boost Mobile has introduced a new plan that rewards customers who make on-time payments. Called the Monthly Unlimited with Shrinkage plan, it lets customers reduce the usual $50 monthly charge to as low as $35 just by making payments in a timely manner (unless they're on a BlackBerry plan; see below). The no-contract plan includes unlimited voice, text, Web, e-mail, instant messaging, and 411 calls.

The plan works by reducing the monthly charge by $5 after six on-time payments. So the first month would be $50, the sixth month would be $45, and so forth … Read more

We admit that we expected CTIA Fall 2010 to be rather slow, as the fall version of the wireless trade show is usually not as eventful as the one in the spring. Boy, were we wrong. More than 10 new devices made their debut this past week, pushing the holiday gadget season into full swing.

Motorola kicked off the festivities with the announcement of five new Android smartphones--three for AT&T and two for Verizon Wireless. They are the Motorola Bravo, the Motorola Flipside, the Motorola Flipout, the Motorola Citrus, and the Motorola Droid Pro. The Motorola Droid … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--They're not phones, but AT&T has announced its first HSPA+ and LTE-compatible devices: the USBConnect Adrenaline and USBConnect Shockwave mobile broadband modems.

The Adrenaline, which is made by LG, will be the first LTE-upgradeable device. A software update will be made available for the USB modem when AT&T rolls out LTE in mid-2011, which will allow it take advantage of the faster speeds. Till then, you can use it on AT&T's current 3G network.

It also offers built-in GPS and a MicroSD slot, so you can use it as a storage … Read more

The CTIA fall show used to be known as CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment, but for 2010, it is called CTIA Enterprise & Applications, which shows a deeper emphasis on business and development of mobile applications.

Still, we expect quite a bit of news on the consumer front. Sprint and Samsung are planning announcements, and we won't be surprised if we see more news about tablets, especially with the RIM BlackBerry PlayBook announcement from last week and the impending arrival of the Samsung Galaxy Tab. Perhaps more interestingly, Microsoft is skipping the show this year, maybe to concentrate … Read more

AT&T announced new payment plans for GoPhone today that drastically cut costs to the wireless carrier's prepaid phone service. The revised plans go into effect on October 3, and lower the price of using the Unlimited Daily Talk and Text and Simple Rate plans.

Unlimited Daily Talk and Text users will now pay $2 per day for days they use their phones, as opposed to $3, and the plan includes 200 MB of data. Simple Rate users will see prices drop from 25 cents per minute to 10 cents per minute. Charges apply for making or receiving … Read more

U.S. Cellular announced yesterday that it is launching a new customer loyalty program called the Belief Project. The program, which is one of the first of its kind in the wireless industry, puts an end to many common carrier practices like forcing customers to sign a new contract if they buy a discounted phone.

Many of the Belief Project's benefits will depend on "Belief Points," which customers will start earning automatically and free of charge. The points then can be redeemed for a variety of rewards, such as earlier phone upgrades, additional lines, new phones handsets … Read more

Welcome to the 411, my column answering all your questions about cell phones and cell phone accessories. I receive plenty of questions about these subjects via e-mail, so I figured many of you might have similar queries, too. At times, I might solicit answers from readers if I'm stumped. Send your questions and comments to me at nicole.lee@cnet.com. If you prefer to remain anonymous, let me know in the e-mail.

In light of BlackBerry DevCon happening right now, I decided to take this opportunity to answer a few of your BlackBerry-related questions.

I'm excited about … Read more