Carriers

On Call: GLAAD backtracks on AT&T-T-Mobile merger support

Though AT&T continues to win widespread support from state governors for its $39 billion T-Mobile bid, at least one group from outside the wireless industry thankfully is returning to sanity. This week, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) withdrew its support for the merger after strongly offering it six weeks ago.

In a statement issued Wednesday, Acting President Mike Thompson said that while AT&T has a "strong record of support" for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, support for the merger "was not sufficiently consistent" with GLAAD's … Read more

Cricket unveils Kyocera Luno

We haven't heard much from Kyocera since it unleashed the dual-screen Echo early this year, but today the company returned to its simpler roots by announcing the Luno S2100 for Cricket.

Proving that flip phones still exist, the Luno sports a folding design in a deep purple hue. The rounded edges give it appeal and the 1-inch color external display will let you check caller ID and the time without opening the phone.

Inside you'll find a 1.8-inch color display and a standard alphanumeric keypad. Features include Bluetooth 2.1, a WAP 2.0 browser, a VGA … Read more

Thunderbolt update nixes unlimited mobile hot spots

The software update being made available to the HTC Thunderbolt this week may be just the latest reminder that carriers not only giveth, but also taketh way.

Hidden behind all of the benefits, bug fixes, and improvements, Verizon has quietly removed the unlimited and free access to the embedded hot-spot functionality, according to DSL Reports. In other words, instead of being able to use the feature as they wish, Thunderbolt users now will have to contact Verizon to activate the hot spot and add the corresponding service plan.

While that's not a huge shock given Verizon's new monthly charges for using the hot-spot feature, it's just another sign of the new data regime at Big Red. Verizon even foreshadowed the change last month in a statement posted by Droid Life in which it warned that the free hot-spot promotion would end July 6 (the day before the carrier subsequently ended its unlimited data plans). … Read more

AT&T revamps global data plans

AT&T announced good news to customers who travel abroad with new international data plans that more than doubles the data allowance of the current plans. It's still not exactly cheap, but it's at least more affordable than before.

The cheapest $24.99 per month plan now provides 50MB of international data (up from 20MB), the $49.99 plan will let you have 125MB (up from 50MB), the $99.99 plan promises 275MB (up from 100MB), and the priciest of them all, $199.99 a month, will offer up a whopping 800MB (up from 200MB). The 800MB … Read more

States subpoena Sprint over AT&T-T-Mobile merger

In a filing with the Federal Communications Commission late last month, Sprint said it had received subpoenas and civil investigation demands from nine states as they conduct antitrust reviews of AT&T's proposed $39 billion merger with T-Mobile.

According to the June 28 letter (PDF), Sprint said attorneys general in Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington have asked it to deliver "full, unredacted copies of all materials" that it has submitted to the FCC including its Petition to Deny, reply comments, "and all accompanying declarations." The carrier also said … Read more

Gingerbread now available for Droid Incredible 2

Marking its second Android software update in as many days, Verizon Wireless is now offering Gingerbread to owners of the Droid Incredible 2. Customers who have the HTC handset can manually search for and download the Android 2.3 update, which also addresses random reboots and freezing applications.

As is the case with other recent updates, the Droid Incredible 2 will have enhanced application management, improved copy and paste, and a new desktop docking app. For a deeper dive of Gingergread's features, please see our Samsung Nexus S review.

The full list of details for the Droid Incredible 2 … Read more

Avoid a sky-high bill by tracking your Verizon data use

Verizon Wireless didn't make many friends earlier this week when it confirmed that staring today, it will end unlimited data plans in favor of tiered options based on data usage.

Though current customers will be grandfathered in with unlimited data, the change may be more than a little confusing for new subscribers eager to trade up to their first smartphones. Forecasting how much data you need is difficult to do on your own, especially with no prior history. What's more, knowing how much data a certain app uses requires a bit of sleuthing on your part.

Thankfully, Verizon offers a number of tools to help put users into the right data add-on. All customers can dial #DATA on their handset to see their usage, while most Android and Blackberry users also can download the Data Usage Widget. And of course, seasoned Verizon customers are probably already familiar with the My Verizon Mobile service.

With tools like this it can't be all that scary, can it? Actually, you bet it is. I spent a few minutes playing around with a fourth tool in Verizon's Data Usage Calculator. Designed to get a feel for how quickly one might chew through bandwidth, it calculates how much data usage based on e-mails sent, Web sites visited, as well as music and video streaming.

I was shocked to learn that watching roughly one hour of high-resolution video per day will put me at 12GB of data. And that's without e-mails, Web browsing, or anything else. Even something as innocuous as letting your child watch YouTube videos could result in massive charges. … Read more

Dialed In 181: Just call her Bonnie

Apparently, Bonnie has entered the rarefied realm of one-name recognition with the likes of Cher, Prince, and Madonna. How did she get there, you ask? Well, she isn't appearing in concert (at least not yet), but Dialed In fans have suggested that simply "Bonnie" should be the name of her column.

It's catchy, no doubt, but in the end she went with Nicole's witty suggestion (see episode 178) of "Smartphones Unlocked." We appreciate the nomination, though, and we trust that you'll enjoy her new monthly blog, which will explain the mystery of smartphones. We sample the first edition in this episode.

Also in the podcast, we debate Verizon's switch to tiered data plans, Nicole puts the Samsung Nexus S 4G through more tests, and Jessica takes a look at the smartphones of yore.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video)… Read more

Verizon confirms tiered data plans and hot-spot charge for July 7

Update on Tuesday, July 5 at 1:15 p.m. PT: The $10-per-month data plan will not be available for smartphone users.

Verizon Wireless officially confirmed today that it will replace its unlimited data plans with tiered options starting Thursday.

Spokeswoman Brenda Raney told FierceWireless that consumers will have their choice of four data allotments: $10 for 75MB per month, $30 for 2GB per month, $50 for 5GB per month, and $80 for 10GB per month. The cheapest tier is avaialble only for feature phones. Subscribers with an iPhone or a WebOS, Android, BlackBerry, or Windows Phone 7 device will … Read more

Sprint's M2M lab: Where machines do the talking

Though Sprint is best known as the country's third-largest wireless carrier, the company does a lot more than just deliver voice and data service to your cell phone. Its network also powers M2M, or machine-to-machine, solutions that enable machines to talk to each other without a human getting in the way.

Earlier this week, I visited Sprint's M2M Collaboration Center in Burlingame, Calif. In a nondescript building within earshot of the runways at San Francisco International Airport, the carrier demonstrates various ways an M2M network can deliver services … Read more