Recent Cellular News

Nokia Files Second Lawsuit Against Apple
May 7, 2010
Nokia has filed a second lawsuit against Apple, this time alleging that the iPhone and iPad 3G infringe on five patents that belong to Nokia. The patents in question relate to speech and data transmission, as well as how location information can be used within applications, and antenna design. Apple has not responded. Nokia sued Apple in late 2009 over wireless patents, and Apple countersued Nokia. Neither of the previous cases has been resolved, though the U.S. International Trade Commission has agreed to investigate Apple's claims against Nokia.

Source: (www.phonescoop.com)
Texas: Cell phone laws, legislation
May 7, 2010
Texas legislation news: Two new laws are in effect: one banning teen drivers from using cell phones and text messaging devices; the other prohibiting drivers from using handheld cell phones in school crossing zones.

Current prohibitions:

* Learners permit holders are prohibited from using handheld cell phones in the first six months of driving.
* Drivers under the age of 17 with restricted licenses are prohibited from using wireless communications devices.
* School bus operators prohibited from using cell phones while driving if children are present.
* Drivers prohibited from using handheld devices in school crossing zones.
* Dallas, Austin, Galveston, El Paso and Stephenville have enacted local distracted driving legislation.

2010 cell, texting legislation notes:
Stephenville has banned text messaging and use of handheld cell phones while driving. The City Council considered a plan to ban all cell phone use by motorists, but rejected it during the April 6 voting. Fines will be up to $200.

El Paso prohibits texting and talking on a cell phone while driving in city limits. The City Council approved the ban on March 9 and it went into effect May 1. Hands-free cell phones OK. Fines up to $500. El Paso already has outlawed use of handheld cell phones in school zones.

Galveston has banned texting while driving within city limits. Fines up to $500. The City Council voted to outlaw texting for motorists on Jan. 14.

Missouri City banned texting while driving on Feb. 15. Law applies when vehicle is stopped.

League City’s plan to ban texting and handheld cell phone use while driving has been put on hold. The city attorney cited “legal issues.”

2009 Texas legislation:
Texas House Bill 55: Outlaws use of handheld devices in school crossing zones. Would prohibit cell phone use by passenger bus drivers transporting minors unless the bus is stopped (minor wording change). Legislature gave final approval on May 29 and the governor signed it into law on June 19. The law became effective Sept. 1, 2009.

Texas House Bill 339: Prohibits drivers under the age of 17 with restricted licenses from using wireless communications devices, including cell phones and text messaging devices. Bill addresses numerous driver education issues in Texas. Approved by the House on May 6, 2009, and by the Senate on May 25. Legislature gave final approval on May 29 and the governor signed it into law on June 19. Law became effective Sept. 1, 2009.

Texas House Bill 662: Would outlaw the use of cell phones by drivers under the age of 18 unless a hands-free accessory is engaged. On Approved by the full Texas House on May 15 and sent to the Senate. Left in committee.

Texas Senate Bill 1077: Companion bill to HB 339 (above) has been approved in the Senate and by the Transportation Committee in the House (May 15).

Texas House Bill 1158: Would make fines at least double the minimum for infractions committed while driving and using a handheld cell phone. “Left pending in committee.”

Texas Senate Bill 582: Would prohibit drivers from using cell phones unless a hands-free accessory is engaged. Also would ban bus drivers from using wireless communication devices with a minor passenger onboard. “In committee” since Feb. 23.

Texas House Bill 1267: Would add text messaging to cell phone prohibitions on bus drivers. Also HB 1179. Both bills “left pending in committee.”

Texas Senate Bill 51: The legislation from state Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, would ban reading, writing and sending of text messages while operating a motor vehicle. It also would prohibit use of a wireless communication device for school bus drivers when a minor is present, except in emergencies. “In committee” since Feb. 10.

Texas House Bill 738: Would create an inattentive driving adjunct to existing laws that doubles fines for other traffic offenses. Cites a variety of behaviors such as texting, reading, writing, personal grooming, interacting with a passenger or pet. “Left pending in committee.”

Texas House Bill 758: Would prohibit school bus drivers from using cell phones or texting while minors are aboard. “Left pending in committee.”

Texas House Bill 1649: Would ban drivers under the age of 18 from using wireless communication devices in the first six months of licensing, regardless of whether a hands-free device is attached. Also applies to motorcycle or moped drivers under the age of 17. “In committee”

Texas House Bill 220: Would ban use of handheld wireless devices for all drivers and use of all wireless devices for school bus drivers. “Left pending in committee.”

Texas House Bill 219: Would outlaw use of cell phones at school crossings. “Left pending in committee.”

More Texas legislation notes:
The Austin City Council approved a ban on texting while driving on Oct. 22, 2009, and then broadened it Dec. 17 to include other mobile devices, Internet surfing and use of all iPhone applications. Fines could be as high as $500. The law takes effect Jan. 1 and there will be a one-month warning period.

The city of Burnet has outlawed use of cell phones and texting devices in school zones. Fines will be $200. The Burnet City Council approved the ban on Oct. 27, 2009.

Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, author of a handheld cell phone bill, says the House Transportation Committee simply isn’t moving these bills through. “I have tremendous amount of respect for Chairman Joe Pickett,” Martinez Fischer said. “But this doesn’t seem to be a priority in his committee.” Pickett responded that his committee was unable to resolve the overall issue of how to draw the line with distracted driving, a common position adopted by opponents of cell phone-driving bills. More accidents related to wireless devices could help the bills’ chances in 2011, Pickett told amarillo.com

The House aired the legislative debate over text messaging and cell phoning while driving on March 10, 2009. “People, I think, are watching us,” said HB 55 sponsor Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas.

“We’re trying to find the right balance between public safety and, sort of, intrusion into civil liberties,” Branch told the House Committee on Transportation. The committee aboved Rep. Branch’s bill banning drivers from using cell phones in school zones.

Rep. Solomon Ortiz Jr., D-Corpus Christi, says of his HB 662: “This legislation will help limit distractions and keep teen drivers focused on the road. Teenagers already have enough on their minds as it is.”

“The communications companies have really come out strongly against my (handheld cell phone) bills in the past,” said Rep. Jose Menendez, D-San Antonio, who authored HB 1649.

The Texas ACLU opposes laws restricting use of cell phones and texting devices: “That’s more of a public education issue,” its policy director said. “There’s always going to be something that’s distracting drivers.”

State Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, had planned to reintroduce in the 2009 session his bill that would require hands-free devices for drivers using cell phones. His bill passed the transportation committee in 2008 after testimony from a man whose wife was killed in an crash she caused while using a cell phone.

“It is probably going to take the whole Senate listening to that kind of testimony before we get a bill passed,” he told the Dallas Morning News.

San Antonio is in the middle of a one-year pilot program in which the use of hand-held cell phones and text messaging are prohibited for drivers in 18 school zones. Fines for school-zone violations are as high as $200, as of November 2008.

Hollywood Park (San Antonio area) tabled a handheld cell phone ban on Feb. 17, 2009, saying: “Let the state make the decision.”

The Texas Department of Public Safety began tracking cell phone-related traffic accidents in 2000.

The Dallas council approved installing cellphone-ban warning signs throughout Dallas’ 651 school zones when it OK’d the prohibition in February 2008. Violators could be fined $200.

About two-thirds of Texas teenagers surveyed said they have talked on a cell phone while driving in the past six months, according to the state Transportation Institute. More than half said they had read or sent text messages while driving. A 2007 study said cell phone use was among the primary causes of fatal car crashes among teens.

Texas was one of the states hit with periodic email hoaxes about nonexistent cell phone driving laws.

Source: (www.handsfreeinfo.com)
iPad Developer Makes Thousands Because Apple Didn’t Include An Alarm Clock App
May 6, 2010
In just 30 days, a $0.99 alarm clock application for the iPad called Night Stand HD had 20,000 downloads, says Rohit Singal CEO of Sourcebits, the company behind the app.

How did the app, which is the no. 6 paid app in the App Store, become a hit?

Most importantly, because Apple did not put an alarm clock app on the iPad.

Also, Rohit says there are few more reasons: "A.) Brilliant design with bug free coding, B.) Focus on one thing and one thing only, C.) Value for money." Oh, and he cut the price from $2 to $1, which always gooses sales.

That 20,000 sales figure is decent on its own, but it becomes much more impressive when putting it in context. Rohit tells us he's had sales of about $100,000 from iPhone apps so far this year, and just $5,000 from Android apps.

Sourcebits employs 200 developers with offices in Banglore and Atlanta, and designers around the world. Rohit says it's profitable, and generated $3 million in revenue last year. He's targeting $6 million to $8 million for this year. The iPhone platform represents 70% of sales.

Sourcebits makes a few apps for itself like Night Stand, but it also works with bigger companies like GE, NBC, Hersheys, and Coca-Cola.

When we were talking with Rohit, we asked about the relatively weak Android sales. Rohit blames it on Google's lame Android Market, "Google does not provide web links that we can link to app -- they have no web store. Google being a web company, this is unacceptable."

Rohit also says fragmentation is a problem on Android, saying "It's really absurd, we have to buy all latest Android phones, test on all of them, each phone manufacturer makes some customizations as well." But a new SDK is coming that should help with that.

Sourcebits is a company that emphasizes building apps for Apple products. The most demand for work is iPhone apps, but he says Android demand is increasing. (iPad redevelopment requests are growing too.)

Source: (www.cellular-news.com)
AT&T Might Remain Exclusive Provider of iPhone Until Early 2011
May 6, 2010
Despite persistent reports that Apple and Verizon Wireless are in talks to end AT&T's exclusive contract to offer the iPhone, an industry analyst said this won't happen before early next year.

Previous unconfirmed reports, many from analysts, have indicated that Verizon might introduce a version of Apple's smartphone this summer. But Brian Marshall from BroadPoint AmTech now said that AT&T has reached an agreement with Apple that will make it the exclusive provider of the iPhone for another six months, until the first quarter of 2011.

The iPad Factor
According to Marshall, the contract extension on the iPhone is actually related to another Apple product, the iPad. In exchange for offering wireless Internet access for this tablet computer at a lower rate, AT&T allegedly received six more months of exclusive rights to the iPhone.

The agreement supposedly also made AT&T the sole provider of service for the iPad. Previously, Verizon was also going to offer wireless data service for the model.

An iPhone for Verizon
If Apple does eventually allow Verizon to offer the iPhone, there are benefits and drawbacks.

Verizon has more subscribers than AT&T, and so the number of potential customers would double. On the other hand, the companies use incompatible wireless networks, so Apple would have to add support for CDMA to the iPhone line.

Not Just Verizon?
This spring, René Obermann, CEO of T-Mobile USA's parent company said that talks are going on that might bring Apple's smartphone to T-Mobile, adding it could happen in late 2010 or early 2011.

While Apple has never said it plans to bring the iPhone to other U.S. carriers, it has ended its exclusive contracts in other countries, and has seen significant increases in sales as a result.

Source: (www.brighthand.com)
Cell phone use cited in crash that killed 11
May 6, 2010
An Alabama truck driver was on his cell phone sending and receiving calls leading up to a crash that killed him and 10 other people in Kentucky in March, Kentucky State Police said in a report on the wreck.

The 28-page report also says that 45-year-old Kenneth Laymon of Jasper, Ala., was driving in excess of the 70 mph speed limit and did not have his tractor-trailer under control when he crossed the median on March 26 and struck a van carrying Mennonites to a wedding in Iowa.

The report said Laymon tried braking 96 feet after entering the median, and a witness said Laymon may have been traveling 80 mph when the accident happened near Munfordville. The van showed no signs of trying to avoid Laymon's truck at that point, state police said.

The report cites cell phone use and distraction on Laymon's part as "human factors" related to the wreck. Trooper Charles Swiney, a spokesman for the state police post investigating the wreck, declined to say who Laymon was on the phone with or whether he was on the phone at the moment of the crash.

Peter Knudson, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board, told The Associated Press the agency is aware Laymon may have been on a cell phone leading up to the wreck, and is working to verify the information.

"We have not yet determined if the driver was on the cell phone at the time the tractor-trailer departed the roadway nor have we made any determination if the use of the cell phone was a factor in the accident," Knudson said.

He said NTSB investigators are also looking at highway engineering, vehicle design and operation, and other issues before reaching a conclusion, which is expected to take 12-18 months. An investigation by the Federal Motor Carrier Administration is also pending.

Also killed in the crash were John Esh, 64, owner of a vinyl-building business in Marrowbone, his 62-year-old wife, Sadie, their daughters, Rose, 40, Anna, 33, and Rachel, 20; and their son and daughter-in-law, Leroy Esh, 41, and wife Naomi, 33, and their adopted infant son, Jalen.

Two other victims in the van were Rachel's fiance, Joel Gingerich, 22, and Ashlie Michelle Kramer, 22, an Esh family friend from Franklin.

Troopers eliminated weather as a cause of the wreck, saying the road was wet from rainfall the night before, but that didn't cause the accident. Toxicology tests are still pending, but troopers said alcohol does not appear to have been a factor.

The Courier-Journal first reported about the findings.

Scott Hester, the owner of Hester Inc., which employed Laymon as a driver, said he hadn't heard the details of the report but said the fact that information is in the report "doesn't mean it's true."

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which oversees the trucking industry, is conducting a review of Hester Inc., which is based in Fayette, Ala., because of the company's safety rating and the wreck near Munfordville.

The agency gave Hester Inc. a driver safety evaluation area of 88.4 in February, based on inspections of the company's 30 drivers during the past 30 months. The agency uses a scale of 1 to 100, with 100 being the worst score. The company was not considered deficient in other areas, so the agency had not targeted it for a compliance review.

Federal records show the agency has conducted 194 driver inspections on Hester drivers in the 30 months before the wreck. Those inspections resulted in 21 drivers being taken out of service for log book violations, exceeding the 11-hour driving limit or the 14-hour on duty limit.

Source: (www.cellular-news.com)
Translation comes to Google Goggles for Android smartphones
May 6, 2010
Today Google announced that its Google Goggles application is capable of translating foreign language text. Simply launch the Google Goggles application, take a picture of the text (on a menu, for example), and then Google will provide the option to translate. Goggles can read English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish and can translate "many more languages." Non-latin languages, such as Chinese, Hindi, and Arabic are not yet supported but Google is working on them. Goggles is supported on Android 1.6 and newer smartphones.

Source: (www.mobileburn.com)
AT&T has 3x the dropped calls of Verizon Wireless, study finds
May 6, 2010
A study conducted by ChangeWave during March, which included 4,000 users, found that AT&T had 3 times the amount of dropped calls as Verizon Wireless during a 3 month period. The survey showed that Verizon users experienced drops during 1.5 percent of calls while 4.5 percent of AT&T's calls were dropped. Sprint (2.4 percent), and T-Mobile (2.8 percent), fell in between.

Those dropped calls could reflect AT&T's poor standing in carrier satisfaction, too. The study found that 49 percent of Verizon Wireless customers were very satisfied with the company, while just 23 percent of AT&T and T-Mobile customers were very satisfied. 35 percent of Sprint's customers were also pleased.

The study also found that Verizon Wireless had the greatest customer loyalty. Just 7 percent of its subscribers were likely to switch carriers, while 14 percent of T-Mobile subscribers were likely to switch. 8 percent of AT&T and 10 percent for Sprint/Nextel were likely to shop around also. AT&T wrote us last night to say, based on its tests through an outside firm, GWS, that AT&T is "within two-tenths of a percent of the industry leader in wireless call retainability," and that its tests showed AT&T's network only dropped 1.44 percent of calls nationwide.

Source: (www.mobileburn.com)
HD video recording on the iPhone 4G confirmed, sort of
May 6, 2010
One of the many new features provided to developers in iPhone OS 4 are new APIs that give developers full access to Video capture data. This could open the door to some interesting apps including Video Capture/Editing and more robust Augmented Reality apps when iPhone OS 4 finally becomes available to the public.

The iPhone 4 Beta SDK, however, also reveals the ability to capture video at higher resolutions than the current standard 640x480 ("VGA") resolution. These preset values suggest that a future iPhone will be able to capture at 720p (1280x720) resolution:

AVCaptureSessionPreset640x480
AVCaptureSessionPreset1280x720

The next iPhone has been pegged to use a 5 Megapixel camera, though the video capabilities of the hardware are unknown. The next iPhone revision has been also rumored to be dubbed the "iPhone HD" which would fit well with this new 720p video recording capability.

Apple is expected to introduce the new iPhone at the Worldwide Developer's Conference which takes place between June 7-11th in San Francisco, CA.

Source: (www.macrumors.com)
FCC plans Net neutrality regulations for broadband
May 6, 2010
Net neutrality regulations are likely to be imposed on broadband providers after all.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski plans to announce details of the plan on Thursday, a senior agency official said. The purpose is to circumvent a recent federal appeals court ruling saying the FCC had no legal authority to punish Comcast for throttling some BitTorrent transfers.

Stung by the recent unanimous ruling, Genachowski will outline a "third way" to implement Net neutrality regulations, the official said in a statement.

"The chairman will seek to restore the status quo as it existed prior to the court decision in order to fulfill the previously stated agenda of extending broadband to all Americans, protecting consumers, ensuring fair competition, and preserving a free and open Internet," the official said.

The confirmation from the FCC comes only hours after two senior Democratic politicians sent a letter to Genachowski saying that imposing Net neutrality regulations on broadband providers such as AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon is "essential." And Free Press, the liberal lobby group that's led the fight to hand the FCC more Internet regulatory authority, hastily convened a conference call to warn that Genachowski would be leaving President Obama's Net neutrality promises unfulfilled.

Free Press President Josh Silver called news of Genachowski's planned announcement "extremely welcome," but said his group would wait to see "whether the FCC has gone far enough to protect consumers with this new proposal."

Earlier in the week, The Washington Post reported that Genachowski "has indicated he wants to keep broadband services deregulated," a position favored by companies that say sweeping new regulations will deter investment and be overly burdensome.

The FCC official said Wednesday that Genachowski hopes to balance "a weak Title I and a needlessly burdensome Title II approach." Title I refers to lightly regulated information services; Title II refers to heavily regulated telecommunications services, such as legacy telephone networks.

The aim is to "apply to broadband transmission service only the small handful of Title II provisions that, prior to the Comcast decision, were widely believed to be within the commission's purview," the official said, adding that the plan would have "meaningful boundaries to guard against regulatory overreach."

Reclassifying broadband services as a telecommunications service under Title II of the Telecommunications Act would effectively import some of the rules from the analog telephone era and extend those to the modern Internet. The move could the FCC the authority to regulate prices and competitive access under what's known as common carrier rules on these networks. It also would not require Congress to enact a new law.

Reclassification, however, is bitterly opposed by telecommunications companies, who predict it will harm consumers, hinder investment, and cost jobs. Net neutrality laws could endanger 65,000 jobs by 2011, with the total economy-wide impact growing to 1.5 million jobs affected by 2020 because of reduced revenue growth in the broadband sector, according to a recent report (PDF) sponsored by Mobile Future, which counts AT&T as a member. AT&T has lobbied against Net neutrality laws.

Also on Wednesday, FCC commissioner Robert McDowell, a Republican appointee, sent Congress a four-page letter summarizing the history of the FCC's Internet regulation. McDowell cited, for instance, a Clinton administration-era FCC decision concluding that regulating Internet access providers would lead to "negative policy consequences."

Source: (www.news.cnet.com)
Sprint Redials Its Pre-Paid Businesses
May 6, 2010
Sprint today announced a whole new approach to the way it is organizing its pre-paid cellular businesses. Sprint is separating its pre-paid businesses into four distinct units, each with their own focus.

* Virgin Mobile USA: Sprint says that Virgin Mobile will serve as its high-end pre-paid service, and it will offer advanced devices with plans that place more emphasis on texting and web use rather than voice use. Starting May 12, $25 will get users unlimited messaging, email, data and web with 300 minutes per month. The $40 plan bumps the minutes offered up to 1,200, and $60 per month buys unlimited everything. The plans are called "Beyond Talk." Users will be able to add BlackBerry services to any of these plans for just $10 more per month. Virgin's Broadband2Go will still fall under this set of plans. It provides no-contract wireless broadband for devices such as laptops. Sprint indicated that Broadband2Go could take advantage of "4G" services at some point, though Sprint didn't specifically say WiMax.

* Boost Mobile: Boost will focus more on talking and texting. The $50 unlimited plan provides unlimited talk, text, web, 411, email and IM. New handsets being offered by Boost include the Samsung Rant, and Kyocera Incognito, Mirro SCP3810 and Juno. These are all CDMA phones. Boost will also continue to offer iDEN devices and services.

* Assurance Wireless: This service, launched earlier this year, is a free service provided to low-income households across the U.S. Qualifying citizens receive a free cell phone and 200 free minutes of airtime for local and long-distance calling per month.

* Common Cents Mobile: Last, Sprint is launching a very inexpensive plan that lets users pay by the minute. Users will pay $0.07 per minute of voice use, and $0.07 per text message sent. Simple phones, such as the LG 101, Samsung M340, and Kyocera S2300 are available from Common Cents.

Souce: (www.phonescoop.com)
Clearwire Free to Use LTE Under Changed Intel Deal
May 6, 2010
Clearwire and Intel have revised a technology deal that forbade the WiMax service provider from using any other technology, and Clearwire is already talking with equipment vendors about how it might adopt LTE (Long-Term Evolution) for its network.

Clearwire executives announced the change on Wednesday on a conference call about the company's financial results for the first quarter. The company reported revenue of almost US$107 million, up from $62 million a year earlier, and a net loss of $439 million, or $0.48 per share. But it added 283,000 subscribers, more than in the entire previous year, ending with 917,000 total subscribers to both its WiMax and legacy wireless services. A majority of those were on the WiMax network.

While Clearwire has been building out WiMax, the first available 4G (fourth-generation) mobile data technology, Verizon Wireless, AT&T and many large carriers outside the U.S. have laid out plans to use LTE. In March, both Clearwire and its majority owner, Sprint Nextel, hinted they might be open to adopting LTE themselves. If the many LTE deployments around the world take shape over the next few years as planned, this could create a much larger marketplace for equipment and devices than WiMax may enjoy.

Intel has been the biggest backer of WiMax and was a major investor in Clearwire, and their partnership agreement specified the service provider had to use WiMax. The two companies have now modified that deal in several respects, most importantly to take out the WiMax requirement. The change gives both companies greater technology flexibility, Clearwire CEO Bill Morrow said on the conference call.

Clearwire has not made any decisions about using LTE but is talking with vendors about how it might make such a change least expensively, executives said. They pointed out that makers of chips for devices are beginning to combine WiMax and LTE. The two technologies are closely related.

Also on Wednesday, the company said it is working with HTC and Samsung on WiMax handsets to sell under its own brand by the end of this year. The Samsung device would run Google's Android OS. Sprint has already announced a WiMax Android handset, the HTC EVO, which is expected to hit the market soon.

Subscribers to WiMax services provided by Clearwire's partners, including Sprint, Comcast and Time Warner Cable, tripled during the first quarter to 111,000. About one-third of the WiMax subscribers don't even live in the 32 markets that currently have WiMax. They buy dual-mode devices, such as Sprint client equipment that can use both 3G and 4G networks, and use them for 4G when they are visiting areas where it is available, the company said.

The company's oldest networks -- in Portland, Oregon; Atlanta and Las Vegas -- have attracted about 2.7 percent of the population in these markets, the level of penetration Clearwire had hoped to achieve by this time, said Erik Prusch, chief financial officer. Those deployments have been in place an average of 10 months and are on track to become profitable after 18 months as the company had planned, he said.

Morrow reiterated an earlier estimate that the average Clearwire user still is downloading 7G bytes per month, above the 5G-byte limit that some mobile operators impose on 3G modems for PCs.

The company still expects to spend between $2.8 billion and $3.2 billion to build out its network to reach 120 million U.S. residents by the end of this year. Clearwire says it can achieve a sustainable business with a network that large. On Wednesday, the carrier announced it will activate WiMax in more markets this summer.

Source: (www.pcworld.com)
In Horror Flicks, The Cell Phone Always Dies First
May 6, 2010
There's a reboot of Nightmare on Elm Street in theaters, and the new Freddy Krueger (Jackie Earle Haley), is going to have to contend with something Robert Englund never had to face in the original: cell phones.

If teens in peril can just pull out their phones to call for help, the scary movie just isn't as scary. The result is a new horror movie truism: Cell phones only work until Freddy or Jason show up.

This necessitates the disabling of cell phones. There are four basic limitations in the horror film provider package:

There's no signal. This method is employed in the upcoming film The Human Centipede and in the remake of The Hills Have Eyes.

Limited cell phone battery life. It's even shorter than the life of a teenager in a horror film, especially when you've got chatty friends like the characters in The Roost.

"Whoops! I dropped my phone in the toilet, pool, sink ... " Or you could be like Aaron Yoo in Disturbia and drop your phone in the killer's car.

Plan terminated by the killer ... by destroying your phone or politely knocking it into the sink, as Michael Pitt does before terrorizing Naomi Watts in Funny Games.

These have all become genre cliches in the time between the debuts of the two Freddy Kruegers. Maybe horror movies need to check out the service plan over at the end of the world-armageddon-apocalypse genre. After all, cell phone service was quite robust at the end of the world in the movie 2012. India is about to be obliterated, and a guy on top of a mountain peak (about to be wiped out by a tidal wave) calls his friend to say goodbye. If we can just find out who his provider is, maybe we can save those kids on Elm Street from the next Freddy Krueger.

Source: (www.npr.org)
AT&T Offering Intenational iPad 3G Data Plans
May 5, 2010
Not long after the launch of the Apple iPad 3G, AT&T is now offering international data plans for roaming with the device. AT&T’s data plans begin at 20MB of data access for $24.99 and end at 200MB of access for $199.99, identical to its international data plans for phones.

Source: (www.phonenews.com)
Skype intros new mobile calling plans to 170 countries
May 5, 2010
Skype's VoIP calling service has been synonymous with free computer-to-computer calls for so long, it's easy to overlook the company's calling plans to landlines and mobile phones.

Those who do buy Skype Credit and use Skype plans to call phones rather than computers know that making calls to a mobile phone can easily cost 25 cents per minute. That's a steep fee compared to rates as low as 2 or 3 cents per minute to call a landline, depending on the country in question.

On Wednesday, Skype introduced what we consider a light version of its monthly unlimited subscription plans. The new plans will cost less than the current unlimited offerings, and will still ring both landlines and mobile phones for a flat fee. For subscribers, the new plans--which represent smaller chunks of calling minutes per month--could offer a better value on volume calls to mobile phones than the usual pay-as-you-go prices for those who don't need to talk for hours each month.

In addition, Skype is now offering its subscriptions for 170 countries rather than for 40; more than quadrupling the amount of lines a caller can reach.

The subscription details themselves get a little hairier at this stage. Skype is offering 60-, 120-, and 400-minute-per-month packages for 1-, 3-, and 12-month durations. Prices start at $1.09 per month for some countries. You can learn more about Skype's new subscription rates here. Skype's new plans are cross-platform and will work anywhere you use Skype.

Lest the traditional PC-to-PC users feel left out, Skype is also gearing up to release a new beta of its Windows software. Skype's vice president and general manager of global consumer products, Neil Stevens, told CNET in a briefing that next week's Skype beta will feature video conference calls for up to five callers. Right now video calling works between two people. We plan to test group video calling out for ourselves when the beta emerges on May 12 or May 13.

Source: (www.download.cnet.com)
Clearwire Announces Big Summer Plans
May 5, 2010
Summer is most people’s favorite season. The weather is fantastic and people want to do more. Companies take the time to release new products and services. This extends to the WiMAX space too. Clearwire will have 50 U.S. markets by the end this summer.

Comcast will offer 3G Internet services in Boston soon, with WiMAX coming early this summer. In their earnings report for first quarter 2010, Comcast hinted that WiMAX will come to Boston during the second quarter of 2010.

This leaves June as the expected date when Clearwire will launch WiMAX in Boston. It’s an exciting way to start the summer. It is also an exciting time because it’s believed that Sprint will release the HTC EVO 4G phone during the early summer months. This comes along with CLEAR launching services in central Pennsylvania in the beginning of May.

The WiMAX operator recently announced the 18 markets it will add to the current 32 by the end of summer 2010. St. Louis, Orlando, Tampa, Syracuse and Rochester and NY are among the markets that will get WiMAX services. Clearwire partnered with Comcast and Time Warner Cable to offer the service under their brands.

Comcast and Time Warner Cable offer pretty standard devices, simple USB devices for business men that spend a lot of time on laptops. They can now hold video conferencing in parks where the 4G coverage is available. The service will be bundled with the home internet connection, providing a cheaper rate for home and mobile internet connection. WiMAX provides the same kind of speeds that are seen with wired internet connections.

It shows renewed investment in WiMAX from the cable companies. It’s publicized when Time Warner Cable, Comcast, Google, Sprint and Brighthouse all invest in Clearwire, but to actually see the service being offered is a brighter sign. It shows commitment and not just an influx of cash.

Bundling the packages are smart because it allows users to get the technology and eventually switch to a better WiMAX connection from CLEAR or Sprint. CLEAR and Sprint offer similar WiMAX packages, but Sprint has the advertising dollars to promote 4G a little more than CLEAR. Sprint only offers two 4G devices now, the Overdrive Mobile Hot Spot that handles up to five WiFi devices at one time, and a USB modem. Soon they will offer the sleekest and most sought after device, the HTC EVO 4G, the first WiMAX-enabled phone available in the U.S. It doubles as a hot spot and works on 3G connection when not in a 4G market.

CLEAR promotes wisely, holding launch events and other promotions within market. They don’t have to spend a lot on national television advertisements or national print ads. It’s cheaper to purchase space in local magazines and the local broadcast stations. CLEAR offers many similar devices to Sprint, including a 4G+USB modem that falls back to 3G when not in a WiMAX network. CLEAR also offers the only home WiMAX modem. They offer packages for both home and mobile use, granted you must purchase both devices.

If you’re in one of the new WiMAX markets and plan on making the change, there’s a lot of quality options. CLEAR offers the most comprehensive variety of devices, from the CLEAR Spot mobile hot spot, to USB Modems and a home modem for users looking to have a complete WiMAX internet package. Sprint offers the sexiest device, the HTC EVO 4G but it’s going to be on the expensive side. CLEAR plans on releasing a WiMAX phone by the end of the year, but they’re probably going through a few tweaks before making an announcement. It’s going to be an exciting summer for WiMAX.

Source: (www.goingwimax.com)
Watch Out RIM: Microsoft, Nokia Launch Enterprise Software
May 5, 2010
Microsoft and Nokia are taking a crack at unseating enterprise mobility heavyweight Research In Motion (RIM) with the launch of business-grade unified communications software.

The software is the first product to emerge from an alliance announced last August which merged the resources of the world's largest handset manufacturer and the world's largest software maker.

"Our alliance with Nokia aims to bring the Office productivity experience to the millions of people using Nokia smartphones around the world," said Microsoft General Manager Kirt Debique in a statement. "With the arrival of Communicator Mobile for Nokia today, we have a great start to fulfilling our joint vision."

Microsoft Communicator Mobile for Nokia lets users see their colleagues' availability and click to communicate with them using the best method, from IM to e-mail, text to phone call. The names and status of colleagues are embedded directly into the devices' contacts application.

Nokia's collaboration with Microsoft could help the handset giant make inroads into the enterprise space, which is dominated by BlackBerry maker RIM. RIM's edge lies in the enterprise-grade software used in the device, which has helped to make BlackBerry phones popular with businesses.

"This application really provides a much more efficient way to work with others as you can see if someone is busy or available, and the best way to start a conversation with them," said Nokia Vice President Ukko Lappalainen in a statement. "It also meets all of the requirements for enterprise: cost effective to implement, secure, familiar and reliable."

An English version of the software is available for download from Nokia's Ovi Store on Nokia E72 and Nokia E52 devices. Microsoft and Nokia plan to pre-install the software on select Nokia smartphones in the future and will eventually support additional devices, including the recently announced Nokia E5.

RIM recently surpassed Motorola to become one of the world's top five handset vendors with a 3.6 percent global market share, according to research firm IDC. Nokia still has the top spot with a substantial 36.6 percent market share.

Source: (www.wirelessweek.com)
Facebook Glitch Exposed Private Chats
May 5, 2010
Facebook Inc. scrambled to fix a bug that permitted some users' chat messages and pending friend requests to be made visible to their friends. The snafu comes amid a flurry of complaints by critics who contend the social network is cavalier about privacy.

The bug was buried in a feature that allows users to see whether certain parts of their profile are hidden or accessible to a particular user.

Facebook designed the feature to help enhance privacy by allowing users to see how their profile appears to others. But some users began reporting Wednesday that while accessing the feature, they were able to see other users' live chats.

News of the problem was reported earlier by technology blog TechCrunch, which said it had been tipped off to the issue by a Facebook user. Facebook quickly shut down the chat function after the report, making it unlikely that a large number of users accessed the feature.

In a statement Wednesday, the company said the bug was in effect "for a limited period of time," which a spokesman later described as "hours." The company fixed the problem in stages and eventually restored chat access. A Facebook spokesman said there was no evidence of foul play.

Facebook has had its fair share of bugs, partly reflecting frequent changes and additions to the company's website. But some incidents have escalated to major embarrassments, given their potential to provide a peak at the amount of personal information that Facebook keeps on users. In one incident earlier this year, Facebook misrouted the private messages of a small amount of users.

The incidents are not having an impact on growth. Last month, Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said the 400 million-person service was growing at its fastest-ever rate. But the slip-ups could continue to serve as fodder for critics and regulators investigating how Facebook handles its users' data more broadly.

Criticism of Facebook's privacy practices keeps piling up. A new feature that allows users to indicate information they "Like" on the Web and share more information back on Facebook has drawn criticism from privacy advocates and lawmakers, who have voiced concerns that consumers aren't aware of how the information will be shared. Facebook has been defending the feature, saying users must "opt in" to decide if they want use the "Like" feature to note other Web sites.

Peter Eckersley, senior staff technologists at the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco, says that the site has had a lot of "grave privacy bugs" over the years. While it has gotten better about plugging them, he notes that the most recent problem was particularly troubling because a user could "really exploit it by accident."

Source: (www.online.wsj.com)
Google Changes Up Mobile Home Page
May 5, 2010
Google today introduced another new mobile version of Google.com for the iPhone and Android platforms. The new look and feel reflect changes that Google recently made to the desktop version of Google.com. Mobile users will notice a new tool that provides for greater options when conducting searches. The drop-down menu lets users filter search results via news, products, Twitter posts, as well as specify links generated in the last 24 hours, the last week, month, and so on. Right now the new mobile search tools are only available in the U.S, but Google said the new Google.com mobile site will work on more platforms and in more regions soon.

Source: (www.phonescoop.com)
T-Mobile Calling for Help with 4G Push
May 5, 2010
The Financial Times is reporting that Deutsche Telekom, which owns T-Mobile USA, is looking into forming a partnership with a third-party high-speed network provider. Specifically, the New York hedge fund Harbinger Capital was named. Harbinger Capital owns wireless spectrum suitable for an LTE network. The group also announced plans for a 4G network that uses satellite technology to cover much more ground than ground radios. T-Mobile is reportedly exploring a wholesale networking deal to buy coverage from Harbinger, and this will be Harbinger's preferred way of doing business, says FT. Until the network rolls out, T-Mobile is hoping its current 3G network will satisfy customers for at least the next two years.

Source: (www.phonescoop.com)
Apple Releases Latest iPhone OS 4.0 Beta 3
May 5, 2010
Apple iPhone Developers can now download the latest build from Apple's iPhone Dev Center. According to 9 to 5 Mac, the new build offers a few notable additions, including a music playback widget available from the multi-tasking interface bar. The new beta 3 also includes a screen orientation lock, similar to the lock on the iPad, though this is currently a software feature, not tied to any switch on the device.

Source: (www.phonescoop.com)