iTunes 9.1 now available, kills sync for some jailbroken devices

Yesterday we got OS X 10.6.3 and today we have iTunes 9.1. The changes as stated in Software Update are some tweaks to Genius Mixes as well as the ability to sync and manage iPads. But the real news here is one major change that was not mentioned: jailbroken iPhones and iPod touches are now unable to sync with iTunes, or at least according to a bunch of feedback we’ve received (others report this is not the case). Bottom line: Unless you’re getting an iPad this Saturday, you might want to play it safe and not update to iTunes 9.1 until this is all cleared up.

WSJ: Verizon definitely getting the iPhone

If the Wall Street Journal is correct, AT&T’s iPhone monopoly is guaranteed to fizzle out at the end of this summer. According to people “briefed on the matter” a special CDMA version of the iPhone will be made starting this September by Pegatron Technology Corp., a subsidiary of ASUSTeK Computer Inc. To which company will this CDMA device be headed? None other than Verizon Wireless. Yeah. Holy crap. Definitely a blow to AT&T, but on the bright side, it too will be getting a new model, built once again by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co and most likely in June.

Windows Phone 7 Series successfully ported to HTC HD2 (Updated)

Microsoft might have lost a lot of friends when it finally announced the HTC HD2 would not receive an update to Windows Phone 7 Series, but its loss is Tom Codon’s gain. A fixture over at the HTCPedia forums, Codon looks to have become the first person to port WP7S over to the HD2. Offering up four photos and video as proof of his accomplishment, Codon noted that most features of his experimental device are working well including GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Lag is proving to be a bit of an issue at this stage thanks to a stubborn graphics driver, but it’s nothing that can’t be overcome by the time the first beta, said to be coming soon, is released.

Apple rumored to introduce iAd on April 7th

Steve Jobs and Eric Schmidt might have been able to put their differences aside yesterday as they enjoyed a cup of coffee, but the ol’ rivalry might soon be kicked up a notch Emeril Lagasse-style as there is now talk Apple is going to unveil its very own mobile advertising service on April 7th. Reportedly to be known as iAd (*face palm*), the service is thought to be built on top of Quattro Wireless, the mobile advertising company Apple snapped up in January. Not much else is known at present, although it is believed Apple might not be able to take full advantage of proximity-based advertising thanks to a patent recently awarded to Google. And as for Google, as much as it might loathe the idea of Apple making inroads to advertising, there could be a silver lining. Actual competition in mobile advertising could convince the federal government to allow Google’s acquisition of AdMob, held up as the government lawyers mill over whether or not to proceed with an anti-trust lawsuit, to finally proceed.

Maybe they don’t hate each other?

There has been quite a bit of noise around the purported relationship, or lack thereof, between Apple CEO Steven P. Jobs and Google CEO Eric E. Schmidt. The reported “feud” is based on a series of events — namely Google releasing a phone OS, Schmidt stepping down from Apple’s board, and Jobs calling Google’s motto “bullshit” — but it has yet to impact any services or products the two companies offer. Apple still bundles its iPhone OS with Google as the default search provider, as well as the “Google Maps” program, and Google still develops Google Earth, Maps, Search, etc. for the iPhone platform. The alleged tiff has led to some great cartoons though; take this Daniel Adel, New York Times offering:

Nintendo slides through the Nintendo 3DS

Sure it might turn out to be nothing more than an incredibly expensive fad, but whether you like it or not, 3D everything is going to continue to be shoved in your face for the foreseeable future. Case in point: The Nintendo 3DS (temporary name) which today was announced by Nintendo. Images, specs, pricing, a list of launch titles and just about anything else imaginable have been withheld, but we do know the 3DS is headed for a Q1 2011 release and that “games can be enjoyed with 3D effects without the need for any special glasses” and that the system “will include backwards compatibility so that software for Nintendo DS series, including the ones for Nintendo DSi, can also be enjoyed.” Nintendo has said it will give out further details this June at E3, but man, that’s a lot of time for Nintendo junkies to go sleepless.

Apple enables app gifting in the iTunes App Store

Ever wanted to treat a friend or loved one to an awesome paid app in the iTunes App Store but didn’t feel like going through the hassle of either sending them a gift card or sending them some cash? If so, you’ll surely be pleased to know today Apple quietly added a “Gift This App” button to the purchase menu in the desktop version of the App Store. Charged directly to your credit card, all that you are required to do is enter in the name and email address of recipient and away you go. Of course we wouldn’t be all that excited about this if it were possible to use gift cards towards purchases in the App Store, but, you know, Apple is “special” in this respect.

Google redirecting all Chinese traffic to its uncensored Hong Kong site

As its long and drawn out public battle over internet censorship with the Chinese government continues, Google has made the decision to immediately halt the practice of censorship in China. As of today, all traffic to Google.cn will be redirected to the uncensored and Hong Kong-based Google.hk. Google isn’t exactly sure how the Chinese regime is going to react to this action — according to Google this redirect is “entirely legal” – but Google’s David Drummond (SVP, Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer) had this to say:
We very much hope that the Chinese government respects our decision, though we are well aware that it could at any time block access to our services. We will therefore be carefully monitoring access issues, and have created this new web page, which we will update regularly each day, so that everyone can see which Google services are available in China.
If you’re reading this in China and are finding Google’s Hong Kong website to be a bit slow or completely unresponsive, Google wants you to know that this is to be expected in the short term as its servers are currently being hammered by a massive influx of traffic while it sorts everything out.
Anyone care to wager how the Chinese government will respond?

Motorola announces the i1, the world’s first PTT Android smartphone

Big news today for iDEN fans who have been jonesing for the Opus One that we scooped and spec’d way back when in December as today it has been formally announced Motorola. Officially known as the Motorola i1, the device is the world’s first Android Push-To-Talk smartphone and it will be offered “this summer” by Sprint. While pricing is currently unknown, we do know practically everything else about the phone and its specs which include a 3.1″ HVGA display, 5 megapixel camera with auto-focus and dual-LED flash, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0 and stupidly a 2.5mm headphone jack. Running Android 1.5 with a custom UI overlay — possibly a less social version of MOTOBLUR — Motorola has also decided to replace the stock Android browser with Opera Mini 5 plus Flash Lite as well as include the amazing Swype virtual keyboard. Yay or nay, folks?

T-Mobile searching for spectrum, in talks with Clearwire?

In an investors meeting on Thursday, T-Mobile USA CEO Robert Dotson told investors that the nation’s #4 wireless carrier is turning to third parties including Clearwire as a potential means of increasing spectrum as it faces a future filled with 4G offerings from its competitors. Rumors of a joint venture with Clearwire originally surface last September when Bloomberg reported that T-Mobile was in talks with Clearwire in a negotiation that involved a cash investment from T-Mobile USA parent Deutsche Telecom in exchange for access to Clearwire’s growing 4G network and spectrum resources. Clearwire is in an enviable position having already rolled out an active and robust 4G network and is armed with ample spectrum. The 4G wireless provider owns up to 150MHz of spectrum in some areas and has 30MHz chunks that it is using for its WiMAX network. T-Mobile could license some of Clearwire’s ample spectrum as it begins the arduous and expensive process of rolling out LTE or, alternatively, T-Mobile could abandon its plans to pursue LTE and jump feet first into 4G by piggy backing on Clearwire’s 4G network. Though the outcome of T-Mobile’s decision regarding its future network resources is not known, one thing is clear: love it or hate it, Clearwire will most likely continue to be an integral part of our 4G future.

Google partnering with Sony on a new television service

Google is looking to leverage its foothold in the online video realm by partnering with Sony on a new television service to be called Google TV. The new service will be an Android-based solution that will hook into online video repositories like YouTube and Hulu and serve up online content either through a set-top box or directly by embedding the software into your flashy new Sony HDTV. With Android at its core and Chrome as the browser, the service will provide access to online websites such as Twitter and Picasa and will open up a new arena for television-based application development. Google and Sony have also reached out to Logitech who will be developing a line of peripherals to control your new Google TV. Last but not least, a fourth heavy hitter known as Intel may also be joining this venture as the new TV media platform will reportedly run on the Intel Atom chipset. More than just a concept, the set-top box is reportedly at an advanced stage of development and is being tested by Dish Network. With four major players involved with this new Google TV service, should Roku, Boxee, and everyone else be a bit nervous?

RIM opens up new push service to developers

Today, RIM announced that its new BlackBerry Push Service is available to developers for their coding pleasure. The new service: “enables developers to easily develop Java applications or BlackBerry Widgets that leverage RIM’s push technology either through the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (for enterprises) or BlackBerry Internet Service infrastructure (for consumers), so that content providers can reliably push images, text, or audio content to millions of BlackBerry devices at once… with the BlackBerry Push Service, full content (up to an industry-leading 8KB in size) is pushed to the device and made immediately available for use.” The article goes onto explain some of the differences between RIM’s new push service and those of competitors — *cough* Apple *cough* — as well as the different tiers of service that will be offered to developers (yes, there is a free option). All you Java wizards can head over to www.blackberry.com/developers/pushservice to get more in-depth technical information, otherwise we have the press release all linked up for you.

HTC Desire to come in silver as well

The HTC Desire is one sexy handset, but let’s face facts here: the “Urban Brown” shade it comes in isn’t for everyone. Thankfully, HTC isn’t blind to reality like a few other handset manufacturers whose names we won’t mention here, because it looks as if the Taiwanese company also whipped up a silver variant of the latest darling of the Android world. Why does this matter, you may ask? Because this could very well be the color AT&T goes with when it unleashes this sucker on the US market. We think it looks pretty and know that Tony Soprano would approve of it because it truly is “Guinea grey” like Johnny Sack’s Maserati, but we’d like to know which one you fancy most. Hit up the jump to check out another shot.

Google Nexus One: 135,000 phones sold in 74 days

We’re not going to go as far as the Silicone Alley Insider and declare the Nexus One “a flop” but the sub-par sales numbers do tell us something… launching with the 3G bands of the #4 U.S. carrier and selling exclusively through a web portal may not be a wise go-to-market strategy. Mobile research firm Flurry estimates that only 135,000 Nexus Ones have been sold after 74 days on the market. As a comparison, the Motorola DROID sold 1.05 million units and the iPhone sold around 1 million units in the same time period. The DROID had a rumored $100M marketing push, and the iPhone was a full $599 out of pocket at time of launch, which make these Nexy’s sales figures even less impressive. We’re sure the N1’s sales numbers will improve as it launches on Verizon Wireless and Vodafone in the coming months, however… we just thought the insane AdWords push from Google would have yielded better results.

Fandango introduces a new movie ticketing service for mobile phones

Looking to impress your girlfriend on that “oh so important” first movie date? Look no further than Fandango to help you skip the ticket line and stroll right up to seating without greasing the palm of any theater employee. Starting today, Fandango is launching a new mobile ticket service that will allow customers to purchase movie tickets online and have them delivered directly to a mobile handset. The ticket will arrive as a QR code that can be displayed on a phone and scanned by movie theater employees in lieu of a paper ticket. The program will require special handheld scanners that are currently installed in a handful of theaters across the country. Hit the jump to see if your local movieplex is on this coveted list.

T-Mobile HD2 and Nuron confirmed for the 24th, CLIQ XT will be cheaper than thought

T-Mobile already has a very diverse lineup of smartphones, but the tail end of March will see “Magenta” (as some people lamely call it) release a trio of smartphones that appeal to the low, mid and high end markets. We’ve been saying it for the longest time and now it’s as official as can be without a full-blown press release: the HTC HD2 will be available from T-Mobile on Wednesday, March 24th. Going for $199.99 on a 2-year or $449.99 outright, the HD2 will easily be the best handset ever offered by T-Mobile in terms of sheer brawn. Of course now that we’re 100% certain it won’t be upgradeable to Windows Phone 7 Series, we have to wonder if a bit of the luster has prematurely worn off, but it’s not like those put off don’t have more than half a year to save pennies for the next greatest Windows Phone. On the same day, Nokia will also have a handset debut on T-Mobile. This is of course the Nuron and it will go for $69.99 / $179.99, a price that is quite mind blowing when you consider the fact it’s running S60 5th Edition. Last but not least in today’s T-Mobile update is the CLIQ XT. We’ve known for quite some time it is going to be available in time to drown in a pitcher of green beer, but now we’re hearing it will be $99.99 on contract as opposed to $129.99 (no contract pricing is presumed to still be set at $329.99).

Crowd Science survey: 40% of BlackBerry users would move to iPhone

ArsTechnica wrote up an interesting piece that examines the future plans, and loyalty, of BlackBerry owners. The article, which cites a Crowd Science survey, found that 2 out of every 5 BlackBerry users surveyed indicated having plans to switch out their BlackBerry for an iPhone when their service contracts expire. Ars goes onto cite some fun stats in the study:
■33% of iPhone owners and 16% of BlackBerry owners use their device exclusively for personal use, not work
■1% of iPhone owners and 7% of BlackBerry owners use their device exclusively for business purposes
■66% of iPhone owners and 77% of BlackBerry owners are using their device for both business and personal purposes
Is the 40% number accurate? We think it is probably a little high. A combination of Apple’s brand awareness and the iPhone advertising machine is likely responsible for some of the yay responses. But say the survey’s margin of error is +/-10; the fact that even 30% of RIM’s customer base is thinking of abandoning ship is bleak.
RIM’s title of communicator extraordinaire and business companion is unparalleled at the moment, but as users begin to demand a greater mix of work and personal uses from their phone, RIM may find itself in a tough spot. Oh, the study also mentioned… 90% of Android and iPhone owners plan to stay loyal to their respective device operating systems when the time comes to upgrade.

Microsoft unveils details on Windows Phone 7 Series development

Microsoft kicked off MIX 2010 this morning with a keynote that revealed some juicy details for developers waiting to dive into the Windows Phone 7 Series platform. As expected, Windows Phone 7 Series will make use of Silverlight for application development and XNA for game development. Features available for developers include:
■Accelerometer support
■Microsoft Location Service to provide developers with a single point of reference to acquire location information
■Microsoft Notification Service for pushing information to the phone, regardless of whether or not an application is running
■Hardware-accelerated video with digital rights management (DRM)
■Internet Information Services Smooth Streaming for the industry’s highest quality content viewing experience
■Multitouch
■Camera and microphone support
To get developers on board quickly and easily, Microsoft is offering a suite of free developer tools which include Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone 7 Series, a free add-in to use with Visual Studio 2010 RC, XNA Game Studio 4.0, Windows Phone 7 Series Emulator for application testing, and a version of Expression Blend for Windows Phone. Microsoft is also stepping up its game in the app store department by offering a panoramic design (it will look sleek), try before you buy option, one-time credit card charges for app purchases, mobile carrier billing and ad-supported applications. Lest you think the app store will be a barren wasteland at launch, the list of application partners is impressive and include media moguls like Associated Press, gaming giants like NAMCO and EA Mobile, streaming media stars like Pandora and Sling, popular start-ups like Foursquare and Seesmic, and a host of others including Weatherbug, PopCap games, SPB Software and more. Anyone else get the feeling that Microsoft means business this time around?

Google to shutter Chinese branch of its search engine?

After weeks of negotiations and public statements, the tension between Google and China has reached a crescendo and sources familiar with the situation are relaying the rumor that Google may be closing the Chinese branch of its search engine in the next few weeks. The possibility of Google operating without censorship in China was stifled last Friday when Li Yizhong, Minister of Industry and IT, confirmed China’s position that Google’s plan to operate without filtering was “unfriendly”, “irresponsible” and warned that Google would “bear the consequences of its decision” to open up the Internet to the Chinese people. With China apparently unwilling to budge, Google is now at a crossroads and must decide whether its 36% market share is worth sacrificing in the name of Internet freedom.

HTC Touch Pro3 to touchdown this summer?

An unsubstantiated rumor out of XDA-Developers suggests that HTC is continuing its Touch Pro series of handsets with the third iteration expected to arrive this summer. According to the forum post, the rumored Touch Pro3 will be smaller and thinner than the current Touch Pro2 and will launch in Europe in Q2. With Windows Phone 7 Series smartphones expected to debut during this holiday season, the Touch Pro3, if it indeed launches, may be one of the last Windows Mobile 6.5 handsets to hit the market.

Google Shopping adds local inventory search to your mobile

Have an Android, iPhone, or webOS smartphone? Find yourself shopping at Best Buy, Sears, Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, and West Elm todos los dias? Well, Google has got a new feature for you. Google is officially launching an updated version Google Shopping, for selected mobile devices, that has the ability to search the inventory of local participating retailers. As Google explains:
Just go to Google.com in your mobile browser, tap on the “more” link, and then select “Shopping.” Or look for the “Shopping results” section in Universal Search results when you search on Google.com… look for the blue dots in the search results to see if it’s available in a local store. If you see a blue dot, you can tap on the adjacent “In stock nearby” link, and you’ll be taken to the seller’s page where you’ll see whether the item is “In Stock” or has “Limited Availability” near you.

Android on the rise as Windows Mobile falters

A lot happened in the US smartphone market from October 2009 to January 2010, but thankfully there are companies like comScore kicking about to help us make sense of just which platforms were the biggest winners and losers during this period. The biggest platform was not surprisingly Google’s Android which saw an uptick of 4.3% to a total of 7.1% thanks in part to the successful launches of handsets like the DROID, DROID ERIS and Hero. RIM’s BlackBerry OS, which faired second best with a gain of 1.7% continued to dominate the total smartphone market at 43%, but one has to wonder if RIM could have done just a little bit more. After all, it did launch the BlackBerry Bold 9700, Curve 8530 and Storm2 during these months. Apple’s iPhone didn’t do as well as many would have guessed, but its 0.3% increase makes quite a bit of sense when you consider the tradition of people holding out on iPhone purchases in the six months leading up the summer release of the devices later iteration. Nonetheless, it does hold a 25.1% stake in the US smartphone market. When it comes to market share, one’s success is another’s misfortune. Not exactly a stranger to losing ground, Microsoft’s Windows Mobile managed to shed 4.0% thanks in part to what can be politely summed up as a general indifference to its current platform (how things will change). After this, we saw Palm with a loss of 2.1%. In Palm’s defence a lot of this can be attributed to people finally getting around to ditching Palm OS, but the fact remains that thing’s aren’t going to well for a company that many felt was on the path to recovery just 15 months ago.

Opera Mini 5 hits Android Market

Our friends from Norway have dropped a little present in the Android Market — especially for all you Opera fans — as Opera Mini 5 beta 2 is available for download starting… now. Opera’s next generation mobile web browser packs tabbed browsing, speed dial, Opera Link, a download manager, and a password manager, amongst other things. Those of you who are sick of the default Android browser and can’t quite cozy up to Dolphin can go ahead and take Opera Mini 5 for a spin… and do let us know what you think about it.

Motorola to ditch Google and use Bing search and maps in China

It’s no secret that Google and China aren’t exactly BFFs at the moment, but now Motorola has thrown its hat into the foray in a rather large way in order to protect its own interests and presumably make a nice bit of coin while doing so. As of this quarter, all of Motorola’s Android smartphones sold in China will see Google search and Google Maps replaced by Bing search and Bing Maps. Devices currently in the hands of consumers or sitting unsold on store shelves will be getting an OTA update sometime in the not too distant future. Both Motorola and Microsoft have not announced any specific plans to expand on their partnership outside of China — one could argue it’s already in the US — but based upon our understanding of the term “global alliance”, we don’t doubt for a second that this partnership will be forced upon other markets.

Apple to be the Android killer? Windows Phone 7 Series the Savior?

Apple’s patent lawsuit against HTC may be much more far reaching than initially thought. According to a report at CNN’s Fortune website, Apple’s lawsuit has Android handset manufacturers shaking in their boots with many hiring legal teams, revising their OS strategies, sending hardware back to engineering, and changing development roadmaps behind closed doors. It all started in early 2009 when Apple COO Tim Cook launched the fist attack during an earning conference call by stating “we will not stand for having our IP ripped off and we’ll use whatever weapons we have at our disposal. I don’t know that I can be more clear than that.” Apple publicly remained passive during much of 2009, sitting idle while Palm launched the Pre and other manufacturers pushed out non-multi-touch smartphones that posed no threat to its iPhone market share. Enter the HTC DROID ERIS, the Nexus One, and the Motorola DROID which recently took the smartphone world by storm with their sleek good looks and potential multi-touch capability. Apple is now on the proverbial warpath with HTC as its first target and other manufacturers fearful that they will be next as Apple reportedly held conversations with “Tier 1″ device manufacturers to inform them of Apple’s intentions. The winner in this fearful frenzy, ironically, may be Microsoft which is reportedly swooping in with its extensive patent library in hand, and promising Windows Phone 7 Series as a safe harbor to companies that are fearful of Apple’s wrath. It all sounds like a daytime soap opera conjured up for the geek world but it is unfortunately and incredibly true.

T-Mobile branded HTC HD2 and Nokia Nuron snapped in the wild

Last night was easily the best night of the year for the celebrity-crazed paparazzi. It also turned out to be a pretty darn good night for the smartphone paparazzi as well for two upcoming T-Mobile handsets were given the star treatment on their very own red carpet. First up was the HTC HD2, the infinitely lovable Windows Phone with a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and gargantuan 4.3″ WVGA display, which looked as stylish as ever in Sense UI by HTC. Never one to miss an opportunity to show support for those in need, the HD2 took a moment to show off its Blockbuster app which will allow proud owners to download movies on demand. Immediately following the HD2 was the Nokia Nuron. Although the general consensus was that it was dressed more for the Kids Choice Awards than the Academy Awards, the Nuron made a bit of a stir when it shrieked at the top of its lungs how it had seen the light, converted to Buddhism and was now on a mission to convince everyone that less is more and that all other smartphones cannot possibly be as happy as it is living with S60, an OS that is on its way out. When will us ordinary folk get a chance to meet these stars? The Nuron is still a mystery, but we’re still very confident on a March 24th debut for the HD2.

Skype pulled from Nokia’s Ovi store in the US, Verizon Wireless to blame?

Skype users that own a Symbian-powered Nokia handset will have to go the extra mile to install Skype on their handset. As noticed following Wednesday’s debut of Skype in the Ovi store, Skype is reportedly not available for Nokia owners in the US. In response to an email from Venture Beat, Sravanthi Agrawal, a member of Skpye’s corporate communications team, said the following:
“Skype has made a decision in the United States to not promote the Skype for Symbian app through the Ovi Store. We did this so that we could drive more attention to the recently announced Skype and Verizon Wireless agreement. This was a marketing decision — plain and simple.
“Skype users in the U.S can still download Symbian by going directly to Skype.com.”
The supposed reason behind this removal is not surprising considering the controversy over the removal of the Windows Mobile version of Skype from Skype’s website, the removal of Skype from the Android Market, and the rumored delay of the 3G-enabled version of Skype for the iPhone. Unless this policy changes or is revealed to be incorrect, anyone unduly affected will have to search a little harder to find a version of Skype to install on their handset or sign up with Verizon Wireless.

Sony to launch a multimedia tablet and the long-rumored PlayStation phone in 2010?

According to a rumor from the Wall Street Journal, Sony may be taking aim at the Apple iPhone, the Apple iPad and Microsoft’s Zune Phone Windows Phone 7 Series with two upcoming multifunction, multimedia-centric devices. Sony is reportedly developing a portable multimedia device bundled with online services that will rival the iPad. This rumored portable device will be part netbook, part e-reader, part gaming machine and will connect to the new Sony Online Service which will offer, music, movies, television episodes, and games. The bulk of the games available through the Online Service will be recycled PlayStation games and will be made available to wide range of portable and mobile devices. Sony promises to have this iPad killer in the hands of the masses sometime in 2010. The second and the smaller of the two multifunction devices is a smartphone, developed in conjunction with Ericsson, that will download and play PlayStation games. Sound familiar? It should as this idea of a PlayStation phone has been bouncing for almost three years now without any concrete evidence that the project has been moving forward. Will 2010 be the year Sony delivers the PlayStation phone and finally puts an end to this seemingly endless rumor? We hope so at this repetitive reporting is getting a bit long in the tooth.

Mobile application market could grow to over $15 billion by 2013?

TechCrunch found an interesting study by analyst firm research2guidance. The study claims that the mobile application market place could grow from a $1.94 billion business in 2009 to a $15.65 billion business in 2013; a growth rate of around 807%. The study also predicts the smartphone user base to grow from 100 million to 1 billion in that same time frame. Numbers like these should certainly get the attention of major corporations and could be the motivating factor in the proliferation of corporate mobile applications. Currently, only 10% of the Fortune 2000 are engaging their customer base with a mobile application. This got us wondering… what corporate mobile app do you use frequently? I personally use the Bank of America and New York Times applications almost daily.

T-Mobile 21Mbps HSPA+ service launching March 14th?

TmoNews is reporting that come March 14th, T-Mobile will be launching its much-awaited HSPA+ service in a few more markets. These are rumored to include Miami, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, and presumably Philadelphia while supporting the launch of a new 3G data device as well — the webConnect Rocket. Additionally, it looks like T-Mobile has finally started to overhaul their hideous cellular coverage maps by adding more zoom layers, population guides, and additional color coding for different network technologies (like the new HSPA+ service). Anyone excited to get their mobile 21Mbps on?

T-Mobile ranked #1 by J.D. Power and Associates in Wireless Retail Customer Satisfaction, edges out Verizon

J.D. Power and Associates has given T-Mobile the highest ranking in wireless retail customer satisfaction among the major U.S. carriers. The “2010 Wireless Retail Sales Satisfaction Study – Volume 1” reports that T-Mobile edged out Verizon Wireless, Sprint, and AT&T in the retail study with an overall score of 723; Verizon had an overall score of 722. The categories considered were: overall retail sales performance, retailer’s facility, merchandise display, sales staff, and cost. The study did not take into account how satisfied people were with the quality of their wireless network or phone selection, just the retail experience itself. Congrats to T-Mo on their second consecutive victory. We’ve got the official press release all queued up for you.

Nokia and T-Mobile announce the 5320 Nuron

After rearing its ugly head on a leaked T-Mobile pricing sheet a few days ago, the Nokia 5320 Nuron has gotten the official nod from both Nokia and T-Mobile. For those that are dying to find out what $69.99 will buy you, here are all the details on this classic handset:
■Classic candybar form factor
■3.2 inch touchscreen display at 16:9 640×360 resolution
■GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
■WCDMA 1700/2100
■2 megapixel camera with 3X digital zoom and video recording
■Bluetooth 2.0
■aGPS and Ovi maps with turn by turn directions and maps for US, Canada, and Mexico
■Ovi Store pre-installed
■MicroSD expansion (up to 16GB)
■3.5mm headphone jack
■Accelerometer and proximity sensor
■White on White color with changeable colored battery covers
The Nokia Nuron will hit the shelves of T-Mobile in the upcoming weeks with an exact date yet to be determined. Though pricing details were not confirmed, a previous leak suggests the Nokia Nuron will be ultra-affordable, coming in at a mere $69.99 after rebate with a two year agreement or $179 for those that prefer to go contract-free. Any potential buyers lured by the promise of free Ovi Maps turn-by turn navigation at a sub $200 price tag?

Skype hits Nokia’s Ovi Store

The fate of Skype for Windows Mobile may be in jeopardy, but the vitals on the Symbian version of the voice and text chat client seem to be very, very good. Yesterday, Nokia added Skype for Symbian, complete with the ability to make Skype calls via Wi-Fi, 3G or EDGE, to its Ovi Store. “With Skype for Nokia smartphones, more than 200 million smartphone users worldwide will be able to take the Skype features they love with them on the move,” said Skype’s mobile GM Russell Shaw. If you’re rocking a Nokia handset, and have Symbian^1 or higher, you can head on over to the Ovi Store to pick up the goodies.

HTC HD2, Motorola CLIQ XT, and Dell Mini 10 launch dates for T-Mobile surface

One of our ninjas just dropped some tantalizing and blurry details for us to feast on. We’ve been informed that T-Mobile will be releasing the Motorola CLIQ XT on March 10th, the HTC HD2 (listed as “Dark Handset” on the screen capture) is confirmed on March 24th, and a Dell Inspiron Mini 10 netbook, complete with T-Mobile broadband access, on the 24th as well. Our connect also mentions the launch of Even More 1.5, but no details were given. Looks like it is going to be a pretty busy month for the number four carrier in the U.S. Hit the break for one more shot!

HTC HD2, Motorola CLIQ XT, and Nokia Nuron get priced?

TmoNews has acquired what looks to be some legit pricing information about the yet-to-be-released HTC HD2, Motorola CLIQ XT, and Nokia Nuron… and the pricing looks pretty good. The HD2 will reportedly retail for $199 with 2-year contract and $449 contract free. The $199 price point on the HD2 will also presumably be mail-in-rebate-less if you sign up for a data plan at time of purchase. Moving on, the Motorola CLIQ XT will retail for $129 with 2-year contract and $329 contract free. Again, the $129 is the price you will pay at the register if you sign up for a data plan when you purchase your shiny new CLIQ XT. TmoNews adds: “the Nokia Nuron which was cut off from the image…[will be] $69.99 after rebate. No contract? No problem. That’ll be $179.99.” How about it? Do any of these offerings excite you T-Mobile customers?

Nokia C5 pairs candy bar form with S60

Today, at CeBIT, Nokia unveiled the first handset in its newly-named line of phones, the C-Series: the Nokia C5. The C5 pairs the classic Nokia candy bar form-factor with S60 3rd edition and a very modest price point — €135 ($182) unsubsidized. The phone will feature a 2.2″ display, 3.2 megapixel camera, 3.5 mm A/V connector, FM radio, 12 hours of talk time, GPS, Ovi Maps, Nokia Messaging, and microSD card slot (with support for up to a 16GB card). The C5 will be available in the second half of 2010 in Europe, Eurasia, and China. Not for everyone, but hey, for $182 it’s way better than a feature phone, in our modest opinion.

Apple iPad to include a scaled down single core ARM Cortex A8 SoC?

Ars Technica has broken the silence on the Apple iPad processor and published new information on the mysterious A4 chipset that powers Apple’s upcoming tablet device. Erroneously thought to be powered by a dual-core Cortex A9 processor, Ars has inside information that suggests the A4 is a single core Cortex A8 based system on a chip, instead. The A4 is also reportedly a scaled down SoC that strips out excess controllers and connectivity options that are often included on other off the shelf SoCs which are designed to be compatible with a wide variety of mobile devices. Apple potentially only had the iPad in mind when developing this chip and incorporated the bare minimum components necessary to power and control the device including a PowerVR SGX GPU, Cortex A8 CPU, NAND and DDR memory interface block, system and security hardware, and a limited number of I/O controllers. A scaled down single-core Cortex A8 SoC does not necessarily mean it’s wimpy, but it may be enough of a letdown to persuade some potential early adopters into waiting for the 2nd generation iPad before coughing up their hard earned cash. Then again, with a $499 price point for the entry model, we’re not sure.

RIM’s BESX goes live, available for download

Last month we reported on RIM’s announcement of BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express (BESX). And today, we are happy to report that BESX is alive, well, and ready for download on RIM’s website. As previously mentioned, BESX is RIM’s solution for small and medium sized businesses who could benefit from the centralized control and functionality of a BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) but can’t justify the cost of a full fledged BES. We’ve got the official RIM BESX site all linked up for you. We’ll be sticking to a regular BES server around these parts, but what about you guys?

Nokia hints at new C-Series handsets, official announcement at CeBIT?

Nokia, as part of its Conversations blog, is circulating an email newsletter which hints at some new handsets. The sidebar story mentions the rumored C-Series devices, discusses the upcoming deliberately misspelled “C BIT” conference and tells its fans that Nokia will “C you there”. Don’t start dreaming of a 12 megapixel, Symbian S^3 powered flagship quite yet as the C-Series is expected to be comprised of entry level handsets. Indeed, the first handset in the lineup is rumored to be the C5, a numeric keypad-toting candybar, and the C6, which is rumored to be a front-facing QWERTY handset that recently passed through the FCC with AT&T 3G on board. Hopefully, this shameless self-promotion was just a teaser and when CeBIT starts next Tuesday will we see Nokia handsets from both ends of the spectrum get the official nod.