ARTICLE: Sprint lowers price of mobile WiMAX to $59.99: "

In an aggressive approach to promote mobile WiMAX, Sprint lowered the price of its 3G/4G mobile broadband service to $59.99 monthly. The price cut was intended to "make it a no brainer for our customers to choose 4G," spokeswoman Stephanie Vinge told FierceWireless. She went on to say that the price cut reflects increasing economies of scale as Clearwire launches additional markets across the United States.

Google Offering Better Email Search for BlackBerries: "
Today Google introduced a new version of its mobile application for the BlackBerry platform. The foremost new feature offered by the Google Mobile App for BlackBerries is the ability to search through the device's email and contacts programs. Users ...
(follow link to read)
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Analyst: New iPhone may be out by June: "
Apple may release the latest version of its iPhone by June, according to a Goldman Sachs analyst, and the device could feature upgrades including an improved camera and a touch-sensitive casing that brings touch features to the back of the phone.

myTouch 3G Fender Edition subs for G1 on While My Guitar Gently Weeps: "

We knew the when and the what, but now we know the whom: Eric Clapton will be touting the new Fender Limited Edition of T-Mobile's myTouch 3G on national TV, and a few of his hits will be pre-loaded onto the phone. The faux-wood handset goes on sale January 20th, and packs a 16GB microSD card for cramming in some of Clapton's lesser-known jams from your own catalog, along with a long-awaited 3.5mm headphone jack so you can actually get some enjoyment out of them. There are also a few guitar-related apps preloaded, a new doubleTwist partnership for music syncing, and Fender will be selling a few accessories of its own to really kit the thing out. At launch the $180 phone will be running Android 1.6, but it's supposed to get a 2.1 update this spring. Hit up the source link for the ad, featuring a very weathered Eric Clapton tolerating his new handset.

myTouch 3G Fender Edition subs for G1 on While My Guitar Gently Weeps originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Texting campaign for Haitian relief tops $4M: "

In the past 36 hours, mobile subscribers across the country have pledged more than $4 million in aid to Haitians after the devastating earthquake there, according to the Red Cross. The mobile donations, made via a text messaging campaign, represent fully one-third of all of the funds the aid organization has raised so far in the aftermath of the earthquake, which struck Haiti Tuesday evening. Mobile donations solutions provider mGive launched the effort in association with the Red Cross and the U.S. Department of State. By texting HAITI to 90999, mobile subscribers can pledge $10 to the relief cause. Article

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Verizon Wireless to overhaul its phone and data pricing plans: "

One of our connects hit us up with some changes Verizon Wireless is making to its calling plans effective January 18th. The details are coming in slowly but it looks like Big Red (not the gum) is ditching the all-inclusive Premium plan and renaming the current Basic plan to Nationwide Talk, and the Select Plan to Nationwide Talk & Text. A 30% drop in pricing on the unlimited minutes options for each of these plans is expected to accompany the name changes. Verizon also reconfirms the changes to the feature phone data plans which includes a new $9.99 data plan with 25MB and mobile email and a $29.99 unlimited plan with mobile email. Additionally, overage charges for the new $9.99 plan have been decreased from 50¢ to 20¢ per MB. All 3G multimedia phones, a category which has been expanded to include the enV3, Chocolate Touch and others, will now require a data plan of $9.99 or higher, like we reported. Verizon also added onto their prepaid plans, offering an new unlimited plan Talk & Text plan for $94.99 per month. Hit the jump for some highlights of the changes.

Image by Eyebee via Flickr

MagicJack's new cellular product raises legal questions: "
MagicJack's new GSM femtocell product could lead to a bruising legal battle over whether it is illegally using spectrum licensed to GSM carriers AT&T Mobility and T-Mobile USA. The device, which parent company YMax unveiled last week at the Consumer Electronics Show, allows GSM mobile phones to make calls through a femtocell connected to a user's computer (and a broadband connection). The call is routed via VoIP technology, and users can get a year of free calls to the U.S. and Canada for $20.

Image via Wikipedia

MetroPCS revamps unlimited plans: "
MetroPCS unveiled a new pricing scheme for its unlimited prepaid plans, called Wireless for All, which includes the cost of taxes and fees in the total cost of the plans. The company, which has suffered weaker subscriber growth in the face of intensifying competition in the prepaid market, said the new plans--ranging from $40 per month to $60--will entice subscribers with simplified pricing. The carrier also released preliminary subscriber numbers for the fourth quarter.

Sprint hooking up with Walmart for WiMAX buildout?: "

Sprint's got a nice head start in the 4G race over Verizon and AT&T -- a message it's heavily broadcasting these days -- but with the onslaught of LTE networks and equipment around the world now just months away, momentum is unquestionably going to shift, giving the carrier every reason to act quickly to build out now and score as many subscribers as it possibly can. That seems to be the gist of a rumor coming out of AndroidGuys today that says Sprint is working on a deal with Walmart to install WiMAX cells on all (yes, all) of its locations, a move that would give it a significant boost in national coverage while presumably lowering infrastructure costs significantly. As many Walmarts as there are, it seems like this would still leave huge coverage gaps (particularly in rural areas) between locations, but hey -- maybe these guys are going for the parking lot RV crowd, which would actually make a ton of sense. Best part? You'd probably be able to buy the modem right in the store.

Sprint hooking up with Walmart for WiMAX buildout? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 16:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google charges its own ETF for Nexus One in addition to T-Mobile’s ETF: "

Here’s a bit of interesting news on the purchasing and cancellation process for the Nexus One. If you buy the device subsidized, and you decide to cancel your contract after the 14-day period (30 days for California) but before 120 days into your contract, Google can charge a termination fee of its own — on top of the carrier ETF. Shocking? Yeah, a little bit. You’d imagine that if you’re paying for a subsidized device and you cancel your contract, you’d just be paying the remainder of the subsidy. Why isn’t this completely surprising? Well, if you purchase a handset with a wireless data plan from an authorized third party, like an electronics store, you sometimes end up getting into the same agreement. Many third-party retailers charge their own fees on top of carrier fees. Still, it doesn’t make it right. Here’s what Google has to say: