Mobile

Thanks to new data from ComScore, I must now revise the tale I planned to tell my daughter when she's older about the early days of the smartphone wars.

Until yesterday, it was shaping up to be quite an epic--with Apple turning from David to Goliath, only to be slain by a populist little green robot...and in the process the battle completely trampling a nearby BlackBerry bramble while the fair maiden Symbian remains trapped in a European tower far, far away.

But now it turns out that the little robot may not make such short work of its foe as was previously expected. … Read more

AT&T may not have the exclusive rights on the iPhone anymore, but the company still managed to turn in strong earnings buoyed by revenue growth in wireless as well as strong wireless subscriber growth.

"We entered this quarter with some uncertainty, especially regarding the iPhone," AT&T Chief Financial Officer Rick Lindner said during the quarterly conference call. "Hopefully, we answered those concerns. We saw a small increase in postpaid churn, but the impacts are significantly less than everyone on Wall Street or in the media had expected. Frankly, it was less than what … Read more

If you own a smartphone, there's a good chance you're paying for more in services than you actually use. Because many of us are fearful of extra charges that can quickly add up, we choose a bigger voice and data plan than we actually come close to using. CNET senior editor Kent German has shared some tips to find a service plan that better suits your needs:

• Analyze the amount of time you spend talking on the phone every month over a period of time. Find the average. German says it's unlikely you're using all 700 … Read more

AT&T may be putting the kibosh on an application for BlackBerry smartphones that allows users to connect their new BlackBerry PlayBook tablets to AT&T's 3G wireless network for free.

AT&T has confirmed that the app that allows BlackBerry users to pair their RIM smartphones with the new PlayBook tablet is not currently available on AT&T BlackBerry phones, a fact that limits the functionality of the device for AT&T BlackBerry customers.

AT&T said the app isn't supported yet on its network because it hasn't fully tested … Read more

T-Mobile USA wants to offer more than cell phone service. The company is getting into the voice over IP market with a new application that will allow people to make voice calls from Facebook.

T-Mobile USA today announced the Bobsled by T-Mobile service, which will offer voice calls via Facebook. This new application will provide Facebook's more than 500 million users worldwide with free, one-touch calling to their Facebook friends from a personal computer and through the social platform's chat window.It's available now for download here.

T-Mobile's move to expand its service offering is yet … Read more

Sony Ericsson saw its profits cut in half during the first quarter, but the company managed to stay in the black despite a drop in shipments and a blow to its supply chain from the Japanese earthquake.

For the quarter ended March 31, the mobile phone maker reported net income of 11 million euros ($15.7 million), down from 21 million euros in the year-ago quarter. Despite the drop, results beat the average of analysts' estimates, which had called for a loss of 27.1 million euros, according to Bloomberg. Sales fell 19 percent to 1.145 billion euros from … Read more

Sprint Nextel and Clearwire have settled their dispute over wholesale pricing, the companies announced today. Sprint uses the nationwide Clearwire network for its 4G WiMax wireless broadband service.

Under the new deal Clearwire will receive at least $1 billion from Sprint in 2011 and 2012. The minimum 4G usage commitment for this year is $300 million and $550 million next year. Sprint will pay $175 million in pre-payment for the service that will be used later this year and beyond.

The companies also worked out an agreement for devices that use both Sprint's 3G network and Clearwire's 4G … Read more

NEW YORK--Research In Motion co-CEO Jim Balsillie defiantly believes his company hasn't last its mojo.

Sure, it's lost market share over the last year, and its corporate-friendly smartphones are losing the marketing war with Apple's iPhone and the many different Android phones. But with a list of new handsets and the new PlayBook tablet hitting shelves next week, Balsillie said in an interview here with CNET Thursday night that there's plenty of reason to believe his company is on the upswing.

So far, the 7-inch tablet has largely gotten lackluster reviews, but Balsillie is undeterred about … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--Sprint CEO Dan Hesse said earlier today that the proposed merger between T-Mobile and AT&T will create a duopoly in wireless that will slow innovation and move America backward.

"Competition will be stifled, growth will be stifled and wireless innovation will be jeopardized," he said while speaking at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. "We just can't let this happen."

Though Hesse largely focused on Sprint's green initiatives and the formal unveiling of the eco-friendly Samsung Replenish during his speech, he also took several shots at the deal that would create … Read more