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Josh is in Los Angeles at E3 getting attacked in his taxicab, so we've got CNET Download's Seth Rosenblatt to help us make sense of Android to-do list managers, hybrid storage, kid-proofed PCs, and moving 10-year-old Outlook files. Also: how to never set another clock again.

Josh is going to tell us how to get out of a mobile phone contract, what to do with an old phone, and how to connect an XBox to a PC with a crossover cable. Plus, road tests (iOS, a new iPad case, and yellow, sticky, gross keyboard cleaning goo) and your questions answered!

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AT&T will be following in Verizon Wireless' footsteps by increasing the early termination fees for smartphones and other advanced devices. While Verizon increased its ETF to $350, AT&T will increase its ETF to $325. That is nearly double the previous ETF of $175. As with Verizon, the smartphone ETF will decrease by $10 for each month of the contract.

The upside, however, is that AT&T will be decreasing the ETFs of its feature phones and quick-messaging devices by $25 (previously $175, now $150). Feature phone ETFs will drop by $4 for each month.

Presumably, … Read more

A word of warning to AT&T subscribers who would switch carriers when the company's iPhone exclusivity deal with Apple finally ends: The cost of doing so will soon rise--substantially. Come June 1, AT&T is raising its early-termination fee on smartphones to $325 from $175.

The increase comes amid speculation that AT&T's iPhone-exclusivity deal with Apple is nearing its end. But a company representative tells me it has "nothing to do with the iPhone or any other device."

$325. That's a pretty steep increase from $175. Though to be fair, … Read more

U.S. mobile operators, , in letters sent to the Federal Communications Commission earlier this week, defended their use of early termination fees and explained how they are informing consumers about their policies.

In January, the FCC asked each of the four major wireless carriers, AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel, and T-Mobile USA, along with Google to detail how they inform customers of their fees in statements on corporate Web sites, in brochures and sales scripts, and in monthly bills. The companies had until February 23 to respond. Earlier this week, they filed their answers to the FCC's … Read more

The Federal Communications Commission is asking all four major U.S. cell phone operators and Google to explain their early termination fee policies and how they communicate these to customers.

FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau Chief Joel Gurin and Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Chief Ruth Milkman sent letters (PDF) on Tuesday to AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile USA, and Google asking them to detail how they inform customers of their fees in statements on corporate Web sites, in brochures and sales scripts, and in monthly bills.

In their letter to Google, they said the FCC welcomes new … Read more

It looks Verizon Wireless may be bowing to pressure from the Federal Communications Commission's inquiry into its new $350 Early Termination Fee.

The wireless carrier has reduced the number of devices that will be subject to the new fee, according to a story published by Wireless Week on Tuesday.

In November, Verizon Wireless announced it was increasing its $175 early termination fee to a whopping $350 for "advanced devices," such as smartphones. Verizon is also prorating this fee, which decreases by $10 for every month of service over the life of the two-year contract.

In early December, … Read more

Verizon Communications is reportedly jacking up its early termination fee for its Fios TV service.

The company plans to double the fee to $360 from the $179 it currently charges customers for canceling their service early, according to reports. The new fee would apply to new customers who sign up for service on or after January 17. And it would only apply when customers cancel service before their two-year service contract ends.

News of the fee hike was first reported by the blog DSL Reports.The Philadelphia Inquirer confirmed the change with documents it obtained from the company. A Verizon … Read more