Carriers

RIM really needs to makes waves, and good ones at that. The company hopes a splashy Super Bowl spot will do the trick.

The long-awaited launch of BlackBerry 10 software, along with the heavily anticipated phones meant to run it, is less than a week away. That hasn't stopped RIM from pushing for more buzz, though. It just distributed communication via e-mail that it plans to run a big-budget ad during the upcoming Super Bowl as well.

Unfortunately RIM hasn't released any teaser footage or even pictures of what we can expect. The mobile device maker made it … Read more

The Samsung Ativ Odyssey, first announced last fall at Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 launch event, will hit Verizon stores January 24. The decidedly mid-range handset will also cost a very affordable $49.99 after $50 mail-in rebate and a two-year service contract. … Read more

While it's true that Lady Gaga wants your bad romance, prepaid carrier Virgin Mobile really wants you to check out its Galaxy S2 4G instead.

That's why it has teamed up with Samsung to promote the device while sponsoring Mother Monster herself as she goes on tour across the U.S.

Hitting the Pacific Northwest first with stops in Washington and Oregon, the tour made its way to the Bay Area last night in San Jose, Calif.

Two Virgin Mobile kiosks or "activation sites" were set up so fans could take photos of themselves, many of … Read more

Looks like Microsoft has some good news coming its way. Apparently Asustek Computer is close to committing to putting serious resources behind the Windows Phone 8 mobile platform. Specifically, the Taiwanese electronics maker plans to begin creating phones that run WP8. … Read more

After waiting for what seemed like an eternity for Android Jelly Bean phones to ship, I'm glad to see that a flood of handsets with the coveted software has burst onto the mobile scene. Some of these devices, such as the HTC Droid DNA and LG Nexus 4, rolled straight off the assembly line boasting Google's most modern OS. Older phones, like the Samsung Galaxy S3 and Motorola Droid Razr HD Maxx, just received this significant upgrade.

Take a look at this stellar list of smartphones that all offer a state-of-the-art Android experience. From the pure flavor only … Read more

LAS VEGAS--As far as mobile conferences go, this was a quieter CES -- there were few marquee smartphones and only one real device that pushed the smartphone form factor forward (but what an interesting specimen). Regardless, phone makers launched 21 new handsets in conjunction with the show.

Despite the lack of dazzle, CES 2013 nevertheless gave us an important preview of things to come, and the direction smartphone development will take in the coming year.

Spotlight on the second tier Big names like Samsung, HTC, Motorola, and Nokia were all but absent, maybe dribbling out a phone (Samsung Ativ Odyssey, … Read more

Prepaid carrier MetroPCS is rolling out a new line of wireless plans that it's dubbing "simpler" 4G LTE plans. All three plans offer unlimited data and are available on several of the smartphones MetroPCS offers.

The cheapest plan is $40 per month and includes unlimited data with the first 500MB of data running at 4G LTE speeds. The next unlimited data plan is $50 per month and the first 2.5GB of data runs on 4G LTE. And the final $60 per month plan offers complete unlimited data at 4G LTE speeds. All three plans include unlimited … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Cricket's Muve Music service has surpassed the 1 million subscriber mark, the company announced today.

This year's CES marks the second anniversary of the Android rate plan, which bundles unlimited music downloads, ringtones, and ringback tones to text, talk, and Web plans, starting at $50 per month.

Although 1 million may not sound like a large number for wireless giants like Verizon and AT&T, the milestone is significant for Cricket's much smaller prepaid subscriber base of about 6 million, and a demographic that typically shies away from purchasing expensive plans.

Deals with national retailers … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Small prepaid carrier Cricket Wireless announced today that it will carry the Kyocera Hydro, a waterproof midrange device, starting January 25.

Originally launched on Boost Mobile this past summer, the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich handset has a 3.5-inch HVGA touch screen with a 480x320-pixel resolution, a 3.2-megapixel camera, and a microSD card slot.

Powering the phone is a 1GHz processor, and its 1,500mAh battery roughly translates to 8.4 hours of talk time.

The Hydro will come with Cricket's music subscription service, Muve Music, which enables users to stream thousands of popular artists … Read more