cellular

T-Mobile USA may look to split itself into pieces for multiple buyers if its deal with AT&T falls through.

That's according to Mizuho Securities analyst Michael Nelson, who said in a research note issued today that companies such as MetroPCS, Leap Wireless, and U.S. Cellular have significant interest in picking up new markets. T-Mobile could also break itself up into multiple parts as part of a divestiture plan that AT&T would work out with regulators to get approval for the deal.

"Our analysis indicates MetroPCS, Leap, and U.S. Cellular could have significant … Read more

Verizon Wireless is once again the most reliable carrier throughout the U.S., according to a study out yesterday from J.D. Power and Associates.

Based on a customer survey, J.D. Power's "U.S. 2011 Wireless Network Quality Performance Study--Volume 2" ranked Verizon as the top carrier in the Northeast for the 14th time in a row. Compared with other carriers, Verizon saw the least number of customers complaining of dropped calls, transmission failures, initial connection issues, and delayed text messages.

Beyond the Northeast, Verizon grabbed the lead in the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Southwest, and Western regions … Read more

Sprint customers won't be the only ones to get their hands on the RIM BlackBerry Torch 9850, as U.S. Cellular revealed today that the all-touch-screen BlackBerry will be available starting August 26 for $199.99 with a purchase of a data plan and after a $100 mail-in rebate.

The Torch 9850 has a 3.7-inch, an 800x480-pixel touch screen, a 1.2GHz processor, and a 5-megapixel camera with 720p HD video capture. It's also running the latest BlackBerry OS 7 software, so you'll get such enhancements as better graphics, faster Web browser, and BBM 6.

To … Read more

Hackers have broken into a second Web site affiliated with the San Francisco Bay Area subway system, which has come under fire in the last week for turning off cell phone service before a planned protest.

A database belonging to the BART Police Officers Association was posted online today, complete with full names, e-mail addresses, home addresses, and passwords. BART stands for Bay Area Rapid Transit.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the embarrassing information leak--a Twitter account affiliated with Anonymous said that no one has "claimed responsibility for the hack," and speculated that it … Read more

U.S. Cellular customers looking for a prepaid account will now have two more phones to choose from: the Samsung Gem and the HTC Merge.

The angular, black plastic Gem is a full touch-screen Android 2.2 Froyo handset. It has a 3.2-inch screen, a 3.2-megapixel camera, and it'll cost $139.99.

The heavier HTC Merge has metal accents, also runs Android 2.2, has a 3.8-inch touch screen, a 5-megapixel camera, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and dual-SIM mode for world travel. It costs $299.99.

U.S. Cellular's prepaid plans range from $40 to $… Read more

If you're looking for a mobile Internet solution and travel within Clear's 4G coverage, then look no further than the Clear Spot 4G Apollo. All things considered, this is the best mobile router we've seen.

This is a compact device, though not the most compact of its kind, that offers superfast cellular Internet access for up to eight Wi-Fi clients at a time. It has average speeds of around 9Mbps for download and 5Mbps for upload as tested in the San Francisco Bay Area. At these speeds, you can download a full 1080p high-definition movie (some 10GB … Read more

The operators of the Bay Area Rapid Transit subway system temporarily shut down cell service last night in four downtown San Francisco stations to interfere with a protest over a shooting by a BART police officer, a spokesman for the system said today.

"BART staff or contractors shut down power to the nodes and alerted the cell carriers," James Allison, deputy chief communications officer for BART, told CNET. The move was "one of many tactics to ensure the safety of everyone on the platform," he said in an initial statement provided to CNET earlier this afternoon. … Read more

Let's cut to the chase. U.S. Cellular's Samsung Character is an affordable slide-out QWERTY messaging phone with the kind of traits that place it in the teenage camp. Running Samsung's proprietary TouchWiz Lite interface, its home screens are ruled by widgets, and its apps by texting and music. There is one extra feature I like, but I'd like it more if it showed up as a widget. Watch the video above and read my full review for more on the Samsung Character.

Look, it's a phone that makes calls! U.S. Cellular has not forgotten the lowly basic flip phone with the LG Envoy, which went up for sale today for only $9.99. It doesn't have too many features going for it aside from dual displays, a VGA camera, Bluetooth, a speakerphone, text and multimedia messaging, simple WAP browsing, and that's about it. Hey, sometimes that's all you need from a phone, especially if you're trying to save some cash.