Carriers

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

LAS VEGAS--With its new Sleek 4G, Wilson Electronics brings some long-needed interoperability to cell phone signal boosters.

Debuting at CES, the Sleek 4G supports 4G LTE networks from all major U.S. carriers. And expect for Sprint's WiMax, it's also backwards compatible with existing 3G and 2G voice and data networks.

The Sleek 4G is very welcome since Wilson's 2012 products, the Sleek 4G-V and the Sleek 4G-A, supported the LTE of Verizon Wireless and AT&T respectively, but they weren't interchangeable.

Designed for use in the car or in your home or office, the … Read more

Days before CES kicks off in Las Vegas, AT&T and Sierra Wireless pull back the curtain on the AT&T Unite, the carrier's second touch-screen hot spot.

Riding AT&T's 4G LTE network, the Unite features a 2.4-inch display and more conventional design than its rival, Novatel Wireless' AT&T Liberate.

Like the Liberate, the Unite also supplies connectivity for up to 10 Wi-Fi devices and offers touch access to device and network settings from the screen.

AT&T hasn't shared pricing information yet, but you will be able to … Read more

All eyes may be on RIM and its long-delayed BlackBerry 10 devices but that hasn't stopped the company from announcing that its budget handset is coming to another U.S. carrier. Slated for T-Mobile and expected to cost an affordable $49.99 (after mail-in rebate), the BlackBerry Curve 9315 will ship nationwide by January 23. … Read more

In case you needed more clues that RIM's latest handsets based on the long-awaited BlackBerry 10 software are really just around the corner, you've got it. A new device, referred to as model RFH121LW, has now shown up within the FCC's official database. Tech site Engadget noticed RIM's mysterious gadget, along with another product called the RFF91LW which reportedly is cleared to operate on AT&T's LTE and GSM airwaves. … Read more

Sprint announced 4G LTE coverage today in six new areas, bringing the total to 49 markets.

Effective immediately, subscribers in parts of Indiana, Pennsylvania, and California will find the faster data speeds awaiting them.

Reaching 49 markets in total, Indianapolis/Carmel, Ind.; Santa Rosa/Petaluma, Calif.; Vallejo/Fairfield, Calif.; York/Hanover, Pa.; and Franklin County, Pa. are the newest members of the club. Parts of southern Puerto Rico, including Ponce, Coamo, and Guayama are also seeing 4G LTE coverage today. In addition to these new cities, Sprint is also celebrating expanded LTE coverage in Chicago.

After having just launched the … Read more

If you own a Samsung Galaxy S3 with U.S. Cellular, an update to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is just around the corner.

Starting Friday, December 21, GS3 owners can begin the update process wirelessly, or manually by plugging in their phone via USB cable and visiting this U.S. Cellular site.

U.S. Cellular is one of the last carriers to offer the Android 4.1 update; a process that's been kicked into high gear as part of the busy holiday season.

Android 4.1 enhances features like the Google search app, the notifications menu, and some … Read more

From bigger screens and better cameras to multicore processing and NFC, 2012 has been a momentous year for fancy new phone technology. But how practical is any of this cutting-edge gear? Read on as we dive into the gee-whizzery this year's smartphones brought to the table and whether they were huge flops or represent fabulous mobile innovations. … Read more