Personal communications

If you're taking a car trip this Memorial Day weekend, you may feel safest driving in Arizona, but you may want to steer clear of Tennessee.

A survey just released by mobile application vendor Vlingo says 26 percent of mobile phone users questioned admit to DWT, or driving while texting. The highest number of offenders are in Tennessee, with 42 percent of people saying they text behind the wheel, while Arizona drivers came in lowest at 18.8 percent.

Driving while texting is now fully banned in seven states as well as Washington, D.C., and partially banned in … Read more

If there was any doubt about the popularity of Apple's iPhone, a quick look at the latest market share figures from research firm Gartner should put them to rest.

Released on Wednesday, the newest data from Gartner shows that Apple's share of worldwide smartphone sales grew from 5.3 percent in the first quarter of 2008 to 10.8 percent in the first quarter of 2009. In terms of unit sales, Apple jumped from 1.7 million in the first quarter of 2008 to 3.9 million during the same period in 2009.

While the quarter's iPhone … Read more

If you've been waiting for AT&T's Netbook data plans to come to your area, the wait is almost over.

The company first offered these plans exclusively in Philadelphia earlier this year. Saying that trial was a success, AT&T announced Tuesday its intent to expand these data plans to the rest of U.S. this summer.

This means you'll soon be able to buy mini ultraportable laptops made by Dell, Lenovo, and Acer at a discounted price when you get a 3G data plan at one of AT&T's retails store or … Read more

As if June wasn't packed enough with new smartphone launches, there are rumors that the RIM BlackBerry Storm 2 may just hit Verizon Wireless stores in the same month.

BlackberryOS.com says it received a tip from an "insider" (a senior-level Verizon employee, apparently) who says Verizon has been training its tech support on the Storm 2 all week and that they've been told to be ready to support the smartphone by the end of May. Though the tipster could not give a specific release date, she said it would be out by the end of … Read more

Sprint Nextel and Palm announced on Tuesday an official release date and pricing for the Palm Pre.

The Pre will be available nationwide on June 6 for $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate and with a two-year contract on Sprint's Everything Data plan or Business Essentials with Messaging and Data plan. In addition to Sprint stores, the Pre will be sold online and at Best Buy, RadioShack, and some Wal-Mart Stores.

Accessories for Palm's Web OS-based smartphone will also be available June 6, including the Touchstone Charging Kit (Touchstone dock and Touchstone back cover), which will retail … Read more

It's no secret that Google's mobile team has been slowly rolling out features from its desktop Web mail to the mobile version of its e-mail site. A few weeks ago, visitors to Gmail.com from the iPhone or Android G1 began seeing an option to "mute" a conversation thread, which blocks further messages in the thread from crowding your in-box. Now, another secondary feature has joined muting. On Monday, Google pushed mobile message labeling.

As with muting, being able to organize e-mail messages by color-coded labels like "parties" or "itineraries" can take … Read more

Security companies Symantec and McAfee will be the latest big-name developers to make products for Apple's iPhone, as the two look to cash in on the popularity of the device.

Speaking to Reuters, McAfee CEO Dave DeWalt said his company is developing security software for the iPhone, though no other details on the product were provided. DeWalt also said the company is working on a "much more comprehensive suite for the Apple family."

Symantec is throwing its hat into the iPhone ring too, but it won't be developing traditional security software. Instead, Symantec is looking at … Read more

Verizon Communications is casting off its plain, old telephone service in 14 states.

In its ongoing effort to focus on wireless and broadband, Verizon announced on Wednesday plans to sell 4.5 million landlines and related assets to Frontier Communications. The operations are based across 14 states, mostly tied to residential and small-business customers in rural areas.

"This transaction is part of our multiyear effort to transform our growth profile and asset base to focus on wireless, FiOS fiber-optic services and other broadband development, and global IP," said Ivan Seidenberg, chief executive officer of Verizon. "All of … Read more

With prepaid carriers enjoying good times in this recession, Sprint Nextel subsidiary Boost Mobile is preparing to reap the benefits. Matt Carter, Boost's president, told Reuters that his company will open 50 new retail stores by the end of the year.

The new outlets, which will open around the country in cities like Atlanta, New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia, will only sell Boost phones and services. Currently, Boost operates just three stores in Miami, Los Angeles, and Houston. Boost products are available at some Sprint retail locations, but they're typically regulated to a corner of the store.

Boost … Read more