Dialed In

T-Mobile tempts with no-contract mobile broadband

Having fast 4G access wherever you roam has a particularly sweet and succulent taste all its own. Committing to an onerous monthly contract, though, is a bitter pill to swallow. T-Mobile, with its new prepaid data plans, thinks it has an attractive alternative.

T-Mobile sees a net 350 jobs eliminated from restructuring

For T-Mobile, restructuring isn't just code for layoffs.

The carrier, in the middle of a massive overhaul of the business, said it would eliminate 900 jobs, as CNET previously reported, but hire 550 new positions. The new jobs will support its new business and strategic opportunities.

T-Mobile, a unit of Deutsche Telekom, has been busy trying to get back into aggressive challenger mode after its takeover deal with AT&T collapsed. To better compete with its larger rivals, the company has embarked on a plan to upgrade its existing network this year and move to 4G LTE next year. more

HTC Ville C tipped as lower-powered, cheaper One S

Less than one day after HTC announced its Desire C for U.K. consumers, yet another "quietly brilliant" smartphone has landed on our radar.

BriefMobile obtained details of a handset with the code name of Ville C, which appears to be a cheaper, albeit lower-powered HTC One S.

Hardware details are nearly identical to the One S and include a 4.3 qHD AMOLED display, 16GB internal storage, 1GB RAM, and a 8-megapixel camera. The processor, however, is expected to be a Qualcomm MSM8260 Snapdragon S3 instead of the 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 chipset. Though the image suggests a 1.7GHz CPU, the source advises it will be clocked at 1.2GHz.

HTC One X delay benefits Lumia 900 at AT&T

Nokia may not admit it, but the company is likely jumping for joy that the HTC One X is having trouble getting into the U.S.

Nokia's own Lumia 900, which has enjoyed its flagship smartphone status at AT&T for the past few weeks, could see its preeminent position at the carrier extended as a result of the One X's delay. U.S. customs officials have held up imports of the One X because of a patent dispute between Apple and HTC.

A few extra weeks as AT&T's top dog could do wonders for sales

LG unveils new user interface for ICS devices

One of the nicest things about Android is that vendors can place their own user interface on top of it to deliver a unique experience to customers. And LG is taking advantage of that.

The company today introduced the Optimus UI 3.0 for Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) devices it sells. A key ingredient in the new user interface is an enhanced Quick Memo feature, allowing users to use their finger to quickly take notes. In addition, Quick Memo information can be shared via social networks, or sent as a text message or e-mail.

The update is by more

T-Mobile's 665 makes calls and not much else

It's not a shock when a prepaid phone doesn't offer much, but the new T-Mobile 665 takes simplicity to an extreme. With a simple flip design and only the basic features, its focus is on what a phone should do.

Clad in a muted gray color and resembling a skipping stone, the slim T665 has rounded edges and few distractions. The vertical external display is straight out of 2007, but it shows the usual information like the time and caller ID. Inside below the 1.7-inch, 262,000-color display is an extra-large keypad for easy dialing and texting. more

Verizon's 4G LTE spreading to 28 new markets on May 17

Looks like the Big Red is about to get even bigger.

Verizon's 4G LTE network, which already covers the largest amount of markets and people compared to any U.S. carrier, is expanding its reach to 28 new markets starting May 17.

These areas include: Houma/Thibodaux and Lake Charles, La.; Hyannis/Mid-Cape, Mass.; Benton Harbor/St. Joseph, Mich.; Biloxi/Gulfport/Pascagoula and Oxford, Miss.; Atlantic City/Toms River, N.J.; Dickinson and Williston, N.D.; Ashtabula, Bucyrus, and Defiance, Ohio; Eugene/Springfield, Ore.; Lancaster, New Castle, Northern Cambria County, Oil City/Franklin, Somerset, and York, Pa.; Myrtle Beach, more

Kyocera's Smart Sonic Receiver arrives in Japan today

At this year's CTIA in New Orleans, which just wrapped up last week, Kyocera debuted its Tissue-Conduction Audio Technology for mobile devices.

Today, the company announced that two new handsets featuring this technology will debut in Japan starting today: the Kyocera Urbano Progresso and the Kyocera K012 Simple Mobile Phone.

The former is an Android 4.0 handset that comes in three colors, has a 4-inch OLED touch screen, and an 8.1-megapixel camera.

The K012, however, is designed for seniors or those who want a simple feature device. It is a standard flip-phone that has four color variations, more

Improved LG Optimus 4X HD arrives in Europe in June

LG today confirmed that its quad-core Optimus 4X HD will go on sale in "key markets" in Europe starting in June. Initially unveiled at Mobile World Congress back in February, the smartphone also will touch down in select countries in Asia and South and Central America in the coming months.

As a reminder, the handset runs Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) and has 16GB of internal memory, 1GB of RAM, an 8-megapixel main camera, a second 1.3-megapixel shooter around front, DLNA support, a 2,150mAh battery, and the Nvidia Tegra 3 1.5GHz quad-core processor. On the outside, more

Baidu launches Android phone with eye on Windows Phone, iOS

The Google of China, Baidu, today announced a new smartphone powered by its own cloud-based platform.

Dubbed the Changhong H5018, the smartphone runs on a forked version of Android that's powered by the Baidu Cloud Smart Terminal platform. The device was manufactured by Foxconn and will be released on China Unicom's network, according to the search company.

Baidu's Cloud Smart Terminal is the company's push for mobile market share. It allows users to access its many services, including search, applications, and cloud-based services from the device without needing to head onto the Web. According to Baidu, more