Carriers

Sprint seems to be saying "What else do you want from us? We've got unlimited data, but we're still not good enough? What should we do, pay you to switch to us? OK, fine!"

PhoneArena has posted a photo of what looks to be a print ad for Sprint that offers a $400 credit to customers that switch over at least three lines to one of the carrier's Everything Data Share plans.

The cash rebate has to be used "in store" -- presumably meaning Sprint stores -- at the time of purchase to … Read more

Motorola just dropped a bomb of an invite that hints at the promise of sweet new smartphones. Scheduled for September 5, the press event will be held in New York and vaguely states, "Motorola. On Display," which is down right tantalizing.

Could Motorola's afternoon festivities herald the coming of a much-rumored Droid Razr HD or even Droid Raxr Maxx HD? Might Moto's new partnership yield fantastic nexus handset fruits? No product details were provided save a Motorola and Verizon logo, which lends weight to my Razr HD theory. … Read more

The home of the Giants baseball team looms large at the edge of the San Francisco Bay. Yet for data-hungry baseball fans, this is no ordinary ballpark. The country's second-largest wireless carrier has the naming rights, which means that detailed attention to great wireless data connections comes with the turf.

Each day, thousands of fans connect to the ballpark's free Wi-Fi network, and to 3G and 4G carrier networks. Hidden in the architecture are Wi-Fi access points and 3G/4G transceivers that work with the thick bundles of wiring organized in the stadium's balmy interior.

A lot goes on behind the scenes, and I was lucky enough to join the ballpark's chief information officer and some of AT&T's crew on a tour of the network-coverage underbelly of my neighborhood ballpark. The slideshow below tells the tale.

… Read more

Black is the new black, or at least as it pertains to the Samsung Galaxy S 3.

Indeed, that is the color that is getting some buzz today as a black version of the Samsung handset has been spotted on T-Mobile's Web site.

Currently, T-Mobile, and practically every other carrier offers the Samsung smartphone with two color options: white and pebble blue. It's not uncommon for handset makers to offer a rare or exclusive color, but it's usually the white model that gets all the attention.

It's worth noting that T-Mobile has yet to announce a … Read more

If a TMO News report pans out, Samsung might be quietly planning a new Windows 8 smartphone boasting a connection to T-Mobile's new 4G LTE network. Other specs the device could feature include a nimble 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, 1GB of RAM, and a big 4.65-inch Super AMOLED HD (1280x720-pixel) screen. … Read more

Smartphones have become part of daily life but are often too delicate to withstand everyday abuse. Not so for the Sony Xperia Go, an Android handset built to shrug off treatment that would destroy typical mobile devices.

CNET UK took the Xperia Go for a spin, a few dunks, plus crevice-clogging dust-ups to put this rugged machine through its paces. … Read more

Verizon Wireless customers who thought they were getting a Droid Razr HD last week will have to wait a few more months.

Moto now is expected to release the Droid Razr HD and Droid Razr Maxx HD in October, according to tech site HotHardware. A source told the blog that the date may shift either direction and largely revolves around the sales of the current models.

Presumably, the two Android 4.0 handsets will offer identical hardware save for the extended battery life of the Maxx edition. Said hardware is rumored to include a 720x1,280-pixel HD display, 1.5GHz … Read more

Late last year, Republic Wireless made a big splash by offering an Android smartphone with unlimited calling, texting, and data for the unheard-of price of $19 per month.

There were a few catches, of course, most notably the phone itself: LG's Optimus S, a small, decidedly entry-level model with a scratch-prone screen and slow processor.

This month, the company dumped the Optimus in favor of a new model: the Motorola Defy XT. How does it compare? I've spent the last week or so finding out.

In terms of specs alone, the Defy XT blows the Optimus S out … Read more

Editors' note: This article was originally published on July 26, 2012, and updated August 10 with more details.

When we first heard of Motorola's upcoming Motorola Photon Q, we thought that the keyboarded Android smartphone would serve as a nice lifeline for disillusioned and disenfranchised BlackBerry refugees fleeing the sinking ship.

Running Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich and driven by a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, the Motorola Photon Q will certainly surpass Motorola's Droid 4.

While the Droid 4 proved that a QWERTY slider could indeed pack in a swift 4G LTE radio, nimble components, and an excellent physical keyboard, it also suffers from a few shortcomings. First, at half an inch thick and weighing a hefty 6.31 ounces, the phone is big and heavy. Second, the Droid 4 still lives in a time warp, mired by the outdated Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS.

Thankfully, the Motorola Photon Q boasts fresher features.… Read more