carriers

Would you buy a T-Mobile iPhone? (poll)

Have you heard? Rumor has it the iPhone is coming to T-Mobile as early as this fall. That would be pretty huge, though not as huge as the long-rumored Verizon iPhone.

It does, however, raise an interesting question: would you buy an iPhone from T-Mobile? I ask because I've heard more people than I can count say, "I'm not buying one until I can get it from Verizon." I've never heard anyone say, "I'm not buying one until I can get it from T-Mobile."

Of course, there's so much dissatisfaction with … Read more

Dev-Team inching closer to carrier unlock for iPhone 4

According to a recent tweet from Dev-Team member MuscleNerd, the carrier unlock solution is a step closer to completion for iPhone 4. The latest version of the carrier unlock requires Dev-Team to rewrite the entire baseband-unlocking code from scratch.… Read more

Dev-Team inching closer to carrier unlock for iPhone 4

As part of Apple's redesign for the fourth-generation iOS device, iPhone 4 has a completely new baseband. The previous three generations of iPhone all shared the same baseband, explaining the relative speed of success after the original iPhone baseband was first unlocked (dubbed ultrasn0w).

MuscleNerd's tweet reads: "Next step is to keep the task backgrounded like we did … Read more

At 1,000 miles, Road Trip 2010 can't avoid I-95

JOPPA, Md.--I'll just say it now: I am not a fan of Interstate 95.

Since 2006, I've spent part of each summer driving around regions of the United States, working on stories about a wide variety of destinations related to aviation, the military, technology, science, nature, and more. This is my annual Road Trip project, and right now, I'm a little more than a week into Road Trip 2010.

In the past, I've covered the Pacific Northwest (in 2006); the Southwest (in 2007); the Southeast (in 2008); and the Rocky Mountain region (in 2009). All … Read more

Making the world's most cutting-edge aircraft carrier

NEWPORT NEWS, Va.--I'm staring down into a pit in which the beginnings of what will one day be the most advanced aircraft carrier on Earth are already well under way.

This is the dry dock of CVN-78, otherwise known as the Gerald R. Ford, the first in a technologically advanced new class of aircraft carriers known as, yes, the Gerald R. Ford, and yes, named after the 38th president of the United States. A new class of naval vessel is always known by the name of the first model, it seems.

CVN-78 is being built by Northrop Grumman … Read more

The 411: Prepaid phones

Welcome to The 411, my new Q&A column answering all your questions about cell phones and cell phone accessories. I receive plenty of questions about these subjects via e-mail, so I figured many of you might have the same questions, too. At times, I might solicit answers from readers if I'm stumped. Send your questions and comments to me at nicole.lee@cnet.com. If you prefer to remain anonymous, let me know in the e-mail.

I am looking for a pay as you go plan with a phone that will last. Can you recommend one? My intent is to keep the cost down to below $20/month with basic texting and calling/receiving calls. -- Sudeep, via e-mail

Since you're looking for a phone that will last, I would recommend a rugged handset that's military-certified to take a beating. Luckily, Boost Mobile offers a number of those. One of the more recent ones is the Motorola Clutch i465, which is rather compact and sports a QWERTY keyboard. It does cost around $80, but remember that's without a contract. As for the monthly plan, Boost Mobile doesn't offer flat rates quite that cheap, but Boost's Pay As You Go option costs 10 cents per text message, and 10 cents per voice minute. If you don't use the phone a lot, you can easily make it under $20 a month.

I live in the Bay Area and I'm planning on buying a prepaid phone but don't know which one has the best features and phones for me. I'm looking for a plan that will let me text, call, use the Web for a CHEAP price, and I'm looking for a good music phone, with a music player and FM RADIO, what is the best plan for me? I send around maybe 130 txts a month, talk around 100 minutes a month, and browse the Web A LOT. What/which plan, phone, and prepaid carrier would be the best option for me? -- ST, via e-mail

I tried looking for a phone that satisfies all your requirements and it was quite difficult.… Read more

3D Playboy bunny

I once called Playboy "pornography" on Loaded and, boy, did I ever get some heated e-mails!

"Playboy is not pornography! It is art!"

OK, calm down. Can we at least agree that Playboy is adult content?

Hopefully, that does not offend those who are so loyal to the bastion of nude female portraiture.

And, now, that portraiture will come in 3D. The June issue will be equipped with polarized glasses so that the centerfold jumps right out at you. In an artistic manner, of course.

This brings up questions we've been asking ourselves about 3D … Read more

Phones you can't get on a U.S. carrier

Sadly, the U.S. is often behind the times when it comes to handsets and mobile technology. Our European and Asian brethren usually get first dibs on all the cool gear, and sometimes, we won't even see it at all. Sure, we can get some of the fancier Sony Ericsson and HTC phones unlocked, but few U.S. carriers actually pick them up. Still, some of the phones do support U.S. bands, so that's an upside. Take a look at our slideshow of phones you can't get from a U.S. carrier to drool over and … Read more

Virgin Mobile boosts its Broadband2Go

Not even a year after Virgin Mobile introduced Broadband2Go, its pay-as-you-go broadband service, it is now expanding it with even more data while still keeping costs low.

The $60 plan, for example, now offers 5GB, when it was 1GB previously. You now get 1GB for $40, and the 300MB for $20, though you do need to use the data within 30 days. As before, there's a $10 plan that only gives you 100MB that you need to use in 10 days instead.

There are no activation fees, and megabytes can be added as needed. To use it, you can … Read more

Virgin Mobile ending its postpaid service

As part of Sprint's acquisition of Virgin Mobile, the carrier will cease providing postpaid service by May 25 of this year. While current Virgin Mobile postpaid subscribers won't be automatically transferred to Sprint, the company is giving a whole bunch of incentives for people to switch over. They include a $50 credit toward a Sprint postpaid handset with a new two-year agreement and an additional $150 off handsets as part of Sprint's new customer offer. Plus, Sprint will waive all activation fees.

Virgin Mobile began its outreach effort to existing postpaid customers as early as March 1, … Read more