Carriers

Dialed In 158: No more Bonnie Bear

After a few episodes where Bonnie Bear had to stand in for the real Bonnie, we actually got to see and hear our favorite New Yorker this week. She was on hand to bring us the latest Sprint and Samsung news before Jessica and Nicole hashed it out over the BlackBerry Playbook. Elsewhere in the podcast, Kent threatened to use Benito's new phone to hammer a nail, Bonnie downplayed her Spanish prowess, and Jessica planned world domination.

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News Will Sprint's next 'first' be a tablet? … Read more

Which carrier had the best data network at CES?

Anyone who's attended CES knows that getting a cell phone signal during the show's peak hours is never a sure bet. With 140,000 phone-wielding people crammed into a square half mile, you can go several hours without making a call, accessing your e-mail, or even sending a tweet.

Since it's rather ironic that you can't use your cell phone at a gadget show, we made a point this year of seeing just how bad the conditions were. So we brought along RootMetrics, a company that powers our cell phone coverage maps, to test the average … Read more

Missing green Android costume found

A missing Cricket Wireless Android costume that spurred a $1,000 reward offer has been found, according to the carrier.

The company offered the reward for information leading to the recovery of the Android mascot, which it described in a statement (PDF) as "round and green with foam tendencies." The company said it had last been seen on a 40-mile stretch of highway between Florence, Ky., and Mason, Ohio.

Latoya Robinson, a spokeswoman for Cricket, said a woman in Covington, Ky., saw news coverage of the missing costume Monday evening and called to report finding it next to a dumpster outside her apartment. (We have to wonder if the Android disappearance was an accident, especially with the anticipation over Honeycomb and endless barrage of Google TV criticism. With such intense pressure, perhaps the little green man was pushed over the edge and into a life on the streets).

The lovable Android moonlights as a mascot for Cricket. The carrier said it believed the droid may have flown out the back of a pickup truck on I-75 North during a routine trip between state lines earlier this month. Am I the only one concerned about Cricket's employee safety rules and regulations here? … Read more

Samsung Acclaim gets Froyo

U.S. Cellular announced today that it's pushing Android 2.2 Froyo to its Samsung Acclaim smartphone. You can't get the update over the air--you'll have to actually connect your phone to a PC--but that's a small price to pay for all the goodness that Froyo brings. Here are a few of the highlights as listed on U.S. Cellular's site.

Fully integrated support for Microsoft Exchange (e-mail & calendar) Use the Acclaim as a mobile hot spot through the carrier's 3G network for five to eight users Save applications to the microSD card … Read more

Sprint increasing smartphone data plans by $10

With rising data usage and rising network costs, Sprint announced today that it will increase its Everything Data plans by $10 per month on new smartphone activations starting January 30.

This new Premium Data add-on, which Sprint already charges on its 4G handsets, applies to all smartphones, including BlackBerry, Android, Windows Phone, Palm, and Instinct devices. Note, however, that if you own one of these smartphones and are still under contract, you won't see a change in your monthly bill until you upgrade to a new device.

Sprint still argues that its Everything Data plans, which includes unlimited text, … Read more

Carriers should bundle plans for smartphones, tablets, more

I know nobody who enjoys extracting a triple-digit Comcast bill from a ripped-open envelope (or from an e-mail) come bill time, but for me, the bundled home Internet, cable, and phone service does at least reduce my monthly bill-paying hassle.

Wouldn't it be great if carriers offered increasingly tech-savvy and gadget-happy consumers a similarly bundled plan for a cell phone or smartphone, plus a tablet and a mobile hot spot?

I believe this is a model we'll increasingly see, for three reasons.

First, there's already a precedent for this kind of volume pricing for home services like … Read more

Will Sprint's next 'first' be a tablet?

As you may have heard, Sprint is hosting an event in New York City on February 7 to unveil "yet another industry first." Coming on the heels of a quiet CES 2011 for the carrier--it unveiled just the HTC Evo Shift 4G--we're eagerly for some Sprint news before CTIA in late March. So what could Sprint have up its sleeve? And better yet, why the heck is illusionist David Blaine slated to appear?

Judging from the theories I've seen on various mobile and tech sites, it could be anything from a WiMAX/4G iPhone to a … Read more

Sprint to show another 'industry first' at February 7 event

Though it introduced the HTC Evo Shift 4G and BlackBerry PlayBook at CES 2011, Sprint had a relatively quiet presence at the show compared to the other carriers. However, it looks like the carrier has something up its sleeve.

We just received an invitation from Sprint for a February 7 event in New York City starting at 6 p.m., ET. The invite-only gathering will showcase "another industry first" from Sprint and will be presented by Sprint CEO Dan Hesse. Illusionist David Blaine will also be a special guest and will help Sprint show that the "impossible … Read more

iPhone speed test: Verizon vs. AT&T

The Verizon iPhone is finally official, but there are a number of questions that remain unanswered. Will Verizon's network be able to handle the deluge of iPhone users? Is Verizon's 3G network better or worse than AT&T's?

Obviously, the Verizon iPhone isn't out in the hands of the general public yet, so only time will tell if Verizon can deliver on its claims of being the "nation's most reliable network." However, just for kicks, we decided to do a little speed test comparing the AT&T and Verizon iPhones while … Read more