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Customers not as happy with iPhone as they were last year

More customers are satisfied with Apple's phones than any other handsets, but they're not as happy as they were last year, a new report said.

According to an American Customer Satisfaction Index report issued today, Apple received a score of 81 (on a scale of 100) in terms of customer satisfaction. But the company dropped 2 percent from its 2012 position, and the iPhone lags the customer satisfaction rating of 86 for Apple's desktop, laptop, and tablet business.

At the same time, satisfaction with Motorola phones jumped 5 percent from 2012 to 77, and Nokia grew 1 … Read more

SoftBank grants waiver for Sprint to talk more to Dish

SoftBank made a bold move in its ongoing battle with Dish to acquire Sprint. The Japanese wireless carrier gave Sprint a special waiver on Monday to let it go into more broad talks with Dish.

While this seems counterintuitive, SoftBank said that it believes further talks between Dish and Sprint will only show the U.S. wireless carrier that SoftBank is the superior candidate for the acquisition.

"We continue to believe that our agreed transaction, which we plan to close in approximately six weeks, creates substantially greater value and provides far greater certainty for Sprint shareholders," SoftBank Holdings … Read more

Intel CEO favors SoftBank over Dish for Sprint takeover

Intel CEO Paul Otellini is throwing his weight behind SoftBank in the bidding war for Sprint, according to Reuters.

Otellini sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski giving word that he favored SoftBank, a wireless carrier based in Japan, over Dish for the Sprint takeover offer.

Sprint has been in talks with SoftBank since last October regarding a $20.1 billion offer, but as the deal closing has neared Dish came in with a surprise counter offer of $25.5 billion. If Sprint were to accept SoftBank's bid, the deal would close by the beginning of July.… Read more

Sprint's 4G LTE network reaches 49 markets

Sprint announced 4G LTE coverage today in six new areas, bringing the total to 49 markets.

Effective immediately, subscribers in parts of Indiana, Pennsylvania, and California will find the faster data speeds awaiting them.

Reaching 49 markets in total, Indianapolis/Carmel, Ind.; Santa Rosa/Petaluma, Calif.; Vallejo/Fairfield, Calif.; York/Hanover, Pa.; and Franklin County, Pa. are the newest members of the club. Parts of southern Puerto Rico, including Ponce, Coamo, and Guayama are also seeing 4G LTE coverage today. In addition to these new cities, Sprint is also celebrating expanded LTE coverage in Chicago.

After having just launched the … Read more

AT&T yet again the worst-rated carrier in U.S.

More bad news for AT&T.

Consumer Reports has released its annual carrier ratings. And just as it had in the last two years, AT&T landed in last place, far behind the top major carrier in the roundup, Verizon Wireless.

Verizon Wireless fared somewhat well in the study, earning relatively strong marks on voice and data. The only bright spot in AT&T's review was its 4G LTE network, which actually beat out its chief competitor in this year's study.

Sprint and T-Mobile USA landed between Verizon and AT&T.

For its part, … Read more

Using a tablet SIM to turn a smartphone into a data-only device

Why do wireless carriers have to make everything so complicated? Wireless subscribers should be able to subscribe to the service they want and need and not be forced to take services they don't want or need.

This seems like a simple enough concept, and yet customers who want a smartphone but only want to pay for voice services can't get it. And customers who want to forgo voice service for data-only services are also not able to get what they want. In this edition of Ask Maggie, I offer some advice and explanation to a reader on this … Read more

Euro carriers stocking nano-SIM cards ahead of iPhone 5 launch

According to a report by the Financial Times, mobile operators in Europe are stockpiling nano-SIM chips in anticipation of Apple including the new technology in the next iteration of the iPhone.

Though actions like this would suggest an impending launch, no official word has come from Apple as to when we can expect to actually see the iPhone 5 (or the new iPhone?)

The nano-SIM design was approved by the mobile phone industry's standards group earlier this year and should allow Apple to save even more space in its tightly designed iPhone interior.… Read more

Carrier support a must for Windows Phone 8 success

Microsoft's new Windows Phone 8 devices will hit stores this fall. And support from carriers like Verizon Wireless will be crucial if the company stands a chance of competing with smartphone giants, Apple and Google.

Microsoft today took the wraps off Windows Phone 8, the next iteration of its mobile software for smartphones. Device makers Nokia, Huawei, Samsung and HTC have all committed to building Windows Phone 8 devices, Microsoft said. So far all four major wireless carriers, including Verizon Wireless, are onboard as well, which is good news for Microsoft. The big question now is how much support … Read more

Google said to bring Android to multiple mobile-device makers

Google is switching up Android in an effort to gain some control from wireless carriers.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the tech giant is planning to grant early access of new releases of the operating system to several mobile-device makers at once and also sell the phones directly to consumers.

Until now, Google would work with only one device maker to create "lead devices," according to The Wall Street Journal. Only once the "lead device" was produced would the company give access of the software to other mobile makers. Also, all phones were sold via … Read more