Filed under: Wireless

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T-Mobile joins trend to cheaper data plans

T-Mobile says it’s adding a cheaper data plan with a limit on monthly traffic, much the way AT&T and Verizon Wireless have done.

T-Mobile USA  will  introduce the new plan before the end of the year. It will cost $10 per month with a two-year contract or $15 without one. It will provide 200 megabytes of data use per month. Get the full story »

FCC fines Verizon Wireless $25M for spurious fees

Federal regulators say Verizon Wireless has agreed to pay a fine of $25 million and at least $52.8 million in refunds to customers who inadvertently racked up data charges on their phones over the last three years. Get the full story »

T-Mobile to debut Samsung Galaxy, subsidize price

T-Mobile USA said it would be first to offer Samsung Electronics Co.’s  Galaxy Tab tablet-computing device, and plans to subsidize the price for those who sign up for a wireless contract.

T-Mobile USA, the U.S. wireless arm of Deutsche Telekom AG,  plans to sell the tablet for $399.99 with a two-year service agreement, similar to the deal that will be offered by Sprint Nextel Corp.  T-Mobile USA is scheduled to sell the device Nov. 10, a day before it is offered by Verizon Wireless,  selling the Galaxy Tab at the unsubsidized price of $599.99, and four days before Sprint begins to offer it. Get the full story »

Apple delays white iPhone 4 until spring

Apple says the elusive white iPhone 4 will remain out of reach until spring.

Apple Inc.’s “Apple Store” iPhone app lets people reserve products to pick up at local Apple stores. On Tuesday, bloggers posted screen shots of the app appearing to offer the option to reserve a white iPhone 4. By late afternoon, that option was no longer available. Get the full story »

PayPal software to let users pay with their phones

EBay Inc.’s  online payments unit PayPal on Tuesday unveiled new software that will let people to use their phones to make payments, as well as a new platform that will make it easier for consumers to pay for digital media, music and games. Get the full story »

Retiring software chief to Microsoft: Move on

Ray Ozzie, Microsoft Corp.’s departing software chief, has asked the company to move on from its roots as a computer-oriented company to imagine a “post-PC world” that relies on wireless devices and the Internet to function.

The call from Ozzie, who announced his retirement from Microsoft last week, is meant to galvanize the company, which has fallen behind Apple Inc. and Google Inc. in the rapidly growing phone and tablet computer sector that many now see as key to the future. Get the full story »

Wi-Fi Alliance certifies next step in wireless

Mashable.com | The Wi-Fi Alliance has begun certifying devices as Wi-Fi Direct capable. Wi-Fi Direct will enable device-to-device connections using current Wi-Fi standards, allowing the devices to basically become their own hotspots.

Google to rein in employees on privacy matters

Google is promising to monitor its employees more closely to make sure they don’t intrude on people’s privacy while the company collects and stores information about its users.

The tougher privacy measures announced Friday appear to be in reaction to recent breaches that have raised questions about the Internet search leader’s internal controls and policies. Get the full story »

Verizon to offer $15 smartphone data plans

Verizon Wireless plans to introduce a less expensive–but restricted–data plan for smartphone customers next week, according to a person familiar with the plans, in a move that follows AT&T Inc.’s own offer of two tiers of pricing.

The nation’s largest wireless carrier by subscribers will offer a $15 monthly plan that gives customers 150 megabytes of data starting Oct. 28. But unlike AT&T, it will keep available its $29.99 monthly unlimited data plan. The change was first reported by technology news Web site Engadget. Get the full story »

FCC weighs creating fund to boost broadband

A new fund could help bring high speed Internet to unserved and remote areas of the United States, U.S. telecommunications regulators said on Thursday.

The Federal Communications Commission proposed allocating universal service funds — fees consumers pay telephone companies to subsidize landline phone services for low-income and rural families — to create a “mobility fund” to expand broadband Internet to areas without service. Get the full story »

Verizon to sell iPads, offer data plans

(Ryan Anson/AFP/Getty Images)

Verizon Wireless will join rival carrier AT&T in selling Apple Inc’s iPad  later this month, showing it may move closer to disrupting the tight relationship between the device maker and AT&T.

All three models of the popular tablet computer, which comes with Wi-Fi access, will be available at Verizon Wireless stores as well as AT&T stores from October 28, the companies said. Prices will range from $629 for the 16-gigabyte (GB) model to $829 for the 64 GB model at both of their stores. Get the full story »

CUB: Ill. cell phone users overpay $359 a year

Mobile phone users in Illinois are paying hundreds of dollars every month for unused minutes and unnecessary services, the Citizens Utility Board said in a report released Monday.

CUB studied 4,400 cell bills entered into its online Cellphone Saver between August 2009 and July 2010 and determined that those consumers are overpaying by an average of $359 a year. Get the full story »

Motorola shares slip after Citi downgrade

Motorola Inc. shares slipped Friday after a downgrade from Citi Investment Research on fears of increasing competition in the smart phone market.

Verizon: $135.5M invested in Illinois network so far

Verizon Wireless said Thursday it has invested roughly $135.5 million in its network in Illinois during the first nine months of the year, laying the groundwork for the planned Chicago launch of its 4G network by the end of 2010.

Company spokeswoman Carolyn Schamberger said Verizon’s total Illinois investment for all of 2009 was $168 million, putting the operator on track to outspend last year’s investment. A direct nine-month comparison was not available.

Verizon announced Wednesday that it will light up its 4G wireless network in 38 metropolitan areas, including Chicago, by year-end. In the Chicago area, the 4G network will cover more than 7 million people, T.J. Fox, Verizon’s region president for Illinois and Wisconsin, told reporters on a Thursday call. Get the full story »

Verizon iPhone due early next year

Apple CEO Steve Jobs showing off the first version of the iPhone in 2007. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Apple Inc. plans to begin making a new iPhone by the end of the year, and Verizon Wireless will begin selling them in early 2011, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

AT&T is the sole U.S. carrier for the popular smartphone, and investors and consumers alike have long speculated over when Apple will expand distribution. Get the full story »