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I’ve long preached the virtues of including WiFi in cell phones. No, it won’t work everywhere, but when you’re in a hotspot, it’s a nice, cheap alternative to your expensive cell network. In fact, that’s the most likely reason why you’re not seeing a greater WiFi phone selection from AT&T, and none from Verizon. Both of those companies have a certain reliance on landline services, and to include WiFi into handsets is to see more and more people using VoIP services like Skype to place calls from their homes. T-Mobile, though, has no landline connection, so they’ve been using WiFi as a competitive measure. And it’s been working out for them just fine.
Read the rest of T-Mobile standing out from pack with WiFi…

To be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of the LG enV. Yeah, it’s a cool concept, but it just looks…flimsy to me. It might be bias, but yeah, that’s where I stand. But upon seeing the first pictures of its successor, well, I might be inclined to change my tune. Engadget Mobile is “hearing that the name “enV2″ is being tossed around in Verizon’s documentation (surprise, surprise).” There aren’t many details on the phone right now, but there are picture (!!). Those will be after the jump.
Read the rest of Pictures emerge of LG enV2…

It’s crazy how any phone that has the potential to anything like the iPhone generates a ton of buzz in the cell community. Is it contempt towards Apple and their sudden foray into the cellular world? Or is it more towards AT&T? In any case, the buzz is now about the Samsung U940 Glyde, which is the CDMA version of the F700. Photos have been leaked on the venerable HowardForums, showing an HTML browser and a “more cluttered” user interface than the F700. It does look like a viable smartphone option, with its touchscreen and slide-out QWERTY keyboard. But just from glancing at the shots of this, it doesn’t look like the iPhone is going anywhere anytime soon (you can pretty much say that after every new smartphone release).
Read the rest of Verizon set to launch Samsung Glyde…

Ready for T-Mobile’s version of a 3G network? You might not have to wait much longer…if you’re in New York City, at least. The company spent about $4.2 billion on 120 licenses in the spectrum last year, and has meanwhile launched three phones which will work on it. We’ve heard rumors about the launch, but nothing has come to fruition. However, now we’re getting real word from people who, you know, work for T-Mobile who are confirming the company’s plans to roll out the network this spring. It will be the AWS spectrum, which stands for advanced wireless services.
Read the rest of T-Mobile ready to roll out AWS this spring…

Welcome back everybody to Going Cellular.com’s Mobile Week In Review!

Join us every Friday for a weekly wrap up of all things cellular. If you missed our previous episode, check out the following link: Mobile Week In Review|episode 1

This week Katie takes a look at T-Mobile and their possible plans to invade Canada. Also on the agenda is the fact that AT&T has now made it’s unlimited package available to iPhone owners and how Alltel is a little late to the “unlimited party”.

Oh and did you know the cellular industry was going green?
Read the rest of Mobile Week In Review: Episode 2…

Every so often, we see a survey on mobile banking. It’s been introduced on certain carriers for certain banks, but it hasn’t really caught on in the mainstream yet. Many people still harbor security fears concerning the Internet in general, and combining it with a cell phone spells worse trouble. Really, I don’t blame them. If you lose your cell phone, you can be really prone to identity theft. But it seems that users are starting to get over their fears, as a recent poll finds an increasing number interesting in mobile banking.
Read the rest of New survey on mobile banking is optimistic…

Following in the footsteps of top rival Verizon, AT&T has announced that they, too, will encourage third party programmers to develop applications for their network. Yesterday, they released Universal Design documents, which detail how to create applications for the company. They feel that by taking this tack, they will be able to harness the power of outside developers while still creating applications that their customers desire. This continues the trend towards openness that we’ve seen recently in the wireless world. Verizon actually takes the idea a step further, as they are allowing third party developers to create phones for their network.
Read the rest of AT&T released application developer kits…

You know, we’ve made exceptional progress with cell phone batteries over the past 10 years. I remember around that time, in the late 90s, when I had friends with cell phones for emergencies. But they could never be reached at their cell numbers, because their phones were never on. If they had left them on perpetually as we do today, the battery would be dead in a matter of hours. So even though it was deemed “emergency only,” it didn’t serve that purpose all too well. However, the technological expansion of the next few years provided us with lithium ion batteries which could stay on for hours and hours — even days — without fully draining. And so begun the wireless golden age in America.
Read the rest of Prolong your cell phone battery life…

Seriously, this might be the best time of the year. The weather is getting a bit warmer (depending on where you live, I guess), baseball is getting ready for seven months of glory, and of course, college basketball is set for its yearly tournament. The field of 64 is nearly ready for action, and AT&T is determined to bring you top-notch coverage on your mobile phone. They’ve partnered with NCAA to bring you closer to the action. Through their March Madness portal, AT&T and the NCAA give you the ability to watch video highlights of the games, as well as help select the winner of the 2008 Naismith Trophy, the award for best men’s and women’s college basketball players of the year.
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As you probably already know, T-Mobile is running tests of their new and improved Hotspot @Home service. The idea is that they sell you a special router, and then port your home phone number into the company. So now you receive calls to your home via VoIP, which is what most of the major telephone carriers use nowadays, anyway. And it’s just $10 per month, so you’re beating the pants off of most deals. However, not all of this comes without a catch (it never does). Gizmodo has a number of things to keep in mind regarding Hotspot @Home, and I think they’re worth sharing.
Read the rest of Getting to know T-Mobile’s Hotspot @Home…