Text messaging might soon wind up as a dead technology, destined for that smoky gray place of yesterday where VCR tapes, record players, and rotary phones lie in great mounds. READ MORE
Since Apple released the iPhone four years ago and sparked a craze for the little black box, we’ve learned much about who owns one, right down to their sex lives. (iPhone users generally have twice as much sex as Android users, according to OKCupid’s research at least.) Now we know they are also more open to mobile-payment technology, according to a survey that YouGov, a British research firm, released Monday. READ MORE
The 45,000 striking Verizon workers returned to work Tuesday after stepping out for nearly two weeks. The communication juggernaut reached an agreement with the two unions Saturday morning, and the feuding sides agreed to extend the terms of the old contract indefinitely while renewing negotiations for a new labor deal. READ MORE
Planning world domination is a tricky thing. It was tough for Pinky and the Brain. One can only imagine, then, the pressures on AT&T as the company attempts to move full steam ahead with plans to acquire Qualcomm’s 700Mhz spectrum for $1.9 billion while at the same time manage the takeover of T-Mobile. Tough work, indeed. READ MORE
While Android is winning the overall market share of smartphone OS, a study by mobile ad network Jumptap breaks down state by state where Google’s mobile platform remains king. READ MORE
On Wednesday T-Mobile launched new Small Business Value Rate Plans, including one for $45 a month per line for unlimited talk, text and data, with the first 5 GB doled out on full speed. That offer expires November 1, requires a two-year contract and business federal tax ID number, and has a limit of 99 voice lines per account. The company, which says it is strengthening its support for small business, is also refreshing its small business web site and rolling out dedicated in-store merchandising and customer support for small business customers in retail stores nationwide. READ MORE
The much-ballyhooed deal between Sprint Nextel and LightSquared, the upstart 4G network company, has finally come to fruition, the two companies announced Thursday. Both companies settled on a 15-year agreement that includes spectrum hosting and network services, 4G wholesale, and 3G roaming. READ MORE
Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. is sitting pretty these days, thanks to Carl Icahn, its largest, and most outspoken, shareholder. Icahn is urging the company to explore options of capitalizing on its massive patent portfolio, following a $4.5 billion deal for Nortel Networks Corp.’s patents, notes AllThingsD. Motorola Mobility is among a group of companies (including Apple and Research in Motion) that recently picked up thousands of Nortel’s patents. Icahn is urging the company to “maximize monetization,” note The Wall Street Journal’s Spencer E. Ante and Lauren Pollock, particularly on patents relating to 4G technologies. In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, last week, Icahn said that Motorola’s patent holdings are “substantially larger” than Nortel’s. Read more at AllThingsD.
If you’re looking to get your hands on an HP Touchpad, know that AT&T will be providing the broadband: HP announced on Thursday that the Touchpad will be available exclusively on AT&T’s network in the United States. READ MORE
Jail-breakers of the world unite! Well, not so fast. Engadget’s Brad Molen reports that HTC will begin rolling out bootloaders in August to the global HTC Sensation, with the Sensation 4G on T-Mobile and EVO 3D on Sprint to follow. The release is a two-step process that involves first a “maintenance release” to the phones, then the release of the unlocking tool in early September. READ MORE
