Verizon finally aired their first ever commercial for their upcoming LTE network during last night’s Sunday Night Football. The Stephen Spielberg-esque ad ad features a lightning bolt delivered by snail mail, and confirms rumors that the network is “coming in December.” As previously noted, Verizon’s initial launch next month will be fairly significant, the 5-12 Mbps service covering 38 markets (roughly one third of the population) and 60 airports right out of the gate. We’re still waiting on Verizon to reveal their pricing for the speedier service, which as of last week the company still claimed they weren’t sure of.

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Buoyed by the recent ITU declaration that nobody is technically deploying a 4G network here in the States, T-Mobile recently kicked off a new marketing campaign proclaiming that the carrier has the “largest 4G network.”

One cornerstone of the new campaign is apparently making fun of AT&T’s network, which has seen more than its fair share of criticism the last few years due to performance issues in markets like New York and San Francisco. Recent commercials portray AT&T as a balding, middle aged man weighing down the iPhone 4, and the latest ad in the series airing this week certainly isn’t flattering. AT&T got into a feud with Verizon last year about ads mocking AT&T 3G coverage (they even filed suit), but so far hasn’t had anything to say about T-Mobile’s campaign.

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Ars Technica directs our attention to a new New American Foundation report that found that United States and Canadian consumers consistently pay significantly more for wireless service. The study tracked prepaid, unlimited, and postpaid plans in 11 countries, and found that the U.S. and Canada were consistently the most expensive for complete plans (SMS/Voice/Data) and SMS. The U.S. fares slightly better in mobile data, ranging from thoroughly mediocre to very pricey:

In the case of unlimited data plans, the U.S. is in the middle tier of service rates. The U.S. offers a plan of $29.99 per month which is cheaper than Canada ($72.90/month), Japan ($52.60/month) and Hong Kong ($38.00/month). On the contrary, Sweden offers much cheaper unlimited data plans for $13.80 per month, followed by India ($19.00/month), and Taiwan ($26.60/month). For prepaid data plans, the U.S. has the most expensive rate at $10.24 per MB, whereas India offers $0.0004/MB, $0.43/MB in South Korea and $0.50/MB in the U.K. Several other countries that also have cheaper rates are $1.64/MB in Taiwan and $1.70 in Denmark.

It’s not entirely clear what guided the Foundation’s 11-country selection, or why countries like France and Spain were left out of the analysis. It’s also not clear how much a broader sample base would help, given that several studies have shown that Canadian and U.S. consumers tend to pay consistently more for lower quality wired and wireless service than many developed countries. We’re going to go out on a limb and guess that these prices don’t include all of the assorted fees, taxes, and “unfees” carriers tack on below the line.

Link to the original article…

After the Verizon data overcharge, how AT&T is still the only place you can get an Apple iPhone without having to do something illegal, among other complaints, observations and gripes with cellphone carriers in the United States they all suck in one way or another, it seems like U.S. Cellular is trying to reverse that with their recently unveiled “The Belief Project”…

Some highlights of The Belief Project:

• We’re the first carrier to eliminate the need for post-pay customers to continuously sign contracts. With the new “One and Done” contract policy, new customers who fulfill an initial two-year commitment with U.S. Cellular never have to sign a contract again.
• Loyal customers have become accustomed to new customers getting the best deals. At U.S. Cellular, all of our post-pay customers can earn Belief Points simply for being a customer. The points can be redeemed for things they actually want: phone upgrades, additional lines, accessories, ringtones and forgiveness of overage charges.
• Customers are automatically enrolled and start receiving points when they sign up for any U.S. Cellular Belief Plan. There are no fees, blackout dates or expiration, and points are easy to redeem in-store, online or by calling customer service. Belief Points are earned based on a customer’s monthly plan, the number of lines on the account, and how long they’ve been a customer.

As you can see, we believe we are differentiating ourselves in an industry with little differentiation amongst customers.

With reward points being given to users that actively decide, not being forced to stay due to contracts or other incentives that actually cost people more than just outright buying an unlocked phone – number portability does not equate to freedom – this sounds like a seriously great step in the right direction.

Way to go U.S. Cellular. Let’s hope that other companies take note and try to actually reward their customers instead of making them feel like they’re locked into a contract that serves only the company and not the person. Take a look around and see if you’re in their coverage areas.

[ Links: The Belief Project ]

OtterBox has popped out another case for the Apple iPhone 4, this time part of their Commuter Series.

The OtterBox Commuter Series offers three sleek layers of security to complement the iPhone 4’s thin design. First, a self-adhering screen protector keeps the Multi-Touch display screen safe from scratches. Next, a silicone mid-layer absorbs shock, keeping the glass panels safe from bumps and shock. Finally, a polycarbonate shell provides added strength and helps the device slide easily in and out of a pocket or purse. The Commuter Series offers coverage for the iPhone 4 power button, volume rocker and home button, while silicone plugs for the charging port and headphone jack keep out dust and dirt but flip open for easy access.

With a good layer of protection on the sides, this is yet another way to avoid Apple’s “Antennagate” and the dreaded “death grip” where you lose all of your signal. Priced at $34.95.

[ Links: OtterBox ]

If you have a WebOS, Apple iPhone, BlackBerry or Google Android OS based smartphone; it’s a safe bet that you’re always on the lookout for the best application that will extend your smartphone ability. And for all of the aforementioned operating systems for the various smartphones out there, there are some good apps and some are utter crap.

Whether you’re toting an iPhone, Droid, BlackBerry, or Palm Pre, it’s the apps that make your smartphone brilliant. And the app scene is booming. The iPhone still leads the app race, with more than 225,000 apps, but developers are churning out apps for other platforms as well. Google’s Android Market now has over 60,000 apps. Palm’s App Catalog for the Pre and Pixi has risen from hundreds to more than 2,000 apps during the past several months alone. And there are thousands of apps for BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Symbian phones.

PCMag.com has compiled a great list of 100 free apps for your smartphone broken down into: The Top 40 Free iPhone Apps; The Top 30 Free Google Android Apps; The Top 10 Free BlackBerry Apps; The Top 10 Free Palm webOS Apps; The Top 5 Free Symbian Apps; and The Top 5 Free Windows Phone Apps. What, no mention of Maemo!? Check it out now.

[ Links: PC Mag 100 Best Free Apps ]

Callpod, the makers of cellphone accessories like the Chargepod have announced their own long-range Bluetooth 2.0 headsets:

The Onyx and Vetro Bluetooth® headsets both offer a 164 ft (50m) range, which allows users to extend the boundaries of traditional headsets. It allows users to roam around the office or home without being tethered to their cell phone. The Onyx and Vetro can also simultaneously connect to your PC or Mac for Skype® calls, allowing you to switch between your computer and mobile phone with a press of a button. In addition, the headsets have advanced dual-mic noise suppression™, which allows callers on the other end of the call to enjoy a strong clear voice even if the user is in the car, airport, restaurant or at the office.

The Onyx and Vetro can be used with other Vetro, Onyx or Dragon V2 headsets for two-way or push to talk communication over a 84,000+ sq ft space. The new headset takes about 3 hours to fully charge via USB port or outlet and provides up to 5 hours talk time and over 120 hours on standby.

Armed with good looks and extended range as well as noise-suppression, the Onyx and Vetro are also priced aggressively too. The Onyx is currently available for $69.95 and the Vetro is currently available for $99.95. Both are compatible with all Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones, PDAs VoIP products and computers.

[ Links: Callpod ]

While Verizon’s LTE plans have gotten a lot of press, specific details (especially pricing) on the service have been limited – outside of the fact the service will launch in 25-30 markets sometime this year, at speeds somewhere between 5-12 Mbps downstream. But like AT&T – Verizon does continue to hint at new pricing that moves beyond the concept of unlimited bytes. Speaking at an investor’s conference this week, Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam suggested that the company would offer one plan (or one bucket of bytes) that would connect multiple devices. “I think this concern over unlimited megabytes on a smartphone will go away as we bring new devices and new applications onboard,” insists McAdam.

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Verizon has unveiled their plans to join the cable industry’s “TV Everywhere” initiative – which involves offering paying TV customers (only) the ability to watch some paywalled content online. The industry believes the idea will help them prevent “cord cutters” – or those who turn to Internet video as an alternative to those now often bi-annual TV rate hikes. Verizon says their TV Everywhere offering will arrive in June, and will initially include access to all TNT and TBS shows – assume you subscribe to both FiOS Internet and TV:

FiOS customers who subscribe to both FiOS TV and FiOS Internet will be able to watch the programs on their personal computers or laptops – at home or away – using any broadband connection. Using their Verizon Online user names and passwords, FiOS customers will be able to access the online programming at either www.verizon.com/fiostvonline or soon-to-be launched TNT and TBS websites. After successfully completing their initial login, consumers do not need to sign in again for up to 30 days. Online programming from additional content providers also will be accessible via FiOS TV Online or the provider websites.

Of course Verizon doesn’t want to offer this content to just their Internet customers – lest they cannibalize their own TV revenues. According to the company, access to this content via mobile devices is something that’s in the works.

Link to the original article…

Sprint alerted Forbes that the carrier’s first Mobile WiMax handset will launch in the first half of this year. Given the fact that the Sprint/Clearwire Mobile WiMax network has a limited reach of 27 U.S. markets, most of them little, the device will of course be dual mode – switching to Sprint’s EVDO network when Mobile WiMax isn’t available. It’s also rumored to be the HTC Supersonic, an Android-based phone that’s been gossiped about by gadget nerds since January.

Clearwire is going to need to quadruple their footprint in 2010 in order to meet their goal of serving 120 million customers by the end of the year, including the mega markets of New York and San Francisco. Later this year the 4G race begins to get more interesting, as Verizon begins launching LTE service in between twenty five and thirty markets.

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At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Communology, a Cologne, Germany-based software house specializing in mobile applications, aims to dispel the myth that sophisticated applications can only run on smart phones.

The company will be showing LiveMedia C³ Cubical and LiveMedia Visual Voicemail, new software clients that also support feature phones and Java ME, the dominant platform in the medium-priced mobile segment. With its smart Java apps, Communology is targeting the needs of mobile operators that want to present richer offerings to the mass market.

LiveMedia C³ Cubical for Java unites a range of different web services and mobile communication applications on its Connected Home Screen. Cubical offers users easy access to telephony, e-mail, SMS, MMS, visual voicemail, instant messaging (IM) communities, and social networks. With its Connected Phone Book, the application also provides a central contact management tool that supports every available communication channel: Besides data from the device’s own phone book, it can incorporate instant messaging and social network contacts and even show contacts’ presence status.

With LiveMedia Visual Voicemail for Java, Communology makes its exceptionally easy-to-use client software available to users of the widespread Java platform and mid priced feature phones. Communology also ensures interoperability with the various voicemail servers used by operators and can provide implementation services and, if required, patent licenses, all from a single source.

Link to the original article…

In a move that is equal parts “about time” and “how in the heck will they do it”, VMware has announced that they are working on mobile OS virtualization for the smartphones that are always growing in processing power and capabilities.

VMware has flagged smartphones as the next platform in the evolution of virtualization, but at least one major competitor, Microsoft, says that it sees no demand for the technology.

Speaking to Computerworld, Srinivas Krishnamurti, VMware’s head of mobile phone virtualisation said the company’s vision for virtualization on smartphones went beyond the basic dual-boot prototypes currently in development to one that ran both a private and work operating system and profile at the same time.

“We don’t think dual booting will be good enough – we’ll allow you to run both profiles at the same time and be able to switch between them by clicking a button,” he said. “You’ll be able to get and make calls in either profile – work or home – as they will both be live at any given point in time.”

Even though the example(s) show Microsoft WinMo and Android, if down the road it means that I can run Maemo 5/6 on the Nokia N900 and run an instance of Mobile OS X – the OS that’s on the iPhone – or Google Android or even Microsoft WinMo… I’ve found a project that would allow me to use different browsers, connectivity, or features that aren’t always on my phone of choice. Can’t wait to see what happens with this. No announcement on availability.

[ Links: Computer World Australia, VMware ]