July 2 - 4:15pm EDT   First spotted just over a month ago, the Nokia 6790 Surge got a one-month delay in its launch date at wireless provider AT&T. While an exact date is not announced, sources believe the phone, which used to go by the codename Mako, will appear sometime in mid-July. Some preliminary specs of the sliding QWERTY handset include a 2.4-inch, 240x320 display, and quad-band GSM and dual-band HSDPA support. The Surge is also one of a handful of mid-range Nokia phones equipped with the smartphone-grade Symbian S60 operating system. [full story]

July 2 - 2:55pm EDT   Sprint this week staked its ground and claimed it would be the first US carrier to have a 3G femtocell. The company was already the first American firm to have any kind of femtocell in the Samsung Airave but now says to Unstrung that it should beat AT&T to having a device that can share 3G data with the home, improving reception for some smartphones and other devices that don't have their own Wi-Fi. Most current femtocells only boost voice service by creating a miniature cellular signal that pipes all data through a home Internet link. [full story]

July 2 - 12:35pm EDT   The iPhone 3GS launch on June 19th produced a "best-ever sales day" for AT&T's retail stores, a leaked memo is said to claim. The carrier similarly notes that it experienced its second-largest amount of one-day foot traffic, and the most transactions and upgrade eligibilities it has ever had to process. This comes despite also recording the largest-ever number of phone and feature orders through the AT&T website. [full story]

July 2 - 12:10pm EDT   HTC's Hero is likely bound for AT&T if an FCC filing is indicative of plans. The test entries show the phone using both the 850MHz and 1,900MHz bands that would be necessary for HSPA-based 3G on AT&T's network and which aren't present in the current version, which only recognizes Asia- and Europe-friendly 900MHz and 2,100MHz frequencies. [full story]

July 1 - 4:05pm EDT   AT&T on Wednesday announced it will soon begin offering the BlueAnt Q1 voice controlled Bluetooth headset at its retail locations and online store. The headset, first released at the start of April, has noise-cancelling functionality and allows users to control it via voice commands. Integrated multipoint technology lets users pair up the headset to up to two different handsets at the same time. [full story]

July 1 - 3:10pm EDT   Palm's UK event for the Pre will likely reveal O2 to be the sole carrier if tips are authentic. More than one source has told The Guardian that earlier rumors are true and that Palm is likely to imitate Apple's strategy for the island nation, which both gives O2 sole network rights and Carphone Warehouse the only third-party rights to sell the phone on O2's behalf. Reportedly, it has also echoed O2's coup for the iPhone by thwarting an attempt by Orange to land the same deal. [full story]

June 30 - 10:55am EDT   Verizon took top honors late Monday in a study of 3G data performance across the US. The tests, performed across 13 cities one day this past spring for PC World, show the carrier's EVDO-based network being the fastest with an average of 951Kbps downstream but also still fairly reliable with 89.8 percent of tests showing uninterrupted performance. Sprint was next closest with a significantly lower average speed of 808Kbps but higher reliability, at 90.5 percent. [full story]

June 30 - 7:55am EDT   Palm may have sold as many as 300,000 Pre phones in less than a month on sale, according to a investor's note by Charter Equity Research analyst Ed Snyder. He estimates that about 120,000 Pres were available on launch day but that these sold out within days and that about 15,000 examples of the multi-touch phone are being made every day, leading to the final estimate for the month. As many as 1 million phones could reach Sprint by the end of the first quarter of sales, which for Palm finishes at the end of August. [full story]

June 29 - 3:35pm EDT   Comcast on Monday marked the launch of its own 4G Internet access in the form of High-Speed 2go [currently a sign-in page]. The service depends on Clearwire's WiMAX network and supplies peak real-world speeds of about 4Mbps downstream anywhere within the coverage range. Like service from Clearwire or Sprint, it's not locked to a particular location and can be had either for mobile use or else as a fixed install at home. [full story]

June 26 - 12:35pm EDT   Sprint today took a more direct shot at Apple with the posting of a new print ad for the Palm Pre. The large one-page ad centers on the "perfect timing" of the Pre being available just as original iPhone contracts end and underscores the features Palm's phone handles best versus the iPhone, including true app multitasking, real-time notifications and smartphone plans that are potentially less expensive over the two-year span of a contract. [full story]

June 25 - 2:50pm EDT   Wireless provider AT&T remains on track for a national 3G femtocell launch before the end of 2009, according to a senior company executive speaking at a conference in London earlier this week. While a more defined date is not known, AT&T's launch will be the first UMTS-based 3G femto service in the US. The service is already being tested by some 200 users thanks to trials of 3G MicroCell home stations. [full story]

June 25 - 1:25pm EDT   After days of silence on its presence, AT&T today formally launched its Mobile Remote Access app for the iPhone and iPod touch. The free software gives subscribers to the carrier's U-verse IPTV service control over their DVR units, including queuing up future recordings based on the TV schedule as well as deleting shows that are already stored on the set-top box. It can filter to only show favorites or HD content and can find shows based on metadata like an actor's name. [full story]

June 25 - 8:05am EDT   Sony Ericsson in a quiet launch has revealed the T715. The slider is aimed at the upper mid-range with 3G over HSPA, a 3.2-megapixel camera and a partly aluminum shell. Although it doesn't have fully independent GPS, the phone ships preloaded with Google Maps for basic navigation and will geotag photos. AccuWeather and YouTube apps are also onboard. [full story]

June 24 - 1:55pm EDT   Verizon chief Ivan Seidenberg last evening told late night show host Charlie Rose that his company didn't have control over the prospect of a 4G iPhone for its upcoming Long Term Evolution (LTE) network. The executive said it was "Apple's decision" as to whether or not it built a phone for the faster network and didn't comment on any possible agreements. Talks have been rumored underway for several months but, even if accurate, are potentially part of a pressure tactic to earn concessions from AT&T. [full story]

June 24 - 9:30am EDT   Sprint's continued shortages of the Palm Pre could lead to a massive spike in Palm's sales for its current quarter, RBC analyst Mark Abramsky reports in a new investment note today. The researcher esimates that 150,000 Pre smartphones have shipped so far and that as many as 550,000 could ship by the end of Palm's current quarter. Both are up significantly from earlier predictions and could offset a drop in Centro and Treo phone numbers to 258,000. [full story]