April 1 - 2:40am EDT   (Updated with pricing information) Sprint and Samsung Mobile on Tuesday evening announced the much-rumored Samsung Instinct s30, a thinner, more streamlined successor to the Samsung Instinct touchscreen phone that debuted last summer. The updated Instinct s30 offers full touchscreen functionality, broadband speeds using Sprint's 3G network, and services such as built-in instant messaging, improved Web-browsing using either the default browser or Opera Mini 4.2, and new games such as “Guitar Hero® – World Tour” and “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader” preloaded. The Instinct s30, available in two color options -- Cobalt blue or Copper, also includes quick access to corporate ... [full story]

March 19 - 3:20pm EDT   A cross-party bill has been submitted in the US Congress this week that would at least temporarily ban additional taxes on cellphones or their service. The Cellphone Tax Fairness Act, sponsored by California Democrat representative Zoe Lofgren and Arizona Republican Trent Franks, would prevent any form of "discriminatory" state tax being applied to the technology for five years after the bill is passed. It wouldn't affect existing state taxes or new federal taxes. [full story]

December 19 - 2:10pm EST   The CTIA finished its week by publishing the final use conditions for a service that should enable more than two-way simple communication by phone. Called Mobile Enhanced Messaging, the format would allow three or more users to maintain an ongoing conversation; like SMS and MMS, this would work through either text alone or with extra media, including audio, photos, videos and other future content. Similar to instant messaging, users could keep buddy lists and would also have the option of a cosmetic display name rather than a strict user ID. [full story]

April 14 - 4:05pm EDT   The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association today lent support to a movement for new wireless standards by asking that the US government officially license white space frequencies. The organization, which typically represents carriers, is opposing attempts by the Google-backed White Space Coalition to develop and used devices with the deliberately blank spectrum on grounds that the technology could create problems for existing services. By leaving little to no gap between one frequency band and another, new companies using the service could create interference on existing services or cut out space that could be used for background portions of established, ... [full story]