May 16 - 1:05pm EDT   Research in Motion's anticipated BlackBerry Bold cellphone may already have prices and dates for all major US carriers, a report claims. According to a supplied chart, the AT&T version will ship first in July, at a cost of $300; the T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon versions are all scheduled for September at the same price level, with the exception of the T-Mobile device, which is $50 extra. This may be attributable to contract plans not revealed in the chart. [full story]

May 15 - 8:10pm EDT   Sprint and Samsung on Thursday announced that the two companies are set to take advantage of the former company's recently finalized WiMax network in Baltimore and Washington later this year. Samsung's Express Card E100 and Q1 Ultra Premium Mobile PC have both been used to test the network heavily, and are expected to launch with Sprint's XOHM service. The announcement follows the company's April 2008 tests of interoperability of different vendors' devices. [full story]

May 15 - 4:40pm EDT   Sprint will soon sell a Novatel 3G modem that properly supports the MacBook Air's USB opening, if a spec sheet for the device obtained by Phone Arena proves accurate. The US carrier is reportedly set to launch the as-yet unannounced Novatel U680, an extra-thin USB modem which is explicitly compatible with the Air's slot. Novatel's device would support Sprint's faster EVDO Revision A network and is labeled in the leak as a "zero install" adapter that automatically loads drivers for most operating systems. Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows would all be served by the device. [full story]

May 15 - 2:05pm EDT   Alltel will use Long Term Evolution (LTE) for its next-generation phone network, according to statements made during a conference call discussing the provider's latest financial results. Company chief Scott Ford explained that the technology is Alltel's pick and that LTE will have a "significant" installed base for the company's cellular network within the next three to five years. Ford doesn't say when Alltel will start its rollout, but notes that there is no short-term budget and that nothing will be underway until at least 2009. [full story]

May 14 - 12:00pm EDT   Virgin Mobile USA today confirmed that it was in the early stages of talks with SK Telecom to investigate "strategic opportunities" between the two companies. The revelation partly rebuffs denials by SKT of involvement with Virgin but doesn't provide more details as to the nature of the talks beyond the statement. There are no guarantees that anything will result from negotiations, Virgin claims. The company adds that it has no plans to add more detail unless any deal is struck. [full story]

May 14 - 8:45am EDT   AT&T's cellular Internet access will be more than five times faster in 2009 than it is this year, the company's mobility chief Ralph de la Vega said today at Morgan Stanley's annual Communications Conference. The executive says that the company's HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) network will be improved from the theoretical peak downloads of 3.6 megabits per second common across most of the network today to about 20 megabits per second in 2009. [full story]

May 14 - 12:55am EDT   Sprint is currently facing a heavy decision on what to do with the Nextel network, whether it should continue to invest in it, turn it into a standalone company, or simply cease operating the Nextel brand altogether. MocoNews writes that Sprint CEO Dan Hesse recently gave a bit of insight to shareholders, saying that he does not see the iDEN network (which currently is only in use by Sprint) disappearing in the near future, and insists it is the best primary choice for network service. Hesse expects that Motorola would continue to support the technology, even with the company's current wireless problems. [full story]

May 13 - 8:20pm EDT   With the highly anticipated 3G iPhone release expected next month, a test from ComputerWorld shows AT&T's 3G data network is faster than Sprint's and Verizon's. The magazine test, published on Tuesday, summarized the 3G data networks from each cellular network provider that currently offers the high-speed data service in the US, which can be up to three times faster than the EDGE network. The author used a Lenovo ThinkPad X300 and outfitted it with a cellular data network cards from AT&T (LaptopConnect), Sprint (Mobile Broadband) and Verizon (BroadBandAccess). Each was timed for establishing a connection, peak and average download speeds, average upload speeds, the ... [full story]

May 12 - 10:30am EDT   AT&T will be the first to carry the BlackBerry Bold when it goes on sale this summer, the company confirmed today. Company official John Kampfe says the provider will be the "only" one in the US to offer the phone and will carry the Bold in the summer. As it's the only model to support WCDMA, it will also be the only BlackBerry to roam properly in Japan, Korea, and other countries that don't support either regular CDMA or GSM phone calls. [full story]

May 12 - 7:55am EDT   Sprint this morning reported its results for the first quarter of 2008 and has revealed continued severe losses in its cellular business. The carrier says its net revenue declined nine percent year-over-year to $9.3 billion and that it lost a total 1.09 million wireless customers in the most recent period. The company says the poor results were "expected" but that it's continuing to rework its strategy, including more focused advertising, cost reductions, and larger strategic decisions. Its news last week of a team-up with Clearwire for nationwide WiMAX also points to a turnaround, according to the company. [full story]

May 9 - 12:15pm EDT   HTC's Touch Diamond smartphone has already appeared at the FCC through a filing published today. Though the phone was only announced as shipping for the second half of 2008 in North America, the device has already been passed through the US agency for approval in the US, including its operating frequencies and placement of an FCC label. [full story]

May 9 - 9:40am EDT   Sprint today lived up to a late leak and began offering the BlackBerry Curve 8330 online. The carrier's version of the smartphone is unique to the US in its titanium gray color and also includes relatively unique software support, including access to the Sprint Music Store for downloads and Sprint's streaming Internet TV. Pitched as a media phone, the device also includes a 1GB microSD card for handling music and videos. [full story]

May 8 - 2:30pm EDT   Verizon has released a second phone today with the final launch of the Moto Q 9c. Like the version already making its way to Sprint and Telus, the 9c is more business-oriented than the Q 9m already in service at Verizon and uses the standard Windows Mobile 6 front end rather than a custom media layer. The switch gives the device DocumentsToGo for editing most Office documents on the road. [full story]

May 8 - 12:05pm EDT   Sprint is ready to deploy the BlackBerry Curve 8330 on Friday, May 9th, a flyer reveals, setting the no-contract price for the device at $600. BGR notes that the advertisement also reveals that the versatile handset is also available for $180, pending a two-year contract, $170 instant rebate, with a $100 mail-in rebate, discounting the unit by $420. The page also lists several accessories for the device, such as a swivel belt clip kit, headsets, and more. [full story]

May 8 - 11:00am EDT   T-Mobile's US division today reported a milestone first quarter of 2008. The communications company says that its first results of the new year added 981,000 wireless subscribers to its overall pool, giving the company more than 30 million subscribers for the first time. Churn, or the number of customers lost during the period, was flat year-over-year and dropped slightly for customers on contracts from 1.9 percent in early 2007 to 1.7 percent in the same time span this year. [full story]