T-Mobile Offers iPhone Users Micro SIM Card To Access Service

 by Todd Wasserman

T-Mobile this week began offering a Micro SIM card that lets iPhoneusers access the network.

The card, available here, carries a $9.99 suggested retail price, but is free with a two-year contract with the carrier. iPhone users have been able to access T-Mobile with an unlocked iPhone since June.

Roger Entner, an analyst with Recon Analytics, says iPhone users can access T-Mobile by getting a normal SIM card cut to a Micro SIM card at phone shops.

iPhone users on T-Mobile don’t get access to a 3G network and can’t use Apple’s visual voicemail. Despite those limitations, T-Mobile claims to have more than 1 million iPhone users on its network.

Meanwhile, AT&T is in the process of purchasing T-Mobile. Even if that comes to pass, T-Mobile promises to offer the same plans it does now — rather than AT&T’s service plans — for a year or so. Piper Jaffray analyst Chris Larson also said earlier this month that the iPhone 5 will be available to T-Mobile and Sprint.

AT&T fires back in Verizon iPhone ad bout

By Mark Milian, CNN (CNN) -- A complicated love triangle is playing out on television. This one isn't taking place on soap operas, but instead in commercials from AT&T and Verizon Wireless about Apple's iPhone. AT&T will begin running a new ad on national TV during prime time Friday night, a spokesman said. The commercial shows a businessman using an iPhone and touts the ability to be on a call and search the Web simultaneously. The company has posted the ad to YouTube, a video it's calling Answer.This comes in response to the upcoming release of Verizon's iPhone 4 on Thursday. Some analysts say the largest U.S. network partnering with Apple could lure many defectors from AT&T, which was previously the exclusive carrier for the iPhone. In interviews and on commercials, AT&T is defending the loss of iPhone exclusivity by boasting of competitive advantages, including talk-and-surf and international use. Apple and AT&T have previously run commercials focused on the former feature. Verizon Wireless has already begun running ad campaigns to promote the new phone. The company began accepting preorders from current customers Thursday, and those supplies have already been exhausted. The most recent ad features Verizon's glasses-wearing mascot answering an iPhone, saying, "Yes, I can hear you now." It's an overt play on criticisms of AT&T's network.Meanwhile, Apple, ever the cordial and promiscuous lover, is running a commercial called Waltz, which shows the two carriers' phones side by side doing the same tasks. Apple's conclusion: "Two is better than one."

Verizon iPhone: The reviews are in

Posted by Philip Elmer-DeWitt

The verdict is unanimous: It's slower than AT&T's, but it rarely drops calls

Source: Verizon

Pre-orders for the Verizon (VZ) iPhone began Thursday, and deliveries will begin next week, but Apple (AAPL) made review copies available to its favorite publications -- before Verizon's network might suffer, like AT&T's (T) did, the strain of a few million new bandwidth hogs.

With that caveat, a sampling of the reviews:

• The New York Times' David Pogue: "To answer everyone's question, the Verizon iPhone is nearly the same as AT&T's iPhone 4 — but it doesn't drop calls. For several million Americans, that makes it the holy grail.
• The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg: "What about the trade-offs? Chief among them is data speed... despite a few Verizon victories here and there, AT&T's network averaged 46% faster at download speeds and 24% faster at upload speeds."

• TechCrunch's MG Siegler: "Yesterday, I made a 45-minute phone call from my office. This seemingly unremarkable statement is remarkable for two reasons. First, I was able to place a call from my office — something which was impossible for me to do a week prior. Second, I made it through the entire 45-minutes without the call being dropped once. Again, this was impossible a week prior."
• Bloomberg Businessweek's Rich Jaroslovsky: "There are two significant drawbacks to the Verizon iPhone. One is that, unlike the AT&T version, you can't talk and access the Internet over the 3G connection at the same time. So you can't, for instance, check movie times while you're on a call with a friend... The other drawback is that CDMA, which was developed by Qualcomm Corp., is far less widely used outside the U.S. than is the standard AT&T uses, which is known as GSM. So if you need to use your phone internationally, AT&T may make more sense."
• Daring Fireball's John Gruber: "The hotspot feature works so well that I can't really see paying for a 3G iPad again. I'd rather have a Wi-Fi-only iPad and my iPhone's hotspot, when needed, than pay $15 a month for a 3G data service that only works on the iPad itself."

Still unclear is when the Wi-Fi hotspot feature will get turned on for AT&T iPhone customers, and what it will cost..

Led by Atrix, no shortage of new Androids

By Mark Milian, CNN

(CNN) -- The Verizon iPhone train started rolling this week, but Apple's main smartphone competitors aren't about to be left at the station.

This week, cellular carriers released details about a trio of upcoming smartphones, all of which run an older version of Google's Android operating system.

AT&T announced a March 6 release deadline for the Atrix 4G, a Motorola Mobility "transformer" phone that grabbed the spotlight at the Consumer Electronics Show last month.

With a speedy dual-core processor inside, the Arix can be used as a media center or limited-function PC when connected to a television or monitor using a dock accessory. Motorola will also sell a laptop shell that allows the Atrix to essentially convert into a sort of netbook, complete with a keyboard.

New details about the much-anticipated Atrix came on the same day Verizon Wireless began letting current customers pre-order the iPhone 4, formerly exclusive to AT&T in the U.S.

At $200 with a two-year contract, the Atrix will be among the first to run on AT&T's faster data network and carry the "4G" branding.The Atrix, an AT&T exclusive, will be available for pre-order starting on February 13.

On the same day, AT&T will begin selling another so-called 4G phone.The second-largest U.S. carrier by subscribers announced the launch date and a $100 price tag, two-year agreement required, for HTC's Inspire 4G. That info came on Tuesday, kicking off a big week for smartphone news. The Inspire has a 4.3-inch screen -- the same large size as the Evo 4G.

The new device will be the inaugural smartphone to offer AT&T's Mobile Hotspot service.Having long struggled to support the bandwidth needs of its millions of smartphone subscribers, AT&T lags behind competitors in offering this feature. Customers will have to pay an extra $20 per month to use the feature, which adds 2 gigabytes of wireless internet usage, the carrier said on Wednesday.

T-Mobile USA, the fourth-largest U.S. network, said on Tuesday that it expects to begin selling the Galaxy S 4G from Samsung Electronics this month. It's similar to Samsung's several other Android handsets, but this one is compatible with T-Mobile's faster data network.

All three of these new smartphones, strangely, come with a seven-month-old version of Android, called Froyo.Since releasing that version, Google launched another called Gingerbread, which powers a Samsung-made phone called the Nexus S. Google held a news conference on Wednesday to say developers are close to releasing the first device that will run thenext Android, called Honeycomb, this month.

Two years later, AT&T realizes Android's potential

CNET - by Scott Webster

After two years of lightly treading in the Android waters, AT&T is finally ready to start swimming for the deep end of the pool. And almost as if it were pure coincidence, the carrier's broader ambitions come into light as it prepares to lose exclusivity of the iPhone.

Looking ahead, AT&T has plenty of Android on the roadmap for 2011, confirmed by a recently leaked internal document. The details uncovered by Phandroid indicate that the carrier plans to offer at least 12 new devices in the coming year, including a pair of exclusive smartphones.

Looking at AT&T's current lineup of Android phones, it's hard to get very excited. Sure, the Captivate is a great device, but it doesn't stand out from the other Galaxy S models of its time. The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is fantastic hardware, but it's hindered by the outdated software. The rest of the roster is a lesson in smartphone mediocrity with assorted handsets from HTC and Motorola.

The near future looks to take sharp turn for the positive, however, with three new phones deserving of your attention. Just as CES was kicking off in early January, the carrier unveiled the Motorola Atrix 4G, the HTC Inspire 4G, and Samsung Infuse 4G. A quick glance at their respective specs and it's obvious that AT&T is starting to "get" Android.

While any one of these would instantly rise to the top of their class, it's the Atrix 4G that really gets me excited. In fact, given its impressive hardware, I'd be willing to bet big money that this Atrix is one of the two exclusives that AT&T plans to get behind in 2011. Not only are we looking at a dual-core phone with laptop docking capabilities, but I'm also thinking it should carry a very attractive price point. A pair of recent sightings indicate the smartphone as carrying a $149 price tag once it arrives in late February or early March. And as for that laptop dock, Motorola may ask only $150 for it. So, for a shade under $300, you will be able to carry around an ultralight, yet powerful laptop, powered by Android.

Outside of the Atrix 4G, I might look for something out of Sony Ericsson. AT&T was the only provider to bring the Xperia X10 to the United States last year, so it seems fitting that they might offer the Xperia Arc. Sony Ericsson, much like AT&T, is looking for second chance at Android with its 2011 plans.

Of course, another possibility is the Xperia Play, aka the PlayStation phone, which is said to be right around the corner. Regardless of who makes the device or which particular one it might be, I have a renewed faith in AT&T. Let's hope the days of Backflips, Flipouts, and Flipsides truly are behind us.