G-FI: "The World's First Wireless GPS Accessory for the iPhone"

Hot off the heels of yesterday's press event, PosiMotion is laying claim to the first wireless GPS accessory for the iPhone and iPod touch. I'm sure the built in locator and google maps program will be just fine for most, but the GPS add-on will actually be compatible with any device with a Wi-Fi connection, but will ship with software to allow for proper iPhone/iPod touch integration. The G-FI is said to be in the final stages of production, and it shall be released in the "next few months," whatever that means. In the meantime, make do with the rendering of the G-FI unit, which shows it running on the late Cingular network. PosiMotion, it's back to the Photoshop with ye. [G-FI; Thanks, Tony. M]

Wi-Fi Moto Q9 Unboxed, Heading to AT&T?

Boy Genius just got his hands on a new Moto Q9 that features Wi-Fi, AT&T branding and a slight color change. In addition to the hardware upgrade, the new Q9 is shipping with Windows Mobile 6.1, complete with a new user interface. Boy Genius notes the speediness of browsing online with the Q9 and seems generally impressed. I think Wilson would disagree. [Boy Genius Report]

Hype Sheet: What Happens in Vega$...

The Pitch We've seen this approach before, eh? Looks like one of those AT&T commercials in which a dropped call leads to an awkward situation—a mother spontaneously revealing her sexually licentious past, for example, or Roger Clemens pushing it one season too far. But this schlubby hubby's problem isn't poor reception. Rather, it's the fact that he's just lost $5,800 playing blackjack in Vegas—a revelation he conveniently buries midway through the conversation. His disgruntled, potato-peeling wife doesn't explode, but points out (correctly) that dear hubby seems to be a bloomin' idiot. Good thing the unhappy couple is taking advantage of AT&T's Rollover minutes—a promotion inherited from Cingular—or the call would be sinking them even further into debt. Why has AT&T forsaken its long-running "fewest dropped calls" pitch in favor of stressing its trademarked Rollover deal? More »

Official AT&T 8525 Windows Mobile 6 ROM Leaked

Just like the T-Mobile Dash Windows Mobile 6 Upgrade was leaked about a week before the real release, AT&T's 8525 update has just been dumped onto the internet as well. What does this mean to you? Two things. More »

AT&T Debuts Slender 3G Samsung a717 and a727

Slim and slick, the SGH-a717 is a flip phone with a 2 megapixel camera that costs $150 (with two-year contract and $50 mail-in rebate). Its sister, the SGH-a727, is a candy bar with 1.3 megapixel camera that costs $100 (with the same two-year yadda yadda). More »

Columbia Professor: "Open Up That Spectrum, Mr. FCC"

Right now to enter the wireless market, you pretty much have to go through of the Big Four wireless providers, who, as Columbia professor Tim Wu puts it, "tend to approve only established partners whose devices fit their business plans, which is why we have yet to see all those wireless devices that were supposed to be in our future." More »

AT&T Mobile Backup Secures Your Contacts

It's kind of a pain to back up the numbers in your phone even for people who know how, so imagine how your mother feels. Now you can skip the Google search to see if your phone's compatible with your computer by just using AT&T's Mobile Backup. More »

RAZR2 and The Four Carriers

I'm pretty excited about the new RAZR 2, and why shouldn't I be? It just launched today. One of the positive aspects that Ed Zander stressed during the unveiling is that the RAZR 2 will be out in two versions (EDGE and HSDPA) for GSM carriers and a third version (EVDO) for CDMA carriers. My guess, however, is that what we're really talking about are three (or four) utterly different RAZR 2 experiences, depending on what carrier you have. Follow the jump for a breakdown and a handy "clip n' save" chart. More »

Rumormania: Apple Putting 3G into MacBooks?

This rumor seems to come out of nowhere, but the combination of wishful thinking and high-end technology is what makes it so good. AppleInsider says a source told them Apple will integrate 3G access into a MacBook model. Other laptop makers have already introduced the trend into their business and "luxury" models, but Apple is supposedly integrating the card into the display, which saves space and increases performance. More »

Sizemodo: Helio Ocean vs. Everything (including iPhone)

We know you're itching for more Helio Ocean coverage, so here it is: a live Sizemodo of the Helio Ocean vs. every phone we have. First, we'll kick it off with a similar type of device: the slide-out QWERTY smartphone. In the middle we have the Helio Ocean, on the left there's the T-Mobile MDA, and on the right is the Cingular 8525. Which is bigger? Check the gallery to find out. More »

Samsung BlackJack Getting Windows Mobile 6 Update After June?

Nothing's certain yet, but rumor has it the BlackJack won't be getting a Windows Mobile 6 update until some time after June. AT&T users were probably counting on somewhat of an earlier update, seeing as T-Mobile's Dash already got theirs last week, but no such luck (supposedly) for now. Of course, this is from unofficial sources, so you may have better luck once AT&T actually makes an announcement for real. – Jason Chen More »

N75 Pricing: $100 or $150?

We know that the Nokia N75 is going to hit AT&T very soon now, but a tipster just dropped in a note about how much it's going to cost. He says the AT&T store cost is a little north of $300, so you can probably expect about $100 or $150 to be the price you'll pay with a two-year contract agreement. Not too bad a price, actually. – Jason Chen More »

AT&T and HTC Update the 8525 (Sorry, Not WM6)

We were pretty bummed to see that AT&T and HTC America released an update for the Cingular 8525 that wasn't a Windows Mobile 6 ROM. But if you've been waiting for bug fixes (like Daylight Saving Time) along with Cingular Video, AT&T Music, Push-to-Talk and BlackBerry Connect support, this is the update for you. More »

Cingular Offers Blackberry Outage Rebates

Remember that time when your Blackberry didn't work? You know, when that important Glengarry lead emailed you interested in investment services? And when you didn't write back all Hell broke loose. You lost the client, your job, your wife/car/house/lap dog. More »

Palm Treo 750 Will Be Upgradeable to Windows Mobile 6 Later This Year, Adding HSDPA

In case anyone cared, it's now official. That is all. – Jason Chen More »

Palm Treo 750 Runs Windows Mobile 6 Pretty Well

Cingular users who picked up a Palm Treo 750 will be glad to know that the phone runs Windows Mobile 6 with very little trouble. Ciccone over at Mobility Today got his hands on an engineering sample from HTC and made this video of the phone using WM6 instead of WM5. More »

AT&T/Cingular Denying Free Conference Calls to Subscribers

If you've had to do phone conferencing at work, you're probably familiar with these free conference services that AT&T/Cingular has just decided to block. The company claims that these services, many of which are terminated (the end point of the call) in a call exchange in Iowa that has a 712 area code. The local carriers of this exchange are charging an "exorbitant" amount of money for AT&T to pipe their calls through—enough so that AT&T's even filed sue against them. More »

Dealzmodo: Make $25 Buying a Samsung Blackjack

Amazon has a pretty good deal on the Samsung Blackjack. After all is said and done Amazon will pay you $25 to take this phone. Sign up for next Cingular service, or extend your contract to receive this phone for $50. Tack on a $75 mail-in-rebate to earn some free money. If you stroll into a Cingular store to pick up this phone it will cost $200, even after a ball-binding contract and mail-in-rebate. –Travis Hudson More »

NYT Trendspotting: Everyone's Copying the Apple Store

Leaping from the introduction of the new AT&T Experience store (pictured anticlimactically above), which aims to shove all of the services offered by the hydra company in your face within the confines of a single space (the AT&T experience, no doubt), to Verizon's own innovatively named Verizon Experience store, which coincidentally pushes every Verizon product ever made at you, the NYT concludes that they're both "reading from the [sic] Apple's playbook." Hmm. No. More »

Confessions of a Cellphone Sales Rep

Red Shoe Diaries this is not, but if you ever wanted to know the hidden workings of that Sprint, T-Mobile, Cingular, Verizon, or Alltel store you pass by on the way scope out the girls at Forever 21 at the mall, the Consumerist has you covered. More »

Forbes Analyst: 10 Million iPhones? Good Luck

Taesik Yoon, an analyst over at Forbes, rolls off why investors shouldn't gleefully pump money into Apple stock betting on the iPhone to return their investment in gold bullion. A lot of it's familiar—high price point, ill fit with the smart phone market despite its potential growth—but some of it's a bit newish. More »

Red BlackBerry Pearl Coming to Cingular

The BlackBerry Pearl bandwagon is filling up quicker than a two headed goose during a lunar eclipse (yeah, that made sense), but those few that haven't switched over may want to hold off if you don't want to look like every other Pearl maniac. Mr. Bits, our always savvy Cingular tipster, said that the BlackBerry Pearl 8100 Red appeared on a pricing sheet at his Cingular store. BlackBerry has already done black, and white—why not red? Can I request a hot pink model, pretty pretty please? Image is not the actual red Pearl—just a mockup. Thanks, Mr. Bits –Travis Hudson

Nokia N75 Hitting Cingular This Month?

Nokia has done a good job of keeping their N75 under the radar, but the Boy Genius is putting the spotlight right back on the Symbian-based phone reporting that it could make its debut as early as this month. The N75 would be Cingular's first 3G Nokia phone toting around a 2MP lens and MP3-playing capabilities. No word on pricing, but BGR has a full unboxing gallery to keep you at bay till Cingular makes it official. – Louis Ramirez More »

Unofficial Windows Mobile 6 for HTC Hermes (Cingular 8525)

If you've got an HTC Hermes, TyTN or Cingular 8525, today's your lucky day. The guys on the XDA Dev Forums have hacked together a bunch of Windows Mobile 6 code together to make a version that works on your phone. It's very unofficial, to be sure, and is missing stuff like voice calling, PTT, Live! Mobile, Smart Dialing and Windows Mobile Update. More »

F'd Up Rumor: Cingular's iPhone Exclusive Only Valid for 2 Weeks (File Under Bullshit)

If no one believes this rumor, why are we writing about it? Because it's freaking INSANE. Cult of Mac has a self admittedly frigtarded, but nonetheless entertaining rumor that Cingular's exclusive hold on the iPhone will only last 14 days. After their time's up, every carrier (except Verizon, of course) will have the coveted phone in their arsenal. The rumor comes via a "leak" from a T-Mobile employee who claims they'll have the iPhone two weeks after Cingular's exclusive expires. Sounds more like a case of jealousy to me. – Louis Ramirez More »

Apple Releases More Support For EV-DO/HSDPA Cards

If you check your Apple software update today, you can see Apple's jsut put up an update for various Novatel EV-DO and HSDPA cards. Why is this important? Because we know firsthand how good the Sprint Novatel cards performed at CES. More »

Cingular BlackBerry 8800 in Stores

If the Boy Genius is right, it looks like RIM's newly minted BlackBerry 8800 will be in Cingular stores across the country any second now. BG has a full unboxing up at his site along with a few notes on the device's performance. I gotta say, I never considered myself a BlackBerry kinda guy, buy having played with one at 3GSM I'll admit to wanting to take one home. I didn't find it to be that much of a fingerprint magnet as others have reported, but the keyboard, interface, and trackball were spot on. Any of you guys spotted one in stores yet? – Louis Ramirez More »

WSJ Pulp Skim: Apple to Partake in Monthly Revenues on iPhone Voice and Data Plans

Steve Jobs, ever the David Copperfield of the industry, performs his latest trick: Reaming the assholes who usually ream us! More »

$399 iPhone Rumor: Cingular's Rate Plans Leaked? (LOL)

Who wants some probably BS iPhone rumors?! I know you do. Above is an ad that's probably fake for Cingular's iPhone plans. Seeing Cingular will be officially AT&T by the time the iPhone hits, this seems unlikely. Also, this thing barely qualifies as a Photoshop — put some effort in next time, guys. But hey, who are we to not pass it along to you to judge for yourself? More »

Did Verizon Turn its Back on the iPhone?

We all know Cingular has the exclusive on Apple's iPhone, but did it get Verizon's sloppy seconds? USA Today is reporting that Verizon passed on Apple's temptation when Jobs and Co. first approached them two years ago. The reason? According to Verizon, Apple's demands were too hight. They wanted a percentage of the monthly cellphone fees in addition to a say over how and where the iPhone could be sold. So Verizon basically flipped them the bird, at which point Apple packed its suitcase and made a booty call to Cingular. The question now is how much control did Cingular have to fork over to get the exclusive rights for the iPhone, and how long will that exclusivity last. – Louis Ramirez More »

Rumor By a Wall Street Stiff: Cingular To Give iPhone Buyers 1.5 Years of Free Service?

[UPDATE: We've debunked this.]Purchasers of the iPhone will get 1.5 years of free Cingular service, according to Jim "Mad Money" Cramer from TheStreet.com. The move is designed to lure people to Cingular who are now (or when June arrives) using Verizon. The only source for this information is "Cramer said AT&T," so it's not exactly the gospel truth. Would free Cingular service convince you to buy the iPhone, fanboy tax and all? More »

Revived, Ominpresent AT&T to Customers: "I Am a Benevolent Master"

Are you waking up in the middle of the night in cold sweat, worrying that your new iPhone with its $2k ultimate price tag is going to rape your checking account? Well fear not, true believers, the switch to AT&T (we might as well dispense with this Cingular business) may actually save you money! More »

Cingular/AT&T Gets the Moto KRZR

Despite getting the dibs on the iPhone, Cingular/AT&T's only just now getting the Motorola KRZR that Verizon and even Alltel have been fondling for a while. And even worse, it's not red, or white, or even diamond encrusted. For shame AT&T. For shame. More »

Samsung Blackjack to Include Extended Battery

Samsung got the memo and found out where one of their competitors, the Motorola Q, failed and has compensated for it. Someone ordering a couple Samsung Blackjacks was pleasantly surprised when the retail packages included the extended battery. The weak battery life and need of the extended battery is what really hinders the Q. More »

BlackBerry 8800 and 9xxx Series Details on Cingular

Here are a few more details on the BB 8800 and 9xxx series phones heading to Cingular. First off, the 8800 is scheduled for mid-February, but will have no camera, no Wi-Fi, and just about the same keys as the 8700. More »

How To Get Out Of Your Cellphone Contract By "Moving"

With all the recent news about getting out of your cellphone plan from a txt message change, we're reminded of another method we've heard. The trick? To move to an area where that provider has no coverage. More »

Steven Colbert Explains the Cingular, AT&T Deal

Apple + Cingular: Not an MVNO

10:53: Cingular/AT&T has an exclusive multi-year contract with Apple. More »