Personal communications

AT&T adds 61-cent 'mobility' fee to wireless bills

AT&T customers should expect to pay a little more on their bill this month. The company has added a new 61-cent monthly administrative fee for all of its contract wireless customers.

The new "Mobility Administrative Fee," which went into effect May 1, applies to consumer and Individual Responsibility User (IRU) lines. The "below the line" fee appears with taxes and other surcharges at the bottom of a customer's phone bill, below the service charges.

While this may not sound like much, The Wall Street Journal reports that the fee could "bring in … Read more

Gmail service Mailbox redesigns app with iPad in mind

Mailbox, the popular e-mail app snapped up by Dropbox earlier this year, has redesigned its app for the iPad.

The new app, which currently only works with Gmail accounts, has the same functions as the old app. It lets users organize their e-mail using swipe motions with the ultimate goal of reaching "inbox zero."

Mailbox CEO Gentry Underwood said there were a lot of requests for an app designed specifically for the iPad. Formally, users could use Mailbox on any iOS 6 device, including the iPad, but the layout was created with smaller devices in mind.

The new … Read more

Clearwire board OKs Sprint's revised, $3.40/share bid

Just a day after Sprint upped its bid to acquire Clearwire, the latter's board has said that it's the right deal for the company.

In a statement released Wednesday, Clearwire's board announced that it has approved the new deal with Sprint. The board has also asked shareholders to vote in favor of the acquisition when they meet to place their ballots on May 31.

Sprint made a surprising announcement Tuesday, saying that it would up its initial offer to buy the remaining 50 percent of Clearwire that it doesn't own from $2.97 per share to $… Read more

Galaxy S3 arrives at Boost, Virgin Mobile armed with LTE

LAS VEGAS -- Though the Samsung Galaxy S4 has been out in the world for a few weeks, its immediate predecessor continues to make the carrier rounds.

Today at CTIA 2013, Sprint announced that it is bringing the Galaxy S3 to its prepaid Virgin Mobile and Boost Mobile brands next month. The device will operate on 3G and LTE networks for both operators.

The design and features of the reborn GS3 will be unchanged from the original version. Expect the same slim profile and 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display, while inside you'll find Android 4.1.2 Jelly … Read more

Sprint ups bid on Clearwire to $3.40 per share to outdo Dish

Sprint has decided that it doesn't want to let Clearwire out of its sights.

The company on Tuesday announced that it has revised its $2.97-per-share offer for Clearwire to $3.40 per share. The increased offer represents a 14 percent increase from Sprint's previous offer, valuing Clearwire at $10.7 billion. More importantly, it's 10 cents higher than the $3.30-per-share offer made by Dish.

Sprint already owns about 50 percent of Clearwire. The company had previously said that its offer was superior to the one Dish brought to Clearwire earlier this year, and Clearwire's board agreed. … Read more

New Android app checks 4G coverage

LAS VEGAS -- Tapping into high-speed 4G networks is a real treat, but sometimes a signal is hard to find. Mosaik's new CellMaps Mobile Coverage app for Android is here to help.

Announced today at CTIA 2013, the application lets U.S. Android phone owners see 4G footprints for AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon in real time. Users can also drill down to see cellular network services in their neck of the woods or scan the overall 4G picture nationally.

Even more exciting is the application's ability to filter 4G coverage in granular details such as … Read more

AT&T, Sprint waive overage fees for Oklahoma tornado victims

AT&T is trying to do its part to help victims of the Oklahoma's massive tornado.

The carrier will bring in extra telecommunications resources to the affected area and will waive overage charges for affected customers through June 30.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the tornado," the company said Tuesday. "We are coordinating with local authorities and bringing in additional resources. We recommend text messaging for communications with family, friends, and loved ones given heavy call volumes."

AT&T subscribers who want to aid the Red Cross in its … Read more

HTC One makes video call from summit of Everest

This might not be what the Taiwanese company had in mind when it wanted its HTC One to be on top of the world, but thanks to British mountaineer Daniel Hughes, the high-end Android phone is the first to make a video call from the highest point on Earth.

Hughes, who's trying to raise $1.5 million for Comic Relief -- it's also the highest ever Red Nose -- spoke to BBC News yesterday from the summit of Everest. … Read more

Making sense of Google's high Galaxy S4 price tag

On Tuesday, when Google's Vice President of Android Product Management Hugo Barra told a crowd of nearly 6,000 attendees that the online giant would be releasing its own variant of the critically-acclaimed Samsung Galaxy S4, many broke out in applause.

Not only would the top-tier device sport all the same desirable specs the GS4 was already known for (like the quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor and Android 4.2 OS), it would also give Android purists/TouchWiz haters, an unsullied Nexus software experience.

Yes, there was clapping all around (and even a "woot!" or two) until Barra … Read more

Forced to live with BB10, and kind of liking it

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Irony may be funny to the gods of Olympus, but it's a cruel lesson for us mortals. I found this out the hard way at BlackBerry Live 2013. Within minutes of arriving at my hotel I managed to misplace my lovely HTC One test unit. As a result, my backup BlackBerry Z10 was suddenly promoted to first-string smartphone duty. … Read more