Since when did wireless data speeds leap-frog over fixed-line broadband speeds? Apparently since the GSMA started taking notes on the various 4G LTE test currently underway around the globe. “Tests show LTE can produce speeds up to 186 Mbps,” said GSMA director of technology Dan Warren, but only in the most ideal of conditions (read: not in real life).

Taking the results of recent tests, the GSM Association has announced that it expects to see actual, real-world data speeds of 100Mbps by 2010 in Japan and South Korea, with Europe getting 100Mbps wireless data speeds by 2012.

Unfortunately, the US wireless ecosystem is mired in so much carrier bureaucracy that we aren’t likely to see 100Mbps LTE networks until after Europe. In other words, move to Asia or Europe if you want wireless broadband speeds that surpass wireline services before 2013.

[Via: MobileNews]

Just the other day we were telling you that the iPhone hacking gurus on the iPhone Dev Team were working on a quick jailbreak and Pwnage solution for iPhones and iPhone 3Gs running any iPhone OS. Whether you’re running iPhone 2.0 OS, iPhone 2.0.1 OS, or iPhone 2.0.2 OS, QuickPwn allows you to quickly (hence the name) Pwn and jailbreak your device without the need to run a “Restore” procedure on the handset.

Following on its developmental release, QuickPwn has taken on a Windows-based GUI to bring point-and-click functionality to the Windows-using masses. To be clear, QuickPwn will only jailbreak and Pwn your current iPhone OS installation. It will not update your iPhone to a newer iPhone OS.

If you are running iPhone 2.0.1 OS, QuickPwn will jailbreak and Pwn your iPhone 2.0.1 OS. Pwn-ing your iPhone allows you to install custom restore files (firmware files) in the future. Jailbreaking allows you to install third-party applications through Cydia or Installer.

But, keep in mind, as I mentioned earlier, the iPhone 2.0.2 OS comes bundled with a new baseband firmware that may or may not kill any future unlocking hopes. So, unless you are positive that you won’t need an unlocked iPhone 3G in the future, don’t update your iPhone 3G to iPhone 2.0.2 OS. Wait for the DevTeam to release an updated Pwnage Tool with iPhone 2.0.2 OS compatibility.

Grab QuickPwn for Windows here (SHA1 = 8e1ed2ce9e7e473d38a9dc7824a384a9ac34d7d0).

[Via: iPhoneDevTeam]

Hutchinson’s 3 has recently announced the second generation of the Skypephone. The new device goes a little beyond Skype calls, bringing such Internet services as Facebook, RSS feeds, Google and Windows Live Messenger to the mix.

Specs wise, the new Skypephone is also better than its predecessor. For one thing, there’s a 3.2 megapixel camera on board, and so is microSD memory card slot. The handset measures 102.7×45x14 mm and has a weight of 95 grams.

Commenting on the announcement, 3 UK’s Kevin Russell said: “The first 3 Skypephone was about building one of the most popular Internet services, Skype, into the heart of the device. The 3 Skypephone S2 builds on this approach and brings a host of other popular Internet services to the front of the device.”

[Via: slashphone]

In a news that seems more important to ZTE than to MetroPCS (and the rest of us), the China-based company and the U.S. carrier have announced a new phone - ZTE C79. The device in question is a simple-looking clamshell with CDMA support on the AWS frequency band. Other specs include so-last-year 1.3 megapixel camera, 220×176 pixel screen, dedicated external music control, 69MB of internal memory that is further expandable with microSD cards. Lack of 3G may be a dealbreaker for many, but then again, who enjoy surfing the web on a low-res screen?

MetroPCS is selling the ZTE C79 for $169 sans any contracts involved. Here’s the link with more information.

[Via: Engadget Mobile]

We’re not sure whether we should believe the image above or not, but it certainly looks appealing — at least where I stand. The apparent successor of the LG Prada phone may come with a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard. That would certainly be a good addition, as I’ve never liked typing on the original device. The full keyboard makes the device look more like the HTC Touch Pro, although I doubt it will be as powerful as HTC’s smartphone.

Don’t get me wrong - I don’t want to put LG’s plans down. As a matter of fact I can’t wait to give the LG Prada 2 a try. Hopefully, it will come with a 3G radio and a WiFi on board. And yes, I would love to see it run some smartphone OS, even though I doubt that will happen. Stay tuned…

[Via: Boy Genius Report]

What good is a new iPhone OS update if you can’t make use of most of the installed applications on your iPhone or iPhone 3G? Not much good.

The iPhone 2.0.2 OS update has been reported to be causing application-related headaches for some iPhone users. The iPhone app-problems range from third-party applications simply not starting up to applications starting up and immediately crashing out. In either case, the iPhone application problem is bound to be annoying for some users.

Incidentally, it seems that too many third-party iPhone applications on your iPhone can cause many of the applications to start going wonky.

Here are a couple potential ways to fix your iPhone application woes after updating your iPhone or iPhone 3G to iPhone 2.0.2 OS:

• Delete as many third-party iPhone application as you can bear to part with. If you can get your homescreen down to 3-pages worth of applications, you’ll likely start to see a huge improvement in iPhone application performance. Hopefully, deleting all but a couple dozen iPhone applications will fix application crash and non-start problems.
• If that doesn’t work, re-install all your iPhone applications (it would be wise to only re-install up to 3 pages of apps). To do this:

1. Turn on your iPhone and navigate to Settings > General > Reset and hit the “Erase All Content and Settings” button.
2. Delete all iPhone applications through iTunes (fire up iTunes, hit the “Applications” category on the left-hand navigation bar, and delete all apps).
3. Deselect any music, video, and pictures for synchronization (we want to remove all music and video from the iPhone)
4. Connect iPhone to computer and sync iPhone
5. Re-install those iPhone applications (again, try to keep it under 3 pages worth)
6. Sync your music and other media.

• Failing that, you can try a full restore of the iPhone. You will want to “Restore” your iPhone and then “Setup as new iPhone.” This will erase all text messages, stored passwords, and any personal customizations you’ve made to your iPhone.
• You may also want to downgrade your iTunes installation to iTunes 7.7.0 for Windows or iTunes 7.6.2 for Mac. Here’s how:

1. Delete your iTunes installation (remove the application from Windows).
2. Download the previous version of iTunes.
   • iTunes 7.7.0 (Windows)
   • iTunes 7.6.2 (Mac)
3. Install the older iTunes package.
4. Setup your iPhone as a new iPhone.
5. Sync your apps.

Happy iPhoning!

Well, we’ve waited for this to happen. Starting from today, you can grab the BlackBerry Bold from Rogers Wireless in Canada for $399.99 with activation on any combination of 3 year voice plan and three year BlackBerry data plan totalling more than $45 per month from Rogers.

Let’s recap the specs, shell we. From the official release, the Bold features are:

• An elegant design measuring 114mm x 66mm x 15mm and weighing approximately 136 grams
• Tri-band HSDPA and quad-band EDGE support for global roaming
• Stunning half-VGA (480×320 resolution at 217 ppi) colour display with integrated lens for eye-popping definition and clarity
• Enhanced HTML browser delivers high performance with desktop-style depiction
• Enterprise-grade Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g)
• Built-in GPS with support for location based applications and services including geotagging; comes with BlackBerry Maps preinstalled
• 1 GB on-board storage memory, as well as an externally accessible microSD/SDHC memory card slot for additional storage
• A removable/rechargeable 1500 mAhr battery
• DataViz Documents To Go preinstalled, enabling customers to edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint files on the smartphone
• 2 megapixel camera with digital zoom, built-in flash and video recording
• Advanced media player for viewing pictures, listening to music and watching videos
• Support for High Speed USB 2.0 enables quick file transfers between a PC and the smartphone
• BlackBerry Desktop Manager software, which includes Roxio Media Manager for BlackBerry, a powerful media manager application that allows users to easily manage media files on their computer and transfer them to the smartphone; the BlackBerry Bold also comes with the new BlackBerry Media Sync application for customers that want a simple way to sync their iTunes digital music collections with the smartphone
• Support for downloading music directly from Rogers MusicStore
• The Rogers Do More portal enabling access to a variety of mobile applications for business and personal use
• Instant messaging with BlackBerry Messenger, Google Talk, Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger
• Support for the Facebook for BlackBerry Smartphones application, which enables fast, streamlined and optimized mobile access to the popular Facebook social utility
• Premium phone features including voice activated dialing, enhanced noise cancellation to offset background noise, a low-distortion speakerphone, and Bluetooth (2.0) support for hands-free use with headsets, car kits, stereo headsets and other Bluetooth peripherals
• BlackBerry Internet Service support that allows access to up to 10 supported personal and corporate email accounts, including most popular ISP email accounts
• BlackBerry Enterprise Server support for enterprise deployments with advanced security and IT controls

In the box, BlackBerry Bold buyers will also find a variety of accessories including a stereo headset, travel charger, carrying case and USB cable.

T-Mobile USA is all about their nascent 3G network recently. They’ve lit-up their 1700Mhz spectrum of 3G goodness in a smattering of cities across the US, but the US wireless carrier has been tight-lipped as to whether or not its 3G-compatible handsets are indeed 3G capable on T-Mobile’s AWS 1700Mhz 3G network. Today we’re getting more details on T-Mobile’s latest 3G handset - the Sony Ericsson TM506 Bella.

Last we heard, the Sony Ericsson TM506 was headed to T-Mobile in your choice of two color schemes. The Bella, as it’s known internally, was expected to  land on T-Mobile’s network with a 2 megapixel camera, aGPS, Bluetooth 2.0, and myFaves support - with a tri-band (850/1800/1900Mhz) GSM/EDGE radio. We speculated that the Sony Ericsson TM506 Bella would hit T-Mobile with a dual-band 3G radio in tow, but previous promotional materials left us wondering if T-Mobile was ever going to take the 3G-wraps off the SE Bella.

Well, T-Mobile has confirmed that their upcoming Sony Ericsson TM506 Bella will indeed be launching with a a dual-band (1700/2100Mhz) 3G radio to pull down wireless data at near-broadband speeds. The slim and stylish clamshell is expected to deliver 9.5 hours worth of talk time on GSM networks, with 3G calling good for 3.5 hours.

As expected, T-Mobile should launch the Sony Ericsson TM506 in early September. Pricing information is still not available.

Press release 

RCRWireless has compiled a list of the Top Ten US Wireless Carriers for 2Q 2008. There’s no big surprise here, with AT&T still leading Verizon as the top two US wireless carriers. But, the data is still interesting to look at.

We see that AT&T is still No. 1 in the rankings, but only just. Verizon added 200,000 more wireless subscribers in Q2 2008 than did AT&T. And, Verizon’s recent acquisition of Rural Cellular wasn’t factored in to Verizon’s customer-base because the deal was finalized after the close of Q2 2008.  Of course, once Alltel is wholly absorbed into Verizon, we will see AT&T dropping down to the No. 2 spot as AT&T takes the lead.

Sprint saw its customer churn slowing in Q2 2008, with just 900,000 customers jumping ship, compared to the previous quarter’s loss of 1 million customers.

And, T-Mobile saw its customer churn jump from 2.6% to 2.7%, which they attribute to the expiration of the recently-introduced 2-year contracts.

[Via: RCR]

And you thought you paid a lot for your launch-day iPhone 8GB? Think again. As expected, Apple is bringing the iPhone 3G to India, through Vodafone and Airtel, with an ginormous price-tag of approximately $700 for the 8GB iPhone 3G or about $825 for the 16GB iPhone 3G. The iPhone 3G will launch in India on August 22 through Vodafone.

Without any carrier subsidies, Vodafone and Airtel will be requiring their customers to pony up Rs 31,000 and Rs 36,100, respectively, for the 8GB and 16GB iPhone 3G handset. In a country where 3G isn’t even a legitimate option, and most of the population can’t even fathom spending that much on anything a cellphone, we aren’t too sure that the iPhone 3G will see as dramatic a sales run as we’ve seen in the US, Europe, and Japan.

Still, it’s good to see the iPhone 3G coming to India.

Vodafone India iPhone 3G
Airtel iPhone 3G

[Via: cellpassion]