Mobile Miscellany: week of May 7th, 2012
Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you're like us and really want to know what's going on, then you've come to the right place. This past week, Sprint reassured us with optimism for Windows Phone 8, and T-Mobile's CEO found a new partner to continue the fight against Verizon's AWS acquisition. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of May 7th, 2012.
T-Mobile bands together with RCA to prevent Verizon's AWS acquisition
T-Mobile will join forces with the Rural Cellular Association to further make a case against the acquisition of AWS spectrum by Verizon Wireless from a group of cable companies. While Sprint is a member of the RCA, it has yet to declare support for either side in the battle. T-Mobile's CEO, Philipp Humm, has previously stated that Verizon's proposal to shed Blocks A and B of the 700MHz spectrum is a poor concession, although US Cellular recently expressed its interest in this portion of the airwaves. [AllThingsD, Phone Scoop]
Sprint exec suggests we'll see a push for Windows Phone 8
Contrary to Sprint's handset lineup, it seems the company isn't quite ready to give up on Windows Phone. Like Verizon, which previously stated its intention to create a third smartphone ecosystem, an executive of the Now Network, David Owens, now claims that the carrier is "still bullish on Apollo." While Owens offered little in terms of hardware or timelines, it seems a safe bet that we'll learn more as Windows Phone 8 nears its debut. [PCMag]
Huawei brings Ascend Y100 to O2 as a carrier exclusive
Don't expect any major thrills from this one, but Huawei has a new smartphone on the market that should appeal to the prepaid segment of O2's customer base. The handset will be available on June 1st for just £79.99, which includes Android 2.3, a 2.8-inch display and a 2 megapixel camera. [Pocket Lint]
ZTE Nova 4.0 V8000 possibly headed to Cricket
Rumors from the grapevine of CTIA suggest that Huawei's Mercury may find a competitor at Cricket. The crew at Phone Arena happened to snag some time with the handset, which features a Qualcomm MSM8655 SoC with a 1.4GHz CPU, a 4-inch WVGA display and, for the moment, stock Android 4.0. The phone also includes an 8 megapixel AF camera with LED flash, 1GB of RAM and a 1,900mAh battery. [Phone Arena]
Windows Phone "Tango" refresh gets a hands-on video
It's far from the world of Apollo, but the folks at WPCentral have managed to sneak a dance with the Windows Phone update commonly known as Tango. Users will find new settings for call forwarding, call waiting, SMS / MMS delivery confirmation and internet sharing. Feel free to check out the video tour of what's to come. [WPCentral]
Other random tidbits
Sprint became the first North American carrier to join the Tizen Association. [Phone Scoop]
Simple Mobile, an MVNO provider that functions on T-Mobile's network, was acquired this week by TracFone. [Fierce Wireless]
According to a ZTE spokesperson, US consumers may find the Tania Windows Phone available for purchase before the year's end. [Unwired View]
The Samsung Galaxy S III has been christened the official smartphone of the 2012 Olympics. [Pocket Lint]
The iPhone 4S will be available on both Bluegrass Cellular and Nex-Tech Wireless as of May 18th. [Nex-Tech Wireless, PR Newswire]
The Samsung Galaxy Q is now available from Wind Mobile, and may be purchased for $199 outright. [MobileSyrup]
