atandt
Latest
LG's CU500 3G clam with quad-band GSM/EDGE and HSDPA
HowardForums has some pics of that new slim LG CU500 clamshell coming to Cingular. This dual-mode phone is said to go quad-band GSM/EDGE, support WCDMA 850/1900 (and possibly 2100 making this a global 3G phone), and will operate on Cingular's HSDPA (1.8Mbps) network. What's more, that swiveling 1.3 megapixel cam eliminates the need for that second, bulky cam found on many 3G phones. It supports MicroSD expansion, looks crazy-thin for all the features it packs, and according to HoFo peeps, throws down an internal 2-inch, QCIF TFT LCD to view content on Cingular's Video service. Apparently, the CU500 is already FCC approved meaning it could drop anytime. More pics after the break. [Via PhoneArena]
Cingular to help MySpace bands create, sell ringtones
All those MySpace groups who don't end up winning Verizon's "Calling All Bands" contest will still have a wireless carrier-sponsored shot at stardom thanks to a new service called Cingular Mobile Music Studio that will turn their songs into ringtones available for purchase from the band's MySpace page. Any MySpace-accredited artist or band whose songs consist of original material may submit one track to project manager InfoSpace for consideration, and if deemed appropriate, it will be transformed into a 30-second downloadable ringtone. Artists will get 25% of the $2.50 that each 'tone will cost, and receive their cut as a check in the mail every quarter as long as revenues for that period exceed $100. This is the second major partnership between Cingular and MySpace, with the carrier's subscribers already able to receive text alerts when someone leaves a comment on their page, and one of several pushes the social networking site has made into the mobile space.[Via Seattle Times]
HTC Hermes and StarTrek launch plans revealed
Well, well, well, it looks like HTC took the opportunity to detail their 2006 US launch plans at CTIA while dropping that DVB-H capable Foreseer we peeped earlier. According to Phone Scoop who had the opportunity to sit down with an "HTC exec," we’ll see the quad-band GSM/EDGE HTC Star Trek WinMo 5.0 Smartphone arrive on these golden shores in mid-2006 while the HTC Hermes (pictured) should arrive sometime in Q4, most likely with Cingular. The US flavor of the 3G Hermes will go WCDMA 850/1900/2100 with all that high-speed HSDPA we’ve got the rangin' fiend for. Good to know.
Leaked shots of the Blackberry 7130c
Is it just us, or are RIM's Blackberry devices getting svelter by the minute? The latest pictures to surface are of their unannounced 7130c phone for Cingular. The device shares the keypad ethics of the rest of the 7100 series, though it does seem to have its very own sense of style, a definite departure from the 7130e which was launched last year. The good news is that the phone seems to be trimming the bulk, with its front dominated by the screen and keypad. The bad news is that's all we know so far. We'll keep you posted.[Via MobileWhack; thanks Jon]
Forty Three Kix delivers movie info to your cellphone
Finding out movie information on-the-go just got a little bit easier with the launch of a new service called Forty Three Kix that responds to texted queries with movie locations and showtimes based on the user's location. The free service works on any SMS-enabled handset from all of the major carriers, with support for regional networks promised at a later date, and requires only partial movie titles (even misspelled ones) or select keywords in order to supply a result. Forty Three Kix, who seem to have adopted their name based on their phone number (43549, or 43KIX) as opposed to vice versa, also offer an online movie "blog" where film buffs can submit what we imagine will be rather humorous reviews via SMS ("OMG! garfield2 t0tally 0wns garfield1!!!"). Additionally, the company offers a subscription service for automatically delivering new release info to your phone, and allows you to forward showtime information to friends so they can discover how bad your taste in movies really is.[Via Yahoo!]
HP to offer HSDPA-equipped laptops
HP is set to release some business laptops later this year with integrated UMTS/HSDPA technology for global wireless internet connectivity. Of course, HP's not the first manufacturer to offer laptops with HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), but it is a further indication that the technology is becoming more mainstream --after all, Ethernet and WiFi were once only available as add-ons. With the new laptops, users will be able to access networks like Cingular's BroadbandConnect and EDGE in the US as well as UMTS networks overseas. Still no word on actual specs on the laptops otherwise, or an exact release date.
Cingular and Radio Shack get Moto SLVR L6
If you dig the shape and style of the SLVR L7 but don't want to hand over $200 just for the dubious privilege of being able to store 100 songs on it via iTunes, you may want to head over to Radio Shack, which currently has an exclusive on the $50 (with Cingular service plan) SLVR L6. The cheaper phone has the same form factor as its iTunes-enhanced sibling (though it's clad in SLVR, er, silver, instead of black), and has most of L7's other features, including Bluetooth connectivity, EDGE, and a VGA camera. At $50, if you really can't bear to be without 100 iTunes-based songs, you can always use the $150 you've saved to pick up a refurbed 512MB shuffle and 100 songs on iTMS, and come out even.Update: Thanks to several commenters who point out that the phone's actual features don't match those claimed on Radio Shack's promo site. So, if you're looking for EDGE, a music player or several of the other claimed features, look elsewhere. If you're looking for something that approximates the appearance of the original SLVR for a quarter of the price, go for it! (And while you're at it, let Radio Shack know that you're not too happy about them playing fast and loose with the specs.)
Cingular now selling Nokia 9300
It really only had one of two carriers to hit in the US -- so that Cingular's now selling the Nokia 9300 isn't as surprising as, well, the fact that Cingular's now selling the Nokia 9300, you know? Sure it may have been announced in 2004, but hey, if a Series 80 tri-band device without WiFi but with EDGE, Bluetooth, and Blackberry Connect gets your motor running, then be our guest, it's yours to be had for $350 (or $299 after $50 rebate and contract, of course).[Thanks, Nando]
Could Danger be moving to Cingular?
Now, we don't want to jump to conclusions or anything here, but we have to admit we find it a little, um, interesting that Danger announced yesterday the opening of a new engineering center in Duluth, Georgia. Duluth, eh? Why, wouldn't that be a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia? Why, yes, it would. And which major wireless company is based in the ATL? Cingular, of course. Take that for what it is, of course; with Cingular in town, we're sure there are a lot of good mobile engineers around, but you know what they say about smoke and fire, right? Wouldn't surprise us one bit if Cingular was doing their best to swipe the one hot-selling exclusive T-Mobile's got -- or already did.[Thanks, Eric]
Wi-Ex Car Extender cellphone signal booster
Wi-Ex, or Wireless Extenders as we used to know them, have announced their Wi-Ex Car Extender which captures and amplifies the cellphone signal in your car. This "dual-band" signal booster, which we assume (they don't specify) covers the 800 and 1900MHz frequencies, should be compatible with T-Mobile, Sprint, Cingular and Verizon among others. The Car Extender kit is said to be user-installable and consists of a magnetic mounted external antenna, a bi-directional amp you place in the trunk or under the seat with power supplied by the ol' cigarette lighter, and a small interior patch antenna. Expect the kit to demand about $299 and drop for retail before the end of the month.[Via gadgets weblog]
Cingular to shut down non-GSM nets by 2008
If you've been clinging to your old analog or TDMA Cingular (or AT&T) phone, get ready to toss it. Well, not right away. Cingular has given you a two-year warning. In 2008 -- the earliest date allowed by the US government -- the company plans to shut down its legacy networks. According to Cingular, 95% of the company's roughly 50 million customers are on its GSM nets, which leaves up to 2.5 million on the older ones. If you're one of them, cherish these next couple of years with your Nokia 8260, and then be prepared to bid it a fond farewell.
cool.Prepaid launches RAZRs
What's that? Another MVNO? And this one's no mere mispunctuated mess of a brand, either, Cool Mobile's cool.Prepaid is attacking Net10 and other budget carriers with a slightly elevated prepaid rate of 30c per day (and 10c per minute), but cool.P is, um, "cool" because they're launching with RAZRs and shortly with SLVRs. Will that, access to Cingular's network, and a SIM-only plan make them enough scrilla to survive in the constantly one-upping MVNO market? We can't say, but we do think before next year's through the market's going to purge most of these operators. Until then you can get your prepaid phone nation wide from the coolest store ever, dude, Sears.[Via PC Mag]
Cingular launches LG CG300 clamshell
All it takes is a single domestic launch to remind us of the generally boring state of affairs for us phone types in the US, and Cingular is providing just such a launch in their new CG300 clamshell from LG. Sporting a so sexy VGA camera with flash, and the unheard of dual color displays, the phone really goes for the gold. Luckily there is the standard Bluetooth support, and the phone also works with Cingular's recently launched Push-To-Talk service. The quad-band GSM phone is available now and with a 2-year contract can be had for $50 after a $50 mail-in rebate.
RAZR drought may continue into April
Uh oh, Moto. We thought they were pretty clear about their intentions to have their RAZRs fixed and stocks resupplied by this week, but a quick trip to Cingular's or T-Mobile's sites will pretty much confirm their inability to vend the device. So what's with the hold up? Well, we don't know, but according to Bear Stearns availability could be spotty all through the end of March, and who knows how much longer into the future. Does that mean you can't buy yourself a RAZR today by walking into a store? Not necessarily -- some amounts of stock may still be making it through. But chances are if you're an Engadget reader you probably have already long since had your RAZR, or don't want one at all, and you're only reading this post because you're well aware of what kind of trouble this could mean for Moto if they don't get these things back on the market on the double.
Tatung M1A replaces M1
Tatung M1, we hardly knew ye! It was just a couple of weeks ago that the low-end Windows Mobile GSM smartphone got FCC approval, with expectations that it would head to Cingular sometime in the not-too-distant future. And now the phone is no more. Tatung has replaced it with the M1A, which has some major feature upgrades, including a QVGA display, 2.1 megapixel camera, and 128 MB RAM. Which means, of course, that this won't be a bargain-basement phone anymore -- and that it won't be coming to the US anytime soon, since it'll have to go back to the FCC all over again.
Cingular offers Rabble moblogging software -- for a fee
Well now it's on. After Sony Ericsson and Google got cozy for some Blogger functionality on SE phones, and Nokia updated their Lifeblog app to 2.0, Cingular is getting in on the moblogging in their own special way: charging you for it. They're now offering Rabble, a java-based mobile blogging platform that is already used by Verizon, and are asking $3 a month for the privilege, the same as Verizon is charging. Its main functionality outside the usual garden-variety moblogging is the proximity functionality that helps you connect with like minded or nearby individuals, and also allows you to limit who can up who can access your blog. Sounds great for networking, but so are blogs in general, so we'll have to wait and see how this flies.[Via The Wireless Report]
Motorola delays shipments of GSM RAZRs
We were wondering ourselves why some RAZRs started looking a little scarce on Cingular's website today when we caught wind that Motorola is apparently suspending and recalling shipments of the GSM handsets, apparently due to an issue that would randomly drop calls and reset the phone. Which, of course, means suspended sales of the devices, since they can't keep vending devices that might well be defective. But according to Alan Buddendeck, Motorola's Global Director of Public Relations, the problem's all sorted out now and everyone who doesn't have a RAZR already (we have, like, thirty) can resume their regularly scheduled buying patterns within "in a matter of days."[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Cingular's next 3G handsets: Nokia 6282 and LG CU500
Looks like it slipped through yesterday but Cingular apparently wasn't dry when it came to announcing (though not necessarily launching) new 3G handsets to take advantage of their fresh new high speed data network. We can't imagine it came as any great surprise to anyone following the saga, but they dropped in the Nokia 6282 as being slated for launch, as well as a slightly more mysterious LG CU500, which we've yet to hear anything about. As per usual, we'll keep you up to the minute on these suckas.[Via Phone Scoop]
Massive Cingular outages right now?
We've been getting sparse unsubstantiated reports for the last couple of hours regarding various swaths of Cingular outages. From what we can tell, phone may have been out earlier all across the US, but right now it just looks like portions of New Jersey and the New York metro area are without voice, and all of America is without data. This only two days after they announced they'd be re-forming under the new AT&T / BellSouth buyout, and the day they debut Cingular Video. According to our pals over at Phone Scoop, it appears no one -- and we do mean no one -- at Cingular is available for comment right now; anyone have any idea what the hell is going on?[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]Update: Ok, so we've got it that apparently this was a major database issue causing inconsistent subscriber problems nation wide (think: random accounts across the US, not complete outages). Supposedly everything's sorted out now, so hopefully we'll be able to carry on with our rabid data consumption.
Cingular Video debuts
Verizon's got V CAST, Sprint's got Sprint TV, so where's Cingular's offering? Why, it's here: the nation's largest carrier launched their first two 3G handsets yesterday, the LG CU320 and Samsung's ZX10, is also officially concurrently launching Cingular Video. It'll take the shape of a 3-5 minute clip service with video streams from 18 channels, including the likes of NBC and ESPN. Did we mention it's free to customers of their unlimited Broadband Connect data package? Because it is, and it's a good thing, too -- if you're gonna go walled-garden-mobile-TV, at least make make it free to your customers, right? And for those who want yet another feature to pay for monthly can plunk down the extra $5 and pick up access to those HBO clips. Guess this'll be a great experiment to determine whether or not people really do want to watch short-form video programming on their mobiles.
