NetZero Tries Prepaid Wireless Data Plan

By Joseph Palenchar On Mar 26 2012 - 4:01am

WOODLAND HILLS, CALIF. – NetZero, which offers free dial-up Internet access and low-cost broadband DSL service, ventured into the cellular world for the first time with what it called “disruptive” pricing.

In more than 80 cities, the company launched free and low-cost prepaid 4G data plans for use with a 4G mobile WiMAX $49.95 USB modem and $99.95 mobile hot spot. The plan and hardware prices undercut the no-contract, no-credit-check data plans and hardware pricing of the four national carriers.

 

Store Redesigns Continue At T-Mobile

By Joseph Palenchar On Apr 9 2012 - 4:01am

BELLEVUE, WASH. – T-Mobile continues to roll out its new store design to company-owned stores and independently owned Premium Retailer locations, which operate under the T-Mobile brand and carry the carrier’s full product range.

The carrier began rolling out the new design last August.

CTIA Show Makes Changes, Expects Growth

By Joseph Palenchar On Apr 23 2012 - 4:01am

NEW ORLEANS – CTIA-The Wireless Association expects a lift in attendance at next month’s CTIA Wireless 2012 because of later show dates and a return to the Crescent City, where the convention will boast its largest retailer-focused section to date.

Cellular-Connected Router Debuts

By TWICE Staff On Jan 10 2012 - 6:01am

LAS VEGAS — CDP-USA of Los Angeles is launching its first MyMO mobile router, a battery-powered device that can be tethered to a smartphone’s MicroUSB port or to a cellular USB modem to split Internet access among 150 devices in a 300-foot area as well as enable corporate VPN access and file sharing among users.

The $129-suggested MyMO-1002 is equipped with Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n/ and works with 3G and 4G cellular devices, including iOS, Blackberry, Android and Windows Mobile smartphones and most USB modems, the company said.

4G LTE Gets Cellular Focus At International CES

By Joseph Palenchar On Jan 23 2012 - 6:01am

LAS VEGAS — Carriers and handset vendors unveiled at least 13 4G LTE smartphones and two LTE tablets at International CES in anticipation of an LTE network launch by Sprint and continued expansion of AT&T’s LTE network as the two national carriers race to catch up with Verizon’s LTE footprint.

The introductions, all featuring the Android OS, included:

• the first LTE phone from Pantech (see TWICE, Jan 10), Nokia, Sony and Huawei;

Suppliers Pushing Down Tablet Prices

By Doug Olenick and Joseph Palenchar On Aug 22 2011 - 4:01am

NEW YORK – Pricing and products dominated recent developments in the tablet market.

More tablets turned up at prices of $299 and less, with Vizio shipping its previously announced 8-inch Wi-Fi Android tablet at a suggested $329 and an everyday $299.

For its part, digital-photoframe and e-reader supplier Pandigital launched three new Android tablets at suggested retails ranging from $159 to $189.

Cellular's Competitive Heat Turns Up

By Joseph Palenchar On Aug 22 2011 - 4:01am

NEW YORK – The competitive heat in the wireless industry turned up in tandem with August temperatures.

Research In Motion was out to get its mojo back in the face of declining smartphone share by expanding its selection of touchscreen smartphones with faster processors and other enhancements in what it called its largest-ever worldwide product launch.

For its part, Sprint said it would drive 4G smartphones into more hands with its plans for a $99 4G phone from Samsung.

Garmin Upgrades Navigation Engines, Traffic Features

By Doug Olenick On Sep 8 2011 - 4:01am

NEW YORK — Garmin has added an updated navigation engine and upgraded traffic features to many of the models in its 2012 portable navigation device (PND) line.

This year’s rollout marks the first time the company has introduced all its products in one fell swoop, a company spokesman said. The usual practice was to push out a new model every few months, but the company determined the approach confused customers who could not tell which model in a store was the most recent.

New Tablets Drop Into The Market

By Joseph Palenchar On Nov 7 2011 - 6:01am

NEW YORK – New tablets from Samsung, Kobo and E Fun are entering the tablet fray in time for the holiday season to join the previously announced $199 Amazon Kindle Fire, which is due Nov. 15, and the new Barnes & Noble model, which will be announced Nov. 7.

A new BlackBerry Playbook, however, will wait until next February, when Research In Motion (RIM) expects to offer the next generation of its PlayBook tablet OS.

Here’s what’s coming or has just arrived in new fourth-quarter products:

New Tablets Add Fizz To Market

By Joseph Palenchar On Nov 21 2011 - 6:01am

NEW YORK – Amazon and Barnes & Noble, powerful newcomers to the tablet market, are mixing it up with a smorgasbord of new Wi-Fi and cellularequipped tablets during the holiday season to potentially erode Apple’s market share.

The new products, all Android-based, include:

• Amazon’s $199 7-inch Kindle Fire tablet, which went on sale Nov. 14 with dual-core 1GHz microprocessor, 8GB of embedded memory, and no memory expansion slot through Amazon and 16,000 U.S. stores;