SISAREA

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/microsoft/AT_T_We_will_be_the_premier_carrier_for_Windows_Phone_7′; Without question, AT&T’s wireless growth these past few years has been largely based on iPhone — and with apparently good reason, if you look at the numbers. As far as other platforms go, however, it’s not been as rosy. Android’s relation with the carrier, for example, is a story woven with years of hesitation, some questionable releases, and a rival that’s fully embraced it to notable success (releases like the Captivate and Streak suggest a stronger future). So with all that in mind, what we’re hearing from AT&T in the wake of Windows Phone 7 is decidedly more committal. Here’s what a spokesperson told PC World this week: “We’ll be the premier carrier for Windows Phone 7″ (emphasis ours). Strong words, but we still haven’t heard concrete plans from anyone, including Microsoft, on what’s going on with the release. Whispers care of our friend Michael Gartenberg suggest AT&T has “signed up for 8 million” phones and our own eyes have espied some launch materials, but we’ll just have to see. Your move, Ma Bell. Assuage our doubts, k?

P.S. It’s also worth noting that, after the Kin debacle, Microsoft and Verizon aren’t exactly BFF, meaning rival AT&T’s “premier” claim isn’t likely to be contested by the one carrier with more subscribers.

AT&T claims it will be ‘the premier carrier’ for Windows Phone 7 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 22:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well well, what’s this? We just got an invite to a joint RIM / AT&T event next Tuesday, and we’d guess that means we’re about to see the official unveiling of the well-leaked BlackBerry 9800 slider with a side dish of BlackBerry OS 6. Either that, or RIM CEO Mike Lazaridis is going to explain how working two-way Gmail sync is a real problem that affects every smartphone and give us a tour of RIM’s top-secret email integration labs, but yeah — we’ve got our bets on new hardware. We’ll obviously be there live covering every detail, so make sure to tune in!

RIM and AT&T event next Tuesday — BlackBerry slider and OS 6 en route? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So, Dell still won’t say when it will actually start selling and shipping the Streak in the US, but it did clear up a bit of confusion. First off, folks who register with the Streak pre-sale on Dell.com between July 20th and July 27th (yeah, today is the last day) get first access at ordering the phone. Pre-sale-ers will get an email link to buy the phone today, with the handset priced at $299.99 with a two-year AT&T contract, or $549.99 without. Meanwhile, Dell is being even more forthcoming in the Aero. It’ll be available on August 9th for $99.99 with a contract and $299.99 without. So, are you ready for Dell to be a US phone manufacturer? Have you braced yourself? Because the time is at hand.

[Thanks, Jas]

Update: It looks like Dell has pulled its blog post we sourced this from. We’ll let you know if the facts change, but for now we’re gonna stick with these numbers.

Dell Streak retailing for $299 with contract, $549 without; Dell Aero gets launch deets as well originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Looks like AT&T and Alcatel-Lucent have finally sorted out the software glitch that’s resulted in slow HSPA upload speeds in certain markets — we were just told on the record that a patch is being rolled out and the update will be completed over the next two to three weeks. That should mean iPhone 4 and laptop data modem customers should start to see their upload speeds creep back to higher levels after being capped at UMTS rates for the past few weeks, so that’s good news — let us know if things are getting better for you, yeah?

AT&T deploying software fix for slow upload speeds over next few weeks originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 17:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, well — what have we here? It looks as if AT&T is fixing to rebundle its wireless plans starting on July 25th, obviously with intent to push those newly created data packs onto folks who may otherwise be inclined to pass right over. Furthermore, these new plans encourage users to select unlimited messaging, which — as everyone and their third cousin knows — is highway robbery. But then again, it’s not like you’re about to kick your texting habit, so you might as well pony up. So far as we can tell, the actual value propositions aren’t changing (for example, a single user Nation Plan with 450 minutes, unlimited messaging and a 2GB Data Pro plan will cost you $84.99 either way), but it’s clear that AT&T’s aiming to narrow its offerings. The only real question revolves around the packages that include “pay-per-use” messaging — will the carrier let users add smaller messaging plans, or just force us all to go unlimited or PPU? The 25th is right around the corner, so we ought to know for certain soon enough.

Update: We’ve scooped the family plans as well. We’ve also confirmed that nothing at all should be changing (you can still add select messaging plans to PPU options) in terms of pricing — it’s mostly just reshuffling the furniture, if you know what we mean.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

AT&T readies new calling plans for July 25, nothing changing at the core originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yeah, we know that the Prez was once seen rocking a Verizon-branded BlackBerry 8830, but just bend your mind a bit and bear with us. Shortly after lighting up Wall Street with an exceedingly excellent quarterly earnings report, AT&T has announced an Encrypted Mobile Voice service that’ll hit later in the year. Assuming Obama actually does own an AT&T-branded ‘Berry, he’ll soon be able to enjoy what AT&T calls “the first mobile-to-mobile voice encryption solution using two-factor authentication offered by a US operator.” Said service is expected to provide a higher level of security for calls across the AT&T wireless network, and naturally, it’ll be shopped to government agencies, law enforcement organizations, financial services institutions and international businesses, all of which will pay far too much for what’s likely a false sense of security. We mean, haven’t these guys ever seen 24?

AT&T Encrypted Mobile Voice to bring extra security to Obama’s BlackBerry calls originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve got to hand it to Samsung with its Galaxy S line. Coordinating the launch of a single family of devices across all four national US carriers (plus a regional or two) is a feat very rarely accomplished, and usually reserved for really unique handsets that those carriers wouldn’t be able to effectively source from anyone else; HTC’s Touch Pro2 is a prime example of that. Add to that the murky issue of exclusivity periods… and, well, yeah, Samsung definitely has reason to be proud here — on the business end of things, anyway. Never mind the awesome contractual maneuvering that undoubtedly took place to make this all happen, though — we all know that it’s the hardware (and software) that really counts. Today we’re looking at the first two models of the American run, the Captivate for AT&T and the Vibrant for T-Mobile; Verizon’s Fascinate and Sprint’s QWERTY- and WiMAX-equipped Epic 4G are still forthcoming, though we expect the Fascinate to be largely similar to these first two.

Beyond their simple appeal as sexy, high-end Android phones, what makes the Captivate and Vibrant especially interesting is that they are actually their respective carriers’ only high-end Android phones at the moment. In other words: if 1GHz processors and high-res AMOLED displays are how you roll, these are basically the only game in town if you’re on AT&T or T-Mobile — particularly now that Nexus One sales are winding down. Do they rise to the challenge? Let’s have a look.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy S review shootout: Captivate for AT&T and Vibrant for T-Mobile

Samsung Galaxy S review shootout: Captivate for AT&T and Vibrant for T-Mobile originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 16:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There may be plenty of tales of intrigue behind the scenes, but it looks like AT&T is still doing alright when it comes to raking in the cash — it’s now announced a 26 percent increase in earnings for the quarter that’s just ended. In terms of hard numbers, that translates to a profit of $4.02 billion (up from $3.2 billion a year ago), and $30.8 billion in revenue, which is actually up just 0.6 percent over the previous year, although that modest gain is partly attributed to AT&T’s sale of Sterling Commerce to IBM for $1.4 billion (which is not included in its results). Other notable stats include 3.2 million iPhone activations for the quarter (a company record), 1.6 million “organic net adds” in wireless subscribers for a total of 90.1 million, and the company’s first ever billion-dollar revenue quarter for its U-verse services — all of which led AT&T CFO Rick Lindner to say that the company is “pleased, pleased across the board.” Full press release is after the break.

Continue reading AT&T announces 26 percent earnings growth for Q2, $4b profit

AT&T announces 26 percent earnings growth for Q2, $4b profit originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 11:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You may ask yourself, why on earth would anyone pay 99 cents for an iPhone app whose sole purpose is to flash bright, solid colors? We certainly wouldn’t recommend it, but Handy Light has a great little Easter egg that undoubtedly doesn’t jive with the folks at Cupertino HQ. Like Nullriver’s Netshare app before it, this little piece of software allows for SOCKS proxy tethering, without having to sign up for AT&T’s tethering plan. Instructions available via the video below, and if you’re looking to pick up the app yourself, better hurry — we can’t imagine Apple will let this one stay in the store for very much longer.

Update: Looks like the app’s been pulled. Ye who snoozes, ergo must lose. If you did manage to nab and the video below isn’t working (we see it just fine), check out App Shopper for more detailed, text-based instructions.

Continue reading Handy Light for iPhone’s dirty little secret: tethering (update)

Handy Light for iPhone’s dirty little secret: tethering (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 20:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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“An iPhone, an iPhone, my carrier’s reputation for an iPhone.” Grab a cup of coffee and get yourself comfortable, fans of behind-the-scenes industry drama. Wired has published an exhaustive and fascinating expose on the “loveless celebrity marriage” that is Apple and AT&T — all from sources familiar with the matters but who cannot (or will not) be named, of course. In other words, don’t take this as gospel, but frankly, none of this sounds too crazy or outside the realm of what we’ve already surmised ourselves. In brief, the two companies have been contentious towards one another since just after the iPhone was unveiled. For AT&T’s part, the carrier was reportedly taken aback when its requests (delivered by Senior VP Kris Rinne) to restrict YouTube’s bandwidth usage (or make it WiFi-only) while the network infrastructure was built up fell on deaf ears in Cupertino. Word has it Apple also refused to allow its devices to be used in campaigns to combat Verizon’s Map for That ads: “It was [effective] because of AT&T’s network. We would have been letting them use the iPhone to put lipstick on a pig,” remarked one anonymous Apple exec.

What’s most interesting to us here is the ongoing reported discussion to drop AT&T in favor for Verizon. That chapter apparently begins just months after the original’s launch, with an investigative team (including Scott Forstall) ultimately concluding that Qualcomm’s CDMA (or CDMA / GSM hybrid) chips would require a complete redesign of the device, not to mention a nasty lawsuit with AT&T over its exclusive contract (perhaps a minor issue, knowing Apple). Back then, Verizon wasn’t seen as a guaranteed improvement, and according to one executive privy to such meetings, the carrier switch has been discussed at least a half dozen times, with the general consensus always being that it would “cause as many problems as it solved.” We can’t imagine this is gonna help stem the perpetual VZW iPhone rumor mill.

Hit up the source link for the full tale, which does hit on a fundamental issue of the mobile industry going forward: as smartphone makers continue to push their devices’ capabilities, bandwidth concerns will continue to grow and carriers are likely to take the majority of the blame. If you ask us, David Fincher has just found his ideal follow-up to The Social Network — we’d especially love to see someone film the part where AT&T asks Steve Jobs to ditch the turtleneck and wear a suit when meeting with its board of directors.

Apple discussed Verizon switch ‘at least half a dozen times,’ and other stories about its AT&T relationship originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Jul 2010 19:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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