Hasta La Gadget!

T-Mobile USA announced it is now offering a $50 unlimited voice plan to existing customers in San Francisco, in a sign that the carriers could be gearing up for a price war, according to Reuters. The carrier is only offering the promotion to customers who have been with the carrier for at least 22 months, and is also offering a $135 credit to anyone who switches from a rival service.

The move comes almost one month after Boost Mobile, which is owned by Sprint, also offered a $50 unlimited voice and data plan, which went into effect on January 22nd. UBS analyst John Hodulik said in the report that the plan effectively lowers T-Mobile’s price for unlimited voice, Web surfing and text messaging to $85 a month from $100 for customers who use data services. The carrier is said to be considering a version of this plan for national use, which would almost definitely spark a new price war among the major carriers.

Sony Ericsson has announced two new handsets for its CyberShot and Walkman lines, both of which feature quad-band GSM/EDGE radios, FM tuners with RDS, and stereo Bluetooth for listening to music wirelessly on the go, according to Phone Scoop. The 5-megapixel C903a Cybershot model includes a number of features that are usually the domain of dedicated digital cameras, including Face Detection, Smile Shutter, and image stabilization. It also includes a tri-band UMTS/HSDPA (850/1900/2100) data radio, an a-GPS chip, and a 2.4-inch LCD; look for this one sometime before June.

The other new model is the W395, a Walkman phone with dedicated music controls, “high-quality stereo speakers” (we’ll see about that), and an accelerometer for motion gaming, according to the report. The W395 also includes a 2-megapixel camera and comes with a 1GB microSD card in the box for storing or transferring photos and music. This one should show up by the end of March; stay tuned.

Garmin has announced the Windows-Mobile-powered nuvifone M20, the second handset in the nuvifone series after the G60, in a preview ahead of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week. The nuvifone M20 runs Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional and sports a 2.8-inch touchscreen full VGA (640-by-480-pixel) LCD, 4GB or 8GB of storage, and an HSDPA 7.2 3G data radio.

In addition, the handset features the same level of satellite navigation as Garmin’s standalone units, according to the company. It comes preloaded with maps and points of interest for North America as well as Eastern and Western Europe. It also features Connected Services, a suite of online applications and data from Garmin-Asus that adds location intelligence to navigation, phone and browser functions, for real-time traffic information, White Pages, weather, flight status, local events, and movie times.

Finally, the nuvifone M20 works with Ciao, a location-based social networking service that keeps owners in touch with their friends and family. No word yet on pricing or availability; expect an announcement from Garmin sometime in the first half of this year on that front.

Now that Verizon Wireless has completed its acquisition of Alltel Wireless, it turns out that some subscribers in portions of 22 states—some 2.2 million customers in all—will continue to receive their old Alltel service for now.

“Current Alltel customers will still have access to America’s largest wireless network, popular features such as ‘My Circle’ and Anytime Plan Changes as well as the latest handsets and technologies they have come to expect from Alltel Wireless,” the company said in a statement.

That’s not going to last, though; other entities like AT&T are looking to obtain the last of the spectrum and other Alltel pieces that weren’t part of the original acquisition, as mandated by the government’s regulatory agency as part of the original deal with Verizon Wireless.

T-Mobile USA has beat out Verizon Wireless with 755 of 1,000 possible points in J.D. Power and Associates’ latest wireless customer care performance study, the highest out of all carriers tested, according to RCR Wireless News.

The report said that T-Mobile is adept at transferring calling customers over to a human customer service representative after passing through the carrier’s initial automated response system, improving its score along the way. Verizon Wireless came in second this time, followed by Alltel and AT&T, with Sprint-Nextel bringing up the rear.

“Much of T-Mobile’s success can be attributed to its ability to reach the customer very quickly,” said Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power and Associates, in the article. “More than one-third of T-Mobile subscribers report waiting less than two minutes on hold to speak with a representative. T-Mobile has proved successful when it comes to being prompt, courteous and efficient at identifying and resolving problems in the eyes of its customers.”