Hasta La Gadget!

Owners of the unlocked HTC One have already received the update to Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, but now it’s time for the smartphone’s US carrier variants to get the goods. HTC USA took to Twitter today to announce that the 4.3 rollout is starting for Sprint customers now, with AT&T and T-Mobile set to get the update later in mid-October and Verizon by the end of the month. The latest version of Jelly Bean, for those who need a refresher, brings improved low-light camera performance, a battery charging percentage indicator and the usual bug fixes. Have an HTC One on Sprint? Let us know if you’ve received the latest software — and what you think — in the comments.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, HTC, Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile

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Via: Android Beat

Source: HTC USA (Twitter)

It’s no longer a summertime tease: FreedomPop’s freemium mobile phone service is now officially a go. Launched in beta today, the operator’s basic plan offers consumers a voice/text/data bundle that nets them 200 anytime minutes, 500 texts and 500MBs for the price of, well, nothing per month — and it’s contract-free, too. There’s also a more robust unlimited voice and text package for chattier users that runs about $11/mo. Keep in mind, FreedomPop’s network piggybacks on Sprint 3G, WiMAX and LTE, so coverage, reception and call quality (it’s VoIP) will be vary depending on your location and any data overages will cost you $0.01/MB and $10/GB.

It’s not all free champagne and strawberries, though — there is an actual price of entry, and it comes in the form of HTC’s EVO Design, offered at a very reasonable $99. Users accustomed to more device choice will have to hold out until later this year, as FreedomPop does plan to add other Android devices to its lineup. For now, though, it’s extremely slim pickings. But can you really look a gift horse in the mouth? We didn’t think so, freeloaders.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Sprint

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Apple offers iPhones through both large and small US carriers these days, but it has so far given Boost Mobile the cold shoulder. That may soon change, however — @evleaks has just leaked ads hinting that Boost will get the iPhone 5c and 5s in the near future. While the images don’t reveal any launch dates or pricing, they suggest that both smartphones will be eligible for the provider’s “shrinking” unlimited rates. The expansion isn’t all that crucial given the upcoming 5c and 5s launches through Virgin Mobile, but it doesn’t hurt to have another option for low-cost iPhone service.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple, Sprint

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Source: @evleaks (Twitter)

A few days back T-Mobile announced that it will no longer be offering BlackBerry devices in its retail stores. Apart from keeping only one unit in a store for demonstration purposes, T-Mobile will only sell BlackBerry devices online to its customers. The move came amid uncertain times for BlackBerry, which is nearing a $4.7 billion acquisition and possibly losing its manufacturing partner. Sprint chief financial officer Joe Euteneur has said that the carrier will “wait and see” before it makes any decision regarding dropping BB devices from its retail stores.

Verizon, the largest network in the country, doesn’t seem to be following T-Mobile’s strategy as well. Its CEO, Lowell McAdam, said recently that the carrier’s decision about BlackBerry would depend on the wishes of its customers. It warrants mentioning here that the Big Red is one of the first carriers in the U.S. that is expected offer BlackBerry’s new Z30 smartphone. Times have been tough for BlackBerry. It recently announced a nearly $1 billion operating loss for its second fiscal quarter, much of it was accounted for by unsold Z10 inventory. The company’s new BB10 devices were supposed to turn things around, but they haven’t been able to bring back a fraction of the market share this Canadian company once commanded.

Sprint To ‘Wait And See’ If It Will Drop BlackBerry Devices From Stores original content from Ubergizmo.

It was just last year that two major mergers were announced: T-Mobile and MetroPCS and Sprint with Japan’s Softbank. However as far as major carriers are concerned, there are still four in the US with AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint, although it could have been three if the AT&T and T-Mobile deal had gone through. In any case it seems that T-Mobiles CFO, Braxton Carter, believes that more consolidation in the US wireless market is in the cards for the future, and to that extent he also believes that a merger between T-Mobile and Sprint would be the “logical ultimate combination”.

When asked if both carriers had been talking to each other over such a possibility, Carter declined to say anything on the matter, leading us to think that if they had not been talking, he would have outright denied it. It does not mean that there is a deal taking place, but the idea that both carriers have toyed with the idea and possibility would not be a stretch of the imagination. Carter admitted that such consolidation could be hard due to government restrictions, especially in the face of the failed merger attempt by AT&T and T-Mobile, but at the same time a consolidation between Sprint and T-Mobile, usually viewed as the smaller two compared to AT&T and Verizon, would create a more competitive environment.

T-Mobile Believes Merger With Sprint Would Be The “Ultimate Combination” original content from Ubergizmo.