Hasta La Gadget!

It’s been a really uproarious week for CEOs in the tech community — and it looks like the fun is not quite over yet. Early this morning T-Mobile USA announced the departure of CEO Robert Dotson after 15 years with the company. His resignation will take effect in February of 2011, and he’ll stay on the company’s board until May, with former T-Mobile Deutschland CEO Philip Humm stepping in to fill his shoes. There aren’t many other details available regarding the reason for his departure, but we’ll keep our ear to the ground for you. The full press release follows.

Continue reading T-Mobile USA CEO Robert Dotson announces his departure

T-Mobile USA CEO Robert Dotson announces his departure originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 May 2010 12:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iSuppli finds worldwide cellphone shipments are up 13.8 percent, Motorola’s share slipping originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 May 2010 19:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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My, talk about a breath of fresh air. Canadian wireless subscribers have long since dealt with inhumane three-year contracts on mainstays like Rogers and Bell, signing over their cellular soul on a whim in order to get a marginally subsidized phone and a guaranteed bill for 36 months. We’ve heard for awhile now that Mobilicity was jonesing to change things up in the Great White North, and change it has. Shortly after receiving an all-important green light from the CRTC, the company has gone live with mobile service in Toronto, with a number of other large Canadian cities to follow in the months ahead. What’s most unique about the service, however, is that every single plan it sells is unlimited in nature, and there’s nary a contract to be found — you simply pick the phone you want, the plan you want, and then you pay upfront. It’s most akin to the various prepaid options here in the States (Virgin Mobile, Boost Mobile, etc.), but still — it’s a lovely alternative to have if you’re a Canuck. Unlimited calling and texting can be had for just $35 per month, while $65 per month nets you unlimited everything (including global texting, US long distance calling and data usage). The phone selection ain’t half bad either, with the only major “gotcha” being that extra roaming fees can apply if you use your mobile outside of metro Toronto (or in the future, away from the carrier’s specific coverage cities). Hit up the source link to get the facts straight from the horse’s moose’s mouth.

[Thanks, Endi]

Mobilicity launches service in Toronto: all plans unlimited, no contracts to speak of originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 May 2010 04:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Call us crazy, but it seems as if the FCC has been earning its keep of late, and the toiling continues today with an effort meant to address “bill shock.” For those unaware, bill shock is a phenomena on par with bitter beer face in terms of significance, and it typically occurs when you accidentally roam internationally, text well beyond your monthly limit or burn through your minutes within the first week of your billing period. ‘Course, some would argue that you — as a functioning human being — should keep tabs on how often you use your own mobile, but we wouldn’t kvetch with a heads-up here and there so long as these alerts are cheap and easy to implement. As of today, the Consumer Task Force is listening for solutions, and while some carriers already ping you when you leave the country and are about to incur severe roaming charges, that practice is far from uniform. Too bad such a service would essentially nix your ability to play the ignorance card when you get back from that jaunt to Mexico, eh?

Continue reading FCC task force seeks to squash ‘bill shock,’ give you the 411 on impending overages

FCC task force seeks to squash ‘bill shock,’ give you the 411 on impending overages originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 May 2010 13:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re not sure how we missed this one, but it’s better late than never — turns out some lucky jerks in China were given a Lenovo LePhone to play with back in mid-April, and the guys at Sooyuu have just finished the fifth and final part of their lengthy review, just in time for the May launch. We weren’t expecting any changes since our last encounter at CES, but apparently the 3.7-inch screen’s now been upgraded from LCD to AMOLED, and like the Palm Pre, the LePhone also sports a gesture area below the screen. Of course, there’s also the never-before-seen packaging that we totally dig, not to mention the bundled goodies such as a leather case, a noise-isolation handsfree kit (but sans music and volume control), plus a magnetic dock adapter. As for software, the reviewer praises Lenovo’s snappy, heavily customized Android with its vast Chinese social networking service integration, music store, video apps, and an impressive Chinese turn-by-turn navigation suite. We almost want to adopt this baby, only to be let down by its 3.2-megapixel camera’s mediocre quality, lack of flash, and inability to autofocus. Anyhow, you can be the final judge — head over to Sooyuu for plenty more pictures.

Lenovo LePhone unboxed, exhaustively reviewed ahead of launch in China originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 May 2010 17:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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