Mobile

Some Verizon Wireless subscribers will do almost anything to keep their unlimited data plans. And that includes buying a new device at full price instead of signing a two-year contract and taking a sweet subsidy on that new phone.

But what happens when a Verizon subscriber who bought a 3G iPhone realizes she may still see her unlimited data service slowed? In this edition of Ask Maggie, I explain the finer points of Verizon's unlimited data policy and why 3G device users need to be careful. I also help another reader decide if the Verizon Share Plan could work … Read more

U.K. carrier O2 is making a push for smartphone companies to stop bundling chargers in the box.

Earlier this week, O2 released a study that found that 82 percent of customers who bought the HTC One X+ over the last three months walked out of the store without buying a charger, despite the fact that a charger didn't come in the box. The company's test has led it to continue its mission of phasing out chargers in mobile phones it sells by 2015 and to urge its competitors to do the same.

"The results of the … Read more

Research In Motion will hold its apparently final BlackBerry 10 "Portathon" this weekend.

Running from 9 a.m. PT today to 8:59 p.m. PT tomorrow, the event will allow developers to port their applications available on other mobile platforms to BlackBerry 10. Each approved app will net the developers $100, up to a maximum of 20 applications. To sweeten the pot even more, RIM will enter all developers who submit five or more apps into a drawing for a free BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha device.

RIM has been running Portathon events for the last several weeks … Read more

Nokia Lumia 820 owners will be able to create their own cases for the handset.

Nokia today announced that it's now releasing 3D templates, case specs, and recommended material guidance to help Lumia 820 owners produce their own shell to replace the removable case on the back of the handset. Nokia has offered several cases for customers to choose from, but didn't allow owners to develop their own.

In order to actually create the cases, however, users will need to have access to a 3D printer. With 3D printing, users can input material and churn out their creation.… Read more

If the mobile phone giants are looking to strengthen their revenue streams in 2013, developing markets could be the best place to spot.

According to a new report from Nielsen Wire, smartphones still have "room to grow" in several top emerging markets.

Specifically, Nielsen found that feature phones, which researchers defined as "devices with no touchscreen, QWERTY keypad or operating system" are far more dominant in India and Russia, covering 80 percent and 51 percent of mobile users, respectively.

That's definitely not the case in the United States. For example, in another report from Nielsen in 2011, … Read more

A newer and beefier version of LG's Optimus G could be coming to town, at least to someone's town.

A leaked slide sent to blog site Engadget teased a host of alleged details about the Optimus G Pro. If the slide is on the money, the new smartphone would sport a 5-inch 1,920x1,080 pixel display and tap into a 1.7GHz Qualcomm quad-core Snapdragon processor for its power.

Running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, the Pro model would include 2GB of memory, 32GB of storage, and support for LTE. Also along for the ride would be … Read more

Apple has asked Sharp to decrease production of its 9.7-inch iPad screens, leading some to wonder if the iPad Mini is behind the move.

Sharp's iPad screen production line has fallen to "minimal level," Reuters reported today, citing people who claim to have knowledge of its output. The sources say the production slowdown commenced late last year.

Those sources say that the slowdown could be due to consumer demand increasingly shifting to the iPad Mini, though they would not say how much Apple's smaller slate could be impacting screen production. It's also possible, the … Read more

The cellular edition of the iPad Mini debuted in China today, but buyers will have to wait two weeks before it ships.

That delay also applies to the Wi-Fi only version, which has been out for about six weeks. A check of the Apple Store in China finds that all capacities of both the Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Cellular models are stuck with a two-week ship time.

iPad Mini buyers in the U.K., Japan, and other countries face the same delay, though the wait time in the U.S. is only one week.

Apple has been battling to meet global … Read more

Wi-Fi is quickly becoming a key part of almost every broadband providers' network strategy. But is the day soon coming when Wi-Fi will no longer be free?

That's a big unanswered question as operators signal they'd like to get more value out of their Wi-Fi networks.

According to a recent survey from Analysys Mason, on behalf of Amdocs, more wireless and cable operators than ever have deployed Wi-Fi networks. But many of these service providers see these networks, which are often offered to subscribers for free, as potential revenue generating assets in the future.

Most broadband service providers … Read more