Verizon, Gadgets | featured news

AT&T, Verizon and Sprint announced Friday the arrival of the 4G LTE models of Apple's iPad mini and fourth generation iPad. Apple's iPad mini is a smaller, cheaper version of the iPad. The mini tablet features at 7.9-inch screen with 1,024 x 768 display resolution, front- and rear-facing cameras and 1080p HD video recording.

Following in Verizon's footsteps, AT&T Inc. said Wednesday that it will introduce wireless plans that let subscribers connect up to 10 phones or other devices. Connected phones get unlimited calling and texting, and all devices get wireless data access. The devices tap into a limited pool of data usage, which gets renewed each month.

Verizon’s new data plans announced on Tuesday are expected to be followed by others in the industry as wireless firms focus their attention on charges for Internet data, according to analysts... The new plans, to launch June 28, are expected to motivate families to get more devices onto a single plan, according to analyst Craig Moffett, of Sanford C. Bernstein. That business strategy benefits the biggest wireless carriers — AT&T and Verizon Wireless — and presents new problems for competitors trying to chip away at those firms’ dominance.

Apple Inc is betting a 4G-equipped iPad will tempt more U.S. consumers to pay extra to watch high-quality video on the go, and in turn, give Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc a revenue boost.

Verizon and AT&T will sell a version of the upcoming iPad that runs on their newest fourth-generation wireless networks, as the battle to cash in on big investments in mobile broadband heats up.

For the third time this month, Verizon Wireless is experiencing data service outages for some users of its 3G and 4G networks in various places around the country, according to customer reports.

Verizon Wireless is blocking Google's new flagship phone from supporting Google's attempt to make the smartphone the credit card of the future. In blocking the Google Wallet software from running on the new Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Verizon Wireless said Tuesday that it was waiting to provide a wallet application until it can offer "the best security and user experience." Verizon and rivals AT&T Inc. and T-Mobile USA are part of a consortium called ISIS that is planning its own payment system.

Addicted to Netflix on your mobile phone? Good news, then. Sprint will not only get Apple's next iPhone handset, it has a plan to use it to peel users away from larger rivals AT&T and Verizon: unlimited data for $99.99 a month, Bloomberg reported Friday. Sprint's rivals now charge extra for data service.

The Motorola Droid Bionic is Verizon's first dual-core, LTE phone, a $299 behemoth that wraps together everything the carrier has to offer. Techies on Verizon have been waiting a long time for this phone. Does it live up to the hype?

Verizon and Intuit announced Thursday that they are teaming up to introduce a mobile payment system that will let customers swipe their credit cards with their smartphones. Verizon will sell the Intuit Reader smartphone accessory in its retail stores. The Reader plugs into the audio jack of most Android phones, BlackBerrys, the iPhone and the iPad.
The product rollout is intended to make it easy for small-business owners and others to process mobile payments, likely boosting sales of smartphones.