AT&T wants customers who are still using 2G phones to upgrade to the company’s faster 3G and 4G networks, MarketWatch reported last week. The carrier is in the process of sending notices to customers asking them to upgrade their devices. “Your current, older-model 2G phone might not be able to make or receive calls and you may experience degradation of your wireless service in certain areas,” AT&T said in the letter. Mark Siegel, an AT&T spokesman, said the company is looking to use some of the 2G spectrum for newer technologies. “We’re simply urging them to upgrade to a new device if they want to,” he said. Siegel confirmed that the carrier sent notices to customers in the New York metropolitan area and may soon send them to other customers. He noted, however, that the program was voluntary and only affected a small number of subscribers. He also noted that most 2G phones will continue to work. “We are still supporting the 2G network,” Siegel said, although he did state that customers who continue to use 2G cell phones that operate on AT&T’s 1900-megahertz band will eventually lose service.

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China Mobile has yet to convince Apple to partner on an iPhone that supports its proprietary TD-SCDMA 3G network, but that hasn’t stopped the carrier from attracting customers to the device. In fact, China Mobile added 5 million new iPhone users in just four months, and it now serves a total of 9.5 million iPhone users, Bloomberg said. Each of those customers can use text, voice and 2G data, and all of the iPhone models it sells are unsubsidized. That may sound like a turnoff, but China Mobile has increased its iPhone user base by building out a nationwide Wi-Fi network to make up for its 3G shortcomings, and the carrier is also offering rebates worth as much as $440. The carrier plans to add an additional 1 million hotspots throughout China during the next three years, too. China Unicom has been an exclusive iPhone partner in China since 2005 and while it has less 3G subscribers than China Mobile, it is able to offer a 3G-capable iPhone because it operates a WCDMA 3G network. 

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If the countless emails that have hit our inbox over the course of the past few hours are to be believed, Verizon Wireless is having some issues in Virginia. And by “some issues,” we mean the carrier’s voice and data services are out of commission across the entire state. Verizon Wireless’ tech support team has confirmed the problem to BGR, and it states that the cause of the massive outage is currently unknown. Verizon says it is investigating the matter just as fast as it can, of course, though the company has no idea when service will be restored.

UPDATE: We’re told that service has been restored for most subscribers as of shortly before 5:00 PM.

Are you currently deciding whether you should get a new iPhone 4 from AT&T or wait a few weeks for the imminent Verizon iPhone launch? Do you need help determining which carrier provides the best cellular coverage in your most treaded areas? Do you just want extra fodder for the perpetual and infinitely ridiculous “my network is better than your network” argument that takes place on countless forums and blogs? Say hello to Coverage?, a new iOS app from Technomadia. The function of this great little app is quite simple; it allows users to quickly and easily view coverage maps for each of the four major U.S. carriers. Focus can be narrowed by carrier to 3G, 2G or roaming service, and multiple carriers can be viewed on the same map using simple toggle switches. The app uses Google Maps so it supports zooming and multitouch, and it really is quite useful for travelers and those who live in areas with fringe coverage. Coverage? costs $1.99 and is currently available in the App Store for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Hit the break for a video demo.

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Apple has just released an update to iOS, labeled iOS 4.0.2. The update, amongst other things, plugs the PDF security hole most notably used by the website jailbreakme.com. The update is available for the iPhone 3G, 3GS, and 4, iPod Touch 2G and 3G, as well as the iPad. If you have a jailbroken device, or think you might want to jailbreak your device at some point, we would recommend against applying this update. Everyone else, have at it!

Speculation is running rampant about the future of Palm after it lowered its guidance last week with analysts, pundits and bloggers alike offering up advice to the struggling company. One of the more unusual suggestions has Palm partnering up with Sprint to release a WiMAX handset, noting that the manufacturer and the carrier have had a close relationship in the past and the market for a WiMAX handset is brand new and wide open. Some analysts dismiss this idea, claiming that Palm would not risk its future on an untested and relatively niche market, and they point towards updated 3G hardware with a larger touchscreen and distribution on a major carrier like AT&T as Palm’s saving grace. The Wall Street Journal even chimed in with its “people familiar with the situation” reiterating the claim that Palm will release a webOS device on AT&T in the next few months and projecting that Palm has new hardware on tap for later this year. In the end, Palm has one or two final high stakes hands to play and let’s hope it has enough cash in the bank to be able to ante up what it needs to stay in the game.

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We know what you’re thinking, the DROID and CLIQ are just too cool, I need something more lame. Well, Motorola has got you covered. Say hello the the MOTO Klassic. This new hotness oddness lameness clamshell will only be available in Korea for the time being but the specs are pretty mind blowing: blazing 2G connectivity, a 5 megapixel camera, external touch screen, and (brace yourself) an “espresso color keypad.” Truth be told, we weren’t completely sold on this one until we read about the espresso colored keypad. So put down those wallets DROID fans, you might want to just wait and see if this hot little number is coming to the good old U.S.A.

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No doubt most everyone has already seen Verizon’s “There’s a Map for That” ad campaign and had a good chuckle over it, but apparently the big wigs at AT&T are the only ones not laughing and have decided to sue Verizon. The logic behind the move? AT&T feels Verizon is attempting to deliberately mislead the public with its map comparing Verizon’s nationwide 3G coverage to AT&T’s limited 3G coverage. Granted all major cities and towns have AT&T 3G, but AT&T would really like Verizon to show its EDGE network, which according to AT&T spans 1.75 million square miles and reaches 256 million people, a little bit of love on the map. Cute move AT&T, but you might want to think about transferring some money from your legal budget to your network upgrade budget so you can bolster up your fledgling 3G network.Read

Following up on the success of purplera1n, iPhone hacker extraordinaire geohot has released a jailbreak solution for OS 3.1.2 dubbed blackra1n. Currently only being offered to Windows users, blackra1n works on all generations of the iPhone and iPod touch, although the 3rd gen iPod touch needs to be tethered. The installation method for blackra1n is unchanged from that of its predecessor meaning that all you really have to do is download and install the app to your PC, plug in your device and make it ra1n. Good luck!

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Okay everyone, just calm down. After our scoop from earlier this month revealed that AT&T’s Nokia Mural had to be pulled from store shelves, the country erupted with panic. Crowds stormed the streets, the stock market crashed and riots enveloped major cities from coast to coast. No? Fine, no one really cared beyond the team at Nokia that put the handset together and the team at AT&T that had to re-flash all of those bungled handsets. The issue — a software error that prevented the Mural from connecting to AT&T’s 3G network — has apparently been resolved as we’ve received word from a few sources that Murals are beginning to trickle back into inventory. Actually, it’s pretty impressive that Murals are already starting to hit stores again considering the deadline for distributors to return their stock was yesterday. Kudos, AT&T. So there you have it, feature phone fans — the Mural is once again ready and waiting to gobble up $50 and two years of your wireless life. Don’t try to hide it… We know you’re excited.

Thanks to blue and everyone else who sent this in!

With the ever-increasing popularity of handsets like the iPhone, Pre, Curve, Storm and so on, US mobile users are clearly warming up to devices tied to unlimited data plans. In fact, many would argue that owning a smartphone without unlimited data is mind boggling. In July of 2008, Nielsen estimated that 14 percent of US wireless subscribers had unlimited data plans. Following the tremendous success of devices like the iPhone 3G and BlackBerry Storm, we’re certain this number has ballooned since Nielsen’s report. Considering there are over 275 million wireless subscribers here in the US, we’re probably looking at somewhere around 50 million unlimited data plan-toting people currently gobbling up the nation’s wireless bandwidth.

Devices by RIM, Apple and Palm take advantage of unlimited data plans and keep a data connection alive at all times. Why wouldn’t they? This active data connection allows apps to go from dormant to useful with minimal delay — when it comes to UX of course, every millisecond counts. Enter S60 devices. Because the US is pretty low on the totem pole when it comes to Nokia’s target markets, S60 handles data differently. Abroad of course, unlimited data plans are not in abundance as they are here. Data is more expensive so every kilobit counts. As such, S60 handsets leave it up to applications to initiate a new data session each time they need to communicate. Since data sessions are then closed when an app is done communicating, users save money by minimizing throughput. Abroad, this is a great cost-saving feature. In the US, it’s merely a burden.

Since BGR HQ just took on a few new Nokia handsets, we were promptly reminded of S60′s connectivity data connectivity issues. As it happens however, a Nokia rep alerted us to a solution. Buried deep within the device settings where even most S60 power users we discussed the matter with couldn’t find it, there is a simple setting that can be adjusted to keep your data connection alive. On your S60 handset go to Settings -> Connection -> Packet Data, change “When Needed” to “When Available” and then key in your Access Point. You’ll now find that your handset keeps a data connection alive and when you launch data-dependant apps, they will spring to life much faster than before. Of course battery life will be affected to some extent, but you’ll have to decide which you value more: longevity where battery life is concerned or efficiency where usage is concerned. Unfortunately, it’s a choice S60 users are currently forced to make.

Well lookie what we have here, iPod Touch owners. As exciting as the upcoming 3.0 OS is, and as much as we know you can’t wait to pay for it while iPhone users get it for free, we all know that most of the desirable capabilities brought about by 3.0 are already available — if you jailbreak. We’ve been waiting for quite some time and just a a short while ago, the Dev Team dropped the bomb. Redsn0w… Beta… Is ready. Oh and the best part? Windows, Linux and OS X are all covered with this first beta release. Ok, we’ll shut up now and let you get to it. As always, let us know how it goes in the comments section.

[Via Dev-Team Blog]

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Put off by the £1,000 price tag LG and Orange will reportedly attempt to fetch for the upcoming GD910 watch phone? Don’t fret, English brothers, as your dreams of hitting the streets Dick Tracy style are not dead in the water just yet. Hyundai has just confirmed it will soon be launching a new watch phone of its own and just as the company has done in other markets, the touchscreen MB-910 watch phone is all about undercutting the competition. The MB-910 is much less capable than LG’s offering of course, but it does have a few advantages. Price, first and foremost, and a slightly better display resolution of 132 x 176 pixels — though it only supports 65K colors. The unit also has a 400mAh battery rated by Hyundai at 70 hours of standby and three hours of talk time. It will support voice, SMS, MMS, email, video playback and music playback, though its 128MB of internal memory will certainly limit the usefulness of any video and music capabilities. Finally, no 3G to be found unfortunately, though we’re not so sure it’s necessary just yet in a watch phone. Hyundai’s MB-910 will be released in the UK some time in Q2 and will run a respectable £200 ($277), including a Bluetooth headset.

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