Verizon Wireless will soon publish an API that allows users to temporarily “turbocharge” their data speeds for a fee. The new API must be implemented into mobile apps by their developers, and it will offer users a “turbo button” that gives individual apps a speed boost. PCMag reports that the service will be tied to an on-device payment system, and subscribers will have to pay each time they want to temporarily increase their data speeds. These pay-per-use speed boosts will also be giv...

Nintendo’s president Satoru Iwata said sales of the company’s Nintendo 3DS device in Europe and the United States were weaker than expected after the portable gaming console made its debut in April for $250. However, Nintendo dropped the price of the 3Ds to $179 after the company reported its first quarterly operating loss. The move quickly boosted sales in Japan and has reportedly resulted in a huge boost of sales in the United States, too. Nintendo sold 50,000 units between August 1st and August...

We’re here live at the Boost Mobile’s media event in New York City where the prepaid carrier just announced the Samsung Galaxy Prevail — its first CDMA Android powered smartphone. The Galaxy Prevail runs Android 2.2 (Froyo) and sports a 3.2-inch touchscreen display, 2 megapixel rear-facing camera, Bluetooth, and free subscription to Telenav for voice-guided turn-by-turn directions. During our initial hands-on, it was immediately clear that the Galaxy Prevail does not have the same hardware prowe...

In response to the tsunami and earthquake, Boost Mobile has announced that it’s joining other U.S. carriers in waiving fees for texts and calls to Japan. It will credit international fees for text messages and surcharges made for voice calls to Japan for a one-month period. Boost Mobile says its airtime rate of $0.10 per minute still applies for customers on its Pay As You Go Plan. Credits will be retroactive from March 11th and will be honored through April 11th, 2011. Hit the jump for the official sta...

Typically, the word “shrinkage” isn’t a good thing, however… if you’re a wireless provider it could actually be a selling point. Today, Sprint announced a new program known as “Monthly Unlimited with Shrinkage” for its Boost Mobile prepaid customers. As Boost’s website explains:Boost will lower your monthly payment by $5 for every 6 on-time payments. Monthly Unlimited with Shrinkage customers can shrink their monthly payments from $50 to as low as $35/month. Bla...

Just like we said last night, June 20th will see the U.S. retail release of the Motorola i1. It will be available from Boost Mobile retailers as well as from both Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile. Pricing was not disclosed (we imagine it to be around $350), but we did get confirmation that you’ll be able to hook up the world’s first Push-to-Talk Android smartphone to Boost’s $50 unlimited voice and data plan. (more…)

Thanks to one of our connects, we’ve scored a shot of Sprint’s playbook which contains some upcoming launch dates. The first on the list confirms that the Motorola i1 we scooped way back will definitely launch on June 20th in stores. However, it won’t be available in stores for purchase until July 11th. Next up is the Samsung Intercept M910 (what some have referred to as the Samsung Moment II). The presumably Android-based Samsung Intercept is due to launch on July 11th as well, for online a...

Some huge news this evening in the world of prepaid mobiles as Sprint has announced its new strategies for Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile. With some 60 million Americans using prepaid mobiles, Sprint feels the time is right to make an all-out assault on the market. Said Sprint’s Dan Schulman: “This is the year that prepaid moves to the forefront of the wireless industry. In the first quarter of 2010, more than half of the mobile gross additions in the U.S. selected prepaid, and we predict that ap...

Remember the Opus One, the Android-powered iDEN handset from Motorola we scooped and then spec’d just before Christmas? Well apparently it’s going to be made official sometime in the next few weeks (hello, CTIA!) and will feature one added but obvious goodie: MOTOBLUR. Since we know most of you don’t have encyclopedic memories, here’s a bit of a refresher on what we’ve been told this phone is all about:3.1″ hVGA 320×480 capacitive touchscreen display3 megapixel autofocus cam...

When we say we have specifications, boy, do we mean it. One of our connects has sent us the full rundown on Motorla’s Opus One (their first iDEN Android handset) that we revealed a little while back. The features on the device are actually pretty reasonable, and we’d imagine it to sell for a reasonable attractive price-point at release. The Motorola Opus One will run Android 1.5 with iDEN service enhancements, make use of a “Zeus” CPU, and will feature a 3 megapixel autofocus camera.De...

We’re a little light on details at the moment, but we’ve just received a couple photographs of what we’re told is Motorola’s first Android iDEN handset, codenamed the Opus One. Original, huh? While these images come from a new connect, we’ve heard mumblings about this sort of thing for a little bit and the phone in the pictures mostly fits the description. We’re waiting for confirmed specifications, but in the meantime, enjoy the rest of the photos after the break! (more...

Sprint seems to keep bleeding, keep, keep, bleeding subscribers. After losing 801,000 post-paid subscribers, which is slightly better than the 870,000 that analysts expected, Sprint might need to really change its game to do more than just stay afloat. Consequently, Sprint’s losses for the quarter are a whopping $478 million compared to $326 million YoY. Revenue dropped about nine percent to $8.04 billion. Interestingly enough, Sprint’s prepaid service, Boost, added over 600,000 subscribers thanks...

Good news for Boost Mobile customers as the carrier has just matched its $50 unlimited iDEN plan pricing for CDMA customers. Starting today, customers on an UNLTD $50 Unlimited Talk, $60 Unlimited Talk & Text or $70 Unlimited Talk, Text & Web plans will automatically be switched to the new $50 per month plan which offers unlimited nationwide talk, text and web in the 13 states where Boost’s CDMA service is available (Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi...

It won’t be winning any beauty pageants any time soon but Boost Mobile users waiting for a relatively rugged QWERTY handset will soon have a new option in the Motorola Clutch i465. Sprint and Boost obviously recognize that messaging is a bit of a hot topic these days and as such, we can expect the carrier to start rolling out a few QWERTY handsets to ensure its text-hungry customers are covered. First up, for better or worse, is the Clutch. It’s styling is certainly polarizing but love it or hate ...