Samsung on Thursday unveiled two new dual-SIM smartphones, the Galaxy Y Duos and the Galaxy Y Pro Duos. A phone with two SIM card slots offers a number of benefits; it’s perfect for two people hoping to share a single phone in emerging markets, but it’s also great for business travelers that want to use one account for personal matters and a second as a business line. The Galaxy Y Duos runs Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and has a processor clocked at 832MHz and a 3-megapixel camera. The Galaxy Y Pro D...

If you’re looking forward to the possibility of flip-flopping your smartphone’s SIM card between a Verizon Wireless 4G phone and an AT&T 4G phone, we have some bad news for you. Verizon Wireless spokeswoman Brenda Raney confirmed to PCMag on Friday that the carrier’s 4G LTE phones will not be compatible with AT&T’s 4G LTE network because the phones “run on different frequencies.” PCMag explained that while the two carriers operate within the 700MHz frequency band, ...

In an interview with Reuters, Verizon Communications’ chief financial officer, Fran Shammo, reaffirmed several details about his company’s next iPhone offering. “Verizon’s [next iPhone] version will also work in as many countries as AT&T’s iPhone, which has global coverage,” writes Reuters, paraphrasing Mr. Shammo. The executive also noted that the inclusion of LTE in the next CDMA iDevice is not something Verizon has control over. “I think it’s a bigger iss...

Earlier this month we told you about a few new services that were capable of unlocking the iPhone remotely without the need for jailbreaking. Now it appears that some of those services have abruptly closed up shop — or at least discontinued their iPhone unlocking services — without any real explanation as to why. One service, CutYourSim, claims to have unlocked more than 400 devices, but says it’s suspending services and no longer has access to funds acquired through its operations. “Unfortuna...

The ability to use your phone for NFC mobile payments across borders just became a reality. Gemalto announced that it has developed the first UICC-embedded software application that is approved by Mastercard’s mobile payment specification for NFC. Gemalto’s software provides a number of features, including the Trusted Service Management interface for PayPass payments, and the ability to manage and view your mobile transaction history. Your SIM, and ultimately your phone, can be linked to debit, cr...

We have just been informed that as of February 15th, Telus in Canada will be offering SIM unlocking options on almost all handsets and devices. To qualify, you will need to be an active post-paid customer with an account that has been open for a minimum of 90 days. Telus will charge $50 for the unlock code and will unlock both iDEN and GSM devices. Not a bad offering, right?

I’ll admit it, while I have most aspects of my life under control and normalized, there is one, tiny section that seems to have complete control over me: my obsessive, compulsive need to switch mobile devices. In the grand scheme of things that I could project this obsessive tendency on, I suppose phones are fairly benign. So ladies and gentlemen, the reason I’m not switching to a Verizon iPhone? The thought of not having a SIM card gives me the shakes. (more…)

According to an unconfirmed report in The Telegraph Sunday morning, Apple has abandoned its plans to develop an integrated SIM card for the iPhone. The report, which cites a senior source at a mobile operator, suggests that Apple backed down from its plans in light of pressures from European carriers. Apple was rumored to be developing an integrated SIM card that would be commissionable by multiple operators. This would allow Apple to exclude carriers from the sale process. It would also allow customers to ea...

We knew that we would have the opportunity to pre-order Verizon Wireless’ DROID Pro today, but we didn’t really expect to see the DROID 2 Global. Late last night, Verizon quietly added the D2 Global edition to its handset lineup; the device is live on the the site and available to order. The spec sheet on the DROID 2 Global mirrors that of the original DROID 2, with the exception of an added quad-band GSM and tri-band UMTS radio for world roaming capabilities, an upgraded 1.2GHz processor, and a w...

It looks like Verizon is continuing to get their proverbial “ducks in a row” for the launch of the Motorola DROID 2 Global — an Android 2.2 handset with a 1.2GHz processor and international roaming capabilities. Earlier today, a version of Verizon’s VZ Navigator specific to the DROID 2 Global popped up in the Android market. We know the device will be available in both black and white and, judging by this latest bit of leaked information, the device should be hitting store shelves in t...

If we know one thing about Apple it is this: they like control… and this latest rumor seems to reaffirm that creed. Blog GigaOM is reporting that Apple is planning to release an iPhone with an integrated SIM that can be used on any wireless carrier — partnered with Apple — in the EU. A universal iPhone if you will. As the report explains:Sources inside European carriers have reported that Apple has been working with SIM-card manufacturer Gemalto to create a special SIM card that would allo...

We just received a shot of an internal AT&T memo detailing the carrier’s intention to start transitioning to LTE-capable SIM cards. AT&T has started preparing employees for a new SIM card that will be used for LTE handsets and devices, all except the iPhone 4 since that uses a microSIM card. AT&T tells employees to verify the SIM card is correct by checking the SKU on the card even though the new LTE cards are visibly different, just to be safe we’re assuming. It also appears there wil...

If you recently purchased — or have plans to purchase – a phone in the Samsung Galaxy S line, the folks over a xda-developers have a pretty interesting tutorial up on their forums. The instructions detail how to carrier-unlock your Galaxy S phone (e.g. Captivate, Vibrant, etc.) without the need to pay for a SIM unlocking service. The process is four steps long and looks to be a 4 or 5 out of 10 on the difficulty scale. Hit up the read link if you want to give this one a shot… and do let ...

Your EVO 4G, EPIC, DROID 2, and DROID X all have hotspot capabilities when they leave the factory. So why not your car? Audi has announced that they will have a factory installed “Marvell Mobile Hotspot” built-in to the new 2011 Audi A8 that is set to debut later this year. The hotspot will allow you to connect up to eight devices to your car, bringing sweet, sweet eyes-off-the-road internet capabilities to your German luxury sedan. The hotspot works by installing a data capable SIM into the A...