Sprint is scheduled to reveal the innovative 4G phone, tagged as the HTC Supersonic, at the CTIA Wireless tradeshow in Las Vegas. The Wall Street Journal mentioned that the handset will run on Sprint’s WiMax powered 4G networks. Sprint’s 4G network is available in 27 markets at present and Sprint has eight new markets that are intended for release this year. The phone could sell this summer, but pricing has not been revealed.
Dubbed as the fastest, most complete and smartest address book you’ve ever used, Xobni is now ready for BlackBerry devices. Xobni Mobile (inbox spelled backwards) adds information about your contacts to your address book by design, It also ranks them by order of significance. Each contact you’ve ever emailed, or who has emailed you, will have a profile shaped for them. Xobni Mobile for BlackBerry costs $9.99, or you can purchase it for $6.99 with a $3.99 monthly subscription for Xobni One, or as a package deal for $39.90 per year.
Microsoft flaunted its free new developer tools for Windows Phone 7 Series during the MIX Conference in Las Vegas. The packages include Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone, XNA Game Studio 4.0, an Windows Phone 7 Series emulator, and a beta of Express Blend 4. A release candidate for Silverlight 4 is also available today. Microsoft talked about its new Windows Phone Marketplace that will now sustain try-before-you-buy apps, mobile billing, advertising-funded apps, and credit card purchases.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released its National Broadband Plan, a blueprint for how U.S. regulators will provide affordable broadband internet access to the roughly 100 million Americans that are not able to access the service. “The plan is in beta, and will always be. Like the Internet itself, the plan will always be changing-adjusting to new developments in technologies and markets, reflecting new realities, and evolving to realize the unforeseen opportunities of a particular time,” the document states. Half of the plan will be implementing by the FCC, and it plans to publish a timetable of its goals shortly. The other half of the recommendations will be presented to the Executive Branch, Congress, and state and local governments.
Apple has announced that it will change iPads with deteriorating batteries with brand new iPads for $99 plus a $6.95 in shipping fees. But the swap is limited to the condition wherein the handset needs service “due to the battery’s diminished ability to hold an electrical charge.” Any data stored on the iPad will be lost. Apple’s iPod and iPhone products also offer hard-to-replace batteries, and it has similar programs in place for those devices.
