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Folks in the market for a new Verizon Wireless phone can save an additional $35 this weekend at Wirefly.com. Verizon Wireless is waiving the activation for all new accounts today through midnight on Sunday. Current free phone offers include the LG Voyager, the Motorola Krave and the BlackBerry Curve 8330. Other great deals available: LG Dare for [...]

Samsung had been planning on introducing a new phone featuring Google’s Android operating system, but that has been put on hold for the immediate future.

Initial reports said Samsung would release its Android device some time in the second quarter of 2009, but according to an article in The Guardian, the head of marketing at Samsung’s mobile division, Younghee Lee, said the company is “planning internally” for a release in the second half of the year. Lee added that Samsung is in negotiations with a number of operators to bring its Android device to market.

Samsung is expected to hold a press conference in the coming days to clarify news about the phone.

Welcome to our roundup of the week’s top mobile phone news stories, and one where we are quivering with anticipation for next week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona!  But for now it’s not all MWC related, as we’ve also got a Star Trek VoIP phone, a Lego phone and a girlfriend for iPhone users.

1.  Nokia Wants Us to be Happy!

Taking its ‘Connecting People’ philosophy to the next level, Nokia is offering a free anonymous SMS service for Valentine’s Day.  A series of default messages from a simple Happy Valentine’s Day to Shakespearean quotes can be sent to your secret love by visiting their dedicated website right now.

2.  The Lego Phone is Coming!

This week we have also seen a Lego video camera, but it was this Alcatel branded Lego phone which really piqued our interest.  We’ve forgiven the total lack of (more…)

Post from Dial-a-Phone, UK's no. 1 for Mobile Phones.

The nüvifone M20 runs Windows Mobile 6.1 professional with push email and document viewing capabilities, and features a "desktop-like" Internet browser. Bluetooth, and as you probably guessed, Garmin navigation are on hand.

The Sat Nav system is more robust than the typical GPS-equipped phone; shipping with pre-loaded maps and points of interest - as we're used to seeing in dedicated car navigation systems. The camera's 3MP pictures are automatically geo-tagged. Other location-based services include weather and traffic reports.

The M20 is a 3.5G GSM handset with HSPDA connectivity. It will sync with computers via Wi-Fi, and can achieve download speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps. Nüvifone features a full soft QWERTY on its 2.8", TFT touchscreen, which weighs in at 640 X 480 pixels. Models with 4 and 8 GB of storage will be available. Price-points and launch dates will be announced in the first half of the year.

On February 24th, G1 owners can have full color, 3D, turn-by-turn TeleNav navigation in their hands. The software features voice recognition, traffic alerts, and one-touch re-routing. The first 30 days are free, but after that you've got to cough up $9.99 per month. Considering the massive database of maps and points of interest at your fingertips, that might be a pretty good deal. Sounds like a good way to drain your battery, though.

We'll have a video review as soon as possible, and I have a feeling I'll be using my windshield-mountable charging cradle from WirelessGround. There's a video review coming soon for that as well.

Like many of you reading this article, my first reaction to this news out of Big Red's camp was something to the effect of "WHAT?  This is coming from VERIZON?"  My friends, your eyes are not deceiving you not only is Verizon Wireless allowing former Alltel customers to keep their respective MyCircle plans, but the company seems to have realized the tremendous success behind the popular program, and is launching "Family & Friends;" their version of the feature.

Beginning Sunday, February 15th, customers with Nationwide Single plans of 900 minutes or more will be offered five numbers to call anytime, and those with Nationwide Family Share plans of 1400 minutes or higher will be afforded ten numbers to call.  As with many plans of this type, special numbers (i.e. those pay-per-use numbers you may see late at night while you're watching TV, or 411), voicemail, and any numbers outside of the United States do not qualify.  Number changes can be submitted at any point throughout the bill cycle, however they take effect the following day.

This is great news for Verizon Wireless customers, and it seems as if the feature is going to be auto-added, meaning there will be no need to extend your contract to obtain it.  Check out the specifications sheet below for more information on the program.  Now, it's time to call up the folks: with the implementation of this program, they have no more excuses for not calling me before 9:00.




Image via PhoneArena

The company, which shares the name of their flagship product, is garnering all kinds of recognition (and funding) for their revolutionary approach to mobile phone design. In the photo below, the device in the middle represents the actual phone/music player, which can be mounted as a 2 GB Mass Storage Device. It slides in and out of jackets, which can simply spiff the device up or provide additional functionality. A video of the modular gadget in action (dressed and undressed) can be viewed here. Pretty slick.


The jackets will be available Q2, but not in the States.

Since we can't actively cover every news article that breaks (as much as we would love to), PhoneDog compiles various news announcements that have been published throughout the week and places it in one easy to read article.  Enjoy! 


Orange offering free BlackBerry service to select business customers
Orange business customers appear to be getting a break from the carrier, as any business customer signing up for wireless service in February or March will receive free BlackBerry Internet Service for the life of their agreement.  The economy was the motivating factor for the seldom heard of promotion, according to Martin Lyne, Director of small and medium business, Orange UK:

"We recognise the continuing tough times ahead for all our customers and the fact that mobile technology is actually no longer a luxury for many businesses but a necessity.  With that in mind, this offer is designed to give our customers a bit of a financial break and help them stay in touch while alleviating the need of worrying about their bill for a little while."  Via Orange

MetroPCS launches in Waco, Texas
MetroPCS continues to launch new markets, and this time, it's unpacking in Waco, Texas.  Famous for its unlimited flat rate plans starting at $30, the carrier will have eight authorized dealers in the area at launch, with four serving as authorized service centers.  MetroPCS customers will have access to all existing MetroPCS markets, as well as nationwide calling (with added feature).
Via IntoMobile

Low number of BlackBerry Curve 8900 devices sent to T-Mobile corporate stores
Reports are coming in saying that many corporate stores across the nation only received five BlackBerry Curve 8900 devices.  The devices are hard to come by across the US, and as a result, Engadget Mobile was successfully able to obtain an official statement from T-Mobile:

"Presales of the BlackBerry Curve 8900 from T-Mobile have been robust, and we continue to experience strong demand through launch. Due to its popularity, quantities may be limited in some stores, and we are working to meet the strong demand. The Curve 8900 is also available online at T-Mobile.com, and by calling 1-800-T-MOBILE. We're pleased to see our customers' excitement for the thinnest, lightest full-QWERTY BlackBerry on the market."
Via Engadget Mobile

TeleNav to arrive on the HTC G1
Finally, no more carrying around several devices to make sure you don't get lost.  Launching on February 24th, TeleNav will be supported on T-Mobile's HTC G1, utilizing the GPS module found in the device (and, obviously, giving T-Mobile customers something to be happy about).  A 30 day free trial will be offered, followed by a monthly charge of $9.99.  Among other features, the program will offer speech recognition, traffic alerts, gas prices, and weather updates.  Via Engadget Mobile

Noah heads down to Mountain View to get a preview of Skyfire 0.9, and then heads back to the East Bay to get ready for MWC. Samsung, LG, HTC, Nokia, Sony Ericsson - everyone in the mobile industry is headed to Barcelona, Spain to show off their newest phones and services. Noah's going, too ...