T-mobile

If you're on T-Mobile UK and have an Omnia 7, you'll be excited to know that starting today, the official-official Mango update for that device will begin rolling out.

The Omnia 7 (along with the AT&T Dell Venue Pro and Focus v1.4) were the only devices that had hiccups with the Mango update, requiring a little extra attention from Samsung in this case. That has caused a delay by only a few weeks but for some who want those drivers it feels like an enternity.

No word on any new features like tethering, so let us know if you find anything.

Source: T-Mobile support forums; Thanks, John C., for the tip!

We saw the Lumia 710 listed on the US Nokia site the other day. Some sites reported that this was just for information purposes only and did not mean the Lumia 710 was headed to the US anytime soon.

While that may still be the case, it is curious to see a Lumia 710 soar through the United States FCC sporting the T-Mobile-unique 3G 1700 band (as well as 850 and 1900 ones). The device cleared on September 26th with results posted on October 24th. It comes with an A/C and USB adapters and headphones, all of which were looked at by the FCC.

We know it's the Lumia 710 because Nokia refers to it as "QMNRM-809" for the FCC ID in all documents. If we look at Nokia's Declaration of Conforimity in Europe for the Lumia 710, you'll notice"RM-809" is used interchangeably with "Nokia 710.1".

So, will T-Mo be getting this? Signs point to yes, but we've seen devices get FCC approval before and never launched. Nothing is set in stone, but it's a decent sign at least. Let the leaks begin!

Source: FCC; Thanks, Zsolt B., for the links!

When T-Mobile finally announced the Radar 4G, one thing that was missing was a firm release date. We knew it cleared the FCC and we've seen it videoed already, but all we had for a time-frame was "Holiday season".

Well, consider this your clarification. The HTC Radar 4G is set to launch on T-Mobile on Wednesday, November 2nd--just under 30 days from now. Price is a sane and expected $199 on contract.

Of course, we have a feeling that a lot of you will be griping about the lack of a proper HD7 successor--notably the Titan missing from the lineup. Sadly, this launch lineup adds nothing to that disappointment, although we have to admit, the Radar 4G is a very nice phone. In fact, we're going to advise a lot of you to at least play with it in the store/get a hands on before you outright dismiss it, because its screen and build quality are some of the best we've ever seen--no joke.

Source: TmoNews

It won't be too long before WP7 Mango is updated on every available device available, no matter which carrier they're on. According to an announcement on T-Mobile UK's customer support forums, the service provider is already working to bring Mango to the current lineup of devices.

The update isn't expected for a couple of weeks, but if you're a T-Mobile customer in the UK, at least you have something cool to look forward to. We're pretty happy with what Mango has brought already, and there's no doubt that you will be as well, in the coming weeks.

Source: T-Mobile UK Support Forums; Via: Twitter (@topleya)

WinRumors has received a tip that includes promotion material for T-Mobile in Germany. The poster shows that the carrier is preparing for Nokia handsets and were briefly displayed at T-Mobile’s on-site shop at the company’s corporate headquarters in Bonn, Germany.

The promotion shows the handset (possibly the revealed Sabre) with T-Mobile's Media Center and Top Apps installed. Description reads:

"With Nokia drive safely at the finish – including 3D representation and voice-controlled navigation.

New operating system: Windows phone 7.5 (Mango)

Brilliant 3.7 ” convex Amoled display"

Featuring improved GPS navigation, this news will hopefully indicate handset availability soon after announcements made at the upcoming Nokia World event.

Source: WinRumors

Good news for those on T-Mobile wanting the HTC Radar 4G--the device has successfully cleared the FCC, meaning it's in T-Mobile's hands now to approve it on their network and get it stocked for shipping.

The 3.8" screen, "4G" speeds and slick front and rear cameras make this is a solid middle of the road offering on T-Mo, especially with that white eye-catching color. The only other interesting info from the FCC docs that we can see is the model number: P106110. So if you see that number anywhere else, you know what phone its referring to.

Hopefully with those Mango updates coming this week, T-Mobile will get this phone out the door sooner than later. AT&T has the Focus S FCC cleared as well, so it looks like these two are aiming for the same time frame.

Source: FCC; via TmoNews

Even though AT&T still has a major hurdles to overcome in their move to buy T-Mobile (Justice Department litigation, customer opposition, litigation from States, etc.) they are still doing their best to pitch this acquisition in a positive light. The latest comes in the form of a leaked internal T-Mobile memo that outlines proper responses to customer questions on the acquisition.

The memo addresses what happens, if the purchase goes through, with T-Mobile customers rate plans and it goes something like this.

Scripted question: "Will my service or bill change due to the AT&T announcement?"

Scripted Answer: "No. While AT&T and T-Mobile have agreed to an acquisition, it will not be finalized for an estimated 12 months. Until that time, T-Mobile customers will not see any significant changes to their current T-Mobile experience as a result of the pending transaction."

The scripted reply continues to say, "If the acquisition is approved AT&T will honor the terms of each T-Mobile customer's contract. T-Mobile customers will be able to keep their rate plans. They will be able to do so for as long as they want to, even when their terms end and the service continues on a month-to-month basis."

This is a nice gesture and the right thing to do but what we don't know is what happens if you decide to upgrade phones? Go from that feature phone to a Windows Phone do you get to go to an AT&T plan? One would suspect if you make the purchase and enjoy the contractual discounts, you'd have to enter a new contract.  A new contract that has AT&T rates and scraps your T-Mobile plans. 

But that's only a guess on our part.

source: tmonews

HTC is holding a public event in London on September 1st but very little details on the event have surfaced. About this time last year, HTC held a similar event to launch a handful of Android Phones.

Our friends at BGR have received information that this year, the centerpiece of the event will be Windows Phone Mango. Specifically introducing the HTC Eternity and the HTC Omega to the public.

While the source of this information didn't disclose and particulars, speculation has the Eternity heading to AT&T and the Omega headed to T-Mobile.  One bit of promise was that the release is expected to be sooner than expected.

Nothing official from HTC and hopefully everything will come into focus on September 1st.

source: bgr

FCC merger reviews are often seen as a formality, if not a complete joke.  But in an interesting turn in AT&T's purchease of T-Mobile, the Federal Communications Commission said yesterday that it will be combining its review of the proposed acquisition with AT&T's recent purchase of Qualcomm's 700 MHz spectrum.  This shows that the FCC is serious about making sure that the playing field is at least somewhat level, and that AT&T actually stands a chance of being denied.

Critics, which include other carriers, politicians and current customers, have argued that it will lead to high prices and degraded services for consumers, and will hinder industry innovation.  AT&T, as you might imagine, disagrees.  They recently hired consulting firm M+R to conduct its own study of the issue, which to no surprise came back favoring the deal.  M+R researcher Allen Rosenfeld says that the FCC has it all wrong; that they should not be looking at the outcome of a deal, but the outcome if no deal is reached:

At the core of the flawed apples-and-oranges comparison is an implicit assumption that, in the absence of the proposed merger, T-Mobile USA’s current pricing structure would continue to be available to consumers. In the most-general sense, that assumption implies a continuation of the status quo for T-Mobile USA for the foreseeable future. More specifically, it assumes that T-Mobile USA’s overall customer strategy, driven by plans priced lower than AT&T’s and Verizon’s, could be sustained for years to come. A close look at the industry and the competitive outlook for T-Mobile USA, however, casts serious doubt upon the validity of the assumption that T-Mobile USA, going it alone in the absence of the merger, would be able to sustain its pricing strategy and that consumers would be better off if the merger were not approved.

In other words, T-Mobile's strategy out out-pricing the bigger carriers cannot continue on its own.  If AT&T doesn't swoop in to the rescue, poor T-Mobile will no longer be sustainable as-is, and customer rates will have to increase.  How noble, AT&T, how noble.

Source: GigaOm