Verizon testing a $99 unlimited plan that simply matches Sprint’s famous offering

Carriers test the waters on new plans all the time, but this new one from Verizon seems — at least at cursory glance — squarely aimed at its CDMA competitor. According to research from Current Analysis, the nation’s top carrier is trying out an unlimited Nationwide Talk & Text plan for $69.99 in San Diego and Los Angeles retail outlets. That’s $20 less than the current price, and coupled with a $29.99 data plan, we’re looking at a monthly fee that’s within pennies of Sprint’s Simply Everything plan . As with other network trials, this one may never expand beyond certain test markets — but needless to say, this seems to indicate Verizon’s taking its smaller CDMA rival a whole lot more seriously. Amazing what a quarter of positive subscriber growth can do, isn’t it?

BlackBerry Torch just $99.99 on contract, by way of Amazon’s generous dealings

Amazon’s been known to have some killer deals , and well, here’s another. The new BlackBerry Torch , arguably RIM’s best smartphone to date (for what that’s worth), is just $99.99 on contract. That’s just about half off its usual entry fee with a two-year contract, so if you’re in the market to upgrade your current Bold for something with a little more slide, now’s your chance! [Thanks, Kramer] BlackBerry Torch just $99.99 on contract, by way of Amazon’s generous dealings originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Aug 2010 01:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments

Best Buy partners with Clearwire, will Connect customers to 4G

When we first heard through the grapevine that Best Buy was launching its own branded wireless data service, Connect , rumor had it that 4G was going to be baked right in there. We’d later learn that was just wishful thinking, but today’s announcement of a partnership with Clearwire makes it instead simply look premature. Starting sometime next year, Best Buy Connect will offer 4G wireless data over Clearwire’s WiMAX network — and that’s all the two are saying about this partnership right now.

Verizon launching $80 5GB prepaid data plan next month, FiveSpot too?

At present, Verizon only offers prepaid mobile broadband in buckets ranging from 100MB up to 1GB at prices from $15 to $50. Problem is, 1GB goes by in about two seconds if you’re YouTubin’ your way through a layover in Atlanta, enjoying a little too much Hulu and Pandora, or torrenting a few ISOs (perfectly legal ones, of course) — so to that end, we’re hearing that a 5GB option will be launching on August 23 for a breathtaking $80. Presumably, it’d be good for 30 days from the date of purchase the same as the current 1GB plan, though we don’t know that from the information we have. Sounds a little ridiculous to us, but we suppose that’s the price of contract freedom on a top-tier network these days.

White HTC EVO 4G lands early in Best Buy stores (update: unboxing!)

Good news, EVO 4G lovers! The striking white version of Sprint’s most gargantuan (by diagonal screen size, anyway) smartphone has started to splash down into Best Buy stores across the nation a full five days early. If you’ll recall, the white EVO 4G wasn’t supposed to land in the hands of those who pre-ordered until July 11th, but we’ve received two independent confirmations that they are indeed arriving early in select locales. Stay close to your current phone — you may be getting a pick-up call in the not-too-distant future.

RIP: Emblaze kills First Else

Hate to say it but we were right : Emblaze just announced that it’s shutting down the First Else handset. $40 million dollars and the hopes of many (ok, a few) gone in an instant. In a regulatory announcement issued today, Emblaze states the following: Due to critical delays in deliveries and the current status of the project, the board has now decided to cease any further investment towards manufacturing of the First ELSE mobile device and to concentrate efforts only on licensing the ELSE Intuition platform and technology in order to realize its potential upside. So there’s still hope that we’ll see the First Else user experience applied elsewhere if Emblaze can find a buyer

Motorola Droid X purportedly hitting Verizon on July 19th

Take this with a mouthful of NaCl, but Droid-Life has it on authority that Motorola’s Droid X is gearing up to make the Droid Incredible seem a bit less Incredible next month. The big-screened unicorn-of-a-smartphone is purportedly set for a July 19th launch on America’s most subscribed-to carrier, with ads to start popping up on the 18th. We’re expecting to hear something official out of VZW next week, but till then, we’d suggest talking your current Android phone down from that ledge. Broken egos can lead to desperate measure, homie. Motorola Droid X purportedly hitting Verizon on July 19th originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Jun 2010 14:26:00 EST.

AT&T: upgrade to iPhone 4 up to six months early

So look, we know the dilemma you’re in. You nabbed that iPhone 3G or 3GS a little late in the game, and now you’ve got to wait until December in order to snag the iPhone 4 at a discounted rate. Lucky for you, Apple and AT&T have worked to give folks like you a little leniency, with existing AT&T users able to upgrade to the iPhone 4 “up to six months early.” In other words, if your current contract expires at any point in 2010, you’re now eligible to grab an iPhone 4 at $199 (16GB) or $299 (32GB) so long as you agree to stay faithful to a carrier you may or may not loathe for another two years.

Nokia offering free turn-by-turn navigation on smartphones globally

Man, you thought Garmin and TomTom were in trouble when Google announced its free Navigation service… wait until investors hear Nokia’s news. Reuters is reporting that Nokia will offer free navigation on its smartphones. However, instead of just the US (the current Google limitation sans hacking), Nokia will be demonstrating its reach by offering free turn-by-turn directions in 74 countries in 46 languages — a move that should cover 20 million smartphones globally with Ovi Maps available in over 180 countries.

Nokia Ovi press event this Thursday, ‘big news’ promised

If you’re a Nokia lover who is currently jealous of all the Apple fans and their current state of delicious expectation , we’re happy to say that now you too can savor a little anticipation. Nokia is sending out invitations to an event this Thursday, January 21, indicating it will “share some big news with you.” Well, not with you exactly, but rather with us media-types, and you can be sure we will then pass it along posthaste. But what will Nokia be sharing? We hate to spoil the fun, but we can’t imagine it’ll be anything other than the revamped Ovi Store the company has been talking up lately — that said, we’re always up for a surprise

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