Good news for anyone considering a shorter-term stay on AT&T (NYSE: T)’s HSPA network. AT&T has announced that it has gone official with its new Early Termination Fee (ETF) policy.

Customers can now expect to have their ETF reduced by $5 for every month that they pay their bill. What that means is that customers won’t have to worry about paying a ridiculous $175 ETF with just a few months left on their contract – although, AT&T customers looking to terminate the contract a month prior to its expiry date will still have to pay $60 dollars worth of pro-rated ETF.

Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Wireless already has pro-rated ETF policies in place and T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) USA is expected to fall in line on June 30. No word on when Sprint (NYSE: S) will be going live with their pro-rated ETF.

The move is a step in the right direction amidst a changing wireless environment where consumers (and even Congress) are rallying against wireless carriers’ traditionally accepted practices of rolling out exclusivity contracts, locked handsets, and unreasonable ETFs. Of course, we probably won’t ever see the demise of the ETF (even multi-billion dollar corporations have to make back the money they eat for subsidized handsets), but here’s to hoping that carrier-locks and hardware exclusivity deals (like AT&T and the Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) iPhone) soon bite the dust.

Press release

Helio’s recent price-drop on the Helio Ocean was rumored to be paving the way for the first new handset from the MVNO in quite some time – the Helio Ocean 2. And, seeing as how Helio passed their “OZ2” through the FCC’s testing labs, the Helio Ocean 2’s launch was all but expected in the near-term.

Unfortunately for Helio customers, the final details on the Helio Ocean 2 are still getting hashed out in the company’s R&D labs. But, thanks to a little birdy with loose lips (beak?), we’ve got some juicy specs that could very well make it in to the production version of the Ocean 2.

It seems that Virgin Mobile negotiations aren’t the only thing that Helio is keeping themselves busy with. We’re hearing that the next-generation Helio Ocean will sport a 3 megapixel camera, 30 fps video recording, 1 GB storage, microSDHC card slot for memory expansion, touch-sensitive directional pad, Flash support, and PC sync support – all in the familiar dual-sliding form-factor that made the Helio Ocean such a pleasure to use.

We’ll keep our ears to the grapevine for more information on the Helio Ocean 2. And, while you’re waiting, enjoy the barely visible picture of the Helio Ocean 2. Stay tuned.

[Via: Engadget Mobile]

The near-mythical HTC Dream handset has been rumored for longer than we can remember, and we can’t wait to get our hands on the device that was once thought to be the Google Phone (gPhone). Alas, we’ll have to wait until Google (NSDQ: GOOG) and HTC can work out the niggling details on the Android OS that powers the HTC Dream before we can take a stab at the Dream.

But, in the meantime, HTC Dream hopefuls can help ease the pain of a long wait with this video-coverage of Google’s I/O Conference in San Francisco. What you see in the video is the venerable HTC Dream running a demonstration of Google’s Android OS. Not only does the Android OS feature Google Maps, but it features Street View! That’s right, the full power of Google Maps in a smartphone – imagine that.

But, it doesn’t end there. The HTC Dream sports the hardware bits (accelerometers, or the like) to work with a “Compass Mode” in Street view that allows the user to tilt and pan around the street-level perspective by simply rotating the handset.

Hit the video below and keep praying for an early release of the HTC Dream.

[Via: phonemag]

With T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) AG getting set to offer their customers some seriously sexy Windows Mobile 6.1 goodness with the MDA Compact IV (HTC Touch Diamond in T-Mobile guise) and the QWERTY-toting MDA Vario IV (HTC Touch Pro, codename Raphael, with T-Mobile branding), it’s good to see that some online retailers are already offering the HTC Touch Diamond to the rest of the world. Fans of the HTC Touch Diamond will be glad to hear that their beloved handset is now ready on sale.

If you have the $780 to $900 admission fee handy, you too can play to your heart’s content in the land of Diamond that HTC built. The HTC Touch Diamond is a bit pricey, but for a high-end smartphone packed with features like a VGA touchscreen display, HSPA (both HSDPA and HSUPA), Opera browser, 3 megapixel camera, and eye-catching UI – powered by Windows Mobile 6.1, the price-point isn’t all that unheard-of.

Grab your own HTC Touch Diamond at one of the following online retailers:

DechoWireless
PopularElect
Welectronics

[Via: PhoneArena]

As we close in on the June 9 Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) WWDC event in San Francisco, more and more images of the next-generation iPhone are coming to light. So much so that we already know, with a fair degree of certainty, just what kind of aesthetic changes to expect in the 3G iPhone.

There are already confirmed changes to the iPhone’s exterior that include more tapered edges, revised docking port connector/speaker area, narrower chrome bezel, and a glossy plastic backing that replaces the Mg-Al cover on the current iPhone.

The latest pictures of the next-generation iPhone casing fall in line with mock-ups gleaned from 3G iPhone case molds.

With the month of May almost done and over with, it’s only a matter of a couple weeks before we get to see the 3G iPhone go live.

[Via: AllAboutPhones]

The HTC Touch Diamond that was recently announced is coming to T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) (EU, not sure about UK or US). I usually don’t comment on operators getting a device and slapping their logo on it, but this is a bit different. The T-Mobile version of the Diamond known as the MDA Compact IV (first picture) has soft round edges versus the hard geometric lines we’ve previously seen. Also new to the lineup is the MDA Vario IV (second picture) which looks like the MDA Compact IV, but it has a slide out QWERTY keyboard.

Both of these devices have the same specifications you’re used to already: GPS, HSDPA, HSUPA, 3.2 megapixel camera.

[Via: Mobile Phone Helpdesk]

Skyfire Labs, makers of the desktop-like mobile web browser Skyfire, today announced $13 million in Series B funding which is led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, and also includes previous investors – Matrix Partners and Trinity Ventures. The company will use the money “towards further rollout of its flagship browser” and will add Lightspeed’s Jake Seid to its Board of Directors.

Mountain View, California-based Skyfire Labs Inc. was founded in April 2006 and had been in stealth mode under the name DVC Labs until January 2008 when it launched its browser in private beta. To date, they’ve raised a total of $17.8 million in VC money.

Commenting on the announcement, Skyfire’s CEO said: “With these funds, we are poised to bring Skyfire to a large number of handsets and launch outside the U.S. Skyfire gives users the freedom to browse whatever they want, and now we can extend our efforts to get Skyfire on a significant market share of smartphones – giving more people what they hunger for.”

Russia’s largest mobile phone operator Mobile TeleSystems OJSC announced the commercial launch of its 3G network in the country. Saint Petersburg is the first city to get 3G, and the company also announced the “technical readiness” to launch 3G network in Sochi, Yekaterinburg and Kazan. In total, MTS plans to cover more than 10 cities with 3G this year, and up to 40 cities throughout Russia through 2009.

Alongside the network enhancements, MTS also revealed new 3G services — including video calling and mobile TV, as well as international 3G roaming for travellers to Russia.

Commenting on the announcement, MTS Russia’s CEO Mr. Mikhail Shamolin said: “With the launch of 3G networks in major regions of Russia, MTS is starting a new phase in the development of telecommunications in the CIS. We are keen to offer 3G services to our customers, as we see great demand for data and broadband solutions in Russia.”

As a sidenote, MTS also holds 3G licenses in Uzbekistan and Armenia, where the network will be launched as early as 2009. The company plans to invest $1.6 billion in 3G network development over the next three years.

If SlingMedia can do it, so can Monsoon Multimedia which just announced HAVA Mobile Player for S60. Earlier we saw their “TV place-shifting video-streaming solution” hitting Nokia Internet Tablets and now it’s about time Nokia (NYSE: NOK) smartphone owners also take their TV experience with them, no matter where they happen to be.

The HAVA Mobile Player for S60 was designed for seamless integration with Nokia’s unique two-way slider multimedia devices allowing viewers to toggle between portrait and full-screen landscape mode at the slide of the screen. Control of the TV viewing experience comes from both channel entries and volume control via the device’s physical keys and all other set-top box functions via the application’s elegant and intuitive onscreen UI. This way, users can watch live TV, pause, rewind, skip, schedule at-home DVR recordings and control their home TV watching from a world away, just as if they were in front of their TV in their own living room.

The HAVA Mobile Player for S60 works over high-speed 3G and 3.5G (HSDPA) networks, allowing users to view and control their home TV from anywhere. No WiFi compatibility is mentioned, though I guess that will work just as well.

As for the availability, Symbian S60 smartphone owners should look forward toward the end of June 2008 when Moonsoon Multimedia wowed to make the HAVA Mobile Player for S60 available. In the meantime, they are inviting interested beta testers to contact them at hava-s60 – AT – monsoonmultimedia.com and get an early access to the player (and provide them with some feedback, of course).

Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) may be the new entrant to the world of Windows Mobile but they are certainly serious to make their entrance a memorable one. We already think of the XPERIA X1 as the single best Windows Mobile phone announced to date. The newly released XPERIA white paper adds two important details to the mix. Apparently, once it’s released in September, the XPERIA X1 will sport:

1. 256MB of SDRAM and 512MB of NAND Flash – that’s the largest amount of memory any smartphone has. Or at least I’m not aware some other device has that much memory available.
2. High-capacity 1500 mAh lithium polymer battery that should reportedly provide users with up to 10 hours of talk time using GSM or 6.5 hours using UMTS, or 3.1 hours if their making video calls all the time.

What can I say – I want one! A whole summer divide us from owning the XPERIA. ;(

[Via: Engadget Mobile]