Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Wave on the iPhone, in theory, would be a great way to use Google’s new collaborative chat service. So, when we first heard that Waveboard for iPhone launched as the first Google Wave iPhone app, we were excited to try it out. Then, we realized that the Waveboard app is nothing more than a Google Wave viewer. Waveboard basically does what Google’s Google Wave mobile website does – it simply lets you view “waves.” And it costs $1. Color us unimpressed.

To be fair, Waveboard includes an integrated browser and a “shake” feature for reloading waves. Push notifications are working through a workaround, but Waveboard’s developers say that proper push notifications are on the way.

We’d rather bookmark Google Wave’s mobile website on our iPhone and save the buck for an iPhone fart machine. But, if you’re curious, and feeling a little wasteful, give Waveboard a download [iTunes link]. Let us know what you think!

Waveboard for iPhone [iTunes link]

The T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) (NYSE: DT) BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) (NSDQ: RIMM) Bold 9700 isn’t quite launched just yet, but we’ve already gotten friendly with RIM’s newest hardware. The Bold 9700 looks and feels a lot like the original BlackBerry Bold 9000, with some significant under-the-hood upgrades. Cosmetically, the biggest difference is the missing trackball; in it’s place is a new optical trackpad. It’s a subtle design update that makes a lot of sense – the Bold 9000 was a big hit for RIM, of course they’re going to stick with a recipe that everyone loves.

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So you like the Motorola Droid, do you? And you say you live in or close to New York City? Well, if you also happen to be a fan of the “Yeah Yeah Yeahs,” or you just like free concerts, you’re going to want to follow the Verizon (NYSE: VZ)’s @vcastmusic Twitter feed over the next few days. Verizon Wireless will be celebrating the launch of their Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Droid with a secret “Yeah Yeah Yeahs” concert somewhere in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, and they’ll be giving away tickets via the Twitter feed.

Verizon will also be tweeting the locations of their New York Street Teams, where you can meet up with Droid-wielding reps and play with the Motorola Droid in person. Should you decide to pick up a Droid of your own on Nov. 6, you automatically get tickets to the secret Manhattan concert.

Straight from the official press release:

You can be one of the first to experience the brand new Droid by Motorola – the world’s first smartphone with Android 2.0 – available exclusively on the Verizon Wireless network. Follow Verizon Wireless’ New York Street Teams at Twitter.com/vcastmusic to find out where they will be so you can be one of the first to try the Droid out for yourself and win tickets to attend an exclusive celebration in Manhattan’s Lower East Side featuring a performance by Yeah Yeah Yeahs and mingle with celebrity guests including Adrian Grenier, Kim Delaney, Katrina Bowden and more.

Anyone who purchases a Droid on November 6 will also win tickets to attend the event.

For more information visit Twitter.com/vcastmusic

[Via: PhoneDog]

If you’re thinking about buying a smartphone from Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Wireless on a new 2-year contract just so you can pay the early termination fee (ETF) and sell the extra handset for a profit on eBay or Craigslist, you had better get on it. Starting November 15, Verizon Wireless will be bumping up their ETF for “advanced devices” to a whopping $350. On the upside, Verizon will drop the ETF by $10 for every month a customer stays on their contract.

It’s not clear what “advanced devices” means, but it’s a good bet that the term covers higher-end hardware, like smartphones. The decision to increase the fee isn’t going to go over well with a lot of people, especially those that want to keep the option of dropping VZW for a reasonable ETF. But, it does make sense. All carriers, Verizon Wireless included, provide deep discounts on smartphones by subsidizing the cost of the handset. The idea is to make back the subsidies with long-term contracts and data plans. A higher ETF helps ensure that a customer will honor their contract, and if they decide to leave, the ETF will help the carrier make back its subsidy costs.

We miss the good ole days when it was trendy to give customers a break on the ETF.

[Via: BGR]

T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) is making big moves in the Android space. When it comes to Android phones, T-Mobile offers more than any other carrier. And, with the Samsung Behold 2 scheduled to be unveiled next week, T-Mobile’s Android lineup is going to become that much more formidable. So, to make the Android experience even better for its customers, T-Mobile will soon launch carrier billing for the Android Market. T-Mobile USA CTO Cole Brodman confirmed the carrier billing rollout today at the Open Mobile Summit in San Francisco, adding that the carrier will soon add a custom “T-Mobile Channel” to the Android Market.

By the end of the month, T-Mobile customers with Android phones can download premium Android apps from the Android Market and have the cost of the apps charged directly to their monthly phone bill. The T-Mobile Channel will offer customers customized content for their Android phone.

Carrier billing is a convenient way to pay for Android apps, but will it be enough to sway customers away from Verizon (NYSE: VZ)’s Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Droid? T-Mobile’s upcoming Samsung Behold II might have something to say about that…

[Via: MobileBurn]

November is shaping up to be quite the month for unveiling Android smartphones. With the Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Droid already official and the Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) XPERIA X10 getting some time in the limelight, the Android space is looking fairly attractive. Next up? Samsung’s Behold II. As you can see from the invite that just hit our inbox, Samsung and T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) are gearing up to unveil the Behold 2 in all its AMOLED glory on November 12.

Details are scarce at this point, but we are expecting to see the Samsung Behold II going live on T-Mobile USA on November 18. Word on the street has the Behold 2 launching with a $249.99 price tag (with 2-year contract, of course). In exchange for your hard-earned cash, the Samsung Behold II will put a 3.2-inch AMOLED touchscreen capacitive, 5-megapixel camera with auto-focus and flash, aGPS, WiFi, 3G and 16GB of built-in storage in your pocket.

Stay tuned for Samsung Behold II details!

The Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Droid is going to be a big deal when it launches Nov. 6. It’s got the right style and the right features to make a name for itself in the Android game, but it’s also going to be the first handset to sport the new Android 2.0 (Eclair) mobile operating system. That’s important because Android 2.0 will finally support Microsoft Exchange email. But, for Motorola Droid hopefuls who use Exchange email, it’s going to come at a price. $15, to be exact.

Verizon (NYSE: VZ) customers looking to get a Motorola Droid will have to sign up for one of three unlimited data plans on top of their voice plan. For $30, you’ll get unlimited data without Exchange support. If you need Exchange email support (and you’re a VZW business customer), your data plan will cost $45. Or, for $50, you can use the Droid as a data-only device, including Exchange support. For corporate Droid users, it’s going to cost $15 more to use their Exchange email.

The extra cost probably won’t affect a large majority of Verizon’s Motorola Droid customers, but that’s not going to console Exchange users slapped with the extra fee. Is it right to charge for the Droid’s Exchange feature? Will the extra $15 per month for Exchange support sway your decision to buy a Droid? Sound off below!

Oh, and if you want to get the low-down on the Droid, check out our coverage here, here and here.

[Update]
Turns out, Verizon business customers (those with corporate/business accounts) will be slapped with the higher-priced data plan. Consumers will get unlimited data and Exchange support on their Droid for $30, while business users will have to pay $45 for the same service. That should clear things up a bit.

[Via: PCWorld]

If you accidentally updated your iPhone 3G/3GS to the latest iPhone OS 3.1/3.1.2, then you’re also stuck with baseband version 05.11. If you recently bought a factory fresh iPhone 3GS with OS 3.1 or 3.1.2 already loaded, then you’re in the same boat. That used to be a bad thing, because baseband 05.11 couldn’t be unlocked to work with unofficial SIM cards. Today’s release of “blacksn0w” changes all that. The blacksn0w software unlock utility is now available to unlock any iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS running the latest iPhone OS 3.1.2 and baseband 05.11!

Yes, that includes brand new, out-of-the-box, iPhone 3GS’s.

If you’re running an older version of the baseband (04.26), simply jailbreak your iPhone and run Ultrasn0w. You can find your baseband firmware version by navigating to Settings>General>About>Modem Version on your iPhone. We have jailbreak (PwnageTool) directions here and unlock (ultrasn0w) directions here.

For the rest of you in the “baseband 05.11″ boat, keep reading for a step-by-step tutorial to unlock your iPhone…

Read the full article »

China is the world’s largest mobile phone market. Even with crappy sales of iPhones, you’d think the sheer size of the Chinese market was enough to move some serious iPhone volume. And, you’d be wrong. The iPhone went live on China Unicom’s network last week, but has reportedly only sold a disappointing 5,000 iPhones to date. China Unicom lacks WiFi support in order to comply with China’s asinine censorship policies, which could be affecting sales – there’s a healthy iPhone grey market in China, where iPhones roam free with WiFi radios in tow.

China Unicom Chairman Chang Xiobing says that his company is satisfied with iPhone sales so far, and expects to see an additional 1 million 3G subscribers signing up every month as the carrier expands their 3G network. For China Unicom’s sake, we hope the boost in 3G subscribers translates to a boost in iPhone subscribers. They’ve got a ton of iPhones to sell.

[Via: Reuters]

If you’ve glanced at your TV recently, chances are good you’ve seen those Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Wireless ads mocking AT&T (NYSE: T) for having an allegedly spotty 3G network. The TV commercials play off those “there’s an app for that” iPhone ads, declaring that “there’s a Verizon Wireless 3G coverage map” to show you just why Verizon’s 3G network is better than AT&T’s. Today, AT&T reacted to the ads by filing a lawsuit against Verizon Wireless, asking the court for a temporary restraining order against Big Red’s ad campaign. “Verizon has stepped over the line of legitimate comparative advertising,” said AT&T.

The lawsuit, filed in Atlanta federal court, is aimed at stopping Verizon from using their “misleading” ads. At issue are the 3G coverage maps that Verizon is using to show AT&T’s 3G coverage area. AT&T claims that the white/blank areas of the coverage maps are misleading consumers into thinking that AT&T has no coverage whatsoever in those blank area. The company argues that AT&T customers can “fully use their wireless devices outside of a ‘3G’ coverage area and undisputedly have coverage in areas depicted by white or blank spaces on the maps used in Verizon’s advertisements.”

AT&T is asking for a temporary restraining order against VZW, until the court can pin down dates for injunction hearings.

What say you, reader? Is AT&T just trying to run damage control on a fair ad? Or has Verizon Wireless gone too far with their commercials?

[Via: Reuters]