Earlier this month, EA Mobile mentioned NBA Live was making its way to the iPhone platform later this month.  As we all know, time does fly, and thus explains NBA Live finally releasing on the App Store.

NBA Live is a great effort by EA to bring its popular basketball game franchise to the iPhone.  Players are controlled by touching the left side of the screen, which pops up a virtual control stick onto the screen.  You then tilt your finger in the direction you want your player to move to.  If you’re in possession of the ball, you can either shoot or pass.  Depending on your momentum and how well you’re covered by a defending player, you can even perform a variety of dunks with a flick of your thumb.  While on defense, you can steal or attempt to block a shot by jumping.

NBA Live features all 30 NBA teams, players, and accurate stats.  Multiple game modes allow players to either play a quick game in Exhibition Mode, or dedicate themselves to a full season of play in Season Mode.  Player models and animations are pretty detailed as well, considering the platform its running on.  All in all, NBA Live is a title basketball loving iPhone owners should absolutely consider owning.

[iTunes Link]

Brough Turner, who has been working in the telecommunications industry since 1983, has a hypothesis: AT&T’s wireless network has configuration problems. He believes that the size of the buffer in “the last router between the high capacity core network and the actual over-the-air data path to a subscriber” is configured improperly, and that it is causing ping times to either be very good, under 200 milliseconds, or horrible, in some cases reaching as high as 8 seconds. Many iPhone users can attest to this on AT&T, it either works wonderfully or doesn’t work at all.

I find it odd that of all the countries that have GSM technology, America has not figured out how to properly implement a wireless network properly. Now I know the argument for the iPhone failing in big cities is conjestion, but this recent tweet from Eric Zeman, Editor at Phone Scoop, is telling:

Friend of mine just called me from Shanghai. China Mobile (NYSE: CHL) kept his call connected through his entire commute of 25 miles.

In 2007 Shanghai had a population density of 13,400 people per square kilometer. It ranked as the 10th most dense city in the world. The most dense American city is Los Angeles with 2,700 people per square kilometer; it ranks 90th. Why is it then that the Chinese can figure out how to use GSM, and the Americans can’t? Seriously, I’m always blown away when I hear horror stories about people finding “dead zones”. The closest thing to a “dead zone” I found in Finland was on a summer holiday in a cabin with a few of my friends in the middle of no where. I had full signal, but mobile data wasn’t supported so I had to rely on voice and SMS instead of email and Twitter.

Brough isn’t saying AT&T doesn’t have enough cell towers up. That’s a given. What he is saying is that the towers that are already up, the wireless network itself, isn’t setup properly. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was right.

[Via: Slashdot]

The Motorola Droid has so far only been confirmed for Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Wireless. In fact, the Droid could become a fantastic hit for Verizon when it launches later this year. But, that doesn’t necessarily mean Verizon will be the only carrier to offer Motorola (NYSE: MOT)’s high-end Android smartphone. Just last week we saw the Motorola Droid pass through the FCC with GSM frequency support, signaling Motorola’s intent to bring the Droid/Sholes/Tao to GSM networks. Today, the folks over at MobileCrunch have been tipped to some solid evidence that a GSM Motorola Sholes/Tao is headed to AT&T (NYSE: T) with full 3G support!

That’s good news for those you of out there impressed enough by Motorola’s Sholes to give the ailing mobile phone maker another chance at glory, but not willing to be tied to Verizon’s CDMA network. A GSM version of the Motorola Sholes probably won’t launch on AT&T with the Droid brand, but should hold onto all the good stuff that makes the Sholes a formidable player in the Android space – 3.7-inch touchscreen, 5-megapixel camera (with flash), 3G data, WiFi and GPS.

And, seeing as how AT&T’s version of the Motorola Droid will support the same 850/900/1800/1900Mhz bands that Rogers (NYSE: RCI) uses for their 3G network up in the Great White North, our Canadian friends have something to look forward to too!

FCC Motorola Droid with AT&T 3G support

[Via: MobileCrunch]

The BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Bold 9700 is just about ready to give CrackBerry addicts in the US a new BlackBerry Bold handset to lust after. Following on RIM’s official unveiling of the trackpad-toting “Onyx” smartphone, the FCC has approved the BlackBerry Bold 9700 for the US. The Bold 9700 unit tested by the FCC apparently featured frequency support on the WCDMA Band IV, which is the same AWS spectrum used by T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) for its 1700Mhz 3G network. We already knew the Bold 9700 would make its way to AT&T and T-Mobile, so this isn’t new news, but it sure is exciting to see the next-gen Bold getting ready to go live.

The Bold 9700 takes the original Bold 9000’s already impressive design and kicks it up a notch. We’re talking faster processor, more application memory, a slimmer form-factor, and a new optical trackpad in place of the trackball that RIM loves to use. That should make for a more enjoyable, and lag-free, BlackBerry experience.

The Bold 9700 also comes pre-loaded with BlackBerry OS 5.0, which Simon had the pleasure of playing with on the Storm2. You’ll still get the same class-leading QWERTY keyboard that first debuted on the Bold 9000, and the same high-resolution HVGA display that made the Bold 9000 a worthy multimedia smartphone – just in a smaller, more refined package.

FCC’s BlackBerry Bold 9700 approval

[Via: Ubergizmo]

The iPhone has been good to AT&T, and the most recent quarter shows why. AT&T (NYSE: T) today posted their Q3 2009 financial results, announcing that they activated a record 3.2 million new iPhones in that quarter alone. The announcement follows on Apple (NSDQ: AAPL)’s own financial results that had the iPhone maker selling more iPhone this past quarter than ever before. What’s more, AT&T says that 40% of their  subscribers came to the carrier for the iPhone.

Apple’s iPhone has been really (really) good to AT&T.

AT&T also managed to cut churn (ratio of new subscriber additions to customers leaving AT&T) to its a record low rate of 1.4%. At the same time, AT&T’s overall ARPU (average revenue per user) increased 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year, hitting $61.23. The all-important data ARPU increased 1.7% to reach $18.37.

Now chew on this. AT&T added 4.3 million devices to their post-paid network. The iPhone accounted for 3.2 million of those new devices – the iPhone comprised more than 74% of AT&T’s new device additions. AT&T must love the iPhone.

AT&T also highlighted its ongoing 3G network improvements. AT&T is expanding its 3G network with about 4,400 new 3G sites rolling out over 370 markets by year’s end. And, the carrier’s push to migrate 3G services to the 850Mhz spectrum is more than 90% complete and should be finalized by the end of 2009.

But, regardless of how much the iPhone may have helped boost AT&T’s bottom line, there’s no denying that the carrier’s 10% wireless revenue growth is impressive. AT&T made $12.4 billion, with $10.3 billion in costs. That’s a lot of cash.

It should be interesting to see how the end AT&T’s iPhone exclusivity affects future quarterly results.

[Via: AT&T]

AT&T has announced a new, cheap slider from Pantech that has a standard number pad on the front and a full, portrait, slide-out QWERTY keypad.The aptly-named Reveal also includes GPS services, 3G speed, and a new browser (Opera Mini, I believe – they were showing it off at CTIA). If you’re thinking of grabbing one, Pantech is giving away one Reveal a day for the next five days – all you have to do for your chance is become a fan on Facebook and leave a wall post. Otherwise, the Reveal will be running for $79.99 (or free) on a two-year contract.

[via BusinessWire]

Are you a fan of games from the 90s that star earthworms that battle evil while wearing a robotic suit?  Do you also enjoy playing games on your iPhone for countless hours until your battery is completely bone dry?  If you answered yes to both of these questions, then this post is for you!

Gameloft announced today the release of the iPhone / iPod Touch version of Earthworm Jim.  The game originally was released in 1994 for the Super Nintendo & SEGA Genesis consoles, and now you can relive the 16-bit, side-scrolling glory days through your iPhone / iPod Touch.  Earthworm Jim stars Jim, who was once an ordinary earthworm until a suit dropped from outer space onto Jim, which then mutated him into a hero.

This just hit the Dow Jones Newswire, emphasis added by me:

AT&T has sued AU Optronics, LG Display, Samsung Electronics and other liquid-crystal display makers alleging price-fixing in the LCD market.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, alleges a “long-running conspiracy” from Jan. 1, 1996, to Dec. 11, 1996, to fix, raise, stabilize and maintain the prices of LCD panels.

The complaint, filed by AT&T and its BellSouth and Pacific Bell units, Southwestern Bell Telephone and others, alleges the LCD makers formed an international cartel to illegally restrict competition in the U.S. for LCD panels.

South Korea’s LG Display, Sharp and Chunghwa Picture Tubes agreed last November to pay $585 million in criminal fines in a U.S. Justice Department probe of illegally price fixing on LCDs used in flat-screen televisions, cellphones and other devices. LG, Sharp and Chunghwa are all defendants in the AT&T lawsuit.

A unit of Japanese electronics manufacturer Hitachi agreed in March to plead guilty to price-fixing charges and pay a $31 million fine. Hitachi isn’t a defendant in the AT&T case.

The lawsuit claims AT&T purchased more than 300 million mobile wireless handsets for resale during the conspiracy period and the price of handsets containing LCD panels were artificially inflated as a result of the conspiracy.

A Sharp spokesman declined comment Wednesday. Spokespersons for LG, AU Optronics, Samsung and Chunghwa didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday after normal business hours in Asia.

Ummm, call me a daft prick (because I am), but isn’t it 2009 … a full 13 years after the alleged conspiracy theory took place?

[Hat tip to Phone Scoop]

RIM’s new flagship device, the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Bold 9700, has been officially announced. If you’ve been following the latest leaked videos and pictures, you’d already know a fair bit about this device (including that it’s coming to AT&T, T-Mobile, Vodafone, Bell, Rogers, telus and maybe even wind) but here’s a spec run-down anyway:

• 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, image stabilization, video recording, flash and 2 x zoom
• 122 g, 109mm x 60mm x 14.1mm
• 2.44″480 x 360 display
• New 624 Mhz processor, 256 MB of flash memory
• Wi-Fi with UMA support, A-GPS, Bluetooth (incl. A2DP)
• 3.5mm headphone jack, microUSB jack, and microSD memory card slot supporting up to 32 GB
• Optical trackpad
• 1500 mAh battery with 6 hours of talk time or 19/15 days standby (GSM and UMTS, respectively)
• 1900/1800/900/850 MHz on GSM, 2100/1900/850/800 Mhz or 2100/1700/900 Mhz on UMTS

For those currently rocking the original BlackBerry Bold 9000, upgrading to this bad boy would provide you not only with added application memory, processor speed, and an upgraded camera, but extra style by way of the optical trackpad, slimmer dimensions, and overall revamped style. Don’t worry, the keyboard you know and love has changed very little, and the leather backing is still there, if you’re into that kind of thing. Anyone who had passed up on the 9000 because it looked like a fatty next to the Curve will probably be reassessing their options this go-around.

OS 5.0 is also included in the new Bold, some of the improvements from which we’ve seen in the Storm2. A lot of the really cool enterprise stuff, like flags and remote e-mail lookup will be available for those companies who have upgraded their BES to 5.0 and have devices like the Storm2 9550 and Bold 9700 among their employees; in good time, though, OS 5.o will likely find its way to the most recent BlackBerry models.

There’s no official info on carriers or pricing, but they are expecting it to be picked up in November, just in time for Christmas.

[BlackBerry Bold 9700 Official Site]

UPDATE: Rogers (NYSE: RCI) has confirmed that they’ll be offering the 9700 for $299.99 on a three-year plan. T-Mobile and AT&T will both be selling the Bold for $199.99 on a two-year term. Bell and Telus have also confirmed the 9700; although with no price point, they’re saying November.

Looking to get your hands on an AT&T BlackBerry Curve 8900? Well, you’re in luck. Amazon is clearing out the AT&T (NYSE: T) BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Curve 8900 for FREE (plus a penny)! As long as you’re new to AT&T and willing to put up with AT&T’s network for two years, Amazon will trade you a new BlackBerry Curve 8900 for your 1-cent piece. It really doesn’t get any better than that. Amazon never ceases to amaze us with their carrier-busting prices.

Current AT&T customers can also get in on the discount fun. Amazon is offering the Curve 8900 for $50 to AT&T customers willing to upgrade and extend their contract for another two years. And, Amazon will waive the $36 activation fee through October 26th, so it’s in your interest to act fast.

The $0.01 BlackBerry Curve 8900 is only available until November 4th.

BlackBerry Curve 8900 for a penny

[Via: MobileCrunch]