Camera Phones Plaza

After AT&T got the exclusive rights to sell the most expected phone in recent history, the Apple iPhone, for the next five years, Verizon is trying to come up with something to keep up with AT&T. In a recent interview with USA Today, Verizon COO Denny Strigl stated that the carrier will have a response to iPhone by late summer. So what's it going to be?

Well, most probably it will be the recently introduced LG Prada (or its geek name, the LG KE850). The sleek handset from LG is similar in look to the iPhone and it supports GSM network, Flash user interface, 2 megapixel camera featuring Schneider-Kreuznach lens, music and video player, Bluetooth 2.0, EDGE and microSD card slot.

The Apple iPhone features a 3.5 inch touchscreen and offers a wide range of innovative features when it comes to music, audiobooks, TV shows and movies. Moreover, it supports email, widgets, Wi-fi and EDGE services at top quality.

As for the price, the iPhone will cost around $500 while the LG Prada is expected to retail for around $600. Verizon is giving a lot of attention to this issue as AT&T will record a major tide of costumers after the launch of the iPhone, which will be next month, and they need to cope with that.

Is Verizon going to succeed? We would say no. Why? First of all, the iPhone will be out next month, in June, while Verizon Wireless will only start to sell their "counter phone" in the late summer, and second of all, we don't think the LG Prada, even if it's a superb phone, will have the ability to resist, after all the recent buzz around the iPhone. But hey, who are we to tell? We'll wait and see.

Finally, a modern Symbian smartphone came to a US carrier. As it was expected, the Nokia N75 is now available with AT&T Cingular with the strange but forgivable fact that the phone has the old Cingular branding over it, making it probably the last phone to be launched with this logo.

Nokia N75 is quad-band GSM with dual-band UMTS data for America. Running on Symbian 9.1, it is a smartphone but we would have preferred it was running on the newer version 9.2, as the N95 which was announced at the same time. Highlights of this power-packed smartphone include a 262k color QVGA (240x320 pixel) display, Bluetooth 2.0, stereo speakers, and dedicated music controls on the outside of the flip. The N75 runs Symbian OS v9.1 and Nokia's own S60 3rd Edition user interface.

The phone will be available at $199 after rebate and with a 2 year contract.

Via mobileguerilla.

According to a market research made recently by IDC, Verizon is again the market leader with a total of 56.8 million subscribers, compared to Cingular's 56.3 million.

"Verizon became the new market leader in terms of total direct retail subscribers/customers, with a total of 56.8 million, against 56.3 million for Cingular," said IDC's Julien Blin in a statement.

The market research firm said there were 236 million U.S. wireless subscribers at the end of 2006. Their data revenue totaled $4.8 billion in the fourth quarter and that figure represented 13.5% of the ARPU, or $6.74 a month. Also, Sprint earns more wireless data revenue per subscriber than any other carrier, with $8.32, regaining its lead over Verizon, which only has $7.91.



Via mobileburn.

Around 155,000 customers former Cingular customers will receive an average payout of US$160, covering the early termination fees plus interest, with a US$12.1 million dollar fine placed on Cingular making up the rest of the pay out. The settlement between Cingular and the California Public Utilities Commission covers subscribers between 2000 and 2002, a period that saw Cingular's customer base grow rapidly causing an adverse effect on the quality of the network.

Officials from Cingular stated that former customers can expect to receive refunds within the next 60 days.
Via Whittier Daily News.

The BlackBerry Pearl and Palm Treo 680 smart device officially are red hot as AT&T today introduced an eye-catching, dark ruby-colored version of the BlackBerry Pearl and a striking crimson iteration of the Treo 680. The red BlackBerry Pearl is the first wireless handset to be branded for the new AT&T.

Like their siblings, the red BlackBerry Pearl and crimson Treo 680 have quad-band capabilities. Both the Palm Treo 680 smart device and BlackBerry Pearl are available for as low as $199.99 with a two-year contract and after rebates.

Via phonearena.