If the FCC gets its way you might be able to rest a little easier when it comes to your cell phone bill.  In an intitiative spearheaded by Joel Gurin, the head of the FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, the days of seeing an extremely high cell phone bill will become a thing of the past. Gurin is trying to eliminate “bill shock” through a system where phone carriers would notify mobile subscribers via an unspecified method if their current cell phone usage is likely to result in a bill that is significantly higher than their normal monthly plan.

A similar system has been in place in the European Union since 2009 and has been a resounding success.  Said Gurin: “We’re issuing a Public Notice to see if there’s any reason that American carriers can’t use similar automatic alerts to inform consumers when they are at risk of running up a high bill. This is an avoidable problem. Avoiding bill shock is good for consumers and ultimately good business for wireless carriers as well.”

I think this a great idea and will help protect consumers from running up an extremely large cell phone bill.  With more and more consumers switching over to smartphones they may not know how much data they are using if they are on a limited plan.  Instead of having to manually check in on their account all of the time the mobile carrier could send them alerts letting them know when they are nearing their monthly data, text or voice limits.  If someone would go over their monthly allotment then it is completely their fault as their mobile carrier did the best they could to alert them that they may be reaching their limits which would result in a higher bill.

It appears to be a great time to be an Adobe employee right now.  Fresh off their successful launch of Creative Suite 5 Adobe employees appear set to enjoy the extremely popular Android handsets courteously of their employer.  As a show of support for Android Adobe may be handing out the handsets to its employees.  This distribution is expected to coincide with the highly anticipated launch of Flash for Android at the upcoming Google I/O conference.  However, no word on which Android device (various HTC models and the Nexus One Unlocked Phone have been mentioned) will be handed out to Adobe employees or which employees will receive these handsets.

This announcement is a clear example of Adobe and Google “dog-fooding” their own products.  These two companies would love for their employees to spend as much time using Android and the Flash Player 10.1.  By giving Adobe employees a free Android device Google is attracting more attention to the ever increasing in popularity Android brand.

This news makes you wish you were an Adobe employee doesn’t it?  Android devices are some of the hottest mobile phones on the market today.  Once Adobe Flash technology comes to these mobile phones sales are expected to increase in large part to Apple’s inability to include Flash technology on the Unlocked IPhone.  With this Flash program Android users will be able to access a wide range of streaming content online that other smartphone users will not be able to access.  The launch of Flash is expected to be a huge success when it is finally announced at Google’s upcoming I/O conference.

One the popular complaints of Boost Mobile customers have been the lack of exciting mobile devices to choose from.  Well it looks like those who are taking advantage of Boost’s budget conscious $50 Monthly Unlimited Plan are in store for a few new upgrades from mobile phone developer Kyocera.  The new Sanyo Juno by Kyocera is now going to be available in both impulsive pink and deep blue for the low cost of $99.99, around the same price as the LG KP500.  Juno offers a sense of simplicity with a nice touch of flare to go with its full QWERTY keyboard and large 2.2 inch display screen that makes viewing the phone’s menu icons extremely easy.

A lack of colors within the Boost Mobile handset catalogue has long been one of the major complaints of Boost Mobile consumers.
“Juno adds some real fun to Boost’s growing handset lineup as it has the perfect combination of functionality, a sleek look and hot colors,” said Neil Lindsay, chief marketing officer for Boost Mobile. “Paired with the Monthly Unlimited Plan, consumers will get exactly what they crave to meet their talking and texting needs for a low, straightforward price.”
Some of the other features included with the Juno are:
· Full QWERTY Keypad
· Thin design with 2.2” High-Res Color Display
· 1.3MP Camera with Digital Zoom
· Dedicated 1-click text & .com keys
· Wireless Web Email Access
· Instant Messaging [Capable]
· Multi-Media & Threaded Text Messaging
· Bluetooth®
· GPS & Wireless Web Enabled
· Voicemail, Caller ID, Call Waiting & Call Forwarding
· Speakerphone with Voice Recognition
· Downloadable Games, Wallpapers & Ringtones
· 600 Entry Phonebook
· Alarm Clock, Calendar, To Do List, Calculator & Voice-Memo Recorder
It finally looks like Boost Mobile fans are starting to get some decent phones, in addition to the BlackBerry Curve, from which to choose.  This will surely make their highly desirable $50 Monthly Unlimited Plan all the more successful.

When it comes to wireless carriers and wireless data one might think that AT&T transmits to largest amount of wireless data.  Well if this is the case then you might find the results of a recent study published by ABI Research to be quite interesting.  According to their study ABI Research says Verizon is actually the largest provider of wireless data with Sprint coming in second also beating out AT&T.

The two companies, Verizon and Sprint, combined to handle 63% of all wireless data in 2009.  This 63% equates to 16 billion MB more data than AT&T.  ABI claims these numbers have more to do with AT&T’s smaller 3G coverage and the prevalence of data cards on the two EV-DO networks.  However, ABI is predicting that AT&T will be able to overtake Sprint by 2012.

The recent findings of this study by ABI Research are pretty interesting.  Like many others I would have expected AT&T to lead the way in wireless data sent with the iPhone and growing list of smartphones that they offer.  Apparently the type of coverage a network can provide can have a huge impact on the amount data that is transmitted via their network.  As we all know AT&T’s network can be unreliable at times so it would make perfect sense that Verizon and Sprint would be able to send more data through their network.

With plans already under way to improve their wireless network AT&T is taking to necessary steps when it comes to having a leading wireless network.  When all of these changes are in place I expect AT&T’s wireless data numbers to increase substantially as they are likely to attract new unlocked cell phone customers with a better cell phone network.

As it was promised a few months back Verizon Wireless’ now exclusive NFL Mobile app is available for download in advance of the NFL Draft on April 22.  The app is currently available for 13 different smartphones and 3G feature phones including the Motorola Droid, HTC Droid Eris, BlackBerry Storm 2, LG enV Touch and more.  The app is free for the entire 2010 NFL season as long as customers download it before the postseason begins in early 2011.

The new NFL Mobile app will have a variety of features that include live streaming of Sunday Night Football on NBC and the Thursday Night Football games aired on the NFL Network.  The app for your unlocked cell phone will also offer preseason highlights from training camps including preseason games, a wide variety of stats, information, news and fantasy football data.  The app will also have live radio feeds from every regular season and playoff game.  It is also expected that later this year the popular NFL RedZone channel will come to the new mobile service which will allow customers to watch all of the NFL games whenever a team is in the red zone.

This new NFL Mobile app sounds like a football fan’s dream come true.

While many wireless carriers have tried the money back guarantee before as a way to encourage customers to walk-in and make the switch to their networks only to quickly abandon the program it appears as if Sprint is taking this idea to a whole new level.  Recently Sprint announced they will be starting a “Satisfaction Guaranteed or Money Back” program that they currently do not have any intentions of ever axing.

This new money back program will enable customers to open up a new line of Sprint service for 30 days and if they are not satisfied with it they will get reimbursed for the device they purchased, activation fee, get the early termination fee waived, get a full refund for the service plan monthly recurring charge and get all associated taxes and Sprint surcharges associated with these charges waived.  That is certainly an impressive deal that is sure to entice a few customers to make the switch to Sprint.  Having the ability to essentially test a new phone on the Sprint network is a huge incentive to all mobile device customers.  Since Sprint will be refunding every possible penny you could have spent to join their network it will really be a no brainer for people who are shopping around for a new wireless network to go ahead and try out some of Sprint’s new phones.

With the impending release of their 4G network I am sure that many mobile device consumers will be lining up to get their hands on a new Sprint phone when their current contracts are up.  Having the chance to test drive a 4G for free with this money back guarantee will be too enticing for some people and I know I will certainly be giving Sprint a try when my contract ends.

Verizon Wireless recently announced that it will open its own mobile phone applications store on March 29th.  The announcement was made this week at the CTIA Wireless convention in Las Vegas.  This is an interesting move by Verizon as they are entering an already well established market.  Rival companies such as Apple and Google currently already operate their own versions of app stores for the iPhone and various Android based phones.

The aspect of the Verizon app store that is going to be different and hopefully will differentiate Verizon from their competitors is the ability to pay for apps using your cell phone bill instead of having to create a new account for the app store.  Currently the way the other app stores works is that a consumer will need to set up an entirely new account to use with the app store and are billed separately.  With Verizon’s new store users will be able to make purchases as they please and will just see the charges appear on their monthly cell phone bill which will make paying for the new apps a breeze from your unlocked cell phone.
With big name brands already entrenched in the mobile app store market it will be interesting to see how Verizon makes their initial splash.  I will be interested to see how the ability to pay for the apps with your monthly cell phone bill will be received by current Verizon consumers.  It certainly does seem to make it much easier to browse the app store and make purchases when all you need to do is confirm your purchase.  However, after an initial account set up this is how the other app stores work so there will not be that much difference between the three big app stores.

One of the more exciting booths at the recent CTIA Wireless convention in Las Vegas was the booth set up by AT&T.  AT&T took advantage of the CTIA Wireless convention to showcase the new U-Verse mobile service and the corresponding app.  The app that is set for release on the Apple iPhone will allow customers to watch content from their U-Verse DVR home setup directly on their mobile device.  Customers will also be able to browse television schedules and set recordings for their home DVR.  Then those videos can then be streamed to either a mobile phone or a connected laptop.

AT&T has long allowed customers to remotely program their DVR but not the carrier is showcasing the streaming capabilities of the U-Verse Mobile service.  While pricing and specific availability for the new U-Verse app have not been released AT&T has made it clear that the app will not be exclusive to the iPhone.  This service is expected to be released later this year and is sure to be a hit with all of AT&T’s U-Verse subscribers.

AT&T’s new U-Verse app is just another example of the fantastic advancements we are making with our mobile devices.  It should be pretty amazing to have the capabilities to record your favorite television shows or movies in your home and be able to take those programs with you wherever you go with your mobile device.  This can be the perfect app for those of us who are regularly on the go and do not have time to sit around and watch television.  We can just record the shows that we would like to see and watch them whenever we want wherever we want on our unlocked mobile devices.  This is one of the newest apps that I am really looking forward to its release.

 Coming this spring Verizon Wireless consumers will have the chance to bill online content directly to their cell phone bills.  Verizon is set to utilize Danal’s BilltoMobile service that will allow mobile device users to charge any online content they download right to their Verizon bills.  A secure connection and integration between Verizon Wireless and Danal will provide features important to online consumers and merchants, including robust subscriber authentication and fraud protection, among others.

 The mobile payment service will feature a $25-per-month spending limit for these purchases, along with content and parental controls for individual accounts, giving account owners the ability to manage their BilltoMobile usage.  When available, customers with text messaging-enabled phones will be able to shop quickly, securely and conveniently for Verizon Wireless-approved content at online stores, including game sites, social networks and virtual worlds. Users will also be able to purchase subscriptions to popular online games. 

The BilltoMobile payment service is simple for consumers. To conduct a transaction, consumers click on the BilltoMobile button during checkout at a participating online Web site and then input their mobile numbers and mobile billing zip codes for subscriber authentication. A text message is then sent to consumers’ unlocked mobile phones with a one-time passcode. Once consumers input this passcode into the online checkout window, the transaction is completed. The entire process takes about 15 seconds, and there is no pre-registration or links to credit cards or bank accounts required. 

This sounds like a great addition to power unlocked cell phone users on the Verizon network.  The BilltoMobile program will offer consumers a safe and quick way to purchase products or online content directly from their mobile devices.  This is just another step in the direction of being able to use your mobile devices for much more things than just making phone calls and sending text messages.

In an announcement to their premier customers Sprint released an account alert asking their customers to “visit us tomorrow for an exciting announcement about a groundbreaking new device.”  No other details were provided but it is rumored that that this “groundbreaking new device” is the long rumored WiMAX smarphone.  This new WiMAX smartphone known as the HTC Supersonic comes equipped with a 4.3 inch screen and Android 2.1 with Sense UI. 

Releasing a 4G device would certainly fit the “groundbreaking” category and there have already been plans to unveil the phone at CTIA.  There was a web chat transcript that was found on the Sprint Community that seems to corroborate.  In this web chat an interested consumer asks customer support if a new Android device is going to hit the market soon.  The customer support rep does in fact confirm that a new smartphone device is going to be available very soon.   

The announcement of this new phone is a welcome sight to any consumers who were waiting for a new Android phone to hit the market.  This new HTC Supersonic is supposedly going to be one of the most high powered phones on the market today.  The 4.3 inch screen will make surfing the web and browsing through contacts and music a breeze.  Also, this new mobile device is going to be part of the Android 2.1 OS which is supposed to be much more powerful than the original Android OS. 

 I know that I am quite excited to see what this potentially new unlocked cell phone is actually going to be and what this new announcement is all about.  If it is in fact going to be an  announcement about the new HTC Supersonic than you can expect Sprint CEO Dan Hesse to talk about this in his keynote speech on Wednesday at CTIA.