Here’s a pretty great idea – US Cellular is helping its customers save money on their mobile bills. They have a new app that get their customer's mobile devices off the network wherever possible, saving customers data usage as well as reducing traffic on the US Cellular 3G and 4G networks. US Cellular calls the program “Wi-Fi Now”.

Tapping into the system requires downloading the Wi-Fi Now app available for free in the Google Play Store.

Basically, the app runs in the background watching for "partner" Wi-Fi hotspots. Once it locates one it automatically connects your device and stops your data usage - saving you money on your bill. There’s no additional action required on your part to make the connection and no sign-in required. This applies to your home network as well as hotspots on the road.

US Cellular says that not just any network will qualify for the bounce. They have designed the app with at least some security in mind. Here’s how it’s described in the Google Play Store listing: "Wi-Fi hotspots are tested for functionality and quality service."

This app is only available only to US Cellular customers.

The drama between Apple and Samsung continues outside the courtroom in latest Galaxy S3 ad

What? Did Apple really expect Samsung to sit quietly?

It's been a good week for Apple, what with its big reveal and overwhelming enthusiasm for the iPhone 5.

But, despite all the recent glory, Apple's got an enemy. And the thing about enemies is that, as much as they like to kick you when you're down, they're just dying to kick you when you're up too.

Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll know that the courtroom battle between Apple and Samsung has been raging for the better part of a year now.

Most recently, the dispute over intellectual property saw Apple win a ruling from the U.S. International Trade Commission.

But that last ruling is unlikely to put an end to the drama between the two smartphone makers, even if it means taking the fight out of the courtroom and into the streets. In fact, Samsung has done just that.

Just days after Apple's iPhone 5 unveiling, Samsung's latest ad for the Galaxy S3 takes direct aim at the newest iPhone incarnation.

The ad, which compares the two smartphones' capabilities, and calls out the iPhone 5 by name, bears the statement: “It doesn't take a genius.” Presumably, the “it” in question is figuring out the Galaxy S3 is "better."

Samsung's latest Galaxy S3 ad calls out the iPhone 5 by name

The timeliness of the ad, which must have been prepared based on specs obtained before Apple's September 12 unveiling, led 9to5Mac to quip: “you can say a lot of things about Samsung, but one thing you can’t say is that they are slow.”

Indeed, Samsung pumped that one out pretty quickly. But that's no surprise considering this isn't the first anti-Apple ad the company's run. Back when they were promoting the Galaxy S2, they slammed the iPhone with an ad making fun of Apple fanatics, claiming “the next big thing is already here.”

This time, however, Samsung's Apple-bashing is more delicately directed at the company, not its users, and that may just work. At the very least, the ad should make people feel smart for choosing a Galaxy, rather than stupid for standing in line at the Apple Store.

What do you think of Samsung's new ad? Is it tasteful? Accurate? Do you think it'll work? Leave your opinion in the comments section.

We knew the hardware was going to be spectacular, and now that we know it’s called, when can we get our hands on the Apple iPhone 5?

Apple will begin accepting pre-orders for the iPhone 5 on September 14. They have already set up a landing page for the device on its online store.

On September 21st the iPhone 5 will hit store shelves in nine countries -- the U.S., U.K, Canada, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

The iPhone 5 is priced at $199 for a 16GB version, $299 for a 32GB version and $399 for a 64GB version. Getting phones at those prices from AT&T, Sprint and Verizon require a two-year contract.

Apple’s website now shows the unlocked pricing for the iPhone 5.The site’s compare tool shows that the 16GB model starts at $649, the 32GB at $749, and the 64GB at $849.

If you’re in the mood for an Apple iPhone but don’t mind an older version, Apple has their usually deal for you. They’ve reduced the price of the 16GB iPhone 4S by $100 to $99. The 16GB iPhone 4 is now free. The discounts require a two-year contract with the big three U.S. mobile carriers.

LifeProof's new Nüüd iPad case promises "barely there" waterproof protection

Humankind's fascination with gadgets can only be rivalled by our longstanding fascination with water.

So, even though we quake with fear at the thought of submerging our iPads, iPhones and other devices, it shouldn't really surprise us that, when people go swimming or surfing, they want to take their tablet or smartphone along.

We've already seen something of the waterproofing trend from LifeProof – the San Diego-based company boasts what's been called the slimmest waterproof case for iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S.

LifeProof already claims the slimmest waterproof case for iPhone 4 and iphone 4S

But now, the New York Times' Gadgetwise blog is reporting on the company's latest in elemental shielding for Apple devices.

This time, LifeProof has taken its efforts to tablets, with the waterproof Nüüd iPad case. The product gets its name from the fact that there's actually no screen covering – your iPad's naked glass screen is already waterproof, and adding an extra film on top only reduces clarity.

Instead, the Nüüd case seals around the glass and provides a waterproof backing for the rest of the iPad. There's also access at the bottom for charging and syncing, so you don't have to constantly take the case off and put it back on again.

As Gadgetwise points out, you still may not want to do any serious snorkeling with your iPad, since it wasn't really designed for that. But the new iPad case is great for poolside, a day at the beach, or any other routine encounter with water.

You may swear to have never texted on the toilet, but show me the techie who says they've never brought their phone or tablet into the bathroom, and I'll show you a liar. In any case, waterproofing just makes solid sense.

Any survival expert will tell you that where there's life, there's water. But as we at Pure Mobile know, where there's life, there's also tech.

A third party manufacturer compared the sizes of upcoming devices to an iPhone 4S case and an iPad 3 case

We love a good rumor, and the big news on everyone's lips this week surrounded some leaked photos that may reveal the dimensions of the upcoming iPhone 5 and iPhone mini.

MacRumors reported September 10^th on pictures released by a third party iPhone and iPad case manufacturer that compare tentative cases for the new devices to an iPhone 4S case and iPad 3 case.

“The cases were created by case manufacturers in anticipation of the upcoming models. Designs are based on leaked specs coming out of Foxconn factories,” says MacRumors.

While the new iPhone 5 case is taller than the iPhone 4S, the case for the iPad mini is smaller than the current iPad 3 case

If the specs are right, those who believe bigger is better will be happy to know that the new iPhone 5 will in fact be larger than the current iPhone 4S, though it'll just be taller, not wider, with a 4” diagonal screen.

As for those who think less is more, the case designed for the new iPad Mini is smaller than the iPad 3 case shown in the image, but not significantly. The new device is rumored to have a 7.85” screen.

The size comparison as outlined by MacRumors 

As Gizmodo noted, “ if that iPad Mini shell is accurate, the realization that it's not a total dwarf next to the 10-inch iPad, kinda makes the idea of one all the more tantalizing.”

For now, it's all just speculation, but we're likely to have at least part of the truth on September 12^th, when Apple's expected to unveil the iPhone 5 at a press conference. However, we'll have to wait a little longer to see the new iPad Mini, which is expected to be unveiled at some point in October.

Now we know a few more details about Nokia’s new Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 phones. The big unveiling took place yesterday in New York City, and what we saw was pretty impressive.

The Lumia makes a big splash with its accessories. It seems that Nokia is determined to pioneer the cause of the wireless charging station.

The Lumia 920 and 820 both incorporate Qi (pronounced “chee”) tech for wireless charging (an option with the Lumia 820.) Rather than connecting to a dock, all that’s needed to charge one of the phones is to place it on top of a (plugged in) pad. We’d already heard rumor about the design of the wireless charging pad, and what Nokia unveiled was actually three different styles.

The basic dock that looks like the same type of design as the phone case. It’s streamlined and shiny, and comes in a few bright color choices – red, blue, white, black and yellow.

The Fatboy Recharge Pillow is a puffy base that looks like a pillow. Its length and width extend at least one inch beyond the edges of the phone when it’s centered on the Pillow. The color choices are the same bright hues as those for the basic dock.

The JBL PowerUp Charging Speaker is definitely the star of the group. The charging stand includes an NFC chip that will trigger an app launch when you place it in the dock. Just put the smartphone on the stand where it will charge and automatically open your music player or alarm clock. The stand is equipped with high-quality audio speakers and a retro style. Its color choices are black, gray and blue.

In addition, Nokia said it has made deals with Virgin Atlantic and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf to have charging stations in various public locations. Eventually, Nokia wants to see charging stations in public places all over the world.

Nokia is part of the Wireless Power Consortium. One of the Consortium’s goals is to build a true wireless-charging network with open standards. Qi is part of that design ethic. If your device is equipped for Qi wireless, you'll be able to charge it on any charging base that uses the Qi wireless charging standard.

No word on pricing or launch date for either phone.

A couple of weeks ago a jury agreed with Apple in their latest lawsuit against Samsung, awarding Apple over $1 billion supporting its claim that Samsung infringed on their patents in the design of eight Samsung mobile phones and one tablet. But, there is method to Apple’s madness, and it isn’t putting Samsung out of business.

What this verdict does give Apple is the upper hand in “negotiations” that are being conducted through the courts all over the world. Apple’s opponents include five of their largest competitors in the global war for smartphone and tablet dominance. It’s not just Apple claiming patent violations. Most of the mobile behemoths are fighting amongst themselves over license agreements.

Apple big beef with its device-making rivals like Samsung, it that they use the Android operating system that Google gives away for free. According to Bloomberg Industries, Android accounts for about 60 percent of the mobile market, three times as large as Apple’s iOS. The big prize Apple has its sights on is having the dominant operating system in the device market. The problem many consumers, app designers and device manufacturers should have with Apple’s OS is that it’s a closed-garden operating system while Google’s (and Microsoft’s) is an open system. This means that Apple controls everything. (This was a point that Steve Jobs was always fanatical about.)

U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh will probably deny a request by Samsung to throw out the verdict. Samsung’s lawyers will file an appeal in a higher court.

Koh will still have to decide whether to issue an injunction blocking the sale in the U.S. of the nine Samsung devices in the latest lawsuit. If she decides in favor of Apple, Samsung will have to make some design changes, eliminating the offending features or pull them from the market. Samsung probably won’t expend too much effort on this since the nine devices are older ones, and they can still sell them outside the U.S. The hit to their bottom line should be minimal.

Once the competitors get some legal satisfaction, they’ll make their financial deals over supplying products and components to one another. Even Apple will play nice. (Apple is Samsung’s biggest customer for mobile-device components).In the meantime, the companies are still doing business as usual with one another while they keep their lawyers busy in court.

Telecom companies and consumers aren’t going to put up with a clearing out of the competition by Apple. Many of us like Android devices like Samsung’s, and Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS is a welcome addition to the competition. Bottom line: what ultimately happens from all this bickering is up to us.

Finally some pictures have surfaced with close-ups of a device that might be the next generation of Nokia phones.Up till now, we’ve only had leaked pictures, component images and patent application drawings to fuel speculation about what Nokia’s very unique Windows Phone 8 might look like.

The phone in the pics has a boxy design, like the shape of a deck of cards. One of my first thoughts: if you aren't connected by Bluetooth or a headset, the edges might make it tiring to hold for a long period of time.

The views also show elongated speaker grilles down one whole side. The phone is  supposed to feature DTS sound - multichannel audio technology that is known for surround sound formats. The poor quality of speaker sound in portable devices today is almost as big a deal as battery life. DTS could mean a big leap forward in the audio experience. From a design standpoint, we can't imagine speakers extended the whole length of the handset. Maybe it's just for effect.

There's a lot that pictures can't tell. So the rumors of specs like a quad-core SoC, 12-megapixel camera and 4.5-inch HD screen should be taken with a big grain of salt.

Of course, this is all just a guess at whether these models are sourced from Nokia or rendered from legitimate hardware images or specs, but they are interesting. Maybe, we'll hear more on September 5th when Nokia and Microsoft hold their press event.

No matter what, a boxy design like this would be a real departure from the Apple, HTC and Samsung smooth, rounder edged and stylized cases we love right now. Windows 8 or not, I'd feel like Nokia's new device is drawing attention to my hand the way my eyes can't help but notice to a Nissan Cube on the street.

Just in case you haven’t sprung for the Galaxy S III, extended your contract for another 2 years to get that HTC One X, or aren’t a Apple loyalist, you might be glad to hear that we’ll finally be getting the official word on Motorola’s new Droid RAZR M 4G LTE next week – September 5th to be exact.

If even that’s too far away, the specs have been leaked. This looks like a pretty sweet phone.

• 4.3-inch, 960 x 540 pixel, Super AMOLED Advanced display
• 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor
• 8 GB of storage
• 1 GB of RAM
• 8-megapixel rear camera and a 3-megapixel one on the front
• Gorilla Glass 2 display glass
• Kevlar-reinforced back
• Virtual navigation buttons at the bottom of the screen
• MicroSD expansion
• Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth
• GPS

NFC, GSM / UMTS / HSPA+ global roaming are on board and the whole package will be powered by Android 4.0 - Ice Cream Sandwich

No word yet on price and availability. It would have been nice to hear about the battery, too, but September 5th isn’t far away. If you’ve got a purchase decision to make, you might want to hold off a week.

Samsung is bringing a new addition to its Galaxy smartphone line called the Galaxy S Duos, and it’s got one really unique feature – the ability to operate on two wireless carriers at the same time.

The Galaxy S Duos hardware is designed to support two SIM cards. You can have two different phones numbers running on two different networks from the same phone. In other words, even if you have AT&T for work and Verizon for personal use, you can use the same phone for both.

As Samsung said in a blog post announcing the phone: “Its unique ‘Dual SIM Always On’ feature allows you to receive calls on one SIM number while taking a call from the other, ensuring that you can manage both personal and work commitments without ever missing a call. You also have the flexibility of selecting different billing plans for either SIM, switching between them at your convenience.”

At first glance, the Galaxy S Duos looks a lot like the Galaxy S III, but its features are very different. The Duos has a 4-inch 480x 800 TFT touchscreen display, a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, 1GHz processor and 4GB of storage.

In contrast, the Galaxy S III has a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED screen with 1,280 x 720 resolution, a higher-resolution 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and either 16 or 32GB of built-in storage.

The Samsung Galaxy S Duos will be available next month in Europe. There's no word on when those of us on this side of the Atlantic will see it.