Your New Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Has Been Recalled What You Need to Know! [Update]

[Update: If you own A Samsung Galaxy Note 7 stop using it immediately!! Samsung, with cooperation from US Consumer Product Safety Commission is issuing a full and total recall of over one million Galaxy Note7 devices. ]

Yes you've heard that correctly, Samsung is recalling every Samsung Galaxy Note 7 that the company has shipped worldwide do to an issue with faulty batteries and charging that has resulted in at least 35 incidents of batteries exploding.

The problem is estimated to affect one device in every 42,000 units. Samsung says it shipped around 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 units so far, so if the estimate is correct, only a few dozen phones sold worldwide are at risk. So the risk is actually pretty minimal, but it is always best to err on the side of caution. 

At this time Samsung has officially halted all sales and shipments of the Galaxy Note 7 and the phones have been recalled worldwide. Samsung is working on preparing replacement units for the affected devices as well as working with each carrier on how to handle the recall and replacement process, which as of now will take about two weeks, according to the company.

Full Samsung statement:

Samsung is committed to producing the highest quality products and we take every incident report from our valued customers very seriously. In response to recently reported cases of the new Galaxy Note7, we conducted a thorough investigation and found a battery cell issue.

To date (as of September 1) there have been 35 cases that have been reported globally and we are currently conducting a thorough inspection with our suppliers to identify possible affected batteries in the market. However, because our customers’ safety is an absolute priority at Samsung, we have stopped sales of the Galaxy Note7.

For customers who already have Galaxy Note7 devices, we will voluntarily replace their current device with a new one over the coming weeks.

We acknowledge the inconvenience this may cause in the market but this is to ensure that Samsung continues to deliver the highest quality products to our customers. We are working closely with our partners to ensure the replacement experience is as convenient and efficient as possible.

 At this time if you want to keep and use your Galaxy Note 7 you should be fine. However, you may want to use a few of these common sense precautions in order to keep safe, which really are valid for any electronic device.

• Stop charging your phone it if becomes too hot.
• Stick to official Samsung chargers.
• Don’t charge your phone in bed or anywhere it might not dissipate heat.
• Be mindful of where you charge your phone, don't leave it in a hot car window, hot area ect.

How will the recall process work?

At this time we have no specifics on the exact details of the recall, and each carrier seems to be handling things a little different. So here is what we have gathered so far (we'll update as we get more info).

• Sprint has said it will offer customers loaner devices, while Verizon is waiving its restocking fee for customers who want to return the Note 7 and get another phone altogether.
•  AT&T has reportedly stated that they are in the process of determining the exchange process for their customers and how they can replace their current Note 7 as quickly as possible. The company promised more information later on today.
• T-Mobile is offering customers full refunds to use toward another device or a replacement Note 7, which it said it expected to have available within two weeks. Plus, it said, customers can keep the free Netflix subscription it had been bundling with Note 7 purchases.

[Update from Samsung]
The US Product Exchange Program will offer consumers the following choices:

1. Exchange current Galaxy Note7 device with a new Galaxy Note7 (as early as next week)
2. Exchange current Galaxy Note7 for a Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge and replacement of any Note7 specific accessories with a refund of the price difference between devices

As a gesture of appreciation, consumers will receive a $25 gift card or bill credit from select carrier retail outlets when choosing a Galaxy S7 family device or the Galaxy Note7 within the exchange program.

Galaxy Note7 owners can contact or visit the retail outlet where they purchased their device or call 1-800-SAMSUNG to initiate a product exchange and to resolve any other questions or concerns.

T-Mobile's Rewards Program Puts AT&T's to Shame

T-Mobile CEO John Legere really knows how to shake things up in the mobile world! So it comes as no surprise to us that he did just that at the company's Uncarrier 11 event.

Legere used the event to announce the launch of a new customer loyalty program that is unlike almost anything you've ever seen before. One that honestly puts the rewards program AT&T offered last week to utter shame!

“Get ready for a gratitude adjustment, America! This Un-carrier move is all about giving you a good thanking! No strings. No gotchas. Just ‘thank you for being a customer!’” said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile. “At T-Mobile, we already wake up every day working for our customers—so I’ve decided to make it official and turn T-Mobile customers into T-Mobile owners by offering them stock. And we’re thanking customers every week with cool stuff from brands people love. For free. Every Tuesday!”

As part of the newly announced Uncarrier 11 initiative, T-Mobile launched StockUp, a new rewards program that grants one share of company stock to every T-Mobile primary account holder. Those folks can bank up to 100 shares a year by referring their friends -- not too shabby, considering shares are currently valued at $43.62 and T-Mobile's strong financial growth could nudge that number even higher

Existing customers can claim their T-Mobile stock starting tomorrow, June 7, through June 21 in the T-Mobile Tuesdays app, and customers can learn more about growing their ownership when they recommend T-Mobile at www.t-mobile.com/StockUp.

In addition to offering every customer the change to become an owner of T-Mobile shares, Legere announced T-Mobile Tuesdays, a new app that thanks T-Mobile customers with free stuff and epic prizes, every single Tuesday. For starters you'll get free dinner and a movie every week. T-Mobile customers can carry out a free medium two-topping Domino’s pizza, free small Wendy’s Frosty and free movie rental from VUDU, Walmart’s video on-demand service.

If that isn't enough of a reward T-Mobile is offering even more! As a part of the program each customer will get an additional freebie of some kind that could be tickets, a gift card, free subscriptions, or free ride-sharing. This week, it’s tickets to go see Warcraft in theaters. To top it all off they are going one step further and offering everyone a chance at winning a majorly "EPIC" prize. One lucky T-Mobile user will be randomly selected for an “epic” prize. This week’s epic prize is a trip on a party bus for someone and 40 of their closest friends to a private showing of Warcraft with all-you-can-eat candy, popcorn, and soft drinks. Other epic prizes in the lineup include:

• a trip for two to Vegas to stay at Mandalay Bay with tickets to see UB40 at the Mandalay Bay Beach and roll VIP style at Luxor’s LAX Nightclub. Plus $100 in Lyft credits to get around town.
• a trip to MLB All-Star week in San Diego for you and a lucky guest, including exclusive access to the Home Run Derby press conference and batting practice to see the top players up close and personal.
• a once-in-a-lifetime expedition for you and your hiking buddy up the legendary Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru, complete with accommodations, meals, and tours from The Clymb.
• a trip to New York City to refresh your wardrobe with a $10,000 shopping spree with the help of an in-house stylist in the private Gilt showroom.

T-Mobile has partnered with a slew of businesses including American Giant, Buffalo Wild Wings, Condé Nast, Fanatics, Fandango, Gilt, HotelTonight, JackThreads, Legendary Pictures and Universal Pictures, Lyft, Major League Baseball, MGM Resorts International, Samsung Electronics America, Inc., Shell, StubHub, The Clymb, The Grommet and Warner Brothers to make these prizes possible.

For more information on Un-carrier 11, check out www.t-mobile.com/GetThanked and the Un-carrier 11 media kit at newsroom.t-mobile.com/news-and-blogs/un-carrier-11.htm.

T-Mobile Talks iPhone, No Contract Unlimited Plans And Going Subside Free

During the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, T-Mobile had a lot to talk about. The main focus was two rather interesting new offerings in the form of a new no contract unlimited plan and plans to drop subsidies. The third was plans to build on what they are saying is a 2 million iPhone user base and officially offer the Apple iPhone to customers.

T-Mobile's looking to change the mobile game. First by offering a no contract unlimited 4G data, text and voice plan for $70 a month. This is said to be a true unlimited data, as long as you don't tether your phone to a computer, you can stream all the content you want to your phone and it won't ever cost you more than $70. Note: there is no word on throttling or if it will be in place. The plan's been available since summer for customers with monthly plans; now it's for people who want the option to prepay.

"As the 'uncarrier,' we’re doing the unthinkable," said John Legere, T-Mobile USA president and CEO in a statement Tuesday. "We’re directly confronting the frustrations of American consumers fed up with the cost, complexity and congested networks of our competitors."

This new plan could save customers a bundle over other carrier deals but it won't be entirely without competition. Sprint plans to launch a similar no-contract plan for $70-a-month for unlimited voice, text and data service, called Sprint As You Go.

The second plan is a rather risky plan to entirely eliminate carrier subsidies on new phones. That means if you buy a smartphone, you’re paying full price for it. T-Mobile will allow new customers to bring their own phone, or buy a new phone and pay for it all at once or in installments. But everyone will be shepherded into what the company calls its Value Packages or essentially their monthly plans.

The third announcement, which many customers have been anticipating since December's statements, was that the iPhone will officially arrive at T-Mobile USA within three to four months, according to CEO John Legere. Legere and his comments made to Reuters.

T-Mobile has played host to millions of unlocked AT&T iPhones for the past few years and originally announced in December that it finally reached a deal with Apple to begin offering the iPhone to subscribers. At the time, the company was vague about which Apple products it would carry; the iPhone is a given, but T-Mobile may follow in AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint's footsteps by offering a cellular version of the iPad as well.

Stolen Phone Database Now Live

Earlier this year the FCC alongside all of the major US cell phone providers brokered a deal to create a stolen phone database that would allow the tracking, and blocking of phones reported to have been stolen. The first of these services, managed by AT&T and T-Mobile has gone live today.

The stolen phone program works like this: A phone is reported stolen and the IMEI, a unique identification number in the cellphone, is entered into the database and then blocked. This ID number remains with the cellphone no matter what SIM card is used or what a user does to the phone. If the thief, or other unsuspecting user, tries to use that phone with their new SIM card or tries to get new service on that phone they won't be able to.

"The goal is to not only protect the consumer by cancelling the service, but by ultimately protecting the consumer by drying up the after market for stolen phones," said Chris Guttman-McCabe, vice president of regulatory affairs at CTIA, a wireless industry trade association that has coordinated efforts to introduce the database.

Verizon and Sprint are working to offer their own databases which will eventually be combined with the AT&T and T-Mobile databases so that the vast majority of U.S. cellphone users will be covered. Smaller carriers like Nex-Tech and Cellcom are also getting on board the database. There are also plans to link it with an international database maintained by the GSM Association to stop stolen phones being shipped overseas and used on foreign networks.

The goal behind the database is to hopefully prevent the theft of mobile phones by making it less attractive to criminals. The thought is that if its harder (or near impossible) to activate the phones then there will be less motivation to take them.

While the phone database may eventually be a great deterrent to stop thieves it isn't a stop all. CTIA president and CEO Steve Largent pointed out that most users now store a large amount of personal data on their smartphones - from photos and videos to banking information and emails.   

"While the GSM and CDMA databases are important, consumers also play a key role in protecting their information and preventing smartphone theft," Largent continued. "By using passwords or PINs, as well as remote wiping capabilities, consumers can help to dry up the aftermarket for stolen devices. It's important consumers know that by taking simple precautions, such as downloading a few apps, they can protect their information from unauthorized users," he said.



AT&T customers may report a stolen phone and suspend their service online at www.att.com/stolenphone, at an AT&T store, or by contacting AT&T Customer Care at 1-800-331-0500. Within 24 hours, AT&T will block the use of a device reported as stolen.

T-Mobile Invites AT&T Users With Unlocked iPhones

With the launch of the new iPhone 5 seemingly immanent, T-Mobile is extending an offer to current AT&T iPhone owners. Leave AT&T behind and come to us!

T-Mobile may be the only one of "Big 4" phone companies that doesn't sell the iPhone, but that hasn't kept users from leaving AT&T behind and taking their devices with them. In the past T-Mobile has been a bit reluctant to openly invite iPhone users as it faced concerns over bandwidth usage. Now it appears as though the mobile provider has changed their tune.

Starting Wednesday, when Apple is expected to reveal a new iPhone model, T-Mobile will start an advertising campaign targeting unlocked iPhone owners who are out of contract and can switch to T-Mobile.

"We expect that consumers will start trading in older devices," said Harry Thomas, T-Mobile's director of marketing. "For every person waiting in line for the next model, a lot of them have to find a secondary market for that older device."

AT&T iPhones have to be unlocked using codes that AT&T will supply after the customer's contract is up. AT&T has added a new page to make the process easy. Simply visit the AT&T Device Unlock page, fill in your information as well as the IMEI number from your iPhone and if you meet the requirements AT&T will send you the unlock code within 5 to 7 days.

Sorry Sprint and Verizon iPhone owners, your phones won't work on T-Mobiles network. There are some hacks that can be done to potentially get the iPhone 4S to work but that is a rather involved ordeal and not something most users will want to face.

T-Mobiles campaign will be titled "Unlocked & Unlimited." The pitch will center on its unlimited data plan, which it reintroduced last week. The carrier also plans to start carrying unlocked iPhones in its stores for demonstration purposes and even plans to launch a few of its own iPhone apps to improve the "T-Mobile iPhone" experience.

T-Mobile's Value plans range between $59.99 and $104.99 a month. The low-end plan includes unlimited voice and text message and 2 gigabytes of data before throttling. For $10 more, customers can get fully unlimited data. The high-end plan comes with 10 gigabytes of data. In Atlanta and New York, T-Mobile plans on giving away $100 gift cards to customers who sign their iPhones up for two-year contracts.

T-Mobile Bets $1000 The Galaxy S Is Faster Than The iPhone

Apple fanboys, T-Mobile is calling you out!! The company is betting Seattle iPhone users $1000 that your Apple iPhone won't beat the T-Mobile Galaxy S smartphone on the T-Mobile 4G network.

Friday, April 29 – Sunday, May 1, 2011, bring your iPhone into one of the 10 participating T-Mobile stores to take part in a speed challenge. If your iPhone can beat the Galaxy S 4G in two out of three speed tests (download speed only), T-Mobile will give you 1,000 bucks.

If you own an Apple iPhone on either Verizon or AT&T and live in the Seattle Washington area you might want to find a participating store and see how you stack up. You can find all of the contest details and the participating T-Mobile store locations here.


The Speed Challenge Requirements

1. Speed challenge offered 4/29/2011 through 5/1/2011; subject to change. First come, first served. Participating locations only.
2. Limit one speed challenge per person.
3. Participants must be 18 years of age or older and a legal resident of the 50 U.S. states or D.C.; iPhone models used on the AT&T or Verizon Wireless network (and not over Wi-Fi) only.
4. Participants must agree to complete a T-Mobile survey / information form.
5. Participants must download a free speed test Application specified by T-Mobile; standard data charges apply.
6. Speed challenge consists of three tests of the Galaxy S 4G versus the iPhone based solely on download speeds as measured by the Application; participants will be eligible to receive $1,000 if their iPhones are faster in two out of the three tests.
7. Successful participants must provide contact information; affidavit of eligibility and a liability release may be required.
8. $1,000 provided in form of check; allow 6-8 weeks for delivery. All applicable taxes are the sole responsibility of the recipient. If check is returned as non-deliverable or participant is not eligible, $1,000 will be forfeited and T-Mobile will have no further obligation.

Microsoft Announces Windows Phone 7 Worldwide Launch Event

Update: Microsoft has been making changes to the official invite page ever sense this story broke last night. Originally the site was quoted stating "T-Mobile reps will be present for device showing and their service offering discussion / Microsoft developer architect will demonstrate Windows Phone 7 applications." That has since been changed to read "We will present a Windows Phone 7 device / Microsoft developer architect will demonstrate Windows Phone 7 applications."

The event invitation, which was located here has since mysteriously been removed. Leaving many with unanswered questions. Several sites however have been reporting that when the new Windows 7 phone debuts on October 11th devices from T-Mobile as well as AT&T will be available.

Microsoft has made it official, the company will be holding a worldwide launch event October 11th for the new Windows Mobile and Windows Phone 7 Series.

The event will be held Monday, October 11, 2010 from 3 pm – 4:30 pm at the NYC Microsoft Technology Center. According to the the announcement the company will provide an "Insider's look at Windows Phone 7 and the Microsoft experience it brings to life."

Perhaps and even more interesting aspect of the event is that T-Mobile reps will be present for device showing and their service offering discussion. So it appears as though the announcement confirms that T-Mobile will be a launch partner.

More details can be found via the event invite page (link now dead).

Microsoft Releases Sidekick Data Recovery Tool

Following up on their promises to help restore user data as quickly as possible the Danger/Microsoft team has released a new set of tools for T-Mobile customers that should help in their data restoration efforts.

Beginning [early Tuesday], T-Mobile Sidekick users were invited to log into the My T-Mobile website, where there will be a recovery tool to restore contacts you may have lost during the recent service outage. This tool will enable you to view the contacts you had on your device as of October 1. With a few clicks and a confirmation, you will be able to restore these contacts to your Sidekick. If you have recreated some of the same contacts on your Sidekick since October 1, you can choose to keep both sets of contacts, merge them, or just keep the set of contacts now on your device. You may also edit any partial or complete duplicates on your Sidekick after restoration.

"We continue to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to restore your data. We’re making solid progress on the next phase in this restoration process, including your photographs, notes, to-do lists, marketplace data and high scores," the company said in the full statement.

No date has been set for beginning that second phase of the data recovery, however the companies both remain optimistic that they'll be able to retrieve most if not all of the lost data.

Microsoft Apologizes For Data Loss, Confirms Data Recovery To Begin Soon

Microsoft today has issued a formal apology to all T-Mobile Sidekick users affected by the recent data loss and has confirmed that effort to recover users data have been successful for many, if not most of the affected users.

Microsoft Confirms Data Recovery for Sidekick Users
Data Restoration to Begin as Soon as Possible for Affected Customers.

Dear T-Mobile Sidekick customers,

On behalf of Microsoft, I want to apologize for the recent problems with the Sidekick service and give you an update on the steps we have taken to resolve these problems.

We are pleased to report that we have recovered most, if not all, customer data for those Sidekick customers whose data was affected by the recent outage. We plan to begin restoring users’ personal data as soon as possible, starting with personal contacts, after we have validated the data and our restoration plan. We will then continue to work around the clock to restore data to all affected users, including calendar, notes, tasks, photographs and high scores, as quickly as possible.

We now believe that data loss affected a minority of Sidekick users. If your Sidekick account was among those affected, please continue to log into the T-Mobile Sidekick forum at http://www.t-mobile.com/sidekick for the latest updates about when data restoration will begin, and any steps you may need to take. We will work with T-Mobile to post the next update on data restoration timing no later than Saturday.

We have determined that the outage was caused by a system failure that created data loss in the core database and the back-up. We rebuilt the system component by component, recovering data along the way. This careful process has taken a significant amount of time, but was necessary to preserve the integrity of the data.

We will continue working closely with T-Mobile to restore user data as quickly as possible. We are eager to deliver the level of reliable service that our incredibly loyal customers have become accustomed to, and we are taking immediate steps to help ensure this does not happen again. Specifically, we have made changes to improve the overall stability of the Sidekick service and initiated a more resilient backup process to ensure that the integrity of our database backups is maintained.

Once again, we apologize for this situation and the inconvenience that it has created. Please know that we are working all-out to resolve this situation and restore the reliability of the service.

Sincerely,

Roz Ho

Corporate Vice President

Premium Mobile Experiences, Microsoft Corporation

T-Mobile Looses Sidekick Data

Over the past weekend T-Mobile has confirmed that data originally lost two weeks ago is indeed gone for good. T-Mobile issues the following statement via their customer forums;

T-Mobile and the Sidekick data services provider, Danger, a subsidiary of Microsoft, are reaching out to express our apologies regarding the recent Sidekick data service disruption.

We appreciate your patience as Microsoft/Danger continues to work on maintaining platform stability, and restoring all services for our Sidekick customers.

Regrettably, based on Microsoft/Danger's latest recovery assessment of their systems, we must now inform you that personal information stored on your device - such as contacts, calendar entries, to-do lists or photos - that is no longer on your Sidekick almost certainly has been lost as a result of a server failure at Microsoft/Danger. That said, our teams continue to work around-the-clock in hopes of discovering some way to recover this information. However, the likelihood of a successful outcome is extremely low. As such, we wanted to share this news with you and offer some tips and suggestions to help you rebuild your personal content. You can find these tips in our Sidekick Contacts FAQ. We encourage you to visit the Forums on a regular basis to access the latest updates as well as FAQs regarding this service disruption.

In addition, we plan to communicate with you on Monday (Oct. 12) the status of the remaining issues caused by the service disruption, including the data recovery efforts and the Download Catalog restoration which we are continuing to resolve. We also will communicate any additional tips or suggestions that may help in restoring your content.

We recognize the magnitude of this inconvenience. Our primary efforts have been focused on restoring our customers' personal content. We also are considering additional measures for those of you who have lost your content to help reinforce how valuable you are as a T-Mobile customer.

We continue to advise customers to NOT reset their device by removing the battery or letting their battery drain completely, as any personal content that currently resides on your device will be lost.

Once again, T-Mobile and Microsoft/Danger regret any and all inconvenience this matter has caused.

According to reports the data loss came as a result of a server failure at Microsoft/Danger. T-Mobile along with Danger are still looking for a way to recover user information but the above statement looks pretty hopeless. Customer have reported that it appears as though servers are still on the fritz and the companies are warning all Sidekick owners not just those that have experienced issues not to let their devices power down because anything that's still on there will be lost the next time the device is turned on.

T-Mobile has promised more details and a further report will be released later on Monday to give everyone a status update on the recovery efforts, but at this point, it's not looking good at all.

According to PC Magazine T-Mobile had already begun promising customers who had been hit by the outage a month of free data service. A quote from a T-Mobile spokesperson also implied that more compensation would be coming soon: "We also are considering additional measures for those of you who have lost your content to help reinforce how valuable you are as a T-Mobile customer," the company said.

**Update**

NetworkWorld is reporting that some users have had their data restored. According to the report an undetermined amount of users have been posting response to the T-Mobile customer forums reporting that their data has been restored.

"I was just on my phone and when I got off my phone all my contacts returned," wrote tommyd2107 this morning. "I do not know if this will last for long but the [sight] of my contacts returning is encouraging." He had begun last night manually importing his contact data into his Sidekick. "[T]hen today when I went out on my phone and after I hung up the rest of my contacts came back."

In one response, Dariahna wrote, "The same thing happened to me...I shut my phone off several times without removing the battery...voila! My contacts returned!" Another frustrated but relieved user, Generalblue, reported his phone had frozen completely. He took out the Sidekick’s battery and replaced it (a common step for users in restarting their phone). "Once my phone was on about 5 minutes later I checked my address book for some reason and they were all there. I saved all my contacts to my simcard."

T-Mobile Blocks Jailbroken iPhone Users From Sidekick Data Plan

T-Mobile has struck a blow to iPhone users that have brought their jailbroken or unlocked phones over to their service. The company has officially decided to block iPhone users from using the prepaid Sidekick plan. (or possibly any other prepaid data plans from the looks of it)

The announcement came from T-Mobile earlier this week via tweet on their official Twitter account.

It would appear as though T-Mobile decided there are too many people realizing a loophole. The prepaid Sidekick Data plan was previously available to any phone or device that was unlocked and able to use the network. The plan offered unlimited internet/data and text messaging within the U.S. for $1 per day on top of any per-minute charges for calls. As a prepaid plan with no long-term contract attached, unlocked iPhone users had flexibility combined with reasonable plan costs.

In response to Tweets from former data plan users T-Mobile has stated that they do not currently offer any data plans that will work with the iPhone. So this move essentially blocks all iPhone usage on their data network.

Here is a brief breakdown of the conversation between user @Neil_Dhanda and @TMobile_USA:

1. From @Neil_Dhanda to @TMobile_USA if i call customer support and tell them im running iphone on sidekick data plan will they care? 12:31 PM Aug 10thin reply to TMobile_USA from web
2. From @Neil_Dhanda to @TMobile_USA are fucking ass wipes why the fuck does it matter what phone i use when im paying for the damn sidekick plan you fuckers 12:34 PM Aug 10th from web
3. From @TMobile_USA to @Neil_Dhanda The Sidekick Data plan is meant for a Sidekick device. You may want to look into changing your data plan if ur using an iPhone12:38 PM Aug 10th from TweetDeck in reply to Neil_Dhanda
4. From @TMobile_USA to @Neil_Dhanda Yes. You will no longer be able to use an IPhone with the Sidekick data plan. 12:52 PM Aug 10th from TweetDeck in reply to Neil_Dhanda
5. From @Neil_Dhanda to @TMobile_USA ok well can i change my data plan iif i call??? will there be any extra charges? 1:02 PM Aug 10th from web in reply to TMobile_USA
6. From @TMobile_USA to @Neil_Dhanda To our knowledge, their is no other prepaid data plan that will work 1:05 PM Aug 10th from TweetDeck in reply to Neil_Dhanda

@Neil_Dhanda did eventually find a plan that would work with his/her iPhone however there is no mention as to what the plan is or at what rate.

There’s really little doubt that the T-Mobile offer was being abused, and being widely abused by a lot of people. But I think it’s a bit sad and a very alarming approach by T-Mobile that mobile carriers are willing to block certain exclusive phones. The companies are willing to charge a flat rate fees it really shouldn't matter which phone is used on the network, after all they are all using the same network and there is no preferential treatment to data from one phone versus the other.

G2 Rumors Seen As Unlikely

Rumors posted on Cell Phone Signal about a new T-Mobile G2 being released in January are starting to seem more and more unlikely. T-Mobile officially launched the G1 a mere 3 months ago amidst a mediocre reception and less than stellar reviews. So it would seem very unlikely that they'd rush out the new model potentially creating friction with supporters.

Cell Phone Signal created a lot of buzz when the story first appeared, but it looks like this is nothing more than a case of slightly overzealous reporting. Several sites including the Android Community and The Boy Genius Report refute the report claiming some of the details might be correct but the speculated release date is all wrong.

Cell Phone Signal claims that most if not all of the features from the Android "cupcake" development branch will be included in the new phone. The cupcake branch was a private development working on their own Android projects, they have since been incorporated into the master project. So that part of the rumor may in fact be true.

The reported device feature list includes:

The new Android OS
3G capability
Full Touch Screen support
Enterprise Capable
WiFi capability ( no word about UMA)
5 Megapixel camera with aoutofocus and flash
Address Book
Calculator
Calendar
EDGE and GPRS
New Games
Instant Messaging
Megatones, HI-Fi tones and wallpapers
Memory card Slot ( up to 16GB)
Mobile Backup
Music and Video Player
Phone Book
Photo Caller ID
Picture Messaging
Real web browsing
Speakerphone
Speed dial
Stereo Bluetooth connectivity
Sync with PC ( better than air sync)
Task list
USB interface
Video capture and playback
Video Messaging
Voice Dialing
myFaves capable and T-Zones

BGR says that their sources confirm many of these features will be added. Adding that the device is a full touch device and there is no physical QWERTY keyboard and there is still a trackball at the bottom. BGR speculates the G2 won't be available until April, which would seem to be a much more likely scenario.

T-Mobile G1 Unlocked

Only a week after the release of the Google Android based T-Mobile G1 the guys over at Unlock-TMobileG1.com have come up with a way to unlock the phone for use on any mobile network.

For $23 Unlock-TMobileG1.com will provide you with the unlock codes. You'll need to provide them with your IMEI number which can be found by pressing *#06# in the dialer, or by going into your settings, selecting “About phone” and then selecting “Status”. The IMEI number then can be found about half way down, it is 15 digits long.

After that its as easy as inserting a non-T-Mobile SIM card and the G1 will prompt for an unlock code, enter the unlock code provided to you and hit unlock. You will then know the device is unlocked with a notification that reads “Network Unlock Successful.”

For more on unlocking your G1 checkout the video below from AndroidCommunity.com

Walmart Selling Discounted Android Powered T-Mobile G1 Cell Phones

Starting today 550 Walmart stores will begin selling T-Mobile's Android-powered G1 cell phone for the discounted price of $148.88 to new customers who sign up for a two-year contract. HTC, and T-Mobile launched the G1 last week, and customers paid $179.99 for the handset, so Walmart customers are get a savings of just under $32.

Walmart has more than 2,000 stores in the United States, and the company did not say which stores would be selling the G1, so you'll need to check for local availability. It's possible that the stores that sell the G1 will be in or near the 21 markets where T-Mobile has already rolled out its 3G service.

"They will launch in top markets where consumer interest is expected to be very high and where the T-Mobile 3G coverage area is available," says Walmart spokesperson Melissa O'Brien.

Those markets could include: Austin, Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York (including northern New Jersey and Long Island), Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle.

Security Hole Found In Google Android

A team of security researchers found a security hole in the T-Mobile G1 phone that allows for redirecting of the G1’s web browser to a malicious web site.

Charlie Miller of Independent Security Evaluators in Baltimore told the New York Times that he notified Google of the flaw earlier this week and said he was publicizing it now because he believed that cellphone users were not generally aware that increasingly sophisticated smartphones faced the same threats that plague Internet-connected personal computers.

According to New York times Google executives have acknowledged the issue but said that the security features of the phone would limit the extent of damage that could be done by an intruder. Google says, "the Google phone creates a series of software compartments [boxes] that limit the access of an intruder to a single application."

Essentially each application runs independently of the others, if one is compromised it would have no effect on any of the others.

“We wanted to sandbox every single application because you can’t trust any of them,” said Rich Cannings, a Google security engineer. He said that the company had already fixed an open-source version of the software and was working with its partners, T-Mobile and HTC, to offer fixes for its current customers.

Typically, today’s computer operating systems try to limit access by creating a partition between a single user’s control of the machine and complete access to programs and data, which is referred to as superuser, root or administrative access.

According to Miller's findings the danger comes from within the Web browser partition in the phone. It would be possible, for example, for an intruder to install keylogger software that would capture keystrokes entered by the user when surfing to other Web sites. That would make it possible to steal identity information or passwords. The basic description of what the ISE team did is posted here.

A user of an Android phone who uses the web browser to surf the internet may be exploited if they visit a malicious page. Upon visiting the malicious site, the attacker can run any code they wish with the privileges of the web browser application. We have a very reliable exploit for this issue for demonstration purposes. This exploit will not be released until a fix is available.
The Android security architecture is very well constructed and the impact of this attack is somewhat limited by it. A successful attacker will have access to any information the browser may use, such as cookies used for accessing sites, information put into web application form fields, saved passwords, etc. They may also change the way the browser works, tricking the user into entering sensitive information. However, they can not control other, unrelated aspects of the phone, such as dialing the phone directly. This is in contrast, for example, with Apple's iPhone which does not have this application sandboxing feature and allows access to all features available to the user when compromised. For more information on the security of the iPhone, visit ISE's site describing the first exploit of an iPhone security vulnerability here.

Even though they have already been working on a fix Google complained that Miller didn’t give them enough time to come up with a solution before going public with the flaw.

If the names Independent Security Evaluators and Charlie Miller sound familiar that would be because Mr. Miller and ISE are noted with hacking the MacBook Air in under two mins at this years CanSecWest security conference.

T-Mobile Launches G1 Emulator

Can't wait to get your hands on the T-Mobile G1, maybe you missed your chance to pre-order, or just want to check it out and see what the hype is about T-Mobile has released a pretty full-featured emulator just for you to play around with. It doesn't have everything, and a few features just give an error message, but it'll give you a good taste of what's to come when the phones are finally released on October 22nd.

T-Mobile G1 "Android Phone" Becomes Official

According to the Official Google Blog today, T-Mobile officially announced the release of the world's first Android-powered phone.

The G1 is manufactured by HTC, will cost $179, presumably with a 2-year contract. The Gi is going to be a T-Mobile exclusive and will be SIM-locked to T-Mobile's network. Plans will be add-ons for T-Mobile voice plans. For $25/month, customers will get unlimited Web and Internet access with no prepaid SMS. For $35, T-Mobile will bundle some SMS minutes along with the unlimited Web/Internet.

The G1 will run on both 3G and Wi-Fi and be tethered to the T-Mobile (DT) network. It will come preloaded with a version of Amazon’s MP3 store and Android Market, an application store similar to Apple’s App Store. And it will support and sync with the broad spectrum of Google apps – Google Talk, Google Calendar, YouTube etc. Its browser is something the dev team refers to as Chrome-Lite, a mobile version of Google’s new Webkit-based Chrome browser.

The G1 will support PDFs and Microsoft Office documents, email will be handled through Gmail; there currently is no Exchange support, though we are fairly certain someone is working on the development for release through the Android Market.

The US launch date will be October 22, with Europe launch in November. Existing T-Mobile customers will be able to pre-order online. Others will be able to purchase the G1 when device becomes available in retail.

For more information on Android development checkout the Android Developers Blog.

T-Mobile Sues Starbucks Over ATT Wi-Fi Deal

T-Mobile is upset over the fact that Starbucks and ATT are using their equipment to offer free Wi-Fi service to their customers. So T-Mobile is suing Starbucks Corp., accusing the coffee house operator of breaching a contract by allowing AT&T to provide customers with free Wi-Fi access using T-Mobile equipment.

T-Mobile USA alleges AT&T and Starbucks are not living up to an original agreement over how Starbucks should transfer from its T-Mobile USA relationship to a new partnership with AT&T. T-Mobile USA is seeking unspecified damages because of what it called Starbucks' willful breach of contract and unfair competition.

T-Mobile claims to have exclusive rights to market, offer and sell Wi-Fi services in Starbucks locations until all the stores in the given market are fully converted to AT&T. T-Mobile said Bakersfield, Calif. and San Antonio, Texas., are the only markets that have fully been fully converted, while the vast majority of cafes are still using T-Mobile networking equipment meaning they remain subject to T-Mobile's exclusivity rights, according to the lawsuit.

"If AT&T or Starbucks wanted to offer 'free' Wi-Fi in non-transitioned stores for Starbucks customers, as they are now doing, they should have - and, indeed, were contractually required to - negotiate such an arrangement with T-Mobile," the lawsuit said.

In the 13-page lawsuit filed late last Thursday in New York state court T- Mobile alleged that Starbucks used its equipment and technology while secretly developing a plan with AT&T to provide free Wi-Fi service.

"Since T-Mobile provides resources and equipment to support Wi-Fi service in non-transitioned stores, it is T-Mobile alone that is bearing the cost and burden associated with this 'free' Wi-Fi offer," the lawsuit said.

Last February Geek-News.Net reported that Starbucks was ending its partnership with T-Mobile in favor of an agreement with AT&T. Starbucks previously teamed with T-Mobile to provide Wi-Fi access to its customers at a rate of $6 for the first hour and then 10 cents per minute.

Recently AT&T and Starbucks announced they'd be offering two hours of free Wi-Fi Internet service to customers who have at least $5 on their Starbucks cards. For a short time they also offered free Wi-Fi to iPhone customers , a deal that might still be in the works.

Unlimited Calling Plans Start Price War

Verizon Wireless and AT&T unveiled $99.99-a-month plans for unlimited calls, a great deal right? Well not much after the announcement T-Mobile went a step further by including text messaging in that price.

Now it looks like Sprint/Nextel will be offering an even better deal, an unlimited calling plan for as low as $60 a month. At least according to a recent Reuters article. The article "Sprint expected to undercut rivals' call plans" predicts that Sprint Nextel Corp is expected to offer flat-rate calling plans at up to a 40 percent discount to its rivals.

This could be great news for many cell phone users. Personally I'd like to see lower fees across the board. AT&T, my service provider, has been raising fees gradually over the last several years. The new price war might reverse that, or could lead me to switch providers.