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The lawsuit that has only recently come to light, has seemingly gone away just as quickly. I am of course referring to the recent announcement that T-Mobile was suing Starbucks claiming “breach of contract” and “unfair competition” in regards to how they let AT&T quickly move in and take over and begin promoting their services.

According to reports T-Mobile, along with Starbucks and AT&T have reached a “memorandum of understanding” in an attempt to resolve their issues. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, however Starbucks spokeswoman Stacey Krum stated that they are “committed to providing a high quality WiFi experience for customers, including Starbucks Rewards Customers, at Starbucks locations nationwide.”

Which makes it sound like nothing will be changing, at least on the customer side, after all some of the new programs including the 2-free hours per day from AT&T is part of the Starbucks Rewards program. I am glad to see an issue get resolved, especially quickly, lets just hope that does not mean my free Wi-Fi is going away.

Read [CNN Money] Via [Starbucks Gossip]

T-Mobile has decided to sue Starbucks over their recent agreement with AT&T to begin providing free Wi-Fi. The lawsuit claims that both Starbucks and AT&T are not living up to their end of the agreement dealing with the switchover. They are claiming “breach of contract” and “unfair competition” and seeking an unspecified amount of damages.

“Starbucks and AT&T ... secretly developed a promotional plan under which they would offer ‘free’ AT&T/Starbucks Wi-Fi even in stores” that were still reliant on T-Mobile’s infrastructure, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit goes on to claim that “to date, only two markets—the San Antonio, Texas, and Bakersfield, California, markets—have been transitioned from T-Mobile to AT&T.” However we have used a few and also seen reports from many other Starbucks locations now offering AT&T Wi-Fi. While T-Mobile is understandably upset, the agreement that the stores would be converted “on a market-to-market basis” leaves a great deal of judgment room. It looks like this one could get messy.

Read [Reuters]

Vudu has just released a wireless accessory kit for their set-top box. The new kit will allow current Vudu box owners to easily add a wireless connection for $79. While it would have been nice to see the new Vudu boxes begin to offer wireless connectivity built-in, they are also offering a bundle for anyone who is still planning a purchase, the bundle includes the set-top box along with the wireless kit and retails for $349, which offers you about a $30 savings if you purchased each on their own.

While a wireless connection for streaming movies is not always ideal, it is preferred by many simply for the convenience of not having to run a new Internet line out to the TV area. The wireless kit, according to Vudu is plug-and-play and should just take a few minutes to get set up. The kit comes with an adapter that you plug into your home network and also your current Vudu box. After those are plugged in, you should be all set to enjoy your movies.

Product [Vudu]

After several cries and complaints, Sprint has finally explained its decision to cap its “unlimited” data usage plan to 5GB a month, plus 300MB a month of off-network roaming. According to Sprint, the new limit is plenty enough, since it only affects 0.5% of customers. Sprint also notes that the limit applies to both existing and current consumer and individual accounts, but not corporate, business, public sector, or government contracts. The company states that the Simply Unlimited plan is exempt from the new rule—as the limit only applies to data cards and phone-as-modem plans. Interestingly, Sprint is permitting customers to go over the limit only if they do not exceed the limit in two out of three consecutive months—otherwise, termination is possible. However, Sprint is being gracious enough to inform users of the new limits prior to termination, giving customers a chance to change their usage habits. To aid monitoring data usage, the company will allow customers to check their data usage via Sprint.com starting June 8.

If 99.5% of customers are not going over the 5GB limit, than why is Sprint enforcing it? Granted 5GB of bandwidth should be plenty for most users, is it really worth losing the 0.5% of its “hardcore” customer base? Wouldn’t keeping the 0.5% and removing the limit give Sprint the competitive edge its needs, by being the only wireless provider to offer a true “unlimited” data plan?

Via [MobileCrunch]

The latest of the clamshell handsets to land with Verizon is the Motorola W755, and while its more along the lines of your standard phone, it does offer a decent set of specs. The W755 is currently available in purple or black and features a 1.3-megapixel camera with video capture, microSD card slot, GPS navigation, stereo Bluetooth, a 1.9-inch internal display and a 1-inch color external display with external music controls.

The W755 is retailing for $69.99 which comes after a $50 online discount and along with a two-year agreement.

Product [Verizon] Via [Phone Scoop]

Typically we see the press style photos turning up first with the live-style images showing up second, however in the case of the LG VX8610 Decoy from Verizon Wireless it was exactly the opposite.

These are nice crisp, clear press style images showing off the upcoming LG VX8610 Decoy in all its glory. The Decoy, while a basic looking slider style from the front, has a unique little trick hidden on the back in the form of a “built-in” Bluetooth headset. Although the details are still unconfirmed it looks like the Decoy is expected to become available in June.

Keep reading to check out a few more images of the LG VX8610 Decoy.

MORE »

Following earlier releases in the US, the ultra-mobile PC HTC Shift gets another release this time to the Canadia mobile market courtesy of Rogers Wireless. Yes dear readers from Canada, it’s time to pay homage to Rogers for bringing this powerful UMPC to your beloved country. If you have no idea how rich the HTC Shift in features and functionality, take a gander at the following specs.

The HTC Shift X9501 touts Windows Vista for its OS, touch-screen technology using Microsoft Origami Experience 2.0, push email and SMS using HTC SnapVue, Windows Media Player 11, 7-inch touch sensitive “slide-n-tilt” screen, front facing camera useful for video conferencing, biometric finger print scanner, 40GB hard drive, Wi-Fi, 3G connectivity through Rogers Tri-band HSPA, and Bluetooth 2.0.

If those features are not enough, how about if Rogers throw in a software update which will enable GPS connectivity, map and navigation capabilities? Well, that would come within three months as promised by Rogers. In the meantime you might want to prepare $1,599.99 to snag one HTC Shift for yourself. The HTC Shift is available at selected Rogers Wireless outlets in Canada today.

Via [Into Mobile]

With the growing popularity of mobile phones as music devices, it is but logical that mobile phone accessory manufactures would think of coming out with speakers that could deliver high-quality sound from mobile phones to external speakers. Logitech is one of these manufacturers with its new speaker system that works with mobile phones. To make it even more interesting, Logitech made its mobile speaker system, called the Pure-Fi, work wirelessly.

The Logitech Pure-Fi Mobile speaker system works with mobile phones that are Bluetooth enabled. Using the Advanced Audio Distribution (A2DP) profile, music stored in the users phone can be streamed directly to the Pure-Fi Mobile speaker system, and it will work up to about 32 feet. The Pure-Fi speakers also promise to give articulate bass and smooth treble sounds with its 2-inch high-excursion drivers and dual 2-inch pressure drivers.

In addition to being a high quality mobile speakers, the Pure-Fi can also be used as a wireless speakerphone, thanks to its two built-in mics which pick up vocal nuances and monitor and block unwanted background noise. Users can also call-answer and call-end easily with the use of controls located on the top of the speakers.

The Logitech Pure-Fi speaker system comes with a protective case which also fits charging cables. For music on PCs, iPod and other MP3 player, Pure-Fi can either be paired to an audio source via Bluetooth or through a built-in 3.5mm audio jack.

And now for the pricing, the Logitech Pure-Fi Mobile speaker system retails for $149.99 and will hit US and European stores sometime in June.

Via [Far East Gizmos]

Care to see what lies under the hood of your preferred WiMAX-running mobile Internet device? Well, look no further, as we have this very interesting 5350 Intel WiMAX / Wi-Fi card up and available for onlookers on the FCC web site. It also comes with its own user manual, as well as a WiMAX manual (for n00bs, I assume). This is the exact same critter that a lot of WiMAX hopefuls have been, er, hoping about, and now that it’s out, I guess it’s time to speculate what kind of device will really carry this first. Will it be a Nokia Internet tablet, a UMPC, or another obscure-brand MID? For now, we can’t say for sure, but feel free to get close and comfortable with the card via the Read link to the FCC web site.

Read [FCC] Via [Engadget]

While we have already seen the BlackBerry Bold announced as a soon-to-be AT&T and Rogers handset, up till now we just knew that the Bold would be available “beginning this summer.” It seems the answer to the release date as well as some other interesting tidbits have just been leaked.

While the Rogers release date is still unclear, we can tell you that AT&T will make it available in July for $300. However, in a little more interesting news it seems that the Bold is also headed for T-Mobile, Verizon and Sprint just a few months later. They are all set to offer up the Bold beginning in September. Verizon and Sprint customers will have to shell out the same $300 as AT&T customers, however T-Mobile seems to be a slight bit higher coming in at $350.

Of course, these have not been confirmed by any of the carriers, so these dates and prices are still subject to change. Lets at least hope that the T-Mobile price drops just a little, otherwise that seems quite unfair.

Read [InfoSync] Via [EngadgetMobile]