We've seen some pretty wild on-again / off-again relationships in the scandalous world of gadget affairs, but this one has been swinging from one extreme to the other at breakneck pace. Let's recap: after proclaiming that it was absolutely committed to iDEN in February of 2008, rumors then started flying that Sprint was looking to offload the whole thing and move on with life. A month later, the carrier's CEO practically confirmed that an iDEN network sale was still an option. Now, the seemingly bipolar company has issued a press release reaffirming its adoration for the chirping-est network this side of Oz, stating that "after careful review of the iDEN business, Sprint intends to retain and rejuvenate this important asset." Which could be PR speak for "nobody wanted this thing, so what other option did we really have?" Regardless of the truth, it seems the push-to-talk network that just won't die will live to see another day, but as history has shown, all that could change in a split second (or at Sprint Speed, whichever you prefer).

[Via phonescoop]

Google's persistent interest in ensuring that the US' 700MHz spectrum would give rise to a network open to any and all devices reinforced its belief that carriers can and should be nothing more than the proverbial "dumb pipes" -- leave the content and hardware to the people who know how to do it and don't necessarily have a vested interest in the carriers' bottom line. That attitude foretold that it had some interesting ideas up its sleeves (this is Google, after all), and while it's never been entirely clear what those ideas are, Android's "please use it, it's free" attitude certainly plays a role. Here's another piece of the puzzle: rather than be tied down to any one carrier, why not keep changing carriers in real time based on whomever's going to give you the best deal? A new patent filed by Mountain View's finest proposes exactly that, bringing together heterogeneous technologies -- "community-wide" networks like WiFi and WiMAX along with GSM, CDMA, and so on -- and an "auction system" that would let the user select (or allow the phone to automatically select) the best deal at the moment depending on their needs (available features or minimum speeds, time limits, and so on). It's an amazing idea that totally turns the contract concept on its head, and it's an idea that carriers would fight to the death. We're not seeing it happening, but hey, Google, we like the cut of your jib.

[Via textually.org and New Scientist]

Sprint CEO Dan Hesse has all but confirmed in an investors' conference this week the longstanding rumor that his company is looking for someone to buy its iDEN network, the main asset brought on in its 2004 acquisition of Nextel. With its EV-DO Rev. A-based Direct Connect system rapidly coming online, iDEN seems to make less and less sense for Sprint in the long term -- but the real question is whether anyone's going to be willing to pay enough to make it worth Sprint's while to part with Nextel's legacy. Hesse basically says that they could go either way; if they see a deal they like, they'll take it, but if they don't, they're cool hanging onto it because it's "a valuable asset." Besides, where else are you going to find beauts like the i365?

[Via Phone Scoop]

Oh sure, Telstra's Next G HSDPA network is pretty swank, but what's the use in having a potent high-speed infrastructure if it's too expensive for anyone to use? Thankfully, said carrier is finally loosening up a bit on its data pricing by giving Aussies more megabytes for the same price that they're currently paying. Starting now, $10 mobile data packages include 150MB per month (up from 20MB), while the $29 pack includes 300MB per month (up from 80MB). Additionally, excess data rates have been "reduced" on both packs, though dollars and cents weren't mentioned on that. Best of all, customers already subscribed to one of the aforesaid plans won't have to do a thing in order to see their capacities bumped.

Qualcomm's latest release has left us smothered in technobabble, but frankly, it's a breath of fresh air to not see any sort of vitriol spewed in Nokia's direction. Announced today, the aforesaid outfit has developed a method for improving capacity of CDMA2000 networks; more specifically, its technology will enable "operators to support more than double today's capacity of 35 simultaneous calls in 1.25MHz of spectrum while delivering the same level of voice quality." Unfortunately, the improvements are slated to be featured in Qualcomm's forthcoming Cell Site Modem CSM8xxx-series chipsets, which aren't supposed to go commercial before 2010. Oh future, you seem so far away.

Callers, your worst nightmare is coming true... maybe. According to a report, a group of hackers at the Black Hat conference in Washington D.C. claim that they're able to hack GSM calls with equipment costing about $1,000. If you believe the team (and we're inclined to at least have a listen), they can decrypt GSM phone conversations and text messages on a network using inexpensive tools called field programmable gate arrays. Until now, the cost of the technology required to hack GSM transmissions has been prohibitively expensive for all but your government and large-scale snooping operations, but that's beginning to change. Not only can this technique allow access to calls, but some of the tech demonstrated at the conference might also enable a user to pinpoint a phone's distance from the surveillance hardware, and find out what type of device is being used. There was no mention of CDMA hacking, so you might want to move over to Sprint for all your seedy activities. Er, we mean stay on Sprint.

Oh noes! BlackBerry addicts everywhere have reason to panic this afternoon, as their beloved network is indeed experiencing technical difficulties -- and it's certainly not the first time that this has happened in the past year. Reportedly, an e-mail sent by RIM support account manager Bryan Simpson affirmed that a "critical severity outage" had taken place. The message went on to say that it was acting as an "emergency notification regarding the current BlackBerry Infrastructure outage," that was (is) affecting enterprise subscribers and "users of the Americas network." So much for that "won't happen again" line, huh?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Sprint is looking to beef up its own network in hopes that failures like the one that just recently happened in Minnesota will be a thing of the past, and moreover, it's hoping to conserve energy all the while. Reportedly, the carrier is "actively testing and deploying sustainable and renewable energy sources at wireless sites across the country," which could act as both primary and backup energy sources. Hydrogen fuel cells, photovoltaic power and wind power are among the alternatives that Sprint is currently working with, and while no hard dates were listed for when these improvements would be implemented, it did suggest that some $7 billion were going to be spent to "further enhance its networks and meet the demand for more extensive mobile broadband coverage across the nation."

While the Blue Devils may have their basketball program running like a well-oiled machine, apparently its wireless LAN structure is in dire need of an upgrade. Reportedly, so many Dukies have snatched up iPhones and began using the campus WiFi network to surf on the go that the hordes of requests have been "temporarily knocking out anywhere from a dozen to 30 wireless access points at a time." Cisco, the university's main WLAN provider, has been called in to find out exactly why the overload has brought the network to its proverbial knees, and we'd say they better resolve the problem pronto -- after all, this issue could be magnified immensely with the commencement of the fall semester.

[Via Fox News]

Ah, the plot thickens. Just days ago we got wind that Apple could be facing a few hurdles in the European market, and considering that operators are now referring to the company as "unbelievably arrogant," we'd say the two have some serious issues to work through. According to Avi Greengart, a principal analyst at Current Analysis, Apple is making demands that "simply cannot be justified no matter how hot the product is," but failed to note exactly what these were. Interestingly, it was even noted that several carriers felt adamant that "they would never offer the iPhone." C'mon, who are these guys kidding -- somebody will end up bending to Apple's demands if it means offering up the oh-so-coveted handset. At least, we sure hope so for you folks across the pond.

[Via MacRumors]

Just how much GSM does one billion US dollars buy you? Nineteen Chinese regions' worth, apparently. The deal to provide oodles and oodles of hardware to significantly beef up China's GSM network is so freaking big, in fact, that Chinese president Hu Jintao attended the signing ceremony in Sweden at the invitation of King Carl XVI Gustaf alongside Sweden's prime minister and the heads of Ericsson and China Mobile. The deal, which covers "core and radio network equipment, along with related technical support and services," is already rolling with deliveries in full swing -- so if you happen to reside in one of the 19 affected regions of the country, get ready for some more signal bars.

[Via Slashphone]

It's painfully obvious just how tight cellular providers have control over how their networks are used, which features are enabled, and what handsets are locked, but Skype is hoping to chip away a bit more at the mighty provider stranglehold by suggesting that wireless networks be made to carry Skype calls. In a recent petition to the FCC, Skype is purportedly "asking regulators to force cellphone carriers to loosen their controls on what kinds of hardware and software can be connected to their networks," essentially paving the way for free calls to be made over costly connections. Skype is asking that the so-called Carterfone rules (circa 1968) be applied to the wireless industry, which basically "allowed consumers to hook any device up to the phone network, so long as it did not harm the network." Unsurprisingly, carriers are less than enthralled about the notion, and a cellular trade group has already reacted by calling Skype's proposal one that "completely disregards consumer benefits provided by a competitive marketplace," which is certainly nominated for laughable statement of the year. As of now, no other companies are putting their collective necks out to join Skype's agenda, but hopefully it won't remain solo for too much longer.

[Via ArsTechnica]

For those of you who happen to be in the predicament of owning a svelte hybrid cellular / WiFi phone, yet can't get cellphone service back in the boondocks where you reside, Actiontec is kicking out a range-extending router to help you make and receive calls on your mobile handset via WiFi. Touted as a "world's first," the Wireless FMC Router acts a standard four-port 802.11b/g/n router, supports WPA2 / WEP, and comes with a rather robust firewall to keep your conversations guarded from snoopers. Additionally, it facilitates call switching between the mobile and home WiFi networks as users move in and out of the house, giving you the option to connect via your cellular network or over VoIP with the same handset and same number. Aside from acting as a "middleman between the broadband and cellular networks," it can connect / drop from the WiFi / mobile networks on-the-fly while conversing, and can purportedly support "all major carriers" as well. So if you're thinking of consolidating the amount of phone numbers attached to your name, and don't mind picking up a hybrid handset, this multifaceted router will be able to simplify your conversations for $179.99 when it lands in Q2.

While the Wintel crowd has been enjoying that Rev. A speediness for some time now (in certain locales, at least), the Mac faithful have been fairly well shut out up until now. Thanks to Sprint and Sierra Wireless, all that changes today, as the Seirra AirCard 595 PC Card now works in OS X 10.4 or later. The free Watcher Lite 1.0 software is currently available from Sierra's website, but before you go dashing out to pick up a card, you will still need a Windows-based machine to activate the device or have it pre-activated before heading into your Mac. Furthermore, don't plan on utilizing that ExpressCard slot either, as the only supported card thus far rocks a PCMCIA interface. Nah, Macworld hasn't hit full swing just yet, but this news is a real fine way to get things rolling.

We've already seen an influx of hybrid vehicles take their places in the mammoth fleet of New York City taxis, and now that the Taxi 2.0 will reportedly sport GPS tracking an built-in televisions, what else is really left to implement? Stockholm-based Ericsson has apparently seized the opportunity in using the random, perpetual motion of NYC's yellow mainstays to better itself (read: make some coin), and has recently received permission from the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission to install small devices "about the size of a computer modem" into cabs in order to "feed information about signal strength and clarity to engineers." The research, which has already been completed in other areas of the world, is being conducted in the Big Apple on behalf of a yet-to-be-named carrier, and it purportedly hopes to more accurately map out dead zones in mobile phone networks. Currently, "at least one fleet" has signed up to participate, and others could join in considering the royalties that will be paid out for tagging along on those zany routes through the city. Of course, this whole system should be relatively invisible to cab riders, but a continual voice recording of furious (and disconnected) passengers could probably work equally well in pinpointing those dead spots.

[Via Textually]