Starting yesterday at&t has changed their ETF policy. They will no longer charge you $175 USD to cancel your service.

Each month that passes 5 dollars will be deducted from the fee, it use to be that $10 dollars was deducted each month before they made it a flate rate of $175 two years ago.

Some see the change in the policy a direct response to the FCC’s plans to regulate early termination fees.

If you are pregnant, you shouldn’t use a cell phone according to a recent study which showed that 54% of women who used a cell phone had bad ass little kids.

Using a mobile, or cell phone, two to three times a day was enough to raise the risk, and letting children under the age of seven use a mobile phone also put them in danger, the study of more than 13,000 women found.

So all you future mothers out there, take that into consideration the next time your baby daddy gives ya a ring a ding ding. 

at&t today announced it will carry the Blackberry Bold also known as the Blackberry 9000 Exclusively in the US, and will be the only US Carrier to offer a 3G international capable Blackberry device.

The Blackberry Bold features a half-vga 65,000-color display which some have described as Bold and Beautiful. The Bold will be quad-band, offer wi-fi (a/b/g), bluetooth 2.0 and built in GPS. The device will also be powered by a 624MHz Intel PXA270, previous blackberry devices had processors at half that speed, it also will come with 128 MB of flash memory and a Gig of on board memory which is expandable with microSD/SDHC memory cards.

at&t has not announced a release date for the device but has said it will be available later this year.

For a at&t branded image of the phone click here.

So today I was introduced to a service called Vringo, a service that allows you to customize your phone and contacts with Video Ringtones instead of just play ol musical ones.

The service is easy to use and set up and it supports a ton of phones. If your phone supports 3gp video files then chances are your phone will work with the VRingo Service. For the past 12 hours or so I have been using it flawlessly on a Nokia Phone I have laying around (at&t).

You simply sign up and configure the service, and best of all it’s free! But you do need to download the Videos to your hone so keep in mind standard data and text messaging rates apply. You can also create your on Video Ringtone and even share the various videos with friends.

The service is free so feel free (pun intended) to check it out at http://www.VRingo.com

AT&T and MediaFlo today annouced that AT&T mobile will be available on the 4th of May, that is this Sunday.

AT&T is also bringing out two new phones specificaly for this service, the LG Vu and the Samsung Access.

LG Vu: A sleek and stunning device, the Vu gives you a clear view of TV, Web, pictures or videos on its large interactive touch screen. It also lets you get the utmost in mobile entertainment with a music player, 2.0 megapixel camera and Bluetooth® capabilities. The LG Vu is available for $299.99 with a two-year service agreement and after a $100 mail-in rebate.
Samsung Access: This stylish handset features a large landscape display, ideal for delivering a rich viewing experience and an internal antenna for exceptional reception. It’s a great device for customers who are looking for advanced multimedia capabilities such as a camera, external stereo speakers, stereo Bluetooth, AT&T Music, CV, of course, AT&T Mobile TV. The Samsung Access is available for $199.99 with a two-year service agreement and after a $100 mail-in rebate.

“AT&T Mobile TV is more than a new entertainment service — it is an experience that will significantly change and enhance our customers’ mobile lifestyles,” said Mark Collins, vice president of Consumer Data for AT&T’s wireless unit. “With this in mind, it was imperative that we launch this revolutionary service on devices that were optimal for the best mobile viewing experience imaginable. We worked closely with LG and Samsung to deliver these two iconic handsets, which are designed with the specific needs of what will soon become our Mobile TV viewing audience.”

To bad I no longer have at&t to try this out. :(

Our Parent site is giving away a brand new notebook PC. Visit HardwareGeeks.com for details. 

Here is just a list of the phones that will have a Windows Mobile 6.1 Update come the summer.

Samsung ACETM – The Samsung ACE is the sleekest world phone in the Sprint portfolio with a full QWERTY keyboard, vibrant color screen, and ability to use Phone As Modem service.
Moto Q™9c by Motorola – The MOTO Q9c has a slim form factor with a QWERTY keyboard, extended battery, and supports Sprint Navigation for turn-by-turn directions.
Touch by HTC™ – The Touch by HTC is a full touch screen wireless phone with advanced entertainment features. It is the first device to feature TouchFLO™ and features a new HTC-designed homescreen.
Mogul™ by HTC – The Mogul by HTC is the industry’s first EV-DO Rev A-capable handset, enabling users to send and receive large amounts of data at broadband speeds (comparable to basic DSL) and supports Sprint Music Store.
In addition, all of Sprint’s new Windows Mobile smartphones launching in the second half of 2008 will offer Windows Mobile 6.1 software including a new Palm Treo launching later this year. Additional details will be announced upon commercial availability.

Finally it’s been unveiled! Microsoft’s Robbie Bach at CTIA Wireless showed off the new features which includes enhanced features for socializing like threaded text messaging and features for simpler navigation. He also announced Microsoft’s plans to bring desktop-grade Web browsing experience to the Windows Mobile phone with an upcoming version of Internet Explorer Mobile.

Microsoft says the new IE will be available in Q3 while updates and new phones running Windows Mobile 6.1 will be available this quarter (Q2)

HTC has already announced that it’s HTC Mogul, Touch, Tytn, Tytn 2, Tilt and PPC6800 will have updates to 6.1 available soon.

at&t wireless will now prorate early termination fees, the catch you have to be a new customer.

Beginning on May 25, the company’s new and renewing wireless customers who enter into one- or two-year service agreements will no longer be required to pay a single, flat early termination fee. Instead, that fee, which is $175, will be progressively lowered by $5 during each month, every month, for the term of the contract. (The single, flat ETF will continue to apply to new and renewing customers who enter into one- or two-year service agreements prior to May 25.)

Cuban has lifted its cell phone ban on ordinary citizens, but is it all for show?

I think it is as the service will have to be paid in “convertible pesos” this is money only available to tourist and is worth 20 times more than “Cuban Pesos” the money Cubans use. Keep in mind the average Cuban only makes $408 Cuban Pesos a month (20 USD).

So while the ban is lifted, I am pretty sure it’s just for show to give the impression of change, because what Cuban will be able to afford the service?