AT&T is the last of the cell phone service providers to offer a Droid Smartphone in their pre-paid lineup. Beginning April 17th, AT&T is offering the LG Thrive for $180. The Thrive is a mid-range Droid, running on the Android OS 2.2 (Froyo). It only has a 3.2 megapixel camera and 160 MB of memory, although it can be expanded to 32 GB with a MicroSD card. The customers will have to pay pretty dearly for using this phone however. Customers can choose the “Smartphone 10 cents per minute” plan or “Smartphone $2 USD per day for unlimited talk and text” plan. Their choices for data plans range from $5 for 10 MB to $25 for 500 MB. There is no contract, which is probably a good thing since customers may dump AT&T once they find out how poor the service coverage areas are.

AT&T Finally Gets On Board

Verizon has a whole bevy of Droid pre-paid Smartphones available. They include the Motorola Original Droid, Motorola DEVOUR, Motorola Droid X, Motorola Droid 2, HTC Droid Eris, HTC Droid Incredible, LG Ally, BlackBerry Curve 8330, BlackBerry Curve 8530, BlackBerry Storm 9530, BlackBerry Storm 9550, BlackBerry Tour 9630, BlackBerry Bold 9650, Palm Pre Plys, and Palm Pixi. Rumor has it that Verizon’s unlimited talk, text AND data plan will run about $80 per month. And Verizon certainly has better service coverage than AT&T. Of course this is just a rumor so far.

US Cellular is also in the game with the LG Optimus U and the LG Apex as their prepaid Android phones. The Optimus U features a 3.2mp camera, Android OS 2.2, 3.2″ display, and 140 MB of storage. The LG Apex runs on Android 2.1, features a 3mp camera, 3.2″ screen, and has 256 MB or Storage. The Prepaid Plans include: $70-Unlimited Talk & Text with 2GB of data, $60-450 minutes, unlimited text, and 2GB of data, $50-Unlimited Talk & Text, $50-2GB of data.

Sprint’s BoostMobile offers Droid and BlackBerry Smartphones. With the best deal in town, they offer a plan with unlimited talk, text and data for as little as $45 per month once you have paid your bill on time for 6 months. With $18 months of payments on time, your plan drops to $35 per month.

AT&T’s announcement of offering Droid Smartphones on a pre-paid plan just isn’t all that exciting. But they have to do something to stay in the game. They are losing customers and not signing up new ones. If they are able to buy T-Mobile, it may breathe some life into the company, but for now, they come in last on my list.

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Mobile data usage grows almost exponentially. With more and more Smartphone usage, Wi-Fi hotspots and mobile technology in general, how to handle growing mobile data usage is the focus of wireless companies. Wireless companies are spending billions each year to maximize capacity. As their research and development costs grow, so do our cell phones bills. Costly cell phone towers being built at alarming numbers not only push our wireless bills up, but are unsightly as well. A tiny little device the size of a Rubik’s cube is being developed by Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) that may be the answer to both cost and more cell phone towers.

Tiny lightRadio Cube Could Be a Cell Tower that Fits in Your Hands

lightRadio cube technology was introduced in February 2011. It takes all the parts of a cell tower and reduces it down to a 2.3 inch cube. It is easy to maintain, holds a lot of data and takes a small portion of energy unlike cell phone towers which are expensive to maintain, large and ugly, and inefficient in their use of energy. According to an article written by David Goldman, CNNMoney.com, the global wireless industry is spending over $210 billion per year to operate their networks and over $50 billion per year to keep upgrading these systems to keep up with the growing demands of mobile data usage. Mobile data usage is expected to grow 30 times in the next four to five years and 500 times in the next ten years, according to Alcatel-Lucent. The lightRadio cube could be effective in reducing costs and providing more data capacity.

With a combination of miniaturization and cloud technology, lightRadio cubes are more efficient. According to Goldman’s article, “Alcatel-Lucent’s engineers stripped out all the heavy power equipment that controls modern cell towers, and moved them to centralized stations.” This allows the lightRadio cubes to be placed just about anywhere. The can be attached to the top of bus station awnings, the sides of buildings or even on lamp posts. They are small and inconspicuous. Instead of those unsightly cell towers, these little cubes contain multi-generational antennas that can relay 2G, 3G and 4G network signals all from the same cube. It also reduces signal interference, as well as doubles the number of bits able to be sent. But probably the best news is that it will help cut the cost of service in half.

“We need to think differently about this, because no one wants limits,” said Tod Sizer, head of wireless research at Alcatel-Lucent’s Bell Laboratories. “We hope to solve this problem so that the AT&Ts, Verizons and Sprints of the world will be able to provide the data capacity that is needed by the customer.”

lightRadio cubes are set to begin trial usage in September 2011. ALU expects to be mass producing them by 2012. Sprint Nextel is plans to start using the technology later this year.

“Sprint is talking to Alcatel Lucent about this technology and we will be working with them to test and evaluate it,” a Sprint spokeswoman said. “We have been aggressive in smaller factor cell sites to help us support the growth in data traffic.”

Size does matter. The wireless companies are finding that not only are cell phone towers expensive to build and maintain, but they are exhausting room to build these monstrosities as well. According to Goldman’s article, “Each 1.5-Watt lightRadio cube powers about a two-block radius, so in urban areas, they can be deployed throughout the city and stacked like Lego blocks in stadiums or other areas that need extra capacity. In rural areas, they can be deployed atop existing cell towers in arrays.”

Are you as excited as I am about this innovation? It would be nice to actually tear down a lot of the obsolete towers. They are unsightly and not all that efficient. I remember when Nextel created cell phone tower sheaths, coverings that disguised the tower to look like a native grown tree. It was some improvement in aesthetics, but not by much. They were actually pretty funny looking trees. Having little cubes instead is much better.

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Verizon Wireless has agreed to pay $93.5 Million to the US government. According to an article written by Brad Reed, ITWorldCanada, the original complaint was filed against Verizon in 2007. MCI (starting in 1999) began overcharging the government by “submitting invoices for payment to the United States for certain surcharges … that it is prohibited from charging the United States under Federal Acquisition Regulations … and the FTS 2001 contract.” Since Verizon and MCI merged in 2006, the courts found Verizon liable for MCI’s actions.

Verizon Loses Case to US Government

“Verizon was not only charging the government for the costs associated with communication services, but it also was pumping up its revenues by charging the government for Verizon’s own property taxes and other costs of doing business,” said attorney Colette Matzzie of the law firm Phillips & Cohen LLP, which filed the original complaint against Verizon. “Under federal law, Verizon was responsible for paying those costs, not the government.”

This is the 2nd time in less than a year that Verizon has agreed to pay millions for overcharging. Last fall, Verizon had to pay the Federal Communications Commission $25 million for charging its customers with unexpected “mystery fees.” Apparently Verizon was charging customers fees for data plans when they didn’t have data plans. Verizon had to pay $52.8 million to consumers for overcharging them.

Nearly 1 in 5 US cell phone subscribers had their cell phone bill rise unexpectedly. According to a survey done last year by the FCC, conducted by research firms Abt/SRBI and Princeton Survey Research Associates, 17% of US cell phone users had an unexplained rise in their bills even though they hadn’t changed service plans. The survey didn’t single out any particular cell phone service provider.

Do you watch your cell phone bill closely or just pay it automatically? Apparently Verizon was counting on your inattention. I for one, will be watching very closely now. Verizon is already one of the most expensive carriers out there. Unfortunately for me, Verizon has the best coverage in my area. AT&T and Sprint really fall short in my rural area. But I will be watching the bills for any sudden increase.

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Phone call restrictions in Japan leave more people texting. After the earthquake in Japan earlier this month, cell phone providers as well as landline phone service was restricted or at best, heavily congested. Many found the only way to reassure friends and family was through texting. CNET reported that in addition to texting, people were using “social networks like Twitter, Facebook, and Mixi” to stay in touch. The phone carriers were “limiting voice calls on congested networks, with NTT DoCoMo restricting up to 80 percent of voice calls, especially in Tokyo and in northeast Japan, where 30-foot tsunami waves caused extensive damage.” Even after restrictions were relaxed, coverage was spotty. For many, texting was the answer.

Texting, Not Phone Calls Better During Disasters

Social media networks helped keep communications open. The most noted were Twitter, Facebook, and Mixi. Here in the States, we are very familiar with Twitter and Facebook. Mixi is the social network most popular in Japan. While phone lines were restricted, the social media via Internet as well as through mobile phones provided viable solutions. Posting status on Facebook kept families informed about their loved ones. Twitter also played a big role. All in all, communication streams seemed to stay open fairly well.

Twitter was one of the best ways to stay in touch. At one point there were over 20 tweets per second being sent. By the end of the first day, U.S. time, a total of 246,075 Twitter posts using the term “earthquake” were posted on the site, according to The Telegraph. According to the article in Ed Silverstein, TMCnet Contributor, “mobile phone operators provided an emergency service to check on friends or relatives who reported in using their mobile phone numbers, according to Twitter. The companies providing the service were i-mode, au/kddi, Softbank, Willcom, E-Mobile, and NTT (News - Alert) East.” The US State Department also “used Twitter to post emergency numbers, and provided instructions for Americans how to contact families in Japan. Relief organizations used Twitter to give information about shelters for victims of the earthquake.” Verizon Wireless and at&t offered free calling and texting to Japan for the Stateside folks trying to reach their friends and family in Japan.

Cell phone service was sporadic for several days after the earthquake. Many cell phone towers were either damaged or destroyed by the earthquake or the tsunami that followed. According to ComputerWorld, 3 cell phone carriers delivered base stations to Japan. Base stations can facilitate a connection between telecom networks and satellites.

This isn’t the first time we have seen communications during disasters better served by cell phones. See my blog Cell Phones in Haiti are Key to Emergency Services. More countries worldwide are connected by cell phones than ever before. In 2010, it was predicted that cell phone subscriptions worldwide would reach 5 billion by year’s end. For many 3rd world countries, landline phone service isn’t as available as cell phone service. It only makes sense that the people in Japan would also use cell phones both to text and to access the Internet during this crisis.

Did you have loved ones in Japan during the earthquake and tsunami? Did you connect through Facebook or Twitter? Were you able to take advantage of the free calls or free texting from Verizon or at&t? Let us know what worked for you.

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The largest wireless service providers, AT&T and Verizon Wireless have announced free calling and free texting to Japan. Peace of mind is free for a limited time. In the wake of one of the worst natural disasters in history, an 8.9 magnitude earthquake and 30 feet tsunamis, the world watched in horror and worried about the people in Japan. Now with nuclear reactor melt-downs, everyone is sitting on pins and needles waiting…

AT&T was first to announce free calling and free texting to Japan. Verizon followed suit shortly thereafter. Both companies also make it easy to donate by texting to help the people in Japan. If you are calling from an AT&T phone, simply text “redcross” to 90999 to donate $10 (added to your cell phone bill) to help the relief efforts in Japan.

Verizon actually posted a list of 9 charities to text donations. Verizon customers can easily make a $10 donation by simply sending a text message and may choose from nine organizations aiding those in need in Japan, including the American Red Cross. Donating $10 is easy – simply text the specific word to the organization’s designated short code:

* ADRA Relief: text SUPPORT to 85944
* American Red Cross Relief: text REDCROSS to 90999
* Convoy of Hope: text TSUNAMI or SUNAMI to 50555
* Global Giving: text JAPAN to 50555
* International Medical Corps: text MED to 80888
* Mercy Corps: text MERCY to 25383
* Salvation Army: text JAPAN to 80888
* Save the Children Federation, Inc.: text JAPAN or TSUNAMI to 20222
* World Relief Corp. of National Association of Evangelicals: text WAVE to 50555
* World Vision, Inc.: text 4JAPAN or 4TSUNAMI to 20222

Text messages are free for customers donating to any of these organizations. Verizon Wireless always waives text-messaging fees for disaster relief, and 100 percent of each $10 donation goes to the relief organization. For Verizon Wireless customers who pay monthly bills, the $10 donations will appear in customers’ next regular monthly bill. For customers using the company’s prepaid services, the $10 donations will be taken from customers’ prepaid balance.

As with any crisis, scammers are beginning to form schemes to take advantage of people’s generosity. See my blog Avoid Donation Scams—Giving Help to Japan. My advice would be to text from the list provided above if you are a Verizon customer, or check with your cell phone service provider for their approved list.

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Which iPhone is faster—Verizon or AT&T? According to an article by Peter Svensson, (AP Technology) posted on TechBits, “the Verizon iPhone loads Web pages just as fast as AT&T’s version of the phone, even though Verizon’s network has lower data speeds, phone testing firm, Metrico Wireless reported.” However, Metrico Wireless said that data downloads on the Verizon iPhone turned out to be half as fast as those on AT&T’s network, but unless you are downloading data, most users didn’t notice much difference in web browsing. Metrico tested the Verizon iPhone’s performance with 4,000 calls and 10,000 Web page downloads in New York, Seattle, Washington, Baltimore, Chicago and Dallas, Rich McNally, Metrico Wireless’ VP of Information Products said.

Verizon iPhone vs. AT&T iPhone

Verizon has taken AT&T’s iPhone US exclusivity status away and trumped it with a more reliable network, or has it?