Welcome to The 411, my column answering all your questions about cell phones and cell phone accessories. I receive plenty of questions about these subjects via e-mail, so I figured many of you might have similar queries, too. At times, I might solicit answers from readers if I’m stumped. Send your questions and comments to …

When LG announced both the Optimus T and the Optimus S at CTIA earlier this month, only the Optimus S got pricing and an availability date ($49.99 on October 31). Now T-Mobile has announced the pricing of the Optimus T, and it’s quite possibly the cheapest Android phone we can remember at only $29.99 with a new two-year service agreement. …

T-Mobile USA has recently posted a message on its Twitter account that says T-Mobile customers can get the Motorola Defy for only $99.99 starting November 3. As a reminder, the Defy ships with Android 2.1 and Motorola’s new MotoBlur interface. Features include a 5-megapixel camera with flash, DLNA support, a Flash Lite-enabled browser, and Motorola’s CrystalTalk Plus technology that promises …

There’s a new Palm handset! It’s the Palm Pre 2, and it’s… very similar to the old Palm Pre. Oh well. However, we do get excited about the RIM BlackBerry Style, cheaper prepaid plans, 4G in the Big Apple, and yes, even the Verizon iPhone. Also: A special report on the new FaceTime for Mac. Now playing: Watch this: Dialed …

As popular as unlimited text messaging and data plans are, there are still cell phone users who want affordable voice-centric plans. That’s where PayLo by Virgin Mobile comes in. This lower-tier prepaid arm of Virgin Mobile is introducing a new 1,500-minute plan for $30, which also includes 500 messages and 10MB of Web access. The $30 plan expires in a …

RIM just announced the BlackBerry Style, a new flip-style BlackBerry complete with a full QWERTY keyboard, but it is not the BlackBerry Oxford as we had previously reported. The Style will be the second-ever BlackBerry to ship with BlackBerry OS 6 (the first was the BlackBerry Torch), and it is also the first CDMA BlackBerry to have OS 6. It …

Verizon Wireless will be releasing a new Network Extender femtocell that will finally be able to access 3G/EV-DO data. Like the previous Network Extender, it works by connecting to your home broadband connection. You can then use it to make and receive phone calls and text messages, and now, you can surf the Web with it as well. According to …

BlackBerry owners on Verizon Wireless can dance the happy jig today, as Verizon said it’ll push over-the-air software updates to the BlackBerry 9650 Bold, the 9630 Tour, and the 8530 Curve. You should see the updates starting around 6 p.m. Eastern. The updates will bring a number of improvements, but do note that OS 6 is not yet available to …

Updated with correct charges Boost Mobile has introduced a new plan that rewards customers who make on-time payments. Called the Monthly Unlimited with Shrinkage plan, it lets customers reduce the usual $50 monthly charge to as low as $35 just by making payments in a timely manner (unless they’re on a BlackBerry plan; see below). The no-contract plan includes unlimited …

After RIM’s big PlayBook announcement two weeks ago, Google and Microsoft knocked out several Android and Windows Phone 7 devices of their own at CTIA and at Microsoft’s recent Windows Phone 7 event, drowning out RIM just a tad. But it looks like the company is ready to fight back, or at least that’s what this leaked Sprint ad from …