Microsoft is putting the finishing touches on a deal to buy Internet phone company Skype for between $7 billion and $8 billion, and a deal could be announced as early as tomorrow, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The report cited people familiar with the matter who said negotiations were ongoing and could still …

Hewlett-Packard announced this evening that it is jumping in to the mobile data plan business with a service called DataPass. Much like a prepaid cell phone, DataPass offers users of 3G-enabled HP laptops a 3G mobile broadband service on Sprint’s EVDO network without worrying about lengthy contracts, set-up fees, or locating the closest hot spot. The plans start at $5 …

Vivendi announced today that it has agreed to acquire Vodafone’s 44 percent stake in French mobile operator SFR for 7.95 billion euros ($11.3 billion). The deal would give Vivendi, which already owned 56 percent of SFR shares, complete control of SFR–France’s second largest carrier, with nearly 21 million customers. “We are very pleased to reach our strategic objective to own …

In a blockbuster mobile deal, AT&T announced today it had agreed to acquire T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom for $39 billion. The acquisition would make AT&T the dominant wireless player in the U.S. with the addition of more than 33 million subscribers to its 95.5 million customer user base, giving it a new total of more than 129 million subscribers. …

Microsoft apparently has no intention of letting its failure with Kin keep it out of the smartphone market. The tech giant is working on a touch-screen phone under the codename “Menlo,” according to a Microsoft Research paper titled “User Experiences with Activity-Based Navigation on Mobile Devices,” (PDF) about Menlo. From that paper: “Menlo is a prototype mobile device with a …

Saudi Arabia has ordered the country’s cell phone service providers to halt all BlackBerry services this week, the latest Mideast nation to announce moves to exercise greater control over data sent by the Research In Motion phones. The country’s Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) on Tuesday asked Saudi Telecom, Mobily, and Zain Saudi Arabia to suspend service to BlackBerry …

Two Mideast countries plan to block key features of Research In Motion’s BlackBerry, citing national security concerns. Regulators in the United Arab Emirates announced plans on Sunday to block e-mail, instant messaging, and Web browsing on the devices beginning October 11 in a dispute over how they store and transmit data. Meanwhile, neighboring Saudi Arabia has directed two mobile operators …

Apple apparently has a game plan for dealing with iPhone 4 reception complaints–and it expressly prohibits giving customers free bumpers. According to a purported list of procedures reportedly leaked to Boy Genius Report, AppleCare representatives are being instructed on how to coach users about the proper way to handle the latest-generation smartphone: 1. Keep all of the positioning statements in …

Update May 6, 7:51 a.m. PT: The FCC has released its statement. More coverage to follow. Net neutrality regulations are likely to be imposed on broadband providers after all. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski plans to announce details of the plan on Thursday, a senior agency official said. The purpose is to circumvent a recent federal appeals court ruling …

Boingo Wireless executives are a bit red-faced this weekend after mistakenly informing the company’s customers of a radical billing plan change being instituted apparently without their input or consent. The Wi-Fi hot spot provider sent an e-mail to its customers Saturday informing them that the company was immediately canceling their flat-fee monthly subscription plans and replacing it with a “Day …