Consumers may soon get a guarantee that no new local and state taxes will pop up on their cell phone bills over the next few years. A House Judiciary subcommittee today passed the Cell Tax Fairness Act of 2009 (H.R. 1521), which was first introduced by Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Trent Franks (R-Ariz.). The …

Anyone who’s ever been locked into a two-year contract with a carrier can appreciate the freedom of a prepaid phone, and anyone who’s ever experienced one of those devices on a network with a so-so spectrum can appreciate a prepaid option from tier-one operators like T-Mobile. The Samsung t369 is one such specimen. The t369 comes with a slide-out QWERTY …

HTC Desire owners on T-Mobile will have been champing at the bit for an upgrade to Android 2.2, and the network has finally said it should be coming out within the next couple of weeks. In responses to Twitter queries about a potential update, T-Mobile UK Support said we should be getting the Froyo update in September. Android 2.2 is …

Nokia and Intuit are teaming up to offer small businesses a new service designed to grab more customers through mobile marketing. Unveiled at Nokia World 2010 on Wednesday, the new service will target mobile subscribers with a series of ads and personalized offers for products and services that they can buy in their own neighborhoods. The goal is to help …

Joining T-Mobile and Verizon, Sprint will begin selling the RIM BlackBerry Curve 3G 9330 on September 26 through its direct sales channels for $49.99 with a two-year contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate. It will be available from all sales channels starting October 10. Similar to the other models, Sprint’s Curve 3G ships running BlackBerry OS 5 but is …

Along with the Optimus One, LG has launched another entry-level Android 2.2 smart phone in the Optimus Chic, for the more fashion-conscious among you. The phone is set to be released in November. Spec-wise, it has much in common with the Optimus One, carrying the same 600MHz processor and an 81mm (3.2-inch), 320×480-pixel, HVGA, capacitive touchscreen. It does have an …

Hey, remember Nokia? You might have owned one of their cell phones once upon a time, but the company’s been rather quiet in the U.S. lately. Well, the company’s back and looking to take on the iOS and Android with a vengeance. On this week’s Dialed In podcast, we discuss the Finnish cell phone maker’s latest plans and debate the …

Of the many apps spotted at Appnation, one called NutriSleuth had a particular ring to it–a ring that called out to anyone with a bent on health and nutrition. Sadly, this iPhone and iPod Touch app isn’t as generally useful as I initially thought, but it does provide some interesting and useful features for those who have to shop for …

For a company with a “quietly brilliant” tagline, HTC makes a lot of noise in the wireless industry. Indeed, the guys behind some of the most notable Android handsets including the Nexus One, Evo 4G, and upcoming G2 are busy stretching out into other spaces. Today’s announcement of the Desire HD and Desire Z signals to me that the handset …

Apple has changed the name of one of the key components used to determine whether or not damage was caused by liquid submersion. Though the change is subtle, now the Liquid Contact Indicator, it could signal a change in Apple’s repair policies. Formally the Liquid Submersion Indicator, a sensor that is meant to determine if the device (now on iPhones, …