As reported here on Cell Phones Etc. and across the Web, here’s your daily brief on what happened in the world of mobile phones this Friday, May 13th, 2011.
Bell increasing pay-per-use text messaging rates August 1st
Heads up, Bell subscribers, more specifically you guys who aren’t on a monthly text plan or bundle. Bell will be increasing their pay-per-use text messaging rates beginning August. Local messages, including ones sent to the US, will be charged $0.20/message (up from $0.15/message) while international messages will cost $0.35/message (up from $0.25/message). Messages sent to your phone from an app, meanwhile, will cost $0.20/message. This will also be the new rate for messages sent to an app from your phone (up from $0.15/message).
Mobilesyrup
Apple: Analyst Says No LTE in iPhone 5; To Add Sprint, T-Mobile
The next iPhone won’t be called the iPhone 5. It’ll be launched as the iPhone 4S. This is according to Jeffries analyst Peter Misek. Yeah, this is a bit trivial, but more importantly, he adds that it’ll be available on new carriers: Sprint, T-Mobile, and China Mobile. He also reports that it should look pretty much like the iPhone 4 with “minor cosmetic changes” with HSPA+ support, and like the iPad 2, will run on an A5 dual-core processor. Nothing surprising about the specs part, but the new carriers did manage to catch us a bit off guard.
Forbes
Motorola DROID X2 could launch May 26th
The Droid X2 should have launched on Verizon this week, but it didn’t. But don’t be too disappointed as Droid Life reports it’s actually still on-track for a May launch, on the 26th to be exact. This new roll out date was spotted in a new leaked document for the new Droid X smartphone. Only time will tell if this May 26 Droid X launch is true, but you can bet your horses we’ll be keeping a close eye on this dual-core powered super Android smartphone.
BGR
LG Optimus 2X coming to WIND & Videotron?
This isn’t confirmed yet, but for those eager to get their hands on the world’s first dual-core handset, Wind and Videotron are the carriers you might want to keep tabs on. A couple of Optimus 2X demo units were spotted to be sporting wallpapers for each of the mentioned carriers, a good indication that this Guinness recognized smartphone is headed for these carriers. Again, nothing’s confirmed yet, but this is a good tip. We’re just hoping the one that’ll be released in Canada isn’t as troublesome as the Optimus 2X that users have been complaining about over in Europe.
Mobilesryup
Droid Charge to finally light up on Verizon Wireless tomorrow (update: official!)
The Samsung Droid Charge will finally be available on Verizon. It’ll be available online beginning tonight, and in-stores tomorrow. It’ll retail for $299.99 on a 2-year contract. Why so pricey, you ask? Well, for starters, this is one of the few new LTE-friendly smartphone out now. It’s also got a 1GHz processor under the hood, an 8-megapixel shooter ’round the back, a 1.3-megapixel camera along with a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display on the front. The only setback is it runs Froyo, but hey, if it’s a true 4G phone you want, you should be willing to settle for Android 2.2 since there aren’t any Gingerbread LTE Android phones out in the market right now.
Engadget
