Mobile Miscellany: week of September 17th, 2012
If you didn't get enough in mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This past week, Sprint hit more than one milestone that it just had to share and Nokia teased the latest app that's exclusive to Lumia owners. We then discovered a very rare BlackBerry and also learned of the latest city to get prepped for T-Mobile's LTE service. Hell, we even stumbled on a new smartphone for old people! These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of September 17th, 2012.
Bloomberg app for Windows Phone debuts as Lumia exclusive
Lumia owners who just can't seem to keep their eyes off of the ol' stock ticker will be glad to know of a new app to feed the addiction. Known as Bloomberg Hub, it brings a constant stream of stock prices and business news, along with customizable alerts and the ability to create live tiles. Users will also find access to Bloomberg TV and radio within the Windows Phone app, which is available for download today as an exclusive to Lumia users. [Nokia Conversations]
Huawei 8652 arrives at Consumer Cellular for $100
Consumer Cellular spends most of its efforts marketing itself toward AARP members, so you're not going to find the most cutting edge option with the Huawei 8652, but for just $100, you shouldn't be setting your hopes very high, anyway. The newly available phone offers Android 2.3 along with a paltry 600MHz CPU, a 3.5-inch HVGA display and a 3.2-megapixel camera. It also supports features such as "text messaging" and "mobile e-mail." Please note the sarcasm with that last bit. [Consumer Cellular PR]
Sprint Direct Connect hits 1 million subscribers, Android app up for grabs
Along with news of 1 million LTE handsets now sold, Sprint took the opportunity this week to announce that it has successfully converted the same number of iDEN subscribers over to push-to-talk on its CDMA network. One of its largest PTT customers, FEMA, recently made the transition, and Sprint states that of those migrating away from its iDEN network, it's been able to retain approximately 60 percent of those customers for its CDMA offerings -- which may seem low, but the number is actually an improvement over the 46 percent retention rate from Q1. Also new this week, the Now Network released its Direct Connect Now app for Android, which brings push-to-talk functionality for a $5 monthly fee. [Thanks, Jonathan] [Sprint PR, Google Play]
BlackBerry Bold 9900: the smartphone of champions
Some things, money can't buy, and among those things is this BlackBerry Bold 9900. Look closely, because that's not silver, but gold trim on the smartphone. According to Pocket-lint, RIM is currently giving these curious creations to participants of the 2012 London Olympic games "who did well." The site's Editor-in-chief, Stuart Miles, recently went hands-on with one of the elusive awards, and those who'd like to see more will find an entire gallery for the perusal. [Pocket-lint]
T-Mobile brings 1,900MHz HSPA+ to Las Vegas
The latest locale to receive HSPA+ service from T-Mobile across the 1,900MHz spectrum is none other than Las Vegas. Yes, the planetary capital of sun, fun, sin and sex -- not to forget gambling -- is now one step closer to receiving LTE service across the formerly occupied 1,700MHz (AWS) spectrum. As a happy consequence, this also means that owners of jailbroken iPhones can now benefit from 3G service on T-Mobile. It was also revealed this week that New York City, Seattle and Washington D.C. are next on deck to receive the spectrum swap -- all building up to the debut of T-Mobile's LTE network in 2013. [FierceWireless]
