AT&T and Firethorn Holdings have a long history of cooperation that goes back to 2006, when they worked together to give customers a good usability experience while using their mobile banking service.

And in order to stay up-to-date with the latest technologies, both companies got together again to launch their mobile banking application for the iPhone.

What can you do with this “mobile banking” function?

- check balances
- check transaction history
- transfer funds
- receive offers
- track reward points
- pay bills

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The AT&T Fuze looks similar to the HTC Touch Pro because it’s exactly the same phone. We know the carrier is coming but we have absolutely no idea about when that’s going to happen.

People are talking, and what they say is the Fuze is going to be released sometime this week. It’s only Monday so we’ll have plenty of time to confirm it. What do you think? Would you get a Fuze?

The Bold is finally coming in the US of A and AT&T is bringing it. In case you won’t believe it until you see it then check back with your local AT&T stores. It’s said that some of these stores are going to sell the device starting today. Or maybe they have already done so. In case your favorite AT&T manager doesn’t want to sell one yet, you’ll have to wait two more days. What’s two more days compared to the time you’ve spent waiting so far?

via Apple

The popular online music subscription service - Napster Mobile - has been introduced to more than 13 million AT&T customers. In the past the number of affected customers wasn’t so high, but thanks to the low restriction on DRM requirements, it had an exponential growth.

Currently, Napster Mobile can be used on over 25 AT&T devices, such as the BlackBerry Bold, Pantech Matrix, Samsung Propel, and others. Taking in consideration that there are more than 6 million songs on Napster’s catalog, the expansion can only be considered a good signal.

On the other hand, songs at Napster are more expensive than other services (read iTunes). It costs $1,99 to download each song, and a monthly subscription has a price tag of $7,49, which consists of 5 downloads per month.

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The Formula 1 season is close to the end, but that didn’t stop AT&T and Kangaroo to launch a new feature related to VOD - Video On Demand - that will be used in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Subscribers of AT&T and owners of a Kangaroo TV, will be able to have access to specific videos and podcasts that will be available in English and Portuguese languages. Additionally, the new Video On Demand feature will make AT&T understand the trends, preferences, and motivations of the viewers.

Lloyd Salvage of AT&T, comments:

We have been using Kangaroo TV since 2007. However, we believe that by introducing new VOD capabilities it will help AT&T bring its Grand Prix activation program to a new level while providing additional compelling content to our guests making their Formula One weekend truly special.

The Motorola RAZR2 V9 already had some classic editions such as Ferrari one, but the new version V9x is an upgraded model. In some aspects, it is very similar to the normal V9, but in others - storage capacity, more battery life - it is a better cellphone.

The price tag is average for a cellphone with all these good features - $200 after rebate and 2-year contract.

New features on the Motorola RAZR2 V9x:

- supports 8GB when using memory cards
- more battery life in talking-mode and stand-by mode
- video share of AT&T (more…)

It seems as AT&T is learning with other companies, and decided to create a new store that really provides a good experience to their customers, and not the same old “buy this and go home” scene. The store is located in Albany, NY, more specifically at 1762 Central Avenue in Colonie.

What kind of unusual features does the AT&T Colonie store has to offer?

- Productivity solutions thanks to the AT&T staff teaching how to use e-mail function and Microsoft applications on PDAs, smartphones, and other cellphones.
- 6 demo units of the iPhone
- 2 flat-panel HD screens to use with other AT&T products
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AT&T has done a poor job earlier this summer when the carrier turned on and off the free WiFi support for its iPhone customers. Should we believe them now? Is it real?

AT&T has sent SMS messages to iPhone owners to announce them that they will have free WiFi access in more than 17,000 hotspots. Here’s what AT&T said:

AT&T knows Wi-Fi is hot, and FREE Wi-Fi is even hotter. Which is why FREE AT&T Wi-Fi access is now available for Apple iPhone at thousands of hotspots nationwide, including Starbucks. Users can relax and access music, email and web browsing services with their favorite blend in hand from the comfort of their nearest location.

Starbucks locations, Barnes and Nobles, 50+ supermarkets, 12 airports, 31 hotels, 23 universities, 18 convention centers and 5 sport complexes are the free AT&T WiFi places your iPhone is going to love. Tell us if it works. I am still rather skeptical about it!

Remember to activate your WiFi in every hotspot. You will get free access for 24 hours at any location. After that you will have to activate it again. All you need to do is to enter your mobile number and check the box to agree to terms and conditions. AT&T will do the rest!

From what we know so far, the BlackBerry Bold is going to be priced from expensive and up, depending whether you choose a plan or not. AT&T will sell it for $300 with a two-year contract or for $550 without it. Best Buy will sell the unlocked version for $660. CompUSA will go even higher to $800 for an unlocked Bold.

Considering that the BOM of the BlackBerry Bold is only $169.41 as estimated by iSuppli, we tend to believe that RIM wants to make quite a lot of money of the Bold. And so does AT&T and other resellers. With such a price, wouldn’t you rather pick the Storm instead?

via CrunchGear

We’ve told you this yesterday and now we can confirm it to some extent. The Bold has appeared on Best Buy’s site so that’s where you need to be camping out in case you want it. The full price is $679.99 without a contract while a two-year agreement will get you a $299.99 Bold. The stores will make this Berry available to you on the 29th the soonest so don’t go camping quite yet. In case you manage to get one, give us a hint of how it all worked out for you. We’re also curios is Bold’s performance in AT&T’s network. Tell us more once you had a chance to play with it!

via Best Buy

Hop-on has just announced the HOP 1890 ChitterChatter phone for seniors which will arrive from AT&T. The phone will offer GPS tracking, it will have a panic button and it will provide live operator services 24/7.

You can even upload your medical records on the network which, in case of emergency is quite useful. That’s a phone I’d buy for my grandmother.

Peter Michaels, President and CEO of Hop-on says:

If my family is in trouble and needs help, I don’t want to depend the heat of the moment which Trauma Center is closest to us or that they have all essential information. Using the speed and dependability of AT&T’s 3G network, makes the ChitterChatter phone all the more valuable when time is the difference between life and death. If I can’t find my loved one, I want to just point and click and know the location where my family member is at!

Well we can’t argue with that can we? So what’s the price for the 1890? AT&T? Hop-on?

via Press

People say the BlackBerry Bold from AT&T is right around the corner. In fact they say this Holy Grail of recent phones is being schedule for sale from various Best Buy locations tomorrow. It seems that the Bold has been shipped to Best Buy and demo sets are out on the floor for some hot demo action.

The Bolds are priced at $349 with a two-year agreement at Best Buy. The full retail price is $679.99. We’ll see tomorrow if everything proves to be right or not.

The BlackBerry Bold has received Technical Acceptance from AT&T. That means that AT&T should be ready to sell the Bold as soon as possible. As soon as possible means about two weeks from getting the acceptance which is usual procedure. That means a Bold release could arrive on November 4th. Rumors say the date is accurate, although we did announce you before that October 27th was supposed the Bold day. The rumored price for now is $300. With a contract I would suppose. We’ll tell you more when the time is right.

AT&T sold quite a lot of iPhones this last quarter. With 2.4 million iPhones sold, AT&T has managed to sell almost a third of the 6.9 million handsets that Apple reported to have sold.

That means the carrier saw profits rise 5.5% to $3.23 billion or 55 cents a share, compared to one year ago when AT&T pulled in $3.06 billion, or 50 cents a share. AT&T finished the quarter with 74.9 million subscribers with 2 million of those new subscribers. 40% of the 2.4 million iPhone 3G subscribers are new subscribers.

And iPhone subscribers are bringing in lots of money. Average monthly revenues per subscriber or ARPUs are 1.6 times higher for iPhone subscribers than the the other subscribers. AT&T saw its wireless data revenues increase with 50.5% compared to last year for a total of $2.7 billion.

So given that you have lots of money and lots of iPhone sales, when are you going to sell the Bold already?

The Halloween Day is approaching fast, it is on October 31 in case you don’t know. With that in mind, AT&T decided to create a small list of tips with two purposes: help the “trick-or-treat” scenarios become more safe, and also convince people to use phones wisely.

In addition to the list of tips, AT&T is making the Halolloween day more complete by hosting a Child Safety Event + Costume Party, on November 1st, at their Experience Store in NY.

Anyway, here are is a resume of the Top 10 tips:

1 - Have a family communication plan in place.
2 - Establish a periodic check-in time.
3 - Make sure wireless phones are fully charged.
4 - Be a wireless Samaritan.
5 - Keep contact information for chaperones.
6 - Make wireless devices accessible.
7 - Bring old phones in to your local retail store and activate them with a prepaid calling plan.
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AT&T has announced that it has a new division ready. The AT&T Emerging Devices lead by Glenn Lurie, the former president of National Distribution for AT&T Mobility, will introduce wireless capabilities into various devices besides handsets. Good! My coffee mug needs wireless pronto!

The commander-in-chief Lurie is the guy that got the iPhone from Apple. So I guess he knows what he’s doing when he’s looking for new devices to introduce to AT&T’s subscribers.

I’ve announced the Bold so many times you shouldn’t even read this one. We might see AT&T pushing the release date along like they did before. Now it’s October 27 according to leaked info. Like I didn’t hear that one before!

AT&T had no problems throwing a welcome Bold party with the main guest missing, so we shouldn’t be surprised by anything the carrier will do concerning the Bold. On the other hand we know that Orange has pulled the Bold for various technical issues. What say you?

AT&T managed to leak its plans for the winter season and it looks like no Bold is coming soon. RIM’s phone should finally hit the U.S. market later this year but we don’t have any official dates yet. Besides the BlackBerry which looks like it will never arrive, we have the following phones:

Pantech Matrix: $80 after MIR
Samsung Propel:$80 after MIR
AT&T Quickfire: $100 after MIR
Samsung Eternity: $150 after MIR
Samsung EPIX: $200 after MIR
LG Incite: $200 after MIR
HTC Fuze: $300 after MIR

We’ll be back for more launch details when we have them. Until such time please feel free to fantasize about any of the above mentioned handsets.

According to a recent post made at a site dedicated to BlackBerry News, the future owners of a Bold cellphone will receive a freebie from AT&T.

That free feature is the AT&T mobile TV service, also known as CV - Cellular Video. As long as the owners of a BlackBerry Bold are subscribed to a data plan, the TV will be for free.

What TV stations are available at CV? Just to name a few: ESPN, Fox Sports, CBS Mobile, WWE, VH1 Mobile, Nickelodeon, NBC Mobile, HBO Mobile, Comedy Central Mobile, and The Weather Channel Mobile.

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Look what the FCC dragged in. It’s Nokia’s N79. The phone is expected on non-US markets to hit by the end of the year and it’s rumored to cost around $520. The phone might arrive in AT&T stores in the same time but there’s no official announcement to point to that.

The N79 will have 850/1900 UMTS support, a 5 megapixel Zeiss camera with sliding lens cover, dual LED flash, VGA video recording, TV-out, S60 Feature Pack 2 and probably more. I’d be curios to see how much will AT&T charge for it, but I guess that’s the subject for another story!
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