**As published in RCR Wireless News**

I switch smart phones like they’re going out of style. Mostly because they are always going out of style. I’ve broken more carrier contracts and paid for more devices at full retail price than I care to admit.

Last month, it all happened again. I’m one of those defectors who ditched their iPhones with AT&T Mobility and switched to Verizon Wireless.

I’ve been an on-again, off-again iPhone customer with AT&T Mobility through every version that Apple Inc. has released since the summer of 2007. I’ve had many ups and downs with the device and the quality of service AT&T Mobility provides. As a result, I have been tempted away various times along the way to other carriers and devices. But I kept coming back for more. Read more

**As published in RCR Wireless News**

LAS VEGAS — The only thing missing from the Consumer Electronics Show is connectivity. Trying to find a signal of any kind during this geek fest has become more frustrating with each passing year. Today has been no different. In fact, it seems to be even worse.

While AT&T Mobility made all kinds of noise about 4G this morning at its developer conference, my AT&T devices were barely holding on to a 2G signal. Sure, the event was deep inside the bowels of the Palms Casino Resort, but that just begs the question: If AT&T’s coverage sucks there, why did it choose to hold an event for press, analysts and developers there? Read more

**As published in RCR Wireless News**

I hope I never find myself desperately needing wireless coverage at a football game. There’s only one thing I can count on working on my phone at National Football League stadiums: the camera.

Major venues desperately need wireless coverage. If the carriers aren’t going to provide it, venues have other options that they can seek out on their own. Read more

**As published in RCR Wireless News**

Earlier this week, I took the plunge. Having grown impatient waiting for my carrier to release the official version of OS6 for my BlackBerry 9700, I decided to press my luck and install a leaked version of the new operating system.

Anyone who’s updated their OS on their BlackBerry, leaked version or not, knows that the task can be a little daunting and one that seemingly requires a background in computer science. I’ve taken this step a few times on my BlackBerry devices over the years and each time the experience is akin to reformatting a PC’s hard drive and starting completely over from scratch. Read more

**As published in RCR Wireless News**

Perception can become reality in unique ways. So much of our world is predicated on how things are perceived.

On at least some level, this factor is impacting Chinese vendors Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and ZTE Corp. in their aims to break deeper into the U.S. market.

We may never know if the companies were indeed blocked from their latest attempts with Sprint Nextel Corp. or just dismissed for political or business pressures. Regardless, the perception that security might be somehow less secure on their equipment is there. Read more

*As published in RCR Wireless News**

A first-to-market advantage for WiMAX over LTE was supposed to help differentiate Sprint Nextel Corp and Clearwire Corp. from its competitors. But if you live in the metropolitan areas of Los Angeles or the San Francisco Bay Area, not so much.

Los Angeles and the surrounding area finally got its first official look at WiMAX earlier this week. San Francisco is still waiting.

Although the companies launched their first WiMAX market almost two years ago in Portland, Ore., scale is what matters most. A so-called fourth generation network without service in San Francisco or Los Angeles (until just this past Monday) is no network I want to pay for. Read more

**As published in RCR Wireless News**

Today is the Super Bowl of politics — in a way. Election Day 2010.

Every major event like this presents brilliant minds with an opportunity to come up with something truly awesome that takes mobile to the next level. And I always come away wanting more.

The only interesting thing I found this time around, albeit more fun (perhaps pointless?) than meaningful, is Foursquare’s “I Voted” badge. Here’s how it’s supposed to work: any one of Foursquare’s 4 million users that votes (or fake votes via check-in) today can get the badge. Read more

**As published at RCR Wireless News**

BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion Ltd. appears to be putting the final touches on its rollout plans and the accompanying marketing blitz for its latest device.

The smart phone and enterprise mobility pioneer is holding an invite-only event in New York City next Tuesday where just about everyone expects it to launch a slider-style touchscreen device with a full QWERTY keyboard. Not only will the heretofore-called “9800″ or “Torch” deliver what analysts and many users have been clamoring for from RIM — a large touchscreen paired with one of BlackBerry’s wildly popular keyboards — it’s also set to mark the public debut of BlackBerry 6, it’s latest operating system. Read more

**As published at RCR Wireless News**

Citigroup Inc. has publicly disclosed a security flaw in its iPhone banking app. While the disclosure is clearly the right move, it also shines a light on some weaknesses in mobile banking that might not bode well for the industry in at least the near term.

Banking and finance is roundly accepted as a sure win for the mobile environment — the reasons for growth and global acceptance are impossible to ignore. The industry has spent more than a decade encouraging its customers to move from physical to virtual-based service in the online world for at least some of those reasons. But every security misstep the banking industry makes on mobile could push the public’s willingness to accept mobile banking back even further. Read more

**As published at RCR Wireless News**

CERRITOS, CALIF. — The faithful began lining up earlier this week, according to some overheard chatter, but whether you arrived 24 hours before or right when the doors opened today, you still walked out of Apple Inc.’s newest store with an iPhone 4.

The overall wait-to-iPhone ratio skewed many hours longer for those who unfolded camping chairs, unfurled blankets and blew up air mattresses anytime before sundown last night, but such is the price that will be paid to be a super early-adopter. The crowd went wild, as is traditionally the case, when the first customers came out of the doors with their new iPhone 4s in hand. The extra stamina and willpower also afforded them less time in the baking morning sun, but they also slept overnight in a mall parking lot. Read more