**As published in RCR Wireless News**

SANTA MONICA, CALIF. – Few, if any, technologies have taken off as quickly as smartphones have in the United States and it’s changing the American lifestyle in the process. At the end of 2008, the U.S. market had a smartphone penetration rate of 15%; it’s currently at 24% and The Nielsen Co. is predicting we’ll see a 49% adoption rate by the end of 2011.

Lucy Hood, a former Fox Mobile executive and now executive director at University of Southern California’s Institute for Communications, Technology and Management, said that while the devices and connection speeds have changed, usage patterns have not been disrupted. As a whole, smartphones are primarily used to communicate first, seek information second and entertain as a tertiary function, she said.

In the latest study conducted by the USC think tank, it found that mobile video consumption is still woefully underused. Even more discouraging than the level of use, according to Hood, is the reason why mobile TV and video has failed to live up to the hype: it’s still a poor experience for most users. Read the full story

Dan Lyons has done it again — and he should be applauded for his unique humor, not chastised because some people don’t get the joke. Sparking all kinds of geek-love and vitriol in one fell swoop, he’s having way too much fun with “Operation Chokehold,” a suggestion fed through his alter-ego: “Fake Steve Jobs.”

He hit the right nerve this time, encouraging iPhone users to systematically give AT&T the biggest data suck possible. By attempting to collectively drain on AT&T’s network with systematic force at the same time, Fake Steve’s followers have pushed AT&T’s recent network woes into a new dimension. Someone like Fake Steve wasn’t necessarily required to drum up this kind of anti-AT&T fervor, but he certainly acted as the conduit for at least some of their outward aggressions today.

Reports from the ground however don’t seem to indicate any major catastrophe occurred on AT&T’s network as a result of Operation Chokehold. Love it or hate it, AT&T’s network is what it is. All those iPhones sure haven’t helped things over the years, particularly since each of them are just screaming to be used constantly, thereby driving dramatic wireless data usage. If anything, Operation Chokehold merely reminded some people that AT&T’s network sucks royally in some places and does pretty well in others. If you’re used to horrible data speeds and dropped calls, things probably stayed that way today. Read the full story

Once I saw the BlackBerry Tour for Verizon selling for $99 at Best Buy, there was no turning back. I’ve been using an unlocked BlackBerry 8900 on T-Mobile for almost a year and it was time for a change. I wasn’t even using minutes on T-Mobile. Instead, my BlackBerry had become a data-only device.

Only $50 to cancel the remainder of my 1-year contract with T-Mobile? Done. Did I mention that I’ve been using an unlocked device (purchased elsewhere) and never should have been forced to sign a contract with T-Mobile to begin with? Oh well, that’s how carriers roll here. So long as they know dinosaurs will always die … someday.

Anyway, this was my first time purchasing a phone under carrier contract at a third-party store. After a couple hiccups, everything went pretty smoothly. All in all, the entire process took 45 minutes and most of that time was spent training my customer service rep. Read the full story