Starting things off this morning is a pre-released Motorola Droid advertisement titled ‘Stealth Commercial‘. The video was leaked to BGR last night and he appropriately uploaded it to YouTube immediately and now it’s spreading like wild fire. The video definitely takes the cake when it comes to coolness as compared to the I’Dont commercials, but it still makes you wonder who Verizon and Motorola are looking to entice as prospective buyers. The tech blog reading gadget geeks like ourselves are interested but the vast majority of VZW customers don’t fit that bill, so what gives?
Yesterday we heard reports that T-mobile voice and data service was experience intermittent failures nationwide. The news comes on the heels of the Sidekick data fiasco that Microsoft and T-mobile are still trying to patch up through service credits and recommendations to buy BlackBerry smartphones. The official word from T-mobile yesterday was, “T-Mobile customers may be experiencing service disruptions impacting voice and data,” the company said in a statement. “Our rapid response teams have been mobilized to restore service as quickly as possible. We will provide updates as more information is available.”
Following the BlackBerry Bold 9700 launch on Rogers Wireless in Canada, Bell Mobility has stepped up to the plate and even offered a lower price of $229.95 on a 3-year service agreement. Unfortunately the no-contract price still remains $599.95, but at least the 3-year price is a sign that we might see a Bold 9700 in the sub $200 price range by Christmas time this year.
In other BlackBerry news, the BlackBerry Tour is now live on US Cellular’s website for $499.95 no contract or $199.95 after mail-in rebate on 2-year service agreements. Of course a $39.99 calling play and $24.99 BlackBerry Email & Web plan are required, but you can’t have your cake and eat it to right?
A leaked Early Termination Fee document was leaked to BGR this morning which aims to set ETF’s at $350 for advanced devices i.e. smartphones. The news comes following Verizon’s successful BOGO offer on BlackBerry devices in which many Verizon users realized it is cheaper to sign up for 2 devices then cancel the second line, sell the device on eBay and cover the cost of canceling the 2nd line plus your out of pocket expense on your own BlackBerry.
Last this morning we have confirmation that the Windows Mobile savior, the HTC HD2, is now on sale in Europe and Asia today. The device is also allegedly coming to the US in early 2010 to ‘a major US carrier’. If the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 also comes to the US around that time it should make for quite the high-end smartphone showdown, don’t you think?