AT&T

Correction, 7:30 a.m. PDT Wednesday: This report mischaracterized the iPhone 3G's influence on AT&T's second quarter. The phone's launch came after the quarter's close.

AT&T reported nearly a 5 percent increase in second-quarter revenues, as it headed into the launch of the iPhone 3G.

The telecommunications powerhouse, which is the exclusive U.S. carrier of Apple's popular smartphone, reported that iPhone 3G sales nearly doubled within the first 12 days after its July 11 launch, compared with the initial launch of the iPhone in 2007.

"In the days … Read more

Today, AT&T announced that it's expanding its AT&T Navigator location-based service overseas, making it the first U.S. carrier to offer international navigation capabilities. Dubbed AT&T Navigator Global Edition, the service is available now and works in 20 countries, including North America, the U.S. Caribbean, and most countries in Western Europe. It will also work in six cities in China--Beijing, Shanghai, Qingdao, Shenyang, Tianjin, and Qinhuangdao--all of which will host Beijing Summer Olympics events. (AT&T is an official sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Team.)

Like the domestic version, AT&… Read more

AT&T iPhone users will not be getting free Wi-Fi access after all.

For the second time in less than six months, AT&T mistakenly published a notice on its Web site indicating that Apple iPhone users would get free access to the wireless operator's more than 17,000 Wi-Fi hot spots around the country.

News of free access to AT&T Wi-Fi hot spots was reported on several blogs Friday morning after it was discovered that a notice had been posted on AT&T's Web site. The notice, which was still live at … Read more

The European Union's consumer chief is taking action against dodgy Web sites selling mobile phone ringtones and wallpapers with unscrupulous practices, according to a story by Reuters.

On Thursday, EU Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva launched an investigation into 500 Web sites that sell ringtones, wallpapers, news feeds and video games to consumers. Kuneva believes these Web sites are misleading consumers, notably teenagers, and getting people to spend hundreds of millions of euros on services.

"Far too many people are falling victim to costly surprises from mysterious charges, fees and ringtone subscriptions they learn about for the first time … Read more

"Welcome to the new AT&T, we're currently out of iPhones, how can I help you?"

That's how two AT&T stores--one in Los Angeles, another in Denver--answered their phones Tuesday. But those stores are hardly alone in their lack of 3G iPhones. A CNET News survey on Tuesday and Wednesday showed that during their first week on sale, Apple's latest iPhones are playing extremely hard to get.

In total, we contacted 50 AT&T stores in 21 cities across 11 states, and not one had any of the three models of … Read more

Despite the best efforts of Apple and AT&T, it appears that the latest version of the iPhone has been unlocked via the same method as used on the original iPhone.

A Brazilian blog, TechGuru, posted the first report of it. Gizmodo checked it out, and said the method involves using a special SIM card adapter. It tricks the phone into thinking it's on an approved network.

"This method forges the International Mobile Subscriber Identity, making the phone believe it's working in the network in which it's supposed to work," Gizmodo writes.

If you … Read more

Updated at 10:04 a.m. PDT to correct the total number of Apple stores there were checked for iPhone availability. The total is 188.

These days, Apple has enlisted a widget to deliver its bad news.

According to a man who checked all 188 Apple stores via the company's iPhone Availability widget, the iPhone 3G is in very short supply, says Fortune's Apple 2.0 blog. In total, it appears the device is sold out in 21 states.

The list of states fresh out of iPhones includes: Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, … Read more

A new phone showed up on AT&T's business/professional site over the weekend. Though AT&T bills the Samsung SGH-A227 as being "built for productivity," there's not a lot to say about this simple flip phone. Features are limited to messaging, a voice memo recorder, a speakerphone, polyphonic and MP3 ringtones, and basic organizer applications. The SGH-A227 is $9.99 with service.

It didn't take a check of other CNET stories to confirm that Apple/AT&T's registration servers have either went back to bed or checked out early on a Friday. After the cheers at 8:00 a.m. the line moved less than 20 feet within the first hour. There were at least two announcements from Apple reps (one in a utila-kilt even) that things are "a little bit slow," because of the "overwhelming demand." An insistent, we could always come back later was touted too.

At one point, I was getting discouraged. … Read more