What seems as a strange move Microsoft has taken the Lumia 900 preorder offer down from its various retail stores located around the US. For some strange reason customers can no longer preorder the device for AT&T’s 4G LTE network, and according to GottaBe Mobile both Nokia and Microsoft has given no reason for the move.

This comes just a few days after it was announced that the Nokia Lumia 800 in the US via AT&T was only going to be available via an $899 bundle. This strange move also gets you the Nokia Play 360 speaker, Purity HD stereo headset, and a Bluetooth headset. But the smartphone on its own can be had for only $510 over at Amazon.

The Lumia 900 is believed to be releasing on March 18th for only $99 and it may have been pulled so Nokia can officially announce its pricing and release details for the device. Sources are claiming that this could be happening anytime now, so may mean it could be coming sooner than first thought.

Many have been impressed with what they have seen of the Lumia 900 and just to recap it features a 4.3 AMOLED ClearBlack display with a single core 1GHz processor. Battery life shouldn’t be a problem as it comes packing an 1830 mAh unit with an eight megapixel camera that features Carl Zeiss technology.

Meanwhile it seems Nokia is putting all its eggs into one basket as it is being reported that the company has no plan B if its move to Windows Phone fails to change its fortunes. According to SlashGear VP Victor Saeijes says the only way forward for the company is with the Windows platform.

The Nokia executive admitted that “it’s like starting all over again” and that it must be successful in the US. The company has announced that it has sold more than one million Lumia handsets so far by the end of last month. Have you preordered the Nokia Lumia 900?

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Owners of the device on AT&T have begun receiving the Android 2.3.6 update so no ICS for now. The update that is arriving now will bring improvements to the camera, Google Music that will give owners access to millions of tracks including some free ones according to Android Police

The Motorola Gallery, Music and Files apps have been renamed to My Gallery, My Music, and My Files respectively. Security has been beefed up and Android security patches from Cisco Any Connect VPN and Google have been added.

Owners will now receive emergency alerts from the various authorities when issued such as hurricane warnings. There is now improved access to user’s library of Amazon digital books along with the entire Amazon library. Keyboard functionality has been improved to offer a nicer email experience.

There have also been improvements to the devices mobile hotspot to offer better stability and performance. So far there has been no official news on the ICS upgrade arriving, and on the company’s upgrade page it isn’t even listed. But it may have been a while since it was updated as it still lists the Xoom as running Honeycomb even though the Wi-Fi version is now on Android 4.0.

Are you hoping ICS comes to the Atrix 2?

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The company seems to be serious on its assault on the US smartphone market if a report on BGR is to be believed. A trusted source has told the site that the 4G Windows Phone running device will be available for only $100 with a two year AT&T contract.

It is also being claimed that the Nokia Lumia 900 release date in the US will be on March 18th. This release date could alter slightly as the carrier has yet to give the full technical go ahead for the handset. If this price turns out to be accurate it will make it one of the lowest price 4G LTE handsets available.

AT&T is believed to be coughing up at least $200 million into marketing the launch of the Lumia 900, along with other devices on the platform such as the HTC Titan II. Microsoft has a fight on its hands with the Windows Phone platform, as most of the US market is taken up by the Android and iPhone platforms.

But providing a high end smartphone at this low price would certainly tempt many consumers to give Nokia and Windows Phone a try. Would you get the Lumia 900 for only $100?

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At the beginning of this month we told you about Sony and AT&T revealing their pricing details for the upcoming device. Previously there were two options for customers that started with the $14.99 per month plan with 250MB of data, and another priced at $25 per month with a 2GB data limit.

Now according to a report over at Joystiq there has been a slight change to the pricing plans for data use. The cheaper of the plans remains the same but the $25 plan has jumped up to $30, but you now get a 3GB data limit. So for an extra $5 you can have another 1GB of data, but how many gamers will pay the extra money for the 3G version of the PS Vita remains to be seen.

We have reported before that resellers in Japan were dropping the price of the 3G version due to low demand for the unit. One good thing for gamers though who do purchase the 3G PS Vita are the plans from AT&T doesn’t require any contract obligation.

Despite the slow sales in Japan the device is likely to sell really well once it gets its global launch, which is something the Nintendo 3DS is certainly doing now after a slow start. What version of the PS Vita do you plan to get?

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Rival carrier Sprint was rumored to be in talks with T-Mobile before AT&T launched their failed attempt to swallow up the carrier. According to Mobilebloom Sprint could be looking to reopen negotiations with T-Mobile’s owners about a possible takeover.

It is believed that Deutsche Telekom is still looking to sell off T-Mobile USA, which is currently the fourth biggest carrier in the country. Sprint is still having difficulty making headway into the American mobile market, which is currently dominated by AT&T and Verizon.

Sprint is currently lying behind these two giants who enjoy seventy percent of the US market. Sprint do now offer their customers the chance to own the elusive iPhone, which some see as a big gamble. Since offering the device in October Sprint enjoyed record sales of the handset, but still only sees seventeen percent of the US market.

If any such merger was to go ahead it would not only increase the carrier’s spectrum range, but also see its market share increase to 25 percent. A takeover by Sprint would not be straight forward though as the company is not exactly cash rich at the moment.

They are currently trying to recover a shortfall of $5 billion in cash and any takeover may prove too expensive. Sprint could also face similar legal challenges as AT&T did with their proposed move, and it also would have the expense of converting T-Mobile’s network that would equally be as expensive to achieve.

Do you think a Sprint takeover of T-Mobile would ever happen?

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AT&T have now said if the proposed takeover fails to materialize it will take the $4 billion charge now just in case, as according to Reuters US regulators have said it would kill jobs and hit competition. Both companies involved in the deal have said it would continue to try and get approval of the $39 billion takeover from the US Department of Justice.

They have withdrawn applications though from the industry’s regulator for the time being, and said in a statement “AT&T Inc and Deutsche Telekom AG are continuing to pursue the sale of Deutsche Telekom’s U.S. wireless assets to AT&T”.

The sum of $4 billion is made up of $3 billion in cash as well as a book value of $1billion for spectrum access. There is a lot of opposition to the deal including from both the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and DOJ, which is because of the fact there would only be three national mobile carriers left.

One senior FCC official has said that any such merger “would result in a massive loss of U.S. jobs and investment”. The withdrawal of the application still has to be approved by the FCC as it can decide how the companies can resubmit it in the future. Even if it does get approval it could still be blocked by the DOJ, but both companies have said they would go back to the FCC process if it won approval by the DOJ.

Randall Stephenson, Chief Executive of AT&T had great confidence in the deal when it was first announced in March, and that’s why such a big break-up fee was agreed. Analysts are saying that AT&Ts decision to take the $4 billion charge this quarter showed how its confidence in the deal going through had fallen.

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Earlier today we brought you the news that the Galaxy Nexus could be released on Verizon at the same time as the Motorola Droid 4 on December 8th. But now the guys over at Engadget are reporting in an article that the handset is shipping now via retailer Expansys.

If you want to treat yourself to the new Android smartphone the retailer will provide you the device for an eye watering $750. This is for the 16GB version of the device that uses GSM (HSPA+) technology that will work nicely with both AT&T and T-Mobile’s 3G networks.

The price is a little steep when you consider that the version that will ship via Verizon will have 4G LTE capability. But on the other hand you are not tied into a long two year contract. It will just depend if you can wait another week or two for the device to land on Big Red or not, and if using the device on either AT&T or T-Mobile appeals as well.

Would you pay $750 for a smartphone?

More About: att, Expansys, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, T-Mobile

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The carrier announced the latest additions to its BlackBerry range and started by revealing the Bold 9900 will be landing on November 6th, and plans to charge $200 for it according to Electronista. Another BlackBerry smartphone the Torch 9860 will also be available on the same day for $100. These are all on condition of a new two year contract though.

Meanwhile the lower priced BlackBerry Curve 9360 will come later in the month on the 30th, and be available for $30 with a contract. If you are a corporate or government user you can get hold of the Curve on November 14th without the camera.

Spec wise the Curve 9360 has a 2.4-inch 480 x 360 display, and powered by an 800MHz processor. You also get a 5-megapixel camera with VGA video capture. While the Bold 9900 gives you a 2.8-inch 640 x 480 touchscreen, and is powered by a 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor with 720p video recording and a larger keyboard.

The carrier was among the first to get a Blackberry 7 device in the country with the Torch 9810. AT&Ts versions of the BlackBerry smartphones will be released after most of the other main US carriers have already launched theirs. These new BlackBerry handsets come just as AT&T is launching its first LTE handsets, the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket and the HTC Vivid.

Do any of the new Blackberry handsets interest you?

More About: att, BlackBerry Bold 9900, BlackBerry Curve 9360, Blackberry Torch 9860

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The US carrier has just unveiled the HTC Vivid and the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket, which is a 4G version of the standard Galaxy S II. According to SlashGear the Skyrocket will be landing in stores from November 6th and will have a 1.5GHz dual-core processor running Android Gingerbread 2.3.5.

The main camera will be an 8-megapixel unit capable of 1080p video capture, with a 2-megapixel camera on the front. It has 16GB of on-board storage that can be expanded by an addition 32GB via the microSD slot. The display will be the same WVGA offering found on the original Galaxy, instead of the Super AMOLED HD screen found on the Galaxy Nexus.

Meanwhile the HTC Vivid has a 4.5-inch qHD screen with a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, and an 8-meagpixel wide angle camera. This will also offer 1080p video recording and have 16GB of on-board storage. AT&T switched on its 4G network back in September, and on the same day as the handsets become available the service will be switched on in Athens, Boston, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C.

Price wise the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket will set you back $249.99 on a two year contract, while the HTC Vivid is slightly cheaper at $199.99. You will also need a 4G data plan to go with it that start from $15 per month. For this you get 200MB or for $25 per month you can have 2GB of data, and if you want to use your device as a mobile hotspot you can sign up for DataPro 4GB at $45 per month.

More About: att, HTC Vivid, Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket

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By the time 2011 draws to a close the second largest cell phone carrier would have increased its Android smartphone portfolio by another 19 devices, even though we were only meant to get 12 – not bad going at all. There is a fear that AT&T is rushing out as many devices as they can; Engadget just hopes that they are not sacrificing quality for quantity, which is a fare point to make?

In the video (see below) you can get to see a preview of those five new handsets, which are the Motorola ATRIX 2, Samsung Captivate Glide, Samsung DoubleTime, Pantech Pocket and finally the AT&T Avail. Looking at this list of new Android handsets there seems to be something for everyone. However, there are one or two that stand out above the rest.

Not surprisingly the Motorola Atrix 2 will be a big deal for AT&T, and we just hope that it will be a successful follow up to its predecessor? Looking at the specs we cannot see why not, it’s all there for the taking; we just hope that consumers warm to it, but the launch of the iPhone 4S and the Nexus Prime could put a spanner in the works.

Out of the five new AT&T Android handsets, we expect the carrier to market the Avail more than the others, as it forms part of their prepaid lineup. Which of the five new devices will AT&T have the most success with?

More About: Android, att

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