Rumors of iPhone 5′s release date have been circling the tech geek community like hawks circling a wounded field mouse. So far, every release date prediction seems to be getting pushed back. The latest prediction is October 21st based on the grounds of an unusual in-store Apple promotion installation at Best Buy. These types of installations are said to be very rare at the proposed time (see image below) and the last occurrence coincided with the release of iPhone 4.

Despite all the rumors one thing is for sure: Apple is unrivaled when it comes to building anticipation for its new products.

Do you know anything or have any assumptions about when iPhone 5 will hit shelves and/or what new features it might be packing? If so, leave your thoughts in comment section below!

Yesterday Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple (for those living under a rock), announced his resignation. In a short and sweet note to Apple’s board of directors (and the world) Jobs thanks the many friends he made while at Apple and urges the Board of Directors to make Tim Cook, Apple’s COO, the new CEO. Also (Board-willing), Jobs asks to be named the new Chairman of the Board. The Board quickly obliged making Jobs the new Chairman and Cook the new CEO of Apple. In his resignation letter Jobs writes:

To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community:

I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.

Steve

Today, Verizon Wireless has continued its push in network advancement by launching 28 more markets with its blazing fast 4G technology, LTE. Now the company offers 4G coverage in more than 100 cities throughout the United States.

LTE (long term evolution) is Verizon’s 4G network that is said to get wireless speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G (downloads at 5 to 12 mbps and uploads at 2 to 5 mbps) and Verizon plans to do a lot more than just stream your entertainment to your phone with LTE. Verizon has not only rolled out nine 4G handsets, three of which are Smartphone’s, but also rolled out a tablet, two hotspots and three USB modems.

“On Thursday, when we light up 28 additional 4G LTE markets, we will offer consumers and businesses in 102 metropolitan areas the most advanced 4G wireless network on the planet, while continuing to offer the nation’s most reliable 3G network coast to coast,” said David Small, chief technical officer of Verizon Wireless. “In fewer than eight months we have introduced our 4G LTE network to more than 100 markets and we are continuing to aggressively expand our 4G LTE network; by the end of 2013 we plan to bring 4G LTE mobile broadband to our entire 3G coverage area.”

On July 1st, 2011 Verizon increased its “regulatory fee” from $.13 to $.16. While for some this fee isn’t such a big deal, others wishing to break their Verizon contract for unrelated reasons now have the option to do so without incurring the $175 early termination fee.

The new regulatory fee imposes a “material adverse effect” on you which, in plainer terms, just means that you agreed to pay a certain amount when you signed your contract, they started charging you more and you can now get out of the contract you signed, scott free. After all, the regulatory fee is just a random fee charged by Verizon, not the government, which seems a little confusing since it’s called a “regulatory fee.”

When calling Verizon’s customer service you’ll want to reference the below snippet of Verizon’s Customer Agreement:

Can Verizon Wireless Change This Agreement or My Service?

We may change prices or any other term of your Service or this agreement at any time,but we’ll provide notice first, including written notice if you have Postpay Service. If you use your Service after the change takes effect, that means you’re accepting the change. If you’re a Postpay customer and a change to your Plan or this agreement has a material adverse effect on you, you can cancel the line of Service that has been affected within 60 days of receiving the notice with no early termination fee.

Customer service reps will use all the scare tactics in the book to try and keep you in your current contract but stick to your guns. Refuse ALL freebies and perks they try sending your way and if you get on the line with a rep that seems a little clueless ask to speak to a manager.

Consumerist.com provides some helpful scripts their readers have used to cancel their Verizon Contract: Here.

You only have 60 days after the regulatory fee change takes place so don’t wait! If you were looking for a way out of your existing Verizon contract this is it.

Starting July 7, 2011 Verizon Wireless is going to stop offering unlimited data plans in favor of tiered data plans. The new data plans will cost the same regardless of whether you’re using 3G or 4G and will start at $30/month for 2GB of data (the same price as their current unlimited data plan). Other plans will feature 5GB of data for $50 or 10GB for $80 and an extra $10 for every GB that goes over the plan’s limit.

In a letter to employees Verizon claims,”Our legacy pricing structure was designed to address a somewhat different customer need profile than what we are seeing and can expect in the future. As a result, we are evolving our approach around how we package our data solutions and pricing to our customers.” This is of course a gentle way of saying,”Data consumption for handheld devices is up 89% year over year and we’re out to make a killing!”

Ever lose your phone after a long night of drinking (er, studying)? Or maybe you swear someone stole your phone then you found it under the seat of your car? All that is behind you thanks to Seek Droid, the mobile app that allows you to locate your Droid, see your recent calls, lock your phone or wipe it clean. And the best part is all that can be done remotely from the web interface! Pretty cool, huh?

Check out this video to get an idea of just how cool Seek Droid really is:

And if that’s not cool enough setting it up is really simple. So simple you don’t even need an email address!

Check out Seek Droid in the App Store or at SeekDroid.com!

If you’ve tried Seek Droid let us know what you think in the comment section below.

A press conference was held Tuesday, May 10th with U.S. Government officials and executives from some of the nation’s top mobile carriers. The topic of conversation was PLAN (Personal Localized Alerting Network), a plan (no pun intended) to roll out emergency text messages based on a cell phone’s location. PLAN is intended to be an add-on to the television emergency alert system WARN (Warning, Alert Response Network), operated by the FCC and FEMA and will be rolled out to all mobile phone subscribers by mid-2012.

The text message alerts will consist of 90 character messages and will fall into one of three categories:

1. Messages from the President
2. Imminent threats in a specific region
3. Amber alerts (the country’s alert for missing children)

Alerts will have a unique ringtone and vibration so they can easily be distinguished from normal messages. All messages except those from the President can be disabled in your phone’s main settings screen. Apparently, everyone is allowed to ignore imminent threats and Amber alerts but if the President wants to share what he had for breakfast, all must listen!

Is PLAN a necessary emergency alert platform or an attempt by the US Government to ensure that media messages are heard by all?

Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

The process of activating a new, used or refurbished replacement phone with AT&T is very simple.

1. You need your AT&T SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card.  If you have your old phone it can most likely be found under or around the battery.  Some SIM cards will slip out and others will have a slide and lock mechanism (See Photos).
2. Remove the SIM card from the old phone and place the SIM card into the replacement phone.
   

   Slide SIM card into card slot.

3. Put the battery back on your new phone and turn it on (keep the power of you old phone off).
4. Once the phone is turned on it will be activated with your existing number.  Not only does the SIM card transfer your number to the new phone but it will also transfer your contacts and text messages to the replacement phone.
   

   Slide, lift and insert SIM into tray.

If you don’t have your SIM card from your phone you will need to obtain a SIM card by contacting AT&T customer service at 866-246-4852. AT&T will need to issue you a new SIM card that is associated with your account and phone number. Once you have the new SIM card you can follow the steps above to activate your service on the new phone.

The newest (leaked) version of Android, Gingerbread 2.3.3, boasts some promising features and improvements making it a contender with (if not surpassing) Apple’s iPhone 4. Most notable improvements include backend performance upgrades as well as enhanced dock and notification features that speed up navigation.

Performance Upgrades

The most notable of performance upgrades is the lightning fast swipe navigation. There is literally “0″ lag when swiping from one screen to the next.

Dock and Notifications Enhancements

The simple change to “Notifications” that made a HUGE difference in this release is the “-” button that allows users to quickly delete notifications. You can also delete notifications in bulk, making the process even smoother.

The dock touted some impressive new features including the ability to change a dock item by holding down on its icon. By holding down on a dock item a screen appears, listing all of the apps that you can move into the dock with one touch. App grouping is another major feature added into the mix. You now have the ability to create groups of apps, using custom names and icons. This speeds up app navigation dramatically.

Further enhancing navigation is the ability to snap to a dock item’s screen by swiping up on its dock icon. Let’s say you want to access all of your social apps, simply group all of your social apps (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) together and add one icon to the dock. By holding the dock icon and swiping up you’ll skip to the page that that app is located on (pretty slick, huh?).

Check Out a Video Walkthrough by Motodroidlife

Special Thanks:

Special thanks to the folks at P3Droid for sharing the leak and Droid Life for the helpful, walk-through video.

Buy a Droid at Snapjack Wireless:

Buy the Moto Droid A855!

Moto Droid A855

Price: $199.95

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There are a couple of ways to go about activating a phone on your existing line of service without extending your contract.  Both are quite simple, one can be done from verizonwireless.com and the other is done right from the replacement phone itself.

If you are registered on the Verizon Wireless website (My Verizon) login to the account and follow these steps:

• Under  “I Want To…”, Select “Activate a Device”

• On the next screen you will be prompted to select the phone number on your account that you are changing to the replacement phone.  Select the appropriate number.
• Next you will be prompted to use Verizon Back-Up assistant so that you don’t lose your contacts. If you wish to back-up your contacts and put them on the replacement phone follow the instructions to do so.  If not simply hit “Next”.
• Next you will be asked to enter the replacement phones Identification Number. This can be located on the back of the phone under the battery.  Enter the MEID, ESN or IMEI and hit submit.

If you aren’t registered on My Verizon here is a quick easy step for activating your replacement phone. From the replacement phone:

• Charge phone according to the user manuals instructions.
• After complete charge, power on the replacement phone. Power off the phone being replaced.
• Dial *228 and hit the send key on the replacement phone. When prompted select option 1. Then wait while phone is activated, when complete you will hear a message that “your phone has been successfully activated.”

If neither of these options work call Verizon Customer Service at 1-800-922-0204.