The sudden surge in interest in Android (largely due to all of the hype surrounding the Droid) has caused a lot of developers to reconsider the platform. Atleast one major development house, however, isn’t impressed.

Earlier today, Alexandre de Rochefort, Finance Director of Gameloft, told an investor conference that the company had “significantly cut [their] investment in Android platform, just like … many others”. Gameloft is one of the largest mobile games companies around, having pulled in roughly $132 million in the last three quarters alone. While there are plenty of fish in the developer sea, this can’t be one that Google is happy to see swim away.

The reason they’re cutting back, adds Rochefort, is that Google hasn’t done enough to “entice customers to actually buy products” on the platform. Regardless of how you feel about Google’s approach to the market, you can’t argue with the numbers: according to Rochefort, they’ve sold “400 times more games on iPhone than on Android”.

Consider this a gauge for Android’s success over the next year and a half or so; if Android can grow at a fast enough rate and sell enough handsets to keep the big dev teams on board (and, perhaps, even regain Gameloft’s interest), we’ll know things are going alright.

[Via Reuters]

Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors

Turkey Day is just around the corner, which means that the annual American tradition season of losing one’s mind in exchange for slightly discounted goods will officially begin a week from today. Yes, I speak of the infamous day that is Black Friday. The very same day in which hundreds of thousands of Americans transform into penny-pinching-zombies who will do whatever it takes to score a cheap fix.

Anyhoo, I’m not here to judge. If you are brave (/crazy) enough to fight through out-of-control bargain-hunting mobs to save yourself an extra 20% on a product (that you never wanted or needed), then god bless you. Furthermore, if said object happens to be a new mobile phone, wouldn’t it be nice to know a little about each of the major carriers’ early termination fees ahead of time (instead of waiting for your post-Black Friday “hangover” to subside, only for you to realize that you’ve signed your entire family’s fortune away on a new mobile family plan that you actually didn’t want or really need)? We think so.

Without further ado, here is the 2009 Major Carriers’ Early Termination Fees Table-O-Fun:

Carrier	Early Termination Fee (ETF)	More Information
AT&T	$175	ETF decreases by $5/month for duration of contract.
Sprint	$200	ETF begins to reduce in the fifth month of the contract; fee goes down $10/month until it reaches $50.
T-Mobile	$200*	* T-Mobile USA’s ETF schedule is not exactly straight forward. As of June 28, customers with a one-year or two-year contract will see their ETF drop from $200 to $100 if they end their contract with 91 to 180 days remaining on their agreement. If they end a contract with fewer than 91 days left on it, they’ll pay an ETF of $50. Customers who terminate service in the last 30 days of their contract will either pay the $50 fee or their standard monthly charge, whichever is cheaper.
Verizon Wireless	$350*	* Originally $175, VZW doubled the fee on Nov. 15 for “advanced devices,” which includes smartphones and netbooks. The new ETF only applies to new contracts that started on or after November 15. Customers who signed a contract before November 15 keep the old $175 ETF. For example, new Droid customers who bought their phones the first weekend it launched will not be required to pay the $350 ETF if they terminate service early under these new rules. VZW will continue to prorate the ETF over the life of the contract, decreasing the rate by $10/month. Verizon’s previous prorate rate was $5/month. ** The ETA for non-”advanced devices” remains $175, and decreases by $5/month during the contract.

Please note – all of the information above is subject to change at any time. We just want to help everyone to make the most informed decision they can when selecting a new carrier (/device), thereby ultimately making for a happier (and possibly healthier) holiday and new year. Oh, and if you need any help picking out a new gadget for a loved one, don’t forget to give CrunchGear’s 2009 Holiday Gift Guide a once (or thrice) over. Cheers!

[via CNET]

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

Everyone loves picture messaging – or at least, they love the idea of it. The iPhone carrying masses clamored for it, then celebrated once they got it by sending everyone pictures of their immediate surroundings and beloved pets before forgetting the feature exists. After the novelty wears off, it’s generally reserved for the occasions when there is genuinely something interesting to show. Need the wife’s advice on whether to buy the blue shirt or the green one? Picture message. Want to ask her out to coffee? You’ll probably stick with text.

FunMobility, a company thats been cashing in on cell phone media (like ringtones and wallpapers) since 1999, is looking to change that with FunMail, a service which they’re dubbing as “every-day picture messaging”.

Here’s how it works: first, the user blasts their text into the free FunMail application on the iPhone or Facebook, which then breaks down whatever the user typed for context. FunMail’s “Media Brain” then returns a handful of context-related graphics (pulled from Creative Commons sources and their own user-generated library), with your original text inscribed. For example, “Want to go get coffee?” returned the results below:

The user picks the graphic they want, and off it goes via MMS, Facebook, or Twitter. As it’s sent from mobile-to-mobile in the standard MMS format, the messages should appear just fine on any picture messaging-enabled handset, whether it has the FunMail app or not.

If FunMail were charging the user for this, it’s hard to imagine that it’d see much use — it doesnt, after all, add anything but a bit of fun to the conversation. Fortunately, they’re not charging a cent. The service is free to the users (save for any fees surrounding sending/receiving MMS), with FunMail planning to make their money via partnerships. Carriers ought to dig it (and thus potentially pay FunMail to port it to other handsets) because it could increase MMS revenue, while the context-sensitivity opens the way for promotions. If instead of “Want to get coffee?” you typed “Want to grab Starbucks?”, FunMail could offer up a Starbucks coupon as a message graphic to seal the deal.

It’ll be interesting to see how well this takes off. As it’s climbing onto the shoulders of an already well established communication method and they’ve watermarked each picture they send, there’s some aspect of virality here. It does seem a bit extraneous to tack a picture onto a message that would be perfectly acceptable as just text – but that’s something that happens many many thousands of times each day across the social networks.

You can find the FunMail iPhone App on the App Store here. [Note: iTunes Link]

Demo Video:

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

CrackBerry didn’t say when the phone will be released or state any technical specs. Apparently the site had these pics under an embargo and were allowed to release them today. That could very well mean that the phone is nearing announcement. It’s getting kind of late for a 2009 release so perhaps we’ll see it in the first quarter of 2010.

Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors

You know when a given country, in this case the nation of Japan, is over-saturated with cell phones when you get to see something like this: A cell phone that’s supposed to be similar in shape to a chocolate bar, available in two versions: Melty Bitter (brown) and Melty Strawberry (pink). The Sharp SH-04B [JP] is part of NTT Docomo’s winter line-up of new handsets for the Japanese market (unveiled ten days ago).

What you get is a clamshell cell phone that comes with a chocolate bar-like coating on the outside and a number of  pre-installed, chocolate-themed wallpapers, photo frames and menus (see below). Technically, the handset isn’t too spectacular: 3-inch WVGA ASV screen, 8MP CCD camera, waterproof, 1-seg digital TV tuner, Bluetooth, etc.

Sharp says the cell phone, jointly developed with Tokyo-based accessory maker Q-pot [JP], will be released in Japan next month. It’s limited to a total of 13,000 units.

More details in this video (in English):

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

I’m not too sure what to think of the Motorola Motus yet, but one thing is for sure: that form factor is crazy. The photo that leaked just a few hours ago already seemed to indicate that something weird was going on with the keyboard (with what seems like a tiny sliver of overlap, how the heck is it attached?), but these (alleged) specs just make things even more ridiculous.

The specs, uncovered by them crazy Wimberly brothers over at AndroidAndMe, are all just hearsay for the time being – so arm yourself with however many grains of salt you need to sleep soundly tonight. Here goes:

• * 528 MHz Qualcomm MSM7201A
• * 512 MB ROM
• * 256 MB RAM
• * 3.1 inch display 320 x 480 (HVGA)
• * 5 megapixel camera with LED flash
• * WiFi / Bluetooth 2.0 / GPS
• * OS Android 1.5 with Motoblur
• * GSM 850/900/1800/1900 W-CDMA 850/900/1700/1900/2100
• * Reverse flip keyboard
• * Rear directional touchpad

It’s all well and good for the first few items – 528 mhz CPU, 512 MB ROM, WiFi, Android 1.5 w/ Motoblur… nothing too crazy. But then you get to the last two items: “Reverse flip keyboard”? Uh, what?

Then it gets better: “Rear directional touchpad”. From the sound of things (with these “things” being totally unconfirmed), the Motus might be rocking some form of crazy touchpad on the back of the device. This is an idea thats been thrown around for a few years — type with the thumbs, navigate with your fingers on the back of the device — but, as far as I know, this would be the first time it’s made it into a major product.

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

There seems to be an unspoken style guideline amongst spy shot shooters: find the worst lighting possible, ditch the flash, and down 3-4 cups of coffee before snapping away. Unfortunately, the spy behind this shot of the Android-powered Motorola Motus played by all the rules.

According to the ol’ Rumor Mill, the Motus will tout a 3.1″ 480×320 touchscreen, 802.11b/g WiFi, and a 5 megapixel AF when it launches in Q1 of 2010. Those specs (mainly the screen) put it somewhere below the Droid on the hardware totem pole, but man – look how huge that keyboard is. That thing’s either going to be incredibly amazing, or absolutely unusable.

[MotoFan.RU via Engadget Mobile]

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

We’re not sure how wide spread it is (Update: seems to only be effecting California. ), but I’m seeing a whole lot of reports that Verizon’s 3G data network is down in various parts of the country. The majority of the reports seem to be coming out of the SF Bay Area and South Bay. While the handsets are reporting full 3G signal, no data seems to be piping in our out. Might the success of the Droid in the Silicon Valley have tipped things over, a la AT&T’s iPhone woes?

We’ve got a note into Verizon, so we’ll update once we get official word. In the mean while, go ahead and drop a comment and let us know whether or not the data is flowing where you are. Also mention what handset you’re using – an odd number of the reports seem to be coming from Droid users, but this may just be coincidence.

Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors

Got a buck? Own an iThing? Like to game and save money? Sweet! Then you’ll be really happy to hear that Konami’s entire collection of iPhone / iPod touch games are all on sale for $.99 until Saturday, November 21.

Ordinarily, most of Konami’s iGames go for anywhere from $2 and up. But enough about dollars and cents. Here’s a list of all the priced-to-move games (w/ iTunes links):

• DanceDanceRevolution S (normally $5)
• DanceDanceRevolution S+ (same price)
• Field Prowlers Police Rush (new game)
• Frogger (normally $2)
• Krazy Kart Racing (normally $3)
• Metal Gear Solid Touch (normally $6)
• Power Pros Touch (normally $4)
• Silent Hill The Escape (normally $5)
• Silent Scope (normally $3)

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

Virgin Mobile Canada has announced that it will begin to sell the iPhone 3G and 3GS in Virgin Mobile Retail Stores and online in Canada in the “coming months.” VMC joins fellow Canadian carriers Telus, Bell Canada, Fido, and Rogers in becoming an authorized iThing dealer.

When we get more firm information regarding a firm launch date and pricing, we’ll obviously be sure to share with our favorite readers/neighbors to the north. But for now, we can all get back to watching Strange Brew and drinking Labatt’s.

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

If for some reason you didn’t get the 1.56.651.2 update automagically: go to Settings > About > System Updates > Firmware Update. Please let us know if you uncover any other interesting updates/fixes in the comments, you know, for the kids.

[via IntoMobile]

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

Faster data access with virtually no latency: LTE (Long Term Evolution) mobile broadband networks are coming, at least in the world’s most advanced mobile market, the nation of Japan. The country’s biggest cell phone carrier, NTT Docomo, said yesterday at GSMA Mobile Asia Congress in Hong Kong it will go fourth generation as early as December 2010.

The company plans to invest a total of $3.4 billion in LTE-based services over the next years. Docomo customers will be able to get LTE data cards in December 2010, followed by LTE-powered handsets in 2011. Bigger cities in Japan will be served first, and Docomo aims at covering 50% of the Points of Presence with 20,000 base stations by 2014. The company plans to first use the 2GHz band before expanding to 1.5GHz.

At the same event, Docomo announced they will terminate all 2G services in March 2011, with CEO Ryuji Yamada saying by that time, most of their customers will be using just 3G anyway. The carrier currently has a total of 55 million mobile subscribers in Japan.

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

As the TechCrunch Network’s resident mobile guy, I was given the task of writing up a list of apps for each smartphone platform that you ought to buy as little e-stocking stuffers for your loved ones. It was to be my primary contribution to CrunchGear’s ultra-amazing Holiday Gift Guide; my festively themed magnum opus.

But there’s a problem with this idea: it can’t be done. It’s not because I’m lazy (which may be true), nor because I don’t have any apps to recommend (which most certainly is not). I can’t recommend apps for you to buy for others, because you can’t buy apps for others.

Be it the Apple App Store, Android Market, Palm App Catalog, or BlackBerry App World, it’s bah-humbugs all around. The App Store is the only one that even gets close, allowing you to buy gift cards. Whilst many a geek would likely prefer the gift cards, there’s a big chunk of the world that equates giving a gift card to handing someone a piece of paper that reads “I didn’t really put much thought into this. Merry Christmas!”

Apple seems to be the one who could address this with the least effort, by making use of their redeemable promo code system. Currently reserved for dishing out promo copies of applications and claiming gift cards purchased online, it doesn’t seem like it would be insurmountably difficult to adapt for these purposes. Let people build “gift packs” of apps for friends (which would be much less difficult if Apple hadn’t done away with the Shopping Cart in iTunes 9), pay for them up front, and then generate a promo code which can be sent to the gift recipient. The recipient won’t know what they’re getting until the promo code is redeemed, making it about as close to opening a meatspace present as you get in the virtual world. Apple has a gifting setup in place for just about everything on iTunes besides apps.

BlackBerry and Palm aren’t too far behind – though they don’t have a code redemption system set up, they do offer up their entire app catalog online for perusal by anyone without a compatible handset. Android lacks both a redemption system and an off-handset catalog (outside of the few hundred apps they feature on the Market site). The closest bet you’ve got for any of these three would be PayPal’ing your buddy a few bucks with a list of Apps – but at that point, why bother?

It scares me to think about how much potential revenue is being thrown away here by ignoring would-be gift givers. In a time when many are cutting back their shopping lists to their family and closest of friends, the friendly pricing of apps makes them a perfectly opportune way to say “Hey, I still think you’re great”. No wrapping or shipping required.

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

Really? Who could have guessed? I’m not an official big-shot analyst by any stretch, but I’m pretty sure that I could have made the same conclusion, as could anyone who knows anything about technology trends (like spoiled teenagers). But alas, an actual organization, Telecom Trends International (who?), has just released a report saying that smartphones will indeed overtake “regular” phones by 2015. Gotta love these glimpses into the future.

This report, which includes 27 figures and 19 tables (for the record), says that sales of smartphones surpass “regular” phones in 2015 and will constitute two-thirds of total mobile handset sales by 2016. The thing is, how do we even know what will separate (if there is still even a distinction) “smart” phones from “non-smart” phones some five years ahead of time? Sure, in today’s world of smart and dumb phones, we analysts can make predictions of this sort. But these type of prognostications tend to leave a bad taste in my technology-loving mouth.

The thing with mobile phones, and technology in general, is that they are forever changing/morphing/evolving. Predicting that smartphones will overtake “regular” phones in 2015 is no different than me saying, “tablets will surpass ‘traditional’ laptops in 2012″ – both are purely nonsense. While maybe while maybe factually accurate (in today’s world), these types of reports and findings seem to assume that the world can’t possibly change over the course of five years. A ridiculous notion, given the insane exponential curve of Internet/computer technology enhancements over the last 25 years.

With all this in mind, I am going to go out on a limb and prophesize* that by 2015 all handsets on the market will be considered “smart” phones by today’s standards. In other words, given the rapid development of next-gen networks and handsets, 99% of all mobile devices by 2015 will not fit in any of today’s “categories” as all mobile phones will have crossed the “smart” threshold by that time, thus making reports like this meaningless.

Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors

Don’t worry. This won’t be another post on the merits/shortcomings of the Pixi and whether such a handset is worthwhile as its older, more capable brother, the Pre, plummets in price. Other sites have done that to death.

I just wanted to point out that, regardless of how anyone feels about the handset, even the Pixi wants to be a Pre. Check out this picture, taken right from a fresh-out-of-the-box Pixi.

If I had to guess, I’d say one of the coders switched the firmware to read “Pre” during testing to ensure that no one at Palm accidentally confirmed the Pixi’s existence before it was intended, and then forgot to change it back. Or, you know, it never read “Pixi” and they just forgot to change it in the first place.

[Via Peter Ha, who often mistakes himself for a blogger]

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

We’ve got news, both good and bad. What do you want first? We’ll start with the bad news first. It’s easier that way, you know?

Bad news: We were supposed to have an N900 review — or at least a first look — up by now. Nokia assures us a review unit has been sent, but it’s M.I.A. As we see it, there are only a two options: it either got stolen by bears, or Nokia’s messing with us because we totally owned the N900 story way back in May.

Good news: We may not have one yet, but you can get one! It’s available immediately at either of Nokia’s flagship stores (located in New York and Chicago), or NokiaUSA.com (though the site seems to only offer pre-orders, at the moment). It’ll set you back a hefty $650 – and while we can’t say its worth it before we give it the customary run-through, it’s definitely worth stopping by a store to check it out.

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

Lots of people are saying there’s no way Google will enter the phone market directly and compete with all these handset manufacturers who have bet on Android. Daring Fireball, PC World and InfoMobile are among the doubters. And a lot of people are pointing to a Tom Krazit/CNET article last month that quoted Google’s Andy Rubin: “We’re not making hardware…We’re enabling other people to build hardware,” and “Rubin, vice president of engineering for Android at Google, scoffed at the notion that the company would “compete with its customers” by releasing its own phone.”

Normally I’d just point to the fact that many companies deny the existence of products until the day they announce them. Apple scoffed at the notion that they’d ever build a phone until they announced the iPhone, for example. The last thing Google wants is a lot of confusion among handset manufacturers just when those manufacturers are putting the finishing touches on their own Android phones.

But there may be another way Google will argue that they aren’t “competing with customers” by launching their own device – technically, it may not be a phone.

The Google Phone may be a data only, VoIP driven device. And Google may be lining up at least AT&T to provide those data services for the Google Phone, says one person we spoke with today.

Users could still make calls just like a normal phone, of course. The calls would just be over the data service instead. In fact, this is the exact vision Google proposed back in 2007 when they were bidding on the FCC auctions for the 700MHz spectrum.

Google can even issue phone numbers to users via Google Voice. In fact, I’ve already ported my mobile number to Google Voice, and Google has plans to roll out that feature more broadly.

Are AT&T and the other carriers interested? Our source says AT&T is already bidding for the business, and may be willing to sell data to Google, with certain conditions, for $20/month. The carriers won’t love this, at all. But they’d be dumb to let their competitors take the business instead.

Our sources at AT&T have confirmed that they’ll sell data-only plans to customers who bring in BlackBerry and Windows devices, and strip out the voice plan. They won’t do this with all devices – you can’t get a data only plan on the iPhone, for example. But AT&T is open to data-only customer relationships.

Will the Google Phone be data/VoIP only? Right now we only have one thin source for this. But we’re continuing to dig.

Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors

A little while back, we wrote about the Korea Communications Commission’s decision to make an exception for the iPhone, essentially clearing the way for Apple to submit the phone for radio approval (a la FCC procedures in the States). Now, two months later, the KCC has officially approved Apple’s iPhone for sale in South Korea.

No doubt, this is a shining example of the impact of the KCC’s decision late last year to allow foreign handset manufacturers to sell mobile phones in South Korea after April 1, 2009 without Wireless Internet Platform for Interoperability (WIPI) technology built-in.

Anyhoo, the KCC’s ruling says that the iPhone can now be launched at any time. Thus, it makes sense that two of the biggest mobile carriers in South Korea, KT Corp. and SK Telecom Co., have already been talking to Apple about selling its flagship mobile phone. Not surprisingly, neither of the carriers, nor Apple, has made any mention of if or when it might begin to sell the biggest mobile thing since wireless sliced bread. Either way, Samsung and LG must be really excited about the news.

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

Android is still in its infancy in Japan where most domestic makers still stick with their proprietary operating systems, with basically no one outside the geek community knowing what it is. But things are changing slowly. Last week, SoftBank (the country’s third biggest cell phone carrier) announced an Android-powered phone for next year when the company announced their new models for the next months.

And yesterday, Sharp announced at an event in Tokyo it will roll out a yet to be specified number of Android-based handsets as early as the first half of next year. Sharp commands the biggest market share of all eight cell phone makers in Japan so this is very good news for the Google OS in what is the most advanced mobile society in the world.

The company didn’t reveal which of the three big carriers in Japan will be supplied with the Android handsets, but said they will offer models with features unique to the Japanese market. One of these features might be a tuner for 1seg, a digital TV standard used in Japan and some parts of South America. Other possibilities include Japan-specific e-wallet or electronic train ticket functions.

Via Keitai Watch [JP]

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

We may blather on a daily basis over which smart phone reigns supreme – but, outside of the tech world, smart phones are still the minority. Believe it or not, as many as 80% of the handsets floating around out there are basic feature phones.

Take Verizon, for example; sure, they’ve got the Droid now, but the very, very vast majority of their catalog (and presumably, their sales history) is made up of handsets none would ever call “smart”. Looking to show their feature phone-toting userbase some love, Verizon has tagged up with iSkoot to launch a free application they’re calling Social Beat. Based on iSkoot’s Kalaida platform, Social Beat brings basic access to Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Email and right around 50 popular RSS feeds to handsets that would likely never have it.

This is the second major carrier launch; earlier this year, iSkoot launched a similar product called “Social Net” for AT&T.

While it’s not guaranteed to work with all of VZW’s feature phone line up, it should work just fine with the LG enV, enV2, enV3, Chocolate, Chocolate 3, and 15+ other Verizon handsets. If you’re a Verizon customer lookin’ to add a bit of smartphone flare to your otherwise lackluster piece, look for Social Beat in the “Get It Now” section of your handset.

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

Apparently, the lovely folks over at AT&T have pumped some $65 million “from 2008 through the 3rd quarter of 2009 to complete a substantial upgrade of its local 3G wireless network in the greater San Francisco Bay Area with the launch of additional wireless spectrum in the 850 MHz band.” Based on the endless complaints I hear from my iPhone carrying friends ’round these parts, this has got to be music to their ears.

Independent of just pleasing iPhone owners, this is obviously also good news for all AT&T customers throughout the Bay Area. As more and more customers make the switch to data-happy smartphones, carriers must improve the robustness of their 3G networks to meet the growing data demands. Luckily, it sounds like this improvement should help, big time.

As a result of this upgrade, local customers are expected to experience better 3G wireless connectivity, performance and enhanced in-building wireless coverage. The enhancement also increases network capacity, and is intended to support the ever-growing demand for 3G mobile broadband service. In the greater Bay Area, AT&T upgraded close to 850 cell sites as part of this enhancement, the majority coming in the 3rd quarter of 2009.

More specifically, AT&T is launching additional wireless spectrum in the 850 MHz band. According to press release, the 850 MHz spectrum “generally results in better in-building coverage.”

AT&T 3G customers should see improved quality and coverage throughout dozens of greater Bay Area communities, including San Francisco, Brisbane, Daly City, Colma, South San Francisco, Pacifica, Sausalito, Tiburon, Mill Valley, Corte Madera, San Rafael, San Anselmo, Oakland, Emeryville, Berkeley, Alameda, Piedmont, Hayward, San Leandro, San Mateo, Burlingame, Millbrae, Hillsborough, Palo Alto, San Carlos, Belmont, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Richmond, Albany, El Sobrante, El Cerritos, Pinole, Crockett, Hercules and more.

AT&T has also increased capacity to “hundreds of cell sites across the bay area” in order to better meet the growing massive data demands of its Silicon Valley customers and plans to flip the switch on its higher speed HSPA 7.2 3G network sometime in 2010. But like lipservice from any of the major carriers, we’ll all need to see “it” to believe “it” before we give AT&T credit for its supposed improvements.

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies