– MiFi picked up by Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and Sprint: Both Verizon Wireless and Sprint (NYSE: S) have started offering MiFi, a small little device that offers a mobile hotspot, using the carrier’s network to deliver the signal. Beginning the first week of June, Sprint customers will also be able to pick up the device online and in stores, according to Boy Genius. The MiFi 2200 from Sprint will cost $99 with a 2-year contract after a $50 mail-in rebate and will require a data plan of $60 a month or a Simply Everything plan of $160 a month (both plans carry max out at 5GB of data).
— Verizon selling netbooks starting May 17: Verizon plans to announce tomorrow that it will start offering a netbook — a HP Mini 1151NR — on May 17 for $200 after a $50 mail-in rebate and new two-year activation on a Mobile Broadband plan. Mobile plans start at $40 a month for 250 MB a month and 10 cents a megabyte when you go over. For $60 a month, you get a 5 GB monthly allowance and are charged 5 cents per megabyte when you run over.
— AT&T (NYSE: T) issues statement about SlingPlayer: SlingBox, which allows you to watch your home TV with you while you are on the go, launched today on the iPhone — however, only using the phone’s Wi-Fi network. And, AT&T issued a statement today to explain why. Engadget does a good job of taking it apart. AT&T says that apps like SlingPlayer could create congestion on the network and cites a portion of its wireless terms and conditions that says, “applications like this, which redirect a TV signal to a personal computer, are specifically prohibited under our terms of service.” Engadget has a problem with AT&T comparing “smartphones like the iPhone to be personal computers in that they have the same hardware and software attributes as PCs.” “Sure, guys, but a RAZR shares 85 percent of its DNA with a PC and an iPhone shares 87 percent, so we’re splitting hairs here.”
— FCC speeds up number portability: The FCC said today that landline, wireless and most VoIP providers will soon be required to transfer telephone numbers to new carriers within one day, speeding it up from the previous four-day wait, Reuters reports. The rule change will go into affect for most carriers within nine months. Some smaller carriers will have 15 months. Most of the problems were related to the landline side since most wireless carriers port numbers within a couple of hours.
— Database tracks popular phones: Seattle-based Mobile Research said it launched a new service today called DeviceTrack, which tracks the most popular phones in the marketplace. The database is available on a subscription basis. Subscribers can sign up for alerts, so they can track devices and their top 50 attributes that are important to their prodocts. The database is updated weekly for the top 20 network operators in North America, and will soon support the UK market.
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