Apple

Apple's iPhone 4S, available on Sprint, AT&T; and Verizon, but not T-Mobile USA.

GeekWire

T-Mobile USA boosted its profits and added to its customer base in the third quarter, but the company Thursday morning warned of future repercussions from its status as the only major U.S. wireless carrier not offering Apple’s iPhone.

“Earnings improved as we continued to focus on making smartphones affordable to all Americans through our unlimited Value plans, improvements to our 4G network, and an expanding portfolio of 4G devices,” said Philipp Humm, T-Mobile USA president and CEO, in the company’s earnings release. He added, “Discipline on the cost side contributed to year-on-year margin improvement, while postpay churn, in particular related to the iPhone 4S launches by competitors, will continue to be an area of concern.”

"Churn" is industry lingo for customers leaving for other carriers.

Sprint was added to Apple's lineup of U.S. carriers with the iPhone 4S launch in October, joining AT&T and Verizon. Apple said first weekend sales of the device set a new record for the company.

Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile USA's parent company, has agreed to sell the U.S. subsidiary to AT&T for $39 billion, but the U.S. Justice Department has filed suit to block the deal. T-Mobile USA said expenses related to the AT&T acquisition were $51 million in the third quarter, “primarily consisting of employee-related costs.”

T-Mobile USA’s quarterly revenues were $4.67 billion, down from $4.71 billion in the same quarter last year. Operating profits excluding certain costs were $1.45 billion, up from $1.32 billion a year ago.

More from GeekWire:

• How Carly screwed up AT&T's $39B T-Mobile acquisition
• Does Steve Jobs deserve to be Time's Person of the Year?
• Amazon Prime's new killer app: Kindle books by subscription

Follow Todd Bishop of GeekWire on Facebook and Twitter.

T-Mobile

Bobsled can be used on iOS devices like the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.

With T-Mobile's expanded and free "Bobsled" service, you can now make free calls to friends and family from most Web browsers, Android phones and from the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. (Yes, T-Mobile on an iPhone — at last — kind of.)

When T-Mobile launched Bobsled last spring, it was as a Facebook app that let Facebook users call each other for free on their computers.

The much-enhanced Bobsled lets you make calls to any mobile or landline number in the United States, Canada or Puerto Rico, and those you're calling do not need to have the Bobsled program. (Note: Bobsled does not work for emergency calls.)

"Earlier this year we brought voice to social networking with Bobsled for Facebook. Now we are expanding the capabilities of Bobsled, allowing users to easily communicate with friends from anywhere on the Web and even dial out for free to mobile and landline numbers,” said Brad Duea, senior vice president, T-Mobile USA, in a press release.

"Users can also now jump on Bobsled from Android phones and tablets as well as from Apple iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch. Bobsled allows users to be heard across borders, websites, carriers and platforms.”

Android users can download Bobsled from the Android Market; iOS users, from Apple's App Store.

In order to use Bobsled from your computer, you'll need Adobe Flash 10.0.2 or later. Here's the list of supported operating systems and Web browsers that will work with Bobsled:

Windows: Vista, Win7, XP
IE8, IE9 (only 32-bit browser version)
Chrome 10+
Firefox 3.6+

Mac OS X: 10.5+
Safari 5
Chrome 10+
Firefox 3.6+

T-Mobile is using Vivox's VoiceEverywhere program for Bobsled. To learn more about the program, and see it in action, visit the Bobsled website.

Related stories:

• AT&T debuts 5 new Android phones
• T-Mobile launches 2 new Android tabs
• T-Mobile launches two 'superphones' ... but no iPhone

Check out Technolog, Gadgetbox, Digital Life and In-Game on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.

T-Mobile

T-Mobile Springboard with Google

Something to put on the holiday lists this year, perhaps: Two new 4G Android 3.2 (Honeycomb) tablets from T-Mobile, the T-Mobile SpringBoard with Google and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. 

The 4G-capable T-Mobile SpringBoard has a 7-inch HD multi-touch display (convenient for taking around town) and is powered by a 1.2 GHz dual-core mobile processor. Meant to be attractive to the passive reader and viewer, it comes with an SD card slot that accommodates up to 32GB of expandable memory (for photos, music and movies, for example), support for Adobe Flash Player, a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera and video recorder with 720p for HD video capture as well as a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera.

It also has a bevy of pre-installed options geared toward making the most of using it as an on-the-go entertainment hub: access to thousands of movies and TV shows via Blockbuster on Demand, Netflix and T-Mobile TV. It can also be the go-to GPS unit for family vacations, with TeleNav GPS Navigator.

T-Mobile hasn't confirmed the price for it yet, but it is supposed to come in under $200.

T-Mobile

Samsung Galaxy 10.1 tablet. (Note the time that corresponds with the model!)

Also soon to be available from T-Mo is a 4G-capable Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, which weighs in at 1.2 pounds and has a 10.1-inch HD display. It comes loaded with pre-installed apps such as T-Mobile TV, Qello, Samsung Media Hub, Asphalt 6: Adrenaline HD demo, SIM City Deluxe demo, Blio eReader and Zini. (You can see our video review of the original Galaxy Tab 10.1 below.)

It's also powered by a 1 GHz dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor and has full Adobe Flash Player support.

Will these tempt you enough to overlook the Amazon Kindle Fires pre-selling at a rate of 2,000 per hour?

More stories:

• Kindle Fire may force Android tablet makers to cut prices
• Yes, Amazon's Kindle Fire is a $199 Android tablet
• Two Android tabs for under $200

Check out Technolog on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Athima Chansanchai, who is also trying to keep her head above water in the Google+ stream.

T-Mobile USA this morning showed off a new look that will be rolled out to nearly 400 of its stores. The dingy carpets and random layouts are going away in favor of a cleaner design with hardwood floors, new seating areas and magenta lighting accenting the walls.

It looks a bit like a sparser Apple store mixed with the feel of a Virgin America cabin. But in fact, the company says it’s modeled after a retail design used by its parent company, Deutsche Telekom, which has been well-received across Europe.

The move is notable in part because of T-Mobile’s pending $39 billion acquisition by AT&T, which the U.S. Justice Department is seeking to block. If the deal ultimately goes through, these locations could end up being restyled in blue relatively quickly.

T-Mobile piloted the new look at stores in New York City and Tukwila, south of Seattle.

Overall, the company says it has more than 2,000 company-owned retail locations and more than 700 branded partner locations across the country. In addition to the 400 stores getting the upscale makeover, the company plans more modest design improvements to another 300 stores. T-Mobile says it’s a multiyear program that will ultimately upgrade all of its stores to some extent.

More from GeekWire

• How Carly screwed up AT&T's $39B T-Mobile acquisition
• Exclusive pics: Amazon lockers surface on college campus
• T-Mobile to customers: The iPhone is great, but Apple won't let us sell it to you

GeekWire's Todd Bishop can be followed on Twitter and Facebook, when he isn't trying unsuccessfully to convince a T-Mobile clerk to sell him a Windows Phone.

T-Mobile

The HTC Radar 4G, T-Mobile's first Windows Phone capable of 4G speeds on its network, will be available in the U.S. in "time for the holidays," the carrier said Tuesday.

The phone will come with Mango, the latest version of Windows Phone software (7.5), which means it has app multitasking, more deeply integrated Facebook and Twitter, and can even be used as a Wi-Fi hotspot, among other features. (Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)

The sleek-looking Radar has an aluminum unibody design to house its 3.8-inch LCD touchscreen display with a resolution of 480-by-800. It runs on a 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, comes with 8 GB of internal memory and weighs 4.83 ounces.

The 5-megapixel camera has an LED flash and an F2.2 lens and BSI sensor, features which will offer "an experience beyond what you’d expect from a phone," says HTC on its site. Still, we would prefer one of the 8-megapixel cameras HTC and others are putting in the newest Android phones.

Speaking of those, T-Mobile announced a pair of other exciting phones in recent days, including the Samsung Galaxy S II and the HTC Amaze.

There's no word on pricing yet about the HTC Radar 4G, but it's likely to be set around $200 with a two-year contract. With its sleek look, and good — but not jumbo-sized — touchscreen, it looks like one to keep on your radar for the holiday season, especially if you're getting tired of the whole Android-vs.-iPhone thing.

Related stories:

• T-Mobile launches two 'superphones' ... but no iPhone
• AT&T-T-Mobile deal? Either way, customers lose
• Carriers' lofty claims of 4G speed put to the test
• T-Mobile doubles 4G network speeds

Check out Technolog, Gadgetbox, Digital Life and In-Game on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.

T-Mobile

When the Samsung Galaxy S II comes to T-Mobile in October, its 4.5-inch screen will be the largest in the T-Mobile smartphone lineup.

T-Mobile USA confirmed details on two upcoming super-powered Android phones, the Samsung Galaxy S II and the HTC Amaze, on Monday. At the same time, executives discussed the iPhone, and the fact that it's not going to come to the carrier this year. 

Chief Marketing Officer Cole Brodman shared the information with me by phone prior to his appearance at a mobile conference in San Francisco.

The $229.99 Samsung Galaxy S II, which we've discussed recently, is a super-slim phone with a huge screen — 4.5 inches, the largest on a T-Mobile phone — and a dual-core 1.5GHz processor for serious power. 

The second phone announced by T-Mobile is the $259.99 HTC Amaze, another dual-core "superphone" with an 8-megapixel camera. The key to the Amaze, though, is performance. There's better low-light performance, zero shutter lag, dual-LED flash and some interesting software enhancements.

The Amaze's "Smart Shot" feature takes the best shot — clear faces, no blinking — from five photos shot in sequence. And the "Perfect Pics" gallery organizes your shots by analyzing picture quality, presence of faces and even calendar dates, so it can emphasize birthdays and other special events.

Both phones will have NFC (near-field communications) for mobile payment when it becomes available to T-Mobile customers. The phones will be available Oct. 10 online, and in T-Mobile stores starting Oct. 12.

T-Mobile

The HTC Amaze, available Oct. 10 at T-Mobile for 259.99, has an 8-megapixel camera and many photographic tricks up its sleeve.

T-Mobile also announced the Sonic 4G mobile hotspot, a modem that provides Wi-Fi for up to five devices. It will be available sometime in October. The carrier did not announce its price.

The two phones and hotspot run at the highest current speeds available on the carrier's 4G network. Brodman says that current performance in internal testing revealed 8 megabits per second download speeds on average, with peaks up to 20 megabits, using the newest, fastest hardware.

Laptop Magazine recently rated T-Mobile second only to Verizon in a five-city 4G network test. However, though T-Mobile carrier did well, the average performance — using a handful of assorted 4G-marketed phones and modems — wasn't nearly as fast as the current claims.

When I spoke with Brodman, I asked about his alleged comments regarding the lack of an iPhone this year. He acknowledged the comments, saying that it was supposed to be an "internal discussion."

"Essentially, the iPhone 5 is a great device," he said, though it was not clear whether he had seen the phone, or has confirmation of its existence. "iPhones have been good devices. We'd love to have it. Apple knows our interest in the iPhone. The ball is in Apple's court."

Brodman went on to confirm a figure that has been mentioned before: "There are over 1 million iPhones active on our network today." These would be "unlocked" out-of-contract iPhones sold new or used on eBay and elsewhere, that can access T-Mobile's basic telephony and slower data rates with a SIM card from the carrier, but can't access the higher data speeds or the carrier-dependent functionality, such as the "visual voicemail" interface.

Meanwhile, T-Mobile USA marketing executive Andrew Sherrard told Reuters, quite bluntly, "We think the iPhone's great but we're not going to get it."

On our call, Brodman didn't discuss any new details of the troubled AT&T-T-Mobile merger proposal, though he did say, "We believe the merger is good for our customers. We remain confident that the deal will eventually get closed." On the other hand, "If the deal doesn't close, we've got the best network we've ever had."

More on T-Mobile from msnbc.com:

• No iPhone 5 for T-Mobile this year?
• Samsung Galaxy S II comes to US, Sprint first
• Carriers' lofty claims of 4G speed put to the test
• AT&T-T-Mobile deal? Either way, customers lose

Catch up with Wilson on Twitter at @wjrothman, or on Google+. And join our conversation on Facebook.

Come Oct. 2, people who use Sprint 3G or 4G smartphones as Wi-Fi hotspots for their computers will hit a monthly limit of 5 gigabytes. Even customers who currently have unlimited Mobile Hotspot plans will be migrated over, following a notice in their bill notice or a separately mailed postcard.

To be clear, this change doesn't affect the unlimited data used on the phone — it only affects people who use their phone to provide Internet access to other devices, like laptops and tablets. Still, Sprint has made a name for itself by having unlimited data plans — and for slamming competitors who did. 

The $30-per-month plan is still competitive. AT&T has a $20 add-on that tops users off at a total of 4GB of data. (You still have to have a $25 2GB data plan to start with.) However, when you use up your 4GB on AT&T, you have to pay overage charges on your phone too. Verizon Wireless has a similar plan, totaling 4GB, for $50 per month. Meanwhile, T-Mobile charges $14.99 per month to turn your phone into a modem, and doesn't charge overage fees if you exceed your plans limit. The speed just drops once you've used up your gigabytes.

Sprint confirmed the plan change news following a leaked memo that appeared on the SprintFeed blog. Here's Sprint's own statement, which we received from the company via email:

Sprint continues to offer unlimited data for phones in its Everything Data and Simply Everything plans. Mobile Hotspot data usage is calculated independent of a customer's phone data usage. The mobile hotspot functionality on a phone enables other Wi-Fi enabled devices to connect to the Sprint network. Effective Oct. 2, Sprint is changing the optional $29.99 Mobile Hotspot add-on for phones. The new add-on has a monthly 5GB on-network data allowance for 3G or combined 3G/4G usage.

What's the takeaway? Unlimited data is a pipe dream, a concept that can't possibly sustain as America's hunger for cellular data exponentially grows. Even the carrier that preaches the gospel of unlimited can't keep this up for much longer.

More on Sprint and smartphones from msnbc.com:

• Samsung Galaxy S II comes to US, Sprint first
• Sprint to start selling iPhone 5 mid-October: report
• Sprint's $10 smart phone fee: How it affects you
• Nielsen: Majority of US cellphone purchases are smartphones

Catch up with Wilson on Twitter at @wjrothman, or on Google+. And join our conversation on Facebook.

Cole Brodman, chief marketing officer of T-Mobile USA, is quoted as saying, "We are not going to get the iPhone 5 this year," according to a leaked corporate town hall report dated Sept. 15 that was shared with TmoNews.

We are in touch with T-Mobile's PR, and await verification of the quote, but at this point it sounds plausible. Sprint iPhone rumors have been reaching peaks of late, but there haven't been any commensurate T-Mobile rumors, so observers were beginning to wonder about the chances of an iPhone on T-Mobile. At this point, the safe call is that there will be a new iPhone within weeks on AT&T, Verizon and Sprint ... but not T-Mo.

Over on TmoNews, there's debate over what "this year" means — perhaps there will be an early spring launch like there was with the Verizon iPhone 4. Also, since the quote says "iPhone 5," perhaps there's hope for the cheaper iPhone on T-Mobile. That's probably wishful thinking, but worth pointing out.

Regardless, if the three larger carriers get an iPhone and T-Mobile remains out in the cold, it will be another blow to a carrier that is not having a great year: If they don't merge with AT&T — a move which is being challenged legally and would easily turn off many customers — they may continue to waste away. And it's sad for the many people who believe the only thing better than an iPhone would be an iPhone on a discounted T-Mobile plan.

We'll let you know if we hear anything from T-Mobile, but the wording is pretty clear. If they can't deny it flat out, it's probably true.

UPDATE: We just received T-Mobile's statement, which as you can see in no way denies Brodman's alleged quote.

We don’t comment on rumors. We remain focused on expanding our portfolio of 4G smartphones. We look forward to sharing on Monday news about our latest and greatest product lineup.

More on the iPhone 5 and T-Mobile:

• iPhone 5 arriving by mid-October, say sources
• Sprint to start selling iPhone 5 mid-October: report
• AT&T-T-Mobile deal? Either way, customers lose
• iPhone rumors: What to expect this October
• AT&T fights back at U.S. challenge of T-Mobile deal

Catch up with Wilson on Twitter at @wjrothman, or on Google+. And join our conversation on Facebook.

The Department of Justice is trying to put the kibosh on AT&T's proposed buy-out of T-Mobile, saying it would result in "higher prices, fewer choices and lower quality products for mobile wireless services."

While this is true, it's just as likely that the damage is already done. Why would a phone shopper commit to a two-year contract with a troubled carrier, whose parent company shows little interest in improving? Either outcome seems equally dismal, at least in the near term, from the user perspective.

T-Mobile is a decent fourth-place carrier, with excellent pricing and a higher speed 4G network that has held its own against the larger carriers. Subscribers who live in big cities, where T-Mobile's coverage is concentrated, experience satisfactory performance and are fairly positive on customer service.

On the flipside, AT&T has well-known performance problems, from notoriously persistent iPhone call drops to a so-called "4G" network that in many markets shows no speed advantage over the 3G network, despite promotion suggesting the contrary.

The merger was supposed to layer T-Mobile's network on top of AT&T's compatible, larger, but not-quite-so-organized one. I'm no network engineer, but it seems like reasonable proposal to bring desperately needed improvements to AT&T's massive audience. Still ...

If AT&T gets permission to buy T-Mobile:

• There's a good chance we lose the great discount pricing that makes T-Mobile stand out.
• There's no guarantee of any kind of network performance boost in the immediate future.
• The merger could trigger a counter-merger, where Verizon Wireless tries to swallow Sprint whole, reducing the number of serious national carriers to just two.

The government's fears are reasonable, not only because of the immediate reduction of choices, but the potentially more hazardous long-term outlook. Still, the damage may already be done. Who wants to be a T-Mobile subscriber now?

If AT&T's purchase of T-Mobile gets blocked:

• Subscribers will continue to feel uncertainty about signing on with T-Mobile.
• T-Mobile's network upgrades may be less frequent, as its corporate parent, Deutsche Telekom, grows tired of pouring money into it.
• The discounted pricing that gives T-Mobile cachet may not sustain — fellow discount-friendly carrier Sprint was forced to raise its smartphone plan pricing to stay afloat.
• AT&T's network may continue to experience technical difficulties, and its 4G strategy may continue to stall.

Besides competitive pricing, T-Mobile's biggest boon is its huge selection of great Android phones. To top that, there's even a chance that the next iPhone will turn up in its stores. But even this wouldn't be a coup: The carrier would get it along with Sprint, Verizon and longtime iPhone seller AT&T.

There are murmurs that T-Mobile could merge with Sprint instead. Subscriber-wise, third and fourth place could combine to form a nice-sized third contender. However, the technologies of the two companies are wildly different, and Sprint still suffers for having acquired the incompatible Nextel. (There's also talk that Sprint might join with Metro PCS, which makes a tad more sense.)

Regardless of whether this deal goes through, the customer may have already lost.

More on AT&T and T-Mobile from msnbc.com:

• US seeks to block AT&T, T-Mobile deal
• Carriers' lofty claims of 4G speed put to the test
• AT&T texting plan: $20, not $10, for new customers
• AT&T to buy T-Mobile from Deutsche Telekom

Catch up with Wilson on Twitter at @wjrothman, or on Google+. And join our conversation on Facebook.

Samsung

The Samsung Galaxy S family of phones have wowed Android phone shoppers with vibrant Super AMOLED screens, fast processors and impressive battery life. The second wave, not so cleverly called Galaxy S II, gets a bigger screen, 8-megapixel camera and more powerful processor while remaining surprisingly skinny. It launched overseas in April, and is finally making its way to America.

On Sept. 16, Sprint gets it, in the form of the $200 Samsung Epic 4G Touch. AT&T and T-Mobile will also be getting it, sometime later in the year. There is no mention of Verizon getting the Galaxy S II, though it does currently have several original Galaxy S phones in its lineup.

As its name suggests, the Sprint Epic 4G Touch will run on Sprint's 4G network. The phone will have a massive 4.52-inch screen, while maintaining a thickness of 0.38 inches, almost identical to Apple's iPhone 4 (which measures 0.37 inches).

T-Mobile's model, referred to as the Galaxy S II, has similar specs, and will run on the carrier's 4G network. (Sprint and T-Mobile 4G are different technologies, and which is faster actually depends, for the time being, on the market. Here's a 4G test to give you an idea of performance.)

AT&T, also sticking with the franchise name Galaxy S II, has a slightly smaller screen, at 4.3 inches, but that decrease corresponds with a benefit: At 0.35 inches in thickness, the AT&T phone will be skinnier than the iPhone 4. It will have HDMI output and run on AT&T's 4G network, which operates using technology similar to T-Mobile's.

Neither T-Mobile nor AT&T has yet announced pricing or ship date.

The Galaxy S II platform as a whole features not only the larger screen and skinny body, but a 1.2GHz dual-core processor (compared with the 1GHz single-core processor found on most but not all earlier Galaxy models). Its 8-megapixel camera is up from 5 megapixels, and shoots 1080p high-def video. It will ship, at this time, with Android 2.3 Gingerbread, the newest Android operating system release for smartphones. (A newer version, called Ice Cream Sandwich, is set to debut this fall, but it is not clear at the moment how upgradeable the phones will be.)

Though there are many hot Android models to choose from, the obvious question is how this stacks up with the iPhone 4. As I mentioned, it's about the same thickness, but the screen is soooo much bigger. Rumor has it that Apple's next iPhone will have a 4-inch screen, but if you are really going for square inches, that 4.5-inch Galaxy S II screen still has it beat. That said, at 800x480, the Galaxy screen resolution still doesn't measure up to Apple's gorgeous 960x640 "Retina" display.

While Apple needs to catch up in the processor department and the camera department, a hot dual-core chip and an 8-megapixel camera are both also rumored. Some Galaxy S II models will have HDMI output, which is also among the wished-for features in the next iPhone. Given the iPad's support of iPad (by way of an adapter), it's a possibility.

Besides the 4G network capability, which odds are against Apple supporting this year, the Galaxy has an additional perk edge in the form of expandable internal memory — using MicroSD cards, you can add up to 32GB of storage.

Bonus: Gadgetbox Video includes our first look at the new Galaxy S II phone:

More on the smartphone battle — and Samsung's prominent place in it:

• Samsung to combat Apple with cheaper smartphones
• Apple now No. 1 smartphone vendor by volume (but Samsung close behind)
• Samsung launches Galaxy S sequel
• Carriers' lofty claims of 4G speed put to the test

Catch up with Wilson on Twitter at @wjrothman or on the shiny new Google+ network, and join our conversation on Facebook.

Internet Archive

Sixteen shades of gray! 2001 brochure for the Hiptop, which became the T-Mobile Sidekick.

One of the landmark devices of the mobile revolution, the T-Mobile Sidekick, will reach a milestone this week with the shutdown of the online service that has powered the iconic gadget for much of the past decade.

Users of Sidekicks released before this year will still be able to make calls and send text messages after Tuesday, but they will be left without the online engine that serves up contacts, photos, calendar entries, and other data-driven features. Anyone still clinging to those relics will experience a dramatic reduction in functionality. Without access to the contacts, for example, users of old Sidekicks will need to dial manually. 

T-Mobile USA

The Sidekick LX

T-Mobile has already launched a new Sidekick using Google's Android mobile operating system, and the company has been prodding existing Sidekick users to upgrade to new devices and migrate their data. (Tip for existing Sidekick users who haven't yet done this: Log in at my.t-mobile.com to access the export tool. See this post on the unofficial TmoNews blog for more details.)

Why is this happening? Behind the scenes, T-Mobile is shifting away from servers operated by Danger Inc., the startup-turned-Microsoft-subsidiary that originally came up with the concept for the Sidekick a decade ago under the brand Hiptop. (Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft Corp. and NBC Universal.)

It's the end of an era for a product that opened many eyes to one of fundamental advances of our time — the concept that a phone, connected to the Internet, can be a lot more than a phone.

The Sidekick saga is worthy of a novel. Danger's platform was conceived by technology pioneers, embraced by celebrities, targeted by hackers and ultimately acquired by Microsoft before suffering a fall from grace in the form of a high-profile server meltdown. 

Its rebirth on Android brings the Sidekick home to Andy Rubin, the Danger co-founder who also co-founded Android and now oversees Android development at Google. But the proposed purchase of T-Mobile USA by AT&T for $39 billion leaves the Sidekick’s future as uncertain as ever.

It's an important story that sheds light on some of the most significant technology trends of the past decade — the rise of the smartphone and cloud computing, growing public awareness of privacy concerns, and the risks and rewards of our increasingly mobile lives.

See GeekWire for an extended look back at the Sidekick, starting with Rubin and his fellow Danger founders explaining how the idea was born.

Todd Bishop of GeekWire can be followed on Twitter and Facebook.

St. Bartholomew the Great in London served as a backdrop for "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves," and yet it's a T-Mobile commercial spoofing England's royal wedding that an anonymous senior cleric finds "embarrassing." So much so he wants "to sweeten the taste in the mouth" by pressuring the church into donating the £3,500 ($5700) earned to a charity associated with Prince William and his bride, Kate Middleton.

No way is that happening, according to shameless rector Rev. Dr. Martin Dudley, who says that money goes directly into the medieval church's £500,000 ($810,000) annual upkeep. What's more, he fails to see the big deal.

It was "part of the celebration of the wedding," Dr. Dudley said, defending the T-Mobile ad in the London Evening Standard. "It was not a stuffy wedding and this generated a lot of interest."

The very successful marketing campaign features a crew of royal family look-alikes (alas, no Pippa!),  boogieing down the aisle like the infinitely copied "JK Wedding Entrance Dance" of YouTube 2009. More than 24 million YouTube views seems to indicate viewers don't have a problem with it — or are so horrified they can't look away and/or insist on sharing the nightmare. It's probably more of the former.

The church has been used as a set for "Four Weddings And A Funeral," "The Apprentice," and "The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen," a resume which reveals that one complaining anonymous senior cleric picked a pretty dumb battle.   

More on the annoying way we live now:

• Facebook: Cthulhu hat a bold choice for royal wedding
• Royal wedding's 'Frowning Flower Girl' rules Internet
• Kate Middleton kicked off Facebook ... again!

Helen A.S. Popkin will take a T-Mobile marketing campaign over yet another Hipster's viral wedding proposal any day. Join her for tea on Twitter and Facebook, won't you?