Talks about Verizon having plans to buy out Vodafone’s 45 percent share of Verizon Wireless are not new, but it might happen sometime in the near future, at least according to Reuters. Verizon is said to be preparing a $100 billion cash and stock bid to take full control of the biggest US wireless carrier.

Apparently, Verizon, which owns 55 percent of Big Red, has hired bank and legal advisers to prepare the bid and the matter is expected to be discussed by Verizon’s board in the coming week before their annual shareholder meeting. They are hoping to end up in a friendly deal, but if Vodafone is not interested in an agreement, Verizon could take a bid public.

As for the $100 billion, Verizon is planning to raise $50 billion in bank financing and come up with the rest with its own shares.

So far there hasn’t been any confirmation from Verizon, and Vodafone has declined to comment. But that big amount probably won’t be enough for buying out Vodafone’s stake in Verizon Wireless, which is the most profitable part of Verizon. And Verizon saw almost $2 billion in profit in Q1 2013.

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When asked whether they too would consider getting rid of two-year contracts, Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam said it was something on the table and that it would be “pretty easy” to change their current model to accommodate the new system. This doesn’t mean that Verizon is going to be dropping its contracts any time soon; it just means that they’re open to the idea. And that’s really just the safest PR answer the CEO could give. After all, it’s better to say you’re open to it and never do it than to say you’re against it and then do it anyway.

Realistically, the T-Mobile “UNcarrier” approach is still like a contract, but without the traditional contract. You’re simply paying for the phone in installments over the course of a 24-month period, so you’re still tied to Old Magenta as long as you still owe money on the phone. Of course, you could just buy those phones outright. Up here in Canada, several carriers offer a “tab” system that works in a similar way, except you’re not really paying installments; rather you are given a “free” credit with each monthly bill you pay. Again, it’s like a contract, but not really.

If you were in the position of Verizon, Sprint or AT&T, how would you handle the situation? Would it just be business as usual with the 24-month service agreements or would you propose something different like what T-Mobile has done?

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You don’t have to wait until Black Friday to get the best deal on a new smartphone. In fact, you can get the DROID RAZR MAXX 4G for just $50, which is a significant savings from the regular price of $749.00.

Not surprisingly, the RAZR MAXX 4G can only be had for the $49.99 asking price if you sign up for a qualifying two-year service agreement with Verizon Wireless. As far as specs, you get a 4.3-inch AMOLED display, 4G LTE capabilities, dual core 1.2GHz processor, and a massive 3300mAh battery that they say will provide up to 21 hours of talk time and up to 380 hours of standby.

Other key features include the 8MP camera with 1080p video, Bluetooth stereo music, 16GB storage, microSD expansion slot, front-facing camera, GPS, and MOTOPRINT for wireless printing to any postscript printer via Wi-Fi. And yes, it’s compatible with the Lapdock 100 for a 10.1-inch netbook-esque experience too, but that’s an optional additional purchase.

You can get the Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX 4G on Amazon for $49.99. If you want to go a little bigger, they also have the Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX HD for $199.99 on contract, giving you a 4.7-inch 720p display and Android 4.0 ICS.

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And that’s why the “starter mode” on the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Stellar isn’t such a bad idea. It’s not exactly clear how they’re going to do this, but the presumed idea is that they’re going to make the smartphone easier to use for average folks. Maybe you can think of it as a stepping stone for people graduating from “dumbphones” or “feature phones.” There’s likely a reconfigured home screen for the most commonly used features and apps, for example. The leaked doc also points toward “on-device help,” which may help users get past issues without having to call into technical support.

As far as the rest of the features go, we’re not so sure either. There’s an indication that it’ll have 4G LTE and that the Galaxy Stellar will let you “shop” and “stay entertained with Amazon apps.” The “compact design” is a departure from the current trend toward increasingly large touchscreens too. In any case, you can expect to pay $99.99 on a qualifying two-year agreement when the Android-powered Samsung Galaxy Stellar launches. The full retail price is $499.99.

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We figured that the next iPhone would be released some time in the fall, and then it looked like we narrowed it down to September. Now, there is further evidence that the iPhone 5 release date will be September, thanks to an employee announcement from Verizon Wireless. You see, they blacked out vacation requests for the period covering September 21 to September 30.

Normally, the reason why they would black out vacation requests is that they expect that period of time to be particularly busy. It’s not out of the ordinary to see blackout periods for Black Friday or for during the Christmas shopping season. So, why would they black out a little over a week toward the end of September? It has to be the new iPhone, right?

All staff at all of Verizon’s retail stores have been banned from taking vacation from September 21 to September 30, calling for “all hands on deck” during that time. Naturally, Verizon wants to make sure that their stores are suitably staffed for the onslaught of iFans wanting to get their hands on the newest iPhone. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if AT&T has launched similar efforts for the same time.

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The post Verizon Blackout Points Towards a Sept. 21 iPhone 5 Release Date appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

If you are a Windows Phone fan, odds are you don’t use Verizon Wireless as your carrier. If you do, you likely have an out-of-date WP device that is over a year old- since that’s the last time VW and Microsoft worked together to produce Windows Phone devices.

Verizon hasn’t been very receptive of Microsoft ever since the huge failure that was the Microsoft Kin, not to mention that even Verizon’s WP efforts have proven to be less than profitable. Good news for those that like Windows, Verizon Wireless might be giving the boys at Redmond another chance with Windows Phone 8. The newest version of Windows Phone has ditched the traditional Windows Mobile (Win CE) core in favor of the same core as Windows 7 and 8, alongside many other improvements that might make it worth the risk for Verizon.

It is believed that Verizon’s first WP8 device will be a Nokia phone of some sort. There is no clear information about when it is coming, though it is more than likely that Verizon will jump aboard with a near-Holiday release, right around the time WP8 and Windows 8 arrive to the market.

Any Verizon users out there that are stuck on older WP7 devices? Glad to hear the news?

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Despite more recent offerings like the HTC One X and the Galaxy S III, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus 4G is still easily one of the best Android smartphones out there. And you can get one for just a penny.

That’s the big markdown happening over at Amazon Wireless where they’ve slashed the price of this “pure Google experience” smartphone down to a price that is virtually free. Remember that, as a Nexus device, this phone will be first in line when it comes to Android updates, letting upgrading to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. This is the Verizon Wireless version, complete with 4G LTE connectivity to go along with wireless-N, the 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED screen, and dual core 1.2GHz processor.

To take advantage of this crazy price, you will need to sign up for a new contract or a contract extension with Verizon Wireless, but that knocks the list price down from $799.99 down to just that single penny. This is probably an indication that the next Nexus device is right around the corner, but you really can’t go wrong with the Galaxy Nexus 4G for $0.01, including free two-day shipping.

The post Samsung Galaxy Nexus 4G LTE for Verizon on Sale for $0.01 appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

While Verizon chalked up its three data outages in December to “growing pains,” we have to think that Big Red has beefed up the infrastructure in the last couple months to prevent that from happening again. But it has. Reports of Verizon 4G LTE outages are coming in from Indianapolis, Milwaukee, and Phoenix, as well as certain areas in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The good news is that you’re not dead to the world if you happen to be rocking a 4G superphone from Verizon. That’s because the regular 3G data, voice and text services are “operating reliably.” At least, that’s how it’s supposed to be, but some customers are reporting problems connecting to the 3G network too. And to think that some people switched from AT&T because they thought VZW would be more reliable.

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Verizon Wireless at CES had Golden-i on display. The rugged headset is aimed to public safety and field work applications where visual data can be fed to the wearer. This is not so far away from Terminator T-800 facial scanning and recognition technology we saw in the sci-fi flick from 1984. Information like missing children, floor plans of the building, and remote surveillance camera feeds are just some of the examples of the data that could be attained when in use in field.

The display sits in front of your right eye, it’s easy to read, sound is clear and audible even in CES. Navigation was done by voice command, like bringing up the home screen or launching apps. Noise cancellation microphones are heavily used otherwise it would have difficulty in its surrounding environment. The device will run on Verizon’s LTE network since the bandwidth to send this video will be quite vast. It supports Bluetooth, runs a TI OMAP processor and is essentially a full computer running Windows CE 6.

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In areas with Verizon Wireless LTE service, the Sleek 4G-V is aimed to give you a strong LTE signal, as well as conventional 3G or 2G signals. Benefits include fewer dropped connections and no-service “dead zones,” faster data transfer rates and improved battery life for wireless devices.

The Sleek 4G-V is on display at the Wilson Electronics booth #35219 in the Las Vegas Convention Center, South Hall, level 2, through Jan. 13.

The $149.95 4G booster will be available in the second quarter of 2012. It links up with Verizon Wireless’ 700 MHz LTE, as well as all carriers’ 3G and 2G cellular signals on 800 MHz and 1900 MHz frequency bands.  It provides up to 20 times amplification of an ordinary cell phone signal, device is also designed for use in a vehicle, and can be used indoors with the purchase of an optional accessory kit. That makes it perfect for boosting signal to 4G wireless hotspots like the Verizon JetPack 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot MiFi 4510L.

I’m not on Verizon, I didn’t experience any of its outages. But as long as it boosts 2G/3G signals, too, it might be a good gadget for me, too.

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