A behind-the-scenes look at iPhone 3G S devices being packaged for shipment at an AT&T Distribution Center in Ft. Worth, Texas.

AT&T will make multimedia messaging (MMS) available at no extra cost to customers with a text messaging bundle, according to the latest FAQ.

AT&T also reiterates that it will offer tethering capability for iPhone 3G S and iPhone 3G which is expected later in the summer.

Read More [via 9to5Mac]

AT&T has just launched a new service called FamilyMap. FamilyMap lets you locate each device within seconds. You can locate each device from your PC, or even your phone. The service actually uses A-GPS for accurate results, and if your phone does not support A-GPS, it uses Triangulation, which is less accurate than A-GPS. You can even set up a Schedule Check to automatically get location information sent to you via text message or email.

AT&T FamilyMap runs at $9.99 for two phones, and $14.99 for five phones.

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Starting March 26th AT&T is going to offer the 8GB and 16GB iPhone 3Gs with no contract, according to a BoyGeniusReport.

The phones will cost $599 and $699 respectively and do not require activation/unbrick at the point of purchase. AT&T will try to enforce a limit of “one per line” but their presentation also says that they basically have no way of tracking this.

An activation fee will be charged by AT&T and a standard 30 day return policy applies.

You can read more information in the presentation below…

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AT&T users may have noticed a new Carrier Settings update in iTunes today. What are Carrier Settings Updates?

From Apple’s Knowledge Base

iTunes 7.7 and later has the ability to update the carrier specific settings on iPhone with iPhone 2.0 software or later. Carrier settings updates are small files (about 10k) that are downloaded from iTunes to be installed on your iPhone. The carrier settings can include updates to the default APN (how iPhone accesses the carrier’s cellular data network), special dialing codes at Settings > Phone > [Carrier] Services, default settings for Stocks, Maps, Weather, and other items.

So what is in the update? After extracting the .ipcc file, we saw two new images. Both for AT&T’s upcoming 3G MicroCell we wrote about here. The images will most likely be used to indicate if you are on the 3G MicroCell “Network.”

(The other image is a grayed out version of this)

AT&T’s 3G MicroCell might be coming sooner than we think.

AT&T has recently begun surveying some of its longer-term iPhone buyers asking what features they would most like to see added to the Apple handset.

The survey chiefly touches on post-purchase satisfaction with both Apple and AT&T and is described by AppleInsider readers as a follow-up to a similar survey from a few months ago, or shortly after the iPhone 3G launch.

It’s also said to be gauging reactions to iPhone firmware 2.1 and whether or not the update improved the phone’s features.

A single page of the survey, however, is committed just to judging which features customers would most likely to see added to the iPhone in the future. The questionnaire asks owners to pick the top five hardware or software add-ons they’d like to see and include many of the most prominent requests made in the community, including cutting and pasting text, built-in instant messaging, Flash/Java support and MMS messaging.

A handful of the items have already been partly or completely addressed. Users can already search contacts, for example, while it’s also possible to download ringtones from iTunes on a computer but not the iPhone itself.

Readers shouldn’t necessarily interpret this as a sign of Apple’s future direction with its multi-touch device; companies regularly poll their customers to determine the level of demand for particular features.

Apple has previously said, however, that it’s continually looking to add new features to the iPhone’s software and that it was a question of priority and that copy-and-paste, directional GPS, and other features have been put on the backburner in the past to address other components first or due to complications.

During the summer, some of Apple’s iPhone 2.1 beta seeds included directional positioning but didn’t expose the feature in the final build, which instead focused on resolving bugs.

As such, it’s difficult to tell which if any of the features in the AT&T survey will translate to actual improvements in the near future.

via. AppleInsider

Not surprisingly for AT&T, the iPhone 3G is a strong part of their quarterly earnings report. Off the top they added two million net subscribers, ballooning to nearly 75 million total, and it looks like the iPhone 3G played a solid part in landing them. Of the 2.4 million iPhone 3Gs activated last quarter, 40 percent were to new AT&T customers (which doing the math, shows that nearly two-thirds of iPhones are sold outside of the US now). Interestingly, selling so many and subsidizing them so hard actually cost AT&T $900 million this quarter. Oh, and AT&T is still the financial size of a small country: They spent $25.7 billion to make $5.6 billion. [AT&T]

via. Gizmodo

In their earnings call this morning, AT&T confirmed that the BlackBerry Bold will be available in stores on Tuesday, November 4. Whatever delays were holding things up have apparently been resolved, as was hinted last week by some AT&T network-specific detailsbeginning to pop up on unlocked phones. Price is $299, which includes a mail-in rebate and a two-year contract. Full release details after the jump.

AT&T CUSTOMERS TO ENTER A ?BOLD? NEW WIRELESS WORLD

Breakthrough BlackBerry Smartphone Is Coming to Nation?s Fastest
3G Network; Arrives in Stores Nov. 4

DALLAS, Texas, and WATERLOO, Ontario, Oct. 22, 2008 ? AT&T customers will be entering a bold new wireless world with the launch of the BlackBerry? BoldTM, a breakthrough 3G BlackBerry? smartphone that operates on the nation?s fastest 3G network and is the first to support HSDPA networks around the world, including in Japan and Korea. AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) and Research In Motion (Nasdaq:RIMM; TSX:RIM) announced today that the highly anticipated BlackBerry Bold smartphone will be available in the United States for as low as $299.991 on Tuesday, Nov. 4, in AT&T retail stores nationwide, through www.att.com and select national retailers, as well as through AT&T?s business-to-business sales teams.

The BlackBerry Bold smartphone, which is being introduced in the United States only for AT&T customers, can be used in the most countries abroad, including more than 60 with 3G networks. AT&T is the world?s leading provider of BlackBerry services.

Bold Design

The BlackBerry Bold smartphone?s design and performance live up to its name. The elegant smartphone features a lustrous black exterior, satin chrome-finished frame and stylish, leatherette backplate with a stunning half-VGA (480 x 320 at 217 ppi) color display for eye-popping visuals and a newly designed full QWERTY keyboard for exceptionally fast and easy typing. On the inside, the BlackBerry Bold features built-in GPS and Wi-Fi?, a powerful new
624 MHz mobile processor that provides impressive performance, more storage memory than

ever before ? 1 GB on board and up to 16 GB via its microSD/SDHC expansion slot ? and a rich set of multimedia capabilities, including an advanced media player for music, videos and photos and a 2 megapixel camera with built-in flash, zoom and video recording, as well as an optimized Web-browsing experience with desktop-style depiction.

?The BlackBerry Bold is the best BlackBerry smartphone ever, backed by the nation?s fastest 3G network and the hands-down best international coverage of any carrier,? said Ralph de la Vega, president and chief executive officer of AT&T Mobility. ?The BlackBerry Bold is the complete package, providing customers with an absolutely outstanding mobile experience whether doing e-mail, browsing the Web, viewing streaming video or simply making a phone call. And it is being introduced in the U.S. only from AT&T.?

Mike Lazaridis, president and co-CEO at Research In Motion, said: ?The development of the BlackBerry Bold smartphone was an ambitious undertaking, and we focused intensely on the things that are most important to mobile customers when developing this best-in-class smartphone for HSDPA networks around the world. The BlackBerry Bold exudes quality in everything from its stunning display sharpness and incredible keyboard to its premium phone performance and sophisticated software applications. It provides an extraordinary mobile communications and multimedia experience, and we are very proud to introduce this breakthrough smartphone in the United States together with AT&T.?

AT&T Services

In addition to the renowned BlackBerry productivity applications ? including phone, e-mail, messaging, organizer and browser ? the BlackBerry Bold from AT&T will boast such AT&T services as:

? Simultaneous Voice and Data Capabilities ? When connected to AT&T’s 3G network, customers can conduct a phone conversation and at the same time check e-mail, browse the Web or use another data application, including when tethered to a notebook computer.

? AT&T Navigator Global Edition ? Powered by TeleNav, the only GPS-based service available from a U.S. wireless carrier to provide international navigation capabilities. AT&T customers can get spoken or text-based turn-by-turn directions with automatic missed turn rerouting and a local business finder service in 20 countries.

? Seamless Wi-Fi ? Allows AT&T customers who turn on the BlackBerry Bold smartphone?s Wi-Fi feature ? 802.11 a/b/g ? to connect automatically to home or campus networks. AT&T customers also will be able to access more than 17,000 AT&T hot spots nationwide, including nearly 7,000 participating Starbucks locations plus thousands more restaurants, airports, hotels and other convenient locations across the U.S.

? CV ? CV (Cellular Video) from AT&T gives viewers access to thousands of video clips ? news, sports, weather, entertainment and more ? directly on a BlackBerry Bold smartphone via streaming video.

? AT&T Mobile Music Services ? An industry leader in mobile music, AT&T boasts the largest catalog of offerings available today, giving customers mobile access to enjoy XM Radio Mobile?, song identification through MusicID, music videos through MobiTV and over-the-air access to the extensive music databases of Napster Mobile? and eMusic? ? just to name a few.

AT&T Navigator, CV, AT&T Mobile Music services and more than 90,000 additional choices are available through AT&T MEdia Mall directly from the BlackBerry Bold or online.

E-mail and More

Like all BlackBerry smartphones, the BlackBerry Bold gives users the industry?s leading mobile messaging solution. It works with BlackBerry? Enterprise Server, which enables advanced security and IT administration within IBM? Lotus? Domino?, Microsoft? Exchange and Novel? GroupWise? environments, as well as BlackBerry? Professional Software for small businesses. It also works with BlackBerry? Internet Service, which gives users push-based access to as many as 10 supported work or personal e-mail accounts. Customers can also download and edit Microsoft? Word, Excel and PowerPoint files using the preloaded DataViz? Documents to Go? software suite. Beyond e-mail, the BlackBerry Bold will support a wide range of business and lifestyle applications.

The BlackBerry Bold smartphone includes Bluetooth? 2.0, which provides support for hands-free headsets, stereo headsets, car kits and other Bluetooth peripherals. The included BlackBerry? Desktop Manager software comes with Roxio? Media Manager for BlackBerry, which includes new features that make it easier to organize multimedia content as well as manage music, videos and recorded Voice Notes between a computer and the smartphone. It also optimizes video files for smooth full-screen playback on the BlackBerry Bold smartphone’s large display with support for full-screen and widescreen formats.

Roxio Photosuite 9 LE is included, allowing customers to easily enhance pictures and create photo albums on their computer. In addition, the new BlackBerry? Media Sync application allows customers to sync their iTunes? digital musical collections2 with the handset. The BlackBerry Bold also boasts a new acoustic design for enhanced phone listening quality and clarity and numerous premium phone features, including Speaker Independent Voice Recognition (SIVR) for Voice Activated Dialing (VAD).

AT&T Backed

Backing the BlackBerry Bold smartphone will be AT&T?s 3G BroadbandConnect network, which currently is available in more than 320 major metropolitan areas in the U.S. and, by year-end, AT&T expects to offer the service in nearly 350 leading U.S. markets. In addition to 3G connectivity, the BlackBerry Bold is also designed to connect seamlessly with AT&T?s nationwide3 EDGE network, which is available in more than 13,000 cities and towns and along some 40,000 miles of major highways.

via. Gizmodo