AT&T News

AT&T today said its customers can make free calls and text messages to Japan through March, in response to the devastation from the earthquake and tsunami last week.

Sprint is looking to buy T-Mobile, and reconcile with Clearwire, in a move that could result in just three major carriers in the U.S. Meanwhile, Apple released the iPad 2, while the devastation in Japan could mean parts shortages for the tech industry.

Apple fans lined up early on Friday to wait for the launch of the thinner, lighter iPad 2.

AT&T's iPhone is slightly faster that Verizon's iPhone, according to research firm Metrico, churning the debate as to which Apple device is the better one.

Apple's iPad 2 launch stole the headlines this week, escalating the heated battle between AT&T and Verizon for new customers. Meanwhile, Microsoft and Google are all handling missteps that could prove costly for their futures.

AT&T today confirmed that iPhone 4 owners will soon receive hotspot functionality, in a move to match the offering from rival Verizon, as both carriers sell essentially identical Apple products.

AT&T hasn't suffered a large drop in customers, despite losing exclusivity on the Apple iPhone in February to Verizon, according to a company executive.

Location-based ads are starting to be pushed onto phones, offering a new way for advertisers to target customers.

Web-connected devices like e-readers and tablets will help grow the U.S. mobile data market by 22 percent to $67 billion by the end of 2011, according to research firm Chetan Sharma.

AT&T has launched a location-based marketing service that texts special offers to select users, a move that marks a U.S. carrier's first foray into the fledgling mobile coupon business.

Apple is planning to introduce the new iPad 2 next week, while researchers unveil new technologies in mobile health and competition in wireless payment systems heat up.

PC and handset makers gathered at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday to show off their new Android-based tablets, while Nokia faced mounting internal resistance from dropping Symbian for Windows.

Carriers are focusing on keeping existing customers in the maturing mobile industry, as signing up new subscribers becomes more costly.

AT&T is planning to roll out a new service that lets people make calls over its 4G data network, in a move to improve sound quality and add the ability to video chat and teleconference.

HTC today introduced the ChaCha and Salsa, two Android-based phones with a focus on Facebook, for AT&T, in a move to take advantage of the growing popularity of social networking.