It looks like this will be a hard year for the major US Wireless carriers, ATT wireless, Verizon Wireless, Sprint/Nextel, T-Mobile and Alltel. There are no super exciting phones that will do for the industry (or at least ATT) what the Motorola RAZR did and they are now in trench-warfare with the rate plans.

A few things that could break the stalemate would be some sort of M&A activity related to T-Mobile, or Sprint Nextel, or an exciting new product introduction that give a single carrier an edge. Until then, I am calling for 2008 to be a relatively tough year with the carriers all battling for the subscribers and no real marketshare shifts, but the battle will eat into profits. Advertising and handset promotions are not cheap!

More to come on htis topic…

ok so sprint decided to skip right past the $69.99 idea and just throw in the entire enchilada.

WOW! -Sprint Launches Revolutionary $99.99 ”Simply Everything(SM)” Plan- Per their press release “unlimited pricing plan that gives customers unlimited voice, data, text, e-mail, Web-surfing, Sprint TVSM, Sprint Music, GPS Navigation, Direct Connect® and Group Connect® for $99.99 a month. The new pricing plan is available to existing and new customers beginning tomorrow”

Will the cellphone users of the US embrace it enough to save Sprint? unclear act this point but at least they are doing something.

Sprint is in a tough spot and their are up against the ropes, loosing wireless subscribers and stock just getting hammered. They will need to market and innovate their way back out of this. I would not rule them out just yet as they seem to have some fire left in the after-all. Go Sprint Go !

The new version to the blackberry Pearl 8120 or “Pearl 2″ arrives in the US with T-Mobile and AT&T Wireless next month and is purported to add the following features to this very successful form factor:

Wi-Fi
video capture
stereo Bluetooth
2 megapixel camera

This device update/refresh should be just enough to keep the Blackberry Pearl Juggernaut rolling!

We are hearing that one of the US wireless carriers is now working on a $69.99 rate plan for unlimited usage “all you can eat” service plan, this will in our opinion start a price war that in the end might not be so great for the industry but will be great for the average U.S. cellphone user. The US wireless business is competitive and the wireless carriers dropping prices to pick up market share this will work only if your not joined right away by the rest of the industry. We are waiting and watching for an announcement but we are not 100% sure if this is a good thing in the end.

In the span of a week Verizon wireless, ATT wireless, T-Mobile all announced “all you eat” $99.99 rate plans, there is little doubt that Sprint is going to follow suit in the near future so as not to be left out. Cellphone users all over the country are now able to use all the voice minutes they want on their cellphone. Please keep in mind that most of these customers will also be adding in cellphone data features like text messaging, and email. The average bill will probably not be $99.99, however with all the major wireless carriers offering this same plan we are not sure that anybody was able to get an advantage out of all the press releases. In the end, this shows just how competitive the US wireless industry has become, it was like watching the airlines all raise fares at the same time!!

I am no wall street expert but it appeared the shares of ATT (T) and Verizon (VZ) took a bit of a hit this week as this news was digested by wireless industry analysts. What was also interesting was Sprint (S) who has yet to officially announce such rate plan and is only rumored to be creating one actually ended the week up.

Are all you can eat rate plans the answer? This cellphone insider thinks they wont actually do much as most users will stay under that $50 price point they have grown accustom too and wallstreet seems to agree.

Ok, long after I decided to blog, I am finally starting. this blog will be all about cellphones, the wireless industry, what new phones are on the horizon etc. The blog is called Cellphone insider and I hope to share some insights… later folks

When will the best phone the industry offers just be free with service, this is unreal how fast the price of the Motorola Razr v3 has fallen. When it shows up with T-Mobile later this summer it will be interesting to see where the price starts.