T-Mobile (NYSE:DT) has come a long way in competing on prepaid since releasing a half-hearted unlimited, contractless service available to some customers on a trial basis. Last month it launched two new Even More unlimited service plans, and today it announced that it would offer a BlackBerry Curve 8520 as part of a prepaid plan that applies to anyone who’d like to sign up. more

In an impressive seven-slot jump, Facebook became the number three site for video streaming, trailing only market-leader YouTube and Hulu in total streams. The ranking, part of Nielsen’s latest VideoCensus numbers, was based on the fact that Facebook generated nearly 218 million total streams in October to more than 31.5 million unique viewers. In September, it only streamed 110 million videos to 23 million viewers. more

According to the blogosphere, Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) has flipped-flopped on its plans for building its own mobile phone. But if it’s true, the software king will have changed its tune on much more than just its device plans. A Google phone would imply that while the company is busy touting its open-source operating system and encouraging free-for-all access, it is also creating a specific device optimized for its own applications. If Google launches apps that only work on its own branded Gphone, or even just work better on it, it’s contradicting its very strategy with Android. more

This post is part of a series leading up to an upcoming Connected Planet feature story on open mobile. Road to Open: Read part 1 HERE, part 2 HERE, part 3 HERE and part 4 HERE.

Independent application store Handango has always operated in what CEO Alex Bloom considers an open world. By working independently, as well as selling to operating systems, it has the ability to deliver via the Web, a sync cradle or over-the-air, avoiding the carrier gate completely. Any developer of any size has always been able to write an app and get it distributed through Handango, Bloom said.

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Consumers want a personal mobile content discovery process that goes beyond simple search, according to a Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) survey of US and UK consumers released today. If content was, foremost, easier to find, 63% indicated they would spend more time accessing or purchasing it. If it were also more personal, respondents indicated they would increase their time spent accessing content to more than an hour, as well as their monthly spending by $8.
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Ahead of an impending near-field communications (NFC) phone onslaught, companies are adding weight to the movement with NFC-enabled applications. This week alone, contactless payment-enabler Inside Contactless and mobile technology company Mobile Distillery teamed up to create a NFC mobile application development platform, and Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) venture touchatag announced a collaboration with payment provider Clear2Pay to create a mobile payment framework for mobile operators. more

With only one week of Droid sales under its belt, Flurry Analytics’ latest statistics on Verizon Wireless’ (NYSE:VZ, NYSE:VOD) exclusive Motorola (NYSE:MOT) Droid suggest VZW’s $100 million integrated marketing campaign paid off. Flurry said 250,000 Droids were sold in week one, compared to 1.6 million iPhone 3G S last June and 60,000 HTC MyTouch 3Gs on T-Mobile (NYSE:DT) in August. more

This post is part of a series leading up to an upcoming Connected Planet feature story on open mobile. Road to Open: Read part 1 HERE, part 2 HERE and part 3 HERE.

Application stores have created interesting dynamics for the mobile gaming market, according to Trip Hawkins, CEO of social gaming pioneer Digital Chocolate. When Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) introduced the first iPhone, there was no app store. It killed the game business for AT&T (NYSE:T), he said, because the customers who had been buying games through MEdia Mall had nowhere to go. When the iPhone App Store launched, gaming came back with a vengeance, but for Apple, not AT&T. more

High-definition voice, a relatively nascent technology, is coming to the Android operating system, courtesy of Global IP Solutions (Oslo Børs: GIPS). The company is enabling Android mobile application developers to build voice-over IP-enabled clients with its VoiceEngine Mobile. Free mobile social networking application Nimbuzz will be the first customer to implement the HD technology for free mobile VoIP calls. more

After months — even years — of speculation, Dell officially entered the smartphone market today, releasing its Dell 3 Mini smartphone on Open Mobile System, China Mobile’s (NYSE:CHL) version of the Android operating system. After it launches in China later this month, the Dell 3 Mini will make its way to Brazil’s Claro, and — while no U.S. plans have been announced — it should be headed to AT&T (NYSE:T) in the U.S. next, according to ABI Research. more