Remember how ECON 101 taught you that competition was good? 'Tis true! Long after Alltel introduced the idea of giving customers unlimited calling each month to a select list of numbers, AT&T is mimicking Verizon's Friends & Family and T-Mobile's myFaves offerings with its new "A-List with Rollover." Subscribers with individual Nation plans of $59.99 or higher can phone up their very own VIP cast without tapping into their monthly bucket of minutes, theoretically allowing that rollover pool that you never, ever use to grow even larger. For individuals, you'll be able to select up to five domestic phone numbers (mobile or landline) to call for free, while FamilyTalk customers with plans of $89.99 or more can select up to ten numbers. As with competing plans, AT&T users will be able to manage their A-List online and change them anytime, though new numbers do take 24 hours to register. The time to field bids on securing a coveted spot within your own A-Team is now, with the feature opening up to all on September 20th.

We've seen it time and time again -- carriers using their power to strong-arm consumers into paying services that could very well be free. Over in Europe, the almighty EU is considering "binding guidelines" that could force wireless operators to allow VoIP services such as Skype to run over their cellular networks. It should be noted that all of this is still very preliminary at the moment, but if the Union can somehow force carriers to support these so-called "innovative services," we could see a very favorable (for consumers, anyway) domino effect. As it stands, each EU country has the ability to decide individually on how they deal with blocked internet services, but obviously an EU-wide mandate would seriously shake things up. Or cause unstoppable riots, one.

[Via Electronista]

When they said "Tuesday," they meant it. Not long ago, the clock struck midnight in the Land of the Rising Sun, and sure enough, the bona fide Skype application (v1.0.0.63) for Apple's iPhone has gone live. It's absolutely free to download, and early reports from Japan have been pretty stellar in regard to sound quality. We're fully expecting it to roll out elsewhere as Tuesday (March 31st) arrives in various time zones, so make sure you (and at least one Skype buddy) stay up late to try 'er out. [Warning: iTunes read link may not work for all time zones yet.]

[Via Engadget Japanese]

We heard that T-Mobile USA was looking to dabble in the low-end arena with $50 unlimited voice plans, and sure enough, the carrier has gone live with 'em in the City by the Bay. In a surprise move aimed to rival similar plans from lesser known providers such as Boost Mobile, T-Mob is offering "loyal customers" the option to move to a $50 flat-rate calling plan. In order to get the offer, you must be located in San Francisco (for now, anyway), have been a subscriber in good standing for at least 22 months and want to save a few bucks on your mobile calling. It's stated that stores in the SF area are actively promoting the new plan, which should be fairly successful given that users won't have to extend their current contracts in order to switch. Toss in unlimited texting, data and Everlasting Gobstoppers, and we're sold.

[Image courtesy of Bicycle-Heaven]

We already knew that Nokia was looking for swanky widgets to cram onto its swanky N97, so it's no real shock to see the suits in Espoo reaching out to Skype here. Starting with the N97 in Q3 2009, future N-series devices will come pre-loaded with a Skype client, enabling handset owners to save those precious minutes and dial up fellow Skype buddies whenever a WiFi hotspot is near. There's no word on just how far this relationship will go, but we'll at least let the cute couple round first before we start making outlandish predictions.

If you've been stuck in 2.2.0.45 land wondering when Skype was ever going to be more stable and easier to hear, well, so have lots of others. Available now, the v2.5 Beta promises "improved sound quality" and "better stability" to go along with a "familiar Skype design," though details beyond that are being kept under wraps. Both the smartphone (2.5.0.109) and Pocket PC (2.5.0.108) versions have been updated, so why not tap the read link and get your upgrade on? Unless everything's working just fine for you -- you know what they say about fixing things that aren't broken.

[Via mobilitysite]

This could -- at least temporarily -- put an end the nightmarish scenario involving you, lack of sleep, and some freakish chatty Cathy plopped next to you by the airline. Lead co-sponsor Rep. Peter DeFazio, hopes the "Hang Up" -- madly clever name here -- bill will stop Airlines from finding yet another avenue to gouge you and maintaining peace and harmony by banning any in-flight calling. Of course, the door will remain wide open for SMS, mail, IM, and other types of electronic conversation, but we're hoping Skype and friends are on the muzzle list, too.

For those only interested in fielding VoIP calls on an iPhone, we're pretty sure Cisco could hook you up, but if you've been wondering how to utilize Skype on your Apple iPhone, this here workaround spills the beans. Admittedly, this method is far from seamless, but by installing the famed SoonR Talk application on your home PC and logging into the AJAX-enabled SoonR website on your handset, a new way of calling instantly emerges. As with other handsets that support AJAX interfaces, you can reportedly view and call Skype buddies through your iPhone, but you should be aware that SkypeOut credits will be used due to the PSTN leg needed to dial your mobile. Inelegant as it may be, VoIP has now invaded the (non-Cisco) iPhone.

Earlier this month we saw JetBlue and AirCell snap up the 1MHz swath of spectrum required for Verizon's Airfone service to operate over US territories, so it shouldn't really come as any surprise to anyone that the 140 person Verizon subsidiary is shutting down commercial airline phone service this year. It's goin to be a lot of work ripping those godawful ugly and rarely used seat-back phones from from 1,000+ Continental, Delta, United Airlines and US Airways jetliners nation wide, but lose not all hope until 2010; Airfone will apparently still continue overpriced in-flight calling service in the other 3,400 corporate and government planes they operate out of (which are all typically far smaller vessels, of course, unless you're talking about Air Force One). Still, it is a little disappointing that a wireless phone company with a 21 year track record in the market is going to be shuttered because the FCC sold their license in a bid to some other, more well-heeled companies; guess that's the way you play the game though, eh? And really, while we mourn the loss of any company, we won't mourn the loss of thse damned phones, nor will we be sorry about not having to wait any longer than necessary to get our in-flight internet access on.

A recent study by the Queensland University in Australia discovered what we've already pretty much known from several years of smartphone ownership, which is that people's reliance on their cellphones can often take the form of an addiction. Diana James and her colleagues analyzed the behavior of mobile owners 45-and-under in situations where they were separated from their phones, and found that many displayed the same withdrawal symptoms common to smoking, gambling, or eating addictions: lower self esteem, nervousness, and in some cases, even deep agitation. Besides emotional problems, excessive calling and texting can lead to steep cellphone bills and even the occasional repetitive stress injury, warns James, who says that if you're using your phone to make yourself feel better at the expense of your job or your health, then you may have a problem. Don't worry, though, you're not alone...

[Via textually]