Ahead of iPhone 5, AT&T-Verizon battle heats up

(Credit: Apple)

CNET - The second-quarter earnings report from AT&T is out today, revealing that the company activated 3.7 million iPhones, with 22 percent new to the company.

AT&T also posted its best-ever churn rate -- 0.97 percent for postpaid devices like the iPhone -- and total smartphone sales of 5.1 million, a third of them 4G-capable devices.

But it's the iPhone number that's most interesting. AT&T, of course, was the first American carrier to offer the industry-leading Apple device, and it enjoyed a domestic monopoly on four generations of the phone from June 2007 to February 2011. After that, Verizon joined the fray with the iPhone 4. Sprint followed later that year.

Much ink has been spilled about declining iPhone sales in the face of stiff competition from Google devices, and that's certainly an interesting angle. Just as interesting is AT&T's continued hold on the iPhone crown, five generations in -- and its slipping grip with each passing quarter.    More

Your Cell Phone Is Under More Surveillance Than Ever

Gizmodo - United States law enforcement agencies are requesting user information such as "text messages, caller locations and other information" at an alarming rate—at least 1.3 million requests last year alone—according to cellular carriers.

This is our new age of digital law enforcement: The cops are coming for your cell phones, and the law is too dumb to stop them.

Over the past five years, Verizon has seen the number of requests increase by 15 percent a year, coming to 260,000 in 2011. AT&T alone has seen the number of requests triple, ballooning to over 700 per day.

Under normal circumstances, a subpoena can net your basic account info like your name, address, and credit card number, which is bad enough. Beyond that, law enforcement needs a court order or a warrant to frack your texts, calls, and locations. But 230 of those 700 daily requests that AT&T is fielding are designated emergencies, which circumvent the typical court order process. Emergencies, as noted in Verizon's letter to Representative Edward J. Markey, are supposed to involve "danger of death or serious physical injury."

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