Author: Dan Graziano

T-Mobile is expected to unveil additional details about its new contract-free pricing and 4G LTE deployment at a press event in New York City on Tuesday. The latest rumors suggest, however, that the carrier will also discuss its partnership with Apple (AAPL). According to a report from CNET, the iPhone will play “a prominent role” at tomorrow’s “UNcarrier” event. Sources speaking to AllThingsD revealed that the company will showcase a “full lineup” of iPhone devices, although a T-Mobile equipped iPad is not expected to make an appearance. BGR’s live coverage of the event begins at 11:00 a.m. EDT

T-Mobile on Sunday unveiled pricing for its new “Uncarrier” contract-free initiative that will offer customers unlimited talk, text and 500MB of 4G data starting at $50 per month with additional data being offered in 2GB increments for an extra $10 per month with Wi-Fi tethering included. T-Mobile is also offering users unlimited talk, text and data for $70 a month, however the plan only includes 500MB of tethering data. In line with earlier rumors, customers are given the option of purchasing a smartphone at full price or through monthly installments — a Galaxy S III, for example, adds a monthly charge of $16 to any data plan. T-Mobile is scheduled to hold a press event in New York City on Tuesday where it is expected to unveil additional network changes.

Earlier this month, BlackBerry (BBRY) confirmed that an undisclosed partner agreed to purchase one million new BlackBerry 10 smartphones. According to AllThingsD, the purchase, which was the single largest in BlackBerry’s history, came from an electronics distributor known as Brightstar. Research firm Detwiler Fenton notes that the company handles most of Verizon’s (VZ) big-box retail distribution, and the partnership gives the carrier less risk if BlackBerry 10 fails to appeal to consumers because it can offload unsold inventory onto the third-party distributor. Verizon usually distributes devices it believes will be popular among consumers by itself, rather than relying on a third-party. This is not the case for BlackBerry 10, though.

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The founder and lead developer of the popular third-party CyanogenMod software for Android has resigned from his position at Samsung (005930) after only 19 months with the company. Steve Kondik announced on his Google+ page on Monday that he has “decided to do something new.” The hacker was recruited by Samsung to be a software engineer for the company in August of 2011 and continued to work on CyanogenMod as a side project.

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Shortly after Samsung (005930) announced the Galaxy S III last year, the company unveiled the smaller and more affordable Galaxy S III mini. Earlier rumors claimed that Samsung would once again debut a scaled-down version of its flagship smartphone, known as the Galaxy S 4 mini. According to SamMobile, the smartphone is expected to be equipped with a 4.3-inch qHD display, a 1.6GHz dual-core Exynos 5210 processor and run Android 4.2.2. The Galaxy S 4 mini is rumored to arrive in a dual-SIM version and also a single-SIM HSPA+ model that could feature a quad-core processor. The latest rumors suggest the mid-range handset will launch in late June or early July.

Verizon (VZ) on Thursday announced a new cross-platform update for its text messaging app for Android and iOS devices. The application, known as Messages, allows users to send and receive a text message from a PC, smartphone or tablet. Messages are stored on Verizon’s cloud for up to 90 days or until deleted and can also be saved permanently on an SD card. Unlike services from WhatsApp, Google Talk and iMessage, the application utilizes your smartphone’s phone number rather than a username or special PIN. The service sets itself further apart from the competition with a handful of unique features such as the ability to send automated replies to a text when busy. Verizon’s Messages application is available now in Google Play and the iOS App Store. A video demo follows below.

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Andy Rubin’s unexpected departure from Google’s (GOOG) Android team last week shocked the mobile world. The executive founded the Android project in 2003, which was later acquired by Google in 2005. While many have agreed that Rubin was an innovator during his time leading Android, one Samsung (005930) executive suggests that he could be stubborn at times as well.

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Photographed parts that allegedly come from Apple’s (AAPL) next-generation iPhone were published on Friday by Japanese vendor Moumantai, which describes the components as the home button, flex cable and internal vibrator for the iPhone 5S. It was believed that Apple was planning to include a fingerprint scanner in the home button, however this is now in doubt because the purported iPhone 5S button looks nearly identical to the one found on the iPhone 5. According to MacRumors, the only difference is the positioning and size of the flex cable. The internal vibrator is also similar to the one found in the iPhone 5, once again suggesting that the iPhone 5S won’t include any major design changes from earlier models. The latest rumors claim that Apple is will release the iPhone 5S in late summer. The leaked images follow below.

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Julius Genachowski announced on Friday that he will be stepping down as Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, a position he has held since 2009. During his tenure, Genachowski supervised the regulation of radio, television, broadband, wired and wireless communications within the United States. He also attempted to free up additional spectrum for wireless carriers and oversaw the proposed merger between AT&T and T-Mobile.

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Google (GOOG) is reportedly working on a redesign for its Google Play store that includes brighter colors, bigger images and a cleaner look. According to Droid-Life, the redesigned marketplace carries the version number 4.0.16 and features a streamlined layout with inspiration drawn from Google Now. Other changes include the removal of the application download/install screen and it would appear all apps will be auto-updated by default, an option that can be turned off for individual apps. It is unclear when Google will release the redesign, though it could happen in the coming weeks. A leaked video walkthrough follows below.

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HTC (2498) has been on quite a journey in its short history as a company. HTC was founded in 1997 as a notebook computer vendor and then began developing Widows Mobile handsets in the early 2000s and launched one of the first touchscreen smartphones in the world. As the mobile industry continued to evolve, so did HTC. The company would later be among the earliest Android adopters and it produced the first Google (GOOG)-powered smartphone, the HTC Dream. HTC’s EVO 4G was the first 4G smartphone to be released in the U.S. and the Thunderbolt was the country’s first LTE phone. HTC peaked as shares of the company’s stock rose to all time highs in the spring of 2011, however things took a turn toward the end of 2011 and the company still hasn’t recovered.

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Google (GOOG) CEO chairman Eric Schmidt had some kind words for Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) at the company’s Big Tent Summit in India this week. In particular, the executive praised Apple as a “tremendous technology innovator” that can “build beautiful products.” But while Schmidt was adamant in his praise for Apple’s 9.7-inch iPad, he was also was quick to point out the superior experience users can have on a Nexus 10 tablet by claiming that it has “more apps, is more scalable and more secure.”

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