We got a tip the other day from ii Candor ii letting us know that retail stores now should have a software patch for the UX-260. If you've been having any issues, head on over to your nearest US Cellular technician and get updated!

[Thanks again, Candor!]

Once again coming to the aid of US Cellular fans everywhere, ii Candor ii sent us some pics of the LG Glimmer dummy models that have been shipped to US Cellular stores recently. As you can see, the touchscreen slider is downright handsome. This bad boy is rumored to come out sometime in June. See more pics after the jump.  Read more »

The ROKR isn't the only phone that Motorola is spicing up for US Cellular, the RAZR2 has been updated in an "Antique" color, or bronze to us normal folks. Some people think that the Antique RAZR2 will be u Once again, ii Candor ii sent us some hi-res pics of the phone. See 7 more pics after the jump.  Read more »

If the camera phone snapshot we posted yesterday did not satisfy your curiosity, ii Candor ii sent in handful of pics that are of much better quality. See all the pics after the jump.  Read more »

A week or so ago we posted about the Mandarin Orange ROKR that will soon be available to US Cellular customers. Today some agents received dummy versions of these phones. Giganticprune over at HowardForums evidently snapped a pic of the fruity device with a camera phone and you can (kind of) see it in all it's orange glory.

If you are one of the few who like the look of this phone (and it's okay if you do, don't be shy), it should be in stores within a week or so, presumably at the same price point as ROKR classic.

[Image source: giganticprune @ HoFo]

US Cellular is exploring Chicagoland for a potential new location of the company's headquarters.

Their current location at 8410 W. Bryn Mawr (near O'Hare international airport) has an expiring lease in 2011. US Cellular was mum on the subject, only declaring, “We are always looking for good office space.”

One possibility is that US Cellular will move to downtown Chicago or to the suburbs.

[Source: Chicago Business News]

A reliable source informed us today that US Cellular stores will be able to begin ordering the fruit phone on May 8. If it looks anything like the picture above, we take back all of the mean things we said about Motorola releasing an orange phone.

[Thanks for the tip!]

EDIT: We should have made it more clear, but those pics are of the Z6, not the Z6m. Unfortunately, the Z6m doesn't look as cool, but it's not bad.

Sick of checking this site every day to see if there is a new update? Now there's an easier way to find out! Click the "Email" button in the top-right corner to get an email every time that the USC Hotline is updated. This way, you can stay on top of your US Cellular news and only have to visit the site when there's new content to view.

We hate spam and privacy abuse, and you can rest assured that your email address will not be used for any other purpose. So go ahead, enter your email address and start getting updates today!

If you prefer RSS feeds, those are still available!

It's been over a month since we last analyzed some of the speculation around expected US Cellular devices. We've renamed the "Rumor Mill" feature to "Stargazer," but it's pretty much the same concept. This month, we have a lot of exciting news. First, US Cellular recently issued a press release announcing that they will carry the Motorola Q9c smartphone this summer. Let's take a closer look.  Read more »

Ever wonder how the BlackBerry came to be? Did you know that it originally started out as just a super-pager? BBGeeks has written a neat article detailing the history of the BlackBerry from the first pager to the newest BlackBerry Curve.

[Source: BBGeeks]

According to this post on HowardForums, the RAZR V3m (Red) and short-lived RAZR2 V9m are set to be discontinued within 30 days. As some might speculate, this could have something to do with Motorola's whole not being able to turn a profit after the RAZR thing, or perhaps the way is being paved for some new devices.

Stay tuned on the Hotline. It's a slow news month, so we will have some articles to keep us busy until the next major chunk of news!

US Cellular announced today that it will be offering the Motorola Q9c this summer. The phone will be available in a traditional black color or a "lime" green. This is a surprising move by US Cellular, normally their upcoming phones are kept a secret until release date, but an official press release has been made.

The Q9c is an obvious upgrade to the already available MotoQ. Primary features include Windows Mobile 6, A2DP stereo Bluetooth, and increased memory.

Stay tuned for more updates.

[Source: CNet Crave]

J.D. Power and Associates awarded US Cellular for highest call quality in the North Central region on Thursday. This is U.S. Cellular's fifth consecutive time winning this award.

"North Central Region: U.S. Cellular ranks highest for a fifth
consecutive time, with customers reporting fewer problems in initial
connection, dropped calls, static/interference and voice distortion
compared with the regional average."

Other recipients include Alltel, T-Mobile, and Verizon.

[Source: PRNewsWire]

HabanoJim at HowardForums posted in the already massive HTC 6800 thread, stating that due to logistics issues the PPC-6800 will not be released until April 2 for those living in the Midwest and East markets. The phone has been received in other markets and should still be available for purchase tomorrow, March 28. Send us your reviews and feedback on the phone!

Delav3posted a plethora of hi-resolution images of the HTC PPC-6800 for US Cellular. We'll post a few here, but there is a link to a zip file with all of the images at the bottom of this post. Read the entire article to see all of the images.  Read more »

US Cellular has posted their latest smartphone on the company's website, replacing the teaser that has been there for about a week. Although not available for purchase until Friday, many stores are beginning to receive the WiFi-enabled smartphone. BigE4284 over on HowardForums noticed it first, so I'll give him credit.

Primary Features

• Windows Mobile 6 Professional
• Touchscreen
• Slide-out QWERTY keyboard
• WiFi 802.11b/g
• Up to 6GB removable memory
• Bluetooth with A2DP stereo audio streaming
• 2.0 Megapixel Camera
• Microsoft Office Mobile to edit and create Word and Excel files

That list is really just a summary of what this phone can do. Remember, because the phone runs Windows Mobile, tons of 3rd party software is available. The opportunities are endless.

One thing is certain. This blogger is getting a new phone.

CNN Money reported that US Cellular and Nortel signed a five year contract today to "provide advanced wireless capabilities that deliver high-quality mobile voice and data services while easily supporting addition of new subscribers." US Cellular will be using Nortel's CDMA switching stations, software, and other solutions, according to CNN.

Specifically mentioned in the news article are the addition of new data services: let the EVDO rumors fly.

[CNN Money]

Sometime this week or next week, the forums are finally going to launch. The reason this has taken so long is because we were trying to integrate the forums usernames and passwords with the USC Hotline usernames and passwords. It looks like our existing database of usernames is not compatible with the new one. If this is the case, all current members of the site (there are roughly 100 of you) will have to re-register in order to use the forums.

We apologize for any inconvenience, but rest assured that your former accounts did not include any valuable data.

If we are able to get the current database working with the forums by some miracle, then we will let you know. Otherwise, look forward to some neat new features at USC Hotline!

Jaytee sent in a link today to a page that US Cellular has updated. Normally USCC places new phones on the web a week or so before launch, but this time they uploaded a placeholder page with a seemingly taunting statement:

Coming Soon.. but it's not a RIM phone..

It seems that they have caught on to our little tricks of manipulating the URL and discovering unreleased equipment.

Everyone assumes this is the placeholder for the highly-anticipated UT Starcom PPC-6800 (HTC Mogul) smartphone that is supposed to arrive at the end of March.

[Thanks, Jaytee]

An anonymous reader sent in this message today:

"There is a known software problem with the ROKR and USCC has the fix now. All customers need to do is head into their local stores to have it sent out for a software flash. They will be issued a loaner until theirs returns in about two to three weeks."

Others say that the update can be performed by a technician in a retail store. We are waiting for confirmation on this matter.

Thanks, anonymous!

It was reported yesterday that US Cellular, T-Moblie, Virgin Mobile, and Helio were all being sued by Texas-based Intellect Wireless over a patent infringement.

According to Intellect Wireless in an 8-page filing, three 2007 patents were violated. The patents all seem to be related to MMS picture messaging.

[Source: RCR Wireless News]

LG recently updated their website and added the US Cellular versions of the UX-260 and UX-565 to it. Some interesting info from these pages:

• The UX-565 has an FM transmitter built-in to wirelessly transmit songs to your car radio (like an iTrip).
• Both phones support a max of 4GB memory
• Both phones have stereo Bluetooth and appear to support OBEX Bluetooth profiles (to send pictures and files via Bluetooth).

Check out LG's site for more pics and full specs.

[UX260 Product Page]
[UX565 Product Page]

Ian posted a comment on our recent Rumor Mill article. He says that the LG UX-565 will be coming in next week and the LG UX-260 is going to launch a week or so after that. He says the 260 will be black with a blue interior.

"I have ordered the 565 for our locations and we will have them next week. The 260 will be Black outside with a blue interior and is set to launch in a week or so.

The LG touchscreen in testing is nearly identical to AT&T's Shine."

That bit about an LG touchscreen phone is news to us here. Can anyone confirm this?

Thanks, Ian!

US Cellular signed an exclusive contract today with the Milwaukee Brewers to be the official wireless carrier of the team. US Cellular will be able to hang signs around Miller Park and set up a kiosk to sell service and equipment. Bernie Brewer was unavailable for comment.

[CNN Money]

Go Brewers!

US Cellular shocked us today when they announced they will be offering a nationwide plan with unlimited minutes, all for the fine price of $99. The press release also mentions that this will be for a "limited time."

Thanks for the email, Ted!

[US Cellular Press Release]

We're starting a new thing here at the USC Hotline. Since there's a lot of online speculation and rumors regarding upcoming phones and products for US Cellular, we think that it would be fun to analyze those rumors and see how likely they are. Remember, these are only rumors. Today we have four new handsets that people have been buzzing about. Why don't we start with the least exciting and work our way up?  Read more »

We get our fair share of emails at the USC Hotline. Many times they are valuable news tips, other times pieces of good information about specific phones or promotions. In any case, some of these emails are worth sharing. From time to time, we will post emails from readers that we think the rest of our visitors could benefit from.

Our first email is from an anonymous sender:

St. Louis Agents in Trouble?
Just a heads up, U.S. Cellular corporate announced they are taking over all the agent locations in the St. Louis market with in 180 days. If possible keep my e-mail and name private, but this is a fact, a press release will follow with in the next 48 hours.

If this is true, it will indeed be a sad day for small business owners in St. Louis. We're interested to find out what the reason for this is.

Our next email comes from Johnny:

BlackBerry Pearl Issues with 3rd Party Applications
I just wanted to share something with you concerning the new Black Berry pearl that we have to offer and thought that you would like to add it to the website. After buying the device i also purchased several applications off of Handango.com for the pearl. I attempted to load the applications on the device and recieved an error everytime. I have loaded SEVERAL applications before onto my previous blackberry (8830) and had no problems. So i researched this problem and found that it is a VERY COMMON problem throughout many carriers. So i called our "DTS" team and had a 2 hour long call with a guy who was very helpful but we still didnt fix the problem. He said this is a huge issue that blackberry was going to have to fix and he would return my call as soon as a solution was found. I have yet to recieve the call but as soon as i do i will be glad to inform you.

PS If you have heard anything about this issue, or have any tips that i can try, let me know. Thanks for your help in advance and keep the website going! - J.T.

This blogger hasn't heard of this problem yet, but then again I haven't been around the new BlackBerrys too much lately. If anyone can offer J.T. some insight, please leave it in the comments. That's it for this mailbag! Thanks for the emails, guys!

The Kyocera E1000 that we reported on a few months ago is available for purchase from US Cellular stores today. The phone is a sleek flip-phone with Bluetooth, GPS, a 1.3 megapixel camera, and an updated user interface. From what we can see in the photos, this isn't the thinnest phone on the market, but it doesn't appear too bulky either.

The phone will run about $50 with a two-year agreement and will be free (after mail-in rebate) if you choose to take easyedge for 3 months. Otherwise this puppy is valued at $179.95.

[Kyocera's E1000 Product Page]

US Cellular started their Valentine's Day promotion today. We won't get into specifics, because last time we did somebody's legal department got their undies in a bundle. We will say that there is some special pricing on the RAZR2 V9m, the KRZR, and the LG UX-390.

This promotion will likely run at least until the middle of February.

EDIT: Ted wrote in to inform us that the rebate policy has changed. In the past, customers could get a $30 rebate by default without purchasing EasyEdge. Now it seems that in order to get any rebate, EasyEdge must be purchased for at least 3 months. Most rebates are $50 or more, and come in the form of a Visa debit card, instead of a paper check. I guess the way they see it is that it's harder to spend one of those debit cards down to $0.

After several months of waiting, the BlackBerry Pearl is finally here for US Cellular. The initial retail cost is $499.95. Customers can get the phone for $199.95 when signing a two-year service agreement.

Features:

• 2 Megapixel Camera w/ flash
• GPS Navigation with Blackberry Maps
• Full email and Internet capabilities
• Updated form factor, not the same old Pearl that's been around on other carriers
• Bluetooth
• Trackball navigation (really slick)
• Choice of color: Black Amethyst (a dark blue) or Red
• And of course, many more

The phone looks hot. Head over to your local US Cellular dealer and ask to play with one. Remember that the BlackBerry data plans are required to activate one of these bad boys on your account.

Edit: Forgot to mention that there is a $100 mail-in rebate when a two-year agreement is signed. The rebates now come in the form of a Visa debit card instead of a paper check.

Thanks for the tip, Ted!