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Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) said its data pricing for the LTE version of the Motorola Mobility (NYSE:MMI) Xoom tablet will be the same as its EV-DO version of the gadget. However, it’s unclear whether this means that all future Verizon LTE tablets will have the same data pricing as the carrier’s EV-DO tablets.

Verizon’s pricing came to light in the details it provided for the new tablet, which recently went on sale. Xoom users will be able to upgrade their device to support Verizon’s LTE service for free sometime in the second quarter. (The Xoom currently supports Verizon’s EV-DO network.) Customers will have to ship the tablet to Motorola in a prepaid FedEx envelope, and the upgrade is expected to take six business days from the time customers ship the gadget to be complete.

In an FAQ explaining the process, Verizon said customers will not have to change their service plans when the LTE upgrade is complete. Verizon has said EV-DO data pricing for the Xoom falls under its previously established tablet pricing plans: 1 GB of data for per month; 3 GB for ; 5 GB for and 10 GB for . A Verizon spokeswoman, Brenda Raney, confirmed to FierceWireless that Xoom customers who buy the EV-DO version will not have to change their plans when they upgrade to LTE.

The nation’s largest carrier is selling the Xoom for 0 when paired with a two-year contract and 0 without a contract. At deadline, a Verizon spokeswoman could not clarify as to whether all future LTE tablets will have the same data pricing as the carrier’s current EV-DO tablets.

Last week at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, Spain, Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha said the Xoom is worth 0 (sans contract)–despite the fact that the 32 GB version of Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad with AT&T Mobility’s (NYSE:T) no-contract HSPA+ service retails for 9. “We felt that our ability to deliver 50 Mbps (via LTE) would justify the 9 price point,” Jha said. “It is 32 GB with 3G and a free upgrade to 4G. Being competitive with iPad is important. We feel that from the hardware and capabilities we deliver we are at least competitive and in a number of ways better [than the iPad].”

Verizon has said its LTE network delivers average real-world downlink performance of 5-12 Mbps and real-world uplink speeds of 2-5 Mbps.

For more:
- see this MobileBurn post
- see this Verizon FAQ page
- see this Verizon page

Related Articles:
Verizon offers 0 subsidy for Motorola Xoom
Motorola’s Jha: LTE justifies Xoom tablet’s 0 price tag
Motorola unveils Xoom, Android ‘Honeycomb’ tablet
Qualcomm unveils quad-core Snapdragon chipset for tablets
RIM teases LTE, HSPA+ versions of the PlayBook

FierceWireless

AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) sent customers a text message Thursday notifying them that they may be entitled to get benefits from a proposed class action settlement. The settlement stems from allegations brought against AT&T earlier this year that the carrier improperly levied taxes against customers on mobile Internet access fees.

In two separate suits, filed in federal court in January in Georgia and Indiana, customers alleged AT&T taxed the mobile data portion of their bill when it shouldn’t. The suits, which were transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago, alleged AT&T violated the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act, which bars state and local governments from levying taxes on Internet access between Nov. 1, 2003 and Nov. 1, 2014.

AT&T’s message Thursday directed subscribers to a website with more information about the case, including details about a court hearing set for March 10, 2011. AT&T did not admit any wrongdoing as part of the proposed settlement, but agreed to stop charging the taxes if the court approves the deal.

The case, of course, is not the first time a wireless carrier has faced questions over billing and tax issues. AT&T and most of the rest of the wireless carrier community have had to address, and in some cases modify, various state and local tax charges and billing efforts.

For more:
- see this IDG News Service article

Related Articles:
AT&T faces lawsuits over data fee taxes
AT&T proposes settlement for AT&T Wireless-related lawsuits
AT&T settles class-action ETF case for M
Former AT&T Wireless subscribers to get day in court

FierceWireless

Boost Mobile launched the Samsung Seek (SPH-m350), Boost Mobile’s first touchscreen device with a slide-out QWERTY keypad offers social-0networking voice, text messaging, Web, e-mail, IM and calls to 411 for just a month without an annual contract. Features include a 2.6 inch touchscreen, 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, GPS, microSD and a speaker phone with voice recognition.

Samsung Seek will be available Aug. 25 at for 9.99 (excluding taxes). Shipping is free. The phone is available now through Boost Mobile exclusive retail stores and select independent wireless dealer locations. By the end of the month, the Seek will also be available at Best Buy and RadioShack. The Seek will be in Sprint stores in September and in Target in October.

Samsung Seek Specs:
• 2.6-inch QVGA touchscreen display
• Slide-out QWERTY keypad
• 1.3MP camera
• Wireless Web and e-mail access to Gmail®, MSN®, Yahoo! ® and more
• Instant messaging capable (Yahoo! ®, AIM®, and Windows Live™ Messenger)
• Stereo Bluetooth capable
• Music player (microSD card required)
• Multimedia and text messaging capable
• GPS enabled
• Supports microSD™ card up to 32GB
• Voice mail, caller ID, call waiting and call forwarding
• Speakerphone with voice recognition
• Downloadable games, wallpapers and ringtones

WIRELESS AND MOBILE NEWS

Tesco Mobile (MVNO with O2) is entering the iPhone war, and certainly with attractive prices.

So watch the space and I hope the US will have soon the same competition as UK for the iPhone.

Tags:iphone iphone 3gs mvno tescoiphone, iphone 3gs, mvno, tesco

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