Nokia to launch flagship smartphone on Verizon this year -- report

Nokia's Lumia 900 users on AT&T will also be the first to get the Windows Phone 7.8 update, according to internal AT&T documents.

The Lumia 900 is getting Windows Phone 7.8 soon.

(Credit: CBS Interactive)

Nokia is readying a flagship smartphone for Verizon Wireless, a new report claims.

Verizon is planning to carry the Lumia handset later this year, The Verge is reporting today, citing people who claim to have knowledge of the company's plans. That device, codenamed Laser, will "be a variant" of Nokia's Lumia 920, but it's not clear what sort of features that handset will have.

According to The Verge, Nokia's device will be put on the same playing field as Verizon's other flagship devices, including the iPhone.

The addition of a flagship Nokia device on Verizon's network will complement the Lumia 822 currently running on the service. The Lumia 822 is free with a two-year contract.

In other Nokia news, the company's Lumia 900 will be getting an upgrade to Windows Phone 7.8 next week, according to a new report.

Windows Phone fan site WP Central yesterday reported that the operating system update will be coming to AT&T Lumia 900 owners on January 30. The blog is basing its claim on an internal AT&T e-mail it claims to have obtained detailing the update.

Windows Phone 7.8 was announced last year alongside Windows Phone 8. Products running Windows Phone 7, like the Lumia 900, were unable to be updated to Windows Phone 8, leaving Microsoft to build an upgrade for customers who would have been left out in the cold.

Windows Phone 7.8 includes a host of improvements, including a new Start screen, new theme colors, and an improved lock screen. The update will be made available free of charge to Lumia 900 owners.

CNET has contacted Nokia for comment on both reports. We will update this story when we have more information.

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Verizon to ditch phone plans, go with shared plans

Verizon to ditch most phone plans, introduce plans 'shared' among family members, devices
NEW YORK (AP) -- Verizon Wireless, the nation's largest cellphone company, is dropping nearly all of its phone plans in favor of pricing schemes that allow consumers to share data usage among up to ten phones and other devices.

The new plans will let individuals add non-phone devices like tablets and laptops to their plans, as well as the phones of family members.

The change takes effect June 28.

It's the biggest revamp in wireless pricing in years, and one that's likely to be copied by other carriers. AT&T Inc. has already said that it's looking at introducing shared-data plans soon.

Verizon's new "Share Everything" plans include unlimited phone calls and texting, and will start at $90 per month for one smartphone and 1 gigabyte of data. If used only with a smartphone, "Share Everything" prices are lower than for current plans with unlimited calling and texting, but higher than plans with limited calling and texting.

Bigger savings will come for those who add more devices like tablets to their plans. In such cases, the new pricing system will be cheaper compared to getting separate data plans for each device. That gives Verizon a chance to capitalize on the growing popularity of tablets. Few consumers put tablets on data plans, probably because they dread paying an extra $30 or so per month, on top of their phone bills.

Under "Share Everything," adding a tablet to a plan will cost $10 per month. Adding a USB data stick for a laptop will cost $20.

Verizon's limited-calling and texting plans will disappear, except for one $40-per-month plan intended for "dumb" phones. Verizon is keeping its limited-data plans for single non-phone devices, like the $30 tablet plan.

Current Verizon customers will be able to switch to the new plans or keep their old ones, with one exception. Those who have unlimited-data plans for their smartphones won't be able to move those to new phones, unless they pay the full, unsubsidized price for those phones. (For example, an iPhone 4S that costs $200 with a two-year contract costs $650 unsubsidized, with no contract.)

Verizon stopped signing people up for unlimited-data plans last summer. The industry as a whole is moving away from the plans, since the data capacity of their networks is limited.

Under the new plans, subscribers can stop worrying about monitoring the number of calling minutes or text messages their families use in a month, but they'll have to keep a close eye on data consumption. Verizon will allow subscribers to adjust their data allowance from month to month, but if they go over their monthly allotment, that will cost $15 per gigabyte.

The data allowances start at $50 per month for 1 gigabyte. That's enough for prudent two-smartphone users who use Wi-Fi a lot, but Verizon recommends getting 2 gigabytes for $60. After that, each additional 2 gigabytes cost an extra $10 per month.

Under "Share Everything," Verizon will stop charging extra for letting devices act as "mobile Wi-Fi hotspots." That means subscribers who have a recent smartphone could use it to connect a tablet to the Internet, without paying the extra $10 per month for a tablet.

Verizon had telegraphed the move toward shared plans, but had not revealed the details or pricing.

Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of New York-based phone company Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group PLC, a British cellphone company with wide international interests.

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