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Filed under: Culture As we mentioned earlier, AT&T has announced plans to cut 1.5 percent of its workforce of 309,000. Sad times ahead for the company? Not quite. Apparently the 4600 jobs will be harvested from managerial spots in its flagging wired home phone business, so no worries, wireless types. Now here's where it gets interesting: word has it that AT&T also expects to hire back that same number of employees into the fold -- the wireless fold, that is -- keeping the total headcount nice and steady. We'd wager that we'll see more cuts like this in the coming months and years, so if you were pondering that job as a switchboard operator, time to retrain. So yeah, turns out it's business as usual for the number one carrier after all -- unless you happen to be in the 4600-strong group of obsoleted folks, that is. [Via mocoNews ] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Culture , Handsets , Software , ATT , GSM , EDGE , Apple , OS X digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/ACU_dishing_out_iPhone_iPod_touch_to_all_incoming_freshmen'; Never heard of Abilene Christian University? We're guessing a wide majority of the general public hasn't either, but the institution is definitely getting its name out there by promising each incoming freshman this fall an iPhone or iPod touch. Granted, these aren't being explicitly marked as "free," but similar to Duke's efforts in years past , ACU plans on using these devices for educational enrichment. Reportedly, the handhelds will enable students to "receive homework alerts, answer in-class surveys and quizzes, get directions to their professors' offices, and check their meal and account balances" -- and that's just for starters. Interestingly, we aren't told whether or not the folks already enrolled will be left out -- nor what determines which Apple you get -- but we do know that the entity is hoping to "expand the program in the future." [Thanks, Byzil] Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Culture , Handsets , Palm , RIM , Alltel , ATT , Sprint , T-Mobile , Verizon Wireless , Danger , GSM , EDGE , Studies , Apple While we've seen a variety of surveys pitting the iPhone against its most notable rivals, a recent study conducted by the NPD Group breaks down the numbers behind who left what phone (and what carrier) to acquire an iPhone. Not surprisingly, iPhone early adopters were "ten times more likely than other new phone buyers to have previously owned a Treo and three times more likely to have owned a T-Mobile branded phone, such as the popular Sidekick model." When it came to carriers, Alltel and T-Mobile were said to have lost the most customers to AT&T, as consumers who "switched carriers to buy an iPhone were three times more likely to switch from Alltel or T-Mobile than from other carriers." Notably, the lack of "corporate email support" was pinpointed as the main reason that many BlackBerry users didn't make the leap, but it did praise the iPhone for helping to "bridge the gap between consumer-focused feature phones and productivity-focused smartphones." Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Culture , ATT , Misc Sheesh, as if the whole Cingular / AT&T / BellSouth / etc. mishmash hasn't been confusing enough for the general populace, here comes yet another change sure to make folks scratch their noggins a bit more. As AT&T looks to launch a new ad campaign that gloats about "Your Seamless World," the carrier will reportedly paint the blue and white globe orange as a "respectful nod to Cingular." Meanwhile, sign changers are thrilled about all the business pouring in from AT&T recently... [Via PhoneScoop ] Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Culture , Handsets , ATT , Misc , Apple For those new iPhone owners who have been wearing that touchscreen keyboard out by sending as many texts as your thumbs can muster, you've probably been greeted by an unexpectedly large box from your neighborhood carrier. For Justine, that meant receiving "over 300 pages" of detailed billing from AT&T that spelled out every single SMS (and call, we presume) sent and received. If we actually needed another reason to choose eBilling over the obvious alternative, this would definitely be it. Check out the video after the break. [Thanks, Alex] Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Culture , Handsets , ATT , GSM , GPRS , EDGE , Apple , OS X Although it's still not clear if Stephen Colbert was forced to actually shell out some hard-earned cash in order to procure his very own iPhone , one thing is certain: he finally owns one. The comedic talking head announced (and shamelessly boasted about) his new toy in a clip dubbed "March to Enslavement," where he made the not-so-wild prediction that one day we'd all bow to the robots we eagerly create. 'Course, that may be somewhat of a stretch, but the potentially forthcoming Apple iEye contraption may be closer to reality than we humans would like to believe. Frightened? Wait 'til you take a peek of it after the break... [Thanks, Dylan] Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments