Verizon, the biggest wireless carrier in the U.S., has said today that it may follow AT&T's recent move into tiered data plan pricing, while at the same time eliminating unlimited plans.

Says Verizon CFO John Killian: "We will probably need to change the design of our pricing where it will not be totally unlimited, flat rate."

The plan will likely not take effect until Verizon rolls out its 4G networks. When 4G goes live, the carrier expects an "explosion in data traffic," due to video downloads, video conferencing, and other bandwidth-intensive applications.

Verizon says smartphone owners currently use about 700MB of data per month, and the company says eventually smartphone users will be 80 percent of all Verizon consumers, up from just 17 percent today.

AT&T's cheapest new plan is $15 per month, but will only include 200MB of data. If customers go over the limit, they will be charged $15 extra for every 200MB of data, a very expensive proposition.

A more reasonable plan is $25 per month and will give smartphone, tablet, netbook users 2GB of data for the month. For every 1GB over the cap they go, they will be charged $10, another expensive proposition.

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Broadcom has agreed to buy Innovation Research & Technology which specializes in short range communication for a fee of around $47.5 million, the company announced on Thursday. While Innovation makes products for a variety of different wireless products, Broadcom has highlighted Innovation's progress in Near-Field Communications (NFC).

Innovation launched the Topaz-512 this week, which opens the door for content delivery including for example discount coupons that can be be retrieved via smart posters.

Broadcom is staying silent about how it intends to use Innovation's technology. However it is likely that Broadcom intends to integrate NFC with its existing solutions for other wireless technologies, including Bluetooth and 3G.

The lack of NFC-enabled phones has been seen as one of the major factors holding the wireless technology back, but Nokia recently announced that all smartphones it releases from 2011 will include NFC capabilities.

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Siliconera has posted a picture this week on how the game cart for the Nintendo 3DS looks, and unsurprisingly it looks very similar to a standard DS cart.

The new 2GB 3DS carts are the exact shape as a standard DS cart, but with a small tab in the corner.

Additionally, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata has hinted that the 3DS may be getting an e-reader app that works with the handheld's built-in Wi-Fi support. Using the wireless, the device may soon be able to "automatically acquire newspaper and magazine articles."

Posted in the Japanese Nikkei, Iwata also said the 3DS' wireless connection could stay active even when the handheld is asleep: "It will seek out and automatically connect with wireless LAN spots, and download information," leaving the latest news or other info for gamers when they turn the system back on.

Please read our full post on the 3DS here: E3 2010: Nintendo shows off 3DS, 'No More Glasses'

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PreCentral has revealed this week that HP, which recently acquired the struggling smartphone maker Palm for $1.2 billion, is planning on releasing new Palm smartphone devices next year, as well as an updated WebOS mobile operating system.

Palm had put itself up for sale in March after it became clear that the company's phones were not selling and it only had enough cash to last the next 12 months. In late April, HP swooped in and purchased the company Palm for $1.2 billion, after at least four other companies gave serious bids.

At the time, HP's CEO said the purchase was made with the intent of integrating WebOS into a plethora of other devices, like tablets and printers, and that HP was "not getting into the smartphone business."

That seems to have changed, as a Palm representative disclosed to PC that: "I'm not allowed to talk about future roadmaps, especially because we're in the process of being acquired by HP, so I can't say. But yes we have a road map. We are working on future devices. And [a] new version of the OS. So I think, you're going to find the next year very exciting."

WebOS is arguably the best smartphone operating system available, but consumers have not adopted the Palm hardware, which has been slashed to free from Verizon and Sprint due to lack of demand.

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Engadget has posted the official press sheets for a white HTC EVO 4G that will be sold exclusively through Best Buy.

Pre-orders start today for the white model, and it will be officially launched on July 11th.

While unconfirmed, the site says Sprint stores will get the model in August and other retailers will get it as late as September.

The price is the same as the existing black model, $200 with two-year contract.

Under the hood is a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 1GB ROM, 512MB RAM, a 1500 mAh battery and an 8GB microSD card. The device has a 4.3-inch WVGA capacitive multi-touchscreen display (with pinch to zoom), Android 2.1 with Sense UI, Google Search, Google Maps, Google Talk, Gmail, Google Goggles, YouTube, Google Calendar syncing, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g and 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot capability for connecting up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices.

Additionally, the device has GPS with Sprint Navigation, a Digital compass, Bluetooth 2.1, a 3.5mm headset jack, FM radio, Amazon MP3 store, Qik video sharing, HDMI out a kickstand for hands-free viewing, an 8MP autofocus camera with dual LED flash (and 720p HD video recording) and an additional 1.3MP front-facing camera for video conferencing.

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According to a new study by the Pew Research Center, adults are more likely than teenagers to text while driving, with 47 percent of respondents saying they either send or read messages while at the wheel of a vehicle.

That shockingly high number compares with 34 percent of teens doing the same thing. Pew considers teens as minors aged 16 and 17.

Says Mary Madden, senior research specialist at Pew: "There's been a lot of focus on young drivers, and for good reasons. But this research provides an important reminder that adults are setting a bad example."

The U.S. Senate is currently voting on banning texting as a federal mandate, and 28 states already ban the practice. Seven states have banned all mobile phone use while driving.

Pew also says that focus groups have shown that younger children have seen older siblings and their parents texting while driving, and see it as "okay" to do, as well.

The industry as a whole is moving to discourage use of mobile phones while driving, with the CTIA wireless trade group, the National Safety Council, and large carriers Verizon and AT&T starting ad campaigns.

The survey was conducted on 2252 American adults earlier this year.

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According to sources cited by Reuters, Facebook had revenue of $800 million USD in 2009, thanks to huge boosts in user-ship and advertising.

Perhaps more importantly, the social networking site turned a profit "in the tens of millions of dollars."

Facebook, which started in 2004, has become the most popular web destination in the United States, even topping Google, and has over 500 million users.

The revelation comes at a time when would-be shareholders are practically begging for an IPO (initial public offering) for the site, making the company public and allowing it to trade in the stock market.

$800 million in revenue, and profits in the tens of millions is well ahead of what various analysts have estimated over the course of the year. Even the most generous estimates placed revenue at $700 million with a thin profit margin.

Revenue in 2008 was $250 million, based on 150 million users.

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