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Usually when we hear the phrase “contract-free developer phone” the words “unlocked” and “GSM” follow shortly thereafter, but apparently Palm didn’t get the memo — it just announced discounted hardware prices for its devices, but they’re carrier-locked to Verizon and Sprint. Yeah, that’s a big sad face out of us — it’s not like Verizon’s going to give you a cheaper plan if you show up with a contract-free device. In fact, you might be better off picking up a $79 Pre on a Sprint contract from Amazon and just canceling after a year or so — the ETF will have been prorated to $120 by then, putting you way ahead of Palm’s $439 price tag. So much …

We aren’t trying to lump these two together or anything, but we figured we’d give those of you who opted for Palm’s second set of webOS handsets an opportunity to pool your thoughts in order to make the smartphone landscape an even better place to survey. We personally didn’t find too much new to laud on Verizon’s Palm-branded twofer compared to the original Pre and Pixi , and those of you who were hoping for all new hardware from the company at CES were undoubtedly let down. Still, there’s something to be said about a webOS product on America’s “largest 3G network,” and frankly, we’re interested in hearing how you’d change things. Would you have …

The last we heard the Nexus One was navigating its way through the FCC and Verizon was targeting a “Spring 2010″ launch. But now there’s a rumor floating around that states quite clearly that March 23, 2010 will be the launch date. Interesting… We reached out to our Verizon contacts and none of them could confirm this date. But the rumor doesn’t originate from a Verizon source, but rather someone within Google. The March 23rd date does fit within the Spring 2010 launch window and also happens to be during the CTIA wireless conference. So even though this is purely a rumor at this point, you may wanna hold of on your phone buying decisions a bit longer as…

What better way to start your Saturday afternoon than with a pair of Nexus One release rumors. Without further ado, first up comes whispers care of Neowin that the recently-FCC’d CDMA device is launching on Verizon’s network March 23rd, perfect timing for the beginning of CTIA . And while that fits pretty neatly into that initial “Spring 2010″ launch window , there’s really no way for us to corroborate at this point other than just taking their word for it. Moving across the pond, sources from both Google and Vodafone reportedly send word to UK’s Telegraph that Voda’s getting its own model in April…

All of the players roped into the FCC’s early termination fee inquiry — T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T, Verizon, and Google — have met the Fed’s February 23 deadline for responding, and needless to say, you could destroy a small forest with the amount of paperwork that’s been sent back to Washington. The majority of the inquiry focused on carriers’ ETF pricing structure and whether there are different ETFs involved based on the device a customer chooses, and the subtleties in the differences between answers from different carriers are pretty fascinating. T-Mobile seems resolute that a single $200 ETF is the way to go and emphasizes that its customers …

I read something the other day that argued that Netflix has not a chance in hell of becoming “this century’s HBO.” Netflix may be popular, but don’t expect it to achieve the type of penetration and success of the cable channel. Hollywood politics and whatnot. Another reason is that HBO has designs on the on-demand market with HBO Go, a service that lets its subscribers see “anything they want to see, anytime, anywhere, over their laptop, iPhone, tablet, PlayStation.” The first cable system to get HBO Go is Verizon FIOS . Supposedly HBO Go will eventually be available to all HBO subscribers, but deals need to be put in place between your ISP …

Controlling your TV from your phone isn’t a new concept , but Verizon just made it a bit sexier. Verizon FiOS owners this week can nab a new FiOS Mobile Remote app for their Motorola Droid or HTC Imagio . The application emulates regular remote buttons, but also tosses in an icon-based favorites view of channels, in addition to an ability to sling photos from the phone to the big screen. The phone hooks into your FiOS box over your local WiFi, and requires you to download a widget for the set top box as well to get everything synced up. We’re not exactly sure why this …

We just got a hot tip from one of our Verizon buddies. Apparently Verizon Wireless is starting a new BOGO campaign tomorrow that includes both of its Android handsets – the Droid and Eris – both Palm phones – the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus – along with the LG Chocolate Touch and Samsung Alias 2 features phones. We hear the promotion will allow you to mix and match any of the eligible handsets or even a Winmo/feature phone of equal or lesser value. Of course the buyer will be required to sign a two year contract but that’s par for the course on these…

Bloomberg is reporting that Verizon is planning on adding official support for Skype to its handsets. The two companies are expected to announce a partnership at the Mobile World Congress on February 16, which will allow Skype calls to be made from Verizon phones using the provider’s 3G data plan. This would be a shrewd move on the part of Verizon. Voice calls are becoming a less and less of a profit center for wireless carriers. Look at the big price cuts that both Verizon and AT&T introduced last month : The biggest area of price savings is in unlimited voice plans. Data is still a premium, and in the case of Verizon…

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On , a column about consumer technology. One of the conundrums facing device makers today is how to add wireless connectivity to their products. E-readers such as the Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook use internet access primarily for selling you more content, so it can be completely subsidized. Laptops, on the other hand, can consume large amounts of data, and so plans can run $60 per month and have capped bandwidth, even at that price. Apple and AT&T’s iPad pricing scheme attempts a compromise: a $15 prepaid for a minimal 250 MB per month that could serve the needs of many users (especially with a Flash-less browser and sideloaded video delivery), along with the option of a $30 unlimited plan…