Do you remember the good old days when you had choice? You could rummage through your drawer to find your sears coupons, and then you could sit back and order anything you wanted from the Sears catalog. Oh yes, those were the days.

Microsoft Corp will formally offer a series of smartphones using the revamped version of its mobile operating system on October 11, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing people familiar with the launch plans.

AT&T Inc will start offering these phones four weeks after the launch, which is expected to be centered in New York, with additional events in other cities, the report said.

For some reason I don’t think the “Windows Phone 7” is going to bring back that nostalgic feeling of getting what you paid for.

Wasn’t this once considered an iPhone killer?

Google has pulled the plug on the Nexus One, its once highly anticipated smartphone, following disappointing sales. The last shipment has arrived at Google HQ, and once those are gone there will be no more Nexus One devices for U.S. consumers.

Hmm. iPhones are still being sold. Poor Nexus One. It never had a chance.

I think AT&T reasons for changing their pricing plans is bogus.

AT&T just did away with its all-you-can-eat smartphone data plans — bad news for those who stream video on their iPhones all day, but potentially good news for the rest of us, given that the cheapest of the new capped plans goes for just $15 (rather than $30) a month. Also: AT&T is finally ready to offer iPhone tethering.

Sure, people use a lot of bandwidth, but those same people will be using it whether they are on AT&T or not. I use my iPhone ALL DAY every day. I hardly ever go over the 2GB limit on their new plan, but the heck if want to risk going over that cap with their new plans. I would only save $5 going to their new plan, and you never know when ‘unlimited’ might come in handy.

British bank Standard Chartered is replacing the BlackBerry, currently its standard corporate communications device, with the iPhone, a move that could eventually result in thousands of bankers switching to the Apple device for business communication on the go.

Standard Chartered bankers in Asia told Reuters that the London-based lender was giving its corporate BlackBerry users the option of switching to the iPhone, with the company agreeing to continue to pay monthly billing for business-related telephone and data services.

Just like good diet pill reviews, this is a non-issue. As someone who has used both the Blackberry and the iPhone extensively, the choice here is a no-brainer. I get twice as much done on my iPhone than I ever got done with a Blackberry.

Some people don’t like contemporary furniture. I do. A lot of people have a problem with AT&T. I don’t.

I don’t know if it’s the fact I live in the sticks and get the best coverage from them or the fact that I just don’t use my iPhone in many areas with tower problems that cause calls to drop.

Either way, I am happy, for now anyway.

Looks like you can toss your Verizon iPhone dreams in the garbage for now, as AT&T — the network with the lowest customer satisfaction rate and most dropped calls — holds an exclusive on the iPhone until 2012. Apparently everything we thought about the contract’s expiration was wrong.

Before the original iPhone launched in 2007, USA Today reported that Apple and AT&T has entered a five-year carrier exclusivity agreement. That report was never verified, though, and the terms of the agreement between Apple and AT&T have long been the subject of debate. Until this week, that is, when Engadget poured through documents and found that, in 2008, a class-action lawsuit alleging monopoly was filed against Apple. Apple’s response confirmed the five-year deal: “[T]here was widespread disclosure of [AT&T's] five-year exclusivity and no suggestion by Apple or anyone else that iPhones would become unlocked after two years.”

Here’s an excellent video comparing the two phones, side by side.

It seems there are great apps released for the iPhone every day. Whether for personal use or business use, there really does seem to be an app for everything.

Two new apps aimed at business travelers and several new tech and business news apps are among the latest additions to InfoWorld.com’s iPhone business apps catalog — an interactive listing of iPhone apps of use to professionals, businesses, and IT staff. The two travels apps are USPS Mobile, which helps you track packages and find Zip codes and post offices when on the go, and ETA, which helps you plan your route and estimate arrival when traveling in the U.S. and Canada by car or plane.

Now if I could just find an app to find Outer Banks rentals when I am ready to take a vacation. Is there an app for that too?

Microsoft is a competitor in the search engine business? When did this happen and why didn’t I get the memo?

Verizon Communications Inc said it agreed to a mobile search deal with Microsoft Corp and that details will be announced later on Wednesday.

Chief Executive Ivan Seidenberg said Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer is due to announce their deal at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Seidenberg, speaking at a Citigroup conference, gave no further details.

Weird. Can you find me now?

I don’t get this. If you want a mobile phone, wouldn’t you buy a mobile phone? Would you buy an mp3 player that could be “transformed” into a mobile phone?

Apple may have a new mobile phone to compete with–one that runs on its iPod Touch.

Truphone’s app turns the iPod Touch into a mobile phone.

The MP3 player can be transformed into a mobile phone with the help of a free app from Internet telephone company Truphone. The new app allows users with a Wi-Fi connection to make and receive phone calls via voice over IP with other iPod Touch owners, users of the Google Talk’s messaging service, and customers of Truphone’s Internet telephone service. The company said it expects to add the ability to handle landline calls.

Would you buy a washing machine that could be transformed into a microwave?

This is too funny. Before the iPhone 3G was released, I sold my T-Mobile Wing to save up enough money to get one. The power company came and took a bite out of my wallet, and here I sit, with no cell phone, let alone an iPhone. Just the other day, I was commenting to the wife that I wish they sold the iPhone at Best Buy, because I have credit with them, and I could get the phone and make payments.

Sure enough, wishes sometimes come true. And I am not talking Leptovox.

Best Buy Co. will start selling the iPhone on Sept. 7, becoming first U.S. chain to do so outside of Apple Inc.’s and AT&T Inc.’s own stores.

Wednesday’s announcement by Best Buy expands the availability of Apple’s vaunted phone to 970 full-size stores and 16 smaller Best Buy Mobile stores. It’s also a coup for the Minneapolis-based chain, which has been upgrading its cell-phone departments.

Amazing. Now, I just have to decide if I want to give Best Buy my business or not. Ha!