Today’s Mobile News in Brief (Feb 18, 2011)

As reported here on Cell Phones Etc. and across the Web, here’s your daily brief on what happened in the world of mobile phones this Friday, February 18th 2011.

Nokia giving developers free E7 and free WP7 device
Too good to be true? Well, believe it. This is Nokia’s brazen move to appease their developer community, who, for many years, have supported the Symbian platform, and were understandably caught by surprise with Espoo’s sudden change of plans to go with Windows Phone 7.
Slashgear

Report: Apple remains king of app-store market
The Apple App Store may not have been the one with the biggest year-over-year growth, but it’s still reigns king in terms of revenue. The Apple App Store raked in $1,782 Million in 2010 while its closest rival, the BlackBerry App World, only had $165 Million. Nokia’s Ovi Store landed in 3rd place ($105M), while the Android Market was in 4th place ($102M).
Cnet News

Rogers Acer Liquid mt now officially available
Acer Liquid mt is now available on Rogers. This 800MHz-powered Android 2.2 touchscreen phone packs a 5-megapixel AF camera with LED flash, 720p HD video recording, WiFi, Bluetooth, and a 3.6-inch 480×800 resolution display. It’s retailing for $49.99 on a 3-year contract or $399.99 outright purchase.
Mobilesyrup

Apple Hopes to Squeeze More Battery Life Out of iOS Using Dense Lithium Cells
Battery life is still one of the iPhone’s weakest points. So, it’s not exactly surprising that Apple’s trying to find ways to improve the battery life of their hit mobile device. One such solution their exploring is increasing the density of the battery thus allowing for more power to be stored while maintaining the same compact size.
Unwiredview

Virgin launches 2 new Unlimited plans ($35 & $45)
Virgin Mobile has just rolled out two new unlimited plans, one of which is just $35/month. The $35 Unlimited City Calling Plan comes with unlimited local calling within City Zone, unlimited Canada, US, and international text messaging. It is, however, only available for CDMA handsets, and in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmoton, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. The $45 Unlimited Calling Plan, meanwhile, features unlimited local calling with No Zone restrictions, unlimited Canada, US, and international text messaging, and is available everywhere in Canada except in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
Mobilesyrup