Wireless Communications

YOU KNOW the shot: Seen from above, the hero (or villain) is hurtling down the freeway, top down, one hand on the wheel and the other clutching a cellphone to his ear. It's Hollywood's image of how deals are made, dates are broken and gossip is shared, at 65 miles per hour. On Tuesday, that shot will be history. California motorists -- as well as those in Washington state, where a similar law was recently passed -- will be prohibited from talking on hand-held cellular phones while driving.

AT&T Inc. said Tuesday that it would start selling the speedier versions of Apple Inc.'s iPhone on July 11, and that at some point in the future people would be able to buy the gadgets without a two-year service contract. The wireless carrier, which for now has exclusive rights to sell the iPhone, said it would charge $599 or $699 (depending on the amount of memory in the phone) for versions of the phone without a contract. Understandably, some of the Web world took it to suggest that the phone might be usable on other carriers.

Have you chosen your new hands- free headset yet? Armed with a photovoltaic cell, the new Iqua Sun is the world's first solar-powered model, which means Angelenos, beach bums, baseball players and gardeners will rarely have to recharge. -- Elizabeth Khuri -- Iqua BHS 603 Sun Bluetooth headset, $89.99, at Fry's Electronics and www.iqua.com

Wi-Fi is heading skyward. Delta Air Lines Inc. announced Tuesday that it would begin offering the service -- for a fee -- on its domestic flights this fall. The airline expects to outfit 330 planes by next summer, making it the first major U.S. carrier to offer Wi-Fi on its entire domestic fleet (not including regional subsidiaries such as its Comair service).

Nobody likes waiting on hold. If it's not the jazzy elevator music that drives you up the wall, it's the repeated "your call is important to us" message that serves not to calm you but instead to remind you that it's been a really long time and you're still on hold. Wireless companies seem not to have gotten the memo. According to a J.D.

California drivers chafing at the ban on holding cellphones can soon forget about texting, too: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has banned motorists from sending, writing or reading messages on electronic devices starting Jan. 1. Schwarzenegger signed legislation Wednesday that imposes a $20 fine for a first offense of texting while driving and a $50 fine for any subsequent violation.

Broadcasters including CBS Corp. and Walt Disney Co.'s ABC asked the Federal Communications Commission to delay a Nov. 4 vote on a plan to free up unused TV airwaves for wireless Internet access. The agency should push the vote back at least 70 days to allow the public to comment on this week's finding by FCC engineers that steps could be taken to prevent harm to digital television signals, the broadcasters said. The report is erroneous and the airwaves plan may interfere with millions of digital TV sets, they said.

Cable TV provider Cox Communications Inc. was expected to announce today that it plans to have its own cellular network up and running next year, a move that intensifies cable's competition with telephone companies. Cox had signaled an interest in building a wireless network by spending $550 million on licenses to use the airwaves. But such spectrum purchases don't always lead to the building of a network, and privately held Cox hasn't previously detailed plans for one.

The modern dating scene has come to this: a text-messaging service that hits random female subscribers in Los Angeles with such messages as "Hello to all the beautyful ladys." Tech-savvy singles are now relying on cellphone-based services to find new dates and friends. The programs help users find strangers to exchange text messages with and even find, on a handset's digital map, nearby people looking to connect. Joshua Beaman, a 29-year-old sound engineer from Calistoga, Calif.

Sprint Nextel Corp. said it had ruled out a sale of its Nextel wireless network, deciding to revamp it instead. Sprint will keep getting equipment and support for the network through a newly extended deal with Motorola Inc. Nextel, purchased in 2005, can still attract customers who enjoy features such as a walkie-talkie service, Sprint said.