A court has ruled that Verizon can continue to air ads attacking AT&T’s 3G coverage. So how does AT&T respond? By airing its own anti-Verizon ads of course.

Legal documents are traditionally filled with jargon, gobbledygook, legalese and wishy-washy language full of ifs and maybes. But not the latest filing by Verizon.

Verizon is to double the fee it charges customers to cancel their service contract. The change may be designed to deter buyers from getting a subsidized phone upon release and then selling it at a profit.

Verizon says it isn’t worried by claims that additional costs for using Microsoft Exchange will put business users off the forthcoming Motorola Droid handset. It notes the policy applies to all handsets and says the Droid is “primarily a consumer phone.”

Motorola’s Droid handset, the subject of a Verizon ad slamming the iPhone, appears to be ready to buy earlier than expected. Verizon has announced what appears to be a launch event for Oct. 28, while Best Buy looks set to sell a contract-free version of the phone four days earlier.

Pretty much every consumer-oriented smartphone is a rival to the iPhone. But Verizon’s latest marketing campaign doesn’t even pretend to make that rivalry subtle.

A federal court has thrown out a claim that mobile phone networks should pay royalties every time their customers play a ringtone of a copyrighted song. The judge involved dismissed both the principle of the claim and the suggestion that networks had any responsibility.

With Windows Mobile 6.5 launching today, manufacturers are unveiling their first handsets designed specially for the system. In the U.S. that includes three HTC models plus a new Samsung device.

It’s been another week of mixed news for Palm over its Pre handset. The device will likely get a boost in sales thanks to a major price cut by Amazon, but it appears Verizon has ditched plans to carry the handset on its network.

Verizon has cut the price of all but two of the smartphones on its network to $99. It appears to be a combination of responding to recent iPhone price cuts and clearing the way for some major new models.