Today’s mobile roundup features Nokia’s battery fix and their big plan for the Lumia 900, Oracle declining Google’s offer for an Android settlement, and more.

Nokia and AT&T set the stage for the Lumia 900

On April 8, AT&T will start selling the Nokia Lumia 900 across the US for only $99.99 with a two-year contract.  Aside from the Lumia 900 being the cheapest flagship AT&T will ever sell, Nokia and AT&T will be bringing out the big guns on launch day.

“Before you walk in to the store, you know this is our hero phone,” said AT&T device head Jeff Bradley.

In a span of six to eight weeks, AT&T and Nokia will be going all out with TV ads, posters, and signs to raise awareness for the device.  The Lumia 900 will be the centerpiece in all AT&T stores, each staff will have a device on hand at all times so they can show them to customers immediately, and they will be launching accessories for the device so people will see that it is the “IT” device.

This might be Nokia’s last chance to reenter the US market and prove that a Nokia Windows-based phone is the “must-have device.”

Aside from the Lumia 900’s launch, Nokia released their fix for the battery issue of the Lumia 800.  According to some, the battery’s life increased threefolds or up to 25-30 hours of battery life.

Nokia also stated that they will opt not to license essential SIM-related patents to a new nano-SIM standard if the European Telecommunications Standards Institute chooses Apple’s design over their own.

“As a result of the issues with the 4FF standardization work, Nokia is not willing to contribute its own IPR to the standard, if the Apple proposal is selected in violation of ETSI’s rules,” the statement read.

“We urge ETSI members to resist this behaviour, which is not in the best interests of the industry or, more importantly, of consumers.”

Oracle declines Google’s offer to settle

Oracle sued Google in 2010 claiming the Android platform infringed their Java patents.  District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco set the trial date on April 16th.

Google offered to pay Oracle an estimated $2.8 million in damages on the two patents remaining in the case, covering the period through 2011, and for future damages, Google proposed paying Oracle 0.5% of Android revenue on one patent until it expires this December, and 0.015% on a second patent until it expires in April 2018.

Oracle declined the offer stating that, “Oracle cannot agree to unilaterally give up its rights, on appeal and in this court, to seek full redress for Google’s unlawful conduct.”

Alsup stated that if the two decide to settle, they should settle before noon of April 13 so that potential jurors would not have to make the trip to court.  But personally, Alsup is looking forward for the trial.

“This is the World Series of IP cases,” Alsup said.

Dell throws in the towel

Dell discontinued selling their Venue and Venue Pro smartphones in the U.S. and made no announcement regarding whether they plan on replacing said products with new handsets. A Dell representative said the phones were discontinued because they had reached the end of their lifespans.

“Mobility products have shorter lifecycles than laptops and desktops,” a Dell spokesman said in an interview.

Caps on roaming fees extended

European lawmakers reached an agreement that would extend the Continent’s system of retail price controls on mobile phone roaming charges for five years and enacted price caps on mobile Internet fees paid by traveling smartphone users.

“The new roaming deal gives us a long-term structural solution, with lower prices, more choice and a new smart approach for data and Internet browsing,” said Neelie Kroes, the European commissioner responsible for telecommunications.