In today’s mobile news roundup: tough, new mobile phone laws passed; Samsung Galaxy SIII mini launch date; Carriers already testing BlackBerry 10 devices; and AT&T and T-Mobile team up to bring service to Hurricane Sandy affected areas.

New mobile phone laws

In an effort to keep roads safe, Australia is cracking down on mobile phone use while driving.   The new laws clearly states that a driver cannot touch his or her phone unless it is placed in a mounted holder inside the vehicle, and a driver can only touch it when making or receiving a call, listening to music, using GPS, or passing it to a passenger.  One cannot use his phone to text or send e-mails, and the phone cannot be placed on the driver’s lap or between the shoulder and ear.

“The fines for using a mobile phone at the moment is $298 and three points, and if you’re caught using a mobile phone in a School Zone that’s upgraded to $397 and four demerit points,” Western Region Traffic Tactician, Acting Inspector Dave Bramble, said.  “If your phone rings, find somewhere safe to pull over, park your vehicle and then make your call.”

Samsung Galaxy SIII mini launch date

Earlier in October, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy SIII mini, as they saw a high demand in smaller smartphones in Europe.  The mini version of one of their most popular Galaxy devices features  a 4” Super AMOLED screen with a 480×800-pixel resolution, dual-core 1GHz chip, 1GB of RAM, available in 8 or 16GB internal storage plus an extra 32GB maximum via microSD, a VGA front-facing camera, 5Mp rear camera,  802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, GPS, GLONASS, Bluetooth 4.0,  NFC, Smart Stay, Direct Call, Smart Alert, S Beam, S Voice and the Buddy Photo Share.  But the South Korean company failed to announce when the device would be available and how much it would cost.

According to sources, the Galaxy SIII mini will be available in the UK on November 8, though pricing for the device remains a mystery.  But the pricing is pegged at  £249 via Vodafone UK, around £300 via Expansys, and £298.80 via Clove.  The Galaxy SIII mini will run Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, the latest version of the Android platform.

Carriers already testing BlackBerry 10 devices

Research in Motion’s BlackBerry 10 mobile operating system is said to be in the hands of over 50 carriers for testing in their networks, as RIM prepares to launch new BlackBerry devices in early 2013.

“I’m very pleased to confirm that we have passed a critical milestone in the development of our brand new mobile computing platform,” RIM chief executive officer Thorsten Heins said in a statement. “This process will continue in the coming months as more carriers around the world formally evaluate the devices and our brand new software.”

The BB10 testing is crucial for the future of RIM, as even a small glitch in the mobile OS could define how relevant they’ll be in tomorrow’s mobile space.

AT&T and T-Mobile team up to bring service to Hurricane Sandy affected areas
Hurricane Sandy already left New York, also leaving a huge scar in the area, as well as the other states in its path.  According to news reports, Hurricane Sandy knocked out 25 percent of cell towers across 10 states, and a lot of subscribers are left without cellular service.  In an effort to help people rebuild their lives, AT&T and T-Mobile agreed to “enable roaming on their networks to customers of both companies in the heavily impacted areas and where capacity is available and for subscribers with a compatible device.”

The agreement stated that “AT&T and T-Mobile customers will be able to place calls just as they normally would, but their calls will be carried by whichever network is most operational in their area. This will be seamless for AT&T and T-Mobile customers with no change to their current rate plans or service agreements even if the phone indicates the device is attached to the other carrier’s network.”