Major retails join forces on mobile payments system to fend of Google, PayPal, Isis, and other potential digital wallet competitors like Apple.

In a move that makes the Square/Starbucks partnership announced last week look like small potatoes, a group of national and international retailers announced plans to develop their own mobile payment network complete with mobile apps and digital wallet functionality. The move seems almost certain to shake up the nascent mobile payments market where a wide range of companies and organizations have been trying to figure out the secret sauce that will turn mobile payments into a mainstream retail system for the past couple of years.

The Merchant Customer Exchange or MCX, as the new company is known, plans to deliver a solution that offers convenience in both making purchases and in receiving customizable offers from retailers. Development of a mobile app and payment network are underway, but MCX has yet to announce any details about either the app or its network.

Boy how the carriers have managed to pull the wool over our eyes. I remember a time when we used to think anything over $30 for unlimited data was pricey, and now look at us, we’re getting excited because Verizon has “super-secret” 10GB+ plans that start at $100!? Oh how I long for the good ol’ days.

AT&T announced last month that it would be launching shared plans for pooling monthly data allotments between up to 10 devices per account. Instead of paying for a separate data plan for each smartphone, subscribers would be able to use a 1-20GB shared plan across multiple devices, including tablets and desktop computers. Verizon announced a similar strategy in June.

Today AT&T has confirmed that its shared data plans will be available to new and existing subscribers on Thursday, August 23rd.

When AT&T dropped the price of the HTC One X to $99, I didn’t think it could get much better. I guess I was wrong. It’s only been a few days and we’re already seeing two retailers outdo AT&T’s amazing price. Both Amazon Wireless and Costco are now offering the HTC One X for an incredible $79.99 to both new customers and current customers with an upgrade.

Four new cities were treated to some AT&T 4G LTE goodness today, while other experienced increased coverage. Every carrier, other than Verizon, appears to enjoy switching on four markets at a time. Still, those living in the following cities will now feel better about being included in the world of 4G LTE: