Sprint Nextel Corp

It has been 63 years since Frank McNamara invented the credit card, and those little pieces of plastic are everywhere. But now, a groundbreaking new technology could upend the industry he created.

Let's go over some of the items that will shape the week ahead on Wall Street: Pricey iPads and cheap smartphones will dominate tech; retailers' will report earnings; Winnebago will tell us what it has in the tank; and the smart money will be watching an eye in the sky.

AT&T has some 17 million customers with "unlimited data" plans that can be subject to throttling, or the placement of virtual wheel clamps that slow download speed dramatically. What's surprising customers is how little data use it takes to reach that level -- sometimes less than AT&T gives people on its "limited" plans.

Active smartphone users better get used to an ugly buzzword: throttling. AT&T has begun slowing down the most voracious 5% of its data users. And while cell carriers may feel they have to push back against the bandwidth hogs, the customer response may be more than they bargained for.

There's never a dull moment on Wall Street, especially now that the market is hitting multiyear highs. Let's go over some of the news that will help shape the week that lies ahead.

Far too many customers aren't paying their phone bills on time, if you ask the phone companies. Three of the top four submitters to third-party collection agencies are major telephone carriers. And the reasons why should come as no surprise.

It is unusual for a stock's price to double in a year, but several well-known companies' shares have done it recently. The more important question for investors is: Which stock could be next? 24/7 Wall St. offer their list of S&P 500 companies whose stocks could double in 2012.