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Bleeding Edge TV 476: FreedomPop offers free 4G data plans
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Broadband, Cell Phones, CES, CES 2013, Features, Podcasts, Portable Audio / Video, Videocasts, Videos,
Did you know that you can get free 4G data over WiMAX (and, eventually, LTE) for use with your iPod touch, iPhone, PC, Mac, and tablet? It's true, and the company that's bringing to you is called FreedomPop. Currently, FreedomPop offera 500 MB of free WiMAX data to customers per month, and you can earn even more monthly free data by referring friends to the service. If you run out and need more during a month, you can buy more. Get a look at how it all works in this episode!
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FreedomPop Burst router offers 1 GB of free 4G data per month
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Broadband, Internet, Wireless / WiFi,
FreedomPop provides free 4G data to mobile customers, and has now launched the Burst home router. The FreedomPop Burst provides a free 1 GB of WiMAX data each month to buyers, after they pay an $89 deposit to get the router itself. Users can purchase additional buckets of data if need be, but FreedomPop also allows you to earn more free data by adding friends to their network through email and social media, as well as through signing up for partner promotions. It's an interesting approach. Check out the video after the break for more on FreedomPop.
Click to continue reading FreedomPop Burst router offers 1 GB of free 4G data per month
Best Buy says EVO 4G LTE releases May 23, HTC says ‘not so fast’
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Corporate News, Handhelds,
We know that there are plenty of folks who've pre-ordered the HTC EVO 4G LTE that was scheduled to launch on Sprint tomorrow, but due to the HTC devices infringing on Apple patents, they're held up indefinitely in customs. For whatever reason though, Best Buy has posted an update letting shoppers know that it will have the EVO 4G LTE available for sale on the 23rd. HTC responded, saying that there have been no changes, and that it remains in contact with U.S. Customs to secure approval for the shipments of the EVO 4G LTE and One X smartphones.
Read More 
| The Verge
Sprint Tri-Fi hotspot brings LTE, WiMAX, and 3G connectivity for $99
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Broadband, Wireless / WiFi,
Sprint has made the smart decision to move to LTE for its future high-speed mobile network, but in the meantime, it's got WiMAX and 3G to take advantage of while building out the faster LTE that's set for a limited summer launch. Rather than continuing to sell deprecated hotspots, Sprint is hoping tha the Tri-Fi will be a nice bridge. Set to launch on May 18th, the Sprint Tri-Fi is a mobile hotspot that supports its current WiMAX and 3G networks, as well as the LTE network as well, and comes to you from Sierra Wireless. You can pick this bad boy up for $99 after a $50 rebate, alongside a two-year contract.
Sprint looking to roll out Windows Phone 8 LTE device?
Posted by Andrey Malskiy Categories: Smartphones, Handhelds, Microsoft, Rumors,
Sprint has recently announced that it plans on moving into the LTE market, finally recognizing that WiMAX isn't the place to be long-term. Now, don't get your hopes up of it launching anytime soon...you might want to sit back down and grab a cup of coffee and wait.
Sprint will be carrying a new LTE device powered by Qualcomm’s MSM8960 Snapdragon, however it remains a mystery as to which OEM will be producing the device. Our bet is that it will be Nokia, as Sprint is planning on adding a Windows Phone 8 device to its line up. Now given that info, since Windows 8 is set to release at the end of the year, we don’t except Sprint to roll out its LTE network until that timeframe, in limited markets.
Read More | SprintFeed
Apple ready to launch a Sprint iPad?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Handhelds, Rumors,
Sprint could be the next carrier to support the iPad. According to 9to5Mac, Apple and Sprint have finished a version of the tablet that is compatible with Sprint’s network and it will launch in time for the holiday shopping season.
Word on the street is that the Sprint iPad is a completely different model from the CDMA iPad that Verizon carries, even though both carriers’ networks use that standard. It’s unclear whether or not the iPad will run on Sprint’s 4G WiMAX network.
As far as the launch timeline goes, Sprint will start selling the iPad soon after it begins carrying the iPhone 5. While the reports that Sprint is getting the iPhone have yet to be confirmed by either Sprint or Apple, this should all happen at the beginning of October. It also speculated Sprint could offer users a much more “generous” data plan, citing the rumors that it would one-up AT&T and offer unlimited data on the iPhone. The site said Sprint could peddle the same plan for the iPad.
Click to continue reading Apple ready to launch a Sprint iPad?
Why is the HTC Evo View 4G the first Android tablet that supports Netflix?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Editorial, Handhelds, Home Entertainment,
Here comes the HTC Evo View 4G! And it's packing a lot of firsts for its Friday debut on Sprint: The tablet is Sprint's first 4G Android tablet to hit the market, period–that's the first tablet set up to work with the company's 4G WiMax network—around 5 Mbps downloads and 950 Kbps uploads.
Most importantly—for movie buffs—the HTC Evo View 4G is the first tablet to ship with built-in support for Netflix movie and video streaming. In doing so, it joins an exclusive club of Android devices that support the service: A sad list that's currently limited to just nine Android smartphones.
So what's the deal? Are other Android-equipped devices—both phones and tablets—just too slow to run Netflix? Not necessarily. A Sprint spokeswoman confirmed in an interview with Wired that the company performed plenty of testing to ensure that Netflix streaming would proceed smoothly across the company's network.
The more realistic answer as to why you can't yet get Netflix on, say, a Motorola Xoom tablet, is the ugly monster that often rears its head whenever Android upgrades are discussed: Fragmentation. In the case of Netflix, the company has to perform extra research and configuration to ensure that the digital rights management systems it employs work across a number of Android devices. And that's not just a work-once, works-everywhere kind of proposal.
Click to continue reading Why is the HTC Evo View 4G the first Android tablet that supports Netflix?
Nexus S 4G launches May 8 on Sprint for $199
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Broadband, Smartphones, Handhelds,
The Samsung Nexus S 4G will be available from Sprint starting May 8, the carrier announced this morning.
Users can snap up the Android-based smartphone for $199.99 with a two-year contract in Sprint retails store, online, and at Best Buy.
Sprint and Samsung first announced plans for the Nexus S 4G in late March; it's Sprint's first pure-Google Android phone and the first stock Android phone with WiMAX.
The phone will run Android 2.3 Gingerbread and a 1-GHz processor. It features a 4-inch Super AMOLED 480-by-800 touch-screen display, a rear-facing 5-megapixel camera with camcorder and flash, and a front-facing VGA camera. The Nexus S 4G is Bluetooth-enabled, has stereo speakers, and a media player with 3.5mm stereo headset jack.
Sprint said the phone features a curved design that provides "a more comfortable look and feel," as well as a screen that "produces less glare than on other smartphone displays when outdoors, so videos, pictures and games look their best and the sun won't wash them out."
Click to continue reading Nexus S 4G launches May 8 on Sprint for $199
It’s official: I’m addicted to 4G
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Broadband, Smartphones, Editorial, Wireless / WiFi,
I'm addicted to 4G, and it could happen to you, too.
By now, almost everyone has seen TV commercials advertising 4G phones. Essentially, a 4G mobile hotspot lets you work anywhere as if you were at home or in the office with a fast broadband connection. With sustained average download speeds in excess of five megabits per second, it's likely you won't be able to tell the difference.
Granted, many felt the same way about the first 3G cellular modems released several years ago. But the Web has become much more advanced since then; all that extra AJAX and HTML5 code takes more bandwidth. People are also streaming more music and video these days. As a result, 3G no longer seems like enough.
In addition, the Apple iPhone 4 and Android smartphones running OS 2.2 (commonly known as Froyo) now offer mobile hotspot capability. That means that for an extra monthly fee, you can use your phone as a 4G hotspot for up to five devices—or even eight, in the case of the HTC Thunderbolt. You no longer need to buy a separate cellular modem, which was really just one more thing to carry around, charge all the time, and worry about losing. Mobile hotspot access averages $20 per month across the major U.S. carriers. That's not chump change, but it's a long way from the $50 to $60 per month a separate USB modem normally costs.
Click to continue reading It’s official: I’m addicted to 4G
Sprint to hike rates on smartphone data plans by $10
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News,
If you're planning to get a new smartphone on Sprint, you should probably do so in the next couple of weeks. After Jan. 30, data plans for smartphones activated on the carrier will go up in price by $10 a month, the company announced today.
Called "Premium Data," the mandatory charge is added to the Sprint's existing unlimited $70 Everything Data plan, pumping it up to $80 a month. Sprint says the increase is to address its users' "growing appetite for a richer mobile experience." The charge affects only smartphones activated Jan. 30 or later—existing customers will not experience the increase until they upgrade.
Click to continue reading Sprint to hike rates on smartphone data plans by $10
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