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Samsung Droid Charge: 4G, Android 2.2, $299
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Broadband, Smartphones, Handhelds, Wireless / WiFi,
Verizon today announced that the Samsung Droid Charge will be available on April 28. The Droid Charge is Samsung's first LTE phone, capable of running on Verizon's 4G LTE network.
This will be the second LTE phone on Verizon's network, following the HTC Thunderbolt. The Droid Charge will be running Android 2.2 and powered by a 1-GHz processor. It will feature a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED screen, as well as an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with LED flash, and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera for photos and video chatting.
The Droid Charge's Web browser will support Adobe Flash, and the phone will come loaded with Samsung Media Hub, which features movies and televisions shows to rent or buy.
Verizon claims that users can expect download speeds of 5 – 12 Mbps and upload speeds of 2 – 5 Mbps when connected to the 4G LTE network. The Droid Charge will also feature a mobile hotspot mode that allows up to 10 Wi-Fi enabled devices to tap into those 4G speeds, or up to five devices to connect when on the 3G network. Even better, Verizon is including the mobile hotspot feature at no additional cost for a limited time.
The Droid Charge will be available in Verizon stores and online for $299.99 with a new two-year contract. Verizon is also offering a $25 credit to the Samsung Media Hub for users purchasing the phone.
Gear Live has tested a number of devices on Verizon's 4G LTE network, and it is indeed fast. We will soon be testing the Droid Charge and will post a full review.
During an earnings call this morning, Verizon said it has sold 260,000 Thunderbolts and another 250,000 4G LTE Internet devices.
Click to continue reading Samsung Droid Charge: 4G, Android 2.2, $299
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Verizon 4G LTE is ridiculously fast in Seattle
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Broadband, Smartphones, Wireless / WiFi,
The image above is the result of a speed test using the HTC Thunderbolt on Verizon's 4G LTE network in Seattle. Techinically, Gear Live HQ is about a 20 minute drive north of Seattle, so even well outside the border of the metropolitan area, you still see speeds like this. Now, obviously Verizon isn't able to deliver this kind of speed everywhere that LTE is deployed, and as more devices are sold and the network gets more saturated, things will even out...but it shows the obvious potential that LTE has over other 4G technologies like WiMax. Now you can see why AT&T made the decision to buy T-Mobile. They have no way of competing with what Verizon is rolling out currently.
AT&T iPhone 4 drops more than twice as many calls as Verizon version
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Wireless / WiFi,
While the overal satisfaction rates with the AT&T and Verizon versions of the iPhone 4 are "virtually indistinguishable," consumers on the Verizon iPhone report fewer dropped calls, according to a report released this morning.
Of the 4,068 people surveyed by ChangeWave Research last month, about 82 percent of Verizon subscribers are "very satisifed" with their iPhone 4 and 80 percent of AT&T iPhone 4 users feel the same.
Customers on Verizon, however, reported a 1.8 percent dropped-call rate on the iPhone 4, while AT&T landed at 4.8 percent.
"Similar to the historical patterns in our overall industry findings – Verizon iPhone 4 owners currently report a lower dropped call rate than their AT&T iPhone 4 counterparts," ChangeWave said.
The company noted, however, that Verizon is in the early days of offering the iPhone 4; it debuted in early February. "It remains to be seen how well the Verizon network performs as the number of Verizon iPhone 4 owners ramps up and inevitably puts more pressure on their system," ChangeWave said.
Click to continue reading AT&T iPhone 4 drops more than twice as many calls as Verizon version
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Samsung 4G LTE hotspot for Verizon on sale now
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Broadband, Wireless / WiFi,
The first dedicated 4G LTE hotspot device is now available, as Samsung has released their 4G unit for Verizon Wireless. The hotspot will let you tether up to five devices over Wi-Fi, and in our 4G testing, if you're in an area with good coverage, you can see download speeds of up to 18 Mbps, and upload speeds of up to 10 Mbps. The devices will sell for $100 after $50 mail-in rebate (yeah, they still do those...) along with a two-year contract. Montly pricing starts at $50 for 5GB of data.
Sprint requests government to reject AT&T purchase of T-Mobile
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Wireless / WiFi,
Sprint on Monday formally objected to the merger of AT&T and T-Mobile, and called on the government to reject the deal because it would harm competition in the wireless space.
"Sprint urges the United States government to block this anti-competitive acquisition," Vonya McCann, senior vice president of government affairs at Sprint, said in a statement. "This transaction will harm consumers and harm competition at a time when this country can least afford it."
AT&T surprised the tech community last Sunday when it announced plans to acquire T-Mobile for $39 billion. AT&T argued that the purchase will help stop the spectrum crunch and spur the companies's deployment of 4G service.
Click to continue reading Sprint requests government to reject AT&T purchase of T-Mobile
Hands-on with the Sierra Overdrive Pro and booster dock
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Broadband, Wireless / WiFi,
Sierra Wireless has a secret weapon in the hotspot wars: a booster dock for its new Sprint 4G Overdrive Pro mobile hotspot that can truly send its WiMAX reception and speeds into overdrive. Ensconced in the dock, 4G WiMAX reception jumps by 50 percent, a Sierra product demonstrator in the company's booth told me.
The $99.99 (minus $50 rebate) Overdrive Pro is better in every way than the Overdrive hotspot it replaced. It's smaller. It boots up faster. It has a bigger LCD screen to show status information. The back is a grippy, soft-touch plastic rather than the greasy, slick black plastic of the last model. It has easily accessible dual external antenna ports.
And it has that dock. The dock isn't very portable; it's about the side of an iPod dock. It's really made for your desk. Sprint is the only wireless carrier to offer truly unlimited 4G plans, so one of the aims may be for a docked Overdrive to double as an alternative to a home Internet connection.
Pop the Overdrive into the dock, and it can charge, tether to a PC as a modem, and gets that 50 percent signal boost. The dock will be available sometime in May, Sierra reps at the booth said. They weren't clear on the price.
The Overdrive Pro goes up against the new Novatel Wireless MiFi 4082, which I've been using at the show. The MiFi is smaller and classier-looking than the Overdrive; I suspect it will have slightly longer battery life, too, but that's without any real evidence. The MiFi's e-ink indicators don't give you nearly as much information as the Overdrive's LCD display, though, and it doesn't have the dock option.
We'll test both products as soon as we can get hold of them.
Click to continue reading Hands-on with the Sierra Overdrive Pro and booster dock
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
Verizon 4G LTE network to reach 59 more cities by end of 2011
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Broadband, Smartphones, Corporate News, Wireless / WiFi,
Verizon Wireless on Tuesday announced an additional 59 markets that will have access to its 4G LTE network by year's end, including Tuscon, Sacramento, Indianapolis, Louisville, and Portland.
Verizon launched its LTE network in December with 39 markets, and unveiled 49 more at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, so Tuesday's announcement will bring the total number of cities with LTE access to 147 by the end of the year.
"Aggressively expanding this powerful network beyond major metro areas reflects the reality that the 4G LTE ecosystem is growing quickly," David Small, chief technical officer for Verizon, said in a statement. "Our commitment to reach deep into medium-sized cities and smaller communities by the end of 2011 means the power of 4G LTE can be harnessed and provide advanced services to law enforcement, healthcare workers, educators, and other professionals, as well as to individual consumers, sooner than many thought possible."
Click to continue reading Verizon 4G LTE network to reach 59 more cities by end of 2011
AT&T Buys T-Mobile: Good for AT&T, Bad for Customers
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Editorial, Features, Wireless / WiFi,
AT&T just announced it will buy T-Mobile USA for $39 billion. If the transaction gets approved by the government and closes in a year as planned, it will create the nation's largest wireless carrier by far.
While this is great news for both companies, it's an awful idea for consumers - and I desperately hope the US antitrust authorities rake this merger over the coals.
An AT&T/T-Mobile merger at least makes more sense than the silly T-Mobile/Sprint idea which was being bandied about. Both carriers use the same technologies: GSM, HSPA+ and LTE. While they're on different frequency bands, radios which use all of the relevant bands are becoming easier to build.
The merger neatly solves T-Mobile's long-term problem of not having enough spectrum for LTE, the 4G technology which will soon be a global standard. It gives T-Mobile's struggling parent, Deutsche Telekom, a gigantic cash infusion. And it lets AT&T once again position itself as the number-one carrier against Verizon Wireless, which leapfrogged AT&T technologically this year with Verizon's 4G LTE launch.
AT&T is ahead of T-Mobile on building LTE. T-Mobile is far ahead of AT&T on building HSPA+, a intermediate 4G technology that fits right between the carriers' existing 3G networks and LTE. Together, they could have a smooth and powerful nationwide network.
AT&T's press release for the merger backs this up. The combined carrier will be able to build out much more LTE Than AT&T could alone, by combining AT&T's 700 Mhz spectrum with T-Mobile's AWS spectrum.
For stockholders, this all sounds great. With reduced competition and the efficiencies of a combined network, the new company will probably be quite profitable.
For phone owners, tech lovers, and American consumers, this is a total disaster.
Click to continue reading AT&T Buys T-Mobile: Good for AT&T, Bad for Customers
AT&T to buy T-Mobile USA for $39 billion
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Wireless / WiFi,
AT&T has just announced that they've come to agreement with Deutsche Telekom to purchase T-Mobile USA for $39 billion in cash and stock. Here in the USA, AT&T and T-Mobile are the two GSM wireless carriers, and combined, they currently serve 130 million customers. The deal still needs to be approved by the various regulatory agencies, and the companies have said they expect it to take just about a year before all is said and done. We're sure it'll al go smoothly, and we'll soon be left with just three major carriers in the US. Full press release after the break.
Click to continue reading AT&T to buy T-Mobile USA for $39 billion
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