Some HTC handsets, potentially including the One X and Evo 4G LTE, are slowly making their way through US Customs, the company reports. A recent update on the HTC corporate website notes that some handsets are passing Customs inspections, despite an International Trade Commission (ITC) ban on the devices entering the US.
Dish Network has warned the Federal Communications Commission that it may not be able to meet initial deployment goals for its LTE-Advanced network until 2016 or later. In a filing with the FCC (PDF), the satellite company is asking regulators to modify their official guidelines to accomodate a lengthier buildout schedule.
LG has unveilled the Optimus LTE II in Korea. Successor to the Optimus LTE and other Optimus variants, the handset claims to be the world's first smartphone to be released with 2GB of RAM, shortly before the Samsung Galaxy S III reaches Japan in its own RAM-boosted state.
As users move to 4G LTE data sharing plans, Verizon will slowly eliminate grandfathered data plans left over from the $30-per-month unlimited data era. Verizon's planned replacement for the contracts, a "pooled data" type plan, is scheduled to launch mid-summer, but no concrete dates or pricing details have been announced. All the legacy data plans are left over from contracts established prior to July 2011.
Japan's NTT DoCoMo has revealed its summer lineup of releases including 16 Android 4.0 smartphones, a tablet, a mobile phone for children and a mobile Wi-Fi router. The announcement comes at the same time as plans for the company's Dmarket content to be expanded to offer anime videos and music on a flat-rate basis for smartphones and tablets.
HTC has confirmed that US Customs is holding shipments of the HTC One X and EVO 4G LTE smartphones. An International Trade Commission (ITC) ban is in place, preventing the customs release while a review of the shipments for non-infringement of Apple patents is underway. HTC has protested the hold, saying it believes the phones are no longer in violation of the sales injunction applied by the ITC.
Nokia's Lumia 900 represents the pinnacle of the company's new smartphone strategy, pairing premium components with a unique design and Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system. In our full review, we try to determine if the LTE radio, large display and other high-end features will help Nokia and Microsoft fulfill their dream of finally reestablishing themselves in the US smartphone market.
Nvidia and Intellectual Ventures have acquired a sizable patent portfolio from IPWireless. The list of pending and granted patents, totaling approximately 500, consists of wireless communications technologies including essential concepts in 3G, 4G, LTE, and LTE-Advanced. The purchase price of the patents bundle were not disclosed.
Apple appears to have found a solution to complaints (mostly from international dealers) that its touting of LTE or "4G" compatibility in the latest iPad model is misleading outside North America. The company has begun changing the name of the LTE iPad model to "iPad Wi-Fi + Cellular" in its online stores, even in the US and Canada. The change has appeared in other stores, including the UK and Australia.
FreedomPop is now taking pre-orders for its embedded WiMax and LTE iPhone 4/4S case, which first appeared in March. The company is the latest brainchild of Skype founder Niklas Zennstrom and aims to offer users ‘free wireless broadband’ using a freemium service model. Users who put down $99 for a case will get up to 500MB of free data per month in an iPhone accessory that offers users the ability to access 4G speeds, FaceTime video calls, as well as the ability to act as an external battery charger.
The HTC Evo 4G LTE has become available for preorder from Best Buy. The Sprint handset, which Electronista was able to try out last month, is being promoted by the electronics retailer with a $50 gift card for those that take up the offer ahead of the May 18 release date.
Clearwire and Qualcomm have announced a new partnership that will bring support for Clearwire’s TDD-LTE frequency to its multi-mode LTE mobile chipsets towards the end of the year. Clearwire had taken a different tact to most of the other US carriers, who have opted for the FDD-LTE standard. However, the TDD-LTE specification has been widely adopted across the globe by heavyweights including China Mobile, Bharti-Airtel in India and Softbank in China giving Clearwire a unique opportunity to offer a global LTE smartphone.
T-Mobile has hired Ericsson and Nokia-Siemens today for the upcoming $4 billion LTE buildout. T-Mobile's current HSPA+ network covers 220 million people in 229 major markets, and the company argues that it can be called 4G based on speed alone. The LTE expansion is expected to be completed sometime in 2013.
Verizon is making its HomeFusion residential LTE boadband available across the US from May 3. The service has moved from a pilot program to a full product as an alternative to typical cable and DSL connections.
Thanks to The Canadian Reviewer, an image of the previously rumored 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook has emerged at a BlackBerry World breakfast function. As yet, no release date has been confirmed for the device.
Intel and Huawei have established a partnership that will focus on testing TD-LTE network technology. The companies will establish a testing lab in China, where engineers will continue to work on interoperability and implementation trials.
LG has announced that an Optimus LTE variant, the P936, will arrive in Germany as the Optimus True HD LTE. The handset manufacturer outed the name today on its official German blog.
Sprint is reportedly set to reallocate its 800MHz spectrum to be used for 4G LTE network technology. The company currently uses its 800MHz block for the aging iDEN standard, which is utilized for push-to-talk devices, however network operations president Steve Elfman claims the band eventually will be used for LTE, according to quotes posted by FierceWireless.
Sprint will be releasing its version of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus on April 22nd, according to a company document. The leak, via BGR, shows that the LTE-enabled smartphone will be released on the same day as the already announced LG Viper 4G LTE.
Troubled LTE telecom company LightSquared may default on a $1.6 billion loan and reported a net loss of $427 million for the first three quarters of 2011, forcing founder Philip Falcone to consider a "voluntary bankruptcy" to stave off creditors, Reuters reports. The move would buy time for Falcone and his hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners to find ways to salvage the company, which has hit government resistance to its plan to create a satellite "4G" network.
As expected, HTC and Sprint have formally unveiled the Evo 4G LTE smartphone at a special event in New York City. The handset appears to serve as an LTE variant of HTC's One X, which was introduced earlier this year at Mobile World Congress, though the Sprint model offers several additional upgrades alongside the LTE radio.
Rogers is expanding its LTE network with clues that key phones are coming soon. The provider is adding support for the high speed data service in two new major Canadian cities outside of Rogers' Ontario core, including Calgary, Alberta and Halifax, Nova Scotia. Rogers indicated that it will be shipping the LTE-capable HTC One X and Nokia Lumia 900 smartphones within weeks, showing that there won't be much gap between the US and Canada.
Apple may bring the latest iPad model to Taiwan as early as May, now that the Wi-Fi and LTE versions of the third-generation product have passed certification by the National Communications Commission, reports Taipei's Economic Daily News. The testing follows mainland China's approval earlier this week of the Wi-Fi version only, and involves both the tablet itself as well as its battery and charger, as well as checking for compliance with local Wi-Fi and cellular bandwidth laws.
Verizon has announced that its HomeFusion residential LTE pilot program has been expanded to include Terre Haute, Indiana. The service, which serves as an alternative to traditional wired broadband connections, is also available in Birmingham, Alabama; El Cajon, California; Nashville, Tennessee; Dallas, Texas; and Roanoke, Virginia.
Huawei claims to have tested new network technology that is capable of handling data transfer speeds in excess of 30Gbps. The Chinese company suggests its "Beyond LTE" technology achieves such performance due to improvements in antenna structure, radio frequency architecture, algorithms and multi-user multi-input multi-output (MIMO) management.
Global LTE phone shipments may jump by a factor of ten this year, according to an outlook report published by research firm Strategy Analytics. The total number of LTE-equipped handsets is expected to reach 67 million units, up from 6.8 million units in 2011, as the technology is embraced by companies such as Apple.
LG is reportedly working on yet another Optimus LTE handset, known as the P936. Leaked images posted on GSM Done show a mystery device that resembles the company's other LTE offerings, such as the Nitro HD and Spectrum.
Apple is continuing to limit FaceTime calls to Wi-Fi connections, even on 4G-equipped iPads, The Verge notes. Attempting a FaceTime call on 4G brings up the same error message Apple has used with 3G iPhones and iPads. "Connect to a Wi-Fi network to use FaceTime," a pop-up warns.
The Canadian branch of Virgin Mobile is getting LTE "just in time for new iPad," March 16th, according to a leaked document. Coverage will extend across "14 urban centers," with peak downloads up to 75Mbps, although Virgin says speeds should average between 12 and 25Mbps. An LTE microSIM will be included for free alongside any Flexi-Data Plan, which range from $5 a month for 10MB up to $35 a month for 5GB. People paying an extra $5 get a Mobile TV package which doesn't count against data caps.
A new rumor augments tips from last month that Verizon contractors had been upgrading the network infrastructure at flagship Apple retail locations, and says the carrier is hard at work finishing upgrade to as many Apple retail stores as possible to LTE networks so that the allegedly LTE-capable new iPad will be able to be demonstrated in-store. Verizon itself has teased a possible tie-in announcement with an e-mail signup ad.
Huawei has used the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona to announce several new LTE smartphones and devices. The Chinese vendor has revealed that it would add LTE supported versions of the Ascend D series and Ascend P1 handsets as well as the E3276 wireless network card and E5776 Wi-Fi hotspot to its product portfolio. Huawei will be introducing the devices to the European and Asian markets by July.
Beleagured LightSquared, the LTE data company that is facing stiff government resistance to its GPS-fouling technology for implementing wireless networks, is said to be considering hiring former Sprint chairman and Nextel CEO Timothy Donahue to head the company following the resignation of former CEO Sanjiv Ahuja. The veteran telecommunications executive could help the company fight government opposition to its high-speed network plans.
China Mobile has confirmed that it is about to commence the wide-scale rollout of a TD-LTE mobile network. The largest telco in the world with 655 million customers has announced that it will deploy 20,000 TD-LTE base stations by the end of 2012, increasing to 200,000 by the end of 2013. The announcement is significant as the iPhone is not currently available on the influential network due to incompatibilities, but an LTE-capable iPhone would support TD-LTE.
Verizon has confirmed that the Galaxy Tab 7.7 will be available exclusively through Verizon Wireless beginning March 1. The 4G LTE tablet features a 7.7-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, and is capable of full 720p recording and playback. The Galaxy Tab 7.7 also supports 1080p playback through HDMI dock or adapter. It will ship with Android 3.2 (Honeycomb).
LightSquared has failed to make a $56.25 million payment to UK satellite operator Inmarsat. The payment was to be the first of several payments, totaling $175 million for the year to be payed by LightSquared to Inmarsat, in a deal struck between the two in 2007, for access to spectrum. If LightSquared doesn't pay, Inmarsat can legally end the deal.
US Cellular has announced that it is set to offer a 4G LTE mobile hotspot, while the company's LTE network will be expanded to include a variety of cities spread across 14 states. The additional markets to receive LTE service include cities in Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
US Cellular (USCC) has snapped up additional spectrum as it preps for the launch of its LTE-based services next month. On Friday, the Chicago-based regional services provider applied to the FCC for approval to buy five 700MHz licenses in North Carolina and Nebraska. The acquisitions, if approved, will give the carrier LTE-compatible spectrum in six North Carolina markets and eight areas in Nebraska.
Veteran corporate raider/investor Carl Icahn may have grabbed some of LightSquared's debt. Reuters, citing several sources familiar with the matter, reports that Icahn, along with two others, bought up a total of $300 million of the troubled LTE network provider's loan obligations over the course of 2011. Icahn has declined to comment.
Verizon may roll out Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) in early 2013. Citing industry sources, Light Reading Mobile claims that Verizon’s VoLTE service will go live nationwide next year and that it has been successfully trialing an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS)-based app in two markets. Verizon had originally hoped to launch the service in 2012, although if it begins its roll out before the end of the year, it may be in limited markets.
Citing unnamed sources "familiar with the product," Bloomberg reports that the next iPad, expected to go on sale in March, will sport a "high-definition" screen, use a faster processor and be compatible with Long-Term Evolution (LTE) type 4G cellular networks. The claims summarize most of the educated guesses any Apple-watcher might have about the next iPad, but if true the LTE compatibility coming before the iPhone would be an unusual move.
Among the high-end smartphones introduced at CES, LG added its Spectrum handset to the crowd of upcoming Android devices. Electronista took a closer look at the company's new Android flagship, which features 4G LTE connectivity, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor and a 720p HD display.
Motorola has introduced the latest device in its Android lineup, the Droid 4. The handset keeps to the tradition that began with the original Droid, advancing the QWERTY slider into the 4G LTE era. The fourth-generation model measures 0.5-inches thick, similar to the earlier models, however the company claims it is the "thinnest and most powerful" QWERTY LTE smartphone.
AT&T appears to be preparing to introduce new Windows 8 tablet next week at CES in Las Vegas. The carrier is holding a special event ahead of CES for developers, with a session to be focused on "Windows 8 tablets super charged with LTE."
Sprint appears to be readying Samsung's Galaxy Nexus handset. Online advertisements point to the upcoming offering, which is touted as the company's "first 4G LTE phone," however the company has yet to make a formal announcement. The placements appear to have been published ahead of schedule, as the ads lead users to a broken link on Sprint's website.
Verizon has finally shed light on the frequent outages that have affected the company's expanding 4G LTE network. In an interview with GigaOM, Verizon network engineering VP Mike Haberman downplayed the recent problems as "growing pains" that are a result of the company's position as "pioneers" rolling out a large deployment of new technology.
Pantech is reportedly preparing to launch an eight-inch tablet that will arrive in the US with support for AT&T's 4G LTE network. Although the company has yet to formally introduce the tablet, the information published by Korean news outlet JKN corroborates earlier reports pointing to benchmark tests for a Pantech tablet that carries the model number P4100.
Verizon has finally begun distributing a Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet equipped with a 4G LTE radio. The release brings Samsung's custom interface overlay, which was originally released in August for the Wi-Fi variant. Users can take advantage of new widgets, additional Live Panel apps, enhanced media player apps and other aesthetic tweaks.
LG's Spectrum and HTC's Fireball handsets may be the first of Verizon's 4G LTE devices to offer global roaming capabilities. A leaked screenshot from Verizon's internal systems, which was posted on Droid-Life, suggests both devices have received the "global phone" designation that would allow users to take advantage of GSM networks while travelling.
GM subsidiary OnStar has teased a revamped infotainment system that takes advantage of 4G LTE networks to expand the range of connected features. The company is currently teasing the new system, which will allow users to participate in video chats via Skype. The faster connection speeds also enables users to access streaming multimedia content.
The ongoing battle between LightSquared, a company that wants to launch a nationwide 4G (LTE) network in partnership with Sprint, and the rest of the GPS industry took another turn today as a leaked draft of a government report concludes that implementing LightSquared's planned network would cause "harmful interference" to about 75 percent of GPS receivers, BusinessWeek reports. The testing contradicts LightSquared's claim that it had found a fix for the issue.
