05/25, 12:05pm
FCC may require Verizon to divest some AWS spectrum, marketing conditions may see deal fall
Verizon's $3.6 billion buy of AWS spectrum may be approved by the FCC after all, analysts believe, though it will require a number of conditions. For one, it may have to give up some of its spectrum, and has already offered to give some up in the past. What may stand in the way is the conditions of the sale, with all involved trying to get the most of it, CNET reported.
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05/22, 11:58am
Viewdini platform will aggregate video content from free, paid services
At The Cable Show in Boston, Verizon Wireless on Tuesday announced it will soon release a new platform called Viewdini that will allow streaming of video content to subscribers of Comcast Xfinity, Hulu Plus, mSpot, Netflix, and TV sites to their mobile devices. Also, 4G mobile plans are required, and the service will only be available to Android-powered devices first, though support for other platforms is promised, as is content from Verizon FiOS.
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05/21, 10:55pm
Droid 4, RAZR, RAZR Maxx, HTC Rezound
Verizon has announced that four of their phones will receive a patch to enable global roaming on the GSM network. The Droid 4 upgrade was previously announced, and today's announcement adds the Droid RAZR, Droid RAZR Maxx, and HTC Rezound. No specific patch release date has been made public. Following the patch, owners of the four phones will be able to take their smartphones overseas and (for a fee) use voice service in more than 220 countries and receive data in more than 205 countries.
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05/16, 7:03pm
Forcing 3G users off unlimited with 4G LTE migration
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.
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05/16, 10:46am
Verizon announces another 4G network expansion on May 17
Verizon announced it will begin offering its 4G network services in 28 new cities on May 17. At the same time, it will expand coverage in 11 cities. This will bring the total 4G coverage of the carrier at 258 cities, covering over two thirds of the US population.
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05/14, 2:15pm
Droid Razr MAXX gets $100 price cut at Verizon
Verizon has reduced the price of the Droid Razr MAXX smartphone by a third, lopping off $100. Now set at $200 with a two-year contract, which is the same as the original, thinner but shorter-lasting Droid Razr cost not so long ago. The Droid Razr is currently priced at $100 at Verizon.
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05/13, 12:15am
John Wiley and Sons' request for 10 users info denied
Book publisher John Wiley and Sons has run into an unusual opponent in court -- an ISP. Verizonis refusing to comply with a subpoena ordering the company to disclose personal details of subscribers whose IP addresses have been logged pirating their popular "For Dummies" series of self-help guides. All of the subscribers allegedly acquired the copies of the books through BitTorrent-based websites.
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05/10, 2:12pm
Verizon to roll out blue Droid Razr online, in stores on May 17
Verizon will soon begin offering the Droid Razr in a new color: blue. While some stores are already selling the handset in this hue, the handset will arrive online and in all stores on May 17. Verizon already offers the device in white, black, and purple.
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05/10, 1:44pm
T-Mobile still opposed to Verizon spectrum buy, says Philipp Humm
T-Mobile CEO Philipp Humm went on record on Thursday to say the carrier isn't interested in acquiring Verizon's 700MHz spectrum if it can buy its own. During a conference call, SlashGear reported, Humm told investors and reporters that the 700MHz block C spectrum isn't enough for T-Mobile to expand its offerings. He added that incorporating it into its business and hardware would take between three to six years.
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05/08, 6:32pm
Handset bucks the size trend
HTC has brought its latest handsets to CTIA's New Orleans expo, where Electronista had a chance to try out the new Droid Incredible 4G LTE phone that will be headed to Verizon. The handset pairs Android 4.0 with HTC's Sense 4.0 interface overlay, while retaining the classic form of the original Droid Incredible that has been discontinued for some time.
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05/07, 7:05pm
iPhone discounted in Target for a week
Target, which just recently announced it would expand its Apple Store-Within-A-Store (SWAS) program, is now discounting new iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S unite by $50 with a two-year contract, reports 9to5Mac. The new prices in-store offer the iPhone 4 8GB at $50 and the 4S 16GB at $150 with either AT&T or Verizon.
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05/07, 12:55pm
Color app partners with Verizon, will ship on 4G phones
The Color app which isn't a stranger to reinventing itself has now partnered up with Verizon. In this new iteration, which will see the app come preloaded on some of Verizon's Android LTE smartphones, users will get the ability to stream what they're recording live and in HD, while simultaneously saving a local copy. Verizon customers will also have an exclusive feature that allows adding sound to the recording.
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05/07, 10:17am
Phone due in coming weeks, prices still to be announced
Verizon has made the Droid Incredible 4G LTE official, though this wasn't a surpsie, since the handset's product page was leaked last month. The 4-inch Super LCD qHD-equipped phone has Android 4.0 onboard with HTC's Sense 4.0 on top and it will connect to Verizon's 4G LTE network for some of the highest mobile broadband speeds available in the industry. The phone is powered by a dual-core, 1.2GHz Snapdragon S4 processor that's also used in the One S.
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05/05, 7:36pm
TeleCommunication Systems of MD partnering on initiative
Verizonand Maryland-based TeleCommunication Systems are banding together to launch the United States' first text messaging to the 911 emergency service system. It's hoped that the system will enable handicapped users -- or people who are unable to speak over the phone for fear of further risk to themselves -- to more effectively communicate with first responders.
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05/03, 12:51pm
Five-year rollout will bring hotspots to NYC subway
Boingo and Transit Wireless on Thursday announced a deal that will see New York City subway stations equipped with hotspots. The rollout will occur gradually over the next five years in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens stations. Users will need to have a Boingo account or access the hotspot network using their Skype, Sprint, T-Mobile, or Verizon accounts.
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05/02, 11:33am
Verizon HomeFusion LTE rolls out from pilot scheme
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.
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05/01, 12:00pm
Xperia Play gets a number of bug fixes, video autofocus, more
Verizon has just detailed an over-the-air update that it has began rolling out for the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play smartphone. Version 4.0.2.E.0.57 brings with it Android 2.3.4 and its native changes, along with some of Verizon's own customizations. For example, users will now get the Verizon Wireless Video on Demand app preloaded, while VZ Navigator is updated with new 3D maps.
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04/30, 8:15pm
Microsoft backs CISPA bill to the end
Microsoft in a statement Monday clung to a firm stance on the proposed CISPA bill. The firm told The Hill that, despite having said it wanted to "honor the privacy" of users, it wanted the bill to continue forward. It would "look forward" to working with the Senate on the bill.
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04/30, 7:30pm
New prepaid plan, 4G hotspot due on May 1
Verizon Wireless has added new tiers to its phone and data prepaid offerings starting on May 1. A new $80 smartphone plan includes unlimited talk and text messaging while allotting 1GB of data use per month. At the same time, the carrier will ship the Jetpack 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot MiFi 4510L with prepaid mobile packages.
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04/30, 5:15pm
Verizon and Comcast offer double data plans
Verizon and Comcast are expanding their cross-promotional activities into six new markets. The cross-selling gives customers of both companies various incentives including prepaid Visa cards and an offer to double their data package sizes.
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04/30, 12:50pm
Joint Cellcrypt and Verizon service by Fall
Verizon and Cellcrypt are collaborating to supply the US government with secure mobile calling capabilities. The government-grade encrypted voice calling service is aimed to be marketed to military, intelligence, and civilian agencies in the fall as a currently unnamed co-branded service.
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04/27, 8:40pm
Carrier accuses rival of hypocrisy
Earlier this month, T-Mobile went to Washington to protest Verizon's planned purchase of Advanced Wireless Services airwaves from cable companies, writing a letter (PDF) to the FCC urging the regulatory body to block the spectrum sale. Now, Verizon is turning the tables on its competitor, accusing T-Mobile of hypocrisy in a letter of its own.
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04/27, 4:55pm
AOSP vet sees no issue with Android update delays
Google's Android Open Source Project (AOSP) engineer Jean-Baptiste Queru drew flak late Thursday after comments that many have interpreted as giving a pass on slow Android upgrade intervals. He saw Sony's Android 4.0 upgrades having rolled out in a "very reasonable time," five months after 4.0 was available, given the nature of the OS. Sony had even had a head start, since its AOSP code contributions gave it an idea of what to expect for its own upgrades, he said.
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04/26, 11:25pm
Bipartisan bill would put 1.75GHz space in auction
A newly proposed Congressional bill on Thursday would set the terms to shift government frequencies to the private world. Known as the Efficient Use of Government Spectrum Act, it would demand that the FCC include airwaves between 1,755MHz and 1,780MHz in the same auction as one covering the 2,155MHz to 2,180MHz space. If passed, the bill would give the related government agencies five years to get their equipment off the network.
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04/26, 8:30pm
Web code reveals unannounced Curve 9310
According to information buried in the documentation for BlackBerry.net, the BlackBerry Curve lineup will soon receive an addition in the form a previously-unannounced handset. Users of the Crackberry forums have discovered documentation suggesting that the BlackBerry Curve 9310 will be released in the near future on Verizon's network.
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04/26, 7:40pm
Verizon Android 4.0 updates pushes in short window
A telling leak has uncovered at least tentative dates for Verizon's long-in-waiting Android 4.0 updates. The HTC Rezound would go first, according to an anonymous Reddit user, with a test theoretically active now and wrapping up May 7. Customers would start getting the update over the air two days later, on May 9.
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04/26, 11:30am
RAZR MAXX to start shipping with Android 4.0
The German version of Motorola's RAZR MAXX could be one of the company's first phones to carry Android 4.0. A mention of Android 4.0 in the fact sheet shows the OS by name. No mention is made of any changes to Motorola's own interface layer along with the 4.0 upgrade.
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04/24, 7:05pm
ZTE Turbine may be cheapest Verizon 4G tablet
Some new tips have pointed to Verizon aiming for the low-cost tablet with more definitive plans for a ZTE tablet. An accessory maker claimed to PocketNow that the seven-inch, unreleased V66 would come to Verizon as the Turbine. It's rumored to be similar to the Optik at Sprint, sharing its dual-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon, but would have the expected much faster 4G LTE data.
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04/23, 7:45pm
Move comes one day after Sprint release
Verizon has lowered their 2 year contract subsidized price on the Galaxy Nexus LTE by $100 from $299 to $199. This price reduction comes one day after the phone became available on Sprint. The off-contract price remains the same at $649.99.
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04/23, 6:50pm
Alleges Verizon underuses spectrum it alre
T-Mobile has decided to enter its own protest (PDF) in the ongoing saga surrounding Verizon's planned $3.6 billion purchase of Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) airwaves from cable companies. The wireless provider filed a brief with the FCC urging the regulatory board to scuttle the impending deal between Verizon and the cable companies.
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04/23, 5:10pm
Carrier trade association against privacy bill
A proposed privacy law requiring police to obtain warrants for handset tracking has been criticized by a trade association respresenting AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon, CNET has reported. CTIA - The Wireless Association wrote that the California law would "create greater confusion for wireless providers when responding to legitimate law enforcement requests."
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04/23, 11:30am
Droid Incredible 4G LTE to get rapid-fire camera
Verizon itself inadvertently confirmed the new Droid Incredible through a product page (since pulled) on its own Droid Does website. Now known to be called the Droid Incredible 4G LTE, the phone is now known to be a heavily modified take on the One S. While the shrink to a four-inch LCD and an underclocked 1.2GHz Snapdragon were known, it should have the dedicated ImageSense processing chip of the One series to get the burst shooting and faster response times.
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04/23, 6:15am
Samsung Jasper leaks with Snapdragon S4
A new Samsung smartphone with the codename ‘Jasper’ has been spotted undergoing Bluetooth certification. Other details to surface so far about the new handset includes that it is undergoing testing with Verizon and that it is running Qualcomm’s speedy dual-core Snapdragon S4 (MSM8960) based on its proprietary ‘Krait’ architecture. The processor is the same 1.5GHz model found in the HTC One X for AT&T and the HTC One S that has been shown to blow past the quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core chip.
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04/20, 8:15pm
Verizon to cut Nexus price to match Sprint
Verizon is planning to quickly follow up on the Sprint Galaxy Nexus launch with a steep price drop. A leaked minimum advertised price guide at Droid-Life has Samsung's Android 4.0 phone dropping to the same $200 on April 23, a day after Sprint stores get their examples. While it could be a storage cut ike the 16GB RAZR, it's more likely to remain the 32GB edition.
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04/19, 7:55pm
Previous leaks detail specifications of new phone
The year-old HTC Incredible 2 phone is currently unavailable for purchase on Verizon's web store. While the inference is that the phone will return, as it is listed as "temporarily unavailable," previous leaks suggest an imminent release of the Incredible 4G phone, which has been previously seen listed on Verizon's internal databases.
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04/19, 7:00pm
Limited stock expected at retail on April 22
Pre-orders for Sprint's version of the Galaxy Nexus, begun on April 16, may have reflected very strong demand. Earlier Thursday, the pre-order page indicated that inventory had been sold out for those not willing to wait until the April 22 launch. The exact quantities Sprint will have aren't known and make it difficult to gauge actual interest.
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04/19, 2:00pm
Verizon Q1 call vows progress on plans, devices
As part of the call discussing its fiscal results, Verizon on Thursday both narrowed down its shared data plan schedule and reiterated that it was still interested in Windows Phone. The shared data would be coming in mid-summer, CFO Fran Shammo said. The tier is expected to significantly reduce the cost of having more than one smartphone in a family.
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04/19, 12:50pm
Android 4.0 update for Verizon Xoom, Rezound leak
A supposed Verizon employee has shared Android update dates for the HTC Rezound and Motorola Xoom tablet on Reddit. The Xoom tablet will supposedly get the update on April 23, while the Rezound's update will arrive on May 9. What makes the rumor more believable is the amount of detail in the leak.
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04/19, 9:25am
Verizon sheds legacy wired tech as FiOS ramps up
Verizon during a call discussing its winter 2012 results made clear that it was shedding large parts of its legacy business in wired technology. It would stop adding DSL subscribers in those areas where FiOS was active, steering everyone towards the fiber service that's now 63 percent of Verizon's home landline revenue. It was implied that existing DSL users would get support until they left Verizon or upgraded to FiOS.
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04/19, 8:15am
Verizon Q1 2012 defined by smartphone push
(Update: iPhone figures) Verizon reported winter quarter results that were defined by smartphones, albeit with current gaps in its data. The company saw a slight 4.6 percent increase in revenue to $28.2 billion but a much wider 15.7 percent jump in its net profit, which it quantified as 59 cents per share. Smartphones were key to the growth, Verizon said: 6.3 million were sold in the period, making up 72 percent of all its subscription phones.
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04/18, 4:15pm
Verizon replaces roaming plans with $25/100MB one
Verizon has just expanded its global data plan offerings with a new, $25/100MB monthly plan that allows them to access the web in 120 countries outside the US. The new plan goes into effect on Monday, April 23, and replaces the previous, $30/50MB, $75/150MB and $125/300MB options. If roaming users go over the 100MB cap, they will automatically get another 100MB for the same $25, being notified of it through text.
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04/18, 1:55pm
Verizon uses 700MHz as bargaining chip
Verizon has said it would put up some of its 700MHz wireless spectrum up for sale if it's cleared to go ahead with its cable company spectrum deal. The move would give up sections of the A and B blocks of 700MHz space it runs in Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. Its plan wouldn't directly affect the existing LTE network, which runs on the C block.
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04/18, 1:15pm
LTE confirmed on Pantech Breakout successor
The FCC has approved the Pantech ADR910L according to a recent filing. Believed to be the sucessor to the Breakout, Pantech's budget LTE handset on Verizon, the Android 4.0 smartphone will use a dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon processor.
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04/17, 1:25pm
Xbox Live services to go free from April 19-23
In an attempt to get some more users hooked on its premium Xbox Live subscription service, Microsoft will offer it for free for five days, commencing on Thursday, April 19, and running until Monday, April 23. Partners like Hulu Plus, Netflix, and EPIX will also open their doors for free during the same time period. Depending on where users are, however, they will get various amounts of free app access during those five days.
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04/17, 1:15pm
Verizon 4G LTE to cover two thirds of US
Verizon will be adding 4G LTE coverage to 27 new markets and expanding coverage in 44 existing LTE markets. From Thursday, the carrier will be covering potentially two thirds of the US population with the high-speed network.
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04/17, 1:05pm
Sprint LTE could have surprise expansion
Sprint might have more than just the six initial cities for its LTE-based 4G rollout in mid-year. A leak of internal documentation to TechnoBuffalo has shown that the LTE version of Sprint's Network Vision consolidation has been in progress in several other major cities since December. Akron, Chicago, Fort Worth, Nashville, New York, Rialto and Stockton are listed along with the known LTE upgrade cities.
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04/13, 6:10pm
RIM may be close to BBM Android and PlayBook 4G
RIM could be getting close to releasing a pair of major projects based on a pair of tentative rumors in mid-week. One possible sighting emerging from TechnoBuffalo had BlackBerry Messenger being run on an Android device for testing purposes. The lone shot had few extra details, but conspicuously showed an "iPhone test" contact entry, suggesting RIM was developing for both platforms.
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04/13, 3:10pm
Photos say Droid Fighter will be Droid Razr HD
Newly leaked photos and corresponding EXIF data indicate from Japanese site Ameblo indicate that the leaked Droid Fighter smartphone from Motorola will be called the Droid RAZR HD upon launch. The EXIF data of the captured photo contains both the Droid RAZR HD name and the earlier Vanquish codename for the handset, then known only as the Fighter. The phone may retain the Fighter name for some markets, though if whether that's true isn't known.
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04/13, 8:45am
Verizon and Time Warner start on new partnership
Verizon’s controversial $3.6 billion acquisition of AWS spectrum licenses from cable companies initiated late last year has now borne fruit with its wireless services now being offered
with Time Warner Cable bundles. When the deal was first announced, it was intended that Verizon would partner with the cable companies to help expand their services. Time Warner explains in its FAQ that the new bundle now offers customers the opportunity to also enjoy content wirelessly on mobile devices as well.
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04/13, 8:15am
RIM would have used BIS servers for basic data
RIM's former co-CEO Jim Balsillie had proposed using BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) servers to provide data for non-BlackBerry hardware shortly before he resigned his position, new leaks uncovered on Friday. The method outlined to Reuters would have let carriers offer Android and iPhone devices with cheaper data plans that limited Internet access to chat (possibly BlackBerry Messenger) and social networks, much like entry BlackBerry plans do today. RIM would presumably have made money from leasing access to carriers eager to get more smartphone customers and offload some of their bandwidth needs.
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