AT&T today provided results for what it says is one of the best summer quarters in its history. The company says it activated 3.2 million iPhones, the most ever in its history and a steep jump from 2.4 million in the spring. It comes despite the iPhone 3GS having launched the previous quarter and points to increasing demand for the phone between July and September.
Alltel Wireless on Thursday announced it is now offering LG's clamshell AX310 handset to subscribers. The entry-level phone has voice-activated calling, a speakerphone and Bluetooth support. Separate controls allow users to record voice memos.
Samsung's Freeform handset has been added to the Alltel Wireless lineup. The entry level device has a 2.2-inch color display and a QWERTY keyboard, as well as customizable navigation keys that can take users to their favorite applications. Music playback capability is built-in, and users can send data wirelessly or hook up compatible wireless headsets or headphones through stereo Bluetooth.
Wireless provider Alltel on Tuesday announced it is now offering the HTC Snap handset. The four-band GSM device uses EVDO Rev. A networks for 3G data access as well as its built-in Wi-Fi connection. Users interface through Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard and a four-row QWERTY keyboard. Microsoft Outlook Mobile is preloaded onto the device, and an Inner Circle feature highlights and prioritizes messages from favorite contacts from any of their saved contact info that includes e-mail accounts.
In most regions of the US, Verizon has the best cellular call quality, claims JD Power and Associates. Between January and June of 2009, the marketing data firm conducted a survey of 25,512 cellular subscribers, polling them on topics such as interference, dropped calls and voice distortion. Verizon is said to rank first in the northeast, mid-Atlantic, southeast and southwest regions, doing particular well in terms of minimizing drops, failed initial connections and failed or delayed text and voice messages.
Wireless provider Alltel announced on Thursday that it will soon offer the Samsung Glint and BlackBerry Tour handsets, with the Glint making its debut at any provider. The basic clamshell sports a VGA camera that has a night shot mode, a web browser, and Bluetooth 2.0. There is SMS, MMS and picture messaging functionality, and Alltel will offer the handset in pink or blue.
JD Power gave a rare three-way tie for the top spot in customer support among US cellular carriers this week. Alltel, T-Mobile USA and Verizon all earned the top spot with each receiving a 747-point score out of 1,000 and a full five-star rating. Each scored well in different areas. Alltel fared best with retail support, while T-Mobile was best in getting customers to live phone help and Verizon was the most efficient at solving problems.
After today's earlier news of the BlackBerry Tour smartphone coming to Verizon, two more sources have reported the device will soon be offered at another US provider, Alltel, as well as Canada's Bell. While no specifics are known about the Alltel release other than the photos that reveal Alltel branding on the phone, the Bell release of the new BlackBerry has been supported with more specific pricing details.
Alltel this morning picked up the LG Tritan. Also known as the AX840, the handset has a T-Mobile G1-like design with a 3-inch touchscreen display that slides out to reveal the QWERTY keyboard for messaging. Although not a smartphone, it still has 3G over EVDO Revision A as well as a 3-megapixel camera and true GPS for use with Alltel's Navigator app.
Alltel Wireless has announced that it will soon offer one-year service contracts for new or renewing subscribers in certain areas. The company claims the phone prices will remain level with the two-year pricing. If true, the carrier would diverge from many of its peers that typically place considerably higher price tags on handsets that are acquired with a shorter contract.
A federal District of Washington court yesterday rejected (PDF) objections to a class action lawsuit that accuses the carrier of abusive behavior in transition customers to its service. The plaintiffs can now bring their complaints, which center on what they claim are unfair practices in moving customers to its network in 2004 when it was still called Cingular; those from the then-smaller, separate AT&T were allegedly not only pulled off a network that was "dismantled" in favor of a poorer Cingular network but were forced to move to more expensive cellphone plans, replace phones and to pay early termination fees if they didn't want to remain on the network.
Cricket gained one of its highest-end phones yet today with the addition of the Motorola QA4 Evoke to its roster. It becomes the unlimited-only carrier's first capacitive touchscreen phone and, like the stock model, has a gesture-driven interface that lets users swipe between home screens that control apps, calling, music and other features. A 2-megapixel camera, GPS and a microSDHC slot round out the device.
(Update at end with official information) AT&T is nearing buying up most of the markets Verizon has to shed from Alltel as part of its buyout, purported sources said on Friday. Of the 24 areas that won't be rolled into Verizon's network, AT&T is believed to be buying 18 and would leave the remaining six for smaller carriers as well as private equity firms. It's not known how close a deal may be.
Verizon has asked the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau for a 60-day extension to complete divesting the markets it currently shares with Alltel, with which it recently merged. The wireless provider is citing the poor state of the economy as one reason for the request, as well as the sheer size of its assets, with each marketing area containing about 200 pages worth of assets that need to be auctioned off. When the Verizon merger with Alltel was approved, it was under the condition that it divests from 105 markets where Verizon and Alltel services overlap.
Alltel Wireless on Thursday announced it will soon be offering the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8230 smartphone on its network. The clamshell handset has a dual LCD display, with the larger, internal display's resolution set at 240x320 pixels. Once opened up, the familiar design remains with a SureType keyboard and access to driving directions and other mapping over GPS, which replaces the Wi-Fi from the Pearl Flip 8220 on T-Mobile.
Alltel Wireless on Thursday announced it is now offering the new Motorola Evoke QA4 touchscreen handset that was released and tested at the recent CTIA Wireless show. The slider handset has a 2.8-inch capacitive touch display that hides a 12-button keypad and is a first for Motorola. The phone also has a 2-megapixel camera and a GPS receiver that can be used with the Alltel Navigation service. The provider's TV on Demand service can also be accessed from the Evoke QA4.
Samsung's Finesse handset is now available for purchase on the MetroPCS website. The smartphone is the carrier's second-most expensive handset behind the BlackBerry Curve 8330 in red and is basically a re-branded version of the Samsung Delve offered by Alltel. While it resembles the Instinct, it lacks the touch buttons for call and menu functions.
First spotted last winter, Motorola's Hint QA30 slider phone with a full QWERTY keyboard is due to be offered exclusively in Canada by provider Bell Mobility starting on April 9th, says a Thursday MobileSyrup note. Pricing will be nearly $330 CAD (about $266) for the handset without a contract, or $280 ($226), $180 ($145) and $130 ($105) when purchased with 1-year, 2-year and 3-year contracts, respectively.
The call quality among various wireless voice network providers has held steady over the last 18 months while the gap between the best performing networks and the worst is disappearing, says a recent JD Power and Associates report, though Verizon is still at the top of the list. On average, its customers have reported just 15 problems per 100 (PP100) calls as related to voice quality, the ability to make connections and the number of drops.
Carrier Alltel Wireless has adopted a new Motorola phone for sale, the VE465. Though not intended as a high-end device, the phone does sport RAZR-like styling in a clamshell design, and EVDO support for faster downloads through the likes of Alltel's Music Connect service. Bluetooth A2DP support is built-in as well, along with GPS navigation.
Alltel is set to release the LG Banter, a slider handset that appears to offer the same features as the Rumor 2 but with slightly reworked cosmetics. The messaging phone offers a QWERTY keyboard, but with an additional fourth row of keys. Other specs include a two-inch screen, 1.3-megapixel camera, microSD card slot and interchangeable face and back plates.
Alltel today claimed a small victory on Thursday with the official launch of its version of the Palm Treo Pro. Beating the Sprint edition by over a week, Alltel's model is now the first Windows Mobile device to use Internet Explorer Mobile 6 and should provide much more representative views of websites, including through Flash and Silverlight support. The carrier doesn't mention any network-specific features, however, beyond supporting faster 3G over EVDO Revision A.
Sprint today at last confirmed a more definitive release date for the Palm Treo Pro on its network. The Windows Mobile smartphone was delayed last month for unknown reasons but is now set to launch with the US carrier on March 15th, when it should sell for $200 on any two-year contract with both voice and data after both online and mail-in rebates. Sprint's version gives access to the company's online music store, TV streaming and navigation services.
A Monday BGR report has Alltel releasing its version of the Palm Treo Pro smartphone this Thursday, March 5th. Alltel, the first US carrier to offer the phone following the delayed Spring version, will reportedly sell the Pro for $199 with a two-year contract and a $125 rebate. The handset includes 3G data network access over EVDO as well as Wi-Fi capabilities and GPS mapping.
Wireless provider T-Mobile topped the rankings in the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Wireless Customer Care Performance Study – Volume 1, scoring 755 out of a possible 1,000 points and edging out competitors Verizon Wireless, at 749, and Alltel, which scored 744 points. The survey asked customers to rate their experiences when dealing with T-Mobile via a phone call with either a live rep or an Automated Response System, in person at a retail location and via the Web.
AT&T may end up acquiring some of the resources Verizon has to auction off to complete its buyout of Alltel, sources tell the Wall Street Journal. The iPhone-carrying provider is reportedly one of the stronger bidders for the estimated $3 billion in cellular coverage, spectrum and other assets that the US government has determined should be sold to competitors to maintain a level playing field. AT&T could gain as many as 2.1 million new subscribers if it purchased all the assets.
Motorola on Tuesday reported further trouble for its recent fall quarter with both an immediate financial hit as well as ongoing drops in its phone shipments. The company says it posted a net loss of $3.6 billion during the three-month period ended in December and pins much of the responsibility on its Mobile Device group, whose losses ave only deepened year-over-year from $388 million in late 2007 to $595 million. Motorola blames drop on the economy and points to its 7,000 job cuts and a just-announced suspension of its usual cash dividend to shareholders as steps taken to rescue its business.
Verizon has announced the completion of its move to acquire Alltel Wireless, cleared by the Federal Trade Commission early last month. Verizon is paying approximately $5.9 billion for Alltel's equity, though it will still have to deal with the latter's $22.2 billion in debt. The purchase should make Verizon the largest cellular carrier in the US, bringing in 12.9 million customers for a total of over 83.7 million; by contrast, AT&T has only 74.9 million. Potential coverage is said to be 290 million people.
The US Federal Trade Commission today approved Verizon's buyout of Alltel and put the resulting company at the top of the US cellular market. The ratification follows earlier clearance by the FCC and Justice Department and finds no antitrust concerns over monopoly status following earlier conditions that required Verizon trade off a small portion of its cellular network to smaller carriers. Verizon hasn't said when it expects to formally roll Alltel into its lineup.
(Updated with Alltel launch info) Motorola today leapt into the growing field of non-smartphone messaging hardware and released the Hint QA30. The handset has the recent squat, wide-aspect design of devices like the LG Lotus to make room for a full QWERTY keyboard. Rather than cater to full mobile apps, though, the Hint is designed for social networking with e-mail, SMS and text-heavy social sites like Facebook. Motorola claims a more advanced web browser than on most simpler devices with quick scrolling and zooming for navigating pages.
A couple of Monday reports have brought an update and a few photos of two new Motorola handsets, the previously previewed Atila and QA30. The former is billed as an iPhone competitor thanks to its 2.8-inch, 240x320 touchscreen and 3G data network support. The quad-band handset will reportedly use Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro. Photos of the Atila were revealed in a Hong Kong-based cellphone forum, though it should be noted that a custom iPhone-like interface is a third-party add-on that will not make it to the standard, production version of the handset.
Verizon today became the late entry among carriers with its own version of the HTC Touch Pro. Similar to the versions from Alltel and Sprint, the touchscreen QWERTY slider phone adds a customized front end with a special Verizon portal for third-party apps, VZ Navigator for the phone's built-in GPS and support for tethering on an appropriate data plan.
Alltel Wireless on Thursday announced the launch of Alltel Perks, a content delivery application that allows the carrier's customers to receive customized content that includes sports scores, weather information, discounts, trivia and more on their handsets. Once the application is downloaded from the Alltel store, it will deliver content to the phone's screen when the phone is idling. Coupons or discount offers from local merchants and restaurants will be sent to users' handsets, which can then be ignored or explored further by clicking a View button.
Wireless provider Alltel has recently added the HTC Touch Pro to its line-up of phones. The QWERTY smartphone is available now, priced at about $280 to new subscribers with a contract and after a $100 rebate. The 2.8-inch, 480x640 screen of the device will show the same Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional operating system though with a somewhat different TouchFLO 3D user interface than the Sprint version of the phone.
Alltel announced on Thursday that the LG Swift handset is now available for purchase at the wireless provider. The handset is the first from LG's line-up to use a next-generation keypad with what the company calls Fastap Press-to-Experience keys. Comprised of six raised one-touch access Quick Keys that act as shortcuts for Alltel Navigation, Alltel Shop, Email, Alarm Clock and Image Library features, the keys sit atop a traditional numeric keypad.
A Thursday report confirms several Samsung handsets will soon be shipping to various wireless providers, including the long-awaited Omnia i910 smartphone coming to Verizon. Along with the Saga i770, it will use Windows Mobile 6.1 as its operating system, with a Renown U810 flip phone also joining the Verizon offerings. The Omnia should share the GSM original's five-megapixel camera, GPS and Wi-Fi but may not have the T*Omnia's higher-resolution display.
The FCC on Tuesday approved the Verizon-Alltel buyout, turning Verizon into the largest US wireless carrier with about 83.8 million subscribers, toppling AT&T's 74.8 million subscriber base. MobileCrunch reports that the $28.1 billion deal involves a buyout of $5.9 billion, accompanied with $22.2 billion in assumed debt. Details of the purchase state that Verizon must maintain a four-year roaming agreement with Alltel's existing partner carriers, a time period suggested by Verizon that doubled the FCC's requirement of two years.
The FCC on Tuesday delayed (Word document) a crucial vote on the Intercarrier Compensation and Universal Service Fund that would potentially have had a significant impact on the costs of non-network phone calls and roaming in the US. The delay comes after all FCC Commissioners save for Chairman Kevin Martin demanded more time for public commentary and was supported by a group of activist groups and smaller carriers that objected to the proposed moves.
The FCC investigation into the Verizon Wireless and Alltel Corp. tie-up and therefore foreign-controlled assets in other telecommunications companies, which could spell trouble for T-Mobile for something it has done back in 2001, according to a WSJ report. On October 17, the FCC sent a warning letter to T-Mobile, advising it that the acquisition by Germany's Deutsche Telekom was not performed under the mandated 20 percent voting stock threshold. The FCC found Deutsche Telekom has a 30 percent, non-controlling stake in T-Mobile, and the letter is asking T-Mobile to come up with a solution that would comply with the 20 percent limit within 30 days.
The US Department of Justice on Thursday approved Verizon Wireless' acquisition of Alltel Communications, bringing through a deal that weighs in at $28 billion. RCR Wireless News reports that the deal, which was first officially acknowledged in early June, will provide Verizon with wireless assets in 100 markets, spread over 22 states, including North and South Dakota, Carolina, Utah, and Wyoming, among others.
Alltel on Thursday became the last major US carrier to take its turn at a full touchscreen cellphone with the Samsung Delve. The handset has some of the styling cues of the Instinct for Sprint but uses non-touch call and menu buttons. Importantly, it also stands as the first American phone to carry Samsung's TouchWiz interface, which lets users add software widgets to the phone's home screen for quicker access to apps or surface-level information. The Delve goes without a smartphone operating system like other high-end devices such as the Omnia, however.
A J.D. Power study released on Thursday has revealed that the percentage of salespeople aid during a buyer's purchase of a wireless service or handset has been decreasing since 2006. At the same time, the survey measured overall customer satisfaction based on four factors, each with a different weight or importance associated with it. Sales staff was first with 51 percent of the weight, store display was at 17 percent with store facility and price/promotion close behind at 16 percent each. Based on these factors, Verizon was tops, scoring 715 out of 1,000 points, with Alltel not far behind, at 710. T-Mobile was third with 696 points, AT&T had 691 points and Sprint Nextel was last among the major carriers, at 669. The industry average was 698.
Alltel Wireless along with LG Electronics announced the availability of the LG Rhythm music phone at the cell provider on Thursday. As its name suggests, the handset is intended for audiophiles as it comes equipped with a DSP and graphic equalizer tuned by home theater audio system designer Mark Levinson. An FM transmitter allows users to stream their music to nearby devices with FM tuners, or listen to their collections personally via a 3.5mm stereo headset connection. The included headset includes a microphone that allows for making and receiving phone calls without fishing the phone out of a pocket.
Wireless carrier Alltel has launched a new music service for its network based on iTunes, an announcement reveals. The service, called nuTsie, lets users listen to music from their iTunes playlists on a variety of phones sold by Alltel. Unlike existing intermediary sync programs, the service additionally gives people the option of listening to music based on recommendations, and viewing playlists created by other users and members of the nuTsie development team.
AT&T has come in last or near-last for call quality in virtually all of the US, according to JD Power's second wave of 2008 call quality rankings. The carrier placed last in four out of six regions and was never able to produce better than a three-out-of-five rating in the results, which measure the number of dropped or failed calls as well as the quality of calls themselves and the responsiveness of the text and voicemail systems. Verizon led the results with the top spot in three of the areas and was followed by Alltel with two wins; both Sprint and US Cellular tied for third with one lead each.
Verizon has just edged out long-time champion T-Mobile in its ability to help cellular customers, according to the results of a new JD Power study. The research group gave the second-largest carrier the nod for a high score of 103 in the survey, which tracked both carriers' ability to provide an actual solution to a given problem on the phone, in person, or online, as well as the amount of hold time for phone help. Verizon is said to be especially noteworthy for resolving many more of its problems the first time where rivals sometimes require multiple sessions.
MetroPCS will use the same fourth-generation (4G) cellular data access as larger carriers, the company has revealed while discussing its latest quarterly results. Though small, the provider says it will switch its network from its existing CDMA format to the same Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard that will be used by AT&T, Verizon and the latter's recent buyout target Alltel.
Estimates that the iPhone will become a widely accepted device are evidence of a bias from those who expect Apple to succeed, Verizon chief Ivan Seidenberg tells the Financial Times in an interview. The executive behind the carrier rebuffs notions that iPhone 3G's up-front price cut to $200 will translate to much larger sales and claims Apple's currently small total marketshare as evidence. Apple is a newcomer that has to prove itself, according to the Verizon head, who also suggests that Verizon itself can be disruptive in a shift to mobile devices from computers.
Cell phone network provider Alltel today announced it teamed up with Wi-Fi network hotspot provider Boingo to expand Wi-Fi access to over 25,000 hotspots in stores, coffee shops and hotels across the US. Plans will be offered to existing Alltel subscribers, or anyone else on a daily or monthly basis without a contract. The company is also offering a Premium service for frequent travelers, which expands those hotspots to include hundreds of airports in the US and thousands more hotspots in Canada, Mexico and Europe.
Alltel is finally upgrading its EVDO broadband network to Rev. A speeds, a representative has announced. The initial rollout phase will last approximately six months, and see Rev. come to 18 regions, including cities such as Phoenix, Tampa, Charlotte, New Orleans and Little Rock, as well as a select group of rural areas. The company expects EVDO coverage to grow from 75 of its network to 82 percent by the end of the year, though it has not said how much will be Rev. A.
