Samsung hopes to be the first smartphone manufacturer to launch a smartphone with LTE-Advanced connectivity, according to head of mobile business JK Shin. The high-speed smartphone will be another variant in the Galaxy S4 range of devices, and could be shipping to customers in South Korea before the end of this month.
Sprint has updated its terms and conditions for its subscribers, detailing what the carrier could do once it shuts down its WiMAX service. The change, made on May 22nd, takes the form of a single paragraph, and provides customers three different choices, including the option to deactivate the service without being charged an early termination fee.
AT&T has confirmed it will carry the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 on its network. Last seen passing through the FCC with support for the same LTE bands that AT&T uses, the tablet will work on the carrier's 4G LTE network, and brings along the same 1280x800 eight-inch display that Electronista tried out at Mobile World Congress in February.
A new smartphone from Casio will be making its way to Verizon, according to a leaked image. The Casio Commando 4G LTE, the follow-up to the Casio G'zOne Commando released in 2011, appears to retain most of the angular and ruggedized appearance of its predecessor, but adds in LTE connectivity and is likely to have other improved internals.
Sprint has confirmed it will start selling the LG Optimus F3 later this month. The smartphone, revealed last month, will become the cheapest 4G LTE phone on Sprint's roster, and will be the first phone preloaded with TalkBack, a text-to-speech feature from Google that allows the visually impaired to navigate the device straight out of the box.
Intel has revealed more of its future plans for mobile computing, as part of its keynote address at Computex. A new smartphone reference platform using the chip producer's new Merrifield processors has been unveiled, along with the company's first ever LTE modem, and new fourth-generation Intel Core processors for two-in-one convertible notebooks.
AT&T has rolled out its 4G LTE network into 11 new markets and expanded in six others, as part of its national roll-out of the high-speed data network. New areas in six states, including Virginia and Washington, have had LTE access turned on today, while six markets in five states will have a wider coverage area.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 has passed through the FCC for testing yet again, this time for certifications related to LTE connectivity. The tested tablet is reportedly a version that will operate on AT&T's 4G LTE network, with the new radio replacing the 3G version seen by the Commission in March, suggesting it could go on sale in the next few months.
Nvidia has updated its latest mobile chipset with support for Category 4 LTE connectivity. Tegra 4i, similar to Tegra 4 but includes an integrated Nvidia i500 LTE modem, managed to upgrade from Category 3 and its 100Mbps connection to LTE-Advanced and a possible 150Mps speed, without performing any changes to the hardware.
AT&T has added to its range of 4G LTE connectivity devices with a built-in display. The AT&T Beam from Sierra Wireless is a USB modem that connects to the carrier's 4G LTE network, and like the MiFi Liberate, it comes with its own LCD panel to provide important details, such as the strength of the signal and how much data is remaining in the monthly allowance.
SoftBank's CEO is continuing to talk-up his company's $20.1 billion offer to buy out Sprint, by claiming SoftBank's experience with 4G will help the US carrier. Network enhancements, such as SoftBank's single frequency network technology for reducing interference, will help Sprint in the long run alongside other benefits, according to CEO Masayoshi Son.
Google is working to manufacture a 32GB version of the Nexus 4 with LTE support, according to a rumor. The smartphone built with LG, will reportedly receive a boost in storage from the 8GB and 16GB models already available, along with the speedy 4G LTE connectivity seen in other flagship smartphones.
Sprint has expanded its 4G LTE network to cover another 21 markets, the same locations detailed in a leak last week. The carrier is also adding another 34 markets to its existing 170-market LTE-rollout roadmap, which means that its 88 currently-active LTE markets will be joined by another 204 areas by the end of this year.
A pair of LG Optimus smartphones with LTE connectivity appear to be heading to US carriers in the coming months. The Optimus G Pro is rumored to land on AT&T at some point in May, while the Optimus F7 will apparently become Boost Mobile's third LTE-capable device, and has already appeared in an image in its carrier-branded form.
Sprint is rolling out its 4G LTE network in a number of new markets later today, according to a leak. The network, which is said to offer speeds between 6 to 8Mbps and a peak of 25Mbps, may end up being turned on with little to no fanfare in a similar way to how areas of New York City, Washington D.C., and San Francisco quietly went live in February.
Shortly after stating it will build a Gigabit fiber network to compete against Google in Austin, AT&T has expanded its 4G LTE network into six new markets. While this means the carrier is currently covering 182 different markets, AT&T also plans to add another 77 markets to the list by this summer, as the carrier tries to catch up to Verizon Wireless and its 4G LTE network.
British carrier EE is planning to double its spectrum allocation and increase its 4G speed in the country, before other phone networks are able to launch their own 4G LTE offerings. It plans to roll out its expanded spectrum service to 10 cities by June, and to trial carrier aggregation in an effort to provide even more bandwidth to its service.
Reportedly, T-Mobile is planning on sending carrier updates to unlocked iPhones used on its network on or around April 5. The update should enable LTE and Visual Voicemail to the devices brought to the carrier. The update will be pushed only to iPhones running iOS 6.1 or greater.
On Monday at the VentureBeat Mobile Summit in California, AT&T Senior Vice President Kris Rinne reported that the carrier would activate HD Voice on its network later in 2013, calling it "part of our voice over LTE strategy." Also in the interview, the executive described previous call quality concerns as "off the table," and mostly resolved.
[Update: AWS iPhone 5 has cleared FCC approval] In light of the rollout of Apple's iPhone on T-Mobile, Apple has announced that it will begin selling a very-slightly modified version of the iPhone 5 starting April 12. The "new" version, which will carry the same model number, is different only in that it adds capability for T-Mobile's LTE network frequencies, known as AWS (Advanced Wireless Services). No other new features have been added, but because the AWS addition requires a hardware change in the cellular radio, current iPhone 5 units cannot be upgraded through software to AWS compatibility.
Rogers is expanding the reach of its LTE coverage in Canada to include an extra 44 markets over the next few months, increasing the proportion of the Canadian population covered by LTE to beyond the 60-percent hit last year. The expansion will also see 34 of the 44 new markets become capable of maximum theoretical network speeds of 150Mbps, using the carrier's 2600MHz spectrum band.
T-Mobile has formally announced that it will carry the iPhone 5, as well as the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4, at its "Uncarrier" media event. At the same time, the carrier has turned on its LTE 4G network in a number of markets, announced other devices that the phone network will offer in the future, and reiterated its new Simple Choice plans.
T-Mobile has made its new "UnCarrier" contract-free prices official in the United States. The new plans, doing away with the two-year contracts and generally streamlining prices for all future customers, has been unveiled just days before the carrier was due to host a special event, where it is still expected to turn on its 4G LTE network.
A number of cities may have been identified as launch locations for T-Mobile's 4G LTE roll-out. Details picked up by crowdsourced network coverage map service OpenSignal suggests that it could launch in nine different cities in the United States, when the carrier is expected to launch the network upgrade later this month.
T-Mobile will be activating its 4G LTE network in the United States by the end of this month, according to reports. An over-the-air update is being sent to Samsung Galaxy Note II smartphones to activate the LTE radio in preparation for the LTE turn-on, which is expected to be at the same time as the BlackBerry Z10 becomes available through the carrier.
FreedomPop, a cellular internet service provider and maker of an iPod Touch case that can turn it into a full working smartphone, has just implemented a new "data rollover" feature for its plans, which let users keep unused data from month to month. The service, which offers 500MB of monthly WiMAX and LTE cellular data for free following the purchase of one of its custom sleeves for iPhones or iPod touch models, allows users to share data with friends and earn additional free data through referrals. It provides either mobile or home internet service.
Huawei took advantage of Mobile World Congress to demonstrate what it calls the "world's fastest 4G LTE smartphone." The Ascend P2, officially unveiled yesterday by the company, is the first with LTE Category 4 support for theoretical maximum download speeds of up to 150Mbps. Electronista took a few moments to get an overall feel for the high-speed mobile phone on the Barcelona show floor.
Following accurate leaks, Huawei has formally unveiled its Ascend P2 smartphone. Labeled the "world's fastest 4G LTE smartphone," the Android-based P2 is said to be one of the first smartphones to arrive on the market with LTE Category 4 support for theoretical maximum download speeds of up to 150Mbps.
The long-awaited possibility of a single, unified chipset that would allow a phone to be truly "global" for LTE users and let manufacturers release a single, worldwide version of various phone models may be at hand. Apple's primary LTE and 3G radio chipset provider, Qualcomm, debuted its RF360 Front End Solution line of chips which support all current LTE and 2G/3G bands. In addition to providing universal LTE/3G capability, the new line also improves overall RF performance.
Nvidia has formally introduced its Project Grey chip, which is officially known as the Tegra 4i. Marketed as a superior alternative to Qualcomm's Snapdragon offerings, which have proved extremely popular in the smartphone market, the new chip brings a much smaller footprint than the current Tegra 4 SoC while adding an integrated LTE modem.
US Cellular has revealed the next markets that will receive its 4G LTE service. The introduction of 4G LTE service and the expansion of existing high-speed connections will see the carrier expand it's 4G LTE coverage of its customers from the current 61-percent to around 87-percent by the end of this year.
Broadcom on Tuesday announced that it has commenced testing of a new LTE chip with its largest customers. The chip is the first of its kind from the manufacturer, and is aimed at competing products from LTE leader and pioneer Qualcomm. Broadcom said today that it expects devices with its LTE chip to go into production in 2014.
AT&T will be offering a second mobile hotspot with touchscreen capabilities to customers later this week. The AT&T Unite by Sierra Wireless will allow users the ability to create a ten-device Wi-Fi hotspot that uses the carrier's 4G LTE phone network, with the further option of allowing the creation of a guest network for one-time users.
British carrier Three is planning to offer 4G service without requiring any changes to existing contracts, including those with an unlimited data allowance. Customers will be able to access the 4G signal on current 3G contracts without needing to pay a premium or lose any of their existing data allowance, so long as they are using smartphones capable of connecting to it, and are in an area covered by the signal.
United Kingdom telecommunications regulator Ofcom is considering the prospect of allowing carriers to reuse existing spectrum for LTE-based services, such as those offered by EE. Such a proposal from Ofcom would potentially offer more spectrum for the faster network services than its current 4G spectrum auction could provide, with little in the way of extra licensing cost for phone networks.
Although the Wi-Fi version of the fourth-generation iPad line has been available in China since early December, this Friday will see the retail debut of the LTE-capable version of the iPad and iPad mini, just three weeks ahead of Chinese New Year. The iPad mini, already a hit in the country, is prominently featured on the Apple Gift Guide for the celebration, a major shopping holiday for the region. China granted the license to sell the LTE versions last month.
MetroPCS has announced a set of wireless contracts for 4G LTE with a focus on simplicity, including one with unlimited data. The new mobile phone plans all include unlimited voice minutes and texts, and offer three different tiers of service, with the only differentiation being the amount of 4G data usage is permitted each month on the subscription.
AT&T has rolled out its 4G LTE network in 15 new markets in the United States, and expanded network coverage in a number of already-live locations. Ten have gone live today, while five others were launched earlier this week -- pushing the total overall number of markets AT&T's 4G LTE network is operational in to 124.
The latest report by Strategy Analytics gives Apple a 27 percent share of the global LTE smartphone market. In total, the global subscriptions to LTE plans is currently estimated at around 50 million, representing a large increase in LTE sales compared to 2011, when only 9 million users had an LTE connection. Apple’s traction in the LTE space has come at the expense of Samsung, which although retaining the top spot, dropped from a 51 percent share three months ago to 40 percent for Q3.
AT&T may start rolling out its LTE-Advanced network in the second half of 2013 if a rumor is to be believed. If correct, it would see AT&T effectively catching up to Verizon's LTE lead with the next generation of 4G access, with potential average download speeds of 100Mbps being quoted for the technology.
A version of the Samsung Galaxy Camera with 4G LTE connectivity will be heading to Verizon, if a recent FCC filing is to be believed. Using LTE access in Verizon's section of the 700Mhz band, the camera appeared under the model number EK-GC120, a slight change from the EK-GC100 name the HSPA+ model used when it was certified.
A senior member on the XDA Developers forums has demonstrated that the Google Nexus 4 made by LG can offer at least limited support for LTE networks. Analysis of the hardware in the Nexus 4 reveals that it contains a baseband chip that can support some LTE networks. However, Google opted not to pursue full LTE capability in order to deliver a one-model handset that would work on any network around the globe, leaving it saddled with 3G HSPA by default.
An LTE network in a city could be taken down by $650 worth of equipment, according to researchers. The team at Virginia Tech believes that a battery-operated transmitter the size of a small briefcase could, if operated correctly, knock out 4G coverage for miles around a large base station, cutting off communications for thousands of users.
Still reeling from its major court defeat against Apple in the US and a string of legal losses in other countries (punctuated by the occasional -- but minor -- victory), Samsung has now added the iPhone 5 to its new lawsuit against Apple, this time claiming that all LTE-equipped mobile devices Apple makes are in violation of eight patents the Korean "fast follower" device maker holds. The lawsuit is widely seen as weak, since at least some of Samsung's LTE patents would likely be declared "standards-essential" and subject to FRAND regulations.
MetroPCS has passed the 1 million 4G LTE subscriber barrier, according to its third quarter results. The milestone represents approximately 12-percent of the company's total subscriber base of 9 million, itself lower than the previous quarter by over 312,000 customers, down 2-percent from the same quarter last year.
The UK may have a quicker overall rollout of faster mobile network services than previously thought. Mobile carriers Everything Everywhere, O2, Vodafone, and Three have stopped their legal threats, and have joined together to create a company specifically to aid in deploying LTE services in the 800MHz band by clearing it of TV signals.
American wireless customers are paying significantly more for LTE service than are their counterparts in Europe. This according to a new study from the research arm of the GSM Association, which represents mobile operators. The study looked at LTE service rates in the United States and in several European countries, finding that data policies among the major American carriers, in combination with a lack of competition, are driving up the cost of service far beyond what European customers pay.
In a media conference call today, Verizon's Nicola Palmer confirmed that the carrier is indeed working on Voice-over-LTE capability, and the company plans to roll out the feature late next year. Verizon is reportedly continuing to test the service, which has been in the works for some time now. Estimates made earlier in this year pegged Verizon's VoLTE service as arriving in early 2013, though Palmer's latest statements disprove those predictions.
Rogers has expanded its LTE coverage in Canada by 18 new markets. Previously promised in July, the expansion sees the carrier's LTE network grow enough to cover 60-percent of the Canadian population, only months into its second year of deployment in the country. This forms part of the company's $500 million plan for widespread LTE coverage by the end of the year.
Verizon and AT&T have announced their latest LTE rollout locations, bringing 4G service to a long list of new cities ahead of the iPhone 5 launch. Verizon leads the current push, deploying LTE for the first time in 19 cities and expanding the existing footprint in an additional 21 locations. AT&T, in contrast, plans to activate LTE service this week in just nine cities.
