LG on Thursday introduced its latest messaging device, the Bliss UX700. The entry-level device features a 2.0-megapixel camera with video capture, stereo Bluetooth connectivity, and a 3-inch touchscreen with 240x400 pixel resolution. Users can listen to music or access the web through the full HTML browser, while microSD support allows storage expansion up to 16GB.
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.
Vodafone's research director Professor Michael Walker today told the Wireless 2.0 conference that 4G cellular data based on the Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard is not only better at keeping speeds in the real world but has the potential to replace wired Internet access. The official explained that the average download bandwidth in a recent field trial was about 15Mbps, or several times faster than good 3G access. While well short of the 100Mbps theoretical peak, he added that it was much improved over 3G behavior, where actual speeds have often been further away from the 3.6Mbps and higher often promised for those networks.
US Cellular on Thursday announced it will soon begin offering the Samsung Axle flip phone. The entry-level handset sports a VGA camera, a Bluetooth connection, a speakerphone and a voice dialing feature. Little other information is known about the handset, other than that it will have two color displays, with a battery life rated at four hours of talk time.
Ahead of any sort of official announcement, the Samsung Code i220 handset has appeared on wireless provider US Cellular's website. The spec sheet reveals the Code runs on Windows Mobile 6.1 and sports a full QWERTY keyboard along with a 320x240 resolution display. The dual-band CDMA handset pulls its 3G data over the provider's EVDO network.
Samsung Mobile on Tuesday confirmed an earlier report by announcing wireless provider US Cellular will soon add the Samsung Gloss SCH-u440 flip-phone to its lineup. Also known as the Cleo, it has an unusual design with a QWERTY keyboard and borrows design cues from a makeup mirror. Bluetooth support, a 1.3-megapixel camera and music playback functionality are also onboard.
Confirming an earlier April report, US Cellular is now offering the HTC Touch Pro smartphone handset on its network. The Touch Pro, equipped with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional operating system and HTC's TouchFLO 3D interface for the 2.8-inch VGA display, costs $250 through the provider with a two-year contract and mail-in rebate. Contract-free pricing is set at nearly $600.
Wireless provider US Cellular is soon due to get a number of handsets added to its range, including the HTC Touch Pro and BlackBerry 8230 Pearl Flip smartphones as well a number of more mainstream models. The Touch Pro, which is currently available at Sprint and Verizon, will be released on Friday, April 17th, according to a Wednesday PhoneArena report. It features a 2.8-inch touchscreen, 3.2-megapixel camera and sliding QWERTY keyboard, as well as Windows Mobile 6.1.
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.
US Cellular's owner TDS is being pushed to sell the company to a major carrier, multiple sources have said to Reuters. Shareholder groups like Gamco Investors and Southeastern Asset Management are both claimed to be pressuring TDS to open itself to deals in the face of crumbling market share and a likely inability to upgrade its network beyond its current 3G speeds. The two financiers combined hold nearly 30 percent of TDS' stock and so may lead a proxy war to force management to strike a deal.
Wireless provider US Cellular is now offering a new LG clamshell, the UX280 Wine. The mid-range phone offers a 2.2-inch main display with 240x320 resolution along with a 1.3-inch external LCD. Users also get assisted GPS, Bluetooth and a 1.3-megapixel camera. Ease of use is another strong point, as there are four shortcut keys under the display for quick access to messaging, alarm clock, contacts and favorites menus.
US Cellular on Friday picked up the Samsung TwoStep. The new music flip phone recalls iPod design with a jogwheel on the outside for controlling volume and skipping tracks on the outside screen without opening the full device. Samsung also outfits the phone with stereo speakers, a dedicated music key on the inside and a microSDHC slot that holds cards up to 8GB.
Relatively small national carrier US Cellular will have its own full touchscreen device by the end of the year, a leak stemming from BGR would suggest. The Samsung Delve would be cosmetically very similar to the Instinct at Sprint but would have physical call/answer buttons instead of touch-sensitive controls on the earlier phone; it would also carry Samsung's stock TouchWiz interface with widget support in place of Sprint's custom-designed software. A full HTML web browser is still part of the design.
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.
T-Mobile's parent company Deutsche Telekom is seriously considering merging with or taking over Sprint, claims the German national magazine Der Spiegel. A continued weakening of US currency values, combined with worsening results at Sprint, is reportedly leading the European company to investigate transactions that would help T-Mobile USA gain ground in the US market and better compete against AT&T. The opportunity is rare and would cost Deutsche Telekom less than it did to buy VoiceStream in 2001 and assume its role as one of the largest American carriers, according to the report.
The Motorola Q9c launched at CTIA on Monday in the U.S. and will be available through the Alltel, Verizon and US Cellular networks. The Windows Mobile 6 phone features both 3G over CDMA as well as real GPS navigation. All have a 32GB microSDHC card support and Documents to Go preloaded to make edits to Office files on the road. Difference between carriers center around colors: Verizon's Q9c comes only in black, while Alltel and US Cellular also get a lime trim. Verizon will have the Q9c in April and will sell the phone for $149 with a two-year contract. The other two carriers receive their phones in the summer with pricing to be announced. View the live photos from CTIA below.
Motorola started its CTIA efforts by launching multiple versions of its Q9 smartphone for the US. Alltel, US Cellular, and Verizon all receive the Q9c. Like the Sprint model, the version for the new carriers drops the media interface of Verizon's Q9m for a more traditional Windows Mobile 6 interface but adds real GPS navigation. Every version also has 32GB microSDHC card support and Documents to Go preloaded to make edits to Office files on the road.
J.D. Power and Associates on Thursday released the first volume of its 2008 Wireless Call Quality Performance Study, which rates the major wireless carriers in seven specific areas relating to quality based on surveys of users. The bi-annual report rates each provider on a demerit point system, measuring their performance on a problems per 100 calls (PP100) scale, with lower scores translating to better performance. The report concluded Alltel, T-Mobile, Verizon and US Cellular are the top-ranking providers in their respective regions.
