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Feb

[Update: It's Official] ZTE Optik: 3G Honeycomb 7" Budget Tablet Coming To Sprint For $99 In February Online, March In Stores

Posted by David Ruddock in Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News, Optik, Sprint, Tablets, ZTE

A new tablet is coming to the Sprint network next month, though it's definitely on the budget-minded side of things. The ZTE Optik will be available to Sprint customers starting February 5th through Sprint's online store, with a brick and mortar appearance to follow on March 11th. Here's a quick breakdown on the need-to-know specs for the Optik:

1.2GHz dual-core processor (we'd expect TI OMAP 4430, but that's a guess - yours is as good as ours)
7" display (resolution unknown - we're predicting 1280x800)
1 GB RAM / 16GB internal storage
MicroSD card slot
5MP rear / 2MP front camera
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and 3G connectivity
4000mAh battery
Android 3.2 Honeycomb
$99 w/ 2 year agreement, $349 off-contract

Check it out, below:

Thanks, Captain Anonymous!

Feb

New Qualcomm Chip Successfully Completes Handover From LTE To WCDMA During A Voice Call

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News

We're gradually working our way into an all-LTE world, but there are still a few hurdles to cross. One of those hurdles, the seamless handover from LTE to 3G during a VoLTE (voice-over-LTE) call, has now been achieved by Qualcomm.

So, what does that mean, exactly? Basically, if you're on a VoLTE call in an LTE network and you leave the coverage zone, the call would normally go dead. Thanks to this new chip from Qualcomm, though, that all changes. The new Snapdragon seamlessly transitions between LTE and WCDMA mid-voice call without issue, so users don't lose the call just because they exit the LTE coverage zone.

Jan

[Update: Clarification - Roaming Only] Sprint CEO Dan Hesse Admits Sprint Throttles Top 1% Of Data Users

Posted by David Ruddock in Editorials, Sprint

Last Updated: January 7th, 2012

Update: Dow Jones Newswires apparently left out a key piece of information from Hesse's statement on throttling, in an example of truly stellar journalism and attention to detail (unfortunately, we have no audio or video record to verify Hesse's statements). Hesse was discussing throttling of those who are on networks that Sprint has roaming agreements with (which, admittedly, Sprint has a lot of - including with Verizon). While this still makes Sprint's ads technically misleading, the throttling really only applies to those who live in areas where Sprint's data network relies chiefly on roaming - not to those using primarily Sprint towers.

Dec

Sprint Announces Major 3G Network Enhancements For San Francisco Bay Area, Takes A Step In The Right Direction

Posted by Liam Spradlin in News, Sprint

Sprint announced earlier today that customers in San Francisco's Bay Area "can have happy holidays this year with increased 3G coverage." For those who haven't been obsessively checking the enhancement tracker on Sprint's network site, the Now Network has implemented 130 capacity upgrades in the Bay Area over the past 90 days alone, with 62 more enhancements planned for the next 90 days.

Christopher Brydon, Sprint's Northern California Area Director, had this to say about the recent improvements:

Not only can customers in the Bay Area enjoy a better network experience, they can do so without worrying about their bill.

Dec

[Updated] Verizon Experiencing Nationwide Data Outage, Both 4G And 3G Affected

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Verizon Wireless

Seems that Verizon has been experiencing some issues with its entire network for the biggest part of the day thus far - we've been hearing reports that its 4G LTE network has been down since earlier today, and it looks like 3G service is in-and-out, as well.

Big Red has been noticeably silent during this outage, so let's just hope that they have every man, women, and child on the job to get it fixed. We'll keep you posted as more details arise.

Update: Verizon claims the outage is only affecting 4G LTE devices, but I have been without 3G coverage (on a 3G-only device) for most of the day.

Nov

Unlocked GSM Galaxy Nexus Now On Sale At Expansys.com... For $750

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Galaxy Nexus, Google, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, Samsung

Not in the mood to wait around for Verizon to finally decide to put a firm release date on the Galaxy Nexus' head? Tied to one of the other carriers? If your answer to either of those questions was affirmative (and if you have three-quarters of a grand lying around), you'll be delighted to know that Expansys just put up a page from which customers can purchase the I9250 GSM variant of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

At $750, it won't come cheap, but as this is an "intermational" handset (Expansys' "be first" motto apparently means it doesn't dedicate much time to proofreading), you'll be able to use it on both AT&T and T-Mobile.

Nov

Did Sprint's October 31st Network Updates Turn Out To Be Real? We're Seeing Massive Improvements In 3G Speeds In Some Areas - How About You?

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in EVO 3D (Shooter), News, Sprint

Over the past week, I've been in contact with Sprint about the demise of their network's data speeds, especially in the 3G department. As many of you were also in the same boat, we saw quite a bit of interest and started collecting information on the situation, which resulted in this knowledge dump on Sunday - read it if you haven't yet done so.

Among the tidbits of info Sprint techs let out, one was especially interesting - a round of tower upgrades that were supposed to be completed on October 31st. We were skeptical. Many of you were as well.

Oct

What I Learned About Sprint's Past And Current Data Problems As Well As Future Upgrade Plans After Reaching Out To CEO Dan Hesse

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in 4G, News, Sprint

Last Updated: January 13th, 2012

Sprint has network problems. Major problems. And they've gotten a lot worse lately. Really, really bad. Not all areas are affected - and in fact some have improved already, but more and more areas are getting so bad that Sprint's 3G data is completely unusable there, especially since the introduction of the iPhone. Troubleshooting and update my phone's "profile" and PRL didn't help, as evident from the screenshot #2 you see below.

Earlier this week I contacted Sprint's customer service, followed by an email to an executive and CEO Dan Hesse himself (or whoever fields his emails). The former told me there was a tower outage in my area, and a fix was incoming the next day (as you've guessed nothing is fixed as of today, 5 days later).

Oct

How Bad Is Sprint's 3G Network Post-iPhone Launch? 45 Pages Of Complaints Bad

Posted by David Ruddock in News, Sprint

If there's one thing the iPhone 4S seems to be screwing up after its very successful debut, it would seem to be Sprint's 3G. Since the launch of Apple's newest iThing, Sprint 3G speeds have absolutely tanked for users in many areas. How widespread is the problem? Well, this 45-page (and growing) thread with nearly 700 replies over on the Sprint Community forums would seem to indicate the answer is "very."

The problem has affected everyone - as shown by lackluster results from some of our own Sprint devices of late while on 3G.

Samsung Epic 4G:

DL: 370kbps

UL: 306kbps

Ping: 165ms

Motorola Photon 4G:

DL: 214kbps

UL: 542kbps

Ping: 963ms

iPhone 4S users are reporting speeds even lower than these, sometimes much lower (like 50kbps).

Sep

Verizon Has A Bug List For The DROID BIONIC, First Maintenance Update Coming In November

Posted by David Ruddock in Bionic, Motorola, News, Verizon Wireless

The DROID BIONIC, it's no secret, hasn't been launched bug-free. In fact, there's a number of bugs, particularly the dreaded data connection drop, that make using the BIONIC a major annoyance at times. Verizon has apparently been keeping track, and has a very detailed list of the glitches currently afflicting the phone, given to a customer in a support e-mail (weird, we know). The good folks over at Droid-life have compiled a "Top 10" bug list along with all the reported issues (here), and we've excerpted a few that we've noticed most:

1. Issue: 4G/3G Service – Data Connectivity

Marginal 4G to 3G transition: Loss of data connectivity – The device may display 3G service indication but no data connections are possible.