4g - 27/35 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Jan

Samsung Galaxy S 4G, Android-Powered Sidekick 4G "Coming Soon" To T-Mobile

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Galaxy S 4G, News, Samsung, Sidekick 4G, T-Mobile

So it's true: Samsung and T-Mobile have indeed built an HSPA+ version of the Galaxy S, although it didn't cause the Android 2.2 update for their current offering, the Vibrant, to be held back (contrary to what some had assumed).

Unfortunately, we don't know much about the phone yet - in fact, all we've been told so far is that:

It'll be called the "Galaxy S 4G" (not the "Vibrant 4G," mind you).
It will feature full HSPA+ connectivity, meaning that it will be able to reach theoretical download speeds of up to 21 Mbps. Up until now, T-Mobile's HSPA+ devices (the G2 and the myTouch 4G) have been limited to 14.4 Mbps.

Jan

Sprint's "Premium Data" Charge To Affect All Smartphones After January 30

Posted by Nate Kimmey in News, Sprint

Although Sprint's data plans are significantly cheaper than their competition, there was still some outcry when Sprint decided to charge a $10 monthly add-on charge to phones with 4G connectivity, even if your area isn't actually covered by their WiMax network. Now, however, all smartphones activated after January 30 will be subject to the same charge.

Sprint's reasoning - that “building, maintaining and expanding wireless data networks isn’t free" - is sound, and you can't argue that they still beat every other carrier when it comes to the price of their data plans. Data plans for the EVO 4G, Epic 4G, and EVO Shift 4G will remained unaffected as they are already subject to the fee.

Jan

Dell Streak 7 Probably Landing On T-Mobile February 2nd

Posted by David Ruddock in News, Streak 7, T-Mobile

Last Updated: August 13th, 2011

While we weren't exactly impressed by the Streak 7 at CES, Dell's upcoming tablet successor to the similarly-named phone may be arriving on T-Mobile rather soon - say, February 2nd. A photo of an internal T-Mobile document (courtesy of TmoNews) taken by the world's worst photographer all but makes official a February 2nd release date for the 4G tablet.

If you'd rather not squint, I'll just quote the text in question:

Mobile Broadband - Dell Streak 7 (NEW) Kiosk ... (NEW for 2/2)

... Mobile Broadband - Dell Streak 7 Counter Sign ... (NEW for 2/2)

While these are just advertising materials, typically something as substantial as a full kiosk requires you have a working demonstration device to go with it, which usually don't show up until the product is actually on sale.

Jan

Motorola Atrix 4G Coming To AT&T March 1st?

Posted by David Ruddock in AT&T, Atrix 4G (Olympus), News

Android Central has managed to get their hands on an internal AT&T database entry for the upcoming Motorola Atrix 4G - and it looks to be coming sooner rather than later. The image, shown below, indicates a possible launch date of March 1, which is quite a lot sooner than I think many people were expecting.

This is good news for AT&T customers (like myself), as the nation's number two carrier has until recent announcements at CES been the least Android-friendly provider in the US in terms of handset selection. The Atrix 4G is undoubtedly one of the most ambitious smartphones to date, combining dual core Tegra performance with its truly awesome laptop docking station.

Jan

Makes Sense: Li-Ion Batteries Have Overcharge Protection Chip Inside

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in EVO 4G (Supersonic), HTC, News, Sprint

Certainly makes sense (get it?), doesn't it. Nearly every EVO owner I know has, at some point or another, complained about the fact that their battery life drops about 5-10% as soon as they unplug it. Well, it turns out that's because of there's an overcharge protection chip inside Li-Ion batteries.

XDA user willy900wonka decided to tear his extended EVO battery apart, and lo and behold:

What I found was that a 8205 chip is used to provide protection and prevent over charging and over-discharging. Here is a quote from a google search.

S-8205A/B Series Applications-Optimized-Battery-Protection Circuits.
All contained voltage detectors are of high precision between 15mV and 100mV depending on the function.

Jan

Samsung Vibrant 4G Is Coming To T-Mobile With A Front-Facing Camera, Full 21Mbps HSPA+, And Froyo

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Galaxy S, Galaxy S 4G, News, T-Mobile, Vibrant

Last Updated: January 20th, 2011

Well, if there was any lesson against being an early adopter, let it be this: TmoNews has gotten ahold of some official T-Mobile slides that give details on the Samsung Vibrant 4G, an update to T-Mobile's version of the Galaxy S that will make any current VIbrant owner cringe:

Full HSPA+ connectivity
Front-facing camera with Qik (not Skype) pre-loaded and still no flash on the rear camera
Android 2.2 Froyo

By full HSPA+ connectivity, I mean that the Vibrant 4G is able to reach download speeds of 21 Mbps (2.6 MB/s) and above, while T-Mobile's current 4G phones, the MyTouch 4G and G2, are limited to 14.4 Mbps, or just under 2 MB/s.

Jan

Editorial: iPhone 4 Is Coming To Verizon Wireless - Should Android Be Worried?

Posted by David Ruddock in AT&T, Editorials, News, Verizon Wireless

The big question on everyone's mind (well, at least ours) today is: How will the iPhone coming to Verizon next month change the smartphone landscape? At this point, it's anyone's guess, but Android's unabashed domination on the US's largest wireless carrier will certainly be challenged in the coming months. However, there are significant forces at work that won't exactly help the iPhone with its Verizon debut - namely, Verizon and Android. That's not to say the Verizon iPhone won't be a success, it's just a question of exactly how much of a success it will be. Here's our take.

Upgrade or Downgrade?

Jan

CES 2011: Hands-On With Motorola's Dual-Core Atrix 4G For AT&T: There's A Dock For That

Posted by Brian O'Toole in AT&T, Atrix 4G (Olympus), Motorola, News, Videos

At Motorola's booth today, we got a chance to play with the Atrix 4G - a dual-core HSPA+ equipped slate handset, sporting a whopping 1GB of RAM and packing a couple of notable features. Along with the laptop dock demoed in the video below, the Atrix 4G also has a media dock (called "HD dock") which allows you to connect it to a larger screen (and use the same WebTop desktop-like interface) as well as plug in a keyboard and a mouse. The Motorola rep also informed us of plans for regular charging and car docks, so it looks like wherever you may be, the Atrix will have a bespoke resting place.

Jan

CES 2011: Hands-On With T-Mobile's Dual-Core HSPA+ Dell Streak 7 Android Tablet

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Dell, Devices By Manufacturer, News, Streak 7, Videos

At T-Mobile's press schmoozing session this evening, a few HSPA+ devices were available for the blogging masses to clench in their clammy hands. One in particular that we were keen to try was the Dell Streak 7, the new big brother of the original Dell Streak (Mini 5), announced earlier today. With the 7" tablet boasting a Tegra II dual-core processing unit, our interest was piqued, so we took a look in the video below:

As you can see, the performance fell short of the hype and anticipation that many of us felt with this CES's dual-core bonanza. It might be slightly hard to detect with the frame rate of the video recording, but scrolling still felt choppy despite the power contained within.

Jan

CES 2011: Quick Hands-On With Verizon's LG Revolution: 4G LTE In A Semi-Stock 4.3" Package

Posted by Brian O'Toole in LG, News, Revolution, Verizon Wireless, Videos

At Verizon's 4G event today, we got some quick demo time with LG's initial LTE offering, the Revolution. Sporting a trendy 4.3" display, the device is obviously geared towards content creation and consumption. Not only does it include a 720P-capable 5 MP camera on the back, it also makes a mark with it a 1.3 MP front facing camera for video calls.

Unfortunately, it only has a single-core processor, clocking in at 1 GHz with 512 MB RAM alongside, but that shouldn't stop it from being a fairly decent performer all around. Best of all, the version of Froyo that LG has chosen to ship the Revolution with looks relatively uncontaminated, and with merely a tinted status bar here and altered icon there, the changes seem fairly forgivable in the near-mandatory custom UI sphere of Android lately.