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Aug

[Updated] Hands-On Review Of Sprint's Samsung Epic 4G

Posted by Ian Douglas in Epic 4G, News, Phone Reviews, Reviews, Samsung, Sprint, Videos

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

When offered to preview Sprint’s Samsung Galaxy S offering, the SPH-D700, also known as the Epic 4G, I immediately jumped on the opportunity. While my first personal-use Android device was the Nexus One, I’ve handled my share of Android smartphones, and my history of smartphone use has included several Samsung phones over the years. This being the first Galaxy S device I’ve personally handled, I’m glad to say that Samsung does not disappoint, and I can highly recommend the device to users who need a physical keyboard and can sign up for a contract with Sprint.

Update #1: added a 720P video sample.

Aug

[BREAKING] Sprint: Samsung Epic 4G Will Be Available August 31st For $249, Pre-Orders Start August 13th

Posted by David Ruddock in Development, Epic 4G, News

UPDATE: Customers can reserve their smartphone for purchase at www.sprint.com/epic4g beginning Friday, Aug. 13

Well, it would appear we were off a bit on our August 20th estimate. Sprint has just informed us that the Epic 4G (the first Galaxy S keyboard phone, and the first 4G keyboard phone) will be available for purchase on August 31st on the Sprint network, specs below:

4” Super AMOLED Capactive Touch Screen (Resolution: 480x800)
Slide-out QWERTY Keyboard
TouchWiz 3.0UI overlay
1GHz Hummingbird A8 Cortex Processor
512MB RAM
512MB ROM
MicroSD external storage
5MP camera with LED flash
Front-facing camera
Sprint 4G Service
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
720P video recording
FM radio support
Android 2.1
1500mAh battery

Sprint’s official press release on the Epic 4G:

Samsung Epic 4G will be available beginning Tuesday, Aug.

Aug

Sprint Rolls Out 4G In Modesto, Stockton, CA; Jacksonville, FL; Wilmington, DE; Grand Rapids, MI

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Epic 4G, EVO 4G (Supersonic), News, Sprint

EVO 4G and would-be Epic 4G owners, rejoice! Sprint has just unveiled further additions to its ever-spreading 4G WiMax network. 4G device owners in the following markets can now expect cellular performance that lives up to their phones' moniker:

Modesto, CA
Stockton, CA
Jacksonville, FL
Wilmington, DE
Grand Rapids, MI

This brings Sprint’s grand total to 48 urban hotspots, with more to surely follow. Still no sign of that whiff of 4G we caught in the Bay Area solidifying into something more official, however.

As Sprint’s 4G network expands, be sure to follow its growth on our up-to-date 4G coverage tracker, right here at Android Police.

Jul

T-Mobile Continues Surprisingly Vigorous Campaign Of HSPA+ Expansion; To Add 19 New Cities By July 21st

Posted by David Ruddock in Carriers, News, T-Mobile

Boy Genius Report is claiming today that T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network is expanding into 19 more metropolitan areas throughout the United States on July 21st. The full list:

Austin, TX
Baltimore, MD
Birmingham, AL
Cincinnati, OH
Cleveland, OH
Columbus, OH
El Paso, TX
Ft. Worth, TX
Hawaii, HI
Indianapolis, IN
Jacksonville, FL
Kansas City, MO
Louisville, KY
Milwaukee, WI
Minneapolis, MN
Portland, OR
San Antonio, TX
Washington, D.C.
Wichita, KS

T-Mobile is certainly trying to get the jump on Verizon and AT&T’s soon-to-exist LTE networks. Their strategy is clearly focused on the establishment of HSPA+ in urban areas, rather than creating “blanketed” regions of service.

Jul

Sprint Launches 4G In Rochester, Syracuse, NY; Merced, Visalia, CA; Eugene, OR; Tri-Cities, Yakima, WA

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Epic 4G, EVO 4G (Supersonic), News, Sprint

Because it was previously leaked, today's announcement of 7 new metropolitan areas lighting up with Sprint's 4G signal didn't quite come as a surprise. Still, we want to congratulate Sprint users who will now be able to enjoy 4G speeds in these areas:

Rochester, NY
Syracuse, NY
Merced, CA
Visalia, CA
Eugene, OR
Tri-Cities (Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland), WA
Yakima, WA

With the 7 new additions, Sprint's 4G coverage now includes 43 markets.

HTC EVO 4G is currently the only 4G phone on Sprint's network, soon to be joined by Samsung's Galaxy S Epic 4G. The users of these powerhouses, who are charged an extra $10 "premium data" fee, will finally be able to see exactly where their money has been going.

Jun

Verizon Gets Serious About 4G: 25 Markets Scheduled To Begin Rollout November 15th, Phones To Follow Shortly Thereafter

Posted by David Ruddock in AT&T, Carriers, News, Sprint, T-Mobile, Tips & Tutorials, Verizon Wireless

An unnamed source at Boy Genius Report today provided a tip that Verizon is planning to begin its 4G LTE network rollout in 25 markets on November 15th, 2010. Some interesting details emerged from the tip - most of them good. To summarize:

4G LTE data plans will be tiered by data caps, but will not add a premium to your bill. Presumably this means the caps will be combined 3G/4G usage (you listening, Sprint/EVO/$10?).
The 25 markets scheduled for coverage will encompass over 100 million potential subscribers.
A “slew” of 4G phones will be released on Black Friday, November 26th.

Jun

802.11n Available For Rooted EVOs And Incredibles, (Maybe) Officially Coming Soon To Incredible

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Development, Devices By Manufacturer, EVO 4G (Supersonic), Incredible, News

As if the EVO and Incredible weren’t already great phones, it turns out both are capable of 802.11n.

Incredible

An FCC filing by HTC was posted a few days ago, revealing that the Droid Incredible packs a chip that supports 802.11n, though currently not supported by the OS itself. Speculation around the interwebs is that it means such support will be added in a future update from HTC. I’m slightly less convinced of this than the rest of the blogger-army, but more on that in a minute. Regardless, the Android-hacking community already came up with a way to enable 802.11n on the Incredible.

Jun

Verizon Planning On Eliminating Unlimited Data Plans As Soon As This Year

Posted by John Thompson in Carriers, News, Verizon Wireless

Verizon subscribers: say goodbye to unlimited data on that internet hungry Android device of yours. According to Businessweek, Verizon is planning on following AT&T’s lead in replacing unlimited plans in favor of a tiered pricing structure.

In an interview with John Killian, chief financial officer of Verizon, it was clearly suggested that a new pricing structure will have to be put in to place, as data traffic increases with the rollout of 4G in the future.

We will probably need to change the design of our pricing where it will not be totally unlimited, flat rate

Verizon will be conscious of potential strains on their network as more people purchase smartphones and consume more data in the future.

Jun

Qik’s Launch On The EVO 4G: Where Did It Go Wrong?

Posted by John Thompson in Carriers, Devices By Manufacturer, EVO 4G (Supersonic), HTC, News, Sprint

With the release of the EVO 4G on Friday, a lot of people were looking forward to using the front facing camera for two-way video chat. This was made possible thanks to Qik, a video sharing application on Android amongst other platforms. Unfortunately, the ride wasn’t as smooth as Sprint and Qik would have hoped it to be…

The few lucky people who attended Google I/O were each given an EVO 4G, only to find that they couldn’t use the two-way video chat, as Qik wanted to wait until the official launch date to update the software.

With the EVO in the hands of thousands of developers who attended I/O, Qik could have beta tested their new features to make sure the release was as smooth as possible.

May

First EVO 4G Review Hits The Web!

Posted by Chris Dehghanpoor in Carriers, Devices By Manufacturer, EVO 4G (Supersonic), News, Phone Reviews, Reviews, Sprint

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Looking for a tasty little news snack before the big keynote at Google I/O tomorrow? Well, you’re in luck, because it appears that Walt Mossberg over at All Things D dropped his EVO 4G review tonight.

The review’s fairly short…it’s almost more of a preview than a proper rundown, but I’m sure the usual suspects (Engadget, Gizmodo, MobileCrunch), will cover the device in greater detail in their reviews. Until those start popping up though, what can we glean from Mossberg’s?

It’s fast. Walt says the phone’s 4G capability ‘offers the highest consistent downstream data speeds I have ever seen on a cellular network.’
4G use significantly reduces the battery life.