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Feb

[MWC 2012] AT&T Announces HTC One X, Will Feature LTE, Qualcomm Dual-Core Instead Of Tegra 3 Quad-Core

Posted by David Ruddock in AT&T, HTC, News, One X (Endeavor)

Shortly after the announcement from HTC CEO Peter Chou at Mobile World Congress that AT&T would be a launch partner for the new One X, the US's number two carrier let fly a press release confirming the statement. What's there to take from it? Not much.

The primary differentiating features of AT&T's version will be a dual-core Snapdragon S4 (as opposed to quad-core Tegra 3) processor, as well as LTE connectivity. If you're wondering why AT&T is getting stuck with half the cores of the international GSM version of the device, you can look to LTE as the culprit. Basically, NVIDIA's Tegra 3 processor doesn't have any currently available radio configurations that will support LTE (though it will in the future), while Qualcomm and Texas Instruments have been the go-to choices for devices utilizing the new network technology.

Feb

First Official CM9 Nightlies Now Available For Galaxy Nexus GSM/CDMA, Nexus S GSM/CDMA, And Motorola Xoom Wi-Fi/LTE

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Development, Galaxy Nexus, News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), Nexus S 4G (Crespo4g), XOOM

Last Updated: March 2nd, 2012

Just under a week after receiving almost unprecedented support from the Android community to fund the purchase of new build servers, the CM team has begun pumping out CM9 nightlies for a handful of devices. There's no question - the CM team is moving quickly, and the release of so many nightlies in such a short time span is exciting, to say the least.

Koushik Dutta, in a Google+ post earlier this evening, expressed appreciation, confirming that CyanogenMod "was able to purchase 3 top of the line, ridiculously geared, build servers," which will soon have an automatic build schedule. Dutta also indicated that CM7 nightly builds will be up and running again soon.

Feb

Life Without AT&T: T-Mobile's Plan To Rejuvenate Business With An LTE Network Rollout In 2013

Posted by Cameron Summerson in 4G, News, T-Mobile

Wow, what a year 2011 was for T-Mobile. We watched as AT&T tried to purchase T-Mobile USA to no avail, while Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T all launched the iPhone 4S and made progress towards their own respective LTE networks.

In fact, the latter two items hurt Magenta so much that its revenue dropped 3.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011. Ouch. Don't underestimate the underdog, though; T-Mo has a plan. A plan to draw in more customers, make 4G services more affordable, and, best of all, launch its own 4G LTE network.

Since T-Mobile is the last of the big four to announce its LTE plans, it's also going to be the slowest to get started.

Feb

Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G Set For March Availability From T-Mobile

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Galaxy S Blaze 4G, Gingerbread 2.3, News, T-Mobile

T-Mobile and Samsung announced just moments ago that the Galaxy S Blaze 4G that was unveiled at CES earlier this year will be available beginning in "late March," priced at $149.99 (after $50 mail-in rebate card) for two-year agreements with qualifying voice/data plans. The S Blaze 4G will be a T-Mobile exclusive device, and will evidently include T-Mo's 4GPro App Pack, meaning the phone will come with apps like Dropbox, Evernote, Square, TripIt, Camscanner, and LinkedIn preloaded.

Besides coming with a few practical items of software, the S Blaze 4G packs some decent specs for a phone in its range (though there's no word on the phone's RAM or internal storage capacity):

Android 2.3 Gingerbread
Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 Dual-Core Processor clocked at 1.5GHz
3.97" Super AMOLED display
5MP rear shooter with 720p video capabilities
1.3MP front-facing camera
Expandable storage via microSD slot

While there's no word on exactly when the S Blaze 4G will be available, we'll be here to track any relevant details as they emerge.

Feb

Sprint Loses $1.3 Billion In Fourth Quarter, But Gains 1.6 Million Subscribers

Posted by David Ruddock in News, Sprint

Sprint posted its fourth quarter earnings this morning, and they definitely painted a mixed picture of the company's financial position. On the one hand, the Alamo of unlimited data increased its subscriber base by 1.6 million in the last quarter, with big thanks likely owed to the addition of the iPhone to Sprint's lineup - giving them a significant advantage over their primary price point rival, T-Mobile.

Unfortunately, also because of the iPhone, the company managed a $1.3 billion net loss for the quarter, owed in large part to the massive cost of providing the device ($15.5 billion over 4 years) to customers at heavily subsidized price points.

Feb

[Update: Link Now Works] Samsung Infuse 4G Gingerbread Update Released, But Someone Forgot To Tell Samsung That

Posted by David Ruddock in AT&T, Gingerbread 2.3, Infuse 4G, News, Samsung

Update: The link to the update is now working. Get on it!

Infuse 4G owners have been chomping at the bit for some Gingerbread love since the device's release in the middle of last year, and it seemed this morning they were finally going to get it. A moderator at the AT&T forums posted up the typical changelog marketing spiel, chocked full of customer benefits and exciting new fonts like 'Choco Cooky' and 'Cool Jazz' (I am not kidding).

Unfortunately, it seems AT&T neglected to inform Samsung that it was update go-time - the link to said update 404s. Whoops. Of course, if you have Samsung Kies installed, you should be able to check for updates using that.

Jan

[Deal Alert] Verizon Galaxy Nexus Just $99.99 For New Customers At Amazon Wireless

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Deals, Galaxy Nexus, Verizon Wireless

Google's latest wunderphone, the Galaxy Nexus, normally runs a pricey $300 on contract when purchased through Verizon. Luckily, competition brings down prices - sometimes dramatically - and it's on sale now at Amazon for just $99.99 with free 2-day shipping for incoming Verizon customers (it's still $259.99 for those who are upgrading). Quite the discount, and 100 bones for such a mind-blowing device is quite the steal indeed.

In comparison, Wirefly is selling the GNexus for $230 for both new and upgrading customers. Thus, if you're heading to Verizon as a new customer, best to go through Amazon. Those looking to upgrade should head to Wirefly.

Jan

Sprint VP David Owens: Sprint Won't Be Releasing Any More WiMax Smartphones, And Don't Expect Any Windows Phones In The Near Future Either

Posted by Liam Spradlin in 4G, News, Sprint

It would appear that Sprint plans on going full speed ahead in focusing on product development for its 4G LTE lineup this year. David Owens, Sprint's VP of Product Development made clear at CES Wednesday that Sprint "won't be introducing any more WiMax smartphones," adding "April, May, June, July, August, those will be very aggressive times for us." This may be a hint that we could begin seeing LTE devices as early as April, which is great news for customers holding out for a new device (like Samsung's Galaxy Nexus, which is poised to be Sprint's first LTE device).

While Sprint doesn't plan on releasing new WiMax smartphones, the carrier evidently plans on selling WiMax hostpots (like the Sierra Wireless hotspot we saw at CES) alongside LTE devices.

Jan

[CES 2012] Video Hands-On With The Motorola DROID 4

Posted by David Ruddock in 4G, Droid 4, Motorola, News, Videos

Late yesterday, we got a chance to spend some time with the Motorola DROID 4 over at the Verizon booth here at CES, and we have to say - It sure seems like Motorola has done it again. The DROID 4 will likely once again set the bar for QWERTY slider phones, and thanks to the addition of 4G LTE and a snappy TI OMAP 4430 dual-core processor (the same one found in the DROID RAZR), it's also going to be the fastest DROID yet.

Of course, the biggest feature on any DROID is the keyboard, and you can rest assured, the DROID 4's does not disappoint.

Jan

[CES 2012] Video Hands-On With The Sony Xperia Ion And Xperia S, Including Their Speedy 12MP Rear Cameras

Posted by David Ruddock in News, Sony, Videos, Xperia Ion (Aoba), Xperia S (Nozomi)

We stopped by the Sony booth earlier this morning at CES, and got some hands-on time with the very first Sony smartphones (Sony-Ericsson is no more, subject to regulatory approval) - the Xperia Ion and the Xperia S. While these devices were designed before the Sony Ericsson breakup, they'll be marketed as Sony devices when they hit retail channels.

First up is the Xperia Ion, announced a couple of days ago by AT&T. As you may already know, Sony's upcoming flagship device (headed to AT&T in Q2) will be powered by a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, 4G LTE, and features a 720p display with a truly impressive 12MP rear shooter.