AT&T - 29/39 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Apr

[Carrier Crackdown] Tethering Apps Are Being Blocked In The Android Market [Updated]

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Carriers, Development

Last Updated: October 28th, 2011

It's a sad, sad day when we can't use the data that we pay for in a manner that we choose - but that day has arrived. It seems that somebody (perhaps carriers?) is blocking the ability to install Wireless Tether in the Android Market. This is what you get if you try to install it:

You can see that while it's still in the Market, it's not available for installation on any carrier-connected device. Most of the well known tethering apps have made the carrier blacklist, such as Wireless Tether and PDAnet, but there are some lesser known ones that are still available.

Apr

PSA: Take It Easy, AT&T Isn't Targeting Unauthorized Android Tethering (And May Never)

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, AT&T, Editorials, News, Tips & Tutorials

There's been a lot of talk about AT&T's crusade against rogue tethering lately, and it all comes back to this AT&T text message sent to some poor iPhone customer(s):

AT&T Free Msg: We’ve noticed you’re continuing to enjoy the tethering feature with your smartphone service. Remember, you need a tethering plan ($45/mo, incl. 4GB) to use this feature, so we’re planning to update your line with the required plan soon.

Yes, the carrier everyone loves to hate is cracking down on unauthorized tethering - and they are automatically switching violators onto AT&T's 4GB data plan with tethering access, at a steep $45 a month.

Apr

Want HSUPA On Your Motorola ATRIX Right Now? Fret Not - XDA Has You Covered

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Atrix 4G (Olympus), Development, News

Each Motorola ATRIX owner has seen their fair share of ups and downs, the biggest down of all perhaps being the lack of up(load speeds), as the ATRIX 4G doesn't have HSUPA support out of the box. AT&T has promised a fix for this and we've even seen phantom updates arise to fix the issue. As always, though, when carriers and manufacturers fail us, who do we look to? XDA, of course! This occasion is no different, and user dew.man has come through.

This fix is for rooted devices only.

If you're not familiar with flashing and RSD Lite, then you may not want to try this.

Apr

Samsung Infuse 4G Shows Its Face In A Walmart Circular, $178.88 Price Tag Intact

Posted by Cameron Summerson in AT&T, Infuse 4G, News, Rumors

Remember the massive-screened Samsung Infuse 4G that was announced back in January? If not, that doesn't come as much of a surprise, as this phone has found a way to stay out of the rumor mill since then. It couldn't stay silent forever, though, and now it has finally surfaced in a Walmart circular, accompanied by a $178.88 price tag (presumably with a new two-year agreement on AT&T). Unfortunately, there isn't an exact launch date listed, only that it's "available May 2011."

I'm sure a quick spec rundown is in order, so here you go:

4.5 Inch Super AMOLED Plus screen
1.2GHz Hummingbird Processor
16GB Internal storage, SD Card slot
8MP Rear camera with 1080P video capture, 1.3MP front camera
Android 2.2

As you can tell, this phone is nothing to turn your nose up at.

Apr

Verizon Has 565,000 4G LTE Subscribers, Will Speeds Start Suffering Soon?

Posted by David Ruddock in 4G, Carriers, Editorials, News, Verizon Wireless

Verizon released the first subscriber figures for its rapidly expanding 4G network today - presumably to highlight strong sales of the carrier's first 4G handset, the HTC Thunderbolt.

Of the 565,000 (500,000 is the number Verizon added to its subscriber base in Q1) 4G users, about 260,000 are utilizing Verizon's LTE service via an HTC Thunderbolt. This means that since the launch of the Thunderbolt on March 17, Verizon has been gaining over 100,000 new LTE subscribers a week. And with 4G devices like the Samsung DROID Charge and the Motorola DROID BIONIC on the way, it seems Big Red's 4G campaign is just getting started.

Apr

[Unconfirmed] Is An HSUPA-Enabling Software Update Coming For The Motorola ATRIX?

Posted by Cameron Summerson in AT&T, Atrix 4G (Olympus), Development, Rumors

Last Updated: April 29th, 2011

Last month, AT&T confirmed that an HSUPA-enabling update was in the works for the Motorola ATRIX 4G and was expected to hit sometime in April. Well... April is here and guess what? It looks like they may actually deliver on that promise.

nate2569, a user over at the XDA forums, received not one, but two mysterious updates on his ATRIX yesterday evening. The first one was a software update to bring the system up to version 1.75 and there was some initial confusion, so nate2569 uploaded a picture displaying some of the "About Phone" contents for proof. Have a look:

Notice anything special?

Apr

AT&T's Not So Dynamic Duo: The LG Thrive And Pheonix

Posted by Cameron Summerson in AT&T, LG, News

AT&T has kind of introduced two new LG Android powered smartphones into its lineup, set to appear on April 17th - the LG Thrive and LG Phoenix. I say "kind of" because, well, they're the same phone. The Thrive is a prepaid variant, while the Phoenix is a contract-only device.

Left: Thrive; Right: Phoenix

They're not really anything to brag about, but here are the specs:

600MHz processor
3.2 Inch screen
160MB of user memory, 2GB SD card
3.2MP Camera
Android 2.2

I guess it's not too bad when you consider the off contract price of $180 for the Thrive (okay, yes it is.

Apr

FCC Gets Hands On: Regulates Data Roaming And Suggests Signal Boosters

Posted by Zak Stinson in AT&T, News, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless

When we talk about the Federal Communications Commission, we usually do so in regards to a new and highly anticipated device they have just finished testing. Today, there is a little something different in the news regarding the FCC. On Thursday, the FCC made a couple of moves that have received mixed responses from the major wireless carriers.

Roaming Data

The first order they passed was to establish a rule forcing carriers to allow competitors to send and receive data on their networks for an established price. This move means that no matter where you are outside of your carrier's network, you will have roaming data coverage.

Apr

T-Mobile Launching Even More Plus Unlimited Plan For Just $59.99 A Month

Posted by David Ruddock in 4G, Carriers, Deals, News, T-Mobile, Tips & Tutorials

T-Mobile is starting to get aggressive with customer acquisition and retention, and in light of less than stellar fiscal performance and the news of the AT&T deal, it's not hard to see why.

On April 13, the carrier will begin offering a new off-contract smartphone plan, and it's a steal - for $59.99 a month (down from $79.99), you'll get unlimited talk, text and data*. But, there are some significant catches. The first is that you'll have to pay full retail for your phone of choice - the Even More Plus plan is a month-to-month affair.

The second is arguably worse - your data usage is technically unlimited, but after the first 2GB (as opposed to the current 5GB) your data speeds will be throttled down until the next billing cycle.

Apr

AT&T Samsung Nexus S Shows Up On Samsung.com, Now All But Officially Confirmed

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in AT&T, News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), Samsung

Samsung's Nexus S, the first Gingerbread device, was a T-Mobile exclusive in the U.S. until last month, when Sprint announced the Nexus S 4G - a CDMA (and WiMAX) counterpart of this sleek stock Android device. Can Samsung pull the same trick it did with the Galaxy S phones that came to all U.S. carriers? It sure looks like it.

We've already seen a Nexus S with model GT-I9020A (as opposed to T-Mobile GT-I9020T) hit the FCC with AT&T bands, and now the same exact model has shown up on Samsung's own site, citing AT&T as the carrier. Whether Ma Bell will subsidize it or not (they didn't offer subsidies for the Nexus One) remains to be seen, but now the AT&T Nexus S is all but officially confirmed.